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Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Cabin Fever 2016 * * Stars

Cabin FeverDirector: Travis Zariwny
Year: 2016
Rated NR
Rating: * * Stars
Cast: Samuel Davis, Gage Golightly, Matthew Daddario

"We can eat alone, we can sleep alone but we have to stick together". Huh? So quips the paperboard character of Paul from my latest review (he's played by Samuel Davis)

Anyway, the story of five campers subsiding to a flesh-eating virus, is redone in 2016's unrelieved Cabin Fever. If you've seen 2002's original, here's what's different: There's a dissimilar ending, there's an elaboration on the storyline, the Winston character is now a female, the music from The Shining is used in the opening credits, there is less utilization of a red-hued palate, and there are no bloodied flashbacks. Also, the murderous dog named Dr. Mambo is more frantically portrayed, there is virtually no 80's horror feel, and the characters are more sympathetic (I liked it better in the first flick when they were meaner to each other). Still, this comes off as an almost uniform, cash grab remake with director Travis Z (his real name is Travis Zariwny) not updating this thing with any real sense of style or substance (despite a foreboding musical score). He decides to revel in paint-by-numbers filmmaking with his actors/actresses going through the motions as if they were robotic caricatures trying to be Rider Strong, Jordan Ladd, and James DeBello (the troupers from the first movie).

In truth, Cabin Fever is a midsize, acting effort that's admirable despite a first hour that makes you want to turn the DVD player off (I was almost tempted to by sheer regularity). You pretty much know everything that comes around the corner. Heck, almost every frame is identical with previous helmer Eli Roth coming back to help out by co-writing the screenplay (did I mention that he's a producer as well).

See the new flick if you're part of a later generation (or if you've never viewed the first Cabin Fever) but know that most of it is a carbon copy of what was screened 14 years ago. That's too short of a wait to redo a film. You gotta let 2002's Cabin Fever breathe a little. Better than 1998's shot-by-shot re-imagining of Psycho but still not recommendable. Rating: 2 stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson

Finding Dory 2016 * * * Stars

Finding DoryDirectors: Andrew Stanton, Angus Maclane
Year: 2016
Rated PG
Rating: * * * Stars
Cast: Albert Brooks, Ed O'Neil, Ellen DeGeneres

Written by Cole Pollyea

As far as animated movie sequels go, Finding Dory is far from a letdown. It’s a vibrant, often times hilarious sequel that successfully incorporates the characters we grew so fond of in its predecessor, Finding Nemo, and manages to add new ones that are easy to fall in love with. And needless to say, it is also a perfectly enjoyable viewing experience for all members of the family.

Taking on a familiar plot, Finding Dory follows the adverse tasks taken on by Dory in her herculean attempt to find her long lost parents. Why adverse or herculean? Because, for those of you who haven’t seen “Nemo” since its release in 2003, remember that Dory suffers from short term memory loss, but since this was early onset, as the movie reveals, this also means that she has forgotten many aspects of her childhood, which could be considered long term memory loss as well.

This attempt starts one day in the quaint life that she leads with Marlin and Nemo, exactly one year after Nemo’s rescue. Dory has an epiphany and all of a sudden can remember the address of her parents, which happens to be in California. This is on the other side of the world, however, and so, because of her condition, she enlists the help of many to get there, including Marlin and Nemo, the turtle Crush, an octopus named Hank, a whale shark named Destiny, a neurotic bird named Becky, among others. It’s a pleasure to watch and cheer on our beloved Dory in an effort that we can all hold near and dear if for no other reason than for the emotional plight that we were a part of in Finding Nemo.

But as far as animated movies go, Finding Dory is not on par with its wildly imaginative and unequivocally sentimental predecessor. Since it is more or less a retread of the same story, it doesn’t have the originality of “Nemo”. Also, since the movie’s climax is out of place and since its ideals are just not as compelling, its conclusion is simply not as impactful as “Nemo”’s. The bottom line is that Finding Dory is neither as grand nor as rewarding as one might hope. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not a fun ride.

Written by Cole Pollyea

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Midnight Special 2016 * * Stars

Midnight SpecialDirector: Jeff Nichols
Year: 2016
Rated PG-13
Rating: * * Stars
Cast: Michael Shannon, Adam Driver, Joel Edgerton

The actors/actresses speak in annoying monotones, the musical score is ominous, everything in frame takes itself way too seriously, and Mud's Jeff Nichols creates such a dark atmosphere making it hard to tell what's exactly going on. That's the vibe I got from 2016's Midnight Special (my latest review). In truth, "Special" is an overrated swipe of slight, sci-fi mumbo jumbo. The critics have seemed to embrace it. This one can't. Give me the less cynical, less violent E.T. or 1984's Starman as an acceptable opposition.

For kicks-and-giggles, CCR's beloved tune of the same name doesn't make "Special" any more satisfying. The song is redone in the closing credits, made to be more solemn and made to be a laughable wink wink for the last hour and 51 minutes.

