From time to time, I forget or not motivated enough to write a full length review for every single film I have seen in theaters.
As to catch up, here are some short form reviews:
Fast & Furious 6
FAST & FURIOUS 6, or FURIOUS 6 as it oddly calls itself in the opening credits, is a flat Mountain Dew; it will give you some buzz but not enough to be a delicious treat. You'll get a kick out of all of the fantastic, well-crafted action sequences but it lacks the plentiful machismo of the previous installment, FAST FIVE. The crew from that movie, except for two bumbling comic reliefs, return to do some special work for Dwayne Johnson: they will all receive pardons for their past actions if they can help him take down an English mega-criminal (Luke Evans) before he can construct and sell a dangerous EMP-like weapon. Paul Walker and Vin Diesel are additionally motivated by the presence of living dead girl Michelle Rodriguez. After the eighteenth discussion about loyalty and family, you'll realize that the lines in the script are all boring and stock. It then dawns on you that all of the side-missions, whether it was to have Walker enter a L.A. prison or a diversion of street racing, ultimately do not matter since they all end with a "Toad" telling you to check another castle. Once the third act starts, you have to endure another, another Joker Plot, a nonsensical twist (beyond creating an altered final fight), and our heroes making a grave indecision where they care more about one unimportant person than an entire nation. Of course, once the mouths stay partially shut, the vigorous excitement of a subway battle, tank destruction of a highway, and multiple engagements on one extra long airstrip get the blood rushing highway speed. An okay affair for the matinee. Also, the stinger does bring some joy but hopefully not to more Vin Diesel ego-stroking.
FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5
Epic
Already mocked for its audacity when it was first announced, EPIC certainly doesn't live up to its title. This is the type of movie for couch potato kids, flipping through channels before briefly exclaiming surprise that it is on Cartoon Network. It's also the type where logically thinking about it makes you more mad. A teenage girl nicknamed M.K. moves into her father's house, only to find a FERN GULLY civilization in her backyard, where she is then shrunken down to their size and gets wrapped up in a war over a blessed flower pod. The five credited writers for the film start off generic and then get colossally amateurish. The bad guys are evil just because they are dark-skin and have decaying powers. Every scene starts off serious then radically goes into slapstick comedy. A musical number enters suddenly into the picture due to the ear-splitting presence of Steven Tyler. There's a freaking pod race sequence for no reason. And, more importantly, the heroes are worthless: M.K. does nothing beyond surrogate duty, A comic relief snail and slug are lazily thrown in and never really do their job as pod moisturizers, and a young soldier acts who's a complete jerk throughout before being shoe-horned into an awkwardly, undeveloped romance with the lead. The true hero and sole likable individual is Colin Farrell's Ronin, who goes through the proper aspects of a warrior character (loss, determination, fearlessness, etc). But Blue Sky Studios can't have an older man as a lead; bring forth more of the handsome jackass! To ruin the movie further, we are supposed to care about M.K.'s relationship with her bumbling scientist father but it's negated by the sheer fact that the man gave up his whole life, has not seen or contacted his ex-wife or child, in favor of more attention to his theory of leaf-men. It's another dud from Chris Wedge, who last directed ROBOTS in 2005. He should stick to being a producer and the voice of ICE AGE's Scrat.
FINAL REVIEW: 2 / 5
Now You See Me
I don't care that our main leads lose their characterization momentum after the first third of the film. I don't care that Morgan Freeman didn't act like a tweener or the heel character he was supposed to be. I don't care that Louis Leterrier's direction and the cinematography literally causes headaches from all of the shaking, jolting, and 360 swirling. I can subdue these problems and concerns because NOW YOU SEE ME is a frankly fun adventure. It is a mixture of Lupin III and Robin Hood, with a dash of Pen & Teller, as a group of street magicians, motivated by a secret benefactor and tarot cards, pull off a massive American caper while avoiding both national and international law enforcement. All of the actors in the ensemble are game for the material and are clearly having a blast working on this project. Certainly the standout is Mark Ruffalo, one of the best middle-aged actors today, who gets to be young again as an action star. His weathered but determined FBI agent is the film's true heart and he plays well with everyone, from his flirtation with Mélanie Laurent to the camaraderie with Common and Michael Kelly, and sells the comedic tone of a major organization fighting a war against magic. Worth it solely for the smoke and mirrors battle between Ruffalo and Dave Franco.
FINAL REVIEW: 4 / 5
No comments:
Post a Comment