Speaking Of Franchises That Won't Die..."Transformers: The Last Knight"

Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Hopkins, Josh Duhamel, Laura Haddock, Santiago Cabrera

Directed by Michael Bay

The Story:

Optimus Prime has left the Earth. Any remaining Transformers are hunted. That doesn't stop Cade (Wahlberg) from attempting to save those he can find. However, when clues from the days of King Arthur point to the only salvation the Earth might have to save itself from destruction from Cybertron...

Yeah, it sounds silly.

This whole franchise has been fairly silly since day one.

Now celebrating a decade of cinematic box office dominance, the Transformers are beginning to slow down at the box office.

This was reviled as one of the worst films of last year, but it's no more or less unwatchable than any of the sequels that came before it, or the original for that matter.

Michael Bay does what he does best, and that's blow stuff up.

Thankfully through the years, he's making the scenes a lot less dark, so the action is easier to see and follow as a whole.

Think about this as well:

This was the 3rd movie about King Arthur to appear in cinemas in 2017.

It was also the best of the 3.

Let that sink in for a moment.

I also firmly fall into the camp that prefers the Transformers with Wahlberg over Shia LaBeouf.

Not sure if there will be any more in the franchise, but apparently Bumblebee is going to get his own movie, starring alongside John Cena.

My prediction: That will be the best one yet! :)

Final Grade: C

Verily Tis Time To See "Thor: Ragnarok"

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins,

Directed by Taika Waititi

The Story:

Ragnarok, the prophesied end of Asgard is at hand. Hela (Blanchett), the Goddess of Death seeks to destroy all that remains of Asgard and take her place on the throne. The only one who has any hope of stopping her is Thor (Hemsworth), and he's going to have to travel across the entire cosmos to get their in time. 

You've seen the trailer, and if that didn't get you psyched to go see this one, then there's not much I can write to convince you.

Waititi delivers the best of the 3 Thor sagas on the silver screen, and yes there's a lot of humor in it...

But I don't think at any point is the humor too distracting, or not in character for any of the characters.

Hemsworth has always been fun in the role of Thor, and they finally tapped into that and let the God of Thunder be the humorous, full of bravado son of Odin that makes the character shine.

He's complemented with the return of Hiddleston as Loki, and once more the brothers find themselves allied and at odds, sometimes both in the same scene.

Many more surprises, returns and losses for this final film from Marvel in 2017.

Is it their best of the year or best ever?

That will be debatable and vary from person to person.

I'm leaning at still giving that edge for this year to Spider-Man: Homecoming, but that may just be because after 5 attempts, I felt they finally got it right.

With Thor, they never really got it wrong, so much as they didn't deliver on everything that it could be.

So go, see the movie and have a good time.

Laugh it up, because things are about to get a lot darker next year with the arrival of Infinity War.

Final Grade: A

Actors Gotta Act..."Collide"

Collide (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring Nicholas Hoult, Felicity Jones, Anthony Hopkins, Ben Kingsley

Directed by Eran Creevy

The Story:

Casey (Hoult) loves Juliette (Jones) so very much, that when she needs a medical procedure, he turns back to his old way of life as a driver for drug runner Geran (Kingsley). However, Geran let's Casey know that the real money would be if they could hit the supplier, respected businessman Hagen Kahl (Hopkins). And then the real fun begins!

Sadly, that is a very true statement.

The movie opens with a terrific chase and crash, and then goes back to fill us in on the narrative of how we wound up at the opening.

And it's 10 minutes of Hoult and Jones saying "I love you...no, I love you...I love you more..."

Cue the fast forward button.

I was tempted to take the movie out, I mean clearly this is a budget film, no harm no foul; Kingsley and Hopkins are just collecting their paychecks.

Then I began to realize that I'm not very fond of Felicity Jones as an actress. Granted, I've not seen her in much, but she's yet to stand out to me as a great actress I look forward to seeing in a movie.

She was okay in Rogue One, but her supporting characters were infinitely more interesting.

And as the mum in A Monster Calls... ugh...so pathetic and sad as a character, I really didn't care that her character was going to die by the time the movie ended.

See?

