“John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum” Movie Review

    Well I am a little behind on my updating my blog with new movie reviews this week due to a mini vacation I took to Cedar Point this week.  I have many new reviews from movies Mill Creek Entertainment provided I still need to finish and a few others I have been working on.  Still, the other day we decided to catch a movie to cap off our little vacation so we both settled on “John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum”.

    The film follows former assassin John Wick on the run after a huge bounty is placed on his head.  Assassin after assassin try to kill John Wick as he leaves New York for Casablanca to try to get his excommunicado status waived.

    Now, I really enjoyed the first film in the series but I actually have not seen the second movie yet.  The first movie caught me off guard with how well done it was and how good Keanu Reeves was in the film.  Going into this movie however, I had an idea of what to expect.  This movie delivered exactly what I expected it would, killer action.

    The film starts off with action immediately and doesn’t let up until the credits roll.  This non-stop action approach typically doesn’t work well in most cases but it actually turned out fairly well for this movie.  Much like “Mad Max: Fury Road”, the fact that you already know the character from previous installments already gives you a sense of investment in them and makes you care what happens to them at the end.  The film doesn’t have to give you room to breath as a result (although it doesn’t work as well as a stand-alone movie as a result).

    What makes the John Wick movies feel so special is that Hollywood doesn’t really make action movies like these anymore and when they do, it is usually a sequel to an 80s franchise with an aging star.  While Keanu Reeves isn’t a young man, it doesn’t look his age at all and he is still a good decade or so younger than someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone.  The film also embraces elements of noir films in it’s visual style.  This helps set it apart from many other films because it literally has a unique look of it’s own.

    Keanu Reeves once again returns to the franchise as John Wick and delivers another great performance.  Joining him on his adventure this time is Halle Berry as a woman who owed John Wick a debt that he cashed in on.  Berry does a very good job creating a character you relate to in a short amount of time.  Also joining the cast is Mark Dacascos as the main assassin after John Wick.  Dacascos’ character of Zero is both threatening and amusing because he is a bit of a John Wick fanboy and sees himself as a mirror of John Wick.  It is good to see Dacascos in a more prominent role since “Brotherhood of the Wolf” and the tv series “The Crow: Stairway to Heaven” seem like forever ago.  Stuntman Chad Stahelski directed the movie and his love for in-camera stunt work is front and center in this movie.  Interestingly, Stahelski was Brandon Lee’s stunt and body double on “The Crow”, meaning that he and Dacascos essentially played the same role in two different projects.  Rounding out the cast are returning “John Wick” stars Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane and Lance Reddick.  All three men help elevate the project from a standard action film.

    “John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum” delivers on the action and leaves you on the edge of your seat until the end.  You more than get what you paid for with this movie ticket, that’s for sure.  While I didn’t think this third chapter was as good as the first movie as far as the story, it was still a thrill ride best seen on the big screen.

Grade: B-

“Holmes & Watson” Movie Review

    Comedy is a very subjective thing.  What makes a film good is also a very subjective thing.  That being said, it seemed like almost every professional critic was in agreement on one thing, “Holmes & Watson” was hot garbage, a dumpster fire of epic proportions.  The way critics made the movie sound, they would rather look inside the Ark of the Covenant than watch “Holmes & Watson” again.  I began to wonder, could it really be that bad?  The reviews managed to keep me away from the film in theaters, but home video was another story.

    The film has a fairly simple premise, it is basically just a comedic take on a Sherlock Holmes story.  Detective Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson must investigate a murder at Buckingham Palace before Holmes’ long time nemesis Professor James Moriarty can kill his next target, the Queen of England.  Naturally, hijinks by the pair end up causing some trouble as the duo must race to stop Moriarty before it is too late.

    “Holmes & Watson” had been in the works for a little while and reunited frequent on screen collaborators Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly.  Ferrell and Reilly have extremely good chemistry and play off each other very well (yes, even in this film).  Though this film doesn’t reach the comedic heights of “Step Brothers” and “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”, it still provides enough laughs to entertain most audience members in my humble opinion.  While it certainly won’t go down as a comedy classic, I have seen a great deal of other comedic films fall flat without even providing a few chuckles.

