Movie Reviews

Transformers: Age of Extinction

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  • Title: Transformers: Age of Extinction
  • IMDb: link

Transformers: Age of ExtinctionI’m not a fan of Michael Bay‘s Transformers movies. In fact I’ve hated every single one. Transformers: Age of Extinction is not an exception, but on the sliding scale of horrific awfulness that is the Bay Transformers franchise it’s the least objectionable of the lot. Lazy, inane, and almost completely without merit, the latest Transformers film didn’t so much anger me as leave me increasingly confused and apathetic to the “storytelling” that was unfolding before my eyes.

The first film ruined a beloved childhood toy and cartoon franchise by centering the film not on the transforming robots themselves but a lazy 80s teenage sex comedy between Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox and lots of (pointless) robot porn. The sequel lowered the bar with a plot that makes Highlander 2: The Quickening sound plausible involving Transformer reincarnation and various inanity including a sexbot, racist robots, more American flag waving, and even more (pointless) robot porn.

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Jersey Boys

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  • Title: Jersey Boys
  • IMDb: link

Jersey Boys

From the big musical numbers, to the characters stopping at times to directly address the audience and the staging of much of the action, Jersey Boys feels every bit the adapted stage jukebox musical which spawned it. Fans of The Four Seasons are likely to enjoy themselves, although 134-minutes of Frankie Valli‘s recreated high-pitched crooning in stereo surround started to wear on me before the credits rolled.

Choosing to go mostly without bigger names to sell the film, John Lloyd Young steps in to play the role of Valli which won him a Tony Award for his performance on Broadway. Vincent Piazza, Erich Bergen, and Michael Lomenda round out the group in this mostly by-the-numbers look at the rise and fall of the 60s group who produced a number of hits including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” Walk Like A Man,” and “Rag Doll.”

A tale of a bunch of Jersey guys who made good, Jersey Boys is your typical modern musical which feels more like a greatest hits of Frankie Valli’s life and music than the true story behind the band.

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How to Train Your Dragon 2

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  • Title: How to Train Your Dragon 2
  • IMDb: link

How to Train Your Dragon 2Picking up five years after the events of the first film, How to Train Your Dragon 2 finds Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) dealing with new challenges including his father‘s (Gerard Butler) plans to hand over the kingdom of Birk to his son, an enemy (Djimon Hounsou) creating his own army of dragons to conquer the world, and the unexpected return of Hiccup’s mother Valka (Cate Blanchett) who disappeared and has been presumed dead since Hiccup was a baby.

Returning the original cast of characters including Astrid (America Ferrera), Gobber (Craig Ferguson), Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Snotlout (Jonah Hill), Tuffnut (T.J. Miller), and Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig), the sequel leaves time for the events of the the television show to take place without forcing the viewer to have seen the series to make sense of the current state of events. Blanchett’s addition of Valka, a woman more at home with dragons than her own son, and that of Hounsou as the film’s new villain Drago Bludvist prove to be excellent choices, but the heart of the film remains Hiccup and Toothless.

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Edge of Tomorrow

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  • Title: Edge of Tomorrow
  • IMDB: link

Edge of TomorrowAdapted from the Japanese graphic novel All You Need is Kill, Edge of Tomorrow stars Tom Cruise as military recruiter Major William Cage forced into service on the front lines of a war between humanity and an unstoppable alien race known as Mimics. Despite dying rather early on his first day in the field, Cage finds himself somehow still alive reliving the previous day’s events over and over, each time more aware of events and what what must be done to win the war.

With the bad taste of Oblivion still fresh, I wasn’t expecting too much from Cruise stepping so quickly back into a sci-fi film. With a structure which will get it compared to Groundhog Day and Source Code, Edge of Tomorrow delivers a smarter-than-expected summer flick which relies heavily on Cruise and co-star Emily Blunt as the kick-ass face of the United Defense Force who alone understands what his character is going through. Although I think the end is a bit too cute for its own good (much like Source Code) director Doug Liman balances action, suspense, and horror with a surprising amount of humor.

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Maleficent

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  • Title: Maleficent
  • IMDB: link

MaleficentOffering a new live-action take on Sleeping Beauty from the perspective of the original tale’s villain, Maleficent proves to be a passable flick that works better than either of the recent disappointments, Mirror Mirror or Snow White and the Huntsman, both of which failed while attempting a similar approach to the retelling of Snow White.

Not without its own issues, most of which can be traced back to film’s lethargic opening act explaining Maleficent’s (Angelina Jolie) past and the series of events which led to her inevitable heel turn, Maleficent works largely due to the performances of Jolie and Elle Fanning (as the girl who would become known as Sleeping Beauty) and the film’s impressive style and design. Jolie is perfect for the role, relishing every moment on-screen, although the movie doesn’t really start moving until after Stefan’s (Sharlto Copley) betrayal which leaves the most powerful member of the fairies hell-bent on revenge on the man who stole far more than her heart and ultimately choose power over love.

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