The mind wanders when the movie creates boredom.

And I pause the fast forwarding and watch Hopkins and Kingsley interact for possibly the first time ever together on screen, and it's pretty interesting. They both try and dial their characters up to 11, especially Kingsley who seems to be channeling his Mandarin from Iron Man. :)

Which leads us to the 45 minute-ish mark.

That's when things get interesting as the movie veers back to the action caper the opening so promised us.

And yes, it delivers quite well on the back half of the movie.

So I'm torn on a grade for a film.

I mean, dismal start, I actually fast forward past the 20 minute mark that I set for myself just to see if the movie had any potential on the other side, while other movies get yanked out of the player and returned to Netflix without the same courtesy.

I'm nothing if not a movie hypocrite sometimes.

So we'll grade fair, and say terrible first half, pretty good second half...

Final Grade: D+

To Catch A Killer..."Solace"

Solace (2016)

Rated R

Starring Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Abbie Cornish, Colin Farrell

Directed by Alfonso Poyart

The Story:

FBI Agents Merriweather & Cowles (Morgan & Cornish) have been tracking what they believe to be a serial killer. The attacks are grisly, the clues are nonexistent. So they turn to Dr. John Clancy (Hopkins), a psychic who has helped solve cases in the past. The only problem, it appears that the killer (Farrell) they seek is also a psychic, and he's way ahead of the FBI. And if John's visions are to be believed, not only can they not catch him, none of them may survive the hunt to track him down.

A fine thriller with a unique premise, having two people with psychic abilities on both sides of the law in a game of cat and mouse where it begins to become quite obvious that the cat and the mouse will change positions several times throughout the movie.

Now this may not be a Silence of the Lambs Academy Award winning performance by Hopkins, he does get more screen time and much more to do this go round than in the last dozen movies that I've seen him in, combined.

In fact, the main cast all are quite good in their roles with some interesting twists and turns of the plot along the way.

Farrell too seems to finally have a meatier role than I've seen him in, seemingly for ages. He seems to be enjoying himself in the role, and the ability to work with Hopkins was probably a plus for him in taking the part.

Overall, it kept me interested until the end, and with a few changes could've gone from pretty good to must see.

Final Grade: C+

A Little Legal "Misconduct"

Misconduct (2016)

Rated R

Starring Josh Duhamel, Anthony Hopkins, Al Pacino, Malin Akerman, Alice Eve, Byung-hun Lee, Julia Stiles,

Directed by Shintaro Shimosawa

The Story:

Ben (Duhamel) is caught in a legal struggle between a pharmaceutical executive (Hopkins) and his firms Senior Partner (Pacino). As the snare of conspiracy draws ever tighter, Ben must uncover the truth before he becomes the latest victim.

So, did you see Misconduct when it debuted in theaters earlier this year?

Yeah, neither did anyone.

Earning $ 97.00 during the opening weekend, you'll be forgiven if you missed the debut.

So, what did you miss exactly?

Pretty much a straight to video generic thriller that hopes the allure of Hopkins and Pacino will get you to sign up.

They were probably well compensated for about a day or two of work on this movie, probably with 10 minutes or less total screen time each.

Duhamel does all the grunt work for the film, he is the actual star, and he does just fine.

In fact, the whole cast does just fine.

They're just saddled with a mediocre story that's been told before, many times, and usually much better.

So just fine rarely is reason to celebrate anymore.

Guilty of not being better with this pedigree of a cast.

Final Grade:  C-

The Things They'll Do For A Beer..."Kidnapping Mr. Heineken"

Kidnapping Mr. Heineken (2015)

Rated R

Starring Jim Sturgess, Sam Worthington, Ryan Kwanten, Mark van Eeuwen, Thomas Cocquerel, Anthony Hopkins

Directed by Daniel Alfredson

The Story:

In 1982, 5 men who are down on their luck and looking to better their life decide to turn to crime to make a buck. Their objective: kidnap Freddy Heineken (Hopkins) and demand a king's ransom.

This is that story.

The problem is, the story is rather bland, all things considered.

The crew decides they have to have money to make their kidnapping look legitimate, so they rob a bank.

Then they spend that money getting everything ready for the kidnapping.

Then they kidnap Mr. Heineken.

Then they sit back and wait for the money, but it never comes.

Then panic and paranoia set in.

Now, this works with a movie like Ruthless People because they add laughs and you get to see what's happening from the point of view of the kidnappers, the police, the victim, etc.

This movie gives you the point of view of the kidnappers.

Never do we see what law enforcement is up to during the entire process.

There is basically no tension or no other narrative attempt to make you feel like the criminals are getting away with it, or are being this close to getting caught aside from whatever the kidnappers may say or do reacting to something the viewer is never really privy to.

Hopkins screen time is all too brief as he attempts to get into the heads of his kidnappers.

The kidnappers themselves are rather a bland mixed bag of talent with little to do but yell and get worried a lot.

There is a nifty story buried in the movie, but the execution only gives you part of it.

Currently streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: C

A Disaster Of Biblical Proportions..."Noah"

Noah (2014)

Rated PG-13

Starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Hopkins, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Douglas Booth,

Written and Directed by Darren Aronofsky

The Story:

Noah (Crowe) is having some visions that the world is coming to an end.  His visions tell him to make an ark, and that all of the innocent animals will be saved, and humanity must be extinguished to pay for our sins.

How cheery!

How do you take a tale from the Old Testament that is both a warning and a sign of promise from God and turn it upside down and make it a miserable experience?

Give it to Darren Aronofsky.

He manages to suck any semblance of hope and awe from this tale and present a shambles of a mess that is both baffling as it is overproduced.

Basically, even Michael Bay wouldn't produce a disaster flick this bad.

I only invoke Bay because in the middle of this movie, you will see Transformers.

No, I'm not kidding.

In fact, as I chatted with my oldest while watching this movie, it became more fun to explain what the movie was like if we used the higher profile roles that these actors played before:


Jor-El (Crowe) senses that Kyrpton is doomed.  He seeks the advice of his All-Father, Odin (Hopkins) on what to do.  Odin advises him to take his wife, Betty Brant (Connelly) and with the help of the aforementioned Transformers, create a great ark to house all of the animals of the world.  Along for the ride are their children, Shem (Booth) who married Hermione (Watson) and using powerful magic hope to keep the human race alive.  Their middle son, Percy Jackson (Lerman) and a third son who is totally inconsequential to anything.

See?

Already, you WANT to see THAT movie!

I'm not even going to bash this movie from a Christian point of view, which I could, but what would be the point?

I'm sticking strictly as a movie fan.

Regardless of faith, this movie should bore you to tears, while simultaneously making you laugh at the sheer ludicrousness of the situation. 

How does the bad guy get on the ark? 

Ugh... so many implausible questions arise from this one.

I've only seen one other movie by Aronofsky, The Wrestler.  I was unimpressed by that film also.

I don't think I'll be back for a 3rd chance of disappointment.

Final Grade: D

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I offered to pay each and every one of my children 5 dollars per kid to watch it again.  I had no takers. :)

Happy Thorsday..."Thor: The Dark World"

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Rated PG-13 for language, violence, and pure awesomeness!

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins

Directed by Alan Taylor

The Story:

Since the events of Thor and The Avengers, Thor (Hemsworth) has been busy bringing peace to the Nine Worlds.  Meanwhile on Earth, Jane Foster (Portman) has discovered a wormhole to dimensions where she is infected by an ancient, powerful, evil force called the Aether.  It brings back the ancient race of Dark Elves who are bent on using this power to destroy all worlds...forever.  Time for Thor to save the day, his lady love, and all of reality in the process.

However, he's going to need a little help from his brother Loki (Hiddleston) first...

This was my favorite movie of 2013, and now it is available for purchase.

Has my opinion changed since seeing it on the glorious big screen last fall?

Nope.

This was my favorite film of last year, and it has held up as a great comic book movie... a great science fiction movie...

A great movie.

 

Period.

If I was asked to pick a movie to show non fans of either genre why Marvel Comics movies are so popular and entertaining...

I might very well skip the Iron Man, Cap and even Avengers franchise and simply hand them a copy of this film.

