"Back In Time" Could Have Been So Much Better...

Back In Time (2015)

Documentary

Starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale

Directed by Jason Aron

The Story:

Everyone by now has seen Back to the Future, or at least I would hope. This documentary, released just in time to coincide with "Future Day" from Part 2 brings a lot of behind the scenes interviews with the cast, crew and the fans of Back to the Future.

It rehashes some things you might already know.

It will bring out some things you probably did not.

And overall, as a Kickstarter backed movie, it's a really good effort to try and tackle one of the best films of the 80s, of all time, you qualify it, and Back to the Future fits.

A movie so good, the script is used as reference for screenwriting courses in college.

Where I sort of lost interest with the film is when they concentrated on the fans of the films and spend time looking at conventions and recreations of the movie.

Meh.

While nice, I would have preferred more meat about maybe the entire trilogy, and save the fans for a bonus feature.

Thankfully, the film is streaming on Netflix as of this writing, so that saved me $25 bucks ordering blind from Amazon.

:)

Certainly worth a watch if you're a fan, and really, who doesn't love this movie?

Just know that the documentary loses a bit of focus, for me anyway, after the halfway point.

Final Grade: B

Sequel Week Continues: "Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser"

Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser

N/R

Starring David Spade, Brittany Daniel, Mark McGrath, Christopher Walken, Patrick Warburton, Dennis Miller

Directed by Fred Wolf

The Story:

Joe Dirt (Spade) returns! Picking up where the last film left off, Joe and Brandy (Daniel) are happily married and raising three adorable triplet girls. However, a twister sends Joe back in time to 1965, and he must attempt to get back to his life and meet Brandy before the timeline is ruined and Brandy winds up with Jimmy (McGrath) instead.

If ever there was a movie that I never thought I'd see a sequel for, Joe Dirt has got to be right up near the top.

I have unashamedly admitted that I find the original to be hilarious from start to finish, and one that I have no problem watching at anytime.

It's pretty funny, and has a lot of heart.

Well, in the 14 years since we last saw our mulleted friend, it seems like some of the heart was forgotten in the sequel.

There are a few amusing gags and scenes throughout the film, but the backstory narrative that worked so well as Joe described his life in the first one, is kind of overthought and skipped around quite a bit.

It seems like Spade and Wolf thought, hey, if we're taking Joe "Back to the Future", this would be a funny gag, and this would be awesome to do, and this, and this and this...

So it's a lot of ideas that try and tell a story with a weak bridge holding them together.

Almost like an "oh yeah, and Joe loves his kids and Brandy and wants to get back to them."

However, if you're going to borrow, you might as well go with gusto, so besides Back to the Future, It's a Wonderful Life gets a good chunk of plot used in this film as well.

If it sounds like I'm picking on Joe Dirt, well, I guess I am. However, that's what people do with Joe Dirt.

I love the original, it's a classic, cult comedy.

Any sequel has some big shoes to fill, and they don't quite pull it off with the same sincerity of the first film.

I did appreciate that almost the entire cast returns in some shape or form in the sequel. It was fun to see them all together again.

I must also give props for Mark McGrath stepping into Kid Rock's shoes to give us a villain to boo, and someone to never want to eat popcorn with.

Plus, I must give credit to Spade and everyone else who worked to make this film streamable exclusively on Crackle.com.

You get the movie, streamed to your device with just a few commercials randomly inserted along the way.

With the proliferation of shows going to Netflix, Yahoo, Amazon, Hulu, it's neat that movies are going to also be given another venue to be made and seen.

If you enjoyed the first Joe Dirt, this will give you a few glimmers of amusement that make you remember why you really enjoyed that film, and those characters so much.

Lightning like that rarely strikes twice, but I'll give them an A for effort.

The movie however, only a C.

Sorry Joe.

