On the last day before summer vacation at a rough-and-tumble high school,
mild-mannered teacher Andy Campbell (Charlie Day) accidentally causes his
fearsome colleague Ron Strickland (Ice Cube) to be fired. When Strickland then
challenges him to a fist fight after school, Campbell
must find a way to avoid a vicious beating. Tracy Morgan, Jillian Bell,
Christina Hendricks, Dean Norris, and Dennis Haysbert co-star in this comedy
directed by Richie Keen. ~ Jack Rodgers, Rovi
Director: Richie
Keen
Cast: Ice Cube, Charlie Day, Tracy Morgan, Jillian Bell,
Dean Norris
Release Date: Feb
17, 2017
Rated R for language Throughout, Drug Material and Sexual
Content/Nudity
Runtime: 1 hr. 31 min.
Genres: Comedy
Fist Fight is a silly comedy that moves at a frantic pace
the moment it starts.Boasting an
excellent comedic cast led by Charlie Day, it’s a mindless comedy that never
takes itself overly seriously.Charlie
Day is put front and center and fans of his style of manic comedy will find
plenty to like.Richie Keen does a
serviceable job of directing the comedy even though there are plenty of missed
opportunities.The most glaring issue is
that the film doesn’t take full advantage of its cast with excellent actors
like Christina Hendricks and Dean Norris showing up in glorified cameos more
than actual roles.Both roles feel like
they could have been expanded a bit to flesh out the nightmare facility.Luckily Keen keeps Ice Cube relegated to
playing a scowling hothead, leaving the comedy to the pros.It’s a good choice that pays off in the end,
leaving the audience with a perfectly zany R rated comedy.
Dearest Blog: Today it was off to Marquee Cinemas for oddball blockbuster The Great Wall.
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.
A pair of mercenaries is conscripted into battle to save a Chinese city from hordes of terrifying creatures.
Dear reader(s): Thanks to a painful trailer, my best hope for The Great Wall was that it would be hilariously bad and not just bad. I am pleased to report that, while it's not winning any awards anytime soon, The Great Wall IS actually a pretty enjoyable way to pass a couple hours.
Liberally seasoned from the cliche jar, the Great Wall is deeply, deeply idiotic. Jarringly modern phrasing and Matt Damon's weirdly stilted diction are no help with the clunky script. The most pointed attempts at humor often miss the mark, but a light tone works strongly in the movie's favor. The Great Wall boasts some lovely scenery, spectacular costumes, excellent precision battle choreography, and solid creature effects. I didn't see the movie in 3D, but there are a few dizzying scenes that I expect would make it worth the upcharge and glasses headache. Wall-to-wall (see what I did there?) action never comes at the story's expense, and is perfectly accompanied by Ramin Djawadi's rousing score.
The Great Wall clocks in at 103 minutes and is rated PG13 for "sequences of fantasy action violence."
The story and the acting are nothing to write home about, but The Great Wall is a fun outing that's more than worth seeing on the big screen for it's extraordinary production values. Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Great Wall gets five.
Batman (voice of Will Arnett) defends Gotham
City from criminals and
supervillains while bonding with a young orphan (Michael Cera) he accidentally
adopted -- who, of course, eventually becomes his sidekick Robin. This spin-off
of The Lego Movie also features the voices of Rosario Dawson as Batgirl, Zach
Galifianakis as the Joker, and Ralph Fiennes as Batman's loyal butler Alfred
Pennyworth. Directed by Chris McKay (Robot Chicken). ~ Daniel Gelb, Rovi
Director Chris McKay
Cast: Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Zach Galifianakis,
Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes
Release Date: Feb
10, 2017
Rated PG for Rude Humor and Some Action
Runtime: 1 hr. 44 min.
Genres: Action/Adventure, Animated, Comedy
The Lego Batman Movie is a worthy follow up to The Lego
Movie.It’s not as thoroughly enjoyable
as The Lego Movie but it hits more often than it misses.Will Arnett returns as the blocky caped
crusader and he’s clearly having a ball.Michael Cera costars as the overly eager to please Robin.They both play off each other very well along
with Rosario Dawson and Ralph Fiennes who round out the hero side of
things.Zach Galifianakis is just as
much fun as the Lego Joker.The plot
itself is more simplistic than The Lego Movie but it’s filled with enough jokes
and bat references to keep most adults laughing for the better part of the
films running time.Its visual flare and
cast are enough to overlook most of its minor flaws.
Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for a highly-anticipated pair of pictures: John Wick: Chapter 2 and the Lego Batman Movie.
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear reader(s), what follows is the historic, first-ever, perfect-nine-Weasley double-bill! Steel yourselves!
First on yesterday's agenda: John Wick: Chapter 2.
John Wick is dragged out of retirement when an old marker is called in.
The first John Wick was a pleasant surprise. With very little buzz and a not-quite-A-list lead, it turned out far better than the generic actioner promised by the trailers. Following up such unexpected success almost unfailingly leads to disaster, but I am pleased to report John Wick: Chapter 2 actually breaks the mold and improves upon the original.
