"Terminator: Genisys" Review

A brand-new Terminator movie is here to try and undo past injustices (Rise of the Machines; Salvation) in order to satisfy fans of the originals while introducing something new for neophytes. Sadly, a few shards of promise do not a great Terminator make.

Witness the birth of the franchise as Genisys starts with some pretty cool scenes that set up the arrival of The Terminator in 1984. Then after the exposition is complete, witness what is essentially a boring retread of the original masterpiece in an alternate timeline that makes no sense whatsoever. The story tries to build on the original by exploring what the world/future would be like if Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) was sent back to protect Sarah Connor from The Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) only to find her as the hardened warrior fans remember from Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Oh, and Arnie really is back as the killer-turned-protector robot. Sarah even calls him "Pops."

I mean, really? Is this the talking velociraptor moment for the Terminator series?

That said, Arnold's scenes are the best thing about the film. His rehabilitated T-800 is still something of a "fish out of water" as he attempts to fit in as a normal person in Genisys. I think scribes Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier wanted to add a new catchphrase to Terminator's classic compendium by having Arnie use the word "theoretically" when explaining solutions to problems. "Theoretically," the word's use is dubious most times, which makes it pretty fun. But "theoretically," it could never top "I'll be back" or "Hasta la vista, baby."

Aside from that, there's really nothing else of merit in Terminator: Genisys. All the action sequences, save for the climax which is actually fairly exciting, are shown in the trailers that have been playing for months. The cardinal sin, however, is that the film's biggest twist is also given away in the trailers. That's how you know you've got a terrible movie on your hands. This just feels like another bad action film hindered by a market-friendly PG-13 rating.

Courtney as Kyle Reese also displays little to no chemistry with this iteration of Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke). I've always found Courtney to be a very generic actor, and the character of Kyle Reese should be anything but generic. Clarke isn't totally lifeless, but Linda Hamilton she is not. I would not care to see Courtney and/or Clarke together again in a Terminator movie, or really anything else for that matter.

PROS:
Arnold is back!
10-15 minutes of pretty good prequel material
Exciting climax

CONS:
Generic action scenes ruined by marketing
Big plot twist ruined by marketing
Confusing timeline
Uninspired performances
Sanitized PG-13 violence

D

"Love & Mercy" Review

Love & Mercy is a biopic about Brian Wilson, one of the founding members of The Beach Boys. What sets it apart from the Ray's and Capote's and Walk the Line's of the world is a rather unique narrative structure and complex sound design. Director Bill Polhad has crafted a very inward-focused film that places us inside Wilson's head in a way that most other biopics fail to do with their subjects. In that sense, Love & Mercy is a perfect expression of the introverted Wilson himself. It should go without saying that this is easily one of the best films of the year.

The story jumps between two eras of Wilson's life: the 1960s in which he starts to pull away from his band mates in order to create more unique sounds and the 1980s in which he meets a Cadillac saleswoman (Elizabeth Banks) while under the care of Dr. Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti).

60s Wilson is portrayed by Paul Dano, while John Cusack takes over in the 80s scenes. Both performances are worthy of Oscar consideration in their own right, but Dano stands out as a misunderstood young man struggling to get everyone on board with his vision. It's the scenes where Dano is frantically dashing around the recording studio, fixing notes for the saxophonists or insisting to another player that conflicting keys will work with the right composition, that the film is at its most electrifying.

Understandably, the film is all about the music. An assortment of Beach Boys essentials punctuate certain scenes while score composer Atticus Ross does something truly unique with them at other moments. Ross gives us several separate collages of sounds that fade together to denote thoughts going through Wilson's head. Oftentimes, you can't tell whether we're in the studio listening to recordings or stuck inside Wilson's mind or both.

I was only slightly let down by Giamatti's portrayal of Landy as a one-note movie villain, especially later in the film. He delivers the perfect amount of smarm, but it definitely feels like the real-life Wilson family had a hand in deciding how Landy should be portrayed. That really made the difference between the 60s and 80s scenes. While the 60s show us Wilson's emerging psychosis and how it affects his music as well as his family and friends, the 80s eventually start to feel like a contrived defeat-the-villain plot. Figuratively, it's much more interesting to watch Wilson try to break free from his broken state and the demons of his past instead of literally watching Landy yell and treat everyone like trash until he's served with legal documentation against his practices.

All around though, the film excels thanks to stellar performances and stylistic choices as unique as Wilson himself. Love & Mercy is a fitting tribute to the life, mind and music of a pop icon.