"Godzilla" Returns! (And Doesn't Suck)

Godzilla (2014)

Rated PG-13

Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, and of course, Godzilla

Directed by Gareth Edwards

The Story:

Joe Brody (Cranston) discovers some dangerous seismic activity at a nuclear facility. However, before it can be shut down, an accident kills his wife (Binoche). 15 years later, the activity is starting up again, and Brody is determined to find out what killed his wife. Meanwhile his son, Ford, (Taylor-Johnson) is trying to get his dad out of trouble one more time. However when the two stumble upon giant creatures that feed off radiation, while man may be powerless to stop them, perhaps there is hope in trusting...

Godzilla!

I found two things amusing in this movie, and there may have been more (un)intentional homages as well.

Brody's vs. monster creatures. Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the movies!

A quick shout-out to Lone Pine, California. This is heavy, Doc!

That said, for a movie that featured the title character for maybe, maybe... 15 minutes of the 2 hour running time, it really wasn't boring.

The story kept moving forward at a frenetic pace, and similar to the aforementioned Jaws, much of the monsters are kept under wraps, under water, while the destruction that they leave behind is what is on display.

Sometimes less is more, and I think that may have worked in Godzilla's best interest.

The redesign of the big guy works, for the most part.

Definitely better than the Broderick film, but call me sentimental, I miss the old Toho suit.

I actually want one just so I can wear it and step on toys and chase my kids around.

:)

So now that we've established that Godzilla is a force for good, so what happens in the sequel?

Final Grade: B... B- range.

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I could watch it again down the road. It wasn't nearly as bad as I feared it could have been. That said, it could have been improved here and there also.

I'm Glad Somebody Loved It..."Romancing The Stone"

Romancing The Stone (1984)

Rated PG-13 for language

Starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

The Story:

Joan Wilder (Turner) is a world-renowned romance novelist.  Her adventures thrill and delight audiences around the globe, and if the book can make Wilder cry, she knows she's got a hit on her hands.  When a mysterious map arrives, and her sister is kidnapped, Joan is thrust into living one of her own novels as she goes to Colombia to try and get her sister back.  It's there she runs into Jack Colton (Douglas), who embodies everything in a man that she writes about.  The duo decide to pursue the treasure on the map in the hopes of leverage to get her sister back alive.  Will her real-life adventure play out like her novels?

Another 80s classic for many, watched for the first time by yours truly.

Yep, true story!

Everything I needed to know about this film, I saw back in the day in Eddy Grant's "Romancing The Stone" music video.  So I never bothered to watch it.

So 30 years later,  Netflix offers it up for streaming, so I gave it a shot.

Meh.

:)

Again, especially with many of these 80s "classics", I find myself underwhelmed normally when I see them.  Now, plug in another fantastic movie from 1984, like Beverly Hills Cop or Ghostbusters, that I've seen over and over through the years...

Different story.

So I'm always caught in the conundrum:
Are these films not as good because I didn't see them at the time so I have fond memories?

Conversely, are my favorites from this time period only that great BECAUSE of the fond memories I have with them?

Philosophical dilemmas like this would give Socrates and Plato pause.

Now, what did Romancing the Stone bring to the table?

Robert Zemeckis directing his first feature since 1980's underrated Used Cars.  From the documentaries I've watched over the years, this seemed to be his sink or swim feature, and it led to him getting Back to the Future, so that's a plus.

Speaking of Back to the Future, when the movie opens, there is a bit of music that plays, and I swear it's from Back to the Future!  No surprise then to find Alan Silvestri the composer for this film.  Looking at his credits, this was his first real feature film break, and apparently like Spielberg and John Williams, Zemeckis and Silvestri are a dynamic duo in their own right.

As for Kathleen Turner, it kept her star rising, but it brought Michael Douglas back to cinema's forefront.  He had been floundering in a few flops previously, but this one put him back on the map, and he would go on to make some noteworthy films during the next decade.

So I'll give them credit, everything in the film was okay...

I wonder what my grade would be had this not been my first viewing?

Final Grade: C+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I've gone 30 years between viewings, I think I can hold out that long again. ;)

Gotta Get Back in Time... "Back to the Future"

To put it simply, one of the greatest movies ever made...

