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.

Godzilla (2014) Review

Godzilla (2014) Review: Can the King of Monsters Win Over Fans?

     Giant creatures destroying the city...an obvious summer thriller, but does the latest Godzilla film really live up to its monstrous hype? 
     When the film starts off it takes us on an interesting journey of the lore of Godzilla and ancient monstrous beasts that once called the Earth home.   After a "natural" disaster in 1999 Japan, Bryan Cranston's "Joe Brody" lives through the harrowing disaster that sets off a major series of events.  Fast forward to 2014 when that not-so-natural disaster is discovered once again by a somewhat crazy Joe Brody and his now adult son Ford Brody played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Their discovery puts them at odds with an organization attempting to research the cause of this event with Ken Watanabe's "Dr. Serizawa" as the scientific head of this group.  Chaos ensues which will lead to our title character playing a prominent role.
     After a rather slow start and set-up to this film there is a big payoff when we finally see Godzilla appear in his full glory, which sets the stage for a great final battle sequence.  The director, Gareth Edwards, does a nice job of using the "Jaws" strategy with this monster-thriller, never giving us a great view of the beast until the end of the film.  Overall this Godzilla movie does a great job of helping to refresh and revive my love for Godzilla from my childhood and definitely helps to cleanse our palates from the terrible taste left behind by the 1998 Roland Emmerich directed film staring Matthew Broderick. (BLAH!)  Ken Watanabe gives us a nice performance as the scientist Dr. Serizawa and essentially plays informant for the audience, letting us know what is going on throughout the film.  Bryan Cranston as always turns in an emotional performance as Joe Brody, however the acting of the movie seems to fall a bit short.  The second half of the film seemed to take on the essence of a Transformers film where we could care less about the "people" costars and are enthralled by the massive characters fighting on screen. 
     Looking at this film as a  summer thriller is the best lens to use here.  I give this film a 3 out of 5 stars.  If you are looking for mindless summer destruction at the box office, or perhaps to revive your love of Godzilla, then its definitely worth a visit to the theatre.