G.I. Joe Retaliation

                                                             

                                             


                                                
        Growing up in the mid eighties there were not many more things I looked forward to than Saturday morning cartoons. Two of my favorites were “The Transformers” and “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero”. Who could forget those immortal words as the Joe’s attacked Cobra “Yo Joe!”  So needless to say I was pretty excited when the first G.I. Joe movie was released, and after seeing it, like many others I was extremely disappointed. The movie was not the G.I. Joe I grew up on and was just not a good movie in general. With that said and after seeing the trailer, I was ready to give “G.I. Joe Retaliation” a chance to bring something to the screen worth watching.

       The first good sign is that they pretty much came with a new cast and got rid of the few leftovers pretty early in the film. The Joes are America’s elite fighting force. Lead by Duke (Channing Tatum) and Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson) they are sent on a mission to stop something from falling in the bad guy’s hands. After beating the bad guys, they are ambushed with pretty much everyone being killed except Roadblock, Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) and Flint (D.J. Cotrona). Together the three remaining Joes travel back to America to find out who is behind the ambush. It seems the President (Jonathan Pryce) is not the real president but the wicked Zartan and is setting up for a takeover by Cobra. The only thing that can stop them is G.I. Joe, but will they be able to foil Cobra’s evil plans?

       Well the good news is that this movie is not even close to being as bad as the first one. In fact it is kind of entertaining and reminds me of those Saturday morning cartoons I use to watch. What is kind of cool is how they made a movie with a lot of shooting, but you never see any blood. I thought that was a good plan and brought back memories of the cartoon, where planes would get shot out of the sky, but then you’d see the parachute coming down. The characters they use are good enough and help you forget the mess that was the first movie.  It is written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who brought us the much loved “Zombieland” and directed by Jon M. Chu, who does well for directing his first action movie.  I will say that this is still not the movie I would love to see, but they are a lot closer this time around. This film is actually entertaining and that is really all you can ask for in a movie like this, and while I think most people will really enjoy this movie, you won’t hear anyone screaming out “Yo Joe!” after this one is over, but maybe they’ll make enough money for another one.  Here’s hoping third-times the charm?

Brian Taylor

      

                                 

                                                         

Flashback Corner--The Last Starfighter

"Well you may have thought it was a game, but it was a test.  Aha, a test.  Sent out across the universe to find those with the gift to be Starfighters."

 

 

 

 

The dream of every kid who has ever visited an arcade was to one day use their video-game skills to save the world.  In 1984, Alex Rogan got his chance.  As a young man with big dreams, he seemed all but destined to stay at his trailer park unclogging the toilets for the residents.  When one night he breaks the record of the local store video game “Starfighter” he is recruited by a man, who turns out to be an alien and takes him to another planet where he is expected to defend the frontier against Xur and the Ko-Dan Armada.

Back when this came out, it was a totally the kind of movie I could relate to.  By this time I had already played Centipede, Q*bert, Tron, and Star Wars.  So to see this movie where a kid gets a chance to go into space to do what he was really good at, playing a video game, suffice it to say, I watched that movie a lot and I played my games with more of a passion.  Unlike other movies that took place in a galaxy far away, here was this hero’s journey happening in a place that looked like the hill country not too far from my house.

Watching it now, it brings back those memories and a new appreciation for films like this that they don’t really make anymore.  Most movies for young boys are mindless big dumb fun if their anything at all, like “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”, or the “Transformers” movies.  Here we get a conflicted young man who is thrust into a situation where he has to accept himself hero or not.  Which you may be saying, ‘the same thing happens it the movies I just mentioned, with the Duke and Sam characters respectively’.  But what they lack is the heart.  Those moments you can put yourself there even if you never been in those exact situations.  My favorite exchange is between Alex and Centauri where he tells Alex about regular men like Columbus and the Wright brothers who did extraordinary things.  And Alex tells them he’s not like those guys, he’s just a kid from a trailer park, which Centauri replies: “If that’s what you think, then that’s all you’ll ever be.”  Words to live by.

On a technical level they did a lot with very little, not counting the groundbreaking early CGI, the script doesn’t have a lot of fat on it, it still moves along pretty well, and the humor still worked for me.  Lance Guest as Alex and the afore mentioned Centauri played by Robert Preston are great to watch even Guest as his own Beta unit is still kinda funny with the intentional bad wig and all.  The villain is two dimensional and the space stuff is too clean of a 90’s video game look, but in ’84 it was unique.  And though it’s not Star Wars good, as I said you can go a long way with a relatable character and circumstances.

While they do a lot of sequels for their films, Universal doesn’t really do re-makes.  But this one is ripe for a remake if done right, not just with the gaming culture, but you throw a little “October Sky” in there and you got a classic in the making.

“The Last Starfighter” is worth a re-watch, if nothing else for that nostalgia of when video-games seemed like magic and our world seemed bigger and our galaxy, smaller.

