Initial Reaction: Video Review - JASON BOURNE & BAD MOMS

After nine years away from the role it seems audiences were more primed than ever to see Matt Damon return to the Bourne franchise as the fifth film in the series and the fourth starring Damon scored an estimated $60 million. That opening was enough to deliver the second largest domestic opening for a Bourne film behind only The Bourne Ultimatum, which opened with $69.2 million in 2007. If that wasn't enough to call this thing a win in the wake of a summer that has seen sequels debut to far less than their predecessors this $60 million opening for Jason Bourne is almost $22 million more than what The Bourne Legacy earned in 2012 when Universal attempted to keep the franchise alive with Jeremy Renner in the lead role. Personally, I love the Bourne films as they are one of the rare trilogies that featured an improvement with each new entry and while this latest installment more or less covers the same ground as its predecessors it still does what it's expected to do really well and is entertaining at the same time. This very much put me in the middle when it came to my thoughts on Jason Bourne as I'd hoped they might be more adventurous with the story, but couldn't necessarily complain as I was enthralled the entirety of the fast-paced runtime. Though I came away somewhat on the fence about Jason Bourne both Charles and I felt the same way about the discouraging Bad Moms. The R-rated comedy starring Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn opened to $23.4 million and is essentially what the trailers told us it was and nothing more. This was rather disappointing as the film clearly had an opportunity and an audience that it could tap into and appeal to in a unique way, but preferred to take the easy route of being a conveyor belt comedy rather than something truly insightful. Either way, we had a lot of fun reviewing the new releases this weekend and hope you'll take the time to hit the jump, check out our reviews, and of course subscribe to the channel as we have a new review (or reviews) up each week!

BAD MOMS Review

Being a male I may not be the target audience for a movie about moms cutting loose and attempting to let go of the pressures and stress they are under not to mention the inherent guilt all mothers seem to feel when everyone around them isn't happy and settled, but still...I try to observe. In that I like to think of myself as somewhat perceptive I can see how a movie with these core ideas might be appealing to its target demographic. The thing with Bad Moms though is that right from the get-go the circumstances of this world are exaggerated in such a drastic fashion that it's not so much funny as it is distracting-and that it's executed poorly-makes it distractingly bad. While I haven't been around many Jr. High PTA meetings lately it's hard to imagine a woman in the vein of Christina Applegate's Stepford-ish Gwendolyn having as much control over the going-ons of a public school as this woman does, much less that someone of her mentality would even care. I mean, wouldn't her kids be in some private school where she is a dime a dozen? Petty complaints aside-Bad Moms is simply trying too hard to be what it doesn't need to be in order to be funny. There is ample opportunity for not only exploring the interesting facets of the psyche of mothers and how they're supposed to come off as if they have everything under control at all times, but rather than explore the small truths in the absurdity of that mentality Bad Moms resorts to F-bombs as its main source of punchlines as it isn't inspired enough to reach for more. That isn't to say exaggeration is wrong-comedies can thrive on that particular brand of ridiculousness, but given the circumstances and type of story writer/directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (21 & Over) are attempting to convey such over-the-top shenanigans would have been better saved for scenarios such as the PTA meetings rather than leaning on it consistently when something a little more subtle or observational might have worked in the films favor. More examples containing small truths that hit the mark of the "funny because it's so true" flavor rather than the "yelling makes it funnier" train of thought would have provided for more substance to both the story and these characters-letting the audience know they really do understand the struggle, but what do I know? Mothers all the way from their late-twenties to early-sixties might love this thing and there's nothing wrong with that necessarily-I just think they might have enjoyed a more adept approach to the same material a little more. I think they deserve it.

Teaser Trailer for THE GREAT WALL Starring Matt Damon

With Jason Bourne opening this weekend it only made sense that Universal would also release the trailer for their next Matt Damon-led tentpole in The Great Wall. If it seems like you've been hearing or reading about this movie for some time that is likely because you have. At least five years ago there were talks of Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai) directing the film and a number of other actors (inlcuding Henry Cavill) starring in the lead role. As it has finally come to fruition though Universal has cast Damon in the lead and partnered with Legendary who are more or less a standalone entertainment company based in Hong Kong that have positioned themselves to produce films that are as commercially viable in China as they are worldwide (think Warcraft). In partnering with Legendary the studios have also brought in Hero and House of Flying Daggers director Zhang Yimou to helm the project and as far as visuals go this thing looks to be quite impressive. Though it is striking to see as white and as American a male as Matt Damon walking through hordes of Chinese soldiers in his Asian-inspired armor, one has to be curious exactly what the story is here especially given the plot summary only states that it is a mystery centered around the construction of the Great Wall of China. What we see in this first teaser though divulges the film will not necessarily be a strict drama that highlights one characters personal story concerning the construction of the wall as that's what I assumed it might be given it starred Damon and was originally set to be released this fall. Instead, we see that the great wall was built not only to keep out nomadic groups from the Chinese Empire, but apparently gigantic monsters as well. While the jury will be out on the story until after the movie comes out the visuals alone are enough to get me in a theater to experience this thing on the big screen. The Great Wall also stars Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe, Hanyu Zhang, Eddie Peng, Lu Han, Kenny Lin, Junkai Wang, Zheng Kai, Cheney Chen, Xuan Huang, Andy Lau, and will now open on February 17, 2017.

