Category Archives: CGI

Action, Action Adventure, Adventure, CGI, Drama, Movie Reviews, Movies

REVIEW: “GRAN TURISMO” (2023) SONY PICTURES

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Unfortunately, if you’re a fan of racing “GRAN TURISMO” from director Neill Blomkamp will probably not be your film as you can see the glaring holes in this too-good-to-be-true story of a gamer who becomes a race car driver overnight by winning a contest. Now I don’t mind liberties taken with films, but outright untruths are ridiculous. Things like no practice, no qualifying, how many clutch gear-changes were shown when these haven’t been used in race cars for decades! Again, don’t try to fool real race fans this badly.

The real Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), wasn’t from the first class of GT Academy SIM winners to have gone from gamer to actual racing and he was not part of the Nissan team to get a podium win. Lucas Ordóñez from Spain was – and he raced for Nissan in 2009, as well as secured a podium win on his first ever event competition. In reality – Mardenborough was one of the winners of the GT Academy competition in 2011 and that same year, became eligible to race on actual cars. He had already competed in seven professional events so by that time, so he joined the Nissan team in 2013. Essentially, the entire movie’s emphasis on raw talent making it big overnight makes you feel like some random kid can win a game and become a pro-race driver – something that takes years of hard work and yes, loads of time and money. But those are the pesky facts and the issue for me personally as a Formula 1 racing fan with the taking of such dramatic license is that the viewer shouldn’t be this mislead that a video game simulator player can just transition so quickly to real life racing when in factual life, it would be completely unsafe and unrealistic.

Now that that my pesky facts are out of the way, let’s get into the film itself. A lot of the action sequences in the first half were disappointingly brief. The entirety of the first act and parts of the second seemed somewhat disorganized, transitioning quickly from scene to scene, giving the impression that they were rushing through story elements, almost as if they were trying to quickly check off various plot points to hurry towards the uplifting part of the narrative. The racing was a mixed bag, at times absorbing you in how intense it was but often it felt like some races ended too abruptly. Of course, it’s impossible to show an entire race within a movie’s scope, yet for the pivotal races, the execution was still fairly good and it got better by the end. Once the movie finds its heart and essence, you’re drawn in more, not just the thrill of the action but also the emotional resonance. As for the CGI, the intention is clearly behind giving it a gaming vibe, but still a little unsure about it for the racing as other films have done it better.

David Harbour as Jack Salter brings to the table his best Christian Horner (Red Bull) & Toto Wolff (Mercedes Benz), impersonations here and delivers a fairly strong performance, with the interactions between him and Jann standing out more than the racing scenes in some parts. Although David’s acting was good throughout, Madewake was his best when they were sharing the screen at the middle point of the film – in the beginning, his gaming acting was on the cheesy, annoying side, but he picked it up as the character became more rounded out. Djimon Hounsou as Jann’s dad Steve Mardenborough is sadly lackluster throughout, but to be honest, he wasn’t given the proper material. The character of Danny Moore – team executive/recruiter is played by Orlando Bloom – and while Bloom has never been Oscar worthy, this performance is a new low and brings the film down another grade notch to film adding to a few other lackluster performances within it.  A few of highlights were none other than Ginger Spice herself, Geri Halliwell aka Geri Horner – yes, that Christian Horner’s real-life wife and here she plays wife/mother Lesley Mardenborough. A few other notables supporting roles are Takehiro Hira, Darren Barnet, and Daniel Puig as Jann’s brother Colby.

Josha Stradowski as racing rival Nicholas Capa, was decent enough, seemingly tailor-made for the role of an egotistic douchebag. Apart from David Harbour, much of the cast seemed to be underused, particularly Bloom and Hounsou. Djimon, a good actor, could have been better utilized if the father character had been more effectively written, allowing for a deeper dive of the family dynamic. The film touches on a few things but only scratches the surface; like the beef with the rich guys portrayed as the story’s antagonists, although the film really wasn’t the kind of film that truly needed an outright villain so another failed dramatic license taken. Without all this, it could have freed up more time to concentrate on aspects like the father-son relationship, which had a pivotal moment that didn’t have the desired impact due to insufficient emotional buildup.

The movie as well, does take a while to establish its rhythm and pacing but once it finds its footing, it can be enjoyable at moments. Despite solid performances, the movie lacks conviction and feels like an overblown ad for PlayStation and/or Gran Turismo games It’s a shame the producers decided to also mish mash the true events and true racing talents to give us this composite. And yes, the film does feel a bit like a ‘Rocky-on-the-racetrack kinda movie – only ‘Rocky’ was Oscar worthy.

Grade: C-

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“GRAN TURISO” FROM SONY PICTURES IS OUT IN THEATERS FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 2023

Review Screening: Monday, August 7,2023 ~ Courtesy of Sony Pictures

Action, Action Adventure, Adventure, CGI, Movie Reviews, Movies

REVIEW: “INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY” (2023) DISNEY/LUCAS FILMS

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“They look like snakes.”

“INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY” faces the daunting task of living up to its legendary name and the infamous Indiana Jones trilogy, which as we know is regarded in some circles as one of the greatest film series of all time. Then there is this. “They look like snakes.” It’s such a simple line of dialogue, yet after 42 years and four previous movies, we know exactly what that means to retiring archaeology professor, Dr. Henry Jones (Harrison Ford), best known to all as our infamous adventurer Indiana Jones.

(L-R): Teddy (Ethann Isidore), Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) in Lucasfilm’s INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

As the final chapter of the beloved franchise comes to and end with “Dial of Destiny,” this entry is the first one not directed by the legendary Steven Spielberg (listed here as an Executive Producer). Instead, director James Mangold takes the reins, and shares writing credit with his frequent collaborators Jez Butterworth and John Henry Butterworth, as well as “Indiana Jones” veteran David Koepp. Of course, George Lucas and Philip Kaufman receive credit for their original characters.

With Harrison Ford donning the now familiar hat and whip at 80 years old, yet he still possesses some of the screen persona and magnetism that first won us over in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. The extended and frenetic opening sequence finds a young Indy (Ford is digitally de-aged for the sequence), at the tail end of WWII fighting Nazis over what else, a prized ancient artifact. I’ll leave the specifics to those who watch the film, but just know that it’s an interesting historical choice, as there is always one thing these films have done well – give you an input into just an inkling of how horrid the Nazi’s really were and are.

(Clockwise from right): Colonel Weber (Thomas Kretschmann) and Doctor Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) in Lucasfilm’s IJ5. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



Working alongside Indy in the opening sequence is his friend and fellow archaeologist, Basil Shaw (Toby Jones). However, the fun part might just be seeing Nazi Col. Weber (Thomas Kretschmann) and Dr. Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), as they share their diabolical scenes respectively along with a good helping of Nazi punches. Although Mikkelsen’s character gets significant screen time and plays a crucial role in how the story unfolds and concludes – he is also digitally de-aged for the opening sequence.

The story picks up with modern day Dr. Voller and his band of deviant Nazi’s with Klaber (Boyd Holbrook), being his right-hand man, as they are tracking down the relic and disturbing Dr. Jones’ retirement party. It’s at this point where Indy’s god-daughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), pops up creating a three-way battle for the priceless relic. This sets off a chain of events that leads them on a global trek to desert, sea, and hallowed cities of antiquity. Helena’s partner in crime is young Teddy (Ethann Isidore), who is clearly the scrapper of the bunch. Dr. Voller’s troupe includes the misguided Mason (Shaunetta Renee Wilson), the sleazy Klaber, and Hauke (Olivier Richters), as one of the largest bodyguards you’ve ever seen.

Renaldo (Antonio Banderas) in Lucasfilm’s IJ5. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

Not to be overshadowed, John Williams’ timeless score sweeps through the film with an air of grandeur, resonating with audiences from the first iconic notes. The music effortlessly transports viewers into the adventurous world of Indiana Jones, sending chills down their spines and setting the stage for a captivating journey. Fans of the franchise know that the story is secondary to the characters and action, and there is no shortage of action on speeding trains, galloping horses, motorcycles, tuk tuks, vintage airplanes, and scuba dives. Antonio Banderas shows up in a beautiful little role, (reminiscent of the old boat capitan in “The Old Man and The Sea), as Renaldo, a boat-owning old friend of Indy, but it’s the appearance of series favorites John Rhys-Davies as Sallah, and still beautiful and wonderful, Karen Allen as Marion, that generates the loudest cheers from the audience.

Waller-Bridge starts off pulling a Bryce Dallas Howard in Jurassic Park by leaping New York City apartment rooftops in heels – come on, no one does that or can do that. She does end up growing on you a bit more as the film moves along, but honestly the duo of her and Ford lack the real chemistry he has had with so many of his other co-stars of the franchise. She isn’t terrible at all; you just never buy their relationship for entirely. Mads Mickelson is well… Mads. As always, he is the perfect villain and as reliable as ever. He always delivers, so no complaints at all on his delicious performance here that is maybe, and this is a big maybe, only secondary to Ethann Isadore’s – who quite literally steals every scene he is in. His scrappy character is loveable and humorous, as well as the sturdy side-kick that surpasses his accomplice in crime – Waller-Bridges, at all times here.

(L-R): Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and Teddy (Ethann Isidore) in Lucasfilm’s INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

What is seen here is a film made by a director who understood the what he was going into, as well as respects, and enjoys this character. He crafted a hearty adventure story that adds depth to Jones and sends him off fondly althought not perfectly, which is just what maybe we all needed. The story’s ambition requires a LOT of CGI, and it’s more noticeable than it should be at times. You do realize as well that at times that you are watching an 80-year-old man run, and you again realize maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but there are just the right number of jokes made about said age to make it not to be taken seriously.

