MOVIE REVIEW: MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN

In 1979 young Donna, Tanya and Rosie graduate from Oxford University -- leaving Donna free to embark on a series of adventures throughout Europe. On her journeys, she makes the acquaintances of Harry, Bill and Sam -- the latter whom she falls in love with, but he's also the man who breaks her heart. In the present day, Donna's pregnant daughter, Sophie, dreams of renovating a taverna while reuniting with her mother's old friends and boyfriends on the Greek island of Kalokairi.

Director: OI Parker

Cast: Lily James, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Dominic Cooper, Cher, Meryl Streep

Release Date: July 20, 2018

Genres: Comedy, Musical

Rated PG-13 for some suggestive material

Runtime: 1h 54min

Review:

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is a surprisingly strong sequel to the fizzy original.  Getting the bad out of the way, the film feels the loss of it’s A List cast from the original, the majority of them appear but with limited screen time.  Lily James carries the majority of film as the young Donna and she’s more than capable.  I do wonder if they asked Grace Gummer, one of Streep’s daughters, to play the role since she bears such a striking resemblance to her when she was younger.  Still Lily James pulls off an impressive performance, capturing most of Streep’s mannerisms from the original film.  The rest of the younger cast is equally as effective portraying their older, legendary counterparts.  The song selections here aren’t as strong as the original film which is understandable since the original used nearly all the greatest hits.  Still they are catchy enough to keep any ABBA fan smiling.  The strangest thing about Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is how reflective and heartfelt the film is.  It’s far more emotional than you’d expect from a sequel to a light fizzy original.  Meryl Streep appears in what is an extended cameo but her appearance packs an emotional punch and really brings the film full circle.   

B

Cindy Prascik's Review of The Judge & Dracula Untold

Dearest Blog, today it was off to the pictures for what looked like an Oscars/Razzies double bill of The Judge and Dracula Untold.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

First on the docket was The Judge. (See what I did there?)

A hotshot big-city attorney (Robert Downey, Jr.) returns to his smalltown home for his mother's funeral, but ends up defending his father (Robert Duvall)--a respected judge--against a murder charge.

The Judge layers family drama with legal thriller in an interesting, if unsurprising, tale. It's Awards Season, so it goes without saying the movie runs long, and I suppose it's meant to give you a case of the warm fuzzies about smalltown America (versus the big, bad city), a ploy that never, ever fails to annoy me. The Judge is littered with respected and decorated actors: Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Billy Bob Thornton, and Vincent D'Onofrio. Most everyone has the opportunity to weep his or her way through a potential Oscar clip or three, but it's Downey who will get you through the movie's bloated runtime without looking at your watch.

He is the most watchable person making movies today, and round about the 90-minute mark, you'll be ever grateful for that, trust me. To gauge The Judge's true merit, then, it's only fair to ask: How good is this movie if it stars somebody else? The answer is maybe a little better than average.

The Judge clocks in at 141 minutes and is rated R for "language, including some sexual references."
Minus Robert Downey, Jr., The Judge is a well acted but predictable and excessively-long drama. With Robert Downey, Jr., it's infinitely watchable and easily forgiven for its sins.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Judge gets seven.

Next up was Luke Evans' first real starring vehicle, Dracula Untold.

Having left life as "the Impaler" behind him, Prince Vlad Tepes makes a deal with the devil to protect his family and his people.

Dear reader(s), as something of an expert on the subject, I want to remind you up front that Luke Evans is a truly talented, multi-faceted actor, and his films have yet to scratch the surface of his potential. It's important for me to make that clear for reasons that will become apparent later.
Dracula Untold is more like Dracula Untrue, turning the fabled Count into a bizarro mix of superhero and romance novel cover boy. Evans can't be blamed (much to the relief of this longtime fan), and, to his credit, he manages to pull off the silly action and terrible dialogue with a fair bit of charm. The usually reliable Dominic Cooper is miscast as the movie's villain...and where ya goin' with that accent, Coop?? Blandly pretty Sarah Gadon is...erm...bland and pretty as Drac's missus, but in the end both she and the role are entirely forgettable. Though the movie is smart enough not to wear out its welcome, and there are some decent effects scattered about, it is, for the most part, a laughable exercise. Having said all that, you really should go see Dracula Untold, because Luke Evans: a.) kicks ass, b.) makes out, and c.) takes off his shirt. That's worth your ten bucks any day.

Dracula Untold runs 92 minutes and is rated PG13 for "intense sequences of warfare, vampire attacks, disturbing images, and some sensuality."

It's nowhere near as silly as Twilight, but Dracula Untold isn't the movie vampire fans have been waiting for, either.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Dracula Untold gets five. (But I'm sure I'll be seeing it again and again!)

Until next time...

So...uh...see you at the theatre, then?

MOVIE REVIEW: DRACULA UNTOLD

Director Gary Shore revamps the mythos surrounding Vlad the Impaler in Dracula Year Zero, a Universal Pictures release from a script by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. The horror tale is set to take place in Romania during the Turkish invasion as Vlad (Luke Evans) goes to the greatest of lengths to fight for his homeland -- even if it means selling his soul and becoming forever doomed as a creature of the night. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Gary Shore

Cast: Luke Evans, Sarah Gadon, Dominic Cooper.