A-

"San Andreas" Review

San Andreas might be one of the better disaster movies in years, but the cheesy fun doesn't outweigh iffy visuals and a narrative with cracks that expose the film's commercial, rather than creative, ambitions.

Dwayne Johnson stars as Raymond Gaines, an L.A. Fire & Rescue chief whose ship literally comes in when the San Andreas fault sets off a massive earthquake and tsunami across California. In the aftermath, Gaines embarks on a dangerous personal mission to rescue his daughter in San Francisco.

Johnson leads a strong supporting cast including Carla Gugino as his ex-wife Emma, Alexandra Daddario as their daughter Blake, and Paul Giamatti as Cal Tech seismologist Lawrence. Director Brad Peyton has stated that most of the cast performed their own stunts, and it shows in their reactions. Even though most of the mayhem is out of left field, and some of the CGI looks a bit too cartoony, the performances make the events on screen feel real.

The film might have been even more fun if screenwriter Carlton Cuse had decided to team up Ray and Lawrence with one guiding the other through the treacherous landscape. If not, I would have liked to see those characters cross paths at some point at least. As such, their plots remain entirely separate and have no bearing on the outcome of the other. Sad.

Another big issue I had with the story of San Andreas is that there are moments where you think Cuse is about to take massive, albeit refreshing, risks with the characters and then cops out in favor of "warm-n-fuzzy" feelings.

However, the film earns points for at least flirting with serious consequences for the lead characters as individuals, something that is sorely missing from today's blockbusters. It also does away with the insubstantial exposition that marred The Day After Tomorrow and bloated 2012 to nearly three hours. San Andreas has a constant sense of urgency, and it's all about how the characters are reacting to their life-changing situation. There's no time to bide time. I'm looking at you, Jake Gyllenhaal and John Cusack!

San Andreas is the kind of schlock that's still worth seeing on the big screen because of its grand scale and massive destruction scenes. It's not a "great" film, but I'd be disappointed if I waited to rent this one at home. Fans of old-school disaster films should feel confident catching a discount matinee while they still can.

C+

"Inside Out" Review

Many would argue that Pixar has fallen off since Toy Story 3, continuing on in the ensuing years with sub-standard animated features like Cars 2, Brave and Monsters University. After an empty 2014 slate, consider their latest film, Inside Out, a breath of fresh air. I'm happy to see the Pixar brain trust come storming back with a complex, character-rich, visually-stunning ORIGINAL story that can proudly stand among the studio's very best. 

Inside Out takes place almost entirely inside the mind of 11-year old Riley (voiced by Kaitlyn Dias). We get to know her through her feelings of Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling) following a family move from Minnesota to San Fransisco. Along with a new city comes a new house and a new school. As a pre-pubescent girl encountering these situations for the first time, surely there are other emotions worthy of inclusion in this kind of story, like contempt, affection, confidence, curiosity, and embarrassment. As much as this film doesn't need a sequel, I could see those other emotions coming into play in a future story where we catch up with Riley as a full-fledged teenager. As it stands, Inside Out finds a believable balance between the five emotions that the storytellers have elected to include.

The plot thickens when Joy and Sadness are forced out of "head"quarters in order to save Riley's fondest memories from being forgotten, leaving her character to be dictated by Fear, Disgust and Anger. On the way back to "head"quarters, Joy and Sadness run into several unique characters, my favorite among them a huggable imaginary friend that Riley once had named Bing Bong (voiced by Richard Kind). There's a great scene where Bing Bong leads Joy and Sadness through the realm of "abstract thought." Pay attention to the dialogue here for what I found to be a genius meta-commentary on emotions as well as animation itself.

As the best Pixar movies do, Inside Out delivers something for both kids and adults. This film will delight everyone with its colorful characters, vibrant animation and sense of adventure. Some older kids and parents will likely appreciate more of the humor than younger children because the film is all about growing pains. Not everyone can relate to a happy childhood playing hockey with both parents cheering you on from the sidelines, but everyone has certainly experienced joy, fear, anger, sadness and disgust in some form or another. Inside Out prompts us to reflect on our own memories and experiences and how they have shaped our individual character. In that sense, the film is fodder for enlightening post-screening discussion. It should go without saying that it stays with you long after the credits have rolled. 

It's truly amazing what director Pete Docter and the rest of Pixar's contributing minds have achieved with what is probably the most complex character deconstruction across film or television in recent memory. Keep in mind that this is an animated movie aimed at children. 

Critics sometimes talk about how great acting performances can put you inside the mind or the "shoes" of a character. Now, we literally get to see what's going on inside the lead character's head in a way that I don't think any other movie has allowed us to do before. We understand precisely what makes Riley tick. Every action performed by the emotions inside her mind prompts a very believable reaction in her outward character. I think Inside Out will justly pose some very interesting thinking points for child psychologists. 

