Kong: Skull Island Review

Finally got to see the new acclaimed old school monster blockbuster movie titled Kong: Skull Island.



SPOILER FREE

      Let me start by saying that prior to this film, I thoroughly enjoyed the previous adaptations of King Kong presented on film, particularly Merian C. Cooper's 1933 classic as well as Peter Jackson's 2005 blockbuster remake, that still stands as being one of the finest remakes of all time. What made Jackson's movie such a fitting remake of the old classic is not that it did that film justice, but that it attempted to retell the same story but do it in its own way while making the story of Kong more epic by adding romance to the equation. This time Ann cares when Kong is killed by the planes rather than kicking and screaming as he carries her up the Empire State Building. This time audiences got genuinely freaked out when giant insects came into play in one of the films most memorable scenes. I wasn't much of a fan of the 1976 Jeff Bridges version of the story where Kong battles the planes on top of the World Trade Center instead of the Empire State Building although I respected it's interpretation of the story. Going into Kong: Skull Island, I was fully aware that the new Kong is not so much a remake of the past stories, but an attempt to reestablish the character in hopes of pairing him up with Godzilla in a future King Kong vs Godzilla movie that will be a fantastic visual feast when it finally comes out. The thing with movies like King Kong or Kong: Skull Island, is that they require the audience to shut off their brain for a few hours and just embrace the awesomeness of the story. Having seen Kong: Skull Island, one can safely say that such a choice is ultimately the right decision in order to enjoy this film.

       Kong: Skull Island is an entertaining visual feast of an adventure film that's also helped by strong performances from Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, and Tom Hiddleton. These three bring their A game to the film and clearly understand the type of film their involved with and appear to be having fun with it. The film is full of exhilirating eye candy while having a fast-paced story that moves at a brisk pace, bringing the audience into this world for two hours, while ultimately delivering them great popcorn entertainment. The storyline for Kong: Skull Island drifts from the traditional King Kong story, setting the timeline in the 1970s with a team of scientists exploring an uncharted Island off the Pacific coast with them stumbling across the mighty Kong along with other mysterious monsters on Skull Island while trying to escape the primal Eden. Skull Island works best as a B- action movie largely due to the sheer size of its monsters that dominate the film and become the ultimate stars of the flick besides it's appealing cast. Kong is the type of film where the special effects and technology are the true stars of the movie along with the stunning cinematography coming with it. Anything outside of those two things is a surprise plus such as the addition of Samuel L. Jackson and John Goodman in strong supporting roles, both being effective and a great deal of fun to watch. With a movie like Kong, audiences don't and shouldn't go into the movie expecting logic to run the story as monster movies aren't designed to be full proof with logic dominating the scenarios that occur throughout the films story. If one goes into Kong expecting a great deal of story depth and intelligence, then they should reevaluate their expectations for the film and check logic at the door. Skull Island is made with the simple purpose of entertaining it's audience and that it does pretty successfully with few major missteps. The movie movies fast and doesn't leave the audience with much time to take breaks in between the thrills but rather keeps them engaged in the action that's non-stop and brilliant to watch. Skull Island also manages to pay direct homage to the 1933 original classic Kong film by modeling it's climactic fight scene between Kong and another monster in a direct parallel to Kong battling the T-Rex's in the original and ultimately winning the fight. What greatly helps this story, is that it's not a direct retelling of the classic Kong origins but rather an effort to reacquaint him with audiences in preparing him for future endeavors and battles. If Skull Island is the starting point for Kong build up to bigger and better things rather than having him killed off like in the previous retelling then Skull Island is off to a strong start despite a rather basic plot.

         As a mindless popcorn monster flick that's fast, funny, explosive, thrilling, and carries with it large yet appealing Beasts than Kong: Skull Island works. The film never tries to be anything more than a kickass monster movie and primarily serves as a relaunching of the famous monster, who will unquestionably appear in future installments. The King Kong in this film maintains his menacing and intimidating personality and presence despite the scope of the story feeling smaller than previous Kong adaptations. Unlike the three previously major Hollywood interpretations of the story, Kong doesn't stand on top of the Empire State Building nor the World Trade Center with a blonde female to claim as his own personal prize. This time the action remains on Skull Island with the characters entering this lost world and discovering creatures, that they never knew existed before while trying to find the prize. Kong's greatest strength as a film lies within the fact that it's filmmakers know what the audience wants and delivers it to them while cutting out the excessive running time of Peter Jackson's movie as well as the romance between an ape and a young girl from New York. Skull Island is a simple monster movie made in the tradition of older monster movies with no other purpose than to entertain it's audience and put Kong back on the big screen, which is where he's always belonged and will continue to appear in future monster flicks and pair ups. Skull Island is the ideal popcorn action flick that audiences should see if they want to see mindless action that doesn't require them to think much and makes them shit their brain off completely. If one sets their expectations to those kinds of standards then Skull Island will work it's magic in regards to entertainment. However if one is expecting emotion and depth then they should revert back to Peter Jackson's version for a more epic version of the story as Skull Island gets right to the point in regards to action. Kong is back and is here to stay while never losing the menacing nature that makes him such a compelling and iconic monster.