--Robert L. Castillo

 

Stoker

             There are many choices out there when it comes to movies to watch. Some people love movies with great writing that will have you quoting dialogue. Then there are the people who pay attention to the visuals they are shown, opting to be wowed by what they see. This year we have seen our introduction of two of Korea’s better directors. Earlier this year we saw Jee-woon Kim with “The Last Stand”, and now we are introduced to Chan-wook Park, with his visually stunning “Stoker”

           India (Mia Wasikowska) is one of those smart and quiet girls we all knew in high school. On her eighteen birthday her father dies in a freak accident. India’s mother Evelyn (Nicole Kidman) had been the outsider when it came to India and her father’s relationship, but is now India’s sole guardian. That changes rather quickly when Charlie (Matthew Goode) shows up, telling India that he is her uncle. Charlie has been away in Europe on business, but it looks like he is hiding something. Charlie seems to have a high interest in India; maybe more than an uncle should have in his niece. India and Charlie seem to be playing some sort of game, but you can’t quite put your finger on what it is. What you can see is that everyone in the Stoker family seems to be hiding something.

        I will say right off the bat, that if you are looking for a good family movie or maybe a date movie, this may not be for you. If you have never seen any of Park’s previous movies, you may not like what you are getting yourself into. “Stoker” is one of those movies some people will really love, while others may not like it at all. The movie is not a happy movie, but it will make you feel good. The way Park tells the story with the camera is inspiring. The words always seem secondary, because the camera tells everything the words are trying to say. Wasikowska is perfect in a role that relies more on her reactions than on what she says. Kidman and Goode also seem to be perfect for their roles. Movie lovers will love this movie, because it doesn’t fit into a mold, it is its own movie. As polarizing as it can be, some people will just plain hate it, because they don’t know what to make of it. I can tell you what it is, “Stoker” is a really good movie, it just might not be for everyone.

 

Brian Taylor

 

 

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

                     

         

       Everyone loves a magician, a statement that is a true as you will ever hear. What else would explain the popularity of magic shows in Las Vegas and the ratings when these magicians put a shot on TV. We know it is an illusion, but that doesn't stop us from being wowed. We want to believe it is true, because it gives us hope in something greater than ourselves. When it comes to movies, the last two weeks have been good for magicians. First we had “Oz the Great and Powerful”, and now we have “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone”.

       Now Burt (Steve Carell) does not travel to a far away land via a tornado. You see Burt was not very well liked as a child, but that all changed when he received a magic kit for his birthday. With his new found skills he develops a friendship with Anton (Steve Buscemi), who is amazed with the tricks Burt can perform. Together they decide to form a magic team and ascend their way to a nightly show in Vegas. Years pass, and Burt and Anton’s show just starts to go through the motions, losing the passion behind it. The audience notices and stops showing up for Burt and Anton’s show. There is a new breed of magicians, who does not follow by the same rules of normal magicians. Steve Gray (Jim Carey) is one of said magicians, who used violence to take his act to the next level.  When the owner of the newest hotel Doug (James Gandofini) decides to have a contest to decide his headliner, it starts a magic war, where there can be only one winner.

          Now it seems like you can’t go to the movie theater and not run into someone who can perform magic. From Harry Potter to Burt Wonderstone magic is in on the big screen. Now Burt doesn't have to save humanity from an evil wizard, but he does get battle a evil Jim Carey. The good thing about “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” it is funnier than it looks, the bad thing, it is not as funny as you like. The laughs come from not so much the main actors, but from what goes on around them. Written by the writing team of Jonathan A. Goldstein and John Francis, it doesn't bring the laughs like their last one “Horrible Bosses”. The cast works fine, and does provide some decent laughs; just not the laugh out loud moments you were hoping for. Just like magic you want to believe that this movie will amaze you, but in the end it just may not do the trick.

Brian Taylor

                                                 

Oz the Great and Powerful

                               

         

                 There are many things in life I have always wanted to do. One of those things stems from my childhood, from a movie that just about everyone has seen. That thing was to take a walk down the yellow brick road. I know the land of Oz is not real, but it just seems like a place everyone should visit. I think my desire comes from the happiness I felt every time I watched “The Wizard of Oz”, it just seems like such a wonderful and magical place. Well we all get to be off again, to see what Oz brings us in a time before Dorothy.

     Oz (James Franco) is a magician who travels with a circus. He is a trickster in every sense of the word. He uses his charm to fool people in believing his magic is real or convincing an attractive lady that she is the only one. Everything starts to change for Oz when he is caught in a storm, and that storm takes him to a place that is not Kansas. After landing, the first person he comes across is Theodora (Mila Kunis) who tells Oz he is the great Wizard they have been waiting for. Instead of denying it, he says that he is the Wizard, after he is told of the kingdom that awaits his rule. Theodora takes him the Emerald City where Oz meets Evanora (Rachel Weisz), Theodora’s sister and the keeper of the throne that awaits the Wizard. Evanora sends Oz to kill a witch named Glinda (Michelle Williams), only then can he be King of Oz. Along the way Oz finds out who the wicked witch really is, and who he is as well.

