TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS Review

Sixteen years removed from Michael Bay’s original foray into live-action robots in disguise and if one were to only watch that initial film and the latest from Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II) they would be accurate in feeling like we haven’t come nearly as far as the journey has felt. There would be more to it than meets the eye if you will. As the interim between these two films has offered four sequels and a spin-off though, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts doesn’t feel so much redundant as it does refreshing; the franchise growing from the humble reset that was Bumblebee while never allowing itself the arrogance of believing it takes anything near two hours and forty-five minutes (yes, that’s the actual runtime of 2014’s Age of Extinction) to tell what would easily be a three episode arc in the cartoon. 

Rise of the Beasts is, for all intents and purposes, another Transformers film where the thing a bad guy needs to complete/destroy/take over has somehow made its way to earth and the stranded autobots must help a couple of humans who’ve become tangled in the intergalactic mess defeat the antagonist and save the world. The film adheres to these familiar archetypes while executing them in clear and endearing ways. This is especially true when it comes to the action sequences as well as the human characters. Both Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback are so appealing with Ramos lending his effortlessly cool aura to the tone of the film while Fishback infuses things with a certain amount of gravity that feels more authentic than put upon. The New York-based nineties setting doesn’t hurt either as Caple and his set designers go all in on the pop culture references, specific car models, and of course - the soundtrack. Wu-Tang, Tribe Called Quest, Biggie, and LL Cool J tracks all drop at opportune times, enhancing the procedural nature of the plot points and invigorating the vibe again and again.

FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM Review

For what is mostly the first entry in a brand new series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is also very much a re-boot to the Harry Potter universe that Warner Bros. has surprisingly let remain stagnant for a solid five years. As someone who grew up with the books, who matured as they matured, and grasped the implications of the ideas and themes more as the series went on and explored more complex ideas and themes itself I have to admit to not being too thrilled by the fact Warner Bros. planned on extending the world of Harry Potter to New York City and the 1920's with a film about the guy who...wrote one of Harry and his friends textbooks? Despite the fact J.K. Rowling herself would be penning the screenplay there was still a fair amount of trepidation that whatever this Eddie Redmayne-fronted extension of the magical world might ultimately be it would inevitably be little more than a cash grab. A boardroom mandated blockbuster that would repeat as many of the same beats from the Harry Potter franchise as it could while doubling the amount of merchandise and thus the revenue. And so, here we are-the full swing of the Holiday season in November is in full force and amidst the crowded multiplexes sporting a number of high-profile releases and awards season hopefuls we again find the comfort and ease of knowing that while not exactly Harry, we are once again able to escape to the magical world Rowling has conjured up and that, no matter the protagonist, is something of an unavoidable happiness members of a certain generation can't pass up. For the truth is, after allowing my hesitations to subside and instead becoming excited by the fact Rowling and director David Yates (who made the final four Harry Potter films) reunited for a brand new chapter in the development of the wizarding world and that this chapter of the bigger picture would ultimately add more depth and scope to this world we already believed we knew turns out to be a solidly entertaining thrill ride. Though Fantastic Beasts certainly has its issues and two too many endings it casts a charming enough spell to leave audiences wanting more from the adventures of Mr. Newt Scamander and his inevitable battle with Gellert Grindelwald.

