Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

      As a young child there were many toys that I truly loved -  He-Man, Transformers, GI Joe and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Of all of those recent movies have been released except for He-Man and I am awaiting that one with high hopes.  The Turtles though were something that I found a true liking and of course the closest that I could relate.  They were of course teenagers and loved pizza.  So what if they lived in a sewer and probably smelled bad, I could never get enough of the cartoons or the toys and was completely amazed when the original movie came out.  It was actually well done.  Although the original April O'Neil wasn't my favorite, she kind of grew on you.  After a few sequels and cartoon movies, I had thought the franchise was doomed.  But in today's Hollywood, any movie out there is up for "re-imagination".  I am glad they are re-inventing the turtles though.  They needed an edgier look and of course with today's special effects and CGI what better way than to include the TMNTs. 

      I was a little worried because I had heard Michael Bay was in charge of this one.  Luckily for the Turtle fans out there Bay wasn't the director and was pretty much a Co-Producer.  Apparently he is busy working on how to screw up another Transformer movie.  Some people don't like Megan Fox but in the role of April O'Neil, she did a great job. April is a little on the corny side and well what teenager wouldn't look at her and fall for those good looks.  The Turtles are teenagers after all.  The only draw back to this movie was the character development in shredder.  There wasn't any at all.  He was kind of a side note and the only thing that made him even remotely cool was a metallic Samurai Iron Man suit.  It was interesting but a little too much.  Will Arnet Plays a great goofball and William Fichtner plays a great bad guy.  I actually wish they would have made Fichtner Shredder.  It would have actually made some sense but then again, who am I to say how Hollywood should make a movie?  I don't even get paid to write these reviews. 

    I can tell that this wasn't Michael Bay because there weren't as many explosions as one could expect out of one of his movies.  Yet, if you know his movies you can see the humor and use of actions that equate to a Bay movie.  Other than those undertones the movie has a pretty good pace.  The action scenes come often and one can throw in a good laugh track.   The graphics are great.  It is nice seeing the turtles as beefed up wrecking machines.  There is violence but in order to keep the PG-13 rating there isn't any gore.

     I would recommend this  movie to all the Turtle fans out there.  Even if you think you might be dissapointed by the lack of Fan Boy love, it still does the Turtles justice.  Children 9 and above shouldn't have too much of a problem watching it either.  Although some of the scenes can be a little scarrier for the younger ones.  The comedy does suit the younger crowd.  Unlike Guardians of the Galaxy the comedy here is geared to the young ones.  If you have no love of the TMNT or any kind of action flick and just want to cuddle to a honey, stay away from this one.  If you are one of us that grew up watching them in cartoon form in one way or the other, you won't be too dissapointed, and some of you may actually end up enjoying it more than you thought possible.

Guardians of the Galaxy

     I wouldn't say I am an avid comic book reader, although I do have a few in my collection.  I am however, an avid super hero fan and I knew of the Guardians characters from watching cartoons.  I always enjoyed the characters but the screen time in the shows were always limited to a few episodes and cameos.  I have heard that Marvel took a chance on making the Guardians movie, but right now I think Marvel is on top of its game.  It is the age of the super hero right now.  Although I believe that age started with the advent of Superman, Batman, and Spiderman and has continued on, but for movie sake, it doesn't get any better than the present.  Guardians of the Galaxy is a shot of adrenaline in an already speed induced super hero market.  The lesser known characters of Starlord, Groot, Gamora, Drax and of course the gunwielding racoon, Rocket, are a very interesting introduction to this market.  You may not know much of these characters.  The comics weren't well known and fairly short lived, but after watching this movie, you will want to know more.  I am pretty sure that Marvel will be releasing some new comics and possibly cartoons that help us delve more into the characters, and of course I don't think this will be the last we see of the Guardians on the silver screen.

    Chris Pratt plays Peter Quill a.k.a. Starlord and he does a good job of being the pretentious, self involved ladies man, who even though he seems to be looking out for number one, becomes the leader of a rag-tag group of misfits.  Zoe Saldean does a good job as a brooding assasin and even Dave Bautista of WWE fame does a great acting job.  Bradley Cooper as Rocket was pure genius and even Vin Diesel playing a part truly meant for him as the voice of Groot.  Groot only says three words the whole movie but in a way that oddly makes sense.  Overall the acting was great for this type of film.  There are a lot of points in this movie that the avid comic person will actually like and really take notice of.  Thanos for one is going to be a big character in upcoming films and it was interesting to finally get to see how
    The overall pace of the movie is fast.  The plot is actually well done and keeps you involved.  Amazingly (and here Michael Bay needs to take notes) the comedy in the movie actually flows with the action and the dialogue.  The action itself is non-stop.  There is always something going on.  You even truly hate the bad guy, who does a great job of being the bad guy.  I think the biggest downfall of the movie is the obscurity of the characters, but that can also be the greatest part of this.  Most people don't know them and will be able to enjoy the movie without nitpicking all the small things that can ruin a movie for the more avid or even part-time fans.
    Overall I would say that everyone should go see this movie.  I don't and won't say that very often but there is so much to offer for all movie types.  If you love action, great, if you love comedy, great, if you love sci-fi, great, if you want romance, well maybe a little, talking animals, great, even talking plants, that was covered.  There are explosions, violence and some language throughout.  The humor is more for the adults but thankfully the younger crowd won't understand the crudeness.  I would say keep this to a more mature child range.  The talking racoon may be cute but he is the crudest of them all.  If you are looking for the summer smash hit, then here it is.  It is a Hollywood big bangs, big action film but well done.  If you want nothing but drama then stay away from this movie but if you love comics and everything super hero then this is the movie for you.

Noah

 

I love to watch movies in the theatre.  The whole experience is mesmerising to me.  A giant screen showing larger than life images of every imagineable situation possible.  I am also a graphics nerd and the bigger and better the CGI the more likely I will enjoy a show.  But, there is occasion where I would rather skip the theatre and just sit down and watch the movie at home.   Those would be the more involved thought provoking movies that I can rewind to rewatch a scene, or the romantic comedies that I can curl up with wife and enjoy the night, or that I just didn't feel warranted a big screen review.  It is the main reason why I have a Netflix subscription.  Well, for the movies and it keeps my children occupied watching cartoon reruns.  I decided therefore to write a review of a movie that was released earlier this year but I was unable to watch at the theatre.  I didn't feel a strong desire to watch Noah when released but was curious as to how Hollywood would interpret a book that has possibly sold more copies than any other book known to man.  I am a fairly religious person and know the story of Noah and the Ark.  I do admit that I had to sit down and re-read the story to "fact check" some of the finer points in the movie.  I would say that Hollywood has taken a huge literal interpretive stick to this movie.  The basics of the story are there; men are wicked, Noah builds an ark, animals fill the ark, earth is flooded, everyone dies, and olive branch.  The writers of this script  took many liberties with their thoughts and may have put what I call the "Hollywood Touch" to a story.  I find it amazing that the story of Noah isn't a huge epic scrawling tome of novels, it actually covers only a few pages.  Why then does Hollywood feel the need to make things a little weird?  Only way I can explain that is... It's Hollywood.

I actually think if one is able to set aside the actual story and watch this movie with a disregard to any religious afiliation or even think of it as a good Fantasy story then the movie itself is a good watch.  Russell Crowe plays Noah and Jennifer Connely plays Naameh, Noah's Wife.  The acting is very well done and the effects are actually pretty good.  I was amazed that they were able to take CGI and make it actually look like stop motion.

I woud recommend this to anyone that is able to look past the actual story and watch a movie that has some pretty good CGI and some decent action to it.  The pace of the movie flows and keeps one engaged.  If you are easily offended by someone's interpretation of biblical stories whether wrong or right, then this one isn't for you.  I would also say it isn't for the younger children, it is dark and can be violent at times.  I would agree with the rating and keep it above the 13 year old threshold.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

I decided that I was going to take a break from the big explosion, action adventure, CGI laden movie and watch something with a little less, and then I saw Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.  This is a continuation of the more updated Planet of the Apes and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  This movie is set in a future in which most of the human population has been wiped off the earth and the apes are taking control. It is nice to see a more modern look on the series and with a complete and utterly needed retelling of the classic.  I was a big fan of the original shows, even with the cheesey costumes.  It is nice to see modern CGI that can make humanistic apes seem completely realistic.  The only thing that makes me excited about movies is if this is where we are at above and beyond 20 years ago, what is the next step 20 years from now.  I honestly look forward to seeing some amazing things from the film industry in the upcoming future. 

