Truth or Dare Movie Review

April 13, 2018 (updated April 12, 2018) Published by JMcNaughton

“Truth or Dare” is no longer just a game or a bad Madonna documentary. Now it is an actual movie. It is “Final Destination” for the Snapchat Generation. “Final Destination” (from 18 years ago) was an intriguing look a group of kids who ‘cheated’ death, only to have death come back to take them one by one. Now many years later, this movie says that just playing a silly game in a place possessed by a demon can be bad for your life expectancy. Play the game, or else you DIE. Tell the Truth and lie, then you DIE. Play the Dare and do it wrong, then you DIE. Hey, mind if I live stream your gruesome death?

College student Olivia (Lucy Hale) and her Best Friend Forever Markie (Violett Beane) take a Spring Break trip to Mexico. They are joined by some friends who also come along. Lucas (Tyler Posey) who is Markie’s boyfriend, Brad (Hayden Szeto) the gay Asian friend, and Penelope (Sophia Ali) and her main squeeze Tyson (Nolan Gerard Funk). They are about to leave for home, but that night Olivia meets a guy named Carter (Landon Liboiron) at the bar. He convinces them all to come with min and play a little game. But soon the cat is out of the bag. Carter explains that they are all stuck in the ‘Truth or Dare’ game for life – literally.

Olivia is sort of the goody-goody type, and she wants to see everyone do well. But she is misled by Carter into the game, and now all the people in the group are involved. When they get back home, they are all haunted by an evil demon who forces them to one-by-one take a ‘Truth or Dare’ challenge. But if they refuse, or make a choice and do not deliver, then they are led to tragic end. But because it is a PG-13 movie, the death is not bloody or graphic (or the least bit interesting). But later on, the rules change, er – I guess the demon says they rules get refined. It sounds more like the four writers of this movie just kept coming up with new things to try to stick to the wall.

After a few members of their group get ‘Dared’ to death, they start doing the sleuthing thing, getting into every social media account ever (all on Apple machines, of course). They hunt down the ‘Carter’ guy who got them into this whole mess. They find some information about a ‘Dare’ murder that was in Mexico. It was done by a woman who was earlier possessed by the ‘Truth or Dare’ demon. They work their way down to Mexico and back several times. Olivia even meets with an old ex-sister who claims to know about the abandoned church in Mexico and the demon who took it over. The movie never takes a straight line in any direction. It zips and zigs and then it flips and flops over and over again.

Seeing a group of ill-defined and uninteresting characters go through the motions of getting killed off in boring ways… what else could a horror movie fan want? There is no purpose behind this movie. There is little motivation to follow anything through. There are no likable characters and you feel no loss if one of them screws up against the evil ‘Truth or Dare’ demon. There is not all that much that makes any sense, except for some Apple product placement. The story goes all over the place, and the dialog is cheesy. But it is not cheesy enough to make it a guilty pleasure. It is just bad enough to make you lose interest.

All the actors make a true effort to seem like they are on board with this movie. But everything that need to do or say goes against them. The movie winds up flat and scattered, like a cardboard box run over in the middle of a Mexican dirt back road. The visual effects are goofy and cheap looking. They give the characters who taunt the main person into ‘Truth or Dare’ a weird Snapchat face filter that gives them crazy eyes and a Joker style mouth. There are couple of final scenes that do not even try to hide the fact that the ‘green screen’ technology was broken that day.

If someone gives you a ‘Dare’ to see this movie, tell them the ‘Truth’ – you would rather see a decent movie…

Rampage Movie Review

April 13, 2018 (updated April 12, 2018) Published by JMcNaughton

Movies that are based on video games have not had a high success rate. Not even “Tomb Raider’ (redone, again) made much of difference at the box office last month. So can a movie based on an old arcade-style game called Rampage bring to life the movie magic? Best be thinking that if there is anything good to be found in this movie, it will be in the work of Dwayne Johnson and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Those two are the bread and butter, but the rest are just garnish.

Engyne is one very evil corporation that is conducting secret genetic experiments. Even better, the serum they produced is on the space station – which simply explodes into bits. There are three containers of genetic serum that land on Earth, ready to cause havoc. One lands in the San Diego Zoo, where Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson) has spent years working with the giant apes, and teaching then sign language. One of the apes is named George, so he must have come from the Jungle (George of the Jungle?). George finds the remains of the genetic container and gets sprayed with it. He becomes a huge mutant albino gorilla.

