Wednesday 29 May 2019

Special: Batman Vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Screwball, See You Yesterday Mini-Reviews

Batman Vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:

Synopsis: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles go to Gotham City and discover that the Foot Clan is working with the League of Assassins to reign terror over Gotham. Batman then teams up with the Turtles while investigating to save Gotham from the newfound alliance.

My thoughts: I had previously read the comic book series and worried it would be a near identical adaptation but it was changed enough while keeping the core story in tact that it was enjoyable for me without being too much of a retread. Overall the movie was strong but I wasn't a fan of the animation style so it's hard for me to call this a perfect movie. I will say that DC and Nickelodeon did a great job balancing this flick so it appeals to DCAU fans while still being kid friendly enough for the Nickelodeon fans.

Final verdict: 4 cartoon crossovers out of 5.

Screwball:

Synopsis: Recounting the high-profile doping scandal that rocked Major League Baseball, director Billy Corben (Cocaine Cowboys) takes us into the surreal Miami underworld that provided performance-enhancing drugs to Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and other star players. They say South Florida is a sunny place for shady people and this is certainly true of steroid peddler Anthony Bosch and his most notorious client, Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees. While Bosch's medical credentials may be lacking, his storytelling skills are first rate as he hilariously details the rise and fall of his "health clinic", including mob connections, financial chicanery, his cocaine habit, and Rodriguez's eccentric behavior. The documentary plays like a madcap Floridian crime comedy in the vein of Elmore Leonard or the Coen Brothers while it raises serious questions about the ethics of professional sports. Powerful interests would be happy to let this story slip from memory, but Screwball makes it unforgettable.

My thoughts: You normally wouldn't rave over the storytelling of a documentary but you have to for Screwball. They have the real life people recounting their stories while children dressed like them act it out. It's a riot. It's compelling and it's incredibly interesting even if you only have passing knowledge of steroids in baseball.

Final verdict: 4 anti-aging clinics out of 5.

See You Yesterday:

Synopsis: High school best friends and science prodigies C.J. and Sebastian spend every spare minute working on their latest homemade invention: backpacks that enable time travel. But when C.J.'s older brother Calvin dies after an encounter with police officers, the young duo decide to put their unfinished tech to use in a desperate bid to save Calvin. From director Stefon Bristol and producer Spike Lee comes See You Yesterday, a sci-fi adventure grounded in familial love, cultural divides and the universal urge to change the wrongs of the past.

My thoughts: A nice modern day time travel tale. I'll be up front in saying sci-fi is not my cup of tea so this was a harder sell but as far as these things go this was fine even if it was a tad predictable the powerfulness of the story made up for that.

Final verdict: 3 time travelling backpacks out of 5.

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