Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train - Review

Literally picking up right where the first television season ended, Tanjiro and his fellow young demon slayers Zenitsu and Inosuke board a train. Their mission: make contact with the senior swordsman Rengoku and assist in the investigation of the rash of passenger disappearances. Though the majority of its huge worldwide success is largely due to the explosive popularity of the property, which is still lingering in the air despite the manga ending close to a year ago, DEMON SLAYER THE MOVIE: MUGEN TRAIN does deliver both as an action anime thrill ride and an emotional drama. Instead of being a standard one-off shonen flick and contend with potential story issues and limitations in actual stakes, the film follows the actual series continuity and adapts the titular arc. Sure, it is in a way just an appetizer for the upcoming second season but that won't stop it from putting both you and the characters through the ringer. There are several surprises and twists laid within the plot and the shocking conclusion is something that many a studio or franchise refrain from doing and/or exploring. The script also focuses heavily on themes about human fragility and the intoxication of escapism when it isn't allowing the slayers to perform dazzling and deadly strikes. Ufotable pretty much transferred to the big screen the same high caliber animation they brought to the television series though some of the CGI lands right on the middle between good and bad. The English dub cast is once again impeccable with Zach Aguilar's heart-pouring performance as Tanjiro and Mark Whitten's eccentric yet majestic stab at Rengoku being the true highlights. While I had fun with it, in my first trip back to a movie theater no less, non-fans and curious viewers will have some trouble, especially at why Tanjiro may be carrying his sister in a box. The makers could have fixed this at the start with some inner narration but they instead utilized it way too much in the film's second half. It also doesn't help matters that the main villain gets a little tiring and you often can feel the film's long running time. But the real travesty of the picture is the ridiculous R rating it got from the MPA. Seriously, tweens and teenagers have seen and heard worst things. While it may not work as a gateway into the series, DEMON SLAYER THE MOVIE: MUGEN TRAIN still achieves in giving you goosebumps and maybe some tears to shed.

FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5

My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising - Review

Class 1-A of UA High School continue their progress of being the next wave of superheroes by acting as the temporary guardians of the peaceful Nabu Island. Unfortunately, a group of supervillains have traveled to the isolated isle in order for their Darwinist leader Nine to sap the "quirk" from a kid and kickstart their campaign of world domination. MY HERO ACADEMIA: HEROES RISING is sure to placate fans of the series while at the same time act as a potential gateway for newbies. However, it is a slightly disappointing follow-up feature to TWO HEROES. While the previous movie had a lot of fun with its DIE HARD premise and tight focus on a small group of the characters, HEROES RISING instead spins out a standard shonen story with stock stakes and flat antagonists that ultimately will end with nothing mattering at all to the franchise's canon. It aggressively tries to say otherwise about its importance by offering up a big twist during the final battle that should make everyone gasp but any observant viewer obviously knows that everything will be reset once the smoke has cleared. Even the gullible members of the audience that saw the movie with me didn't believe the implications the film tries to spout, instead remaining quiet or sneering at it. I will give director Kenji Nagasaki and studio Bones credit for doing their best with the twist, as they deliver some amazingly bombastic animation to the conclusion set to a haunting ethereal j-pop tune. Though I'm being a bit harsh on it for its rote plot, HEROES RISING is still fine enough to kill an afternoon for an anime fan. The power battles are impressively staged and animated and there are a lot of little character moments to make everyone happy. Diehards will enjoy the the hints and cameos sprinkled throughout it while new viewers can be quickly caught up on the world and characters before being entertained by the proceedings. The English dub cast all do a great job reprising their roles, easily fitting into them like a glove, and Johnny Yong Bosch does the best he can with Nine. It may not be a stellar shonen anime flick but its easily digestible enough.


FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5

Weathering With You - Review

Teenage runaway Hodaka struggles to live in an endlessly raining Tokyo until he is taken under the wing of a lowly entertainment publisher. Along the way, he becomes partners, both in a business and possibly romantic sense, with Hina, a slightly older but equally struggling teenage girl who possesses the supernatural power to briefly stop the stormy weather. WEATHERING WITH YOU is my first experience with Makoto Shinkai, the legendary anime director who became a global superstar thanks to his last film, the highly acclaimed mega blockbuster YOUR NAME. Yes, despite being a former anime aficionado who tries to keep an eye on the industry, I still haven't partake with his previous movie nor even his breakthrough feature VOICES OF A DISTANT STAR during its heyday. Putting all of that aside, WEATHERING is an engaging romantic fantasy drama that does sweep you off of your feet at times but struggles whenever it comes back down to Earth. Shinkai and his crew pour a lot of breathtaking detail into its animated world, from the gorgeous city landscapes to the salivating depictions of food that almost rivals Studio Ghibli. Some might say a little too much detail is included: the film is rife with product placement which is pretty accepting considering, well, it does take place in Tokyo but still proves to be a bit distracting. The film is further enhanced by its heartwarming soundtrack provided by the rock band RADWIMPS. The film's theme song is an utter delight and will stick with you after you leave the theater.