Geneticist Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris) arrives to help Davis with George’s intense growth. She was the main scientist at Engyne who help develop the substance. The owners of Engyne are Claire Wyden (Malin Åkerman) and her brother Brett (Jake Lacy). They have developed the serum to sell on the black market. Kate attempted to blow the whistle, but Claire and Brett had her arrested and ruined her life. But now she wants to help Davis control how George is taking over. But George escapes.

George does not get far when he is taken by a big Government agency. This group is lead by Agent Russell (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who takes Davis, Kate and a sedate George into custody. They are taken in a large cargo plane but when George wakes up; he does not like his flight and takes down the entire plane. Agent Russell is saved by Davis and Kate. Then he finds there are two other mutated monster sized animals, a wolf and a crocodile. These two killing creatures are en route to Chicago, same as George. George and the other two monster-sized creatures are being controlled remotely by Engyne, led there by the Claire and her idiot brother. She wants to prove how effective her serum would be to create fighting machines. So what better way to display your wares by getting them to destroy a major city!

But Davis and Kate are on the scene and come in to save the day. With some logistical help from Agent Russell, they are able to communicate with George and calm him down. But with two other mean and vicious monsters on the loose, there are still buildings to be destroyed and lives to be threatened.

Dwayne Johnson gets a chance to play his ‘Rock-ish’ self again. He is one part human and one part giant unbreakable super guy. There is nothing that he cannot do and nothing that does not bend to his will. Except for the three big monsters. He does have his hands full with that. Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays a super bureaucrat who can get things done and never passes up a chance to serve up some snark. He plays this character with a great over-the-top attitude. This movie could be much better just concentrating in these two actors playing off each other. Now that would be great.

“Rampage” could be a bit hit, if you can ignore all of the bad science and all the utter destruction of a big city. When Hollywood finally gives up on the idea of a perfect video-game movie adaptation, then perhaps we could see a movie with Dwayne Johnson and a co-star Jeffrey Dean Morgan as – whatever, it would just be fun!

Until then: “It’s Game Over, Man!”

The Miracle Season Movie Review

April 6, 2018 (updated April 5, 2018) Published by JMcNaughton

“The Miracle Season” is a positive and uplifting sports story of .. girl’s high school volleyball? Yeah, it is based on a true story of a small town high school and the volleyball champions who want nothing more than repeat and win the state top prize this year. But there is a tragic accident that causes the team to falter and lose their mojo for the game. But spurred on by the memory of the effervescent team captain who was has died, the team rebounds and goes all the way to “Just Win, Baby”.

In Iowa, in 2010, the West High School girls’ volleyball team became the Iowa state champions. It was a proud moment for Coach Kathy Bresnahan (Helen Hunt) and the team captain Caroline “Line” Found (Danika Yarosh). Line, as she is known, is bubbly and outgoing and she has a major positive attitude. Her friend and teammate Kelly (Erin Moriarty) does not know how Line can be so sure about the next year’s team and if they can get to the championship game. Line as other things to worry about, like a mother dying of cancer and her dad – Dr. Ernie Found (William Hurt) – who is preoccupied with his wife’s fragile condition.

But before the new season starts, Line is tragically killed in an accident. Dr. Found has lost his daughter, and soon after, also his wife. He is devastated. The volleyball team is emotionally ripped apart and unable to practice or compete. Kelly becomes the new team captain, but there is no enthusiasm. Coach Bresnahan is emotionally troubled, but she tries to get the girls to work through the pain and the grief. At first there is little cooperation. But Kelly becomes a key figure who can turn the spirit around and get into a 15-game win streak. She convinces her teammates that they all need to “Live Like Line”. That is, take a tragic life event and deal with it with passion and purpose.

And before the season ends, the West High School team is back in the driver’s seat. They have made the playoffs and they can contend for the state champion title once more. They struggled and worked through their pain, based on the affection they had for Line. But in the end, they needed to play for their own reasons; to become the best and the most effective team that they could be. But will that be enough for the scrappy little team from the small town high school? Can Coach Bresnahan break them out of the funk of losing a great friend and a really good player? Can the tough coach and the new team captain Kelly lead the way to a repeat victory?

