Maleficant :Not The Sleeping Beauty You Remember

         Taking a classic animated film and bringing it to life isn't an easy task, even for Disney. They tried this before in some capacity with the Sorcerer's Apprentice and while I didn't hate it, it didn't move the needle. This go around they tell the story of Sleeping Beauty through the eyes of one of Disney's greatest villains, Maleficent. Angelina Jolie is cast in the title role and she brings with her some baggage. She is a great actress, but there are people who dislike her for the sake of it. Rumors of tension between her and director Robert Stromberg, a inflated budget, and people not crazy about the concept in general makes it a high  risk endeavor. Will the risk pay off?


       Two neighboring kingdoms have their issues. Maleficant is a care free fairy living in a magical forest. She meets a human, falls in love, and grows to be a protector of her forest kingdom. She is betrayed by her only love and grows cold and evil. Upon learning that the man who broke her heart and robbed her of one her most precious possessions, has become the king she becomes more angry. She curses his first born daughter and builds a wall of thorns. The king grows mad while Maleficant watches and befriends his daughter. Soon she begins to regret the curse that cannot be broken and discovers that she is both the hero and villain of the story.

    Angelina Jolie looks the part. She can play dark and lonely, but at the same time is great when she brings comedy to the classic villain. The look of the film is incredible and it really does a great job of bringing the character to life. She is the villain of the story, but you cannot help but sympathize with her plight. The magic is fun and it's tough to imagine anyone, but Jolie in the role.

     The rest of the cast is fun too. Sharlto Copley is such a good villain. He is a great actor that I think a lot of people over look. He is the bad guy, but he does a great job struggling with the evil side of himself. Copley is the king, but is so good at being crazy that it's fun to watch. He is great when he begs and believable when dishing out threats.

      Maleficant is visually stunning. The story takes what you loved about the classic and creates depth. It makes the old new again. Great cast, great balance of action and story, and fun for nearly every age and gender. Disney has lost a lot in the last few summers. John Carter, The Lone Ranger, and a couple of others. Maleficant was a risk, but some risks pay off and this one should. It is definitely worth the reward and truly is a beautiful film. It's not the classic Sleeping Beauty, but it offers up so much more.

X-MEN:Days Of Future Past Storyline Corrections

   There is a lot riding on the X-Men franchise. It is arguably one of the most popular comic books in existence. The film adaptations have made sick money, but it also is a franchise that has left it's fan base angered at times. The third installment of the franchise causes fans the most strife. Fox is also notorious for ruining characters. This time around they take one of the most popular story arcs in the comics and attempt to bring it to life. My friend McConnel would probably agree that the fan boy in me really comes out when it comes to X-Men. Make no mistake, I hated X-Men the Last Stand. It was in a word,"garbage." Characters filled the screen to be used wrong and serve no real purpose. It took another popular story arc and failed miserably to bring it to life. Fox now brings Bryan Singer back and away we go.

  In a very "Terminator-esque," future the mutants and humans are all but extinct. The few that remain are desperately trying to save the world. They have found a way to alter the timeline and prevent the current world they live in from existing. Based on his healing factor, Wolverine (Huge Jacked-Man) is sent back to 1973 to stop the events that led to their current world being created. A world where giant robots called, "Sentinels," hunt humans and mutants alike. Wolverine awakens to a mentally broken Professor X and a Magneto imprisoned by the government. Time is running out and the fate of the world is once again in Wolverine's hands.

    Hugh is better than ever as Logan. I was a fan of, "The Wolverine." It had flaws, but they finally got the character right. Jackman is slides right into the role again and wears it like a glove. Time travel has always been the Hollywood way of correcting problems and they do their best to fix the issues most of us had with Wolverine's first solo outing. The door is wide open for wear Wolverine ends up next. The film doesn't erase the bastardization of Dead pool, but after this it will be easy to try and forget it.

    You win an Oscar and you get to be the start. It was that way for Halle Berry which didn't go so well in X3 and now it's Jennifer Lawrence's movie, but it works. Mystique is the center of this story. Lawrence doesn't disappoint. She looks incredible and carries her load well. I don't know that a solo Mystique move would work, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happened.

   There are pretty significant differences between the movie and the comic arc, but they work for the movie. The old and young versions of Xavier and Magneto play very well. They take liberties with a few of the characters, but it doesn't hurt the film. A few characters didn't make the cut, but the ones that did are used properly. People wanted explanations for Beast being human, Xavier walking, and where the rest of the First Class are? Those questions are answered in a satisfactory manor. They pretty much give the finger to X3 and I applaud that direction. Quicksilver isn't as bad as he looks and Peter Dinklage is good, but Boliver Trask is not nearly the monster that Tyrion Lanister is.

