The Stanford Prison Experiment Review

What would happen if you were thrown into a prison for 2 weeks and how would you change to survive an environment of ridicule and fear? This is what Stanford Professor Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D. (Billy Crudup) had done in conducting an experiment back in 1971 that changed young boys/men and showed their true characters in shocking, horrifying ways.  The film The Stanford Prison Experiment is a dramatization directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez of an actual experiment that took place but has inspired other films that have utilized this psychology study for other fictional/exaggerated story.  The young cast of indie actors really showcase their ability to morph into their characters exceptionally well as they become the roles they are told to become as the film progresses.  This is emphasized even more by the claustrophobic, hypnotically dull looking cinematography along with a script that provides the actors with tons of dramatic heft to the event and a synth based, haunting score that creates this enclosed world of power and fear that envelopes the viewer gracefully into the story and never lets up for its brisk, absorbing 2 hour run-time. Let’s get into what made this study compelling enough for a film to be made and where the line does get blurry with its flaws.

We follow Professor Zimbardo as he conducts a 2 week long experiment of a prison environment and how it can have an impact on their behavior be it as a guard or prisoner of their made up quarters within the halls of Stanford’s Psychology department.  A group of young men are drawn to the experiment for financial reasons and believe that what they have do is worth the $15 dollars a day they would receive by the end of this experiment.   What they didn’t anticipate was what this experiment would bring them into and so for the next few days, they would become something far worse than average human beings…but animals encaged by fear, power, and control.

While the story is presented in a matter of fact tone, it is the tense, slow burning editing with the antiquated look of the film coupled with the powerful performances from the ensemble cast that makes this film such an astounding realization of an event that truly exposed the weakness present in human nature when it is given or devoid of power in various degrees.  The power plays that are exhibited throughout between the guards and prisoners are handled with palpable tension that would have made these moments cliché but it comes across as terrifying from the assured, skillful direction from Alvarez.  It does seem slow on the buildup because of the huge size of the cast to establish and develop for the majority of the film but as soon as the experiment is fully underway, it grabs a hold of your attention and it never ceases to be boring from the terrific, harrowing performances from many of the young, promising actors in this film.  The story follows the familiar beats you expect in a biography film but it adheres to the genre troupes of thrillers it pays homage to with an actual story that invokes those emotions in real life but at times are exaggerated in certain plot elements as you would expect for this kind of film.

Which leads to the overall theme and ideas the story explores regarding power and the inherent authority and abuse it comes with it.  It seems like a joke at first but as it goes along, it becomes astoundingly frightening to see how given the chance, we can become just as cruel and mentally far out there with a god complex as to the hold we have over people with no means to resist.  This had to be mention as the way it is portray is quite disturbing and really comes through from the fine skills of the director shaping the performances gracefully without feeling disingenuous.  This is also accompanied by a tightly woven, sharp screenplay that makes all of the lessons, morals, and dialogue feel earned in expressing the awful, chaotic nature of this experiment through the claustrophobic visual direction of the story to go with it.  It always feels appropriate to what those people went through even if there are some exaggerations done for dramatic purposes (there were no physical abuse but the verbal abuse and degradation did happen if slightly different from the actual archival footage).

This brings up the main reason for this film being as profound as it was in making this real life event believable and intense, the cast of actors themselves. The standout of the young cast members were Ezra Miller and Michael Angarano for their respective roles of Daniel Culp/Prisoner 8612 and the leader of the guards called “John Wayne”/Christopher Archer.  Miller really displays his fragility with confidence and pain that you start to really become haunted by his agony as he becomes the most rebellious of the prisoners only for him to start a chain reaction that showcases his ability to make viewers care about his plight despite only being in half of the film.  As for Angarano, he really is a revelation in the entire youthful cast that plays his part with such glee and vibrant energy that it is a surprise to see him truly shine in this film despite being in some forgettable roles in previous years before this.  Another standout of the cast is Billy Crudup as Professor Zimbardo who really gives a truly understated, emotionally driven performance that makes him really empathetic in what he is trying to achieve despite the actions he takes to push these students to their limits.  These were the standouts of the cast in a sea of really outstanding mix of actors giving their best in this film.

It should be worth mention the other standouts in the supporting cast before we get to the technical elements of the film starting with Nelsan Ellis as Jesse Fletcher, yet again showcasing how versatile he is in playing different roles with him being a former prisoner that gives the experiment a certain kind of authenticity to it.  The mix of unknown/character actors from Tye Sheridan to Johnny Simmons give tremendously memorable performances in the scenes they were featured prominently. There wasn’t really a performances in this cast that really was lackluster other than the ones that were glanced over since it focused on only a few of the subjects that were to be the anchors that carried the story through to its inevitable, real life conclusion.  Despite some of the actors being underutilized for a decent chunk of this film, they gave their finest performances so far in their careers within this film.

The technical elements also shine bright and clear in this film on top of the stellar cast for this film with the cinematography, editing, and musical score with each adding to the strength of the film’s emotionally tense journey.  For the cinematography, there are extensive use of close ups throughout on a number of the shots to establish the claustrophobic nature of the prison from the student’s living and guarding it.  It had only a handful of wide shots and that was near the beginning, a few in the middle, and at the very end of the film.  The compositions of these shots really created this enclosed quarter that made the viewer feel entrapped by this world the professor created.  This is made even more uncomfortable by kinetic, shifting editing in both energy and structure as well as a synth based score by Andrew Hewitt that really creates this unnerving ambient vibe to the setting that feels like a throwback to 1970’s thrillers.  Its use of the bland, generic office setting only further emphasize the despair these characters undergo through during the days the experiment really took place.  It is the careful use of the shot compositions and lighting of that location which adds to the dreary, harsh nature of the story being told.

David Patrick Alvarez’s biography film drama The Stanford Prison Experiment is quite a tense, riveting tale of what power and authority can do to people and reveal what they are capable of in terrifying ways.  The performances from the entire cast is fantastic all around thanks to the intelligently crafted screenplay from Tim Talbott with the help of 2 other writers (Christopher McQuarrie and P.W. Hopsidor) as well as the confident, hard hitting direction for both the acting and visual style for this film.  This is not only a modern, relatable adaptation of a true story but one that really invokes a certain truth about human nature that can be applied in regards to how we perceive power and authority as well as its abuse of it today in our culture.  Despite some slow plodding issues in the middle act along with some exaggerations given to certain aspects of the story (the physical abuse being the major one that was done for the film only but it does work well enough to forgive this dramatic choice), this intense drama will sure to linger with you after the credits roll.