Ceasar returns in this movie as the leader of a group of isolated apes living in Northern California.  The movie takes place about five years after Rise.  The human population has been decimated by the simian flu and the apes are thriving with their new found brain power.  Although a little slow in the beginning due to story development, the pace does quickly pick up.  There is an emotional attachment not only to the humans but to the apes as well.  The human characteristics are evident throughout and helps one empathize and sympathize with a lot of the hardships they must endure. 

There is a dark tone throughout the movie and does have some strong violent scenes.  The apes are extremely realistic looking and would make anyone think twice before messing with one.  There are a few spots of comedy in the movie but the overall theme is very dramatic.  I was impressed that more of the story revolved around the apes and didn't completely center on the human issues.  There are a lot of lessons that can be gleamed from paying attention to the suttle undertones. 

I would reccomend this to anyone who enjoyed the first series.  There is a some great action scenes and the violence, though not bloody, can be intense at times.  If you enjoy movies about animals, a great plot line, and gun welding apes riding destria, the this is the movie for you.  There is even a little bit of a love story in it.  I don't reccomend this for the younger crowd because of the violence and dark tones.  Recommended age would be twelve and up and that would also depend on the childs maturity level.  This is not a dating movie, but feel free to take your spouse or long time relation to this movie.  Stay clear if you are looking for happy, romantic, feeling movies, this one is dark pretty much from the beginning to the end.

Transformers: Age of Extinction

 Long ago in a time not so distant I sat, more than likely in my He-Man underwear, eating a bowl of cereal watching one of the most amazing cartoons of all time.  My brother and I would sit mesmerised soaking in every single bit of Transformer glory that we could.  Who wouldn't love giant robots that transform into different objects.  Michael Bay is at it again with all new bots and even new actors.  Mark Wahlberg has replaced Shia Labeouf and most people think this is a good thing.  There is a new threat for the autobots and the decipticons aren't the main bad guys.   A new evil has arisen along with some human assistance in the form of a very nasty Kelsey Grammar, who can play a very nasty bad guy. Also being introduced, to my childlike giddy pleasure, are the dinobots.  Giant dinosaur robots!  The only thing I could wish would be that I was a child again so that I can see this type of movie through the mind of a hyper-imaginative child.  Most of my childhood loves all in one movie and in awesome graphics. It would be a small slice of Heaven.

This is a movie about Transformers that was made by Michael Bay. I wish that the reigns would be handed over to someone like Joss Whedon or even Christopher Nolan, but we are stuck with Bay and at least we know we will get huge explosions, of which there are plenty. Autobots are now being hunted by humans with the aid of an extraterrestrial robot that is after Optimus Prime's    Spark. The plot does take a long time to figure out and the beginning of the movie does seem to drag. When the action begins though, it doesn't slow down for long.

 

There is a tone of humor early in the movie, and splattered through out.  It is a Michael Bay type of humor and may be lost on the younger crowds.  The movie is long and does drag in a few spots which is trying to fill in some plot gaps left from the previous films.  Overall the acting was decent.  This is a movie about giant robots so there can't be too many complaints about the human element and the acting or lack thereof.

 

I would recommend this movie to those that truly love the Transformers.  To the people like me that grew up watching the Autobots battle the Decipticons on Saturday mornings.  There are a lot of explosions and amazingly some death does occur.  Despite the destruction and violent nature I would say that if you have a child that is even remotely interested in robots or dinosaurs then this is a good choice for them.  Don't go to watch this movie hoping for a great plot or superb acting.  Don't even watch it for a good story.  Go to watch this movie knowing that you will see Optimus riding a dinosaur robot like a wild horse and leave reality behind.

22 Jump Street

  I decided that I needed to bust out of the shell of action or sci-fi movies and break into something a little different.  Well there is action in this flick but it is more of a comedy than action show.  It was a nice break from the overly digitalized CGI affairs that I have recented as of late.  I do enjoy a good comedy though, and of course how can you go wrong with a sequel to the 2012 Remake of 21 Jump Street.  I was not dissapointed as to the comedic aspect of the movie.  It is nice to see that big movie budgets aren't only spent of CGI oriented outings, but it would be nice to get a little more original with movie ideas.  The execs in Hollywood do seem to be grasping at straws more and more trying to find something that will sell instead of producing movies that are original.  There can be a whole other article about sequels and the unecessary greed that is the cause of them but I do not feel I need to digress to those levels at this time.  As sequels go, this particular one does not fall completely flat.  There are some good points in the movie but if you want to know more, just read on.

