Power Rangers Is Actually Not Bad

Power Rangers

I was kind of too old for the Power Rangers TV show.  I remember when it first came on.  For me, it was too cheesy, and I was never able to take it seriously.

As a result, I wasn't really very keen on seeing the "Power Rangers" as a movie, even though I agreed to take my kids to see it.  Of course, my little boys loved it.  I don't even need to explain that.  But surprisingly, I really liked it.  The movie is an entertaining roller coaster ride from start to finish.  Almost too embarrassing to admit, I found myself really enjoying the movie and was disappointed when it ended.

It provides a great backstory for the costumed heroes.  Focusing on a group of high school teens in detention class, it is like "Breakfast Club" on steroids.  A group of young misfits all feel mysteriously drawn to a rock quarry that happens to sit on a buried spaceship.  They all find coins that seem to give them superpowers.  They return to the spaceship and make contact with Alpha 5 (played by Bill Hader) and Zordon (played by Bryan Cranston, who actually provided voice for the original series).  He explains to them that the coins mean that they are selected to become the next team of Rangers, beings given powers to fight evil in the universe, namely Rita Repulsa, played beautifully by Elizabeth Banks.  Most of the movie is spent learning to harness their powers, specifically to "morph".  But once they do, an eye-popping battle ensues.  The ensemble is largely unknown to me, but recognized by most of my teens.  (Wait, I thought the black guy was the Black Ranger.  What gives?)  It was celebrated that the Yellow Ranger (played by singer Beck G) was the first queer Ranger, but I guess I'm naive enough that I didn't catch that nuance.

"Power Rangers" certainly is not going to win any Academy Awards, but it will have you swinging your fists at the movie screen for a few minutes.  Go see it, and take your kids.

Shock the Monkey: "Kong: Skull Island" is a Wild Ride

Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson 

It might seem too soon for another King Kong movie, but then one remember's:  Peter Jackson's sprawling, poetic epic was released in 2005 - 12  years ago!  I guess we are due for another one.  "Kong: Skull Island" is the second installment in Legendary's MonsterVerse series, which started with 2014's "Godzilla", and will eventually climax pitting both gargantuan creatures against each other.

I have to admit - when I first saw the trailer for this movie, I had zero desire to see it.  I only went, because the group I attended this movie with had already seen the other selections and this was the only flick yet not viewed by everyone.  So we went.

Actually, I was glad to see it.  It was a brilliant, star-studded monster flick worthy of a Saturday matinee.  For a Kong movie, there was nary a Manhattan landscape to be found, no giant gorilla scaling the Empire State Building.  Instead, the whole drama takes place on the mysterious Skull Island where the King of the Apes is the last of his kind, an unwitting hero guarding  a vent to the center of the earth where even more dangerous denizens dwell.  The movie felt more like "Platoon" or "Jurassic Park" than it did any other Kong movies.

Of course, you have the stereotypical characters - the sneaky businessman trying to exploit the island, played by John Goodman.  The no-nonsense former special forces commander played by Tom Hiddleston.  The feisty photojournalist played by Brie Larson in the role filled before by Fay Wray, Jessica Lange and Naomi Watts, except a bit tougher.  The military leader bent on destroying Kong and refuses to see any benefit to leaving him alive, played by the mother f***ing Samuel L. Jackson.  The half-crazed WWII pilot stranded on the island and who is the only one with an insight into the monster played by John C. Reilly.  As well as a handful of other characters, most of them soldiers, and most of them die.

Of course, the most memorable character is Kong himself, grumpy and strong, yet always has a soft spot for the female character.  The island itself is a character in the film with its luscious and deadly landscape, full of amazing creatures, like giant spiders and the like.  Most of the action is military, and the film will not have you engaging in any philosophical discussions.  It is just great fun.

Oh yeah, and most importantly - my boys loved it.

The Great Wall of Awesome

Matt Damon in "The Great Wall"

A couple of weeks ago, for Spring Break, I took my little boys for a Saturday matinee to see the Chinese film, "The Great Wall".  Halfway through the movie, my 8 year-old son, Avery, leaned towards me and whispered over his 3-D glasses, "Dad, I'm surprised not many people heard of this movie.  It's really good!"

