The 'Not-So-Critical' Critic: KONG: SKULL ISLAND

The 'Not-So-Critical' Critic: 

on KONG: SKULL ISLAND (2017, 118 minutes, PG-13)

The Quick of It -

The future will be found in apex predator movies.  GODZILLA (2014) and SHIN GODZILLA (the recent Japanese film) was just the taste, PACIFIC RIM a side-dish, and SKULL ISLAND adds to the start of a future buffet.

As a whole, and a total spoiler trap for you, you get what you saw in the trailer.  This film was pure action, filled with the wonder of exploring a lost island.  This should be enough reason for you to see the movie in large format, nothing more.  Yes, there were plot holes and some stereotyped roles going on, but you will be fine.

The cast was great… from the outside… Tom Hiddleston (who everyone but me swoons over), Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson (because why not?), John C. Reilly (who doesn’t disappoint), John Goodman (my TV Dad), and Shea Williams.  But, there wasn’t much meat on the script for character development, so everyone was expendable in my eyes.  They carried their weight and kept you engaged, so I guess a win.

Kong, played by Toby Kebbell (who was also in the movie as a helicopter pilot and a protégé of Andy Serkis) was the true star.  He was the only thing that made this project work, which was to be expected since his name is in the title.  The digital design held true, the touching moments were reserved for him, and no weird love-interest with the leading lady.  I always found it odd that a giant ape would fall for some bite-size bimbo… too far… eh. 

The island was also the unspoken hero.  The cinematography captured enough uniqueness and natural awe to pull you into this new world.  Larry Fong, known for BATMAN V SUPERMAN, SUPER 8, 300, and the coming THE PREDATOR, may actually get some recognition from his peers.  Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts may also succeed in expanding his filmography after this.  We shall see.

When you sit in your seat, know that action is to come and you will not be disappointed.  There is enough variety and decent pacing that you will not grow bored or realize that this is a two hour movie.  I do have a beef with how they wrote and acted out the after-credits clip… but I’ll save that for another time.

Grade: B        

‘Blu-ray or Bust’ - THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN

‘Blu-ray or Bust’

THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN (2016, R, 105 minutes, GRACIE FILMS/UNIVERSAL)

Ever since FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, Hollywood has tried over and again to recreate what it was like to be in high school.

As if Hollywood ever attended public school…

Sometimes, they actually get something right; CLUELESS and MEAN GIRLS had the sardonic wit to carry us through the caste systems of secondary school, while THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER captured the struggles and loves and losses which plagued us all. No, I am not including the AMERICAN PIE films or even SUPERBAD (as brilliantly funny as that latter film was), as those were just about stupid, horny dudes. High school was so much more than that.

SEVENTEEN offers up the tale of Nadine, a high school junior that hates everything in the world besides her best friend Krista. That is, until Krista sleeps with Nadine’s hunky brother—then, her carefully constructed hatred veneer begins to crumble. Hailee Steinfeld plays Nadine with an edge, which hugs a really narrow line between ‘misunderstood’ and ‘downright irritating’. In the hands of a lesser actress, this would have been a two-note character: angry and bitter for ninety-eight percent of the film, crying to show an emotional breakthrough in the rest. Yet, Steinfeld carries a certain intelligence behind those old-soul eyes of hers. Don’t forget, this is the same young lady who crushed her role in TRUE GRIT with a tenacity that threatened to outshine her fellow cast mates, the majority of them veterans of the craft.

Woody Harrelson, her history professor, plays the only person that knows how to talk to Nadine. His is a wit of such sarcasm and banality that you wonder why he isn’t cast more often in comedies. Yes, he’s had his share of funny lines in other films, but his delivery here makes him nearly as memorable as Steinfeld herself, and he has much less screen time than she.

As hard as the script tries to capture that high school feeling, much of it is lost in the translation. Don’t go looking for FAST TIMES or WALLFLOWER or even ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL; this story is all about Nadine’s abrasive outlook on everything. How she seems to struggle with being a girl until she finally just gives in to her immaturity and accepts that she is not quite an adult yet. Which, when it happens, almost feels like a copout. This is writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig’s first foray behind the camera, and for a first time effort, it isn’t horrible. However, you get the feeling she had something else to say towards the end there, but Hollywood said ‘nah’, and so we get our usual crowd-pleasing ending.

