Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (05.12.23)

 

When it was first announced that the C-List Marvel team known as the Guardians of the Galaxy would be getting their own movie, I was a bit skeptical, not to mention puzzled. While it was true that Marvel Studios had managed to turn lesser-known characters like Iron Man into silver screen hits in the past, this was a team that was not even that familiar to a lot of diehard comic fans. Surely the odd choice to invest time and effort into bringing these obscure characters to the big screen would be the still fledgling studio’s first real misstep in their still blooming cinematic universe. Well here we are, nine years later in a future where names like “Star-Lord” and “Groot” are household names, saying goodbye to the original lineup of space misfits in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, a beautiful, dark, and heartfelt sendoff that, like a good Zune playlist, hits all of the right notes.

One of the things that made the original 2014 film so successful was its blend of space opera drama and director/writer James Gunn’s tone-perfect sense of humor, a combination that is still very much in play in Vol. 3, if skewed a bit more to the latter this time around. While there are still funny bits, the story is one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s darkest yet, thanks in no small part to the long-awaited exploration of the backstory of Bradley Cooper’s Rocket, the snarky raccoon with a taste for firearms. This backstory is brutal and sometimes hard to watch, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t draw a tear or two from me, which it was clearly designed to do. Gunn and crew let these moments take their full emotional toll, which is especially nice given the wider MCU’s annoying tendency to lessen dramatic moments by capping them off with out of place jokes.

Another thing the Guardians films always get right are the pure spectacle—gorgeous CGI, well-choreographed fight scenes, and giant set pieces, all of which are present and accounted for in Vol. 3. At two-and-a-half hours it can all be a bit exhausting at times, especially past the two-hour mark, but it never really felt excessive, nor did it overstay its welcome. Because when it comes down to it, Guardians of the Galaxy has really been about the characters, and they are characters that are a whole lot of fun to spend time with thanks to fantastic performances across the board, from returning veterans who at this point wear their characters like a second skin (I have to laud the spectacular voice acting of the aforementioned Bradley Cooper in particular) to team newcomers to Chukwudi Iwuji’s brilliant turn as the High Evolutionary, one of the most irredeemably evil villains in the entire MCU franchise (which, I may remind you, has had literal Nazis in it as well as a giant purple man who successfully killed half of the universe). 

I really can’t imagine a better sendoff for these loveable idiots.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now available in theaters.

 

 This review was first published in the Keizertimes on May 12th, 2023. Visit at www.keizertimes.com/

Boston Strangler (04.28.23)

 

I am of the opinion that when it comes to creating an engaging film the basic premise is one of the least important factors. This sounds a little contradictory, but when you have a good writer, talented actors, and a creative crew, “kids in detention getting to know each other” can become The Breakfast Club and “twelve people have jury duty and talk all day” can become 12 Angry Men. This is one of the reasons it is so disappointing for the opposite to happen: A movie being boring despite having an interesting premise. This describes Boston Strangler to a t, because despite its real-life story of murder and professional empowerment, decent acting, and adequate script, the film is ultimately just as boring and unengaging as the name implies. 

Movies based on true stories can be a little tricky, as life is often more mundane than fiction, but you also shouldn’t go too far when spicing up the truth for an audience looking to be entertained. I don’t know much about the actual story of the Boston Strangler, but I imagine this film is pretty true to what actually happened, as any possible spicing up blends in so perfectly with the blandness of the rest of the movie that it all appears as one plausible yet tedious blob. Boston Strangler may be based on a true story, but there is nothing in it that has not been done more interestingly in other films, be they completely fictional ones or other partial adaptations of events that actually happened. This actually led me to wish there were clearer liberties taken in the name of audience engagement, something I don’t usually do-- anything to make the experience more interesting.

Outside of the humdrum familiarity of the plot (murder happens, investigation happens, another murder happens, repeat until “where are they now” text pops up right before the end credits) and characters (Keira Knightley tries to break into investigative reporting in a man’s world, gets obsessed with her work, her marriage suffers as a result), I am not entirely sure why Boston Strangler was so unmotivating to me, as all of its separate parts are somehow much more than its sum. The acting is good, and not once did I find Keira Knightley’s American accent silly or unnatural. The script is believable, the cinematography occasionally ambitious if sometimes a little distracting. I guess there was music, although that might have just been me humming to myself as I tried to keep my mind from wandering. Overall there just isn’t anything exceptional about any of it; I’m even having a difficult time writing this review, because though I watched Boston Strangler less than twenty-four hours ago I’ve already forgotten nearly everything about it, and the things I do remember may or may not actually be memories of things that happened in much more engaging true crime movies like Zodiac.

Needless to say, I’d go ahead and skip this one unless you are a true crime fanatic with a lot of time on your hands.

Boston Strangler is now available on Hulu. 

 

This review was first published in The Keizertimes on April 28^th, 2023. Visit at www.keizertimes.com/

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (04.14.23)

 

Despite having some of the most recognizable and popular characters in the industry, Nintendo has been very shy about adapting their video games into film ever since the spectacularly awful Super Mario Bros., a live-action disaster starring a belligerently drunk Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as the titular plumbers. It was the first feature-length film based on a video game, a trainwreck that set the tone for awful adaptations from other companies for years to come and turned Nintendo off of the idea of bringing their property to the big screen for three entire decades (with the exception of Pokémon, which they only partly control). With Sonic the Hedgehog and Detective Pikachu reminding us that video game movies don’t have to suck, Nintendo has finally come out of its Koopa shell by partnering with Illumination to give us The Super Mario Bros. Movie, a pretty, fanservice-y romp that is decent fun for fans and kids but ultimately falls prey to the general mediocrity that plagues most Illumination films.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie was clearly made with a lot of love by people who are fans of the source material, and this passion is the reason the film works as well as it does. There is an astounding amount of Easter eggs and references to the video games, be they visual, spoken, or a part of the fantastic original score that incorporates tunes from Mario's entire video game history. The voice cast is also very good, particularly Jack Black as the evil, love-struck Bowser (don’t worry, he sings) and Charlie Day as the cowardly Luigi. Chris Pratt as Mario isn’t half as bad as I was expecting him to be, and Anya Taylor-Joy elevates Peach to a level far beyond that of the Princess’s usual (and outdated) damsel-in-distress role. Most of the time I was just thrilled to see this colorful world in all of its glory, a realization of the formative childhood years I spent with a Nintendo Entertainment System that made the experience of The Super Mario Bros. Movie that much more gratifying for me.

But if I’m honest with myself, it’s not that great of a movie on its own merits. The jokes are sometimes lazy, falling back on eye-rolling Illumination clichés like characters flying through the air in slow motion with stupid expressions on their faces. The plot is very thin (which goes along pretty well with a series known from getting from point A to point B while stomping on stuff, I suppose), and while the original score is awesome (does it count as an original score if it’s full of music from the games?), every time a modern licensed track started playing I found myself wishing they just wouldn’t. As a fan I liked The Super Mario Bros. Movie, but I can’t help but wonder how much better it would have been if Pixar or DreamWorks had handled it instead of the studio that cursed the earth with the advent of Minions.

After 1993’s Super Mario Bros. the only way for Nintendo movies to go was up. Hopefully they won’t take another thirty years to make the jump from The Super Mario Bros. Movie to whatever the next level is.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is now available in theaters. 

 

This review was first published in The Keizertimes on April 14th, 2023. Visit at www.keizertimes.com/

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (04.07.23)

 

One of the many cool things about Dungeons & Dragons is the unlimited number of tales and scenarios the tabletop game facilitates. An exercise of imagination and storytelling, no two campaigns are the same and there are very few things a player cannot do. Knowing this, I was a bit skeptical as to how a movie based on the classic role-playing game would work. Isn’t making a movie based on D&D akin to making a movie based on the fantasy genre in general? Doesn’t it work precisely because of how unspecific it is? I needn’t have worried, as the makers of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves include plentiful, specific lore that thoroughly roots their film in the D&D universe. Not only this, but they also skillfully capture the same joyful spirit of hanging out with friends and going on a dice-driven tabletop adventure.  

Like any good D&D campaign, Honor Among Thieves works primarily for two reasons: One, the Dungeon Masters (who are, in this case, the writers and directors) clearly know the universe they are playing in and create a story that is both fun and engaging. Two, the characters involved are brought to life through players (our actors) who are all-in on the premise and exude a fun energy that is thoroughly contagious. Honor Among Thieves is funny, charming, and exciting, a journey that strikes a perfect balance between earnestness and not taking itself too seriously.  

Perhaps it was the fact that I was familiar with the property this film is based on beforehand, but it really did feel like I was watching the imaginary avatars of an actual group of friends projected onto a screen. The crew argues when an unforeseen challenge arises just like those in an actual game of D&D would. The end goal of the movie is simple, yet tangents and sidequests keep arising in a way that will feel very familiar to any role-playing enthusiast. I would not have been surprised if the film cut to people in “the real world” who had been controlling the characters all along at some point (I’m glad they didn’t do this, as it would have ruined things... I just wouldn’t have been surprised). Divorced from this familiar, somewhat meta feeling, Honor Among Thieves would still work well enough on its own with its witty lines and cool action, but this barely-perceptible (or perhaps completely imagined on my part) wink to the real-life game elevates things quite a bit.  

My only real complaint was the sheer amount of D&D terms the film throws at the audience without giving them a breather, which was a bit overwhelming for me. I am familiar with the game but have never actually played it (I have dabbled with Pathfinder, a close cousin), and there were a couple of times where I felt like I was locked out of a few story beats because I am definitely no expert. But as I said earlier, the end goal of the film is a simple one, so as long as I kept my eye on that and simply enjoyed the fun as it was unfolding, this was not a gamebreaker.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is now playing in theaters.

 

This review was first published in The Keizertimes on April 7th, 2023. Visit at www.keizertimes.com/

 

 

The Orville (03.31.23)

Despite being a fan of the franchise, I have not seen any of the new Star Trek series such as Discovery and Picard because they are purported to lack a couple of qualities that the property is known for: adventure and optimism. Trek is no stranger to heavy and topical themes-- indeed, social commentary is often the point-- but ultimately each episode and series instills a comforting belief that humanity has the capability to be better and that there is always an exciting new horizon to chase. Seth MacFarlane, Trekkie and creator of such shows as Family Guy, saw this deficit and decided to take matters into his own hands, and although the resulting sci-fi saga, The Orville, which he both created and stars in, starts out a bit rough as it struggles to find its identity, it eventually becomes a fantastic and engaging Trek derivitive that fully captures the same feeling of hopeful and thought-provoking excitement that I was looking for.

When it first premiered on FOX back in 2017, MacFarlane’s latest TV creation was a bit underwhelming. As one might expect given the creative forces behind it, The Orville was more farcical than anything else, and when there were serious moments they felt unearned and out of place. Further hampering things was the feeling that this was a vanity project for Seth, who was using his clout to simply fulfill his dream of captaining a Starfleet spaceship. It wasn’t bad, but it was also far from good. When all was said and done, The Orville simply didn’t know what it wanted to be.

About halfway through the first season something magical happened when the answer to this question was found and The Orville really started to click. The comedy took a back seat to the plots, which became more thoughtful and interesting. Funny moments became nice surprises that were subdued enough that they did not detract from the dramatic bits. The show became more of an ensemble effort as well, with each member of the crew getting the spotlight from time to time instead of it being focused solely on MacFarlane’s character. It was still an unabashed Star Trek clone, but it became an earnest one that brought the same spirit as the original Star Trek or The Next Generation and filled a void that for too long went unfilled in network television.

After two seasons on FOX, The Orville was cancelled before finding new life on Hulu as The Orville: New Horizons this last year. Despite what I can only assume was a slightly higher budget (but not too high, mind you; The Orville never really looks great from a visual standpoint, but that’s to be expected for a TV show), the feeling of the episodes remains much the same. No word on whether or not it will be brought back for a fourth go around, but if it doesn’t it will still be in good company; the original Star Trek only went for three seasons as well, and look how that turned out.

The Orville seasons 1 and 2 and The Orville: New Horizons are now available on Hulu.

 

This review was first published in The Keizertimes on March 31^st, 2023. Visit at www.keizertimes.com/

American Auto (03.24.23)

 

It’s easy to root for the little guy, especially when you can see bits of yourself in them. This is one of the things that makes The Office's Michael Scott such an endearing and memorable character despite his frequently awful and cringe-inducing hijinks—his loneliness and overall need to be loved is something we can all relate to in a way. It is much easier to follow characters you are empathetic towards, and familiarity breeds empathy. American Auto, like The Office, is a single-camera workplace comedy that occasionally indulges in the type of cringe humor that its ancestor is known for, but its focus on the upper management of a gigantic car company inherently makes it a bit more difficult to relate to and to root for the characters. But despite this I still found plenty to like about it.

