Transcendence

Released in 2014, Transcendence is 20 minutes worth of plot that meanders it's way to a 2 hour runtime. Despite boasting a fairly impressive cast and a halfway decent sci-fi premise, first time Director Wally Pfister was unable to pull it all together in my opinion.

So, what is the plot of this film? Johnny Depp (in probably the most phoned-in performance of his career) plays Dr. Will Caster. A brilliant mind in the world of artificial intelligence technology, Dr. Caster becomes the target of an assassination attempt by an anti-technology terrorist group lead by Kate Mara. After being shot, Will's wife Evelyn (played by Rebecca Hall) and his colleague Max (played by Paul Bettany) decide to upload his consciousness to a super computer. Like in Avengers: Age of Ultron (I didn't think that movie would come up when I popped in Transcendence) things quickly get out of control, and you soon have and A.I. system that has access to every computer in the world and needs to be stopped. However, where as Ultron had to deal with the likes of Captain America, Thor, and Ironman, Dr. Caster's opposition is an FBI agent played by Cillian Murphy, a horribly miscast Kate Mara, and Morgan Freeman.

Overall, I didn't think this movie was very good. I like the basic premise and there are some good scenes and moments sprinkled throughout but, for everything I liked in the film there were at least two things that I didn't. It's not an unwatchable movie, just a bit underwhelming and not one I'd recommend. 

1.5 out of 5.

A Look Back At Star Trek

2009's Star Trek is now, obviously, 10 years old so I thought it would be a good time to look back and reevaluate it. In general, I am a Star Trek fan. I like most of the t.v. series (although Star Trek: Discovery just doesn't work for me) and I like most of the Trek films. I saw this one in theaters back in 2009 and, for the most part, I enjoyed it. I have seen parts of it since then when flipping through channels but, I hadn't rewatched it in it's entirety until recently and I think it still holds up. 

This J. J. Abrams directed film serves as a reintroduction to many classic Trek characters like Kirk, Spock, Uhura, Sulu, McCoy etc. While cadets at Starfleet Academy, they are thrust into an emergency situation aboard the USS Enterprise when a distress signal is received and the primary fleet is out of range. When the Enterprise crew arrives at the location of the signal, they find the fleet destroyed and eventually find out that time-traveling Romulans are to blame... It's not the most complex plot, and the Romulan leader, Capt. Nero, is just seeking revenge because his planet was destroyed. However, I think solid execution and great performances elevate it from a mediocre science-fiction movie to a very good one. Speaking of the performances, I remember going into this film initially back in '09 and being unsure if I would be on board throughout the film with different actors in these iconic roles. In particular, James T. Kirk and Spock. To my surprise though I really like Chris Pine as Kirk, and I think Zachary Quinto makes a decent Spock. Plus, the movie get a few bonus points in my book for having Simon Pegg in it as Scotty. 

Overall, it's not perfect but, in spite of it being a bit too action heavy and reliant on nostalgia, and featuring an overabundance of lens-flares, I think it's a well made and entertaining flick.

I give this one a 4.5 out of 5.

Today's Movie: Sunshine

Released in 2007, Sunshine is a Danny Boyle directed sci-fi thriller. Even though the film failed to recoup it's budget at the box-office, I think it's actually a pretty good film.

The plot centers around a group of astronauts aboard a ship known as the 'Icarus II'. Their mission is to deploy a massive nuclear device in order to reignite our dying Sun.  While on their way to the Sun, the crew picks up the distress beacon of the original 'Icarus' ship which disappeared seven years earlier. It is decided that they'll divert course and see if there s anything to recover from the old ship. Of course this is a movie and that decision proves to be costly, as it sets in motion a series of unfortunate events that not only threaten the lives of the crew but put the whole mission in jeopardy. 

Overall, I find this movie entertaining. It's well directed, the visual effects still hold up after a decade+, and the film boast a solid cast of Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Michelle Yeoh, Benedict Wong, Cillian Murphy, Troy Garity, and Hiroyuki Sanada. As with most science-fiction films a lot of the actual science is pretty inaccurate which can be distracting but, the character dynamics and the story here are compelling enough that it doesn't really bother me.