                                                                                                                                      7.5 out of 10

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Get Out Review

Finally got to see the critically adored and surprisingly awesome suspense and horror thriller titled Get Out.



SPOILER FREE

       Let me start by saying that prior to this movies release, I had no knowledge of this movies production nor its premise up until its release. I was mainly drawn to this film not only because of its surprise box office results, but the kind of critical acclaim it received along with its story pitch that sounds like a cross between a modern day version of Guess Who's Coming To Dinner mixed with Deliverance. The movie works best as being a twisted psychological thriller more so than being an actual horror film, which these days requires a great deal of blood and guts to be shown on the big screen. In order for a movie like Get Out to succeed, it needs to have a unique concept that relies on brains and pure talent to pull it off. The premise of the movie centers around an interracially mixed couple visiting the girlfriends Suburban parents in the Southern part of the United States, with the boyfriend soon discovering that something sinister is brewing within the estate, particularly with the girlfriends parents and the grip they have over their African-American servants, along with the fact that many African-Americans in the town have gone missing. Right off the bat, the film has the makings of a slick horror film, with the family of the girlfriend appearing to be highly suspicious and questionable, with the first impression coming off as being nervousness regarding their daughter dating someone out of her own race and their efforts to appease to him. What helps to sell the films ingenious concept, is the acting talent behind the films main stars with Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams turning in strong performances as the films mixed couple, who essentially play the horror version of Sidney Poitier and Katherine Houghton's characters from 1967s Guess Whose Coming To Dinner with the end result having a horror twist to it. Kaluuya nails the part of the loving boyfriend named Chris, whose nervous about meeting his girlfriend Rose's all white family at first despite her assurance that her family is the furthest thing from being racists. His ordeal with meeting the family ranges from him attempting to win their approval while trying to befriend the nearest African-American around in the town he can relate to, while slowly discovering that every person of color he comes across is acting strange as if they've been hypnotized with one warning him to "get out". Allison Williams does a terrific job of playing the loving girlfriend, who proudly introduces her boyfriend to her family while not quite noticing the strange things occurring around them at first. Williams characters parents played by The West Wings Bradley Whitford and 40 Year Old Virgins Catherine Keener, do masterful jobs of playing what seems like a warm and welcoming pair of parents on the outside, but secretly harbor creepy intentions deep down on the inside. In terms of supporting cast members, Caleb Landry leaves a creepy yet twisted performance as the girlfriends aggressive brother with Betty Gabriel being effective as the families household yet questionable maid. Perhaps the one supporting cast member whose not only effective but brings the much desired humor to the story to ease the tension of the plot is Daniels characters best friend played brilliantly by Lil Kel Howery, who steals the show in every scene he's in as he slowly puts the pieces of what's happening together and tries to warn his friend about his girlfriend's twisted family. As a psychological thriller and horror flick, Get Out works because of the brains that comes with it's clever concept along with it's social themes mixing with horror, thrills, and comedy to deliver audiences a unique but ultimately fun thrill ride. Get Out is the perfect example of all these ingredients working together such as a talented cast, brilliant writing, skillful directing from Jordan Peele, and a unique concept that blends a situation that's relatable to audiences in regards to having an interracial relationship, and the fear of meeting one's parents and desiring to seek their approval with a horror twist that takes audiences on an intense yet ultimately fun thrill ride. In an era where horror films and psychological thrillers rely more on blood and gore more so than brains to tell it's story, it's nice to see a psychological thriller/horror movie that takes itself seriously to a certain extent while having fun with it's concept.

