THE WORLD'S END

As of now THE WORLD'S END is my third favorite of the Three Flavors Cornetto trilogy. As with the other films, it happily deems multiple viewings. The writing team of Edgar and Simon have a real knack for that. I love how they cram their scripts with jokes galore. Just the other day I had a movie night and we watched HOT FUZZ because a friend had never seen it before who was with us for THE WORLD'S END. This would have been about number 10 for me and I was still laughing hysterically and catching a few new jokes here and there.

THE WORLD'S END seems like Edgar Wright's most personal film in the trilogy. It certainly was for me. I can relate a little bit to the film. 36 years old and still single with all of your closest buds married off with their careers in full swing. So yeah in a way I can sympathize with good ole Gary King.

20 years after attempting a pub crawl called the Golden Mile, 5 childhood friends reunite when one of them is bound and determined to conquer the drinking marathon. Gary King, a 40 year old trapped by the nostalgia of his teenage glory days begs and manipulates his friends into finishing what they started many years ago. Feeling sorry for their friend that never grew up they all arrive one by one and to the Golden Mile they go.

Gary cannot be more happier to have his friends back reliving the glory days, or at least trying too. The “Five Musketeers” all catch up with each other. During the trip down memory lane it's evident that not everything is the same. Not only has Gary's friends changed but the town has as well. Strange observations galore until the ultimate reveal, a confrontation in the Gents' restroom which leads to an all out kung-fu style fight with robots. The friends are all shocked and don't know what to do. They all agree just to play it cool and try not to draw anymore attention and get out of town after they finish the golden mile at The World's End. Easier said than done I'm afraid.

The night just gets more crazy and THE WORLD'S END rocks! This film is probably the funniest of the trilogy, a couple more viewings are in order to be sure. I really dig how the film spoke to me. Hidden among the pub crawl drunkenness, robots, kung-fu, and wrestling moves is sadness. Being nostalgic and always looking back at your past can be dangerous. Being nostalgic has its fun benefits from time to time but it can also be a poison.

Finding maturity without losing your dreams and youthful streak. This is the biggest thing I got out of THE WORLD'S END.

I cannot wait to watch the trilogy back to back! Watching HOT FUZZ the other night refreshed my memory just on how much the three films complement each other stylistically. Glorious movie nights lay ahead!

With THE WORLD'S END making the trilogy complete I'm sure the working relationship of Wright, Pegg, and Frost will be quiet for several years. But I'm a fan of all their work and happily await Edgar's ANT MAN and whatever projects Simon and Nick have next! THE WORLD'S END is highly recommended which comes as no surprise. In my opinion director Edger Wright is 4 – 0 and continues to be one of my favorite filmmakers working today!

KICK ASS 2

KICK ASS 2 sucks. It's not the worst movie of the year, just the biggest let down. Okay, second biggest because ELYSIUM definitely earned that title with flying colors.

What happened with KICK ASS 2? Did the filmmakers or Universal Pictures even watch the first film? Why did Lionsgate not go forward with the sequel? Easy answer, because they are cheep. That right there is the sequels first mistake, they should have made a deal with Lionsgate. The second mistake is going with a studio like Universal to make a exploitation comic book movie. All the heart that was in the first film is gone with KICK ASS 2. Everything that was great about KICK ASS is either tossed aside or watered down. Instead of Mindy/ Hit Girl taking down bad guys, we have a boring sub-plot of her being forced to fit in at high school hanging with the popular girls.

When the franchises most popular character is stuck in a remake of 'Mean Girls' and not out fighting crime then something is seriously wrong with your movie. I got real tired of Kick Ass complaining that Hit Girl had quit and wishing she would join the Justice Forever team.

To keep this from just turning into one giant rant I'll sum up the problem with KICK ASS 2 as being artistic differences. Director of the first film Matthew Vaughn, had a distinct vision and style. His screenplay was smart and witty. Matthew Vaughn knows how to direct action. He understands when and where to place changes in tone. KICK ASS 2 maestro Jeff Wadlow knows none of these things. That's a tad harsh I know but the end result of this new film was just so vanilla that I don't know how else to describe it?

KICK ASS 2 picks up shortly after the events of the first film. The brave acts of Kick Ass inspire other folks to put on costumes and dish out vigilante justice. Kick Ass wants to form a super-hero team with Hit Girl. It goes well for awhile but quickly gets interrupted when Mindy is forced to retire and focus on being a normal teenager. Dave/Kick Ass isn't about to quit so he joins forces with Justice Forever, a team of costumed vigilantes inspired by him. Justice Forever start cleaning the streets and begin making a real difference. Meanwhile, someone from Dave's past looking for revenge is quickly making a name for himself as the super villain The Mother#$%@#!.

KICK ASS was one of my favorite films of 2010. It's a shame what the sequel turned out to be. I really think things would have been different if the film had been written and directed by Matthew Vaughn. If that was the case then this would have been a world of characters worth revisiting time and time again.

My recommendation is to watch KICK ASS and forget the sequel even exists.

AFTERSHOCK

Talk about your disaster movie! That was my initial thought 30 minutes into AFTERSHOCK. This film has it all; comedy, romance, drama, thrills, and horror. The tonal shifts are jarring at times, you'll be laughing and then the next second someone gets crushed or impaled with a steel rod. The sudden loss of a friend to be followed by a fart joke. Okay, the fart joke really didn't happen but you get the point. Once things get going AFTERSHOCK really earns it's horror movie credentials. And as far as disaster movies go I'd rather watch AFTERSHOCK any day of the week then sit through 2012 ever again.

AFTERSHOCK is director Nicolas Lopez's first stab at the horror genre. His filmography is mostly romantic comedies. Somewhere along his career he met horror master Eli Roth. Fans of each others work they decided to collaborate with one another and make a horror comedy. Inspired by horrific footage and stories about the earthquake/tsunami that hit Chile in 2010.