Created by Justin Spitzer, former Office writer and the brain behind Superstore, American Auto is mostly great. The writing is witty and the jokes coerce chuckles far more often than not. Ensemble comedies can sometimes have weak links in their casts, but there are none to be found in the offices of Payne Motors, as every person there is funny and talented. This kind of comedy may be far from fresh at this point, but it is done exceptionally well here, and for a lot of people, myself included, this is enough to keep me watching.

The biggest problem lies with the characters themselves. I’m not some “eat the rich" revolutionary, but caring about millionaires and the millionaire problems that they discuss while flying on their private jet can be difficult, especially when these issues are, more often than not, self-inflicted and have negative consequences for the mostly unseen (albeit fictional) working class. The social status of the characters also magnifies the selfish decisions that sitcom subjects such as they frequently indulge in. Selfish people in TV shows can work really well when they are either relatable while having redeeming qualities (Michael Scott in The Office) or are the butt of the joke who you’re not really supposed to root for (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Arrested Development are excellent examples of this). But when the main characters are supposed to be the heroes and you haven’t really been given a reason to like them beyond “they’re funny" you run into some issues, especially when this extends to most of the characters and not just one or two (there is one everyman character in American Auto, but the ratio could still be better). Rich people can, of course, be as relatable as the folks at Dunder-Mifflin or Superstore’s Cloud 9, but American Auto needs to try a bit harder at making them so if it ends up getting renewed for a third season.

Characterization and inherently difficult to empathize with premise aside, American Auto is a solidly entertaining comedy that is perfectly worthy of its workplace comedy lineage. Fingers crossed for season 3.

American Auto seasons 1 and 2 are now available on Peacock.

 

This article was first published in The Keizertimes on March 24^th, 2023. Visit at www.keizertimes.com/

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (03.03.23)

 

One thing I have to do as a reviewer is avoid reading the opinions of others before I’ve had a chance to view the work for myself, as such knowledge has the potential to subconsciously influence my own feelings about the movie when I actually see it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to a well-regarded movie and hated it because I was expecting something more or watched a supposed dumpster fire that I ended up greatly enjoying because my expectations were pre-tempered. I did not do my due diligence and avoid reviews for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania for two reasons: One, I’m a big Marvel fan and was curious as to what others were saying, and two, I was not expecting to review it anyway. But here we are, and here I am telling you that I have no idea why this latest film in the juggernaut that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe was so poorly received.  

A good deal of this reaction is, of course, due to the lowering of expectations that I unwisely subjected myself to beforehand, but I am sure it is not the only cause of this disconnect I feel between myself and the Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb scores, the other being audience fatigue. The first two Ant-Man films are light fun that owe a lot to the charisma and likeability of their casts, and Quantumania is mostly more of the same, albeit with much higher stakes and a dramatic moment or two. Paul Rudd is perfect because Paul Rudd is always perfect, and this third Ant-Man movie gets a huge shot in the arm thanks to Michelle Pfeiffer’s expanded role as well as the addition of Jonathan Majors as the villainous Kang the Conqueror (Evangeline Lilly, despite being the Wasp in Ant-Man and the Wasp, unfortunately doesn’t have much to do this time around and is just kind of there).  

This more-of-the-sameness is why quite a few viewers were left dissatisfied, and it’s not a problem that is limited just to Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man trilogy: Quantumania does, in a lot of ways, feel like the latest clone in its very long parent series, the MCU itself, which some argue is getting quite formulaic and stale at this point. It doesn’t matter which superhero is the focus—the latest movie will have quips, occasionally questionable CGI, quips, the introduction of a new character for a future film or TV series, and even more quips. Quantumania is not an exception to this formula. I get this opinion and in a lot of ways I agree with it as well, but taken on its own in a vacuum Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was exactly what I was looking for: Comic book fun with that gosh-darned talented Paul Rudd. It doesn’t seek to reinvent the wheel and could have been better in a lot of ways (why should I care about these boring Quantum Realm characters and where is Michael Pena??) but overall I think it belongs solidly in the middle of the pack when it comes to MCU films. Whether that is good news or bad, as always that is up to you. 

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is now available in theaters. 

 

This article was first published in The Keizertimes on March 3^rd, 2023. Visit at www.keizertimes.com/