And the review of this movie by an 8 year-old aptly summarizes this film.  It's not what you would term a "thinking man's movie", but it is the perfect material for a Saturday matinee - really cool visually, martial arts action, scary monsters, and Maaat Daaaamon.  In other words, little kids are really going to like this.  So will the dads, for that matter.

Matt Damon plays William Garin, a Western mercenary who stumbles upon the mysterious Great Wall in central China while traveling with his Iberian companion, Game of Thrones' Pedro Pascal.  They are imprisoned by the highly organized defenders of the Wall, led by the beautiful Jing Tian, with their beautifully-enamaled armor.  They meet another Westerner, played by Willem Dafoe, who reveals that the purpose of the Wall is to defend against an onslaught of monsters.  Mayhem ensues.  Think "Tremors" vs. "Pitch Black" vs. "Crouching Tiger".  And you will get the gist of it.

The most expensive movie ever made in China, it was considered a box-office flop.  But it really is a fun ride.  It will not having you question the existential purpose of humanity.  But you will see some pretty awesome special effects and kung fu stunts.  This movie is a glimpse back at the heyday of Saturday morning Chinese cinema.  And your kids will love it.

The Movies of 2016

This post reflects my neglect and trying to keep up with my movie reviews.  Truth be told, I don't really go to the movies that often.  It's too expensive for me.  But the following movies represent what I went to see in 2016:

1.  Star Wars: The Force Awakens -  

Peter Mayhew and Harrison Ford

What can I say about one of the greatest movies ever released in the last ten years that hasn't already been said.  Not much, that's what.  It's already been said in countless reviews already been written a couple of weeks ago.  I guess I could say what "Star Wars" means to me.  In many ways, my late father would write a better review than me.  "Star Wars" has always held me under a kind of sway, holding me mesmerized.  But my dad was with me for every movie from the beginning, and his eyes were open.

I remember the first moment I saw every movie.  When "A New Hope" came out in May, 1977, I was seven years-old, and it seemed like every kids in my class had seen it.  It came to the theater in our small town in Utah, and it left without me seeing it.  Then, that autumn, it miraculously came back, and the lines were around the block.  We arrived late and sat down in time to see the Rebels destroy the Death Star.  We sat through the next showing to catch what we missed.  Over the next month, we saw it a total of seven times.  The last two times, my dad fell asleep during the screenings.  He liked it, but he was quick to point out the flaws.  He hated "The Return of the Jedi", and not just for the Ewoks.  He felt that it was telling the same story as "A New Hope" all over again,

I waited in line until midnight to see "The Phantom Menace", and I was starry-eyed about it.  He thought that the Gungans looked fake and unrealistic.  A month before he died, he saw "Attack of the Clones" and had criticism for it as well.  There has not been a "Star Wars" movie out that I have not thought about my dad, wondering what he would think about it.

For instance, I raved about "The Force Awakens".  But I can hear my dad.  "Another Death Star?  Except they call it Star Killer Base?  They power it with the sun?  How do they move it?"  My dad is gone, except he is very much with me still.  That small voice will not let me suspend disbelief.

Deadpool

2.  Deadpool - A lot of noise was made about Ryan Reynolds' new superhero movie, sort of reprising the role he played in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine".  It's a superhero movie with a hard "R"!  Thanks a lot, Fox!  You made a superhero movie that all of my little kids wanted to see, but couldn't.  And it was cool - a lot of superhero action with splatter gore and violence.  The best part was that this movie does not take itself seriously and often mocks itself.  That was refreshing, and Reynolds has the wit to pull this off.  The negative part - the other characters were kind of sketchy and the plot was kind of weak.  But who needs that when you got gore and boobs, right?

Mary Elizabeth Winstead & John Goodman

3.  10 Cloverfield Lane - This was probably one of the best movies of the year.  J.J. Abrams took a script and had it adapted into part of his "Cloverfield" universe.  But that's not really the reason it is good.  It tells the story of a girl (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who wakes up from a car accident as a prisoner in a nuclear bomb shelter, held by a crazy guy (John Goodman) who tells her that there has been some kind of invasion on the surface, and she must stay in the shelter for her survival.  The movie reduces the drama to the confines of the shelter and relies on acting, not special effects, to tell the story, and the acting is superb.  We spend most of the movie wondering if Goodman's character is really insane.  It has kind of a Hitchcock feel.  I loved it.

Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, & Henry Cavill

4.  Batman vs. Superman:  Dawn of Justice -  This movie was really disappointed to me.  I loved Chris Nolan's "Dark Knight" series, as well as "Man of Steel".  I have loved Zack Snyder's movies.  However, this movie commits a faux pas that I hate in movies - they spend the whole movie, not exploring plot or characters, but setting up a franchise.  "Justice League" had better be damn good after having sat through this boring mess.  Surprisingly, Ben Affleck comes off really well as Batman, and Gal Gadot is fairly badass as Wonder Woman.  It's about time she made it to the big screen.

Team: Cap

5.  Captain America: Civil War - Definitely my favorite in the franchise, this movie pits the Avengers against each other when Captain America (Chris Evans) tries to defend his old friend, the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) resulting in a schism where the former friends actually go to blows.  It's funny - most of my kids were on Team Iron Man, obviously because Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) is so cool.  But I, myself, was on Team Cap, because Iron Man was actually allowing U.N. control of the Avengers.  The libertarian in me didn't like that.  The action is cool, and some of the characters from other spin-offs - like Ant Man (Paul Rudd) and Spidey (Tom Holland) get in on the action.  Plus, they introduce Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), who was always one of my favorites.  These are always fun to take my kids to.

Samuel L. Jackson & Peter Skarsgard

6. Legend of Tarzan - Tarzan was an important part of my childhood growing up; I owned all of the books by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  But I was never completely satisfied with the movie versions.  The '50s serials were cheesy.  I liked "Greystoke", but it was too serious, focusing more on the psychology of the Lord of the Apes, rather than the adventure.  Finally, a movie true to the spirit of the books - with True Blood's Alexander Skarsgard as Lord Greystoke and Margot Robbie as Jane.  Christoph Waltz plays a smarmy villain, and Samuel L. Jackson plays... well, Samuel L. Jackson.  The movie is at once fantastical and believable.  You will lose yourself in the jungle.  They need a sequel.

Chris Pine, Sofia Boutella, & the late Anton Yelchin

7. Star Trek Beyond - I enjoyed the third installment of the Star Trek reboot more than I though I would.  The preview made it look cheesy, but it turned out better than I expected.  Granted, it did seem more like a TV episode than it did a movie, but it was still a fun ride.  The crew of the Enterprise find themselves stranded on a planet isolated by a nebula, at the mercy of rogue space pirates, and the crew must rely on the cunning expertise of Capt. James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) in order to survive.  It is a veritable roller coaster, and I hope they continue the franchise.  I was saddened by the tragic death of Anton Yelchin, who played Lt. Chekov.  I am not sure what they are going to do without him.

Eva Green

8.  Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children - This movie was based on a children's novel of the same time that many of my children had read, so the movie version of this was high anticipated by them.  It tells the story of a boarding house for children with supernatural abilities, looked after my a mysterious lady named Miss Peregrine (played by the delectable Eva Green).  For me, it was mainly another Tim Burton, which means that it is full of fantastical weirdness and does not disappoint in this respect.  However, if you are in the mood for a Danny Elfman soundtrack, I guess he sat this one out.  It does have the ubiquitous Samuel L. Jackson in this one as well, playing the monstrous villain.  A great movie for the kids.

Felicity Jones & the ensemble of "Rogue One"

9. - Rogue One - Hands down, one of the best Star Wars movies ever made, perhaps next to "Empire Strikes Back".  Dark, gritty and violent, this movie is something that every Star Wars fan hoped each movie might be, but was sorely disappointed.  Ever confusing to non-fans, this movie is nestled between Episodes III and IV and is about the ill-fated mission to obtain the plans to the original Death Star, led by Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones).  The movie is loaded with easter eggs that will please hardcore fans, and the battle, on land, in air, and in space, is perhaps the best ever orchestrated in a Star Wars movie.  It did not disappoint.  It seems Disney is doing the franchise right.

So these were the movies I saw in 2016.  I will do better in 2017.