Of course you know the answer, if you have seen any high school sports related movies in the past few decades. Take “Hoosiers” for a basketball story line. Or “Friday Night Lights” for a football based story line. Or possibly “Bring It On”, regarding cheerleading. But perhaps as a first, this is a movie about a girls high school volleyball team. I’m not sure that there are any others like that. So this is refreshing, and so is the fact that this movie works against a couple normal movie tropes. Such as: the ‘inspiring’ speech given by the coach. Here, the coach says – “Ok, we went to state last year, and here we are again. Thanks…”

Helen Hunt and William Hurt use their years of experience in making something more out the characters they have to play. Erin Moriarty likewise does a very good job as the player who need to find the leader within. Danika Yarosh has the most difficult job, seeing that her character is gone after the first 15 minutes or so, but she needs to make her portrayal very memorable. The story is very good, and it sometimes falls into the old stand-by sports movie tropes: the quick-cut training montage set to beat-heavy music, the changes between super slo-mo and regular speed during the games, for example. But one in while it finds something fresh: a scene where all the team, and the coach, stop the bus on the way to the Big Game – and they get out to make angels in the snow…

“The Miracle Season” is a well-made heart-tugger that tells the true story of overcoming the obstacles of grief by being your best. Yes, it plays many of the well-worn clichés about sports teams and life in a small town. But there is a real shining star in the memory of Caroline “Line” Found. She still urges you to “Live Like Line”.

Ready Player One Movie Review

March 29, 2018 (updated March 28, 2018) Published by JMcNaughton

The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be. Perhaps that could be the motto of “Ready Player One”, the new movie from Steven Spielberg. Based on a popular book by Ernest Cline (who also co-wrote the screenplay with Zak Penn), it dystopian look at not-too-distant future where most everyone is fixated on the past. In the extreme split between rich and dirt-poor, the greater population lives for the ‘OASIS’. It is an online virtual world of fantasy, dreams and hope for better things. The OASIS has a strange fascination for everything from the 1980’s. There is an evil corporation wanting to take over the OASIS and make just another profit center. But there are some underdog game fanatics who want to see the evil defeated and the OASIS world made safe for humanity, IRL (In Real Life).

IRL Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) is known as Parzival in the OASIS. He has a meager existence for real, living with a poor aunt and her string of abusive boyfriends. They live in ‘The Stacks’ which is a high-rise trailer park of sorts. Wade is more at ease in the OASIS, because of his comprehensive knowledge of the creator of the OASIS, James Halliday (Mark Rylance). Halliday was a cross between Willy Wonka and Steve Jobs, because his intellect was far above his social skills. Before he died, Halliday told the world that the OASIS was up for grabs, due to an elaborate Easter Egg hunt game that he devised to test each person who attempted to compete. The person who can complete the Quest will be the owner and guardian of the OASIS, and one rich dude!

The evil corporation is called IOI and it is led by Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn), a weasel of a CEO who wants to win the Quest and take over the OASIS. He has plans to charge fees and sell tons of ads, and that is something Halliday would never permit. But when Parzival gets some keen insights on Halliday that gives him an advantage to the get the first Key. There are three Keys that must be found before the OASIS Easter Egg will be passed on to the winner. Parzival meets a very talented fellow Gunter (egG hUNTER) named Art3mis (Olivia Cooke). She has many good skills to use in hunting the Egg. Parzival also has a long-time OASIS friend named Aech (Lena Waithe) who looks like a huge hunky dude in OASIS (but IRL, Aech is named Helen). Aech is wonder in the tech repair department, and Art3mis (IRL, she is Samantha Cook) is now part of the ongoing Quest.

An impossible-to-win road race through the virtual streets of New York leads to the first Key. But Parzival finds Halliday’s special secret route designed to win the race. The entire main group gets a chance to score the first level of the Quest puzzle. This then leads to a new challenge, having to do with the movie “The Shining”. Parzival and Art3mis learn more about James Halliday and his early partner, named Ogden Morrow (Simon Pegg), by watching the videos stored at the Halliday Research Center. The facility is led by The Curator, who is so impressed with Parzival’s knowledge that he gives the Gunter a special coin (that will come in handy later on). Art3mis gets to the final round in “The Shining” and she gets the next Key. Now the group has only one more to collect…

The final Key is hidden on a virtual place called Planet Doom. But evil IOI and Sorrento has paid a weird bounty hunter named i-Rok (T. J. Miller) to get a special Artifact that can freeze out any other players from getting in. There is a fortress on that Planet Doom that is surrounded by the goon squads of IOI. Sorrento and i-Rok start up the Artifact (a special object with special powers) that creates a force field to protect the IOI people and keep out Parzival and his buddies. But when Parzival calls upon all the (virtual) people in the OASIS to come to his aid, he is amazed to see the support that swoops in to help them. Sorrento has run IOI with evil intentions, and there are many people willing to come to assist Parzival reach his goal.