      Overall, Get Out remains a thriller that is most impressive with it's presentation as well as it's abilities to make it's audiences reflect on the scenario their witnessing in front of them on the big screen. The film beautifully combines issues and themes regarding racism, interracial dating, death of a parent, guilt, fear, and transplantation with clever subplots involving hypnosis and psychiatry being weaved into the story. The message of the film basically says that meeting a girlfriend's parents can be trying under any circumstances, although certain particular circumstances can make the event even more challenging and ultimately lethal. Get out is a unique combination of humor, scares and a scenario that's not only thought-provoking, but has the audience pause after watching it and reflect on the type of race relations that surrounds their daily lives. As a dark comedy/thriller/horror flick, Get Out works because of how it surprises audiences with it's quality along with rising to the occasion with presenting a concept that's unique and commands it's audience to think while being greatly entertained by it. The only major flaw that can be pointed out about the film is the fact that it feels as if it moves too quick at times, giving the impression that the story could've used more time to flesh out its interesting premise that comes with admirable twists, turns, and devastating revelations. Whereas there are few films that come out each year that leave lasting impressions upon their audiences, Get Out is poised to be one of those films that will have audiences praising it while pondering over it's well-blended social themes, that are incorporated into the story. While there is no control over how audiences will interpret the films hidden societal conflicts that blend into the story, the overall experience is bound to stay with them as the film not only figures out how to entertain it's audience, but also manages to engage them in the story that's dark, creepy, sadistic, and ultimately brilliant.
                                                                                                                                            8.5 out of 10

Logan Review

Finally got to see Logan, the third and final chapter in the extremely mediocre and underwhelming Wolverine franchise with the obvious twist being that the third time is quite the charm, as well as a heartbreaking finish to the Logan saga.



MINOR SPOILERS

       Let me start by saying that going into this film, I've been a fan of the X-Men storyline since I was a child. Growing up I loved the SEGA Genesis X-Men game I played as a kid as well as enjoying the cartoon that aired on FOX. I still have fond memories of going to see the first few X-Men movie with my brother, and have attended every X-Men film in theater since then. I also watched both previous Wolverine movies in theaters prior to this one, despite my overall feelings towards them being unfavorable. It's not that the character of Wolverine isn't a compelling one, he is, it's just the storyline that he had for both previous movies wasn't strong enough. Despite those issues, I always found Hugh Jackman to be perfect for the part of Logan as he shined the most in the direct X-Men films he was in with X2 and Days Of The Future Past being his best moments as the character along with a stellar cameo in X-Men: Apocalypse. Seeing the first trailer for Logan, I was impressed with the emotional depth the filmmakers were taking the new story and gained hope that they could make a finale to the Wolverine storyline, that would not only be satisfying but make up for the lackluster portion of the Logan trilogy as a whole. Having seen Logan now, I can assuredly say that the third film in the popular Wolverine franchise does not disappoint, and is a great finish to Jackman's 17-year reign as the iconic superhero character despite his exit being a heartbreaking one.

Logan as it's own movie, will unquestionably go down as being one of the finest comic book movies ever made as it's raw and powerful with its presentation, while giving Hugh Jackman one more hoorah in the title role. He gives his absolute all here and perhaps his greatest performance of any X-Men film ever. The greatest satisfaction that one gets out of seeing Hugh Jackman in this film, is watching how he's progressed and grew into the role of Wolverine since audiences first witnessed him in Bryan Singers first X-Men movie. With each X-Men and Wolverine film, Jackman feels as if he's grown to become more and more of the character as time went on even to the point of him physically looking like Wolverine. It is an achievement for any actor to don a role like Logan's and spend nearly two decades playing this character and making audiences believe that he is that person. With Logan, Jackman gives audiences a Wolverine, that they are proud to rally behind, support, and ultimately shed a tear for as his journey has come to an end. One truly wishes that there's a chance that Hugh Jackman could receive an Oscar nomination for his terrific yet heartbreaking performance in this movie, but no one should hold their breath as it's still very early in the year and the Oscars generally doesn't take comic book movies seriously unless it's Health Ledger. With Hugh Jackman doing a fantastic job as Wolverine in Logan with the filmmakers allowing him to be brutal by having him in R rated mode (Believe me, he doesn't hold back in this one and is at his most brutal, tolling the Weapon X scene in Apocalypse), Patrick Stewart delivers a stunning performance as an older and more senile Professor X, whose having trouble controlling his mutant powers at his age. Although it's referenced that the real reason behind the X-Mens absence on this film is that Xavier accidentally kills them, one still wishes that the filmmakers filmed a sequence showing such an event as audiences could better understand the love, hate relationship that Wolverine and Professor X possess in the story. Watching the two characters interact as well as the two actors, the audience feels as if they've been on a 17-year old journey with these men and are now witnessing their retirement. Both men are simply and utterly fantastic here, giving their all to these parts as well as making their exits richly satisfying yet hard for many fans to bear. Outside of Jackman's and Stewart, the side character that steals the show is Logan's young daughter Laura, X-23 played by Dafne Keene. When Dafne is on the screen, she steals the show as well as making it believable that she is Logan's daughter, creating a complexed yet sentimental relationship between them. With those three main characters driving the story, the films main fault lies within the lack of a strong villain such as Boyd Holbrook as Pierce, an effective but not necessarily a memorable antagonist as his sole mission was to pursue the young mutant Laura, whom falls into the care of both Professor X and Logan. Perhaps that was intentional as the main focus of the story appears to be on Logan during his later years while caring for the Professor along with carrying all the pain and loss he experienced over the years. In terms of the films overall look and style, the film is darker than any previous installment in the Wolverine franchise and more emotionally depressing. The film looks as if it's shot like a modern day Western as Logan and Pierce fight over X-23 with Logan caring for an ailing Professor X along the Mexican border. One of Logan's greatest traits outside of its fantastic performances and terrific cinematography, is how it aspires to break apart from being a standard Marvel comic book movie and try to transcend the genre like what Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy did for DCs side of comic book movies. The messages that Logan delivers to the audience, is more along the lines of being who you are and not what someone else wants you to be, as well as there is some form of good in everyone. Logan is a story that plays off themes pertaining to death, pain, grief, love, acceptance, and ultimately caring for others with the ultimate message that sums up the entire X-Men and Logan franchise is simply that everyone needs a family. Logan's story resonates with audiences because of the power it delivers with those themes being incorporated into the story as well as Logan being a character in the franchise whose experienced constant pain throughout his life, yet in the end chooses to do the right thing.