Score: ****1/2 out of *****
This is a film driven by the engaging performances and the skillful direction present throughout this entire production.  It serves as a great showcase for young talents in the industry to tell a story that happens to still resonant and inspire conversations about the human nature with power and authority.  There are some issues of pacing particularly with its middle act as well as some exaggerations made to the actual story that might be considered inaccurate but at least they are only minor when the acting as well as the visual choices made through the effective direction/editing.  This is one drama that will grab you and hopefully inspire some conversations about the abuse of power and authority among humanity.    

Vacation Review

Oh boy…if you thought things couldn’t get worse for the summer, it does with this recent comedy sequel/reboot that no one really asked for.  Back in the 80’s, you had comedy classics and fan favorites with National Lampoon’s Vacation being one of them.  That film did a great job making fun of the crazy, wacky yet inventive mis-fortunes of a road trip serving as a template for road films for years to come. Now, with old time franchise or fan favorites of a time period we cannot move on from like Terminator or Jurassic Park, it seems like the 80’s comedy classic starring Chevy Chase, written by John Hughes, and directed by Harold Ramis is now next on the block for remaking to profit off of the work of the original property. It is John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein’s first film to direct with writing credits in Horrible Bosses and Cloudy With A Chance With Meatballs 2 as well as duties to write the Spider-Man reboot for the established Marvel Film Universe.   Does it succeed in updating the roughly 30 year old film that really defined the ideal comedic adventure story for road based stories or is it another botched remake that lacks any creatively funny writing inspirations and direction to really bring out the best in the actors and character/comedy gags? Let’s get started with the gist of the film’s story and everything else after that.

We follow the troubles and misadventures of a now grown up Rusty Griswold (Ed Helms) who is a low level continental pilot to support his family life back at home with his wife Debbie Griswold (Christina Applegate) and his two sons starting with the older brother James (Skyler Gisondo) and younger one Kevin (Steele Stebbins).  Their lives have become dull at home as well as their trips to the cabin along with the disconnection that Rusty feels from his wife and boys. So he decides to shake up their vacation time by going to the revamped Walley World that he went to 30 years ago with his father Clark (Chevy Chase), mother Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo) and his sister Audrey (Leslie Mann).  This simple little trip becomes a landmine of misfortunes and wackiness that has the Griswold family go through state to state on a road trip to make this a vacation to remember for better or worse.

That was the main plot and if you have noticed, it is literally the original film set in modern times now and with more low brow crass / sex jokes than you can wash on you when the humor wasn’t about that and more about the crazy, ridiculous misfortunes the family dealt with on the road which is where the original film is still looked upon fondly and has good comedic talent as well as timing to its writing and direction.  This “remake” has none of that and really lays it thick with the gross out humor to hide its bland, thin structure of the plot together for 90 minutes.  The characters are unlikable, moronic stereotypes of the genre and parodies as well with pointless, shoehorned cameos thrown in to get some humor from the types of characters/personalities these actors played in other films/shows that reeks of desperation.  Even the climax of the story really feels like a non-event and just feels uninspired to have nothing more than a beatdown with the characters that is literally unfunny and dumb to the extreme.  There is a vague sense of a plot but none that comes through as interesting since it is to service its “funny” gags throughout its run-time.

Seeing as it is a comedy, this section will look at the theme of the jokes, how it was executed, and whether it is funny or not so we start with what did work. The actors were game at least with the humor and it seem like they were doing their best to make it work so some kudos is deserved more or less.  There are some pretty clever humorous visual gags that did get a chuckle out of me (car function jokes as examples) as well as “some” of the nostalgia, meta humor that reared its head in throughout the film at times.  However, the majority of the humor is (it will get offensive now so see this line as a warning in advance) dick, poo, vomit, and sex both legal and illegal jokes throughout its run-time.  In fact, this is about as raunchy as it gets with a comedy film that it makes the original films look quaint by comparisons.  So if you are not a fan of low brow humor to the extreme degree, this is going to really not click with you which is what I noticed as I saw the same joke get thrown in and beaten over the head repeatedly for 3-5 minutes straight to illicit some kind of laughter no matter how minor or huge it may be (This film makes a ton of dick jokes, so yes that gives me a freebie!).  It just reeks of desperation and lack of creative objective as to the point of this humor to the story which is why it felt very dull by the time they hit the road and the jokes were littered with low brow content that kept getting hammered into us over and over again.

It seems there need to be examples of these jokes to get an idea of what to expect but be forewarned, it will get a bit offensive and gratuitously crude in this section.  There is a joke they beat into the ground with the beginning of the film where Rusty argues with his sons about the young Kevin calling James a pussy by writing Vagina on his guitar followed by Rusty countering this with his writing Penis on top of the crossed out Vagina.  It gets even better with mutilation jokes as they meet up with Audrey and her husband Texan cattle rancher/weatherman Stone Crandall (Chris Hemsworth) as well as him flexing his muscle and huge package down below for 3-5 minutes straight.  There is also a lovely pedophile jokes throughout as well as puking jokes from a fraternity sequence that was grotesque and just meh.  Yeah, these are the kinds of jokes you have throughout the entire film.

So what you are left with are characters that are quite unlikeable, humor with the sensibilities of a juvenile delinquent, and does not attempt to make this vacation unique as it utilizes the original film’s main plot with some variations that fail to really be funny or seem to not be well thought out in the direction/scripting process.  It feels about as torturous as it gets with this vacation road trip and that’s a shame since it had a reliably funny cast members in the lead and the actors including the cameo ones were game to poke fun at the concept and themselves but those moments are very few in between the excessive use of crude humor to hide their inability to be witty or charmingly smart with their writing.  These are the same guys in charge of writing Spider-Man too so that should be some cause of concern if this is the kind of writing we can expect from them in that film.

