Jupiter Ascending review

JUPITER ASCENDING:

A VISUALLY DAZZLING BUT FORGETTABLE WACHOWSKI SCI-FI EPIC!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** out of 4

WARNER BROS. PICTURES

Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis saving the Earth and universe in Jupiter Ascending

    

        The Wachowskis (The Matrix trilogy, V for Vendetta, Speed Racer) return with their latest sci-fi adventure full of eye candy, Jupiter Ascending. To best describe this film is to ask this question, what do you get when you put The Matrix, Star Wars, and Guardians of the Galaxy, with a splash of Star Trek into a blender? Well, you pretty much get Jupiter Ascending, a visually impressive thrill ride with cool special effects, action, and sexy young protagonists...yeah, that's about it.

            The story is not fleshed out very well and it’s a shame since the Wachowskis were great at setting up interesting premises with The Matrix and some scenes from The Matrix Reloaded, but then they started to go downhill with their storytelling with The Matrix Revolutions and Speed Racer. The plot for this movie isn’t exactly helping them tell something good again because it's very derivative of other, better sci-fi films (Essentially a poor man's version of Star Wars or The Fifth Element minus the charm).

            The film is about a young woman in Chicago named Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis-Family Guy, Ted, Oz: The Great and Powerful), who has an extremely stressful life, living with her Italian family, she gets woken up by her aunt every morning to make coffee and she has a job as a toilet cleaner. (She really hates her life, sounds an awful lot like Meg Griffin from Family Guy, doesn’t it?) Until she is visited by a genetically engineered ex-military hunter from outer space named Caine (Channing Tatum-21 Jump Street, Magic Mike, The Lego Movie), armed with a space gun and hover boots (Sounds like Star-Lord doesn’t it?) who takes her away from Earth and sends her to outer space where she is apparently part of a royal space family, basically she’s the Princess Leia of this movie.

            Jupiter must make a decision that could change time and space forever, go back home as a house cleaner or rule the universe as a queen. Unfortunately that decision must wait as there is an evil ruler of lizard-like beings that resemble the aliens from Zathura known as Balem Abrasax (Eddie Redmayne-My Week With Marilyn, Les Miserables, The Theory of Everything), who wants Jupiter to send over Earth’s fate to him, so he can rule the world.

            So Jupiter, Caine, and a group of galactic hunters must stop Balem before the Earth becomes his. Also, there’s a secondary antagonist in the form of a space prince who wants Jupiter to be his wife and a bounty hunter who resembles Ronan from Guardians of the Galaxy who wants to take out Caine.

            As you can tell, the film has a pretty rough time developing all of these characters, but compared to an awful movie I reviewed today, Jupiter Ascending definitely had better characters, despite the fact not many of them being developed that well, except for Tatum, Kunis, and Redmayne.

            Overall, Jupiter Ascending is definitely an ambitious project, very heavy on special effect light shows but light on story and substance. Reminds me a lot of my thoughts on the Wachowskis’ Speed Racer movie from 2008, visually colorful but very lacking in story and characters though the Speed Racer movie has more of a nostalgic connection to me as I saw it when I was 14.

            Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis’ performances are fine, nothing spectacular but nothing terrible either even if the writing for them isn't especially good, they tried to make something out of it which I appreciate. Eddie Redmayne on the other hand is amusing to watch because he really doesn’t belong in this movie, his voice is quiet and not very intimidating for a villain and when he goes over-the-top it becomes funny, one of the most delightful failed performances of the 2010s.

            However, much like The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, Jupiter Ascending’s plot relies on a lot of exposition at the expense of the audience's investment in the story or characters. Kunis and Tatum give fine enough performances, but in terms of their characters I did not care for either one of them because of how underdeveloped they are as the film decides to focus more on philosophy and themes of identity and purpose surrounding Kunis' Jupiter...yet ironically her character is written so blandly, emotional investment goes right out the window.

            Despite some dazzling visuals, a cartoonishly over-the-top Eddie Redmayne performance, and sparks of ambition, Jupiter Ascending is an unfortunate misfire from the Wachowskis. I wouldn't call it a complete dumpster fire, but given that it's from the same filmmakers who brought one of the most groundbreaking action films of all time back in 1999, it falls flat compared to the first Matrix.