Spectre Is a Bit Shady

Daniel Craig in Spectre

From the days of my early childhood, I have been a huge James Bond fan.  I grew up in the heyday of Roger Moore, watching televised airings of the Sean Connery classics on ABC's Sunday Night Movie.  As a teen, I read all of the Ian Fleming novels.  I have clear memories of watching "For Your Eyes Only" over and over on cable TV.  And of going to the theater to see "A View To a Kill" and "The Living Daylights" in the theater.  Thus, I have been a judicious participant of the franchise even as I write the review to "Spectre", the 24th 007 movie!

My favorite Bond movies - in no particular order - are "From Russia With Love", "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", and "Casino Royale", because they remain fairly close to their source novels.  My favorite Bond was Timothy Dalton, because he did research and tried to base his character on the Bond of the books.  However, I do like Daniel Craig as he carries an air of danger, a bad-boy attitude that befits the character.  Although he has never looked like a Bond.

I have enjoyed the reboot of the Bond series.  They are panoramic, brutal, gritty, and more believable., although by no means perfect.  Sam Mendes returns after the overrated "Skyfall" to continue the story of a maverick British spy chasing an elusive elitist crime syndicate hinted at since the first movie.  It is revealed to be a sinister organization called Spectre - headed by Ernst Stavro Blofeld played by Christopher Waltz.  Whereas Waltz has the proverbial fluffy kitty, he is too nice to be a believable bad guy.  There is this lame backstory where Bond and Blofeld have some sort of childhood connection, although I am not sure what the point is.  In this film, Spectre is organizing terror events to get the world's intelligence communities to network through a common computer network, controlled, of course, by Spectre.  Although it is never confirmed what Spectre hopes to gain from this, or what their ultimate aim is as a syndicate.  The film leaves you with the feeling that there should another film to explain this, although interviews with Daniel Craig indicate that this is his last Bond film.

The whole movie leaves you feeling like there is something lacking.  Sure, there are incredible vistas and action, like the whole sequence of the Day of the Dead in Mexico City.  There are some cool cars, gadgets, and beautiful Bond girls, like Lea Seydoux and Monica Bellucci (a Bond girl at age 50!).  But the previous Bond films were pretty good at providing a clean narrative.  Now we are back at the Roger Moore era of stories with huge plot holes big enough to drive an Aston Martin through them.  We have a corny villain whose purpose is unclear.  Next, Bond needs to start making glib jokes in moments of danger, and we will have come full circle.  So much for the reboot...

Summer Movie Reviews 2015

So I neglected to write my reviews for the summer movie season - probably because I didn't really go to the movies that often this summer.  So I decided to include all of the movies I went to this summer into one post.  Here it goes:

Avengers: Age of Ultron

1.  Avengers: Age of Ultron - The second installment of this Marvel franchise was one of the most anticipated movies of the season and possibly one of the biggest let-downs.  Several minor films and TV episodes culminated in bringing the heroes of S.H.I.E.L.D. together again to combat an imminent threat to life as we know it.  The first movie was gripping, showing the struggle between the heroes to swallow their egos and to learn to work together.  There are some really cool action sequences in this movie.  But the character interaction is almost non-existent except for some unusual twists.  (Wait, what?  Hulk and Black Widow?)  There are a few new characters introduced - Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Quicksilver, Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch, and Paul Bettany as Vision - but their characters are so sketchy, do we really care what happens to them?  James Spader plays the villain, a gravelly-voiced robot named Ultron, but his character is so whiny and ambiguous that it is hard to take him seriously.  Should we be scared?  It was really disappointing, but I hold on to the hope that the next one will be better.  I must say - my kids loved it.  It has already come out on video, and I have watched it again this week.  Maybe I should have waited for it to come out on video.

Jurassic World

2. Jurassic World - When "Jurassic Park" by Michael Crichton came out, it was a novel with biting commentary, an ironic look at the world of science when it collides with commercialism.  The movie based on the novel, directed by Steven Spielberg, had the same spirit of the book, along with some cutting edge special effects,  The movies that followed seem to seek after the same commercialism that the original story preached against, following an undeviating formula.  "Jurassic World" is no different - a dinosaur theme park gone wrong where all the dinosaurs break loose.  Park administrators that refuse to heed dire warnings of imminent danger.  Heroic park staff that rescue kids from said dinosaurs.  Genetic super-dino on the prowl.  It's all there, man.  Right there.  Predictable as all get-out.  It's still fun.  Who can dislike a movie with Chris Pratt in it, right?  But in the end, not even Vincent D'Onofrio can save this movie.  Jeff Goldblum might have.  Still, the kids loved it.