    After a hot streak like few comedians accomplish, it seemed like critics decided to bury Will Ferrell and everything he did.  Will Ferrell did pump out a few bad movies (::cough::  “Kicking and Screaming”. ::cough::) but he has rebounded some of late and for the most part, critics seem to still be rather dismissive of the funnyman.  Will Ferrell joins fellow actor Johnny Depp in being almost hip to hate at the moment no matter what he does.

    I am, for better or worse, not a “professional” movie critic and I just try to write me reviews from the heart.  I am still a huge Will Ferrell fan and I am not ashamed to admit that.  As long as Ferrell is being silly and having a good time, I end up having a good time.  Perhaps due to this, I could not hate “Holmes and Watson”.  I also loved the little nod to “House, M.D.” being a modern take on Sherlock Holmes by having Hugh Laurie cameo.  Speaking of cameos, I am also a WWE fan and it was cool seeing Braun Strowman appear in the film.

    Now, perhaps my love for Will Ferrell (and John C. Reilly for that matter) might be more than others share as it was reported that the film was shopped to Netflix before a theatrical release and that the streaming giant passed on the film.  I am curious what other average movie goers thought of the movie considering it seemed like very few people actually did.  Perhaps I am in a very small minority in not hating this film, but it made me laugh and that should be a comedy’s main job in my opinion.

Grade: C+

“Shin Godzilla” Movie Review

    A few years back, a group of some of my friends decided to hit up our local theater for a screening of the Japanese film “Shin Godzilla”.  With the recent release of “Godzilla: King of the Monsters”, I figured it would be a good time to look back on some of my experiences seeing Godzilla on the big screen.  Unfortunately, “Shin Godzilla” is the only Godzilla movie I can honestly say I saw on the big screen.

    This film reimagines the origins of Godzilla and sets it in modern Japan.  Instead of emerging in full form, this Godzilla evolves over the course of the film.  These evolutions the creature experiences seem to help him adapt to any weapon he is exposed to.  Unlike his American counterpart, this Godzilla isn’t a force for good.  This Godzilla comes in like a wrecking ball and leaves a path of destruction in his wake.  Throughout the film, the Japanese government and the scientists researching the creature must try to figure out the best way to stop the beast before anyone else gets hurt.

    This movie is Toho’s third reboot (the three American Godzilla films were not produced by Toho) of Godzilla aka Gojira.  The Godzilla films are recognized as the longest continuously running movie franchise by Guinness World Records.  The film ended up making a ton of money in Japan and even won seven awards at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony.  It is also the first Japanese produced Godzilla movie to receive a North American theatrical release since “Godzilla 2000”.  Does that mean it’s good though?

    Well, to be honest, I found the film to be a little too slow and at times a bit boring.  Don’t get me wrong, the scenes with Godzilla were impressive and enjoyable but there just wasn’t enough of the ‘not so jolly green giant’ for my taste.  Now I know sometimes less is better and they did do a good job with the buildup, it’s just with Godzilla, everyone already has a pretty good idea what they are going to see and how massive he will be based on previous films.  It worked better in a film like “Jaws” because you didn’t know what to expect.

    Now, I did revisit the film on home video because the first time I watched it I nearly fell asleep in the theater.  This actually had nothing to do with the movie however, I didn’t get a lot of sleep at the time due to helping an ailing parent.  Having to read subtitles because the film is in Japanese didn’t exactly help that at the time.  I generally prefer when foreign language films use subtitles but my eyes were just not feeling it that day.  That is one nice thing about the home release of the film.  They have the version I saw with subtitles (which I recommend unless you are sleep deprived like I was that day) or a version with an English language dub which was released on DVD as “Godzilla: Resurgence”.