Slow-moving yet edited prematurely with a decent enough cast (Michael Shannon, Adam Driver, and an unrecognizable Kirsten Dunst), Midnight Special doesn't exactly move you. It's a cold film, deemed strictly for the military front. Yeah there is some admirable storytelling and reasonable direction, but there's literally no background on the characters and their bellicose motivations.

Here's the gist: I used "Special's" wiki page to figure out the true plot workings and discovered that this movie takes place in Louisiana, Texas, and Florida. It's about a boy (or I guess alien) who has some special, unworldly powers. His dad (Roy Tomlin played by Michael Shannon) is part of a religious cult and when the people there find out about the light coming from his son's eyes (Alton played effectively by The Confirmation's Jaeden Lieberher), well Roy escapes said cult with Alton and his friend, Lucas (played by Joel Edgerton who seems to be in everything these days). An amber alert is in effect as all kinds of authorities want to arrest the two men while capturing Alton to find out what really makes him tick. Ultimately, Alton has to get to a place where he can confront other extraterrestrial hosts and be the subject of a tumulus world event to occur. If it all sounds familiar, it is. If you think this thing trades decent production values with ho-hum, appreciable momentum, well it does. "Special" was released in March with its box office take being pretty weak (6.2 million worldwide). I don't blame the average moviegoer whose word of mouth was obviously voiced.

Stylish yet silly, well-intentioned yet overly dramatic, you can call Midnight Special Close Encounters of the "irrelevant" Kind. It didn't quite "shine a light on me." Rating: 2 stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates 2016 * * Stars

Mike and Dave Need Wedding DatesDirector: Jake Szymanski
Year: 2016
Rated R
Rating: * * Stars
Cast: Zac Efron, Anna Kendrick, Adam DeVine, Aubrey Plaza

The title says it all. Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (my latest review) marks the third time I've seen a comedy that takes place in Hawaii. The other two are 50 First Dates and 2008's Forgetting Sarah Marshall. "Wedding" which falls somewhere in the middle, is not as funny as it should be nor is it as raunchy as it could have been. A main character singing and grinding to "This Is How We Do It", been there. Another getting shockingly hit by a car, done that. Two female troupers getting high on Ecstasy and running around naked. Hey, that might be a new one.

Anyway, despite scenes involving an unconventional method of having sex, a women's full frontal nudity that brings back the 70's, and a line in which someone says, "you look like Don Johnson made a baby with 'Zack' Morris", Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates only garnered some mild chuckles from me. This film sans script, has persisting moments that go on for too long, and has line readings that scream improvisation overload. The rest is just f-bombs, conventional gross-out gags, and obligatory outtakes during the end credits. Comic up-and-comers Adam DeVine and Aubrey Plaza along with chiseled Zac Efron, don't stand a chance with this material. Oh and by the way, save your money if you haven't seen "Wedding" yet. Its trailer which promotes summer movie salivation, is way more humorous.

Directed by first-timer Jake Szymanski and distributed by 20th Century Fox, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates introduces us to a sexual term known as the "push pop" (don't ask). The flick follows bumbling brothers Dave Stangle (Efron) and Mike Stangle (DeVine). They come from an upper class family, have jobs as partners in the selling of liquor, and have the maturity level of a couple of teenagers. They also like to wreak havoc on family social events (their destructive behavior resulted in a bad trampoline accident and the near death of their grandfather, no joke). When it's announced that their younger sister is about to get married, well their dad insists that they bring dates to the wedding instead of constantly just hitting on random ladies. Mike and Dave agree and eventually go on The Wendy Williams Show to put the veritable word out. In walks Alice and Tatiana (played by Anne Kendrick and Audrey Plaza). They are a couple of stoner chicks who live in a rundown apartment, say stuff like "hot as balls", and eventually get fired from their jobs as waitresses. Mike and Dave choose them because they come off as good girls. Bully for that. They do this only so they can get a free trip to The Aloha State (the location of the nuptials), bide their time by watching male porn in their hotel room, and sneak off to smoke the almighty reefer.

Now "Wedding" is pretty lightweight satire despite a lot going on. I mean, you don't know where it is actually headed. There's a mixture of romance between Dave and Alice, a love/hate relationship between Tatiana and Mike, the bride-to-be getting hit in the face by a ATV (ouch), and a side plot involving a bisexual cousin trying to get with one of the ill-mannered rendezvous. In the end, it's really hard to care about anyone involved because the banter between the characters feels made up, forced, and badly off-putting. The similar-themed Wedding Crashers was no masterpiece but it felt more absolute. It had funnier zingers, an actual conclusion, and an actual resolution (its box office take of $285 million is proof of that).

