Power Rangers review

POWER RANGERS:

SILLY DUMB FUN WITH HILARIOUSLY BAD PRODUCT PLACEMENT!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

LIONSGATE

(From left to right) Black Ranger, Yellow Ranger, Red Ranger, Pink Ranger, and Blue Ranger ready to morph in Power Rangers

            Okay, a lot of you know that I’m a sucker for superhero movies, then again who isn’t these days? Avengers, Batman, Spider-Man, Superman, X-Men, Ninja Turtles; chances are I’ll be in the theater watching it.

            But, here’s a confession from someone who is usually a fan of these types of franchises, I never really got into Power Rangers. Yeah, Saban’s phenomenal hybrid of teenage superheroes, Godzilla-style monsters, and giant robots battling in a very campy way, for some reason I couldn’t get into it that much.

            Not because Power Rangers was bad or anything (though you could debate if it’s actually a good franchise) but as a child I thought it was a little too cheesy for my taste (and this is coming from a guy who watched Sonic X as a kid, but I digress), though I did watch an episode or two in my lifetime. But, it was a huge success with a lot of kids and became the next best franchise since Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Take some notes Cheetahmen).

            Toys, Halloween costumes, other versions of the show, cosplays at conventions, video games, and of course movies. Two films that tied directly to the TV series it’s based on, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: The Movie from 1995, which was enjoyably bad and corny but features some of the worst CGI you will ever see, its 1997 sequel, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, which was flat-out horrendous, and now a reboot of the franchise directed by Dean Israelite (Project Almanac) and features a brand-new cast as the show’s iconic characters.

            At first, I wasn’t sure what to think of the new Power Rangers movie when I first saw the trailer and ads. I was intrigued by the marketing of the film but it looked like it was severely lacking the campy action scenes and corny dialogue, and a certain trainwreck from 2015 suffered from that (No, not that Trainwreck!).

            But, seeing how I have been known for seeing movies like this, I paid my ticket, sat down, and gave the new film a watch. I was pleasantly surprised; Power Rangers was actually a pretty solid flick.

            I was expecting something more along the lines of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Transformers movie, very stupid and overblown by special effects and annoying characters. Well, for a Power Rangers movie, the characters are developed pretty well, the story is brilliant, and despite having a “slightly” darker tone, the over-the-top action, corny one-liners, humor, and spirit of its source material are still present.

            Set in the fictional town of Angel Grove, the film follows a group of wise-cracking teenage outcasts, star quarterback, Jason Lee Scott (Dacre Montgomery-Stranger Things) who got suspended from the football team, placed under house arrest, and is required to spend every Saturday in detention after a crazy prank he pulled on his rival team, autistic nerd, Billy Cranston (RJ Cyler-Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), and former cheerleader, Kimberly Hart (Naomi Scott-Terra Nova, The 33, The Martian) who is there after supposed rumors of her knocking her ex-boyfriend’s teeth out. The three of them start hanging out at these mines where Billy’s deceased father worked at.

            Suddenly an explosion appears, catching the attention of two of their other classmates, Zack Taylor (Ludi Lin-Marco Polo, Monster Hunt) and Trini Kwan (Becky G-Austin & Ally, Empire) and the five teens discover these mysterious artifacts called Power Coins. Each of them take a different colored coin and end up getting superpowers.

            The group comes across an ancient spaceship and where they meet a talking robot named Alpha 5 (voiced by Bill Hader-Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs, Men in Black 3, Inside Out) and Zordon (voiced by Bryan Cranston-Breaking Bad, Godzilla (2014), Trumbo), the original Red Ranger who lived billions of years ago until his consciousness was uploaded into the ship’s matrix at his moment of death. Zordon and Alpha 5 explain that the five teens were chosen to become a team of heroes known as the Power Rangers to combat the evil alien invader and former Green Ranger, Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks-Spider-Man trilogy, The Hunger Games franchise, The Lego Movie) who plans to steal the Zeo Crystal, the artifact that gives the Rangers their powers, and unleash her monstrous creation, Goldar on the world.

            So, it’s up to the Power Rangers to unlock their Morphing abilities, morph into their Ranger armor, and use their giant robot dinosaurs called Zords, weapons, and combat skills to battle Rita and save the world.

