MOVIE REVIEW: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2

The web-slingin' wall-crawler hits the screens once again in this follow-up to Marc Webb's 2012 reboot of the series. Andrew Garfield returns as Peter Parker, who squares off against the villainous Electro, played by Jamie Foxx. Emma Stone heads up the rest of the starring cast, which includes Paul Giamatti, Dane DeHaan, and Chris Cooper. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Director: Marc Webb 

Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Chris Cooper, Paul Giamatti

Release Date: May 02, 2014

Rated PG-13 for seq. of Sci-Fi Action/Violence

Runtime: 2 hr. 21 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure

Review:

I’ll start this review like I’ve probably started the 4 other Spider-man reviews before it.  I’ll never been much a fan of the character, I’m not sure why but he’s just never grabbed my attention like DC’s Mount Olympus of heroes or the X-Men for example.  I did enjoy the first two Sam Raimi and despised the third.  The first film in the rebooted series didn’t hit the mark for me even though I liked Garfield and Stone in their roles.  The 2^nd go around doesn’t fair much better.  The film suffers from some truly awful writing filled with stale dialogue and plot holes just a tad too large to ignore.  It’s never a good thing when certain segments of the film remind you of 90’s era Joel Schumacher Batman films.  As a whole the film feels like a throwback but not in a good way.  While most superhero films are trying to infuse some deeper meaning into their stories or at the very least some fun, this one seems content to give us a few CGI heavy set pieces and the most basic of back stories for the villains and call it a day.  In between this all we get an overdose of Parker and Stacy’s romance which is solid but overdone.  It’s propped up by Garfield and Stone’s chemistry which makes the whole thing more watchable than it should be but they can’t save this bloated mess of a film.  I personally have no problem if a film is 2 and half hours long as long as it earns that runtime, this one doesn’t come close to deserving its runtime, not by a long shot.  It would have been better served with a more focused storyline and villain instead of trying to lay the groundwork for future spinoffs and sequels like the planned Sinister Six films.  The Amazing Spider-man 2 is purely for diehards and anybody wanting to see Paul Giamatti scream out intelligible dialogue in a 2 minute cameo.

D

Cindy Prascik's Review of Brick Mansions

Dearest Blog, yesterday it was off to the cinema with a heavy heart to see Paul Walker's final completed film, Brick Mansions.
 
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailer.

A Detroit cop goes undercover in the city's most dangerous housing project, called Brick Mansions, a neighborhood so crime-ridden it's been walled off from the rest of the city.

Brick Mansions easily could have been a straight-to-DVD release, but for an attempt to cash in on Paul Walker's untimely passing. You'll find better performances in a third-grade Christmas pageant, though that's only partially the fault of the actors. The rest of the blame can be fairly divided among a predictable story, ridiculous dialogue, and broad, ugly stereotypes. Stylized action sequences are interesting to a point, but even in a relatively short film they manage to drag on a bit. The movie's dopey humor is ill-suited to the grim backdrop of a Detroit that might be even more depressing than the real thing, and any teeth the movie could have had were knocked out by the filmmakers' obvious determination to water things down enough to secure a PG13 rating.

Having said all that, Brick Mansions is salvaged somewhat by the fact that its ridiculousness seems deliberate. With the right mindset, it's actually kinda fun, and--if only they'd gone for the R rating--it might have been genuinely entertaining.

Brick Mansions runs 90 minutes and is rated PG13 for "frenetic gunplay, violence and action throughout, language, sexual menace, and drug material."

Brick Mansions is predictable, by-the-book action, littered with cliches and offensive stereotypes, but it can still be a good time if you let it.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Brick Mansions gets four and a half.

Until next time...

Nahhh...just messin' with ya!

Cindy Prascik Review of Transcendence

Dearest Blog, yesterday I took full advantage of a day off to sneak out to the cinema. On my agenda was the new Johnny Depp flick, Transcendence.

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

When a brilliant A.I. researcher is gunned down by opponents of his work, his grieving widow and a former colleague seek a way to save him, but the result of their efforts is not quite what they intended.

Well, dear Blog, the first thing I noticed when I got to the theatre yesterday was that I couldn't check in to Transcendence on TV Tag (formerly GetGlue); it wasn't even in their library. I thought to myself, "Self, that can't be a good sign," and I was right. Opening on a holiday weekend to a pretty busy cinema, there were only three other people in the room with me, far fewer than for my second screening of Captain America: The Winter Soldier afterward.

