The Walk

It seems like only yesterday we were watching the little lovable mop-headed Joseph Gordon-Levitt as one of the aliens on “3^rd Rock from the Sun” back in the mid-90s or even the cameo I know him best by…1998’s Halloween H20.  But somehow, between the 90s and now, Gordon-Levitt has established himself as a very talented actor and has been in quite a few movies that I’ve come to enjoy. 

From the G.I. Joe films to Inception to the fabulous Looper, I really think this kid’s got more to him than we think.  When he had hosted “Saturday Night Live” a few years back, I’d noticed that Gordon-Levitt had an energy that you didn’t see in too many performers.  He had the stamina and vigor of an all-star athlete, yet he was able to use it to entertain the audience impeccably.

I’d mentioned his role in Looper…well…for those of you who’ve never seen it, he plays the younger version of Bruce Willis’s character (it’s a time travel movie).  If you can get past the obvious colored contact lenses and facial prosthetics, take note of Gordon-Levitt’s mannerisms and demeanor…he’s so outstandingly believable as the younger version of Bruce Willis, it’s scary.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is so likable in whatever role he plays (let’s see if he can keep up that congeniality when he plays Edward Snowden in September), there’s not a movie I’ve seen that he doesn’t make me smile.

So, with The Walk, I knew I had to see it.  Unfortunately, I’d missed the theatrical run of this film and wished I had seen it on the big screen, but seeing it on a good-sized television sure gets the point across and you’ll still find yourself squirming a bit during the climactic scene near the end.  And without further ado, let me give you a bit of a synopsis of the film…

In 1974, high-wire artist Phillippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) recruits a team of people to help him realize his dream: to walk the immense void between the World Trade Center towers.

Director Robert Zemeckis—best known for the Back to the Future trilogy of films—helms a very nice look at how Petit journeyed to the USA for his calling of walking across the two towers on a wire.  The story and the way it’s carried out by the actors is well told and seemingly true (when researching after the conclusion of the movie), so the film is strengthened by that acceptability.  But let’s face it…the one aspect of this film that everybody wanted to see was the recreation of the World Trade Center by computer imagery and the very real-looking act of the high-wire walk.  However, I don’t think that this movie made itself…I do credit Zemeckis for keeping it together and structured as he filmed the story on Petit’s drive to do what he’d done.

Now, I have faint recollections of what transpired in real life.  I’d known that someone walked across on a wire and probably dismissed it as soon as I’d heard about it back then.  Heck, I was only five years old, going on six.  But to see how it would’ve been like, to walk on a small steel cable that far up between those monumental buildings…?  Ugh…I’ll get to that later.

From the moment I popped in the DVD, I’d thought I was going to turn the movie off within minutes.  The establishing shot we get is Joseph Gordon-Levitt atop the torch of the Statue of Liberty, breaking the fourth wall and narrating the beginning of the story from there.  We see him in a Justin Bieber-esque wig with blue contacts and speaking with a French accent…I thought I was going to get sick of the whole thing within the first 15 minutes.  But as the story moved along, I became very interested in the story as well as trying to pick out what was real and what was helped with computers.  Even though we don’t see the high-wire extravaganza until the end of the film, we still see Gordon-Levitt accomplish some cool stunts.  With all that going through my mind, I had become aware that his accent and wig was forgotten…his presence on the screen being acceptable and welcomed; he sure knows how to take the audience and keep them charmed.

Besides the shining star that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is within this film, you also have a wonderful supporting cast.  The great Ben Kingsley does a terrific job, as always, playing Petit’s mentor, Papa Rudy; Petit’s love interest, Annie, is played by Charlotte Le Bon (her IMDb page is filled with a few foreign films I’ve never heard of, but she holds her own and works fine alongside Gordon-Levitt); James Badge Dale is almost unrecognizable as one of Petit’s members of his “coup,” with his crazy wig and overgrown stubble…he gives a bit of levity to the group that ultimately triumphs in the plan to get Petit through the (somewhat) tough security of the buildings under construction.

The look of the film is very believable, being set in the 70s, getting the looks and styles right from the actors.  It may look funny to millennials who may decide to watch this, but to people over 40 it may take them back to some fun days.  Still, it’s astounding to think that a handful of foreigners were able to infiltrate the World Trade Center and hide out until nightfall to set up cable rigging from one building to the other. 

So, back to the stunt during the film’s third act…it’s amazing.  I couldn’t help but to wish Gordon-Levitt, as Petit, would stop after performing the stunt across the wire once.  Besides walking from one side to the other, he also does a few things that’ll make you slide to the edge of your seat, giving you a sense of vertigo even if you’re in the comfort of your own home.  From the moment he steps to the edge of the building early on when he arrives at the tower (which you see in the trailer) to the actual stunt, you’ll be mesmerized by the realism and surrealism of the fact that this man actually did this.

Overall, the one thing that this film gets right is the respect it gives to the World Trade Center.  The Walk is definitely an homage to the once-standing buildings in New York and serves as a respectful remembrance to its existence.  I like how it’s mentioned that a lot of New Yorkers weren’t happy with its presence when construction was nearing completion, but had their minds changed after Phillippe Petit established their monumental status when he performed his show atop them.

My final “bit” on The Walk?

I’ve got to admit that I didn’t think much of this film when I first saw the trailer.  I thought it was going to be a boring film that would end with the eye candy of seeing what it’d be like to walk across a wire on top of the World Trade Center.  I was half-right, as we do see what it’s like to walk (amongst other things) across that wire, but we’re also treated to a sweet story of a simple man who had a drive to do something spectacular and wouldn’t stop until he’d achieved it.  It’s inspirational, funny, and the end is definitely vertigo-inducing.  You’ll want to see this.

Captain America: Civil War

With Captain America: Civil War, Marvel Studios embarks on Phase Three of their cinematic universe of films…and boy, do they start with a big one!  More of an Avengers sequel than one for the aforementioned hero, most of the team is involved in this one, as well as a few new members that you may—or may not—have noticed in the final trailer for the film. 

Out of Marvel’s entire slough of comic books, the character of Captain America stands head-and-shoulders above the rest in distinction and valor, always doing what’s right and never putting himself in the forefront.  Let’s face it, he’s the Superman of the Marvel Universe, with a squeaky clean image to uphold as well as the duds for him to advocate.

Now, I’d never considered him a favorite of mine when I was (was?) reading comic books, I probably wouldn’t have even put him in my top ten, but he was always a household name and he’d usually show up in some of my favorite Superhero books.  I’d liked the television movies that had been released in the 70s and I thought the theatrical film (was it theatrical?) that had come out in the early 90s was pretty good, but it wasn’t until Marvel announced their first film featuring Cap that I’d become excited for the character.

As it turns out, so far, the two—now three—Captain America films are probably the best stand-alone films of all the Marvel movies.  They all had their part in building up to the Avengers film and subsequent sequel, but for entertainment purposes, Cap is in the lead.

I know a lot of people don’t like to spoil any type of aspect of an upcoming movie, so much so that they’ll avoid any and all trailers.  Sometimes I’m of that mind, sometimes I’m not.  For Captain America: Civil War, I had decided that I wouldn’t be so careful and went into online news and message boards without precaution, spoiling a few key elements for myself without even batting an eye.  But let me tell you, there are still quite a few surprises in this flick that’ll make you smile, cheer, and hoot.

I can’t help but wonder: Can the rest of the Marvel movies live up to this feature?  What the Russo Brothers created here was a very exciting film with a stimulating story and the question is out there.  Did they set the bar too high?  I sure hope not, because there are a couple of characters that we’ve been told are going to have their own solo movies in the next couple of years and I want—no, need—to see them. 

Well, before I get too far ahead of myself, let me break down the synopsis of the film.

With the actions that had taken place in New York, Washington DC, Sokovia, and—most recently—during an operation by the Avengers to intercept a biological weapon from Brock Rumlow/Crossbones (Frank Grillo) in Wakanda where there were unfortunate casualties, the U.S. government, with the backing of the United Nations, introduce to the Avengers the Sokovia Accords—an act to have the government oversee and direct the team.  The new Secretary of State, Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt), introduces this to Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and he vehemently disapproves, quickly dividing the team as a consequence—one side led by Rogers, the other by Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.).  As The Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), is sought after for a bombing that disrupts and causes many casualties at the Sokovia Accords ratification in Vienna, the team is divided even further as Captain America becomes a wanted man for helping his old friend, Bucky, evade the authorities.  Will the Avengers be divided forever?

Of course, there is a lot more to this film than what I’d synopsized in the paragraph above.  I’m stunned at how well this story was written and how all the characters were given such equal parts of it.  Whether it’s credit to the writers (Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely) or to the directors (Anthony and Joe Russo) and editors of the film, they gave us a very well-rounded story that did not shortchange anyone.

Let’s talk about who’s back and who’s not this time around.

Really quick—and you’d probably noticed—Hemsworth as Thor and Ruffalo as Banner did not return for this film, which is a good thing.  I mean, if they were included in the fight between sides, all eyes would be on Thor versus Hulk.  And if both chose to stand with Cap or Iron man, it’d be no contest.  So it was the right choice to keep them out of this story.

So, here are the members of Team Captain America: In addition to Bucky Barnes, we’ve got Scott Lang as Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), Sam Wilson as The Falcon (Anthony Mackie), and Clint Barton as Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner).

On Team Iron Man: Natasha Romanoff as The Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Lt. James Rhodes as War Machine (Don Cheadle), Vision (Paul Bettany), and Spider-Man (Tom Holland).

Wanda Maximoff as The Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) is sort of undecided.  She kind of starts off with Iron man, then heads off with Captain America, then fights alongside Iron Man again.  Also, Prince-turned-King of Wakanda, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), shows up as The Black Panther, not appearing to be on anybodys side, just wanting to get at Bucky Barnes.

As I’ve got all that out of the way, I’ve got to say that this film is crammed with action and fast-paced fun.  The stunts, choreography, and special effects are top notch this time around, making for a stupefying visual spectacle.  I usually choose a seat that’s maybe four or five rows from the screen, but maybe I should’ve sit further back because I kept whipping my head side to side to catch everything that was going on.

Being that this film has the disparity of having the fights and battles against one another instead of a common enemy (I mean, there is an enemy featured in this film, Baron Zemo—as played by Daniel Brühl—but he only sets a key element in motion and doesn’t really get into a fight with any of our heroes), that’s what really tugs at your heart strings.  To see all your favorite heroes—or at least characters you’ve grown to admire throughout these series of films—fighting each other, you catch yourself in an inner confrontational quagmire of wanting a certain hero to kick ass, but then you realize it’s at your other favorite hero’s expense.

 

The story is pretty well-told in the trailers, as the heroes are asked to sign on with this new administrative act to have them report and be commanded towards a governing body to keep them in check.  It’s hard to take sides while watching this film because you can see both sides—either the heroes sign on to have some sort of assemblage and authority to keep them in line or to be in charge of themselves and use their own discretions when cause for them to act comes into play.  Giving into this will trigger repercussions either way.  You really can’t go into this or come out of the movie thinking you’re on Cap’s side or Stark’s side…it’s a true dilemma.

We all know how each actor played their parts in the preceding movies and they performed equally as well in this one, keeping their characters personified and believable (though, Elizabeth Olsen really needs to work on her accent).  Instead, I’ll focus on the newcomers—Chad Boseman and Tom Holland—and how they brought their characters to life. 

Boseman was awesome as Prince T’Challa, with some terrific—yet short—moments with John Kani who plays T’Chaka, father of T’Challa and King of Wakanda.  As The Black Panther, I was in awe.  I don’t know how much of the character was portrayed by Boseman in a suit—which was awesome—and how much of it was motion captured CGI, but the end result was perfect and makes me anxious to see the standalone film in 2018.

