JMcNaughton, Author at tmc.io 🍿 watch movies with friends 48

Cars 3 Movie review

June 16, 2017 (updated June 15, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

After a pretty successful spin in “Cars”, Pixar went and made “Cars 2”, but it went right off the track. So, Pixel has made a third outing with the NASCAR-influenced “Cars 3”. This is the first third attempt at a series from Pixar since “Toy Story 3”. That one was critically acclaimed and much beloved by the general audiences around the world. Will “Cars 3” get the green flag and maintain a high-octane level of excitement? Or will it sputter off to the junkyard? Let’s kick the tires and find out.

Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is a famous racing car in the alternate world of vehicles only (and no people). He has run and usually won every major race, including the grand prize – The Piston Cup. He has fond memories of his mentor, and old-school racer named ‘The Fantastic Hudson Hornet’ (voiced by the late Paul Newman). McQueen spends his time in Radiator Springs, with his pals from the first movie – including Mater (Larry the Cable Guy). But McQueen has his heart in racing and winning.

But then some new next-generation race cars come onto the scene. They are sleek and custom-designed to be better than the older cars. Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer) is one of the new super-fast cars, and he wins while McQueen crashes and sits out the remaining season. But his sponsors have special news for McQueen. They have sold Rust-eze to a new owner named Sterling (Nathan Fillion). He has created a state-of-the-art facility to train new racers. McQueen goes there and meets Sterling and a peppy trainer named Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo). McQueen is excited to start off with the training, but Cruz wants him to go slow.

Cruz and McQueen have different ideas about how to train. McQueen wants to get his tires dirty on the old-fashioned dirt tracks, just like Doc. Hudson taught him. Cruz wants to go high-tech, with lots of equipment. Sterling gives McQueen one chance to get another win, and then he will need to retire. McQueen wants his chance to beat Jackson Storm just one more time. So, he goes out to train in secret. He ends up in a demolition derby by mistake with Cruz. But they both learn some things about how to handle bad conditions. McQueen goes on a country-wide search to find Doc. Hudson’s old crew chief.

They find Smokey (Chris Cooper) and a bunch of Docs old pals in a worn-down speedway. But they still have some tracks and ideas for McQueen so he can compete in the next big race and beat Storm. Cruz and McQueen find out old secrets about the early days of racing and the origins of fast cars. They become good friends with Smokey and Docs old racing pals. But they all know that the upcoming race in Florida will take all that McQueen has got. And Cruz says that she would have been a racer, but when she had her one chance, she backed out and never even tried.

The Florida 500 will be the big race for Lightning McQueen. But will his practice and his skills be enough for a super-slick racer like Jackson Storm? Can the help of experienced crew, led by Smokey, help McQueen during each lap? There will be a lot of fans rooting for Lightning McQueen, rooting for his comeback and his success. Will McQueen find his greatest joy in winning another time? Or will he see a way that will make his future match the path of his own mentor – Doc. Hudson?

Pixar has gotten a lot of mileage (so to speak) from Cars. But in this movie, you can see that the quality that makes Pixar special. All the animation is gorgeous and sharp in every detail. All the characters are spot-on with the voice acting. There are family-friendly storylines and lessons throughout. There is a 3D version that makes the screen look like a place that you would want to visit.

From the original Cars characters, such as Lightning McQueen and Mater, and now including new characters – Cruz Ramirez and Smokey and others, this Pixar franchise still has some gas left in the tank. So give “Cars 3” a green light and ‘Cruz’ into a local theater to watch it.