 If you haven't seen this one before, I definitely think it's worth checking out.

 4 out of 5

Some Brief Thoughts on the Blade Runner Films

I really like Ridley Scott's 1982 film Blade Runner. For those who don't know, it's an adaptation of the 1968 Philip K. Dick novel 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?', and takes place in the futuristic time of 2019... No, I don't love it like some people do but I do like like it. The themes are interesting and visually I find the movie captivating. It does however lack a little bit on story and there are some scenes that drag on way too long. I think that it's 2017 sequel (Blade Runner 2049 directed by Denis Villeneuve) takes what works about the first film and does it just a little better, and thus, I feel like it's a slightly better movie. Also, I personally think Ryan Gosling's Officer K is a more interesting protagonist in the sequel.

 I didn't see the first one until about two decades after it's initial release and by then numerous people had given me their synopsis of the film. When I finally did end up watching it, there were several things that I took away that no one had even mentioned. That speaks to what turned the original into a cult classic, everyone seems to get a little something different out of it. It's a fun movie to discuss with friends and to revisit every so often. I don't know if Blade Runner 2049 will eventually earn that same cult status because, now more than ever, movies have become about pure spectacle. As of writing this the film came out over a year ago and I know very few people who have seen it. I hope that over time, through Blu-ray and streaming services, it becomes a beloved as the original.

Overall, as a double feature, I wouldn't recommend watching the two back-to-back. By design the films are both atmospheric, slow-burns that combine for a 4.5+ hour runtime that you will feel every minute of. They are very good, some would even argue great, films but neither one was a hit at the box-office and they are definitely not movies I'd recommend to everyone. If you like sci-fi films that make you think a bit (rather than the good guys and bad guys just shooting space lasers at each other kind) and you don't mind movies that take their time then you will probably really enjoy these.

I give Blade Runner a 4 out of 5 

-and-

I give Blade Runner 2049 a 4.5 out of 5.

Movie Review: Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

About a month ago I added to my ongoing '10 Movies Everyone Should See' series with a look at 10 Tom Cruise movies (you can check out that blog entry by clicking the link here: http://onlyinthemoviesblog.blogspot.com/2017/07/10-tom-cruise-movies-everyone-should-see.html). 

However, as always when I make those lists, there are films that are deserving but get left off for one reason or another. One of the films I just didn't have a place for on the list was 2014's 'Edge of Tomorrow', but that's not to say I don't enjoy it. It's a really cool sci-fi/action movie that I found entertaining it when I saw it in the theaters and have since rewatched a few times. Interestingly, despite a 91% critic rating and a 90% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film wasn't a box-office hit and a lot of people I know haven't seen it. Also, for some reason, after originally being titled 'Edge of Tomorrow' for the theatrical release when it was released on DVD and Blu-ray it was retitled 'Live. Die. Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow'. 

The film stars Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt and takes place during an alien invasion. Cruise plays Bill Cage, an Army officer that reluctantly gets sent to fight on the front line. After killing one of the aliens, some of the blood gets on Cage and he ends up stuck in a time loop, leaving him to fight and die over and over again while he tries to find a way win the battle and break the cycle. Think of it like an action-packed "Groundhog's Day". There are some great action scenes, and just about all of the comedy that's sprinkled in hits the mark. Additionally, the chemistry between Cruise and Blunt is pretty good and the plot moves along a brisk, entertaining pace during a runtime just shy of 2 hours.

Overall, if you haven't seen this one then I recommend giving it a try.
I give this one a 4.5 out of 5.


Have a suggestion for a review?
Leave it in the comments below.

