Friday, March 24, 2017

Power Rangers Review

          When I look back at my childhood, the Power Rangers were a part of it but they weren't the stars of it. I enjoyed my time when I watched this show. In fact I was the green Power Ranger for Halloween multiple years in a row. I just wasn't a mega fan. 
           I had so much fun watching this movie. And that's really what this movie was. Fun. My levels of enjoyment were so high. I haven't felt these levels of enjoyment since Captain America: Civil War.
          In any movie that has teen characters, you are worried that the acting will be terrible. Well, I'm happy to report that this acting is actually surprisingly good. It's not that bad young adult acting you might see in movies like The Divergent Series or The Fifth Wave. It's not amazing acting but it's good enough. The stand outs being Naomi Scott (Pink Ranger), Dacre Montgomery (Red Ranger), and RJ Cyler (Blue Ranger.) The other two actors weren't bad by any means. It's just that those three actors stood out. They were just given more time to develop given their circumstances as characters. My personal favorite was RJ Cyler. He co-stared in one of my favorite movies of recent years Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. I really wanted him to break out and get more opportunities and I really think he will. In a movie with a team of heroes you need good chemistry. These actors do provide you with that chemistry that this movie needed. The comedy beats hit, and they hit effectively. 
          Power Rangers did something that I really appreciate when movies do it. It sucked me into the world. I was entrapped in the world that was Power Rangers. Were there faults in this movie? Most likely. I just didn't seem to notice them because I was just having so much fun. If you go see this movie, will you find problems with it? Probably. You won't probably like it as much as I did. However, you will find some sense of fun in it. 
          Out of the movies I've seen this year I have to say that this is probably my favorite. Is it the best? Not necessarily. But it is my favorite when you take into account the amount of fun I had while watching it, the enjoyment I had while watching it, and that's what a movie is supposed to do. Movies are meant to take you out of the real world, and bring you into one where you just have fun. Power Rangers did that more than any other movie in recent memory. Chances are you won't like it as much as me. However you will most likely experience the fun you are wanting from a Power Rangers Movie. 


        

Friday, March 10, 2017

Kong: Skull Island Review

          The Vietnam War is coming to an end. When a group of soldiers were ready to go home to their families/friends, they got recruited to go explore an uncharted island somewhere in the ocean. You have this team of soldiers, then you have a team of scientist who go to this island to explore it, and do science things.
          You can probably guess what happens next on this island. What happens on this island is a bunch of bad character development and a bunch of bad dialogue. These characters are shallower than the kid pool at your local community center. You have great actors in Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson but it seems like their only job was to stand there and look attractive. Even though they do a good job at that, they don't do a good job at making good characters. Now, that isn't entirely their fault. You can blame that problem on the terrible script this movie has.
          The script really didn't do a good job at doing anything it was supposed to. Like I alluded to above, there is no real sense of character in this movie. They introduce a lot of characters and then they try to make most of these characters really important but they just can't. Everyone is just portraying very vague versions of whom they are supposed to be. Out of all the scientists, I can't describe one to you in detail. They all mush together into a big blob of forgetfulness. You can say the same about the soldiers who are also in this movie. The worst part about this is how these characters die. I hate it when characters die off, and you feel nothing. I want to feel emotion every time someone dies. I don't just want to sit there and think "meh". I want to care for characters and I just couldn't in this movie.
          Going back to the issues of the script, it has horrendous dialogue. Conversations between the characters didn't feel fluid. It felt very choppy and unnatural. I was taken out of the movie several times for that reason. I just couldn't get behind anything that was happening in this movie because it was very choppy.
          Originally this movie was supposed to be called, Skull Island. So the same title just without the "Kong." And frankly, I would've preferred it to be that way. They do a decent job at showing this island to us. I was slowly gaining curiosity about what else was on this island. With the title just being Skull Island, I would've expected them to dive more into the mythology of this island. However, with the title of Kong: Skull Island I expected a lot more Kong then they actually showed us. In a Kong movie I want Kong. I don't wan't forgettable characters. The Kong segments were the best parts about this movie like we all could've assumed going into it. I just wish there were more of those segments so I was less distracted by the bad characters and dialogue. One thing that the Kong scenes could've been improved from was better CGI. The visual effects were very noticeable at points. I believe they could've been improved.
         Besides the Kong scenes, the best part about this movie was Brie Larson. Not because she was good in it, but because I just love Brie Larson. If you haven't seen her in her Academy Award winning role in Room, go watch it so you can fully appreciate what Brie Larson is capable of.
         I was really looking forward to this movie because it's the latest addition to Warner Bros. "MonsterVerse" which also includes 2014's Godzilla movie. I actually really liked Peter Jackson's interpretation of King Kong so I was looking forward to another directors interpretation. This movie is also leading up to Godzilla V. King Kong coming out in 2020. And as you can probably tell, I was disappointed with this movie.
          Kong: Skull Island  is a very forgetful movie. It's very likely you won't remember anything that happened in this movie once you have left the theater. The characters won't attract you to this movie, the dialogue won't attract you to this movie and not much will actually be able to grab your attention. I was getting tired during a Kong action scene. That should not happen! I was about to fall asleep!

