Rampage pushes the PG-13 line

Movie Title:   Rampage

Grade:   B

Rating: PG-13, 
1 hour 47 minutes

In a Nutshell:   My 4 sons used to play the 1997 Midway Rampage video game, so I was curious to see how well director Brad Peyton would adapt the game to a movie for the fans. 

Historically, movies that take video games to the Big Screen are horrible.  Well, yeah.  This movie requires you to turn off your brain and not care.  If you just want to see some monsters destroy a city and watch the ROCK do his thing (he’s awesome), then this movie is for you.  If storytelling and character development is important to you, then you’re going to have trouble watching this.  The monsters look great; it’s the humans in the movie that feel more like they’re in a video game.

                                    

Tips for parents: 

• George , the silverback gorilla, flips the bird several times.
• There is a HUGE body count.  There are a lot of bloody bodies and some of the deaths are almost portrayed as a joke, which was a bit alarming.  Lots of blood splatter.
• Lots and lots of destruction and violence
• Some profanity
• People in perilous situations
• Talk of poachers.  You’ll need to explain to your little ones what poachers are and why they’re so bad.
• Cleavage
• Inappropriate joke at the end.

Uplifting theme: 

• Family
• Friendship
• Loyalty
• Animal protection

                                                  

Things I liked:

• Some humor, although there could have been more since the movie already feels like a cartoon.   
• According to IMDB, an original cabinet of the Rampage arcade game can be seen in Claire Wyden’s office.  That’s a fun Easter egg for fans, but it doesn’t make sense for her to have it. Midway Arcade Origins - Xbox 360
• The movie shows George, the gorilla, living in the San Diego Wildlife Sanctuary.  As far as I know, that doesn’t really exist, but the San Diego zoo is fantastic.  They actually have a really good gorilla habitat there.  About 40 minutes outside San Diego is the awesome Wild Animal Park.  I used to live in San Diego and can highly recommend both!
• I think Malin Akerman’s eyes are so pretty.  I hated her stiff hair that looked like plastic.  Her character, unfortunately, was ridiculous.  If you're a Billions: Season One fan, you'll like that she gets to finally play the boss.
• Well done CGI.  The monsters look really cool.
• You see Dwayne Johnson get out of some zip ties.  First of all, his biceps are soooo massive!  Second, you actually can do it and big biceps aren’t required.  A former CIA agent taught me how.  Make sure the zip lock thing faces up.  Then, lift up your arms above your head and quickly pull them down to your hips, pulling your elbows back as fast as you can.  Ta da!
• SPOILER: Jeffrey Dean Morgan does a bad guy so well.  He was so maniacal in The Walking Dead Season 7 [DVD] that I had to stop watching the show.  Seriously evil.  Luckily, he has a heart in this movie.
• You’ll actually learn a little bit of sign language.  My niece married a deaf man, so I’m always thrilled when sign language is used in movies.  Another movie that uses sign language and is currently in theaters is A Quiet Place.  I thought it was really good!  You can read my movie review of A QUIET PLACE by clicking here.
• I thought it was a respectful nod that the city rampage occurs in Chicago, the headquarters of Midway video games.

Things I didn’t like:

• There were quite a few differences in the movie and game, although George and Ralph keep their names in the movie.  Lizzie’s name is never mentioned as the crocodile.  George was never an albino in the game.  The biggest difference is that the monsters in the video game were mutated humans, not mutated animals.
• The villains are terrible, but not in a good way. 
• Some characters are introduced in the beginning, but completely disappear from the story.
• There are some really dumb details that could have been easily fixed if anyone working on the movie had been paying attention or cared.
• The young male gorilla that is new at the Sanctuary in the beginning of the movie looks totally fake.  George looks much better.
• Naomie Harris doesn’t really do anything, other than run around and rely on the ROCK to come up with a plan.
• The clip in the movie trailer that shows the gorilla crack the crocodile’s jaws open like King Kong does to the dinosaur in his movie didn’t actually make it into this movie.

