Month: March 2017

Released: November 2016

Directors: Ron Clements, Don Hall

Rated PG

Run Time: 107 Minutes

Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures

Genre: Animation/Adventure

Cast:
Auli’i Cravalho: Moana
Dwayne Johnson: Maui
Rachel House: Gramma Tala
Temuera Morrison: Chief Tui
Jemaine Clement: Tamatoa
Nicole Scherzinger: Sina
Alan Tudyk: Heihei

Disney’s movies, at their worst, can often be forgettable.  But at their best, Disney’s films are the stuff of legends.  The best Disney films have a way of speaking to the audience through the use of visual and audio clues.  Animation has been the cornerstone upon which Disney was built, and there are very few movies that Disney has made that are forgettable.  However, movies like Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Toy Story and Wall-E, are extremely memorable.  Disney has not one, but TWO golden ages of animation, and that’s not something to be dismissed.  Disney has a rich history of telling compelling stories that connect with people from all different walks of life.  Disney’s latest animated movies are really stunning on multiple levels.  Moana is the latest in the line of extraordinary films and is something that everyone should see.

Moana opens as we witness a young infant girl, Moana, as she walks toward the ocean.  She is living on a fictional island somewhere in the South Pacific.  It seems that the ocean has taken a liking to her and reveals a glowing green stone to her.  Over time, we witness Moana grow up into a young woman who feels a certain pull towards the sea, despite her father’s insistence that she not sail beyond the reef.  It seems she’s been chosen by the ocean to sail beyond the reef, because that glowing green stone is the key to saving her island and her people.  But to achieve her destiny, she must call upon the assistance of the demigod, Maui.  As far as stories go, this is really, really good.  It’s about a young girl who is on a journey, not just to save her people, but to discover who she truly is and where she belongs.  It is a very uplifting story and it’s something that many of us can relate to about barriers being placed in front of us and trying to overcome them.

This movie has so many things going for it, I scarcely know where to begin.  Let’s discuss the visuals, first.  This is a true feast for the eyes.  It is an exceptionally gorgeous world that Disney has created here, and it’s absolutely amazing the amount of detail that went in to making it look the way it does.  The ocean is a character in and of itself, and is a huge part of the story.  The film-makers did a huge amount of research into the look of the film by actually going to the South Pacific Islands like Samoa, Fiji and Tonga.  The influence from those cultures plays a very distinct role.  The tattoos on Maui are incredible.  The tattoos themselves are animated.  While 2D animation isn’t really a thing anymore, it’s used in a very creative way, especially during the songs.  It’s not just some of the animation, but also the details on the characters like the hair and the clothing.  It’s all pulled from actual Pacific Island culture, so there is a level of authenticity involved here.  It’s extraordinary.  All the characters are well animated.  From the smallest turtle to the huge lava monster, each character has its own unique flair and visual personality.

The voice acting in the film is exceptional.  Moana has the benefit of having mostly Pacific Islanders lending their voices to this movie.  It works extraordinarily well.  One of the biggest draws of the film was Dwayne Johnson as Maui.  While Johnson has been known for making some awesome action flicks over the past few years, he plays a very care-free character in the demigod.  He’s absolutely hilarious.  You also have other actors from the Islands like Temuera Morrison who plays Moana’s father.  The real standout here, though, is Auli’i Cravalho as Moana.  This is her first movie and I’m absolutely impressed at her range.  She’s at times playful, and vulnerable at others.  She has such a dynamic range, and her working with Dwayne Johnson is one of the film’s greatest strengths.  I can’t wait to see what she does next.

One of the most defining features of a “typical” Disney movie is its music.  It can live or die by whether or not the music delivers.  In Moana, it definitely delivers in spades.  They actually brought in some musicians from the islands, so the flavor of the music is absolutely unique.  Aside from that, the songs are absolutely catchy and fun.  Dwayne Johnson has always been a man of many talents, but I never thought that singing would be one of them, and yet he belts out one of the most interesting songs in the film, “You’re Welcome.”  He’s fantastic.  But again, the real surprise here is Auli’i as Moana.  Not only does she have a knack for voice acting, but she’s an incredible singing voice.  The songs that she performs are absolutely astounding, and she knocks it out of the park.  The music is so good, that when I finished the film, I bought the soundtrack.  I’m not kidding.  I’m listening to it as I’m typing this.

