War for the Planet of the Apes

War for the Planet of the Apes is the third in the rebooted trilogy from the original Planet of the Apes saga from the 60's and 70's. More than likely based on the resounding critical and audience response from these three films this wont be the last but if it is in fact the finale let me just say...WOW!

As is the case with any traditional trilogy if you haven't seen the previous two you should actually stop what you're doing and watch them...Now that you're back you know how exceptional in quality they both are and that two in a trilogy are of equal or greater quality to each other is rare enough and it is this reviewers opinion that the third exceeds all expectations and is quite simply an extraordinary conclusion to this trilogy that is smart, groundbreaking, ambitious, emotional and for lack of anymore adjectives is EPIC in every sense of the word.

Summarizing the plot is really an injustice to everything that is going on around you during the film and the little you know the better. It does continue the story of Caesar, the leader of the genetically evolved apes. Due to the outcome of the second film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes it is both known by ape and human that war is inevitable. A sect of the human army is led by a sadistic colonel played by the outstanding Woody Harrelson (The People vs. Larry Flynt). Caesar still pines for peace but due to circumstances beyond his control that path can no longer be treaded and he is forced to face demons from his past to preserve his and his fellow apes future. Being as all the titles of the film have "Planet of the Apes" somewhere in there it's not a major spoiler to figure out where all this is leading to but the journey to that  point is what makes this series so special.

What also makes this series special is the continuing evolution of the motion capture performance by human Andy Serkis as the ape Caesar. Along with the films the technology to capture these performances has evolved as well. No longer needing to be hampered down by gobs of makeup and prosthetics there are real performances here from real actors, Steve Zahn and Judy Greer are other well known names who capture the movement and emotion in these apes. It will not be long before an actor will be recognized with an Oscar for a motion capture performance and I see no reason why Serkis can't be the first one.

Continuing his vision from "Dawn" director and co-screenwriter Matt Reeves unfolds visually breathtaking scenes along with scenes of little dialogue but with a lot of importance. These are smart blockbusters for smart people, studios get a lot of guff from people (myself included) regarding remakes and reboots but War for the Planet of the Apes shows that when its down right it can almost make you forget about those original damn dirty apes.


 10 out of 10 donkeys

The Big Sick

Early rock n' roller Eddie Cochran once sang that "there aint' no cure for the summertime blues". I don't like to speak for those no longer with us but I have a feeling Mr. Cochran might rethink this sentiment had he had the pleasure of watching the newest release from Amazon Studios titled "The Big Sick". It is a movie of its time in a lot of ways and will both make you laugh and cry.

Kumail Nanjiani is a Pakistani born character actor probably best known for his role on HBO's very funny tech comedy "Silicon Valley". "The Big Sick" is an autobiographical take on how he met his American born wife Emily V. Gordon, who co-wrote the screenplay along with Nanjiani. So as to not give away any major plot points I'm not going to delve too deeply other than Emily gets sick and is placed in a medically induced coma shortly after breaking up with Nanjiani, the movie is about what takes place after this even.

What I will say is that "The Big Sick" is a mix of "Terms of Endearment" and "(500) Days of Summer." It is a refreshing take on love and culture in the 21st century. Had Nanjiani not written the screenplay himself it is almost assured he wouldn't have been cast to play himself due to the fact that realistically nothing about him says "traditional leading man", while the role of Gordon is played by Zoe Kazan (granddaughter of famed director Elia Kazan). The two leads play great off of each other akin to Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in another film this can take its DNA from, (Annie Hall). I want to take special note of Holly Hunter (Raising Arizona) and Ray Romano (Men of a Certain Age) who play Emily's parents. Kumail is the only one around when Emily gets sick and he has to give authorization to place Emily in the coma, this makes for an awkward meeting for her parents and him as they have never met before. Hunter and Romano are not automatically a pairing you'd think of but its ridiculous how believable they are as a longtime married couple. The rest of the cast is filled with faces you know from the stand-up/improv community, Kurt Braunohler is a standout as Kumail's roommate Chris.

What stood out to me the most during the movie was its take on culture and its stressing that as cultures we are different there are similarities as well. The scenes around Kumail's parents dinner table are some of the most honest and funny scenes in the entire movie and a confrontation between Kumail and his parents towards the end of movie is both heartbreaking and something that a lot of us regardless of creed or color have had to have. But understand that this isn't a movie with any type of blatant political agenda.