The Mummy Movie Review

June 9, 2017 (updated June 8, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

Universal Studios has long history of horror and fantasy movies from back in the day. It is time to revive those golden years with something they call the “Dark Universe”. Many of the creatures and monsters from the past will be remade, with the first one in the series called “The Mummy”. This will not be the same one as the 1999 version with Brendan Fraser. No sir, this will star Tom Cruise! But it will have the same big bad monster as the last time, however it will be a female version…

Nick Morton (Tom Cruise) and Sergeant Chris Vail (Jake Johnson) are attached to an Army unit in a far off village in Iraq. Nick is helping to locate “precious antiquities” in the desert, and a bomb explosion has uncovered an ancient Egyptian tomb. Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis) is searching for the same buried treasures, and she has a special pass from the London government to assist Nick and Chris Vail. However, what they find is soon to be discovered not as a burial site, but an Egyptian tomb/prison for a wicked Princess Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella).

Ahmanet had become an evil power-hungry killer, who had murdered the Pharaoh and his family. Her punishment was to be entombed alive, as far away from Egypt as possible. But now her sarcophagus is being unearthed and flown to London. There is a secret group there that oversees finding all monsters and destroying them. It is led by Dr. Henry Jekyll (Russell Crowe), however he has a bad tendency to turn into Mr. Hyde. Not the nicest chap on the block. The plane ride does not end well, with Chris Vail being possessed by ‘The Mummy’ (Ahmanet) and Nick shooting him dead. The plane is about to crash, and Nick saves Jenny, but he does not survive.

Until he does survive, without any explanation. But wait, Chris Vail is still there, and he is dead. But Nick can see him sometimes. The Mummy has broken out of her coffin, and attacks the guards at the plane crash site. She sucks the life from them, and they become her un-dead zombie slaves. There is a secretly stashed knife in an abbey nearby. It was smuggled out of Egypt by the Crusaders years ago. But there is a special crystal gem that gives the knife special powers. It was taken off the knife years ago, and now The Mummy needs it badly.

Jenny and Nick work together to help Dr. Jekyll finally capture The Mummy. Jekyll plans to kill and examine the remains of Princess Ahmanet, to find out how she become The Mummy. But Nick has a special bond with The Mummy, because she needs a new victim to kill in a ritual that will make him an Egyptian god. Oh, yeah, there’s lots going on, and the action goes on full tilt. But there is a confusing mish-mash of why most of this happening. Dead Chris Vail is still around on occasion, and he lightens up the mood. Nick is always overwhelmed when he tries to fight off The Mummy, the evil Mr. Hyde, and all the un-dead zombies chasing after him.

So this is pretty typical summer movie, with a bare plotline and tons of wild action. The major reintroduction of The Mummy, and Jekyll & Hyde as an aside, is real reason for the movie. This will become one of many based on the old creatures and monsters in the Universal Studio catalog. They want you to forget the 1999 version (with Brendan Fraser) and take this movie as the exciting start of something big. We will see how that goes. All the acting is OK, for a summer monster movie.

Tom Cruise runs and fights and gets along with his co-stars well. Annabelle Wallis does fine, but not memorable. Russell Crowe is low-key as Dr. Jekyll, and then turns into crazy-town when he becomes Mr. Hyde. Jake Johnson could have been used a lot more to lighten up the tone of the movie. Sofia Boutella is an attractive lady, but she has makeup and shrouding strands that bring her looks down quite a lot…

This creature feature can also be found playing in ‘No Reason to be 3-D’. 3-D does not show up well in dark and dimly-lit scenes, and there are plenty of them here. There are very few times in the movie where any 3-D stands out as a benefit to the scene. It just makes you put on dark glasses in a dark theater to watch a dark movie. It seems like more of a money grab then a way to make a more enjoyable product.

So, make room for sweet nostalgia in your new monster movies. Don’t look for well thought-out plots and dialog. Look for stunts and explosions and visual CGI. Don’t expect great character development, but get ready for lots of action in exotic places. Stay away from light-hearted comedy touches, get ready for serious ACTING!. This is not the 1999 “The Mummy”.

Tom Cruise, you’re no Brendan Fraser!

Wonder Woman Movie Review

June 2, 2017 (updated June 13, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

The latest entry in the DC Comics Extended Universe is “Wonder Woman”. DC has been playing catch up to Marvel in attempting to create a unified movie universe of all their superheroes. Not every example so far has been great, but that is about to change. Being the first major movie to feature a female superhero, “Wonder Woman” has a lot to prove. It proves that a woman can be just as super a hero as any man. Maybe even more, because when she dances, it’s in reverse and in high heels!