Disney’s animated films have always had a way of reaching into your soul and lighting a fire.  Moana does that better than most.  There’s so many moments in this film that are truly compelling and uplifting.  I feel that in times like these, movies like Moana are needed now, more than ever.  When the film was over, I ended up being in a much better mood than I was earlier in the day.  Disney’s been on a role over the past decade, and have proven that they still have it where it counts.  Moana comes with my highest recommendation, not just kids, but for adults as well.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Released: January 2016(Canada)

Director: Bruce Fontaine

Unrated

Run Time: 89 Minutes

Distributor: Well Go USA

Genre: Action/Martial Arts

Cast:
Brian Ho: Billy
Don Lew: Yuan
Lina Huynh: Tiffany Long
Vicky Huang: Lucinda Long
Eddy Ko: Uncle Bao
Anthony Towe: Xi Long

You know, there are days when I like to think that I’m pretty good at picking out the good action films from the crap.  Then reality hits when I end up picking up garbage like Suicide Squad and In The Name of the King.  All of a sudden, I realize that I’m not so good at that.  Seriously, though, a lot of the action movies that I pick up generally aren’t awful.  Are they great?  Not particularly, but they tend to be fun.  That’s what an action movie should be:  Fun.  Well Go USA has generally been reliable when it comes to kung fu and East-Asian action films.  Movies like Ip Man, Kung Fu Jungle, and Call of Heroes come to mind.  These are actually pretty good.  But every once in a while, Well Go USA releases a movie that just flat out stinks to high heaven.  It pains me to tell you about Beyond Redemption.  Oh……dear.

The story in this film is basically the same as in nearly every kidnapping thriller.  A group of guys decide to kidnap the offspring of a high-profile target and hold them for ransom.  In this case, it’s the daughter of one of the heads of the Chinese Triads.  Even though my knowledge of the Triads is limited, I do know that you don’t screw around with these people.  The Chinese mafia is every bit as ruthless, if not more so, than the Italians, the Japanese, or even the Russians.  These guys tend to have eyes and ears EVERYWHERE.  So basically, we have Billy, who just so happens to be an undercover cop, infiltrate this gang and try to help bring them down.  It goes just about as well as you’d expect.  They eventually find out that Billy’s a cop and he tries to save the girl.  Along the way he ends up beating up some people.  I absolutely have no problems with this kind of story line provided that it maintains a level of suspense and excitement.  Beyond Redemption provides neither one.  The story is completely predictable, so there are no surprises that the good guys win.  Congratulations, Mr. Bruce Fontaine, you’ve just made a completely by-the-numbers action movie.

Beyond Redemption is the one thing that an action movie should not be:  Boring.  I’m not kidding.  I found myself looking at the clock wondering how much longer I’ve got.  Considering that the run time is about an hour and a half, it feels like two and a half hours.  You would think that the director, Bruce Fontaine, who has a background in martial arts and stunt-work, would be able to craft a decently exciting action film.  Given the talent that’s involved here, specifically the stunt-men and the actors who actually have martial arts talent, the action is surprisingly mundane and amateurish.  There’s a couple of okay fight scenes here and there, but there’s nothing here that stands out against movies like Kung Fu Jungle.  The last thing that Mr. Fontaine directed was a short on YouTube called 500 to 1.  It also involved many of the stunt men and actors that were in THIS film.  500 to 1 wasn’t that good, either.  The fight choreography in Beyond Redemption is incredibly weak.  In fact, everything about this movie is incredibly weak.

Let’s talk about the “acting.”  Oh, god.  The acting.  It looks like everybody is sleepwalking through this thing.  The only one that actually manages to have any kind of energy is Don Lew as the villain, and even then I’m not entirely convinced that he’s alive.  I don’t know what’s going on here, but it looks like nobody wants to be there.  The characters are so poorly written, that I just wanted them all to just shut up and die.  Oh, I’m not even done yet.  This whole movie feels like it was made by someone who dropped out of film school after one year.  The camera-work and lighting is sloppy, the effects are completely laughable and the sound design is just embarrassing.  The guns sound like pop-guns that kids used to play with way back in the day.  The set designs are just…..bleh.