Seventh Son review

SEVENTH SON:

LORD OF THE RINGS MAKES FANTASY LOVE WITH DUNGEONS & DRAGONS AND THE DUDE FROM BIG LEBOWSKI!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: * 1/2 out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Ben Barnes, Jeff Bridges, and Julianne Moore in a battle between humans and witches in Seventh Son

            From director, Sergei Bodrov (Mongol) comes a visually impressive fantasy adventure that literally borrows from pretty much every single fantasy film in the genre, from The Lord of the Rings to the dreadful Dungeons & Dragons, I am of course talking about Seventh Son, based on the novel, The Spook’s Apprentice by Joseph Delaney. I haven’t read Delaney’s book, but as a moviegoer, the premise and characters are very cliché and unoriginal, you name it, the young farm boy who is a weakling but learns to become a hero, the old advisor, the evil sorceress who becomes a dragon, and a blandly written love interest for the hero.

            In a time long past where humankind and the supernatural have been fighting in an everlasting war, an evil power is about to be unleashed upon the world when an evil dragon witch, Mother Malkin (Julianne Moore-Crazy Stupid Love, Altman, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay: Part 1) plans to lead an army of supernatural transforming witches and destroy humanity for good using a powerful stone to awaken the Blood Moon and regain the witches’ power.

            The only person who can stop her is a Spook advisor known as Master John Gregory (Jeff Bridges-Tron, The Big Lebowski, Iron Man) who is training farm boy, Tom Ward (Stardust, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Sons of Liberty) to become a hero that can put an end to Malkin’s wrath. Problem is he’s not very strong and has a terrible shot with throwing daggers and swords to boot.

            So Master Gregory and Tom must train long and hard if they are to defeat Malkin’s army of supernatural terror. The army consists of witches that can transform into giant lizard monsters, dragons, bears, and other menacing creatures and an army of witch soldiers, led by Radu (Djimon Hounsou (How to Train Your Dragon 2, Guardians of the Galaxy) who is apparently a new character that was made just for the movie and does not appear in the book.

            During their journey, Gregory and Tom meet two companions, an ogre-like creature that delivers the pain and heavy lifting and a beautiful young teleporting witch named Alice Deane (Alicia Vikander-Anna Karenina) who Tom falls for and gives him information about Malkin.

            Overall, Seventh Son is an incredibly weak fantasy film; almost nothing original is present in this flick. However the special effects and creature designs can be a lot of fun, Jeff Bridges is always a joy to see, although I’m not a fan of his accent in this movie, and Julianne Moore is a great villain as Mother Malkin.

            But I wish everything else could be just as enjoyable as the effects, Bridges, and Moore. The story lacks in both detail and originality, most of the characters are fantasy movie stereotypes with not much new added to them, and it lacks consistency, one witch can teleport while the others can only fly and there’s a giant flaming skeleton knight in Gregory’s chamber that Tom has to fight but the movie doesn’t explain why it’s there and what’s its backstory, I’ll take watching the Eragon movie again over this, YES, I JUST SAID THAT!

            With that said, Bridges and Moore are worth admission price and some decent effects and 3D, story wise, not a damn chance. I guess if you’re a fan of the original book, you may find something to enjoy in this film, though I’m not entirely sure seeing how I have not read the book, but as a moviegoer, I got some small bits of amusement out of it, but if you want something more entertaining and clever, come back to me when the Jupiter Ascending and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water reviews are written and posted.

  

Emerald City ComiCon opinion article (Written in March 2012)

EMERALD CITY COMICON:

GEEKS PARADISE!

By Nico Beland

           “Spider-Man was bitten by a radioactive spider!”
“Clark Kent was the son of Krypton and had awesome powers that turned him into Superman!”
“Dananananananana Batman!”
“Transformers, More Than Meets The Eye!”  