Now, for my favorite all-time comic book hero—Spider-Man... 

We all know that Sony has really screwed up as the rights-holder to this character in the last three or four years, but they’d really made up for it by making the deal with Marvel Studios to share the character.  By the looks of it, Sony is really giving Marvel free-rein in the look and depiction of Spidey.  I’d really liked Tobey Maguire in his run of films with Sam Raimi, but hated Andrew Garfield in the role.  Although I had liked The Amazing Spider-Man 2 a little, I could easily see the franchise was heading in a downward spiral.  In the Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, I was afraid that I was going to have the feeling of “Another reboot???” in my mind, but Tom Holland changed that instantly.  In the early comics, as his alter ego and despite being a high school kid, he was mouthy and not as sure of himself as he gets into the superhero gig, wanting to make money with it…and here in his role in Captain America: Civil War, they…get…it…RIGHT.  The look, although altered, is still reminiscent of the old Spidey comics and it was just great to see him portrayed perfectly on screen.  Even as Peter Parker, Holland made the character his own.  I cannot wait for the solo film!

The Russo Brothers sure have made a name for themselves within the pantheon of Marvel movies.  With this being their second film in the three phases of films (I’ve got to admit, I don’t know what the difference is between the phases or why Marvel calls out that these movies are in phases), they’ve rose to the occasion and earned themselves the directors chairs for the Holy Grail of superhero films: Avengers: Infinity War.  After watching Age of Ultron (which I admit I liked a lot, but admit it had its problems), I was worried about the next Avengers film, feeling that Joss Whedon might not be up-to-snuff with such a big outing the next one’s aiming to become.  I think we’re in good hands with the Russos.

Henry Jackman (any relation to Hugh?) puts out a reasonable score within this film.  It’s nothing memorable by any stretch of the imagination, but it gets the job done.  In no way could I remember any cue or track so I really can’t critique it one way or the other.  Maybe I’ll pay more attention to it the next time I see this film.

Finally, do yourself a favor and don’t pay the extra money to see this in 3D.  It adds nothing but a headache from wearing those glasses, so just watch it in standard viewing.

Let me just stop myself here and give my final “bit” on Captain America: Civil War before I give too much more away…

I’ve heard some people say that this is the best that Marvel has put out so far, but I don’t know if I can agree with that.  The first Avengers film still wows me and gives me chills from time to time (especially when the team all form a circle and Hulk roars out at the aliens), so I can’t say that Civil War is better than that film.  All the films have their own look and feel to them so it’s really not fair to compare them all to each other.  But this film does kick ass and keeps your focus on the screen the whole time, wondering what’s going to happen and who’s going to show up and who’s fighting who…man, it’s exciting!  Like I’d said earlier… Captain America: Civil War is going to be hard to top.

Oh, and don't forget...there is a mid-credits scene and a post credits scene.  You're going to want to stay for both.

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Purple Rain

As most of you know, an icon has passed and there is nothing I can say that hasn’t been said already by celebrities, friends, family, passers-by on the street, radio and TV personalities…it’s all been said and I’ve shared the same feelings and words, both internally and outwardly to whomever will listen.  Prince was part of my childhood; he was the epitome of the 80s for me, boldly representing that era during my teen years and I will never forget that time of my life. 

Back in 1981, I had never heard of Prince until I had started listening to dance music on the radio that year.  The two songs I do remember first hearing from him left me captivated and in awe just by the difference in sound he had from the rest of the bands and singers from that time.  I don’t know which I’d heard first, but it was “Do Me, Baby” and “Controversy” that had my ears pricking and listening with furtive attention.  The choice to sing in falsetto seemed so cool and the funk in the title track of that fourth album was addictive, it really changed my life from there on out.  At that time, I had become a Prince fan for life.

Being so young and sheltered made it impossible to acquire that album at that time, so I had to wait another year with the release of “1999” before I officially owned a Prince album.  During those years of the early 80s, cassettes were all the rage and that’s the media I had chosen to listen to his fifth album, and I wore out that tape with the constant playing, rewinding, playing, rewinding…I soon had to buy the vinyl record to appreciate the album all over again.

And it was a yearly event, with the exception of 1983, that you could count on Prince releasing an album.  1983, of course, was the year that Prince obviously prepared for his acting debut in the motion picture, Purple Rain, which is why he hadn’t released an album that year. 

It’s strange, especially after hearing the confirmation of his death a few days ago, but during the year of 1983, a rumor began swirling about his death and I believed it to be true, just for the fact that he hadn’t released his yearly album at that time.  Of course, seeing as there was no such thing as the internet to check whether or not it was true, my friends and I had to wait until the announcement of his upcoming album, “Purple Rain,” to breathe a sigh of relief.

And if I had called myself a Prince fan before the 1984 album and movie was released, I became a Prince extremist afterwards.  The two albums I’d owned were not enough, I went back and bought his first album—“For You,” his second—“Prince,” third—“Dirty Mind,” and the one that created my fanaticism for him and his music—“Controversy.”  It went that way for years, buying his album right when it was released, listening to them day-in and day-out, blasting his music in my bedroom and in my car’s stereo, searching for his extended versions and B-sides that he’d become known for…anything and everything I could get my hands on regarding Prince is how I’d lived my life.  I’d bought books on his life, reading any magazine that featured him on the cover, learning in awe about how he taught himself to master more than 20 instruments and how he played all the instruments on his first few albums…Prince became more and more amazing to me with every fact I’d read about him.

With all that said, this review may be a bit predisposed, but I’ll try to keep a neutral head and look at it in an impartial state of mind.  With that said…I present my view of…Purple Rain.

A young musician, The Kid (Prince), tormented by an abusive situation at home, must contend with a rival singer, a burgeoning romance, and his own dissatisfied band, as his star begins to rise.

