No Angst-Ridden Teen Spider-Man

Spider-Man Homecoming is a bit of a reset for the franchise. Marvel and Disney have taken back the series from Sony and have decided to go with the original teen version of Spider-Man without yet another origin version of the story. Tom Holland's web-slinger is more high school teen than angst-ridden movie teen. Holland will face one problem and that is how long he can get away with playing the teen version of the superhero. The only real issue I had in the movie was when the movie dialog tried to make us believe that Peter Parker is 15. Holland, who is 21, may get away with playing a "teen" but not one quite that young.

That said, Spider-Man Homecoming is a fun movie with the right blend of action and humor. It includes appearances of Robert Downey Jr. as the fast-talking Iron Man and some quite humorous PSA videos of Captain America (Chris Evans). Having the character of Stark/Iron Man also helps explain a slightly puzzling question of how the very working-class Peter Parker could afford his costume and gadgets. Tony Stark pays for it.

The movie is an updated version of Spider-Man. It follows the events of the first Avengers movie and the introduction of Spider-Man in Civil War. Peter Parker, who lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), goes to a high school for gifted students. He wants to become a full-fledged Avenger, but he must first learn the original theme of most Spider-Man movies - the infamous line with great power comes great responsibility. Spider-Man with his trusty best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) must find his way as a superhero who really is dealing with great power at an incredibly young age and still has all the problems that an orphaned, teen age genius must deal with, girls and the Homecoming dance. Yes the movie's title really does have something to do with a high school tradition. Add to this is the bad guy, Vulture. Michael Keaton plays the villain with just the right of bad guy and greatly wronged blue collar worker. He has his henchman (Bokeem Woodbine) who is a new version of Shocker.

Spider-Man is more or less on his own. He must learn to be a hero and understand the sacrifices that could come with that choice. He must also deal with adults who often seem not to be listening to him, a not uncommon complaint from many a teen. All and all, Spider-Man Homecoming is different from its predecessors while still keeping the trade-mark quick banter of Spider-Man. I liked the move and once again Marvel has a plot that is more than special effects balancing on fun characters. It is not a deep movie, but it is a fun one. I will buy the Blu-ray.

DC Finally Hits A Bullseye

Wonder Woman is the movie we've been hoping that DC movies would be. Instead of a solely dark and grim movie with black humor if any humor comes in the movie, Wonder Woman, while still having dark moments, becomes a well-balanced super hero movie. While different still from the Marvel movies which often have over-extended fight scenes and far more humor, Wonder Woman seeks to build stronger characters for which we can actually root. Of late, the heroes of the DCMU have become far too humorless and dark. Even the once bright and shiny Man of Steel lost that heroic and often patriotic stature or "good guy" feel. Not so with Wonder Woman. 

Not only is it high time that Hollywood give a live action feature film dedicated to a female comic book hero, but also this movie has opened the door for a better slate of DC movies than the uninviting universe of Suicide Squad and of Batman v Superman. Hopefully Justice League and future standalone Batman, Superman, and Aquaman movies will give us the heroes we need and not the ones we deserve. 

Gal Godot plays the role perfectly. She is both strong and an innocent as we learn the origin of Wonder Woman, Diana Prince. Her wide-eyed innocent is perfectly balanced with great action scenes with classic comic book poses. Gal Godot is also a stunningly, breathtakingly beautiful woman. She is perfect as the classic super hero goddess. Gone are the hokey and silly special effects of the Wonder Woman TV series. In its place is finally proof that DC movies have potential to become really good. It is also fun to see Chris Pine play the reverse role that far too many women have been relegated to playing.  The cast is over-all pretty good in set-up and execution even if the Amazons become a bit two dimensional in depth.

Yes, the characters are not as fleshed out as they could be. Yes, the movie is somewhat predictable. I had a pretty good idea who would survive and who would turn out to be the big bad pretty early on in the movie. Yes, the movie does depart the comic book story line of Wonder Woman from the comic books which give us a pretty good idea that Wonder Woman 2 is probably not going back to that story line again. The movie's success also guarantees that there will be a Wonder Woman 2 and hopefully will open the door for more standalone female super heroes. 

