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 Review of Gone Girl

Dearest Blog, yesterday I headed out to the cinema for one of the year's most-anticipated titles, Gone Girl.

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

Ben Affleck (Batman! Batman! Batman!) stars as Nick Dunne, a man who becomes a suspect in the disappearance of his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike).

I haven't read the book on which Gone Girl is based, so no comparisons here as to how the film stands up against the source material.

On its own merits, Gone Girl, the movie, stands up pretty darn well. It's a twisting, turning affair, where almost nothing is quite what it seems, yet it never gets so convoluted it feels like it's lost its way. Dear reader(s), by now you know me well enough to know I can't possibly look at Ben Affleck without thinking (Batman! Batman! Batman!), but, even prior to his much-debated casting as the caped crusader, he seemed a very polarizing actor.

That makes Affleck (Batman! Batman! Batman!) an inspired choice for his role, as you're never quite sure how you're supposed to feel about Nick. Rosamund Pike continues to make good use of her patented wide-eyes-heaving-breasts act, but does a fine job of portraying all facets of one of the more...erm...*interesting* characters I've seen onscreen of late. The supporting cast is uniformly solid, with Carrie Coon turning in an especially good performance as Nick's ever-loyal twin sister.

Even Tyler Perry, whom I generally despise with the fire of a thousand suns, is pretty okay here. Another stunning score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross sets the mostly ominous tone. The movie is too long by at least 20 minutes, but it's easy enough to forgive in such a well-spun, surprisingly fun yarn.

Gone Girl clocks in at 149 minutes and is rated R for "a scene of bloody violence, some strong sexual content/nudity, and language."

Whether or not you were already a fan of the book, Gone Girl gives you every reason to get out to the theatre.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Gone Girl gets eight.

Until next time..

 
Are you the hero Gotham deserves?

MOVIE REVIEW: GONE GIRL

GONE GIRL – directed by David Fincher and based upon the global bestseller by Gillian Flynn – unearths the secrets at the heart of a modern marriage. On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) reports that his beautiful wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick’s portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behavior have everyone asking the same dark question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?

 Director: David Fincher 

Cast: Rosamund Pike, Ben Affleck, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris, David Clennon

Release Date: Oct 03, 2014

Rated R for a scene of bloody violence, some strong sexual content/nudity, and language

Runtime: 2 hr. 25 min.

Genres: Suspense/Thriller

Review:

Gone Girl is a wonderfully dark decent into the recesses of martial hatred and resentment.  It’s something that anyone who’s been in long term relationship can relate to and David Fincher’s new film takes it to its most extreme points.  Any other director might have fallen into some of the most glaring Lifetime movie tropes of the story but Fincher elevates the entire proceedings giving us something closer to his criminally underrated The Game.  The story’s big reveal isn’t much of a surprise to be honest but it makes for an interesting turn where things really start to kick off in extreme ways.  The cast is generally fantastic even Tyler Perry who’s pitch perfect as the high priced lawyer.  Ben Affleck is perfectly suited for the smug but terribly tone deaf husband and Rosamund Pike is just stellar as his wife.  It’s an impressive dissection of our tabloid culture while hitting on some uncomfortable truths about inattention and lingering resentment that burrows into peoples souls.  It’s probably needless to say but Gone Girl is the type of film that sticks with you once you’ve left the theater. 

A