On an island hidden from the rest of the world live the Amazon women. They are a group of warriors who train and live apart from the world. They live with a command from Zeus himself to always protect and save humanity. There is another god, Aries, the god of War who would bring death and destruction on the Earth. The only little girl on the island is Diana, but she is no Disney princess. As she grows up, she trains and can fight with powers far above this world. The peaceful island world finally comes into the real world, when a World War I plane falls into the ocean. Diana (Gal Gadot) saves the stranded pilot named Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). He is the first man ever to be on the island.

The Amazons find out about World War I when Germans come to battle on the shoreline to capture Steve Trevor. The Queen and Diana learn of a ‘Great War’ and they know that Aries has returned to trouble mankind. Diana and Steve leave to reach London, so he can deliver secret papers stolen from the Germans. The Allied forces have nearly reached a peace pact with the Germans. But there is an evil German General Ludendorff (Danny Huston) who is willing to work with a disfigured Doctor Poison (Elena Anaya). Together they want to disrupt the peace process by killing off everyone in London.

Diana and Steve learn of these plans and they assemble a team to go to the front and find Ludendorff. They are helped by Sir Patrick Morgan (David Thewlis), who is leading the London peace accords. They get some people together including Sameer (Saïd Taghmaoui), a smooth-talking thief, Charlie (Ewen Bremner) an expert marksman, and the Chief (Eugene Brave Rock). Diana (known as Diana Prince) will lead the fight against the German plan to scuttle the Armistice. They all go to France to the front, and find themselves in the trenches along with the other soldiers. Diana becomes Wonder Woman with her wrist gauntlets, boots, shield and sword. She enters the no-man’s land between the trenches and leads a fight to defeat the German forces.

Diana is sure that the evil General is Aries in disguise, ready to create the War that will lead to the destruction of all mankind. Steve is not too sure, but he and the team will together try and prevent the poison gas from being dropped on London. There is great mayhem and battles going on at the very end. It appears that Wonder Woman might have found a fight that she cannot win. However, there is sacrifice and much effort from all parties involved to end the conflict and bring peace. But how does it end? Who will live on to fight another day, and who will fall on the field of battle? You will need to find out for yourself!

Director Patty Jenkins has put together a fantastic group to create an enjoyable movie. Unlike many of the DCEU movies so far, this is not overly dark and plodding. It does deal with terrible subject of war, but it brings a hopeful enthusiasm to the screen with Wonder Woman’s faith in humanity. The need for a super hero to save people can be done with a female fighter and leader. It is not limited to alien super-strong guys from another planet, or to a guy with cool toys and neat bat outfit. Diversity is a way to give everyone a chance for greatness.

Gal Gadot has taken this role and created a super cool hero that you can admire. She has hints of her greater powers, but she does not feel that she is more special than the other people on her team. Diana has true empathy for the victims of war, and she feels deep outrage when helpless people are put into danger. She seeks truth and a balance of force, but she knows that if she gets pushed to the limit, she will fight back and can win. She becomes Wonder Woman by being true to herself and by following the teachings of her Amazon tribe.

Chris Pine falls into his character with great ease. He finds a way to make Steve Trevor a real person who has a deep love for his country and a knack for finding trouble. His character works well with the ‘Diana Prince’ character in London, to teacher her about social norms, and about ice cream. Everyone else is very well cast and they do an excellent job. Even when Danny Huston and David Thewlis get close to chewing the scenery.

‘Wonder Woman” will make you forget about the TV version, and Gal Gadot will own that role forever. She takes it and makes it a new “Wonder” of the world. No doubt about it. This new “Wonder Woman” is quite a Gal!

