"X-Men: Days of Future Past" Review

DOFP may very well be the finest "X-Men" film ever.

I was concerned after the first couple trailers that the movie might seem a bit overcrowded by combining the timelines of both First Class and the original X-Men trilogy. I'm glad to say that DOFP never suffers this flaw, as it primarily focuses on only a handful of X-Men. 

Fans looking for more action from, say, Colossus, Warpath, or Bishop may not be totally satisfied.

But what's great about the X-Men in general is that they have always been a dysfunctional family of unique individuals, and that dynamic is supremely relatable. Director Bryan Singer and company do a great job at capturing this once again, despite the main focus being on only a relatively small contingency of main characters. 

Most of the cast have been portraying these characters for nearly 15 years. This means that they've been able to fine-tune their performances in ways that make the emotional depth of their characters more convincing now.

In DOFP, the film kicks off with the X-Men and Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants joining forces to battle a common enemy - the Sentinels, the spawn of a program orchestrated in the early 70s by Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage). The program kicks into high gear after his death. In order to prevent the Sentinels from ever being created, Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page), Professor X (Patrick Stewart), and Magneto (Ian McKellan) send Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back in time to alter the course of history and save mutantkind.

To do so, he must enlist the younger versions of Charles and Erik (James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender respectively), as well as a handful of other friends (Hank McCoy a.k.a "Beast" [Nicholas Hoult] and a scene-stealing Quicksilver [Evan Peters]). 

The action scenes are spectacular, and the visuals quite stunning. A sequence with Fassbender lifting RFK Stadium and moving it over Washington, D.C. like a flying saucer stands out.

Though the X-Men films have always been able to make audiences think, that doesn't mean they're totally perfect, and DOFP is no exception. Like I don't think Kitty has the ability to send people through time in the comics. Some action junkies might also find the film a bit too wordy for their tastes. DOFP also lacks the game-changing force of Marvel cinematic cousin Captain America: The Winter Soldier, though it essentially undoes the events of X-Men: The Last Stand. Most fans probably won't find fault with that though. 

The story of DOFP ties together nicely in the end before a post-credits teaser which sets up 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse.

A-

"Godzilla" Review

Oddly enough, Godzilla director Gareth Edwards' previous movie was an indie sci-fi flick called Monsters. As his first major studio production, Edwards brings a dark visual style which empasizes the tease. Lighting and shadows are the director's best friend in Godzilla. Edwards loves faking us out and showing us bits and pieces of his massive beast(s) before the big reveal.

This only serves to make that first deafening roar when the "King of the Monsters" finally stomps into frame all the more epic. An action sequence at Honolulu International Airport justifies my willingness to shell out for an IMAX ticket. 

The visual effects are spectacular. Entire cities turn to rubble as Godzilla hunts down the M.U.T.O. (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms) to keep them from spawning and wiping out the entire planet. 

Yes, Godzilla is essentially, and quite literally, the world's largest cock-blocker.

The monster scenes are a treat, and it never bothered me that Godzilla doesn't actually appear consistently on-screen until the last 30 to 45 minutes. Not much screen time for a movie bearing his name. 

I found myself only marginally less intrigued by the human story. We live in an age where it seems natural disasters and other catastrophes occur almost daily. Taking this angle gives the film a bit of a contemporary feel for our post-Katrina landscape. 

However, the Eco-friendly message is way more subtle than the anti-war/anti-nuclear one in the original Gojira. In that sense, the 2014 update has a bit of its edge dulled.

The acting performances here are okay, but they end up feeling superfluous by the time the real showdown begins. Bryan Cranston is in this movie for about 15 minutes - some of the better human moments of the film.

Cranston's character returns home after 15 years following a nuclear disaster at his workplace. He goes to retrieve his floppy disks that look as if someone just picked them up at the store 5 minutes ago. The house also features the strongest paper "Happy Birthday" banner I've ever seen. Still hanging after 15 years and a nuclear explosion. 

I can't really stand Aaron Taylor-Johnson. I can't take Kick-Ass seriously as a grown-up U.S. Navy lieutenant. 

Still, anything is better than Matthew Broderick and half the cast of The Simpsons in Roland Emmerich's 1998 version which truly puts the "disaster" in "disaster movie".

Overall, I expect this new Godzilla will be one of the better action adventures of the summer. 

Edwards will be a director to watch in the future as he evokes some of the best elements of Nolan, Abrams, and Spielberg. 

B-

"The Amazing Spider-Man 2" Review

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has several individual pieces that work well on their own but never congeal into anything special.

It’s no Spider-Man 3, but “amazing” this ain’t. There's just too much going on for the film to find its focus.

