Coming Attractions of 2017

Coming Attractions of 2017

As we near the end of 2016, per tradition, I usually check out the exquisite internet web site of IMDb.com to peruse the upcoming films that are slated for the forthcoming year.  So, going down the list, I’d noticed that we’ve got some exciting titles that have many people chomping at the bit, others that I personally want to see, and further films that will leave you impartial in your feelings.

To clarify, some of these movies on the list are surprising to me and leave me doubtful that they’re actually going to be released on the date listed, just for the fact that we haven’t seen a trailer or any news regarding its production or release.  But I’ll make sure to indicate those films when I get to them.

So without further ado, let’s get right into this long list.

1. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (Release date: 01/27/2017)

Now, this franchise has seemed to be an unrelenting series of films and I don’t know if I can take the title of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter seriously.  Is it going to be just like the earlier Friday the 13^th franchise or the more recent Saw series, where they announce a finality only to continue at a later date?  Time will tell, but I’ll tell you right here and now that I’ll probably skip this one and wait for it to show up on DVD.  I really haven’t been impressed with any of the sequels that followed the excellent first film and I think this will just fall in line with what we’ve seen already.

2. Rings (Release date: 02/03/2017)

I still can’t get the bad taste out of my mouth that had been the sequel to the original The Ring movie.  That film should’ve been the death of the franchise, yet here we are a few months away from Rings.  A reboot…? Sequel…?  Prequel…?  The trailer didn’t thrill me, the idea isn’t exciting, and I really have no desire to see this when it arrives in theaters come February of 2017.  But we’ll see…maybe it’ll reap some rave reviews and I’ll give it a looksee.

3. John Wick: Chapter 2 (Release date: 02/10/2017)

Okay, so here we are with the first film on this list that I’m excited to see—John Wick: Chapter 2.  John Wick was a pretty impressive movie that through me for a loop, due to the title and the star of the film not rousing any interest from me.  After seeing it on home media, I’d really wished I had witnessed this in a movie theater with loud sounds and a huge screen to catch all the action.  I’m looking forward to seeing Keanu Reeves kick some ass in this next chapter.

4. Logan (03/03/2017)

Well, this is going to be a record set where I don’t think any other actor will break any time soon.  Hugh Jackman will play the character of Wolverine for a ninth and final time (so he says—but I’m thinking he’d love to go toe-to-toe with Deadpool if asked to do so).  A lot of comic book geeks (such as myself) were waiting for a Wolverine film such as this one—an R-rated no-holds-barred depiction of the comic book character based on a successful comic book run.  If done right, this could be Jackman’s swan song of the Wolverine character, having him go out perfectly and retiring him for good.  The trailer shown and the production photos posted by the director (James Mangold) are great works of art…let’s hope the film will be as awesome as it’s boasted to become.

5. Kong: Skull Island (03/10/2017)

Continuing the rebooting trend we’ve been witnessing for years, Kong: Skull Island is just around the corner and is another film I’m patiently waiting for its release.  A couple of years back it was announced that we are going to see the pitting of two monumental monsters on screen—Godzilla and King Kong.  After the success of 2014’s Godzilla, proclamation of a versus-type film came to be and it was exciting at first.  But then many fans began asking the question whether this would be a fair fight.  Godzilla, in the 2014 American film, is approximately 350 feet tall; the last depiction of King Kong had him at around 50 feet tall.  Knowing that was going to be problematic for the upcoming versus film, this film was made to show him as a taller—yet still smaller than Godzilla—incarnation of the King Kong legend.  The trailer, to me, seems like a modern telling of the story, much like the 1976 film, but I think we’re going to get something pretty terrific here.  I’m stoked for this one.

6. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (05/05/2017)

The surprise hit of all the Marvel Studios movies was one that I hadn’t thought much about until I finally saw it in 2014.  I wasn’t familiar with the source material and had thought it was a weird choice to continue on with the universe that had been going on with the run of superhero movies that led to The Avengers.  Someone knew what they were doing—maybe Joss Whedon displaying some of his pull with the studio execs—but that movie was a major hit and I’d agreed wholeheartedly.  I’m looking forward to seeing what other adventures these misfits find themselves in and how it might fit into the whole string of films we’ve seen so far.  Nevertheless, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is looking to be a big hit for the blockbuster season of 2017.

7. Alien: Covenant (05/19/2017)

Though I wasn’t too thrilled with 2012’s Prometheus, I’ll give the sequel, Alien: Covenant, a chance.  Whereas Prometheus seemed to be a standalone movie by Ridley Scott (up until the end anyway), the sequel looks to welcome the tie into the Alien world.  I’m very curious to see what had happened after the events of the last movie and where it goes from here.

8. Wonder Woman (06/02/2017)

Let’s be honest, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was sort of a disappointment, right?  All the hype that we’d heard and seen from Zack Snyder—the leaked photos especially—made all the fanboys drool in anticipation only for it to be sort of a downer (with or without the extended edition cut of the film).  But there were some winning aspects of the film—two to be exact—and that was Ben Affleck’s portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman and the inclusion of Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman.  She seemed to have a lot of fun with the character and it was nice to see the character finally making it to the big screen, but it’ll be even better to see her in the standalone film, Wonder Woman.  I’m just wondering if anyone will refer to her by that moniker.

9. The Mummy (06/09/2017)

As I write this, the world has already been treated to a teaser trailer of The Mummy just a couple of weeks ago.  I can’t help but think of how the last franchise went, sadly ending with the terrible The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, so seeing another film being made doesn’t really float my boat.  Even with the presence of Tom Cruise in this film, I don’t think it helps much.  The trailer actually feels more like a Mission: Impossible film than a classic horror remake, with Cruise inexplicitly surviving a plane crash waking up in a morgue…weird.  But Cruise usually can’t do wrong in the parts that he chooses to play, so I’ll probably take a chance on this.