            Overall, Power Rangers is dumb fun that feels very satisfying after you watch it, the action is exciting, some of the lines get a good laugh, and offers plenty of fan-service to those who watched the show or grew up with it. Although something I should address with this movie, don’t expect much Morphing in this movie, the first half of the film is buildup and backstory, which is appropriate being a reboot and you need to introduce these characters and story elements so people who have never seen Power Rangers before can follow along, they don’t even get into their armor until right before the climax.

            Unlike the 2015 Fantastic Four movie which suffered from uninteresting characters, dull storytelling, and a lack of action Power Rangers’ characters have fun, crack jokes, and have chemistry. Not once did I want to fall asleep, granted I would have liked to see more Morphing and Zord action but I enjoyed the characters and acting, especially Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa, she is such a joy to watch and it looks like she’s having fun with her role, spot on.

            Besides the lack of Ranger action, what does kill the film for me is its use of product placement, remember the infamous 1997 action movie, Double Team which literally played out like a giant ad for Coca-Cola? Well, this movie is a giant ad for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, I’m not kidding, it plays a part in the story.

            But with that said, the first half of the movie is great storytelling, the final act is fun but ridiculous, and if you’re a fan of Power Rangers or looking for some dumb, cheesy, enjoyment, grab your friends, Morph, and Go, Go Power Rangers!  

Beauty and the Beast review

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST:

HAS NOTHING ON THE 1991 ORIGINAL, BUT THE ELEGANCE AND MAGIC OF ITS STORY SHINE THROUGH!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

DISNEY

Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, Beauty and the Beast

            After the major success of last year’s Jungle Book and 2015’s Cinderella, Disney has now given us a live-action re-imagining of one of the most beloved stories of all time, Beauty and the Beast. Like many, I wasn’t entirely onboard for a remake of the 1991 animated film, not because it sounded bad or anything like that, but nothing could top the original classic.

            Disney’s animated Beauty and the Beast is a timeless classic, no matter what age or gender you are, admit it, you were under the magical spell of that film. It was a huge hit in 1991 following the success of The Little Mermaid in 1989, helped kick off the Disney Renaissance with Aladdin the following year and especially The Lion King in 1994, and became the first animated feature to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

            How do you top that with live-action? You don’t, but you do get a solid retelling of the story on its own. That’s where the new Beauty and the Beast film comes in, directed by Bill Condon (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Parts 1 and 2, The Fifth Estate, Mr. Holmes) and starring cinema sweetheart, Emma Watson (Harry Potter franchise, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Noah) as Belle.

            Despite being played by the numbers from the original for the most part, the movie is absolutely gorgeous to watch from a visual perspective, lots of gold and sparkle everywhere (Debatably more golden than Belle’s dress in the movie), and very reminiscent to the production design from Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella. I saw the film in IMAX 3D and every scene in the Beast’s castle feels huge and you almost forget you’re in a movie theater, you can tell this is a film that’s made for IMAX.

            Once upon a time, there was a young prince who was spoiled and cruel to everyone, with absolutely no love in his heart. One day a sorceress curses the prince and transforms him into a vicious beast and gives him a magic rose that, if he does not find true love before the last pedal falls, will turn him into a beast forever.

            That’s where our heroine comes in, a French village girl and bookworm named Belle (Watson) who is tired of her life in the village and searches for something more. The other villagers question her fascination for books and is constantly stalked by the narcissistic but hunky town hero, Gaston (Luke Evans-Clash of the Titans, The Hobbit trilogy, Fast & Furious 6) who is determined to marry her, with the aid of his dim-witted lackey, LeFou (Josh Gad-Ice Age: Continental Drift, Frozen, The Angry Birds Movie).

            Suddenly Belle’s father, Maurice (Kevin Kline-A Fish Called Wanda, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Ricki and the Flash) has been captured and taken prisoner one night by the Beast (Dan Stevens-Downton Abbey, The Guest, A Walk Among the Tombstones) and comes to his rescue.

            Belle urges the Beast to let her father go and she’ll take his place, the Beast accepts and Belle spends the rest of her days in his castle. In time the two of them get along and eventually fall in love with each other, quite possibly their love will be strong enough to break the spell.