At times this feels like a live action cartoon, and that’s not meant as criticism. It’s pure fun, fantasy, and adventure cloaked in nostalgia; and the film is a fitting conclusion to a world class franchise. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” serves as a bittersweet but delightful swansong for Harrison Ford’s iconic hero. While not without its flaws, the film embraces its imperfections and delivers an enjoyable experience that fans will appreciate. It often feels like a lovingly crafted “greatest hits” compilation, featuring familiar set pieces and relationships with a fresh twist. And you know what? That’s perfectly fine.

Grade: C+

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“INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY” FROM DISNEY PICTURES IS OUT IN THEATERS FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 2023

Review Screening: Wednesday, June 14, 2023 ~ Courtesy of Disney/Lucas Film.

Action, Action Adventure, Adventure, CGI, DC Comics, Fantasy, Movie Reviews, Movies

REVIEW: “THE FLASH” (2023) WARNER BROS.

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Warner Bros. and DC Studios have faced a long and challenging road in bringing “THE FLASH” to the big screen. With various director dropouts, multiple production delays, and some shocking headlines about the film’s lead, the film hasn’t had what you would call an easy journey. And yet, here we are. Rather here I am talking about a film that did something not many films have been able to do – it made me cry at the end.

Directed by Andy Muschietti, “THE FLASH” follows Barry Allen (Ezra Miller), as he travels back in time to change the events of the past and this time, they are twice the trouble. However, when that attempt, made with nothing but the best intentions, to save his family inadvertently alters the future, he becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod (Michael Shannon), has returned, threatening world annihilation. With no other superheroes in this new timeline to turn to, Flash/Allen looks to coax a very different than the one he is used to (Ben Affleck) Bruce Wayne/Batman (Michael Keaton), out of retirement. The new/old Batman has stark reservations over Barry’s idea, despite sharing childhood tragedies. This is all to rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian — albeit not the one he’s looking for.

Michael Keaton as Batman (middle), Ezra Miller as The Flash (left) and Ezra Miller as Barry Allen (right)

The Flash manages to balance a lot of elements, including a large cast of characters, with nods to the comic-book storyline, and a bunch of complex multiverse elements. Giving us enough background here and there to remember where we last left off and despite all of the goings on in the background, Muschietti manages to deliver a decent cohesive story that never feels overwhelming or disjointed. Despite the movie’s high-octane action sequences and fast-paced storyline, the emotional aspects are never overlooked. Humour, drama, and heart, are neatly balanced making the audience invested in Barry’s journey and maybe even rooting for him along the way.

Moving on to the cast, Ezra Miller’s performance as Barry Allen/The Flash is quite good. There are moments when you feel “Damn he is so good here right now” but it’s also hard at those exact moments to not experience all his personal real-life problems enter your thoughts as well. Maybe that’s just me, I don’t know. Doing my best to separate the two while watching as Miller breathes new life into this iconic character, giving him with a sense of relatability and vulnerability that makes the character, not the actor, more likeable than one would think. Playing not one but two versions of Barry Allen with distinct personalities and character arcs, Miller delivered completely different performances for each of them. The ability to differentiate and bring unique traits to each side of the characters so that they never felt like the same person, and each added something key to the film. Being tasked with playing an alternate, younger Barry for much of the movie isn’t an easy thing to do, and Miller truly does well at this playing well into his endearing awkwardness and bumbling charm. Despite Miller’s disturbing string of personal scandals, you will find he’s possibly one of the best things about the film – that is – if you can separate the art from the artist.

As for the supporting cast, Michael Keaton’s return as The Batman is undoubtedly a highlight. The actor delivers a darker look at the Batman we all remember as an older Bruce Wayne/Batman, and he’s clearly having a lot of fun with his return as the caped crusader. I think almost anyone who sees this film can agree, when he utters the words “I’m Batman;” there is a chill sent down your spine to be had. Sasha Calle is more than impressive as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl, although we don’t spend as much time with the character as one would’ve liked, she is hypnotizing in her portrayal. As well as being a total badass, Calle brings a level of vulnerableness and sensitivity to the character that makes her instantly captivating, and she shares some touching moments with Miller’s Barry Allen character. Oddly, the least compelling character here is Michael Shannon as Zod. As much I as I j’adore Shannon and pretty much everything he has ever done in his career, this felt like a phoned in performance. Almost like he clearly didn’t want to be there and his character arc as the villain was the least impressive thing about this film. Your villain can make or break a movie and he made barely did it adequately here so maybe it’s lucky he isn’t featured as a main character.

So, while Shannon’s performance as the villain doesn’t knock you out, The Flash does do a good job of showcasing Barry’s powers, with action sequences highlighting the powers in creative ways, from dodging bullets and phasing through walls to simply punching bad guys and saving lives. All the while ‘teaching’ the other Barry how to use these same powers offers the films moments of comedy as well. While the action scenes are slightly let down by some messy cheap looking CGI, by 2023 standards at least some of the computer graphics in here look a bit phony and almost cartoon-like at times. Even with all that, there are more than a few sequences in here that might just leave you on the edge of your seat.