 

In the sequel we see a return of Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum reprising the roles of Schmitt and Jenko.  This time around the awkward duo get to be undercover at college.  The movie pokes a loto fun at itself.  There is even a girl that makes fun of Schmitt's (Jonah Hill) apparent age.  There is no lack of jokes and some of the gags seem to be a little forced.  The acting is not the best in the world even for Jona Hill.  Some of the scenes seem a little forced and of course weighing in a little heavy on the goofy side.  That is exactly what one would expect from this type of movie though.

 

The tone throughout is lite and funny.  There are a few gut busting hilarious moments.  The story and plot line is a little predictable with a decent twist in the end.  Nothing that would be hard to figure out if you really pay attention.  The story does focus a little more on the relationship between Schmitt and Jenko and that has some funny moments to it as well. 

 

Overall I would say this is an adequate summer feel good movie.  There is a good bit of laughter and one can take a long time date to see this movie.  I don't recommend it for a first date but certaintly for those that are looking for a more light hearted movie.  It is great for the guys and girls.  Plenty of Channing Tatum to look at for the girls and lots of goof for the guys.  I do not recommend this one for children under 16.  The language is barely suitable for most adults.  If you are looking for a funny break from the graphics hardened world and want to just go into a mindless meld, then this show is for you.  If you are easily offended by language and crude humor then look for something else.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

If you haven't had the opportunity to jump on the Marvel band wagon do so now.  I mean that seriously.  They are raking in the dough with all of their movies.  This is the era of the comic books and even though some of DC's stuff is good, Marvel has the market cornered completely.  This new installation of X-Men brings back a lot of the old characters we saw have a not so great demise in one of the not so great previous installations.  This is a good thing actually.  The new movie has done pretty much what has happened to the Star Trek franchise and reset the timeline.  Thank GOODNESS.  With the new way of super hero movies coming out (refer to all my past hero movie reviews) being darker and more edgier, I think the producers and directors have finally realized that more is not always better. 

This is a Marvel Super Hero movie.  Though there are going to be a huge list of "Hollywood Sins", it was fairly well done.  We get to see a lot of the old characters return.  They return not only as their old incantations but as the younger and more attractive models as well.  It is also nice to see some new faces.  Amazingly enough I was surprised at how much I liked Quicksilver.  Before the movie even came out there was a lot of backlash over his character but after watching the movie he quickly became one of my favorite characters.  I actually found myself wanting to see more of what he could do.  Peter Dinklage also has a nice role in the movie too.  For all of you GOT fans it was interesting to see him in another role.

The movie itself has a much darker tone than some of its predecessors.  Again going back to what is actually popular and what more people want to see - hyper-realism.  It is an action film as well, with lots of unbelievable explosions and it even has giant robots.  There is death in the movie but not a lot of blood and there are a few curse words.  The movie had to maintain its PG-13 rating.  There is a pretty good life struggle story that tries to develop some of the characters and make them seem more humanistic and to help us understand their motives and emotions.

I highly reccomend this to all the X-Men fans out there.  The series has returned in a great way and is now paving roads to hopefully a new outlook.  Who knows for sure though?  I would avoid this with smaller children.  The death and explosions can be a little much.  They might also not get a lot of the darker tones.  They will laugh at some of the lighter bits but those are very few indeed.  If you are looking for a romantic comedy or even a more thought provoking outlook on life then this isn't your cup of tea.  This movie is about Mutants and the super powers geeks like me wish we had.

Godzilla (2014)

I literally walked around for a week before watching this movie saying Godzira.   I grew up loving the old Godzilla shows with a small passion.  I was a fiend for the special effects, even if it was just a man in a lizard suit jumping up and down on cardboard buildings.  I was able to use an imagination and think of how it actually would be like.  When I heard they were making a new one I didn’t know if I wanted to cringe because it may turn out to be a little like the other one or would it follow along the lines of today’s more darker toned movies that try to delve into hyper-realism.  Well it is Godzilla there is no true hyper-realism.  In this new outing we see Godzilla has grown to a more respectable earth shattering size.  The only thing is, this time Godzilla isn't alone.

