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The Obituary of Tunde Johnson (2019)
An emotional film
This movie is great at evoking moods. That, plus the interesting characters, pulled me right in. Steven Silver gives a powerful and affecting performance as Tunde.
Krystal (2017)
Funny movie
I laughed a lot during this movie. It has charming characters and is well acted, and it was engaging from beginning to end.
Locke & Key: Crown of Shadows (2020)
Needs better writing/plotting
I've enjoyed this series, with its great production values, and the acting is good. But the writing, especially in this episode, leaves a lot to be desired. The Locke kids still have a key and the music box it controls that would allow them to make Dodge do whatever they want. They could have done this a couple of episodes ago and saved everyone a lot of trouble. Then there is the blatantly stupid decision on the part of Ellie and the Locke Kids bringing together the Crown of Shadows and the key that controls it right where Dodge can easily take both. Not to mention the fact they conveniently forget that Dodge has a key which allows her to change a person's appearance. Opening the Omega Door, knowing what would happen, was just plain dumb. I saw the plot twists coming from a hundred miles away. I love the concept of the series and hope the plot/writing improves in the second season.
Alien: Covenant (2017)
Ultimately disappointing
Spoilers ahead: be warned.
The previews for this flick looked promising, enough so that I rushed to the theater on opening day. I should have waited for feedback and reviews. While there are decent special effects here and a suspenseful moment or two, this film mostly disappointed me. I didn't connect with any of the characters, there were glaring plot holes, and I saw the twist ending coming the moment the two androids squared off against each other.
The characters behaved illogically, even stupidly. The most blatant example occurred when the pilot endangered the lives of the 2000 colonists on board his interstellar cruiser by flying into a raging storm he'd been warned would tear the ship apart. And why did he do this? Because he was worried about his wife on the planet below. It never seemed to occur to him that, apart from killing the passengers he was charged with protecting, he wouldn't be able to do a thing to help his wife if the ship came apart and crashed in pieces around her.
The captain of the ship finds one of his crew members decapitated at the feet of an android that has been missing in space for ten years and an alien life-form that has the blood of his crew member dripping from its teeth. He kills the alien but not only leaves the android untouched, he lets it lead him into a cave filled with alien eggs, accepts the android's assurance that the alien eggs are "perfectly safe," and promptly sticks his nose in the middle of a just-opened egg.
I understand there are more films to come in this franchise. I sincerely hope for something fresh and different in those movies. Like, maybe, interesting characters who behave intelligently and logically when facing the unknown. And maybe a plot that doesn't rehash old story ideas again and again but introduces an intriguing spin that takes the franchise in new, unexplored directions.
Life (2017)
A Very Big Missed Opportunity
This review contains spoilers.
From the previews I saw, I was expecting an intense, suspenseful sci/fi horror movie along the lines of "Alien" and "Aliens." Sadly, this movie comes nowhere near the brilliance of those two flicks.
Its biggest failing is that it doesn't give you any three-dimensional characters. There's no one to root for here, so it really didn't mean much to me when the alien picked off crew members one by one. It also doesn't help that the characters do completely illogical things when facing an increasingly hostile alien organism. In one glaring instance, one of the astronauts is outside the space station with the alien attached to her body and methodically killing her. This woman could save the rest of her crew and keep the thing from reaching earth by simply pushing herself away from the station and drifting off into space. But no, she hangs on to the hatch, twisting away at some gear to keep the people inside from opening the door, when again, all she has to do is push away and take the alien with her.
Last but not least, I figured out the ending halfway through the movie, and I hated it. There are some decently suspenseful moments in "Life" but not enough of them, and definitely not enough logic. This isn't anything I have to see again. Instead, I'll just watch "Alien" and "Aliens" when I'm in the mood for some really good sci/fi horror.
Naz & Maalik (2015)
A well-acted but meandering film
Overall, I enjoyed this movie. I have to agree with some of the other reviews on this site that the movie lacks focus. It spends far too much time on the scenes of the main characters hawking lottery tickets and such on the street. The subplot about government profiling of young, black, Muslim men isn't developed. Nor are many of the secondary characters (such as Naz's sister). The film also needs a good ending. When I watched the final scene, I kept sitting there, waiting for more, because it felt as if the camera just went dark, leaving a lot of loose ends.The film would have benefited from jettisoning the profiling subplot and the many scenes of street sales and devoting more time developing the relationship between Naz and Maalik.
Because this is where the strength and beauty of this film lies. The acting on the part of the two male leads is powerful and well-done. They have a definite on-screen chemistry, and they made me believe in the passion these two characters have for each other. Movies about young black men in love are few and far between, and that fact alone makes this movie a delightful gem. The film conveyed a strong sense of place through its effective use of the gritty urban backdrop (I believe the story is set in Brooklyn.) I will certainly be viewing this one again.
Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015)
An enjoyable movie with several distracting plot holes.
Be warned: spoilers lie ahead.
This movie has plenty of action, the animation is good, and the voice acting is topnotch. I enjoyed it, but almost throughout the whole time I was viewing it, I kept getting distracted by annoying plot holes that could have easily been covered by the creators with a little forethought and additional movie time.
First, there was the confusion as to which ocean holds the Marianas Trench. Then, when Cyborg goes to the bottom of the Trench to investigate the disappearance of a sub, he has no protective gear except a small breathing mask that leaves most of his face exposed. Sure, his cybernetic components could withstand the pressure at that depth, but at least a quarter of his face is simple human flesh. That part of his head should have been crushed.
The mistake is repeated when Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and the Flash visit Atlantis. Without protective gear, Batman and the Flash should have been crushed by the pressure. And while I could buy that Superman and Wonder Woman would be invulnerable to the pressure, they are still air-breathing beings without gills. Yet, they breathe and talk underwater like Aquaman.
Even more jarring is the fact that none of the Justice League members seemed to learn from or remember their fight against Darkseid in the previous movie. In the first film, the team realizes that each member taking on Darkseid singlehandedly was a losing strategy, and that their best chance of winning lay in taking him on as a team. They did that and won. Here, they fall right back into each team member attacking Orm individually and getting their butts soundly kicked. If eight superheroes are taking on one super villain, wouldn't at least one of the heroes suggest that they all jump him together? That is the advantage in having numbers on your side, after all.
Also, the team seems to have gotten substantially weaker since Justice League: War. Darkseid is one of the most powerful beings in the DC pantheon, yet the League bounced back from his attacks and kept fighting. Here, Orm slaps them down one by one, and they stay down. Even Superman and Wonder Woman are left helpless after taking just one or two blows. This is completely out of character.
Finally, it's a bit odd that Aquaman is the supposed ruler of the seas, yet throughout the movie, he is completely outclassed by Mera (Meara?) in battle. And when a sea monster tries to make a snack out of the team, Aquaman hides behind Superman, letting him subdue the creature.
Again, overall, I enjoyed this movie. And I'm looking forward to the next Justice League animated adventure. But I hope the next movie pays a little more attention to detail than this one did.
Fantastic Four (2015)
An enjoyable superhero movie
I'm going to have to swim against the tide of negative reviews. I was completely entertained by this movie, enjoying it just as much as I did The Avengers, Thor, and Captain America: the Winter Soldier. There were funny moments where I, and the audience with me, laughed out loud. I was invested in the characters and understood what motivated each of them. I had no problem following the plot, and had no problem with the pacing.
I'm s die-hard fan of the original FF series as created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Yes, I wanted Sue, Reed, Ben, and Johnny to fly into space and be exposed to cosmic rays, but I accepted their gaining powers through inter-dimensional travel. Yes, I would have preferred casting Reed Richards as a middle-aged, brilliant, respected scientist, but at least the young Reed in this movie is a better depiction than the nerdy, incompetent goof-ball presented in the Tim Story versions. I liked that Sue made better use of her powers here than in the previous versions, I liked this depiction of Doom more than the Tim Story version, I loved the depiction of the Thing, and while I would have preferred Johnny as the teen-aged white guy Stan Lee and Jack Kirby gave us, I very much enjoyed Michael B. Jordan in the role. The actors did a great job here.
I do wish the movie had been maybe 15 minutes longer, both to give us more of the battle between Doom and the FF and to give us more interplay between Sue, Johnny, Ben and Reed. But the battle scenes we get here are as exciting as those in any other superhero movie, and I walked out of the theater feeling satisfied. This is an origin story, and it does exactly what an origin story should do: set the stage for future stories. And while it may be unlikely given the drubbing this movie has taken, I would like to see a sequel with this version of these characters.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Best Movie of Summer 2014
Now this is how to make a summer blockbuster movie. Start with a bunch of quirky, likable characters, add big doses of humor, great special effects, and lots of action. Guardians of the Galaxy has everything you could expect in the way of escapist entertainment. Rocket Raccoon is my favorite of the Guardians. This character is so well done, you'll practically forget that he's CGI. This movie will have you laughing throughout, and it even manages to work in a few genuinely tearful moments. By the time the credits roll, it'll have you believing in family and friendship again. I hear a sequel is already in the works, and I can't wait for it.
Godzilla (2014)
I want my money and the two wasted hours of my life back.
(Be warned: spoilers ahead.) I'm not only disappointed, I feel cheated. The trailers led me to believe this was a remake of the classic original Godzilla movie from the 1950's. That movie featured Godzilla as a towering terror that attacked mankind. This movie embraces the very thing I disliked most about all subsequent Godzilla movies: Godzilla versus some ridiculous adversary. I don't want to see Godzilla as a superhero, I want to see him as he originally was, a menace. For all its flaws, at least the 98 version got that part right. In this version, Godzilla is just an afterthought, and he's trapped in a laughably stupid plot. Two giant cockroaches crawl out of the ground to mate, Godzilla hates cockroaches and stomps them, mankind gushes "My hero!" and Godzilla swims away. The End. Seriously?! What is it about Hollywood that few of its highly paid producers, directors and actors can understand the meaning of "remake"? Well, I'm done. I've learned my lesson. After this, I'm not spending my money on any more remakes.