Yearly Archives: 2016

‘Suicide Squad’ (2016) Review

‘Suicide Squad’ (2016) Review

Suicide Squad (2016) Review: Please Don't Watch This Movie fans will know, August is a horrible month to be in. It's the time when popcorn flicks come out that are undeniably the worst of the summer. If summer is the slip n slide of movie seasons, where we dive headfirst with childish abandon into movies that succeed based on fun; August is the end of the slip n slide where the water has run out, yet the slide continues, leaving us afflicted with friction and wondering why we slid in the first place. Sometimes though that slide has an extra burst of slip, and you get movies like 'Rise of The Planet of the Apes', that buck the trend of August movies being unadulterated trash.'Suicide Squad' does not buck that trend. At all. Set sometime after the events of 'Batman v Superman', 'Suicide Squad' is a movie that tries to shift the focus away from heroes, putting the spotlight on the villains. The idea is, in a world where super people are showing up, and cities are being destroyed, the world needs a way to fight back. Enter the suicide squad, or 'Task Force X' as the movie calls them. A team of super-villains, forced to either comply with the mission at hand, or die from the bomb in their neck.Why are they there? What purpose does a man whose skill is throwing really sharp boomerangs have against a witch with powers…

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‘Jason Bourne’ (2016) Review

‘Jason Bourne’ (2016) Review

Jason Bourne (2016) Review: Bourne. Again. Last year, if you paid any attention to the movies, you might have noticed quite a few spy movies came out. You had new spies in 'Kingsman: The Secret Service' and 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E', and all the old guys came out to play like James Bond and Ethan Hunt. Someone it seems wasn't invited to the party. Jason Bourne. I didn't mind this of course, having never seen a Bourne movie, but it was a notable absence. There's no mystery as to the why the spy is making a comeback of course. In this day and age of Snowden, where our information is readily available to the discretionary powers that be, movies about surveillance tap right into the heart of what's happening today.'Jason Bourne' is no different. The movie of course follows Jason Bourne. A man trained to be the ultimate super spy by the CIA. After having exposed the secret agency's secrets out to the world, Jason goes into hiding. He makes his money in underground street fights, against guys he can knock out with one punch. However, when someone from Jason's past brings him information that the world needs to know about, he must decide to either turn a blind eye, or get back in the game. He probably gets back into the game though cause, that'd be a real short movie otherwise. Really 'Jason Bourne' follows a very classic resurgent hero story. The protagonist is brought back into the…

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‘Star Trek Beyond’ (2016) Review

‘Star Trek Beyond’ (2016) Review

Star Trek: Beyond (2016) Review: Saviour of the Summer When J.J Abrams was announced as the director of 'The Force Awakens' I thought "How amazing is it that one man gets to bring both Star Trek and Star Wars to a new generation". Abrams has always proclaimed to be more of a Star Wars fan so, it seemed to be a better fit. However, after seeing what he did with both franchises, I'm inclined to think differently. The worst thing about 'The Force Awakens' is being to beholden to the original material. The best thing about Abrams' 'Star Trek', is that it isn't. Sometimes it's better to get eyes from outside the fandom to create things for the fandom. Then again, the man made 'Star Trek: Into Darkness', which was problematic for being a remake of 'Wrath of Khan', so maybe I'm just spewing trash.You should probably just forget that movie anyway, since that's exactly what 'Star Trek Beyond' wants you to do, and it gives you a pretty solid film in return. Set three years into the 5 year journey of the USS Enterprise, the movie of course follows Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and the crew you've come to know and love. When a routine rescue mission goes south, and the ship comes crashing down, that crew is left stranded, without resources and Simon Pegg. No it's not a Mission Impossible movie, I promise.Beyond the galaxy's oldest bromance, this movie actually has quite a bit of character. The characters are left momentarily…

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‘Ghostbusters’ (2016) Review

‘Ghostbusters’ (2016) Review

Ghostbusters (2016) Review: A Funny Kind Of Awkward Whatever happened to remakes and sequels? I realize I'm about to argue the artistic integrity of a practice that involves recycling the same stories. I know that's not a winning stance to take, but in my eyes, these movies used to at least carry the pretense of caring. Nowadays, once you have the name of an established property, you don't have to do much else. Instead of tweaking the original story, adding a few interesting new ideas here and there, they are now just shy of carbon copies of the original. If you want examples go see 'Independence Day: Resurgence' or the biggest movie of 2015 'The Force Awakens'.The new 'Ghostbusters' is no different. The biggest issue with it is its lack of originality. Based on the 1984 original of the same name, 'Ghostbusters' is a remake through and through. New York City has seen an rise in paranormal activity, posing a threat to modern society. Thankfully, a group of keen eyed scientists obsessed with the other side pay attention and form the group known as the Ghostbusters, to, you guessed it, bust some ghosts. Only this time, instead of a bunch of dudes, it's a group of girls. Namely, Leslie Jones, Kate Mckinnon, Kirsten Wiig and Melissa Mccarthy.That seems to be the only real change in this film, and it's largely artificial. Story wise, it's beat for beat the same as the original.…

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‘The Legend of Tarzan’ (2016) Review

‘The Legend of Tarzan’ (2016) Review

The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Review: As we reach the middle of the summer blockbuster season, I think it's time to acknowledge: This is a really weird summer. After the explosive way it began with 'Captain America: Civil War', week after week has been a constant stream of movies that were just...strange. I would go into most of them not really excited and leave the mostly just confused, but not exactly disappointed. That's what happened with Independence Day 2, Ninja Turtles 2, and Warcraft. Thus far, there hasn't really been a movie that was worth raving about. That even includes 'Finding Dory' which I've had retroactive mixed feelings about.'The Legend of Tarzan' is no different. I didn't hate it, but I couldn't argue with someone that did, and I understood it, but that's mostly because it's really stupid at times. I won't even call this a live action remake of a Disney classic. It's touted as being a more faithful adaptation of the original story. The untold story if you will. The movie takes place 8 years after Tarzan's left the jungle. He took back his birth name, got a mansion and just boatloads of cash. Safe to say after spending decades in a jungle world, he landed on his feet. The jungle though is not finished with the lord of the apes. A convoluted plot involving slavery, warring tribes and special diamonds brings Tarzan back to his home. Here he must face…

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‘Finding Dory’ (2016) Review

‘Finding Dory’ (2016) Review

Finding Dory (2016) Review: Just Keep Feeling I've now reached a point in my life where the unnecessary sequels that are being made are based off of movies that I saw in their initial release. The feeling of a beloved story that may be muddled by the cash grab disguised as the next chapter no one asked for, I now understand. Still, Pixar is Pixar and despite not being as perfect as they once were, the name inspires confidence. Although, since their last attempt at a revival of a long property was the decent, yet forgettable Monsters University, I went into this one cautious to say the least. As I learned in the first film though, I can't go through life being afraid of everything. No need to in this case because 'Finding Dory' is nothing to fear, in fact, it's simply sublime. After having striking new memory about her parents, 'Finding Dory' follows the adventure of Dory, Marlin and Nemo as they embark across the ocean to find Dory's long lost parents. Rather than a strict repeat of the first film however, 'Finding Dory' surprised and delighted me. While it's been 13 years since the 'Finding Nemo' hit theatres, (Yeah. You're old) the movie takes place just one year after Nemo was found. It remarkably doesn't feel awkward or forced at all. The characters immediately fall back into place and it's almost as if you never left them. At the same time, the movie isn't afraid to show growth. Finding Dory does the best…

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‘Me Before You’ (2016) Review

‘Me Before You’ (2016) Review

Me Before You (2016) Review: Love and Tragedy Reviewing movies as a hobby, or a career, if you take it seriously enough, sometimes means seeing movies you don’t want to see. To date, I’ve only had about one or two experiences which made me rethink my choice to do this as consistently as I am. Many of the movies that I dread seeing end up with something redeemable about them. Still though, there are times when I’m standing in that lobby, looking at my ticket, having spent my hard earned money where I say, “Why am I here”. ‘Me Before You’ was one such time.Like all those other times though, I was pleasantly surprised that ‘Me Before You’ was not the banal run of the mill, overtly cheesy romance film its trailer suggests. The movie follows the story of one Louisa Clarke and Will Traynor. Louisa is Will’s caretaker, after Will suffers an accident that leaves him without the use of his arms or legs. As the movie goes on the two start to develop feelings for each other, and the movie explores the questions of what it means to be alive, and how to live a life worth living.The other side of the coupling fares a little better. Emelia Clarke’s Louisa Clark delightfully plays against type in this movie. I’m used to her as a take no prisoners femme fatale, but here she’s a ball of awkward quirk. A burst of positivity to crack the…

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‘Kingston Paradise’ (2016) Review

‘Kingston Paradise’ (2016) Review

Kingston Paradise (2013) Review: Glory & Grit The Jamaican film industry is not overburdened by choice. The adage best equipped to describe it is quality over quantity. With such a small group to choose from, it's not difficult for viewers to set one film as the standard of all Jamaican cinema. For some it's 'Shottas', the 2002 film about the violent drug trade and its effect on the larger society. For others, myself included, it's 'The Harder They Come', the story of a musician turned drug lord in an effort to make a name for himself. However, regardless of your choice, you're bound to come across the same themes and story lines. The protagonist will try to escape the harsh reality of his situation, at first by legitimate means, but then circumstances will lead him to turn to the very criminal activity that made his reality so harsh in the first place.The latest Jamaican film, 'Kingston Paradise' is no different, but it's by no means a bad film. The movie follows the plight of one 'Rocksy' played by Christopher 'Johnny' Daley. Rocksy is a taxi driver who finds his side business of selling phone cards and condoms to his passengers isn't enough to aid him in his escape from the brutality that is downtown Kingston. Down on his luck, Rocksy takes to a life of crime. Of course, this being a cautionary tale, next to nothing goes his way. Some people just…

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‘Warcraft’ (2016) Review

‘Warcraft’ (2016) Review

Warcraft (2016) Review:Don't Believe The Hype* *(Non-Existent) Just as 2015 seemed to be the year of the spy, 2016 is apparently the year of the video game movie. Already we've had an Angry Birds movie, and later on we're going to be treated to an Assassin's Creed film. Those two movies are made for audiences of a different age though, and somewhere in the middle you can find Warcraft. Based on the online game everyone and their little brother were addicted to years ago, and directed by near perfect director Duncan Jones of 'Source Code' and 'Moon' fame, Warcraft seemed prime to finally, FINALLY prove that there was a way to do movies based on games right.21%? That's worse than 'Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice', which is barely even a movie. As I sit to write this review, I can't fathom a score that low. In fact, for all the hate 'Warcraft' is currently getting, I actually kinda liked it.To get into it, 'Warcraft' starts off the same way every fantasy film does. A nice bit of narration to explain this vast and storied world to us. And as we all know, the only time it's okay to do narration, is fantasy films, Shane Black movies, and Fight Club. The narration tells us of a conflict between orcs and humans that doesn't really do much to contextualize the film. In fact, all you really need to know is Azeroth is your…

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‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows’ (2016) Review

‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows’ (2016) Review

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016) Review:And Into The Trash Of all the properties in the world, I can't imagine why this one has staying power. It's name alone is a jumbled mess of concepts, thrown at the viewer with the subtlety of a freight train. It seems like the type of thing that would have died years ago, maybe to be brought back as nostalgia passed like bad gas, but to consistently be present in every decade since the 80s feels...strange. For all that time the property seems largely unchanged from what it became in the old cartoon show, which I guess is impressive but also...kind of unheard of.The latest from the heroes in a half-shell is 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows', a sequel to the 2014 reboot. Unlike that reboot, this film attempts to take a different approach. As the title suggests, 'Out of The Shadows' is a much brighter film that doesn't take itself quite as seriously as the first film. After all at the end of the day, it is a movie about giant turtles who fight ninjas.Part of that lightening of tone is in the inclusion of various elements of the TMNT canon. You have Bebop & Rocksteady, a pair of dimwitted henchmen turned into a giant Warthog & Rhinoceros respectively. Casey Jones, a hockey enthusiast pretty boy who for some reason despite being a cop, opts to use a hockey…

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