The Critics Aren't That "Bright" After All

Bright (2017)

TV-MA

Starring Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, Noomi Rapace, Edgar Ramirez, Lucy Fry

Directed by David Ayer

The Story:

In a world where humans live side by side with the creatures of fairytale legend, Daryl (Smith) is an LAPD cop who is saddled with the first Orc recruit, Nick (Edgerton). When the pair stumble upon Leilah (Rapace) and her magic wand, they must put their differences aside once and for all if they hope to survive the night and all of the different groups that are coming for them to get that wand.

I'm not sure if the critics want to savage this movie because they don't like the inroads that Netflix is making by releasing movies directly onto Netflix and bypassing the movie theater with their Netflix Original movies, but this was hardly the worst movie of 2017, or any year for that matter.

It's Netflix's first true "big budget blockbuster" or "popcorn movie". Is it a great movie?

No, I don't think anyone will put it into that movie.

Is it totally watchable?

Absolutely.

It checks off all the marks for a big budget buddy cop action flick. The two cops that don't get along, but then get along just fine when the chips are down and they realize they only have themselves to rely on if they are going to survive.

It also serves an underlying message on racism in America, without trying to get too preachy and letting the action carry the movie.

I've read that many critics felt that the storyline was too confusing and people couldn't follow along with all of the backstory.

What?

I'm pretty sure that those opening billboards that show that this is a world where we coexist with the Lord of the Rings was pretty straightforward, if you ask me.

Guesstimates put those of us that watched Bright during the opening weekend at 11 million Netflix users. As there are no box office receipts to gauge whether this was a success or a mega flop, I'll do the math:

11 million times $ 8.00 a ticket (averaging a matinee and a full ticket price) puts the weekend box office for this film at $88,000,000.

Yeah, that pretty much justifies any price Netflix spent on the film, and shows why they already said yes to a sequel.

Trust me, I've seen a bad Will Smith movie (After Earth).

This isn't even close.

Final Grade: C+

These High School Kids Totally Suck... "Vampire Academy"

Vampire Academy (2014)

Rated PG-13 for language and blood-suckery

Starring Zoey Deutch, Lucy Fry,

Directed by Mark Waters

The Story:

At St. Vladimir's Academy, the Moroi attempt a peaceful co-existence with humanity, feeding off the blood of willing vampire fans.  They are protected by the Dhampir, a half-human/half-vampire who learn how to save their Moroi in question from the Strigoi, the evil vampires of legend that just want to kill anything.

This story centers on Rose (Deutch) a Dhampir who shares a deep bond with her Moroi, Princess Lissa, the last of the Dragomir line.  They are on the run from the Academy, because there are some not-so-nice characters there as well, but alas, to make the story work, they are returned to the Academy to ramp up the conflict and tension.

Does it work?

Yeah, pretty much.

This can help get the taste of Twilight out of your mouth.

The latest teen vampire novel brought to the Silver Screen shows some serious promise.  Or tongue in cheek promise at the very least.

It's by no means perfect, but the cast of characters is pretty fleshed out, and they bring a nuanced layer to their Vampires, Dhampirs and the relationship between the two.

And yes, they set up a sequel perfectly that I'm ready to see.  The question is, will they make it?

The writing has flashes of brilliance and humor throughout, and Rose is easily the star of the movie.

Add in your typical romantic entanglements, high school issues that even vampires are not immune to, and it's easily watchable.

Not quite the instant cult classic that Waters gave us with Mean Girls a decade ago, but I can see this one gaining some traction as time passes.


Again, not perfect.

But not Twilight either.

And that's a huge step up for this guy.

Final Grade: C+.. maybe even B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Wouldn't rush out to buy it, but I could watch it again down the road a bit.