If a slow paced period piece such as "The Beguiled" isn't your cup of tea and you are still looking for a movie in this summer of busy I don't think you can go wrong with "The Big Sick". Much like the before mentioned (500) Days of Summer as well as "Little Miss Sunshine" I think this is a movie destined to have legs as it expands nationwide and more and more people are able to see it.




9 out of 10 tuna fish sandwiches

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Finally, after two indies and one mid level studio offering The Aisle of Mann's favorite web slinging superhero has finally swung in for a review!

The debate can be made, and agreed upon by myself that there hasn't been a good Spider-Man movie since way back in 2004 with Spider-Man 2 from the original Tobey Maguire starring Spidey series. That trilogy ended in 2007 in a mess with Spider-Man 3 which makes Batman and Robin look like On The Waterfront. Then starting in 2012 Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) was cast as the new Peter Parker in what ended up being two utterly forgettable Amazing Spider Man movies, by 2014 the franchise was dead. So why the fuss over Spider-Man? He got 5 movies and 3 of them were awful. The answer is that other than Batman and Superman, Spider-Man is the most recognizable superhero and if we are just talking from the Marvel universe he is #1. Superman is an alien from another world and Batman is a billionaire detective, Spider-Man (Peter Parker) is a teenager from Queens who happens to get bit by a radioactive spider, gets superpowers yet still has to deal with life's everyday struggles. He's easily the most relatable superhero, and as long as that is the case his movies will still get made.

So now because of a monumental deal between two major movie studio that could be an article on its own Spider-Man is now able to hang out with his buddies Iron Man, Captain America and the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, essentially this is the equivalent of when George Lucas sold off his creative stake in Star Wars. Nerds rejoice!

But after all the ballyhoo and hype what of the movie? Spider-Man: Homecoming is a worthy addition to the Avengers universe and can stand completely on its own as one of the best high school set movies of the decade. Spider-Man: Homecoming wastes no time going back and retelling the tale of the spider bite that made Peter Parker who he is, much like we never need to see Martha and Thomas Wayne murdered in front of little Bruce Wayne in any future Batman movies. This film finds newcomer Tom Holland (The Impossible) as our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and while protecting New Yorkers from petty thieves and helping old ladies with directions he's trying to put together a resume that will impress his mentor Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). Enter Adiran Toomes, aka The Vulture played by Michael Keaton who comes full circle from playing the titular hero in 1989's Batman to the villain here. Can Peter Parker defeat The Vulture's evil plan as well as juggle the daily riggers of high school and get a date with his dream girl Liz for the Homecoming dance and impress Mr. Stark enough to become a fulltime Avenger?

All the intricacies of a standard Marvel movie is enough to give non fanboys a completely understandable headache. My biggest complaint with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is that they spend too much time connecting the movies together, its like the ultimate soap opera with spandex. Spider-Man: Homecoming does fall into this trap but only slightly, it does a good job of introducing newbies to the events that lead us up to this point, most notably from last years Captain America: Civil War in a quick and funny recap towards the beginning of the film. It's only during the conclusion of the film that this type of connectivity feels rushed and contrived.

With much respect to OG Tobey Maguire, Tom Holland is the perfect Peter Parker/Spider-Man. He brings the joy, confusion and ego that one would expect would come with being one with superhero abilities. I was disappointed with Michael Keaton during the first half of the film simply because of no fault by himself the film didn't give him much to do or he is hidden behind the vultures mask. This changed abruptly with the simple opening of a door that will give audiences a gasp moment they will be talking about after the movie, from that point on he is definitely in the top tiers of Marvel movie villains. two other cast members that will cause discussion are Marisa Tomei as Aunt May and Disney teen queen Zendaya in a mystery role that this reviewer will not reveal. Aunt May is traditionally an older aunt as evidenced by Rosemary Harris and Sally Field playing her in past entries. Casting Tomei keeps the running theme of going younger all around though I think the filmmakers tried to hide her attractiveness behind some old lady glasses that are just distracting. Zendaya is great in her role but a twist that again will have audiences who know their source material talking afterwards is completely unnecessary and lazy, again by no fault of her own. Other cast highlights are Jon Favreau reprising his role from other Marvel movies as Happy Hogan and newcomer Jacob Batalon as Peter Parker's best friend and Spider-Man's guy in the chair.