Release Date: Oct 10, 2014

Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Warfare, Disturbing Images, Some Sensuality and Vampire Attacks 

Runtime: 1 hr. 32 min. Genres: Action/Adventure, Horror 

Review:

Dracula Untold desperately wants to be the start of a new franchise.  Everything about it screams origin story, something we’ve seen countless times before in countless other films.  This take on Dracula borrows heavily from the superhero genre mixed with a healthy dose of Lord of the Rings style battles.  Luke Evans is appropriately grim and determined as the titular Dracula even if he can’t quite find a solid grip on something original about the character.  That’s hardly a surprise since the character has been done so many times most children could probably recite the standard mythology, most of which is rehashed yet again here.  Still, Evans tries hardily to trudge through the pedestrian storyline hitting all the standard notes.  The film might have been strong if Dominic Cooper had been given better material to work and made better use of the villain.  On the plus side, Gary Shore keeps his movie moving at a brisk pace throwing in enough visual flourishes to keep it interesting enough to hold your attention.  The ending leaves open a massive door for future sequels which could be more intriguing than this run of the mill origin story.  

C

MOVIE REVIEW: DEAD MAN DOWN

Director Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) makes his eagerly anticipated English-language-feature debut with this action thriller about a tough New York City enforcer and an alluring blackmailer who both put their lives on the line to seek vengeance against one of the city's most powerful crime bosses. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Niels Arden Oplev

Cast: Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Terrence Howard, Dominic Cooper, Isabelle Huppert

Release Date: Mar 08, 2013

Rated R Violence, Language Throughout and A Scene of Sexuality

Runtime: 1 hr. 58 min.

Genres: Suspense/Thriller

Review:

By Cindy Prascik


Dearest Blog, yesterday I escaped my miserable workday existence for a couple blissful hours at the cinema. On my agenda was the Colin Farrell thriller Dead Man Down, which I just couldn't squeeze in on its opening weekend. (Hindsight: "Oz? Really??")
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailer.

Colin Farrell is a man on a mission, but will his agenda be derailed by a mysterious woman (Noomi Rapace) with her own plan?
Dead Man Down is a double-barrel crime thriller, two stories running side by side, connected by a single character's involvement in both.

The bullets fly early and often, but quieter scenes between the two damaged leads are awkwardly perfect. Colin Farrell is as magnetic a leading man as Hollywood has to offer, and though the movie has a well-known and decorated supporting cast, it's his to carry, and he does so with his usual brilliance. Noomi Rapace is perfect as a broken woman who would add her burden to his. Terrence Howard's crime lord is cool, brutal, and defiant, even under siege, and Dominic Cooper is great as a young thug looking to work his way up the criminal ladder.

This might normally be the part, dear Blog, where I complain that not enough stuff blows up, but...well...lots of stuff blows up. And lots of folks get killed. And even when those things aren't going on, this film has so much to recommend it that I don't even mind...ummm...I don't even mind much!

Dead Man Down clocks in at a well-paced two hours, and is rated R for "violence, language throughout, and a scene of sexuality."
Feels a little hokey to throw down such a high rating so early in the 2013 game, but of a possible nine Weasleys, it wouldn't be fair to give Dead Man Down less than eight.

Until next time...

It wasn't easy, but we got the Black Friday deals at Wal-Mart!

[Trailer] Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Since the film adaptation of Pride, Prejudice and Zombies died on the vine I took some small solace in knowing the Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter was still a go.

A few hiccups along the way we finally have a trailer for it and it looks like all kinds of delicious genre fun I’d hope it’d be, a tad too much slow mo for my taste but that’s to be expected with Bekmambetov at the helm…..

MOVIE REVIEW: THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE

IN THEATERS

THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE



Dominic Cooper (An Education) headlines director Lee Tamahori's fact-based docudrama centering on the nightmarish experiences of an Iraqi army lieutenant whose life became a living hell after he was hand-selected to be a "fiday" (body double) for Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's ruthless son Uday. Baghdad, 1987: Iraqi soldier Latif Yahia (Cooper) becomes privy to the inner workings of the royal family after receiving an offer he can't refuse. Desperate to protect his family and terrified of making any fatal missteps, Latif studies Uday's every personal tick in order to become the spitting image of the so-called "Black Prince." While some Iraqis might have been honored to be presented with such a unique opportunity, Uday's unparalleled sadism and debauched lifestyle quickly began to eat away at the very core of Latif's soul. As war with Kuwait looms on the horizon, Latif finds himself increasingly drawn to Uday's ravishing mistress Sarrab (Ludivine Sagnier), a woman with her own terrifying tales to tell about time spent with Iraq's cruelest son. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Lee Tamahori

Cast: Dominic Cooper, Ludivine Sagnier, Raad Rawi, Philip Quast, Mimoun Oaissa

Release Date: Jul 29, 2011

Rated R for strong brutal violence and torture, sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and pervasive language

Runtime: 1 hr. 48 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama

Review:

The Devil’s Double is a showcase in a lot of ways but first and foremost it’s about Dominic Cooper. Dominic Copper stars in duel roles, doing excellent work on both and making a complex story into something digestible and enthralling. This is Cooper’s film and it’s the kind of stage that most actors pray for. As Uday, Cooper is unhinged psychotic and incredibly watchable throughout. In this part of the role, he’s a living embodiment of the ID released onto the world. It’s a fascinating performance that’s mirrored, quite literally, by his turn as Latif. Cooper as Latif is somebody else entirely, a calm reserved man who’s simply in a bad situation. Cooper is able to balance both characters deftly throughout, with Uday bordering on caricature occasionally. Ludivine Sagnier is a striking vision but she’s mostly wooden mainly because of a thinly written role. Director Lee Tamahori handles the decadence and opulence involved with a steady hand but he occasionally gets a tad heavy handed. Tamahori only superficially glances over some of the more interesting relationships but never digs deeper. Regardless, this is an actor’s wet dream and Dominic Cooper shines.

B+