Unfortunately, Shinkai's script doesn't retain much of the same beauty. I can easily see why the film was a huge hit with its native audiences: it thoroughly relishes the melodramatic allure of teens rebelling against patronizing adults and an unforgiving social system while also falling in love via shouty exclamations and hand holding. However, the central romance leaves a lot to be desired. I just did not find it to be up to par with many other recent romantic anime dramas such as I WANT TO EAT YOUR PANCREAS and even dare say FIREWORKS. My only guess for the cause of this seems to be the film's heavy focus on Hodaka and his plight. His viewpoint is so dominating, he even narrates all over the opening scene, which is a crucial moment in the life of Hina. Speaking of whom, Hina doesn't get a whole lot to do besides her superpower or really show a lot of blatant affection for Hodaka until the film enters its second half and the script has to quickly make up for lost time. The pacing could have been better handled, often speeding past more fun comedic storylines only to then bog itself down with melancholy and liberious usage of flashbacks. And then you have the ending which can best be described as Edgar Wright-esque in its daringness and divisiveness. Even with its faults, I do see myself and many a viewer going back to this movie in the future and warming myself more and more with its good graces.


FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5

One Piece: Stampede - Review

Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates head towards a remote island for a secret buccaneer-only bash where the main attraction is a hidden prized possession of Gold Roger. In order to claim it, they have to partake in an all-out battle royale, including crossing swords against some of their fellow members of the "Worst Generation". However, someone is literally lurking in the depths and awaiting to pounce upon the greedy prey. ONE PIECE: STAMPEDE is sadly a significant step down for the mega popular anime franchise's film division after the preceding entry, the predictable but highly raucous ONE PIECE FILM: GOLD. It has several of the main ingredients necessary to make a great shonen film: superb animation, excellent voice acting, and an epic music score. But the film is completely let down by a very lame script that cripples the smooth sailing of its opening moments. The movie loses all of its steam once the big bad Douglas Bullet unearths himself and, after a brief yet very thrilling scuffle, spends the rest of the running time showing off his literal and figurative plot armor and essentially saying "come at me, bro". It then just becomes a big one-sided brawl of punches, kicks, stomps and superpowers where nothing really matters until a great master plan is drawn up, that being having a bunch of the strongest characters come together to make a weak spot by all punching together. And mind you, a good chunk of this fighting happens during a strict time limit of five minutes that somehow stretches itself to 35 minutes in real time. The movie tries to hide its severe shortcomings by including a lot of fan service, bringing out every ally, villain, or side character they can muster for a cameo so you can point them out and clap in delight. But even the most gullible of otakus will laugh at this weak attempt at appeasement, especially when two noteworthy sword-wielding badasses both come in, perform two slash attacks, and then spirit themselves away from the proceedings. There's also zilch in the character development department save for Usopp but even that is just microwaved scraps from past material that fans know and love by heart. I gave this film two tries in the theater to wow me in any way; I originally set out on this ordeal chiefly to watch both the sub and dub versions but it became more important once the first viewing left me and the audience less than enthused. While my appreciation did increase for the technical aspects of the film the second time around, the true meat of it remained bitter. Similar to the poor film entries of Pokémon and DragonBall Z, you might be able to stomach ONE PIECE: STAMPEDE and have glimmers of amusement but there are far better options available to watch. And to those who might be wondering, yes, I have come around on Colleen Clinkenbeard's portrayal of Luffy but it is still hard to top Mayumi Tanaka.


FINAL REVIEW: 2 / 5

Gemini Man - Review

Stop me if you seen this before: an expert assassin (Will Smith) working for the shadowy parts of the US government wants to retire after one last job only to end up on the run because some suited bad guys believe he knows too much. Along the way he ropes in a pretty looking woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and calls up a goofy old comrade (Benedict Wong) for some help. Oh, you did see that plot before. Okay, well but here's where GEMINI MAN really snatches the rug out from under you: the top hired killer sent after the golden gunman ends up being a clone of him! You have seen that too? And you can easily predict out all of the film's future plot points and other "groundbreaking" twists it has in store? Well, the real question now is why did these Hollywood filmmakers waste so much time, money and resources on such a painfully trite action flick?


GEMINI MAN never gets off the blocks and become a truly satisfying experience, especially when viewed in the way it was intended by its so-called visionary director. Ang Lee continues to smear his good name by adding fuel to his fiery passion for 3D filmmaking and high frame rate. Both add zilch to the blah pic besides making you endlessly wish you were watching something better. Sure, there are a few fine visual wows like a minigun slaughtering up a convenience store or a man slo-mo walking through fire but those literally come at the very end of the film. The rest of 120 frames per second enhanced scenes are either taxing displays of mundanity and trivial dialogue or action sequences that are too frenetic to behold and severely lack gravitas. The hand-to-hand fights are really when it all falls apart; the supposed film technology of the future turns CQC into a glorified slap fight. Will Smith and the rest of the cast try to make do with what they got but they can't elevate the paint-by-numbers script. Additionally, the whole brouhaha with the de-aging of Smith ends up for naught. He's just not convincing playing a 23-year-old version of his main character, often acting more like a 15-year-old teen that is ready to pee his pants at a moment's notice, plus you can audibly hear his artificially sweetened and carefully edited voice from the rest of the sound design like a bad dub. GEMINI MAN is so mockable and such a brain dead idea to produce in this manner that it would have been better off as a fake movie within a movie.