Things pick up right where The Amazing Spider-Man left off.

As he balances his duties as Spider-Man with his commitments to girlfriend Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) has established himself as New York City’s greatest defender.

Yet the attention of the public, the love of his girl and the satisfaction of cleaning up the streets isn’t enough for Peter. He’s still grappling with the mystery of his parents’ disappearance, with which he makes a couple of exciting breakthroughs.

Meanwhile, other demons start creeping up in Peter’s life, such as the return of Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) and the memory of Captain Stacy (Denis Leary); the latter of which puts tension on Peter’s relationship with Gwen.

The one-on-one moments between Peter and Gwen provide ample time for the lead actors to showcase their stellar chemistry. With director Marc Webb’s keen eye for romantic comedy (he also directed 500 Days of Summer) these scenes make for some of the film’s most engaging moments.

I’d take Garfield and Stone over Tobey Maguire and Kristen Dunst any day.

If there weren't enough plotlines to follow at this point, three supervillains enter the fold. Two of them have their origins explored while one sets up the next sequel.

The shy scientist Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx) specializes in electrical engineering for Oscorp and suffers a near-fatal work injury which turns him into the villain Electro.

I had heard beforehand that Electro’s vendetta against Spider-Man was half-assed, as if he simply woke up one day and decided to squash the spider. I’m glad to say that isn't the case. His reasons for pursuing Spidey make sense.

I just wish the musical score from Hans Zimmer and his “Magnificent Six” (among them Pharrell Williams) didn’t feature vocals that awkwardly mimic the dialogue between the two on their first encounter in Times Square (“He lied to me”/”That Spider-Man”/”He is my enemy!”).

No kidding, Sherlock.

For me, this detracted from the visceral impact of the big Times Square-off, despite the scene looking dazzling in terms of visual effects.

As for Harry Osborn, his psychosis is much more fleshed out here than it was in Sam Raimi’s original trilogy. We understand exactly what Harry’s emotional state is, why he feels that way, and why he too harbors a grudge against Spider-Man. As he showed in “Chronicle,” DeHaan is an actor who’s capable of making that “young villain from a dark place” thing convincing.

The look of his Green Goblin is also way more terrifying than Willem Dafoe’s Power Ranger suit in the original “Spider-Man.”

Aleksei Sytsevich a.k.a. “Rhino” (Paul Giamatti) has about two minutes of total screen time as a bookending villain. His only real service to the narrative is to set up “The Amazing Spider-Man 3.”

It isn't exactly villain overload that kills “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” nor is it the film’s exceedingly campy nature. It’s a comic book movie, for heaven’s sake.

There are lots of moving pieces that are outstanding by themselves. Action scenes are well-staged. The chemistry between the cast is infectious.

The narrative is just one of the most unfocused in Spidey’s cinematic history. As such, it makes the entire production difficult to digest. 

C+

"Transcendence" Review

From executive producer Christopher Nolan, Transcendence marks the directorial debut of Oscar-winning cinematographer Wally Pfister.

Like his work on Inception and the Dark Knight films, Pfister’s dark, brooding visual style translates well to his directorial efforts.

It’s just sad that the pretty pictures are so weakly supported by a poorly-executed story.

Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) and his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) hope to achieve a better, healthier, more tranquil world. To do that, they team up with colleague Max Waters (Paul Bettany) to build an omniscient, self-aware, artificial intelligence that can transcend the abilities of the human brain.

It’s no spoiler that Will ends up victim to a terrorist group who will stop at nothing to assure this dream is never realized. As Will’s health deteriorates, Evelyn and Max decide to upload his consciousness to a computer. Little do they realize that they've just given him the greatest gift of his life – to act as the intelligent force behind the world’s first omniscient supercomputer. As his power continues to grow, Will soon poses a threat to the entire world.

Surprisingly, there are never any news reports depicting the effects of Caster’s work, so we never quite understand how palpable that threat really is. It feels too isolated to actually be a credible, worldwide hazard.

First-time scribe Jack Paglen still offers plenty of food for thought with weighty concepts that don’t seem all that far away from our own future. With such heavy themes regarding the “God complex” and artificial intelligence, I’m surprised that this story isn't directly based on previously-published source material. It feels fresh from the pages of Isaac Asimov or Philip K. Dick.

Paglen offers a concept that’s diverting enough and will certainly spurn conversations about what the future of technology might look like.

However, the script feels too cluttered with painfully awkward dialogue and underdeveloped characters.  A few scenes with Depp and Hall feel as if they were cut short before the exchange could conclude.