There are of course the major action set pieces, the one taking place at the Washington Monument is especially thrilling. It is however the smaller things that set this Spider-Man apart, without those it would just be your standard reboot gone wrong. For a 175 million dollar budgeted film indie director Jon Watts keeps the CGI to a minimum and the overall tone small scale, Spider-Man isn't trying to save the world, he's trying to save the ones he cares about.  Spider-Man: Homecoming is a great reintroduction to those who maybe liked the first Iron Man but not as invested in this cinematic universe as some of us are and who will be until it inevitably collapses in on itself like a dying star.


8.5 out of 10 glowy things

Baby Driver

"Baby Driver" is a high octane pop up restaurant for your eyes and ears that makes the "Fast and Furious" franchise look like an episode of "Thomas and Friends", if it was filmed in "Smell-O-Vision" your nose would get an invite as well. It is the latest film from acclaimed fanboy director Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Shaun of the Dead) and can simply be described as a pulpnoiractionromancemusicalcomedycarhipsterheistsploitation (relax grammar nerds) that can reserve its spot as easily one of the best genre films of the decade.

Baby (that's B A B Y), played by Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars) plays the titular hero who due to a car accident has a constant humming in his ear that he remedies by constantly having music playing whether it be from his tape deck or from one of his numerous iPods. It is his tunes that give us the soundtrack to the movie, music as it is in life is the blood that keeps this movie going. An eclectic soundtrack that is Soul and R n' B is base also includes cuts from Dave Brubeck and T. Rex. When you're watching "Baby Driver" notice that during key scenes the music is incorporated as sound effect, a shoot-out featuring "Tequila" is an easy example to hear. Wright is a fan of tracking shots and another highlight of his skills as a director and the use of music is a walk by Baby through downtown Atlanta with "Harlem Shuffle" accompanying him in his ears and on the graffiti and store signs he passes by on his strut. Another way to put all of this is that if you don't like the soundtrack you probably wont like the movie, it' s that essential to the movie.

Elgort plays the "aw shucks" type serviceably well but I almost think someone like Michael B. Jordan would have been better suited for the role. Baby is a wheel man for a big time Atlanta mob boss played by the ridiculously consistent Kevin Spacey. He drives various bank robbers to and from their destination and chaos and high speed chases usually ensue and during a break from all the action he meets a waitress named Debora played by Lily James (Cinderella). They soon find out they both have the same dream to escape their lives in a car they can't afford with a plan they don't have, with music playing all along the way. James is naturally British and struggles with the southern belle accent but she's not asked to much else other than to look pretty and she does that immensely well, Eiza Gonzalez has the meatier female role with the same amount of eye candy.

The rest of the cast includes Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead), Jon Hamm in his best non Don Draper role to date, Jamie Foxx in a villainous role that will hopefully make most forget his earlier bad guy role in the Amazing Spider Man 2 and cameos from of the world of music including Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and 70's ballad master songwriter Paul Williams. As with any film miscasting can throw off even the most skillful of directors vision, This cast understands the goal looking to be achieved and goes with it and never looks back.

"Baby Driver" is destined to become one of the high watermarks for pop culture for this year. The movie is already a hit, the soundtrack will sell, you'll see numerous Halloween costumes paying tribute to varying characters and as we speak some film school drop out is trying to put his own spin on it.

Come for the car chases, stay for the music. Your soul depends on it.



9.5 out of 10 mix tapes

The Beguiled

It's been argued recently that the Hollywood system for films is broken. Currently we are being force fed the 5th in the lucrative "Transformers" franchise as well as had entries from well established cinematic universes ranging from Marvel (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) to new kid on the block "The Dark Universe", which Universal is using to resurrect its classic movie monsters (The Mummy). Now I can easily make the argument that for every "Pirates of the Caribbean: This Ship Has Sailed) we get quality: "Wonder Woman". With that being said the fact remains that basically every weekend the multiplexes are being filled with either a sequel, reboot, remake or some sort of combination of all 3.

Surely there must be some escapism for the theatergoer who doesn't constanly need an explosion or product placement crammed down their eye sockets, the indie studios have something up their sleeves right? Well yes and no...