Funny lines:

• “Of course the wolf flies!” – Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson) 
• “You know there are other ways of dealing with people, don’t you?” – Dr. Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris)

“Of course I do, but that’s no fun.” – Davis

• “That’s a big arm.  Don’t fight it.” – Davis
• “Who are you?  Homeland? CIA?  Justice League?” – Dr. Kate Caldwell  
• “Girls love him.  I should shave my head.” -  Nelson  (P.J. Byrne)

         

  

                                        
                                         @trinaboice

A Quiet Place is gripping

Movie Title:  
    A Quiet Place

Grade:   A-

Rating: PG-13,
   90 minutes

In a Nutshell:   We all fell in love with John Krasinski when he first appeared in The Office: The Complete Series.  

He has since gone on to show us his action hero chops in movies like 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi and his creativity and humor in "Lip Sync Battle." This is now his third time directing and I'm convinced he will continue to bring us something fresh.

If this movie were a typical talking horror movie, it wouldn’t have been nearly as frightening.  The tension and suspense are magnified in the silence.  #StayQuiet

                                             

Tips for parents: 

• There are a lot of subtitles kids will need to read.
• The alien monsters are pretty scary looking.
• Children are constantly in perilous situations.
• Bloody, dead body.
• You see a pregnant woman's "water" break and later you see blood when she's getting ready to give birth in a bath tub.

Uplifting theme: 

• Family, unity
• Sacrifice
• Resourcefulness

                                                               

Things I liked:

• I loved seeing John Krasinski and his lovely, talented wife Emily Blunt in a movie together.  I can’t wait to see her in the upcoming "Mary Poppins"!
• My niece learned American Sign Language and later married a deaf man who has a cochlear implant, like the one seen in this "silent" movie.  It’s so wonderful to see capable deaf people portrayed in films.  Another movie that puts ASL in the spotlight is "Rampage."  Millicent Simmonds, who plays Regan Abbott, is actually deaf in real life.  This is her second movie; her first was Wonderstruck.
• Yes, you get to see the aliens.
• Every time I saw a trailer for this movie, the audience would get completely silent and you could feel the tension in the theater.  That’s how gripping this movie is.
• More often than not, horror movies have a lot of characters so that people can be killed off.  The result is usually that we don’t care about them.  In this movie, we’re only given one family and we become quickly invested in them.
• I always get annoyed by the dumb choices characters make in horror movies, but this family is pretty smart and has figured out how to live in a silent world.
• I like that this movie starts on Day 89 after the alien invasion happened.  It would have been a much different movie if it had shown Day 1.  Not knowing many details about what happened added to the tension.

                                               

Things I didn’t like:

• It didn’t make sense to me that Regan Abbott would even need a hearing aid in a world where silence is what keeps people alive.  Interestingly, it’s her hearing aid that becomes an important part of the story.
• The viewer is never told where the alien creatures come from.  It appears they simply kill noisy people, rather than eat them.  The little we know about them comes from old newspaper headlines that are hung in the family’s basement and a few TV sound bites.  Fans of this movie are making all kinds of YouTube videos to talk about the details they wish they knew.
• There are some little details that might annoy you, so just don’t worry about them.
• If you watch this in a theater, PLEASE be quiet so that everyone else in the theater can enjoy the quiet experience.

                                     

                                              @trinaboice

Pacific Rim Uprising is more of the same for fans of the franchise

Movie Title:    
  Pacific Rim Uprising

Grade:   C+

Rating: PG-13, 111 minutes

In a Nutshell:  If you liked the first Pacific Rim movie, this is more of the same, but even bigger, louder, and chaotic.

Tips for parents: 

• Some subtitles when people speak Mandarin.  By the way, have you noticed that more and more movies have Chinese characters in them?  That's because American movie studios are trying to get more of their movies into the extremely lucrative Chinese market.  In fact, this movie exists mainly because the first one in the franchise did so well in China.
• Some Russian profanity with subtitles.
• One of the Jaeger robots flips the bird.
• If your kids love the Transformers or even the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie movies, they’ll like the fighting robot action of this franchise too.
• Some profanity.
• Tons of destruction and fighting.

Uplifting theme: 

• “We make our own luck.” – Hologram
• Never give up.
• Family and friendships

                                    

Things I liked:

• Good special effects for the most part.
• I loved the respectful nod to Idris Alba’s character from the first Pacific Rim movie, as well as the funny line when Dr. Newton Gottlieb says, “Your father was a great speech writer.  Did you hear the one where he canceled the apocalypse?”   ha ha 
• I always appreciate some humor.
• The sound effects are really good.  You can hear the weight of the heavy footsteps of the various machines and monsters.
• I loved Tian Jing’s outfits, especially her long, white coat towards the beginning of the movie.
• I thought John Boyega did a great job and I loved his hair cut. 
• If you can, see it in 3D, but sit farther back in the theater.

Things I didn’t like:

• Some people may actually want to wear ear plugs while they watch this because it’s so loud.
• Super clichéd beginning where a teenage genius builds something incredible and races off with a covered face for the big reveal later.  In fact, the whole movie was super predictable.
• Jake Pentecost’s rotten attitude was annoying and tiring.
• Jake Pentecost and Amara Namani constantly bicker.  It’s supposed to be endearing, but it was just annoying.  Several times he yells, “Shut up!” which is a phrase I really dislike.
• If you haven’t seen the first movie, you might be a little bit lost in the story; however, there is a quick recap to bring you up to speed at the very beginning of the movie.
• The character development seems super contrived and cliche.
• It actually becomes boring watching robots fight each other and smash everything around them over and over and over.
• Yep, this movie leads into another sequel.  (sigh)
• I heard another movie critic explain that this movie felt way too corporate for his taste.  It's true.  Everything seems very calculated and researched to profit the most from cultural tastes.  For example, the two main pilots are Jake and Nate.  Those are the top two baby boy names in America.
• Robots often fight monsters, but when the rogue Jaegers fight the good Yaegers, it looks like just another Transformers movie.
• Guillermo del Toro was going to direct this movie, but he stepped away from it in order to direct The Shape of Water, which he ended up winning an Academy Award for as Best Picture in 2017.

Funny lines:

• “Stay focused and try not to fall over.” – Chinese guy
• “Speak in English.  Your Mandarin makes you sound like an idiot.” – Liwen Shao (Tian Jing)
• “In theory, what does that mean?” – Jake (John Boyega)

“Today, it means YES!” – Dr. Hermann Gottlieb (Burn Gorman)

• “Well, THAT’S confusing.” – Jake after Cadet Jinhai kisses him and Nate Lambert
• “I can’t believe she just hologrammed me.” - Jake

  

                                            @trinaboice

The Cloverfield Paradox is a confusing one

Movie Title:   
The Cloverfield Paradox

Grade:  D

Rating: Not rated officially, but it should be R.

In a Nutshell:   To call Cloverfield a trilogy is a bit of a stretch.  The three films are loosely related with a few connected Easter eggs, each one depending on the former films to garner fans and box office success. 

The fan base is small, as evidenced by the very limited theater release.  The biggest surprise is that the first time the trailer for the movie was ever shown was at Super Bowl LII (2018), which was the very same night the movie was shown on Netflix.

                                  

Tips for parents: 

• F-bombs and other profanity.
• Lots of violence.
• Gruesome, gory, gross deaths.
• Disgusting worms.
• Creepy, but helpful, dismembered hand.

Uplifting theme: 

• Teamwork, friendship, loyalty
• Sacrifice
• Humanity, family

                                        

Things I liked:

• I actually liked the first two installments in this franchise. I like that the three are different from each other and make you try to think.
• Chris O'Dowd has the best lines in the movie.
• The lovely Elizabeth Debicki has quite an entrance.
• This will be a fun movie to make fun of at a teenage late-night party.
• Some of the acting was good.

Things I didn’t like:

• J.J. Abrams is great at NOT telling you what’s going on.  Your brain will explode if you spend too much time trying to figure out any of this. It’s occasionally entertaining and mostly confusing, meant mostly for Cloverfield fans.
• David Oyelowo is too good for this silly script.
• You’d think that everyone on the space station would be able to speak the same language.  Tam (played by Ziyi Zhang) kept speaking Mandarin with no subtitles.  People spoke to her in English and seemed to understand what she was saying, which is just another odd element in the movie.  I’ve actually been trying to learn Mandarin, but subtitles would have been super helpful since I’m terrible at Mandarin.  
• Rumor has it that the next chapter in the Cloverfield story.  Next?  Yeah, you heard me.  Do we really want more of this?  There is talk of an entire Cloverfield universe.  (sigh)  
• Apparently, the Cold War is still going strong in the future.
• Multiverse nonsense.  There are way too many theories, dimensions, and timelines going on here for the average person to keep up with or enjoy.
• Some really dumb lines like, "We're going to survive!  We have to!"
• Cat fight in space.   ha ha
• The original title was “The God Particle.”  Then, it was advertised as "Cloverfield 3."  No wonder we're confused...so are the writers.   

Interesting lines:
* "If you're asking if I'd be willing to kill 3 people to save 8 billion, wouldn't you?" -  Jensen   (Elizabeth Debicki)


You can see my movie review for 10 Cloverfield Lane here.  

                                       

                         

                                            @trinaboice

The Mummy unwraps a sexy monster to introduce a new Universal Studio Dark Universe

Movie Title: 
The Mummy (2017)

Grade:  B

Rating:  PG-13, 120 minutes

In a Nutshell: Universal Studio’s Dark Universe presents a sexy, new mummy that hopes to kick-start a new universe of monster movies. It drops a lot of hints of what’s to come.

The film's tagline, "Welcome to a new world of gods and monsters," is a quote from the 1935 Bride of Frankenstein...soon to be remade by Universal Studios.

Critics are picking this origin movie apart, but it's fine for a summer popcorn flick that'll entertain you plenty in air conditioning.   

Uplifting theme: 

• “Death is the doorway to new life.  We live today.  We shall live again. In many forms shall we return.” Egyptian prayer of resurrection
• “The past cannot remain buried forever.” – Dr. Henry Jekyll (Russell Crowe)
• “Where’s your sense of adventure?” – Nick Morton (Tom Cruise)
• Good vs. evil. 

                                                         

Things I liked:

• Tom Cruise is incredibly dedicated and hard-working in this film.  He takes a serious beating in almost every scene and just keeps going and going like the Energizer Bunny.  He said in an interview with Regal movie theater about the film, “The sets are magnificent.  They’re beautiful.  They’re haunting” and then later, “It’s a helluva lot of fun.” 
• Sophia Boutella is really great as a seductive female mummy.  We’ll see her again soon in Atomic Blonde: The Coldest City.
• Russell Crowe’s character was a surprise to me, but a pleasant one.  We’re sure to see more of him in this role. No spoiler!  I want you to be surprised too!
• It’s better in 3D.
• I liked the little details, such as Ahmanet’s blue, cracked fingernails.
• Some of the set pieces are pretty cool and the special effects are impressive.
• Lots of fun jumps and scares.
• I liked Annabelle Wallis a lot.  Unfortunately, she played a damsel in distress in almost every scene, but she was still pretty to watch.
•  There is a welcome sense of humor.
• The zero gravity scene in the airplane was really good.  Apparently, it took 64 takes and most of the crew got nauseous, except for Tom Cruise and Annabelle Wallis.
• The next time you're at Universal Studios, be sure to watch their hilarious and informative "Horror Make-up Show."

Things I didn’t like:

• There are a lot of exposition scenes.  They're necessary, although a bit annoying.
• Jake Johnson was a mildly entertaining sidekick, although sometimes an odd addition.  Tom Cruise was funnier than the designated comic relief.

·   The film feels like action sequence, explanation scene, action sequence, explanation scene, etc.

• No end-of-credits scenes.  Drats.  Marvel rocks at those.
• Camel spiders.  EEEEK!
• Tom Cruise plays a protagonist who isn’t really a stellar hero.  He’s a flawed man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time .  His set of moral standards is questionable.  For example, Jenny yells, “You stole from me!” and his justification that he is still a good person is, “But I didn’t lie!”
•  Did you ever see the first trailer?  Tom Cruise lets out this extremely unpleasant, high-pitched scream that seems to have been replaced in the film, thank goodness. 

Funny lines:

• “We are not looters.  We are liberators of precious antiquities.” – Nick Morton (Tom Cruise)
• “I’m sorry.  We’re just never going to happen.  It’s not me.  It’s you.” – Nick Morton
• “Wow!  That was intense.” – Chris Vail (Jake Johnson)

Interesting lines:

• This is not a tomb.  It’s a prison.” – Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis)
• “There are worse fates than death.” – Ahmanet
• “Evil never rests.” – Dr. Henry Jekyll
• “Sometimes it does take a monster to fight a monster.” –Dr. Henry Jekyll

Tips for parents: 

• This probably should have been a Rated R movie.  There is a lot of sexual innuendo, but more than that.  There are some kinky moments and bare naked moments of Tom Cruise (covering his middle parts), and a naked side shot of Sophia Boutella. 
• There are a ton of bloody, gory, fighting, destructive scenes.
• There is talk of an affair.
• Some profanity.
• Lots of dead bodies, scary mummies, and high body count.

                                            @trinaboice 

Kong Skull Island showcases a new scary Kong and other imaginative monsters

Movie Title:   Kong: Skull Island

Grade:  B

Rating:   PG-13, 118 minutes

In a Nutshell:  This is an entertaining re-imagining of the King Kong story and takes place where John Goodman’s character describes as “The place where myth and science meet.”  

In its debut weekend, Kong: Skull Island took in about $61 million in domestic theaters.  Warner Bros. head of domestic distribution, said, “The world of mouth is really kicking in,” adding that the weekend earnings “far exceeded everyone’s expectations.” 

It's a fun popcorn movie if you're looking for lots of thick action with thin characters.

Uplifting theme: 

• Respect nature.
• “The world is bigger than this.” – Mason Weaver (Brie Larson) 

Things I liked:

• The entertaining cast includes Samuel L. Jackson (who made the audience laugh every time he appeared on screen), John Goodman, John C. Reilly, Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston, and Tian Jing (whose movie The Great Wall is still playing in theaters.)
• The special effects are pretty amazing.  There are some pretty impressive and beautiful shots.
• Kong is the perfect blend of super scary and endearing.
• Some of the monsters are very imaginative with impressive action sequences.
• Here’s to indie directors who are given the opportunity to direct big name franchises.
• Keep watching after the rolling credits for another scene.
• There are a few interesting transitions.
• 3D enhances the images, but isn’t necessary to be entertained.

Things I didn’t like:

• When Kong started to break that other monster’s mouth, I thought for sure it was going to be an ode to the original King Kong, but I was disappointed when Kong couldn’t actually crack it open like in the original movie.
• Most of the humans are pretty bland with very little character development.  The only interesting characters with a back story and internal motivation are Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) and Hank Marlow (John C. Reilly.
• Quite a few scenes look like they’re filmed with a green screen.
• Not all of the humor lands well.
• Check out Tom Hiddleston.  In every single frame, he’s flexing his muscles and standing in a macho hero pose.

Funny lines:

• “I call ‘em skull crawlers.” – Hank Marlow (John C. Reilly)

“Why?”

