Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2014
Directed by: Jonathan Liebesman

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the retelling of the comic book by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, then later children's cartoon from the 80's and 90's of four turtles that were transformed by a mutagen into mutant turtles that had humanlike abilities and intelligence.  The film is produced by Michael Bay.  The four turtles were raised as brothers and trained in the art of Ninjutsu by their surrogate father Splinter, a rat that was also mutated by the mutagen.  Splinter named the turtles after his favorite Renaissance artists, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael.  Like every rendition of the Ninja Turtles the story begins with the Turtles crossing paths with April O'Neil(Megan Fox) a curious reporter that is threatened when she digs too deep into the Foot Clan.  The Foot Clan are a band of ninja thieves that are led by The Shredder.  The Shredder is a lethal and dangerous ninja who will eventually see the Turtles as his ultimate enemy. 

This will probably be the worst movie I will see this year.  As someone who grew up watching the old cartoon and later the first live action film versions I had hoped I would have a great nostalgic feeling of my childhood the same way The new Transformers films make me feel.  I was let down.  The filmmakers tried a little too hard to please everyone and ended up picking little bits from every version to create the origins of the characters.  This idea just doesn't work and the origin story we are presented with isn't one that's accepted by the audience.  The film also features too much of Megan Fox instead of featuring the Turtles as it should.  Another aspect that bothered me about this film is the Shredder.  He looks too much like a miniature Megatron from the Transformers films.  The Turtles themselves are not portrayed the best way, Michelangelo who is suppose to be the funny one isn't funny at all and only comes across creepy.  Raphael is the closest to done well but the chemistry that you would expect from the Turtles and isn't there sours his character.  Donatello is the best of the Turtles as far as funny goes but he doesn't get the screen time he deserves.  Leonardo is too flat and is boring to watch.  The most disappointing part of this film is the fight scenes are huge let downs.  When you go to a movie by Micheal Bay you usually know to expect a terrible story with great effects and action.  This film, while the effects were great had terrible action.  The fights were boring and the other action sequences were too dull.  To sum it up I can't think of anyone I would recommend this film to.  I really hope any parents who want to introduce their kids to the same Turtles they enjoyed as kids will just get the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Turtles II Secret of the Ooze with the killer Vanilla Ice Song.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Directed by James Gunn

Guardians of the Galaxy is the newest release in the Marvel/Disney Universe Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and Dave Bautista with the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel.  Guardians of the Galaxy follows the exploits of Peter Quill(Chris Pratt) a man who was taken from Earth when he was a child and raised on other worlds.  Quill became a thief and took on the self made mantle of Star Lord.  Quill is sent after a relic that is a crucial part of a war between two alien races the Nova Empire and an extremist for the Kree Empire named Ronan The Accuser(Lee Pace).  Ronan wants to wipe out the Nova Empire and needs the relic to strike a deal with Thanos(Josh Brolin).  Thanos is an all powerful being that was seen at the end of the film The Avengers.  Along the way to deliver the relic Star Lord crosses paths with Gamora, a living weapon that wants the relic for her own reasons and he also crosses the mercenaries Rocket(Bradley Cooper) and Groot(Vin Diesel).  Rocket is a genetically altered raccoon with a lot of anger issues and Groot is a large tree creature that is limited in his ability to speak only being able to say I AM GROOT.  Rocket and Groot aren't so interested in the relic as they are in the bounty on Star Lord's head.  As the four of them smash into each other in their journey they come across Drax the Destroyer(Dave Bautista).  Drax is on a mission to avenge the murder of hid wife and daughter at the hands of Ronan.  These five outcasts somehow band together to challenge Ronan and his forces to try to stop him from wiping out Billions of people.

This movie was great.  I'm a big fan of superhero movies so I knew I would like this film but I didn't expect to like it as much as I did.  Not being as mainstream as characters like Iron Man or Captain America these characters are a lot less known so it was nice not to know what to expect from them.  Another great thing about this film is it stands alone unlike any of the other films in the Marvel universe.  You can go see this movie without having to know about any other superheroes or any other films.  It's a refreshing movie in a genre that is punching so many films out and continues to plan on so many films that there will always be a potential for a backlash of the genre.  The film is not for young kids.  There were a couple of times in this film that it will seem inappropriate that there are whole toy lines of this film for kids because there is some very adult humor in it but very funny humor.  The soundtrack is very good for this film.  You will have the song Hooked on a Feeling stuck in your head for days after you watch it.  I was pleasantly surprised about a couple things in this film.  First I was very surprised by the performance of Dave Bautista as Drax.  When I saw he was in the film I expected a poor performance from him like so many athletes that turn to film but the character was the perfect fit for him and a good fit for the chemistry of the film.  The other part of this film that I was surprised by is the character Groot.  Considering his limited vocab and the way he looks it amazes me how much he drives the story.  I figured Chris Praitt was going to be the favorite of the film or maybe even Rocket but I think most people will come away from this film with Groot being their favorite character.  He's like some strange cross of The Hulk meets Dumbo.  Overall, I think anyone can enjoy this film, unless you can't wrap your head around science fiction then your loss.

22 Jump Street

22 Jump Street (2014)
Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

22 Jump Street is the sequel to the successful 2012 comedy 21 Jump Street starring Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill.  The original 21 Jump Street was a television show in the 80's that starred Johnny Depp about a cop that goes under cover as a high school student.  Both stars Tatum and Hill reprise their roles as Schmidt and Jenko, two polar opposites that have joined the Police Academy Schmidt being the brains and Jenko being the brawn helping each other pass through the academy to become police officers.  Together they are the perfect pair of screw ups.  Because of how they look they are assigned to a special unit that sends cops under cover into high schools to prevent drugs from spreading to kids located at 21 Jump Street.  The unit is led by Captain Dickson played by Ice Cube.  In 22 Jump Street they are back and this time going to college to track down the dealers and suppliers of a new drug that's causing the death of students.  The guys take on everything you would expect to find in a film about college life ending in an exciting climax during Spring Break with a showdown between them and the drug suppliers.

Over all I really liked this movie.  It was a great comedy that kept me laughing throughout the whole film.  This film also has a scene that gave me the longest laugh I've had sitting in a theatre for a long time.  The directors took what they learned from the first film by keeping what worked and improving what didn't work the first time around.  Hill and Tatum are probably the best buddy bromance in film since Martin Lawrence and Will Smith in the Bad Boys films.  Ice Cube plays the typical Captain role to a T just like you see in every buddy cop film like Lethal Weapon, but adds his own little spin on the part that only Ice Cube could do.  This film follows the same type of comedy formula of the first film with awkward moments, toilet humor, and stereotypes. so if you weren't a fan of the first one you should probably pass this film by.  What I really liked about this film is all the ways it actually makes fun of itself and it's genre, sort of a parody of the buddy cop parody.  It's refreshing to see a film that's comfortable enough to do that.  The levels of humor and jokes used in this film seem to literally cover the whole spectrum of comedy.  There are ships that go back to the days of Abbott and Costello jokes to the Jim Carey/Jeff Daniels level of humor in Dumb and Dumber.  My last bit of advice on if you should see this film is if the trailer looks funny to you you'll like the film.  Luckily this is one of the few comedies made these days that doesn't show all the good parts in the trailers.  This is a great film and its really funny.  It'll be a great break from reality for two hours for a good laugh.  


Trailer for 21 Jump Street in case you haven't seen it but are interested.

Chef

 

Chef - 2014

Directed by Jon Favreau



 

 



 

 

Chef is an independent film directed by Jon Favreau the director of the 2008 hit Iron Man.  He also stars as Carl Casper, the Chef who this film is centered around.  In the film Carl was once an upcoming Chef who was spent the last decade in a rut and playing it safe with his food.  To combat the rut he is in he challenges the owner of his restaurant who is played by Dustin Hoffman.  Carl continues to push back for a new menu until he reaches his breaking point.  In the wake of losing his job he takes a gamble on opening a taco truck and Carl attempts to regain his passion for his food and for his life.

 

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I really liked this film.  It was a nice relaxing film at a peaceful pace.  The humor in this film is very subtle but very enjoyable throughout the whole film. The part of this film that I really thought was clever is it's approach to social media like twitter or facebook.  There are two main reasons this film works as a great independent comedy.  The first reason is the food.  The whole film is filled with amazing dishes that cover a wide variety of food types.                     

 

  Even the grilled cheese they make in the film looks so amazing that even if you load up on popcorn or candy you will still want to find some of the amazing food that was in this film.  The foods they prepare from certain places like Texas or New Orleans.  The other reason this film is so successful as a comedy is the cast.  This film has an amazing cast.  Favreau called in a few of his friends to be in this film.  No one actor has a large part other then Favreau which I think is the reason he was able to get so many great actors to be in the film.  Sophia Vergara, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Dustin Hoffman, John Leguizamo, and Oliver Platt wrap up the amazing cast of this film.  This cast plays well off of Favreau and although there are no real huge gut busting laughing you will enjoy the humor and chuckle along to the film and it's speed.  I would recommend this film to anyone who can handle the subtle type of humor this film is balanced on.  If you liked Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris then you will enjoy this film. 



