Review: Inside Out

Starring the voice talents of 

Amy Poehler as Joy

Phyllis Smith as Sadness

Bill Hader as Fear

Lewis Black as Anger

Mindy Kaling as Disgust

Richard Kind as Bing Bong

Kaitlyn Dias as Riley Andersen

Diane Lane as Riley's Mother

Kyle MacLachlan as Riley's Father

Paula Poundstone as Forgetter Paula

Bobby Moynihan as Forgetter Bobby

I had heard some good things about the animated feature Inside Out, so I finally got a watchable retail dvd to see what all the excitement was about when the movie first hit general release. I wasn't disappointed.

A Pixar / Disney collaboration (is that the proper word? Since they are part of the same company.) That seemed to take the best of both.

I thought with Disney, I was going to get a straight on children's film and in a lot of respects, that is what I got. Oddball characters and even stranger plots. Not disappointed on either front with Inside Out.

But once the main characters are introduced, the plot-line takes a turn towards the dark. The whole plot device being that the major emotions are taken up by identifiable archetypes and we view the majority of the movie from these archetypes view point with occasional forays into the exterior world to observe the interplay between external and internal worlds.

There are several places in the film where each of the characters are highlighted and how they make up the whole. And this is why I have reservation on very young children watching this film. The emotions are strong and intense, so much so that even as an adult I was uncomfortable and uneasy, so I would lean towards older children with more experience with stronger emotions

Review: Ant Man

Paul Rudd as Scott Lang - Ant-Man
Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne
Corey Stoll as Darren Cross - Yellowjacket
Bobby Cannavale as Paxton
Michael Peña as Luis
Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson - Falcon

run time     117 minutes

Budget     $130 million
Box office $518.6 million

After research covering years of investigation, scientist uncover how to close gap between atoms.  Enclosed in an armored suit, it gives the wearer the very selfsame abilities. One to shrink to invisibility and second to return to normal size.  

Along the way, our hero has also garnered the proportional strength of the ant as well as the ability to speak to them fluently.

These plot devices are hung as you would xmas bulbs on a tree and in this case, a workman  plot line. 

Our scientist starts a company to study and utilizes this new discovery.  The business   partner proves to be ruthless and evil, with a healthy dose of greed mixed in.  Others in the cast are shuffled back and forth between   both extremes.   

If you havn't guessed yet, science, mostly physics are tossed almost immediately.   But mass and energy are added and subtracted on a whim.  I don't even want to allude to the instances in question.  Rent Ant Man and lets see if you see what I saw.  I can remember thinking "Oh No!  the can not be going to go there!  But they do.  

The plot is fair, The fight sceans as well as the action moments are at best workman. But it is the science that really left me cold. 

The backgrounds are nice, the CGI is grandly overdone and the acting from those like Michael Douglas was workman or better. 

So if you are looking for a comic book adaption then this film is just the ticket but as a stand alone movie it isn't working.  I would have gone a 6 if it was clear they were not tied to their junk science, but when it became clear that they were vested in it that I could not in good conscience go above 4or 5. 

It would make a neat rental and as a kids movie but I would not want friends to know I had this in my stash. 

Check out the Wiki for more info

Review: Home

Budget 135 million,   Boxoffice 386 million.

Run-time 94 minutes

Voice Cast
Jim Parsons as Oh
Rihanna as Gratuity "Tip" Tucci
Steve Martin as Captain Smek
Jennifer Lopez as Lucy Tucci
Matt Jones as Kyle, a Boov police officer.
Brian Stepanek as Gorg Commander, the leader of the Gorg

I honestly do not think that HOME needs a review.  The plot is completely derivative.  One clueless alien race being chased by another malevolent race, invades Earth, displacing humans as completely incompetent, though it soon becomes clear that the worst screw-up is  O who is constantly screwing up in major fashion. 

O is soon befriended by Tip who is looking for her mother.  Together they both commence on a totally warped road trip.

Along the way there are major reversals and not everything is as it seems.

The movie is well drawn and animated as well as brilliantly voice cast.  I would be tempted to rate it an 8 for the above and it is clearly a fine film for young people or a family film.  But if we rate it with the plot line you have to take into account how lazy and derivative it is, drawing for just about any invasion film out there.  So the best I can do is 6, which means go ahead and watch it and enjoy it with your children or family.  But be prepared to explain yourself to your friends! 

