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Sunday, June 24, 2018

"Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom"


“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” picks up three years after “Jurassic World.”  The fantasy-filled theme park is no more and dinosaurs are roaming in the wild as nature intended.  There's only one problem; Isla Nublar's dormant volcano is going to erupt.  Without human intervention, all the dinosaurs will soon cease to exist (again).

Here comes the moral dilemma.  Do these previously extinct prehistoric animals, revived by a private enterprise, deserve protection of the U.S. Government and at the expense of taxpayers like other endangered species? 

When the answer is no, a company connected to Jurassic Park's founder, Dr. John Hammond's former business partner, Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), reaches out to a dinosaurs protection organization led by now conservationist Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas-Howard, “Hereafter”).

The plan is to rescue these animals by moving them into an island sanctuary nearby.  As the former operations manager of the park, Claire's expertise is needed to get into the old park's system and locate the dinosaurs.  She persuades her ex-boyfriend and raptor trainer, Owen Grady (Chris Pratt, “Avengers: Infinity War”) to go with her and her team, tech geek Franklin Webb (Justice Smith) and paleo-veterinarian Zia Rodriguez (Daniella Pineda).

It's no surprise that things do not go according to plan.  As a matter of fact, the plan is not what it seems.  Mercenaries and profiteers (Rafe Spall, Ted Levine, Toby Jones, B.D. Wong) want to save the dinosaurs for their own self-serving benefits.  These dinosaurs are worth millions and can be used for other purposes. 

Director J.A. Bayona sets up suspenseful set pieces and action sequences from the start.  Unlike the sun-lit wonder of “Jurassic World,” 'Fallen Kingdom' starts off with a harrowing underwater nighttime expedition in the rain. Once Claire and company arrive at the island, they are trapped in an underground bunker, cracking with shots of hot lava and a monstrous creature coming out of hiding.   Then out in the open, dinosaurs are running amok, trying to outrun shooting fire balls and engulfing smoke.  Chaos descends on land and in the ocean, with a rolling and sinking gyrosphere.

Once the dinosaurs are off the island, they are transported into the mainland, specifically an expansive estate in Northern California, the Lockwood Estate.  Caught in the mayhem is Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon), Benjamin's granddaughter.  Terror reigns in the manor.  Hide-and-seek and attack occur in confined spaces, lending a claustrophobic feel.  The filmmaker takes advantage of the Gothic setting with a play of light and shadow.

The film is shot beautifully for maximum chill.  A lone, gentle giant left behind on the shore, disappearing into a desperate silhouette in an ash cloud.  A ferocious hybrid creature roaring on the rooftop against the backdrop of a moonlit rainstorm.  A gigantic beast lurking beneath the sea surface dotted with surfers.  An intelligent dino roaming across rocky scape and looming steps away from civilization.

The kingdom may have fallen apart, but life finds a way.  There's also a twist that doesn't stop with loose dinosaurs.  The ending sets up for a sequel where humans would have no choice but face the consequences of their action. “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” is a tense and thrilling ride with a surprisingly thought-provoking message.



Friday, June 22, 2018

"Incredibles 2"


After 14 years, “The Incredibles” made an incredible return. Led by the same director, Brad Bird (“Tomorrowland,” “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol”), it's as if the Incredibles family never left.

Things have changed a lot though. It's illegal now to be superheroes because they leave behind large collateral damage while doing their do-gooder work. Even the government has ended the program that protects them. As a result, the Incredibles family – Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible) and his wife Helen (Elastigirl), and kids - teenager Violet, middle child Dashiel and baby Jack-Jack have been forced to live in a cheap motel. Mr. Incredible would soon have no choice but return to insurance work to make ends meet.

When a brother-sister team (Winston Deavor and Evelyn) of a tech company approaches them to change people's perception of superheroes, garner public support and eventually have the law overturned, they jump on it with reservations.

Elastigirl, who has a cleaner crime-fighting record, is the chosen one, leaving the proud Mr. Incredible the caretaker of their kids.  Elastigirl goes to work, wearing a body camera to show people first-hand accounts of saving the city.  Staking out, sneaking in and out, spying and fighting crimes.  The villain is Screenslaver, who hypnotizes people through computer monitors.  There's a larger master villain at work though, with a bigger purpose.

Meanwhile, sleep-deprived, stay-at-home dad Mr. Incredible is left dealing with Violet's first crush incident, Dashiel's math homework problems, and discovery of Jack-Jack multitude of superpowers (Edna Mode comes to the rescue!). Speaking of Jack-Jack, the superpowered baby is the source of many laugh outloud moments with the raccoon showdown as the highlight.

Action scenes are crisply rendered and cleanly cut.  Superheoic acts move at a breakneck speed, like stopping a runaway monorail, speeding mega-yacht or crashing jet.  "Incredibles 2" is an incredibly fun, action-packed family adventure.



Upcoming Movies: December 2018


{Originally posted on 12/01/18]

December 7
"Mary Queen of Scots" - Mary Stuart's attempt to overthrow her cousin Elizabeth I, Queen of England, finds her condemned to years of imprisonment before facing execution.

"Under the Silver Lake" - A man, intelligent but without purpose, finds a mysterious woman swimming in his apartment's pool one night. The next morning, she disappears. He sets off across LA to find her, and along the way he uncovers a conspiracy far more bizarre.

December 14
"Mortal Engines" (https://www.mortalengines.com) - A mysterious young woman joins forces with a dangerous outlaw with a bounty on her head and an outcast to lead a rebellion against a giant predator city on wheels.

"Second Act" (https://www.secondact.movie) - A big box store worker reinvents her life and her life-story and shows Madison Avenue what street smarts can do.

December 21
"Aquaman" (https://www.aquamanmovie.com) - Arthur Curry learns that he is the heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, and must step forward to lead his people and be a hero to the world.

"Bumblebee" (https://www.paramount.com/movies/bumblebee) - On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. One girl, trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken.

"Mary Poppins Returns" (https://movies.disney.com/mary-poppins-returns) - Decades after her original visit, the magical nanny returns to help the Banks siblings through a difficult time in their lives.

December 28
"Destroyer" - A police detective reconnects with people from an undercover assignment in her distant past in order to make peace.

"On the Basis of Sex" (http://www.focusfeatures.com/on-the-basis-of-sex) - The story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, her struggles for equal rights and what she had to overcome in order to become a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

"Vice" - explores how a bureaucratic Washington insider quietly became the most powerful man in the world as Vice-President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways still felt today.

Sunday, June 17, 2018

"American Animals"


Amid the cornucopia of summer blockbusters this month ("Ocean's 8," Incredibles 2," Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom"), along came a phenomenal little film called "American Animals."  The title is unappealing, but there's a reason why it's titled that way.

This is a true story of four privileged American college students at the University of Transylvania, Kentucky who planned a bizarre robbery of rare, exclusive books in the university library in 2004.  The crown jewel is the first edition of John James Audubon book, more like a collection of his paintings of birds, worth a cool $12 million.

Yearning for adventure, excitement and dramatic change in their mundane, midwest lives, the young men plot to pull off the outrageous heist.  The college bandits are composed of  leader-planner/athlete, Warren Lipka (Evan Peters, "X-Men: Days of Future Past"); number two-idea man/artist, Spencer Reinhard (Barry Keoghan; numbers/logistics man, Eric Borsuk (Jared Abrahamson), and entrepreneur/getaway driver Chas Allen (Blake Jenner, "Supergirl").

The filmmaker cleverly intersperses the scenes with interviews with the real-life robbers and some of the people in their lives at the present time.  They show the dynamics of the relationships, different accounts of what happened, thoughts, doubts, confessions and aftermath. Our lives are a collection of choices.  There are moments where you know you may make a life-altering choice; this is when you get to decide.  While the aftermath is known from the start, the trip to get there is riveting. The day of the robbery, underscored with a pulse-pounding score, tensely plays out like a ticking bomb.

Co-distributed by MoviePass (if you don't have it, you've missed out!), "American Animals" is a hybrid, crime docu-thriller that is stranger than fiction.

https://www.sdentertainer.com/movies/movie-reviews-american-animals-adrift/

Video: https://tinyurl.com/americananimalsvideo

Sunday, June 10, 2018

"Ocean's 8"


"A 'him' gets noticed.  A 'her gets ignored."  To pull off the biggest heist of the century, you will need to be ignored.  The "Ocean" series make waves with an all-female ensemble spinoff, "Ocean's 8."

Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock, "Gravity"), Danny Ocean's (George Clooney) sister, is released from prison after being incarcerated for five years for a con gone wrong.  She waltzes out in a little black dress and scams her way into fancy cosmetics and clothes and a luxury hotel room.  It's a sleek little sequence.

Debbie reaches out to her former partner-in-crime, Lou (Cate Blanchett, "Thor: Ragnarok").  Together they put together a crew with special skills - fashion designer Rose (Helena Bonham-Carter, "The King's Speech"), jeweler Amita (Mindy Kaling), hacker Nine Ball (Rihanna), pickpocket (Awkwafina), fence Tammy (Sarah Paulson).

The target is the Toussaint, a $150 million necklace at the world's most prestigious fashion event in New York City, the Met Gala.  The diamond necklace is currently stored in a Cartier underground vault.  The plan is to get the necklace be worn by a fashionable starlet and host of the star-studded event, Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway, "Interstellar"), and make the switch there before the necklace is returned to the vault after the event ends.  Not only it's a tall order, it's also an impossible one.

The crew needs to get to the starlet and have her agreed to be dressed by the designer.  The necklace needs to be seen in person in order to be scanned and cloned.  The security map of the building and seating charts need to be obtained and studied.  Deception, infiltration, encounter, switcheroo and getaway need to be planned to the exact detail.  Things could go sideways easily and they would all end up in jail.

The impossible mission in "Ocean's 8" requires more than a suspension of disbelief and there are plodding moments in the setup.  But situational comedy and cheeky interplay among the characters help a lot.  The characters are a mix of low-key, cool, calculating, improvising, down-on-her-luck, ditzy and diva-ish.  Hathaway is the highlight as she lampoons celebrity with her vainglorious portrayal.

Playing fast and loose and with dresses and jewels on display, it's a glitzy ride.  Not all the secrets and tricks are known and it's a treat to see how they come together and the payoff is revealed.

A stylish, sassy heist, "Ocean's 8" is a breezy treat for a girls night out or crime caper lovers.

https://www.sdentertainer.com/movies/movie-review-oceans-8/

Saturday, June 9, 2018

Upcoming Movies: November 2018


[Originally posted on 10/27/18]

November 2
"The Nutcracker and the Four Realms" (https://movies.disney.com/the-nutcracker-and-the-four-realms) - A young girl is transported into a magical world of gingerbread soldiers and an army of mice.

"A Private War" - One of the most celebrated war correspondents of our time, Marie Colvin is an utterly fearless and rebellious spirit, driven to the frontline of conflicts across the globe to give voice to the voiceless.

November 9
"The Grinch" (https://www.grinchmovie.com) - A grumpy Grinch plots to ruin Christmas for the village of Whoville.

The Girl in the Spider's Web (http://www.girlinthespidersweb.movie/site/) - A young computer hacker and a journalist find themselves caught in a web of spies, cybercriminals and corrupt government officials.

November 16
"Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindlewald" (http://www.fantasticbeasts.com) - The second installment of the "Fantastic Beasts" series set in J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World featuring the adventures of magizoologist Newt Scamander.

"Widows" - Set in contemporary Chicago, amidst a time of turmoil, four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities, take fate into their own hands, and conspire to forge a future on their own terms.

November 23
"Raplh Breaks the Internet" (https://movies.disney.com/ralph-breaks-the-internet-wreck-it-ralph-2) - Six years after the events of "Wreck-It Ralph", Ralph and Vanellope, now friends, discover a wi-fi router in their arcade, leading them into a new adventure.

"Robin Hood" (https://www.robinhood.movie) - A war-hardened Crusader and his Moorish commander mount an audacious revolt against the corrupt English crown in a thrilling action-adventure packed with gritty battlefield exploits, mind-blowing fight choreography, and a timeless romance.

Friday, June 8, 2018

Upcoming Movies: October 2018




[Originally published on 09/26/18]

October 5
"Venom" (http://www.venom.movie/site/) - When Eddie Brock acquires the powers of a symbiote, he will have to release his alter-ego "Venom" to save his life.

"A Star is Born" (http://www.astarisbornmovie.com) - A musician helps a young singer and actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.

October 12
"Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween" - Halloween comes to life in a comedy adventure based on R.L. Stine's best-selling series of books.

"First Man" (https://www.firstman.com) - A look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.

October 19
"Halloween" (https://www.halloweenmovie.com) - Laurie Strode comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.

"Serenity" - The mysterious past of a fishing boat captain comes back to haunt him, when his ex-wife tracks him down with a desperate plea for help, ensnaring his life in a new reality that may not be all that it seems.

October 26
"Johnny English Strikes Again" (http://www.johnnyenglishmovie.com) - After a cyber-attack reveals the identity of all of the active undercover agents in Britain, Johnny English is forced to come out of retirement to find the mastermind hacker.

"Indivisible" -  Based on a true story of Army Chaplain Darren Turner and his wife Heather. When war etches battle scars on their hearts, they face one more battle: the fight to save their marriage. One marriage, one family, under God.

Sunday, June 3, 2018

"Adrift"


In 1983, Tami Oldham (Shailene Woodley, "Divergent" series) is a free-spirited 23-year old who left her San Diego home and arrives in Tahiti.  She works odd-end jobs to make ends meet, earning enough to fund her next trip.  She meets a British sailor, Richard Sharp (Sam Clafin, ("The Hunger Games" series), who considers the open seas his home.  Their mutual wanderlust brings them close and they fall in love.

When an older couple offers them a job to sail their luxury sailboat to San Diego for a $10K and first-class tickets, they set sail for a trip of their lives.  A hurricane nearly sinks the sailboat and the uneventful trip becomes a survival story.  Richard is severely injured and it's up to Tami to care for him, ration food and water, fix the sailboat and get them to safety.  Stranded, scared, sun-burned, starving and dehydrated, the wounded novice sailor decides to change the course from San Diego to Hawaii, closer but still a journey of 1,500 miles.  If she misses Hawaii, there would be no other land until Japan.

Director Baltasar Kormakur ("Everest") parallels the couple's struggle to survive and being adrift with their courtship, the carefreeness of a young love in a tropical paradise filled with sea breeze and romantic sunsets.  If the constant flashbacks break the dramatic momentum, there's a reason for the structure.  A nifty twist makes it effective in the end.

Since the film is based on a true story, it's best to go in without knowing anything.  Among the summer blockbuster movies, "Adrift" floats swimmingly as a woman vs. nature and love story.

https://www.sdentertainer.com/movies/movie-reviews-american-animals-adrift/


Friday, June 1, 2018

Upcoming Movies: September 2018


[Originally posted on 08/24/18]

September 7
"Peppermint" (https://www.peppermint.movie)  - A revenge story about a young mother who finds herself with nothing to lose, and is now going to take from her enemies the very life they stole from her.

September 14
"The Predator" (https://www.foxmovies.com/movies/the-predator) - When a young boy accidentally triggers the universe's most lethal hunters' return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled science teacher can prevent the end of the human race.

"A Simple Favor" (https://asimplefavor.movie) - Centering around a mommy blogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend sudden disappearance from their small town.

September 21
"The House with a Clock on Its Walls" (https://www.housewithaclock.com) - A young orphan aids his magical uncle in locating a clock with the power to bring about the end of the world.

"Life Itself" (https://www.lifeitself.movie) - As a young couple goes from college romance to marriage and the birth of their first child, the unexpected twists of their journey create reverberations that echo over continents and through lifetimes.

September 28
"Smallfoot" (https://www.warnerbros.com/smallfoot) - A Yeti is convinced that the elusive creatures known as "humans" really do exist.

"The Old Man & the Gun" - Based on the true story of Forrest Tucker and his audacious escape from San Quentin at the age of 70 to an unprecedented string of heists that confounded authorities and enchanted the public.