All in all, after seeing Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, I'll probably see a lot worse comedies in my lifetime. And in jest, I'll probably see a lot more superior ones too. Rating: A fair 2 stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson

Saturday, July 9, 2016

Kill Kane 2016 * * 1/2 Stars

Kill KaneDirector: Adam Stephen Kelly
Year: 2016
Rated NR
Rating: * * 1/2 Stars
Cast: Vinnie Jones, Nicole Faraday, Sebastian Street

What I learned from 2016's Kill Kane, is that Vinnie Jones can carry a movie (even if it is only seventy-four minutes long). He shows a decent amount of screen presence here and it's refreshing to see that he's not featured in a supporting role or a role in which he has the most minimal of dialogue. Vinnie scowls, ponders, appears defensive, and exterminates people. Oh and in certain bits of light, he actually looks like 1980's Sean Connery (I'm not kidding).

Anyway, Jones plays PE teacher Ray Brookes. After witnessing a murder behind a trailer home, he is immediately ID'd by gangsters who break into his house and off his wife and two kids. Ray himself is left for dead but survives, waking up from a three month coma with revenge on his mind. As Kill Kane's running time flies by, Ray then starts to take the law into his own hands. Firearms, lying to police, stealthiness, reprisal, vanishing from the scene of the crime. If this all sounds familiar, it should. "Kane" is straight from the annals of 2014's John Wick, John Singleton's Four Brothers, Kill Bill, and Steven Seagal's Hard to Kill. When Vin's Brookes shoots dead one of the murderers who took his family away from him, he utters the words, "talk is cheap". A funny jab at the majority of Vinnie's acting career if you ask me.

So OK, "Kane" is not wholly original, has few locations, feels low budgeted, has a small cast, and has almost no backstory when it comes to the characters (how the heck did Mr. Brookes achieve such a special set of skills?). No matter. First time director Adam Stephen Kelly gives the proceedings the veritable Michael Mann treatment. Not withstanding his overuse of darkly lighted and effectively quick-minded flashbacks, Kelly somehow provides the film with a raw sense of flair and verve. This keeps you distracted from its shortcomings. Add Vinnie's likable performance, some thick British accents, and a stirring musical soundtrack by Bobby Cole (he scored Valley of the Witch) and you've got a stylish, rogue thriller that's nasty in its disposition and stock on plot. Bottom line: Kill Kane isn't "killer" great but as a rental, this "Kane" is at least able. Of note: Don't be distracted by the flick's shootout ending which looks like a laughably skewed, Mexican standoff. Rating: 2 and a half stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson

Monday, July 4, 2016

The Legend of Tarzan 2016 * * Stars

The Legend of TarzanDirector: David Yates
Year: 2016
Rated PG-13
Rating: * * Stars
Cast: Alexander Skarsgard, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson

I'm not an expert on the story of Tarzan, but here's what I picked up from a midday screening of 2016's latest re-imagining: John Clayton III (that's the actual name of the main character) grew up in Gabon, a country in Equatorial Africa. After his father died, he was raised by Apes, learned to swing on vines, be one with all sorts of animals, and befriend his true love, Jane Porter. Now as he lives a quiet life in London, he is summoned back to his homeland by a former American Civil War soldier. The mission: To investigate the interests of a mining camp in the Congo. Oh and did I mention there's some evil dude out there doing a little diamond smuggling as well?

Bottom line: The Legend of Tarzan is a passable yet unmemorable viewing experience. Call it a second-tier Raiders of the Lost Ark manufactured for the Disney age. Here's what you get acting-wise: Christoph Waltz gives us his standard, antagonistic performance (with strangling wrist beads as a wubby). Lead Alexander Skarsgard looks like a young Viggo Mortensen but lacks any real charisma. Samuel L. Jackson being Samuel L. Jackson, provides satire as a goofy sidekick with a gun. Finally, romantic interest Margot Robbie continues to disappoint after being so brilliant in The Wolf of Wall Street (her Jane narrates poorly and sort of thinks she's in a comedy). Yeah it's all packaged in 2016's gaudiest summer epic.

Now from what I've gathered, "Legend" is far more symbolic and dramatically inclined than 1981's Tarzan, the Ape Man. It's also probably more modernized and digitally enhanced than Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. Don't be fooled though. At just under two hours, this is a loud movie that is full of dangled, random flashbacks that almost deflate any perceptible momentum (Tarzan losing his daddy because Apes beat him to death, Tarzan learning to speak and communicate, Tarzan meeting Jane for the first time, etc.). Director David Yates who was in charge of the later Harry Potter flicks, employs a large canvas with his camera moving fast and forthright. To go along with Henry Braham's lush cinematography, he adds lots of extras in every frame, riverboat scenes that would make Francis Ford Coppola jealous, images of CGI wildlife that bring forth a Noah's Ark-like vision, and pedestrian action sequences that have some unnecessary slow motion to boot (John Clayton fights slave drivers, tribesmen, and just about everybody else here).

Overall, this is a great looking film that was obviously designed for the big screen and/or widescreen. However, it has a handsome yet muted Tarzan that is difficult to root for. Just because the musical score pounces in every time he's about to dispose of cardboard villains, doesn't mean his actions are worth memorializing. The same notions apply when he's about to kiss the girl, about to beat his chest with an infamous mating call, and about to become the hero. Rating: 2 stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson