Chappie

THE PITCH



Chappie - HD Trailer from Nueplex Cinemas on Vimeo.

WORTH

$$$$1/2

THE VIEWING


"The problem with artificial intelligence is it's way too unpredictable."

"Chappie: Why did you build me to die maker?
Deon: I didn't. I built you to live."

    Seeing the trailer for Chappie I initially became mildly interested.  No doubt it looked great visually but I had zero confidence in the director Neill Blomkamp [District 9] . Well, maybe I shouldn’t say zero because all offences were made up with Elysium… errr, made even.  So there is this great unknown when it comes to his work.  Will there be this over-the-top ending or will the conclusion complement the story?   

  Artificial Intelligence films seem to always have the same conflict.  A.I becomes evil because that Intelligence is so much better, so much more efficient than that of humans.  Naturally we [humans] become “in the way”.  Therefore the higher intelligence must eradicate the obstacles in the way of ‘superior’ intelligence.  That or A.I robot is outcast and needs help adjusting to real world adaption and it becomes an adventure.  Then there is the Man vs. Machine conflict that doesn't necessarily have to include AI.  All though Chappie may have a few of those characteristics in the story, it doesn’t seem or feel like the same type of AI flick.

   Remember the movie D.A.R.Y.L. (one of my all-time faves) or Short Circuit, or even the movie A.I before it got controversially weird at the end?  Well, just like Chappie we become extremely endeared and  involved with the main character.  Not very original material but the execution of the story and the script was just amazing to watch.  Even more surprising is that the main characters are really a South African rap group with no acting experience at all.  Their attempt at “gangsta” mannerisms were comedy to me at first but now that I know who the actor and actress are I can see now see that it was the cultural quirks and oddities that felt a little odd.

   For Sci- Fi aficionados Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics held true.  I had some serious questions about Chappie’s “learning process” and other computer code commands that were used but now I admit that it was the cynic in me.  Forensically analyzing the little bit I know about computers to what was going on on-screen.  

    All-in-all I am very impressed with Chappie. So glad I saw this film in the theater.  I would most definitely recommend spending theater cash and concession stand money as well.

Worth Watching.

letter grade: B+

X-Men: Days of Future Past

THE PITCH

WORTH

$$$$

THE VIEWING

"You're going to have to do for me, what I once did for you."

    Back in the 90’s, the X-Men cartoon was watched faithfully each Saturday morning.  Accompanied with my little sister and sometimes my big sister, this was the ONLY source material we had on the matter of the X-Men universe because we all did not grow up with comic books.  The recent explosion of comic book movies serves us as a comic fountain of knowledge.  Characters and plights that we never knew about.  Each blockbuster diving deeper into each story, from the very “Origins” to the “Last Stand”.  With this newest addition to the X-Men movie catalogue, literally nothing will be the same… and I’m not sure how I feel about that.

    

    I love time travel movies.  Even more so the ones that are cognisant of the fragile space-time continuum effect.  Those are usually the smarter films and ultimately better made ones.  Films like LOOPER, The Source Code, and Back to the Future all use it as a part of the in-story conflict. Then there are the ones that use the STC [space-time continuum] as a means for the screenwriter/director/producer to freely pull away from the original source material and freelance their own ideas/agenda, more than likely under the watchful eye of the creator of original story… Which I don’t have a problem with.  In fact I applaud it, the new Star Trek movies benefited greatly from that.  So did Terminator…well, to a point. However, I can’t help but feel like this new way of story storytelling also feels like a ‘stunt’.  A way to resurrect old characters that may have died. A way to right wrongs; to extend ideas from sub-plots that worked… I dunno, I could be over thinking this thing and I admit it.  

     I really enjoyed X-Men: Days of Future Past but did not love it.  I’m the minority.  Everyone around me seems to have LOVED it.  Along with critics from IMDB(8.6/10) and www.RottenTomatoes.com (producing a whopping 92%).  I can understand why and I wouldn’t mind watching it again, there was a lot of material there.  Plus the action was just fantastic from the opening scene to the showcase of the newly introduced Quicksilver.   Michael Fassbender played the young Magneto to sheer perfection, again.  While Peter Dinklage’s mesmerizing confidence and stature grabs your attention with his convincing monologues... as usual.  Along with the rest of the cast everyone continues to do a remarkable job executing their respective characters.   

    This movie is definitely Worth Watching.  I saw it in 3D but I don’t think that you will need to.  Save the extra couple of dollars to up-size your drink and popcorn… considering how much popcorn will miss your mouth once the fun starts.

    letter grade: B     

    

Stay seated for bonus stuff after the rolling credits.

For those whom have viewed the bonus scene and didn't understand what your saw, here is a link from comicbookmovie.com to help: 

 http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=100617

 X-Men: First Class review

PRISONERS

THE PITCH

WORTH

$$$$$


THE VIEWING

"What in the world did you do?!"

