Ant-Man

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

 

by Frederick William Springer III

 

Ant-Man

Release Date:  17 July 2015                                                                  Runtime:  117 Minutes              

Review Date:  1 November 2015                                                           Rating:  4 (of 6)

 

     Ant-Man isn't the best, nor the worst, in the ever-growing Marvel Cinematic Universe stable.  The story, acting and effects are all decent and there are a few fun moments tossed in.  No need for me to drone on any further.

Sinister II

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

by Frederick William Springer III

Sinister II

Release Date:   21 August 2015                                                                 Runtime:  97 Minutes     

Review Date:  6 October 2015                                                                     Rating:  2.5 (of 6)

     Lame.

     This time around, we witness firsthand how the type of snuff film home movies discovered in the last installment were created.

     While that description has promise, the creepiness the original contained is lost here, any "scares" manufactured by blasts of sound not even made by objects in the environment but in the score--the cheapest, most empty gimmick a horror film can employ.

 

Jurassic World

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

by Frederick William Springer III

Jurassic World in 3D

Release Date:  12 June 2015                                                            Runtime:  124 Minutes              
Review Date:  25 August 2015                                                         Rating:  5 (of 6)

     Jurassic World was the invigorating shot in the arm that the franchise needed and it didn't surprise me at all to see it was provided by the same writing team that successfully launched the reboot of the Planet of the Apes series.

     Technology coming a long way in 22 years, the original really being one of the first to use it, the CGI looks less like CGI and makes the story more seamless.

     For die-hard fans of Jurassic Park (and its sequels), there are enough Easter eggs and throwbacks peppered throughout for reminiscent nods, much as Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver did with Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  The cool thing about this duo, besides being talented, is that they're fans too and it shows.

Mad Max: Fury Road

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

by Frederick William Springer III

Mad Max: Fury Road in 3D

Release Date:  15 May 2015                                                          Runtime:  120 Minutes              
Review Date:  6 August 2015                                                         Rating:  4 (of 6)

     The cinematography is great.  The story is alright.  If you're an action junkie, the practically non-stop pacing of Mad Max: Fury Road will scratch your itch.

     I must say the band was ridiculous.  And awesome.  Everyone should have one on their travels.

Tomorrowland

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

by Frederick William Springer III

 Tomorrowland

Release Date:  22 May 2015                                                                Runtime:  130 Minutes              
Review Date:  14 July 2015                                                                  Rating:  3 (of 6)

     Lackluster is a good description of Tomorrowland.  The whole first hour until the main characters finally begin to interact with one another onscreen is dull, only becoming a little more interesting once they do.  If this serves as any kind of indicator, I think writer/director Brad Bird ought to stick to computer animation with fare such as The Incredibles.

     I do appreciate the minor social message, that people have within their power the ability to make positive changes rather than seeing the negative as inevitable and doing nothing at all.  However, I do think that's over simplifying the issue as most people more likely have ostrich syndrome, not even realizing a problem exists or ignoring it if they do, sticking their head in the sand.  Or they see negative repercussions or positive restructuring as something that takes too much time with the payoff being too far down the road for them to care beyond themselves in the moment NOW.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

by Frederick William Springer III

 

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Release Date:  1 May 2015                                                                   Runtime:  141 Minutes              

Review Date:  7 July 2015                                                                     Rating:  4 (of 6)

      If you want your audience to feel as though it's witnessing someone else playing a video game rather than watching a movie, than, by all means, load the first couple minutes of your film with as much CGI as Avengers: Age of Ultron.

     Past that, this installment was generally better than the last because it actually had a feasible plot--the team falling for Loki's transparent trap last time around absurd.  But, at the same time, we feel the absence of Loki's fun character.  Another missing element that had worked in the last was the playful give and take between Stark and Banner, present only in a diminished capacity here.

     Writer/Director Joss Whedon was able to nicely weave in cameos by other characters from each of the standalone films--Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America--which was a nice touch, tying them altogether beyond just involving the titular characters.  However, even though we did dig just a little deeper into some of the characters this time round, particularly with Hawkeye and Black Widow, and even with Samuel Jackson finally bringing his A-game after underwhelming and unconvincing performances in the others pictures in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the piece as a whole still felt a little flat. 

     (As a side note that may be of interest to some, I saw the original Avengers a month before I started writing movie reviews.  I immediately thereafter mused that I should have begun earlier with that film, as I had a lot to say about it at the time, mostly negative observations.  I have since lightly ribbed it in 7 other reviews over the past 3 years, still not fully covering my distain but at least broaching it.  Here's a taste:

     "The Dark Knight Rises delivers where Avengers did not--story."

     "If I could only pick one superhero movie to see this summer, it would still be The Dark Knight Rises but in a distant second, I just might pick The Amazing Spider-Man over the overrated Avengers."

     In Robocop, "...Samuel Jackson's Pat Novak, a satire of cable personalities purporting to represent the news, falls flat just as his Nick Fury does in all the Marvel movies, particularly in The Avengers."

     "I will say that 3D technology has seemingly improved over the past year, the action sequences in The Avengers (which were a large part of that movie) blurry and hard to follow, whereas here [G.I. Joe: Retaliation] they are more crisp and clean (but not quite perfected yet)."

     "I can also say it's more enjoyable watching Loki (Tom Hiddleston) here [Thor: The Dark World] than it was in The Avengers."

     "Here [Django Unchained], my faith in Samuel L. Jackson’s ability to act has been restored.  His brief appearances in the Marvel movies culminating in a main role in The Avengers all fell flat to me.  Worse than flat—phony."

     And, "Iron Man 3 returned the franchise (and Marvel) to the quality level it should be, surpassing the misfire that was Iron Man 2 (as well as The Avengers--I didn't get on that bandwagon, thought it was pretty bad--and Captain America for that matter, too--the worst in the whole series).")

CHAPPiE

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

 by Frederick William Springer III

CHAPPiE

Release Date:  6 March 2015                                                                Runtime:  120 Minutes              
Review Date:  28 April 2015                                                                 Rating:  3.5 (of 6)

      There has been talk about Short Circuit getting the reboot treatment for some years now.  While that project seems to have stalled, the closest thing to be released in the meantime is CHAPPiE, having the same major elements of a unique self-aware robot, originally made for law enforcement, learning and growing as a conscious individual.

     This film better explores the nature vs nurture element of a sentient being's upbringing, Chappie beginning with a clean slate but being taught by criminals, not knowing that what he is doing is wrong, perhaps trying to open the world's eyes, through its viewing audience, that by and large some criminals may simply not know what they're doing is wrong, a victim of circumstance.

     Here, I think we have CGI at its best.  Though I doubt robots were actually used, those on the screen appear 100% authentic not appearing fake in the least.  This IS how CGI should be used.

     That all being said, even with Hugh Jackman and Sigourney Weaver among the cast, I didn't find this movie to be overly compelling.  This may be, in part, because at many times what is supposed to be the background music is drowning out the actual dialogue, which is a disservice to the story and nepotism at that because much of the soundtrack is comprised of the rap/rave music of Die Antwoord, two of the main characters members of this band and the film actually using their real stage names.  (As a side note, weirdly there is a character that has English subtitles even though he is speaking English.   This would have better served Bane in The Dark Knight Rises than it does here, his speech discernable.)

     All-in-all, this isn't much a step up from writer/director Neill Blomkamp's Elysium and probably about just on par with his District 9 which leads me to the conclusion that I'm just not a Blomkamp fan and that I don't have any favorable thoughts about him taking over the Alien franchise, his next project.