POKÉMON DETECTIVE PIKACHU Review

It's still difficult for me to wrap my brain around the fact that despite countless video games and other IP adaptations over the years that Pokémon has somehow eluded becoming a big screen, live-action event film until this weekend. I can remember Christmas of '99 and getting a Game Boy Color that had to be shared between myself and my siblings with each of us wanting to play our respective Pokémon games at the same time whether that was the red version I received or the blue version my brother did. This was my first real encounter with the world of Pokémon after which I enjoyed collecting the cards more so than I did necessarily playing the actual game. And then there was of course the animated series which led to a couple of animated feature-length films and some Nintendo 64 games (Pokémon Stadium was legit!), but in retrospect it all felt more like a fad that came and went rather quickly in the scheme of things. After the Pokémon roster started expanding past that original one hundred and fifty characters and through to a few years back when the brand re-claimed its dominance over the market with Pokémon GO-the interactive mobile game that had you feeling like you were actually catching Pokémon in the wild-I'd been more or less out of the loop. Moreover, despite how far-reaching Pokémon continued to be, I simply couldn't muster any interest in the multi-format craze; the individual facets of it seeming as widespread as the next and each with as dedicated a fan base as the next. What was I missing? With this in mind, one can imagine my initial response to the news Warner Bros. was hiring Ryan Reynolds to voice Pikachu in a live-action adaptation of one of the newer video games that dealt with this fan-favorite Poké-creature becoming a detective. In short, it sounded like a really dumb idea that could in no way translate to the big screen in any type of credible manner that might pull in an audience beyond the already initiated and the Deadpool 3 screenwriters. Rather, it felt as if it would probably end up going the route of those Alvin and the Chipmunk or Smurf movies where no one actually cared about them and the only people who saw them were children whose parents needed eighty-eight minutes of repose over the weekend. This was, of course, until the first trailer arrived lending the feature the favor of clearly being a more creative endeavor than those aforementioned cash before quality adaptations. This is to say there was evidence of a certain level of care given in the creation of Pokémon Detective Pikachu as the trailer and subsequent execution of the film illustrates both a style and ambition in developing this world that means to both fulfill the fan base as well as weave this strange attraction from the uninitiated by being just weird enough to be engaging; by being unabashedly unusual, but undeniably interesting.

First Trailer for POKÉMON DETECTIVE PIKACHU

This is just...too weird. Warner Bros. has apparently figured out how to, after nearly two decades of prominence in the States, concoct a live-action Pokémon movie that actually looks nothing like I would have imagined the first live-action Pokémon movie would look. That said, I don't remember much about the whole Pokémon boom of the late nineties other than the fact that the show was mildly entertaining as were the Game Boy games and I never got that damn holographic Charizard card. I'm not necessarily a big fan of the brand, but I was able to get into it for a little bit when everyone else was given I was in junior high at the time and all anyone was doing was playing the new N64 games Nintendo and The Pokémon Company were pumping out. How the brand is still viable so long after it catapulted into the zeitgeist twenty years ago is beyond me (and no, I didn't play Pokémon Go a couple of years ago), but as these things go it's clear as to why WB and Legendary would partner with The Pokémon Company to bring these monsters to life for the first time: global appeal, global dollars. Still, POKÉMON Detective Pikachu doesn't exactly seem the obvious route to go. The film is apparently based on a spin-off game that came out a few years ago in Japan. The Japanese version had an older, deeper voice actor performing the role of Pikachu, but for this Americanized version we have Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds. To hear this very distinctive voice coming out of this well-known character is a bit disorienting to be sure, but it will be interesting to see if Reynolds can condition audiences to look past his voice and believe it really is the character of Pikachu rather than Reynolds in a booth somewhere. The film concerns itself with an ace detective, Harry Goodman, who goes missing thus prompting his son, Tim (Justice Smith), to find out what happened to his father. The trailer tells us Tim is the only one who is able to actually understand Pikachu and thus the two of them partner up as Pikachu assists in Tim's investigation; the two of them piecing together clues through the streets of Ryme City. POKÉMON Detective Pikachu also stars Kathryn Newton, Ken Watanabe, is directed by Rob Letterman (Goosebumps), and opens on May 10th, 2019.