FINAL REVIEW: 2 / 5

One Cut of the Dead - Review

A shoestring budgeted zombie flick is being shot in a desolate building specifically picked out by the film's tyrannical director. Though the Z-grade filmmaker's harsh demand for perfection and realism does a number on the two newbie actors and four jaded crew members, true terror begins to emerge from the woods when zombies home in on the pitiful production. And as it is famously touted it the actual film's title, the violent proceedings are filmed entirely in one go. ONE CUT OF THE DEAD is a phenomenal delight and helped revive two of my formerly favorite sub-genres back from the dead. I have to be deadly serious when I say that it is absolutely essential that you go into the movie completely blind. Just stop reading this review now if you are at all immediately interested. I like many eager moviegoers have had earmuffs on for more than a year to finally see it after all of the glorious praise and hype it got as a humongous sleeper hit in Japan and it is totally worth the wait. But for those still needing a little nudge, all I will say is that the first half is clearly a well-constructed puzzle made of pathetically engineered parts. The empty scenes of stalling, gaudy auto-white balancing, and fumbling camerawork just to name a few? All intentional. What happens in the film's back half is a total surprise that will knock you off your feet before then locking you into a walloping fun ride. Your mileage may vary however as the film's high concept, ultra cheap budget nature will be a tough pill to swallow for some but trust me when I say that there's a lot of sugar later on to make the medicine go down. Additionally, anybody who has knowledge of the Japanese entertainment industry or have partaken on Japanese schlock genre pics will positively marvel at the film's satirical edges. I was left beaming after seeing ONE CUT OF THE DEAD and was a sliver away from doing something I have never done in my entire life: I wanted to catch the next screening to watch it again. A definitively stupendous horror-comedy and one of (if not the) best films of the year.


FINAL REVIEW: 5 / 5

Avengers: Endgame - Review

After suffering a catastrophic defeat at the hands of Thanos that has left half of all living things to turn to dust, the remaining Avengers team up with a new space superhero in order to find a way to reverse the organic cleansing and ultimately defeat the genocide king. The plot obviously goes beyond this simple description but any more talk of the story will rob the juicy surprises it has in store for the long-time Marvel viewer. As for the movie as a whole, AVENGERS: ENDGAME is a great series finale to the integral component of the MCU, i.e. the original core members of the Avengers, but there in lies its central issue. I'm not using television terminology by mistake; ENDGAME feels more in line with as a final season or a miniseries than it does as a slam-bang, concluding blockbuster. RETURN OF THE JEDI and RETURN OF THE KING it is not. The majority of the pic is relegated to dialogue, Marvel witty or otherwise, and scenes of bonding that nicely put a bow on hidden nuggets throughout all of the Marvel movies. These substantial moments do help make the three hour running time flow very fast but at the expense of pure action excitement that is heavily expected with a final chapter. The brief melee bouts sprinkled throughout do not generate much thrills so the audience will still have to patiently wait until the finale. But boy howdy, what a conclusion the Russos have in store. It is near boundless in its goosebump-inducing action theatrics and purely acts like a real comic book event. Everything that follows afterwords will be forming up some tears in your eyes, save for the very last scene which is a head-scratching decision and a total mood killer. Most of the criticisms I levied at the movie are things that fans can forgive for the most part and/or not be too bent out of shape by. If you can do that, more power to you. However, please agree with me at least that the stupidest elements stuck forever in the fabric of the celluloid are the film's soon-to-be-or-are-now dated references, namely the use of dabbing, the appearance of the video game Fortnite (played on a PS4 no less which brings up a whole can of worms), and some completely unnecessary product placement. AVENGERS: ENDGAME is a fine farewell for some of the heroes that have been with us yet it is hard to feel the true weight of it all when the film treats itself as just another chapter in the MCU. Marvel has more films and even some digital television shows down the pipeline and given some elements in the plot, as well as what normally springs up in superhero comics, anything can happen including negating all of the drama you were affected by in this movie.


FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote - Review

Pretentious young hip director Toby (Adam Driver) takes a break from filming an insurance commercial in Spain to make a brief stop at the small village where he once shot a student film about Don Quixote. His trip down memory lane eventually leads him to reuniting with his former lead actor Javier (Jonathan Pryce), a shoemaker who went full method and is stuck believing he's the real man from La Mancha. Mistaking him for his squire Sancho Panza, the crazed knight sweeps up Toby into a spirited and surreal adventure. THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE has been highly anticipated by all cinephiles since it finally escaped from over two decades of production hell but sadly Terry Gilliam's passion project ends up being pretty moot. The reconfigured story is ultimately just rehashed leftovers of previous Gilliam films, namely THE FISHER KING and BRAZIL. It really tries to grab your full attention with Gilliam's standard artistic flair and attempts at witty vulgar humor. However, it's very hard to shake off the deja vu of seeing a man hanging out with a disturbed individual he helped create, a mounted knight in modern times, the real world and the dreams of an unstable man mixing together, the evil powers that be always winning and a bitter conclusion. The script also falters pretty significantly in the female department, as the two supporting women are both treated as doormats for corrupt European bosses and are routinely physically and verbally abused. They both also don't have much of a real personality, which is a death sentence for Joana Ribeiro's Angelica since we're supposed to care about her plight and want to root for Toby to literally be a white knight. Yes, the audience absolutely wants to cheer on Toby despite the fact that he's a certified asshat and he fell in love with Angelica back when she was 15 years old. Adam Driver really tries to make this picture work and is quite great when his physical comedy is on display. Plus Pryce of course does wonders handling the jovial nature of Don Quixote and the brief somber moments when Javier returns to the surface. Too bad the script can't measure up with their talents nor can Gilliam who clearly struggles at times behind the camera. I didn't totally dislike my time with this film; most of my anger during the film screening went to some annoying jackasses who laughed at every little thing, from practical objects in the background to non-jokes to even the domestic abuse. A rewatch might bump it up a little later down the line but quite frankly the making of THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE will forever have a bigger impact on film history than the film itself.


FINAL REVIEW: 2 / 5

I Want To Eat Your Pancreas - Review

During a trip to the hospital, a seemingly nameless male teen discovers the diary of his classmate Sakura, who promptly tells him that she's secretly dying of pancreatic cancer. Spurn by her lively spirit and sudden desire to go through her bucket list, the two begin to hang out and develop a bond that can't be simply given an ordinary label such as "friend" or "boyfriend/girlfriend". I WANT TO EAT YOUR PANCREAS immediately grabs you with its killer title and proceeds to bequeath a generous romantic tearjerker that checks all of the boxes in an anime slice-of-life melodrama. You're never really going to be very surprised with what it has to offer in terms of plot; you'll be twirling your thumbs in anticipation and/or exasperation for the tomboy best friend, the noise-canceling train, and the big breakdown in the rain scene to come out and play with your heartstrings. Even the so-called big twist it offers up is pretty damn predictable if you were paying close attention and noticed it among the other Chekov's guns that are all laying around. It may be an unsurprising affair and also reuses the trope of the manic pixie dream girl in this day and age but the movie still delightfully delivers the requisite feels to get you emotionally involved. It truly excels whenever the intimacy becomes almost too much for the main duo to bear or when the film lays out its main themes of humanity and the metaphysical. The animation complements the simple story but those seeking some visual wows will often be disappointed by the straightforward and unrestrained quality, even during a concluding episode of surreality. The only times the animation becomes really questionable however are the few instances where the CGI rigging and movement of the characters look highly cumbersome. Additionally, whoever thought of giving the opening credits the exact same treatment and design as an ordinary television anime opening should have been fired. The voice cast is all around good with Mahiro Takasugi being the film's standout. He's able to put some character and warmth behind the deliberate monotone of the male lead. I WANT TO EAT YOUR PANCREAS may be too familiar but that doesn't stop its gut punches from being effective blows to your heart and soul. But beware: the filmmakers must be acolytes of Peter Jackson because this film has multiple endings, including having a stinger that fades to black and then immediately comes back with another stinger.


FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5

Reign of the Supermen - Review

6 months after the devastation of Metropolis by Doomsday and the death of Superman in well THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN, four individual superheroes each calling themselves the real or the new Supes seek to take up the throne. The latest of the DC Animated Movie Universe, REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN is given a special one-night-only release across America as part of a Fathom Events double bill screening with the previous film. And quite frankly, that's pretty much the best way to watch and enjoy this film, with it being seen immediately after THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN or, fingers cross, when a possible stitched together cut a la THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS comes to video later down the line. Similar to the same criticism levied against the Marvel films, the movie doesn't help new viewers ease in or even truly understand what is going on. Average Joe and Jane will not be "blown away" by the reveal of who Cyborg Superman or The Eradicator really are, because they never really set it up well or lay even a quick "previously on" montage, and they especially will be scratching their heads when a certain big heavyweight villain from one of the first films of the DC Animated Movie Universe pops up as the true evil mastermind. The story is geninuely fine, more so if you have fond memories of the comic book event it's adapting, but as often with the other DCAMU movies it just feels like television fare blown up to feature length. I was dismayed at the lack of characterization for John Henry Irons but the film does kind of make up for it with its heavy focus on Superboy, his dysfunctional business/familial relationship with Lex Luthor, and his struggles to man up against the other Supermen. That's good and all but great Caesar's ghost, screenwriters Tim Sheridan and Jim Krieg practically ruin the picture with their hilariously awful way to remove the Justice League from the proceedings; Batman, the so-called greatest detective of all time, and The Flash, the fastest man alive, are both unable to look up and see a very dangerous thing crashing above their heads. And boy howdy, try not to chuckle once the President steps into the crossfire between superheroes and supervillians. The voice acting is serviceable all around but I'm still not hot on Rebecca Romijn as Lois Lane. Patrick Fabian, who plays Cyborg Superman, at least gets to flex his muscles and gnash away on some delicious meat towards the end. The animation is the same standard, drab, low budget look as previous DCAMU movies with little to no pizzazz save for the stupid necklace that Lois is supposed to be wearing. Seriously, the animators couldn't draw a simple line to connect the pendants? Whether its some still linger 90s nostalgia in your heart or your love for the animation side of DC Comics, REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN is a fun enough watch. Just try not to set it up as anything truly earthshaking; after all, the rebirth of a certain someone doesn't have much impact when it was just done in live action form two years ago.


FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5

Fireworks (2017) - Review

Young teen Norimichi seems to be settled in to spend the town's fireworks celebration with his motley friends only to be caught up by his crush Nazuna's sudden wish to escape to the city and a peculiar orb that allows him to reverse past outcomes. FIREWORKS instantly gets docked some points for breaking the cardinal sin of having the same title of a famous movie, namely Takeshi Kitano's highly acclaimed 1997 feature film. However, given how long and complicated the original title is, exceptions can be made to GKIDS for picking something more digestible for American viewers. As for the film itself, it's a breezy teen romantic drama with a hint of sci-fi that will win over some hearts. Realists will scoff at its appreciative look at teen runaway love and others will be dismayed by its one-sighted viewpoint of the relationship but it's hard not to be swayed by the rush of heightened emotions and the yearning of the potential couple for one special night together. The time travel mechanic is welcomingly fresh, forgoing the standard forcible reset to the beginning format set by GROUNDHOG DAY. Instead, it settles for a model where time is a series of chapters and the traveller can only return to the latest key moment in order to alter it to the path he wishes for. The wings of this love story however do get clipped by a couple of missteps. The animation is quite delightful but often seems to be more of the true focus of scenes rather than the story itself. The biggest offender of this comes when there's a weird and long exposition retread of the time traveling between the two teens on a train but the scene is framed from the outside simply to show off Shaft's CGI rendering skills. The other big head-scratcher is the ending, which doesn't feel as impactful as it really should be and comes off as just another wannabe poetic conclusion. The voice acting is very good, headlined by Suzu Hirose's marvelous turn as the rash yet beautifully wishful Nazuna. I also liked Masaki Suda as Norimichi but boy howdy the actor is either a little too old for the character or the fictional teen must have had one hell of a puberty to earn a deep voice like that. FIREWORKS is a charming little anime feature and a quality choice for those that need some love to brighten up their night.


FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5

Lu Over The Wall - Review

Angsty teen Kai finds solace from his drab fishing village, fractured family and sterile education system through the power of music. Some anonymous video postings of his works-in-progress are quickly found out by two of his classmates, who ask him to join their pop rock band. They decide to hold practice at a desolate island, which draws the attention of a boisterous ningyo, aka a Japanese mermaid, named Lu. This chance meeting turns into a tempestuous relationship that will eventually bring happiness and chaos to their lives and their little town. LU OVER THE WALL is the second of the two Asian animated imports this year with notable allusions to THE LITTLE MERMAID and Stephanie Sheh in a lead role but unfortunately it is the weakest one. Director/co-writer Masaaki Yuasa crams too much ambitious flourishes into this film and he's embarrassingly unable to keep a firm grasp at story or coherence. The animation on display produced by Science Saru is a wet and wild affair, with simple designed and crudely penciled characters overlaid on to realistic backgrounds before then shifting to extreme squash and stretch or blocky rotoscoping or Ghibli inspired majesty on a dime. The story starts off nice and easy but then quickly becomes untamable with time jumps, multiple side stories, scenes with characters we're supposed to know, and a completely random heel turn from a comedic figure. The film frankly falls apart in the third act with an overtly long and ultimately unrewarding climax. This culmination of events could have been remedied and have the usual uplifting feelers of an anime fantasy drama if the makers didn't jettison the main character to the sidelines for a long stretch and also forget about Lu herself as well. And it gets more troublesome once the smoke clears, the sun shines, and the sea rests easy because there's a confusing scramble of endings. How can I really be moved by a set emotion when the tearful goodbyes are mushed together with an ugly dance number, a meditative scope of the future, and a cheap joke? LU OVER THE WALL has the potential to be a okay time killer or a good enough alternate feature for kids to be appeased by but it seems weird to munch on the strained flesh of this mermaid tale when you have the superior taste in the form of PONYO.