I’ll never forget, seeing this flick for the first time, how the Warner Bros. logo appeared with the low, guttural synthesizer humming as a voice announced, “Ladies and gentlemen…The Revolution!” and that hum blended into the more melodic synthesizer of the intro to “Let’s Go Crazy” with Prince preaching, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life…”  Never attending a Prince concert at that time, I felt a charge, an electric energy gathering in the crowd that pulsed through me as the screen lit up with Prince’s silhouette in the middle of the screen…I’ve never felt that way since, no matter what movie I’ve seen.  I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I’d never seen Prince in concert before this movie was released.  He did have a big tour that went through the Bay Area to support his “1999” album that I was dying to see—but my parents wouldn’t hear of me going.  Even after this movie was released, in 1985, the “Purple Rain Tour” travelled through again, breaking records of selling out six shows at the Cow Palace in four hours…I couldn’t go.  With each of those concerts, it was difficult to attend school the following days and see dozens of my classmates wearing Prince concert shirts, wishing I could’ve attended the shows.  So seeing Purple Rain for the first time?  It was like my first Prince concert…and it was wild!

Sorry for the digression.

Now, I can’t pretend that this movie is perfect or that it should’ve been a contender for Best Picture, nor can I say that any of the acting is above average.  But this movie defines the generation I’d grown up in and what my life had been about back then—the music of Prince!  However, to critique this film fairly, I need to put on my blinders, look at the movie from a reviewer’s perspective, so let’s do this…but I’ll still interject some Prince Fanboy points.

Before this movie was released, a lot of us Prince Fans knew of his beginnings, especially his time performing at the First Avenue Club in Minneapolis.  So it was really fun to see that the actual club was used in the movie—both the interior and exterior.  As a teenager, I’d wished that I could visit that club and see all the larger-than-life musicians that frequented the venue.  Seeing where Prince had his start and getting a view into his life as the promising pop star he was becoming was fantastic to see as an adolescent.  All in all, I think it was a great choice to film most of the movie in Minnesota, which probably made Prince feel a hell of a lot more comfortable with the whole process of making this groundbreaking film.

The movie does feature two established actors—Olga Karlatos and Clarence Williams III—who play Prince’s parents in the film.  Both keep the film rooted when it comes to the drama, especially the miserable scenes between the two as they display the dysfunctional parents to the up-and-coming musician.  Some of the scenes are hard to watch as it displays some harsh domestic violence, but it lends to Prince’s performance as the son who witnesses the abuse his father inflicts upon his mother.  To this day, those scenes move me, especially the interaction of all three, and it stands out above all else in the movie.

Apollonia Kotero was also an accomplished actress, but back then—and even now—I feel her acting was a bit wooden in this flick.  Perhaps it was the direction she was given, maybe it’s what Prince wanted from her…I don’t know.  However, there did seem to be quite a chemistry between them throughout this film and it was felt from the moment their characters had met in the story.  And it was Apollonia who finally softens Prince up to show us a different side of him that we’d never seen before.  The playful, yet hilarious, interaction between them at the lake definitely sets the mood in bringing together their relationship.

The music!  What can I say that hasn’t already been said about the soundtrack to this film?  Each song is incredible and memorable, each fitting into the specific scenes and capturing the emotions of the characters during the course of the film.  Who can forget Prince’s “Darling Nikki” as he basically dishes out their dirty laundry in front of everybody, eliciting Apollonia to break down in tears and run out of the club?  And at the climax of the film, after everything that The Kid goes through—losing his love, his father attempting suicide, his musical career hanging by a thread—when he sings the hauntingly melodic “Purple Rain”…I choked up then and I choke up now when watching.  Even the music from the other bands were entertaining—especially from Morris Day and The Time—and had you dancing in your seat.

Speaking of Morris Day…he had quite a lot of weight on his shoulders.  In Purple Rain, he played the villain and comic relief…when the focus wasn’t on Prince’s character, all eyes were on Morris.  Just like Prince, this was Morris Day’s acting debut and he wasn’t all that bad.  Keeping his “cool” persona complete, he added the over-the-top character that the film needed.  With Jerome Benton, Morris’s right-hand man at his side to pick out dust from his jacket or to hold up his mirror, the two were a very funny comedic duo.  The film’s memorable scene where they make a plan for Morris to approach Apollonia at the club had the crowd in stitches when I’d first watched this and I remember cracking up as well.  Recalling the movie reviews back then, one critic compared that scene to Abbott & Costello’s famous “Who’s on First” skit and I kind of agree.  As Nicolas Cage would say, that’s high praise.

The film also gives most of Prince’s band supple screen time—some very little, some exceedingly so.  I’d been, and still am, surprised how fine a job Wendy Melvoin does in her scene where she confronts The Kid on whether or not he’d consider playing music her and keyboardist, Lisa Coleman, had composed.  The quip by keyboardist, Matt Fink (Dr. Fink), still makes me smile, although it’s very sexist.  Even the drummer, Bobby Z., gets a line.  It’s just poor Brown Mark, the bassist, who only gets to give subtle looks here and there.  Besides Prince’s band, a lot of his entourage and former band mate—not to mention Prince’s then bodyguard, Chick Huntsberry—get quite a bit of time in the film as well.

Looking back, now as an adult and seeing this movie objectively, I must say that Warner Bros. really took a chance with this film.  We all know Prince became a megastar because of Purple Rain, but he wasn’t that well-known beforehand and that was quite a gamble—one that paid off—for the studio to take.  Then again, he was making quite a bit of money for them in their music division of the company…but they definitely saw something special in Prince and their gamble paid off multifold.

Also, nowadays, I do see some problems with the story, especially the relationship between The Kid and Apollonia.  The violence portrayed, with a man hitting a woman, is very hard to watch in this day and age.  What’s worse is that there’s no direct consequence to The Kid’s actions as Apollonia apparently forgives him at the end of the movie, having her dance in the crowd and smiling as The Kid prevails.  Who knows?  Maybe the Kid went into anger management after the conclusion of “Baby, I’m a Star” or Apollonia told him she couldn’t forgive him, but that he put on a great show…we really don’t know.  But if this movie was released today, it’d be criticized for its message it sends out about domestic violence.  I realize it was showing that The Kid was following in his father’s footsteps, becoming the kind of man he despised his father to be, and finally realizing it at the end…but for today’s standards, there should’ve been a more substantial conclusion to their complex relationship.

Nevertheless, Purple Rain is monumental.  The film is an experience from start to finish and I, for one, am so thankful I had been able to see this—and see it multiple times—when it was first released in 1984.  It was a great decade to be a teenager, a fun time to watch movies, and a wonderful era to enjoy Prince’s catalogue of music.  Even though the film is over 30 years old and Prince has gone through an array of styles—both in hair and clothing—he will forever be remembered for his look in 1984.  Those long wavy locks, frilly clothing full of buttons, lace gloves and flair, and made-up face with pencil-thin mustache, will be reminisced until the end of time.

Yes, we’re all mourning the death of this legendary icon, but we should all be thankful that we had nearly 38 years of his music and will probably have more for years to come—Prince’s locked-away music enduring and hopefully released to the masses soon.

But my final “bit” on Purple Rain?

Prince fan or not, this movie is solid, although 80s-esque through-and-through, you’ll have a good time with the music, you’ll be moved by the drama, you’ll laugh at the humor…overall, you’re going to go through an array of emotions before the final credits roll.  If you’re a Prince fan like me, the ending of the film—with Prince turning to look straight into the camera as the film freezes—will have an emotional impact.  I’m not going to lie…when the movie ran recently on VH1, a lump in my throat formed and my eyes teared up. 

The world has lost an amazing man, a masterful musician, an artist, a singer who broke down musical barriers…we will truly never have another one like Prince…ever.





 

Prince Rogers Nelson
June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016

San Andreas

I’d first learned about the San Andreas Fault in California way back in 1978 when it was introduced as a plot device in Superman as Lex Luthor talked, at length, about what could theoretically happen if a missile were to detonate on a precise point of the fault.  When giving a definition of the fault, Christopher Reeve, as The Man of Steel, said it best: “It’s the joining together of two land masses.  The fault is unstable and shifting, which is why you get earthquakes in California from time to time.”  Living here, myself, I know it all to be too true.

I’ve felt many earthquakes in my time here and was living in Santa Clara when the Loma Prieta quake hit in 1989, not only interrupting the World Series as the Oakland Athletics were destroying—and continued to destroy in a four-game sweep—the San Francisco Giants, but interrupting life within the Bay Area.  Although most of the media coverage was on San Francisco and Oakland (due to the damage of the buildings and structures), the epicenter of the earthquake was only 18 miles away from where I’d lived.  So, seeing any movie about this subject matter really gives me a little bit of unease, which is what I’d felt when seeing the advertisements for San Andreas.

I’ve got to say, when first witnessing the trailers and TV spots, what came to mind, instantly, was the film, 2012.  The similarities are there—not only in the trailers, but the whole movie as well—so you can’t help but make that association.  However, seeing that the film had an adequate leading man right for this action piece, I’d started to think this film had a chance to be head and shoulders above that Roland Emmerich disaster flick.

Now, before getting into my thoughts of this flick, here’s a quick summary of the story.

In the aftermath of a massive earthquake in California, a rescue-chopper pilot, Ray Gaines (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), makes a dangerous journey with his ex-wife, Emma (Carla Gugino), across the state in order to rescue his daughter, Blake (Alexandra Daddario).

It was pretty obvious what most of this film was going to feature before I’d even watched it—I knew it was going to be a big disaster flick, with buildings falling, tidal waves jetting, crevices opening, cars crashing, people running…just complete chaos…so I knew I shouldn’t have gone into this movie

expecting a magnum opus.  See, if you go into the movie with your brain turned off, you’ll have a lot of fun with it.  With all the movies I’ve seen in my life—especially the crazy, yet great, movies of the 1980s—I’m pretty much a connoisseur of suspending disbelief before heading into a movie.  If you go into this with the desire to see accurate accounts of catastrophes or needing to have logical scenarios explained within the narrative, you won’t enjoy yourself.

I’m of the mind that if they want to show helicopters moving unrealistically in order to save someone from a car teetering over a cliff’s edge or having a boat just barely getting over the crest of a near 90 degree wave, I’ll be at the edge of my seat, chomping away at my popcorn with a big smile on my face.  I’ll even accept the gobbledygook and technobabble some scientific expert (Paul Giamatti as Dr. Lawrence Hayes) will spout out to explain how the earthquakes travel from Las Vegas through Southern California all the way up north to the Bay Area (yes, all that is given within the story’s exposition).  Just as I was enthusiastic about people outrunning freezing temps in The Day After Tomorrow, I was just as excited to see The Rock swerving in and out of the paths of falling buildings with his chopper.

So, yes, the plot is pretty threadbare here…but it’s not about the story in this, is it?  Nope.  It’s about the eye-candy you’ll see in the special effects department and it is pretty cool to behold. 

One scene I especially like in this film is something that brings a recollection of an account my father told me one time.  He was born and lived in the Azores as a child, coming to America in his twenties.  Being that the islands had a lot of volcanic activity throughout the years, they sometimes had earthquakes.  He told me about a time he was walking down the road when one hit, explaining that when he looked on into the distance, he said the land just rolled and shifted like a giant piece of paper blowing in the wind.  I’d always thought about that story and wondered how that actually would’ve appeared.  In one quick part in San Andreas, one such scene exists and it is breathtaking.

Although the cast don’t really have much to work with in regards to a story, they all are believable in their roles and complement each other well.  Johnson, especially, shines as the hero and I’m just glad he’s hasn’t been doing too many silly family films (although I see he’s rumored to star in Journey to the Center of the Earth 4).  I don’t know about most people, but I really feel Dwayne

Johnson has so much potential to be such a huge action star.  It seems like the right movie just hasn’t come along yet.  Don’t get me wrong, I know he’s had a great oeuvre of films, but I think there’s just something missing.  Maybe it’s because it’s been discreetly touted that he was to inherit the movie throne from Schwarzenegger and I base my expectations on that.  I guess I just want to see Johnson play a terminator…just give me that and I’ll finally accept him as a certified movie god.

So, my final “bit” on San Andreas?

It’s a fun movie to relax, zone out your mind, and just watch for the action and excitement of it.  It’s still titillating and thought-provoking (hey, I Googled “San Andreas” soon after watching this, wondering where it was, exactly, and how likely it could cause half of California to fall into the ocean), so it’s not boring…trust me on that.  It’s just a big, dumb disaster movie that you’ll enjoy.

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Creed

Who would have thought, back in 1976, when the world was introduced to Sylvester Stallone in the movie, Rocky, that we would’ve had sequels to that film up until 2015?  After the abysmal Rocky V in 1990 (although I liked it), I didn’t think we’d ever see that character again.  Auspiciously, we do get another upshot of the Rocky saga, this time as a spinoff, making the son of Apollo Creed the centralized character of the story.

I’ve got to admit, when I’d first heard of this film being made, I thought it wouldn’t have seen the light of day, mainly because I didn’t think Stallone was going to be a part of the film.  Even when the movie was released, I really didn’t have any intention of going to see it, thinking that maybe Sly was going to make an appearance in the form of a cameo or that the story was just going to be a rehash of the first movie, only with the son of Apollo Creed as the boxing character.  I really can’t put my finger on why I decided to sit this movie out, but I can say, now, it was a mistake that I had.

As Oscar season had come around and the buzz surrounding the movie became prominent—not to mention the whole snubbing of black actors making headlines—I had become interested in seeing the film.  Not only had I paid attention to Stallone being nominated for his supporting role in the film, but I’d also kept tabs on the discussions encompassing the performance of Michael B. Jordan.  By the time the Academy Awards had come and gone, I really wanted to see Creed.

Finally, the film made its way onto the home media platform of DVD, so I placed it at the top of my Netflix queue and awaited its arrival (which was the other day).

Here’s the synopsis, with a little help from IMDb.com…

In Creed, the former World Heavyweight Champion, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), serves as trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan), who is the son of his late friend and former rival, Apollo Creed.  As Adonis tries to make a name for himself at first, he eventually takes on the name of his father when he’s given the chance to fight ‘Pretty’ Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew) for the belt of the Light Heavyweight Championship.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a movie at home (that isn’t a comic book movie) in which I’ve been enthralled from beginning to end.  I guess it helps that I’m a huge Rocky fan and have seen all the movies in the saga multiple times.  When I’d first watched the first two movies in my preteen years, I’d wanted to pursue boxing and couldn’t get enough of it, constructing makeshift boxing gloves from tisse-paper-padded socks and making my brother be my sparring partner.  I’d given our first family dog the name of “Rocky” back in 1981 which shows how much I’d loved the first two films.  With all that said, it’s not hard to believe that I’d enjoyed this movie entirely.

Now, I’d mentioned earlier that there was a lot of talk about Stallone’s performance as Balboa, but my attention was focused on Jordan’s take as the son of Creed.  Let’s face it, Sly has been this character for 40 years…it’s not a stretch to see him put on the fedora, bounce a rubber ball around, and speaking Philadelphia-street slang.  Seeing this outsider, Michael B. Jordan—who was born in 1987 and, like the character he plays here, after the character of Apollo Creed was killed off in Rocky IV—take on this role and did it so brilliantly, shows you what a wonderful actor Jordan can be.  I really take umbrage with the Academy to snub this individual, but I’ve never paid attention to the Oscars and feel it’s all a sham of a bunch of self-absorbed and out-of-touch people who hardly ever get it right, in my opinion.  One day Michael B. Jordan will be up on that stage, accepting an Oscar for some performance, I really can see that coming for him.

It’s good to return to the world we’d seen in the 1976 film—man, the streets of Philadelphia haven’t changed in all these years, huh?—so it feels like a Rocky movie through-and-through.  I know we’d kind of got that feel from the previous movie, Rocky Balboa, but that movie—as good as it was and I loved it—it was too much a downer as we saw it as a melancholy piece and the character’s goodbye to the franchise, but this film is a breath of fresh air as we can see this as a new saga to continue.

I like the story they tell here, although it’s a bit convenient to add the exposition that Apollo Creed had an extramarital affair before he died that produced a son of the right age for this film (the kids we’d seen in Rocky and Rocky II must be in their forties by now).  When I’d first heard about this film being made, it was said that the film was going to center around the grandson of Apollo Creed, so that might’ve been one of the earlier drafts they’d been looking into to solve the appropriate age problem of the main character.

If I’ve got any nits to pick, it would be the background of Adonis character.  It seemed like he wasn’t really that down-and-out when he arrives in Philly to start his career in boxing, looking like he could’ve returned to his life back in Los Angeles with his adopted mother, Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad), at any time…maybe even going back to his financial advisor job he’d previously quit to pursue boxing.  I never really thought he had anything to lose as we even see, in the beginning of the movie, how he travels to Mexico on the weekends to fight matches.  But that’s a minor observance and certainly has no bearing on the story as a whole.

The chemistry between Stallone and Jordan is great—and I mean GREAT—from the moment they meet and get to know one another.  I like how they bring the secret match between Balboa and Creed we’d seen at the end of Rocky III into their first encounter, which they finally give us an answer as to who’d won that fight.  Certainly, there are a lot of props given to Carl Weathers during this film—you really can’t have this movie without the character’s mention—and Stallone shows, both in character and probably in real life, his respect for the actor/character, Carl Weathers/Apollo Creed.

Like the previous movie, the movie brings in a real boxer, Tom Bellew, to play the part of the adversary, Ricky Conlan.  Unlike the previous movie, however, Bellew has some pretty good acting chops and you truly gain a hate for him, making you root for Jordan’s character to beat the shit out of him in their fight.  Yet, we really don’t see Bellew’s character all that much, and I feel that might be a detriment to the story, especially comparing it to the 1976 film where we see the personal side of the antagonist in that story.  It would’ve been nice to see a more three-dimensional representation of his character, giving us some insight into his anger issues he displays early on in the film, maybe showing us a closer look into his personal life.

The romance between Adonis and his neighbor-turned-girlfriend, Bianca (Tessa Thompson)—the local singer he discovers her to be when visiting the club where she performs—was a nice touch, letting us see Adonis is just not all about boxing.

And speaking of music, the film showcases some familiar nods, but goes into quite a few unique cues to help this movie establish itself as an original feature.

Lastly, I was very surprised to see that this movie wasn’t written by Stallone, but was penned—as well as directed by—by Ryan Coogler.  I’ve heard some good things about him, especially the docu-

drama, Fruitvale Station, which was the story of the young unarmed African-American who was shot and killed at a BART station a few years back.  Coogler is also set to direct the comic book movie, Black Panther, which is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so I’m pretty excited about that one and to see where he goes from there.

So…my final “bit” on Creed?

A well-rounded film, Creed is full of nostalgia if you’re a Rocky fan and has enough to care about for the younger generation.  The camera work is phenomenal, putting you in the ring so close to the fighters you almost can smell their sweat, and it’s amazing that they performed many of the shots without any edits.   The film is packed with inspiration and is thoroughly entertaining.  The interaction Stallone and Jordan have with each other is reminiscent of the Stallone/Meredith chemistry within the earlier Rocky films.  The cast is superb…the interaction never feels contrived, but believable.  The film, as a whole, should not be missed…especially if you’re a diehard Rocky fan like me.

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Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

Being in the shadow of Marvel Studios, especially with the creation of the cinematic universe it has managed and controlled so well, we finally get a glimpse of what’s to come with the superhero ensemble on DC’s side of things over at Warner Bros. 

Most of you may not recall or even remember, but DC almost beat Marvel from the word go.  Whether it would’ve worked or not, Warner Bros. was set to introduce us to the ensemble right at the beginning instead of the solo movie introductions Marvel constructed so perfectly.  George Miller (director of all the Mad Max films) was to direct Justice League with already a cast signed on to play the heroes.  Signed on, was D.J. Cotrona to play Superman, Armie Hammer as Batman, Megan Gale as Wonder Woman, Adam Brody as The Flash, Common as Green lantern, Santiago Cabrera as Aquaman, and a few others to round out the cast.  Production went as far as having costume fittings for the actors and actresses, with a lot of created concept art, but the Writer’s Guild Strike may have played a part in the film production’s downfall.  We’ll never know.

As doubt was casting a shadow on whether or not we can take a Superman film seriously nowadays, 2013 brought us a return to glory with Man of Steel.  The film, directed by Zack Snyder, gave us a more resolute Superman—no camp or outright comedy, just a no-nonsense heroic movie of a character most households are familiar with.  I enjoyed the hell out of that film and felt it was just the right push Warner Bros. needed to go forth with their plan to bring The Justice League onto the big screen.

So, questions began to arise regarding how the filmmakers were going to fit Batman into this cinematic universe.  Is Christian Bale returning as Batman?  Will Joseph Gordon-Levitt take over the role?  Will there be a new Batman?  Were they just going to reboot once more?  But word came about that the next movie—not necessarily a sequel to Man of Steel and not necessarily a Batman film, but a “versus” film that would pit the two heroes against each other.  Fanboys—myself included—were ecstatic and couldn’t wait to feast our eyes on such an epic movie.

As time went on, word also escaped that Bale would not reprise his role, but that the Batman in this film will have a new actor under the cowl.  It was also mentioned that the Batman in the movie is going to be an older, grizzled hero who has been crime-fighting for a long time. 

Not long after this news was out, the announcement came about that Ben Afflick would be the man wearing the bat ears in the movie.  I guess it’d be an understatement to say a lot of comic book fans weren’t happy.  It all harkened back to a little film Afflick starred in called Daredevil.  So many people have panned that movie, but I really don’t think it was Afflick’s fault.  I felt he did fine in that flick and I’d enjoyed watching it, even to this day.

Well, the photo of Ben Afflick in the suit popped up on the Internet.  Then, the first trailer…the second trailer…finally, the third trailer…I was chomping at the bit to see this movie and did not see anything wrong with Afflick in this role.

So, enough of the history on how this movie came to be…let me synopsize Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, shall I?

Per IMDb.com—Fearing that the actions of Superman (Henry Cavill) are left unchecked, Batman (Ben Affleck) takes on the Man of Steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of a hero it really needs.

 

Shortly before seeing the movie, I’d read an online article that a screening of the film was shown to the studio executives and at the end of the presentation, they all had given the film a standing ovation.  Some may read that and think it was a flattering endorsement to a great movie, but I had thought just the opposite.  Let’s not forget how much studio execs have ruined movies in the past.  Staying within the genre of comic book movies, the ones that come to mind are Superman II (the firing of Richard Donner after he’d already filmed 75% of the sequel), Spider-Man 3 (their insistence that Sam Raimi—against his better judgment—include Venom in the story), and, most recently, 2015’s Fantastic Four.  So to hear that studio execs loved this movie didn’t give me hope, it gave me despair.  I couldn’t help but think of Kevin Smith’s story of how Jon Peters wanted Superman to fight a giant spider in the climax of the Tim Burton/Nicolas Cage film that had never (thankfully) been made.  So, going into this, I had mild-to-low expectations.

Now, right off the ‘Batman,’ I have to say that Zack Snyder did a wonderful job with directing a multi-superhero movie.  Of course, recent history has told us that it could’ve gone one way or the other.  On one hand, it could’ve looked like a Batman & Robin or Spider-Man 3; on the other hand, it could’ve gone the way of The Avengers.  With BvS, however, I think it fell in the middle somewhere, but more toward the good than the bad.

Let’s start with the setup, the part of the plot that gives us the first part of the movie’s title—Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.  It doesn’t give too much away to say that Bruce Wayne was near Metropolis when the climactic battle between Superman and General Zod went down toward the end of Man of Steel and it pissed him off royally.  Snyder excellently shows us that battle from a different perspective—as the defenseless populace who were scared and hurt due to the damage caused throughout that mêlée, watching everything from ground zero.  Seeing those images during this first act of the movie unquestionably conjures up memories of the devastation the country witnessed on television (or up close and personal) back on September 11th, 2001.  Needless to say, this is what starts Batman’s mission to bring down Superman.

So…about the Batman role...it’s funny…the one uproar fanboys had about this film—before any photos were released or any trailers were seen—was the casting of Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman.  I say it’s funny because he’s the one who does best in this movie, making the dual character the most interesting piece of this film.  As the story moves along, you become mesmerized by his presence on the screen, even as Bruce Wayne and it leaves you wanting more.  Personally, I can’t wait to see the stand-alone Batman film that is set to be released in 2017 with this aged and cynical persona of the caped crusader.  The suit is awesomely reminiscent of the Frank Miller era in comic books and even has better gadgets that we’d seen in the Nolan films.  Affleck, in my mind, has totally redeemed himself since his role in 2003’s Daredevil.

Henry Cavill seems to fit right back into his role of Superman as easily as he fits into that costume, but he doesn’t say or do much in the part, only broods and looks dejected at times.  He seems to

play the part this time around almost like Brandon Routh had played it in the forgetful Superman Returns.  With the hero’s Clark Kent persona, there’s not much development there either.  Overall, I was expecting to see more of the hero’s attitude he had shown at the end of Man of Steel, how he’d crashed a drone that was following him and basically told the general “tough shit” after he informed Superman he destroyed a very expensive piece of military equipment.  During that conclusion in Man of Steel, it was looking like he finally found his place on this Earth as a protagonist, but in BvS, he’s back to the unsure-of-himself hero.  But I can’t fault his performance too much because it seems the movie cuts away before we get any reactions from him—this happens quite a few times, I’d noticed.

The one casting choice that had gotten under my skin and I just could not accept was Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor.  When the decision was announced, I had my reservations but held off to see how he’d play the role.  Even as the trailers showcased him as a little goofy, I waited to see the movie.  Now, as I’ve seen the film, I really must say that his part in this flick was the thorn in its side.  As we’d all seen in the trailer, where Lex Luthor greets Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne, as he acts a bit off kilter…well…that’s what you’re going to get throughout his performance.  During the course of the Superman and Batman comics, there have been many evil-doers or villains with their specific personalities.  Lex Luthor has always been a powerful-looking man with a serious way about him.  Eisenberg almost seems to be getting him confused with the Joker, reciting his lines like a forgetful buffoon.

Above all else, the mixed feeling I have about this film is that it appeared to be a Batman movie that happened to feature Superman.  Although it’s supposed to be sort of a sequel to Man of Steel, it seemed to be focused more on Batman than Superman.  The good part of this musing is that it helps Affleck in his continuation of the Batman role, but it lessens the impact of Superman’s character.  Where we see a lot of setup into everything Batman does within this story, we only see a montage of Superman’s heroics, not understanding what led to them.  For instance, the scene in the trailer, where we see him save the rocket from being destroyed plays out in the movie just like in the trailer.  We don’t see who’s in the rocket, we don’t even know if there’s anybody in it—for all we know, he just saved an unmanned rocket from being destroyed.  All of Superman’s bravado is just given to us like snippets from a news reel.

As for the music we hear within the film, a lot of the Man of Steel cues are there, some original

music for Batman’s scenes were enjoyable as well.  Wonder Woman’s entrance, however?  The theme was unusual and strange, not really fitting and I kept on thinking, what is up with her entry music?  I take it, seeing that the score was shared by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL, Wonder Woman’s cue was created by the latter.  I know there are fans of Junkie XL, so I won't hate on them...I just don't think the music they composed works in this particular scene.  Who knows?  Maybe Zimmer's the one who came up with it.

Lastly, we all know this film leads up to a Justice League movie, featuring a lineup of heroes to get together for a big movie.  I guess to give us a taste of that, it was decided to give us glimpses of these heroes within this film.  I won’t go into it, especially to avoid spoilers, but the inclusion of the few they show in this movie was forced and unneeded.  We know the ensemble movie is coming, we know there are going to be a number of stand-alone films to introduce them, so there was really no need to show the cameos or excerpts that they did here in BvS.

My final “bit” on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice?

Overall the movie is enjoyable, with the right amount of action between the two title characters and even when they fight together with the inclusion of Wonder Woman going up against Doomsday (as seen in the trailers).  However, the editing seemed a bit uneven, giving us a lot of emptiness of certain subplots or characters.  After the film was over and I thought about what I’d seen, I couldn’t help but think there were missing parts that would explain certain details or expand on the character development a bit.  Maybe we’ll see a much better film with the release of home media—it was announced that a director’s cut with an extra 30 minutes will be added to the movie.  I’ve heard the complaints that some people have had with the story—some I agree with, some I don’t—but putting reasons for battles and reasons to stop battling aside, I’m going to reserve my views until I see the director’s cut in four or five months.

By the way, there is no stinger scene, so don’t bother staying after the credits roll.  I looked up this info before seeing the movie, but I’d noticed quite a few people remaining planted in their seats, waiting for that Marvel-esque extra we’ve all come to expect in this day and age, so just a word of advice…don’t bother to wait.

Well, that’s all I’ve got to say about Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice without divulging too much about it.  Perhaps I’ll update this post when the DVD/Blu-Ray is released to see if my view has changed.

Thanks for reading!