ELVIS & NIXON Review

In December 1970 Elvis Presley apparently wasn't feeling too great about the direction America was headed in. If one wasn't aware, Presley was largely a conservative; a man who feared communists, the general tone around the Vietnam War, and the seeming lack of respect for the office of the President. And so, being the King, he assumed he could take such matters into his own hands and indeed planned on doing as much by taking his concerns straight to the White House. In December 1970 Presley's career was as big as it had ever been. The iconic one-piece jumpsuits debuted earlier in the year and the signature karate moves were now an even bigger part of his stage show. His shows at the Las Vegas International Hotel had sold out, set, and broke records throughout the year, but by the end of 1970 it seemed Presley's head was in a very different place. This brings us to the new film from director Liza Johnson, Elvis & Nixon, which discusses little to nothing about the music career of Elvis Presley, but more offers insight into the man Presley was outside of his well-known (and well-worn) persona. It's an interesting take and the film overall is a slight 86-minute excursion that strictly covers the how and why of this infamous meeting offering little to no commentary on the actual events leaving plenty of room for audience interpretation. This lack of any real angle, but rather pure intent to tell the story of a rather strange and unexpected set of events is admirable given today's highly peremptory society and especially considering the topic, but Johnson seems to care little for her characters actual beliefs or motivations, but simply accepts such feelings as fact and follows them with her camera to where such impulses led these actual men. Does this provide a compelling or complex film? No, not really, but it would have been next to impossible to make a film of this meeting not interesting and at the very least Elvis & Nixon is an interesting and straightforward history lesson if not being as necessarily notable as its main characters.

New Trailer for TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS

I feel like one of the few folks in my generation who didn't mind 2014’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I grew up loving the Turtles, but never cared as much about the mythology or technicalities as I did simply enjoying their personalities and having a good time. I mean, should anyone get overly protective about kung-fu fighting turtles? Anyway, that the 2014 film turned out to be something of a surprising box office success and a pleasing film in its own right for the audience it was made for ultimately only meant one thing moving forward: we'd be getting more turtles. Taking away from the film an appreciation for the new character designs, the PG-13 skirting sense of humor, Will Arnett’s dumb performance and the overall look of the product I was anxious to see what future films might do with some of my favorite childhood characters that also inhabited the world of TMNT. In this Dave Green (Earth to Echo) directed sequel we seem to be getting as many homages to the original property as possible. Whether that be in Casey Jones, more Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady, Krang and the Technodrome, or simply the turtle’s mode of transportation-it's all here. This is a series unafraid to embrace its roots and in a day and age where the cool thing to do is ground as much of your fantastical world in reality one has to appreciate what this franchise is doing for the fan base it needs to serve. This new trailer looks silly as all get out and I can’t imagine it not being as enjoyable as this makes it seem. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows stars Alan Ritchson, Megan Fox, Stephen Amell, Laura Linney, William Fichtner, Brian Tee, Will Arnett, Noel Fisher, Tyler Perry, Johnny Knoxville, Jane Wu, Jeremy Howard, Tony Shalhoub, Gary Anthony Williams, Pete Ploszek, Stephen Farrelly, and opens on June 3, 2016.

First Trailer for TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS

2014’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot was something of a surprising box office success and a fine enough film in its own right for the audience it was made for. As a fan of the turtles since their heyday of the late 80’s/early 90’s I was cautiously optimistic about what we might get with this new live-action film. I was of the age when the original trilogy of live action films debuted that I found each of them more fun than the next (yes, even the one where they go to Japan) and so there was a special place in my heart for the turtles and seeing them on the big screen again. I ended up having a pretty good time with 2014’s TMNT and even enjoyed the new character designs, the sense of humor, Will Arnett’s dumb performance and the overall look of the product. In this Dave Green (Earth to Echo) directed sequel, we seem to be getting all of that again, but this time with as many homages to the original property as possible. Whether that be in Casey Jones, more Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady or simply the turtle’s mode of transportation-it's all here. This is a series unafraid to embrace its roots and in a day and age where the cool thing to do is ground as much of your fantastical world in reality one has to appreciate what this franchise is doing. This looks silly as all get out, but I can’t imagine it not being mostly enjoyable. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows stars Alan Ritchson, Megan Fox, Stephen Amell, Laura Linney, William Fichtner, Brian Tee, Will Arnett, Noel Fisher, Tyler Perry, Johnny Knoxville, Jane Wu, Jeremy Howard, Tony Shalhoub, Gary Anthony Williams, Pete Ploszek, Stephen Farrelly, and opens on June 3, 2016.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES Review