Powerful! Brilliant! Just pure cinema excellence at every curve of this suspense thrill ride.  Honestly…  I don’t remember seeing a better suspense movie since Seven, with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman.  I say that with full confidence being three days after watching it and still feel the same way as I felt walking out of the auditorium.  Talking about it on the car ride home, debates about karma vs Irony, water cooler discussions at work… It’s been awhile since we had a great movie that did not include a comic book or cliche-ish superhero.  Definitely a movie you only need to see one time but for some reason I want to add it to the bluray collection when it comes out.

      Hugh Jackman made his case for actor superiority if he hadn't already.  One of the most underrated actors of our time, including by myself.  Terrence Howard was phenomenal as usual and the supporting cast was fantastic to watch.

   I can’t emphasize how paralyzingly awesome the plot twist were.  There is no taking the eyes of the screen once the movie really gets going. Masterfully directed and wrote. Lines between right and wrong are blurred, purposely. You began to question your own set of morals.  It’s one of those films that stays with you.

    Perfect title too! The word Prisoners describes more than you think. The audience really become “prisoners” to the moment.  A moment that you’ll never forget.

   Kudos.

  



 Worth watching. Letter grade: A+

Just a heads up, there's no bonus scene at the end of the credits, believe me! I personally sat there and waited.

The Wolverine

THE PITCH

WORTH

$$$1/2

1. 
   

THE VIEWING

"It's not like I get a complete picture... More like looking through a keyhole... but I'm ALWAYS right. All I can see is one part of a person's life: their death... and I saw yours..."

Robert Downey Jr gets a lot of credit as the best superhero cast of all time…   as he should, but we sometimes forget Hugh Jackman as Logan.  I think his work as Wolverine is brilliant. With the help of a great script this Wolverine movie should have been a classic.  Unfortunately it fell into the “ forgettable summer banger” pit solely because of it’s pace.  A lot of people claimed that it was way too slow.  Not for me, I loved the pace but I will admit it was way different from any of the other X-men movies.  Try to mentally visualize your favorite haiku.  The movie looked like that more or less, which can be a turnoff if you're going in expecting action on top of more action.

    I thought the plot was fantastic.  The cinematography was even noticeably good, especially for a comic book film.  Lastly, if you would keep in mind that this movie is truly a character analysis of Logan. Loner, trying to distance himself from love, people, the X-men... You may have a different opinion about the movie.  I really liked it but probably only need to watch it once.  The plot twist got me pretty good.  I seriously doubt that it will be as exciting knowing what to look for.

    Definitely worth your buck!   B  

Bonus scene material after the credits is a MUST see! 
So sit still.

Les Misérables (2012)

/leɪ ˌmɪzəˈrɑːb/

 "The Miserable Ones"











THE PITCH

WORTH

$$$$




THE VIEWING

 
"I had a dream my life would be so different from this hell I'm living!"






          Musicals... Blah! The only genre that I dislike more is horror. I have terrible memories of  being forced to sit and be still while the Sound of Music made it's annual rerun on the networks. Same for Mary Poppins, or field trips to see Pollyanna, Annie, or Oliver Twist.  What I loathed more than anything was the ability they all had to capture my attention and right when I'm leaning forward with wide eyes wondering what will happen next... they break out into song, yet again. I dare to use the adjective: misery as I reminiscence... just pure torture.  I do, however, remember a couple that I loved at first view. The Blues Brothers was one, why?  I don't remember except that I recall really loving the music, plus it took place in my hometown of Chicago. Same thing for the Wizard of Oz except, of course, I have no ties with Kansas... Which leads me to Les Mise.
                    As soon as the movie gets underway I'm involved. The pace was unexpectedly fast... and there's singing. A lot of singing.... every line uttered singing.  In fact, I struggle to remember a line from this film that was spoken and because the dialog was to song, it was very difficult to follow the story at times.  I had to read the synopsis from Wikipedia.  Some parts left me confused. I mean they sung EVERYTHING! Each and every single character sang their lines, so some explanations I did not hear, which rendered me lost when certain circumstances happened.  Even though I was adrift at seas, the movie supplied light houses throughout.  By context of the film itself I'm able to understand where the movie was headed.  I can not deny there was a sense of  completion after revisiting the plots through the different acts on Wikipedia though.
  
                  I've always had a certain curiosity about the play.  It would come to town and I'd miss it every time.  So when the thought of it coming to my local theater became a reality I just knew that I'd take advantage of the opportunity to finally see this story. I did and boy was it everything that I thought it would be and way more!      
                 Anne Hathaway gave her performance of a lifetime. I thought that I'd seen her definitive work in The Dark Knight Rises.... Little did I know. I'm sure that she'll pick up an award once the Oscars get underway.    

Worth watching. Letter grade A-