As regular reader(s) and anyone who knows me will be well aware, I think Johnny Depp is the world's finest living actor. I've been a fan since his days on Jump Street, and, while his performance never lets me down (even in sub-par movies), I admit I've grown tired of him playing the quirky guy in the funny hat, and was ready for something at least a little bit more serious. Sadly, after seeing Transcendence, I think I'd almost rather have had another Mad Hatter; the role was so blah I wasn't even looking forward to his screen time as the movie dragged on. Rebecca Hall is fine as his widow, though she, too, has little to work with and does even less with it. (Also, leggings, big shirts, and ballet flats are not her best look. She's one of my favorite girl crushes, and I was deeply saddened by this.) The rest of the cast is a who's who of faces I love seeing, to the point that listing them all here would venture into the ridiculous. Instead I'll just say a movie that can't be fixed by Clifton Collins, Jr. simply can't be fixed at all.

Transcendence doesn't exceed my recommended two-hour guideline, yet it seems to go on forever. The premise is fascinating and the cast solid...yet somehow the execution fails completely. I grew more bored by the second and practically sprinted from my seat when it was over (and not just because I was that eager to see Sebastian Stan again...no matter what you've heard)!

Transcendence isn't a terrible move, but, when you can't help comparing what it is with what it could and should have been, it's bound to be a disappointment.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Transcendence gets four and a half.
Until next time...

 

I call it Transcendence!

MOVIE REVIEW: TRANSCENDENCE

A brilliant innovator in the field of Artificial Intelligence becomes the bridge in the gap between man and machine in this sci-fi thriller starring Johnny Depp. His entire career, Dr. Will Caster (Depp) has been working toward one goal -- to create a machine possessing the entire spectrum of human emotions, and the collective intelligence of every person who has ever lived. But while Dr. Caster's unorthodox experiments have made him famous in scientific circles, a radical anti-tech group known as Rift is determined to stop him at all costs. In the midst of an attack on A.I. labs across the United States, one Rift agent manages to shoot Dr. Caster with a radioactive bullet, ensuring his death. Little did Rift realize that their efforts to destroy Dr. Caster would only make him stronger than they ever could have imagined, because before he dies, his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) and best friend Max (Paul Bettany) successfully transfer Dr. Caster's consciousness into a computer, where his hunger for knowledge and power transforms him into an unstoppable force of sentient energy inhabiting every computer and electrical system on the planet. Morgan Freeman co-stars. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Wally Pfister

Cast: Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, Rebecca Hall, Morgan Freeman, Kate Mara

Release Date: Apr 18, 2014

Rated: PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, some bloody images, brief strong language and 

sensuality

Runtime: 1 hr. 59 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Suspense/Thriller

Review:

Transcendence is a movie that desperately wants you to think that it’s intelligent.  It throws so much technobabble at you that you vaguely start to think it might be smart. Until you snap out of it and realize it is a hodgepodge of sci-fi tropes and clichés is nothing but a silly Frankenstein, Skynet, Her retread.  Wally Pfister, Christopher Nolan’s long time award winning cinematographer, first film is visually impressive but thematically empty.  Pfister’s style is wasted on such a silly script and story.  Even worse it’s filled with top name talent that’s wasted throughout.  Some people might be comforted by the fact that Depp isn’t doused in two pounds of make up in this film but the trick’s on you because he disappears from the film fairly quickly with the majority of the film’s performance done by an avatar.  I had a passing thought that his contract stated he’s do this movie if he only physically had to be there at the start and end of filming.  Rebecca Hall and Paul Bettany are given fairly thankless roles of looking sad and not much else, Bettany is allowed to grow a beard at one point so that counts for something.  Kate Mara, whose creepy looking enough, sports a bad blonde dye job and enough black eye mascara to give a raccoon pause.  Even worse off are poor Morgan Freeman and Cillian Murphy who, I assume, thought were shooting another Batman film and were thoroughly disappointed when they showed up, much like you will be when this crock is over.

D

Cindy Prascik's Review of The Grand Budapest Hotel and Rio 2

Dearest Blog, yesterday it was off for what I hoped would be a quiet afternoon at the cinema. On the docket: The Grand Budapest Hotel and Rio 2.

Spoiler level here will be mild-ish, almost nothing you haven't seen in the trailers. I do have to mention one specific thing from Grand Budapest Hotel, which, while not a plot spoiler, might be more than some want to know before seeing it.

The Grand Budapest Hotel was first on my agenda.

A former lobby boy recounts his adventures with his mentor, a concierge at the Grand Budapest Hotel.