            The film also stars Ewan McGregor (Star Wars: Episodes I-III, Big Fish, Robots) as the voice of Lumiére, Stanley Tucci (Julie & Julia, Captain America: The First Avenger, Transformers: Age of Extinction) as the voice of Maestro Cadenza, Ian McKellen (X-Men franchise, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit trilogy) as Cogsworth, Emma Thompson (Nanny McPhee, Brave, Saving Mr. Banks) as the voice of Mrs. Potts, Audra McDonald (Seven Servants, Rampart, Ricki and the Flash) as Madame de Garderobe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Larry Crowne, Belle, Miss Sloane) as Plumette, newcomer, Nathan Mack as the voice of Chip, Adrian Schiller (The Hour We Knew Nothing Of Each Other, The Danish Girl, Suffragette) as Monsieur D’Arque, Hattie Morahan (The Bank Job, Mr. Holmes, Alice Through the Looking Glass) as Agathe, Gerard Horan (Much Ado About Nothing, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Doctor Who) as Monsieur Jean Potts, and Henry Garrett (Atlantis, Zero Dark Thirty, Poldark) as The King.

            Overall, Beauty and the Beast is a well-made re-imagining of the animated classic, even if the story itself is by the numbers and doesn’t do much to differentiate itself from the 1991 movie. The visuals, production design, and performances for the most part are more than worth the price of admission.

            Emma Watson’s no Paige O’Hara but her portrayal of Belle is solid, she’s definitely beautiful and won me over many times as an actress (Not just the Harry Potter films). Granted her singing voice is very hit or miss, it shows that Watson knows the story well, and she and the Beast have decent chemistry together.

            Dan Stevens portrays the Beast decently, though he’s not as intimidating as the animated Beast, he plays the part fine and the design of the Beast is pretty cool, even if it’s obviously CG’d. I would have been more impressed if the Beast was made through makeup, because you would actually have a Beast in front of the camera.

            Luke Evans is a lot of fun as Gaston, he’s charming, very funny, and when necessary threatening, I don’t think he’s as enjoyable as Gaston from the animated film but that seems unfair. Josh Gad gets some funny lines once in a while as LeFou, even if his performance feels like a dim-witted rehash of Olaf from Frozen.

            Song wise, not much to say, it’s the exact same songs from the animated movie, literally right down to having Alan Menken compose the film’s score. Be Our Guest, Something There, and of course Beauty and the Beast, all the iconic songs are present here so I doubt no rage here.

            If you enjoyed the 2015 Cinderella or last year’s Jungle Book, you should be satisfied with Disney’s new Beauty and the Beast film. Don’t expect it to top the original, but you can expect a magical experience.

Kong: Skull Island review

KONG: SKULL ISLAND:

GORILLA SIZED POPCORN FUN, BUT NOT MUCH ELSE!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

WARNER BROS. PICTURES

(From left to right) Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, and Samuel L. Jackson fighting for survival in Kong: Skull Island

            What is this, like, the eighth film based on the iconic movie monster, King Kong? Alright! It’s amazing after all the Jurassic Parks, Marvels, Transformers, and whatever else is popular right now, classic movie monsters like Godzilla and King Kong still manage to last for many years.

            The original 1933 King Kong film is a timeless classic and still dazzles movie-watchers even to this day and spawned a sequel, Son of Kong (which came out the exact same year as the first movie BTW!), the 1949 Oscar winning standalone film, Mighty Joe Young, two films released by Toho including the original King Kong VS Godzilla, and of course the 2005 remake directed by Peter Jackson of Lord of the Rings fame. Now because every movie studio wants to be like Marvel these days (DC, Universal Monsters, %^&*ing Transformers is becoming one!), we have Kong: Skull Island, directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Death Valley, The Kings of Summer, Nick Offerman: American Ham), the second installment of Legendary Pictures’ “Monster-Verse”, the first being 2014’s Godzilla, which will eventually lead to a rematch of King Kong VS Godzilla in 2020.

            I wasn’t expecting this film to surpass the 1933 classic and let’s face it, nothing can top that landmark film. But seeing how I enjoyed the 2014 Godzilla film and was already dazzled in 2005 by Peter Jackson’s King Kong, I was curious to see how this film would turn out.