Teaser Trailer for FIFTY SHADES FREED

I didn't see Fifty Shades of Grey or Fifty Shades Darker. I don't have much of a desire to. My wife didn't read the books and I didn't read the books. My wife had no interest in seeing the movies and I certainly wasn't going into this one by myself and so whatever it is about this series that seems to capture supposedly off-limits sexual subjects and entice so many females will likely forever remain a mystery to me. All of this is to say this trilogy capper that completes the franchise that began in 2015 received a teaser trailer today as the promotional campaign has officially kicked off with a glimpse at the poster available as well after the jump. Fifty Shades Freed chronicles the continuing and presumed developing relationship between Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) and Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) as Anastasia must adjust not only to married life but to her new husband's wealthy lifestyle and controlling nature after accepting Christian's proposal in Fifty Shades Darker. While I admittedly don't know much about the story contained in the pages of E.L. James's best-selling series this first look at the sequel certainly seems to keep in step tonally with James Foley's follow-up to Sam-Taylor Johnson's first film. Foley is the sixty-three year old filmmaker who made Glengarry Glen Ross and At Close Range, but whose last feature film prior to this year's Darker was the out and out 2007 bomb Perfect Stranger that starred Bruce Willis and Halle Berry. Add to this the fact writer Niall Leonard, who had done strictly serialized television work prior to working on this series, took over for the more inexperienced Kelly Marcel and has adapted both the second and third novels for film and there might be some interesting layers to look for as the series progresses. Still, it is somewhat uninspiring as Fifty Shades Darker seemed to more or less get the same negative to downright terrible reviews that the first film received and so I don't really see the pace changing for this final installment even if that would seemingly suggest there is a lot more action to be had as the conclusion of all this comes to pass. Fifty Shades Freed also stars Victor Rasuk, Tyler Hoechlin, Arielle Kebbel, Eric Johnson, Max Martini, Dylan Neal, Rita Ora, Luke Grimes, Fay Masterson, Brant Daugherty, and opens on February 9th, 2018.

Teaser Trailer for FIFTY SHADES DARKER

I didn't see Fifty Shades of Grey. I don't have much of a desire to. My wife didn't read the books and I didn't read the books. My wife had no interest in seeing the movie and I certainly wasn't going into this one by myself and so whatever it is about this series that seems to capture supposedly off-limits sexual subjects and entice so many females will likely forever remain a mystery to me. All of this is to say the sequel to the 2015 franchise starter finally received a trailer today as the promotional campaign officially kicked off yesterday with a glimpse at the poster and clip from the teaser trailer. Fifty Shades Darker chronicles the continuing and presumed developing relationship between Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) and Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) as Christian wrestles with his inner demons and Anastasia confronts the anger and envy of the women who came before her. While I admittedly don't know much about the story contained in the pages of E.L. James's best-selling series this first look at the sequel certainly seems to keep in step tonally with Sam-Taylor Johnson's first film who won't be returning for the remainder of the series. Rather, both Darker and Fifty Shades Freed will be helmed by James Foley, the now sixty-three year old man who made Glengarry Glen Ross and At Close Range, but whose last feature film was the out and out 2007 bomb Perfect Stranger that starred Bruce Willis and Halle Berry. How this might effect not just the tone of the movie overall, but the way the series handles the extremely sexual subject matter could be interesting and is what I would look for if I were to ever make it around to seeing these things. Add to this the fact writer Niall Leonard, who has done strictly serialized television work, is taking over for the more inexperienced Kelly Marcel and adapting both the second and third novels for film and there might be some interesting layers to look for as the series progresses. Still, it is somewhat alarming that in light of Taylor-Johnson walking away from the franchise that Universal would immediately hand it over to men to take control of. Fifty Shades Darker also stars Kim Basinger, Tyler Hoechlin, Bella Heathcote, Hugh Dancy, Max Martini, Marcia Gay Harden, Luke Grimes, Rita Ora, and opens on February 10th, 2017.