It picks up on events that have happened, but if you didn't see them, you'll be brought up to speed within the film.

The storyline is epic...yet also grounded and personal at the same time.

It's good vs evil.

Boy meets girl.

And it's marvelously well written, well acted, and Alan Taylor picked up the reigns from Kenneth Branaugh, and didn't miss a beat, and I say, improved on everything that was great about the first Thor film.

Hemsworth continues to shine as Thor, but the revelation of course has been the ascension of Hiddleston as a bonafide movie star.  His charisma and charm have made the role of Loki possibly the most popular character of any Marvel movie, including Downey Jr.

The supporting characters were given more screen time this go around and continue to develop into a stellar supporting cast.

The ending definitely lends itself to at least one more film.

Sign me up!

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Yes to both.  Woot!!

Further Proof That Sequels Are Rarely As Good As The Original..."RED 2"

So close...

The Story:

Frank (Bruce Willis) is enjoying a quiet life with Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) when Marvin (John Malkovich) comes calling.  He tries to warn them that danger is heading their way, but Frank wants to lay low and keep Sarah safe.  Oddly enough, Sarah is actually itching to see some action again, even though she is ill-prepared for it.  Then before you know it, trouble hits and the guys are on the run again, trying to figure out how to save the world and clear their names before they are killed.  This time however, it looks like Victoria (Helen Mirren) has been  hired by the British to make sure that Frank doesn't succeed.

Uh-oh!

I loved the first film.

One of my Best of the Year films, and one that I can watch at just about any time.

Was it the Morgan Freeman factor?  Hard to say.

They also had a much better 'bad guy' who was just doing his job, Karl Urban.

Here...

Not so much.

It's a muddled mess as they jaunt to Europe trying to evade nearly every government and assassin that is trying to take them down.

Including Frank's old flame, Katja (Catherine Zeta-Jones).

Here's a piece of advice for successful movies that want to franchise:

Don't hire Catherine Zeta-Jones for your sequel.

Ocean's Eleven rocked.
Ocean's Twelve...not so much.
Ocean's Thirteen thankfully regained much of the original swagger.

So I guess, that bodes well for Red 3!

:)

Instead, you've got Neal McDonough tracking the team, and he's great, but no Karl Urban.  Then you throw in an Asian assassin (Byung-hun Lee) plus everyone else after Frank...

And now you have to find time to squeeze in "The Package" (Anthony Hopkins).

They went with an "Everything But the Kitchen Sink" approach when they should have tried to dial it back a few notches.

Ah well, it wasn't a complete waste, but it was unable to capture the lightning in a  bottle of the first film.

Better luck next go round.

Final Grade: B- / C+ range.

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Like I said, it wasn't bad, it just wasn't as good as the first one.  I'm sure I'll get it though. : )

The Number One Movie in All of the Nine Worlds? "Thor: The Dark World"

By the bristling beard of Odin!

The Story:

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has been busy restoring order to the 9 Worlds since the events of New York (see: The Avengers.  No really, you should really see that movie!)  But dark forces are gathering to eliminate the 9 worlds from existence!

Can Thor stop them?

Not without a little help from...

Loki (Tom Hiddleston) !!

That's all you're going to get from me during the opening weekend.

: )

I will say that like most Phase One movies, Phase Two doesn't miss a beat by replacing directors.  Alan Taylor takes the helm, and brings the Norse Legends to life, all the while taking a "comic book" movie and embracing the science fiction aspects of it.

And it works!

I liked the first Thor.

I liked this Thor even more.

To quote VeggieTales in summing up this movie:

"I laughed. I cried. It moved me, Bob."

Just about all of the original cast returns, to varying degrees of use within the film.  Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, Natalie Portman, Idris Elba...

Good stuff.

If the ending is any indication, I am looking forward to seeing what Thor 3 has to offer.

Final Grade: A-... it will probably upgrade to a pure A when I review it again on DVD. :)

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: When does it come out on Blu-Ray already???!!!

The Devil, Possession and Demons...Oh My! "The Rite"

The Devil made him do it...

