MOVIE REVIEW: SUBSERVIENCE

 

When his wife becomes sick, a struggling father buys a lifelike AI android named Alice to help with the housework. Things seem fine until Alice suddenly becomes self-aware and wants everything its new family has to offer, including the affection of its owner.

Director: S.K. Dale

Cast: Megan Fox, Michele Morrone, Madeline Zima,  Matilda Firth, Andrew Whipp

Release Date: September 13, 2024

Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller

Rated R for sexual content/nudity, language, some violence and brief drug material.

Runtime: 1h 35m

Review:

Subservience traffic in a bevy of well-worn tropes dealing with androids and AI in a B movie mashup of M3GAN paired with The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.  S.K. Dale delivers a slick looking film that displays a nice bit of confidence behind the camera.  He does a solid job of creating a tangible near future world where these androids have become integrated into nearly every aspect of life.  Anyone who's familiar with the British show, Humans, might feel a sense of Déjà vu since both entities deal with similar conceits and themes.  It’s a consistent issue since the story rarely covers any new ground with thread having been done before making everything fairly predictable from start to finish.  There are a handful of intriguing ideas such as job specific androids being used in all aspects across everyday life and their effect on the human workforce, but it never engages with that in any meaningful way.  The domestic angle with Alice and her new family plays out exactly how you'd expect with some of it delving into some old school Cinemax territory.  Megan Fox is tasked with carrying large portions of the film something she does ably in a role perfectly suited for her.  Fox is clearly in her wheelhouse and she channels her Jennifer's Body character less the demonic possession.  This is the sort of role she could have easily coasted through on her looks, but she adds enough wrinkles to her performance to make the whole thing entertaining.  She's clearly having a great time and seems to have issue embracing some of the sillier elements of the story.  Unfortunately, everyone else plays it straight with dead serious performances which would work better if the story and characters weren't so painfully clichéd.  Subservience would have been better served if it'd followed M3GAN's lead and leaned into its campiness since it's not bringing anything fresh to the genre.  

C

MOVIE REVIEW: EXPEND4BLES

Armed with every weapon they can get their hands on, the Expendables are the world's last line of defense and the team that gets called when all other options are off the table.

Director: Scott Waugh

Cast: Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran, Andy García

Release Date: September 22, 2023 

Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller, War

Rated R for strong/bloody violence throughout, language and sexual material.

Runtime: 1h 43m

The Expendables franchise has always leaned on 80's action nostalgia with its rotating collection of aging stars.  It seemed inevitable that it wouldn't be able to last forever as the big names slowly dropped off, killing off it's primary draw.  This fourth entry lacks the original hook leaving Jason Statham, Megan Fox and Randy Couture front and center, Stallone appears in what amounts to a glorified cameo.  Statham is generally good fun in supporting role or lead roles especially if he's got strong material.  Sadly the script, production and story overall is terribly lazy and undercooked leaving him to rely on his natural charisma which can only take the film so far.  Megan Fox is distractingly bad throughout, with the film asking us to believe she's a stone cold mercenary even while she's outfitted in clubwear with enough flawless make up caked on to make you think they shot her using an Instagram filter.  It's one of the many things that make the whole thing feel like a bottom shelf rental from the early 80s.  The new cast of characters are all fairly nondescript with 50 Cent acting like 50 Cent and Jacob Scipio giving a fairly terrible Antonio Banderas impersonation as his son.  Iko Uwais serves as the primary villain but he's saddled with pencil thin characterization with the only memorable moment coming in the final act with a well choregraphed fight with Statham which gives the film the slightest bit of a pulse.  The series, as a whole, has never been a bastion of high art but they were fun as mindless mayhem something this entry seems to have forgotten.  Expend4bles is sorely lacking in that department since there's nothing terribly fun about it which leaves it dead on arrival.

D-

Cindy Prascik's Review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

Dearest Blog: Yesterday I donned my brand new Turtle shirt and headed out to Marquee Cinemas for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers. Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, and Leonardo risk exposure to save their beloved New York from the evil Shredder's latest nefarious plot. 