Comic-Con Trailer for FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

Director David Yates is a busy man. Not only did he direct one of the more surprising and solid blockbusters of the summer in The Legend of Tarzan, but he also has seemingly just completed both his and Warner Bros. return to the wizarding world with the adaptation of J.K. Rowling's 2001 novel Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them. The book was published under the pseudonym Newt Scamander and purports to be Harry Potter's copy of the textbook that was on his list of necessary school supplies in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Our protagonist here is Scamander himself and given the screenplay was the first penned by Rowling herself I'm assuming this is an original story that will give audiences insight into how Mr. Scamander came to be experienced enough to pen an entire textbook on magical creatures. With the film now only four months away from release it makes sense that WB would not only premiere a full length trailer at Comic-Con, but that they'd also be game to show off more of the completed money shots that likely haven't been available for very long. With this latest (and hopefully final) look at the film we are given a more immersive look into this new era of the wizarding world that this installment seems to be leaning on as a means to justify its existence. While this new film won't deal with "The Boy Who Lived" exclusively, the idea of being able to return to such a world, and in November no less, is something of pure bliss for my generation in particular. The look of the film is certainly engaging and I like that Yates is here to secure a continuity of tone if there can't be much of it elsewhere. While part of me gets more nervous the closer we get to this thing I can't help but to be excited given how big a part of my childhood Harry Potter and his wizarding world was. Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them stars Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Samantha Morton, Jon Voight, Ron Perlman, Carmen Ejogo, Jenn Murray, Faith Wood-Blagrove, and opens on November 18, 2016.

New Trailer for FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

Director David Yates is a busy man. Not only is he in post production on his first post-Harry Potter feature, The Legend of Tarzan, but he also just completed production on Warner Bros. return to the wizarding world with the adaptation of J.K. Rowling's 2001 novel Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them. The book was published under the pseudonym Newt Scamander and purports to be Harry Potter's copy of the textbook that was on his list of necessary school supplies in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Our protagonist here is Scamander himself  and given the screenplay was the first penned by rowling herself I'm assuming this is an original story that will give audiences insight into how Mr. Scamander came to be experienced enough to pen an entire textbook on magical creatures. Though we received a teaser for the film back in December that was purely to put something in front of Star Wars while this full trailer delivers a more immersive look into this new era of the wizarding world that we will explore. While this new film won't deal with "The Boy Who Lived" exclusively, the idea of being able to return to such a world, and in November no less, is something of pure bliss for my generation in particular. The look of the film is certainly engaging and the presence of both Eddie Redmayne and Colin Farrell, including his voice over, boasts the already mythical material that much further into the high pedigree range. In short, I can't wait to see what adventure this fresh perspective holds. Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them also stars Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Samantha Morton, Jon Voight, Ron Perlman, Carmen Ejogo, Jenn Murray, Faith Wood-Blagrove, and opens on November 18, 2016.

Teaser Trailer for FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

Director David Yates is a busy man. Not only is he in post production on his first post-Harry Potter feature, The Legend of Tarzan (which only just premiered it's trailer last week), but he is also in the midst of production on Warner Bros. return to the wizarding world of Harry Potter with the film adaptation of J.K. Rowling's 2001 novel Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them. The book was published under the pseudonym Newt Scamander and purports to be Harry Potter's copy of the textbook that was on his list of necessary school supplies in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Given our protagonist here is Scamander himself I'm assuming this is an original story that will give audiences insight into how Mr. Scamander came to be experienced enough to pen an entire textbook on the magical creatures of the wizard universe. Given what we have here is merely a teaser with very little actual footage it seems clear Warner Bros. simply wanted to get something in front of Star Wars this weekend so that audiences will know they are going to be able to return to the world of Harry Potter next year. While this new film won't deal with "The Boy Who Lived" exclusively, the idea of being able to return to such a world, and in November no less, is something of pure bliss for my generation in particular. Without having much to go on I can't really tell whether I should necessarily be excited for the film, but with Yates, who helmed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix all the way through the finale in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, once again in charge of things I have a large amount of faith in the fact I will enjoy this new adventure. Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them stars Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Samantha Morton, Jon Voight, Ron Perlman, Carmen Ejogo, Jenn Murray, Faith Wood-Blagrove, Colin Farrell, and opens on November 18, 2016.