So in the end, the final Key will be found, and the Oasis Easter Egg will be presented. But to whom will it go? Some evil corporation slug, who would want to take the OASIS system and turn it into a costly profit palace only for the rich and famous? Or will it go to some ragtag group of lovable underdogs, who can take the wealth and treasure of the OASIS and make it even more accessible and useful? Well, do ya even have to think about it? The love and affection that Halliday put into the OASIS can be made to multiply and grow, but only in the hands of the right people. That’s the way a true Spielberg movie is gonna end…

The acting is fabulous all around. Ben Mendelsohn plays the evil slimeball perhaps a bit too campy, but he is great. Mark Rylance plays Halliday as shy and socially awkward mega-genius that reminded me of Rick Moranis from “Ghostbusters”. The music score is done by Alan Silvestri, who created a sweeping and majestic sound that does John Williams proud.

Steven Spielberg has taken many an audience on a magical Quest of his own for many other movies that he directed. “Ready Player One” is no slouch in that category of being magical. It is a visual masterpiece and the story takes you into worlds that are powered by pure imagination. Except for the tad bit overlong run time, the movie is modern classic. Perhaps the ‘real life’ segments are a bit flat and not as exciting as parts inside the OASIS. But that seems by design, to show you how much more life could have to offer.

Do yourself a favor, and see this movie. Do yourself an even bigger favor, and see this movie on the biggest screen available. And if you want to double the size of that favor, see this movie at an IMAX theater. It will not disappoint you. And you can even pay the extra for a 3-D showing, and you will get even a bigger and more immersive treat.

All you have to do is be “Ready”…

Isle of Dogs Movie Review

March 25, 2018 (updated March 25, 2018) Published by JMcNaughton

That eclectic director, Wes Anderson, has gone to the dogs! But that’s a good thing, because “Isle of Dogs” is a top pedigree product from Anderson. This stop-action animation was created in the same manner as his prior “Fantastic Mr. Fox”, and now this movie deserves the same recognition. This could be the next Best Animated Feature at next year’s Oscar program, because this movie is Man’s Next Best Friend. It is a visual delight and it is filled with a huge kennel of top talent.

“Isle of Dogs” is set in a near-future Japan, where the city of Megasaki is led by a grouchy old politition Mayor Kobayashi (Kunichi Nomura). He dislikes dogs so much that when an outbreak of ‘snout flu’ make the canines less than desirable, he banishes them all out to Trash Island. He starts with the loyal protector dog named Spots (Liev Schreiber). Spots is the canine companion and guardian to the Mayor’s young ward, Atari (Koyu Rankin). The young Atari knows that the Mayor is up to something, when all the dogs in the city get rounded up and exiled out to the lonely island of garbage.

There are several alpha dogs that run in an Alpha Pack on the island. Starting with Rex (Edward Norton) who thinks he is the leader, and King (Bob Balaban) who was in a series of commercials, along with Boss (Bill Murray) who used to be a little league mascot, and finally Duke (Jeff Goldblum) who just hangs around spreading gossip. These dogs are sometimes joined by Chief (Bryan Cranston) who is street-smart stray, and never wants to be part of the human world again.

Atari is able to steal a small plane and fly to Trash Island, so he can start the quest to find Spots. The Alpha Pack finds Atari and they want to help him. It is difficult, because Atari speaks nothing by Japanese, and the dogs bark only in English. Rex comes up with a plan, time and time again, only to be countered by Chief. Chief always comes up with a more sensible idea, but he wants nothing to do with Atari. Back in the main city, there is a brilliant scientist who is developing a cure for the snout flu. And there is a foreign exchange study named Tracy (Greta Gerwig) who supports Atari and the dogs.

Atari and the Alpha Pack go on a search for Spots, and Atari grows closer to Chief along the way. Chief wants nothing of the sort, but he slowly sees that a boy’s love for Spots is real. They meet many other dogs in the wild of the island. There is Nutmeg (Scarlett Johansson) who was a show dog in her prior life. There is Jupiter (F. Murray Abraham) and Oracle (Tilda Swinton), two dogs in charge of a different section of the island. Each of them has found a way to cope with being banished from Megasaki. But each one would like nothing better to be back with his or her original owner.

Mayor Kobayashi becomes more fanatical in his hatred for dogs, and he begins plans for an extermination. The dogs begin an uprising and a resistance to the unyielding power of the Mayor. The Office of the Mayor has a real-time translator (Frances McDormand) who is constantly catching all of the interested parties up on the latest development. There is also a deep-voiced Narrator (Courtney B. Vance) who is very quick to explain the finer points of the Japanese local government and the various geological features of Trash Island.