            It’s monster movie fun, and that’s about it, I appreciate Skull Island for not being another remake of the same King Kong story because we got plenty of those. The action is exhilarating and the performances by Tom Hiddleston (Marvel Cinematic Universe, War Horse, Crimson Peak), Samuel L. Jackson (Jurassic Park, Pulp Fiction, Marvel Cinematic Universe), John Goodman (The Big Lebowski, Flight, 10 Cloverfield Lane), and John C. Reilly (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Wreck-It Ralph, Guardians of the Galaxy) are decent.

            Unfortunately, the script isn’t written that well, at times the effects are lousy, the characters aren’t very engaging, and the pacing gets sluggish. Really, whenever you’re at a scene that doesn’t involve Hiddleston, Goodman, Jackson, Reilly, or any of the Skull Island monsters, the movie is kind of boring.

            As much as the Peter Jackson movie drags, at least it’s a solid visual spectacle from start to finish, and the characters are developed well enough for someone to have an emotional connection with. Fortunately, Skull Island makes up for its mediocre storytelling and forgettable characters with some exciting action sequences and in terms of runtime, you won’t have bladder issues in the third act.

            Set in 1973, the film follows former British Special Air Services Captain James Conrad (Hiddleston) being hired by government agent, Bill Randa (Goodman) to lead an expedition to map out an uncharted island in the Pacific Ocean known as Skull Island. Accompanying him is the Sky Devils helicopter squadron led by Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard (Jackson), who is recruited by Randa to escort him to the island as well as pacifist photojournalist, Mason Weaver (Brie Larson-21 Jump Street, Trainwreck, Room), who believes the expedition is a cover for a military operation and is determined to expose it.

            Upon getting to Skull Island, Packard’s men start dropping explosives to determine if the ground is hollow, but unknowingly they awaken a species of monsters called Skull Crushers (I didn’t name them, John C. Reilly did) bent on destroying them. Not to mention the hollow ground operation ends with the Sky Devils squadron being attacked by a 100-foot-tall ape that rules the island, Kong.

            Randa explains the true purpose of the expedition, to acquire proof of monstrous creatures that have been forgotten by humanity to prepare for their inevitable return. Meanwhile Packard and his men search for the survivors of Kong’s rampage, one of which being his right-hand man, Major Jack Chapman (Toby Kebbell-Control, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, A Monster Calls).

            The expedition crew and helicopter squadron encounter Skull Crushers, ugly-ass birds, natives, a stranded pilot named Hank Marlow (Reilly) who has been stuck on Skull Island since World War II, and of course Kong on their journey to get off the island before humanity belongs to the monsters.

            Overall, Kong: Skull Island is fun at best, but boring at its worst, all the scenes involving Kong and the other monsters are awesome, but when the film focuses on the human characters to discuss their mission or give the history of Skull Island, it really drags the movie to a crawl. The main reason is the characters aren’t that interesting, Hiddleston, Jackson, Reilly, and Goodman’s performances are good but their characters are forgettable, Hiddleston’s just the typical protagonist, Jackson is the angry colonel with a thirst for blood, Reilly’s a nutcase, and Goodman’s performance feels like a rehash of his performance from 10 Cloverfield Lane.

            You’re pretty much stuck with these poorly-written characters just waiting for them to get attacked by monsters. Remember how Godzilla was lacking screen-time in the 2014 Godzilla movie? Well, this movie has the opposite problem for me, I wanted more engaging human characters so I can be emotionally invested in them and not have to wait, and wait, and wait for the next Kong appearance.

            The effects are a mixed bag, at times they’re impressive and exciting to watch, but other times they look laughably bad and obviously green-screened. We’re in 2017 right now but the CGI in Peter Jackson’s 2005 King Kong still looks much more impressive than the CG in this.

            Also the action kind of lacks variety, when you really get down to it, it’s Kong fighting the same monsters all throughout the film. Again, going back to Peter Jackson’s movie, despite its long running time, there was a lot of variety of action sequences in the film, Kong battled a T-Rex, giant insects, and of course the climax on the Empire State Building.

            But with that said, the things that are good are very good, there’s so many cool moments in the movie that makes it hard for me not to recommend a viewing. It isn’t a bad movie, Kong: Skull Island delivers exactly what it advertises, so if you’re a fan of monster movies, you’ll have a blast, but if you’re looking for strong characters to get emotionally attached to, this isn’t your flick.