Overall, Logan represents a fantastic finish to the Wolverine storyline thats played on the big screen for 17 years, giving both the character and Hugh Jackman a proper finish as audiences will surely miss seeing both on the big screen together as a team. The story of Logan is the heart of the film as it is first and foremost about pain and loss with the main villain being time itself that allowed both to take its toll on the main characters. With those key things, Jackman, Stewart, and director James Mangold captures those themes perfectly while offering audiences a combination of a modern Western combined with being an emotionally gripping drama disguised as a comic book movie. While other actors will undoubtedly take over from where Hugh Jackman left off, Jackman's Wolverine for most fans is a fanboy treasure, and an entity that is going to go down as one of the most triumphant achievements in the comic book movie genre. As a finale to both the Wolverine and Professor X arc of movies, one could not have asked for a more satisfying finish except that they'd have a much stronger villain. Both Jackman and Stewart deserve high praise for their performances here, as well as applauds from fans for the 17 years of deep commitment they brought to these roles as both casting choices were not only brilliant but damn near absolute. The best compliment that can be given to the film itself, is how it dares to go beyond its own genre and come across as being a genuine work of art as well as making the audience feel for these characters they've grown accustomed to for nearly two decades by the films end. Whether or not one finds the end outcomes for both Wolverine and Professor Xs story arcs satisfying, they'd be hard pressed to not feel something for these characters by the end of the film. Whereas most Marvel movies aim to entertain their audience without leaving much of an emotional impact with them, Logan dares to reach further and for that, it deserves much credit. Logan is one of 2017s breakthrough filmmaking achievements but also one that should not be seen without a box of tissue.

P.S. Hugh Jackman's evil clone was badass.

                                                                                                                                          9 out of 10



Beauty And The Beast 2017 Review

Finally got to see the new live action Beauty And The Beast once again produced by Disney who brought us the all time 1991 classic that became the first animated film in history to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.

SPOILERS

      Let me begin by saying that the original Beauty And The Beast remains one of the defining movies of my childhood as well as a masterpiece and my second favorite love story next to Titanic 1997. Growing up, there were three main Disney films that dominated my childhood which was Aladdin, The Lion King, and Beauty And The Beast. When I first saw the trailer for the live action Beauty And The Beast, I got excited as well as goosebumps in regards to the authenticity of the original being present in the early trailer. Disney has impressed me thus far with their early attempts at turning classic Disney stories into live action films as I enjoyed 2015s Cinderella, and 2016s The Jungle Book prior to going into the new Beast film. My expectations for this one was never for it to be better than the original which is a near impossible task given the legacy of that one and it's level of spontaneousness but I hoped for a live action adaptation that remained faithful to its predecessor while standing on its own feet as a standalone movie. So the question on everyone's mind reading this review is whether Beauty And The Beast lived up to the expectations placed upon it by audiences and critics who loved the first film? The answer is to put it frankly, an absolute and astounding yes.