Vacation is a cruder, brutally violent film that beats the very core meaning of the word “Comedy” to death with its disgusting dick, balls, and vomit jokes as well as lacking any of the original film’s charm, innocently humorous take on the zany, weird events that occur on a road trip with your family.  This film reeks of being nothing more than a cash grab reboot to get an old property back from limbo but it suffers from the same issues as other 80’s films being revived.  It has nothing new to say in its execution of those same ideas and themes which has to really stop but as long as it makes money, then this trend will continue until another collapse occurs with this industry.  This is one vacation you should save your money on and just watch the original film, you will have more fun and it happens to be creative with tremendous amount of effort put into it than what the creative hacks of this sequel/remake put into their attempt to revive it.

Score: ** out of *****
Vacation is a clear representation of what is clearly wrong with modern day comedies today in the film industry.  Morally bankrupted in creativity and skills behind/front of the camera as well as feeling like a slog to get through pacing wise due to the over-reliance on the crude humor to carry a thin structure of the story.  There is nothing else I can write but state that this film will only appeal to the lowest common denominator of audience who can find humor in childish, crude jokes for 90 minutes straight. Hence the reason the score is that high because there is a clear effort from the actors to bring out the funny qualities of the script but lacks a satisfying execution due to the terrible script and weak, inexperience direction from first timers.  For Marvel fans, be very concern that these guys are going to be in charge of writing Spider-Man for 2017.        

Terminator: Genisys Review

After the less than stellar performances of the last two films in this series (critically panned and financially underperformed), it seem like this once beloved Sci-Fi Action Thriller was six feet under.  Until, it was dug up again with the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger on the big screen with another attempt to reboot The Terminator series from its slumber.  It has finally returned after 2-3 years of teasing and advertising of this project with Schwarzenegger returning as the T-800, the cybernetic robot we all love as the good guy teaming up with Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese this time to save the world from Skynet in Terminator: Genisys (Really? Clever…) directed by Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones, Thor: The Dark World) as well as notable actors from other films and TV shows such as Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, and Jason Clarke in the lead roles.  Now that this film is a reality, the main question is if it can be a fun, worthy follow-up to the classic films of the past or serve as a dull, painfully dumb re-thread of the previous films before in an attempt to reboot akin to Star Trek from J.J Abrahms?  Let’s dive into it and really start with the most crucial component of any film.

We start with the story or stories being told in this entry of the series with the end of the Future War within sight as John Connor and Kyle Reese are about to deliver the final blow to Skynet with the central core destroyed and Skynet sending a T-800 back into the past as a last ditch effort to prevent the birth of John Connor by killing Sarah Connor in the year 1984.  This seems like a modified rethread of familiar story arcs from the very first film with John sending Kyle back to protect Sarah from the Terminator but not without something going wrong both in the past and future.  Even though Kyle makes it back to 1984, it seems like somebody had sent a few Terminators all over the timeline and has radically change the lives and fate of everyone in the series now.  This time, Sarah Connor has been protected and trained to be a soldier ready for the future war by a modified T-800 known as Pop and programmed as her bodyguard.  This commences an adventure that has our intrepid heroes jumping from place to place to stop Skynet from being born into all of our technology in the year 2017 before it could cause Judgment Day with old familiar clichés and troupes as well as new threats coming along for the ride.

If that sounds like moronic nonsense, you are not the only one to feel that way after leaving the theater from watching this monstrous creation of a film.  It juggles with so many plot threads and explanations as to why this conflict exists that it comes across as contrived and hollow throughout the entire time this story continues to roll forward, causing a mess of twists and generic action/dramatic beats that make very little sense overall.  It doesn’t help that all of the characters lack any real sense of change or personality to them which is a fault of the direction and script literally having no sense of creative meaning to it.  This is about as confusing as it gets with time travel films along with toss away characters that come and go when the plot needs them to be there (wondering what the hell was the point of J.K. Simmons and Matthew Smith in this film).  There is really no sense of pacing or rhyme to the 2 hour runtime of this film making it feel like a slog to get through, systemic of a very messy, mediocre screenplay. It is very much a rethread of the same plot beats and conflicts we have seen in about 4 of these films with very little to no interesting elements to contribute to this story making it feel like fan-fiction that happened to have hundreds of millions of dollars to make it into a reality.  This is only the start of the problems this film exhibits throughout the production.

There is also the matter of the acting talents behind this film featuring quite a few notable names that are undertaking the roles we have come to know as fans of this series would.  The standout is ironically and shockingly Arnold Schwarzenegger as Pop the T-800 guard for Sarah Connor who exhibits a ton of great humorous moments and brims with such weathered humanity that he really provides an anchor for the dramatic moments while everyone else struggles with the sloppy script and half-hearted direction/acting efforts put into their roles.  While Arnie really shines in this film as an actor and action hero, the same cannot be said for the main leads of Jai Courtney and Emilia Clarke as Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor respectively.  They seem to be very bland in their roles as well as having zero chemistry between each other that it comes across like cosplayers trying to act like the characters from the 80’s film and doing an unconvincing job of it.  While that is not the case for Jason Clarke as John Connor, he chews up the scenery as the film progresses making for a very unthreatening, cookie-cutter performance that fails to give the film that tense momentum that made the first two films exhilarating to watch.  As for everyone else, they are either stereotypical to the max or just eye candy filler to give us an action sequence to wake up the viewer from a comatose state of boredom this film projects from the script and direction, giving the actors little to work with to make it fun.  This lame, awkward attempt to be hip and cool for today’s audiences with its cast and setting to revolve around our technology within present day is also evident in the action sequences.

The action set pieces are examples of the shoddy pacing and lack of tension/excitement that is evident throughout the whole film.  They are ambitious in scope and scale but they are also poorly imitating the superhero action styles of Thor way too much that it is hard to really feel any sense of danger to the action.  Plus, it doesn’t help that the CGI really feels too weightless for the machines making it ridiculous that these heroes could survive hand to hand combat with these human killer robots.  Think of it this way, this film is trying to be a Marvel film with the corny jokes and one liner humor as well as the larger than life action set pieces that you would expect from that genre of films along with a forced, will they or won’t they romance that aims to infuriate you entirely but for the wrong reasons.  That wasn’t what made the Terminator films great and exciting in the first place since they were about the human drama that comes from having to fight against a weapon that aims to change our fate and the dramatic consequences that comes from that conflict.  This film really feels manufactured for the Superhero fans rather than fans of Sci-fi or the series creating a disconnecting, insulting feeling of pandering that this film exhibits throughout its runtime in the delivery of the plot points and character development.  It seems like there are very little redeeming qualities to this film but maybe in the technical side of this film, it might have a few spots of inspired creation.

We are now in the home stretch with the technical aspects of the film on display now through the artistic look to the editing and of course, the special effects since the score from Lorne Balfe is just generic, Han Zimmer knock off work and not really worth discussing it in details.  The look of the film is a pretty inspired upgrade (future war) to just typical over design of the settings that missed the point of the original film’s atmosphere to having no sense of character to the setting (2017 world).  I will say that the future war looked cool and a pleasantly intrigue upgrade that was artistically interesting instead of the drab, grimy world that Salvation failed to establish in its film.  However, the look of 1984 from recreating the shots from the original film to fit with their new plot to aesthetics from costumes, lighting, and place are all wrong since it seems cleaner, sleek looking and less scuzzy, grimy looking which the original film had, giving that world such a distinguished look for that time period and atmosphere to the story.  It doesn’t get any better with the way the film is edited in its entirety.

The editing of the film is really disjointed and absolutely has no sense of rhythm or connection within scenes.  There is a clear indication that a character is cut out almost entirely and shows up out of nowhere to be the main, supposedly over-arching villain for this trilogy (I hope not) with no indication of building up to that plot point.  That is just one main example of the editing failing to really allow the viewers to connect the narrative beats clearly but it also spills into the action set pieces as well.  They feel overly long, stretched out, and ludicrously destructive to a comical effect that it is hard to fathom how they could commit the same cardinal mistakes as the last two films in the handling of the action sequences.  So the technical qualities are lacking as well leaving us with the special effects and how they hold up.

Well, the special effects are not as lopsidedly negative as the other elements of this film but it is clearly a mixed bag with some effects working in the practical action beats and the CGI driven ones really look fake, plastic, and ridiculous in contrast to the previous efforts.  There are some cool-looking effects in the action beats that might get the eyebrows raised but not enough to make the gunplay, fisticuffs, and villains look exciting or dangerous seeing as how they spend a majority of the film getting beaten over and over again.  The effects are typical clean, sleek look akin to Star Trek in the views of the future today as in being overused to handle the action and effects driven look to the machines making it feel fake and phony to watch.  While it was stated that there are times that the effects do help make the action set pieces tolerable in its insanity, it does not hide the deficiency within the acting talents, script, and direction that bring this film down into the abyss of mediocrity.

    

This whole film really reeks of studio mandate that was also evident in Jurassic World but at least that film did deliver on what it set out to do as well as being restrained and clever with its nostalgia fan service call backs while this film is more of the same with a different coat of paint.  The main issue with Terminator: Genisys is the purpose for even existing in the first place and the simple reason is name recognition with actor but the series in general.  This was the film series that gave a darker edge to Sci-Fi during the 80’s (Alien started that trend in the 70’s) and to see the film get a cleaner, superhero makeover is just disheartening and completely misses the point of the first two films.  In fact, this film really negates and tarnishes the first two films with its disjointed yet damaging continuity in the plot, horribly bland acting and generic character stereotypes that serve no purpose in the film, and action scenes that fail to really capture the raw, intense danger that those films provided at the time.  Terminator: Genisys is a black spot on this beloved series that will do more harm than good for it as well as providing a nonsensical, moronic reason for this story to even exist in the first place.  It is a re-tread that should have stayed in the past where it belongs now.

Score: ** out of *****

This entry in the series causes more WTF moments than it deserves with its inane plot, bland and generic characters, and anemic action scenes that lack any sense of tension or excitement instilling a superhero style to the whole film that really does not suit this series at all.  It comes across like really wishful, bad fan fiction that somehow got traction to be made for around $180 million dollars and makes one wonder, if anyone even bother reading a script.  This is one entry you should blank out of your mind and ignore the insipid yet inevitable 2 sequels that could be coming around the corner…soon.       

 

Jurassic World Review

It has been over 22 years since the release of the most iconic, endearingly entertaining survival films from Steven Spielberg was released based on Michael Crichton’s latest science disaster book called Jurassic Park.  It took the world by storm in the cinemas and made Dinosaurs into a pop culture icon forever since its release as well as being just simply cool.  After 2 sequels with Lost World: Jurassic Park being a fun yet halfhearted return to that world and Jurassic Park III being a straightforward monster film with very little redeeming qualities to it, we discontinue the idea that these films exist and jump forward into the future to fully realize Hammond’s dreams of a Dinosaur theme park in Colin Trevorrow’s survival adventure film sequel to the original film going from the name Jurassic Park to Jurassic World.  This highly anticipated sequel seems to have the exciting survival action of the original films on a larger scale as well as some really talented, proven actors helming the cast with Chris Pratt, Vincent D’Onfario, and Bryce Dallas Howard in the lead/supporting roles.  The real question is can the film recapture that sense of wonder and moral conundrum within its story to make it just as compelling as the original film with a cast of likable, down to earth characters or will it be an outlandish, cartoony take in the veins of its lesser, average sequels that have been retcon out of existence? Let’s find out by entering Jurassic World and examining what this park has to offer this time around.

The story picks up about 22 years exact after the Isla Nublar incident with the park now in full swing with Hammond’s dream fully realized as thousands of people come in to enjoy the park itself. This is where it becomes kind of messy with about 3 plot lines veining for time to be told starting with the kids Zach (Nick Robinson) and Gray (Ty Simpkins) Mitchell are sent off by their parents to spend time with their aunt Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) who works on the island as an operations manager for CEO Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan) owner of the new park.  The kids spend the weekend there while their parents handle a divorce while Claire is looking over a new genetically enhanced dinosaur hybrid created by geneticist Dr. Henry Wu (B.D. Wong) from the original film.  On the other side, you have Star Lord…I mean Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), Velociraptor trainer/expert being intimidated by the head of inGen Security Ops Vic Hoskins (Vincent D'Onfario) to utilized the animals as weapons that can’t be hacked or weighed down by technology (?).  That is a lot of story elements being introduced and fighting for time to be developed in its 2 hour run-time.

