SNOWDEN Review

For the second year in a row now we have a fictionalized account of real-life events that were already well-documented in award-winning documentaries starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt doing weird accents. And, much like The Walk, the biggest obstacle Snowden was going to need to overcome was that of the one for its own relevancy. Not only did most of the American public see the splattering of media coverage when the Snowden story broke in the summer of 2013, but many also watched Laura Poitras' Oscar-winning documentary, Citizenfour, that was released in 2014 and chronicled how Poitras along with Guardian reporters Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill traveled to Hong Kong to meet with Edward Snowden and discuss how to break the news of the information the whistleblower was willing to leak. That rather riveting documentary was more than enough to give us a portrait of who this man was and why he did what he did without going into overly dramatized flashbacks or even divulging all of his professional history with the CIA and the military. Solely through how he presented himself in the current circumstances he was facing at the time of Citizenfour viewers glimpsed what type of man Edward Joseph Snowden is and what he might have done were he presented with the dilemma of going along with a CIA field operatives dirty plan or standing up to that more seasoned field agent and doing what he felt was right no matter if it meant him resigning from the agency or not. While we could have likely guessed what path Snowden would have taken given the virtues and sentiments he doles out in his Citizenfour interviews for some reason director Oliver Stone has found it necessary to go back and fill in those gaps just in case you didn't get it. While the idea of a feature film around Snowden isn't inherently a bad one what Stone has chosen to do with the material in telling a straightforward account on the life and times of Snowden in the twelve years leading up to the incident that would make him the, "World's Most Wanted Man" make the idea seem downright unnecessary. Given this is exactly the type of territory Stone has always enjoyed covering, especially when he has a particular point of view on the subject and wants nothing more than to convince you he's right, I expected Snowden to offer a compelling and thoughtful argument and examination for and of the actions Snowden took and why they should be celebrated rather than slammed, but while Stone's position is evident there is nothing here to compel an indifferent viewer one way or the other.

WARCRAFT Review

Going into the long-awaited feature film adaptation of World of Warcraft I wasn't sure what to think or expect. The closest thing I could equate the experience with was that of Stardust back in 2007 where I assumed that the tropes of wizards, witches, and magical lands would follow a rather standard plot (not knowing it was based on a Neil Gaiman story at the time). Given that adaptation came from the likes of writer Jane Goldman and director Matthew Vaughn that film turned out to be a favorite of mine that I still enjoy to this day. This was the sole reason I had hope for Warcraft. I like Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code) and that he came to this project as both a co-writer and director as well as a person who seemingly had an affinity for the source material I was given slight hope in the fact this story, that more or less looked like a second-rate Lord of the Rings, could potentially turn out to be, if not necessarily good, at least mildly entertaining. As it turns out, that is where this feature adaptation of the long-running video game series finds itself. With no point of reference and close to no expectations I went into Jones' Warcraft with the simple hope that it wouldn't be terrible and it's not-by any means. In fact, there is some pretty fun stuff to experience and even some affecting moments that caught me off guard. That isn't to say this movie isn't silly-it is, but that Jones and his team fully embrace the nerdiness of the material and are willing to do a deep (enough) dive into the mythology of this world and the numerous creatures that exist shows they're committed to not only the material, but that there is a certain regard for the story they are telling. All of that said, if you're not into such fantasy worlds or such fantasy stock characters then you will still hate or at least find what is going on here beyond ridiculous. And admittedly, outside of a few combat scenes and those aforementioned surprisingly emotional moments there isn't a whole lot to find appealing for an outsider looking in, but that this final product turned out to be as coherent and, for the most part, as fun as it is counts as a win considering the twelve years' worth of material the makers had to pull from combined with the task of pleasing fans of the games and the uninitiated alike.