Review: American Ultra

 American Ultra

Budget $28 million  Box Office 14.4 million  So as you can see it was a box office failure.

Run Time
96 minutes

Here is a very short list  of cast members

Jesse Eisenberg as Mike Howell
Kristen Stewart as Phoebe Larson
John Leguizamo as Rose
Bill Pullman as Raymond Krueger

I just got a chance to view the film American Ultra.  I was under the impression that it was some kind of stoner movie and my movie guy Mark thought it was a spy thriller.  While there are these as element in the film, it is instead a Sci-Fi through and through.  That however is far from a saving grace,

Mike and Phoebe are stoners.  Mike works in a convenience store and even though Mike has major phobias, all seems well, until that is a woman shows up at the store and starts spouting gibberish at

Mike.  From there it gets weirder and weirder.  Think of Chuck on acid. 

I would like to call it a  fun romp as Chuck was but it isn't.  American Ultra is at times violent, bloody and a goodly helping of gore.

All play well into the plot but like I said, there are goodly amounts of all mentioned which can be off-putting.   I would rate the film a 7.   You however might rate it higher, but I think 7 is fair. 

For more information go to the  Wikipedia link HERE

REVIEW: Terminator - Genisis

Well, I got a chance to watch the newest incarnation (maybe the last?)  of the Terminator series Terminator Genisis.  This film was, I suspect, meant to tie up
loose ends. However according to the Wikipedia, Genisis is the first of three.

I don't want to give too much away as some may not have seen the film. (if you have see the film, check out Genisis on the Wikipedia site for info, you may
have missed.

I really liked the masterful use of Terminator 1 and 2, but you have got to see how they missed the mark on the time line.  If you are going to set the timeline
in 1, continue it in 2 with 3 and 4 playing around the edges of the time-line  (all though 4, took some liberties that left me wanting) only to have Genesis pretty much throw it all out.....and ageing?  really?!

I like the idea of bringing back Arnold, he really owns the Terminator 850.  I
could say more about Sarah, John and Reese but again, I am getting too close to
a spoiler.......

The movie isn't bad but isn't stunningly good either.  I would give it a 7.

Review: Pixels

I got a chance to watch Pixels on DVD recently on recommendation of a friend.  The recommendation was 

based on the movie having some science fiction elements. Which I will concede that it had in spades. 

What I wasn't told was that the film was banal, derivative and redundant. 

What is wrong with Adam Sandler? Him and his dream production team of Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe 

and others certainly got the job done, but should this turd even been attempted. First how far are 

we suppose to buy into Kevin James as President of the United States?!!  And how many times are we to

be subjected to the worn thin plot device of Aliens receiving age old tv shows and take them as a 

declaration of war?

Elements of Science Fiction? Yeah, ok.  But more like 100% brown stinker. 

If you want 106 minutes of totally mindless diversion, this might do the trick. Otherwise, put the 

movie down and back away slowly you can watch the trailer online which is all the best parts anyway.

Wes Craven Passes Due to Brain Cancer

Wes Craven, horror movie director par_excellence has died due to brain cancer, Sunday August 30 2015.

Famous for his Freddie Kruger - Nightmare on Elm St. movie, Red Eye and a host of others, in the words of Robert Englund: Hollywood's lost a rare species in Wes Craven. The true Gentleman.

Review: Jupiter Ascending

 Cast

Mila Kuni as Jupiter Jones

Channing Tatum as Caine 

Sean Bean as Stinger 

Apini Douglas Booth as Titus Abrasax 

Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Famulus 

Terry Gilliam as the Seal and Signet Minister 

Charlotte Beaumont as Kiza 

Tim Pigott-Smith as Malidictes 

Edward Hogg as Chicanery 

Night Nikki 

Amuka-Bird as Diomika Tsing 

Vanessa Kirby as Katharine Dunlevy 

Maria Doyle Kennedy as Aleksa 

Christina Cole as Gemma Chatterjee 

The main plot revolves around Mila Kuni in the guise of Jupiter Jones, a cleaning woman who is disenchanted with her lot in life.  At least that is what I could glean from the first third of the film.  The plot seems to jump forwards and back in time, while characters come and go and change. 