"The Beguiled" is the latest entry from acclaimed director Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation) and, wait for it...is a remake of a 1971 little seen Clint Eastwood starrer which is also based on a novel of the same name. Easily forgettable during its initial release in the 70's version has become somewhat of a minor classic in as it was one of the early entries in the film renaissance that occurred during the decade as well as its a type of role for Eastwood that is quite different then what we are used to.

The new version has a very impressive cast. Colin Farrell (The Lobster) takes on the Eastwood role, Nicole Kidman (To Die For), Coppola muse Kirsten Dunst (Marie Antoinette) and Fanning sister #2 Elle Fanning (The Neon Demon) headline the small cast and they are all fantastic, especially Kidman and Farrell.

Set in Virginia 3 years into the US Civil War Farrell plays an injured Union soldier discovered by one of the young girls who attend Kidman's Christian boarding school. Reluctantly Kidman's headmistress agrees to take the enemy soldier in to heal his wounds before turning him over to the Confederate army.

What follows is a slow building of a southern gothic tale filled with suspense and sexual tension that concludes with an ending that has the perfect amount of tension and dark humor to satisfy. Along the way we get beautiful cinematography of the Southern plantation on which the school is set as well as the dim candle lit interior scenes. Coppola wisely doesn't try to go outside of her wheelhouse in terms of camera tricks or other studio fare standards, she sets the scenes and lets her tremendous cast do the hard work for her.

Having seen both versions I don't know that it was necessary to bring a new version into the 21st century. There certainly is a lot to admire here and I would still recommend it especially as the original is not currently streaming on any platform that I could find.

7.5 out of 10 anatomy books


*going forward our ranking system will vary depending on a certain item that I found memorable from each film. As example, Forrest Gump might receive 9 out of 10 cans of Bubba Gump Shrimp

Robocop

The initial notion of an updated "remake" of the 1980's ultraviolent, ultra campy "Robocop" comes off as sacrilege to those of us who hold it in high regard. Having pretty much emptied the closet on horror/slasher remakes from the 70's, early 80's movie studios have their cash grabbing hands set on seminal classics from the 80's/early 90's that hold a special place in film nerds hearts and still hold up incredibly well on DVD/Blu Ray. The original "Robocop" was released in 1987 and directed by Paul Verhoeven who has also seen another of his signature films from this era, "Total Recall" receive the remake treatment recently. The original was at the forefront of the late 80's surge in violence in film and with a straight to the point title like "Robocop" you knew exactly what you were getting, which was a low budget, campy, over the top multi-genre film that spawned a franchise of its own and countless rip offs. The 2014 comes with a lot of pre release buzz, most notably about the change in Robocop's signature silver suit and the change from the hard R rating the original carried to the more monetarily friendly PG-13 rating and 100 million dollar budget featuring state of the art special effects. It was with great caution that I entered the theater to see the new "Robocop", was this going to be yet another Hollywood cash grab that taints everything that I loved about the original or could this be a new vision for a new century?

The essential storyline from the original is still in tact, Detroit police officer Alex Murphy played by Joel Kinnaman from TV's "The Killing" is critically injured while on duty and is transformed by mega corporation OmniCorp into the first human/robot police officer known of course as "Robocop". The story takes place in the year 2028, its a period where machine justice or more commonly known as drone warfare are taking over. With the American public's support waning its decided that this hybrid is the best way to get the support needed to pass legislation to take this new action to full force and make the public less "robophobic". The premise is topical and relevant in today's world with drone warfare still in its infancy stages but the prologue setting up Robocop actually taking action does drag a little.

If the original "Robocop" did not exist this version would be a perfectly above average movie and the advancement in special effects actually does hold it above the original in that regard. Kinnaman's scenes as a human are perfectly fine and once he is actually "Robocop" he does make his own mark in the shoes owned by the original "Robocop" Peter Weller. The PG-13 rating does contradict the originals take on violence by making this an essentially bloodless movie but features countless amounts of guns and weaponry and acts of violence, its a contradiction that is frustrating in that it shows the truth of crime without the harsh realities of the consequence. The story of "Robocop" trying to keep what is left of his human side while still being an effective police officer and family man works for the most part and there are odes to the original in the opening musical score and flashes of the beloved original "Robocop" suit.