As you can guess, the new dinosaur named Indominus Rex breaks out of its pen and all hell breaks loose as characters fight, struggle, manipulate, and survive from a monster driven to destroy and eat everything in sight on top of other dinosaurs literally causing havoc.  A paradise gone wrong is a familiar theme to this series and if there is any complement given to the story, it would be that this film gets closer to the thriller/scientific mystery of the novel but ditching everything else including the wit, horror, and intelligent storytelling/pacing of the book and original film.  Not to mention, it completely ignores the last two films, not factoring into this film as it serves as a sequel to the original film only.  It seems to be on the right track at the start of it with the emphasis on character development, world building, and encapsulating the feels from the first film.  However, that is only for the first half of the film as the themes of genetic control and animal preservation in the face of government suits is quickly tossed aside for what this film really wants to be.

         

This is where the story becomes secondary in lieu of visually driven, tense action set pieces that toss out logic, reason, and ingenuity of character interaction and behavior that is all over the place in throughout this film.  Also, the second half of the film devolves into a straightforward monster survival film in the spirit of Jurassic Park III that ditches any of the interesting moralistic dilemmas that were concurrent in the first film and heavy handed in the second film, making it a simple, traditional action adventure film.  The original story from Michael Critchen was able to balance all of that and create a tense, thoughtful adventure about the dangers of genetic engineering without dumbing it down which is exactly what every one of these films including the first film have done making this entry kind of senseless in its purpose for existing after the first film.  The point that had to be made was that it is another amalgamation of themes, ideas, and action set pieces from the book thrown into this story with no clear sense of reason behind its inclusion for this story (genetically engineered dinosaur, militaristic purposes for the dinosaur, etc.).

Now that doesn’t mean the film is not entertaining at all since it does adhere closer to the intention and spirit of the book especially in the park being open to the public while all of the Dino-mayhem takes place killing people left and right.  It is mindlessly entertaining in the creative energy and inventive use of the creatures during the larger than life brawls which serve as the highlight of the film.  Despite the overuse of the CGI throughout the film, it is effective in giving these Dinosaurs some awe-inspiring, brutal kills especially in picking off the human characters.  As for the characters, they are about as stereotypical as you expect them to be from Grady being the badass animal hunter/trainer to the prissy, stern Dearing and Hoskins’ obsessive need for military prowess through Velociraptors trained for warfare.  The characters were very much a mixed bag of useless, annoying, unlikeable people that makes it hard for the viewers to sympathize with the humans fight to survive from the Dinosaurs when the Dinosaurs are treated like crap throughout the film and are given plenty of heart pulling manipulations to really care for their plight.  If there was a point to the kids being a major focus of the plot other than to satisfying the status quote of the original film, it was lost to me but the film relies heavily on the nostalgia factor with dozens of callback to the first film.  This is the unfortunate effects of a screenplay in the hands of 4 different points of view that muddle up a very large, encompassing story and shifts in tone happen to often as a result from exciting and tense to really uncomfortably funny and awkward in showing its humorous side.

The long emphasis on the plot, story, and character is explored for a reason as there is an enjoyable adventure film here but at the same time, it is contending with dozens of plot lines that are either underdeveloped or tossed aside for a sequel to explore (at this time, a new trilogy of Jurassic films are in development).  However, the film is quite exciting with its action and it does not disappoint in that regard from the Indominus Rex killing mercilessly the guards to the final showdown that I will leave to you to see as it is worth seeing in theaters but it does involve the Dinosaurs throwing down with each other.  You have to sit through character expositions, pointless development of said characters (the main Kid characters are the prime example of this misstep), and some really slow pacing in the middle act to get to the really cool stuff near the end after being hopeful at the careful handling of the first act. 

After dealing with that long diatribe on the plot and story components of Jurassic World, it is time to rundown the technical elements of the film from the effects to the camera work/editing as well as the art direction behind the dinosaurs and finally, the score from a well-known composer that I was quite surprised to see involved with this film.  There is an extensive use of CGI for most of the Dinosaurs featured throughout the film with very little use of practical/animatronics in only a handful of scenes.  They are very polish looking and function well enough for the action set pieces featured in the film but they lack a sense of grit and reality that the original films (the first and Lost World) were able to maintain thanks to the way it was shot, lit, and framed to take these effects into account.  It is still amazing to see how much detail and care they put into really getting these Dinosaurs to move smoothly but it does feeling mind-numbing after some time especially when the human characters are thinly written and quite unlikeable that you want those creatures to just munch on them with very little care given at all.  Anyway, the effects are refined and look great in general with the oddities and the uncanny valley seeping into the Dinosaur looks throughout the film especially with their close ups.

There seems to be a refreshing use of on-site locations and sets built to really give the place personality specifically with the park itself looking like a theme park.  The film moves at a brisk pace in the first and third act but it is the middle second act that slows it down considerably with its shift in tone and story genre really create a disjointed feeling of incoherency with the narrative plotlines.  The action set pieces are at least clear and steady throughout, allowing for the viewers to actually see the carnage taking place and it does not shy away from the fierce, hungry dinosaurs chomping at the people left and right.  It does look good with its use of HD cameras and 3D even though it only has a few screen popping effects (the ones featured in the trailer if you watched the 3D) but the locales look lovely to watch.  It seems on a technical level that the film is as polished as it gets for a modern audience with its sleek look to the park and settings as well as tense, thoughtful editing allow viewers to really absorb the entertaining action set pieces that transpires throughout this adventure. 