With some great action sequences and relentless narrative, The Flash can be a fast-paced, exhilarating ride. However, the film could’ve benefited from slowing down in certain moments to allow the audience to fully appreciate the character development and emotional beats. Certain scenes or plot points fly by too quickly, leaving little time to at moments to connect with the characters or fully grasp the weight of the situation. Had the film taken a bit more time to slow down and explore these moments in greater detail, it could have elevated the depth of the story and made for a more well-rounded and probably for many, a more satisfying watch.

Going back to the CGI briefly as although the film is one of the biggest and most expensive of the year, a lot of the CGI falls short in a very noticeable way. While certain scenes are nicely done with the CGI working alongside the camera to create the visuals, others look like video game cutouts or effects from the early 2000s. It’s a shame that it does fall as short as it detracts from the overall watch and prevents the audience from fully immersing themselves in the story.

It would also be remiss to not mention all the cameos – of which there are so many some just aren’t meant to be spoiled – though that seems to be de rigueur amongst the haters on social media. Even if you hate it, don’t spoil films for others – it’s not a good look. Ever. And while some made me gasp, and some made me smile – however you feel about it all is up to each individual. For me, the reveal at the end of Barry with his mother Nora Allen (Maribel Verdú) was the one that broke me. If you’ve lost your mother – than this too will probably resonate and hit you as well.

Despite a few pacing issues and some of the not so good CGI for a movie of this size, The Flash delivers a decent watch experience that with more heart than expected and balances the humour and action. BUT… it also falls into many time travel, multiverse formulas that can drag the rather predictable story at times. Overall, it’s a mixed bag that was enjoyable enough – if you can separate the art of film from the lead actor of the film.

Stay for the end credits.. and by end..I mean all the way through all of it.

Grade: B-

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“THE FLASH” FROM WARNER BROS PICTURES IS OUT IN THEATERS FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 2023

Review Screening: Tuesday, June 13, 2023 ~ Courtesy of Warner Bros.

1990's, Action, Action Adventure, Adventure, CGI, Movie Reviews, Movies, Music, Sci Fi

REVIEW: TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEAST (2023) PARAMOUNT PICTURES

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The essence of the ‘90s is captured in Director Steven Caple Jr.’s new venture into this franchise with “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”. Going into this venture felt wildly out of place as not usually a film franchise I could say I loved. Walking out of it was a whole different story as the entire screening audience gave it a whopping applause upon its ending, myself included.

MIRAGE and Anthony Ramos in PARAMOUNT PICTURES and SKYDANCE “TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS”

Maybe it’s my love for Anthony Ramos as an actor, but this film highly entertains and in all the best ways. The opening scene is a mixed bag of loud robots and not understanding it completely, gives and initial “oh no” feeling. But those went immediately away as the real story begins in New York City circa 1994 – six years after the events in Bumblebee. As we are first introduced to Noah (Anthony Ramos), a proud New Yorker, ex-military, tech wiz trying to make ends meet by setting up illegal cable boxes for his friends. Out of a job, and trying to provide for his hard-working mother Breanna (Luna Lauren Velez), and younger brother Kris (Dean Scott Vasquez), who is battling sickle-cell anemia, his desperation leads him to attempt to stealing a fancy car. As luck would have it, the car he chooses is a actually a Transformer named Mirage (v/o Pete Davidson), which places Noah smack dab in the middle of the conflict between Autobots and a planet destroyer bot called the Unicron (v/o Colman Domingo).

Our other lead human on board this film is Elena (Dominique Fishbeck), a museum curator who finds an artifact that awakens Unicron’s henchman Scourge (v/o Peter Dinklage), which gives him the power to locate all the bots on Earth. With Optimus Prime (v/o Peter Cullen) and the voice-less Bumblebee back, the main revelation is a new robot species of Transformers called the Maximals. They are giant metal animals and include a gorilla named Optimus Primal (v/o Ron Perlman), a rhino named Rhinox (v/o David Sobolov), and a killer eagle named Airazor (v/o Michelle Yeoh). With the goal being completely apparent that it will be their job to save Earth, get the Autobots back to their home of Cybertron, and do it all before everything is destroyed.

L-r. RHINOX, WHEELJACK, OPTIMUS PRIME, MIRAGE, CHEETOR, ARCEE, OPTIMUS PRIMAL and Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS”

Whew! In case you haven’t guessed, yeah, there is a lot going on here – and to keep track of it all seems daunting, but while it’s happening, you just do. And you have so much fun while doing so. The third act’s action set piece is up there with Bumblebee’s and the only real miss is that opening segment. But with possibly the best soundtrack of a film all year, all wrapped up with robots, you’ve got yourself some fun entertainment.  With stylistic needle-drop moments on the soundtrack packing in tracks from Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest and more, including the roaring rumbling score by Jongnic Bontemps, all comes together to bring 90’s hip-hop to the forefront. But the absolute highlight is by far LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out”, being overlayed a brutal bot fight scene that not only perfectly times and fits the scenes, but adds so much and then more.