 

Dear Reader(s) the best and most important thing I can tell you about Out of the Shadows is this: the movie is EXACTLY as advertised. If you pay your cinema dollars to see this because the trailers look like fun to you, you will have a great time. 

 

If you pay your cinema dollars just to complain that it isn't The King's Speech, well...I feel a little sorry for you. 

 

The movie opens on a beautiful aerial shot of New York City, and, throughout, the City serves as an important supporting character. Famous landmarks are prominently placed, and both the Knicks and Rangers enjoy a bit of Turtle PR. 

 

TMNT2 boasts some nice action sequences, with well-choreographed fights and exciting chases. The effects are solid, and the CGI looks good, in particular as regards the Turtles' facial movement and expressions, which are terrific. 

 

Of course the movie's principals are heard and not seen, but the supporting faces are notable: Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Laura Linney, Tyler Perry, and Dean Winters. 

 

Newcomer Stephen Amell brings an earnestness to Casey Jones that is notably lacking in his Oliver Queen. 

 

The film is quite funny, if often juvenile, and the soundtrack boasts some pretty cool tunes. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows clocks in at 112 minutes and is rated PG13 for "sci-fi action/violence." If you saw TMNT2 and didn't enjoy it, I can only ask, in the words of another famous turtle: "Why don't you like fun?" 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows gets seven. 

 

Until next time... 

 

MOVIE REVIEW: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS

When the evil Shredder develops his own mutants, Bebop and Rocksteady, the Turtles must team up with April (Megan Fox), news reporter Vern Fenwick (Will Arnett), and their new vigilante friend Casey Jones (Stephen Amell) to defend New York City from destruction. Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello also face an impending invasion from the deranged extraterrestrial Krang in this sequel to 2014's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Dave Green directed this action comedy, with Michael Bay serving as a producer. ~ Daniel Gelb, Rovi

Release Date: Jun 03, 2016

Rated: PG-13 for Sci-fi action violence.

Runtime: 1 hr. 48 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure

Director: Dave Green

Cast: Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Tyler Perry, Stephen Amell

Review:

The first film in the rebooted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series wasn’t a perfect film but it did get primary characters down which has always been sorely missing from the Transformers franchise.  The sequel opens up the world bringing in a handful of classic characters.  The action sequences are bigger, well staged and pretty fun for the most part.  The voice talents for all the animated characters are all spot on with Noah Fisher getting all the best lines throughout.  Stephen Amell and Tyler Perry join the franchise with both proving a mixed bag.  Amell lacks any charisma and chemistry with Megan Fox so he’s just bland throughout.  On the other end of the spectrum is Tyler Perry who’s hamming it up every chance he gets.  The film’s plot is decidedly wacky but it kind of embraces its zaniness, even some of the laughs are decidedly broad. Still, it’s hard for children of the 90’s not to get nostalgic watching some of these characters pop up on screen.  

C+

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & The Hundred-Foot Journey

Dearest Blog, today it was off to the movies for one of the strangest double-bills ever, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Hundred-Foot Journey.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers...er...let's face it, you weren't planning on seeing either of these anyway, were you?

First on my agenda was the newest screen incarnation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, and Leonardo try to save New York from the evil Shredder.

Here's a true fact: I am wildly excited for every Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, and this one was no exception. First time those words have all been together in the same sentence? Possibly, but, despite the world of hate being rained down on it from all sides, I looked forward to TMNT, and I was not disappointed.

It's always fun to see such familiar and well-loved characters again, and I was pleased with how each turtle was represented here. The new look is okay, if not my favorite, and the martial arts moves are pretty cool in 3D. Will Arnett is entertaining, Megan Fox is smokin' hot, and no movie or TV show was ever worse for having the magnificent William Fichtner. Sure, the humor's juvenile, the story's done to death, and the effects are nothing to write home about, but, somehow, I still enjoyed this from beginning to end.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles runs 101 minutes and is rated PG13 for "sci-fi action/violence." If it's a terrible movie, that didn't keep me from having a great time with it.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles gets five. I'd honestly love to score it better, but at some point I have to acknowledge it's probably a bad movie, no matter how much I like it!