The special features are disappointing at best—you get a gag reel and three unnecessary deleted scenes. That’s it. Nothing about the filmmaking or storytelling process, nothing telling us how Craig brought her tale to the screen. For a film made on what was basically a shoestring budget—a measly nine million—it’s enough to make you wonder if they didn’t have enough money to make a behind-the-scenes doc or two. Kinda crappy.

The soundtrack alone makes this Blu-ray worthy, but if you have a good enough sound system, it isn’t required viewing on the format. Although it isn’t an instant classic, it does deserve to be on your shelf. Somewhere between BRING IT ON and CHARLIE BARTLETT.

Film Grade: B

Special Features: D

Blu-ray Necessary: Not necessarily

- T.S. Kummelman

The 'Not-So-Critical' Critic: LOGAN

The 'Not-So-Critical' Critic: 

on LOGAN (2017, 127 minutes, R)

The Quick of It -

Truth be told, I am a DC fan.  I will choose DC over Marvel in most cases.  But I am also a Marvel fan, crazy as it sounds.  They have their good moments.  Most of the X-MEN movies for me would not be among those ‘good moments’.  You see, I am partial to the darker, grittier elements of storytelling, and DC delivers.  Marvel likes to keep things on the lighter side, which is fine and perfectly acceptable.

For LOGAN, the beginning should be where this starts, the first sightings of Jackman.  X-MEN (2000) was a ‘promising’ beginning.  Hugh Jackman cast as Wolverine was out of left field for most fans but proved to be an excellent choice.  And, no one would dispute Patrick Stewart as an older Professor X was a perfect casting.  They became the centerpieces to the X-Men Universe.  But I had one problem.  If you have read past reviews, you may have heard I was not a fan of Ian McKellen as Magneto.  Great Gandalf, just not Magneto.   

The following two films began the swirling spiral down the pooper drain.  X-MEN 2 was a bump in the road, one that almost derailed the franchise by itself.  If it were not for the introductions of Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) and Pyro (Aaron Stanford), the movie was barely edible for me, a very bland delivery.  Then you have X-MEN: THE LAST STAND.  I was thankful for the title, as it indirectly showed they knew they screwed the pooch.  Only the special effects carried the film to any semblance of quality.  Finally of the X-Men group films, X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST, his insertion into the new guard was just not fulfilling to me, as he was there to help raise the level of interest to make money.  His role was minimal as an individual as character growth goes, just a driving force to move the story along.

Then, to make all my readers cringe, I liked X-MEN ORGINS: WOLVERINE.  I didn’t mind the Deadpool blunder, just went with the flow and enjoyed the action.  The cast and the script alone made the film worth watching at least once.  Yes, I will say things that will piss you off.  Then, THE WOLVERINE was the first opportunity for the studios to start branding that R Rating on Marvel projects.  This was director James Mangold’s first encounter with the Wolverine.  Another movie that divided fans, but I was still onboard and enjoyed the film.  An R Rating would have made it much better, though.

Now we have LOGAN.  This was a step in the right direction, letting the story dictate the rating.  I could not have been more thrilled with the results.  Based on box office, seems the consensus.  The writing is tighter, and they made the right decisions along the way.  A major example was the choice not to film the ‘Westchester Incident’ (for those that have seen the film).  Mangold decided to leave it as a background thread for character development.  Congrats on making the right decision. 

The casting could be summed up with just one individual, Dafne Keen (from ‘The Refugees’) as Laura.  This little girl may be forever branded as the little Wolverine but she crushes it.  Her intensity and subtle delivery makes this film climb to an epic level.  I am trying to avoid spoilers, so can only highlight so much here, but she imparted a particular maturity and intelligence you wouldn’t expect.

The rest of the film is nothing more than a full augmentation of the core material being delivered (a Wolverine inside joke).  The cinematography of John Mathieson (GLADIATOR, 47 RONIN, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN) and soundtrack put together by Marco Beltrami, a composer who has branched across genres, leaves nothing wanting.  Everything feels in sync, no one trying to overshadow another or the story.  The sets were limited by the story, thus they avoided the temptation to make everything appear on a grander scale, and the music had the opportunity to be more distracting than complimenting the characters and scenes.  Instead, you have the sense that everyone was on the same page, and in the end makes for better storytelling.