10. World War Z 2 (06/09/2017)

Now we haven’t heard much about this film and, at this point, I’m not sure if this is a solid date for World War Z 2.  No doubt, they’re going to make this film as the first one was quite successful and left open for a sequel (as most zombie films are apt to do), but I’m just a little leery as to the date posted in IMDb.com.  With only Brad Pitt listed in the cast and seeing that there hasn’t been a teaser trailer or production news posted about this film, I’m thinking we’re going to be waiting a little longer for this sequel.

11. Spider-Man: Homecoming (07/07/2017)

Without hesitation, I can say that this is the film I’m most pumped about!  Being a lifelong fan of all things Spidey, I’ll always slap down my money to see a live-action movie based on my favorite comic book hero.  Although I’d hated the two Andrew Garfield turns as the wall crawler, Sony made things right by making a deal with Marvel Studios to share the character in upcoming films.  Now, the trailer for Spider-Man: Homecoming was pretty cool, giving us some awesome moments and heroic imagery, but it doesn’t give too much detail on what the plot is going to be about—but that’s okay, I want to have some surprises given to me when I go see this.  Already teasing that they’re going to be doing some special tweaks to the character (the webbing that attaches from his arms to his sides), I’m just hoping we’ll get an entertaining film this summer.

12. War for the Planet of the Apes (07/14/2017)

I’ve always been somewhat of a fan of the whole Planet of the Apes franchise.  I love the first film—even as it’s reaching 50 years old—as well as its sequels, and even enjoyed the critically panned Tim Burton film.  I had my doubts when they’d announced (sometime in ’08 or ’09) that they were going to start up the franchise again but would only be using CGI apes rendered with motion capture technology.  However, the final product in 2011 that was given to us was superb, the sequel released in 2014 was exciting, and now I’m looking forward to the continuation of the series with War for the Planet of the Apes!  The trailer, just released not long ago, shows us just enough to get excited and the ape rendering is even more detailed than before.  This film is definitely on the top of my list of films I am going to see in 2017.

13. The Dark Tower (07/28/2017)

Since high school, I have been an avid reader of Stephen King books, buying every paperback and hardcover I can get my hands on.  Even before that, I’d been aware of—and had seen—many films based on King’s works.  Myself, I have a large collection of films adapted from his books on DVD and Blu-Ray and will always watch anything new in theaters, television, or straight-to-home-media.  One journey I had taken a few years ago was reading “The Dark Tower” series of books which had five books published when I started and had two more published while I was into it.  There has been an eighth book published since then and I’ve yet to crack open that one…but I will.  I’ve always thought the story would be tough to get on screen as a movie since it’s such a long story, but it looks like it’s going to finally happen next summer with The Dark Tower.  With the interesting casting choice of Idris Elba to play “The Gunslinger” and Matthew McConaughey as “The Man in Black,” I’ll be right there ready to take that journey all over again.

14. Annabelle 2 (08/11/2017)

All these haunted horror movies that seem to blend all into each other (this film with the Insidious and The Conjuring franchises) don’t really thrill me.  Don’t get me wrong, there are some entertainment value to them and a few scares here and there, but for the most part…eh.  I’d just finished The Conjuring 2 a few weeks ago and it left me blank, not really moving me or scaring me.  Usually a movie based on true events might freak me out a bit, but from what I’d read about the real story, sounds like it was a proven hoax.  Hollywood, however, will film it anyway, adding crazy special effects and insane situations that’ll earn the film some high ratings and garner quite a bankroll.  So it’s no surprise that we’re getting the sequel, Annabelle 2, next August.  Though I probably won’t see this in theaters, I’m sure this film will bring in the teens to see it to try and get a good fright.

15. It (09/08/2017)

The other Stephen King adaptation is actually a remake of sorts.  With the original film being a 1990 TV movie that cut back on gore and violence, only leaving it implied as the film cut away from it, was still a creepy showing that earned Tim Curry horror movie fame as Pennywise the Clown.  The new reboot, It, is looking good however, already posting the first image of the new Pennywise as a gangly creepy clown.  Though we’ve yet to see a trailer as I write this, the movie’s already looking to be scary…man, I hope so.

16. Friday the 13^th (10/13/2017)

I can easily say that the Friday the 13^th franchise is my favorite horror movie series of films.  At the commencement of every summer season, I watch every single film in the series as a way to celebrate the warming weather.  Seeing as that the films take place around a summer camp or vacation spot, I find they’re the perfect films to watch on a warm night.  So here they are again, looking to reboot the franchise once more.  I’m hoping they get it right…even if they don’t, I’ll be right there trying to enjoy it.

17. Insidious: Chapter 4 (10/20/2017)

I won’t say much about the release of Insidious: Chapter 4 except to say that my views of Annabelle 2 are just about the same as this one.  The first, second and third one didn’t do anything for me so I don’t see myself heading out to the theater for this one.  Eventually I’ll see it…but in the comfort of my own home.

18. Saw: Legacy (10/27/2017)

Well, this is not surprising at all…the only thing surprising about Saw: Legacy is that it took this long to get right back into another movie.  If horror movie history has taught us anything is that any movie that has “the final chapter” in the title will definitely continue in sequels sooner or later.  It’s hard to believe that nearly seven years have passed since we’ve seen a Saw film.  Not much has been said about this upcoming flick—no plot synopsis, no confirmed cast list, no poster art…nothing.  But guess what?  I’ll venture out for this one…I’m sure there’s more story to tell.