This is a Eli Roth co-production so you know already it's going to involve horny guys trying to hook up with hot chicks at a club. Yep, you're right. Co-written by Roth he also stars as Gringo who is visiting some college buddies in Chile. During his visit and sight seeing him and his friends try to hook up with the lovely ladies of Chile. One night they get into one of the hottest clubs and this is where a good chuck of the romantic comedy in the film takes place. We have Gringo striking out with every girl he meets. His friend Ariel wants to party but is trying to patch this up with his on again off again girlfriend. Then we have the life of the party Pollo, the confident friend who seems to always get the girls.

The guys hook up with three gorgeous women and a little love triangle ensues. The party seems to be going good and then the earthquake happens. Kudos to the director for using practical effects as much as he could. This isn't Syfy Channel crap with CGI debris falling everywhere.

Our main characters all barely make it out of the club alive. Once out on the streets that's when the real mayhem begins. Mass hysteria, looters, and escaped prison inmates. With tragedy happening at every corner will Gringo and his friends survive the night?

My biggest annoyance with AFTERSHOCK was not knowing when to laugh or be horrified? Some of the beats worked and some did not. Especially the end where the film becomes a slasher film for no reason? One of the things that surprisingly worked for me was Eli Roth's Gringo. I really wasn't digging this character (or his performance) at the beginning but as the film went on something real genuine started to show.

AFTERSHOCK would work best a double or triple feature exploitation movie night. On it's own you might think you just wasted 90 minutes of your life away.

Recommended!

ELYSIUM

Did not care too much for this one. Watching ELYSIUM the new film by Neil Blomkamp, the acclaimed director of DISTRICT 9 is like watching a science fiction movie made by Micheal Moore. Unlike the subtleness of the message in DISTRICT 9, the political beliefs in this new film hit you in the head with a sledgehammer. The broad brush strokes of class warfare become so boring and at times down right juvenile. Everything in DISTRICT 9 felt more controlled and balanced, which makes for a far more interesting, smart, and thrilling science fiction film. Unfortunately the only thing ELYSIUM has going for it is Blomkamp's masterful use of special effects and set design. The metaphor this time around does more harm than good.

The second biggest problem with ELYSIUM might have to do with the fact that's it's a far bigger production than DISTRICT 9? Bigger stars, bigger budget almost always leads to more studio involvement. A lot of this film seems like a studio executive took an ax to it. Tailored fit for the masses maybe? I doubt it. Who knows? What happened to the character development? Truth be told there really isn't any. What we have is a bunch of archetypes instead. Max, the blue collar hero of the film that's going to make things fair for everybody. Spider, the loud mouth hyperactive black market computer hacker. Delacourt, the weird French accented mustache twirling (if she had a mustache) evil Defense Secretary who is in charge of Elysium's security. The only character that I felt was worth a damn was Kruger, the sleeper agent working for the Defense Secretary on earth. Kruger is not the guy to root for by any means but Sharlto Copley really feels like the only actor giving it his all.

Set in the year 2154, where the very wealthy live on a space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth. Redeemed hoodlum Max takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds.

Our hero Max is a career criminal trying to make good by working one of the only jobs on the wasteland Earth. A factory that manufactures police robots, the very same robots that terrorize the dregs left on Earth. One day while working the production line Max gets a deadly dose of radiation. With only 5 days to live he concocts a plan with Spider, one of his old partners in crime. Seeing that Max now has nothing to loose, Spider wants to send Max to Elysium with a program that could reboot the space station so that everybody can live there. It's important to note that Elysium is full of med pods that can cure any aliment. Dying of radiation Max really sees no point but to take on the risky mission. Like any good Defense Secretary would, Delacourt gets wind of this plan and sends nasty sleeper agent Kruger after Max and his cohorts to stop them.

ELYSIUM really didn't do much for me. I found the story and it's characters severely lacking. The class warfare metaphor I found offensive at times. The apartheid metaphor in DISTRICT 9 I felt was far more useful and effective.

The only thing I found myself enjoying was the breathtaking visuals and effective use of special effects.

Would I recommend it? Yes. It's a marvel of a film. My final thought is maybe I'm a jerk for letting my political conservative bias get in the way of watching a 'science-fiction' film? Gulp!

THE WOLVERINE

Yes it's better than X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE no question about that. Heck, this may be the best cinematic outing Wolverine has had yet! We get some of the best action that Wolverine fans have been dying for since X1. That being said, by the time this latest outing got to the third act I was shaking my head.

THE WOLVERINE adapts the comic book tale that die hard fans have been waiting for, Logan in Japan. Years have past since the death of Logan's beloved Jean Grey. Since then he's left the X-Men and has been on the lam living in the wilderness. He spends his days living in a cave listing to classical music. In town he runs into some dumb hick hunters/poachers who later that evening leave a Grizzly left for dead. Later that night in a bar, Logan “kindly” tells them he did not appreciate that none to much. Wolverine the loner is awesome. It reminded me of a cross between Outlaw Josy Wales and Jeremiah Johnson.

Right before Logan breaks his “no more killing” vow, a mysterious samurai sword wielding Japanese woman scares the rednecks straight. Her name is Yukio. This bad ass chick tells Logan that he must come with her to Japan. She is the associate of one of the richest men in Japan, Yashida. Logan and Yashida have a past. They know each other from their time together in WWII. At a P.O.W. Camp just outside of Nagasaki on August 9th, 1945 the two of them both save each other from the bomb.

Yashida is dying but isn't quite ready to pay the piper just yet, or at all for that matter. Yashida wants to live forever. Ever since Logan saved his life that day in Nagasaki, Yashida has been obsessed with his healing ability. Yashida has been keeping a close watch on Logan for years. He knows the pain and toll Logan's mutant power has brought to him. He sees that the power of immortality has now become a curse to his “friend”. Yashida offers the gift of mortality in exchange for Logan's mutant healing ability. This trade seems appealing to Logan after the death of his soul mate Jean Grey. Logan declines the offer but secretly gets it taking away from him anyway.