Baywatch Movie Review

May 25, 2017 (updated May 30, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

Baywatch was a cream-filled pastry in the dinner menu of network TV. It existed only for exposing hard bodies and soft curves with a sweet summer tan. But now, there is no better way to have a movie based on the TV series. Just have the same focus on the brawn and the bodies, and the tanned cleavage starring right back at you. Nothing serious, just a “Baywatch” extended episode with the hard-R raunchiness factor turned way up.

“Baywatch” is now led by a bulked-up head lifeguard named Mitch Buchannon (Dwayne Johnson). He has new recruits for the summer, and one of them is former (but now disgraced) Olympic gold-winner swimmer Matt Brody (Zac Efron). Brody was forced on Mitch by his boss, because the team needed ‘star power’. The other recruits are Summer (Alexandra Daddario) and Ronnie (Jon Bass). They join other Baywatch members, including Stephanie (Ilfenesh Hadera) and C.J. Parker (Kelly Rohrbach).

Mitch is pleased to just save lives on the beach and getting people to behave. But there is a mysterious drug trade popping up, and Mitch thinks he knows who is behind it all. A new woman who has just taken over a fancy club is named Victoria Leeds (Priyanka Chopra). She has money and influence with the city council. But Mitch believes she is behind a growing conspiracy to take over with drug running.

Soon a councilman dies out on a party boat, and Mitch and his team are skeptical of the ‘official’ explanation. Mitch and Matt continue to dig into what happened. The other team members including Summer and C.J. are investigating the situation. Ronnie finds out that someone he knew was been found dead from a shark attack. But this guy had been working for Leeds at her club, and the guy could not even swim. Something is fishy, and it ain’t the fish.

Mitch’s boss tells him to cool it, and the local police do not want his help. But Mitch has latched on to something and he will not let go. He even gets a visit from someone who first taught Mitch everything about being leader of Baywatch. It is The Mentor (David Hasselhoff). When everyone on his team seems to be in trouble, it is Mitch to the rescue.

This version of “Baywatch” is pretty much like the TV series. It has no reason for you to take it seriously. There are plenty of hard bodies on display, and many tanned bosoms. But as far as plot or story line, well, that went out with the tide. When the movie attempts to get into an actual plot, it tends to drown out all the comedy. And when it goes for the funny parts, it sometimes gets too dirty and gritty. Like too much sand in your swimsuit. When you have six different people working out the story and script, the result is like Memorial Day size crowds on the beach, you cannot find one spot and stick to it.

All of the actors seem to be having a great time. Dwayne Johnson is amazing to watch, everything he does seems so natural and easy. He looks relaxed and in control. Zac Efron is an asset to every scene he is in. He has such a clueless look and winning smile that you can’t help but root for him. Alexandra Daddario does a fine job, and she does some nice comedy bits. Kelly Rohrbach just oozes out sex appeal and beauty. But Jon Bass does some classic fun stuff in his role, being a ‘fish out of water’ type, right next to the beach.

If this movie had the focus of the movie version of “21 Jump Street” and really went all out into the ‘hey, this is something so dumb it seems like it could be from a TV show’, then this might be a classic. But it did not go in that direction, and this movie will be nothing more than a sand castle built on the beach at low tide. It’s here today, and tomorrow gone.

Everything, Everything Movie Review

May 18, 2017 (updated May 17, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

Who’s ready for a teenage girl version of “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble”? What, no show of hands? Well, get ready anyway – because “Everything, Everything” will have you wishing you were inside your own bubble. The disease that forces you keep away from everything, everything is severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). This is reason for the main character never leaving the house.

Maddy (Amandla Stenberg) is 18 and she has been kept in a sterile cocoon that is her house, where she lives with her mother, Dr. Whittier (Anika Noni Rose). Dr. Mom has lost her husband and son in a terrible car crash 16 years ago, so she is determined never to lose Maddy. So Maddy has been determined to have SCID, and as a result, her Dr. Mom has made the house into a germ fortress. There is an airlock at the front door. There are antibiotic soaps everywhere, and the place is kept spic and span. Maddy has a nurse, Carla (Ana de la Reguera) who tends to her when Dr. Mom is on duty elsewhere.