It's somewhat disappointing this is going to likely end up as a one off. As a kid, I loved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as I suspect most did who will be writing reviews of this latest incarnation and were born between 1980 and 1993. We identified with one of the personalities, we latched onto one of the colors and had to have everything in that hue while collecting all of the action figures and devouring the animated series and Jim Henson movies. For me, TMNT were the definitive super heroes, the pre-cursor to Power Rangers that grew to be a place of nostalgia where one could always retreat and find comfort in something as discomforting as green ooze. I can even remember becoming excited for the post-Power Rangers attempt to rejuvenate the series with The Next Mutation, but I felt the same way as it seemed most did as the series only lasted one season. I grew up, things changed and I didn't hear from the Turtles for a period of time. It seems though that Nickelodeon is trying to capitalize on their recently purchased rights of the Mirage Studio characters as they have a new CGI animated TV series airing and have partnered with a few other studios to bring the heroes in a half-shell back to the big screen once again. It always felt like an inevitability that the Turtles would one day return in the form of a feature film (2007's TMNT certainly didn't do anything for me), but I never had much ambition for what it could be or what direction it might go given the advancements in technology and the touchstones the early 90's films have become. It seems breaking that stigma has refused to give in as the press surrounding this latest live-action movie hasn't been the best. With each film I try to walk in with an open-mind and sense of optimism though (it's what I like to think keeps me distanced from the jaded critics who allow the amount of movies they see to change the perspective of how mainstream audiences might receive a film) and when it comes to something with as ridiculous a premise as turtles who are not only teenagers, but mutants and ninjas fighting a guy who now looks like a transformer you can only hope the filmmakers realize what they have for what it is. For me, Jonathan Liebesman's film is exactly that while doing its best to incorporate the look and feel of what super hero movies have become in this day and age.

New Trailer and Posters for TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

Being a child of the late-80's/early 90's I loved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and everything their faces were plastered on. As I was only six when the third live action film came out in 1993 I even loved that time-traveling adventure to ancient Japan or "Turtles in Time" as it is now referred. It has been unfortunate it's taken this long to bring the heroes in a half shell back to the big screen as I wasn't a fan of the 2007 animated film, but that was likely because I'd grown up and matured and didn't want my childhood heroes reverted to cheap animation. It seemed at first like the ball would never start rolling on this re-boot or that Michael Bay (who is producing) would piss so many people off it would be dead from the get-go. Prospects now at least looks somewhat promising as Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello have clearly been ushered into the age of super hero films with an edge. Director Jonathan Liebesman (Wrath of the Titans) has given the turtles new and updated looks that classify them in a more-grounded kind of reality, but with giant, mutated turtles, talking rats and men in transformers costumes you can only get so "real" and I hope they keep that in mind. It also doesn't bode well that the story seems to be lifted straight out of The Amazing Spider-Man re-boot with April (Megan Fox) playing a pivotal role. I understand my tastes have matured and that this film is going to be aimed at new, younger fans of TMNT, but I'm hoping it will be as equally pleasing on both a nostalgic level and a B-movie summer actioner which the trailer seems to balance well in terms of seriousness, comedy and action set pieces. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles also stars William Fichtner, Will Arnett, Abby Elliot, Whoopi Goldberg, features the voices of Johnny Knoxville, Tony Shalhoub and opens on August 8th.

JACKASS PRESENTS: BAD GRANDPA Review

Anytime you approach a film with the word "jackass" in the title you can't so much look at it as an actual movie, but more as one big joke. That would obviously be the intent anyway, right? Why would you put such a degrading word in the title of your movie if not to be completely stupid and outlandish in the execution of what makes up the contents of said title? Naturally, as we are on our fourth installment in the Jackass movie franchise we have come to expect little more than stupidity out of these products with the bright side being they usually come with a lot of laughs. Originally premiering as a half hour MTV show in the Spring of 2000 Jackass introduced the world to the likes of Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Bam Margera, and the late Ryan Dunn whom this current film is dedicated to. What these guys did was take the gags played over and over again on family-friendly shows like America's Funniest Home Videos and take them to extremes. They were able to set up ridiculous stunts and scenarios that would no doubt induce a fair amount of pain for them, but equal amounts of laughter for the audience. The pain was no doubt worth it despite the show only running for two years as it was able to spawn the aforementioned movie series beginning in 2002 and adding another installment every four years since. With each of these films having a marginal budget compared to what they usually pull in opening weekend it is no surprise we keep getting and will continue getting either direct sequels or spin offs such as this latest incarnation. Knoxville brings back his Irving Zisman character who he has used countless times before and stretches the sketch to feature length. Not to doubt the trickery of these guys, this installment doesn't trade-in the traditional pranks and gags that include the players and unsuspecting victims for narrative and emotional impact, but it does attempt to include both of these elements which is both a bit of a surprise and one of the detractors of the film. It is hard enough for us to take the material seriously, but for Knoxville and his crew not to let the audience in on the joke seems an odd choice. This is slightly redeemed, but it's almost too little too late.

THE LAST STAND Review

You get what you pay for with The Last Stand and though that may be a generic movie, it is a generic action movie in top form. It earns this reputation largely due to the fact it has the man who defined the action genre at its center. It is a good thing Arnold Schwarzenegger chose this as his welcome back film otherwise it wouldn't be nearly as fun or even been made in the first place I imagine. There has been a good amount of positive press going towards these kind of throwback films to 80's no-brainer B-movies that shoot first and think later. Schwarzenegger has been featured in both Expendable films and though he makes his grand return with this one he doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon as he will re-team with pal Sylvester Stallone again later this year in The Tomb. As the first shoot, think later train of thought plays fast and loose with the standard script structure allowing plausibility and logic to fly right out the window, none of it matters as the reason people even go to see a movie like this is not for the insightful story or original storytelling methods but instead to see things and people blow up. There is no shortage of that here as director Jee-woon Kim makes his English-language debut with a film that mixes in tons of over-the-top violence with a cartoonish style that never meshes as well as it should to find a balance in tone. I haven't seen any of Kim's previous films, but despite his lack of story to work with and his tendencies to sway between gritty and silly the guy knows how to utilize his star and he plays that angle nicely. He helps the iconic action star prove he really might be back even if not as many people were waiting on his return as he expected.