The Shallows review

THE SHALLOWS:

JAWS MEETS CAST AWAY!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

COLUMBIA PICTURES

Blake Lively VS Killer Shark in The Shallows

            We’ve seen countless shark movies in the past after Steven Spielberg’s groundbreaking masterpiece, Jaws, which was debatably the first summer blockbuster and made the whole world afraid to go in the water. Jaws is probably one of the only shark movies I can think of that’s campy, terrifying, and an all-around great film all at the same time, don’t get me wrong, I love films like Deep Blue Sea, but that movie was incredibly cheesy and not the least bit scary, but it’s thoroughly entertaining, which is also why I liked Snakes on a Plane.

            So after several shark movies that crashed and burned like Jaws 3D, Jaws: The Revenge, and Shark Night 3D and others that got caught in a whirlwind of madness like the Sharknado movies, director, Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan, Unknown, Run All Night) brings us a terrifying new take on classic shark scares with The Shallows. It does not follow in the footsteps of those cheesy shark movies from the past that have lousy special effects and unintentional laughs, and instead focuses on one person’s fight for survival against a shark out to kill her, bleeding with thrills and chills constantly until the film’s gripping finale.

            The film stars Blake Lively (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Green Lantern, The Age of Adaline) as Nancy Adams, a woman who goes on vacation to a tropical island that she never gets the name of. At first it seems very nice, the sun is shining, the water is crystal clear, and she meets a couple surfer dudes and she goes surfing with them.

            However, one day, while she is surfing she is knocked off the wave and ends up stranded on a large rock floating in the ocean. But that’s not what she should be worried about, there’s a shark out to get her and every time she attempts to swim back to shore, the shark charges after her and almost kills her.

            Nancy must use the resources she has available to her at sea and with the help of a seagull with a broken wing, she will do whatever it takes to get away from the shark and make it back to shore.

            Overall, The Shallows is an electrifying experience, this movie is not a summer blockbuster, it has no fancy explosions or flashy action sequences, but the entire film had me hooked. I really have to give the film kudos for having very few characters in the movie, which adds more to the terror when the shark arrives, Blake Lively is the only main character and the few other people we do see either get killed by the shark or they’re just making cameos.

            Seeing Lively’s determination to get away from the shark and make it back to land had me rooting for her all the way through and once she eventually makes it back, I almost wanted to applaud like a crazy person, but I digress. I’d still say Jaws is the better movie because of how groundbreaking it was at the time and even today I get bigger frights watching that movie over this, it’s probably because of the John Williams theme (In fact, I was humming that when the shark appeared in The Shallows!).

            I’m relieved they didn’t make this into another typical cheesy shark flick with terrible special effects and unintentional hilarity. They took full advantage of what it had and delivered a thoroughly thrilling and frightening adventure at sea.

            The shark sequences reminded me of Jaws, but the overall concept of the movie reminded me a lot of Robert Zemeckis’ Cast Away, Blake Lively is like Tom Hanks’ character from that movie, she’s stranded with no way to contact people to find her and she pretty much has to face her fears on her own. The only difference is Blake Lively couldn’t make it to land because the shark would always attack her.

            If you want a shark movie that doesn’t follow in the footsteps of Sharknado, you’ll probably enjoy The Shallows. It delivers pretty much everything that made Jaws terrifying and entertaining, plus add the element of Cast Away and you got quite an experience.            

Independence Day: Resurgence review

INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE:

SHORT ON STORY AND ENGAGING CHARACTER BUT IN TERMS OF A SUMMER POPCORN FLICK, IT DELIVERS ON ACTION, THRILLS, AND SPECIAL EFFECTS!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

20^TH CENTURY FOX

The aliens are back to destroy mankind in Independence Day: Resurgence

            Here we go again, another sequel released over ten years after the first film to capitalize on its success. The film industry has been doing that a lot lately, haven’t they? Last year we had Mad Max: Fury Road, Jurassic World, Terminator: Genisys, Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation, Spectre, and of course, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

            This year we had Zoolander 2, X-Men: Apocalypse, Finding Dory, and now Independence Day: Resurgence, the sequel to director, Roland Emmerich’s (Stargate, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012) 1996 smash hit, Independence Day. The first film was a huge box office hit when it first came out, although the reviews were pretty much split down the middle with critics, it made a lot of money, thanks to some breathtaking special effects and a really clever marketing campaign, it became one of the highest grossing movies of the 1990s alongside Titanic and Jurassic Park.

            The marketing campaign for the first movie was ingenious, back then we didn’t know what was going to happen in the movie and the trailer said a lot but showed very little, I’m not kidding, all they showed in the trailer was the White House getting blown up. Naturally that got a lot of people’s attention so everyone flooded to the movie theaters to see it.

            As a kid, I enjoyed it but today whenever I revisit Independence Day I always notice flaws in the story and characters. I’m probably not giving anything away but Roland Emmerich is best at destroying stuff but not so much at developing characters or an engaging story.

            Pretty much the only things I look forward to whenever I watch it are the action sequences (Which were undeniably amazing at the time) and Will Smith’s enjoyably cheesy but charming performance. I don’t hate the movie, but it’s certainly no Star Wars, Alien, or Jurassic Park.

            So twenty years later and after several misfires with The Day After Tomorrow, 10,000 BC, and White House Down, Emmerich returns to his sci-fi roots with Independence Day: Resurgence. When I first saw the trailer before Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I raised my eyebrow and thought “Seriously?”, there was no point in this movie existing and knowing that Emmerich’s last films that were legitimately decent were Independence Day and The Patriot, I had very low expectations with this, not to mention that got rid of the Smith Man, come on.

            But seeing how Independence Day was a huge hit when it first came out, I decided to give the new film a chance and went to one of my local IMAX 3D theaters and watched it. And I basically have the exact same opinion on this movie as the first film.

            Like the first movie, Independence Day: Resurgence is short on interesting characters and gripping story. But the film shortly makes up for it with some very impressive action sequences and special effects, not to mention some new variations of action, so it’s not a complete rehash of the first film.

            After the war of 1996 against the aliens, planet Earth knows they are not alone in the universe and have now upgraded their defense forces with alien technology left over from the battle. We’ve had twenty years to prepare for another close encounter…but so did they.

            The former president, Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman-Spaceballs, Sleepless in Seattle, Casper) has a vision of the aliens’ return to destroy mankind and comes to warn the world that the aliens are coming back. But it won’t be as easy as it was the last time, there are much more aliens this time around, the mothership is “Bigger than the last one”, and there’s a giant alien queen in there, so yeah we’re screwed.

            In comes our heroes, U.S. pilot and lieutenant of ESD, Jake Morrison (Liam Hemsworth-Knowing, The Hunger Games franchise, The Expendables 2), scientist, David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum-The Fly, Jurassic Park, The Grand Budapest Hotel), former First Daughter, Patricia Whitmore (Maika Monroe-Labor Day, The Guest, It Follows (Replacing Mae Whitman from the first film)), and Dylan Dubrow-Hiller (Jessie Usher-Level Up, InAPPropriate Comedy, When the Game Stands Tall (Replacing Ross Bagley from the first film)), pilot and captain of the ESD and the son of now-deceased war hero, Steven Hiller (Will Smith’s character from the first film) to lead an army of soldiers to victory as they fight for survival and to save their planet.

            The film also stars William Fichtner-The Longest Yard, Blades of Glory, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) as U.S. General and current president, Joshua Adams, Vivica A. Fox (Soul Food, Kill Bill, Sharknado 2: The Second One) as Steven Hiller’s widow and Dylan’s mother, Jasmine Dubrow-Hiller, Judd Hirsch (Taxi, Ordinary People, Without A Trace) as David’s father, Julius Levinson, Brent Spiner (Star Trek: The Next Generation, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Dude, Where’s My Car?) as the easily excitable scientist, Dr. Brakish Okun, and Sela Ward (Double Jeopardy, The Fugitive, Gone Girl) as the 45^th president of the United States, Elizabeth Lanford.

            Overall, Independence Day: Resurgence is a fun popcorn flick, is it anything groundbreaking? No, is it heavy on plot and character? No, but it’s at least entertaining and a fun way to turn off your brain and enjoy some dumb summer blockbuster entertainment for a couple hours. The special effects are still very impressive, the action is gripping, and sometimes characters like Goldblum get a laugh here and there, and there are new variations of action sequences.

            It doesn’t do much new in terms of plot, going in I think you know what’s going to happen in the end. My advice is if you’re just looking for dumb fun for a couple hours you won’t be disappointed, but if you’re looking to be tested and be engaged with characters and story, this isn’t your flick, I would suggest Captain America: Civil War or X-Men: Apocalypse way above this movie.

Not sure what else to say but…

Sorry I couldn’t resist!

Finding Dory review

FINDING DORY:

AS PERFECT A FINDING NEMO FOLLOW-UP AS YOU COULD GET!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

DISNEY/PIXAR

Dory off on another incredible adventure that she probably won’t remember in Finding Dory

            What am I talking about again? Oh right, Finding Dory, the dynamic duo, Disney and Pixar Animation Studios return with their follow-up to the 2003 animated smash, Finding Nemo. Finding Nemo was a critical and commercial success upon release and even to this day people still talk about the impact the film had and it’s basically a timeless classic now, in fact they re-released in 3D not too long ago.

            The film had very memorable characters, quotable lines, comedy, drama, suspense, and the film as a whole is fueled on emotion, something Pixar is almost always great at. Now over ten years later, Pixar continues the adventures of clownfish, Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks-Lost in America, Defending Your Life, The Simpsons Movie), his son, Nemo (voiced by newcomer Hayden Rolence, replacing Alexander Gould from the first film), and of course everyone’s favorite forgetful Pacific regal blue tang, Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres-Dr. Dolittle, EDtv, Ellen) with Finding Dory.

            When I first heard they were doing a sequel to Finding Nemo, I was both extremely excited but also a little skeptical. The reason, Finding Nemo is one of those movies that I consider a “Perfect Film”, everything is in its right place it was powerful in drama, comedy, and character, it’d be tricky to make a sequel to it and still have it be just as amazing as the first film.

            Not to mention, the non-Toy Story related Pixar sequels haven’t been all that great, Cars 2 was disliked by critics, making it the first Pixar dud and Monsters University was okay at best, but nothing spectacular. I was at least excited to see the characters I grew up with again on the big-screen and curious to see if the film would turn out fine.

            Fortunately, Finding Dory turned out to be a perfect follow-up to Finding Nemo, it embraced everything that made it a great film, added new memorable characters, lots of humorous jokes and visual gags, and it cranks up the emotion, like Inside Out on emotional steroids. In my opinion, it’s the best non-Toy Story Pixar sequel, throw Cars 2 and Monsters University into the ocean.  

            Ever since she was a little fish, Dory always had Short-Term Memory Loss and would forget things easily, like where she is, what she’s talking about, and who her parents are. One day she got separated from her parents and since then she spent pretty much her whole life trying to find them, until she bumped into Marlin when he was trying to catch the boat that took his son, Nemo.

            One year after the events of Finding Nemo, Dory volunteers as a teacher’s assistant for Mr. Ray (voiced by Bob Peterson-Monsters Inc., Up, Toy Story 3). Mr. Ray gives Nemo and his class of fish a lesson on migration and how it means going home to where you’re from and Dory soon realizes that she had a family at one point.

            Dory, with the help of Marlin, Nemo, sea turtle, Crush (voiced by director, Andrew Stanton), and a colorful cast of new characters, sets off on another journey across the sea to find her parents. Along the way Dory gets captured and put into an aquarium where she meets an ill-tempered octopus named Hank (voiced by Ed O’Neill-Wayne’s World 1 and 2, Modern Family, Wreck-It Ralph), her childhood friend and whale shark named Destiny (voiced by Kaitlin Olson-It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Leap Year, Brickleberry), and a beluga whale named Bailey (voiced by Ty Burrell-The Incredible Hulk, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Muppets Most Wanted) to name a few that accompany Dory on her journey.

            Meanwhile Marlin and Nemo get the aid of two sea lions named Fluke (voiced by Idris Elba-Marvel Cinematic Universe, Zootopia, The Jungle Book) and Rudder (voiced by Dominic West-Chicago, Arthur Christmas, John Carter) and an offbeat, kooky, loon named Becky, who does not talk, to help them find Dory and bring her home.

            The film also features the voices of Diane Keaton (Annie Hall, The Godfather trilogy, Father of the Bride) as Jenny, Eugene Levy (American Pie franchise, The Man, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian) as Charlie, Bill Hader (Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs, Men in Black 3, The Angry Birds Movie) as Ned, and Kate McKinnon (Life Partners, Balls Out, The Angry Birds Movie) as Inez.

            Overall, Finding Dory is a fantastic movie and one of the best sequels I’ve seen in a while, especially for a movie I thought was so self-contained that following it up would have been completely pointless, thank God I was wrong. You can tell the filmmakers behind the film are writing from their hearts and they put a lot of passion and care in their projects, except for when they just want money from the little kids (I’m looking at you Cars 2!).

            The film has a perfect balance of familiar characters and new characters and they’re all memorable. Although I was hoping to get more screen-time with Nemo’s misfit friends from the first film and appearances from Bruce and the sharks, but the characters they brought in are just as good and you really don’t care if not all the characters from the first film are in here.

            The animation is gorgeous, and I’m not just talking about underwater, the design of the aquarium and the surface look incredible. Like many of Pixar’s films, the humor and writing are very clever and the movie is filled with hilarious jokes and visual gags, even a couple adult jokes are hidden in there, but don’t worry it’s nothing the little kids would think about.

            The drama and emotion are amplified here, the way Dory’s backstory is told is very heartbreaking, I actually recall jerking a tear or two, and this is an animated film for kids, and I love Pixar for doing that, it’s not silly all the time but it’s not too serious or depressing, it has enough to keep a wide audience engaged.

            If you loved the first film, you’re probably at the theater watching it right now.

            Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming, what do we do? We swim. Alright I’ll stop now.