Next on the docket was The Hundred-Foot Journey.

Fireworks ensue when an Indian family moves to the French countryside and opens a restaurant across the street from a hoity-toity local establishment.

Whoa! Bickering restaurant owners...sounds like the most boring movie ever, huh? What's next, two dentists trying to lease the same office space? While The Hundred-Foot Journey is a little long, it's a cute story that's elevated by a solid and likable cast. Helen Mirren is, as always, brilliant in the lead, and Manish Dayal and Charlotte Le Bon are appropriately adorable as young chefs at the two restaurants tip-toeing around the possibility of romance. The story is serious when it needs to be and funny when it means to be.

There's enough cooking and eating going on in this movie that restaurants neighboring cinemas are probably seeing a nice uptick in business this weekend. There are also plenty lingering shots of the picturesque French countryside, if that's your thing, and a nice anti-racism message as a bonus.
The Hundred-Foot Journey clocks in at 122 minutes and is rated PG for "thematic elements, some violence, language, and brief sensuality." If the movie is predicable and a bit overly-sappy, that's not hard to forgive in such a genuine and sweet picture.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Hundred-Foot journey gets six.

Until next time...COWABUNGA!!!

 It's official: my mental age is five.

MOVIE REVIEW: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

Paramount Pictures and Michael Bay present this reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise with Wrath of the Titans helmer Jonathan Liebesman directing. The sinister Shredder has seized control of New York City's police and politicians, leaving his ruthless Foot Clan to spread chaos in the streets. With no prospects for salvation in sight, mutant crime-fighters Raphael, Leonardo , Donatello, and Michaelangelo leap into action. They put up a fierce fight, too, though in order to truly defeat Shredder, the heroes in a half shell will need the help of courageous reporter April O'Neil Megan Fox and her quick witted cameraman Vern Fenwick (Will Arnett) as well. With their help, Shredder's plan will quickly unravel, and this once-great city will rise again. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Director: Jonathan Liebesman 

Cast: Megan Fox, Alan Ritchson, Johnny Knoxville, Jeremy Howard, Noel Fisher, Will Arnett

Release Date: Aug 08, 2014

Rated: PG-13 for sci-fi action violence 

Runtime: 1 hr. 41 min. 

Genres: Action/Adventure, Family, Sci-Fi/Fantasy 

Review:

Rebooting the Ninja Turtles and getting it back on the big screen has been a bit of a trek.  The Batred (Michael Bay produced) hit first by the rumors of them having their back story drastically changed by making them aliens, etc… That Jonathan Liebesman’s film isn’t a total train wreck is a small wonder in of itself.  In fact, it actually captures plenty of the original’s sense of fun along with each of the titular characters traits and attitude.  Liebesman does his best Michael Bay impression by directing some kinetic action sequences with the most impressive being a snow covered mountain chase.  He moves his film around rather quickly avoiding as many lingering moments as possible.  Unfortunately, the script is kind of clunky when dealing with non-turtle characters.  Leading the charge is a mostly wooden, strangely pillowed lipped, Megan Fox who delivers most of her lines with the conviction of a pizza box.  She’s window dressing at best and a distraction from the fun for the most part.  Will Arnett and William Fichtner are fairly underused unfortunately, leaving most of the live action acting in Megan Fox’s lovely hands.  Still, even if you looking for a bit of a throwback or just some mindless fun, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles succeeds more than it doesn’t simply doing something most of the Transformers films never did, getting the primary characters right.

B-

MOVIE REVIEW: THIS IS 40

THIS IS 40




After many years of marriage, Pete (Paul Rudd) is the sole male in a household that includes his wife, Debbie (Leslie Mann), and two young daughters (Iris Apatow, Maude Apatow). As Pete struggles to keep his record label afloat, he and Debbie navigate a three-week course of sex and romance, career victories and financial hardships, aging parents and maturing children. They'll have to learn to forgive, forget and enjoy the rest of their lives -- before they kill each other.