It seems there is a worm hole in Jupiter's atmosphere  that is used by the "owner of Earth" to come and go as he pleases.  

I would love to tell you how much I loved this movie.  The CGI is great, costumes make sense and the special effects are mind bending.  But it is all attached to  an extraordinarily confusing screenplay. I really can not, in good conscience,  recommend Jupiter Ascending, its confusing, hard to follow and the end results are an unwatchable film. 

In best out of 10, I can only give it a five for visuals.  Maybe rent it if you are still curious, otherwise, just walk away.....


Additional comments by Kallimus

Have to agree. 99 cent movie rental at best. Don't waste even 2.99 on this one. Wait for it to show up for free, or a very cheap rental. Right on every count there. It should have been a great movie, and maybe would have been, if they had done it in two parts or so. A fair comparison I think would be trying to shove all three lord of the rings into one movie, and try to understand it then. Agree 110% on this one. 

Short Proof of Concept Film "Sundays" by Mischa Rozema

Wow, check this short out that I found while perusing some of my favorite sites.

On Sploid, this is the blurb they wrote about this short:

•  Take a big bowl. Add one cup of The Matrix, two table spoons of Inception, and a few drops of District 9 essence. Whisk it up until even and you'll get Sundays: A proof-of-concept short film directed by Mischa Rozema that, hopefully, will soon be turned into a feature. 

I have to agree here.  The short is wonderful and is so much more than what has been said so far.  Check it out!



 


Sploid link here

Review: Wolf Children

Daughter, Yuki tells the story of her mother Hana who falls in love with a werewolf  and has two half-werewolf children with him.  Soon after the boy Ame's birth, their father is killed. 

Hana soon finds out that the children  Yuki and Ame can  switch between their human and wolf forms, and Hana has to hide them from the world.  Hana moves the family to the countryside.  

Soon Yuki is  begging her mother to let her go to school like other children. Hana accepts on the condition that Yuki keeps her werewolf nature secret.  Ame, on the other hand,  Arne is more interested in the forest, and spends most of his time in the forest, learning about survival in the wild.

The film ends as Yuki ends her narration describing Ame's choice to remain in the forest, as a wolf while Yuki moves back to the city where Yuki  is now a teen entering Jr. high school.  And Hana, living alone in the old house in the country, reflects on her life with the wolf children as magical. 

I really got lucky getting a chance to view this fine anime movie.  It really is magical.   The wolf here are very believable much as those in Wolf's Rain say.  Director Mamoru Hosoda could have gone for the cheap tear jerker but instead deftly and calmly  slides through the high moment as well, leaving the viewer calm but interested in what comes next.   All but for the end, when you realize that people that you have come to appreciate in the few short minutes you have been with them, are drawing nie. Because it is ultimately a good feeling ending, one where you wish all, best of luck. 

How would I rate Wolf Children?  There has to be a 9 out of 10 in the mix,  Spirited Away is in the same block, as is The Girl who Leaped  Through Time  to mane only a few.   My suggestion would be to find it and watch it.  If you like anime and like a well crafted  anime movie,  then you really can not go wrong with Wolf Children.

review:Earth to Echo

Review: Earth to Echo

Directed by Dave Green

Starring

Teo Halm as Alex Nichols
Brian "Astro" Bradley as Tuck Simms
Reese Hartwig as Reginald "Munch" Barrett
Ella Wahlestedt as Emma

Review: The Maze Runner

The Lord of the Flies Meets Peter Pan meets the Island of Dr. Moreau.  Where the island/maze is the Roman Colosseum, oh and throw Central Park in for good measure.  Oh wait....do I hear echos of the Hunger Games?  and OMG yes "The Prisoner" but maybe to older version.  You will get the meaning of these oblique references as the movie progresses.  Honest

Directed by     Wes Ball

Starring

    Dylan O'Brien as Thomas 
    Kaya Scodelario as Teresa
    Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Newt
    Will Poulter as Gally
    Ki Hong Lee as Minho
    Aml Ameen as Alby
    Blake Cooper as Chuck
    Randall D. Cunningham as Clint
    Joe Adler as Zart


Thomas wakes from a troubled sleep to discover he is inside what appears to be an ancient freight elevator traveling up at a fair rate.  