There is some genuine talent here, but it’s completely overshadowed by terrible film-making, horrendous acting, and action that just feels like it’s been choreographed by kids in a playground.  Scratch that, kids fighting in a playground would be more entertaining.  I don’t like dressing down movies like this, but this one is just fucking terrible.  I tend to get laughed at some times because of the movies I watch, and I understand that.  I wonder why I watch this stuff myself, sometimes.  I love movies, but sometimes I end up with some that are complete bombs.  Beyond Redemption is just that:  Beyond redemption.  Avoid this one at all costs.

Final Score: 2/10

Before I begin, I just want to preface this post by saying that I don’t judge a movie based on it’s MPAA rating alone.  For those of you are not aware(unlikely, but hey), the MPAA sets the ratings for movies that are released here in the United States.  I have my definition of the rating system in the Movie Terms page that you can click on above.  A long story short, the ratings are as follows: G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17.  Having seen and reviewed the latest Wolverine movie, Logan, I felt it was time to go over some of my favorite comic-book movies that have legitimately earned the R-rating.  Any film that was initially released as a PG-13 film in theaters, but got an R-rated director’s cut for home video, will not be on the list.  I’m only going to cover the comic-book films that got an R-rating straight out of the gate.  So, with that in mind, let’s go over some of the best R-rated comic-book movies.

The Crow

Now, some may think this movie got popular because of Brandon Lee’s tragic death during the making of the film.  It certainly had an effect, to be sure, but the movie is so much more than that.  Based on the graphic novel by James O’Barr, The Crow sees musician Eric Draven and his girlfriend murdered on the night before Halloween.  At it’s core is a simple revenge story that actually manages to transcend the medium.  It’s Gothic visual style was unlike anything that anybody had ever seen before and the tone of the film was equally dark.  But there is a strange beauty about the entire affair that’s absolutely captivating.  It’s earned it’s R-rating.  Draven takes out his killers in pretty horrific fashion.  But that doesn’t bother you, because you connect with the characters, so you have a vested interest in what happens.  There aren’t a whole lot of comic-book movies out there that do that.  The Crow has become a massive cult-classic, and Brandon Lee’s performance was amazing.  Even the villains were memorable.  The soundtrack to the film is simply beautiful as well.  This one is definitely a must-see.

The Punisher(2004)

Of the three films based on this character so far, the 2004 film with Thomas Jane is by far my favorite.  While Jane may not have the body for the character, his performance is probably the best of the three films.  While it’s not necessarily as graphic as War Zone, it doesn’t pull any punches.  When Frank Castle decides to go to town on the mob that murdered his family, it’s epic.  John Travolta also makes a pretty good bad guy, and some of the villains are some of the slimiest scumbags that you will ever see in a film.  With an all-star cast and a rockin’ soundtrack, The Punisher is a surprisingly good movie.

Blade II

Some people may not know this, but Deadpool isn’t the first successful R-rated Marvel film.  Oh, no.  That would go to 1998’s Blade.  It was a phenomenal action movie with an awesome performance from Wesley Snipes.  However, I believe that Blade II is an infinitely better film.  For one, the sequel is directed by Guillermo Del Toro, one of the most unique directors in the industry.  Blade II definitely feels like a comic-book movie.  It gets wonderfully ridiculous with some awesome fight choreography done by the legendary Donnie Yen, who also makes an appearance.  You’ve also got actors like Ron Perlman and Norman Reedus rounding out an astounding cast for what is one of the best action movies of the decade.  Definitely worth it.

Dredd

While I will fully admit to enjoying the original Judge Dredd film with Sylvester Stallone, it was a god-awful movie.  While the action was decent and it did pull some stuff from the comics, the movie did the one thing that no one should ever do in a Judge Dredd film:  They took off his helmet.  While most comic-book characters have been seen without their masks and helmets, but the reason Dredd never took off his helm in the comics, is because the character was written to be the face of the law, which is supposed to be, well, faceless.  In 2012, Karl Urban starred as the Judge known as Dredd in what is widely considered to be one of the best comic-book adaptations ever.  It’s extremely stylized and violent with a unique use of slow-motion that’s just gorgeous.  Plus, Dredd doesn’t have the widely irritating Rob Schneider as an annoying sidekick.

300

300 is more based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel than the actual Battle of Thermopylae.  That doesn’t necessarily make it a bad movie, because it isn’t.  It’s actually really, really good.  The first thing you will notice about this film, is its unique visual aesthetic.  The whole film is mostly filmed on green-screen sets, but with visual effects and the action, it’s a stunning film.  One could make the argument that Gerard Butler’s performance as Leonidas is meme-worthy(no doubting that), it’s also known that Leonidas is one of Butler’s most iconic roles.  Yeah, it’s got its problems, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t have any fun with it.

Watchmen

Here’s another one by Zack Snyder that I really enjoy.  I’ve actually read the graphic novel that Watchmen was adapted from.  Watchmen is what I would consider to be a superhero-noir film.  There’s a lot of elements that make it feel like film-noir.  It has that detective novel aspect about it that I really like, and it has absolutely astonishing visuals.  The story itself is set in alternate 1980s, and is just an absolute blast to watch.  The action is hard-hitting and bloody.  The acting is phenomenal with Jackie Earle Haley stealing the entire show as Rorschach.  It does seem to run a little too long, but as far as comic book adaptations go, this one is by far the most faithful.  Almost to a fault actually, but it’s a very cool movie.

Deadpool

Honestly, if it wasn’t for Deadpool, we probably wouldn’t have gotten Logan.  Deadpool is the culmination of years of pushing Fox Studios to make this movie by Ryan Reynolds and the fans.  What we got was an absolutely amazing comic-book movie.  It’s movie that is absolutely true to the character of Wade Wilson/Deadpool.  Ryan Reynolds knocks it out of the park, with a surprising supporting cast that holds their own.  This is definitely an X-Men film, for sure, because it’s in the same universe.  But everything about Deadpool is intact:  His trademark quips, constant fourth-wall breaking, and sheer bloody violence.  I actually saw this film in theaters twice in one day, that’s how good it was/is.  This film proved to Fox that its okay to have an R-rated Marvel movie.  The fans went for it.  The numbers speak for themselves.  A 54 million dollar budget film brought in over 800 million bucks world-wide.  It is right now, considered to be the highest-grossing R-rated film of ALL time.

Logan

I reviewed this film in my last post, but I feel that Logan deserves another mention.  Unlike the violence in Deadpool, where it was mostly slapstick, the violence in Logan is sheer brutality.  Limbs are slice off, heads roll and people are torn to shreds here.  This was the movie that Wolverine fans, including myself, were waiting for.  This isn’t your typical superhero movie.  This is essentially a Western that’s set in 2029.  It’s bleak, it’s grim, and it gets depressing at times.  However, the performances from Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Dafne Keen are absolutely fantastic.  Dafne Keen, in particular is a really welcome surprise as Laura or X-23.  This girl’s got a future in the industry as well as the X-Men movies.  For his final performance as Wolverine, Hugh Jackman pulls out ALL the stops and delivers what I would personally consider to be his finest performance yet.  After seventeen years, we say goodbye to Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, as well as Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier.  It’s a hell of a movie.

There were other R-rated comic book movies out there, but these are the ones that stand out the most for me and are the most successful.

Released: March 2017

Director: James Mangold

Rated R

Run Time: 137 Minutes

Distributor: Fox Studios

Genre: Action/Drama

Cast:
Hugh Jackman: Logan/Wolverine
Patrick Stewart: Charles Xavier
Dafne Keen: Laura
Boyd Holbrook: Pierce
Stephan Merchant: Caliban
Richard E. Grant: Dr. Rice

When the original X-Men hit theaters back in 2000, one of the biggest surprises of the film was Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.  Some people thought that he was too tall for the role, but it was soon agreed that he was absolutely perfect.  This was the role that made Hugh Jackman a world-wide phenomenon.  Over the course of many movies and spin-offs, Hugh Jackman’s take on the classic X-Men character has evolved in more ways than anybody could have imagined.  Of all the X-Men characters, whether they were in the comics, the TV series or the movies, the Wolverine was always my favorite.  Why?  Because I can somewhat identify with the character.  He’s a lone-wolf; he doesn’t like or trust people, but beneath that gruff exterior he’s a good guy.  The character’s been through more hell than almost any character in the X-Men universe.  After 17 years of playing Wolverine, Hugh Jackman decided to do one last movie before hanging up his claws for good.  Thus, we come to Logan, the final film in the Wolverine spin-off trilogy.