   The are some fun story moments and it is epic in scale. They still can't seem to do what all X films do and put characters that don't belong into a story. Bishop being one of them. He works well enough, but much like "Angel," in X-Men: First Class, he doesn't fit here. It was cool to see Ice Man closer to right and Blink is very cool. It's not as good as X2, but it is a shot of improvement into a franchise that needed it. It's worth the ride and make sure you stay to the last credits roll. The future is wide open, but the quick trip to the past is right up there with the end of The Avengers and the Thanos reveal .

Godzilla....This Time Plot Matters

         Godzilla isn't a stranger to the big screen. Low budget Japanese movies from before most of us were born and of course the really bad 1998 remake. He has seen cartoons, toys, and even video games. Monster movies had a cult following, but how well does a giant monster fare in 2014 American cinema?

        Story is what the 1998 version lacked and this is the first thing that the film gets right. An accident at a nuclear plant leaves a scientist (Bryan Cranston) angry and grief stricken, he spends fifteen years trying to solve the mystery surrounding a nuclear disaster that killed his wife. Another scientist (Ken Watanabe) is called in to research the discovery at the plant and releases an even bigger threat onto the earth. When Cranston is arrested for trespassing his son (Aaron-Taylor Johnson) must retrieve him and becomes involved in the global threat. Monsters begin attacking human populations and an even bigger monster wrecks havoc in an attempt to stop them.

          The design of Godzilla is really cool. It looks like he is fighting the monster from Cloverfield even though that isn't the case. The back story of Godzilla is barely explained, but it still works. You never actually get a solid explanation of where any of the monsters come from. We get theories from Watanabe's characters  and surprisingly it works fine. The fights are cool and you can tell that they really tried to stay true to what the classic Japanese films were about.

         The cast is solid. The human involvement is handled well and I liked the scope. There are some moments that seem far fetched, but we are talking about a movie with giant monsters. Suspend your disbelief and just go with it. We go awhile without a Godzilla reveal, but it is worth the wait. My biggest complaint is that Cranston isn't in the movie long enough. I am also having trouble watching whole cities get destroyed. I guess it's a sign of the world we live in. I enjoyed the fact that Godzilla was the good guy, I appreciated the story, and had a lot of fun. Grab some popcorn, relax, and spend the first part of summer with the king of monsters.

The Amazingly Flawed Spider-Man 2

   Spider-Man made money, but people were mixed on the story from Sony's reboot. I loved Garfield, but thought the movie lacked the heart of Raimi's first effort. It promised a story we hadn't heard before, but we didn't exactly get that. Director Mark Webb has brought Andrew Garfield and  Emma Stone back for another spin. The trailers show more villains, a great looking costume, and the promise of Spidey's greatest battle. Does it deliver? Yes and no. The film is a good movie that has a lot wrong with it.

We pick up after the last one. Spidey is more comfortable as a super hero and has broken his promise of staying away from Gwen Stacy. We watch Peter struggle with his parents disappearance, his relationship with Gwen, and his problems with Oscorp. He gets reacquainted with Harry Osborn and learns of his secret motives. In the middle of it all, Electro is born and threatens the city and Spider-Man is the only one who can save them all.

 Let's start with the good....

 The Green Goblin. It was a great take on the character. The costume lacked a bit, but Dane Dehaan delivers and was a great Harry Osborn. He plays a good crazy. His Harry has plenty of issues and Dehaan really does a good job of taking us on Harry's journey. I am interested to see where his story evolves in the next chapter.

  The villains in general were OK. There are a lot of the in the movie. Spider-Man 3 made the mistake of villain overload. It didn't play well,but Webb did a great job of keeping them balanced. The fight scenes with all of them were fun and VERY well done. The mechanical Rhino makes sense and fits into this world. I plays well with the different take on Goblin. There are Dr. Octopus and Vulture hints as well and rumors of a Sinister Six film.

 Electro has a different look than the comic. They chose a more modern route and the effects were pretty cool. The battle scenes with Spider-Man and Electro deliver on all levels. Electro's new look again fits better into this world than a big lightening bolt mask would. Electro was decent, but we will cover the alter-ego in a few.

   The story is about Peter and Gwen. Their relationship. She was Peter's first love and the promise he broke. Garfield and Stone have chemistry and it is definitely a bright point to the film. The only problem I had is that it's too much. The on again off again makes the movie drag. I understand the need for emotion, but it was already established. Comic fans know the arc of Gwen's character and it is handled very well. Slightly different than in the comic, but it plays very well. The call to cut Mary Jane from the movie was the right one.

All of the above worked, but a lot didn't.