The more I think about Inside Out, the more I enJOY it. Perhaps that's apropos. Don't miss one of Pixar's best, most emotionally powerful films in a return to classic form for the studio.

A

Playmation | Powered by Disney (Official Announcement Trailer) Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXFz5tUDY38

Following the success of the Infinity video game line, Disney is following up with a line of wearable gadgets designed to insert kids right into the gaming experience itself. Rather than playing, kids will actually be "doing" as they role-play their favorite heroes including Iron Man and Luke Skywalker. 

Based on the announcement trailer above, it's extremely difficult to discern exactly what it is that Disney is selling. Further research has revealed that the Playmation experience will involve wearable tech designed specifically for children. 

What's cool about this idea is that what used to be pretend could become reality. I remember running around with my friends at a young age pretending to shoot webs out of my hands like Spider-Man and facing off in epic lightsaber battles with long cardboard tubes. Starting this fall, that vivid childlike imagination may be fully realized. Playtime may now literally involve fighting aliens in the street. 

On the flipside, I think many consumers will find fault with this new idea. Childlike imagination is arguably the most powerful creative force we feeble humans possess, and now it seems Disney wants to supplant that by telling kids how and what scenarios to imagine rather than encouraging kids to have ideas of their own. 

That thinking misses the point, though.

These new toys are designed to supplement playtime, not overtake it. And they're exactly that: TOYS. Toys that one can choose whether or not to play with. Not to mention, The Avengers and Star Wars are the only two properties coming to Playmation for the time being. If kids would rather pretend to be Superman or a construction worker or a race car driver, then they have the creative freedom to continue to do so as they have for generations. But if they want to play Iron Man or otherwise test their mettle using The Force, then they will have an innovative tool at their disposal to make playtime especially awesome. 

"Jurassic World" Review

It's been 22 years since John Hammond first introduced the world to the many wonders (and dangers) of Isla Nublar. After two underwhelming sequels, the wait for a worthy follow-up to Steven Spielberg's classic 1993 sci-fi film is finally over.

Jurassic World begins a brand-new continuity stemming from the original Jurassic Park. The events of The Lost World and Jurassic Park III are all but ignored. This latest adventure shows us what Isla Nublar would be like if Hammond's vision had been fully realized. Jurassic World is a fully-functioning theme park designed around prehistoric marvels, evoking some of the cornerstones of family vacations and mass-market entertainment that audiences are all familiar with. Monorails to and from the park's resort hotels as well as the central discovery center (a kind of outdoorsy "Cinderella's Castle") evoke fond memories of Disney World; the Mosasaurus arena is reminiscent of Shamu's at Sea World. The main thoroughfare is flanked by corporate-branded shops like Starbucks, Oakley, Dave & Busters, and Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville.

Jurassic World is visibly a marketing cash cow, but all that product placement is there for a reason. It calls to mind the corporate involvement that frequently goes along with blockbuster movies like Jurassic World. All the while, the main characters behind the scenes (Jake Johnson, Lauren Lapkus) crack wise about audiences demanding attractions that are "bigger, better and scarier" with "more teeth," kind of like what mass entertainment has become. Everyone is looking for the next big thrill, especially at movie theaters. That's why we have so many mindless, mega-budget event movies like Transformers, Man of Steel and, well, Jurassic World. What sets this movie apart from the rest of the summer pack, however, is self-awareness. After discussing the risks posed by a new genetically-modified dinosaur hybrid, Johnson's character, sporting an illicit "Jurassic Park" t-shirt, says something to Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), JW's head honcho, along the lines of "new" not always being "good" or "better" or "right." It's a wink to the audience that lets us know that this movie has no intention of trying to outdo a classic.

Added to the fold are Claire's nephews Gray (Ty Simpkins) and Zach (Nick Robinson), because what would a Spielbergian thriller be without children in peril? They aren't present in the film for any other reason really. I find it sketchy that any parent in their right mind would send their children to an island off of Costa Rica by themselves to catch up with a workaholic aunt who hasn't seen or spoken to them in seven years. I found the kids to be the worst offenders in a cast of thinly-sketched characters.

Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio) is a weak excuse for a human villain, and Claire (Howard) isn't bad but could've been far more interesting with a richer backstory. The only main character worth his salt is Owen (Chris Pratt), the park's velociraptor specialist. It's easy to see that Pratt is having fun with this role. His performance elevates the material as he confirms our suspicions that he could be a superstar in the making. Guardians of the Galaxy was no fluke. If Pratt is ever finally approached for Indiana Jones 5, consider Jurassic World his audition tape.