Ant-Man

3.  Ant-Man - Sometimes the little guy does win.  "Ant-Man" is probably among Marvel's best pictures to date, along with the first "Iron Man" and "Guardians of the Galaxy".  Quirky and light-hearted, it tells the story of one of the more idiosyncratic characters from the Marvel pantheon, Ant-Man, played by Paul Rudd, who gives his hero a softer, more comedic feel.  He plays a down-and-out thief recruited by the irascible Michael Douglas to escond and use a technology that allows the user to reduce his size to that of an insect, along with inheriting other insectile traits.  Of course, he winds up facing another minuscule villain, Yellowjacket, played by Corey Stoll.  This film is unconventional and fun.  And yes, the kids will love it.

American Ultra

4.  American Ultra - "American Ultra" tells the story of a neurotic stoner in a sleepy town played by Jesse Eisenberg.  The on;y solace he has is in his girlfriend played surprisingly well by the otherwise boring Kristen Stewart.  His life take a turn for the chaotic when he discovers that he is a killing machine, a victim of an MK Ultra-type government experiment.  As teams of assassins lead by Topher Grace descend on the town, he discovers his secret talents along with other dark secrets of his past.  This movie is subversive, violent, and fun.  All of it set within the confines of a small town with colorful characters within the space of one nightmarish night, this film evokes the suffocating feeling of Scorcese's "After Hours".  This really is my kind of movie - a cerebral, psychedelic mindf*** disguised as a summer blockbuster.

Everest

5. Everest - "Everest" is probably my favorite movie of 2015 so far.  When I walked into the theater, I only knew it was a climbing movie, and I am a sucker for those kinds of movies.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was based on the events portrayed in "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer, one of my favorite books.  It is not specifically based on the book, but the events were pretty close to what I had read.  It narrates the tale of the ill-fated Everest expedition of 1996.  Visually, the film has superb panoramic shots of the Himalayas, which makes the 3-D experience worth it.  There are stellar performances by a diverse cast that includes Jason Clarke as Rob Hall and Jake Gyllenhaal as Scott Fischer, as well as excellent performances by Keira Knightly, Josh Brolin, Sam Worthington, Robin Wright, John Hawkes, Michael Kelly as Karakauer, and Emily Watson.  This movie will keep you on the edge of your seat, as well as stir you emotionally.  I went to see it a second time and took my wife.  She was in tears by the end.  Don't miss the chance to see this on the big screen.

I Predict An Earthquake: Review of "San Andreas"

Dwayne Johnson in "San Andreas"

I have a theory about disaster movies.  To make them visually poignant to the viewer, they must destroy well-known landmarks.  In the early summer film, "San Andreas", we get to see the Hoover Dam burst, and most of Los Angeles - including the Hollywood sign - get ripped asunder along with most of San Francisco with, you got it, the Golden Gate Bridge.  The disaster doesn't seem real if it's a Save-On in some podunk town.  It has to be something that you recognize - even if you have never been there.

"San Andreas" follows other disaster movie formulae.  There is the scientist (Paul Giamatti) who predicts a catastrophe - in this case, a major event along California's San Andreas Fault.  No one listens to him until it is too late, and then his dire predictions become vindicated.  There is a hero, in this case being "Ray", a rescue helicopter pilot, played by the gibbous Dwayne Johnson.  The hero has a broken family - an estranged wife (Carla Gugino) who is engaged to a rich tycoon (Ioan Gruffudd) and a disillusioned child (Alexandra Daddario, whom I had just seen in some steamy scenes in "True Detective" whose memory proved distracting).  Somehow, this disaster is going to bring them all together as Ray and his wife race from Los Angeles to San Francisco in the midst of a devastating series of earthquakes and tsunamis to rescue their daughter.

So there you have it.  This movie is predictable as all get out.  That doesn't mean it's not a fun ride.  Visually, it's pretty awesome.  It will have you sitting at the edge of your proverbial seat.  It's like an amusement park roller coaster.  Sadly, it's just as cerebral.  This is not a thinking man's movie.

I guarantee you that, someday, I will own this movie.  As soon as it hits the Walmart $5 bin.