The one problem I had continues to be the Achilles’ heel of Marvel - bad guys.  Sorry, there was nothing here to impress me.  Boyd Holbrook as the main antagonist Pierce did little to amp up a sagging Universe when it comes to villains.  He does a fine job and his haughtiness was faultless.  But, this and the ‘other’ added baddies just were copouts and stereotype insertions.  There is a whole Universe to pull ideas from, and they failed me.

As blasphemous as it may sound, LOGAN could be considered the lovechild of Marvel and DC.  This formula now has a proven track record, grittier (DC) and with heart (Marvel).  You only have to reference the Marvel Netflix shows – ‘Daredevil’, ‘AKA Jessica Jones’, and ‘Luke Cage’.  The real tragedy here is they final get on board with the R Rating a little too late in Jackman’s run as Wolverine, which was the only way you should do it in the first place.

Grade: A

‘Blu-ray or Bust’ - DOCTOR STRANGE

‘Blu-ray or Bust’

DOCTOR STRANGE (2016, PG-13, 115 minutes, MARVEL STUDIOS/DISNEY)

Oh, Marvel Cinematic Universe—you sneaky, cheeky monkey, you.

You just had to go and hire Benedict Cumberbatch, didn’t you? Listen, kids, what I am really supposed to do is give you an honest review of this film. I have reviewed nearly every Marvel film released, and the majority of them get high marks. Except for THOR: THE DARK WORLD. That one was kinda stupid. I was needlessly worried when ANT-MAN was released; what took away all of my hesitation to buy into the path that producer Kevin Feige has been dreaming up since IRON MAN hit theatres in 2008 was, as usual, the casting.

Take away the special effects, take away the one-liners, the action—hell, even strip away the scripts, and you know what you are left with? Besides the entirety of THOR: THE DARK WORLD? The cast. As brilliant as the money behind the MCU has been when it comes to hiring top-notch talent, they have clearly outdone themselves with DOCTOR STRANGE. Cumberbatch brings to the role so much more than you would expect, just as Downey did for Tony Stark. While the two characters are altogether different, they both share that ego which comes with genius. As with most of the characters we have had the pleasure of meeting over the last decade, Strange is a broken man, one in search of redemption and purpose.

A brilliant neurosurgeon, injured in a car accident, seeks healing from the West… okay, let’s stop right there. I was talking about casting, so allow me to digress for a moment, and give you a plot summary that explains it best.

Ahem.

Sherlock Holmes gets in a car wreck, screws up his hands, so goes to ‘The Orient’ to heal. He meets The White Witch (Narnia reference) (that’s Tilda Swinton…) and that one real bad dude from SERENITY (Chiwetel Ejiofor). They teach him how to channel his inner sorcerer in order to beat up Hannibal Lector (THE Mads Mikkelsen), who is trying to bring about the end of the world. Because that’s what bad guys do.

If some of the reality bending techniques seem borrowed from INCEPTION, just you wait; there is more of a steampunk-type slant to the constantly changing landscape which grounds the colliding and ever-changing realities. In other words: you buy into the psychedelic happenings like a chubby kid on a sugar high. (That is not an insult to chubby kids, as I, myself, am a chubby kid, and suffer from constant sugar highs, so I KNOW.) Marvel could have easily just thrown in the idea of magic co-existing in the super-powered universe they have created and been done with it. They could have told you just to accept it, and you might or might not have fallen for it.

But if you think about it, Marvel introduced magic to you a few movies ago—AND YOU BOUGHT INTO IT WITHOUT EVEN BLINKING YOUR EYES. “The Scarlet Witch”. Yep. That was your introduction to magic as an active element of the Universe. What Marvel now does with magic is give you an even broader experience with it, and it opens up a whole new realm of possibilities. In short, there is not an aspect of this film which does not work wonderfully. This, kids, is one brilliant stroke of madness, one whose influence will be felt in nearly all of the forthcoming films, and not just because of the obvious mystical nature of Strange’s world. See, it is also about alternate realities and universes—which means that Marvel can now introduce whatever the hell they want into the mix.