The visual effects however, although overwhelming in the climactic battle, still manage a ‘wow’ factor with seamless transformations that look impressive. Far from perfect, Rise of the Beasts sticks to the basics of action blockbusters and focuses on getting them right, making it an enjoyable entry that pushes the Transformer franchise in the right direction. With the snappy dialogue, colossal fight scenes and even some tender moments — Rise of the Beasts has all the ingredients of a summer blockbuster.

Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback star in PARAMOUNT PICTURES and SKYDANCE “TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS”

Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback do a great job with their characters and their chemistry working on-screen is truly wonderful. While some of the characters we don’t see as much as maybe we’d like, the film is full of names and Pete Davidson as Mirage might just have stolen the show. But as noted, the true star is without a doubt the soundtrack stacking up to any film yet this year, and that is stating a lot as there have been some gems out there. The ending is spot on and even though it’s setting up for the next one, it could almost be a stand-alone and yet still, it’s the music and you just can’t get past how the music in the movie is so fire.

Lastly, it’s just plain fun. Period.

Grade: B

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“TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEAST” FROM PARAMOUNT PICTURES IS OUT IN THEATERS FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 2023

Review Screening: Friday, June 2, 2023 ~ Courtesy of LAFTV Film Group

Action, Action Adventure, Adventure, CGI, Crime, Movie Reviews, Movies

REVIEW: FAST X (2023) UNIVERSAL PICTURES

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Harkening back to the days of old when the Fast franchise first started Tyrese was still a supermodel,Ludacris was still a rapper and Jason Momoa was running around shirtless on the beaches of Baywatch – Here, Fast X begins 10 years in the past making it the end of Fast Five which was the one that found Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel), and his impromptu family pulling off a heist against Brazilian drug lord Hernan Reyes (Joaquin de Almeida). Turns out Reyes had a son, Dante (Jason Momoa), who has spent the last decade growing up planning an extravagant scheme to avenge his father’s death. It also features a touching memory of how it all started including of course, the stunning Paul Walker and it truly was glory days being all about the cars. Now the “family” now possibly has more branches than Game of Thrones.

Fast X, directed by Louis Leterrier.

Similar to its predecessors in the lengthy franchise history, and its spin-offs, the benign plot is beside the point in contrast to the stunt-tastic CGI spectacles. This one is full of the usual cars action, but that’s what it’s all about – as let’s be real, no one is going to a Fast and Furious movie for the acting or the dialogue,and here is no different. There are points where the audience is laughing, but it’s more at the movie absolute ridiculous delivery of dialogue (yes, I’m looking directly at Vin Diesel here), than with it. The plot, quickly explained without spoilers, involves Dante going after the family. He lures Dom, his wife, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), and their pals Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), Han (Sung Kang), and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) to Rome, where a bomb goes off right outside the Vatican. The explosion gets pinned on them, forcing them to split up in different directions and go into hiding. Meanwhile, Dante has set his eyes on revenge with Dom and Letty’s son, Little Brian (Leo Abelo Perry), who goes on the run with Uncle Jakob (John Cena). Yep, you got it, it’s all over the place.

Back also is Mr. Nobody’s daughter Tess (Brie Larson), trying to spring Letty from a blacksite prison, where she’s being held alongside none other than ruthless cyber-terrorist Cipher (Charlize Theron), who isn’t the villian in this one. Little Nobody (Scott Eastman) is here as well; Diogo (Luis Da Silva Jr.) also as quick cameos from Queenie (Helen Mirren), Mia (Jordana Brewster), Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), and of course, Shaw (Jason Stathom). It’s like they threw everyone and then the kitchen sink in for good measure. But wait, we aren’t done – Abuelita (Rita Moreno), is also here for a quick family scene (you thought I was joking about more family sides than GOT), Bowie (Pete Davidson – yes, Pete Davidson is in it), and adding in some new supporting role faces with one of the better characters here, Aimes (Alan Ritchson), and Isabel (Daniela Melchior), a Brazilian street racer.

Jason Momoa as Dante in Fast X, directed by Louis Leterrier.

The film takes you from Los Angeles, to London, to Brazil to Rome and location-wise, it’s all done fairly well. The biggest addition by far is Jason Momoa, as he takes what would usually be just another running on fumes ending – channels his inner Jack Nicholson, and blasts this villain role right out of the full ham sandwich, flamboyant sociopathic park. He brings this whole film up a plus level grade all on his own and makes it worth the watch. The film pretty much ends telling you what to expect next and even though they claimed this is the last of the Fast & Furious many, many incarnations – it will most likely go on for many years to come in various forms. Lastly, a little bit of a surprise plot twist at the end – a surprise guest star as well, to wrap it all up, though not as neatly as one would think.

As usual..stay for the credits.

