THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART Review

It was a given The LEGO Movie would eventually get a sequel, but it's kind of crazy it took five years for that sequel to actually happen. That said, Warner Bros. has certainly expanded the LEGO brand by giving LEGO Batman his own feature as well as delivering their only misstep thus far, The LEGO Ninjago Movie. And while there was some trepidation going into this delayed, but inevitable sequel given original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were no longer at the helm there was some hope given it was still their minds that conjured up the screenplay. Thankfully, Trolls director Mike Mitchell was brought on board and has successfully converted Lord and Miller's screenplay into a sequel that keeps things in step with if not necessarily surpassing the original. Of course, given the precedent set for the original and what it turned out to be versus the raised bar for the sequel and what it has turned out to be-that's a solid accomplishment and a resounding endorsement. That is to say, upon initially hearing there was going to be a movie based solely around the LEGO brand and the toys and properties they owned it seemed obvious the eventual movie would turn out to be little more than a cash grab; nothing more than one big commercial, if you will. To expect this was ultimately foolish given the creative team behind it as Lord and Miller delivered a witty, colorful, and (per usual) meta piece of cinema that took some unexpected themes and conveyed them in a manner that allowed the children to enjoy the toys coming to life while the adults latched onto those ever fleeting moments of innocence that come with raising children and attaching certain memories to their playthings. The LEGO Movie intentionally evaded everything audiences expected it to be, disrupting the status quo and turning heads, but how was something so inventive and appropriately rowdy supposed to then follow itself up with something as conventional as a sequel? Especially given the abstract qualities of the first and having to continue the same narrative while holding tight to the themes the first film so perfectly encapsulated? It turns out, the trick is to lean into such things even further; deliver the same goods in a different package and through different techniques. And though The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part might feel redundant in certain ideas, the ideas it's pedaling never don't need to be heard...especially when they're this creatively catchy.    

First Trailer for THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART

It was a given that The LEGO Movie would eventually get a sequel, but it's kind of crazy it will have been five years since the first film came out by the time the second movie arrives early in 2019. It seems much of this has to do with the behind the scenes issue of the revolving people in the director's chair as The LEGO Movie co-director Chris McKay was originally set to direct, but departed when Warner Bros. opted to make The LEGO Batman Movie first which he went on to direct and made a seriously great follow-up to the original out of. Community alum Rob Schrab next signed on to take the reins, but left the project after a year of "creative differences", at which point Trolls director Mike Mitchell was brought on board and was joined thereafter by original The LEGO Movie directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller after they dropped out of the Solo: A Star Wars Story project and signed up to fill more than their producer roles as they then helped craft the screenplay. Speaking of the screenplay, this first teaser seems to indicate that things have only gotten worse after the events of the first film with Chris Pratt's Emmett is in denial about the ramifications of everything that has recently occurred. Prompting new conflict though, is not the return of President Business, but the arrival of LEGO DUPLO® invaders from outer space, wrecking everything faster than they can rebuild. This is a pretty great idea in terms of how to continue to expand this universe while using the stable of toys they have to work with to their greatest advantage. The trailer features some pretty solid gags, an on point utilization of a Beastie Boys track, and-naturally, some commentary on the capability of Elizabeth Banks' Wyldstyle in contrast to the inability of Emmett who was still deemed the "special" and "hero" of the first film. I mean, I get it and am all for championing the strength and independence of women, but do we have to constantly put down men-even the dumb if not well-intentioned ones-every time? This probably wouldn't feel as glaring did it not follow a similar jab in that Wreck-It Ralph trailer yesterday, but alas-the times they are a changin' and that's fine, it's for the better, but let's find some new ways to convey what is meant to be empowering without constantly demeaning. The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part also features the voice talents of Channing Tatum, Will Arnett, Jonah Hill, Tiffany Haddish, Stephanie Beatriz, Arturo Castro, and opens on February 8th, 2019.

THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE Review

The most unexpected of cinematic universe's to be born from this current trend is no doubt this massive LEGO franchise, but behind the trailblazer that is Marvel it is LEGO that seems to be having the most success in carving their own path out of a recognizable brand. Granted, we're now only two movies in with a third on the way this fall, but the point is there seems no sign that this train will be slowing down anytime soon. After absolutely blowing all expectations out of the water with The LEGO Movie directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, 21 & 22 Jump Street) set not only a precedent for any sequels and spin offs that might come in the wake of their success, but they also set a very specific tone that will seemingly serve as the signature trait of this movie universe as The LEGO Batman Movie is just as irreverent as could be expected when it comes to this toy brands take on the dark and brooding titular hero. With the self-aware and spoof-like nature of that initial LEGO outing being paired with a character as established in the pop culture mythos as Batman there is plenty of opportunity for lampooning and lampoon is exactly what director Chris McKay (Robot Chicken) does best. Beginning even before the studio logos hit the screen The LEGO Batman Movie is ready to ridicule and criticize everything about the previous phases in our hero's career while pulling off that oh so critical tone of it being all in good fun. Never does it feel as if The LEGO Batman Movie is taking pot shots at any of the other imaginings or interpretations of the Dark Knight character, but rather McKay is offering comically tinged observations on what makes a grown man running around in a Halloween costume feel so serious when, in layman's terms, the reasons as to why as much is laughable should be obvious. Reprising his role from The LEGO Movie Will Arnett is once again the very self-serious caped crusader who loves being Batman and who expects everyone else to love him because he's Batman. Arnett's take on the character is essentially this raving egomaniac who has to constantly keep up this facade he's built around himself. Pairing this type of Batman with a cavalcade of other characters and villains from the his universe as well as countless other Warner Bros. properties McKay exploits every avenue he can in order to display as much comedy and action on screen as he does merchandise.

New Trailer for THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE

With Comic-Con going strong and Warner Bros. dropping no less than five big trailers today it was inevitable that we'd also get a look at the spin-off of 2014's massive hit The Lego Movie that stars one of Comic-Con's brightest: Batman. While we were lucky enough to get a glimpse of what Ben Affleck's Dark Knight might be up to in Zack Snyder's Justice League film with The Lego Batman Movie Will Arnett reprises his role as the caped crusader in the form of interlocking plastic blocks to give audiences a lighter side of the iconic character. Directed by Chris McKay who was an assistant director on The Lego Movie and has worked on several animated series in the past (including Robot Chicken) the guy clearly has a handle on the tone and style that Phil Lord and Chris Miller established in the original Lego film. In this extended look at the film McKay and writer Seth Grahame-Smith (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) offer their take on Batman as a parent and their version on how the young, what I'm assuming is still Dick Grayson, comes to be the Boy Wonder himself, Robin (voiced by Michael Cera). We also get a first look at Zach Galifianakis playing The Joker which I'm probably more excited about than I should be with the film also looking to beat Zack Snyder's team-up movie to the punch as we get a glimpse of a hero shot with Batman leading the charge surrounded by super friends Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Cyborg, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Green Arrow. All of that said the most important part of the trailer is that it is consistently funny and seems to be keeping up quite nicely with the irreverent tone The Lego Movie so effortlessly pulled off. The LEGO Batman Movie also stars Rosario Dawson as Batgirl/Barbara Gordon, Ralph Fiennes as Alfred, Mariah Carey as the Mayor of Gotham, and opens on February 10th, 2017.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS Review

From the opening cityscape shot of New York City accompanied by Steve Jablonsky's pulsing score new director Dave Green (Earth to Echo) establishes a fresh, but familiar tone with this sequel to 2014's "surprisingly" successful reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle live action series. With Michael Bay producing, a hired hand director, and a string of production issues it is something of a wonder that first film came off as well as it did. In more or less accomplishing what it intended to be for the audience it intended to target Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles qualified as a success. And if that opinion is to be shared it is also highly likely one would agree with the fact this sequel, subtitled Out of the Shadows, is even more successful in its end goals as the story is more coherent, the characters more in tune with their distinctive personalities, and the whole affair in general being a lot more fun. That isn't to say Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is a great film as it certainly has no aspirations to be groundbreaking and seems to only hope to fall in line with the rules rather than to be an exception, but in doing little more than fully embracing its source material in the most cartoony and goofy of ways it gets so many things right it parlays itself into a pleasantly entertaining time at the movies. It would be easy to pick apart a film such as this for the gaps in logic, the idea that Megan Fox's April O'Neil could so easily break into as high profile a lab as Dr. Baxter Stockman's (Tyler Perry), or that Hollywood should be ashamed of itself for wasting the talent of actors like Laura Linney in this type of disposable entertainment, but what would be the point? TMNT has been around long enough at this point that there is some respect due to the series for being as endearing as it has continued to be. The fact that it centers around four genetically mutated reptiles who listen to a giant rat and have a sexy news reporter and a guy with a hockey mask on their team is easy ammo if one cares to criticize such openly ridiculous material, but that Green and screenwriters Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec choose to embrace such absurdities rather than attempt to play them down (ahem...Fantastic Four) makes it easier for the audience to do the same.

POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING Review

There is a definitive climactic feel to everything about the latest venture from The Lonely Island, as if a culmination of everything the trio has been working towards since "Lazy Sunday" debuted over ten years ago. Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer have always had a knack for writing these catchy, hilarious spoofs of trending musical styles by taking timely and/or brutally honest perspectives and applying them to legit beats created by credible producers. The trick is they convey their sometimes cutting commentary and other times all out ridiculousness with the mentality of the pop culture machine in that it all feels superfluous and can be enjoyed for its surface level pleasures, but if one cares to look-there is more there. The Lonely Island have applied that same approach and ideology to their latest feature film project as this is very much a mockumentary that is lampooning the trend of pop stars producing their own "behind the scenes" documentaries in order to both appeal further to their established fan base while hopefully converting a few of the uninitiated as well. Out of the big, sprawling narrative we call life the managing teams around the likes of Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and One Direction have crafted three-act narratives around their phenomenon's in order to give some sense of structure to lives that likely have very little of it. The Lonely Island have taken the idea of this type of branding and selling and picked out every aspect in which they can make fun of thus creating the perfect vessel of sorts for them to both create their own music and release it simultaneously while adding the all-important visual element to those songs in the form of a feature film. As a longtime fan of The Lonely Island and pretty much all they stand for Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping feels like that aforementioned culmination due to the fact this format provides the perfect stage for the type of comedy and social commentary The Lonely Island has always been good at, but have now been afforded the chance to do so on a much bigger scale. Are there issues with the film as a whole? Sure, a few, but to pick out the minor quibbles would be to detract from how much fun it is to watch this deconstruction of not only the music industry, but pop culture in general and the near perfect execution with which it pulls off the task it sets out to accomplish.

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 THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE

With it being the eve of the release of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice it is only necessary we get a look at the next feature film that will star the caped crusader. No, not The Justice League film slated for November of next year, but rather the spin-off of the highly successful 2014 film, The Lego Movie. With The Lego Batman Movie Will Arnett reprises his role as the dark knight in interlocking plastic block form to give audiences the lighter side of what Ben Affleck seems to be delivering in his current big screen iteration. Directed by Chris McKay who was an assistant director on The Lego Movie and has worked on several animated series in the past (including Robot Chicken) the guy clearly has a handle on the tone and style that Phil Lord and Chris Miller established in the original Lego film. In this first look at the film McKay and writer Seth Grahame-Smith (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) offer their take on the more monotonous aspects of being Batman such as fighting crime Every. Day. despite the fact you're fighting crime Every. Day. with the only reward being coming home to heat up Lobster Thermidor in the microwave. The film looks to beat Zack Snyder's team-up movie to the punch as we get a glimpse of a hero shot with Batman leading the charge surrounded by super friends Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Cyborg, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Green Arrow, but we also know that the film will likely center on a very Batman-esque storyline given Michael Cera will voice Robin, Rosario Dawson is Batgirl/Barbara Gordon, with Zach Galifianakis playing The Joker, and Ralph Fiennes and Mariah Carey enlisted to voice Alfred and the Mayor of Gotham, respectively. The Lego Batman Movie opens on February 10th, 2017.

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.

THE LEGO MOVIE Review

Upon initially hearing that there was going to be a movie based solely around the Lego brand and the toys and properties they owned I believed it would turn out to be nothing more than a cash grab, something to build the name (not that it needed it) or possibly expanding the brand may be a better way to approach it. Essentially, I expected this to turn out to be nothing more than one big commercial. There was little reason for it to be more than that, why waste such effort or creative juices on something that would no doubt deliver zero gratification in the end and would only serve as something to decrease further the credibility of Hollywood products and the way in which children's entertainment disparages its audience much of the time allowing itself to get away with body function jokes and funny voices rather than actual, contextual humor? So, why would directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who took something like the beloved 1970's Judi Barrett children's book Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and turned it into a witty, colorful piece of cinema that took some unexpected themes and conveyed them in a manner that allowed the children to enjoy the food falling from the sky while the adults latched onto the insight the story might be re-educating them on, but was at least delivering it to them in a new, almost inspiring light? That these guys went on to direct something like 21 Jump Street, a reboot of an 80's property that no one really put much faith in, and turned it into not only one of the best films of 2012 or one of the better comedies to come out in a good while, but a movie that used its interesting concept to delve into the strange dynamics of male friendships and the actual struggles it takes to maintain those types of friendships as each individual grows up and changes? That film didn't have to be anything more than a re-make slapped together by a board of executives to satisfy humor-hungry teens who move from R-rated comedy to R-rated comedy without a care, but Lord and Miller made it something more, something notable. All of that is to say that the directors have done the same here; they have transformed what could have been that one, massive commercial into something of a reminder, a love letter in ways to the spirit of childhood and how the imagination is just as precious as the adequacy we need to feel as adults. In short, The LEGO Movie is magical and reminds us of how simple it is to feel that little something extra.