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Friday, March 3, 2017

Logan Review

          This review is going to be SPOILER FREE. So don't you worry.
          There is a term I use very rarely when it comes to describing movies. That term is "cinematic masterpiece." When it comes to comic book movies, even the all time greats I don't use that term. I reserve that term for a movie that is an example of art in it's purest form. For example Forrest Gump, The Empire Strikes Back, The Truman Show, and the only comic book movie that is in my top films of all time list Man of Steel are the movies I have reserved that term for. When I say art in it's purest form, I mean those movies beautifully depict the human mind and perfectly show off it's full imaginary, and creative potential. As you can probably tell, I hold the term "cinematic masterpiece" very highly.
          Now, when I give a film a perfect 5/5 score, that doesn't automatically mean it becomes a cinematic masterpiece. In order to become a cinematic masterpiece the movie must also affect me at an emotional level. Only the best movies, are the movies that effect you in the long run. Think about that. The movies that you most often talk about, are the movies that have made in impact with you emotionally. Without a doubt, Logan is a cinematic masterpiece.
          Not only is it a cinematic masterpiece, it is pure brilliance. Perhaps the best part about Logan is it doesn't feel like a comic book/superhero movie. You don't have to be a fan of previous X-Men movies to appreciate this movie. I think you don't even need to see any other comic book movies to appreciate this one. Like I said before, it doesn't feel like other comic book movies. When you think of The Dark Knight, Captain America: Winter Soldier, or even Guardians of the Galaxy, the feelings that those movies give you, don't even come close the feelings and emotions Logan gives you. You won't be used to the amount of emotion Logan has because it's very likely you haven't seen it in a movie before. It might be weird to hear that a comic book movie has that much emotion. But it's true.
          You can't have emotion without great performances. And we do have great performances. This is Hugh Jackman's last performance as Wolverine (in a stand alone Wolverine movie at least), and Patrick Stewart's last performance as Charles Xavier. I was preparing myself mentally before I saw this movie for those reasons. I just don't think I mentally prepared my self well enough. I was blown away by both of their performances. They put so much thought into their characters. It was so heartbreaking to see Wolverine and Professor X as worn down as they were because I'm so used to seeing them in their prime or when they are healthy. They establish such a great father/son type relationship. If this movie came out later in the year, I really think that there would be serious talk about giving Patrick Stewart an Oscar nomination.
        They want to make sure you feel the emotions that all the characters are feeling. They do that by establishing a great relationship with Professor X, but also with the other most important relationship. The one with the little girl Laura played by Dafne Keen. What a powerful performance she gives. She does a great job acting with Jackman without even saying a word. The character of Laura or X-23, is such a rich and deep character. This movie just does such a great job at establishing characters and their relationships. They do that so well that (like I said before) it doesn't even feel like a comic book movie. It feels like a small, independent film that you could have a serious discussion about what Oscars this should be nominated for. Speaking of potential Oscars, this screenplay/story was really appropriate for the feel this movie wanted to give you.
          As you can probably tell, I have high praise for Logan. If you have any interest in this movie, go see it. If you don't have any interest go see it. In fact in my showing of it, there was an elderly couple. I talked to them and they said they were 84 years old and they loved it. But beware, this is not a movie for kids. This movie has an R rating and deserves it. There is not a lot of action in this movie but when there is its brutal, violent, bloody, etc... you do see a couple of heads get cut off. But this is the Wolverine I have always wanted to see.  An incredibly violent Wolverine in the fullness and glory is was always meat to be seen in.
          Logan has easily made it's way to the top of my comic book movie list. If you haven't seen other X-Men movies, you can still enjoy this movie. If you are typically not the biggest fan of comic book movies, go see this movie. It's a spectacular tale of family and emotion.

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