The year is 2029.  There hasn’t been a mutant born in 25 years.  We catch up with Logan as a limo driver so he can buy medication for the ailing Charles Xavier.  After waking up after a drinking episode, Logan stumbles on a couple of thugs trying to steal his car.  After getting shot and beat up, Logan unleashes his rage and slaughters the crooks.  During one of his trips, he comes across a woman that’s begging him for help, and he just shrugs her off.  After heading back to Mexico, Charles is unable to convince Logan that there are more mutants out there.  Turns out, that the woman begging for help, is trying to save what appears to be her daughter, Laura.  The story is pretty straight-forward, with a few surprises here and there.  Still, it’s a very compelling story about an aging mutant who is no longer in his prime and has been beaten down by the world with no hope and no sign of redemption.  It’s tragic and heartbreaking to see a hero like Wolverine brought down like this, and yet, Laura may be the key to his redemption.  It is a fantastic story, that feels like it has elements of The Unforgiven thrown into the mix.  It’s pretty solid.

The heart of this story are the characters, and there isn’t one character that’s really overlooked here.  Yeah, the focus is obviously on Logan, but other characters like Charles, Caliban, Laura and Pierce all get their moments to shine.  Special mention has to be made for Dafne Keen’s Laura.  This character, who is more like Logan than he thinks, holds her own against a multitude of villains.  She doesn’t just have claws in her hands, but her feet as well.  This is a character that a lot of people have been anxious to see, and Dafne Keen just tears it up, both figuratively and literally.  Boyd Holbrook plays Pierce, a mercenary who is on Laura’s trail.  The character has a bit of charm, but he’s not a good guy.  In fact, he’s pretty damned evil.  The best villains often think that they are doing the right thing.  Patrick Stewart IS Charles Xavier.  There’s no doubt in my mind about that.  The character, much like Logan, is extremely ill, and suffers from a debilitating brain disease, which is a problem considering Xavier’s unique gift.  Now let’s get to Hugh Jackman as Logan.  There’s nobody else quite like Hugh Jackman.  He knows the character inside and out, which allows him a bit of freedom in how to interpret the character.  The character of Wolverine is a tragic one.  This is a guy that’s lived nearly 200 years, been brainwashed and had adamantium grafted to his skeleton.  He’s been put through the grinder, and it really shows.  He’s older and in pain.  Hugh’s performance is quite frankly, Oscar-worthy.  This is probably the best performance that Hugh Jackman has ever given for this character.  The acting is really, REALLY strong across the board.

Let’s talk about the action here, since this IS an X-Men movie.  Holy.  Shit.  This is easily one of the most violent and brutal movies I’ve seen in theaters in a long time.  Like Deadpool, Logan is rated R for a reason.  Unlike Deadpool, however, Logan is deadly serious.  Unlike the other X-Men films, which were by and large, bloodless, Logan is covered head to toe in the red stuff.  Blood flows freely here.  Limbs are sliced off, people are decapitated and shot to hell and back.  This is NOT a movie for kids.  It really isn’t.  There were scenes in this movie that I didn’t expect to be as brutal as they were.  No punches are pulled.  When Wolverine goes berserk, it’s unlike anything that I’ve seen before.  Yeah, we got bits and pieces of his rage in previous films, but not like this.  The rumor is that Hugh Jackman took a pay cut to make sure that this story was done right.  Not all stories have to be PG-13.  Some need to be unrelenting and as vicious as Logan.  I think the lack of restrain when it comes to the violence helps make Logan a much more compelling and visceral experience.  We finally see what the Wolverine is truly capable of.  THIS is what many people have been waiting for.

If there’s really a negative for me in this film, it’s that certain scenes run a little too long.  Honestly, though, that’s just a minor nitpick.  Everything else about this movie is absolutely phenomenal.  The sets, the make-up, the fight scenes and the story all come together in a very compelling, albeit bleak, package.  If you’re a big fan of the Wolverine and Hugh Jackman in particular, there is NO excuse to miss this movie.  For the Wolverine spin-off trilogy, the first movie was absolute garbage, the second film was really good, but Logan is quite frankly one of the best movies of the past few years.  I can’t recommend this enough.  I can definitely see that there is a lot of potential for Dafne Keen’s character in future movies.  It’s clear that due to the success of both Deadpool AND Logan, that there is a place for R-rated X-Men movies.  Do they all need to be R-rated?  No, but the rating shouldn’t scare off the studio from telling stories that are.  This is highly recommended.

Final Score: 9.5/10