 

I liked the movie and highly recommend it. I didn't really see much addition in seeing it in 3-D so you might want to save the additional cost. I will buy the Blu-ray. 

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Rights A Wrong

I finally made it to a theater to see Johnny Depp as he reprises his role of Captain Jack Sparrow for the 5th time in the most recent installment of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Men Tell No Tales. Saying it is perhaps the best of the 4 sequels to the original Curse of the Black Pearl, really isn't saying much about whether the movie is good or not. It is better than the others. In fact, I was thinking that if the odd numbered movies were edited and had a few plot point continuity fixes and we pretended that movies 2 and 4 didn't exist, Pirates might be a decent trilogy. The simple truth is that the original was an entertaining, fun, exciting, lighthearted adventure. Movies 2 through 5 became dark tales of death and drooling monsters while Jack Sparrow became steadily more foolish and drunk and the rest of the pirates became dirtier and with poorer dental care. 

Dead Men Tell No Tales at least makes the attempt to rectify the gruesome darkness of the other sequels, but it is still dark and the bad guys, the ghost pirate killers, are pretty gruesome. The attempt comes with the over-the-top antics of Sparrow and company, unfortunately Jack has become so foolish and drunk it's like watching one long, bad joke. We do see a sparkle of the Jack we came to love in the first movie at the end of this one, but for the most part there is only so much staggering and suddenly dozing off that I found funny. There are some good humorous lines in the movie, but they are pretty far apart. What the movie does do is give us a good bad guy, grows the character of Barbarossa, give us a pretty exciting end and moving last scene, and a fix to that horrid ending to the original trilogy At World's End. 

The plot, which is pretty thin, consists of Jack Sparrow, who is out of luck, has become, if possible even more drunk and irresponsible. We also meet Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) the grown son of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley). You may recall that in the third installment, Will Turner gave up his life and family to replace Davy Jones. Many people, me included, really hated that ending to what was supposed to be a romance adventure. Henry has sworn to his father that he would break Davy Jones' curse and sets out to do so believing that Jack can give him that answer. 

Jack has become cursed. He has no luck, no ship, and barely any remaining crew. He drunkenly stumbles around with the Black Pearl still stored in the bottle it was placed in by Black Beard in the 4th movie. What the search for Jack does do, it leads Henry to Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario) who has a clue that will give Henry a way to break the curse. Jack is now being chased by the ghost pirate killer, Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) and his ghostly crew that Jack as a young and newly minted pirate captain tricked into his destruction in to going into the Devil's Triangle. 

One bright spot in the movie is how vengeance driven Salazar is and how well Bardem works the character. Another bright spot is also the growth of Geoffrey Rush's character of Barbossa who has his own secret twist from the days when he and Jack sailed the Pearl together. All in all, without telling you how, Will and Elizabeth finally get the happy ending that they should have had two movies ago. By the way, there is an after credits scene that hints at a sixth Pirates' movie. 

All in all, despite its weak plot and the caricature that Jack has become, Dead Men Tell No Tales is an okay movie with enough moments of humor and adventure and nice moments to carry it. I don't feel like I wasted my money, and it is possibly the best of the sequels. Still, don't go expecting to a sequel that has captured the sparkle of the original movie. If I buy the DVD, I may wait for the price to drop before I invest in it. 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: We Must All Deal With Our Ego

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a fun romp back into the Marvel universe of what is one of the more successful, box office-wise, comic book movies. All the Guardians from Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) to Gamora (Zoe Saldana) to Groot (Vin Diesel) to Rocket (Bradley Cooper) to Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) are all back for Vol. 2.  Even Gamora's sister, Nebula (Karen Gillan) is in the movie. Like Vol. 1, this Guardians is a blend of humor, action, and emotions with an 80's and 90's soundtrack. It also marks something that no member of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has really ever done. I liked Vol. 2. It's worth the price and 3-D works for this movie too. Is it the best in the MCU? No. It has some moments of just pointless humor and a couple of the characters need some depth and are more two-dimensional than usual. Hey, it's a comic book movie and it does just exactly what it is supposed to do. A clash between good and evil with a moral theme of what makes a family drives the movie. It is all about, ehem, overcoming Ego. 

So to discuss this movie further, I must do more detail. If you haven't seen it and don't want any spoilers, stop now. 