 Jamie Foxx is the biggest flaw. He is a great actor, but the story does him no favors. It literally takes the Riddler story from Batman Forever, changes a couple of things, and throws it into Spider-Man. The obsessed nerd with anger issues. The actor, the character, and the fans deserved more. Jamie is capable, but isn't given much to work with beyond some cool C.G.I.

 I appreciate that they followed up on the story of Peter's parents, but there is so much conflict let's start with some chronological fact.  Peter graduates in 2014 making him at maximum 18 years old.... His parents crash in a very advanced jet for 1997. They upload files on wireless/ in flight Internet that wasn't created until just a few years ago. The Sony Vaio product placement lap top was too advanced for circa 2001. Minor flaws, but I hate when people don't correctly research things.

 Aunt May goes to nursing school? She starts taking classes and at one point looks like she has been the head of nursing for years.

 Chris Cooper is wasted as Norman Osborn. Love the concept, but we get Harry too quickly in the Goblin role.

Peter sells photos to the Bugle, we see the Bugle, but we don;t get J.J.Jameson. Disappointing.

The suit is fantastic. The web singing is top notch. The film is better than the first and Andrew Garfield is a great Peter Parker. It is 45 min too long and needs some continuity help, but isn't bad. It will make money and I am happy with the direction the Spider-Man is swinging in. Give us J.J. Stop trying to make us feel sorry for the bad guys. It's close, but we are just not there yet.

Draft Day..A Number One Pick

  They say that baseball is our national pastime. I am here to tell you, that ain't true anymore. America is all about football. People follow the sport in the off season more than any other. The NFL has made it's draft an event. ESPN devotes hours of time to coverage and fans pay a premium to jam Radio City Music Hall to see it live. Hollywood has now decided to spend a day in the life of an NFL franchise and give us all a peek into the draft process. Welcome to Draft Day!

  We take a trip to Cleveland to spend some time with the Browns. A franchise that hasn't won in a long time. Sonny Weaver (Kevin Costner) is a GM in the shadow of his fathers legacy. He has what some believe was a solid quarterback (Tom Welling) who was injured the year before. Interest in linebacker that no one else wants (Chadwick Boseman). A secret relationship with one of his employees (Jennifer Garner) and an owner who demands that he make a splash in this years draft (Frank Langella). Sonny has two choices, trade his future to take the hottest player in the draft or build the team that he wants at the cost of his respect and job.

  Dennis Leary is the head coach that is at odds with all of Sonny's decisions. He is everything you would expect from Dennis Leary and it works. The right amount of sarcasm and attitude. We never see him actually coach, but he still has the commanding presence that you would expect. He blends well with the room full of pretend football coaches.

 Chadwick Boseman is the next big thing. He took on Jackie Robinson, will take on James Brown, and is probably five minutes away from becoming the next Will Smith. He balances the right mount of heart and charisma. The guy is a star. He and Costner border a little on Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding Jr. If he would have screamed," show me the money," it would have been fine.

  The cast really makes the movie work. Jennifer Garner is believable as a Midwest football girl. She is tough and whether she truly knows the game or not, plays it off very well. The rest of the cast is full of people most of us will remember from movies and TV. They blend nicely with NFL players like Arian Foster, Bernie Kosar, and the commish Roger Goodell. The film is stacked full of cameos from ESPN personalities, but it's Tom Welling as the Brown's lame duck quarterback that shines. He looks the part and seeing him made me wish Warner Bros would have considered him as a big screen Superman.

   The only real let down is Diddy. He isn't bad, but really had potential to be move vibrant. He is definitely not Bob Sugar and he should have been. The fun comes in the actual war room. The brief time that we spend seeing the draft process is awesome. We get a glimpse of what teams go through and in the end, I wanted to see how far this fictional Brown's team goes.

   Kevin Costner is great in sports movie. Bull Durham, Field Of Dreams, and For Love Of The Game. He gives us his first run in pro football and delivers. It's a football movie that we barely see any football and that is fine. It's a couples movie that guys will be in for. I made a lot of Jerry McGuire references and it's because there have been a lot of comparisons.I cannot say that it is that good, but Draft Day is definitely a first round pick.

Captain America: One Of The Best Comic Book Movies Ever

     Let me start by saying that I loved Captain America: The First Avenger. Let me add that I am very critical of comic book movies. Whether you're a fan of the genre or not, you should see this movie. Plot, cast, character development, Easter eggs, visual appeal, and more. It is all in there and it is, make no mistake, EPIC.

