Category: Reviews

  • ‘Sicario’ hits it out of the ballpark

    ‘Sicario’ hits it out of the ballpark

    Emily Blunt as FBI Agent Kate Macer in 'Sicario'
    Emily Blunt as FBI Agent Kate Macer in ‘Sicario’

    Bleak.  Gritty.  Raw.  Realistic.  Gripping.  There are at least two dozen adjectives that can be properly applied to describe Sicario, the latest film from Denis Villeneuve.  Once again teaming up with cinematographer Roger Deakins, as he did in the excellent movie Prisoners, the results are staggeringly excellent.

    Emily Blunt portrays “Kate Macer” who is the leader of an FBI kidnap/response team.  The film opens as she and her team storm a house near Phoenix where they believe a drug cartel is holding some hostages.  What they find is far more alarming.  In the aftermath, Kate’s partner “Reggie Wayne” (Daniel Kaluuya) is slightly injured in a massive explosion.  In the aftermath of the discovery of what was concealed within the walls of this house, senior FBI officials meet with outside “consultants” one of whom is “Matt Garver” (Josh Brolin).  Describing himself as a “DOD consultant, he wants Kate to be seconded to a team he is assembling to try to get to the head of the cartel believed responsible for the house of horrors in Arizona.

    Emily Blunt and Daniel Kaluuya outside the "House of Horror" in 'Sicario'
    Emily Blunt and Daniel Kaluuya outside the “House of Horror” in ‘Sicario’

    Not sure why she is there, and forced to go without her partner at first, Kate meets “Alejandro Gillick” (Benecio del Toro) who has taken a very interesting path to wind up as part of Garver’s operation.  His team, along with members of the Army’s elite Delta Force, go to Mexico to bring back a prisoner who was being held by the Mexican government.  He is related to one of the leaders of the cartel and they intend to get some info from him that will lead them right up the ladder to the top.  As Garver puts it, “to stir things up.”

    Reggie is brought in eventually and he and Kate go along on another operation, this one to penetrate the border through a secret tunnel.  They don’t know the real reason why they are there and that just intensifies Kate’s frustration with the entire situation.

    Josh Brolin as "Matt Garver" with two of the operators from Delta in 'Sicario'
    Josh Brolin as “Matt Garver” with two of the operators from Delta in ‘Sicario’

    This is one of those movies where there are no real heroes.  Just as in the real-life situation in our nation’s relentless and to this point, futile, war on drugs.  The truth is that for all the busts we see portrayed at the border on “reality” television, massive quantities of illicit drugs continue to pour over our border and this is a rare film that manages to capture this truth.  The action ebbs and flows in a perfect mix with the attempt of Kate to find out why she is involved and what exactly she is involved in doing.

    The best part of this film is the outstanding cinematography work of the brilliant Roger Deakins.  Nominated 12 times for an Academy Award for his work in cinematography, I hope that the 13th time will be charmed for him.  The film is completely engrossing, particularly in one scene as the team is about to cross the border from Mexico back into the United States.  Seldom has so much tension been generated by nondescript cars crawling in a very congested piece of highway.

    Emily Blunt gives a very strong turn as a tough FBI agent who like every human being, does have a breaking point.  The rest of the cast is also excellent and while the script and story aren’t perfect, the minimal flaws are not worth further discussion.  This film is a winner.

  • Director Tarsem Singh’s ‘Self/less’ is sadly, soulless

    Director Tarsem Singh’s ‘Self/less’ is sadly, soulless

    Ryan Reynolds in ‘Self/less’

    Human beings have been in search of immortality since we first learned about death.  Self/less is the latest in a long line of films exploring the ‘what-if’ of being able to live beyond our alloted “three-score and ten” as someone once wrote.

    “Damian Hale” (Kingsley) is a brilliant real estate mogul in New York City who has conquered every challenge in his life save two.  He no longer has a relationship with his daughter “Claire” and he wants that to change.  The motivation for that desire is that he is dying of cancer.  Someone slipped a business card to him anonymously that says the people identified on the card can help him, so deciding he has nothing to lose, he makes the call.

    Ben Kingsley as "Damian Hale" in 'Self/less' before he sheds this body
    Ben Kingsley as “Damian Hale” in ‘Self/less’ before he sheds this body

    He winds up in touch with “Professor Albright” (Goode) who explains that by a process known as shredding, he can have his mind placed into a healthy body that was genetically engineered in his laboratory.  Albright explains that he only offers his services to those who possess great minds, in order to give them more time to accomplish extraordinary things.  Having nothing to lose, Damian goes ahead with the process.