When the car halts Thomas is lifted unceremoniously out to discover that not only does he not have a memory  (No one has any memory of the past)  but he now is in the hands of rag tag group of young males living in a small "Glade"  which is surrounded by impossibly high walls, punctuated by equally high "gates".

Each morning a gate/door opens to a "maze" then closes at night.  During the day "Runners " are dispatched into the maze hopefully to return before nightfall and the closing of the Maze gates.  Because at night horrific sounds can be heard from a beast never seen but called Grievers.

The plot, substantially, appears to be the "Gladers" finding a way out, through the Maze.  Towards the climax of the film, it is revealed that all is not as it seems and the boys are in fact subjects.   Which now mean the balance of the movie is escape.

 
Maze Runner you would think would be edge of the seat excitement.  But that is not entirely the case.  This movie has got to be one of the most derivative movies I have ever seen!   The pacing is woefully slow for a film that really needs to blast along at supersonic speeds.     This was movie making by construction set.  All the director's and writer's fav scenes stitched together. 

My movie guy says he would give it 6 out of 10, I thought that harsh until I watched it....  I mean it isn't a bad film, but there was a reason it went to DVD so fast, it is just mindless entertainment.  Heavy on the mindless, bit lighter on entertainment.

review: kite (live action)

Kite  Based on Kite by Yasuomi Umetsu
Staring

India Eisley           as Sawa
Callan McAuliffe  as Oburi
Samuel L. Jackson as Karl Aker

Kite takes place in a post-financial collapse corrupt society, follows Sawa who tries to track down her parents killer with help from his ex  police partner. 

Those in the know recognize the main theme as the Kite of anime series and the anime movie.  (though the anime movie Liberator is probably the least "kite like" than any of the others)

As a general reference all three versions share talking points, but it is the live action that diverges the most.  Yes we have a female protagonist that has a sketchy memory at best.  She is a contract killer seemingly under control of a father figure, benevolent or not. The earrings are the reinforcement item and so on.  

What it comes down to is a comparison between the anime series and live action movie.   Having seen the series first I am inclined to consider it to be the benchmark.  Others may consider the movie so.  The truth is though that most found the movie to be very confusing.  Fast paced yes but many found it difficult to follow.  

Having watched the series first, I was able to follow the film for the most part.  That however did not make it a better film.  

The film IS confusing and IS difficult to follow under the best of conditions.

Editing left what I would consider important plot lines on the floor. 

So it is very very difficult to score this outing in the "Kite" series any higher than a 7.  Lots of action, which means lots of killing.......But continuity has be thrown out the window.

 

 

Review: HAL

Hal

Here is this initial setup for the movie:

• Kurumi struggles with the loss of her boyfriend, Hal, and shuts herself off from the world. She remains a recluse until an android is made to look like Hal and sent to help her cope.

From this point the audience is treated to an even paced "slice of life" which slowly pulls you in to where you buy into the plot devices completely.  

Hal maintains the premise through most of the movie.  There are the odd moments however when Hal is it would appear, reintroduced to childhood friends who are completely nonpluses when Hal doesn't recall them at all.  Now this would at first blush be expected, however it is the friends reaction that begins to be telling.  Not all is as it seems.  That mixed with an ofttimes melancholy and often tearful happiness.  

The ending moments are hardly a given.  I was privy to the concluding moments and still found myself asking why such and such a development happened.  

The film at times is cute, other times heart breathtakingly sad and through it all is woven a thread of mystery.  

I would give the movie a solid 8, I would take off some for what appears to be deliberate confusion

Review: The Machine

The Machine is a British SF thriller.  There are many plot lines running through this film, however for me the main theme is Vincent McCarthy is a scientist who's main motivation would seem to be doing research on brain implants to help brain damaged patients to function.

It soon becomes clear that his aim is to help his daughter who is severely brain damaged.

The only place where McCarthy seems to be able to do his research is in a super secret military facility where he is tasked to develop implants that will help damaged soldiers able to think and function.