Yashida passes away during the night. The fortune left behind all goes to Yashida's granddaughter Mariko instead of her father Shingen, who immediately tires to have her killed so he can take over the business. Even Mariko herself tries to commit suicide to spare her family the burden of her being in charge. Logan being the boy scout he is decides to protect Mariko. What lies ahead is probably the greatest challenge Wolverine has ever faced. Vulnerable and pushed to the limits, he not only faces lethal samurai steel but also a inner struggle with is own immortality.

THE WOLVERINE had me. I loved the beginning of the film. The Nagasaki scene was amazing. The scenes of Logan hiding/living in the woods was cool and interesting. Hugh Jackman said it best that Wolverine's character whole life is full of pain. So it's better that he just escapes. He can't die really. He just wants to get away from everything. I couldn't agree more. Director James Mangold said THE OUTLAW JOSY WALES was a major inspiration and quite honestly he delivered on that statement.

Things started to get even better once Logan arrives in Japan. What makes this film stand apart from the rest in the series is that it's truly a character piece. Over time that fact alone may trump my complaints about how the movie just goes off the rails in the third act. When we get to Japan, Logan starts to realize everything isn't adding up and starts to “rage” when the Yakuza try to kill him and Mariko. While all this is bad ass with an amazing action scene that starts at a funeral and ends atop of a speeding bullet train. All the inner family drama surrounding the death of Yashida and the inheritance of his fortune really starts to bog down the movie. Seriously. This sub plot went on for way too long and got boring fast.

Where the movie stubbles is in two areas. One being a certain character that goes by the name of Viper. And the second is at the climax of the film where it goes toward the clichéd comic book big action sequence instead of something more quiet and bad ass like JACK REACHER. The big action climax does not serve THE WOLVERINE very well at all. Something better paced and moodier would've fit better in my opinion. Sorry for getting ahead of myself. Let's talk about Viper

Viper has to be one of the worst characters I've seen in a X-Men film or superhero movie in a long time. Every time this character opened her mouth it made my ears bleed. No offense to the very attractive Svetlana Khodchenkova who plays Viper. She's not the problem. The problem is a poorly written character who really did not need to be in the movie at all. Every time Viper was on screen it took me out of the film.

In the grand scheme of things the problems I have with THE WOLVERINE are not deal breakers. The movie is pretty darn good. Not awesome. Awesome would be less shaky action cam and more wide angle action, more blood, and more ninjas. We'll probably never get an R-rated Wolverine movie. PG-13 X-Men adventures I understand completely; however, Wolverine solo gigs really need to be R.

MIAMI CONNECTION (1987)

Speechless, jaw-dropping speechless. MIAMI CONNECTION is my current favorite 'so bad it's good' movie. This thing is epic. I went in expecting the amazing awfulness of a turd like DEADLY PREY but what I got was so much better. So much better! Okay maybe not, DEADLY PREY is pretty amazing.

Do you know who can eat a donut on their face without using any hands? Dragon Sound! Do you know who solves the worlds problems with Tae Kwon Do by day and then rocks a fat beat at night? Dragon Sound! What team of Tae Kwon Do black belts can take on a clan of about 30 ninjas? Dragon Sound!

Here's just a taste of some of the lyrics to the Dragon Sound pop synth anthem “Friends”!

“Friends forever / we'll be to-gether / We're on top cuz we play to win-in / Friends for eternity / Loyalty, honesty / Stay together through thick and thi-in...”

A group of Sturgis lovin' motorcycle ridin' ninjas tighten the grip on their narcotics trade in Florida. Orlando Florida. Meanwhile in another movie, martial arts rock band Dragon Sound is becoming all the rage with their hit song “Against The Ninja”! These cool dudes are all about spreading world peace with killer guitar solos and Tae Kwon Do. Yeah buddy! Dragon Sound being the hip new act at Orlando Florida's hottest night club puts a damper on the clubs previous band. Outraged, the band tries several attempts to kick Dragon Sound's ass but you cannot stop the power of rock and Tae Kwon Do! The rival band finally calls on the help of the motorcycle ninja clan. Better not mess with a black belt in Tae Kwon Do! The peaceful Dragon Sound get pushed too far and decide to lay out some board- breaking justice against the ninjas.

You gotta love late eighties low budget action-martial arts movies, god bless them that their hearts are in the right places. A common thread I see in a lot of them are picking up strangers of the street for five bucks and having them be extras. Just put on these sunglasses, jacket, and carry this Uzi 9mm water pistol and look bad ass.

The director, Y.K Kim who is a renowned motivational speaker and Tae-Kwon-Do black belt, had his heart in the right place making MIAMI CONNECTION but the execution was all wrong. Or was it? I really enjoy this train wreck. The tone is all over the place with this one. The opening scene is a bunch of ninjas killing some drug dealers. It's so graphic and over the top. I was thinking the whole movie was going to be like this? 120 minutes of over the top cheesy and badly choreographed action scenes with terrible over acting death scenes. Nope. A good chunk of the movie is Dragon Sound rockin' it out at the club playing music and breaking boards on stage. Them going to school at Florida Central College. And a motorcycle gang of a bunch of ninjas having a good time at Sturgis. All sprinkled with the positive message that Tae-Kwon-Do can end violence peacefully. Something like that anyway?

It's not until the end of the movie where Dragon Sound has no choice but to use lethal force against the ninjas. The gruesome violence is so hilarious at this moment because it's so out of left field and of course poorly done.

MIAMI CONNECTION will be a cherished addition to my movie collection. Some films just have to be seen to be believed.

AGAINST THE NINJA!!!

ONLY GOD FORGIVES

On October 10th, 2003 I saw volume one of my favorite movie, KILL BILL. That film and it's director has broadened my cinematic horizons for the past 10 years. It gave me a new love and appreciation for exploitation and international cinema. If not for KILL BILL and Quentin Tarantino I would more than likely hate movies like ONLY GOD FORGIVES and think Micheal Bay is the greatest filmmaker since Steven Spielberg.