    He awakens in a new body (Reynolds), is given a new identity and access to the large sum of money he set aside for his new life.  After a period of adjustment, he becomes comfortable in his new life except for some apparent “flashbacks” to memories he did not possess prior to the shredding process.  He grows determined to find the origins of these images and this leads to his discovery that his new body isn’t what he was promised.

    Natalie Martinez, Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen and Ryan Reynolds in 'Self/less'
    Natalie Martinez, Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen and Ryan Reynolds in ‘Self/less’

    Few directors have been as hit and miss as Tarsem Singh has been since his 2000 feature film debut with The Cell.  The Fall in 2006 was a masterpiece but his 2011 follow-up Immortals is one of the ten worst films of the current decade thus far.  Mirror Mirror was fun but this is tedious at best.  Visually satisfying to the eye but with story and dialogue that makes it seem longer than its 116 minute run time.  The transition of one morally bankrupt person due to the treachery of another is an idea worthy of exploration but even the best efforts of Ryan Reynolds can’t salvage this movie.  The action/adventure segments aren’t well-done and while it is easy to root for the widow (Martinez) and her adorable daughter (Kinchen), it is very difficult to care about any of the other members of the cast.  Michelle Dockery is good but underused as “Claire” and Victor Garber is excellent as the man who was behind Damian Hale as he ascended to the towers of wealth and power.

    Perhaps the real message should be that we are given a relatively short time here and rather than trying to extend it beyond that to which we were gifted, we should make the most of the precious moments that we have.

    Rating – PG-13 for sequences of violence, some sexuality, and language

    Running time – One hour and fifty-six minutes

  • ‘Max’ may be the dog of a movie some think it is

    ‘Max’ may be the dog of a movie some think it is

    Max and Josh Wiggins get to know one another in 'Max'
    Max and Josh Wiggins get to know one another in ‘Max’

    Prior to the Second Gulf War we heard all about WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction).  Max is a movie about MWDs (Military Working Dogs), or at least one MWD in particular.  The titular MWD is a Belgian Malinois whose handler is a third-generation Marine named “Kyle Wincott” (Amell).  He is following in the footsteps of his father “Ray” (Haden Church) who was injured during his military service.  He now runs a storage locker facility.  His wife “Pamela” (Graham) is in real-estate and Kyle’s younger brother “Justin” doesn’t really give a damn about anything except the computer games he hacks for money.

    Kyle stays in touch with his parents via a Skype-like chat from his post in Afghanistan where he and Max walk point for his unit during patrols.  His long-time friend “Tyler Harne” (Kleintank) is in the same unit.  After a successful mission where they discover a large cache of weapons and other munitions, they are questioned by investigators looking into reports of captured weapons going missing.  On the very next mission something goes awry and Kyle is killed.

    Max was injured in the incident and he refuses to leave Kyle’s coffin at the funeral (an idea lifted from the real-life story of Navy SEAL John Tumlinson).  He is suffering from PTSD and since he won’t work with any other military handler, he is scheduled to be put down.  The Wincott family won’t allow this and since Max seems to tolerate Justin for some unexplained reason (smell, maybe?), they take Max in.  Max is soon running after Justin as he rides his BMX bike on trails with his friends “Chuy” (LaQuake) and Chuy’s cousin “Carmen” (Xitali) who is an expert on dogs.

    Max the military working dog at his handler's funeral in 'Max'
    Max the military working dog at his handler’s funeral in ‘Max’

    Tyler returns home before too much time has passed and takes a job at Ray’s storage facility.  But his interests lay elsewhere and involve “Deputy Stack” (Harn) and “Emilio” (Julian Soria).  It is Emilio who has been paying Justin to crack and copy computer games.  The three are involved in something shady and it’s up to three teens and one military working dog to put things right.

    One has to wonder what’s happened to writer/director Boaz Yakin.  He hasn’t directed a good film since 2000’s Remember the Titans and his last strong effort as a screenwriter was 1994’s Fresh.  Here we get a story that’s difficult to find even remotely believable, a flag-waving tone that needs to be dialed back and it is tough to really root for anyone except Max.  Thomas Haden Church, who I normally enjoy watching on screen isn’t awful but he isn’t great either.  The rest of the cast seems to be there solely for the check.  Hopefully Mr. Yakin will return to his fine form soon.

    What might have helped is a look into how the military began dealing with PTSD among its military working dogs within just the last five years.  Some estimate that more than 5% of MWDs wind up suffering from this disease and most cannot return to front lines.  Considering how invaluable they are in doing some of the most dangerous work on the battlefield these days, their losses are sorely felt.

  • ‘Terminator Genisys’ disappoints

    ‘Terminator Genisys’ disappoints

    Emilia Clarke in 'Terminator Genisys'
    Emilia Clarke in ‘Terminator Genisys’

    Terminator:  Salvation failed to successfully reboot the franchise in 2009, earning back just over 60% of its budget at the box office.  Perhaps this attempt at re-rebooting the Terminator films should have been titled Terminator:  Placenta rather than Terminator Genisys, as it is more like an afterbirth than a rebirth.

    It isn’t the fault of the cast, who do the best they can with the overly convoluted storyline.  Nor can the problems with this film be placed on the special effects which just get better and better with the Terminator films.  The problems here begin with James Cameron having no involvement in the making of this movie.  He’s far too busy writing, producing and directing three upcoming sequels to Avatar.  Then comes the fact that by playing with time travel the writers were able to make any changes they wanted in the Terminator universe.

    Jason Clarke in 'Terminator Genisys'
    Jason Clarke in ‘Terminator Genisys’

    That is why the upcoming Judgment Day in this movie will take place in 2017, not 1997.  The film opens in 2029 with the human resistance, led by “John Connor” (Jason Clarke) about to take on Skynet in what should be the final battle.  Their plan is to destroy Skynet once and for all.  Skynet’s plan to foil this is to send a Terminator, T-800 model, back to 1984 to kill “Sarah Connor” (Emilia Clarke) to prevent John from being born.  But the “Guardian” (Schwarzenegger) is there to work with Sarah to stop his lookalike.  He’s been there protecting Sarah since she was nine.

    In order to protect his mother in the past, in 2029 John sends “Kyle” back in time to protect her.  Kyle, who’d been rescued from a terminator by John when Kyle was just a kid is fiercely loyal to the leader of the Resistance.  Kyle arrives just in time to nearly be killed by a T-1000 (Byung-hun) that Sarah and the Guardian have been expecting.  Knowing that Judgement Day is coming up in 2017 rather than 1997, Sarah and Kyle will travel through time to just before the event will happen.  The Guardian can’t travel through time with them, so he will meet them there.

    Confused yet?  Making a story complicated doesn’t necessarily make it a good story.  There are so many attempts to use twists and turns, along with muddling the timeline that it’s almost too much to follow without serious cognitive effort.  Having decent performances, great visuals and the amazing J. K. Simmons as a bit of comic relief just isn’t enough to make this movie work.

    Jai Courtney, J. K. Simmons and Emilia Clarke in 'Terminator Genisys'
    Jai Courtney, J. K. Simmons and Emilia Clarke in ‘Terminator Genisys’

    Given that this is only the second really big film directed by Alan Taylor, it’s disappointing in the wake of his surprisingly good Thor:  The Dark World that this potential gem turned out so poorly.  Considering that playing the Terminator (now the Guardian) is the role Arnold Schwarzenegger was born to play, he’s more than up to the task.  Give the filmmakers credit for developing a plausible storyline to explain how he ages during the film.  The nice surprise was Emilia Clarke, best known for her work on the TV show Game of Thrones.  She does an outstanding job in a role that isn’t as easy as it may sound.

    Terminator Genisys isn’t an awful film.  It’s a decent action flick.  But considering the brilliance of the original, it just isn’t what it could and should have been.

  • ‘Ted 2’ is funny, but not as funny as the original

    ‘Ted 2’ is funny, but not as funny as the original

    Jessica Barth and Ted in 'Ted 2'
    Jessica Barth and Ted in ‘Ted 2’

    If you’re planning to see Ted 2 and you didn’t see the original, don’t worry.  It’s self-contained.  The original was not a great film, but was hysterically funny.  This is also not a great film and while it is funny, it’s not as funny as the original.