80's Month Day 28: Predator

In the late 1980's Arnold Schwarzenegger was at the height of his powers, and in 1987 the former 7-time Mr. Olympia starred in two films. One of those was The Running Man and the better of the two films was Predator. This is actually the 3rd Schwarzenegger film iv'e reviewed for "80's Month" and this one did appear on my "10 Arnold Schwarzenegger Movies Everyone Should See" list (you can check that post out by clicking here).

The movie is a fun and entertaining sci-fi/action flick, and the plot is pretty simple; an elite six-man team, lead by a man named Alan "Dutch" Schaefer (played by Schwarzenegger) is tasked with going into the jungle on a rescue mission. However, the team comes across a ruthless, super-hunter alien who, among other things, has the ability to camouflage itself to the surrounding environment. Eventually toward the end of the film you do get a good look at the Predator, and while it is a cool creature design, I think it's best that for much of the film you know the alien is there but you only see through the Predator's p.o.v, or a translucent figure against some trees. The Predator gradually begins killing off members of the team and, of course, in the end Schwarzenegger kills the creature.

The movie has some pretty good special effects and, alongside Schwarzenegger, both Carl Weathers (who plays Colonel George Dillon) and Jesse Ventura (as Blain Cooper) are both characters I really like in the film.

Overall, some good action, some quotable lines, a solid villain, and Arnold at the top of his game, makes this a worthwhile movie. I wouldn't recommend the sequel over the crossovers with the Alien franchise though.

I give it a 3.5 out of 5

Have a suggestion for a review?

Did you enjoy a full month looking back at films from the 1980's?

Leave a comment below.

80's Month Day 26: Spaceballs

"...Evil will always triumph, because good is dumb"

 

The 1987 Mel Brooks film Spaceballs is one of my all-time favorite comedies and one that I reference and quote pretty frequently. So, before '80's Month' was over, I felt I needed to get this one in.

The movie is a parody of nearly all things outer space/sci-fi related; from Star Wars to Star Trek to Alien and Planet of the Apes, and references to Transformers and Flash Gordon. 

The basic plot involves Planet Spaceball running low on breathable air and the Princess of the oxygen-rich planet of Druidia being kidnapped by Dark Helmet (played by Rick Moranis). The plan is to hold the Princess hostage until the King of Druidia (played by Dick Van Patten) gives the Spaceballs the code to his planets airlock and surrenders all the fresh air. In the hopes of getting his daughter back the King hires Lone Starr (played by Bill Pullman) and his mawg sidekick Barf (played by John Candy) to rescue her for which they will be paid a handsome sum of 1,000,000 'Space Bucks'.

The movie is full of fun character and wall to wall jokes. Mel Brooks, who plays both the President of Planet Spaceball as well as character Yogurt, gets a lot of laughs. Bill Pullman and John Candy play off each other pretty well, and I like Daphne Zuniga as Princess Vespa. But, the standout performance in the film is the of Rick Moranis as Dark Helmet. Every moment of screentime with this character is hilarious, and some of the exchanges between Dark Helmet and his second in command Colonel Sandurz (played by George Wyner) are the best parts of the movie.

Overall, if you like Mel Brooks comedies, or even comedies in general, then this one is worth a watch. I've seen it more times than I can remember and I still get a good laugh out of it.

I give it a 5 out of 5.

Have a suggestion for a review?

Leave it in the comments below.

Rogue One - a review by The Bored Enthusiast

Hello Enthusiasts,

Star Wars is a franchise that has been going on for about four decades now, and there are still stories to tell. Take the newest film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, for example. This story isn't a direct part of the normal anthology. Instead, it focuses on the boots-on-the-ground aspect of war, something we have only gotten glimpses of in the past films. The Rogue team's mission? Steal the plans to the Death Star for the rebels.

Overall, the film was pretty solid. The characters could have been flushed out a little more, and some of the cameos (C3PO and R2-D2) were unnecessary, but it was still an enjoyable movie. The final act of the film feels like an actual war movie, with various tactics and equipment. The humor and dialogue are enjoyable, the acting is believable, and the whole film feels a lot shorter than it actually is. There are several really enjoyable scenes with a character from the original trilogy, but I'm not looking to give anything away.