In this Godzilla movie I think the director and writers wanted to take him back to an original format.  Godzilla is even able to span the globe and we see him in Japan and in the United States.  Little touches that show that they were trying to bring back the old style and stop creating a story line that didn't follow the original monster feel.   Other than having Godzilla himself there is another monster element that has been added.  This makes the movie feel a little less like a Godzilla movie and more of a monster flick but they do pay good homage to the big guy. 

The acting isn't bad.  It was nice to see Brian Cranston doing something after Breaking Bad and Aaron Taylor-Johnson of Kick Ass fame.  The makers of the movie do try to have more of a human element to the movie.  They make you feel as if there are true heros and true villains both in Human and in Monster forms. 

I would recommend this to anyone that grew up in the monster era of the early to mid 80's.  It is a good modern day remake of a classic.  There are a lot of inconsistencies in building destruction and location markers but does anyone watch these type of movies to find reality.  There is a lot of loud explosions and monster fighting.  I would reccomend young children stay clear for the loud noises but the young may love the monsters more than the parents.  If you don't want to see mega monsters battling it out and wreaking mass havock, then this movie is not for you. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America returns in this sequel to brighten the silver screen once again.  Marvel has found a niche in the movie going experience that is beginning to line their pockets very nicely.  And even better than that, it is a niche that is fairly fresh and not completely outdated or overdone.  Not yet anyway.  The Captain returns with a fresh new set of problems.  He doesn’t know what to do with himself in this new era of human history.  It seems that life isn’t as black and white as it was during WWII.  He now faces moral dilemmas, as well as enemies both foreign and domestic.  What is a super soldier to do?

In the sequel we get to see a spattering of the Marvel heroes including the Black Widow and Nick Fury, and of course seeing, as all the bad guys were killed off in the last movie, there are new bad guys, or are there? An addition to the story line is the Falcon.  Although the Falcon is a dumbed down version of Iron man, he does throw a little bit of a dynamic into the mix.  And thankfully here Marvel doesn’t inundate the viewer with more superhero than they can keep up with.   There are some interesting twists to the story line.  Some are completely expected and others not so much so.  It is an action flick after all.  Amazingly we get to see more of Nick Fury in this movie than in any of the other Avenger movies. It helps to be a fan of Samuel L. Jackson.

There is a lighter tone at times and even though the movie starts out at a fairly good pace it does slow down to try to get the backstory and future cast into place.  Seems like a necessary evil in movies these days.  Overall the flow of the movie is in the right direction.  The pace other than a little bit of a brief slow respite in the “near” beginning stays fairly constant.  The banter between Captain America and Black Widow throws a humorous touch and even maybe a hint of a future love interest, who knows for sure how that will end up.  There are a lot of explosions and a lot of gunfire.  Also we get to see Cap throwing his shield around and having it bounce around and boomerang right back to him.  There is a lot of violence but true to the PG-13 rating not much blood and not a lot of language.

I would recommend this one to anyone that is interested in the whole Avengers universe.  It adds another chapter to the story and continues the story line fairly well.  If you like action movies, high levels of CGI, big explosions, super hero movies and fighting scenes, then you can’t go wrong with this one.  If you are looking for the next IFC classic or for a romantic dinner date than you should probably go back and look at the choices you have made in life.  I don’t recommend this for the smaller children; the loud noises and violence may be overwhelming.  I would say 8-9 year old children especially the boys would appreciate this one, and adults can have fun with it as well.

Back at it ...

Back at the movie review thing, I am going to try to get a few of these things out there as often as I can.  I find that I love going to the movies and even though the prices have skyrocketed to unethical proportions, I don’t mind, because it is the experience that I crave.  When watching movies on screens that are taller than the average house and surrounded by complete strangers, it makes the jaunt to the movies just a little more interesting.  You really never know what you are going to get.  The unfamiliarity is part of the movie going experience.  Plus the overly priced popcorn and sodas can be nice too.  Too bad I am a penny pincher and would rather carry a bag of skittles in my pocket.  (This might be frowned upon though so I don’t recommend doing that.) 

So off to the movies I go.  The summer blockbuster period has started.  I think that this time period gets moved up every year too.  Not that I am complaining about that.  I look forward to the summer periods not only for the warm weather, but the movies tend to get a little better  and more abundant during those months.