    The titular teddy bear (voiced by MacFarlane) is getting married to his sweetheart and co-worker “Tami-Lynn” (Barth) and his “thunder buddy for life” “John” (Wahlberg) is there as the best man.  But he isn’t happy.  His marriage to “Lori” in the first film ended in a divorce that was final some six months ago.  He’s been unable to get back on the horse and start dating.

    The marriage of Ted and Tami-Lynn gets stale and they begin fighting.  Ted decides that the way to save the marriage is to have a kid, which Tami-Lynn thinks is a fantastic idea.  However since Ted isn’t properly equipped to father a child, they need an alternative solution.  After a few attempts at finding a way to artificially inseminate Tami-Lynn fail, the couple decides to adopt.  That becomes the real problem as Ted isn’t a legal person.  The State of Massachusetts won’t allow him to adopt and things get worse.  Since he can’t be recognized as a legal person, he loses his job, his credit cards and more.

    ted2_4
    Amanda Seyfried, Ron Canada and Ted in ‘Ted 2’

    John and Ted decide they need a lawyer and they wind up in the office of “Samantha Leslie Jackson” (Seyfried).  She’s just passed the bar and is working at a relative’s law firm.  She files suit to have Ted declared a person based on the fact he is sentient.  Meanwhile “Donny” (Ribisi), who stole and attempted to kill Ted in the original film, goes to the president of the toy company he works for with an idea to take possession of Ted after John and Ted lose their lawsuit, dissect him and use what they learn to make a Ted for every child.

    There isn’t a lot to differentiate the original film from this sequel except for the fact that this time around the jokes are a bit old and a bit stale.  Lots of marijuana, alcohol and sex humor, with a level of raunchiness that nears capacity for an R rating.  Buried deep beneath the jokes is a message of equality for all, but it’s hard to find when you’re reacting to something that was designed to make you laugh out loud and the best you can manage is a courtesy laugh.

    Amanda Seyfried manages to transcend the less than stellar portions of the film’s humor and makes the most of every moment she’s in the movie.  Mark Wahlberg’s comedy timing is much better than one would expect of someone who is known primarily as an action/adventure actor.  The CGI that creates and allows Ted to interact with the actors is just fine.  Comedies work best when they make you laugh uncontrollably.  There are some of those moments here (there’s a shot with a phallic-shaped bong that’s hysterical) but not enough of them to put this on a par with the original Ted.

  • ‘Jurassic World’ went giant rather than just standing pat

    ‘Jurassic World’ went giant rather than just standing pat

    Chris Pratt in 'Jurassic World'
    Chris Pratt in ‘Jurassic World’

    Before you walk into the auditorium to watch Jurassic World, the fourth film in the franchise, bear in mind that this movie spent more than a decade in what some refer to as “development hell.”

    More than two decades have passed since the debacle at the original Jurassic Park, when “John Hammond” brought Doctors Alan Grant, Ellie Satler and Ian Malcolm to evaluate the safety of his creation.  In case you missed it, most of the dinosaurs escaped their enclosures and ate most of the people.  Now, in the present day, Jurassic World sits on the same island as the old park and is a major world-wide tourist destination.

    It is owned by “Simon Masrani” (Irrfan Khan) who has hired “Claire Dearing” (Bryce Dallas Howard) to run the park as its operations manager.  Attendance is off and on the very weekend where she is hoping to land big corporate sponsors by giving them a preview of an amazing new creation, her nephews “Zach” (Nick Robinson) and “Gray” (Ty Simpkins) are coming in for a visit.  She pawns them off on her personal assistant “Zara Young” (Katie McGrath) to show them all of the good stuff about the park, promising to meet with them later.

    Ty Simpkins and Nick Robinson enjoy a ride in 'Jurassic World'
    Ty Simpkins and Nick Robinson enjoy a ride in ‘Jurassic World’

    The new creation is a hybrid of several dinosaur breeds that they’ve named “Indominus Rex,” the word of “Dr. Henry Wu” (B. D. Wong) who somehow managed to survive the mass slaughter at the original park.  Another amazing development is that “Owen Grady” (Chris Pratt), assisted by “Barry” (Omar Sy) has managed to train four raptors with the aid of cranial implants.  While they are still dangerous as hell, they do follow and respond to his directions.

    When the Indominus Rex manages to escape its supposedly escape-proof display and begins eating everything in sight, there is no initial panic.  The park’s Asset Containment Unit is sent to capture this giant and when that doesn’t work; an evacuation is ordered and utter panic and carnage take over.