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT 

No member of the MCU movies has killed off a popular character permanently. Admittedly, shows like Agents of Shield have killed off a few of the good guys but the major and popular characters, no. With the death of Yondu (Michael Rooker) in Vol. 2, the MCU has taken a risk and also moved the franchise forward. Killing off Yondu allows the theme of what makes a family focus.  Yondu became a popular character and making him into Peter Quill's real parent built a strong case for our strange band of heroes as a family in a way that the Avengers never could. The death of Yondu is a risk that could pay dividends for the franchise in the future.

Guardians is in a tough position among its Marvel siblings. While the mainstays rely on the famous heroes like Iron Man, Spider-Man, Thor, Captain America, the Avengers, and X-Men, Guardians is something of the "red-headed stepchild" of the MCU. Not only was the first movie not expected to do as well as it did, it was also given a near-impossible task of setting up Thanos and the Infinity War which for you non-nerds is kind of a big deal. So the surprise hit became a franchise. People were captured by its charm, humor and moving characters that include a raccoon and a walking tree that can express itself in just three words better than Kristen Stewart ever has in any or the Twilight movies. 

The premise of Vol. 2 is multi-level. The main level is Peter Quill or Star-Lord finally meets the father that sent Yondu to collect. Quill's father is a celestial being, or basically a planet, that took human form. His name is Ego (Kurt Russel). In the comic book world, especially in the Guardian's universe, characters often live up to their names. Ego lives up to his name. So the Guardians must literally overcome Ego. Get it? It is what makes them become family.

The other level is the Sovereigns who are a golden, genetically engineered race that see themselves as superior. Like Ego, they live up to their names. Rocket, the raccoon, steals from them. Ironically, it is this theft that gives the Guardians what they need to face Ego and also the defeat of the Sovereigns brings us mention in the ending scenes of their intention to create a new being that they will call Adam. This is most likely a reference to Adam Warlock who was an essential character in the Infinity War comics. Like Vision of the Avengers, Adam Warlock is also one of the beings that can control an infinity stone. It is unclear if Adam will be used in the MCU version of the Infinity War, but it is also worth noting that Adam Warlock in the comics is also a Guardian. The movies have something of a record of making enemies into friends - dare I say family - and heroes. They really are the Guardians of the Galaxy. 

I will buy the Blu-Ray. 

Ghost in the Shell: Bringing Anime to Life

If you don't like anime or manga or understand why anyone would like this kind of animation or graphic, then you will hate Ghost in the Shell. The movie has also been dogged by the "white washing" controversy that tends to attack any live-action adaptation of anime.  It is the pronouncement that a movie based on Asian material should star an Asian actress. It was a charge made against other adaptations most notably The Last Airbender. The problem with this is that anime more frequently than not draws its characters as non-Asian. If you think that because a movie Asian anime that only Asians should be cast, you've probably haven't seen much anime. Here endeth the rant.  

Ghost in the Shell is among anime and manga lovers something of an iconic movie and graphic novel starting in the late 80's and being made into a movie in 1995. When I first saw that Ghost in the Shell would be adapted, several thoughts ran through my brain. First, I hope they don't do to Shell what was done to Aeon Flux. The filmmaker didn't. Second, will an American audience be ready for a movie that, if it stays true to the original, that will often have odd movement and dialog stilted and philosophical nature of a noir Japanese archetypal piece? Judging from ticket sales in the US, the answer is no. Third, how long after the casting of Scarlett Johansson will someone complain about a Caucasian actress being cast will it take for someone to complain? The answer was not long. Fourth, how long before the movie is made will someone complain about the casting choices? Also, not long. With all this in mind, the more I think about the movie the better I like it, but it also has problems.

Scarlett Johansson has built something of a reputation of playing ice queens with a heart in action flicks. Characters like Lucy and Black Widow have solidified this view. In Ghost in the Shell, she takes on the role of Major who is a cybernetic being in that her human brain is hosted in an unfeeling robotic body. Major is the first successful hybrid of her kind. Her real memories have been suppressed and altered by an evil corporation headed by Cutter (Peter Ferdinando) who views Major as a weapon and nothing more. Major is assigned to Section 9, a special government force led by the noble Aramaki (Takeshi Kitano). Major's partner is Batou (Pilou Asbæk) whose eyes are artificially enhanced when he is blinded in an explosion caused by Kuze (Michael Pitt) who was one of the failed attempts to create someone like Major. Kuze is loosely based on The Puppetmaster from the original. 

This is a world where humans regularly enhance themselves with mechanical devices. It also makes humans hackable. Major and Section 9 seek to protect humans from this. She learns that her memories have been altered. In a very Jason Bournesque way, Major begins to seek who she is. It is more than this, though. At the center of Ghost in the Shell is the question of what makes us human? It is not just the quest of Major to discover who she is. There is also Kuze and Batou and all the others who are enhanced. When does the machine replace the human or is there something more to us than our bodies? In short, there is our essence-our ghost- that makes us more than our physical mechanics. I told you that anime can become pretty philosophical.

Ghost in the Shell has a rich amount of material to draw from. I liked the casting. Johansson even moves in a somewhat anime and robot-like manner. The biggest problem that the movie faces is that it has far too many visual additions that really offer very little to the movie. It is at times a little disjointed in its plot and the visuals do tend to get in the way. I really didn't expect critics to like the movie and in all honesty, its anime style is not going to be something that American audiences are going to easily accept. I personally liked that the movie worked to remain true to its origins. It made me want to go back and re-watch the original animated film. Is it the best movie of the year? No. As a fan of the original, I liked the overall texture and casting of the movie. If you're going for just the action, it has that too, but if you want a little less anime form, you might want to stick with something like The Matrix. 

Again, if you're not a fan, you like most critics will probably not like Ghost in the Shell. I am a fan, and I did like it. I am going to guess that in the larger Asian market, it might do well and if it does, there might be more in store for Section 9 and Major. I liked it in 3-D and I will likely buy the Blu-ray. 

For fans, below are few pics comparing the actors with the original anime. 

Major

Ishikawa 

Batou before enhancement

Togusa 

Aramak

Beauty and the Beast: A "Live" Action Adaptation

There are no spoilers here for Beauty and the Beast if you've seen the 1991 Disney animated version or the Broadway show which opened in 1993. In reality, the new version is actually more of an adaptation of the Broadway show than the cartoon, but it does expand the mythology of the story. If my memory serves, the songs in the new movie that were not in the animated film and may be new to some are from the stage show with the exception of two new songs, "Evermore" and "Days in the Sun." At any rate, if you are expecting some strange twist in the new film there is nothing new. If you've never seen the original, you need to get out more often and you have no idea what you are missing.

There is only one real new reveal in this movie and that is we learn what happened to Belle's (Emma Watson) mother. No. I am not going to tell you. It also adds nothing to the story. There has also been some controversy as to including a gay character in the new version. In the original, LeFou, now played by Josh Gad, was kind of Chester, the little dog, with Gaston (Luke Evans) as Spike, the big dog, for kids. For adults, however, it was reasonably clear that part of the humor of Gaston and LeFou was that Gaston was so self-absorbed, he didn't get why LeFou idolized him. Trying to drive home this in the new movie also serves no real purpose. It is a controversy that is much ado.

So let's talk movie! As long as you accept CGI as live action, then Beauty and the Beast is live action. There are a few characters that have been expanded upon with some favorites still offering us a chance to be their guest. There is, of course, Lumiere (Ewan McGregor) and Cogsworth (Ian McKellen) who play their respective roles perfectly. Emma Thompson lends her gifts to becoming Mrs. Potts and mother to Chip (Nathan Mack). The role of the feather duster, renamed Plumette from Fifi in the new version, is played Gugu Mbatha-Raw and the Wardrobe, Madame Garderobe, is played by Audra McDonald have expanded roles. A new addition is a harpsichord, Maestro Cadenza, played by the inestimable Stanley Tucci. The cast of "objects" are perfect and a great deal of fun.

Two other expanded roles are those of the Enchantress (Hattie Morahan) and the always astonishing Kevin Cline as Belle's dad, Maurice. Both add to and expand the original story. Cline shines in his playing of the single dad trying to bring up an educated female in Eighteenth-Century France.

The central characters are of course Belle, Gaston, LeFou and the Beast (Dan Stevens).  I thought Emma Watson was a bit weak in the opening number of "Bon Jour" but that may also just be the quality of the sound mixing for that number and that my hearing is not what it used to be. Watson though still captures our collective hearts as the girl who is just a little strange. Gaston and LeFou are fun and have captured the roles. I admit that I am not a huge fan of Josh Gad, but he is really suited to the role of LeFou. Evans is the quintessential egomaniac and Disney bad guy as Gaston, who is a bit less comic and a bit crueler than the original. To say that Dan Stevens is rapidly becoming one of my favorite actors is an understatement. His work in Legion is stellar and so is his performance as Beast.  It is little wonder that given the iconic nature of the original cast for the cartoon, Disney has pulled out all the stops in bringing together such an incredible cast of great actors to take on the roles that were immortalized in the animated version. 

If there is one thing that is a bit over-done in this version is the "flying camera" pan which seems to be director Bill Condon's favorite shot. While it is cool a couple of times, it gets a bit old and jarring in 3-D. Speaking of which, if you see the movie in 3-D the snowball is perhaps the first time I've ever almost ducked in a 3-D movie. 

I like the movie and it sets a great tone. I will buy the Blu-ray. 

Logan, Not Your Average Superhero Movie

Seventeen years ago, Hugh Jackman became The Wolverine in the X-Men movie franchise. He was
an instant success. Despite some often panned movies, there was always Jackman's Logan, Weapon X, Wolverine...that fans loved. He is a fan favorite and will remain the iconic actor by which all who follow in the role will be measured. Even though Jackman's Wolverine never donned the famed yellow spandex of the comic book, He leaves us with his last and probably best of the X-Men movies ever made, Logan.

Logan is inspired by the comic book series Old Man Logan. It is loosely based on the alternative world series, but still, it works as yet another timeline in the X-Men saga. The movie is set in 2029. That does not mean it's the same timeline as the other movies since most of the X-Men movies are not sequential anyways. It is as Time puts it, perhaps the most complex timeline in the movie universe. It also doesn't actually mean that Logan takes place in any of the timelines.

Only a few minor spoilers follow. Nothing that isn't revealed in the exposition of the movie. 

Logan, who has tried to leave Wolverine behind him, drives a limousine in Texas. He has taken the now 90 plus year-old Professor Charles Xavier to live in an abandoned mill in Mexico. While he drives to make his living, Charles is cared for by mutant and one-time mutant hunter, Caliban, an albino. Professor X is suffering from a deteriorating brain disease which makes his powerful telepathic mind a danger. There are several veiled references to the three mutants as being in hiding because of an event in which Professor X lost control of his ability. There are also references that most of the other mutants have disappeared or died, but there is no reference or detail. Patrick Stewart returns as Professor X and has also announced that this too will be his last time in the chair.

Logan has finally begun to age. Something is physically wrong with the superhero but has he also lost his drive to do good? We will find out when Logan and Professor X are introduced to a young mutant named Laura. Laura is a mutant that was created through genetic manipulation using Logan's own DNA. In the comics, she will become Weapon 23 who donned the mantle of the Wolverine in the alternative world. In the movie, she is a child who was first trained as a weapon and killer.  She is played by the newcomer, Dafne Keen who plays a very believable child-weapon. They are confronted by villains galore. Most notably is the leader of the military team trying to recapture Laura, Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) and evil mad-scientist Dr. Rice (Richard E. Grant).

Logan is a different superhero movie. Its tone is somber and often dark. Wolverine is not the man he once was. He is beaten by what he has witnessed by his long life. His only remaining "family" is Professor X and the albino mutant, Caliban, that once hunted him and others like him. It is this that drives the movie, and also makes it probably the best in the saga so far. I for one will miss Jackman and Stewart but I also look forward to the new. Logan is the perfect bookend to the time that Jackman has spent as The Wolverine and the best, I think, of the X-Men franchise.

Logan is rated R for language and its extreme violence. The rating truly matches the gritty tone of the movie. It also has no after credit scene. Don't despair. It makes perfect sense and if you truly miss the after credit scene, you get a brief preview of Deadpool 2 at the beginning.

I will buy the Blue-ray.