   

Captain Phillips

Captain Phillips 2013
Directed by Paul Greengrass

Captain Phillips is the true story of a freight ship that is making a run off the coast of Africa that is boarded by Somalian Pirates.  Captain Phillips(Tom Hanks) is the Captain of the ship and is trying to keep his crew and himself alive.  The Pirates are led by Muse (Barkhad Abdi) who is a bold and fearless man who is doing what he has to in order to survive.  The film becomes a battle of wits and chance as the tide turns on all these characters multiple times throughout the film.

I really enjoyed this film.  Greengrass, the director has taken what he has learned about the speed a story can reach from his other films like The Bourne Supremacy and United 93.  One thing that I was concerned about before seeing this film is that it would be too predictable.  I was happily surprised that this film is very unpredictable.  The twists and turns of this film will keep you fully engaged from start to end.  The driving force of the film is the performance by Tom Hanks.  His performance in this film is the best I have seen from him since Saving Private Ryan.  There is a particular scene at the end of the film that is a great example of what makes Tom Hanks a level higher then pretty much everyone else in Hollywood.  Tom Hanks is probably the best actor working today in film.  There are a couple other examples of scenes where his performance shows that little bit more then everyone else working in Hollywood in the films Forrest Gump and The Green Mile.  The scene from Forrest Gump is when Jenny(Robin Wright) tells him that he has a son and his first concern is if his son is smart or like him.  The scene in The Green Mile is the scene when he has to order the power turned on for John Coffey(Michael Clarke Duncan).  Until seeing this film I believed Forest Whitaker had the Oscar for Best Actor in the bag for his performance The Butler, but after seeing Tom Hanks in Captain Phillips I think it could go to either one of them and it makes me excited for a couple of the other films that are getting Oscar buzz that have yet to come out.  This is a great film that I would recommend to any adult out there who wants to be fully engaged by a film.

RUSH

Rush
Directed by Ron Howard
2013

The Film Rush is the true story of what is one of the greatest rivalries in the history of motor sports.  The rivalry takes place during the 1970's between formula one James Hunt( Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl).  The rivalry was a very interesting dynamic because James Hunt from England was the rock star on the edge driver while Lauda from Austria was a very calculating and precise driver.  The rivalry in the film meets it's zenith during the 1976 season.  If you don't know what happened then you'll have to watch the movie to know why the 1976 season was so important.

This was a great film. Ron Howard delivers again as he seems to always does with his films.  His films are always a great balance. It had a great balance between the action, drama, and comedy.  The period piece of the film feels very authentic throughout the film and as an audience we are always drawn into it.  The racing sequences were truly intense with the cinematography and the music.  You will want to drive fast after watching this film.  The score by Hans Zimmer is amazing and will really keep the intensity up.  The song from the ending credits is on my workout mix for the gym.  The film seems to be about the relationships that can develop around us.  In the film there are several different types of relationships, from friends and family, love and love lost, and the relationship between enemies.  The most prominent relationship is the rivalry and how Hunt and Lauda as enemies push each other to be the absolute best they can be.  The film shows how relationships make us grow as people and that even an enemy can make you a better person especially an enemy you respect.  I would recommend this film for anyone.

The Score by Hans Zimmer

Prisoners - 2013


Prisoners is the new Hugh Jackman movie with Jake Gyllenhaal, Terrance Howard, and Viola Davis about the abduction of two young girls on Thanksgiving and the effect it has on everyone involved in the case from the families, to the investigating detective, to the suspect.  The film was directed by Denis Villeneuve.  I'll only tell you as much as you can get from the trailer, but Kellar Dover (Jackman) has his daughter and his friends daughter kidnapped from their own neighborhood.  When a suspect is taken into custody that Dover feels took his daughter but has to be let free because of not enough evidence Dover takes matters into his own hands and kidnaps the suspected kidnapper.  He then takes things beyond the law in an attempt to find is daughter and her friend alive if possible.  As this is happening the detective assigned the case, Det. Loki (Gyllenhaal) is turning over everything in his path to try to at the very least find out what happened to those two girls.

Overall this is a great thriller.  The cast of this film is a who's who of heavy hitters in the drama department of Hollywood.  I would recommend this film to anyone what enjoys movies like The Bone Collector, dark thrillers that keep you guessing and you don't know who to suspect till the end of the film.  This is a dark film with perhaps the darkest of subjects being its about bad things happening to children.  So, if you are the kind of person that can get really down after watching a movie with a dark or sad subject this movie isn't for you.  For the rest of us, this is the best thriller I have seen in a long time.  I truly didn't see the ending coming which is rare for me because I can usually call it very early in a film.  At several parts throughout the film you suspect multiple characters, even characters you won't think it's possible to think it's them.  This film is up there with what I think is the best thriller of all time M, a film that also has to do about the loss of children.  It seems that the darkest characters make for the bet thrillers.  The title really sums up this film because the kidnapping turns every character in this film into a prisoner of some kind and it will cross your mind as you watch the film.