Grade: C+

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“FAST X” FROM UNIVERSAL PICTURES IS OUT IN THEATERS FRIDAY, MAY 19, 2023

Review Screening: Monday, May 15, 2023 ~ Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Action, Action Adventure, CGI, Comedy, Marvel Comics, Movie Reviews, Movies, Super Hero

REVIEW: “GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3” (2023) DISNEY/MARVEL STUDIOS

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Good superhero movies are hard to make with the market for them as oversaturated as it is. And for me, it is a bit harder as it’s hard keep them all straight, and now along with all the different universes, you have to watch a TV show to understand them. It feels like work at times rather than just plain fun to watch a film. But “GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY“ series has never felt that way for me from it’s first film to now it’s last with “GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3” attempts to do the one thing that most MCU trilogies have failed at: giving all of its characters a satisfying ending. While many of the plots are similar in all these films, here in it’s last outing, they threw a bit of a wrench into it all. So it’s not going to be a spoiler to say that director James Gunn made it a Rocket Raccoon – centric story.

Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) in Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2023 MARVEL.

The film finds the opening reintroducing the ensemble rebuilding their lives in a post-Thanos world, with team leader Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), in a dark place wallowing in drunken self-pity over losing girlfriend Gamora (Zoe Saldaña). Like the previous two Guardians films, it opens with a song. This time however, it’s not the usual uplifting song or classic rock song hit, but a very somber version of Radiohead’s Creep, that is set over a walking sequence of Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper), alone making his way throughout Knowhere. While the rest of the Guardians; Gamora’s step-sister, Nebula (Karen Gillan), single worded vocabulary tree-creature Groot (Vin Diesel), dimwitted but loveable Drax (Dave Bautista), and empath with the antennas, Mantis (Pom Klementieff), are all turning to a more connected type group while others, not so much.

Initially, everything seems to be going okay for the Guardians, all things considered. That is until Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), son of Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki), suddenly attacks Knowhere. If you remember as honestly I did not and someone had to tell me, but they had vowed revenge during one of several post-credits scenes in Volume 2. So Adam it seems, has been tasked to capture Rocket on the request of the man who tortured and made Rocket what he is today, the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji). Rocket is injured so badly that he lapses into a coma and his Guardian friends can’t do anything to help him without the passcode required to access his heart. And herein lies the rest of the story – which to tell you would just spoil the whole film. I’m sure you can safely assume there will be fight scenes, galactic battles, jokes and possibly a bit of romance. But while there is a process to the story, the tone of it all at times also veers all over the place with scenes of true emotion to battle scenes, with the flip of a proverbial switch. One minute you’re seeing beautiful scenes of Rocket with his friends that will just truly get to you, the next minute the High Evolutionary is going a bit hammy, screaming off his rocker and it confuses the storyline at heart. There are also some really violent scenes that seem a little off-putting as some are genuinely traumatic and honestly kind of disturbing moments. There are the jokey one-liners you’re expecting as well, along with some really corny scenes. All these moments work in separately, but put together here in GOTG Vol. 3, it’s all a bit like an orchestra being led by a conductor who’s just rolled out of bed and needs his coffee I.V. before he can swing his wand correctly.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Photo by Jessica Miglio. © 2023 MARVEL.

Needless to say it’s the animals who rule this film and along with Rocket there is a sweet one in Cosmo the Spacedog (Maria Bakalova), a telepathic Soviet canine who helps the Guardians. This is truly where the emotion kicks in and some scenes are even hard to watch as cruelty towards animals, even animated ones, are a hard watch and will even get the ‘heart of stone’ people in all the right places. Sylvester Stallone also returns though blink and you might miss him, as Stakar Ogord, who leads a team of Ravagers that includes Michael Rosenbaum as Martinex and Daniela Melchior as Ura. But they are very much side characters here.

As one would expect with the film revolving around him, the MVP must be Rocket, who is one of better developed characters in GOTG franchise to be sure. His sad backstory here is the core of this movie and it was a good choice. Pratt and Saldana are fun, but without their crazy romance chemistry, it just isn’t the same. It’s hard to pinpoint anyone here truly who does better than Bradley Cooper voicing Rocket as he gives him life here. The Adam Warlock character almost felt like a waste as he’s portrayed as a really strong character at the beginning, only to disappear to the sidelines for the whole movie, momentarily popping up here and there until the end. Sadly it seemed like Poulter ‘worked out’ for nothing, as he was just background noise. As well as villian playing Iwuji, who has strong moments, but also truly cheesy ones, leaving you trying to put your finger on if he is a really good at this villian role or not. But truly when Gunn is on form – as most notably, the truly breathtaking Beastie Boys-backed fight scene and Rocket rescuing the baby raccoons, the film works well, but there are too many moments that drag, often as a result of skewering in different directions and some comedy that doesn’t quite hit. But yet again, it’s the music that saves a movie and as per usual, the soundtrack is impecable. The music by John Murphy is epic and catchy, blending orchestral with classic rock songs that fit the tone and mood of each scene. But the icing on the cake was by far the change of soundtrack towards the end with Florence and the Machine, The update of music leading away from the usual seventies & eighties rock makes a moving scene all the more so. Kudos to that.

Cosmo (voiced by Maria Bakalova) in Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2023 MARVEL.