There is one more component of the film I really want to examine and that is the music score from none other than Michael Giachinno.  It was quite surprising to see him composing another film immediately after his latest work on Disney’s Tomorrowland.  Most of the traditional themes created by John Williams is present with some variations injected by the composer himself which works well for the most part but it can be jarring to hear the variants playing in certain parts specifically the vista shots of the park and awe-stricken scenes of the dinosaurs.  The action beats are reliable, intense, and compelling to hear, which the composer utilizes to great effect in the dinosaur attacks and the beatdown finale.  It does sound similar to his previous work particularly Mission: Impossible or Star Trek but it stills is great to hear and thankfully isn’t as generic as say some of Han Zimmer’s live action film scores.  The music works for the scenes overall and drives the action forward appropriately. 

It has been a long journey of viewpoints and reflections but to re-cap this review in general, Jurassic World is an enjoyable if mindless return to a series that has languished in limbo for close to a decade now after the fun yet pointless 3^rd film in the series.  As a reboot to the series that retcons the second and third adventures into oblivion, it is surprisingly fun to watch the action set pieces especially in how fun and inventive they get as well as how brutal it becomes with the kills that occur in this film.  Where the film does not hold up in regards to quality or memorability is in its story which happens to be convoluted with numerous plot points, characters with only the simplest, story stereotypes and clichés traits developed, and the interesting themes of genetic engineering developed for only short time before being dropped completely for more Dino massacres.  This feels like two films mashed together with the first one being a thoughtful, engaging sci-fi film that really does an admirable job attempting to follow up to the first film and the other one being a straightforward monster/survival adventure made to entertain without making viewers think about the absurdity of it all.  It creates a film that is unfortunately a mess but it can be enjoyed on sheer entertainment, star power, exciting Dino-action, and actually feeling like a proper follow-up to the original film.  This is one trip that you should take but manage your expectations and you might get some enjoyment out of this film. 

Score: *** out of *****

This monster/ survival adventure reboot to a series that is 2 decades old is reliably fun to watch and quite inventive with its use of the dinosaurs especially for the exciting action set pieces that really make it worth at least one view.  The charisma of Chris Pratt’s character Tom Grady as well as the cheesy, unintentionally funny dialogue really make the film tolerable to sit through despite the lack of characterization for the majority of the cast that makes them into cartoon characters rather than rational human beings to empathize or sympathize with to care especially when they are in danger or get chomped on my dinosaurs.  The story is the biggest crutch in the enjoyment of this film as it really showcases how confused and disjointed a film can be with 4 writers at the helm with their own styles clashing with each other.  Jurassic World is a proper sequel to the original film but a very messy start to a new trilogy of films that we can only hope will improve with its upcoming sequels instead of making an even bigger mess.

Tomorrowland Review

As we progress further into the summer film season, there will be a fair share of money makers, critical darlings, and the box-office/critical failures which this next film seems to fall under for almost everyone down in the middle of the consensus with Brad Bird’s next live action adventure film for Disney called Tomorrowland.  The buzz around the film was shrouded in mystery as to what it was about and what it had to offer with its plot, performances, and visual design/effects.  It should not come as a big surprise to notice how inspired and lushly beautiful the film is with its artistic direction towards the world of Tomorrowland as well as the technology on display here.  This is even supplemented by a powerhouse cast of famous and unknown actors who really display their prowess as actors to the finest order displaying such wonderful characterization through Bird’s graceful direction to the affectionate chemistry between the lead actors that makes us root for them to success for the right reason.  With a traditional coming of age tale of good vs. evil with ambitious, lofty ideas and themes to explore, how could it ultimately end up being very lackluster in its execution and development of those interesting and confident production qualities?   Let’s find out how this adventure holds up to other films within its genre in Tomorrowland.

The best place to start with what went right and wrong with Bird’s latest adventure film is with the general gist of the narrative and how it comes together overall from the screenplay to the eventual results of the production’s interpretation of the themes in the script.  It is a coming of age story of a young teenage girl named Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) who dreams of going beyond the boundaries of our planet despite the dismantling of the NASA program with her father handling the de-construction job.  After an incident involving her attempts to keep her dream alive, she comes across a pin that transports her to a city born in the future where dreams and ideas can become a reality in a city known as Tomorrowland.  Unfortunately, this grabs the attention of an unknown shadowy group hell bent on retrieving her and her young companion named Athena (Raffey Cassidy) who guides her to an old, washed out inventor named Frank Walker (George Clooney) that used to live and work within the city of tomorrow.  They venture off onto a road-trip adventure filled with danger, intrigue, and friendship to find Tomorrowland and the secrets it holds that could very well change the world for better or worse.

That is the overall plot in a nutshell but it explores some pretty heavy themes of creativity through science, societies impassionate attitude towards ideas, and having to deal with the cynicism of a future that could be hopeful and full of wonders opposed to one filled with doubt, contempt, and no desire for change to be made within our nature.  There are expressions of noble intent towards these lofty themes especially as it smacks with Damon Lidenlof’s trademark ability to write a proper structure to building a mystery around the story but it comes with his famous flaw in many of the projects in which he is a featured writer opposite another (in this case, Brad Bird).  The payoff of this journey is considerable weak and formulaic in that it is disconnected from the first 2/3rd’s of the film by throwing in a villain whose motivation for this conflict are underdeveloped with very little purpose behind his quarrel with humanity and its ignorant nature for change.  That is not counting the numerous times the film tends to be overly preachy about its themes particularly in the beginning and final act where it has to constantly remind you of what is at stake with their journey when it is never properly developed to feel the importance of this road trip to Tomorrowland.  The overall plot is intriguing but never comes together because it juggles with too many ideas and never commits to one for the characters to fight or change throughout this journey.

However, the writing for the character interactions and development is where the story truly excels despite only half of this film devoted to this important component to writing for film.  The lead character we follow for the majority of the film Casey and she is the enthusiastic, determined hero thrust into this adventure by chance.  Her character arc is very relatable and thankfully likable thanks to the incredible performance from the actress and careful handling of her development from start to finish.  The conflicts, humor, and dramatic exchanges with her and the other characters are handled with such grace and finesse that it would not be surprising if Lindenlof handled the plot in the screenplay and Bird wrote all of the development and traits of these extremely nuanced characters.  Each character is memorable and unique to this story mainly from the truly well-defined characterization that is present in the script and direction of the actors making it the main strong point of the story despite the plot lacking some semblance of purpose and payoff to this adventure.

