Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Red 2 and The Wolverine

Dearest Blog, yesterday I trekked to the cinema to see two highly-anticipated (for me) releases: Red 2 and The Wolverine. If I'm guessing by the number of people with whom I shared the theatres, not everyone anticipated these films quite so highly.

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

First on my agenda was the middle-aged comic-book sequel Red 2.

Ex-CIA agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) has retired (again) to domestic bliss with Sarah (Mary Louise Parker), but the life he thinks he wants is re-interrupted when his crazy old pal Marvin (John Malkovich) drags him back into the world of international espionage.

I tend not to read many reviews before I write my own, but as much as I'm online, I can't help but see headlines. The headlines I saw about Red 2 led me to believe it's worth an eye-roll and no more, in keeping with the first one.

However, I loved Red, and I'm pleased to report I loved the sequel equally well.

Bruce Willis is Bruce Willisey in the lead. This is a compliment. He carries this sort of film about as well as anyone, and the wisecracking tough-guy routine has yet to wear thin with me. Helen Mirren is the coolest Dame on the planet...all the more so when she's armed and dangerous. John Malkovich has his kooky on and is enjoyable as always. Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones kick up the star power of this cast, though I didn't entirely buy either in his/her role. Brian Cox is amusing in another brief appearance, and I was delighted to see David Thewlis. I'll cop to being absolutely fixated on Byung-hun Lee, whom I've only ever previously seen in the G.I. Joe movies, and wishing he had more screen time. I still hate Mary-Louise Parker, FYI.

Plot-wise Red 2 isn't trying to reinvent the wheel. It's action heavy, with the usual not-too-complicated (and somewhat holey) "save the world" storyline. Again, this is a compliment. It does slow down enough in some places that I wished they'd made it a bit shorter, but it's not bad enough to derail enjoyment of the whole.

Red 2 runs 116 minutes and is rated PG13 for "pervasive action and violence including frenetic gunplay, and for some language and drug material."

With its likable, familiar cast and likable, familiar storyline, Red 2 is much like an afternoon passed with good, old friends...except Mary-Louise Parker, who's that one person you don't actually like, but you have to put up with because one of your friends does.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Red 2 gets seven.

Next up was the weekend's big new release, The Wolverine.

A meeting with an old acquaintance draws Logan into a conflict that is more than it seems, and forces him to confront his personal demons.

So...y'all hated X-Men Origins: Wolverine, yeah? See, I didn't. I liked it. A lot. I also liked this one. A lot.

Hugh Jackman is one of the more gifted and well-rounded leading men working in Hollywood these days, and it's to his credit he can do things like Wolverine and things like Les Miserables and be credible in both. He sings and dances on the Tonys and the Oscars, and he still embodies the macho superhero perfectly. The bulk of Wolverine's supporting cast is comprised of Asian actors with whom I'm only vaguely, if at all, familiar, but I thought they all did a fine job. I did pause to wonder whether Hollywood ever offers these actors any decent roles that have nothing at all to do with martial arts. I feel sure they've more to offer.

I am not invested in X-Men lore, so I can't comment on how well this film represents the comics, but the story is engaging, with (obviously) a good bit of action. It does run a bit too long (I ought to just copy and paste that line from review to review), and there were times, particularly some of the fight scenes, where I wished they'd just get on with it already.

Scheduling forced me to see this in 3D, and it was worse than useless; there wasn't a single scene where I thought it added anything. For the more shallow among us, Hugh Jackman is looking extremely fit, and there's plenty of gratuitous shirtlessness to be ogled.

The Wolverine clocks in at 126 minutes and is rated PG13 for "sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, some sexuality, and language."

If you were waiting for that perfect superhero movie of the summer, well, you'll still be waiting, but the Wolverine is a solid couple hours of escapism that should please most fans of the genre.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Wolverine gets seven.

So, dear Blog, that closes the book on another Star Trek-less weekend; however, as the next four weekends are giving me 2 Guns, Elysium, MY BELOVED GARY OLDMAN in Paranoia, and The World's End, they should be filled with enough awesomeness to get me through.

Until next time...




Not gonna lie, I gave it six and a half Weasleys, looked at this, and changed it to seven.

MOVIE REVIEW: THE WOLVERINE

Hugh Jackman returns as Wolverine in this sequel to the member of the X-Men's first solo outing. Mark Bomback and The Usual Suspects' Christopher McQuarrie penned the script, which takes its inspiration from the Chris Claremont/Frank Miller Marvel miniseries from the 1980s dealing with the character's adventures in Japan as he fights ninjas in the ceremonial garb of the samurai. Knight and Day's James Mangold directs. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Director: James Mangold

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Will Yun Lee, Hiroyuki Sanada, Brian Tee, Famke Janssen

Release Date: Jul 26, 2013 RealD 3D

Rated PG-13 For language, Intense Sci-Fi Action, Some Sexuality and Violence

Runtime: 2 hr. 6 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure

Review:

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was such a massive misfire that I excised the majority of the film from my memory as soon as the film ended. Needless to the say, I wasn’t terribly excited about The Wolverine especially after Darren Aronofsky dropped out. James Mangold is a solid if unimpressive director so I was still fairly leery of another solo entry for Wolverine. Thankfully The Wolverine is a solid piece of comic book filmmaking with a focused storyline with a pensive seriousness that pervades the better part of the film. Mangold delivers a well balanced film that provides enough action to keep your blood pumping, an impressive bullet train sequence stands out, and heart to keep it interesting. By this point in time the audience should be well versed in the general particulars of Logan’s story so the film doesn’t waste much time explaining rudimentary facts, instead it focuses on Logan after the envents of X-Men: The Last Stand. As a result Hugh Jackman is allowed to flesh out some of the turmoil at play in Logan’s mind. The result is a mixed bag with some of the attempts hitting home while most of the Jean Grey hallucinations come off a tad too heavy handed. Even with its flaws, its effect character building. It helps that the cast of supporting characters and villains has been trimmed to an economically small group. Rila Fukushima leaves a solid impression as Logan’s de facto sidekick. Tao Okamoto, the love interest, feels like she should leave a bigger impression but she’s decidedly bland. Fairing worse is Svetlana Khodchenkova’s vamping villainess, Viper, who is a ham fisted misfire especially in the final act. The final act itself forgoes all the seriousness for a goofy and ultimately anticlimactic end to the film. The Wolverine would have fared better if it’d had some tighter editing, especially in the flabby midsection, and delivered a thrilling finale but it still delivers a solid entry into the X-men cannon. An excellent post credit sequence will leave you waiting patiently or impatiently for the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past.

B-

Netflix Streaming Micro Reviews: House of the Devil, The Innkeepers, Session 9, Lovely Molly, Dead Girl

I’ve been on a bit of a horror kick on Netflix streaming so here are a few micro reviews;

House of the Devil – It has a cool little 80’s vibe to it but it takes way too long to get on with the story which is painfully predictable. - C

The Innkeepers – A fun little movie with a good sense of fun and good chemistry between the leads. It seems to remember it’s a horror movie in the last act resulting in an abrupt shift in tone. – B-

Session 9 – Really strong bit of atmosphere taking advantage of the locations but it kind of falls apart in the last act. – C+

Lovely Molly – A really impressive take on the haunted house tropes with a turn midway through the film that you’ll either love or hate, personally I thought it worked well. Strong performances throughout but in the final 10 minutes the film seems unsure about where it wants to go, committing to nothing and everything. B-

Dead Girl – I just couldn't make it through the whole thing. I quit watching it about a third of the way through it, too much raping for my taste – Incomplete

MOVIE REVIEW: THE CONJURING

Insidious' James Wan dips his feet into the haunted-house genre once again with this New Line Cinema production depicting the real-life tale of the Perron family, who claimed to have been terrorized by a series of ghosts. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson star as paranormal investigators who achieved notoriety from their investigation into the Perrons' house. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Director: James Wan

Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor, Joey King

Release Date: Jul 19, 2013

Rated: Sequences of disturbing violence and terror.

Runtime: 1 hr. 51 min.

Genres: Horror

Review:

The Conjuring is a well acted, well directed horror film that takes it’s time building scares. James Wan directs his film like an homage to 70’s horror films, it borrows heavily from The Exorcist, The Amityville Horror and Poltergeist. Like Insidious, Wan builds up the tension by setting up a chilling atmosphere that’s filled with wonderfully set up moments all done with interesting camera work. Unlike Insidious, the final act doesn’t falter with cheesy monster effects. The final reel is a goose bump inducing horror show that delivers the goods. Impressively, this is all done with very little blood or even cursing, it’s a master class in restraint. The cast is solid but the characters, the Warren’s in particular, are under written. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson shine throughout while creating a palpable and believable loving relationship. Personally, I wish we’d seen a tad more of them and their back story but since this is considered a franchise starter it maybe something we’ll see down the road. Let’s hope the quality stays just as high in future installments.

B+

Cindy Prascik’s review of Despicable Me 2 & R.I.P.D.

Dearest Blog, a hot, humid, rainy day means one thing to me: lots of people sharing my cinema. It's a prospect that doesn't thrill me, to say the least, but off I went anyway for a double-bill of Despicable Me 2 and R.I.P.D.

Spoiler level here will be mild, limited to things you'd know once you'd seen a trailer or two.
Our leadoff batter was the animated sequel Despicable Me 2.

Former super-villain Gru has gone straight, and spends his days being a father to Margo, Agnes, and Edith, and trying to start a business, his own line of jellies and jams. When a new threat emerges, the Anti-Villain League recruits Gru and his super-villain knowledge to help thwart it.

I liked Despicable Me 2 easily as well as its predecessor, in fact, maybe even a little better. The Despicable Me franchise has learnt that its bread is buttered on the Minion side, and the little yellow fellows play an even bigger role this time around, which is to the film's benefit.

The solid voice talent includes Steve Carrell and Russell Brand, reprising their roles from the first film, as well as newcomers Kristin Wiig, Benjamin Bratt, Ken Jeong, and the delightful Steve Coogan. The movie looks great, too. I saw it in 2D, and while I could certainly see things that were designed for 3D effectiveness, there's nothing that didn't look right in 2D, and everything is clear and bright. The second half does fall off somewhat from the first, which might have left me with a less-positive impression if the ending weren't so much fun.

Despicable Me 2 clocks in at 98 minutes and is rated PG for "rude humor and mild action." It's a family-friendly good time, well worth your movie dollar.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Despicable Me 2 gets seven and a half.

Next up on my agenda was the comic book movie R.I.P.D.

A cop (Ryan Reynolds) is killed on the job and joins R.I.P.D. ("Rest In Peace Department"), a team of undead good guys who keep undead bad guys from taking over the Earth. He's partnered with an old West lawman (Jeff Bridges) who disdains the idea of any partner, let alone one of the newly-dead.

Now, dear Blog, I try to make a point of being a well-educated consumer. As such, it's not often I get stuck paying for a movie I hate. For sure some are better or worse than I anticipate, but as long as the trailers aren't misleading, seldom am I all that disappointed. R.I.P.D. is the unfortunate exception to the rule; I was bored out of my gourd from beginning to end.

If we're being honest, I don't think most of us expected R.I.P.D. to be anything more than a poor man's Men In Black: good action, some awesome monsters, and hilarious wisecracks. Unfortunately, the action isn't exciting, the monsters look terrible, and the wisecracks are anything but funny. I don't think I laughed even once. The plot didn't engage me for a second, and the whole thing looks so dark (even daylight scenes) that it appears to be under a heavy fog. By luck of the schedule draw, I ended up seeing this in 3D, which is pointless.

The cast is decent, but mostly phones it in. Ryan Reynolds is as likable as any actor working today (ditto his leading lady Stephanie Szostak), but his role is so bland I couldn't say I was actively rooting for him. Academy Award winner Bridges has cornered the market on crusty-but-lovable, kooky old guy roles, but unfortunately this one is just crusty and not at all lovable. By rights he's supposed to provide most of the comedy, but he left me totally flat. Any way you slice it, I was getting stuck with one of my most-despised actors, Mary-Louise Parker, this weekend, as she also stars in the weekend's other big action flick, Red 2. It goes without saying her presence didn't help anything. My beloved Robert Knepper has a cameo that's so bad I'd have been happier not seeing him at all. Other than Szostak, pretty much the only thing the movie has going for it is Kevin Bacon, who is oddly perfect for his role. Oh, and if they got one thing right, it's that Boston is surely a bastion of the undead...I know every time I look at Aerosmith.

R.I.P.D. runs 96 minutes, which seem like 96 hours, and is rated PG13 for "violence, sci-fi/fantasy action, some sensuality, and language including sex references."

Of a possible nine Weasleys, R.I.P.D. gets three.

If I hadn't had to wait for my ride anyway, I probably would have walked out on it.

Until next time...




EEK! The Boston Undead!!

MOVIE REVIEW: R.I.P.D.

Veteran sheriff Roy Pulsifer (Bridges) has spent his career with the legendary police force known as R.I.P.D. tracking monstrous spirits who are cleverly disguised as ordinary people. His mission? To arrest and bring to justice a special brand of criminals trying to escape final judgment by hiding among the unsuspecting on Earth. Once the wise-cracking Roy is assigned former rising-star detective Nick Walker (Reynolds) as his junior officer, the new partners have to turn grudging respect into top-notch teamwork. When they uncover a plot that could end life as we know it, two of R.I.P.D.’s finest must miraculously restore the cosmic balance...or watch the tunnel to the afterlife begin sending angry souls the very wrong way.~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Director: Robert Schwentke

Cast: Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Bacon, Mary-Louise Parker, Stephanie Szostak

Release Date: Jul 19, 2013 RealD 3D

Rated PG-13 for violence, sci-fi/fantasy action, some sensuality, and language including sex references

Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy

Review:

R.I.P.D is a hammier sillier knock off of Men In Black, some of the character designs and sets look like they’ve been stolen from their backlot, with bits of Ghostbusters sprinkled in for good measure. If you can get past that fact then you might be able to enjoy some of the goofy fun on display here. Robert Schwentke created a breeze silly little film with some rather impressive action set pieces especially the 3D finale. It rarely lingers much on anything and moves from scene to scene like a college kid on a bar hop. When it does linger to long on quiet moments it really bogs down, thankfully there aren’t many. Most of the cast seems to be having a ball especially Jeff Bridges who chews up scenery throughout. Bridges just looks like he’s having a ball and while he and Ryan Reynolds don’t have perfect chemistry together it works well enough. Reynolds himself does his usual act and it fit the character for the most part. Mary-Louise Parker is great in a small but fun turn as the duo’s boss. Kevin Bacon is the only one that kind of phones in his performance, he seems rather disinterested for the most part. Honestly, that might be a result of reading the overly predictable script. There isn’t any tension throughout the film and the plot is rather uninspired even downright lazy occasionally. R.I.P.D is harmless fluff that’ll probably be viewed more often than not on cable tv.

C+