THE BOOK OF LIFE Review

There are a lot of interesting things going on in director Jorge R. Gutierrez's feature film debut, The Book of Life. There are a lot of ideas, some very intriguing storytelling functions and a visual element all its own that will set the film apart from other animated fare for years to come. Still, there is both something distinctly unique to the work while never rising above mediocrity in terms of how affected or entertained I was by it. Surely, those in the Hispanic community that venture out to see this tale of their heritage come to life will get more out of it than I did, but taking it simply on the terms of being a movie it didn't entrance me like I'd hoped it would after seeing the gorgeous trailers. All of this could be due to my lack of knowledge around the history of this holiday, but however unfair it may seem the film should still reach beyond the borders of its intended audience and pull unfamiliar onlookers in. After walking out of the film, I thought to myself I didn't really have much to say about it other than it is a movie, it exists and it's fine for what it is. It says what it wants to say without getting caught up in having to conform to any typical standards that come along with being a movie for children, but that doesn't make it all the more interesting. With this seeming freedom Gutierrez takes the most liberties with the look of his film and adheres to the character design of what is clearly the dolls he grew up being familiar with. His three leads in Manolo (Diego Luna), Maria (Zoe Saldana) and Joaquin (Channing Tatum) are each charismatic and charming, but despite this being a story straight out of their cultural background it is one that still feels familiar. I didn't dislike the movie, not at all, but I didn't ever come to care about the characters as I should have given their trajectory and likely serves as the reason I feel so disconnected with the material. There is clearly a lot going on here that will entrance the eyeballs and a fair amount of musical interludes that will perk up the sometimes sullen material, but all in all The Book of Life just feels too routine to amount to anything as great or groundbreaking as it seems to be reaching for.

PACIFIC RIM Review

As I sat watching the latest from director Guillermo del Toro I couldn't help but wonder how much I would have loved this had I seen this movie when I was seven or eight. It likely would have been an earth shattering event, a childhood defining piece of entertainment that would influence countless Halloween costumes and inspire me to want to make my own monster movies. Unfortunately, I'm not seven or eight but was still able to sit in awe as these giant, man-made robots did battle with these monsters from the deep that have come to be known as Kaiju. If you are going to see Pacific Rim it is likely due in large to this aspect and on that basis the film delivers in spades. It was admittedly nice to walk into a big summer action film in the vein of something that is usually part of a franchise (and if this does well enough financially, it soon enough will be) and being able to know you can expect something new and fresh that requires no prior knowledge or research. With so many of these comic book adaptations and reboots being produced with hopes of cashing in on name recognition it feels somewhat of a rarity to have a studio lend this type of film the budget it needs to be and look credible enough that we become so invested in these people and the world they live in that we want to go on another adventure with them. Pacific Rim is a sometimes cheesy, but mostly raucous good time that is aided by the fact it has a very straightforward story, characters we can root for and no intentions of being anything other than flat-out, B-movie entertainment. I wasn't overly looking forward to the project and have never really understood the fascination that has come to surround del Toro as I enjoyed the Hellboy films as well as Pan's Labyrinth, but besides a signature style didn't see much in the way of why his name was being singled out so heavily as being so creative. With this film, the director has given me reason to know that he really understands the audience he is making his films for. I still wasn't as enthralled or as wowed by the film as I'd hoped, but was at least entertained enough to say that Pacific Rim is the kind of summer action movie we don't get enough of these days.  

First Trailer For Guillermo Del Toro’s PACIFIC RIM

I am not a huge fan of Mr. Guillermo del Toro but I enjoyed Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy movies well enough to look forward to what he is doing next and a ton of fanboy anxiety has been circling that project. Titled Pacific Rim and documenting the rise of massive monsters from our own seas and the human race attempting to fight back by creating weapons known as Jaegars that can be controlled by human pilots from a distance. The concept is pretty interesting but the visual flair you expect from such a project seems a little unfinished in this first trailer we have been delivered. I did not know much concerning the plot going in, but it was hard to avoid the posters and talk of the film after this years comic-con. I am excited to see how this turns out because there is certainly a level of expectation with del Toro but despite having an interesting idea the way the story looks to be executed could prove tiresome and overly familiar to a summer audience looking to find something new rather than, dare I say it, Transformers or Battleship. The quality may end up (and hopefully will) being miles ahead of those films, but this trailer does have a slight feel of deja vu to it. Still the film has an international cast led by a charismatic Idris Elba and also features Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Ron Perlman, Charlie Day, and Clifton Collins Jr. Pacific Rim is slated to hit theaters on July 12, 2013 in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D.