       When you have to follow up such an adored classic like “The Wizard of Oz”, the chances of you doing anything better are slim. Just because the story is out there, doesn’t mean you have to make a movie of it. Writers Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire saw something that they thought they could bring to the big screen. The good thing is the movie looks really good, something we can thank director Sam Raimi for.  He takes full advantage of the 3-D. Unfortunately for Oz, looks are not everything.

There were a few actors who were up for the part of Oz, who did not take it, and you are left with the feeling like you got the second choice. Not anything against James Franco, I just think he didn’t fit the role. The same thing can be said for Kunis, who just doesn’t seem like the best choice for her role.  This trip just can’t compare to the first time. Raimi does his best to make a decent movie, but it was just not meant to be. I wish they had not tried to tell this story, because sometimes the best stories play better in our imagination than they do anywhere else. If you choose to want to take a trip down the yellow brick road, watch the original, you will be a lot happier than any trip you could take now.

 Brian Taylor

                                               

Snitch

   

        Every time I see that a movie is inspired by true events, I start to wonder about that inspiration.  Is it just a small part, or does the story have a lot of truth to it. These stories always seem to pull at the heart strings a little more, because they are easier to relate to. It is hard to be James Bond, but it is easy to be a regular guy doing something spectacular. One of those stories is what “Snitch” is all about.

       John Matthews (Dwayne “not the Rock” Johnson) is a successful business man. Matthews has a son named Jason Collins (Rafi Gavron), who lives with his ex wife. Jason reluctantly helps a friend and signs for a package containing drugs. Little did Jason know, but the feds were tipped off and arrested Jason. Even though Jason has never been in trouble before, he is facing a minimum mandatory sentence of at least ten years, unless he snitches on someone. Not wanting to be a snitch he refuses, and is willing to take his chances in prison. Jason’s father refuses to let that happen and offers to help the District Attorney Joanne Keegahn (Susan Sarandon). His offer is to bring someone in, in exchange for his son’s freedom. Keegahn agrees and with the help of a D.E.A agent named Cooper (Berry Pepper). Matthews sets out to free his son.

      The story is based on a Frontline story and is written by Justin Haythe and directed by Ric Roman Waugh. What is unique about Waugh’s approach to this movie is his attention to realism. For his last film “Felon”, Waugh actually worked two years as a parole officer to see how the system actually worked. That dedication shows in “Snitch” as everything feels authentic. With that working in its favor and a nice cast it would seem to point to a very good movie, but unfortunately it doesn’t. It’s not a bad movie; it just doesn’t become the movie you think it could have been. Not every movie has to be a masterpiece; the only thing you can really ask for is for it to entertain you.  “Snitch” in that aspect succeeds and keeps your attention most of the time. The trailer leads you to believe there is a lot more action in the movie than there really is. Instead the movie relies on suspense to build and try and keep you on the edge of your seat. “Snitch” is a movie most people will enjoy, I just wish I had liked it a little more, but then again you can’t like them all.

Brian Taylor

                                                                                             

Batman The Dark Knight Returns Part 2

“Stop laughing.”

 

          With the resurgence and somewhat over-saturation of superhero related media, it’s easy for some things to slip through the cracks.  One thing that hasn’t been talked up enough is the direct-to-video animated film “The Dark Knight Returns” Part 2.  Released in January as the second and final installment to the adaptation of Frank Miller’s masterpiece of a graphic novel of the same name.  It finds an aging Bruce Wayne returning to the streets of Gotham as Batman after a ten year absence.

 

In this second part it covers the final two issues with Batman’s confrontation to an even more crazed version of the Joker and an epic battle with his once friend Superman.   As with part one of the “Dark Knight Returns” there is no voice-over and this part is basically the big action set pieces that are so kinetic and really bring what falls between the panels to life.  The voice-over work is decent, not as dramatic as I was hoping for.   But the visuals more than make up for it and the music by Christopher Drake is a booming and grand-tastic as a Hans Zimmer score.

The scene with the Joker and Batman at the amusement park which leads to the hall of mirrors that rivals “Enter the Dragon” and the haunting moments in the Tunnel of Love where the Joker lays waste to dozens of couples is eerie and fantastic all at the same time.  The final moments with Superman and Batman is what geeks and even regular fans of the characters have talked about for years: what would happen if Batman and Superman fought?  In the comic it’s a couple of pages but for the film version we get an almost ten minute brawl that has images that are awesome and unbelievable.  You get the feeling that these are two true titans at battle.

If you haven’t seen either part of “The Dark Knight Returns” you are seriously missing out.  As a whole this film is grand in scale and rivals any live action film.  The action is solid, the beats are rapid and as I said the music totally immerses you in the world that was created for the page and explodes on the small screen.  If you are a fan of the Christopher Nolan Bat-verse, you need to do yourself a favor and get this film into your home and witness this unbelievable version of Batman that you will never see on the big screen.

 

--Robert L. Castillo