JASON BOURNE Review

After nearly a decade in seclusion and having resorted to bare knuckle brawling for petty cash Jason Bourne resurfaces with the simply titled Jason Bourne, but was there really a need for him to? Given the pristine state of the original trilogy (I didn't mind The Bourne Legacy as much as some, but don't mind forgetting it either) there was hesitance on my part to come to terms with the fact director Paul Greengrass (Supremacy and Ultimatum) and star Matt Damon could potentially ruin what didn't necessarily need another chapter. Of course, I really enjoy the Bourne films and the prospect of another was naturally enticing, so...double-edged sword. That said, the biggest obstacle this new film was going to have to overcome was that it has in fact been nine years since Bourne was on the big screen and given time goes on there would have to be something almost cataclysmic happening if Bourne had somehow managed to stay out of the spotlight this long and then suddenly be pulled back in. This was the code Greengrass and co-writer Christopher Rouse (who has served as the editor on all of the Bourne films) were going to need to crack if they were going to have fans of the series buy into the fact Bourne was indeed back and it is here that the cracks instead begin to show in their lack of inspiration rather than the other way around. Essentially giving Julia Stiles' character, Nicky Parsons, the task of delivering exposition before telling Bourne that she has somewhat involuntarily pulled him back into this world he has been working so hard to evade things already smell funky. Without going too far into spoiler territory is to simply say that the biggest hurdle this film was going to have to overcome is basically dismissed with a single line of dialogue and then not really taken into account again due to the fact it seems Greengrass and Rouse know they don't have the best justification for the films existence. Still, once we do get past this initial hurdle in the first act of the film Jason Bourne becomes what we know and recognize from the previous films and if that is what you're looking for then you'll no doubt come out more pleased than pissed. As a Bourne fan, I had a fine time with the film and enjoyed several of the story elements, but that it did feel so familiar was disappointing. The story of Jason Bourne is one of the rare instances where it became more intriguing with each additional film, going in different directions than expected and adding new layers to the titular characters past, but while Jason Bourne once again discovers more of his past here the film fails to go anywhere new with its narrative.

First Trailer for Mel Gibson's HACKSAW RIDGE Starring Andrew Garfield

Mel Gibson's first directorial effort in ten years has finally received a trailer and I couldn't be more excited to see what this feature has in store for us. Set to have its premiere at the Venice Film Festival next month and then be released in early November of this year it seems as if Lionsgate will be putting a lot of stock into this potential Oscar contender while at the same time doing their best to skirt the fact this is indeed a Mel Gibson movie. Though the trailer proclaims that Hacksaw Ridge comes from the Academy Award-winning director of Braveheart there is no mention of Gibson's name at all. Instead, what we are treated to is a nice summation of the true story concerning Desmond Doss, a conscientious collaborator and Army medic who refused to bear arms during World War II, but ended up saving 75 men during the bloodiest battle of the war without firing a single bullet. To go along with this inspiring tale is the pairing of some pretty spectacular visuals as Gibson has teamed with cinematographer Simon Duggan who has worked on films such as I, Robot and The Great Gatsby. The real highlight of the trailer though is the focus on Andrew Garfield's performance and given he has this as well as Martin Scorsese's Silence coming out this year it could be a huge awards season for the guy. Though the British actor puts on something of an exaggerated southern accent here it doesn't sound terrible, but rather is made to be endearing by the end of the clip which I assume is what the actor was going for given his plight could certainly be seen one of two ways depending on the audience member. The story is ripe for the feature film treatment and Gibson along with co-screenwriter Andrew Knight have hopefully tapped into the complexities such a story can provide rather than delivering more of a generic war film. Based on the trailer it seems Gibson intends to become known more for his art rather than his antics again, but of course only time will tell. Hacksaw Ridge also stars Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer, Hugo Weaving, Rachel Griffiths, Vince Vaughn, and opens on November 4th, 2016.