The special features are, as always, all inclusive. You get character history, one of the funniest gag reels yet, behind the scenes docs, and enough build up to the Phase Three aspect of the MCU to get you all hot and bothered.

As Marvel slowly phases out Iron Man (oh, trust me, it’s gonna happen sooner rather than later, kids—mark my words), I for one am excited to see how many STRANGE films we’ll get. This is a character that—much like Tony Stark—you build a team around. Just you watch.

Film Grade: A

Special Features: A

Blu-ray Necessary: Most Definitely

- T.S. Kummelman

‘Blu-ray or Bust’ - MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

‘Blu-ray or Bust’

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA (2016, R, 137 Minutes, AMAZON STUDIOS/LIONSGATE)

It’s occasionally difficult to describe a film to you. This is important to remember, because I’m typically a moron. I know a lot about film and about the movie-making process, and by now you all know how easy I find it to voice my opinion here.

But MANCHESTER BY THE SEA does something so many other films don’t even try to accomplish. The last one to really get it right was SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, and that was five years ago. So when I get to watch a film that is difficult to categorize, I typically am impressed. Of course, it helps if the movie doesn’t suck. And MANCHESTER does not suck.

At times funny and endearing, this heart-wrenching and dramatic slice of New England life is one of the more realistic dramas you will see this year. Estranged brother Lee Chandler suddenly finds himself guardian to his teenage nephew, and must relocate to a town that holds a whole lotta past for Lee. His struggle with a new reality is as comedic as it is occasionally difficult to watch, and what Casey Affleck does with the role is nothing short of astonishing. He captures the heartache of extraordinary loss and the process of slow redemption like no other; his role is emotional and sincere and quietly effective. It also helps that he is surrounded by a cast that seems so natural that you feel as though you are watching a documentary.

As young Patrick Chandler, Lucas Hedges (MOONRISE KINGDOM, THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL) perfectly illustrates an emotional and comedic portrait of a teenager thrust into an impossible situation. Affleck and he share several scenes together that will either leave you laughing or shaking your head. These two are mismatched not because of a generation gap, but because each is processing their grief in different ways, and neither knows how to reach out to the other.

Which brings me to one of the most affecting scenes I have watched all year: Lee runs into ex-wife Randi (Michelle Williams—oh, my goodness…), and what transpires is a perfectly captured moment of tenderness and remorse. It is a conversation apparently years in the making, and the emotions and pure artistic talent on display is utterly captivating.

What also adds to the majesty of this film are the words and direction of Kenneth Lonergan (he wrote the screenplays for ANALYZE THIS and GANGS OF NEW YORK, among others). The situations, the conversations… each of these characters is so richly drawn that the film plays out naturally. There is no showboating, no over-acting, just real people trying to cope with life and tragedy.

And if all that doesn’t grab you, the cinematography of Jody Lee Lipes is like watching a visual love letter to New England. Much of the film was shot in the actual Manchester-By-the-Sea, and the scenery of Massachusetts never looked better. From Quincy to Gloucester, the places where they shot this film almost plays out as if it were a road map of idyllic places.

The special features include a “making of” doc that covers several aspects of the film, and three deleted scenes that probably could have been kept in the film—seriously, your runtime is already over two hours and twenty minutes, what’s six more?!? I would have liked to have had a bit more behind the scenes, though—to know Lonegran’s writing process, the locations, that wonderful cinematography…

On Sunday night, The Academy was smart enough (despite that best picture debacle) to recognize the core elements of MANCHESTER that made it work so well; it was awarded with Best Actor (Affleck) and Best Original Screenplay. And deservedly so; remember me mentioning SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK earlier? Jennifer Lawrence won for Best Actress, and the film was nominated for seven others, including the screenplay. There’s something to say about every aspect of a film coming together, from the words written down by an author, to how those words are interpreted by the actors who utter them. This is storytelling at its finest.

Now go grab a box of tissues and try not to cry on your kids.

Grade: A

Special Features: B-

Blu-ray Necessary: Most Definitely

-- T.S. Kummelman