Director: Judd Apatow
Cast: Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Megan Fox, Albert Brooks, Chris O'Dowd.
Release Date: Dec 21, 2012
Rated R for pervasive Language, Crude Humor, Sexual Content and Some Drug Material
Runtime: 2 hr. 14 min.
Genres: Comedy

Review:

This is 40 is Judd Apatow’s 2nd uneven film in a row. Honestly, you might start to wonder if he’s losing touch with the type of humor that really put him on the map. The honestly and crassness is here but it only makes an appearance here and there in between grating arguments between 2 incredibly well meaning leads. The better part of the blame for the faults falls on Apatow who wrote the film. His leads aren’t ever particularly likable and come off as annoying and entitled throughout. A meandering molasses like pace doesn’t help matter either. The film trudges slowly and aimlessly towards an unresolved ending which leaves the audience with questions but so exhausted that they couldn’t be bothered to ask what will happen afterwards. 2 hours plus for a comedy is a stretch at best, something Apatow could get away with in The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up with a better story even then just barely, but here it’s just a drag. The film feels longer than The Hobbit by a mile. Paul Rudd does his best to pull the film out of its doldrums. He and Leslie Mann do share some good comedic chemistry as displayed in Knocked Up but here when it’s front and center for the entire film it makes the entire thing look like a fool’s errand. That’s not to say there are some strong scenes with plenty of laughs because there are. The problem is that there are twice as many scenes of them arguing or fretting about manufactured problems throughout. Mann is likable, she works well as a supporting player but here her acting shortcomings are on full display and her bugged eyed occasionally emaciated figure can start to wear on a viewer. The supporting cast is strong but only Albert Brooks and Melissa McCarthy leave a strongest impression while being thoroughly underused. John Lithgow, Chris O'Dowd, John Segal and Megan Fox are all played for types and given very little else to do. Apatow and Mann’s real life daughters appear again with the Maude screaming her lines, playing on the worse piece of first period humor possible, for the better part of the film with Iris coming off more muted than before. The first hour or so of the film has some steady steam providing a good series of laughs especially for anyone in a long term relationship but the film’s faults start to weigh it down ultimately bringing down the entire production.

C

[Trailer] This Is 40

Trailer for the sort of sequel to Knocked Up is out, looks cute and funny but after the dour Funny People his shine has worn off a tad. He’s produced far more than he’s directed, we’ll see if he can get back in the zone. The cast is great so cautious excitement is in place…

Movie Reviews: JENNIFER’S BODY

Sunday, September 20, 2009
Movie Reviews: JENNIFER’S BODY
IN THEATERS

JENNIFER’S BODY

From the production team behind "Juno" is a new film about one teenager's uncontrollable appetite for teenager boys. When a demon takes possession of her, high-school hottie Jennifer (Megan Fox) turns a hungry eye on guys who never stood a chance with her before. While evil Jennifer satisfies her appetite for human flesh with the school's male population, her nerdy friend, Needy (Amanda Seyfried), learns what's happening and vows to put an end to the carnage.


Cast: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Adam Brody, J.K. Simmons, Amy Sedaris


Director: Karyn Kusama


Opened ..September 18, 2009..


Runtime: 1 hr. 42 min.


Rated R for sexuality, bloody violence, language and brief drug use.


Genres: Horror Comedy, Horror


Review:





Jennifer’s Body is a fun little horror comedy that delivers more laughs than scares but it isn’t without its flaws. Written by Diablo Cody, who also penned Juno, the script is pepper with plenty of overly complicated dialogue which you’ll either enjoy of despise. Personally I find it enjoyable even if it’s removes any semblance of realism but then again this film doesn’t really need it. Cody borrow or pays homage, depending on how you look at it, to plenty of classic horror conceits but give them a nice shot of estrogen which is a refreshing turn. Director Karyn Kusama moves her film along as a brisk pace but she does throw in some visual flourishes that make this stand out versus other generic horror films. Megan Fox doesn’t have to try to hard here as she’s isn’t asked to do anything but look incredibly hot and occasionally utter a few lines of dialogue. Fox is shot like she’s starting in some classic 80’s horror fest. Amanda Seyfried does the majority of acting and is good fun as the nerdy best friend who has to deal with her friend’s demonic turn. Both have some good scenes together but their relationship doesn’t feel authentic. It’s a fairly prevalent issue because there’s a disconnect with the characters throughout, as if each is in their own little world. While Cody’s flower dialogue is fun it does make the characters feel robotic and unnatural. As the film heads towards it’s finale it begins to drag a bit and we given a few scenes that feel like the end but they aren’t. It’s mildly bothersome but doesn’t detract from the overall enjoy in store for genre fans.





B-

Movie Reviews: TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Movie Reviews: TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
IN THEATERS

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

The battle for Earth has ended but the battle for the universe has just begun. After returning to Cybertron, Starscream assumes command of the Decepticons, and has decided to return to Earth with force. The Autobots believing that peace was possible finds out that Megatron's dead body has been stolen from the US Military by Skorpinox and revives him using his own spark. Now Megatron is back seeking revenge and with Starscream and more Decepticon reinforcements on the way, the Autobots with reinforcements of their own, may have more to deal with then meets the eye.

Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Dunn

Director: Michael Bay

Opens today June 24, 2009

Runtime: 2 hr. 30 min.

Rated PG-13 for brief drug material, intense seq. of sci-fi violence, intense seq. of sci-fi action, crude and sexual material and language

Genres: Sci-Fi Action, Action, Science Fiction

Review:

A simple way to gauge how much you’ll enjoy Transformers: The Revenge of the Fallen is to ask yourself a few simple questions. First off, did you enjoy the first movie? Secondly, do you know what to expect from a Michael Bay film? If you answered yes to both you’ll probably enjoy this sequel for what it is, mindless popcorn fun which never attempts to evoke more than visceral sensory thrills. For the most part Bay successes in doing this giving the audience more Autobot Decepticon battles and massive set pieces which you can’t help but marvel at. Bay lenses this film with his usual hyper kinetic style and delivers an endless array of money shots after slow motion money shots. It can get a tad taxing with the films overlong run time and while the battles are cool to look at they rarely carry any emotional weight to them mainly due to an even more thread bare script than the first film. Some major drawbacks to the script are way too many bad sexual or crude jokes which feel forced throughout, if you thought the first film’s urinating gag was bad you’ll find plenty to dislike here. Also there are plenty of new transformer characters brought into the fold, some with great effect like Soundwave, Sideswipe and Arcee. Other like the Autobot twins Mudflap and Skids near Jar Jar Binks level of grating-ness. The script is a jumbled mess that contains way too may cringe inducing lines and the overall plot isn’t terribly clear with some conceits making more sense (The Fallen, The Matrix of Leadership, Space Bridges and Energon) if you’ve been a lifelong fan of the original animated series otherwise it’s all just mindless jargon. Character wise neither human or robot characters fare very well in terms of depth. Whatever the character was in the first film they are pretty much the same thing here. Shia LaBeouf delivers a few interesting character moments but mostly he’s pretty much doing what he did at the end of the first film, running away from Robots and explosions. Megan Fox suffers an equal fate and she not strong enough an actress to make something special with such little non screaming running time. Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson return from the first installment but they could have easily been replaced by anyone or no one as they aren’t asked to do more than shoot and scream orders. Faring a little better are other returning supporting players John Turturro Kevin Dunn and Julie White, the latter returning as Sam’s parents. All three are good fun and bring some needed comic relief. Newcomer to the franchise Ramon Rodriguez, as Sam’s college roommate, is also goofy fun in his supporting role. These actors weren’t asked to do much and they don’t for the most part, something that becomes fairly apparent when there’s a lull in the action. That being said when the film closes and you’ve witness a final battle that rivals Bay’s own Bad Boys 2 ( his other nth level opus of destruction) in sheer size and length you’ll either find yourself utterly entertained or mostly empty or maybe even both.

C+