Archive for May 2019

Home Archive for May 2019

Members of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient super-species-thought to be mere myths-rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity's very existence hanging in the balance.

Release date: May 31, 2019 (USA)

Director: Michael Dougherty

Budget: 200 million USD

Film series: Godzilla

Based on: Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Mothra, Rodan; by Toho

[[Review]]

After a five year absence, the MonsterVerse's Godzilla has finally returned for Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Gareth Edwards' Godzilla reboot launched the kaiju franchise in 2014, and embraced a fairly serious tone reminiscent of Ishirō Honda's original 1954 classic. By comparison, 2017's Kong: Skull Island moved away from Edwards' restrained direction in favor of a far more colorful and rip-roaring MonsterVerse adventure set in the 1970s. This brings us to the property's third installment, which aspires to be even goofier and more action-packed than either of its predecessors, in ways both good and bad. King of the Monsters offers the campy pleasures of an old-school Godzilla sequel, despite going overboard with its relentless kaiju battles.

The film takes place in the present-day MonsterVerse, where people are still adjusting to the reality that god-like creatures exist. In the wake of Godzilla's San Francisco battle with the MUTOs, Monarch paleobiologist Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) has developed "The Orca": a machine that allows for auditory communication with these Titans, and could be the key to humanity's survival. However, when she and her daughter Madison (Millie Bobby Brown) are taken by ex-colonel Alan Jonah (Charles Dance) and his eco-terrorist group, it falls to Monarch and Emma's erstwhile husband Mark (Kyle Chandler), who helped design The Orca, to rescue them. Before long, though, they realize Alan and his organization have a bigger goal in mind - one that involves awakening King Ghidorah, an apex predator and Godzilla's ancient nemesis.

In a way, King of the Monsters hews closer to the Japanese Godzilla sequels of the 20th century than either of the previous MonsterVerse films. The movie benefits from having Michael Dougherty onboard in this regard, as the writer-director (who also helmed Trick 'r Treat and Krampus) brings a horror-comedy touch that compliments the heavy-handed environmental themes and human melodrama here. At the same time, the narrative by Dougherty and his writing partner Zach Shields leaves something to be desired, even by the standards of the larger Godzilla franchise (where plot has traditionally been a secondary concern to spectacle). The resulting film is one that's already dividing people over whether its strengths in other departments make up for its shortcomings in this area.

Following a quick prologue (which establishes the Russells' backstory), King of the Monsters wastes little time getting to the thing Godzilla fans love most: the Titans wreaking havoc on the planet and/or fighting one another. These brawls are typically impressive in their staging, as Dougherty and DP Lawrence Sher (The Hangover trilogy, War Dogs) bring them to life in a way that combines the realism of Edwards' Godzilla with the expressiveness of Jordan Vogt-Roberts' Kong: Skull Island. In doing so, the film draws from a vivid color palette (arctic blue, desert orange, rainy grey) that serves to distinguish these various throw-downs visually. The sequences are further energized by Bear McCreary's bold score, which uses an eclectic mix of instrumentation (including, taiko chanting and drumming) and re-imagines both Godzilla and Mothra's iconic themes to positive effect. Problem is, because King of the Monsters never stops upping the ante when it comes to spectacle, it starts to become more exhausting than exhilarating by the time the third act rolls around.

As mentioned, though, the main flaws lie with King of the Monsters' thinly-drawn humans and storylines. The broken family plot at the heart of the film is cheesy at best and laughably flat at worst, even with people as talented as Brown, Farmiga, and Chandler trying their hardest to elevate the drama into something poignant. Fortunately, the movie is even more of a true ensemble piece than MonsterVerse entries past, and the other members of Monarch are far more entertaining than the Russells. King of the Monsters' heroes are all fairly archetypical (there's the awkward nerd, the sardonic tech specialist, the no-nonsense military leader, and so on), but are buoyed on the big screen by a distinguished cast that includes Bradley Whitford, Zhang Ziyi, Aisha Hinds, and O'Shea Jackson Jr., along with returning Godzilla costars Sally Hawkins and David Strathairn. Nevertheless, it's Ken Watanabe who once again steals the show as Godzilla's number one fanboy, Dr. Ishirō Serizawa, and reveals there's nary a silly line of dialogue he can't deliver with gravitas.