           Comic book geeks unite every year at Seattle’s Emerald City ComiCon, a convention at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, located at 7th and Pike ST, across the street from Meridian 16, where the nerds of Seattle come, most of the time in costumes of their favorite superheroes, or villains, to meet some of their favorite writers, artists, and media guests.
           Though they call it the Emerald City ComiCon, it’s not just for fans of comic books. Fans of video games, popular movie franchises, especially Star Wars, table top games such as Magic: The Gathering and Heroclix, and fans of popular TV programs like Battlestar Galactica will have fun at the Emerald City ComiCon.
            Every year special guests come to the convention and fans can meet them face to face. Last year’s ComiCon (2011) included guests such as Star Trek’s William Shatner, Marvel’s Stan Lee, Bruce Boxleitner a.k.a. Tron, Hellboy’s Mike Mignola, and many others.
           Besides meeting special guests, the best part of the Emerald City ComiCon is seeing all the “Cosplayers” roaming around the convention showing off their awesome costumes. Most of the people who attend the ComiCon appear in costumes of their favorite characters from a comic book, video game, TV show, or movie.
           The most iconic costumes at the convention include characters from Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, Watchmen, X-Men, and Iron Man. It’s usually the costumes that everyone knows that get the most recognition from the other geeks who attend.
           At last year’s ComiCon, the characters from the comic and 2010 superhero film, Kick-Ass, had a lot of recognition. Even though it’s not as popular as other comic books, the movie helped Kick-Ass gain popularity. Quite a few Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl cosplayers showed up to the Con.
 I cosplay every year at the Emerald City ComiCon, so I don’t stand out because most of the people who attend the convention are in costumes. The first year I attended ComiCon was in May 2008 and since then I’ve been going every year and in an awesome costume every time.
          It’s perhaps the best nerdy convention in Seattle and die-hard fans of comics should come to this amazing convention. They always try to get the most iconic figures to appear at the convention, this year’s convention included guests such as Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and Stand & Deliver’s Edward James Olmos, Harry Potter’s Oliver and James Phelps, Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center, Date Night, Night at the Museum 2, and The Ghost Writer’s Jon Bernthal, and others.
         Sadly Christopher Lloyd from Back to the Future, The Addams Family and Who Framed Roger Rabbit was unable to make the ComiCon due to a filming schedule, sometimes they can’t get every single guest they wanted but they always try to get most of them to show up.
         This year’s ComiCon (2012) was the best year so far because not only did it include famous artists, writers, and media guests, but it also included voice actors from various cartoons and movies. Voice actors include Jess Harnell (voice of Wakko Warner on Animaniacs and Ironhide in the Transformers movies), Maurice LaMarche (voice of the Brain on Pinky and the Brain and Kif on Futurama), Rob Paulsen (voice of Pinky on Pinky and the Brain, Carl on Jimmy Neutron, and Rev Runner on Loonatics Unleashed), Billy West (voice of Fry on Futurama and various Looney Tunes characters), the “Bending” John DiMaggio (voice of Bender on Futurama, Dr. Drakken on Kim Possible, and Jake the Dog on Adventure Time), the delightful Tara Strong (voice of Bubbles on The Powerpuff Girls, Raven on Teen Titans, and Timmy Turner on The Fairly Oddparents), and Kevin Conroy (voice of Batman on Batman: The Animated Series), so this was a real thrill this year at the ComiCon. People enjoyed having them at the convention and they enjoyed meeting everyone.

          Here’s what other Seattle nerds have to say about the Emerald City ComiCon.

“I like the booths and panels, this was my third or forth year at the ComiCon, I didn’t cosplay but my daughter dressed up as Batgirl”
                                                           -Chris Soethe
“I like just about everything, comics, guests, games, all under one roof, this is my first year”
                                                           -Patrick Bloomer
“I like meeting favorite artists and writers and because it’s One Big Nerd Fest, this is my second year, previous visits were five years ago”
                                                           -Dennis Poor
“I like the ComiCon because they offer a VIP pass, it’s a well organized convention and it hasn’t blown up yet, this is my first year”
                                                           -Brian Lowery
                                              
Emerald City ComiCon isn’t the only radical pop-culture convention in Seattle, Sakura Con, Seattle’s convention for Japanese anime and manga is fun too, but it’s not quite as big as the Emerald City ComiCon because a lot more is going on; more cosplayers, most of the guests are well known, and altogether a bigger and better convention.
But it’s not San Diego ComiCon big, that one’s huge.
It’s the only time of the year I’m psyched about something that isn’t a movie.

American Sniper review

AMERICAN SNIPER:

A WAR EPIC THAT WILL BE HARD TO FORGET!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** 1/2 out of 4

WARNER BROS. PICTURES

Bradley Cooper is the American Sniper

            Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry, Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino) makes a satisfying return as a director and after a few years he finally directed another good movie; it was perfect timing, especially after the poorly received Hereafter, J. Edgar, Trouble with the Curve, and Jersey Boys. Honestly, I thought most of these films were okay, but for a while the last movie Clint directed that I loved all the way through was 2009’s Gran Torino, that is until this new movie came out, American Sniper, based on a true war story.

            This is Clint Eastwood’s third film he directed in the war category, the first two being Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima, both of which were produced by Steven Spielberg. This time there’s no Spielberg on board for American Sniper, but I don’t think he really needs him for this movie, American Sniper is gritty and intense, but also has a powerful story, and strong performances by its leads.