“I’ve never said that out loud before.  Now that I’ve said it, it sounds stupid.  You call ‘em whatever you want.” – Hank Marlow

• “Hold on to your butts!” – Preston Packard (Haven’t we heard Samuel L. Jackson say this like a thousand times?)
• “I should be sitting at a desk.” – Victor Nieves (John Ortiz)
• “You’re a good group of guys.  We’re all gonna die.  You shouldn’t have come here.” – Hank Marlow
• “Mark my words.  There will never be a more screwed up time in Washington.” – Bill Randa (talking about the Vietnam period.  Aw, he should see us now!”  ha ha
• “I AM the calvalry!” – Preston Packard

Things that really take you back in time to the 1970’s:

• Nixon bobblehead
• Great soundtrack
• Slide projector
• Brie Larson’s hairdo and clothes
• Snoopy
• Green rotary telephones
• Life magazine

Stupid lines:

• “There’s something going on here, something no one is talking about.” – Mason Weaver (Brie Larson)
• “It’s time to show Kong that man is king!” – Preston Packard

Interesting lines:

• The camera is way more dangerous than a gun.” – Preston Packard
• “The right photos can change opinions.” – Mason Weaver
• “Men go to war in search of something, Mr. Conrad.  If you had found it, you’d be home by now.” – Bill Randa

Tips for parents: 

• It’s extremely violent with a lot of gruesome deaths.  There is a lot of brutal hand-to-hand combat scenes among humans and animals.
• 1 F-bomb and some other profanity.
• Some of the monsters are pretty scary and vicious.

@trinaboice

Victor Frankenstein features spit and stitches

Movie:    Victor Frankenstein

Rating:    PG-13, 1 hour 49 minutes

Grade:   C-

In a Nutshell:    “You know this story….” Says the narrator (Igor),  except that this version isn’t as good as others we’ve seen before.  

The twist is that it’s told through the eyes of Igor, played by Daniel Radcliffe.   He and James MacAvoy give good performances and have a certain…forgive me..spark when they’re together.

It’s supposed to be a “re-imagining”, but overall, it’s an unnecessary remake.   I find it odd that Director Paul McGuigan said that he thought Mary Kelly’s original Frankenstein story was “dull as dishwater”, so why would he want to direct a movie that didn’t inspire him?  Ironically, his own film falls in the dull category.

Uplifting Theme:

·         “The greatest creation is your own life.” – Igor

Things I liked:

·         I liked learning a backstory about Igor.

·         Good for Daniel Radcliffe for trying to reinvent himself and move on from Harry Potter.

·         There is some light humor.

·         Those who love steam-punk will appreciate all the gears and gadgets and turn-of-the-century machinery backdrops.

Things I didn’t like:

·         James McAvoy has been criticized for over-acting in this film.   I wonder what the spit count is.  He screams most of his lines with saliva splattering everywhere.

·         Frankenstein's famous monster only gets 7 minutes of screen time and it's not worth waiting for.

·         Yawn.  I kept looking at my watch.  I don’t wear a watch.  Yawn.
      The story didn't flow well.  It felt...forgive me again...poorly stitched together.
      Too bad this movie didn't come out in time for Halloween.

Interesting lines:  

·         “That man is in allegiance with Satan and must be stopped.”  - Roderick Turpin (Andrew Scott)

·         “I will turn the tide of human existence tonight.” = Frankenstein

·         “You and I are on the threshold of immortality.” – Finnegan (Freddie Fox)

·         “There’s no Satan, no God, only humanity, only me.” – Frankenstein

·         “We’re weak.  We’re fragile and we’re destined to die.” – Frankenstein
       "Life is a temporary condition.  Why should death be any different?" - Frankenstein

Tips for Parents:

·         As you can imagine, there are body parts and tissue sewn together, so you see blood and guts and icky stuff.  Some kids may think that’s really cool, while others may be frightened. 

·         There are some creepy moments which might scare younger audiences.

·         Some profanity and violence.