McCarthy does succeed in combining implants and human into a reasonably stable cyborg, but it soon becomes clear that the computing needs to go to a much higher level.

Researcher Ava is recruited after demonstrating her work in AI. Ava however is killed after voicing her suspicions that the men she is working with are being treated inhumanly.   McCarthy then uses scans of her brain in a cyborg that resembles Ava.  He soon discovers that Machine may be self aware.

Of course this is only half of the movie, but by this time you are fully vested in Machine, McCarthy and his daughter's fates.  The action soon becomes non stop as Machine is trained in various deadly
martial arts.  But the downside for me was so many of the plot lines just seem to fall away or are not developed clearly.  The bad guys are singularly evil where Machine is supposed to be part of the "good" guys but manages to do most of the killing in the movie.

By this point the movie has fallen into well worn tracks of evil government, questionable science and completely predictable ending.

The sets and locals really lend to the menace of the film. The photography and writing are different enough to hold your interest.

Caity Lotz is certainly beguiling as both Ava and The Machine.

However all the good parts don't hold together well enough to sustain the movie.

I would give the film a 6 or maybe a 7 out of 10.  The menace is there and the action is great, but together they do not hold the movie together.

Batmobile from Batman vs Superman

The Verge online magazine has, it seems, acquired  pictures of the new Batmobile.   Much larger than a standard car and really looking more like an armored fighting vehicle from a branch of the armed forces than any kind of "mobile", but then that seems to be the way the BM (sorry couldn't resist) seems to be morphing.

The rest of the shots are on the Verge  HERE

Review: The Amazing Spiderman 2

 

 Spiderman2  Ok, first I have to bitch... First off, I just finished watching the DVD of The Amazing Spiderman2.  Now, someone wishing to sow confusion would ask why I waited so long when 3 has been out for so long?  Really? When did 3 appear? Why 2007!  How can that be, 2 just came out in 2014! Ahh you see, it's all about the Amazing! If you were part of the not Amazing Spiderman 2 you were released in 2004.  Now if you WERE Amazing you were released in 2014.  What does this all mean?  Well they had to be paying attention, but it sure led to confusion, at least on my part.  Maybe we can call them Toby and non-Toby Spidermans.  Well, they could have done better.  Stan draggin his feet maybe?   Oh and speaking of dragging, didn't his Hitchcock moment drag on!

Ok, on to the movie.  Two hour and twenty two minutes is the runtime of TASM2 but there is so MUCH action that it is the fastest 2 1/2 hours your going to experience.   The movie STARTS with a brutal fight and plane crash and then segues into some of the best Spiderman web slinging that I have ever seen.  I am serious!  There are flips, twirls, and dives that would make flying suit enthusiasts green.  Plus, Spiderman IS Spiderman!  The moves, the wisecracking really are spot on.  The crew for this movie have again set the visual effects bar, award winningly high.  

But I have to say, the characters took a back seat.  Parker again suffers angst on choosing between his two loves as does Mary Jane.  Oh and Sally Fields needs to slap someone.  Hey kids, this woman is character in the finest sense of the word.  How about we learn to write for actors with talent huh?

The plot is a bit confusing just because there seems to be too much of it.  Subplots abound.  Now in a comic, that is fine,  but a movie that is frenetic in the extreme, well, it is damn hard to follow at times. 

I have got to give credit where credit is due.  I have seen so many of these movies take the cheap shot tear jerker route, just to eat up time.  TASM2 by contrast kept this to a minimum.  I think it made for a better movie. 

Overall I would say that there is much more to recommend in this movie than to pass on.  It is a definite watch for spidey fans, where ever you are.

Here is the wikipedia article for those who are interested  HERE

Review: Robocop (2014)

Robocop  starring:

    Joel Kinnaman as Alex Murphy

    Gary Oldman as Dr. Dennett Norton,
    Michael Keaton as Raymond Sellars, 

    Samuel L. Jackson as Patrick "Pat" Novak, host of The Novak Element 

If you have seen the original Robocop movie starring Peter Weller then you know the basic premise of this robocop.   Of course there are minor differences in say how Murphy is injured and used in the robocop program.  Also some interesting differences on how Murphy reacts to the suit.   Even the environment is a subtle (well maybe not to subtle) changes.  