            Bradley Cooper (The Hangover trilogy, American Hustle, Guardians of the Galaxy) stars as U.S. military sniper, Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in the U.S. who is sent to Iraq for one mission, to protect his brothers-in-arms. He has pinpoint accuracy when wielding his rifle and saved many lives in the battlefield, unfortunately his reputation is growing behind enemy lines and making him a target for insurgents.

            So Chris must fight with his soldier brothers in Iraq with no man left behind, and return home to his wife (Sienna Miller-Foxcatcher, Stardust, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) and children.

            Overall, American Sniper is a thrilling war epic, with grisly war violence, strong character development, and a thoroughly powerful story. Unfortunately the film does throw in some nasty child cruelty, which can turn people off from watching the movie, but with that said, the scene isn’t very long, but it is very cruel and dark and if you can manage to get past it, you’ll get a great war story brought to the screen.

            It’s very refreshing to see Bradley Cooper take on a serious role, especially after his roles in the past in films like The Hangover, Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, and Guardians of the Galaxy. He manages to throw in a few witty lines but overall he’s not a comic relief in this movie, he’s takes his job very seriously and his emotion deliveries are very strong, especially when you’re spending your days trapped in a war zone, it’s also great to see Sienna Miller starring in a good movie, despite the fact she was casted in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, hopefully she’ll remain having a strong acting career because she portrays Chris’ wife very well.

            I wouldn’t consider this one of the best war epics like Saving Private Ryan and the Universal classic war movies, but as far as Eastwood directed films go; this is one of his best films as a director in a long time. It’s gripping, it’s intense, it’s compelling…its American Sniper.

            I hope Clint Eastwood stars and directs more movies that critics and audiences enjoy, because after Gran Torino, he hit Rock Bottom with Hereafter, J. Edgar, Trouble with the Curve, and Jersey Boys, I’d love to see what’s next in store for Clint Eastwood, whether it’s good or bad, I’ll be there to check it out.

Selma review

SELMA:

AN INTENSE BUT COMPELLING STORY ABOUT ONE OF THE GREATEST AMERICANS WHO HAS EVER LIVED!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. leads a rally of African-Americans from Selma

            We all know about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and what a big role he had in American history during the Civil Rights Movement. He fought for civil rights for all, no matter what color or gender they are.

            Dr. King’s powerful “I Had A Dream” speech continues to be studied in public schools and remembered by Americans everywhere. Not to mention there were lots of documentaries, movies, and shows about Martin Luther King, the one I remember the most is The Boondocks season 1 episode, Return of the King where Martin Luther King comes back.

            Now this new movie, a historical drama about Martin Luther King leading African-American citizens from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery to fight for their civil rights in America. I am of course talking about Selma, directed by Ava DuVernay (Scandal), produced by Oprah Winfrey (Precious, The Butler, The Hundred-Foot Journey) and starring frequent collaborator with Precious director, Lee Daniels, David Oyelowo (The Paperboy, The Butler) as the man who had a dream.

            The film chronicles the three-month period in 1965 where African-Americans were segregated from white people, beaten and murdered by white people, and were not allowed to vote. A public speaker known as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. steps up and leads a dangerous campaign to claim equal rights for African-Americans in the face of violent opposition.  

            The march from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery reaches a climax when President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson-Sense & Sensibility, The Full Monty, The Green Hornet) signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965, thus granting civil rights to African-Americans.

            Overall, Selma is a wonderful telling of what happened during the Civil Rights Movement, the drama is very solid and the intensity is uncomfortably cruel, but not quite as graphic as 12 Years a Slave. David Ovelowo does an amazing job portraying Martin Luther King, hearing him give a speech almost convinced me that he actually was Dr. King, a very similar to feeling to when Daniel Day-Lewis portrayed Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln.

            It’s nice to see Hollywood do films based on the real life events of struggling African-Americans who step forward and say “No more” with films like 42, The Butler, 12 Years a Slave, and now this movie. Whether you’re white or black, this is a movie for every American citizen to see, if you can get past some of the unsettling intense moments, the performance by David as Dr. King and the overall telling of the story should be enough to win you over.

            Not to mention the film was released at a perfect time since it’s almost Martin Luther King Day, I’m certain lots of people are going to see the movie on that day. And you should see it on Martin Luther King Day; it’s an intense but inspirational story about a man who fights for the good of the country and changed America forever.

            We are all grateful to acknowledge what Martin Luther King did for all of us, and now we have a movie depicting how he gave civil rights to African-American citizens that I’m sure we will all be watching for generations to come.