But the real beauty of the movie is in the visual displays of the scenes. Each frame is hand-crafted and manipulated with precision to show stop-action puppet movement. Each character is delightfully illustrated, more than any CGI created animated cartoon could ever be. There is an aspect that looks and feels real, and that is something beyond even the best Disney animated movie. This movie can be compared to Ws Anderson’s other stop-action film “Fantastic Mr. Fox”. But that one was based on a well-known children’s book, and “Isle of Dogs” is basically all Wes Anderson.

When you see “Isle of Dogs”, you will know that Wes Anderson was not barking up the wrong tree…

Opens March 28th – in Phoenix – exclusive at Harkins Camelview at Fashion Square

Pacific Rim Uprising Movie Review

March 23, 2018 (updated March 22, 2018) Published by JMcNaughton

The movie “Pacific Rim Uprising” is a sequel to “Pacific Rim” from a few years back. In the “Rim” world, the giant monsters (called ‘kaiju’) were defeated by the humans controlling giant robots (called ‘jaegers’). It was an excuse to see enormous good guy robots lay the smack down on gigantic evil beasts in order to save the world. After the world was saved, it took ten years (in movie time) to get back to the same ‘Rock-en Sock-em’ battle mode. in “Uprising” there is a new threat, and the world is ready to be saved again. This is a Science-Fiction Action movie that relies a lot more on the Action and the Fiction than it does on the Science.

Ten years ago, a brave jaeger pilot and commander named Stacker Pentecost declared they were “canceling the apocalypse!”. They did this by fighting and defeating the kaiju. But he died in the effort and he left behind his son Jake (John Boyega) and his adopted Japanese daughter Mako (Rinko Kikuchi). Mako was a famous jaeger pilot back in the war. Back then, young Jake was starting in the Jaeger Training program until he was kicked out. But after a street brawl instigated by an even younger Amara Namani (Cailee Spaeny), who is a street-wise orphan and illegal jaeger scrapper, they both get (forced) into the school. There Jake meets his old partner-pilot Nate Lambert (Scott Eastwood), who wants Jake to take the training seriously this time.

There are new threats that arise, and a Chinese industrial tycoon wants to replace all human-controlled jaegers with remote-controlled drones. There is a special vote to be held in Sydney, but an unknown jaeger attacks the city and kills Mako. She was able to get out a coded message in time. The kaiju may be returning, and this time, they are getting help. There are two scientists (also from in the first movie) named Dr. Newt Geiszler (Charlie Day) and Dr. Hermann Gottlieb (Burn Gorman). Newt now works for the huge Chinese company making the drones. Gottlieb is still with the team that supports the jaeger pilots.

After a sneak attack by the drones, who are secretly controlled by kaiju brains, only the Trainee Cadets are all that is left. Like I said, this movie relies very little on the Science from Science-Fiction. Trainee Cadets include Amara plus a handful of other ethnically-diverse young jaeger pilots. They are led into battle by Jake and Lambert, who have the most powerful jaeger named Gipsy Avenger. Some of the other jaeger names are Bracer Phoenix, Guardian Bravo, Titan Redeemer, and Saber Athena. These sound more like Axe Body Wash scents, but oh well…

But how are the evil kaiju still on the attack after ten years, and who is helping them to organize a new assault on humanity? I am not at liberty to say, but the culprit might say that It’s Always Sunny in Tokyo City. By the way, the skyscrapers in Tokyo take a beating from the jaeger vs. kaiju wrestling match. The whole place seems to be pretty much gets leveled, as the kaiju all combine into one super-sized monster. The thing is heading to Mt. Fuji, and the thing is not after film or apples.

The acting is relatable to the story-line, it is not fantastic, but there are a couple of standouts. John Boyega has a ton of charm and charisma, and he will not be outdone by the same attributes in Scott Eastwood. Cailee Spaeny is OK in a role that tries to make her do (and know) too much. The snide little comments from Burn Gorman as Dr. Hermann make him the best one to root for.

There is plenty of action, and it all holds together really well. That is unlike the mess that is any “Transformers” movie. The pacing is brisk and it moves from location to location with a focused goal. It does not let any fluff take over the story. You know, stuff like, a deep back-story for any character, any accurate scientific theories, any meaningful dialogue, and especially no mushy romance scenes.

To sum it up:

If you like this sort of thing, then you will sort-of like this thing…

7 Days in Entebbe Movie Review

March 16, 2018 (updated March 12, 2018) Published by JMcNaughton

In July 1976 almost all people around the world were enjoying the upcoming U.S.A. Bicentennial celebrations. Except a handful who happened to be aboard an Air France jet that was hijacked in Athens. The jet left Israel and was taken over by Palestinian extremists and two German revolutionaries. The plane finally found safe passage into Uganda and landed in Entebbe. That country was led by a dictator named Idi Amain, and he gave the hijackers a place to stay. The Israeli government was backed into a corner, and something had to be done.

The hijackers were from split between Palestinians wanting a homeland, and the Germans, who had no other revolts left to join. The German authorities had shut down the German terror cells, and these two headed off to hang out with the others. Brigitte Kuhlmann (Rosamund Pike) and Wilfried Böse (Daniel Brühl) had no prior experience doing something major like this, so they decided to help the Palastinians. Idi Amain (Nonso Anozie) had no love for the major world powers, so he thought he would shove their nose into the situation. Amin let the hijackers use the airport in Entebee as a place to conduct negotiations, or perhaps executions. Air France was helpless to end the stand-off, so it left it up to the Israelis.

The Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (Lior Ashkenazi) knew that they could not negotiate. If they gave in, then more planes would be taken and more hostages would be in danger. The Defense Minister was Shimon Peres (Eddie Marsan) who knew that as things went on, he could persuade Rabin to eventually take military action. Not action that would confront Uganda directly, but a stealth operation that could get done under cover of darkness to free the passengers. This would not be an easy mission, but Peres believed that it needed to be done.

Böse was becoming more discouraged by the actions of the Palestinians. They had no respect for any of the hostages, and even less for those who were Jewish. Kuhlmann had turned the corner in her sanity and was popping more and more drugs to stay awake. She would lose touch with reality every now and then, but she was a brutal soldier in the fight. The crew of the Air France flight acted bravely and took special care to see that all the passengers were treated OK. But they had no control over anything. They could only hope for some type of rescue.

That rescue did come, by the way. There can be no spoilers about this, because it all happened more than 40 years ago! Amin’s forces helped to guard the old terminal where the hostages were held. But when the Israeli Special Forces arrived, the rescue operation would take down many of the Ugandan forces. Then they focused on the hijackers, and all of them were eliminated. The initial group of 248 taken hostage was then down to 94 by the time the rescue team arrived. Of those, only three people died in the fight, plus one Israeli soldier. The soldier killed was named Netanyahu. His younger brother went on to become the current Prime Minister of Israel.

For some reason this movie was made now, after several other films have already been made about the same events. This movie is over 40 years after the incident, so in does not reflect any breaking or recent news. The director, José Padilha, does a weird thing in the final act by cutting between the hostage rescue and a modern jazz dance recital. Yes, that does sound odd, but the actual depiction is even stranger. Perhaps it means that the soldiers are fighting for the right of dancers to make jazz hands? Don’t know…

The biggest actors of note are Daniel Brühl and Rosamund Pike. But there is something creepy about humanizing a couple of leftist anarchists who help hijack a plane. They are portrayed as wanting to make a big difference in the world. But doing that by holding hostages and threatening to kill them might not win any arguments. All the Palestinians portrayed as mean and belligerent. Idi Amin is mostly a joke character.

If any portrayal is positive, it is in the way that the Israeli government finally made the gutsy decision to make the rescue attempt. The entire thing was fraught with risk, and the fact that they made it out with as such a small number of causalities is amazing. In short,

Watching “7 Days in Entebbe” makes one weak…

Tomb Raider Movie Review

March 15, 2018 (updated March 15, 2018) Published by JMcNaughton

Better Title: Indiana Croft and the Raiders of Tomb

Lara Croft is the main character from a video game ‘Tomb Raider’. She shares many things in common with Indiana Jones. Both are adventurous treasure seekers, who travel all about the globe. Both have fathers who also were adventurous treasure seekers and both are handy with person weapon. With Indiana, it is his bullwhip; for Croft, she uses a bow and arrow. They fight evil people who are looking to harm the earth and its people. Indiana fights Nazis, and Croft faces off against an evil organization called Trinity.

Lara (Alicia Vikander) is the daughter of a successful London businessman named Lord Richard Croft (Dominic West). But for seven years, he has been missing and presumed dead. Lara will not accept that fact. The entire holdings of the Croft empire would be in her control, if she would only sign the papers that officially declare her Dad is dead. Her guardian Ana Miller (Kristin Scott Thomas) is waiting still for Lara to come to her senses. But instead Lara has found a key hidden by her Dad before he left on a journey many years ago. This leads her to a secret hideaway that her Dad had created, and she learns the reasons he left.