The film features plenty of action and explosions, but at times it feels like there are too many of them. The plot also has a few flaws, with some of the storylines feeling rushed or underdeveloped. However, there are also strengths with it – and yes, the surprisingly dark themes at times. Parents be warned here – this is not a movie for young children – honestly with some of the graphic scenery I would hesistate taking anyone under the age of thirteen hence the PG-13 rating. Still, sure, it was sweet.. and looked good… with cute characters…and it’s generally a success. Maybe tugs on the heartstrings a little too aggressively, but a lot of it works. I liked how they handled all the characters, besides what has been pointed out. The storyline is otherwise sound and it’s a pretty good end to what’s been a nice trilogy.

Grade: B

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Review Screening: Courtesy of Disney/Marvel Studios

“GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3” FROM DISNEY PICTURES/MARVEL STUDIOS IS OUT IN THEATERS FRIDAY, MAY 5, 2023

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Review: “MOONFALL” (2022) Lionsgate

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Going into director Roland Emmrich’s latest film “MOONFALL”, I kept an open mind knowing it was going to be a disaster film of some sort, expecting a dumb fun disaster film with some crazy fun set pieces. What I didn’t expect was it to be the complete disaster that it was.

To be noted, I’m not someone who will intentionally trash a film just for the sake of doing so, but this was just plain bad and there is just no way to sugar coat this plain in-your-face fact. If you go into this movie expecting anything other than cheesy acting and a preposterous story the you will be sorely disappointed.

The film’s premise is simple. The moon’s orbit is changing and making it get closer to Earth, raising the question, can Earth survive? Which doesn’t sound to bad as a whole to make a movie about as we’ve seen it before, but hey, who knows, this might be good right?! But instead the film decides is going to try to offer a cerebral and complex backstory to the moon for some reason, along with at the same time mind you, astronauts Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson), and Jocinda Fowl (Halle Berry), facing an alien while on a space mission singing “Africa” by Toto. Oh and let’s not forget the pill-popping conspiracy theorist KC Houseman (John Bradley), who of course has always wanted to be an astronaut trying to get into NASA and magically does exactly that. Then there is the car chase with Harper’s son Sonny (Charlie Plummer), and him getting thrown in jail, all the while, yes again, all at the same time then they have families that are escaping the imminent demise of Earth with tidal waves and all, mind you they are showing actual real disaster footage of tsunamis along with the inevitable CGI. Not even Michael Peña as step dad Tom Lopez, who is usually a spot on actor, can save this from complete mind numbing disaster. But it hasn’t ended, oh no it hasn’t ended, as a ten minute exposition where Harper ‘learns’ that humans actually originated from a halo ring, but then A.I. rose up and took over nanoparticles to kill humans, so the humans made 1000 moons and flew them to different parts of the galaxy. Say what now?

They literally throw the everything but kitchen sink at you including actual footage of the Endeavor space shuttle supposedly being commandeered out of the California Space Museum so it can be flown to the moon to blow up the bad alien that lives in the middle of it. And don’t get me even started on discussing the lacking of any intelligence dialogue along with just flat out bad bad acting by every single person involved in this film, not even Donald Sutherland coming in for a quick two-liner can help here.

John Bradley as KC Houseman in MOONFALL Directed by Roland Emmerich. Photo Credit: Reiner Bajo/Lionsgate

Of course you know never to take these films seriously, but as well, you do want to have some fun while watching, but instead of even laughing at the absurdity of it all, you will instead just be miserable for two hours and I honestly feel I should award myself, and anyone else points just for making it all the way through this one. I don’t think I could say not worth it in any other way but to simply state “Not Worth It.

Grade: D-

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Review Screening: Wednesday, February 2, 2022 ~ Courtesy of Lionsgate and 42West PR

“MOONFALL” hits theaters Friday, February 4, 2022

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FINAL DAY: COUNTDOWN TO THE OSCARS ~ “BEST PICTURE”

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WE ARE HERE!!! The final day of my Oscar Countdown and I’ve saved the biggest and best for last. While this is a very good slate of films, and most of them deserve to be here, for the first time ever, I don’t have a picture that I truly ‘LOVED’ this year in this category as Nocturnal Animals wasn’t nominated. I liked them all, again, some more than others, and while I still have a pick – there is no one clear choice for me. That and my pick has no chance of winning whatsoever. So with that being said…I always hope for a few fun upsets!

BEST PICTURE

Arrival
While I really enjoyed this film, one of the best Sci-Fi movies I’ve seen, but can I roll with it for best picture? nah, but it is worth a watch, especially if you like this genre. It also has a very relevent message for this day and age of politics that we now live in. It shows that hate for something or someone different, really doesn’t need to be. Truthfully right now, I would trust an alien more than the circus clown act we have in charge at the moment.

Fences
While I liked this film at points, on other points it just lagged or went to fast as they literally took every single word from the play and put it into the film. I get it, you don’t want to mess with the original sometimes, but in this case, trimming it down some would have been beneficial and the movie suffered as a result of not doing so.