One day some new neighbors move in next door. They have a son about the same age as Maddy. His name is Olly (Nick Robinson), and he is very different that Maddy. Olly wears black, and he has an attitude. Maddy wears white and she always thinks of pleasant and interesting things. They have rooms that face each other on the second floor, so soon they are texting away. But since Maddy is not allowed out, and Olly is not allowed in, the movie makes many of these texting conversations as if they are done in real life. Maddy has a great imagination, so she imagines the actual Maddy and actual Olly – being together in a small model of a diner, or model of a library.

Maddy convinces Nurse Carla to let Olly come in to visit. Awkwardness ensues, and it gets worse when Dr. Mom finds out. Carla is fired and Maddy gets her phone and internet taken away. Oh, heavens – child abuse! But she is still infatuated with Olly, and she finds it incredibly easy to get her own credit card. She buys her own stuff, including a trip to Hawaii for herself and for Olly. Even when she does not have any type of identification and would not be able to board the plane? Of coure she bought two tickets and expects Olly to go with but has not checked with him one bit if he even could…

But, what the hey, let’s go to Hawaii. Someone might pay for it, sometime… The two lovebirds stay at a plush resort, drive a rental Jeep around the island, find deserted beaches and go swimming. Olly teaches Maddy to sort-of swim, float mostly. Until she decides they should go cliff-diving, into deep water when she cannot swim. They go on the merry way and make love, and Maddy gets deathly sick. She wakes up back in her room. So what all just happened? She lost it in Hawaii, and then she got back home again. But how…

Dr. Mom is terribly disappointed in Maddy and her behavior. She will be locked down ever more from now on. Maddy has become pretty much a prisoner in her own home, thanks to SCID. Good thing Dr. Mom has all the paperwork and results from the testing years ago that showed Maddy had a very severe case… Maddy goes to find the paperwork, and guess what?

Good grief, this movie is silly and pandering. There is no character arc for anyone. Nobody can truly be considered an antagonist, and there is no conflict and no resolution. The story just floats along on one ridiculous premise after another. This is a version of reality that even a young middle-school girl could not believe. At least the lead actors are good to look at.

Amandla Stenberg has come a long way from playing young Rue in “The Hunger Games”. She is quite attractive and has a pleasant screen presence. Even with a flawed character, her performance is really good. Nick Robinson plays opposite her, and his role is to be her opposite. She wears white, and he wears black. She reads books, and he rides his skateboard. However, they do play the young lovers in a nicely awkward manner.

Would this movie been better if done as a “Hallmark Movie – Very Special Episode”? Yes, because there is very little that requires a full studio production, except for the sequences shot in Hawaii. Is there anything silly and trivial about this movie? “Everything, Everything”…

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword Movie Review

May 12, 2017 (updated May 13, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

All the best Superhero movies seem to come with origin stories. Can you do the same for Classical Myth characters? Take a famous legend such as King Arthur, and make a fantastical story of his origins. Would it be better if you just come out and make him a Superhero along the way? This is what the movie “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” does in its retelling of the Arthurian myth.

Back in some long ago times, when scenes set in Scotland were called England, the ruler was Uther Pendragon (Eric Bana). He was the King, and he ruled in peace over humans, and a people called ‘The Mage’. These were magic wizards and warlocks, who could control nature and animals. His brother was Vortigern (Jude Law), who was evil and willing to sacrifice his wife to gain the throne.

Uther was killed in the fighting, and he sent his little boy away to survive. The magical sword Excalibur was frozen in stone, so that none could posess it. The little boy grew up to become Arthur (Charlie Hunnam). He knew nothing of his childhood, or his royal blood, because he was raise in a house of ill repute. Vortigern was worried that Arthur would return some day, so he forced every man in the kingdom to try and take the sword from the stone.

