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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!”

Aardvark Movie Review

April 12, 2018 (updated April 13, 2018) Published by Shari K. Green

This is the story of an unstable man named Josh Norman, played by Zachary Quinto. He’s plagued with hallucinations of his brother, Craig (Hamm), who mistreated him when they were younger… or so Josh thinks. Craig, now a famous actor who Josh believes is morphing into other people, mocking and following him, actually takes care of Josh by sending him money, money that always purchases drugs for Josh that a therapist prescribes but doesn’t necessarily get Josh the true help he needs. What he needs is family and to be seen and loved; to know he’s seen and loved. I had many problems with this film, first of which is that with the amount of talent working on it, these actors should have been used better. They were great, don’t get me wrong, but the film they’re in leads you on a road to nowhere.

It opens on an owl watching an aardvark. Okay. That’s a metaphor for brothers Craig and Josh and you’re curious but, more to the point, it starts with such promise, however, by the time you’re halfway through Aardvark, you realize it isn’t going anywhere and your original thought of giving up on it fifteen minutes ago, should have been listened to. I assumed, by looking at the cast, that this was going to be quite good. I generally do approve of everything Hamm, Quinto and Jenny Slate, (who plays Emily, a therapist Josh starts going to) work on. I can’t say that’s the case with this movie. I had hoped it would be a hit, especially for Slate, as I respect her work so much that I’d like to see her continue to get larger roles but this movie might have been the one for her to skip… for them all to skip.

Enjoying the tone of the film in the beginning, you do like the characters and build a relationship with them but, unfortunately, the narrative between Emily and her patient becomes strained and consequently hard to believe. Director Brian Shoaf creates reasons for you to like Emily and then gives you all the reasons why you shouldn’t trust her and therefore, the story of Josh being unhinged falls apart to a degree.
Emily and Craig meet and she starts to speak on behalf of Craig to Josh and vice versa but she also falls for Craig. Maybe Josh just needs a new doctor? Eventually, you can’t help but wonder if the paranoid man is being gaslighted by everyone around him. Not that this would be remotely possible but is everyone around him in on it? His rich brother could be paying people to make him crazy.
The thought will cross your mind as the muddied script doesn’t get to the point until you’ve already checked out. Even when he meets Hannah (Vand) you wonder if this person really exists. That can be vaguely intriguing as he truly is under the impression his brother can transform himself to be anybody he wants but when the storyline provides you with hope, it then tears everything back down, trying to be a crafty love story but falling short of leading you to believe it’ll win you over in the end.

Perhaps this would have been better with some time to focus on which genre the script wanted to truly be. It’s frustrating as an audience member watching the filmmaker searching for the true voice of the film. The director needed to lead us. It isn’t good if he’s conflicted and this film was all over the place.

*Opens Exclusively at Harkins Shea 14

A Quiet Place Movie Review

April 6, 2018 Published by Shari K. Green

Believe it or not, John Krasinski (The Office) has a flair for horror. This is his third film as director and definingly not his last… hopefully not his last horror film, anyway. He said on The Tonight Show that he likes the genre now so I’m crossing my fingers he’ll stick with it. He’s so good, in fact, that you’ll have a difficult time escaping the world that he designed for you in ‘A Quiet Place.’ Well, you’ll eventually be able to after the movie but not during. You’re there. Trust me when I say that it’ll take a while to shake what you witness. He did such a spectacular job of choosing the music, setting the tone and creating an atmosphere that’s so believable you walk away from watching the film as if you were personally involved in the lives of the characters on the screen. Masterfully, he introduces you to a family and their interrupted lives, in such a deeply contriving way that it leaves a profound impact on you as you sit in anticipation of what hideous thing will happen to these people next. After being shown the ramifications of making any sound, you hope for the best but fear the worst.

I was probably the biggest baby in the theatre. By the way, the movie is so quiet, you can’t help but notice the reactions of the other audience members as they gasp in fear and surprise. Krasinski didn’t make his film all about jump scares, (though there are a few really good ones), he instead ran straight toward your psyche and struck it hard by attacking what no one on earth can possibly avoid; making noise. What would it be like to live a life of silence? Could you? How would you? How would you communicate? What of your children? Could you keep a young child quiet? Could you keep an infant from crying? He puts you in the middle of situations where silence is golden and any hit of speech or the smallest of thuds can lead to certain death. It’s hard to imagine and how this story comes together, how well it was conceived and orchestrated, is even harder to explain except to say that the actors, especially Emily Blunt, are unbelievably good at bringing this terrible existence to life and you never once question their authenticity.