She makes her way to retrace her Dad’s steps by going to Hong Kong and find the ship he last sailed on. She finds the ship, and the ship’s captain is the son of the man that took her Dad years ago. Lu Ren (Daniel Wu) has given up on the past, because he lost his dad at the same time. But Lara convinces Lu Ren to take her to an unknown island where her father was headed. Perhaps they can both find out what happened to both their parents. This island is supposed to hold the tomb of an ancient Queen of Japan.

But a bad storm shipwrecks the two of them on a reef, and they are separated. Lara swims to the island, but is taken hostage by the mysterious group who is also on the island searching for the Queen’s tomb. This group is led by Vogel (Walton Goggins), and he is as ruthless as his thugs. Lu Ren is also there, physically forced into hard labor. Many other lost souls are also being forced to work against their will. The entire focus is to find the tomb, and that is what brought Richard Croft there to search years ago. Vogel claims to have killed Lara’s dad years ago.

But Richard Croft is still alive on the island, and soon he meets up with Lara. But they are captured by Vogel again and they find their way into the tomb. That is when the real Indiana Jones stuff stars to happen. Vogel is working for Trinity, the shadowy evil group who wants to use the special supernatural power of the ancient Queen of Japan for some evil purpose. Richard has pledged his life to stop it, and Lara is there to make sure that something works out right. But there are Indiana Jones-type life-or-death bobby traps to puzzle out. There are ‘National Treasure’ type riddles to figure out.

A Video game based movie is pretty similar to a Comic book based movie. You go into it knowing that it is a bit removed from reality. But with “Tomb Raider”, the writing and direction are trying to make it part of the real world. It could have used director Roar Uthaug playing it with a few winks and nods to the audience. But it strives for a Shakespeare level of literary value that just is not there. It is a very well-done popcorn matinee type movie. Even the soundtrack swells and drumbeats you into how you should feel about a scene.

Alicia Vikander knows that this is less than Oscar worthy material, but she puts in a very physical and high-value performance. Walton Goggins is great yet unsettling as he plays a very bad man, slowly going nuts on that island. Dominic West is decent and he gets some heroics in the end. Daniel Wu is OK and he gets a few good lines. Kristin Scott Thomas plays a very minor role overall, and then the plot attempts to ‘Keyser Söze’ her character, with does not work out well.

Has this been done before? Yes, of course. Has it been done better? Yes, but there is a certain charm to Vikander and her attempt to turn Lara Croft into a more brainy, and not quite as busty, woman adventurer. She handles the roles well, but the movie does not live up to what it could have been.

Gringo Movie Review

March 9, 2018 (updated March 7, 2018) Published by JMcNaughton

The movie “Gringo” finds a way to mix humor into a horrific kidnapping situation. When a timid middle-manager is sent to Mexico to oversee a large corporation laboratory, he gets mistaken for the guy in charge. And when the guy in charge is pulling a fast one on the local drug cartel, then the results might not be so pleasant for that guy. But can the tables be turned on the corporation bosses and the cartel kingpin?

Harold (David Oyelowo) works for that large corporation which manufactures drugs. He is ignorant of many facts around him. His wife Bonnie (Thandie Newton) is having an affair and is going to leave him. His boss Rich (Joel Edgerton) is working side deals with the cartel, and is attempting to cover it up, so he can sell the business to a mega-firm. His partner Elaine (Charlize Theron) is all business, until her trysts with Rich are ending. Then she looks for a way to get even.

Harold goes down to the company lab in Mexico, where a cannabis tablet is being made. When it becomes legal everywhere in the States, then the company will have a gold mine. But Rich has been selling much of the product on the side to the cartel. Harold begins to see where the trail is leading, and he wants out. His wife is leaving him, he is dead broke and the company thinks he is expendable. The cartel wants Harold because they think he is in charge and can make the special tablets.

Harold happens to meet an American girl named Sunny (Amanda Seyfried), who is also in Mexico. Her boyfriend is planning on stealing the tablets and smuggling them back to make drug mule money. Harold is caught between the cartel thugs, and then some amateur thugs, when both try to kidnap him. Rich finally calls his brother Mitch (Sharlto Copley) who an ex-Special Forces guy and can get Harold back home safe. But Harold is not going to trust anyone anymore. Can anyone make it out alive?

“Gringo” takes serious subject and plays it for some laughs. Getting kidnapped in Mexico is not a fun thing. But David Oyelowo plays such a hilarious character that you want to root for the underdog. Joel Edgerton plays a great sleazy businessman in over his head who is courting disaster. Sharlto Copley does a crack-up job with a fairly brief role as Mitch, and he is fun to watch. The rest of cast is also well placed in the roles that they play. Nash Edgerton handles the direction with very few issues, and he keeps the action moving forward at a brisk pace. The action goes from Chicago to Mexico many times, and there are no dull pauses.

