Showing posts with label James Gunn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Gunn. Show all posts

Sunday, 15 August 2021

Special: The Suicide Squad, Luca, Breaking News In Yuba County Mini-Reviews

The Suicide Squad:

Synopsis: Welcome to hell--a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out--even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X. Today's do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and everyone's favorite psycho, Harley Quinn. Then arm them heavily and drop them (literally) on the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and-destroy mission with only Colonel Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave...and Amanda Waller's government techies in their ears, tracking their every movement. And as always, one wrong move and they're dead (whether at the hands of their opponents, a teammate, or Waller herself). If anyone's laying down bets, the smart money is against them--all of them.

My thoughts: I actually enojyed David Ayer's previous adaptation of the Suicide Squad to the big screen it had it's issues but was an enjoyable romp. James Gunn's turn in the directors chair brings back fan favourites Harley Quinn, Rick Flagg Jr and Captain Boomerang to pair with a new cast of characters lead by Bloodsport. Gunn did a fantastic job turning expectations on it's head throughout the film and giving us reason to care about these characters even more than this DC fanboy did before. R-Rated gore, language and even a nude man's penis shows that comic book movies can be anything you want it to be.

Final verdict: 5 bags of dicks for liberty out of 5.

Luca:

Synopsis: Set in a beautiful seaside town on the Italian Riviera, Disney and Pixar's original feature film "Luca" is a coming-of-age story about one young boy experiencing an unforgettable summer filled with gelato, pasta and endless scooter rides. Luca (voice of Jacob Tremblay) shares these adventures with his newfound best friend, Alberto (voice of Jack Dylan Grazer), but all the fun is threatened by a deeply-held secret: they are sea monsters from another world just below the water's surface.

My thoughts: Pixar gives us a beautiful picture with a story full of heart and hope. I feel like that can be copy and pasted into any of their pictures. Luca doesn't try nearly as hard as last year's Soul but executes it better. It shoots straight for your emotions, sometimes too much as it gets caught up in the attempt to make you feel something rather than just try to move the story forward. Overall a super fun Italian romp with sea monsters getting their land legs.

Final verdict: 4 stupido's out of 5.

Breaking News In Yuba County:

Synopsis: A woman takes advantage of her growing celebrity status when the police and the public think her dead husband is just missing.

My thoughts: This one is hard to pin down as it's a bit of a quirky comedy that knows it's quirky and throws itself into that fully. In the end though it seems to get lost in itself and ends up looking like a parody of a better movie. The script had some good dialogue and the performances by the ensemble was strong but this group of actresses deserved a better end product.

Final verdict: 3 ignored wives out of 5.

Sunday, 7 May 2017

Special: Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2/Beauty And The Beast/Get Out Mini-Reviews

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2:

Synopsis: Set to the all-new sonic backdrop of Awesome Mixtape #2, Marvel Studios' "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" continues the team's adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill's true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes' aid as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand.

My thoughts: Just as fun as the first installment, Guardians ups it's drama and comedy chops in volume 2 without losing the heart and soul of what made the first so great, though admittedly the soundtrack to "Vol. 2" is lacking in comparison to the first though that could be only because they used all the good late 70's, early 80's pop music in the first.

Final verdict: 5 angry baby trees out of 5.

Beauty And The Beast:

Synopsis: Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" is a live-action re-telling of the studio's animated classic which refashions the classic characters from the tale as old as time for a contemporary audience, staying true to the original music while updating the score with several new songs. "Beauty and the Beast" is the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by a beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle's enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast's hideous exterior and realize the kind heart and soul of the true Prince within. The film stars: Emma Watson as Belle; Dan Stevens as the Beast; Luke Evans as Gaston, the handsome, but shallow villager who woos Belle.

My thoughts: Not a huge fan of the original, this is basically a carbon copy of it but with more songs. Not a fan of the songs. By the time the last 30 minutes rolls around and I start to get interested, another song comes on and I'm reminded of the films first 2 acts.

Final verdict: 3 sing-a-longs out of 5.

Get Out:

Synopsis: Now that Chris and his girlfriend, Rose, have reached the meet-the-parents milestone of dating, she invites him for a weekend getaway upstate with Missy and Dean. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he could have never imagined.

My thoughts: What can I say about "Get Out" that hasn't already been said? It's complex, it's intriguing, it's underlying theme is obvious without beating you over the head with the message and is deserving of all the praise it's getting... Also fuck Armond White, dude's a piece of feces.

Final verdict: 4 scenes of racial unrest out of 5