The Story:

The year is 1985.  Young Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is startled to learn that his friend and eccentric inventor, Doctor Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) has built a time machine out of a car!  When terrorists come to find Doc Brown, Marty flees in the vehicle and vanishes 30 years into the past... to 1955!  There he meets his parents before they ever met each other, and this random occurrence begins altering the space-time continuum.  Unless Marty finds and convinces Doc Brown in the past to help him get back... to the future.... Marty will cease to exist!!

Odds are, you've seen this film already, and it needs no introduction or anything else for that matter.

If you've been reading my reviews since I started this thing last year, you already know that Back to the Future is one of the 100 Greatest Films Ever Made...That I Own.  It's in the Top 10.

Yep, it's that good.

Pick any aspect of the film, and it is so above anything else, it's not even funny.

The acting?  You cannot do any better than the Michael J. Fox/Christopher Lloyd pairing.  So great is their chemistry, that Eric Stoltz was replaced as Marty because he just didn't bring the charm, fun, spark or chemistry that Fox brought to the role.  Lloyd was already an accomplished comedic actor, and this was his signature role for all time.

You can't utter the line "Great Scott!" without thinking of Doc Brown.  Come to think of it, it's because of Doc Brown that people still utter Great Scott!... nearly 30 years later!

Rounding out the cast as Marty's parents are Crispin Glover and Lea Thompson who both get to play old and young in the time travel caper.

It's hilarious, especially listening to his mom talk about how life was when she was a girl, then to go back with Marty and see that she's an absolute liar! : )

Finally, as I've mentioned before, a hero is often only as good as his villain.  Thomas F. Wilson is the unsung hero of this film by making Biff Tannen possibly the biggest jerk ever filmed in cinematic history.  No small feat, to be sure, and he owns the role.

Director Robert Zemeckis has made a lot of good movies in his career.  This is his best, by far.

The writing?  How about Zemeckis teaming with Bob Gale to craft a time traveling story that not just worked, but transcends generations.  I dare you to find anyone of any age who doesn't like this film.

I'm sure there is someone, but I bet you'll be hard-pressed to find them.

Final Grade: A+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I've watched it so often, I've lost count.  I have put the Blu Ray Trilogy upgrade on my wish list for this Christmas, as I fear that the DVD will eventually wear out.

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 4 ~ Back to the Future

Great Scott!

To me, this is often a movie (or franchise) that gets overlooked a lot when I see/hear people/critics discussing and debating the greatest movies ever made, ever seen, etc.

Then when it's brought up, everyone goes... oh yeah, love Back to the Future!

Luckily for me, I remembered early, and didn't have to come back and knock another movie off the countdown to make it fit.

The story, for those that have never seen this one...

It's 1985.  A young teenager, Marty McFly, meets with his friend, Doc Brown, and the two test a time machine that Doc has built.  Terrorists arrive, and young Marty jumps into the time machine...and vanishes back to 1955!  However, young Marty has made a terrible mistake by meeting his parents when they are teens, and has set off a chain reaction that will change the future, and make poor Marty cease to exist.  He must seek the help of the 1955 Doc Brown to help him fix the time machine and send Marty back...

To the Future!

And so begins one of the greatest time travel stories ever created.

Michael J. Fox plays Marty, and watching the test footage of Eric Stoltz, you realize early just how much Fox made Marty come to life and not be just another teenager.  His sense of comedic timing and reactionary acting are essential to the role of the time traveling teen.

Then there is Christopher Lloyd who gave Doc Brown every quirk and mannerism that just make it a joy to watch him onscreen.

Of course, Lea Thompson who does double duty as the mom and Thomas Wilson who steals every scene as the loudmouthed punk Biff round out the cast nicely.

As for the rest of the franchise, it seems that the consensus is Part 2 suffers like most of the sequels to great movies, while 3 brings back a lot of what made the first great.  I'd agree with those sentiments, but I still enjoy watching Part 2. 

This was the big hit that cemented Robert Zemeckis as a top tier Hollywood director, and began a career of collaborations with Steven Spielberg who was the Executive Producer of this film.