The Story:

A disillusioned seminary student,  Michael Kovak (Colin O'Donoghue) is sent to the Vatican to attend an exorcism course.  Even there, he seems uninterested and combative, so the Vatican sends him off to visit Father Trevant (Anthony Hopkins) and watch a master exorcist at work.  Still thinking other things could explain what he's seeing, Michael is put to the ultimate test when Father Trevant becomes possessed by the demon Ba'al.

Did I forget to mention that this is based on a true story?

Yeah, well it is.

Which helps dial up the creepiness factor a few notches.

Say what you will about God, Faith, Hope, the devil, demons, exorcisms...

The Exorcist is still, hands down one of the scariest movies I've ever seen.  I will most likely never watch it again.

It is also one of the most uplifting movies about Faith, at the exact same time.

This movie treads a fine line, keeping the pea-spewing and horror down in favor of just plain creepy.

It's a nice balance, and still has enough "ewww" factor to keep horror fans interested.

And sending in a student with a lack of faith will either overwhelmingly restore it, or destroy it.

The ending works perfectly.

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor:  Not nearly as scary as the Exorcist, but I'm happy with just one viewing.

What Are You, Some Kind of Psycho? "Hitchcock"

Good Evening...

The Story:

It's 1959, and Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) is riding high on the success of North by Northwest.  When he's questioned by reporters if he shouldn't just quit now while he's on top, he takes that as a personal challenge and prepares for his next project with his wife, Alma (Helen Mirren).  Hitch wants to do something personal and daring, and when the studio has no desire to indulge his latest project, he decides to bankroll it himself.  A lot is riding on his gamble... what are the odds that a disturbing film based on a true story would be a hit?  And so begins... Psycho.

Sorta nifty.

Much like I claimed that Lincoln was totally misnamed, Hitchcock fares a little better.

While it is an entertaining look at what went on, or at least allegedly went on, as Hitchcock created his now cinematic masterpiece, there's more to this story than that.

No, the real heart and soul of this movie belongs to Alma Reville, Hitchcock's wife and partner for just about his entire career.  Mirren is phenomenal as always, and she brings more to the table, for me, than anyone else in the cast by miles. 

Hopkins is rendered almost invisible under the makeup, but the pursey pronunciations to try and mimic Hitch's voice and speech patterns can snap you out of the trance of what you're watching.  That's never a good thing.

What Hitchcock had to do to make Psycho a hit is great cinema.  It appears that we owe much of Hitchcock's brilliance to his wife, and if nothing else...

That's the real takeaway from this movie.

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: It was alright, but I think once was enough.  The more you love Hitch though, the more apt this movie is to replayed in your home.

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 43 ~ The Mask of Zorro

This is a fun movie which is a blast to watch.

The story in a nutshell... The original Zorro (Anthony Hopkins) loses everything one fateful night and spends the next 20 years in jail.  When his enemy returns to Mexico, he escapes, and trains a new Zorro (Antonio Banderas) to help him save the day...and his daughter (Catherine Zeta Jones) and continue the legend of...

Zorro!

This movie falls into that "Hollywood remakes" that gets it right instead of failing to be inspired by the original versions.

By 1998, had you asked me what the greatest comic book movie ever made would have been, I likely would have responded that this movie was the closest to a great comic book movie that you could get.

Technically, Zorro was a creation of the pulp digests of the day, which was the forerunner to comic books.  So yes, I would have been correct.

: )

Now that another decade has passed, Zorro will slide out of the comic book movie and take its place as a fun action picture instead.

The opening sequence alone is worth the price of admission.

The introduction, at least to me, of Catherine Zeta Jones, was similar to Jack Black's appearance on the countdown yesterday.  Apparently she'd been in stuff before this, but for the majority, this was her big break in a larger role, and she seized it to become the star she is today.

She has great chemistry with Antonio Banderas, who revels in the part of the new Zorro.  The movie is his to carry, and he does a great job proving to audiences that he deserves a chance as a leading man in Hollywood.

The sequel, while okay, was not as fun and exciting as this one.

Better, was the inspired casting of Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots in the Shrek franchise.  While those also do not make the countdown, they were under serious consideration, and frankly a lot of that was due to Antonio's charisma as the little cat who was clearly an extension of this character.