Ratchet and Clank brings PS4 game to the big screen

Movie Title:      Ratchet & Clank

Grade:   B-

Rating:   PG, 1 hour 34 minutes

In a Nutshell:    Based on the popular Playstation video game series, fans and kids will get a kick out of this action-packed, colorful ride.  

It’s full of gags and witty one-liners that will entertain adults enough when they have to see it with their kids.  The adults in the audience I sat with laughed more than their kids.

Uplifting theme: 

• “To be a hero, you don’t have to do big things, just the right ones.” – Grimroth
• Sometimes we forget who we really are.
• Loyalty, friendship, perseverance.

Things I liked:

• If you have read my movie reviews before, you know I love Paul Giamatti.  We don’t get to see him in this animated film, of course, but hearing his voice is still great.  He plays the funny villain Chairman Drek, who looks like a mix between a turnip and the magician Penn Jillette and quips “This is seriously next level.”
• Keep watching after the first set of credits roll at the end to see a little bit more. 
• Young boys will love all of the weapons, gadgets, laser beams, inventions and a “mess o’ bullets.”
• I thought Dr. Nefarious’ little Spandex outfit was a crack-up.
• Qwark is voiced by Jim Ward, who you might have recognized from Wall-E , Despicable Me 2 or Spider-Man 2 .  I thought the cute antenna on his head was adorable.  The character reminded me a little bit of Pixar’s Mr. Incredible (The Incredibles 2 movie is supposed to come out 2019. I LOVED that movie!)  #KillingIt
• The facial expressions are done very well.
• Sylvester voices Victor Von Ion and John Goodman brings Grimroth to life.
• I was completely unfamiliar with any of the characters.  I would describe Clank as a mix between Star Wars' R2D2 and C3P0.  Ratchet is cute enough for girls to like, but adventurous enough for boys to love.

Things I didn’t like:

• I've never played the video game, so I know I didn't catch any of the Easter eggs and inside jokes, but fans have said there are plenty.
• There is writing on various things throughout the movie, but it’s really hard to read.
• Tons of fight and chase scenes.  Tons.  Non-stop.  Nothing particularly new here. I actually fell asleep for a few minutes. 
• I really like Rosario Dawson and think she’s beautiful, but she sounded like she was reading a script.
• Because the target audience is mostly young boys, it’s no surprise that there is a scene where the characters are vomiting.  What IS surprising is the lack of other bathroom humor jokes.
• You'll notice on the movie poster that the film was supposed to be released in 2015, but didn't come out until April 29, 2016.

Funny lines:

• “And remember, you can do anything as long as you’re me.” – Qwark
• “I heard you!  Do you see these ears?” –  Grimroth
•  “The point is if you’re going to use one-liners, they should all make sense and be relevant.” – Nefarious  
• “There is a lot of space in space.” – Clank (David Kaye)
• “Everyone stay calm.  Something epic is happening.” – Captain Qwark
• “Does anyone feel like we should have shot something by now?” – Stig (Alessandro Juliani)

 "The only thing I'm interested in finding is the Hall of Heroes cafeteria.  Come on heroes!  It's 3 floors up and it's meatloaf day!" - Qwark

• “I know you’re working with Nefarious on this!” – Ratchet

“Yes, isn’t it wonderful?  We’re all part of the same dream team.  We should make t-shirts!” – Chairman Drek

Interesting lines:

• “Blaming yourself and taking full responsibility are two very different things.” - Clank

Tips for parents:   

• As you can imagine, the Playstation 4 game is now in stores.
• It’s mostly harmless fun and teaches a few good values.
• Will your kids enjoy it if they've never played the video games?  Sure.  It's a stand-alone movie that works, but not worth racing out to go see.  Take them to see The Jungle Book instead.  You can read my movie review of the new Jungle Book here.

Creed packs a punch for fans

Movie Title:    Creed

Grade:  A-

Rating:  PG-13, 2 hours 12 minutes

In a Nutshell:    The Rocky franchise is back and better than ever!  It packs a punch for fans with humor, drama, emotional growth for the main characters, that amazing theme song, a respectful nod to the past, and lots of boxing.

My husband and sons box….so yeah, this film was preaching to the choir.

Uplifting theme: 

• “1 step.  1 punch. 1 round at a time.” – Rocky
•  “You can’t learn anything if you’re talking.  It’s a fact of life.” – Rocky
• “Build your own legacy.” – Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad)
• “The plan is just to do what I love for as long as I can.” – Bianca  (Tessa Thompson)
• “You are your father’s son.  You’re a part of him, but that doesn’t mean you have to be him.” – Mary Anne Creed
• We all have to fight mortality.  Sylvester Stallone said in an interview with Jimmy Fallon that it's how we choose to fight mortality that makes the journey interesting.

Things I liked:

• Michael B. Jordan does a believable job as Adonis Johnson Creed.  I liked him soooo much more in this film than in the recent Fantastic Four.  Yes, Michael Jordan is his real name.  Once, he received a $40,000 royalty check that was supposed to be sent to the NBA star Michael Jordan!
• How do they film some of those shots?!  Wow!
• Well done, Sylvester Stallone.  He did a great job acting, producing and allowing Ryan Coogler to direct.  He has just received a nomination for a Golden Globe!  Stallone admits that he didn't want to make another Rocky movie, but the story was so compelling that he agreed to do it.
• Great training sequences.  Just what we love.
• It was cool watching Adonis shadow box to the original Rocky Balboa vs. Apollo Creed fight on YouTube.  You can too!  Here’s the same video he watched:  
• I loved seeing Rocky hit the speed bag next to Adonis, the original who started the whole story and the young buck who is going to carry on the legacy.
• When the camera zoomed onto the aquarium in Rocky’s house, my husband whispered to me “Cuff and Link!”  Now, there’s a true Rocky fan who remembers even the water turtles’ names.
• Young people will be able to relate to the struggle of following in their parents’ footsteps vs. making a name for themselves.
• I loved the camerawork in the scene in the locker room when the shot followed Rocky and Creed out into the big arena.
• I got a kick out of seeing Liverpool, England again.  I was just there this summer!
• I liked the helpful stat boxes that popped up on the screen when the film introduced new boxing characters.

Things I didn’t like:

• Adonis grew up with a silver spoon, but they tried to make him appear Street.  With some work, they were actually pretty close to making us believe it.
• It was odd to see a tough boxer like “Pretty” Ricky Conlan (Anthony Bellew) talk with an Irish accent.  Sometimes I couldn’t even understand what the heck he was saying.
• No big surprises here.  You’ve seen the story before.

Funny lines:

• “I otta knock you out myself.” – Mary Anne Creed
• “I think they added a few more steps.” – Rocky, after he climbed to the top of the steps in Philadelphia again.
• “Women weaken legs.” - Rocky

Interesting lines:

• “We’re making champs in the Delphi ring.  We aren’t dancing.  We aren’t singing.  We’re fighting.” –  Tommy Holiday (Graham McTavish)
• “Apollo didn’t get hurt.  He got killed.” – Mary Anne Creed
• “It’s you against you.  He’s just in the way.  Get him out of the way.” – Rocky
• “So, what are you afraid of?” – Bianca

“I’m afraid of taking on the name and losing.” – Adonis

• “Prove what?” – Rocky

“That I’m not an accident.” – Adonis

• “Time takes everybody out; time’s undefeated.” - Rocky

Tips for parents:   

• Be forewarned: your young children are going to learn a bad word in sign language.
• There is a steamy kissing scene on a couch.
• Some profanity.
• Lots of fighting: some of it in the ring and some of it not.
• Some discussion of Cancer and death.

Expendables 3 more of the same macho mahem

Movie Title:    The Expendables 3

PG-13, 1 hour 43 minutes

In theaters August 15, 2014

Grade: B-

In a Nutshell:   

There is no shortage of testosterone, nor bad guys to fight here, folks.  If you’ve seen the first two movies in the Expendables franchise, then you already know that the muscles, weapons and egos are all very, very large.

What makes this movie notable is that it’s rated PG-13, quite a feat since the first two installments were rated R.  The cast of macho men includes Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Terry Crews, Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Kelsey Grammer, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Dolph Lundren…what’s not to like?  Yeah, most of them are getting pretty old now, but they still know how to blow things up and kick you-know-what like nobody else.

Of course, the film isn’t complete without a few “Yeehaw”s and “That’s gotta hurt” lines during fight scenes.  Not heavy on a plot, this is all about the action, fight scenes, and seeing all of our favorite tough guys together.

Uplifting theme: 

• Family isn’t just the people you’re born to.

Things I liked:

• The camera zooms in on the angry eyes of team leader Sylvester Stallone, announcing to the audience that the real battle has just begun.  Classic.
• Antonio Banderas’ character, Galgo, is hilarious.
• True to real life, Sylvester Stalone’s character says to Arnold Schwartzeneggar’s character “I thought you retired.”  Arnold’s character says “I lied.”

Things I didn’t like:

• SPOILER ALERT:  Terry Crews' character gets wounded early in the movie, so don’t count on any of his classic dance moves with bouncing pecs.  Dang it.  His dancing (and singing too!) was hilariously creepy in the recent movie Blended.  Check out my movie review of Blended here.
• Harrison Ford is given the honors of dropping the only F-bomb in the movie.  Dang it.  I don't want to hear that coming out of his mouth.  (Yeah, my delicate ears make me a real prude.) 

Funny lines:

• “Relax.  You’ll give yourself a stroke.” – Harrison Ford to Sylvester
• “I could do that.”  - Sylvester says…a lot.
• “Is that the Big Dipper?  Yeah, we gotta turn around.” – Kelsey Grammer
• “You’re only old when you surrender.”  - Antonio Banderas
• “I need a job.  All I know how to do is killing people…and I do that very well.”  -  Antonio Banderas
• “If you wanted to fight, why didn’t you just get married?”  - Sylvester
• “Hurry up.  It’s boring.”  - Arnold Schwarzenegger
• “They put their noses in business where they didn’t belong and now they’re The Deletables.” – Mel Gibson
• “It’s hard to beat an enemy that’s living inside your head.” – Mel Gibson
• “Would you like to hold my gun?  Vamanos, chica.” – Antonio Banderas

Tips for parents:   Lots of profanity and violence…what did you expect from a movie packed with macho men?