Murphy is played much more human.   Even the "body" armor is less threatening, (except maybe for one short interlude)  Even the "corporate bad guys" seem much more rounded than in previous incarnations.  The one character that stands out as two dimensional was the great character actor Samuel L. Jackson.  His Pat Novack television   commenter is almost humorous in it vile spewing right wing(if you could truly call it that) commenter is fairly obviously a compilation of  several radio and television  personalities.  

It is also obvious what a budget 10 times as much as the original and almost 3 decades of film making magic can do to even a less complex theme as Robocop.  The CGI is stunningly good in its execution and integration, to the point that you wonder at times is Kinnaman wearing an appliance or is it cgi.   I have a feeling that most of the "suit" effects are cgi.....

There are moment that the movie tries to pluck at your heart strings, honestly they fail miserably.  I don't think it is for lack of trying, because the original Robocop, for all intents, tried the same thing with the same results.  It fails because of a really simple idiom - You can't have your cake and eat it too.  Both camps worked very hard to get us to invest in Murphy as a "robot" and wrest it away with some ill conceived and awkwardly executed "human moments"  just didn't work for me.

But the action scenes.... Because Murphy is a bit retro, in that there are already humaniform  robot officers who already patrol the streets of other countries and it is the training sessions and later breaking up drug and arms dealers that is more than enough for the action junkies.  (though if we are going to be honest, these were generic as well. ) 

Overall I think the 2014 version rises to the challenge of the original 1987 version.   If you have seen that version and liked it....you will be ecstatic with this offering, even if you hadn't seen the original, if you like running gun battles, high speed motorcycle chases and iconic one - liners, then this film is tailor-made for you. 

To be honest, I would rate Robocop a 7.  Nothing really new here and throwing 10 times the budget at this product didn't really net 10 times the movie.  The star power wasted on this film is what disturbed me.   Oldman, Jackson and Keaton are very recognizable names and more than likely drew a hefty paycheck.  To then under utilize (I guess, except Jackson) them is difficult to understand.  Keaton of course is miss-cast, Oldman would have been a better choice (though the researcher was a much more interesting character....so....hell, I don't know what I am talking about)

And so,  If I were reviewing for the big screen, I could not in good conscience tell you to blow the best part of a $20,  but as a $5 or less rental...yeah, break out the popcorn and turn on the surround sound.   

Review: Summer Wars

Summer Wars

Animated Anime Feature 114 minutes

Mamoru Hosoda director

Our anime guru Justin has come through again with a really timeless anime film called Summer Wars.   From the director who did the wonderful film The Girl Who Jumped Through Time.

First thing is to imagine a large social media program like Facebook combined with with something like Second Life.   The program itself is the basis for a virtual world called Oz.  This meeting place has grown from a simple place to play games or to talk to people, to a huge multi-faceted  world where much of daily life takes place.  Work and leisure, take place in the virtual settings of OZ and the film's layers all revolve around this virtual world.

The main theme is this virtual world is compromised by a mysterious person.  As a result, much of the infrastructure in Japan begins to crumble.

At the same time we have a young high-school student being exposed to a large extended family of really unique individuals.  The dynamics of several of the family members is what keeps the movie entertaining as well as intriguing.

I really don't want to give away to much of the plot because how this film progresses as the main character becomes more involved with them is the dynamic of what makes this very unique film, immensely entertaining. The plot moves along very well and the animation is very good.  I would put this piece of anime in a class that would contain films like Spirited Away, The Girl Who Jumped Through Time  or Steamboy, it really is that good.

I would give Summer Wars a conditional must see.  It is very entertaining  but sometimes you get the feel that you are watching a good anime serial instead of a stand alone film, but that is certainly not anything that should  keep you from seeing this film.   

Short SF Film: Payload

Well it is no mystery now that I like Sci-Fi films and have a soft place (wait for it) in my heart (ha!) for the short venue.

So I came across this one while perusing through my article listings.  The premise is a dystopian future (not necessarily Earth) in the slums that have sprung up around the base of a space elevator.  The black market currency is..... well, you will find out.  

I would take a look at this short for sure.