Overall, King of the Monsters delivers on its promise of spectacular kaiju skirmishes and paves the way for even more to come in next year's crossover event, Godzilla vs. Kong. At the same time, the film is arguably messier than MonsterVerse movies past and struggles to balance competent human drama with satisfyingly destructive mayhem. This accounts for the sequel's polarizing reception so far; depending on how one looks at it, King of the Monsters either compensates for its storytelling problems by offering extra helpings of monster fights, or knows exactly what it is and doesn't pretend to be anything else. Still, whichever way you cut it, there's enough that works here to please most kaiju fanatics or anyone in the mood for a big, ridiculous, blockbuster thrill ride that's worth checking out on the largest screen available.

Young Aladdin embarks on a magical adventure after finding a lamp that releases a wisecracking genie.

Release Date : May 24, 2019 (USA)

Director : Guy Ritchie

Music composed by : Alan Menken

Production company : Walt Disney Pictures

Producers : Dan Lin, Jonathan Eirich

[[Review]]

Disney's live-action remakes of its animated features are practically their own subgenre by this point, complete with narrative tropes and recurring visual techniques. And while the trend kicked off with Alice in Wonderland in 2010, it wasn't until Cinderella that these productions started to follow a recognizable formula. Indeed, the latest addition to the pile, Aladdin, tries to reimagine and "fix" the 1992 animated version in most of the same ways that Dumbo, Beauty and the Beast, and so forth attempted to "correct" their predecessors before it. However, in this case, that formula works a lot better than some people have been expecting. Aladdin is a jubilant and energetic Disney retelling that mostly succeeds in updating the animated version, even if it never feels quite as magical.

Storywise, the live-action Aladdin mostly follows a similar path to Disney's animated movie. However, director Guy Ritchie and his cowriter John August (who frequently collaborates with Tim Burton) make some changes that allow the first act to flow faster and more efficiently in this new version. Specifically, following the "Arabian Nights" musical prologue, the film moves right ahead to Aladdin (Mena Massoud) meeting a disguised Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott) on the streets of Agrabah, then incorporates her into the "One Jump Ahead" number. This allows the remake to playfully introduce Aladdin's life as a thief in the same way the animated feature does, but at the same time dive head-first into Aladdin and Jasmine's romance and establish the connection between the pair. It makes for unexpectedly economic storytelling, all in all.

As a result, the remake wastes little time getting to its best part: the scenes with Aladdin, Jasmine, the Genie (Will Smith), Jasmine's handmaiden Dalia (Nasim Pedrad, playing an original character), or all four at once. This is also where the film really finds its groove, thanks to a combination of sturdy writing and great casting. Massoud hits all the right notes playing the sharp witted, yet sensitive, street urchin here, and his chemistry with Scott gives their courtship that needed spark (even when they're not singing and/or dancing their hearts out). Scott is equally good as Jasmine, and the film's efforts to modernize the character by making her more politically active and informed works better than other recent attempts to update beloved Disney heroines (see also: making Belle an "inventor"). And while Dalia is very much a supporting character, she serves as a nice foil to Jasmine, and their friendship helps to further flesh out the latter's personality.

But of course, much like the animated film, the live-action Aladdin belongs to the Genie as much as its namesake or anyone else. Smith, as one would expect, brings his usual mix of swagger, charm, and emotion to the role, but this serves to set his take on the character apart from Robin Williams' iconic performance in the animated movie. In fact, his interpretation only really falters when he stops doing his own thing (rapping "Friend Like Me", dispensing romantic advice like he's starring in Hitch 2: Arabian Boogaloo) and tries to emulate Williams' shtick as the gigantic, blue, cosmically-powered being. Speaking of which: the finished CGI effects used to transform Smith into his genie form are far better than early marketing material suggested, and the film's visuals in general are pretty lavishing, thanks to Gemma Jackson's effervescent production design and the plesant colors of Michael Wilkinson's costumes. Aesthetically, there are times when Ritchie's bad habit of uneven framing and rough editing rears its head here, but his trademark slow-fast-mo style largely benefits the film's chase sequences and gives them some extra flair.

This brings us to Aladdin's biggest problem - namely, its villain Jafar (Marwan Kenzari). While the remake aspires to give its antagonist greater depth by fleshing out his motivation for going after the Genie's lamp and revealing his backstory, it ends up making him less interesting than his over the top and flamboyant, yet also more memorable animated counterpart. The goes double for Iago (voiced by Alan Tudyk), who's portrayed in a grounded fashion that robs the fowl sidekick of much of his personality. At the end of the day, these flaws reflect the main issue with the remake: even with all the flashy spectacle and Bollywood-style numbers one could ask for (including "Speechless", a fine little addition that Greatest Showman's Pasek & Paul wrote with Alan Menken), the film's attempts to make this classic fairy tale feel more realistic ultimately hinder it and prevent it from soaring to greater heights.

Altogether, though, Aladdin makes for one of the more enjoyable live-action Disney remakes so far, and its updates to the animated version (especially, its removal of the ethnic stereotyping and more brazenly racist elements) largely work in its favor. Yes, this is still the filtering of Middle-Eastern folklore and culture through the lens of a big, shiny American blockbuster, but so was the animated movie, and the representation provided by the new version is sorely needed as ever in the current Hollywood landscape. Filmgoers who've grown tired of the Mouse House's remake formula might have a harder time getting onboard for this one than others, but those who love the animated feature may be pleasantly surprised by how much they like the retelling too. It might not be a whole new world, but it's far from a lifeless rehash.

After gunning down a member of the High Table -- the shadowy international assassin's guild -- legendary hit man John Wick finds himself stripped of the organization's protective services. Now stuck with a $14 million bounty on his head, Wick must fight his way through the streets of New York as he becomes the target of the world's most ruthless killers.

Release date : May 17, 2019 (USA)

Director : Chad Stahelski

Based on : Characters; by Derek Kolstad

Production Company : Thunder Road Pictures

Producers : Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee

[[Review]]

For many, 2014's John Wick was a breath of fresh air that combined stylishly brutal action with comic book-esque worldbuilding to great effect, rescusitating Keanu Reeves' action movie career in the process. 2017's John Wick: Chapter 2 doubled-down on these elements and earned far larger box office returns for its efforts, in turn assuring that John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (to use its full title) would come to pass. And while the third chapter continues to do right by the franchise's bread and butter, it's guilty of prioritizing these aspects at the expense of the series' emotional core... though, to be clear, that's far from a deal-breaker. Character 3 - Parabellum offers enough dynamic set pieces and dazzling fight choreography to offset its flaws as a continuation of John Wick's story.

Like its predecessor, Chapter 3 - Parabellum picks up immediately after the ending to the previous John Wick movie. John (Reeeves), having only just broken the Continental's number one rule (no business on hotel grounds) and killed Santino D'Antonio, has less than an hour before a $14 million contract on his life is opened to every single assassin in both New York and the world at large. Chapter 3's opening thirty minutes take advantage of this scenario to deliver some of the best pure action filmmaking in the John Wick franchise to date, including several exquisitely-staged brawls where John uses everything from library books to antique guns, various knives, and even horses as deadly weapons to murder his enemies in the face. And much like the previous John Wick films, Chapter 3 is sure to delight cinephiles who glean the classic martial arts films and/or works of Hong Kong action cinema homaged here.

From there, Chapter 3 shifts its focus back to its worldbuilding, as John finds passage out of New York with the help of a powerful figure (Angelica Huston) with ties to his past. The movie offers some insight into John's backstory in the process, but skips over diving deeper into what makes its protagonist tick in order to explore a narrative that involves John trying to negotiate a peace with the High Table and reversing his excommunicado status. In doing so, though, Chapter 3 moves even further away from the simple, but effective emotional throughline of the original John Wick than the second film did. It subsequently robs John of the agency he re-claimed at the end of Chapter 2 by having all of his major decisions here dictated by someone else, leaving the character to serve as little more than a vessel for other people's wills. Admittedly, this could have made for an interesting arc for John (one that asks whether he can break this destructive cycle), but Chapter 3 fails to provide a fully satisfying payoff to his existential dilemma in the end.

That said, Chapter 3's writers - which include Derek Kolstad (John Wick 1 & 2), Marc Abrams (Entourage), Chris Collins (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), and relative newcomer Shay Hatten - do a better job of expanding the John Wick mythology, when it comes to both explaining how this universe works (without getting bogged down in exposition) and skillfully introducing a new set of characters. Returning costars Ian McShane (Winston) and Lance Reddick (Charon) still have a meaty role to play, though, as does Halle Berry as fresh addition Sofia: a deadly assassin and begrudging ally to John who gets some good development here, on top of a sequence where Berry's able to further prove her action star bonafides (which she does, with a little help from Sofia's highly trained - and efficient - dogs). Asia Kate Dillon and Mark Dacascos are also memorable here as, respectively, a no-nonsense Adjudicator to the High Table and Zero, a seasoned killer who (in a funny twist) turns out to be a giant John Wick fanboy.