    If you make a comparison of this movie to the original, the new film pales.  However, viewed properly, the new film is an excellent effort on its own.  Its director Colin Trevorrow, who proved his talents with the outstanding Safety Not Guaranteed, says this film has no relation to the two prior sequels.  It is a 124 minute thrill ride that manages to surprise and amaze.  While the image of a dinosaur on screen is no longer new, when taken to new levels of size and movement, they still enthrall.

    The chemistry between Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard seems a bit forced and unreal but that doesn’t detract much from their strong performances.  The two young actors portraying her nephews steal most of the scenes they are in with a mixture of wonder and fear.  Vincent D’Onofrio is fun as a corporate mercenary there to exploit the raptors for his employer’s benefit and Jake Johnson is even more amusing as the master of the park’s control room.

  • Take a peek at ‘Spy’

    Take a peek at ‘Spy’

    Melissa McCarthy and Jude Law in 'Spy'
    Melissa McCarthy and Jude Law in ‘Spy’

    My name is Bond.  Jane Bond.  Or perhaps it should be changed to Maxine Smart.  Those are just two of the film franchises that many of the gags found in Spy, starring Melissa McCarthy, can be traced to.  Spoofs are lots of fun when they are done well and this is no exception.

    “Susan Cooper” (McCarthy) is a CIA intelligence analyst who works in a dank Langley basement, serving as overwatch for field agent “Bradley Fine” (Law).  She guides him through treacherous missions one after another while pining away with unrequited love for her charge.  Then a mission goes awry and he is killed by “Rayna Boyanov” (Byrne) who is trying to sell a portable nuclear weapon to terrorists.

    Allison Janney and Melissa McCarthy in 'Spy'
    Allison Janney and Melissa McCarthy in ‘Spy’

    This creates a problem for “Elaine Crocker” (Janney) who is the boss of this unit at the CIA.  Rayna demonstrated that she knows who all of the CIA’s top field operatives are, so there is no one to send out to find her.  It turns out that Susan is a graduate of the CIA’s Field Agent training program and she volunteers to take the mission.  As she was in the ear of Agent Fine while he was in the field, Susan will have her good friend “Nancy” (Hart) from the basement in hers.  Agent “Rick Ford” (Statham) is very upset at this turn of events and quits the agency; going into the field himself against orders.  That adds amusing complications to Susan’s mission.  Of course the fate of the entire world is at stake, as it always seems to be when James Bond is performing seemingly impossible feats with style, swagger and that obvious je ne sais quoi.

    Spy spoofs are nothing new.  1951 brought us Bob Hope in My Favorite Spy and since then we’ve seen Our Man Flint, the Matt Helm films, Spy Hard (with brilliant opening graphics created by Weird Al Yankovic), the Austin Powers movies and more.  Spy does a great job at poking fun at the entire genre, and all aspects of it.

    Nargis Fakhri and Melissa McCarthy in 'Spy'
    Nargis Fakhri and Melissa McCarthy in ‘Spy’

    Melissa McCarthy’s gift for physical comedy is well known and rightly so.  However in Spy, she also uses facial expressions and other forms of non-verbal communication that aren’t outright physical comedy to her advantage.  I suspect that like most of the best comedic actors, she would probably rock at doing dramatic acting given half a chance.  I’d like to see that.  The other actors fit right into their roles, particularly Rose Byrne and Jude Law.  The action is engaging and the film is very well-paced.

  • ‘San Andreas’ really shakes up the big screen

    ‘San Andreas’ really shakes up the big screen

    Art Parkinson, Alexandra Daddario, and Hugo Johnstone-Burt in ‘San Andreas’

    The disaster film genre came to major prominence in the 1970s, with Airport, The Poseidon Adventure, Towering Inferno and Earthquake.   In fact, disaster films were around from the beginning of the 20th century, they just never reached the kind of commercial and critical success the aforementioned movies managed to achieve.  Airport garnered 10 Oscar nominations and a Best Supporting Actress Award for Helen Hayes.  The genre died out in the early 1980s and remained dormant until Titanic smashed all kinds of records in 1997.  2004’s The Day After Tomorrow brought home over one-half a billion in worldwide box office.

    2015 brings us San Andreas, another film about an earthquake that had a production budget in excess of $100 million and a nice fat marketing campaign budget as well.  The news is good.  The money is right up there on the screen with dazzling special effects, decent acting and terrific imagery of what a really major earthquake would do to California.

    Los Angeles Fire Department’s “Chief Raymond Gaines” (Johnson) is a helicopter pilot who has a very distinguished saves record, both during his military service and while with the LAFD.  He’s presented with a tough situation at the film’s outset.  Turns out that he and his wife “Emma” (Gugino) split up when one of their two daughters died.  Emma and the surviving daughter, “Blake” (Daddirio) are moving in with Emma’s boyfriend, “Daniel Riddick” (Gruffudd) who is a real estate developer nearing completion on what would be the tallest building in San Francisco.

    Dwayne Johnson stars in 'San Andreas'
    Dwayne Johnson stars in ‘San Andreas’

    Seismologists Lawrence Hays (Giamatti) and Dr. Kim Park (Lee) are at the Hoover Dam, working on their experiments in earthquake prediction.  They are able to predict a quake at the dam in time to warn people, the quake being unexpected because it occurred along a previously unknown fault line.  Now that Hays knows he can give some warning about future earthquakes, he goes back to Cal-Tech to get the word out with the assistance of “Serena Johnson” (Punjabi) a television reporter.

    Blake was going to ride with her father to school in Seattle but the Nevada quake made that impossible, so she winds up in San Francisco with Daniel.  He stopped off there to do some business.  At his office she meets “Ben Taylor” (Johnstone-Burt) who is there to apply for a job with Daniel’s company; and Ben’s younger brother “Ollie” (Parkinson).  First Los Angeles, and then not long after, San Francisco are devastated by major quakes.  Chief Gaines teams up with Emma to fly his helicopter to San Francisco to rescue Blake.

    Dwayne Johnson and Carla Gugino in 'San Andreas'
    Dwayne Johnson and Carla Gugino in ‘San Andreas’

    Given Brad Peyton’s brief feature film resume, he didn’t seem like the best choice to helm this film, but he did a very good job with the cast and the visuals.  The film has a nice pacing to it, as you can’t put an audience through 114 minutes of non-stop high-level intense action.  The action on screen, when it comes, is the film’s best feature.  The acting is good and the story/dialogue adequate.  Those aren’t the things on which disaster films rise and fall.

    The more movies that Dwayne Johnson does, the better he gets at adding some nuances to his performances.  He may never win an Academy Award, but what we see here is a big step up from his work in Be Cool.  As for the rest of the cast they add rather than detract from the movie.

    Leave your scientific knowledge of earthquakes in the parking garage and enjoy San Andreas.

  • Disney’s ‘Tomorrowland’ fails to live up to the level of its namesake

    Disney’s ‘Tomorrowland’ fails to live up to the level of its namesake

    An original Disleyland D Ticket, which gave access to some great rides. Sadly the film 'Tomorrowland' isn't one of them.
    An original Disleyland D Ticket, which gave access to some great rides. Sadly the film ‘Tomorrowland’ isn’t one of them.

    The image above is from an original D-ticket from Disneyland.  E-tickets were the best, but the D-tickets were pretty good.  Sadly, the Disney film that takes its title from the park’s futuristic area, Tomorrowland earned a D-ticket with the D standing for disappointing.

    The film opens with “Frank Walker” (George Clooney) attempting to record his telling of a story.  Eventually “Casey Newton” (Britt Robertson) tells it from her perspective.  It involves a younger Frank Walker (Thomas Robinson), a man named Nix (Hugh Laurie) the younger version meets at the 1964 World’s Fair, and a young girl named “Athena” (Raffey Cassidy) he also encounters there.  Frank has an invention he wants to enter into the Fair’s competition.  It’s a jet pack he built himself.  Unfortunately it isn’t quite perfected.

    Britt Robertson as "Casey Newton" in 'Tomorrowland'
    Britt Robertson as “Casey Newton” in ‘Tomorrowland’

    Fast forward to a point in the future and we are introduced to “Casey Newton” (Britt Robertson), daughter of a NASA engineer (Tim McGraw) who is working on the deconstruction of a launch platform.  Casey is doing her best to keep that platform alive and runs into trouble.  She also comes in contact with Athena, who gives her a glimpse into a world of wonders far beyond her experience.  Events take place that bring Casey and the adult Frank together and they journey to this world, along with Athena, in order to prevent a cataclysmic end to life on Earth.

    Writer/director Brad Bird has created some masterpieces in animation (The Incredibles, Ratatouille) but his work here is nowhere near that level of quality.  This is a film with extremely uneven pacing, and aside from the tremendously entertaining special effects, little else to recommend it.

    George Clooney as "Frank Walker" in 'Tomorrowland'
    George Clooney as “Frank Walker” in ‘Tomorrowland’

    George Clooney, winner of one Oscar and three other nominations for his acting works is an astonishingly talented actor.  That makes his performance here much more disappointing as he seems to be just going through the motions.  Hugh Laurie’s role as “Governor Nix” doesn’t give him much to do and while Britt Robertson is very good, she just isn’t ready to carry an entire movie on her shoulders.  Conversely Rafferty Cassidy is a joy and is a lot of fun to watch.

    Films that can send the message or messages of their makers without being overbearing or heavy-handed are wonderful.  The latter can be uncomfortable.  The idea of a place for dreamers to build a wonderful world is interesting, but when held back with constant criticism of how we live our lives in today’s world…such movies become ‘preachy.’

  • Don’t let ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ stay a secret. Tell everyone

    Don’t let ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ stay a secret. Tell everyone

    Colin Firth in ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’

    “Manners easily and rapidly mature into morals” – Horace Mann

    “Manners maketh man” – Colin Firth as “Harry Hart” in ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’

    Adapted from a comic book series, Kingsman: The Secret Service focuses on a British organization of “gentlemen” agents created by wealthy Brits after World War I..  Organized like King Arthur’s famed Round Table and with code names from that legendary group of heroes, their front is a tailor shop in London.

    “Harry Hart” (Colin Firth – The Railway Man), code name Galahad is one of the Kingsman agents.  Nearly two decades ago, his life was saved by an agent-in-training.  After Hart returns home, he gives a medallion with an emergency contact number to the probationary agent’s young son, “Eggsy” (young Eggsy played by Alex Nikolov, the adult Eggsy by Taron Egerton).

    Sofia Boutella in ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’

    Fast forward to 2014 and Eggsy is drifting aimlessly after washing out of Royal Marines training.  He adores his mother (Samantha Womack) and hates his step dad “Dean” (Geoff Bell – Rocknrolla).  He quit the training program to join the Royal Marines and winds up in jail after taking Dean’s car for a joyride.  He calls the number on the medallion and Harry Hart shows up to free him.

    He tells Eggsy that there is an opening for a new agent at Kingsman, as “Lancelot” was killed by an assassin while trying to rescue “Professor James Arnold” (Mark Hamill – The Big Red One) from kidnappers.  “Gazelle” (Sofia Boutella) is a pretty, but extremely lethal female version of Oscar Pistorius.  The difference being that her metal legs give her two deadly weapons in addition to exceptional speed.  She is employed by “Richmond Valentine” (Samuel L. Jackson – Django Unchained).  Valentine is a self-made billionaire and internet pioneer and has just announced the distribution of free SIM cards that will give everyone in the world free cellular service and internet connectivity.

    Eggsy takes part in the Kingsman selection process to choose the new Galahad.  He, “Roxy” (Sophie Cookson) and “Charlie” (Edward Holcroft) are among the trainees being shepherded through the process by “Merlin” (Mark Strong – Zero Dark Thirty).  It is a grueling process and when Charlie washes out, only Eggsy and Roxy remain.  He fails the final text and she becomes the new Lancelot.  Harry has to go on a mission and promises to sort things out when he returns.

    Edward Holcroft, Sophie Cookson and Taron Egerton in ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’

    He travels to a church in rural Kentucky, led there by some intel he collected in a meeting with Valentine and the plot is revealed.  Valentine activates the SIM cards and everyone in the church becomes a homicidal maniac, including Harry.  His extraordinary combat skills leave him the sole survivor and lead to a confrontation with Valentine in the parking lot.

    With Harry no longer part of the equation, and “Arthur” (Michael Caine – Now You See Me) no longer a factor, it is up to Eggsy, Roxy and Merlin to stop Valentine from turning the entire world into a mass of maniacs killing each other until only those chosen by Valentine to survive remain.

    Both spoof and homage to the Bond genre of spy thriller, Kingsman: The Secret Service is highly entertaining and the talents of its key cast members allow it to overcome the few moments where it ventures too far over the top.  I look forward to the inevitable sequel.