Thankfully, the acting talents for this film are quite strong throughout the film with a mixture of unknown and renowned actors present in this film.  We have to start with the lead Britt Robertson who truly approaches this role with such vigorous energy and capabilities to carry this film as the lead character to relate and root for throughout the adventure.  Another standout from the cast is Raffey Cassidy as the girl with a mysterious secret and persona Athena whose humorous, monotone characteristics really lead to some truly memorable character moment with her both comedic and dramatic.  As for the majority of the cast filled with recognizable stars (Hugh Laurie, etc.), they all handle their parts exceptionally well especially George Clooney as Frank Walker who actually becomes a character for once and really embodies the hardships and cynicism of the character like a pro.  The cast is fantastic overall but the script and story themes/ideas do not provide much for them to create a very humanizing face to the world the story is set in.

If there is one area where this film truly excels in besides the performances from a very well rounded cast, it is the technical areas of this film ranging from art direction to visual effects and finally another captivating score from Michael Giacchino.  The look of the city is extraordinary and the world that is fully developed in this story is very eye opening and magnificent to see in motion.  They really made Tomorrowland out to be a visually intriguing, bustling city that really feels unique in its own right in the brief scenes we get to see it in all of its glory.  The same could be said for all of the gadgets and tech used throughout the film as there is a very steam-punk/nuclear approach to the Sci-Fi elements of this film making for some really impressive, memorable set pieces to take place. It is truly a visual wonder in both its design and look to the world and technology used by the characters.

I can’t forget to mention yet another exciting, stirring score from composer Michael Giacchino who has musically composed for films like Star Trek / Into Darkness, Up, Mission: Impossible 3/Ghost Protocol, and Medal of Honor provides his usual, captivating style to this film.  It helps to drive the action forward and really capture that sense of wonder and mystery to Tomorrowland that might not have come across in lesser capable hands.  This is another fine piece of work from him that really elevates the enjoyment of the film overall and help to diminish the weakness the film which suffers from its pacing and story arcs in the screenplay.

When it comes down to it, Tomorrowland is a visual wonder in action and spectacle with an interesting, mysterious world serving as the goal for this adventure.  However, it stumbles often with the story elements from plot to character motivations despite having some truly memorable, developed characters, which are the norm when it comes to films with Brad Bird at the helm.  The action set pieces are inventive and use of the tech in this world is effectively utilized to score some genuine exciting moments as well as the stylized effects from visuals to practical and finally the uniformed designs of the city/costumes are really pleasing to the eyes.  It is the overly preachy attitudes and themes of nostalgia for optimism towards a better future and its very dark, depressing turn in the third act that really does not gel with the intentions of this film being a fun, engaging adventure.  As much as it wants to take us to another place with a brand new, unique story on a theme park ride, this is one ride that you will enjoy for what it is and completely forget about as soon as you leave the area.

Score *** out *****

Tomorrowland will be another example of what can go right and wrong with a big budget action adventure film with stunning, inspiring visual effects and design dazzling the viewers on top of the inventive, entertaining action set pieces that really maintain the energetic first two acts of the film.  This is supplemented by the strong and terrific performances from all the actors including Britt Robinson who carries the film gracefully along with George Clooney providing a cool, capable performance as the mentor in this film.  However, the preachy nature of the themes involving optimism towards ideas and a bold future as well as the dark, heavy handed turn in the 3rd act really brings down the enjoyment of the film and it results in a payoff that is very anticlimactic with that can be downtrodden and pessimistic at times.  This is a relatively fun enjoyable family adventure film that is both marvelously on a performance and technical level but it is a bit forgettable as a result from its very straightforward, heavy handed story-line and conflicting tones in the themes it explores.

Mad Max: Fury Road Review

With the summer film season of 2015 in full swing and The Avengers craze starting to wind down, it is time for many film-goers to look forward to what lies over the horizon.  The next film to come careening over the hills in high speed and a hard kick in the face is George Miller’s highly anticipated and directorial return to films as well as the series that inspired the action genre for decades now called Mad Max: Fury Road.  It has been about 30 years since the last adventure with the lone wanderer and here comes another adventure set within that post-apocalyptic universe with Tom Hardy in the lead role this time along with a strong, well developed supporting cast to provide the conflict and drama for this film.  It is a stirring, inspiring return to the series with imaginative designs to action, sets, and costumes as well as straightforward, intense pacing to the editing that makes this one of the most exhilarating fun chase films you will see all year.  Does it measure up to the hype surrounding the film or does it have a few dirt spots that hold it back from being a bonafide classic? Well, let’s see how the Road Warrior has been managing since his absences all those decades ago.

The story for this film is about as simple yet layered in details through the visuals immersing us into the culture and mindset of the world these characters live in.  It seems to take place in between the series but doesn’t commit to any sort of continuity and instead, presents a new adventure that happens to feature Max (Tom Hardy) in it.  He is run down and captured by members of the gang called War Boys where an enthusiastic and determined member of the gang named Nux (Nicholas Hoult) uses him as a blood bag as they are lead by the tyrant cult leader known as Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne who returns as another villain in this series previously as Toe-Cutter in the 1979 original revenge classic).  This leads to Furiosa (Charlize Theron) driving an armored truck filled with cargo for a routine route to retrieve gas, allowing her to betray the group for her real mission, to get a cargo of concubines away from the gang and to a safe haven with Max dragged along and ending up being a part of the struggle to fight and survive in a relentless chase to search for a new home.

It seems paper thin on the surface but there are some very deep, profound emotional themes and arcs explored here particularly in searching for a place to call home and of the necessity for idealized birth to insure the future longevity of their tribe.  These themes are expressed through the character arcs within Furiosa and Nux who experience the emotional conflicts and challenges of these themes head on in different ways that fit within their written roles in the story.  As for Max, he seems to be in the same role as the last 2 films where he moves the adventure along and carries along the group in unexpected ways that are reminisce of the heroic qualities he once displayed in his youth.   The flashback do feel out of place at times and seem to be loaded with character changes and actions that Max may have done in the last 3 films but it never really brings about anything interesting in the main plot and serves to be nothing more than a footnote to re-acquaint us with the character.  Despite the odd approach to re-introducing and developing Max himself for both old and newcomers into the series, this is an action film on the surface but it is a grand, epic adventure story that has the characters go through hell and back searching for a home with Max helping out along the way.