The movie takes a pretty good swing at being an action movie with a big dose of comedy. There are many places where it could have been a too dark for comedy, but it pulls it back just in time. The pacing makes it so each scene does not linger too long and become stale. And you even get to enjoy David Oyelowo singing along with “Getting’ Jiggy wit It”. That will warm the heart of any gringo!

2018 Academy Awards Winners List

March 4, 2018 (updated March 6, 2018) Published by JMcNaughton

2018 Academy Awards Winners List

These are the winners

Best Picture

Call Me by Your Name

Darkest Hour

Dunkirk

Get Out

Lady Bird

Phantom Thread

The Post

The Shape of Water

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Director

Christopher Nolan – Dunkirk

Jordan Peele – Get Out

Greta Gerwig – Lady Bird

Paul Thomas Anderson – Phantom Thread

Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water

Best Actor

Timothée Chalamet – Call Me by Your Name

Daniel Day-Lewis – Phantom Thread

Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out

Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour

Denzel Washington – Roman J. Israel

Best Actress

Sally Hawkins – The Shape of Water

Frances McDormand – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Margot Robbie – I, Tonya

Saoirse Ronan – Lady Bird

Meryl Streep – The Post

Best Supporting Actor

Willem Dafoe – The Florida Project

Woody Harrelson – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Richard Jenkins – The Shape of Water

Christopher Plummer – All the Money in the World

Sam Rockwell – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Supporting Actress

Mary J. Blige – Mudbound

Allison Janney – I, Tonya

Lesley Manville – Phantom Thread

Laurie Metcalf – Lady Bird

Octavia Spencer – The Shape of Water

Best Original Screenplay

The Big Sick – Written by Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani

Get Out – Written by Jordan Peele

Lady Bird – Written by Greta Gerwig

The Shape of Water – Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – Written by Martin McDonagh

Best Adapted Screenplay

Call Me by Your Name – James Ivory

The Disaster Artist – Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber

Logan – Screenplay by Scott Frank, James Mangold and Michael Green

Molly’s Game – Aaron Sorkin

Mudbound – Virgil Williams and Dee Rees

Best Animated Feature Film

The Boss Baby

The Breadwinner

Coco

Ferdinand

Loving Vincent

Best Foreign Language Film

A Fantastic Woman (Chile) in Spanish

The Insult (Lebanon) in Arabic

Loveless (Russia) in Russian

On Body and Soul (Hungary) in Hungarian

The Square (Sweden) in Swedish

Best Documentary Feature

Abacus: Small Enough to Jail

Faces Places

Icarus

Last Men in Aleppo

Strong Island

Best Documentary – Short Subject

Edith+Eddie

Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405

Heroin(e)

Knife Skills

Traffic Stop

Best Live Action Short Film

DeKalb Elementary

The Eleven O’Clock

My Nephew Emmett

The Silent Child

Watu Wote/All of Us

Best Animated Short Film

Dear Basketball

Garden Party

Lou

Negative Space

Revolting Rhymes

Best Original Score

Dunkirk – Hans Zimmer

Phantom Thread – Jonny Greenwood

The Shape of Water – Alexandre Desplat

Star Wars: The Last Jedi – John Williams

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – Carter Burwell

Best Original Song

“Mighty River” from Mudbound

“Mystery of Love” from Call Me by Your Name

“Remember Me” from Coco

“Stand Up for Something” from Marshall

“This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman

Best Sound Editing

Baby Driver

Blade Runner 2049

Dunkirk

The Shape of Water

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Best Sound Mixing

Baby Driver

Blade Runner 2049

Dunkirk

The Shape of Water

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Best Production Design

Beauty and the Beast

Blade Runner 2049

Darkest Hour

Dunkirk

The Shape of Water

Best Cinematography

Blade Runner 2049 – Roger Deakins

Darkest Hour – Bruno Delbonnel

Dunkirk – Hoyte van Hoytema

Mudbound – Rachel Morrison

The Shape of Water – Dan Laustsen

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Darkest Hour

Victoria & Abdul

Wonder

Best Costume Design

Beauty and the Beast

Darkest Hour

Phantom Thread

The Shape of Water

Victoria & Abdul

Best Film Editing

Baby Driver

Dunkirk

I, Tonya

The Shape of Water

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Visual Effects

Blade Runner 2049

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Kong: Skull Island

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

War for the Planet of the Apes

Author: JMcNaughton

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2018 Academy Awards Winners List

2018 Academy Awards Winners List

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