Arthur is of course the only man who can do it. So Vortigern sets out to have a public execution Arthur. However, a loyal soldier named Bedivere (Djimon Hounsou) still serves the late King Uther, and he plans an escape for Arthur. With the help of a magic-enriched woman call ‘The Mage’ (Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey), he helps Arthur to be free. But now in return, he wants Arthur and the legendary sword Excalibur to fight against evil king Vortigern.

With a small underground ‘Resistance’, they plan ways to eliminate Vortigern. Goosefat Bill (Aidan Gillen) is an excellent archer, and can shoot the king from a great distance. But things go awry, and soon Arthur, Bedivere, Goosefat Bill, The Mage, and many others are on the run. Arthur wants no part in the group’s plans and tries to get rid of the magical sword. But since it is magical, the Lady of the Lake delivers it back to Arthur. When he can finally use it, it unlocks the secrets of his past and it has the power that can take down Vortigern. So can Arthur find the way to become England’s rightful King, and first Superhero?

That is what director Guy Ritchie hope everyone wants to know. This is supposed to be a beginning part of a series of ‘Arthur’ movies, so hang on to your bollocks. This concocted story of Arthur’s roots has very little to do with well-known stories and legends. It has a blenderized version of Arthur, Bible stories, ‘Lord of the Rings’ and even the kitchen sink thrown in. Monty Python had more ‘accurate’ storytelling in “The Holy Grail”.

Charlie Hunnam (Arthur) is a poor-man’s Brad Pitt, and he finally warms up into this role. Jude Law is quick to chew up every piece of scenery and perhaps a few other actors as Vortigern. Every other actor does pretty good, looking like they just walked out of the Renaissance Faire. The backgrounds of the countryside are quite striking.

But the relentless motion and movement on the screen, along with the booming and blaring soundtrack, makes it a major effort to sit through and watch the movie. There is no ‘three act’ structure or any type of structure at all. It is mostly action, frantic action, major battles, speedy escapes, more frantic action, more battles, etc. So there are always a lot of things going on, but there is no time to catch your breath at all…

There are many clever sequences and nicely edited shots, but usually the sum total is just overwhelming. It might be a huge box office hit, and I hope it does well. But in the back of my mind, I would like to slow down a bit and rewatch Disney’s “Sword and the Stone”.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Movie Review

May 6, 2017 Published by JMcNaughton

The Master of the Marvel Mix Tape is back. Yes, Peter Quill and his gang of misfits have returned to the movies. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” takes another step into the wilder side of Marvel’s never-ending stream of comic book heroes. Back in 2014, the first movie introduced the characters, and now you have more time to get to know your ‘Guardians’.

Quill (Chris Pratt), also known as Star Lord, is working with Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Drax (Dave Bautista). With them are the two creatures; a genetically-modified raccoon named Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and humanoid tree-thing, now called Baby Groot (Vin Diesel). They are hired to fight off a monster for a group of gold-colored Sovereign people. They defeat the beast and win the release of Nebula (Karen Gillan), Gamora’s evil half-sister.

But soon the Sovereign leader is after the Guardians, and they hire a mercenary team of Ravagers led by Yondu (Michael Rooker). Yondu and Quill have a sorted history going way back to when Peter was kidnapped off Earth. Peter Quill is still looking for his father, when the Guardians meet up with Ego (Kurt Russell). Ego is an ancient being called a Celestial, and he has created an entire Living Planet based on his brain power.

Quill learns that Ego (his human-like avatar, not the Planet) is his actual father. But Quill is still upset that Ego loved his mother, but then left her. Quill wants to go along with Ego, so that he can be a semi-immortal creature, too. But Gamora is wary, and she has a right to be. Not everything is as rosy as it appears. Yondu has his crew mutiny against him, but with help from Rocky and Baby Groot, he’s back in command.

Nebula escapes and goes after her half-sister Gamora. They fight an attack each other, but they do eventually find common ground. Ego has plans, much larger than what Peter Quill can imagine. But his plans would cause death and destruction of thousands of planets. All of the Guardians, along with Nebula and Yondu, team up for a good old-fashioned fight to the finish. Ego is immortal and all-powerful, but he still has some weak spots. If the crew all work together, can they find the answers in time?