If you're a fan of the Star Wars movies and haven't already seen this, go see it. If you don't like the franchise, know that this film shifts its focus away from the Jedi and that aspect of the universe, and instead looks at the actual war among the stars. It still might not be the film for you, but it is a great addition to the series.

I give Rogue One: A Star Wars Story a 4/5.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

Today's Movie: RoboCop 3

The day has arrived to finish out the reviews of the RoboCop trilogy.

I've already reviewed 1987's RoboCop and the 1990 follow-up RoboCop 2, and I'll leave links to those reviews at the bottom of this post, but now it's time to look at 1993's RoboCop 3.

Right off the bat, two departures from the previous films hurt this one:

 1) It's rated PG-13, not R. At a glance that may not be that big of a deal but, if you're a fan of RoboCop as I am, then a PG-13 rating takes a lot of the edge out of a film who's franchise never shied away from harsh language and violence. 

2) Peter Weller didn't return as RoboCop/Alex Murphy for this one and was replaced by Robert Burke. But hey, no big deal right? The actor playing RoboCop is almost completely covered by the suit, so you probably can't even tell that it's a different guy. Wrong. It's noticeable from his first line in the film that they swapped out actors and, though it never sounds quite right, I could've looked the other way if the movie was great... or good... or even just OK.

To the movie's credit, this isn't one of those sequels that has little-to-nothing to do with the previous films. The 'Delta City' project is still moving forward and the destruction of old Detroit has begun, the Police have gone on strike, and RoboCop still has the same partner Officer Anne Lewis (played by Nancy Allen).

Unfortunately, the film isn't well written, there is an annoying child computer-whiz character, Anne Lewis dies pretty early on (Spoiler Alert), and there is an underground resistance group without a single likeable character in the bunch. The movie also has a robot-ninja, which probably sounded really cool in the script but in the actual movie it's pretty lame. Add in the fact that RoboCop has a jet-pack in the film, something that was clearly added in just to sell toys, (Admittedly, I had the RoboCop jet-pack action figure as a kid) and you get a disappointing end to the RoboCop trilogy.

It's still a RoboCop movie and I love the character, which makes it hard to give it a zero.
So, I'll give this one a very unenthusiastic 1 out of 5.


Have a suggestion for a review?
Leave it in the comments below, and be sure to check out my reviews of the other RoboCop films.

RoboCop
RoboCop 2

A Look Back At: RoboCop 2

"I'd buy that for a dollar!"

RoboCop 2 is the 1990 follow up to 1987's RoboCop (you can check out my review of that one here), and it suffers from what so many other sequels do: It gives you more of what you liked from the first film, tries to go bigger and bolder, but ends up unable to recapture the magic of the original.
A half-man/half-robot police officer is already a pretty nutty premise, and so what does RoboCop 2 offer? Another half-man/half-robot, except this one has the brain of a former drug dealer and is addicted to narcotics... 

Just like in the first film, Omni Consumer Products (OCP) is dead set on tearing down old, crime-riddled Detroit and, in it's place, building 'Delta City'. To increase public support for the Delta City project, OCP (who owns the Detroit Police Department) cuts the police salaries which leads to a police strike and an increase in crime. RoboCop however doesn't go on strike because he's a robot, what does he care?

 Early on, RoboCop raids a manufacturing plant where they make a new, highly-addictive drug called Nuke, and he kills all the criminals except for a kid named Hob, a character that is arguably the worst part of this movie. Meanwhile, OCP is trying to develop a "RoboCop 2", with the intention of replacing all of the police officers, and for some reason a psychologist named Dr. Juliette Faxx thinks that putting the brain of a criminal in the robot is a good idea. It isn't long before a drug lord named Cain (played by Tom Noonan) is killed and his brain is placed inside of a model 2 RoboCop. As you would expect, this was a terrible idea and creates the big villain of the film. Of course, in the end, the original RoboCop defeats the new model.

As I stated at the beginning, they tried to duplicate the success of the first film by having just as much violence and action, but somewhere in the process they forgot to write a good movie. Now, it's not unwatchable and it's definitely not as bad as RoboCop 3. There are some fun moments, decent action scenes and solid special effects, but unless you really loved the first film, I wouldn't recommend this sequel. 

I give it a 2.5 out of 5.

Have a suggestion for a review?

leave it in the comments below.

Today's Movie: Soylent Green (1973)

Released in 1973, Soylent Green is a sci-fi/thriller starring Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, and Edward G. Robinson. The film takes place in the year 2022; it’s a dystopian future where the world is suffering from pollution, year-round summer, depleting resources, and a whole slew of other problems. The movie is apparently based on the 1966 novel Make Room! Make Room!, but I’ve never read it so I won’t compare the two.

It’s established pretty early on in the film that the majority of the population is homeless, out of work, and because food is so scarce the common folk have to eat this food called ’Soylent Green’ which is apparently made from plankton. Only the rich elites can afford real fruit, vegetables, and meat.

When a wealthy businessman named William Simonson is murdered, New York City detective Frank Thorn (played by Heston), is sent in to investigate. Thorn checks out the crime scene, questions Simonson’s bodyguard and a woman named Shirl (Leigh Taylor-Young), he takes some of the luxury items like steak and bourbon and also a book titled ‘Soylent Oceanographic Survey Report’.

Later Thorn gives the book to his friend and police analyst Sol Roth (played by Edward G. Robinson)  to do some research. Roth soon discovers that Simonson and the state governor, Joseph Santini, were partners in a law firm, and that Simonson was also a member of the board of the Soylent Corporation. This only further leads Thorn to suspect that the murder wasn’t a burglary gone wrong, but rather an assassination. There are a few twists and turns but, it’s a pretty run-of-the-mill, police thriller until about the last 20 mins.

After further research, Roth decides to go to a clinic for an assisted suicide because he can’t live with the knowledge of his findings. Thorn rushes to stop him, but arrives too late. However, just before dying, Roth tells Thorn to expose the truth. So, Thorn hides aboard a garbage truck headed to a body disposal center, where he sees human corpses are being converted into Soylent Green. This eventually leads to the iconic final line when Heston yells out "Soylent Green is people!”

Overall, it’s decent and there are some interesting ideas in the film, but I wouldn’t call it a ‘must-see’ film. I give this one a 2.5 out of 5.

Have suggestion for a review?

Leave it in the comments below.

A Look Back At RoboCop (1987)

This is one of those movies that is way better than it needs to be (Hell, just the title alone would make most people curious enough to watch it). 

The film has spawned two sequals, a reboot in 2012, an animated series, a live-action mini-series, video games, toys, and comic books. I doubt anyone foresaw that kind of an impact.

So, for those who aren't familiar with it, here's the basic story:

Detroit is a crime-filled dystopian city, (maybe the easiest setup in film history) and a company named Omni Consumer Products that has made a deal with the mayor to privatize the ineffective and underfunded the police force in exchange for the rights to tear down old sections of Detroit and build a new, safe city named 'Delta City' in it's place. One of OCP's plans for Delta City is to have a police force of robots.

Also early on we meet Alex Murphy (played by Peter Weller) who is a cop that just transfered to a South Detroit precinct. And wouldn't you know it, on his first day he gets brutally blown apart by a barrage of bullets while pursuing a gang led by Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith). But of course, he was the perfect candidate/murder victim for OCP's experimental program, and as a result RoboCop is born.

The rest of the film's plot involves corruption within OCP, the police threatening to go on strike, Boddicker's gang being funded by OCP vice president Dick Jones, RoboCop taking down criminals, another robot named ED-209... It's a ton of fun and near perfect blend of action, sci-fi, and comedy. 

This is a personal favorite of mine and one I highly recommend. 

4.5 out of 5.

Have a suggestion for a review? 

Leave it in the comments below.