    The reason I mention the different versions on home video is because the film features social commentary that can easily be lost on a viewer if they aren’t paying attention.  There is a good chunk of political subtext about the Japanese government that is easily lost on a western audience (which might explain why the reviews weren’t as glowing for the film as they were with eastern critics).  Much of it was lost on me until I had a friend pointed it out to me.

    Godzilla is a hard character to get right and every fan has an opinion how to handle the character.  “Shin Godzilla” is probably the most like the original “Godzilla” film we have got to date and probably will ever get in the future.  I will say this too, while I personally wish the film had a bit more action, I love how much most of the Godzilla fans have embraced it.  Just the other day, I was reading about a theory revolving around the character of Goro Maki and how he could tie into Godzilla’s tail (yes you read that right and you really should go look up that theory because it is bananas).  At the end of the day, “Shin Godzilla” wasn’t the Godzilla movie I wanted but perhaps it was the Godzilla film the other fans needed.

Grade: C

“Rocketman” Movie Review

    Another week, another trip to the cinema!  With so many good looking films out now, it’s been hard to decide what to see these past few weeks.  One movie my girlfriend and I really wanted to see was the Elton John biopic “Rocketman” so when our friends Elva and Roy wanted to see that movie as well, it was settled.

    The movie tells the story of Sir Elton John from his childhood to his rise to living legend status.  Born Reginald Dwight, the movie shows his upbringing in a broken home and how he felt responsible for his home life.  Reginald was born a musical prodigy and turned to music in his troubled times.  The film then swifts focus to Reginald as a young man struggling to make it as musician.  This all changes with his musical partnership with Bernie Taupin.  Their collaborations together helped create some of the most iconic music in the modern era as the movie goes on to depict.  There are plenty of dark times for Reginald, now known as Elton John, ahead however.  As his fame rises, Elton John is forced to hide the fact that he is homosexual from the press for fear of the damage it would do to his career and he also grows increasingly addicted to alcohol and drugs.

    I really enjoyed this movie overall.  One thing that caught me a little off guard at first and took a little getting used to was the fact that the movie was both a biopic and musical.  I was expecting a more straight forward biopic in the vain of “Bohemian Rhapsody” but this film managed to set itself apart from that film by telling it’s story in a different way.

    I am a big Elton John fan so I wanted to see this movie a little more than my girlfriend (although she enjoys some of his music as well).  I grew up listening to oldies as a kid and performers like The Beatles, Elton John, The Monkees, Queen, The Doors, The Rolling Stones and so on have a special place in my heart.  Naturally, the music that featured in this film was a highlight for me.

    One thing that worried me a bit going into the movie was the fact that Elton John himself was listed as an executive producer, which typically means, Elton John himself has to approve of how he is depicted in the movie.  People have a tendency to only want to highlight the best parts of their lives and omit aspects which may make them appear in a negative light.  After all, we are the heroes in our own stories.  Somewhat surprisingly, the film does a pretty admirable job painting a complete picture of Elton John.  There are times in the film in which Elton John comes off as a very sympathetic character and times in which he is depicted as sort of a jerk.  The thing is, it makes him feel like a real person because even the nicest person can be seen as rude or nasty to someone else and perhaps they have good reason to be.

    The film also doesn’t shy away from Sir Elton John’s personal struggles.  The film depicts Elton John as a man who turns to alcohol and drugs to cope with his depression.  His depression, at least as depicted in the film, is caused from his home life and having to live his life in the closet.  It wasn’t until he could accept his homosexuality and learn to love himself that he was able to free himself from addiction.  With June being LGBT pride month, this movie couldn’t have picked a better time to come out.  One struggle I thought Elton John might want downplayed in the film was his struggle writing lyrics.  Instead, much of the focus of the film was about his struggle admitting that he loved and needed Bernie Taupin in his professional and personal life.  The two are still good friends after all these years.