19. Thor: Ragnarok (11/03/2017)

Thor: Ragnarok is a movie I’m exciting about.  But…I’ll admit I wasn’t thrilled with the two Thor films we’d gotten before this one.  I’m not a fan of the mythical aspect of the character and his world, nor had I been a collector of the comic books that the franchise is based upon.  The one aspect of this upcoming movie is the fact that it’s going to be a team-up of Thor and Hulk.  To add to that, there may be some elements of “Planet Hulk” within this film, so that’s an exciting possibility if you’re a comic book geek like me.  Yes, this is a big one, folks, so make sure you’re all caught up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe before going out to see this one.

20. Justice League (11/17/2017)

Finally, we have Justice League slated to be released in mid-November.  Though an official trailer hasn’t been released, from what I see—only a small sizzle reel that was put together for the San Diego Comic Con—I’m not impressed with it.  Ben Affleck’s interaction with Jason Mamoa seems dumb, even the little jokey scenes with Gal Gadot seems forced, the only saving grace is the part we see when Affleck’s character of Bruce Wayne meets Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) for the first time.  All of it, however, seems silly and I’ll have to reserve my judgment to when I finally see the finished product on screen.  But I’m not impressed.

Well, that’s the twenty upcoming films of 2017 I’ve decided to comment and give my views on, based on their trailers and/or hype.  I'm sure there are some I'd missed, namely the newest trailer for Bladerunner 2049 which looks pretty awesome.  I’ll be sure to return here to give my views when I finally see the official releases in theaters or on home media.

Thanks for reading!

Cinema Bits is on Facebook and Twitter.

Afflicted

A while back, in 2014, when I stumbled on this title within the Netflix site, I’d noticed that it had earned an average of more than three stars and a bunch of positive reviews.  Seeing that I now go by the rule-of-thumb as to only place titles on my queue that have been rated three stars or higher, this one was placed on my waiting list right away, especially having the added bonus of it acquiring so many positive reviews.  Even as I’d taken a glance on IMDb.com, I took note of its average rating of 6.3 out of 10.

Still, as I took a look at the cast and saw no one I’d recognized, I was a bit indifferent on whether or not I should take a chance with it.  So many times I’ve decided to gamble on a positive-rated DVD only to receive it and not like it at all.  To add to this, it seemed a bit odd that the two main cast members of the movie were also pulling double-duty as the directors.  After all that, however, I had it shipped to me and decided to take a look at…Afflicted.

Two best friends, Clif (Clif Prowse) and Derek (Derek Lee), see their trip of a lifetime take a dark turn when Derek is suddenly struck by a mysterious affliction.  Now, in a foreign land, they race to uncover the source before it consumes him completely.

I’ve got to admit, the film, at the outset, had me feeling a bit fidgety and a bit anxious for something to happen.  It’s not that the film was boring or lackluster, but it just seemed that I’d been duped in seeing something else entirely.  See, the film chronicles Derek—as he’s been diagnosed with a rare type of aneurysm that could kill him at any time—and his best friend Clif, documenting their friendship and how they decide to travel around the world.  As I’m watching this, I’d just started thinking that I was watching something in line with a reality show.  If that’s what it was and I’d been told that ahead of time, I wouldn’t have minded and probably would’ve enjoyed the biopic thoroughly. However, I’d been under the impression—with the description of the story and the cover art—that I was about to embark on a horror movie, so that’s what I’d wanted to be presented to me from the get-go.

One positive note about the beginning of this film, it helps give the audience a sense of realism when the bizarre part of the story finally takes place.  Witnessing the clips of real home movies Lee and Prowse intersperse as they’re going on with their narrative makes you believe this is really happening before your very own eyes.  If this went the route of a big Hollywood movie, we’d get some flashback scenes with two very different actors, making the story less of what it is, and having the whole movie braking to an abrupt halt.  With Lee and Prowse letting the audience in on their very personal life through showing their history together over the years, suspending disbelief is never in the forefront until we see some really far-out shit.

Not long into the film is when the excitement begins and that’s when Derek meets a girl at a club, hooking up with her for the night as Clif and a few other friends who’d met up with the guys are happy for him.  It’s when they check up on him the next morning, thinking he had a wild night with the girl, that they see him bleeding from a few places on his body and looking a bit worse for wear.  Being worrisome at first, it’s finally forgotten as Derek and Clif chalk it up to the girl being some weirdo as they continue their trek to Italy, making the best of their remaining journey.  But it’s there that things start to go strange.

The found footage types of films have run its course in most genres, but there are a few that still get away with it.  With Afflicted, it’s completely normal as most of the footage is something you’d find on someone’s GoPro—minus, of course, the gory scenes of violence or the metamorphosis of a person turning into some sort of creature.  Yes, it definitely works here and helps the film attain the realism it needs to make the film believable when it gets nuts.  From the scenes where Derek is breaking rocks and jumping off buildings for a perfect landing to seeing him try to kill himself with a shotgun blast in his mouth and through his head, there are some scenes that are quite disturbing as it’s presented as this found footage.

Besides choosing to have Netflix send this disc to me, another decision that I had selected was to not look too much further into the plot of the film.  I’d known the main premise that I’d described to you above in the synopsis, but I wasn’t sure if the main character was just going to die or turn into a zombie or be afflicted with some weird disease.  Maybe you all are a bit sharper than I am and can tell just by reading the small summary that Derek was going to turn into a vampire.  Sorry if you feel that I’ve spoiled it for you with that sentence, but not to worry because there’s much more to the film than just that.  The surprises come little by little until they become crazy discoveries, all documented to make you feel like you’re right there and discovering them with Derek.

