Tag: Adventure

REVIEW: ‘KP Demon Hunters’ has infectious energy despite pedestrian story

K-Pop is entertaining enough by itself, but throw in some glowing weapons and action, and things really get dialed to 11.

That’s the case with this new animated flick from Sony. Released on Netflix, “K-Pop Demon Hunters” follows a trio of singers who moonlight as fierce warriors. Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong) and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo) make up a wildly popular group who regularly sell-out concerts.

At the same time, they spend time ridding the world of demons who threaten to steal souls from the unsuspecting public. The three have gotten exceptionally good at both of their jobs. However, a new threat arises in the form of a group of demons who take the form of a boy K-Pop group, which begins siphoning their fans for a nefarious plot.

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REVIEW: ‘Rebirth’ shows ‘Jurassic’ series should go extinct

The people behind this film better bow down anytime they see John Williams.

That’s because the legendary “Jurassic” theme is used often in the latest movie in the franchise. Scarlett Johansson stars in the film as Zora, a mercenary for hire with plenty of experience in dangerous places. That’s where she’s headed in this flick, as she’s been hired by a pharmaceutical company to lead a paleontologist to an island inhabited by dinosaurs.

The goal is to extract the blood of three dinos, which could help lead to a cure for heart disease. That paleontologist is Henry Loomis (Jonatahn Bailey). He’s accompanied on the trip by Zora’s teammates, including Duncan (Mahershala Ali), the captain of an excursion boat.

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REVIEW: Live ‘Dragon’ finds mild success with animated playbook

After six years, the dragon Toothless returns to the big screen looking much like he did in the animated film from 2019. The world around him, though, is much different.

The latest “How to Train Your Dragon” film is a remake of the 2010 animated feature. Like its cartoon counterpart, the picture centers on the young, awkward Viking Hiccup (Mason Thames), who doesn’t have the same battle prowess of his father, Chief Stoick (Gerard Butler).

But he makes up for it with his inventiveness, which he uses to one day catch one of the dragons attacking his village. He can’t bring himself to slay the dragon when push comes to shove, though, and instead decides to learn about the creature and train it.

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REVIEW: Long live the ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’

It’s hard to imagine the current run of “Planet of the Apes” continuing on without Caesar, but director Wes Ball’s latest film in the series is a fitting follow-up to the 2010s trilogy.

“Kingdom” takes place several generations after Caesar’s death. Humans are now primitive and scarce, while the apes have built up small villages, one of them being home to the protagonist, Noa (Owen Teague). Led by Noa’s father, the clan built a peaceful society around training falcons.

The peace of Noa’s village is shattered, though, when it’s raided by another ape kingdom set on conquest. Injured in the battle, Noa awakens to find his village destroyed and residents taken hostage. From there, Noa sets out on a quest to rescue those imprisoned and gets an unlikely ally along the way.

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REVIEW: ‘Madame Web’ is a woeful ‘Spider-Man’ spin-off

This film may be titled “Madame Web,” but the titular character barely gets to shine in her own movie.

Dakota Johnson stars as Cassie Webb in this new film set in 2003 with loose ties to the “Spider-Man” mythos. Webb is a paramedic in New York City in her 30s who grew up in foster care as her mom died in Peru studying a rare spider species.

The film picks up with Cassie as she begins to have visions of the future on a regular basis. Her most important vision comes when she sees three girls in danger of being attacked by a person with superhuman abilities. From there, she sets out to protect the girls who are destined to do heroic things in the future.

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REVIEW: ‘Nimona’ is an awesome animated adventure

Production issues nearly sidelined this film. Thank goodness it was revived and released on Netflix.

“Nimona” is set in a kingdom where the past meets the future. While the kingdom has all the makings of a medieval state in function, the movie is set in a high-tech world, with knights using hovercraft and advance technology.

The movie centers on one such knight, Ballister (Riz Ahmed), who finds himself framed for killing the queen of the kingdom. He meets an unlikely ally, though, in an unruly shapeshifter named Nimona (Chloe Grace Moretz) who has been shunned by the society at large for her abilities.

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REVIEW: ‘The Boy and the Heron’ is a fine film about healing

The mind of Hayao Miyazaki continues to be a wonderfully mystical place.

He’s shared some more of his magical vision with his latest animated fantasy feature, “The Boy and the Heron.” The film, set during World War II, centers on a pre-teen boy, Mahito, who is struggling mentally and emotionally after the death of his mother in a fire.

The film picks up with the protagonist’s father recently getting remarried to the sister of his late wife, Mahito’s aunt Natsuko. Mahito is resistant to moving on and accepting the new reality, but when he discovers a path to a magical world, he’s thrust into an adventure where he has to learn to live and trust again, as well as embrace his family.

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REVIEW: Third ‘Jurassic World’ is mostly a waste of time

Mr. Trevorrow, after careful consideration I’ve decided not to endorse your trilogy.

Colin Trevorrow is back in the directing chair for “Dominion,” after writing the second “Jurassic World” film and helming the first. This movie picks up several months after the conclusion of “Fallen Kingdom,” with dinosaurs now living among humanity, for better and for worse.

Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), who worked at the Jurassic World theme park are now looking after Maisie (Isabella Sermon), who was orphaned in the previous installment. Drs. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) meanwhile, reunite to investigate a large locust species that are destroying crops, which are linked to the company Biosyn, which has its own dinosaur research.

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REVIEW: Middling romcom is all to be found in ‘The Lost City’

This might be the most intense adventure a character played by Sandra Bullock has been on since “Speed 2: Cruise Control.”

In “The Lost City,” Bullock portrays Loretta Sage, an author who’s made a career out of writing steamy romance/adventure novels. She was once passionate about history and exploring, but she lost her drive when her husband passed away.

Loretta isn’t excited about her latest book tour, either, as she’s tired of dealing with Alan (Channing Tatum), a book cover model who takes a lot of the attention. Loretta ends up having to rediscover her passion for history, and find some courage, though, as she’s kidnapped by a billionaire (Daniel Radcliffe), who’s searching for a treasure referenced in one of her books.

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REVIEW: Mishandling of characters upend ‘Uncharted’ adaptation

As a person who stays mostly in Nintendo territory, I’m unfamiliar with the popular Playstation series “Uncharted.”

I have to imagine it’s a bit more compelling than this film, though.

Tom Holland stars as Nathan Drake, a young man who’s working as a bartender in New York City, with some side hustles, but dreams of more. As a child, he used to talk about lost treasures and how to find them with his brother, who he hasn’t seen in years.

The film picks up with Nathan being approached by Victor (Mark Wahlberg), a treasure-hunter who knew Drake’s brother. Victor asks for Nathan’s help in finding a specific treasure lost to history, which he agrees too. However, the journey is treacherous, with a rich and powerful man, Santiago (Antonio Banderas), also after the treasure.

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