There are never any lighthearted moments, either. In a science fiction film entirely devoid of even one chuckle, this makes the chemistry between the characters feel muddled and otherwise forced.

Then you have Morgan Freeman as Dr. Joseph Tagger – another colleague of Will and Evelyn’s. In hindsight I have no clue what his purpose in the movie is. I suppose he aids Agent Buchanan (Cillian Murphy) as they try to discover how the terrorists who attacked Caster operate.

I will say that it’s refreshing to see Depp take on a role that doesn't require hours in the makeup chair. As Dr. Caster, he reminds us that he can truly act in something outside of a twisted Tim Burton fantasy.

Kate Mara also stars as the leader of R.I.F.T, the anti-technology organization that knocks off the good doctor. Her character here is pretty much the antithesis of Zoe Barnes in House of Cards. This makes for a fun flip in dynamic for the actress.

It’s got all the trappings of an exceptional sci-fi thriller, but the big concepts feel undercooked in Transcendence.

D+

"The Grand Budapest Hotel" Review

The Grand Budapest Hotel is more than just another entry into Wes Anderson’s cache of quirky comedies.

It’s a tremendous caper with hilarity, heart, and mayhem bursting at the seams. Its darker elements, though seemingly uncouth for an Anderson film, evoke shades of the Coen brothers.

For those unfamiliar with Anderson, it’s worth noting that he has a very distinct visual style in all his films. GBH is no exception.

There’s always an actor or vertically-positioned prop defining the very center of the frame. He uses lots of vibrant colors – in this case mostly pink, red, purple, and grey.

Anderson also utilizes lots of flat space, and his shots are mostly middle, symmetrical shots with an occasional swish pan or zoom to another flat, middle shot.

That kind of camerawork, along with Anderson’s propensity for practical visual effects and painted sets, creates a very unique filmgoing experience for the audience.

Such deliberate whimsy makes it feel as though you’re watching a live stage comedy or even one of the early works of French filmmaker Georges Méliès.

This kind of vibrant visual style isn't for everyone. Fans of Anderson’s work will cherish this film as a masterpiece. If GBH is your first rodeo, you may not appreciate it as much. However this is only the second of his films I've seen, and I loved it.

The story of GBH is told in chapters, with each profiling specific characters and events relevant to the plot.

The entire thing is told in this Inception-like fashion where a girl from the present day sits down to read a book titled “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” As she reads, the book’s author (Tom Wilkinson) gives an introductory narration in the mid-1980s. From there the voice switches to the author’s younger self (Jude Law) in the 1960s when he visits the hotel and speaks with its proprietor Mr. Zero Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham). The yarn that Moustafa recants is his coming-of-age story as a young lobby boy in the 1930s (Tony Revolori) who plays apprentice to the hotel’s legendary concierge Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes).

When Gustave and Zero steal a famous painting from a deceased widow (Tilda Swinton), her son (Adrien Brody) and a hitman (Willem Dafoe) team up to bring them to justice.

The narrative style works well enough. You almost forget it’s a huge flashback or that a girl is sitting reading the entire story in a book the whole time.

Dafoe’s hitman makes for the majority of the film’s darker moments with grotesque images nearly always springing up in his wake. Although he's still silly enough to keep the lighthearted tone consistent throughout.

Riotously quirky performances from Fiennes and Revolori stand out from a star-studded cast which also includes Harvey Kietel, Jeff Goldblum, and Edward Norton among other big names.

The film’s only major disappointment is to see classic Anderson players like Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman reserved to only a few minutes, if not seconds, of screen time each.

Anyone looking to escape the usual trappings of mainstream Hollywood blockbusters should book an extended stay at The Grand Budapest Hotel.

A

"The Raid 2" Review

There's no "redemption" for the disappointing Raid 2.

In 2012, Welsh-born filmmaker Gareth Evans reinvented the action movie with The Raid: Redemption – an Indonesian martial arts film heralded for its brutal action sequences.

Its sequel – appropriately, The Raid 2 – was touted as The Godfather, part II of action movies by critics and audiences who had seen advance screenings at the Sundance Film Festival.

That kind of hype is a tall order to live up to.

It pains me that I bought into it because the film turned out to be another victim of “sequel syndrome.” That’s when a filmmaker tries to repeat initial success by making the next one bigger and badder. In turn, the sequel loses sight of what made its predecessor so fantastic.

The first Raid was a taut, focused thriller that relied on visceral, hand-to-hand combat and gunplay to generate thrills. There were no complicated subplots, and no overload on character development – just good, old fashioned ass-kicking from start to finish.

The Raid 2 starts two hours after the end of Redemption. Our hero, Rama (Iko Uwais), is sent undercover to infiltrate an organized crime syndicate. We assume the syndicate is the same that the villain from the first film was working for. The synopsis for The Raid 2 on IMDb also suggests that Rama sets out to uncover corruption within his police force, but I didn't catch any of that. It would've been way more interesting with police corruption in it.

As it stands, Evans tries to add some depth to his colorful cast of characters, which is okay. It’s clear that he wanted to up the scope from a single apartment building to an entire city, and I admire him for wanting to take risks with the narrative.

Besides, if your hero makes quick work of a single high-rise, who wouldn't want to see how he fares against a whole city full of thugs?

Where “The Raid 2” suffers is with its high number of central characters. Evans spends too much time trying to develop irrelevant characters with bland dialogue. That’s why the movie is about 45 minutes too long. (It’s two and a half hours altogether!)

What also pissed me off was the fact that Evans used Yayan Ruhian in both movies. Fans know that his character suffered a grisly fate at the end of The Raid: Redemption. It’s a confusing surprise to see the actor return as a different character in The Raid 2. I just kept thinking, “What the hell is he doing here??? If he honestly survived the first movie, I quit.”

Clearly Evans likes Ruhian. I suppose the director wanted to keep him around for his excellent fight choreography.

The niche audience of testosterone-fueled teenage boys and adrenaline-crazed girls that sits down to watch The Raid does so to see some of the finest fight sequences ever committed to film.

Both movies have plenty of that. Uwais and Ruhian are masters of “silat,” a method of Indonesian martial arts. Their fast-paced moves and Evans’ top-notch editing make this franchise’s action scenes worth the price of admission. The new sequel is just bogged down by too much exposition to recommend over its predecessor.

C-

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" Review

As the 9th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one might expect "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" to be just another stale superhero flick.

That kind of estimation couldn't be further from the truth.

"Winter Soldier" is exactly the post-"Avengers" kick that this franchise badly needed. Dare I say it’s even better than "The Avengers"?

As Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) continues to realize his place in the digital age, he and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) make a shocking discovery that rocks S.H.I.E.L.D. to its core. As demons arise from Steve’s past, the line between friend and foe becomes blurred. One of those “demons” is a master assassin known as “the Winter Soldier.” His mission, simply, is to eliminate Captain America, but there’s a grander scheme afoot that slowly reveals itself through a series of twists and turns.

Directors Anthony & Joe Russo (perhaps best known for their work directing episodes of "Community" and "Arrested Development") ditch tired CGI spectacle in favor of hard-driving, old-school action.  As such, it's quite unlike any superhero flick to come along in the past few years.

The story from series vets Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely plays like a gritty espionage thriller in keeping with the recent James Bond incarnations, Bourne films, and even genre classics like “The French Connection”. Some action sequences and themes of techno-paranoia (a la WikiLeaks) made me think that “Winter Soldier” could be as close as Marvel ever gets to Christopher Nolan’s take on Captain America.

Chris Evans’ portrayal of the First Avenger feels bone-deep throughout the film. He has the perfect look and understands that this is a character who is stalwart in his values. This makes Cap easy to sympathize with – perhaps in this situation more than most because he finds himself facing a new threat that isn't made in a laboratory or from outer space.

Anthony Mackie makes his Marvel debut as Falcon – one of the few people Cap can trust on his most daunting mission yet. Mackie is a perfect casting choice, and I can’t wait to see what he brings to the table in future installments.

There are lots of characters in “Winter Soldier”, so it isn’t surprising that some among them feel slightly underutilized, especially Batroc the Leaper (Georges St. Pierre). He’s a big baddie in comic book lore and is good for one badass fight scene at the film’s opening. 

There's also a sweetly nostalgic scene with Steve at the bedside of an ailing Peggy Carter (Haley Atwell) asking for advice. I appreciate the throwback, but Atwell is masked by a load of gaudy makeup to give her an aged appearance. She's tough to take seriously, but I still would've liked to see this dynamic explored again, even if just for that dance Steve agreed to 70 years earlier. I don't care if it's in the lobby of the retirement home.

At nearly two and a half hours in run time, the movie is a bit overlong anyway. The writers' decision to abandon these subplots is probably a smart one.

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” features much that fanboys and newcomers alike should be excited about. Fans will enjoy the allusions to other films and characters, as well as a change in dynamic for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Newbies will stay for the breathless action sequences and riveting spy-thriller themes.

Alas, the real “marvel” is that “Winter Soldier” is the studio’s finest stand-alone effort since the first “Iron Man” and one of the best superhero films in recent memory.

A