SOUTHPAW Review

We are what we choose to be or so goes the saying someone said once upon a time and has been repeated countless different ways a billion times since. In the case of Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) though, one seriously begins to wonder what kinds of choices dictate a meteoric rise and then a literal loss of everything precious in his life. Is it simply defending his wife? Getting angry over a fellow boxer challenging his strength and insulting his woman in the process? Would we have done something different than Billy or was he destined for this path of loss and eventual redemption? That seems the simple answer, yes. You strip away the key stone and the rest of the rocks come tumbling down. Why does such an insignificant seeming choice dictate the remainder of your life? It is an impossible question to answer and one that would make anyone want to end their own life were they to contemplate it for too long. Yes, life is about choices-some that we are proud of, others that we will regret and then there are the ones that will haunt us forever. When we meet Billy Hope he is on the top of the world. He is the undefeated lightweight champion of the world at 43-0, he loves his wife Maureen (Rachel McAdams) more than anything and they have a young daughter, Leila (Oona Laurence), who Billy adores. He seems to make more money in one fight than most pro athletes do in a season as he, Maureen and Leila reside in a mansion outside of New York City while his boys (who came up with him through an orphanage in Hell's Kitchen as did Maureen) hang out and collect benefits. His manager, Jordan (50 Cent), seems more than a little sleazy, but his only real point of stress in the opening moments come from fellow boxer Miguel Escobar (Miguel Gomez). After the opening fight in which Billy takes a beating before finding the fuel to light his fire to deliver a knock-out punch, Escobar shows up to taunt the still undefeated champ into fighting him next. Proclaiming Billy's afraid to go against a real fighter, Escobar knows just how to get to Hope. It is in the split second decision to react to Escobar's taunts rather than think it through that Billy makes the choice that will alter his life and his career in unbelievably depressing ways, setting Southpaw up as little more than a familiar story that is carried by great performances.

First Trailer for SOUTHPAW

One of my most anticipated films of the year is director Antoine Fuqua's Southpaw. Not necessarily for Fuqua's involvement (though I do generally enjoy his work and truly appreciate his passion), but for the involvement of one Jake Gyllenhaal. As of late, Gylenhaal has been on something of a hot streak re-defining his place in the public eye and universe of film as one of the most reliable actors working. Whether it be in small-scale pictures such as Source Code and Enemy or in sweeping dramas such as End of Watch and Prisoners, not to mention last years career-defining performance in Nightcrawler, the guy has consistently been hitting it out of the park for almost half a decade now. I can only imagine that way of thinking concerning his career will continue into the projects he's chosen next which are highlighted by Fuqua's latest as well as the Baltasar Kormákur-directed Everest due out in September. While Southpaw doesn't look to necessarily be an Oscar-contender with its late summer release date I still have nothing but high hopes for the project and the first look at the film via the trailer only amps up the anticipation. While I do hate that much of the broad strokes of the story are given away to the point any casual movie-goer can likely tell where things are headed I'm also hoping whoever cut this trailer as well as Fuqua himself (who I assume had some say over the final cut) know better than what they've seemingly done here and are giving us the main points to hook us while hiding much of what is in store for the actual experience. Regardless, I'm putting the trust in Gyllenhaal and Fuqua to hopefully deliver one of my favorite films of the year. Southpaw also stars Forest Whitaker, 50 Cent, Rachel McAdams and opens July 31st.

First Trailer for FIFTY SHADES OF GREY

I have no idea and no real desire to find out what the big hoopla around Fifty Shades of Grey is all about and the first full length trailer for the film does little to change that line of thought. I understand they were originally some kind of offshoot of Twilight fan fiction that drew fire for its sexual content and forced author E.L. James to publish the stories in an episodic nature on her own site. I understand how this can be seen as a win for viral marketing and do-it-yourself publishing, but the content has always been at the question of its validity for me. I know little of the story except for the fact it contains some seriously sexual content and has been made into a film by a female director that might at least bring the masses of mommy's over thirty who devoured the books the adaptation they've been craving. It seems husbands will be oblivious to what their wives are watching while the trailer makes it explicitly clear that the presumably R-rated film will contain all of the carnal pleasures and erotic nature of the source material. The one thing that does intrigue me about the trailer is the look of the film. Director Sam Taylor-Johnson (Nowhere Boy) applies a sleek, very modern aesthetic to the worlds of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey that will likely look dated and categorize the film squarely into this decade in the future, but also hints at an oddly pure and direct tone that seems in line with the narrative and its central character. Fifty Shades of Grey stars Jamie Dornan, Dakota Johnson, Jennifer Ehle, Luke Grimes, Marcia Gay Harden, Max Martini, Eloise Mumford, Dylan Neal, Rita Ora, Victor Rasuk, Callum Keith Rennie and opens on Valentine's Day 2015.