Beginning with the obvious: Keanu Reeves has found the role for which he was born. Sure, the guy has all the acting chops of "Shepherd #3" in your local elementary-school Christmas pageant, but he's given us a few iconic leads over his long career, and John Wick seems destined to become one of his best remembered. Reeves works even the film's corniest lines to perfection and still manages to be the perfect stoic killing machine. A solid supporting cast includes Ian McShane, Common, Laurence Fishburne, and the suddenly-ubiquitous Ruby Rose. John Wick: Chapter 2 boasts epic fight choreography, a dark humor that always hits its mark, and stellar production design. A shootout in a hall of mirrors is a real standout, along the lines of the original's red room scene. The extraordinary body count undoubtedly renders a picture like this not everyone's cup of tea, but if you're able to set aside genre bias, you'll have to admit John Wick: Chapter 2 is one hell of a great movie.
John Wick: Chapter 2 clocks in at 122 minutes and is rated R for "strong violence throughout, some language, and brief nudity."
John Wick: Chapter 2 is a strikingly filmed, beautifully executed movie that's well served by its self-awareness. I pondered long and hard, looking for a reason to dock it even a half-Weasley, and I couldn't find one. Of a possible nine Weasleys, John Wick: Chapter 2 gets nine.
Fangirl points: My beloved Ian McShane! Peter Serafinowicz!
Next on the docket, The Lego Batman Movie.
The Bat goes brick.
The Lego Batman Movie has all the sharp colors, cool artwork, and constant motion that are hallmarks of most good animation these days, but considering it a kids' movie does it a great disservice; it is straight-up comedy gold, and I mean hilarious. I can't remember the last time I heard a cinema crowd laugh as hard or as much. The movie lovingly makes fun of the Bat-verse, from Will Arnett's sulking, self-centered Bruce Wayne to hilarious callbacks to various film faceoffs with his arch-nemesis the Joker. If Gotham's Clown Prince isn't your favorite baddie, never fear, the Lego Batman Movie not only features many of Batman's classic enemies, but cameos by villains from the furthest reaches of fiction. A rockin' score by Lorne Balfe occasionally echoes past Batman themes, underlining the movie's nods to Bat-history, while standing firmly on its own Lego feet.
The Lego Batman Movie runs 104 minutes and is rated PG for "rude humor and some action."
The Lego Batman Movie is everything a moviegoer could want, be he die-hard Batfan or casual walkup.
Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Lego Batman Movie gets nine.
In this third installment in the horror franchise, a young woman tries to
save her boyfriend from a haunted video that kills people seven days after they
watch it. However, she soon discovers that the video's secrets go far deeper
than anyone has ever suspected. Matilda Lutz, Vincent D'Onofrio, Johnny
Galecki, Laura Wiggins, Aimee Teegarden, Alex Roe, and Bonnie Morgan star.
Directed by F. Javier Gutierrez. ~ Jack Rodgers, Rovi
Genres: Drama, Horror
Director F. Javier Gutierrez
Cast: Aimee Teegarden, Johnny Galecki, Alex Roe, Zach
Roerig, Bonnie Morgan, Vincent D'Onofrio
Release Date: Feb
03, 2017
Rated PG-13 for thematic Elements, Some Sexuality, Brief
Drug Material and Violence/Terror
Runtime: 1 hr. 47 min.
Review:
The horror genre is littered with massive valleys and
huge peaks in terms of quality.The
original Ring film was an impressive piece of filmmaking and one of my favorite
horror films of all time.Sadly, after
that a lesser sequel followed and the franchise seemingly died off.Rings is an ill conceived attempt to restart
the series.F. Javier Gutierrez borrows
heavily from Gore
Verbinski’s visual style which creates an effectively moody look.Unfortunately there’s not much else to the
film since the story decides to sideline Samara for the better part of the
film.Instead we’re treated to another
origin story which isn’t nearly as interesting as it was the first two times
we’ve seen it.Making matters worst is the
cast that’s made up of uncharismatic leads.It’s hard to tell if the actors are just bad or if the direction has to
do something with it because even name actors like Johnny Galecki and Vincent
D’Onofrio deliver incredibly stiff and uninspired performances.Sadly, we are left with nothing more than a boring
slog of a film that doesn’t even offer cheap scares to keep you awake.
Dearest Blog: Today it was off to Marquee Cinemas to see my beloved Gary Oldman's latest picture, The Space Between Us.
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.
A boy born and raised on Mars yearns to come to Earth.
Well, dear reader(s), I can't sugar coat it: The Space Between Us might be the worst movie I've ever seen. Almost everything about this film is so embarrassingly terrible that it's hard to know where to start, so, just to keep you on your toes, I'll start with the few things I actually liked. First, Gary looks amazing. Like, even-better-than-Air-Force-One amazing. He's in the movie a LOT more than I expected, too. I thought he'd be on the periphery of the main story between the two kids, but actually he's kinda the star, with commensurate screen time (which he already may be regretting). There's some lovely scenery as our kids traverse the country, a handful of genuinely funny/cute moments (though few and far between), and a few bits of the score that really caught my ear. That's the good news. The bad news is this movie is otherwise awful to the last detail. It sells its premise so poorly that you're laughing at the very idea before it really even gets started. Awkward, hokey dialogue sounds like it was written by someone who has never heard a real person speak before. It's hard to fault the actors, given the material, but nobody does anything to elevate this mess, either. Mostly what we've got here is two hours of smitten teens acting all teeny and adults scampering around, overwrought, in the most predictable series of events ever. On the Gary Oldman scale, it's about as bad as Lost in Space.
The Space Between us clocks in at an interminable 120 minutes and is rated PG13 for "brief sensuality and language."
As always, I encourage everyone to get out to the movies this weekend. Please just go see something besides The Space Between Us. Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Space Between Us gets one, for giving me my Gary on the big screen.