Hacksaw Ridge
Let’s face it, the first 45 minutes of this was an absolute cheese-fest. The remainder – sort of a gore-fest. And while it did good at the points of making you flip-flop on what you wanted that main character to do, it also gave us some Brits & Aussies doing terrible attempts at southern accents.

Hell or High Water
While it’s good to see a film be remembered from earlier in the year, and I liked the film, it just really never struck a chord with me as award material when watching.

Hidden Figures
I enjoyed this film a lot and it was about time something was done and made about these three fantastic women and what they contributed to our NASA space program in the 60’s. It had some big ups and a few downs with the tone of it all.

La La Land – WINNER
With an opening scene that I just loved and so well done, you would think the rest of the film was going to be just as good. It’s not. Mind you it’s a good watch, but far from a great one and just a little to far-fetched, cutsey perfect for me. But hey, WHIPLASH was so damn good and was what a jazz story could be, that well, I guess I’ll give a groan when this wins, but I can’t hate on it completely.

Lion – MY PICK
While far far from a perfect film, the first half delivers big and is terrific, but it’s second half drags a lot until you get to the last 10 minutes or so. Again, I’m not in love with it. Having a great post Q & A with Dev Patel and first time director Garth Davis probably helped me some, but it did move me as a wonderful story of hope. And with that, I picked it even though I know it has absolutely no chance of winning.

Manchester by the Sea
For me, the film isn’t terrible – but honestly, I had no idea what as happening in the first 20-30 minutes. You just knew the guy was angry, but no clue as to why. It took 2 hrs. to get to the point and those 2 hrs. seemed like many more at times.

Moonlight
While watching this film, I couldn’t help thinking I’ve seen this story before..and I have – noting the fact it was done much better on the ‘The Wire’ and I think I would have liked to see three episodes of that again vs. this film. It was more than a tad inconsistent, with the first two thirds much better than the last third, and I was distracted by having characters played by multiple actors who looked nothing alike. That being said, it’s a good film considering the shoe-string budget it was made on.

@pegsatthemovies
Thanks all for taking the time to give this a read. Let me know your thoughts on if you agree or disagree with my picks. Don’t forget to give this page a follow or a follow on twitter as well @pegsatthemovies. Cheers!

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REVIEW: “SUICIDE SQUAD” (2016) Warner Bros.

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Writer/Director David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad” starts off strong. With a booming, kick-ass soundtrack taking us through the introductions of characters and giving us a bit of the backstory on each so we know at least who they are. Unless you’re a major DC Comics fan, you probably don’t recognize every single character of the Squad. The new action movie teams up a bunch of bad guys as a last resort to take down an even more evil force. For those of us that don’t read the comic books, I found this not only helpful, but gave us some fun sides of the characters to boot.
suicide squad 2
We’ve got Deadshot (Will Smith) the assassin who never misses, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) the aslyum doctor who fell in love with her patient who then gave her shock treatment to make her crazy, Boomerang (Jai Courtney) the Aussie who’s boomerangs are like drones and really doesn’t give a rats ass about anyone but himself, Diablo (Jay Hernandez) in essence a firestarter, Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) is self-explanatory and lives in the underground sewers, Slipnot (Adam Beach) an escape artist of the highest caliber and whilst not really a ‘Squad’ member, we have Katana (Karen Fukuhara) and Archaeologist/Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) and of course our Joker (Jared Leto). You’ve also got the ‘soldier’ side to it all with Rick Flagg (Joel Kinnaman), Lt. GQ Edwards (Scott Eastwood) and our head honcho who proposes and is responsible for putting the ‘Squad’ together, Amanda Walker (Viola Davis). And yes, along with our bit part from The Batman himself, Ben Affleck, we understand why they are, who they are and where they are.
suicide squad 1
Sadly, no one here can save the convuluted mess of a storyline and bad dialague. The characters are so off-balance and poorly acted, most especially I’m looking at you Will Smith & Cara Delevingne. Robbie’s character would have fit much better in a re-make of the 1970’s classic The Warriors (one of my fav. movies btw) and she probably could have made something with it. Here she limps along trying to be funny but falls completely flat. Only the Joker and Boomerang really pull out the stops and make it work for their characters and you know it’s really bad when even Viola Davis strains to pull off her dialogue as even somewhat believable.
suicide squad 3
The first 1/3 of this film is definitely worth the watch. Anything after that I can’t guarantee, except of course the ending because it leads us into Suicide Squad Part Deux. I would try to describe the plot, but don’t want to give away how just plain ridiculous it is and really, everyone should just see and judge for themselves anyways as it’s all just CGI.

And just in case you’re really itching to get out of the theatre, you only have to wait until the first set of basic credits is done to get your ending Bat-fix in..not the whole long credit roll. Somewhere in this series is a good movie, so stay, and let’s just hope Part Deux has more to it than this one did.

Grade: C-
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Media Review Screening: Tuesday, August 2, 2016 ~ Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Nationwide Release: Friday, August 5, 2016