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.