It doesn't surprise me that the characters are fairly weak and that the plot leaves a few loose ends untied, probably for sequel potential. A team of four screenwriters (Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Colin Trevorrow, Derek Connolly) were commissioned to assemble this beast, and it's been rumored that they didn't see eye to eye on several things. Not to mention it took 14 years for someone to finally come up with a story worth telling for $150 million. Knowing that going in, it's fairly easy to let those sins be to pass, especially when the dino action is so f**king awesome.

When the kids aren't around, the film is everything I never knew I wanted from a Jurassic Park sequel. I want suspense, terror, high stakes, and after 20 years, I want some clever nods to the original. The film delivers on all those fronts, although not to the extent of the original. Nothing can ever top that first scene with the Tyrannosaurus Rex in the rain from JP1. But I never thought I'd enjoy watching domesticated raptors run side-by-side with a man on a motorcycle. It's just dumb fun this time around, which is all a film about humans and dinosaurs together in the present day should be.

I won't spoil anything more, but I just want to add that the last 15-20 minutes of Jurassic World are perfect for the way this narrative progresses. If somehow you are unable to appreciate the ending, then your expectations may be misaligned. I, for one, led our sold-out IMAX theater in thunderous applause.

In the end, Jurassic World is a brainless summer romp of the highest order as well as a satisfying deconstruction of blockbuster culture. Director Colin Trevorrow has delivered the finest Jurassic Park sequel yet, despite several shortcomings in characterization. Be sure to catch this one in 3D on the biggest screen you can find.

B+

"Spy" Review

Spy is another winning comedy from director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat) and superstar Melissa McCarthy. This time working from a script by Feig, McCarthy finally has a proper starring vehicle in which she shows off not only her broad comedic range but a surprising knack for action set pieces and choreography. If this is any indication, the upcoming Ghostbusters reboot is in perfect hands.

McCarthy plays Susan Cooper, a CIA analyst with no field experience who gels nicely as the voice in the ear of field operative Bradley Fine (Jude Law), who fancies himself America's 007. Cooper has guided Fine safely through several missions until the identities of every field agent are compromised at the hands of a sexy arms dealer (Rose Byrne). As one of the few whose face would go unrecognized by the enemy, Cooper is sent in to infiltrate a plot to sell a nuclear warhead to terrorists.

The tired "fish-out-of-water" routine works so well here because Cooper is a perfect fit for it. McCarthy's talents don't quite work in every scenario (see Tammy), but it seems Feig has cracked the nut. That said, I can also understand why the actress's schtick does not appeal to some, as she frequently relies solely on her physique to generate laughs. To paraphrase The Hangover's Leslie Chow, it's funny because she's fat. But one can only fall over so many times before fatigue sets in for the audience as well as the star.

To counteract the slapstick, McCarthy has always had a quick wit about her as well. I've always found that to be her best asset, and it's used well in Spy with plenty of hilarious lines like "I would welcome that with an open mouth" after Fine says he could kiss Cooper for getting him out of trouble with some thugs on a mission in Bulgaria.

Not to be outdone by her silly brand of physical comedy is McCarthy's ability to literally kick ass. There's a scene in a kitchen in which Cooper engages a female terrorist (Nargis Fakhri) in hand-to-hand combat. To the surprise of just about every character in the film, Cooper is highly skilled in close-quarters combat and gunplay. It's put to stellar use here. With Cooper frantically wielding little more than frying pans and Tupperware against a trained killer with a knife, the scene is funny not because the character is scrambling for a way to defend herself but because it's so unlike anything we've seen McCarthy pull off with any of her characters so far. And I'm not kidding when I add that it's as visceral a fight scene as anything Bourne or Bond has ever given us.

The leading lady is given a wonderful supporting cast featuring Law, Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Allison Janney, Peter Serafinowicz, and Jason Statham, who shows a brilliant knack for quick-witted comedy himself. Statham is really the standout of the supporting players in the role of Rick Ford, a disgruntled CIA agent who disavows the agency when they send Cooper into the field over him. Statham's comedic timing is spot on as he shares plenty of screen time with the heavy-hitting McCarthy. Any foil of hers needs to step up to the laughing plate in a big way, and Statham succeeds. I'm hoping we see more action/comedy from him in the future.

With no artistic aspirations or pretense, viewers should be well aware of what they're getting themselves into with a McCarthy vehicle like Spy. That said, those willing to bite will be treated to the funniest comedy of 2015 so far.

B