Marvel scored really big with the first ‘Guardians’ movie, and now they have a chance to double-down on the crazy fun of these characters. There is such a high-energy spark within this group that the easy dialog and funny situations just are a joy to watch. Each characters get a little time to develop more and become deeper and more intense. Some are real standouts, such as Yondu. His character was not much more than a cameo in the first movie. But here Michael Rooker really gets to make fantastic impression.

All the actors are great and well cast for the roles. The most fun is to see Kurt Russell coming back into movies big time, and this role for him is just icing on the cake. Baby Groot is such a little huggable sapling, that every time his image is on screen, you just want to say, “Awwwww”. Quill is still clever and snarky, Gamora is strong and stoic, and Drax is a huge mountain of power, with a big soft heart.

The movie is full of pop culture references. Lots of things are brought up, such as Pac-Man, Cheers (the TV show), Knight Rider (the TV show) and David Hasselhoff. There are again lots of Marvel cameos, like Howard the Duck, Cosmo the Space Dog and (of course) Stan Lee. There are a few celebrity cameos: Sylvester Stallone, Ving Rhames, and Michelle Yeoh.

Yes, the “Guardians of the Galaxy” have come back, and they are saving the Galaxy again. As Rocky says, “We can really raise our rates now”. It seems that they have raised the quality standards, too. Hey, and it can also be found in 3-D and in IMAX format, which actually makes for Greater Guardians!

The Promise Movie Review

April 24, 2017 (updated April 24, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

“The Promise” is a big-budget, professional production that looks at World War I and how the Ottoman Empire mistreated the native Armenian population in Turkey. It is not a common topic in the movies to delve into the roots of genocide and ethnic cleansing. But Terry George has written and directed this subject before (in “Hotel Rwanda”) about the ethnic killings in Rwanda in 1994. With this movie, he makes a strident point of the cruelty of the Turks regarding the minority Armenians.

Prior to the start of World War I, many small villages in Turkey had many Armenians, and from one village came Mikael (Oscar Isaac). He wanted to study medicine, so he agreed to marry into a wealthy family and use the dowry money for schooling in Constantinople. While he is there, he stays with his rich uncle. He hires a young woman named Ana (Charlotte Le Bon) to tutor his children. Ana is Armenian, but she has grown up with her father in France. Makael and Ana meet, and both are attracted to each other.

Ana spends her time with Chris Myers (Christian Bale), who is an American reporter for the Associated Press. He is there to cover the tensions as the world comes to war. Once that war is declared, Turkey finds an ally in Germany. Turkish government officials find it easy to tighten down on all non-Turks, and they are especially hostile to the Armenians. Many villages are ransacked, and all non-Turks are jailed. Mikael tries to get a student exemption, but he instead gets put into a work camp.

Mikael finds a way to escape and he gets back his village. His mother Marta (Shohreh Aghdashloo) makes him marry the girl in the village he had agreed to marry. Mikael was secretly in love with Ana, but he knows he must make good on his promise. Turkish troops get deeper into the outlaying lands to scour and destroy more villages, and Mikael’s village is on the list.

Ana and Chris Myers had spent time fleeing the chaos in Constantinople. They found a missionary clinic in the hills, where the pastor in charge was secretly taking orphans to a nearby port and getting the children out of Turkey. Mikael’s wife is pregnant and she needs medical help, so they wind up at that same clinic. He again meets Ana and Chris, but he says he must stay with his family and the village. But the villagers are slaughtered, and there is nothing there for Mikael.

They travel to find the village with the port and the boats for the children. But the Turkish forces had destroyed the port and the village, and the people are wandering out into the hills. Chris is captured the Turks and it takes a visit by the U.S. Ambassador (James Cromwell) to get his free. Chris runs into a French destroyer captain (Jean Reno) and convinces him to use his artillery power to fight off the Turks. That will give the people fleeing the country a chance to stay alive.