New Trailer for Duncan Jones' WARCRAFT

Man, I really don't know what to make of this World of Warcraft adaptation. I don't play video games. I have no idea what is going on with this world, but the main thing working against it for the uninitiated audience is the fact it looks like little more than a Lord of the Rings rip-off. I of course have my hopes; hopes that somehow this will turn out to be more unique and enthralling than I suspect it to be at this moment despite everything I've seen looking rather generic. The closest thing I can equate this to is Stardust where I assumed that the tropes to follow a rather standard plot (not knowing it was based on a Neil Gaiman story at the time), but of course with the adaptation from Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn and with Vaughn (Kick-Ass, Kingsman) in the directors chair Stardust turned out to be a favorite of mine that I still enjoy from time to time. This is the sole reason I have hope for Warcraft. I like Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code) and that he has both co-written and taken the helm of this adaptation gives me slight hope. The conflict between each species and how they want to handle the situation of their differences for the greater good is appealing and is heavier than what I expected, but I still don't know or care about any of the characters involved. The film certainly isn't shying away from putting on display how grotesquely nerdy the whole affair is, but for those who aren't familiar with the world I was hoping this second trailer would provide an anchor for the film in the form of a stand-out character, but I'm just as bewildered as I was in November when the first trailer premiered. That said, Warcraft stars Travis Fimmel, Toby Kebbell, Paula Patton, Rob Kazinsky, Ben Foster, Daniel Wu, Clancy Brown and opens on June 10th, 2016.

First Trailer & Images for Duncan Jones' WARCRAFT

I don't play video games. I haven't been interested in one since NBA Jam for the Super Nintendo came out in 1993 and so, when it comes to World of Warcraft, I have no idea what is going on. That said, I do like the work of director Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code) and that he has both co-written and taken the helm of this adaptation gives me a slight interest. Still, the full trailer that has premiered today offers little in the way of trying to convert those that aren't already fans as the visuals represent little more than a Lord of the Rings-esque epic with orcs and humans battling one another. I will say the conflict between each species and how they want to handle the situation of their differences for the greater good is appealing and is heavier than what I expected from a movie adapted from a video game, but that just illustrates what low standards we have for our big budget Hollywood spectacles. I can't say that I'm excited for this feature at all as I have no vested interest in the material and the trailer does nothing to excite or intrigue me further, but I am interested in how this will play with the general movie-going audience. Will anyone see this beyond the gamers who already enjoy these characters or will Universal Pictures come to regret this $100 million investment if things go the way of Hitman, Doom or Need for Speed. Starring Travis Fimmel as the Alliance’s Anduin Lothar, Toby Kebbell as Durotan the hero of the Horde, with Paula Patton, Rob Kazinsky,Ben Foster, Daniel Wu, and Clancy Brown also starring Warcraft opens June 10, 2016.

THE BOOK THIEF Review

Not being familiar with the Markus Zusak novel from which this film was adapted I had no real knowledge of what I was getting into with The Book Thief. I'd avoided the trailer for the most part after hearing it was a horrible representation of the actual film and that it contained more than cheesy voiceover that made it feel like a trailer put together in the early 90's, but walking out of the film I still wasn't sure what to make of what I'd just witnessed. There is nothing that struck me in a way where I knew I would be thinking about the film for days afterward, but it became extremely clear over the course of the film that lead actress Sophie Nélisse was a true talent to watch and that if there was anything about this little film that might prove to be its mainstay it would be that it introduced the world to a great young actress that could very well go on to become exceptional. That isn't to say there is nothing else about the film that isn't interesting or worth talking about because in all actuality The Book Thief is a very solid picture, a kind of movie we don't get to see all that often these days because lines have been drawn in the sand that have categorized audiences to a point that telling the story of war, and specifically World War II Germany, from the perspective of a child would no doubt be looked at as something that doesn't fit squarely into any pre-determined demographic. Director Brian Percival (Downton Abbey) is lucky to have Zusak's 2006 book as a point of interest though as it has garnered interest in his vision of bringing the story of Liesel to the big screen and though it may not leave a huge cultural impact it is with ease that I say we are more fortunate than not having been given the opportunity to meet her. Nélisse's Liesel is our surrogate into late 1930's Germany up through to the end of the war and while the film doesn't tend to go with any of the typical trappings you might usually see coming from a film concerning Hitler and his minions what it does instead is give us pure insight into the day to day of what it was like to live during that time. In a constant state of fear, in worry of smiling too often or even stimulating ones mind by reading. While this all may sound like familiar ground and in some sense it is, The Book Thief is also a film that delivers a wonderful set of performances wrapped in a historical context that will do you no harm in coming to understand it a little better. That, and my wife absolutely loved it so take my words with a grain of salt as she's typically more in tune with what is genuine quality, if I do say so myself.