One choice about this movie that was a nice supplement was to have this production filmed in these European countries—Italy, Spain and France.  One scene that stood out from the rest was the restaurant at which the two main leads decide to stop and dine.  It’s a beautiful restaurant near the water and it’s breathtaking to see, but I need to watch it again to see if they actually drop its name.  Besides being such a stunning sight within the film, the scene featured here is very pivotal and definitely sets the story into a higher gear.

I was mildly surprised with the acting from these two main stars—as well as the supporting cast members that show up here and there—I’d really felt the crisis Derek was going through earlier on in the film about the aneurysm and even after getting the disease from the girl at the club.  The exchanges between his family members really brought it home and I’d felt sorry for the guy and what he was going through. 

Of course, this is a horror movie first and foremost, so you’re probably wondering if this flick gives the scares—and it does…during quite a few intense scenes.  Being that Derek is turning into a vampire, you all have to understand that we’re not dealing with the Twilight vampires here, that this is the common creature that burns when in sunlight and needs to feed on blood.  Craving blood is what really turns things up for Derek as the longer he goes without it, the more he metamorphoses into the monster that he’s becoming.  It’s during these times that we’re treated to some really intense scenes where we don’t know how far he’ll go to get blood.  Putting yourself in Clif’s shoes during these moments is pretty terrifying.

I won’t go any further because there are quite a few surprises that make this a fun film to watch and, of course, you’re going to want to find out how it ends.  I don’t know if these guys are planning a sequel, because there’s definitely room for them to explore that possibility, but the movie was pretty solid when looking back at it and I certainly made it a point to add the Blu-Ray to my collection.

My final “bit” on Afflicted?

As I’d mentioned, a slow start, but needed to establish the deep-rooted friendship between Derek and Clif as they begin this trip.  The moment it’s discovered that Derek becomes infected is when the crux of the movie is established and we all get to have a wild ride until the ending.  The story goes certain places where your normal vampire flick doesn’t go and it’s fun to see how these two playfully experiment the affliction at first until they realize how deadly it becomes.  Overall, it’s a fun trip that you’ll be taking with them and you’ll be glued to the screen to see how all this will end.  A very high recommendation!

Thanks for reading!

Cinema Bits is on Facebook and Twitter.

The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014)

Quite a few of you may or may not know that back in the 70s—1976 to be exact—a horror movie with the same title was released and became a cult classic not too long afterwards.  To be frank, I’ve never seen that film nor do I think I ever will.  So to hear that a remake was in the works back in 2013, I thought that was perfect and looked forward to seeing it.

Now, if you’ve all heard of this film, The Town That Dreaded Sundown, you probably know that it was based on a real life masked serial killer who’d terrorized the town of Texarkana (which straddles the border of Arkansas and Texas—sorry for the geography lesson) back in 1946.  To add an even more frightening detail to this fact, the killer was never captured and the case remains a mystery to this day.  I’ve watched documentaries and read up on this subject, hearing and reading quotes on how the small town went from a place where you didn’t have to worry about locking your door to people barricading themselves in their house after sunset.  It’s a frightening thought to live in a tiny area that felt so safe and yet turned upside-down with the onset of a killer on the loose.  Though the town has moved on from this terror, it had taken them decades to do so.

With all that said, this new film sort of has something to do with that real life portion of the documentary side of the narrative, yet it is not a remake of the original film.  Discovering that fact was a nice surprise because that’s where I’m always suspecting studios to go full force, heading to the rebooting zone and having original movies go to the wayside of Hollywood.  Instead, they’d created a clever way to make this a sequel and one that doesn’t need the required watching of the 1976 film.

Before going any further with my views on the movie, let me go over the synopsis of The Town That Dreaded Sundown here.

Sixty-five years after a masked serial killer terrorized the small town of Texarkana, the so-called ‘Moonlight Murders’ begin again.  Is it a copycat or something even more sinister?  A lonely high school girl, Jami (Addison Timlin), with dark secrets of her own, may be the key to catching him.

Now, after reading that, you may think that this is a sequel to the original movie, but you’d be wrong.  In fact, in this fictional account, the 1976 film exists and is blatantly featured or mentioned throughout this film.  As this film opens, we see the main character of Jami driving to the local park with her boyfriend, Corey (Spencer Treat Clark), to see the annual showing of the original movie at the local town park.  So this is neither a remake nor a sequel…just a stand-alone modern horror movie.

If you’re like me, seeing that description—modern horror movie—usually goes ignored because all I can think about is kids at a high school while talking in strange dialect and using social media to communicate.  But The Town That Dreaded Sundown is only modern by its quality of filming and practical effects.  In all other facets of this movie, the filmmakers developed a perfect mood and atmosphere that it almost feels like a horror film of the 1980s.

The film features a few well-known actors playing some meager parts throughout the story.  Anthony Anderson plays the U.S. Marshall, Lone Wolf Morales, brought back into the cold case of the ‘Moonlight Murders’ due to the recent copycat killings, but he’s borderline comic-relief in this flick and really can’t be taken seriously in this movie—I mean, come on…”Lone Wolf”?  Veronica Cartwright plays Jami’s grandmother and is reduced to a simple background character.  Gary Cole plays the sleazy local Chief Deputy and gets his just desserts within the story.  Peppered throughout the movie, you’ll probably catch a bunch of other faces that are familiar and this all helps the movie in an interesting way.