    What makes this film extra special is the cast.  Taron Egerton does a stellar job embodying Sir Elton John.  Egerton seems almost destined to play the role after singing one of Elton John’s songs in the movie “Sing” and co-starring with the icon himself in “Kingsman: The Golden Circle”.  Jamie Bell does a good job as Bernie Taupin (thankfully Bell is a better actor than he is a singer however).  “Game of Thrones” alumni Richard Madden plays against type as John Reid, the antagonistic manager of Elton John.  Fun little trivia for “Game of Thrones” fans, Aiden Gillen played John Reid in the film “Bohemian Rhapsody”.  Lastly worth a mention, Bryce Dallas Howard appears and does an incredible job as Elton John’s mother.

    It should be noted that Dexter Fletcher directed this film and a good chunk of “Bohemian Rhapsody” after Bryan Singer was fired from the project.  To some degree, the two movies feel a bit like they share the same universe (being biopics, I guess they do to some degree).  While some aspects feel very different than “Bohemian Rhapsody”, other visual styles feel very similar.

    In the end, “Rocketman” proved to be an interesting look inside the early life of Elton John.  Regardless if you enjoy his music or not, it makes for an interesting movie. “Rocketman” shows how a star is truly born and will keep your toes tapping.

Grade: A-

“The Trigger Effect” Movie Review

    So let me start off by saying I had never heard of “The Trigger Effect” before I started watching it to review it.  You all know me, I try my best to know as much about all kinds of movies as possible but some movies just slip through the cracks.  “The Trigger Effect” is a movie that just never ended up on my radar which is weird because I like the cast of the movie.  Thanks to the kind people at Mill Creek Entertainment, I was able to watch the film so I can give you my take.  Now, I do want to say that regardless if I give the film a positive or negative review, I love the fact that Mill Creek Entertainment releases these somewhat obscure titles that the major studios have largely overlooked (sometimes even on DVD).

    The film focuses on a couple with a baby who are obviously having some marriage issues.  After a fairly disappointing ‘date night’ between the pair seems to do nothing to smooth over their strained relationship, the power goes out.  With no power and no communication through phones, society begins to seemingly crumble as people will do anything to survive.

    Okay, let me start off by saying that I really did not like this movie and there are several reasons why.  The cast was pretty solid and even though I didn’t like the movie, they did the best they could.  Kyle MacLachlan, Elisabeth Shue, Dermot Mulroney, and Michael Rooker help add a splash of charisma to a film lacking otherwise.

    The main premise of the movie focusing on the anarchy that is caused by a power outage reminded me a lot of the classic episode of “The Twilight Zone” titled “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”.  That episode is engraved in my head because not only had I watched “The Twilight Zone” as a kid, but we had to read the script for that when I was in school during one of my many English classes.  As I was doing research for this film, it turns out that the script intentionally lifted elements from that story and it wasn’t a coincidence.

    Unfortunately, unlike the classic “The Twilight Zone” episode, this film doesn’t work.  They are both highly unrealistic, however the general concept of the show “The Twilight Zone” expected the audience to suspend their disbelief because each episode tended to be a metaphor for a social or moral issue.  “The Trigger Effect” sets itself up as a film set up in the real world.  It is hard to imagine the world falling apart so fast and descending into anarchy even in a pre-internet and smart phone world.  I mean, this was only a few years ago, but I remember most of the town I lived in was without power for around a week during a biter cold Michigan winter.  If civil discourse didn’t erupt over that, it’s hard to imagine the events of “The Trigger Effect” would ever happen.

    Even if you look at the movie and manage to suspend disbelief, that isn’t even the biggest problem with the script.  I wanted to see this movie largely because it was written and directed by David Koepp.  Koepp is typically a solid writer and has written some of my favorite films including “Jurassic Park” and “Spider-Man”.  The biggest problem with the film is that it breaks one of the cardinal rules of cinema, and as a result, not a single character in the film is likable.  You need to have at least one character that the audience can see themselves as, someone they can connect with and invest in.  The main characters in this film are either crazy, cheaters, or just plain stupid.  The stupidity of the characters was a bit surprising too because the dumb decisions they make is what causes most of the conflicts in the film.  If the characters being unlikable didn’t already damn this movie, the film also spent too much time focusing on the main couple’s strained relationship.

    “The Trigger Effect” wasn’t quite as bad as “How It Ends” but that is mainly due to the solid cast it had.  Many of the trappings that failed “How It Ends” also failed “The Trigger Effect”.  It pains me to say I hate a David Koepp film so I will just say this, “The Trigger Effect” is definitely my least favorite Koepp film I have seen to date.  I expected more from him.

Grade: D-

Buy “The Trigger Effect” and “Body Count” Double Feature Blu-ray Here!!!l

The 2019 Next Level Blockbuster Awards Notes

• The “Best Inspirational Picture” category was added to acknowledge spiritual related films that would most likely not be nominated in other categories.  I am not an overly religious person but with studios like Pure Flix releasing more and more films, it is a film genre I feel can no longer be ignored.

• The “Best Home Video Release” category honors past and present movies and tv shows with stellar DVD, Blu-ray, or 4K releases.

• Despite being the first Next Level Blockbuster Awards, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga both managed to take home two awards.  Cooper won for “Best Director” and Gaga won for “Best Actress”.  The pair shared the “Best Song” award.

• Speaking of Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, Cooper managed to gather four total nominations making him the most nominated person so far.  Lady Gaga and Michael B. Jordan are tied in second place with two nominations each (though Gaga holds the edge having won in both categories she was nominated in).

• With so much original content coming from streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, DC Universe, Crackle, and YouTube; the category of “Best Digital or Direct or Video Picture” seemed like a must.

• “Avengers: Infinity War” was the most nominated film this year with a total of eighteen nominations.  It went on to win four awards including the top prize.

• “Bohemian Rhapsody” won the most awards this year with a total of five awards.

• Netflix films were nominated for a total of twenty nominations.  The streaming service went on to win two awards.

• Comic book movies dominated the nominations and wins this year, unlike most other award shows.  I do not discriminate against genres and this year proved to showcase that any film can be nominated.

• Films based on Marvel comic books received a whooping forty-seven nominations and won seven of those awards.  Among the films were “Avengers: Infinity War”, “Black Panther”, “Ant-Man and the Wasp”, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”, “Venom”, and “Deadpool 2”.  DC comics only had one film based on it’s characters but still received a respectable nine nominations and won an award.

“The Hustle” Movie Review

    Like most Tuesday nights, my girlfriend and I decided to see a movie and sort of clear our heads after a long work week.  The fact that tickets are cheaper and it’s free popcorn day certainly doesn’t hurt either.  Well, on this particular day we decided to see “The Hustle” because Rebel Wilson is usually fairly funny.

    The film focuses on two very different con women with two very different approaches to their craft.  Josephine Chesterfield is a classy and refined con artist who goes after men with deep pockets.  Penny Rust, on the other hand, is crude and just looking for a quick buck.  After the two clash over territory and the best way to play a mark, the two decide the best way to settle their rivalry is making a bet over a man.  The two have to compete to see who can get five hundred thousand dollars from him.  Whoever loses the bet must leave and never come back.

    After the credits rolled, I remember commenting that the movie felt a little like “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” without realizing that it was, in fact, a remake of that film.  I have to admit, being such a movie buff, I felt a bit dumb not knowing that before hand.  The movie had a very 80s comedy feel to it but it didn’t exactly wow me.

   Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson play the two main characters.  The film unwisely focuses primarily on Anne Hathaway and I can’t help but feel an executive made that call because she is portrayed as sort of a vixen in the film which is an odd choice to me considering the goal in making this a female centered reboot is to get a female audience.  Rebel Wilson still does get plenty of screen time but a great deal of her funnier scenes were showcased in the film’s trailer..

    “The Hustle” has some funny moments and there were parts I laughed out loud, but there were also plenty of parts that went on way too long without a funny moment to be found.  For a movie that is a remake of a classic comedy and features a talented cast, I expected a bit more.  Ultimately, I didn’t hate the film but I was left feeling disappointed.

Grade: C-