The subject matter is difficult, because war enters Turkey and gives them all the room they need to quietly exterminate the Armenian people. There is a lot at stake; the story of the three people on the screen is shadow of what misfortune hits the country as a whole. The three main characters are mostly well-defined. Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon, and Christian Bale play the roles with a lot of empathy for the pain all around them. They are at times proud, and frightened, and shell-shocked, and worn down and then happy to meet up again. Love is found and lost in the shadows of war.

The movie is paced a little slow in some area, and the overall length might have been cut down a little bit. There a lot of characters over the course of the movie and many of those who are the main group or in the immediate surrounding group, they all tend to blur into a fuzzy stereotype. The Turks and almost all bad, and the Germans are all mean and stuck-up. The occasional American is noble and good-hearted, and the French need to be talked into doing the right thing.

There are some minor flaws in the movie. But in the long run, it is an honest and heartfelt effort to tell a story about World War I that normally gets pushed aside. But don’t expect the movie to be a box office smash (in Turkey).

After the Storm Movie Review

April 24, 2017 (updated April 28, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

In Phoenix, exclusively playing at Harkins Shea 14

“After the Storm” is a film by Japanese director and writer Hirokazu Koreeda. This work is a family-centered look at the life of a middle-aged man who thinks that his life should have turned out differently. There are a lot of regrets in his life, and he wishes to have things the way he would like them to be. But that is not how it is to be…

Ryota (Hiroshi Abe) had written a prize-winning novel in his youth, and married a woman named Kyoko (Yoko Maki). They had a boy named Shingo (Taiyô Yoshizawa), and then his life took a turn for the worse. There was little interest in the writer Ryota, and he could only get offers to ghostwrite stories for manga graphic novels. Ryota gambled away most of his savings, and Kyoko divorced him and took Shingo.

Soon after his father dies, he meets with his elderly mother Yoshiko (Kirin Kiki). She has a low-class standard housing apartment with few luxuries. She lives on her small pension but she seems to be happy. Ryota thinks that his older sister Chinatsu (Satomi Kobayashi) has been coming over to visit his mother so she can borrow money. But Ryota is always broke, and he never has enough to pay his child support.

Ryota works part-time at a detective agency, and he says it is for doing ‘research’ for his next novel. But it pays him just enough to pay the rent and gamble away the rest. He uses the job to go undercover and spy on his ex-wife Kyoko, to see whom she is dating. She is involved with a man who runs a very successful real estate firm.

Ryota and his sister Chinatsu visit their mother just before a violent typhoon hits the city. Kyoko and their son Shingo are also there that night. Chinatsu and her family leave to get home before the storm. Ryota, Kyoko, and Shingo have to spend the night at Yoshiko’s apartment. Yoshiko thinks that Kyoto and Ryota might have another chance together, but that will not happen. Shingo and Ryota have a time to bond as father and son.

Yoshiko gets to say things that sound profound and wise, such as “You can’t find happiness until you’ve let go… of something.” What you decide to let go of, I guess that is up to you…

This is a leisurely-paced movie. The most exciting sequence is during the storm, when they are running around a playground searching for missing lottery tickets. There is no flashy camera work or take-your-breath-away special effects. Things like would take away the quiet honesty of this film. The dialogue is in Japanese, and there are subtitles, so it takes some concentration to watch and adsorb the nuances of the characters.

So this might not be everybody’s cup of hot green tea and rice cakes. But if you can appreciate a small family drama that treats you like an adult, then you could enjoy seeing “After the Storm”.

The Fate of the Furious Movie Review

April 15, 2017 Published by JMcNaughton

It always gets Faster, and it always gets more Furious, and there is no limit to the movies Over-The-Topness. But, danged, it sure does work! It becomes like a movie version of a roller coaster ride that spins and twirls and goes in any direction that it wants to go.

Author: JMcNaughton