One main feature of the original movie that made me want to venture out to rent the movie (although I never had) was the look of the killer—which is prominently featured on the movie poster.  The look was simply a man wearing a burlap-looking sack over his head with eyeholes cut out and it immediately reminded me of Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13^th Part 2 even though that movie was released about five years later.  While I admit never seeing the 1976 film, I had ventured to YouTube not too long after hearing of the new movie’s release and was able to find quite a few clips from the original film.  What I’d seen didn’t impress me and never thought about sitting down to see the whole movie.  However, in this new take, the killer retains the same look and it’s as ominous as I’d imagined. 

Keeping that same look gives the whole story an interesting subplot on the mystery of the killer’s identity—whether he’s a copycat or the same person who’d committed the crimes back in 1946 (though he’d be pretty old if that was the case).  The townspeople characters in this film relay their feeling believably enough as the concern begins to show when the killings start happening once again.  I could imagine how Bay Area folks would react if murders were occurring that pointed to the possibility of the Zodiac Killer resurfacing after all these years.  Heck, even when the BTK killer—Dennis Rader—resumed his work in 2004 after disappearing fourteen years prior sent the whole Wichita area in a panic.  So the tension of Texarkana shows in this film and gives the whole story credibility.

By all means, this is not an Oscar-worthy film, but only a clever little horror film that uses the cult status of the 1976 movie to earn a place in the chronicles of notoriety it had garnered.  It’s definitely a companion piece that surpasses the older movie and proves to be an earnest production that should be up there with the likes of Friday the 13^th or Halloween.

So…what’s my final “bit” on The Town That Dreaded Sundown?

I’d really liked how the film opened, primarily the creepy part where we see Jami and Corey stalked by the killer while they park at the local make-out spot, giving just the right hook and presenting the audience something to keep them interested.  However, the story drags just a little as the story follows Jami and how the incident had changed her disposition and outlook, but the scenes where the killer is featured ups the ante to make up for the down time.  Overall, the pacing and structure of the film feels a bit like the horror movies I’d enjoyed as a teen in the 1980s and it kept my attention the whole time.  The ending of the film was a bit of a letdown as when the mystery is revealed it will probably incite a groan or two to come out of you when it happens.  I won’t spoil it for you, but my thought about the choice to end the film this way probably should’ve been reconsidered.  The film could’ve ended in a mystery with the case unresolved, making it a possibility to spawn a sequel from this—although the possibility is still there—and create a nice franchise for the future.  But I thoroughly enjoyed this one-off and I think you will as well.

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Dumb and Dumber To

Back in 1990, a phenomenon began and started at just the right time.  The television comedy skit show, “In Living Color,” took over the air waves when “Saturday Night Live” was losing a bit of steam.  Among the talent that spawned from “In Living Color” were comedians such as Keenen Ivory Wayans (the host and creator of the show), Damon Wayans, David Alan Grier, Jamie Foxx, and Jim Carrey.  At the time, the show was more cutting edge, had a funnier cast, hilarious and boundary-pushing skits, and was an all-around hit.  I loved the show and thought Damon Wayans was the funniest comedian on the show.  The character, Homey the Clown, was so popular and had everybody reciting his famous catchphrase—Homey Don’t Play That.  Looking back, the weird thing I remember about my feelings of the show was that I really didn’t enjoy what Jim Carrey brought to the table.  I know he was well-liked and had quite a few characters he made memorable as well—like Fire Marshall Bill—but I really hadn’t liked his comedy.

Cut to 1994 and the release of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.  People were very excited to see this flick, but I had no intention of going until a group of buddies overrode the decision for movie night one evening and I found myself sitting in the theater to see the flick.  That was the day I had become a Jim Carrey fan, laughing my ass off throughout that whole movie and going to see it a few more times (one time for free because the projector stopped working near the end of the film during my first watch) before it showed up on home video.  Now, I didn’t go and search for movies he’d done before because I actually caught an episode of “The Duck Factory” one night and saw what a dud Carrey could be in the wrong environment.  Sometimes terrible (Once Bitten), sometimes pretty funny (his bit part in Peggy Sue Got Married), but if I’d happen to catch a past movie on cable or television, I’d stop to see it.

Even though his Ace Ventura film was a hit with his fans and gained him a bit more notoriety for his quirky type of comedy, we’d gotten to see a bit more of it in The Mask until he hit it home with Dumb & Dumber—and this was all in 1994!

From that point on, he’d garnered the perfect part for him as The Riddler in Batman Forever, filmed a sequel to Ace Ventura, played a creepy—yet funny—title part in The Cable Guy, the hilarious and touching Liar Liar, until he delved into a bit of drama with The Truman Show. 

Jim Carrey had the ultimate actor/comedian life and didn’t look like it was stopping anytime soon.  When the sequel, or rather prequel, to Dumb& amp; Dumber was in the works and they had asked him to return, he was a big star and couldn’t resort to going back to that level of his past (and it’s a good thing because that flick was terrible).  No, it seemed as if Carrey wanted to pursue a different path in his acting, seeming like he was bit by the dramatic bug and wanted to stay away from comedies.  Sure, he took the part in Me, Myself & Irene, but he maintained his course through such slugs as The Majestic and The Number 23 (I had a hard time staying awake through that one).  Even in his real life, he’d started acting strange and apparently found a new lot in life, which he can’t be faulted for…we all do that at times in our life.  Many times, the news media show, “TMZ,” would catch him near his art studio in Southern California and he would agreeably part some of his weird wisdom, not sounding like the Jim Carrey we all knew and loved.

