Tag: Review

REVIEW: ‘Blue Beetle’ is another below average DC outing

“Blue Beetle” was originally slated for a streaming release but was pushed into theaters. All things considered, maybe it should have stayed on the small screen.

Xolo Mariduena stars as Jaime Reyes in the film. A recent college graduate, Jaime returns to his home in Palmera City only to learn that his family’s house is on the brink of repossession. Wanting to help his parents, he looks for work, but only manages to get a cleaning gig at a mansion despite his degree.

That is where meets Jenny Kord (Bruno Marquezine), the niece of the woman (Suasan Sarandon) who runs a large military tech company. The main focus of the company is the Scarab, an alien technology giving the user an advanced armor. Knowing the dangerous implications of the tech, Jenny removes it from the Kord facility and entrusts it to Jaime.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Blue Beetle’ is another below average DC outing”

REVIEW: Vampire flick ‘Last Voyage of the Demeter’ disappoints

There have been many film adaptations of Bram Stoker’s classic novel “Dracula.” Adaptations of a single chapter, though? That’s a new one.

“The Last Voyage of the Demeter” is based on the chapter “The Captain’s Log” from Stoker’s 1897 book. In the film, the Demeter is a ship leaving Bulgaria helmed by Captain Elliot (Liam Cunningham). While the movie is narrated at points by Elliot who gives his thoughts on the development in his log, the film is centered on the character Clemens (Corey Hawkins).

A doctor looking to return to England, Clemens joins the crew of the Demeter which is sailing to Britain on a seemingly routine voyage. Along with the crew, the Demeter is carrying plenty of cargo, including a mysterious crate. As one would expect, the box contains the legendary vampire himself.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Vampire flick ‘Last Voyage of the Demeter’ disappoints”

REVIEW: ‘Mutant Mayhem’ is an exciting new spin on the TMNT

Turtle Power is back on the big screen and it’s the best it’s been in a while.

The latest film to feature the four ninja turtles takes place in familiar territory. Leo (Nicolas Cantu), Raph (Brady Noon), Donnie (Micah Abbey) and Mikey (Shamon Brown Jr.) live with their father figure Splinter (Jackie Chan) in the sewers under New York City.

An overprotective father, Splinter taught the four ninjutsu and stealth to keep them safe and out of sight from humans. The insatiable want to live normal teenage lives, though, inspire the turtles to do hero work in order to get recognized. However, doing so might put them in more trouble than they expected.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Mutant Mayhem’ is an exciting new spin on the TMNT”

REVIEW: ‘Barbie’ has plenty to like, not enough to love

“Barbie” has everything you’d expect from a movie about the popular Mattel toy, from pink houses to parties on the beach. Oh, plus an existential crisis and explorations of feminist concepts.

As expected, there are many Barbies in the flick, but the one at the center of the picture is a sort of classic take on the doll. To that end, Margot Robbie’s character is often referred to as “Stereotypical Barbie.” At the start of the film, she, and every other Barbie, live happily in Barbieland, a matriarchal utopia.

For Barbie, though, this begins to change when she suddenly has thoughts and feelings she didn’t have before, revolving around imperfections and death. It shakes her so much that she sets out to figure out what the problem is, and that leads her to venture into the real world. She’s not alone on the quest, either, as “Beach Ken” (Ryan Gosling), tags along.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Barbie’ has plenty to like, not enough to love”

REVIEW: Latest ‘Mission: Impossible’ excels at action, stumbles elsewhere

The “Mission: Impossible” series has always made its protagonist juggle his commitment to completing his objective while protecting those close to him. The first “Dead Reckoning” is certainly no exception.

This time around, IMF Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is informed about a dangerous artificial intelligence system, as well as a set of keys that can gain control of the program or shut it down. Hunt is ordered to recover it for the United States to give the country an advantage, but he goes rogue, believing it’s better to shut down the dangerous system rather than use it at all.

In his mission, he’s joined by fellow IMF teammates Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg). However, they’re far from the only ones after the keys, as several other powers are after them, including a foe from Hunt’s past. Additionally, a renowned thief, Grace (Hayley Atwell), comes into play as she’s hired to get the keys by one of the many seekers.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Latest ‘Mission: Impossible’ excels at action, stumbles elsewhere”

REVIEW: ‘Teenage Kraken’ makes modest use of fun concept

Ruby Gillman is the latest kraken to enter pop culture, joining the rum, the hockey team and the krakens from “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Clash of the Titans.”

Ruby (Lana Condor) is the protagonist of “Teenage Kraken,” a blue-skinned water creature that lives on land with her parents and brother. Though they come from the sea, the family fits in on land, pretending to be regular people, and manage to pull it off for the most part.

However, Ruby still struggles to fully fit in and that’s compounded by being an awkward teenager. She starts to come into her own, though, when she uncovers a family secret: that she can become the giant sea creature of legend, something that only those in her bloodline can do.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Teenage Kraken’ makes modest use of fun concept”

REVIEW: Lawrence helps ‘No Hard Feelings’ punch above its weight

It’s nice to see a straightforward, R-rated comedy on the big screen again, and it certainly helps that this one features an Academy Award winner.

That Oscar recipient is of course Jennifer Lawrence, who plays the character Maddie in “No Hard Feelings.” Short on cash and wanting to prevent her late mother’s house from being taken by the bank, Maddie is trying to make money as an Uber driver. Unfortunately, she wakes up one morning to see her car being repossessed.

Needing a new ride, she follows up on a Craigslist ad from two parents offering a car in return for dating their shy, awkward son Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), who’s going to Princeton in the fall. Maddie initially balks at the idea, but ends up going for it out of desperation. At first, she just reluctantly agrees, but as time goes on, Maddie starts bonding with Percy.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Lawrence helps ‘No Hard Feelings’ punch above its weight”

REVIEW: Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ is a miss for the studio

Pixar movies can often turn on the water works or leave a person fired up when the credits roll. Surprisingly and disappointingly, “Elemental” doesn’t do either.

The studio’s latest film, “Elemental,” is set in a sprawling metropolis inhabited by beings made of air, water, plants and fire. Most of the different elements stick to their own kind, though, especially the fire people, who are the most recent immigrants to the city and reside in a more dilapidated part of town.

In their community, though, residents have found success, such as Ember (Leah Lewis) and her parents who operate a small convenience shop that she plans to take over. That plan hits a road block, though, when a water being named Wade who works for the city lets Ember know the shop isn’t up to code. However, in a twist of fate, the meeting actually brings the two together.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ is a miss for the studio”

REVIEW: UnfasTEN your seatbelts, ‘Fast X’ shows the ride is over

Didn’t you watch the last movie, meathead? Hell, you’re doing the same thing that it did.

In the 11th movie in this franchise, the audience learns that the villain this time around was wronged by the heroes during the heist in part five. In the present day, the Fast crew is still going on spy missions for the secretive Agency, with the latest taking place in Rome.

The antagonist Dante (Jason Momoa) makes his presence known to the family during said mission, though, and nearly destroys Rome in the process. From there, the Agency basically has the Fast crew take the fall, which puts them on the run not only from the relentless Dante, but law enforcement as well.

Continue reading “REVIEW: UnfasTEN your seatbelts, ‘Fast X’ shows the ride is over”

REVIEW: ‘Guardians 3’ is a bit of good, a bit of bad, and a bit of both

Director James Gunn has given us one last ride with the “Guardians” before he ships off from Marvel to DC.

It may not be on the level of the first two, but it’s nice to see these characters again.

This time around, the crew is setting up a new shop on the world Knowhere. Well, most of the crew is. The captain of the Guardians, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), is in a rough spot. While it’s been some time, he’s still mourning the death of Gamora (Zoe Saldana), who was killed in the Infinity War.

Peter is thrust into action quickly, though, when an unknown being attacks, specifically targeting crew-member Rocket (Bradley Cooper). Rocket is severely injured and to save him, the Guardians have to take on a powerful foe who is connected to the raccoon’s history. As part of the mission, the Guardians get help from an alternate Gamora, who came from a different timeline.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Guardians 3’ is a bit of good, a bit of bad, and a bit of both”