Things That Make You Go Boom..."Mine"

Mine (2017)

Not Rated

Starring Armie Hammer, Tom Cullen, Annabelle Wallis

Written and Directed by Fabio Guaglione & Fabio Resinaro

The Story:

After an aborted mission, Marine sniper Mike (Hammer) must make his way to an extraction point with his partner (Cullen) to make it to safety. However, when they wander through an old mine field, Mike triggers one but stops before he steps off and it can explode. There is a small chance that the mine is a dud, ruined by years of exposure. Help is about a day away from arriving. Can his mind and body endure waiting that long for a chance at survival?

A psychological war thriller, this one rests squarely on the shoulders of Hammer to carry nearly the entire picture, oftentimes very much alone.

With material by the Brothers Fabio, who sound more like Italian restaurant owners or possibly Mafia family members than writer directors, they don't do too bad for their first feature.

The problem, the movie was a little long, and what Mike has to endure is almost too much to suspend disbelief for.

One of these days, Hammer is going to get the movie that makes people stand up and notice and make him a star.

This is still not that movie.

But, a good first step for the writer/director tandem, and another film that distances Hammer from The Lone Ranger fiasco from a few years back.

Final Grade: C

School's Out For Summer..."Fist Fight"

Fist Fight (2017)

Rated R

Starring Charlie Day, Ice Cube, Tracy Morgan, Jillian Bell, Dean Norris, Christina Hendricks,

Directed by Richie Keen

The Story:

On the last day of school, English teacher Andy (Day) inadvertently gets History teacher Strickland (Cube) fired from his job. Strickland decides to retaliate and says at 3:00 when school is out, they're going to fight. Andy then spends the rest of the day trying to make amends or do whatever he can to get out of the fight. Naturally, it doesn't go so well.

Here's where I'm up on my soap box with the language issue. The movie is littered with a mine field of f-bombs to navigate through.

But as I've always said, if you can take the language out, and the jokes would still work, then it's actually funny.

And, I laughed way more often than I was expecting/hoping during this film.

I would say that 90% of that comes squarely because of Charlie Day.

He has perfected the exasperated everyman character to a "t" in his previous film outings where he often plays the buddy of the main character.

Well, here he graduates to the star of the show and carries the entire film on his shoulders. Everything that happens is based on his actions and the spiraling descent into madness as he feverishly works to avoid a confrontation at the end of the day.

So, if you don't like Charlie Day, you'll likely not care for the film.

Ice Cube has less screen time, but his presence is always felt as the hour ticks closer to the 3:00 showdown.

They are also surrounded by some of the worst teachers ever to grace the screen, especially Holly (Bell) the school guidance counselor who is a train-wreck of emotional baggage. :)

So yes, it's crude, but I laughed a lot and the movie kept me interested.  I can live with that.

Final Grade: B-

Something Special Under The Hood..."Monster Trucks"

Monster Trucks (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring Lucas Till, Jane Levy, Thomas Lennon, Barry Pepper, Rob Lowe, Danny Glover,

Directed by Chris Wedge

The Story:

When a previously undiscovered species is found while drilling for oil, the company bigwig (Lowe) decides to keep things hush hush so that he can keep drilling. Except one escapes and is discovered by Tripp (Till) who tries to help it stay one step ahead of the company that's trying to get it back. Using the creature's unique abilities, they will embark on a mission to free the other creatures that the company has captive and return them all to the wild.

Awwww...

This one is definitely geared for kids, which is always apparent when it comes from Nickelodeon Studios.

That said, at least it is entertaining enough to keep the adults entertained that decide to watch alongside their little movie watching buddies.

They've peppered (no pun intended) the film with some very familiar faces and names to up the star power, but naturally, it's Till and the creatures that provide the framework for 90% of the film.

Harmless fun for the whole family, and I'll rarely complain about that.

Final Grade: C+

Welcome Home Web-Head! "Spider-Man: Homecoming"

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr.

Directed by Jon Watts

The Story:

Peter Parker (Holland) is trying to adjust to life as Spider-Man all the while waiting for the next call-up to something big by Tony Stark (Downey Jr.). When he discovers that a new bad guy, the Vulture (Keaton) is up to something really big, Peter gets tired of being ignored while he tries to enlist help, so he tackles it on his own. Needless to say, his web-slinging and high school problems are going to cause more problems than your typical high schooler has to endure.

Welcome home to the Marvel Cinematic Universe Spidey!

The deal that allowed Marvel Studios to use Spider-Man pays off huuuuuuge for Sony as they craft the best Spider-Man film so far.

For those of you that loved the Raimi trilogy...or at least Part 2, you're welcome to think that's the best Spider-Man ever.

I never cared for Tobey in the role, nor Dunst as M.J.

I much preferred Garfield's take in the role, but those films weren't without their flaws.

Now along comes Homecoming.

Holland is quickly winning me over as Peter/Spidey.