DRIVE was one of my favorite films of 2011. When I had heard about ONLY GOD FORGIVES I could not wait to see it. I wanted to love ONLY GOD FORGIVES I really did, but walked away just liking it. The good news is that I was never bored. The movie is very atmospheric and a slow burn. Very slow. Plus it just oozes with style. Too much style? Nah, man! Why is style over substance in a film almost always immediately frowned upon? Not just by critics but also by moviegoers. A picture is worth a thousand words, especially in motion pictures.

I admire the artistic style of Nicolas Winding Refn and his fetish for on screen violence. The simplest way for me to describe his latest film is imagine David Lynch directing a script written by Quentin Tarantino.

The basic premise is two American drug lord brothers are operating in the underbelly of Bangkok using a kick boxing gym as a front. The oldest brother Billy, is twisted and one night murders a prostitute. Out of revenge the young girls father kills Billy. Billy's mother wants her son Julian to find the people responsible and kill them. Revenge is never a straight line and in the middle of all this is a police officer (who is more like an angel of vengeance) dead set on 'restoring order'.

The performances are amazing. This is the re-teaming of director Nicholas Winding Refn and his DRIVE lead actor Ryan Gosling. Ryan's Julian is a troubled sort who would rather try and win the affection of his favorite prostitute than climb the 'corporate' ladder. Another dark and stoic performance by Gosling, but his Julian is by no means a anti-hero much like The Driver in DRIVE.

Kristin Scott Thomas plays Crystal, the mother of Billy and Julian. Thomas' Crystal is one of the best performances in the film. I love it when actors play against type. She nails it. A lot is left to the imagination on how Crystal became the icy bitch she is. Think Lady Macbeth meets Desperate Housewife. The apparent Oedipal relationship she has with her son Julian might have something to do with it as well.

Then we have the true star of the film, the title character god himself, Officer Chang. A brilliant performance from Thai actor Vithaya Pansringarm. The line is blurred and left to interpretation if Chang is the hero or true villain. He's pretty villainous no question but aren't his acts of Old Testament 'angel of vengeance' just? At times they certainly seem so. Truly a great cinematic character!

Instead of your standard narrative what we get is a lot of style over substance. It is evident that Refn is more concerned about the image, human nature, philosophy, and a fetish for violence then liner storytelling when it comes to his films.

Pure cinema.

Recommended if you liked DRIVE. If you hated DRIVE then you'll probably loathe ONLY GOD FORGIVES. How could you hate DRIVE?

THE CONJURING

THE CONJURING is so far my favorite horror film of 2013.  The tone, atmosphere, and use of practical effects are pitch perfect.  This is the horror movie I've been waiting for since the Paranormal Activity phenomena.

  What a great year for horror so far.  Things were looking bleak with TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D and THE LAST EXORCISM 2 but quickly turned around with EVIL DEAD(2013).  I haven't seen it yet but on high recommendation and a so-so one THE PURGE seems legit.  While it won't appeal to everyone  THE ABC'S OF DEATH is a milestone in horror genre cinema.   V/H/S/2 is a found footage/horror anthology masterpiece despite a weak wraparound. Even the remake of MANIAC was awesome. I feel dirty for saying that, but it's true. Somewhere hidden between all of the violence and killing was a interesting take on the slasher flick genre that kept me watching. It made me think what if Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO was an exploitation film? Cool stuff to ponder if you're a movie buff.

Everybody likes to be scared. Some will argue and deny it, but everybody to some degree likes to be scared. Nothing greater than the trill of a group of friends getting spooked and then laughing about it later. Horror movies for me are a great release. I love a good slasher movie with a jump scare here and there. The haunted house genre I always hesitate because despite what you may or may not believe, these flicks tend to appear more real than a zombie in a hockey mask.

As a kid the haunted house movies freaked me out more than Jason or Freddy because at school you would have a classmate or friend that swore their house was haunted. Bigger the house, the more haunted it was. A lot of times it was just for fun and games but once in awhile you'd hear a story that seemed true. Your friends sisters waking the both of you up in the middle of the night claiming the house is haunted? Playful B.S. A demon using your friends Nintendo to play tricks on you? You decide. But like I said, the movies freaked me out. One look at GHOST STORY and or POLTERGEIST then it's bye-bye for me. Back in the day I remember flipping through channels and I saw this couple in a tub and the woman pops up out of the water screaming. I could not change the channel fast enough! The same goes for POLTERGEIST when the kids clown doll comes to life and drags the boy under the bed. CLICK! Since then I've grown to appreciate the genre.

One thing to note is that THE CONJURING is an exorcism movie and I'm just as terrified at those as I am at the haunted house films.

THE CONJURING is based on a true story. The Perron family moves into a new house that unbeknownst to them is cursed. There is some serious evil in this house. How the story goes is that back in the Salem witch hunt days a mother daughter team lived in the house. The daughter got pregnant and her mom convinced her to sacrifice the unborn child to Satan. That's the gist of the story along with some cursing the house at it's future occupants. I don't want to spoil everything for you.

The evil spirits want the Perron family dead. After putting up with torment after torment the family seek the help of Ed and Lorraine Warren, the famous paranormal investigators. The Warren's have seen it all. The real deal all the way down to warped wooden floors that creak in the night. They are semi retired after a bad exorcism took a toll on Lorraine. The Warrens hear the Perron plea and decide to help. What happens next is truly one of the most terrifying horror movies to come out in years. In years!

When reviewing comedies I don't like to spoil the jokes. The same goes for horror movies, telling you the scary parts ruin it. The refreshing thing is that the movie isn't just jump scare after jump scare. Director James Was has mastered the ability to know just how long to build the tension until the viewer cannot handle it anymore. Perfect catch and release. One scene captures the 'somebody is in my room' probably the best I've ever seen done. The lighting and everything brought back memories of the boogeyman hiding in my bedroom. I could go on and on. This is what sells the film. The elements that make a horror movie scary are all present and accounted for in THE CONJURING.

My final thoughts are the more that I think about this movie the more I love it. At this moment it is my favorite movie of the year. It's been awhile since I've liked a horror movie this much and that makes me even more happy.

Highly Recommended!

PACIFIC RIM

Yes!!! Thank goodness PACIFIC RIM did not disappoint. In fact the film exceeded my expectations. The awe factor took me out of the movie a few times, the detail of the Jaeger's and the Kaiju are just amazing. Groundbreaking special effects. In this day and age that statement seems to do more harm than good. So let me rephrase it by saying PACIFIC RIM is the most effects heavy movie that I've seen in a long time where the special effects are more a tool for storytelling. None of the action felt like it was video game cut scenes or distracting like a Transformers movie.

PACIFIC RIM is director Guillermo del Toro's STAR WARS. It was during the third Jaeger verses Kaiju fight that this fact dawned on me. There has already been plenty of word of mouth saying the scale of the fight scenes are reminiscent of seeing the Imperial Walkers in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK for the first time. I happily concur with this belief.

I'm not an expert or big fan when it comes to Anime and my film knowledge is limited on giant robots fighting giant monster movies. I know enough of these genres to understand what the filmmakers intent to accomplish was. I went into this knowing full well that Guillermo del Toro was going to bring audiences the end all to end all Mechs fighting Kaiju film.

In the not to distant future giant monsters rise from the depths of the Pacific Ocean and bring utter destruction to coastal cities. With todays modern military defense it takes days and millions of lives lost just to kill one Kaiju. The attacks become more frequent and the destruction more rampant. The nations of the world decide to put their differences aside and come up with a solution to destroy all monsters. They come up with the Jaeger program. Giant robots that can beat the living hell out of the Kaiju.

The early trials of this program weren't all that great. Controlling one Jaeger was too much strain on the human brain that now two people run a Jaeger. One person for the right hemisphere and the second for the left hemisphere. To accomplish this the process of Drifting was created. Drifting is the mind meld of two Jaeger pilots so they can be in tune with each other and share the mental load. A pilot for the right side and a pilot for the left side. The Jaeger program becomes gangbusters and easily begin defeating the Kaiju left and right. Jaeger pilots become the new rock stars.

Raleigh Becket and his brother Yancy control the Jaeger Gipsy Danger, probably the most bad ass giant robot in the program. Maybe not. But these guys are the best of the best. A lot like Maverick and Goose in TOP GUN. Things go terribly wrong on what seems like a routine Kaiju smack down, when the giant monsters seem to have progressively become stronger and smarter. Gipsy Danger wins but not without a price. Yancy did not survive the battle. Being linked together with the Drift made the experience far worse than anyone could imagine. Having a mental connection to someone as they are dying especially a relative has to be one of the worst things I can think off.

5 years later. The Jaeger program has seen better days. The powers that be want the program shut down. Instead of the giant robots they feel building a giant wall will protect us from the increasing Kaiju threat. Head of the Jaeger program Stacker Pentecost does not like the sound of that so he wants to devise a plan that could possibly end the Kaiju attacks for good. But he needs all the best Jaeger pilots he can find, even Raleigh.

Raleigh has been a drifter going from job to job ever since the death of his brother. He never wants to set foot in another Jaeger ever again. He finds work building the wall which seems like a lost cause. Stacker finds him and convinces him to come back to the program.

Stacker's plan is to strap a nuclear device on a Jaeger and launch it into the dimensional rift where these Kaiju come from. With the help of some old pilots and new ones along with some scientists, Stacker and his crew have an honest shot at finishing this war of the gargantuans once and for all.

I wanna talk more about PACIFIC RIM but right now the best thing I can say is go this this amazing movie right now. Support this and let Hollywood know that films like PACIFIC RIM should be the new standard when it comes to summer blockbusters.

PACIFIC RIM is not all just about giant robots fighting giant monsters. The film has interesting characters that we end up caring about. This isn't TRANSFORMERS. With having characters we care about, the special effects end up becoming a tool for the storytelling and not the main attraction. Well okay, the giant robot and monster fighting is the main attraction, but now we have a lot more emotional weight invested. Like I said, this isn't TRANSFORMERS.

If you love summer blockbusters then put down whatever you're doing and go see this film.

THE LONE RANGER (2013)

Before I was the age of 5 I had four heroes; my dad, Superman, Han Solo, and The Lone Ranger. My grandpa was the biggest Lone Ranger fan in my family. When I would come to visit he'd tell me about the adventures of the masked hero and his trusty sidekick Tonto. A few children picture books left over from when my dad was a kid were read to me frequently at my grandparents house. The classic t.v show was difficult to catch on television because of how old the program was, but given the chance we'd tune in every time and watch it.

I remember dressing up as The Lone Ranger one year for Halloween. It was also around this time, I wanna say 1980 that there was a Lone Ranger movie. Only two things I remember about that movie; that I saw it, and that they made action figures for it. The film must have been so bad because it has been forever lost in obscurity. You may find it listed on IMDB, but I don't think they even know it existed at one time? So I went ahead and looked it up. THE LEGEND OF THE LONE RANGER was released in 1981 and was indeed a box office bomb. Apparently you can watch it on Amazon's Instant Video service. I might be planning a bad movie night pretty soon?

When I had heard that Disney was making a Lone Ranger movie with Jerry Bruckheimer producing, my interest went to zero. Gore Verbinski directing and Johnny Depp staring did not sweeten the deal either. When the trailer hit things were actually looking good except for Depp as Tonto just looking like a Captain Jack Sparrow wannabe. It wasn't until the final trailer before release that I decided to see the film in the theater. Doubts started to creep back in when mediocre reviews started showing up but I tend to ignore things like that anyway.

Lawyer John Reid rides along with his brother Texas Ranger Dan Reid to nab the dastardly Butch Cavendish and bring him to justice.  In an ambush Butch and his gang kill all seven rangers including John and his brother.  Disgraced Comanche Indian  Tonto comes across the dead bodies only to find that John Reid isn't dead but in fact a spirit warrior and thus The Lone Ranger is born. The new duo decide to go after Butch and bring him to justice. Along the way they discover a evil scheme involving sliver and the railroad.

For the most part the new movie stays true to the origin of Lone Ranger with the exception of a few things here and there and of course making the character Tonto more interesting than just a sidekick.

There is nothing special about the story in THE LONE RANGER. Greedy business types trying to control the railroad is nothing new in a western. I don't want to read into the movie too much but I wanna give Verbinski and the screenwriters credit for some subtext that the villain of the film is progress. White man stealing sliver and causing Native Americans to relocate or worse start a war. All of that just for total control of the railroad

What kept my eyes glued to the screen was the direction of Gore Verbinski and his love for the western genre. The opening of the movie made me think of LITTLE BIG MAN. A 100 year old Tonto telling a young boy about the legend of the Lone Ranger isn't just a coincidence. There were a few scenes that reminded me of ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, THE GENREAL, and John Ford westerns with the monument valley backdrops. The score by Hans Zimmer had a few Spaghetti Western touches. I swore I heard Frank's theme from ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST a few times?

When I started writing this review I planned on talking about all the homages I noticed but this film is a good enough movie that I decided not to spoil the fun. Fans of westerns should have a blast! I don't see THE LONE RANGER becoming a franchise and I'm fine with that. The fact that Gore Verbinski made a awesome Western is good enough for me!

THE CALL

Earlier this year when I saw the trailer for THE CALL I really thought the movie would unfortunately be the final nail in the coffin of Halle Berry's career. Turns out that THE CALL might be the best thing for the actresses career.

In this new golden age of television, movies are having a tough time especially for a film like THE CALL, it being a thriller and all. With shows like Dexter, C.S.I., and Hannibal how can movies like this compete? It's much like the western genre during the 50's and 60's. No studio wanted to make a cowboy movie when shows like Gunsmoke ruled prime time. I'm not going to get on a soap box about it but television is killing the movie industry. Maybe television and streaming content is the future? Everyday it seems that talent is moving more toward this medium. It'll be a sad day if going to the movies becomes a thing of the past.

So yeah, THE CALL is good. Really good until the end. The beginning of the film worried me at first but things just kept getting better and better. A few things annoyed me about the script with dialogue like this, “he's coming back up the stairs. He heard the phone when you called back”! You know, things characters don't need to say because we can clearly see them happening on screen. This stuff happens a few times but once the adrenaline kicks in it's barely noticeable.

Jordan (Halle Berry) a veteran 911 operator who takes a life altering call from a young woman who has been abducted, she realized that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girls life.

What makes THE CALL interesting is the taut directing of Brad Anderson(The Machinist). Great hand held camera work. There are a good chunk of scenes inside a trunk with abducted Casey Welson (Abigail Breslin) and the viewer gets an excellent sense of claustrophobia. Anderson knows where to put the camera and how to come up with interesting camera angles. The editing had a nice flow that keeps the tension going. I plan to check out more from director Brad Anderson.

The abductor/killer was one of the creepiest characters I've seen in awhile. The performance was almost like a character study of a psychopath whose plan starts to crumble before his very eyes.

At about the half way point I was really loving this movie. It was exceeding my expectations. Then the ending came along and kinda ruined the movie for me. The film takes this extreme left turn that took me out of the movie.

SPOILER ALERT!

So for the whole movie we have an entertaining thriller with the police trying to find the car that Casey is kidnapped in. The trail goes cold but the police and Jordan are so very close on finding her. Time is running out. Jordan gets a hunch and goes to look for where the killer and Casey might be. She goes by herself? Cut to (no pun intended) the killers lair and THE CALL suddenly turns into a Saw film? Okay fine, it's a thriller. So Jordan finds the lair and saves Casey. Where are the cops? Jordan is a 911 operator and not only that shes dating a police officer. A officer who was in hot pursuit of finding Casey mind you. So I ask again, why isn't Jordan calling the cops? Oh, because THE CALL turns into a revenge movie all of a sudden when the two women decide to tie the killer up and leave him for dead. Which is a stupid idea because I'm sure the police detectives are going to find his lair anyway, especially when you tell them he took off running in the very same area his lair is located?

Good movie with a terribly dumb ending!

THE HEAT

Another win for director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids)! THE HEAT is the second best comedy I've seen this year. The best being MOVIE 43. Just kidding. No, my favorite comedy of 2013 thus far is THIS IS THE END. I haven't reviewed that one because quite honestly reviewing comedies is difficult. Comedy is so subjective. Take the THE LOVE GURU for instance, some executive at Paramount Pictures had to think it was really funny or maybe they just hated Mike Myers? How's that fourth Austin Powers movie coming along?

I'm a huge fan of the buddy comedy. THE BLUES BROTHERS, TRADING PLACES, MIDNIGHT RUN, and PINEAPPLE EXPRESS are some of my favorite comedies of all time. Seeing that THE HEAT is a buddy-cop action comedy it would be a crime not to mention another favorite of mine, 48 HOURS.

In THE HEAT an FBI agent must go undercover in the Miss United States beauty pageant to prevent a group from bombing the event. Wait? What? No. That's not it. Sorry. Let me start over. In THE HEAT special agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) must team up with Boston police officer Shannon Mullins(Melissa McCarthy) in order to take down a ruthless drug lord. Neither has ever had a partner and prefer to work alone. Will they learn to work together or just kill each other in the process?

Nothing special about the story. FBI special agent Ashburn wants that promotion nabbing the drug lord will give her. Officer Mullins only wants to find the guys responsible for turning her brother into a drug dealer. In hilarious buddy-cop fashion both women find out they need each other more than they know or really want.

This review is going to be short. What's the point in me telling you all the funny parts? You won't go see the movie if I do that. More because of my poor explanation of comedic gold rather than just plain spoilers.

Melissa McCarthy is well on her way to mega stardom. Her comedic range in THE HEAT is impressive and with her expert improvisation she knows just how long to carry a joke and when to end one or go on to the next beat.

Sandra Bullock playing the uptight agent Sarah Ashburn complimented McCarthy's performance so well. It was so cute hearing Bullock using pseudo cuss words. And by the end of the film when her character was using the real F-word, it made the payoff all the more funnier. With this performance I really could not see another actress better suited for the role.

I highly recommend THE HEAT.

WHITE HOUSE DOWN

My immediate reaction after seeing WHITE HOUSE DOWN was not very good. I hated the movie. The tongue-in-cheek antics mixed with schmaltzy over the top patriotism for two straight hours got on my nerves fast. What saves this film however, is how it nails the Die Hard formula. Seriously, WHITE HOUSE DOWN is better than most Die Hard sequels. But ultimately this movie is not for me, it's too aware of how it is. WHITE HOUSE DOWN is definitely a Roland Emmerich movie. The other Die Hard knock off this year, OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN is more my speed.

There is nothing subtle in the direction or script (written by James Vanderbilt) when it comes to WHITE HOUSE DOWN. Big crazy action mixed with self righteous patriotism and stereotype right wing villains. Maybe the movie is actually brilliant in that regard seeing that most villains/terrorists in action movies are one dimensional foreign stereotypes. It's about time someone got it right. Good for you WHITE HOUSE DOWN, I applaud you in your courage.

Capitol policeman John Cale takes his young daughter to the White House for a tour while he interviews for a job to become part of the Secret Service. Seeing that his daughter Emily is very enthusiastic about politics John hopes that his new job will win back the respect he lost since the separation from his wife. With a resume that doesn't live up to the qualifications of a agent to the Secret Service, John doesn't get the job. In lieu of telling Emily the truth he side steps it to go on the tour and not ruin the entire day with his daughter.

President Sawyer is planning a glorious foreign policy publicity stunt by ending the war and pulling the U.S military out of the war zone. The war is over. This is awesome news for everyone except for “Republicans” that have business ties with weapons manufactures. How are these bastards going to make a living if there is no war? So the villains of WHITE HOUSE DOWN are not foreigners but are indeed some of America's distinguished gentlemen. At first I thought this was a clever take on the genre but this interesting idea never got above freshmen college politics.

In coup d'etat fashion the White House gets taken over by mercenaries and disgruntled secret service. The Die Hard formula kicks in when John gets separated from his daughter and in a stroke of luck saves President Sawyer. The rest of the movie is a cat and mouse game with lots of action and suspense. Despite being more dumb than fun I give WHITE HOUSE DOWN a solid recommendation for action film buffs. I wanna note that action movie buffs should be able to tell that the filmmakers really cut the action down to a PG-13. Bloody mayhem never gets out of control and I think foul language gets the mute button in some particular sticky situations.

While WHITE HOUSE DOWN is indeed a better Die Hard movie than this years A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD, Channing Tatum has a long way to go as an action movie star. He's no Bruce Willis that's for sure. I'll give him an A for effort with one scene that was straight homage to DIE HARD. In one scene a terrorist busts in and John Cale acts all scared and cries “please don't hurt me, I'm just a tourist”! Then in a bad ass moment shoots the terrorists dead to rights. It wasn't perfect like John McClane from DIE HARD would of done it, but it was a great homage.

The chemistry between Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx is another saving grace to WHITE HOUSE DOWN. The bond that is created by John Cale and President Sawyer trying to make it out of the White House alive is genuine and one of the best cinematic duos of 2013.

I stand by my recommendation of WHITE HOUSE DOWN but in my honest opinion it is no where near as good as OYLMPUS HAS FALLEN. Check your politics at the door and go enjoy a big dumb action movie with WHITE HOUSE DOWN!

V/H/S/2

V/H/S/2 is a found footage genre masterpiece. The film transcends found footage if you ask me. When you forget that you are watching the gimmick of the sub-genre then you know you've got something special. I've been horror movie lite in 2013 but so far THE ABC'S OF DEATH and V/H/S/2 are the two best horror films I've seen this year. I consider THE ABC'S OF DEATH one of the most important and interesting films the horror genre has seen in a long time. More on that in a future review.

In the fashion of horror anthology films the concept is the same but our wraparound (segment that ties the other stories together) is different. This time around a pair of private investigators are hired to find a missing student. Their leads take them to a house where they discover some televisions, monitors, laptops, and of course a VHS player. On the desktop of the laptop is a video of the missing student. While the head investigator searches the house for more clues the assistant watches the video. Right away things start to get creepy. The young man on the video starts talking about that you have to watch the videos in order. Something along those lines anyway? The assistant puts a video in the player and thus begins the terror.

The first video/segment is called “Phase 1 Clinical Trials” directed by Adam Wingard (YOU'RE NEXT). Herman gets an eye operation after a terrible accident. The procedure is new and experimental so a tiny camera is installed to record for further testing and research. Everything is recorded, no privacy allowed. Things start getting weird from the get go. That very same evening Herman starts to see strange and creepy things. Images of a young dead girl and the illusion of somebody under the covers laying in his bed.

The next morning the visions have stopped and Herman meets a young woman who he recognizes from the hospital. She tells him about a similar operation done to her ear and that now she can hear dead people. According to Clarissa it's best to just live with seeing “the people” and ignore them. They only bother you if you're freaked out by them. She's learned to tune out the voices and it seems to be working for her. After a very convincing distraction everything seems fine, but apparently Herman isn't that strong and his visions get worse.

“Phase 1 Clinical Trials” worried me about V/H/S/2. It fits the tone just fine but the segment felt very weak as a opener. Somewhere in the middle of an anthology movie would have better suited this short.

The next tape is a segment titled “A Ride In The Park”. This one directed by the guy that brought us THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. It starts off pretty cool with being shot on what appears to be a GoPro camera, the HD video is stunning. So is this student collecting these videos and importing the footage to VHS because he is a hipster? Not a nitpick, just a funny observation. The creep factor is still relevant despite the use of current digital technology. I get a FACES OF DEATH meets THE RING vibe with this new horror franchise.

In “A Ride In The Park” Jay ( I think that's his name) is riding some bike trails through the park. He loves to bike. With his new camera he is ready to get some good footage of his rides. His girlfriend calls him and scolds Jay for loving bike riding more than her. So it's one more ride before heading home when all of a sudden Jay is stopped by a woman screaming bloody murder in the forest. He stops to help only to get bitten on the neck by her. So now “A Ride In The Park” is a zombie movie. Good grief! It's not like we get enough of those nowadays! But wait. This is a POV zombie tale, and I don't think I've seen one of those yet so this could be interesting. It's what you would expect from a POV zombie short which is good and bad. The good. Interesting camera angles. The bad. The usual tropes of a zombie story.

I ended up loving this segment quite a bit. Toward the end I really liked the struggle that Jay was going though being a zombie and how his human characteristics were trying to stay alive. Now I haven't seen WARM BODDIES yet but I have a hunch that the end of “A Ride In The Park” has more impact than that movie.

What have the investigators been up to? After viewing the second tape Ayesha starts to become catatonic but compelled to continue watching the tapes.

The third tape “Safe Haven” directed by Gareth Evans (THE RAID) ended up being my favorite segment and one of the best things I've seen this year. “Safe Haven” follows a group of documentary filmmakers shooting a movie about the leader of a cult. The Indonesian Jim Jones as I like to call him. With video and spy cameras we are able to witness the inner workings of the cult. “Safe Haven” alone is worth the watch of V/H/S/2. I don't want to spoil all the fun so I apologize for sounding vague. Within the cult a ritual is upon us. Unsuspecting to the invited film crew, two of them are extremely welcome. Think ROSEMARY'S BABY meets CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST meets Italian horror. It gets so crazy! I was in shock and awe repeatedly. Things I haven't seen done before in a horror film or at least not done since the late seventies or early eighties. The types of things you'll never see in a mainstream multiplex Hollywood movie today. I loved it! Watching “Safe Haven” made me excited about horror again.

Before getting into the fourth and final tape the wraparound of V/H/S/2 concludes with the student on the laptop video killing himself in the very same house the investigators are watching the videos in. Long story short he's a zombie and he kills, oops sorry, turns them into zombies. The end. Creepy but not nearly as cool as the first films wraparound.

The fourth tape “Slumber Party Alien Abduction” was the funnest segment in the movie. Directed by Jason Eisner (HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN) “Slumber Party Alien Abduction” follows a group of friends enjoying the summer and also pranking one of the friends older sister. One night the sister plans on throwing a party at the lake house while the parents are away. The little brother and his pals plan the ultimate prank. Mission accomplished, but it never takes much to embarrass your older sister. Her and her boyfriend plan a little payback and let me tell you it's the ultimate payback. Good thing for this kid that shortly thereafter alien's pay the lake house a visit because after what the sister and her boyfriend caught on tape that guy will have to transfer to a different school, out of town. It sounds silly typing it out but believe me this premise totally works. I got pretty nostalgic watching this segment. Back in the day around third or fourth grade I remember staying the night at a friends house. He lived in a big house and that night his older sisters pulled a prank on us that the house was haunted. I love stuff like that.

I really hope this is the beginning to a new horror franchise. The genre really needs something like V/H/S and V/H/S/2. Maybe these films can accomplish what GRINDHOUSE failed to do? I certainly hope so.

WORLD WAR Z

WORLD WAR Z  is too little too late.  Our culture is over saturated with zombies. They're everywhere nowadays it seems; video games, movies, books, and television.  What once was a sub-genre in horror beloved by cinephiles has now become low hanging fruit in our pop culture obsessed society.  Every once in awhile something fresh like ZOMBIELAND or THE WALKING DEAD comes along and keeps the sub-genre interesting, sadly WORLD WAR Z does not.

When a studio wants a movie dealing with the zombie apocalypse and makes it PG-13, then your movie has failed.  Who is the audience for a PG-13 zombie movie anyway?  Any 12 year old can turn on the television and watch THE WALKING DEAD or play the latest DEAD ISLAND video game and get a better zombie movie experience.  That being said, WORLD WAR Z is not a bad movie just not a very effective "zombie" one.

Brad Pitt plays Gerry a retired UN investigator who now spends most of his days making pancakes for his two young daughters. On a day just like any other day Mr. Mom is taking the kids to school or his wife to work, I must of missed where they were going? Gerry and his family get stuck in a traffic jam and it is around this time that the zombie apocalypse begins. Trying not to panic Gerry uses his former job skills to lead him and his family to safety. During which he is assessing the chaos going on trying to deduct just what is going on.

He witnesses mass hysteria and people turning into rabid savages. The first moment out of harms way he uses a cell phone and calls his old boss to find out what is happening. They formulate a plan of extraction to evacuate the city. The UN tell Gerry all that they know up to this point and how it is up to him to help find out if there could be a cure to this “zombie apocalypse”. With the promise of his families safety Gerry agrees to globe trot around the world in search of answers and ultimately a cure.

My favorite thing about WORLD WAR Z was that it ended up not being the prequel to 2007's I AM LEGEND. Just kidding. What I really did like was the chaos our main character was constantly thrown into with following the “breadcrumbs” of the zombie virus. The film took a few clever turns always keeping Gerry on his toes. This made for a consistently entertaining action thriller. Director Marc Forester makes up for the lack of blood and gore with strong scenes of tension. The tone of WORLD WAR Z is very R rated but with little to no blood and zero gore the movie has been resorted to something akin to a Roland Emmerich film.

Time to cut the zombies some slack. I really liked the hive mentality of the zombies and in lieu of an appetite for brains the bite and infect method worked for me in the confines of the film. And concerning the hoards of CGI zombies climbing up buildings and going over walls did in fact look terrible in all of the trailers but did not bother me all that much when seeing it in context.

WORLD WAR Z did not turn out to be the train wreak that I was expecting. Bland trailers and word that the film was just not coming together made me think WORLD WAR Z might be an awesomely so-bad-it's good movie rather than a boringly bad one. Producer and star Brad Pitt gathered the troops to try and save what was at one time a disaster of a movie. Rewrites and something like the last 40 minutes of the film redone. If the original footage ends up on the blu-ray it might make for a pretty fun bad movie night.

A decent action thriller I recommend to the summer movie crowd. If it's zombie horror you are expecting then steer clear.