  This story is all about Cap and it should be. We pick up after the Avengers and Cap is still looking for his place in this world. He is essentially a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative and is working for Nick Fury (Sam Jackson). He is becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the agency's motives and ends up caught in the middle of a bigger conspiracy. He is still joined with Natasha Romanov/Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson), but doesn't exactly trust her either. Labeled  a fugitive and forced to find unlikely allies, Cap must battle himself, the agency designed to protect his country, and the greatest villain he has ever faced. The Winter Soldier. The outcome will rock the existing Marvel Movie Universe.

   The casting between Jackson,Evans, and Johansson is truly special. Samuel L. Jackson is Nick Fury in every sense of the word and Scarlet Johansson balances hot with VERY believable ass kicking. It is Chris Evans that truly brings the movie to life. There were people out there who were not crazy about his performance, but he is born to be Cap. He embodies the character physically and did what Ryan Reynolds couldn't do as Green Lantern and Hannibal King. He left the idea of too much comedic silliness at home. Evans shows us Steve Roger's pain and there are times where you feel sorry for the guy. He is a man from a different time and his confusion is really fun to watch. 

   The supporting cast is possibly the best of any comic book film. Anthony Mackie is awesome and people will fall in love with The Falcon. He helps Cap find himself and becomes a really cool ally. The concept of fitting a guy with wings in the modern world is really done well and makes complete sense. His aerial attack looks fantastic and hopefully they find some room for him in the next Avengers movie. Frank Grillo doesn't disappoint as Brock Rumlow. While he doesn't don the iconic gear, sorry for the spoiler, we do see the foreshadowing and I think it will satisfy. 

  

 The story is top notch. It is a political thriller played out by comic book characters. Everything makes sense. The fight scenes are incredible! The opening battle with George St- Pierre's Batroc is a lot of fun and every fight we see with Winter Soldier is amazing. Sebastian Stan plays him like a terminator. Intense and at times looking unstoppable. He is as dark as can be and just leaps right out of the comic lore. He is a great villain and not even the biggest threat in the film. 

   The film keeps the spirit of the first one, doesn't shy from history, and paints the picture of what the film universe is becoming. It ties in with the Agents Of  S.H.I.E.L.D. show and there are plenty of character mentions from the Avengers and beyond. The scenes with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) are really touching and the wounded warrior sub plot works well. There are post credit  scenes that open up the universe even more and you get caught up in the fall out from the events here. There are little cool references to watch for, tons of action, and a strong story. It is a comic book movie that has heart and leaves it's audience hungry for Cap's next adventure. Well played Marvel. Well played.

Divergent ...Not Just Another Teen Movie?

There have been several attempts at turning books geared towards teenage girls into successful franchises. Twilight and Hunger Games were very successful. The Mortal Instruments and The Host were not.  This time around Divergent hits the big screen and it will most definitely find its audience.  It might even find its audience skews a bit older.

In Divergent, society is divided into casts, Abnegation (the selfless), Erudite (the intelligent), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Candor (the honest) make up the different groups in the world remaining after nuclear war. Children are tested to see which group they belong to. They are free to choose any group they want. Each faction has its own initiation process and anyone who fails becomes an outcast and cannot return to their origin group. Once in a while a person appears who has traits of multiple groups. These are the divergent and they are feared because they can think for themselves. Beatrice is such a person and must determine where she belongs and stop a political struggle for control.

The cast is surprisingly good.  Shailene Woodley is Tris. She has an innocent appeal and works as both versions of our heroine. Theo James might be remembered from Underworld: Awakening or Downton Abbey, but he plays the mysterious Four. Jai Courtney is Eric and he might be my favorite character. He is there to be a jerk and is really good at it. Most of the movie focuses on Tris and her attempt to become Dauntless. They are agile, strong, fearless, and tatted up.  She isn’t Katniss and doesn’t have to be. There will be comparisons, but it is a different world and she is likable hero.

The movie will not have as much mass appeal, but it is not nearly as bad as some critics are saying. The world is cool and somewhat believable and the cast meshes pretty well together. It is an introductory story and that means a lot of set up. We spend a lot of time on Dauntless and really don’t get a lot of the back story of the brewing political take over. We get hints here and there, but not enough to make you really hate any of the villains beyond Eric.  Kate Winslet isn’t a strong villain. Mekhi Phifer isn’t there enough to develop opinions. I haven’t read the book so I can only assume this will change in the next movie.

My biggest flaw with Divergent is time. It is entirely too long. The training to be Dauntless is important, but I personally would rather have seen it summed up in a long Rocky Balboa type montage. The length will deter some from really enjoying the movie. Fans will be fine, but casual movie goers will find it a little long. Not dull, but long. The sequel has already been green lit so we will see the next book come to the big screen.  It’s not as cool as Hunger Games and not as cheesy as Twilight, but all in all Divergent is worth a watch.