Thursday, August 21, 2014

Expendables 3 Review

Can the recipe for Expendables films keep churning out winner?


The third installment in the Expendables film franchise has picked up right where the first two films ended.  In Expendables 3 Stallone's mercenary leader Barney Ross continues to work odd jobs with his band of highly trained operatives. Just as in the last two films Stallone's team is made up of Jason Statham's Lee Christmas, Dolph Lundgren's Gunner Jensen, Randy Coutrue's Toll Road, and Terry Crew's character Caesar.  Joining this star studded cast again is Schwarzenegger, and Jet Li with newcomers Antonio Bandaras, Wesley Snipes, Kelsey Grammer, Mel Gibson, and Harrison Ford.  With so many stars it seems like it would be difficult to work them all in.  However each star plays an interesting character and each seems to have their moment of the film to shine.  This time around Barney Ross takes a job which gets one of his men injured.  (This should sound familiar to Expendables 2) seeking revenge against the man who injured his team member, which turned out to be a former expendable gone rouge, Ross retires his old team to protect them and then assembles a new young team to help him go on a suicide mission. That mission goes south and Ross then needs the help of his old team to help rescue the young team.  Of course, along the way is plenty of laughs and of course fights and explosions.  


Perhaps the best part of these films is that you get to see the old action heroes back in action. Every time a new character steps on the screen you find yourself wondering which big actor will be next.  I also love the fact that these aging action stars know how to make fun of themselves by using lines from their other famous films. It was great to hear Arnold's character Trench yelling over and over "Get to the choppa!"

With the success the other two films in the franchise have had it is no shocker that Stallone and company have put together another great film.  The addition of Gibson, Grammar, and Banderas was great.  You always know what to expect and what you will get with the Expendables franchise.  Big fight scenes, big explosions, huge aging action heroes, and of course comedy. With success like this I wouldn't be surprised if Stallone and company continue to churn Expendables films out as long as they like.  I can't wait to see Vin Diesel and the Rock step into this franchise one day.  I give this film 3 out of 5 stars.  If you liked the first two, you will like this one as well.  

Teenage Mutant Ninja Tutles (2014) Review

The heroes in a half shell are back, but are they better than ever?


The newest attempt at the Ninja Turtles franchise has hit theaters with a fairly successful opening. So is this latest attempt actually worth seeing?  The movie starts out by tweaking the cannon of the turtles by altering their background story.  The turtles are still genetically altered "mutants" however rather than their creation being an accident it was intentionally done as a science project.  Fast forward 18 years or so and the highly skilled turtles, trained by the lab rat turned mutant named Splinter, voiced by Tony Shalhoub, are ready to hit the streets to defend NYC from the evil foot clan.  As our story unfolds we learn that the turtles and April O'Neal, played by Megan Fox, have a history, as she is the one who rescued them from a laboratory fire when they were baby turtles.  Eventually it is up to our heroes to save the city from a terrorist chemical attack planned by the foot clan, the TCRI corp, and the Shredder.  

I am a lifelong fan of the Ninja Turtles.  starting with the 90's series as a kid, the strange live-action movies, and now the new animated series with my daughter, the Turtles are one of my all time favorites.  When I saw the look of the new turtles and the previews for the film I had very low expectations.  Making me wonder why Nickelodeon studios would stray so far from their solid animated series currently running.  When it comes down to it, this film offered a new look and interpretation of the classic TMNT cannon.  If you are a fan and can over look the super strength, 6' size, and the weird look they gave the turtles then this can be an entertaining film.  Remember that is coming from someone who is a lifelong Turtles fan.  I was also pleasantly surprised by Megan Fox's performance.  Typically the actress bothers me, however she did a nice job in this film.  

With this film filling a little over an hour and a half it is a pretty entertaining movie if you are looking for some laughs and action.  If you are a fan of the turtles, young or old, you can enjoy this film. Just keep in mind this is not the new animated series which is very good (and raises the question why Nickelodeon didn't just use the voice actors from the series) and this is not the computer animated film called TMNT about the turtles in their 20's.  This is its own interpretation of a favorite franchise.  Be open and check your reservations at the door and you will enjoy the film.  I give this movie a 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Guardians of the Galaxy Review

We finally have a true summer blockbuster!


In a summer filled with many potential blockbuster films, 2014 is going to go down as a lackluster one for Hollywood.  The box office and attendance is down through July, leaving it up to three films to deliver a true blockbuster for 2014.  The last ditch effort comes from a film industry juggernaut Marvel Studios. Marvel launched a hail Mary pass with one of their strangest comic book series to date, Guardians of the Galaxy.  

Much like Marvel's tent pole series The Avengers, Guardians brings together five heroes.  However unlike Avengers these heroes are brought together not to work together for a greater good, at least to begin with, but for personal gains.  The unlikely band of heroes learn along the way that they work well together and they even begin to care for one another, which is a long way from how they felt to begin the film.  As the action intensifies and the Guardians learn they must work together, the audience is treated to a number of fun action scenes.  From strange new worlds across the galaxy and even into space itself, the action and events of Guardians take us to a place Marvel has never brought their audiences before.  Guardians plays less like a super hero film and much more like a sci-fi shoot'em up western.  Although much of this movie will feel strange and new; the action, comedy, and characters keep the audience enthralled from beginning to end.  

Guardians takes the same format that Marvel Studios has been so successful with in their past franchise films. Take larger than life characters, give them a nice back story, develop these characters on screen, and then bring those characters together to save the world.  The same equation pays off here in Guardians of the Galaxy.  It helps that Marvel always finds and casts great actors for their roles.  In Guardians we see good performances from a number of well known stars.  Chris Pratt plays the lead as Peter Quill a.k.a. Starlord, a human who was abducted from Earth (or Terra as they call it) when he was just a boy.  Gamora a genetically altered assassin played by Zoe Saldana adds some brains and muscle to the team, and former WWE wrestler Dave Bautista brings the pain and a number of hilarious scenes as Drax the Destroyer.  Perhaps the most notable performance of the film actually comes from a star we never even see.  Bradley Cooper voices the genetically altered raccoon Rocket.  Cooper, whose voice is hardly recognizable, is great at providing not only some nice comedic scenes, but also some character depth with his heartfelt performance.  Marvel packs in action and stars, but they are very adept at developing their characters.  With small tidbits unveiled throughout the film, the audience learns background about each of these characters and also begins to identify with them, something that many films this summer have had difficulty doing.  

Guardians of the Galaxy may not be the greatest Marvel film of all time, it may not even be the best of the year.  However this movie asks it's viewers to buckle up and come along on a crazy ride through the galaxy at hyper speed.  Guardians delivers an great action hero film combined with a hilarious comedy, that even finds time to make fun of hero films, all while including an amazing soundtrack.  I give Guardians of the Galaxy a 4 out of 5 stars and would definitely check this one out in theaters.  Go see this one, don't be left in the dark when Guardians 2 comes out in 2017.