But, hey, Carrey remained successful…it’s not like he became down-and-out or went broke…he just became a different guy in the real world.  So after a few more fledgling films that were panned by critics, 2014 comes along and brings us the sequel 20 years in the making—Dumb and Dumber To.

I really didn’t know what to think besides…that they just waited…too…long.  But then I had started to gain a little faith and felt that Jim Carrey could slip back into his Lloyd Christmas character like an old pair of slippers, giving us a laugh riot per minute.

Or did he?

Synopsis…

Twenty years since their first adventure, Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels) go on a road trip to find Harry’s newly discovered daughter, Penny (Rachel Melvin), who was given up for adoption.

So the opening of the film, which was released to the public online as an extra length trailer, shows that Lloyd, after losing out on the girl of his dreams, Mary Swanson, has been at a nursing facility for twenty years with his best friend Harry visiting him constantly.  On one such visit, after two decades without saying a word, Lloyd finally yells out “gotcha!” to let Harry know he’d been pranking him all these years.  It was a very funny start and I really had high hopes for this film, thinking the Farrelly Brothers had captured lightning in a bottle for a second time.  However, reflecting back on this film, maybe it’s a bit unfair to expect it to be a second notable film, that it should contain as many memorable lines that you’d recite to your friends endlessly.  So, I started to look at it as a standalone comedy film and feel I can be a bit more lenient on my views.

First off, the callbacks are great.  We get to meet Freida Felcher (Kathleen Turner) who was mentioned in funny exposition in the first film.  Billy the blind boy (Brady Bluhm) is back—and they actually found the kid from the original movie to come back and reprise his role.  The guys return to their original apartment (or a pretty good recreation of it), albeit Harry had taken in a new roommate, Ice Pick (Bill Murray, completely unrecognizable in hazmat suit while he’s cooking up meth), after Lloyd was committed years ago.  Sea Bass (Cam Neely) is back and we get to see the Shaggin’ Wagon again…though, only for a short amount of time.  So you’ll get some good chuckles from those references and cameos.

The story, though, is a bit weak and doesn’t play out that funny at times.  But there are some fresh and funny moments peppered throughout the film.  The whole mistaken phone call between Harry and Lloyd—while they’re sitting right next to each other—made me laugh quite a bit.  Sometimes the storyline gets a bit awkward, a lot like how I’d felt when I watched Carrey’s film, Yes Man, like when there are some implied love interest between a man in his late 50s with a girl in her 20s…it was a bit more funny here—seeing that it was a bit one-sided—than in Yes Man, but still made me cringe a bit.

So, I’d mentioned that it would be easy for Carrey to slip into his old role of Lloyd, that he should be able to do it in his sleep.  For the most part, he does, but he seems to interject a bit of meanness to the character here.  I know he played the part of Lloyd in the previous film as a complete dumbass, but he still had a heart of gold (unless you did him wrong, then it’s the laxative for you).  Here, in Dumb and Dumber To, he’s a bit racist (when he interacts with Harry’s adoptive parents) and a little violent in the vain of Moe Howard from The Three Stooges.

Still, judging by its own merits and not comparing it to the original movie, Dumb and Dumber To is a very funny movie and definitely has its moments.  If I had to pick anything that slows this movie down is the inclusion of Rob Riggle in the dual role of Travis and his twin brother, Captain Mippincott.  Though Riggle is a very funny comedian, he didn’t seem to gel in this film and it felt like the movie had changed gears when he appeared on screen.  Also, the insertion of Harry’s long lost daughter, Penny, was a bit off as well.

So…my final “bit” on Dumb and Dumber To?

In total, a very funny movie, definitely a fitting conclusion to the Harry and Lloyd adventures (I really don’t see them doing another movie any time soon).  While Daniels and Carrey noticeably aged quite a bit (Daniels was 39 while Carrey was 32 in the first one, now 59 and 52 respectively), they still jumped into their dumb personas hilariously.  The references come at you pretty quick, so you may want to rewind a joke or two to catch them at times—Oh man! The scene where Lloyd interacts with the angry dog is great!—but you’ll have a good time with the return of the two dumb best friends, Harry and Lloyd.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

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London Has Fallen

Three years ago, 2013 had a strange blockbuster season where two movies with nearly the same plot had been released within three months of each other.  Both contained a story where terrorists take over the White House and threaten to kill the President of the United States, both had someone fighting against all odds to save said president, and both movies were significant popcorn flicks.  The first one of that year, was the Gerard Butler-starrer, Olympus Has Fallen, and I was mildly surprised at how good of a movie it had been.  I can’t remember if it had been reviewed here at Cinema Bits—I’m a little lazy right now and don’t feel like checking the archives—but I do remember that I’d enjoyed that movie quite a bit.  The movie that followed a few months later was White House Down, starring Jamie Foxx as the President and Channing Tatum as an aspiring secret service agent.  As I’d said, both were very entertaining films, but if I had to pick, I’d say Olympus Has Fallen was the better of the two.

Although these movies fared well on their releases, I hadn’t trekked out to the local theater to see them and didn’t give it a second thought one way or the other at that time.  I’m sure I would’ve enjoyed myself, but I usually reserve my movie-watching trips to see horror, sci-fi, or comic book films.  Even though I consider myself a movie critic, I really don’t have the time nor the duckets to see every single movie that comes out each year.  I pick and choose, maybe seeing one a month (if I’m lucky), and just go from there.