The family, Lee (Krasinski), Evelyn (Blunt) and their children Regan (Simmonds) and Marcus (Jupe) are alone on their farm but have made the best of it. They hunt, grow and can their food, know enough about medicine to survive and are smart enough to work around all the sound issues they face. We learn a lot about the creatures, where they come from and what they are, by reading clippings that Lee has posted. Lee’s not only reading all he can about the creatures, trying to find a way to defeat them, but he also studies how he can help his deaf daughter, Regan, a bratty pre-teen, hear again. I must point out that Simmonds is deaf in real life and what she does for the film is lend it some legitimacy. The family communicates with sign language and Krasinski not only needed young Simmonds for her fantastic acting and the character in her face but for her ability to make ‘A Quiet Place’ look more convincing. This will be appreciated by all, especially those in the deaf community. If you want to see an edge of your seat thriller this weekend, don’t miss this film. This is a must-see and unless you can’t keep quiet, experiencing it in the theatre is the best way to go.

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”.

Finding Your Feet Movie Review

March 30, 2018 (updated March 30, 2018) Published by Shari K. Green

Though the older crowd is the obvious target audience for a film like this, it can be and will be enjoyed by anyone who watches it, no matter what age the moviegoer happens to be. Richard Loncraine’s (The Missionary, Richard III, Band of Brothers) Finding Your Feet is an amusing, romantic comedy and a sweet and touching tale of two sisters reuniting after many years apart.

The reunion comes due to the fact that the younger of the two sisters, Sandra, played remarkably well by Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter, Shakespeare in Love, Vera Drake), leaves her husband, Mike (Sessions), when she catches him cheating on her with, Pamela (Lawrence), a woman Sandra thought was a friend of hers. This revelation happens when she sees them at an inopportune time at a party she and Mike are throwing for his retirement. She not only sees them kissing but then learns it has been going on for five years. It’s rather difficult to watch her be humiliated even though our first introduction to Sandra is to find her rather stuffy.

Unable to trust or stay with him, she packs her bags and heads to the only place she knows she’ll be safe, the doorstep of Bif (Imrie), her very liberal and independent-minded older sister. Actress Celia Imrie, who was also in Bridget Jones’s Baby, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Nanny McPhee, was outstanding in this part. The two actresses were believable as sisters in their authentic performances and their commitment to the roles. It was easy to like them and root for them.

It isn’t long before Bif, so named because as a little girl, Sandra couldn’t say Elizabeth, is trying to play matchmaker. Her friend Charlie (Spall) might be the perfect match for Sandra. Charlie, who lives on a houseboat after selling his home to pay for the care his ailing wife, Lilly (Sian Thomas), receives, is lonely, interesting and interested. Lilly is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s, something he doesn’t share with Sandra who, after what she recently went through, wouldn’t ever want to be the other woman. Bif, Sandra, Charlie and his widowed friend Ted (Hayman), dance away the blues at a dance class Sandra can’t help but get involved in. A lot of the humor in the film comes from this class, such as a line from actress Joanna Lumley who plays their friend, Jackie. She shares with the group that she and her husband broke up over religious difference, ‘He thought he was God. I didn’t.’ Even though she’s still bitter, it’s pleasant watching the members of the dance troupe accept Sandra and for Bif to observe her slowly become more like the person she remembered her sister was before marrying the man who killed her dreams. Sandra gave her younger years to what Mike wanted to be and do and forgot who she was in the process. Bif is now tasked with bringing her back to life.

It is a tale that’s been told before but not quite in this fashion. With that said, you can see everything coming a mile away but with this cast and with the struggles the characters face, Loncraine manages to keep things fresh enough for you to stay fascinated in the story and you don’t much mind the predictable moments. The film is littered with the occasional character in a circumstance that’s heartbreaking. These situations work as well as the comedy does and when the dance troupe starts a flash mob and ends up going on a trip to Rome because of it, you’re overjoyed that Sandra has finally gotten the message that it’s time she ‘went for it.’ This is a feel-good piece, the pace is good, the dancing is believable and quite entertaining and there’s also a wonderful soundtrack that takes you through the entire film. If you’re enjoying it, it continues through the end credits with the Elkie Brooks’ song Running to the Future. I recommend. Enjoy.