FINAL REVIEW: 2 / 5

A Quiet Place - Review

A family beset by personal tragedy and the inability to verbally communicate or make a sound try to survive another day in a post-apocalyptic America ruled over by violent creatures with advanced auditory abilities. A QUIET PLACE brilliantly dares its viewing audience to shut the hell up and experience unbridled terror in a nice controlled movie theater. John Krasinski does a quite masterful job in his directorial debut in weaving together intense existential dread and palpable tension. Having a great cinematographer in the form of Charlotte Bruus Christensen also helps, particularly during the early sections of the film where we experience the strict ins and outs the family must go through to live "normally". However, though it achieves in keeping you on your toes with its high suspense factor, the film's script can only go so far. The story is frankly just a lost Twilight Zone script, one that was probably buried beneath Rod Sterling's cigarette stash, stretched out to fit a 95 minute running time. Despite the best efforts of the cast, especially Emily Blunt, the characters sadly don't much real depth to them beyond generic family woes and guilts. Also not helping matters is their inability to easily figure more deadly tools to combat the rampaging menace and their very slow response once they do land in their lap. Nevertheless, the script does a good enough job to tide you over and offers up a few pitch black ideas, most notably how the small clan have planned for the arrival of a newborn. You may wish to see it by yourself in the comfort of your own darkened home but this thrilling horror flick is quite amazing to see in a proper movie theater, both for the enclosed atmosphere and its unique ability to create a public shaming to all of the talkative teens, iPhone checkers, candy rippers and loud popcorn eaters plaguing the audience.


FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5

The Hurricane Heist - Review

A massive hurricane is set to descend upon the coastal region of Alabama, which provides the perfect opportunity for a group of robbers to snatch up millions of dollars from the bunker of an U.S. Treasury building. A female special agent (Maggie Grace) teams up with a headstrong meteorologist (Toby Kebbell) and his suped-up weather vehicle to stop the greedy rogues from driving off with their ill-gained untraceable haul. THE HURRICANE HEIST is sheer dumb fun, the kind of entertainment that director Rob Cohen used to scoop out with ease. The script is ripped straight out of the recesses of 90s actionsploitation, brimming with crash-bang-boom theatrics that are laughably extravagant and jovial banter with a hint of wit that would make Steven E. de Souza a little envious. Characterization is very limited or stolen whole clothed (dig that TWISTER "inspired" prologue) but the film thankfully skips over much of the tiresome tragic backstories of the main duo. Cohen and the film writers would rather keep the energy of the audience high via some spirited debates between the protagonists about football and proper peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or embarking on nutty endeavors such as becoming human kites in order to save the weatherman's estranged brother from a hostage situation. But the cheesy fun and games amid torrential downpour can't save everything; the film oddly drops all of its plans at the conclusion of the second act and then immediately plunges into the action finale, which is riddled with a confusing order of character deaths and a painful whiplash of an ending. To make matters worst, the film was clearly edited down for a R rating because there are distasteful jumps in the rhythm whenever someone says something naughty. Others may label scoff at this movie and only describe it as a guilty pleasure or as the best of the worst offerings of early 2018 but I frankly had a blast with this refreshing throwback to when action movies were hooped up on goofballs.


FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5

Annihilation - Review

Army vet turned biologist Lena (Natalie Portman) joins up with a small squad of accomplished females in their venture into "The Shimmer", a classified region hampered by mysterious mutation and time dilation that her long-thought dead husband (Oscar Issac) somehow survived in. ANNIHILATION banks heavily on surreal visuals, disturbing sci-fi and easy ambiguity in order to fool the viewer that they are watching something highly intelligent and masterfully crafted. Alex Garland's take on the Jeff VanderMeer novel with the same generic name is a baffling affair, laughably amateurish at some points but quietly unnerving at other times. In order to partake in the real terror and intrigue of the picture, you have to twiddle your thumbs through the establishment of its wafer-thin characters and a lot of stalely directed walking segments. Some of the early goings feel like they weren't handled by the vision behind EX MACHINA but by someone with the same caliber as Tommy Wiseau; One of the biggest unintentional laughs comes when the geologist brings up the painful death of her daughter and then the film just cuts ahead, proceeding to never give said character any more actual distinction for the rest of the film. If you try to focus on the main plotline of Lena's strained relationship with her husband, you will be sorely disappointed. It's so rote and vanilla, never having a pulse to it until the predictable ending that any one with half a brain can call out. But even with all of the eye-rolling and deep sighs it helps produce, I frankly couldn't hate the film or say it's a complete wash. The actresses try their best with whatever they got, the horrors on display are truly horrific, and it wisely maintains a toxic air of helplessness the very moment the party crosses over. Even when the CGI comes out in full force during the climax, bequeathing many sights that are on the edge between sobering and ludicrous, you still feel uneasy and paralyzed from the gross aesthetics, nihilistic theming, and the intensely throbbing score by Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow. Maybe a re-watch down the road will help alleviate or possibly even cure my mixed feelings toward it but I certainly can not recommend it to the average joe. Those seeking a downer or dark science fiction need only apply.


FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5

Padmaavat - Review

Everything that Alauddin Khilji (Ranveer Singh) seeks to possess, he does so by any means necessary, whether it's viciously killing his way to becoming sultan or conquering kingdoms just to snatch up all of their jewels and princesses. His latest whim of greed is the kingdom of Mewar, whose heavily fortified capital city of Chittor contains Queen Padmavati (Deepika Padukone), the exquisitely beautiful and intelligent wife of King Ratan Singh (Shahid Kapoor). PADMAAVAT suffered through a sea of controversy and violence in its native land just to be released, only for the film to end up being an an adequately entertaining epic with one hell of a great performance. Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali presents the film as a mixture of old and new interpretations of the cinematic epic. In more simpler terms, this movie is what you get if you blend the 2002 take of DEVDAS with the aesthetics of Game of Thrones. The film is unbelievably gorgeous in all of its details, from the delectable costume design to the marvelous sets to the expansive cinematography that captures it all. Story wise, however, it suffers from often being too hokey and by-the-numbers for the modern taste. All of the betrayals, sacrifices, and tears hit their respective marks to ho-hum effect and I had to keep reminding myself that this isn't The Illiad despite its many allusions to it and even to the bad 2004 film TROY. One of the few saving graces in this department is the inclusion of Malik Kafur, a personal slave/assassin to Alauddin that brings a sexual charge to the picture that is sorely lacking in the main romance. If there is one reason to sit through this near three hour film, it is to watch Ranveer Singh. He is an unstoppable force of nature as the temperamental and conniving tyrant. The rest of the cast do an amiable job but can't keep up with Singh save for Jim Sarbh as Malik Kafur. This goes double for Padukone, who's sadly a bit dialed back as the titular heroine who can outwit anyone who challenges her. And that goes triple for Kapoor, who's a boring corpse of an actor that thinks that blue-steeling everyone and delivering his lines in a low tone makes him a charismatic leader. As for the music, the dance sequences are well shot and choreographed yet only the song "Ghoomar" proved to be memorable. And the less said about the CGI animals and the suited-for-3D shots, the better. PADMAAVAT is nowhere near as sacrilegious as some idiotic pundits and conservative thinkers believed it to be but it only checks enough boxes to be a serviceable epic.


FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5

Coco - Review

Miguel is the black sheep of his large crazy Mexican family of shoemakers due to his penchant for the forbidden vice of music. An accident on Día de Muertos reveals that his exiled great-great abuelo is actually popular musician Ernesto de la Cruz, much to the annoyance of his music-hating abuela Elena. One trip to Ernesto's crypt and strum of his famous guitar later, Miguel is suddenly transported to the Land of the Dead and begins his search for his banned family member. COCO is a delightfully entertaining breeze of an animated movie, that kind your heart needs when you a little cry or a reminder about the power of family and seeking your dream. The story has a thankfully casual pace, allowing the audience to enjoy its vibrant and musically inclined adventure with low stakes. There's a nice breath of fresh air with its structure, such as how the intended antagonist may be ruthless in their agenda but you clearly can understand their reasoning and why they're wearing kid gloves to catch that kid. It's just so very nice to have an exquisite Latino-based work brimming with culture and personality that's suited for children and families that isn't polluted with obnoxious helping hands for the language or the presence of a kid protagonist with vacant eyes and no soul. The backgrounds are all evocatively rich in their depth, detail, and sheer amounts of color and filled to the brink with crowds of splendidly designed characters. The voice cast is wonderful, with Gael García Bernal as Miguel's sidekick/guardian Héctor and Alanna Ubach as Mamá Imelda beings the absolute standouts for doing the double duty of emoting their lines and belting out tunes. The music is pretty good, especially Michael Giacchino's score, but I feel bad for Germaine Franco and Adrian Molina, as all of the original songs they produced are ultimately squashed by the heavyweight beast that is "Remember Me", the new contender for your kid's favorite song by the powerhouse couple of Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Unfortunately, though I was enraptured by its world and much of the heartwarming material caused me to tear up, the film quite quickly vacated out of my senses once I walked out of the theater. It could have been the fact that the script gets way too relaxed and often resorts to cliche storytelling and predictable outcomes that we have seen in other works and/or in other Pixar movies. It could have been the great but unnecessary twist the film pulls so it can have the standard Pixar final act that always closes out the show. It could have been many other things but there just sadly isn't a ton of resonance beyond its animated beauty or touching scenes to make COCO a true masterpiece. It may grow more in my heart in time or it just may be a brief euphoric experience today due to the current state of Pixar. Oh, and as for the now infamous "Olaf's Frozen Adventure" short that plays before the movie: it is an inoffensive treat but the long pace, weird retconning, and truly forgettable songs do hurt its amusement.


FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5

The Beguiled - Review

Set during the dark days of the American Civil War, a girls school hidden within the expansive and luscious forests of Virginia becomes further on edge when the forlorn and injured Corporal John McBurney (Colin Farrell) of the Union Army is brought into their gothic abode. THE BEGUILED is a beautifully well staged and acted drama that is able to bring enough in its later stages in order to be truly invigorating. I haven't seen the original 1971 film directed by Don Siegel and famously featuring Clint Eastwood acting against type but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to notice the enforcement of a strong and conflicted female viewpoint to the story. The main women are smart and brave enough to overcome some of their physical deficiencies yet still struggle with the mental stress of Southern societal obligations. After all, it would unbecoming of a proper Christian gal to be lacking in manners or refuse to bequeath proper hospitality. Sofia Coppola crafts a visually gorgeous movie around the story, coupled with some amazing acting by the entire cast, but several moments of palpable sensuality and twisted mind games lack their full punch. She tries to make up for these shortcomings with some liberal usage of catty melodrama and black humor but they don't really raise the heartbeat of the picture. That is until the film lets loose all of its bubbling tension, ominous atmosphere, and Chekov's guns in its last third, crescendoing with two quiet gut punches right at the end. Another enchanting work from one of the world's best female visionaries.


FINAL REVIEW: 4 / 5

Murder On The Orient Express (2017) - Review

International private detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) wishes to use his long trip on the Orient Express as a brief rest before his next case in London. Unfortunately for the Belgian sleuth with the wild moustache, a dead body turns up in the next door cabin and he needs to figure out which of the other passengers committed the murder before the train is freed from a freak avalanche. Branagh brings a lot of new energy in front and behind the camera to the latest adaptation of the famed Agatha Christie mystery novel to slightly mixed results. The central whodunit remains the same but there are a few wrinkles in the details of Michael Green's script that helps reshape some of the drama, most notably the changing of one character to an African-American. To further punch up the devious festivities, Branagh sprinkles in a few action sequences and carefully blocked out long takes. Unfortunately, those brief moments of action are direly shot, ultimately pointless and feature a clear stand-in of the 56-year-old actor/director. As for the cinematography, it is often graciously well shot but some artsy maneuvers, namely a lengthy scene shot entirely in bird's eye view, end up spoiling the thrills. And the less said about the poor CGI and green screening, the better. Despite these creative missteps, the film is still an entertainingly warm picture about cold blooded slaughter and the icy fractures of human suffering. All of the games of deception are pulpy fun and there's plenty of humorous dialogue and black comedy to keep you chuckling. The acting is the best thing going for the feature; all of the players get to sink their teeth into the succulent drama and have a chance to shine. Funny enough, it is Branagh himself who really takes the cake, which of course was elegantly prepared by the fine kitchen staff and made from Godiva chocolate. He wisely sands off some of the hard edges of the peculiar investigator and plays up both the perfectionistic eccentrics and the hidden tragedies of the character, making his Poirot a more dapper and tolerable version of Adrian Monk. It may not overtake the celebrated 1974 version but it gets the job done.


FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5

Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars - Review

Stuck on a military space station and tasked with turning a group of lazy, vanity-seeking Mars-born recruits into proper mobile infantry, Col. Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) sees his fortunes turn far worse when a surprise bug invasion unearths itself on the red planet. STARSHIP TROOPERS: TRAITOR OF MARS is a step in the right direction for the cult sci-fi franchise. Though it sadly still retains the odd Japanese 3D motion-capture animation look from the last movie INVASION, original screenwriter Edward Neumeier is back in the saddle as writer and boy does he have some new satirical things to say. The animated film is at its best when it focuses on some rich material that are certainly topical in our currently dark social climate. A rambunctious generation of people wired to online platforms, a glory hound with a five-letter last name who only cares about their approval rating, staff members who lavishly praise their superior or wear literal blinders, a political talk show that is legitimately called "Who's To Blame This Time?" and so on. These elements give the picture a much needed punch that is sorely lacking in the action department. Saying choreographed CGI violence looks like a video game is a way too easy knock to make in film criticism, doubly so if it's in an animated feature, but it really does here. While watching the several often mediocre shootouts and splattering of bug guts, I just couldn't shake off how much the power suits the heroes wear look like a cross between Gears of War and Vanquish, especially when they run or use their jetpacks. Or, how when Rico is sporting his basic battle gear, he looks like what you get if Xiahou Dun and Commander Shepard had a baby. Additionally, though I did enjoy the finer aspects of Neumeier's writing, the much hyped re-appearance of Dizzy, with Dina Meyer reprising the role, is ruined by a predictable twist and ultimately doesn't really matter in the end. I wasn't completely entertained but TRAITOR OF MARS brought enough vigor to barely cross the finish line and be an okay watch.


FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5