 

Anyway…Olympus Has Fallen obviously had somewhat of a following and garnered enough interest to have a sequel made, London Has Fallen, which had been released earlier this year to a quieter fanfare.  I’ve got to admit, when I’d first seen the television promos for this flick, I kind of rolled my eyes and thought it was a total cash-grab and didn’t even contemplate the idea of forking down money to see it in the theater.  Heck, I didn’t even think to myself that I’d see it when it was released to DVD.  I’d really believed that the first film was a fluke and that it was just an exciting popcorn movie that you could turn off your brain to watch.

 

Well…did we get the same thing in the sequel?  Let’s find out.

In London for the Prime Minister’s funeral, Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), leading the security for President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart), is suddenly enveloped in an outbreak to assassinate all the attending world leaders.  Fighting to protect President Asher during the citywide attacks, Manning does all he can to get the president out of the city alive.

So, I guess this is where the franchise is going (if it actually goes anywhere from here), having the characters of Mike Banning and President Asher get into fracases in different parts of the world.  I’d particularly enjoyed seeing the assault at the White House during the last flick, so they figured they could up the ante by having a city under siege in another country.  Though the last movie had to have the audience suspend disbelief, this movie really needs to have the viewers turn off their brains.  All through this film, if one was to be within earshot of me, you’d be hearing comments like “Come on!” or “Yeah right!” or just snickering at some of the situations we see our heroes get into throughout this story.

In a few words, and without spoiling the movie for you, the attacks were way too calculated and would had to have been planned years in advance.  The attack featured the enemy infiltrating the police and military, having snipers and watchmen at all corners of the city.  Seeing that the plot had most leaders of the world congregating in this city, you’d think each would’ve brought tons of security, making it impossible for the movie’s event to happen.  But…like I’d said, you have to turn off your brain for 90 minutes and just have fun with what’s presented here.

Now, I know that Gerard Butler had become a big star after his role in 300, but I really can’t see the appeal everyone seems to see within him.  Though I’d liked him in the vengeful story in Law Abiding Citizen, he really doesn’t seem to bring much to any other film I’ve seen him in.  London Has Fallen, especially, seems to have a very toned down Butler, seeming like he’s just phoning in his performance.  I know this is only the second movie in this franchise (Can you really call a movie and its sequel a franchise?), but this formula already seems very tired.  Be that as it may, and don’t get me wrong, there are some exciting scenes within this flick that will cause a little adrenalin rush inside the viewer.

Aaron Eckhart, as well, is just going through the motions, being the protected leader at first, then grabbing a gun to fight alongside his security lead.  Other wasted stars in this movie are Morgan Freeman as the Vice President, Radha Mitchell as Banning’s wife watching the turmoil on TV at home, and Angela Bassett as the president’s aide.  All good actors who are just background characters in this film without anything to do besides act scared or sitting around while the chaos is televised to them.

One thing I had noticed about the prologue and subsequent plot is that I can see both sides of the story—meaning, I can side with the antagonists as well as the protagonists.  In the opening, we see that there is a known terrorist at the top of the FBI’s most wanted list, Aamir Barkawi (Alon Aboutboul), and intel has finally tracked him down at a wedding reception.  A drone is sent to drop a bomb to kill him, but of course killing everyone in sight as well.  My first thought during this scene is that it was kind of messed up to kill all those innocent people just to get this guy.  But then I thought that it was his fault in the first place, that he committed acts of terror and put those innocent people in danger in the first place just by his previous actions alone.  And—like I’d mentioned—you have to turn off your brain, because everybody died at that wedding reception…except for the bad guys who want to inflict some payback.  Either way, it’s really a touchy subject and I’m surprised the filmmakers decided to delve that far into it.  Especially seeing the ending…the message is pretty clear that America needs to seek revenge as well, no matter the cost.

Director Babak Najafi looks to have an interesting career so far, but it’s kind of odd that the studio decided to have him helm the sequel to the hit, Olympus Has Fallen.  The history of films he’s directed start off with quite a few foreign titles with London being his first major film, so it seems it was a little risky to hire this guy.  Knowing that Antoine Fuqua was the director of the first movie, I’m wondering why the studio didn’t get him back in the director’s chair for the sequel.  Maybe he was busy in preproduction to his upcoming picture, The Magnificent Seven…?

Well, what’s my final “bit” on London Has Fallen?

In two words: skip it.  I think I’ve said my peace with this film in the words above, obviously the studio thinking this might’ve been a cash cow, but the end result just looks like they made this in a rush.  Hmmm, maybe they thought there was going to be a sequel to White House Down and wanted to beat them to the punch.  But maybe that other movie knew better than to make a sequel to a movie that should’ve just stayed as a one-off.  Though this movie is only slightly disappointing, with only a few scenes to enjoy, I have to state that I don’t recommend it.

That’s it for now…thanks for reading and I’ll be back with another review of an oldie or a newie…

Cinema Bits is on Facebook and Twitter.

Burying the Ex

Joe Dante has been a favorite director of mine for some time now.  I don’t think he’s been given as much credit as he’s deserved, but I’m here to tell you and remind you of a few classics he’s made.  In short—and in my opinion—he’d bursted onto the scene with the great werewolf film, The Howling, which was memorable for the amazing werewolf transformations seen throughout the film, nearly on par with An American Werewolf in London.  Other notable films from Dante include Piranha (the 1978 version), a segment from Twilight Zone: The Movie, Gremlins and its sequel, The ‘Burbs (a guilty pleasure of mine), Small Soldiers, a couple of episodes of the cable television series, “Masters of Horror,” The Hole, and the film I’m going to discuss today, Burying the Ex.

As a measure of Joe Dante’s vast motion picture knowledge, I would appeal to your own film interest and listen to his insights on the website, Trailers From Hell, where he—as well as countless other directors and producers—narrate their opinions over trailers of older films as well as some new ones.  I’ve especially enjoyed Dante’s expositions over the trailers from sci-fi films of the 1950s, as he usually had firsthand experience with them, being able to explain that he’d actually seen some of these films when they were released  in theaters.