Beauty And The Beast 2017 is not only a faithful adaptation to the original classic that does it complete Justice but it also carries with it a certain level of Disney magic as it's own tale of classic romance. Chicago director Bill Condon had the extremely difficult task of bringing this complicated love story revolving around the concept of Stockholm Syndrome to life from cartoon, and does he deliver in that regard. The love story doesn't just present large doses of nostalgia with audiences making them feel like a kid again but it actually works as a more mature and upgraded romance. The movies greatest strengths is in regards to the believability of the cast as well as the authenticity of the film with the Art-Set Decoration of the film as well as the Costume Design and music nailing the style of the film perfectly while maintaining key moments that made the first film so enchanting for audiences such as Beast and Belle sharing their official dance and Be Our Guests musical number being reenacted in stunning live action form. In regards to the performances themselves, the cast is near flawless with Emma Watson turning in a fantastic performance as Belle with her only fault being her singing feels a bit off at times.  At first I questioned if someone else could've portrayed Belle as the look of Watson doesn't quite matchup with how Belle appears in the original cartoon, but her performance captures the spirit, the wonder, and the essence of the character. She makes it believable that a girl of her stature could fall in love with her captor and rescuer over a brief period of time. Dan Stevens is simply stunning as Beast, not only having the look of him in human form but nails the mannerisms of the original Beast perfectly along with the voice. Luke Evans proves to be a perfect Gaston in live action form with this version of him coming across as being more unlikeable making him a cross between the original Gaston and Billy Zane from Titanic. Kevin Kline shines as Maurice, Belle's father who not only cares about his daughters future but also mourns the loss of her mother. Josh Gad shines as LaFeo, Gaston's close friend and admired, often stealing the show when he's on screen along with sharing a surprise twist with his character in the films climax, prompting unnecessary controversy in regards to the sexual orientation of his character. As for other supporting roles, Ian McKellen, Ewan McGregor, and Emma Thompson all shine as members of Beasts servants in the mansion turned accessories with McKellen playing the clock named Cogsworth, Ewan McGregor as Lumiere the candlestick, and Emma Thompson as Miss Potts. These additions to the film as well as the characters they play do a remarkable job at capturing the spirit of the original characters while bringing new life to them, giving audiences goosebumps as they relive their childhood on the big screen. With the acting and technical aspects of the movie being amongst the strongest points of the film, the strongest point is also the live action movie embracing it's own legacy, taking the same story and making its own interpretation of it while adding to the characters and their motivations. This time the audience feels Maurice's pain at the loss of his wife and Belle's mother, this time the audience hates Gaston more as he shows his true character and snake like personality especially towards Maurice, this time after Beast saves Belle from being attacked from the Wolves, their relationship really begins to grow stronger whereas the original film had them suddenly falling in love with not much buildup in between Beast rescuing her and their magical dance moment together. Beast also has moments where his personality and past is fleshed out more with him reflecting on his own childhood and feeling genuinely sad once Belle leaves to help her father. The live action version doesn't take away anything from the original but expands on it both story wise and technologically. The best remakes are the ones that don't try to copy the same film 100 percent but pay the utmost respect to their predecessors while crafting their own interpretations of the same story. The live action version of Beauty And The Beast can gladly be classified as one of the rare movie remakes that actually works as well as being an example that the transformation from cartoon to live action can actually work along much like The Jungle Book.

Overall, Beauty And The Beast 2017 is a stunning and magical retelling of a classic Disney story that's endured the test of time within its 25 plus years of existence, leaving a powerful stamp on young audiences worldwide as well as a benchmark for the type of impact a cartoon film can leave upon audiences. The original Beauty And The Beast was the first animated film of its kind to garner an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture which it lost to Silence Of The Lambs. While the live action movie will most likely miss that opportunity to repeat history twice despite being worthy of an actual nomination, it still deserves recognition in technical categories such as Visual Effects Costume Design, Art-Set Decoration, music, and Cinematography which was breathtaking and stellar. The greatest joy of watching the live action movie is the nostalgia of seeing a familiar faces and locations in Beatss castle come to light while hearing familiar musical numbers such as the opening scene with Belle's music which quickly provokes feelings of childhood nostalgia. Beauty And The Beast 2017 is a faithful live action adaptation that succeeds because of its remarkable cast, the amazing attention to detail that it's director, Bill Condon, brought to the big screen in an effort to being audiences back to this magical world, and the magical feeling that Disney was able to replicate with this version, making audiences care once again about the romance between a young girl and a Beast. While some will always prefer the original film which is still the superior version, Beast 2017 stands on its own ground giving audiences a faithful adaptation that often feels amazing at times that it's actually capturing the feelings we had upon seeing the first film 25 years ago. Beauty and the Beast does nothing to harm the legacy of the original but reintroduces it to a new generation of young audiences while giving older fans a more mature version of a tale as old as time.
                                                                                                                                         9 out of 10

Our characters for this evening: