"Pete's Dragon" (2016) Review

Continuing their series of big-budget reboots of back-catalog classics, Disney now brings us an update of the 1977 classic Pete's Dragon. Directed by David Lowery (Ain't Them Bodies Saints), the new film dares its audience to dream big. Although the classic music has been axed, the story is still as heartwarming as you remember, with dazzling visual effects to boot.

A young boy named Pete (Oakes Fegley) becomes stranded in the forest following a violent car accident. With no way of reaching home, Pete's only option is to try to make his way in the forest. Fortunately, he bumps into a legendary creature who becomes his best friend - a dragon named Elliot. When Elliot's way of life is threatened by a local logging company, Pete sets out to save his friend with the help of a nurturing park ranger (Bryce Dallas Howard), her imaginative father (Robert Redford), and a young girl named Natalie (Oona Laurence).

Pete's Dragon is the kind of film that celebrates and rewards imagination. They set up Redford's character as a man who claims to have seen the dragon when he was young, having told stories to his daughter and the rest of the kids in town for years. The payoff is so sweet when Elliot reveals himself to them for the first time as it feels like the climax of these characters' entire lives. It's a confirmation that they haven't been crazy for the past 40 years. It's easy to think that Redford is playing a now grown-up version of the original Pete from the earlier movie. That would've been an interesting subplot to explore in this new movie, but alas, hindsight is 20/20. It's still a wonderful film, and Redford is a welcome addition to the cast.

Bryce Dallas Howard hands in another fine performance as Grace, the ranger who takes Pete in. Wes Bentley fares fine in a supporting role as Jack, Grace's fiance and owner of the logging company. He just doesn't have much to do that allows him to show the chops he's honed in excellent recent stints on TV's American Horror Story. The child actors, Fegley and Laurence, are tremendous, hitting all of their needed emotional beats like seasoned pros. Karl Urban steals nearly every scene he's in as Jack's hotheaded brother Gavin, who manages the logging company. Gavin is a skeptic, so it's hilarious when he finally encounters Elliot in the forest. He winds up playing the villain role but isn't necessarily evil, which is kind of interesting. The biggest villain in this story is, I think, deforestation itself, and Gavin is just a representation of that.

The film leaves us with a sweet "save the trees, save your imagination" message that's so classic Disney that it's almost painful. Everything is tied up in a nice little bow, which is fine. It's nice to have a big, but self-contained, movie that doesn't feel like it's a stepping stone to a wider franchise. At the end of a summer filled with so-so blockbusters, Pete's Dragon is the savior you've been waiting for.

A

"The BFG" Review

From Disney and the creative team behind E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial comes a fun-yet-flawed live-action adaptation of author Roald Dahl's beloved children's novel The BFG. 

Young Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) is a mischievous orphan living in London. One night, she's awakened by strange noises outside her window. Little does she realize that a giant (Mark Rylance) is lurking out in the street. Because he fears that she'll alert the world to his existence, the giant whisks her away to "the land of the giants." There, Sophie discovers that her kidnapper is a warm, cheerful soul who refuses to eat children. For this reason Sophie bestows on him the name "Big Friendly Giant," or "BFG" for short. Meanwhile, the BFG's kindness is mocked by the other, bigger giants living nearby. They oppress and bully him because he is different. To put an end to it, Sophie decides that they must enlist the help of the British Armed Forces; a decision which prompts some the film's most entertaining sequences. All I'll say is that a certain monarch may want to check her shorts...

Few filmmakers have the ability to use the medium to tap into our innate sense of enchantment the way Steven Spielberg does. His version of London feels tangible despite the production design looking like a cross between both the real thing and Harry Potter. The visuals effects are dynamite, from the rendering of the giant's realm itself to Rylance's incredible performance capture. There's also a dazzling sequence at the "tree of dreams" where the BFG and Sophie go to harvest thoughts both good and bad.

While everything looks great and does well to suck us into the fantasy world of the story, The BFG lacks the emotional staying power of, say, E.T. It feels like it all builds to something of a half-climax, one that doesn't necessarily constitute a satisfying conclusion to an entire film. It just ends so matter-of-factly and with such a neat little bow tied around it that you'll probably see it and then forget it even existed by the time it hits Blu-ray this fall. Nothing about it sticks with you. That said, The BFG is excellent summer entertainment for children. It's a beautifully made kid's movie, but as Disney and Pixar have shown us before, the best of the best kid's movies have adult appeal too. Unlike some of Spielberg's previous work, you probably won't see grown men crying over this one at the 30th Anniversary screening one day. All The BFG is is a sweet, harmless little diversion. Maybe that's all it really needed to be. Just take the family, and enjoy the ride while it lasts.

B-

"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" Review

Remember over the past year and a half how butthurt everyone on the Internet was towards everything Batman v Superman? From Ben Affleck's casting as Batman to Wonder Woman's brown outfit to the poorly-edited trailer revealing Doomsday last December, it's been a rocky road for the Man of Steel sequel to everyone on the outside looking in.

Well, the official word is finally in, folks: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a good movie. So good, in fact, that the R-rated Blu-ray should be a confident purchase ahead of Suicide Squad this August.

Unlike its predecessor, BvS tells an engaging story that actually seems to take precedent over the huge set pieces and visual effects. Writer Chris Terrio (Argo) may just be the best asset Warner and DC have at this point. He joins David S. Goyer (Man of Steel, the Blade series) on the screenplay.

The film picks up precisely where Man of Steel leaves off. We see Bruce Wayne (Affleck) rushing into Metropolis to try and save friends and employees from the Wayne Financial building which collapses as the fight between Superman (Henry Cavill) and General Zod (Michael Shannon) transpires. With scores dead and one of America's greatest cities razed, Bruce and many others fear for the world's safety if Superman's powers are left unchecked. Still, most of the world sees Superman as a figure of hope, perhaps even a deity. Leading the crusade to govern this "god" is Senator June Finch (Holly Hunter) of Kentucky. She works closely with Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) and is instrumental in allowing Lexcorp to import a rock of kryptonite from a wrecked ship in the Indian Ocean. All the while, Batman puts his detective skills to the test as he tries to understand his rival and the larger universe he represents. Circumstances eventually force Batman and Superman to confront each other one-on-one in a showdown for the ages. When a larger threat arises, the two set aside their differences and are joined by Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) for one last titanic struggle. Miraculously, it's one that doesn't put as many innocent bystanders in jeopardy. Thank God.

There's a lot going on, but somehow it all feels pretty well-balanced. Credit the writers and director Zack Snyder's confident hand in juggling the action and characters in service of the larger story. There aren't many instances where it feels as if we're going on an unnecessary tangent, a la The Amazing Spider-Man 2. It's probably safe to assume that the 3-hour "director's cut" will have more self-indulgent sequences, but for now we can't judge the whole film on what we haven't seen.

Not all of the heavy emotional beats land how they should, and overall the tone may be too dark for those more accustomed to the lightheartedness of Marvel's films. However, BvS still has more emotional complexity than most everything Marvel has produced this side of Netflix.

If you're curious about how the apparently dubious casting decisions panned out, cautious optimists should be pleased. Affleck is a better Batman than Christian Bale, and Gadot surprises as Wonder Woman despite little screen time. Although, I'm more curious than confident to see how she handles her first huge leading role in Patty Jenkins' solo feature in 2017. Eisenberg is terrific but not as Lex Luthor. His squirrelly mannerisms and boyish voice would make him an excellent Riddler. He's tough to buy as Lex despite a committed turn.

I was concerned that there would be too many important characters vying for screen time and that nothing would ultimately make sense in BvS.

I've never been so happy to be proven wrong.

After seeing the film, Warner Brothers' spotty marketing may, in fact, be the stuff of genius. Lex Luthor himself couldn't have hatched a better scheme: temper expectations just enough so that the audience can be nothing but pleasantly surprised, and if they're let down, then it's not a far fall.

After all, hindsight - or is it X-ray vision? - is 20/20.

B+

"Gods of Egypt" Review

Gods of Egypt is an action/fantasy film from director Alex Proyas (The Crow, I, Robot) and stars far too many miscast actors - including Gerard Butler, Brenton Thwaites, Geoffrey Rush, and "Game of Thrones'" Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Even Chadwick Boseman - one of the film's two ethnically appropriate actors - is forced to try on a British accent to woefully awkward avail. Elodie Yung is the only hope for accurate representation as Hathor, the goddess of love. She's great, and the rest of the cast are as good as they can be even if it is difficult to take anything, or anyone, from this bonkers production seriously.

Regardless of the talent involved, this kind of casting really isn't okay. Perhaps Gerard Butler is an easier sell as the lead of a blockbuster action film than, say, a guy like Naveen Andrews (Sayid from ABC's "Lost"), but that's the problem. Would the general public reject the film if Naveen were in the lead role? Somehow I doubt it, as long as the film's decent. Gods of Egypt offers a small handful of mindless pleasures, but let's just say the whitewashing is only the beginning of this film's problems.

The story kicks off when the angry god Set (Butler) usurps Horus (Coster-Waldau) on the day of his coronation, blinds him, and banishes him to exile. Set takes up the throne and rules by fear, pain and darkness. A mortal thief, Bek (Thwaites), seeks Horus's aide in a bid to save the woman he loves (Courtney Eaton) from death under Set's watch. This alliance between god and man begets an action-packed journey in which the heroes encounter several other gods of Egyptian legend, including Ra (Rush), Thoth (Boseman), Hathor (Yung) and Anubis (Goran D. Kleut) among others.

It looks and sounds a lot like a corny Clash of the Titans setup, but it actually ends up being a decent plot for a popcorn flick with little expectations.

It's important to realize that this tale is rooted entirely in fantasy and that none of it is meant to be taken as a serious interpretation of Egyptian history or folklore - however you like it. Some audience members at my screening found it easier to see past the whitewashing by acknowledging this.

On that note, the fantastical adventure of a film like Gods of Egypt demands spectacular set pieces and rich visuals. Some of the fight scenes are pretty intense, but the CGI landscapes and settings in which the action takes place look atrocious. For a film with a budget north of $140 million, you'd think they could afford cleaner green-screen rendering. Some sequences look so bad that they may actually be incomplete, including a scene where Bek and Zaya (Eaton) escape Set's palace by chariot and also in a later scene where Bek and Horus face two giant cobras in the deserted garden.

Gods of Egypt tries desperately to be a worthwhile diversion but lacks the heart to be considered "good" mindless entertainment. The message is a bit too iffy in the end. Combined with all the film's other glaring issues, as such it's certainly possible to find better "mindless entertainment."

D+