It also helps that Keaton's Vulture is an impressive and logical foe to set this whole thing up, and he is great as the film's bad guy.

Are there flaws?

Probably.

Am I willing to overlook those?

Absolutely.

The biggest complaint I could see is the characterizations of most of Peter's supporting cast.

I simply remember: this is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, not the comics.

Then yeah, I'm good.

What else can I say at this point?

1) The Spider-Man theme song makes an appearance.
2) Possibly the best ending of any Marvel movie.
3) There are indeed 2 scenes that appear after the credits.

I highly encourage you to stick around for both!

Congratulations to all involved, I'm now going to type what I thought unthinkable just 2 short months ago...

Sorry Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.... there's a new favorite movie of the year in town!

Good luck Thor: Ragnarok... you've got your work cut out for you.

Final Grade: A

Sign Me Up...'Police Academy"

Police Academy (1984)

Rated R

Starring Steve Guttenberg, Michael Winslow, Kim Cattrall, G.W. Bailey, Bubba Smith, George Gaynes, David Graf, Leslie Easterbrook,

Directed by Hugh Wilson

The Story:

In response to a crisis, the standards for Police Academy entrance are lowered.
A lot.
This is the story of those recruits attending the Police Academy.
Heaven help us all.

There are 2 types of people in this world.

Those that enjoyed Police Academy. And those that are wrong.

I am firmly in the first camp, and I'll give the declining quality of the next 5 installments...

But come on, the first one is gold.

It still holds up, it's still funny, and it's still just as much dumb fun now as it was over 30 years ago.

The cast is filled with great character actors and the so likable he's got a career pass, Steve Guttenberg as the star.

G.W. Bailey is hilarious as Lt. Harris who wants nothing more than these dirtbags to go home.

Rapid fire jokes and situations were the order of the day, and this movie never fails to make me laugh.

It's making the streaming rounds on Netflix as of this writing, which is where I stumbled upon it the other night and thought, "why not"?

It may not be a masterpiece, but it's a guilty pleasure that I had the opportunity to see when it premiered in 1984 (thanks Dad!) and have been a fan of ever since.

Final Grade: B+

Not Much Happens... "Aftermath"

Aftermath (2017)

Rated R

Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Scoot McNairy

Directed by Elliott Lester

The Story:

Jake (McNairy) is an air traffic controller who makes a horrific mistake on the job. Roman (Schwarzenegger) lost his wife and daughter on one of the planes that crashed. Roman sets out on a course of revenge while Jake's life also spirals out of control.

Trust me, I'm trying to ramp up the drama, but really, not much happens during the movie.

It's just a long dramatic pause so that Ah-nuhld can muster revenge because the airlines never actually apologized for the crash.

Yeah, I know, it makes no sense in the real world or in the fictional movie world either.

Enough happens to keep a passing interest in the movie, and then it culminates in a final act that just seems disjointed enough to provide any emotional impact on the movie to move the audience.

It just ends and the credits roll. No satisfying conclusion to what just happened.

Then you feel like the main character, just with less revenge on your mind, and more of a quest to find a more satisfying movie to watch.

Maybe tomorrow?

Final Grade: C

Have A Little Faith..."The Resurrection Of Gavin Stone"

The Resurrection Of Gavin Stone (2017)

Rated PG

Starring Brett Dalton, Angela Johnson-Reyes, Shawn Michaels, D.B. Sweeney, Neil Flynn,

Directed by Dallas Jenkins

The Story:

Gavin Stone (Dalton) is a former child actor who has one altercation with the police too many. Forced to do community service instead of jail time, he opts to assist a church in his hometown. While working on a strained relationship with his dad (Flynn), he becomes intrigued by Kelly (Johnson-Reyes) who is directing the church's Passion Play. What better community service for an actor than to play the role of a lifetime, and tackle Jesus. The church has one stipulation though, all actors have to be Christians. Easy enough, Gavin is an actor after all, and he'll just wing the whole Christian thing as well.

So I'm sure I've already lost a few people's interests because it's a "Christian movie".

So now, I'll lose the rest of you: It was made by WWE Studios.

How's that for a change of pace from the folks that give us B movie action flicks every few months?

It's a light comedy with a touch of romance as Gavin tries desperately to woo Kelly. What he learns, among many things, is the harder he tries, the more he fails.  It is when he is sincere and honest that Kelly, and most everyone else, really open up to him and like the Gavin Stone that stands before them.

Naturally there needs to be a 3rd Act conflict that threatens everything that has unfolded for Gavin on his journey of redemption.

It comes by way of Hollywood calling him back to the world of network television, and naturally, he needs to be back in Hollywood.

The same weekend.

Is Gavin going to choose Hollywood or the small town?

And is any of his pretending to be a Christian going to sink in and stick?

Dalton does a great job as the former star who has crashed back to Earth hard, and wants nothing more than to recapture the glory of his past. By the end of the movie, you can see the changes that have come over him and it's a sweet story to behold.

Final Grade: B