The best thing about the new version is the cast which features a surprising array of actors who are having a great deal of fun with the material. Michael Keaton plays the head of OmniCorp and his role shows that he is on the cusp of taking the Alec Baldwin route of switching from one time leading man to great character actor. Gary Oldman plays the scientist who is the Dr. Frankenstein to Robocop and while it isn't apparent if he is actually aware that he is acting a Robocop movie he still is Gary Oldman and delivers a convincing performance. Samuel L. Jackson (not Laurence Fishburne) appears in an extended cameo as a TV show host in the vein of Bill O'Reilly or Rachel Maddow, he does what Samuel L. Jackson does best: yell and use (bleeped) profanity. The special effects are an update and do enhance the overall story and the filmmakers do the correct thing in keeping the CGI fight scenes down to a couple training scenes in the beginning but even those make it seem like you are watching a video game as opposed to a movie. The relationship between Robocop and his wife and young son is an interesting storyline that is kind of thrown to the background when I would of liked to have seen more and then kind of comes back in the end to really no avail.

My overall opinion coming out of the new "Robocop" is indifference. There is nothing necessarily wrong with the new version and if you aren't familiar with the originals I applaud you to go see it, its a fun ride with topical undertones. As was the case with "The Lego Movie" it is known that you can take a known, beloved commodity and make a good, original movie from it. The Robocop's of cinema past should though be held in a higher regard then just having a "we can make it better" mentality. While overall indifferent if they should make a "Robocop 2" I will purchase a ticket, if with maybe a little less apprehension-just a little.

The Lego Movie

We are barely into the new movie season and "The Lego Movie" has come out of nowhere to become one of the most imaginative, witty, surreal and utterly enjoyable movie experience I've had in some time. It's rare for a movie to completely surprise me but "The Lego Movie" does this without even stopping to catch its breath. It's both great for the kids with its bright colors and fantastic animation as well as adults with its witty, irreverent, semi politically/socially charged storyline and inside jokes throughout.

The basic story that "Lego" tells is of the main character Emmet Brickowski's unflappable desire to be exactly the same as everyone else in his metropolitan Lego world that he lives in. This Lego world is ruled by "President Business" voiced by Will Ferrel and he has laid out instructions that all the inhabitants live their lives by. Everything from how to exercise in the morning and what TV shows to watch is covered in this manual, think of it like "1984" for tykes. Emmet happens to stubble upon a missing "piece" of Lego lore that proclaims him "the special" and the savior that can overthrow President Business and return the Lego world to prosperity and most importantly individuality. The themes about individuality is really what should resonate with the kids in the audience, the adults will recognize the comparisons to today's world of the NSA and other hot topic political issues that comes off so crisp and funny that it wont matter what side of the aisle you personally sit on. In his quest to truly become "the special" Emmet befriends other master builders such as  Wyldstyle, voiced by Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect), a 1960's spaceman named Benny voice by Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), a Lego prophet voiced by the voices of all voices Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption), a unicorn/kitten mix aptly named Unikitty voiced by Alison Brie (Mad Men) and the stealer of the show Batman in all his dark grizzled glory voiced by Will Arnett (Arrested Development). Other recognizable characters such as Superman, Abraham Lincoln and William Shakespeare also appear in Lego mini figure form.

This film is a mix of computer generated animation such as what you see in Pixar movies and stop motion effects as what is seen in movies like "Coraline" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas". The execution is so slick and concise that Lego's look like actual Legos which is much more impressive than how it reads. multiple scenes feature massive set designs including metropolitan cities, large scale car chases with explosions and scenes underwater and in the cloud. All used with Legos. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have a great eye for animation having used it for "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" as well as incorporated it in their live action venture "21 Jump Street". Their visual eye is definitely one to watch as "The Lego Movie" hovers on game changing territory.

The standard "kids movie" has taken a different form as of late. Gone are the days of studios releasing fodder just so mom and dad can get the kids out of the house for a bit. It's still early in the year but I'd be hard pressed to predict that any actual adult comedy released this year will make me laugh as loud and consistently over "The Lego Movie"-especially in the first 40 minutes. Fan's of the actual Lego toys themselves will also have moments to cheer for during the movie as well as fanboys and girls of a certain movie franchise that takes place in a galaxy far far away...

The best way to sum up "The Lego Movie" is that "Everything is Awesome", the adult in me enjoyed it as much as the 10 year old in me would, if not more. Its hard pressed to find a movie that the whole family can go see, mark "The Lego Movie" as the exception to the rule.