Unlike Joe Dante, a lot of directors who had made a name for themselves back in the day sometimes lose that appeal over the years.  I can easily say that John Carpenter is my favorite director of all time, directing so many memorable movies in the 1980s, yet it appears he has kind of lost his touch over the years.  It could be that these directors just can’t cut it anymore or it’s just that movie studios forget about them and won’t give them the money for anything they believe in.  But Joe Dante seems to remain in the positive column, never looking as if he’s losing his movie-making steam.

Speaking of the Trailers From Hell website, that was the first time I’d heard about the film, Burying the Ex.  Its trailer was actually featured on the website and Dante himself was the narrator of the video, breaking it down and presenting it in a marketing point-of-view.  I’d liked the plot description and knew that Dante excelled in the comedy-horror fusion of films, so I knew I had to see it. 

You know the drill…here’s the synopsis…

Max (Anton Yelchin) has regrets over moving in with his girlfriend, Evelyn (Ashley Greene), but those feelings are compounded when she dies.  After her death, Max meets and falls for a local ice cream shop employee, Olivia (Alexandra Daddario), and begins to have a relationship with her.  Evelyn ends up coming back from the dead as a zombie, but one that is intelligent and wants to continue with Max as if nothing has happened.  He then has to juggle his relationship with Olivia while hiding the fact that Evelyn is back from the dead and wants to continue her life with Max.

Obviously, after reading that synopsis, you can tell that this movie has a comic tone to it and I’d stress there’s definitely more comedy in  Burying the Ex than there is horror.  The only reason that horror would be in the mix is the inclusion of someone coming back from the dead in the story as well as the quandaries that said someone gets themselves into throughout the film.  We all know that zombies are typically mindless creatures that simply try to eat people with no speech or comprehension, but Dante changes the rules here and I like where he went with it.  Much like the zombies from The Return of the Living Dead, the zombie here has rational thought and speech, only falling back to its instincts when feeling hungry.

I can certainly relate to Anton Yelchin’s character of Max in this film, how he’s a big horror movie fan and loves the classic movies as well as the newer scare flicks.  The way he’s put down for his love of the genre definitely mirrors my life as I’m always alone in my positive opinion of horror films between my wife and I.  Other than that, Yelchin has a way to play the everyman so eloquently and nonchalantly, and he’s always the good guy that’s so likable.  I’m sure we can all agree that Anton Yelchin’s performances in other films were always enjoyable and he undoubtedly added something special to them.  From his unbelievable performance in Hearts in Atlantis through his portrayal of Chekov in J.J. Abrams’s Star Trek series of films, without question he’ll undoubtedly be a favorite of mine and will be sorely missed after passing away last June at the age of 27.  Even seeing that he’d died so young, his list of performances in IMDb.com is staggering...I had no idea he’d been in so many productions.

The supporting cast in Burying the Ex helps the film as well in its exceptionalism.  Ashley Greene playing Max’s girlfriend has just the right touch of likability, yet mixes the slight bitchiness in there perfectly, to make us understand why Max would continue his relationship with her.  Even as her character slowly turns into a zombie, she adds the perfect blend of a normal pretty girl with the nastiness of someone—a zombie—decaying into a walking corpse.  All that with a nonchalant hint of humor gives this movie the right amount of a dark comedy that I think most people would enjoy.

Seeing that this flick is a rom-com wrapped up in a zombie genre type of film, it still has the ingredients of your typical funny chick flick.  Like other films before it, the archetypal plot of a guy stuck in a love triangle with two girls, there’s always the friend who is loud, a little unlikable, and will tell it like it is.  In this movie, that part is played by Oliver Cooper as he embodies the character of Travis.  With Yelchin playing the straight man here, Cooper gives us some of the laughs to keep the whole situation lighthearted.

Playing the part of Olivia is Alexandra Daddario, an actress who has been making a name for herself in the last decade or so.  I first had seen her in Texas Chainsaw 3D in 2013 and have noticed her in such films as Bereavement (2010) and San Andreas (2015).  She does exceptionally well here as an obvious soulmate to Yelchin’s Max due to their shared interest in everything horror.  The interaction between Daddario and Yelchin felt real and genuine, never seeming forced, as if these two were a real couple.  As I’d said, this film is basically a romantic comedy and the former-girlfriend-coming-back-from-the-dead aspect could be taken out, leaving this film just as enjoyable. 

When checking out the writing credits, I’d noticed that Alan Trezza is credited for this film.  The amusing thing about this is that he’s been only credited for three projects, one of which is a short film with the same name as this one.  I had never seen it, but the synopsis basically describes the same situation in this film, with only the name of the main character changed from Max to Zak, as well as being all different actors and actresses.  The remaining project within his résumé, Sanctuary, hasn’t been completed yet and doesn’t even have a release date listed.

Anyway, I’ve discussed this film enough…what’s my final “bit” on Burying the Ex?

 

Joe Dante has not lost his touch, giving us a movie that is as witty and entertaining as a lot of his classic films, and I was pleasantly surprised.  The film has many amusing scenes, the plot is well-written, the cast works well together…this could’ve been something seen in the 80s and might’ve been held high as a classic today.  But, of course, the movies with the copious amounts of CGI in today’s films, as well as tons of marketing for that abundance of forgettable stories, are the ones that get the attention.  But don’t let that stop you, take my word for it and go rent this movie.

Thanks for reading!

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