I guess it's first and foremost important to point out that I'm neither an expert nor the number-one fan of Wes Anderson. I've seen a couple of his previous films and liked them, but none ranks among my favorites. Still, I loved the Grand Budapest Hotel trailer and expected great things.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is quirky and clever, full of humorous little twists and great dialogue. It boasts a fine cast, including Ralph Fiennes, who is phenomenal in the lead. The scenery and set pieces are so glorious they almost deserve top billing themselves. Why, then, did the movie leave me a little flat? I really couldn't say. Other than pointlessly playing a dead cat for laughs (an automatic deduction of one-half Weasley on the final grade), there wasn't anything specific I didn't like; on the contrary, I liked all of it very much...yet I didn't walk out of the theatre with that feeling I get when I've seen a really great movie. Due to my unusually high expectations, maybe that feels more disappointing than it should.

The Grand Budapest Hotel runs 100 minutes and is rated R for "language, some sexual content, and violence."

Smart and funny, well written and well acted, somehow The Grand Budapest Hotel is still less than inspiring. Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Grand Budapest Hotel gets six and a half.

Closing yesterday's double-bill was the animated sequel Rio 2.

Blu and family leave their comfortable Rio home to fly to the aid of Linda and Tulio in the Amazon jungle, but the jungle, they find, is full of surprises.

Rio is one of my all-time favorite animated films. It's not special, like How to Train Your Dragon, but it's so pretty and lively you can't help but be happy while watching it. I had high hopes for Rio 2, but, alas, it falls very far short of the bar set by its predecesser.

Rio 2 is as beautifully drawn, colored, and animated as the original. It throws in a bouncy tune here and there to keep the kids' attention, though, as an adult, it feels more like uncomfortable, contrived attempts to show off the alleged singing talents of certain cast members. Jesse Eisenberg is a delight as Blu, and would easily stand out even if the rest of the cast weren't so...meh. It was no surprise to me that a cartoon Kristin Chenoweth is just as annoying as a live-action one, but Rio 2's chief problem goes beyond petty annoyances; the sad truth is it's just plain boring. It's not an overly long movie, yet it seems to go on forever, and a few good laughs and some nice-looking artwork are by no means enough to recommend it. If I had to say one good thing, it'd be that a Friday afternoon screening spared me the eight-year-olds' birthday parties with which I've been cursed at my other recent animation outings.

Rio 2 clocks in at 101 minutes and is rated G.

An unworthy sequel to its delightful predecessor, of a possible nine Weasleys, Rio 2 gets four.

Until next time...

If I play my cards right, there might be room for me in that dragon movie!

MOVIE REVIEW: OCULUS

Two siblings haunted by a childhood tragedy learn that the source of their horror is a mysterious mirror with a dark history. Tim (Brenton Thwaites) and Kaylie (Karen Gillan) were merely teenagers when both of their parents were brutally butchered. Convicted of the killings and sentenced to protective custody, Tim serves his time while Kaylie drifts into a deep despair. Years later, a newly free Tim does his best to lay the past to rest. Meanwhile, Kaylie is certain that her brother was innocent all along, and that the antique mirror their parents used to own holds the answer to her darkest questions. Upon locating the long-lost looking glass, Kaylie's deepest fears are confirmed -- a menacing force inhabits that mirror, and it has plagued every owner who has come into possession of it. Now, as curious Kaylie reacquires the mirror, the nightmarish cycle of horror returns with a vengeance. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Release Date: Apr 11, 2014

Rated: R for some Disturbing Images, Brief Language, Terror and Violence

Runtime: 1 hr. 45 min. 

Genres: Horror 

Director: Mike Flanagan 

Cast: Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, Rory Cochrane, Katee Sackhoff, Garrett Ryan

Review:

Oculus is one of those pleasant surprises that randomly pop up from time to time in the horror genre which is overrun with more crap than an old portopotty.  Oculus is a mind bender, even if it can turn rather silly at certain points, which play with time and perception.   All the while maintaining a strong tension throughout while it keeps us guessing whether things are really happening or not.  It borrows heavily from Japanese horror but make for a rather enjoyable yarn.  The cast is lead by the lovely Karen Gillan, and her bangs, who oversells her part a tad too much in the beginning but settles into her role as the film moves on.  Brenton Thwaites is a solid counter weight to Gillan’s obsessive character.  Katee Sackhoff is always excellent playing nutty and she does a good job here even though I was disappointed by where the story takes her character in the third act.  The last act is a fun trip through the fun house of terrors which messes with your perception enough to keep you on your toes even if it ends up in a predictable place.

B-