In a movie as crowded as this, it's no surprise that certain characters (like Laurence Fishburne's Bowery King and Jason Mantzoukas as a newcomer called the Tick Tock Man) end up getting the short end of the stick. Still, John Wick 1 & 2 director Chad Stahelski does an overall sturdy job of finding room for Chapter 3's many players here, in between all the plot developments and set pieces. But of course, the stunt expert-turned filmmaker's real forte is still action, and he once again puts his experience to great use during the film's many close-quarter skirmishes (whether they involve gun fu or even old-school sword battles). The movie is also vibrantly photographed as a blend of neo-noir colors and (during its Morocco-set second act) desert hues by Chapter 2 DP Dan Lausten. Between all that and another propulsive score by franchise composers Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard, it's fair to say Chapter 3 delivers the goods when it comes to craftsmanship.

When all's said and done, John Wick: Chapter 3 is a very good sequel that could've been great, had it found a way to handle John's personal journey with the same tender loving care that it spent on fleshing out its mythology and delivering top-notch action scenes. Instead, it's starting to feel more and more like John himself is far less important than the world around him, which is too bad considering how essential his personal struggles were to the original John Wick. Even so, fans will definitely want to check this one out on the big screen (where it looks terrific), and should find plenty of other things to enjoy here. And as for the future of the franchise... well, without spoiling anything, let's just say this isn't necessarily the "ending" it was once described as being.

Ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his 21-year-old son, Tim, to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry's former Pokémon partner, wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth Detective Pikachu. Finding that they are uniquely equipped to work together, as Tim is the only human who can talk with Pikachu, they join forces to unravel the tangled mystery.

Release date: May 10, 2019 (USA)

Director: Rob Letterman

Screenplay: Nicole Perlman

Producers: Mary Parent, Cale Boyter

Production companies: Warner Bros., Legendary Entertainment, Toho Co., Ltd.

[[REVIEW]]

For decades, Hollywood has been trying to crack the code of video game adaptations, attempting to translate the popular medium to the big screen with few successes. The latest video game adaptation is Pokémon Detective Pikachu, the first live-action adaptation of the Pokémon franchise. Though it's specifically based on the 2016 game, Detective Pikachu, the movie is rooted in the franchise that kicked off and rose to popularity in the mid-90s. Because most of the games, TV shows and animated movies follow Pokémon trainers, it's a different story than what fans are used to, but one that's still very much a part of this world. Detective Pikachu is wholesome, silly fun, with solid world-building and stunning CGI Pokémon that are complemented well enough by its story.

Detective Pikachu follows Tim Goodman (Justice Smith), the son of Ryme City Police Detective Harry Goodman, who's pronounced dead after being in a mysterious car accident. When Tim travels to Ryme City in order to close out his father's affects, he stumbles upon Harry's Pikachu (voice of Ryan Reynolds) and the mystery of what actually happened to his father. With the help of aspiring reporter Lucy Stevens (Kathryn Newton) and her Psyduck, Tim and Pikachu investigate what really happened to Harry and soon discover Tim's father may still be alive. As they dig deeper, though, Tim and Pikachu unravel a plot that could endanger all of Ryme City's human and Pokémon residents.

Detective Pikachu was directed by Rob Letterman (Goosebumps) from a script he co-wrote with Dan Hernandez (One Day At A Time), Benji Samit (The Tick) and Derek Connolly (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) - with a story by Hernandez, Samit and Nicole Perlman (Captain Marvel). The story of Detective Pikachu is a little overly simple, with certain twists and turns that are very obviously set up throughout the film and are largely predictable as a result. Some of the choices the movie makes, too, are wonderfully wild, and Detective Pikachu fully leans into even the weirdest turns it takes. But with a PG rating and its relatively simple story, the movie is clearly meant to be enjoyed by all ages, particularly young children - which makes sense since the Pokémon franchise as a whole has been largely targeted at younger audiences, at least in the U.S.

In a movie about Pokémon, though, the story isn't necessarily the biggest draw. It needs to be solid enough to carry viewers through this larger world and, in that regard, Detective Pikachu is a success. The story may not be Detective Pikachu's biggest strength, but it does complement the world well, giving the movie an avenue through which its viewers can explore Ryme City and the larger universe. It's in the world-building that Detective Pikachu truly shines, depicting Pokémon both in the wild and living amongst humans in Ryme City. Though the movie isn't about a Pokémon trainer, that aspect is still very much part of this world, but never overly explained. Detective Pikachu deftly develops this complex world in a way that compellingly establishes it, but leaves further exploration for a potential sequel or spinoff - though without any cheap teases or setup.

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