Movie Website: www.findingyourfeetthemovie.com/

Social Pages: Facebook: /www.facebook.com/FindingYourFeetMovie/

#FindingYourFeet

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”…

THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS Trailer

March 27, 2018 Published by Shari K. Green

In the tradition of Amblin classics where fantastical events occur in the most unexpected places, Jack Black and two-time Academy Award® winner Cate Blanchett star in The House with a Clock in Its Walls, from Amblin Entertainment. The magical adventure tells the spine-tingling tale of 10-year-old Lewis (Owen Vaccaro) who goes to live with his uncle in a creaky old house with a mysterious tick-tocking heart. But his new town’s sleepy façade jolts to life with a secret world of warlocks and witches when Lewis accidentally awakens the dead.

Based on the beloved children’s classic written by John Bellairs and illustrated by Edward Gorey, The House with a Clock in Its Walls is directed by master frightener Eli Roth and written by Eric Kripke (creator of TV’s Supernatural). Co-starring Kyle MacLachlan, Colleen Camp, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Vanessa Anne Williams, Lorenza Izzo and Sunny Suljic, it is produced by Mythology Entertainment’s Brad Fischer (Shutter Island) and James Vanderbilt (Zodiac), as well as Kripke.

Executive produced by William Sherak, Tracey Nyberg, Laeta Kalogridis and Mark McNair, The House with a Clock in Its Walls will be released by Universal Pictures. www.housewithaclock.com

Genre: Adventure

Cast: Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Owen Vaccaro, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Sunny Suljic and Kyle MacLachlan

Directed by: Eli Roth

Writer: Eric Kripke

Based on the Novel by: John Bellairs

Produced by: Brad Fischer, James Vanderbilt, Eric Kripke

Executive Producers: William Sherak, Tracey Nyberg, Laeta Kalogridis, Mark McNair

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In Theaters September 21

http://www.fandango.com

Journey’s End Movie Review

March 27, 2018 (updated March 27, 2018) Published by Shari K. Green

Journey’s End is an incredibly well-done war film. It’s set in the spring of 1918 during the fourth year of WWI. We’re transported to the battle of Saint-Quentin in northern France, where a very young soldier, Raleigh (Butterfield), is in the trenches about to fight for the first time. Each company of soldiers is required to spend six days a month on the front-line and it’s his turn.
The set is brilliant and looks authentic, giving you the exact feeling of what a WWI trench warfare must have felt like.
As the camera moves through the men, you get a strong feeling of claustrophobia. To manage this feeling, director Saul Dibb keeps the camera focused closely on the faces of the soldiers, allowing you to sense all expressions clearly. There’s no way you’ll mistake a feeling of fear for one of contentment or bravery.

You can’t help but think of what it would have been like back then not only being on the front-line but being stuck in the ground for so such long periods of time, waiting for the enemy, waiting to die. Young Raleigh is stationed with a friend from back home, Stanhope (Claflin), who happens also to be captain. Stanhope isn’t exactly handling things well and knowing the sitting ducks that they are, gets through the day by drinking as much whiskey as he can get his hands on.
These characters will keep you engaged in the film and the actors playing them must have been well versed enough in the war to visually and audibly bring the attention to detail Dibb needed to pull empathy and pity for their circumstances from his audience.

We’re not in battle much, but when we do get there, you’ve gotten to know them and care for them so much so that you’re hoping they return. You dread the possible moment a bullet finds Raleigh. The journey Dibb takes you on is from different perspectives than most and it’s those differences that you’ll celebrate.

It was originally a play written by former British officer R.C. Sherriff. His story was simply about life in the trenches during WWI and you’d think it couldn’t make a thought-provoking yarn but with the characters struggles, their trying to get in the last smoke before they die and the battle itself, Journey’s End, though a smaller film than others like it, is one of the better war pictures I’ve seen. There are a few slow parts but don’t worry… no matter what’s going on in the film you’ll be in a constant state of wondering what’s going to happen next. This helps make Journey’s End memorable, which it most certainly is.

Website:http://www.journeysendthefilm.com

Facebook:www.facebook.com/gooddeedentertainment/ @GoodDeedEnterainment

Twitter: https://twitter.com/journeysend2017 @JourneysEnd2017

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…

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Category: Reviews