Even with all of these elements in motion and on point, it won’t matter if the performances aren’t up to snuff but in this case, there are some truly fantastic, memorable performances in the entire cast despite at least one unremarkable effort from a lead character.  The heart and soul of this story resides in two of the characters with Furiosa played by Charlize Theron with such a commanding gusto and confidence as well as her capability to handle the emotional arc of this character extremely well.  This is supplemented even more by Nicholas Hoult’s performance as Nux by providing a fanatical yet sympathetic and tragic quality to his character as well as going through the most drastic changes that makes him quite memorable in the role.  The villains throughout are truly magnificently vicious and creatively designed but the main baddie Joe played by Hugh Keays-Byrne is absolutely captivating in playing a crazed, tyrannical leader in search of his concubine and further adds a great sense of threat to the film.  The only performance that didn’t resonate with me as a viewer is Tom Hardy as Max who portrays the physical and survival prowess of the character with ease but lacks any form of personable charm that Mel Gibson exuded in the role many years ago.  That could be down to the script not giving him much to work with or his character being an afterthought but that point that is being made here is that he does admirable job with the character but is not given much room or time to make the character into his own that Gibson had for about 3 films.  Otherwise, the cast is relatively strong throughout with the well thought, empathetic arcs and motives for the characters with actors giving it their all other than Hardy’s commendable if underwhelming take on the iconic Road Warrior.

It is time to move away from the story and performance components of the film and into the meat of it, the technical aspects from action set pieces to the cinematography/art direction/editing/and music overall.  For the action sequences in this film, the best way to describe all of it in a nutshell is completely inventive and exhilarating insanity of fun to watch the spectacle unfold in front of your eyes.  It uses both practical and the right amount of CGI to create moments of wonder and excitement within the action set pieces that excite and draw us into the craziness of the world, thanks to the sharp editing and meticulously captured shots that really gives the action weight and believability unlike CGI fully induced action from other films.  This makes for some of the most exciting, creative action driven film to have been released this year alone involve total vehicular carnage and destruction to the max.  There is the matter of how it is staged and plotted throughout the entire film and it really is amazing to see an old fashioned director with no doubt a very skilled and synergized teams making all of this mayhem effortless 30 years after the fact.  It is a testament to the old and new ways of action films by finding that happy medium and satisfying everyone who sees this film by choice or chance.

This is also one of the most gorgeous films to watch in the vibrant use of the desert locales as well as CGI and digital matte painting to establish each of the homes of these tribes and different sections of the locale everyone ends up in.  The framing of the cameras is really thought out by giving enough space with the wide angle shots showcasing the world and far out designs of the raiders and their cars as well as a freaking guitar driven war chariot that is the most ridiculous yet awesome thing for anyone born of the 80’s to witness as the film progresses.  There are some really brilliantly crafted settings in what could have been a one note location with the cool use of color filters and lighting to truly flesh out the world surrounding these characters.  Each costume design is completely bonkers at times and all the more amazing for it as the villain Joe has this great, threatening warlord look to his costume along with the mask covering his face as well as a slew of other designs that are delightfully weird and grotesque in a very fun, entertaining sort of way.  Furiosa is also quite another design achievement in of itself with the blend with the rugged, war torn look for her overall costume with a very simple yet beautifully blended VFX (visual effect) of her missing arm to a robotic prosthetic arm that is just a great steam punkish look for her. Everyone else is designed appropriately to their characters as well as the concubines other than a few of them being meh in the roles while Max looks properly badass and threatening in his trademark, worn out leather getup about halfway to near the end of the film.  The artistic direction of this film is completely amazing and the attention that was giving to it really makes this world come to life.

It is also worth mentioning the use of editing in this film as well as the overall score of this film as there are few points to make about these technical elements.  It is very tight in the way the action set pieces are paced and escalate to absolute lunacy without feeling dragged out or even disjointing to see over an extended period of time since it makes up the majority of the runtime.  There is a stylized, evenly paced rhythm to the way the action scenes play out and the quiet, visual scenes tell the story of this world without having to exposit too much dialogue.  That is also another amazing achievement on display here where the emphasis on characters emotions, movement, and actions really informs us of who they are and how they live in this world allowing for the attentive film goer to really understand these characters emotionally rather than them stating this through on the nose dialogue thanks to the sharp editing on display for this film.  As for the score, it was functional and complements the action and visual story well enough but lacks the grand, bombastic orchestra of the original films particularly the second adventure The Road Warrior.  This is editing to a high standard and one to match for future action films to top in the years to come especially action films with vehicle chase done expertly and real enough to be jaw-dropping to watch.

That seems to be as much praise as you can give to a film that really displays the mesmerizing power of simplicity with its narrative story and structure.  It is about as remarkable as the second adventure in this series but also completely inventive and different enough to be another standout entry in Max’s adventure.  They properly avoid the downtime and slow pacing of the previous film Beyond Thunderdome and made the film fast, exciting, and fun to enjoy for any fan of the genre and series.  This is one relentless chase to achieve the goal with a path paved in the dangers and trails of hell over it and it serves as a memorable, astounding return for the lone wanderer known only as Max, The Road Warrior.

Score: ****1/2 out of *****  
This is an intensely exciting, insane adventure that delivers on the incredible, expertly crafted action set pieces and powerful, visual storytelling exuded by the sharp cinematography, editing, and the powerhouse of the cast that really make their characters remarkable.  Max is really the weak point but not because of the actor but the material given was not meaty enough for Tom Hardy to craft his own take on the character that Mel Gibson was given even in his first outing as the iconic anti-hero.  Thankfully, the supporting cast from Theron to Hoult are truly superb in their roles, providing memorable humane performances as well as the awesome villain hounding them throughout the film from Keays-Byrne returning in another captivating villainous turn after being Toecutter in the original film.  Mad Max: Fury Road is a stunning return for the character of Max and only time will tell if we will get another amazing entry from this adventure with maybe another film for Hardy to finally provide his own take on the Road Warrior himself.