(Movie Review) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - The Gang's Got Issues

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Directed By: James Gunn

When the first Guardians of the Galaxy first hit theaters three years ago it hit harder than anyone could have imagined. So much so that on the eve of the release of its sequel all this time later it doesn't fell like this franchise has lost an ounce of its audiences excitement. With James Gunn back in the director's chair, all our favorite sort-of-good-guys back in the Milano, and a few new major additions to the cast there was nothing to expect but good things, and good things it delivered. Suffering only slightly from sequelitis in the plot, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 more than makes up for it by moving a mile a minute, spitting jokes just as fast, and even pulling a bit on our heart strings in the end.    

The follow up to the 2014 smash hits opens up on the gang a short time after they last saved the galaxy. They are now working as a crew for hire, helping out those in need if the price is right. Their work is put on pause when a key figure from Peter Quills (Chris Pratt) past reappears to answer many of the questions he's been holding onto about his parentage. His eagerness to discover these answers leads him to make quick decisions that cause rifts within the Guardians that in turn set each of them on their own paths of self-discovery. 

Vol. 2 is clearly the middle of a three-part story, It's more about the team finding themselves and where they fit into this group than ti is about any super villain or larger MCU plot. Instead of just rejoining the team after the first movie and having them mesh perfectly going up against some big bad guy they dive into who this band of misfits is and why they should be together. They haven't been getting along too well and the movie explores that on a deeper and more emotional level than any other MCU film so far.

This is especially key in the Yondu (Michael Rooker) and Rocket (Bradley Cooper) storylines as they are at the emotional center of this movie. Much like in the first film, Rocket is the most closed off of the group and it leads to some big issues between them whereas Yondu is dealing with the rejection of his ravager brothers. Their story arcs and performances were the highlights for me, both eliciting a much larger emotional response than I had expected from this movie.

What I did expect from a Guardians sequel was tons of jokes, great action, and a kick-ass soundtrack and on those three accounts, this movie is damn near perfect. The humor, for the most part, comes from Chris Pratt as Peter Quill and Dave Bautista as Drax, who stole the show last time around. Pratt has his natural charm and charisma that are as good as ever here, but it's Bautista as Drax that is the real stand-out here. He is spitting jokes rapid-fire with most of them landing and his relationship to newcomer Mantis (Pom Klementieff) is wonderful. He gets an expanded role and more screen time here and it is totally deserved. 

The story moves quickly, never lingering a single plot point or set piece for too long and jumping from planet to planet. There are a handful of big action set-pieces throughout that are all wonderfully choreographed and stylized, with Yondu's arrow once again stealing the show. What is surprising though is the number of scenes with heavy dialogue that are still able to just breeze by and not bog down the story. I guess it helps when you always have an adorable little baby tree person around, baby Groot is as wonderful as you are hoping he will be.

Leaving the first movie all that anyone could think about was Awesome Mix Vol. 1, Peter's great mix of classic oldies that serve as a soundtrack to the movie as a whole. The ending of that story came with the promise of an Awesome Mix Vol. 2 and not only does this film deliver another fantastic compilation of songs, it is once again a key part of the story as a whole. I have a feeling this one is hitting the top of the charts again. 

Gunn couldn't totally escape sequelitis, however, as the actual story of this movie is thin. Focusing more in on character development leaves the plot without much to get into. They decided to build the dynamic of the team more instead, Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) get subplots as do Rocket and Yondu all of which greatly build our relationship with the team. This is the middle of a three part story and sacrificing plot was a necessary evil and the rapid-fire jokes and emotional character moments make it hardly noticeable.

Its Quill's story, we are learning with him who is father is and what it means for him going forward. It's clearly going to be key to wherever this is going in the next movie and I think Gunn and company for the most part nail it. Pratt owns this role and is obviously having a blast playing him, pair that with the perfect casting for his father and this movie is just full of good looks and charm. 

Vol. 2 brings us a ton more of what we loved the first time around while adding more emotion to the story as we get to know the Guardians on a deeper level. The film moves rapidly, never slowly down for anything and spitting jokes any chance it gets. What it lacks in plot it makes up for in memorable character moments and great action set-pieces. Now that I know this band of outlaws on a more personal level I cannot wait to see where Gunn takes us in the third movie. 

P.S. You should obviously stay through all of the credits, there are more stingers than I can remember. 

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!

Like I Said, We Hongry - Embrace the Magic of the "Vin-less" Years

"What'd you expect? You didn't just play with fire, you soaked the matches in gasoline"

When you look at the birth of this franchise it's clear that having it end up where it has is a total miracle. After the huge success of the first movie a sequel seemed like a no brainer, but there was one problem, Vin wasn't going to come back. He opted out of 2 Fast 2 Furious in favor of launching his xXx franchise, thus launching Paul Walker to the front and center. Vin wouldn't return to the series for the next two movies, but don't let that get you down, they are arguably the two silliest and most enjoyable films to wear the Fast title.

I'll never forget when 2 Fast 2 Furious hit theaters back in 2003. It was the summer between seventh and eighth grade, so you can imagine how big of an event this was for all my friends and I, all of us die hard fans of the original. We went to the movie with a crew of at least ten kids and it was a God damn riot. We were cheering and hollering, and when they drove that car into a boat in the final sequence we were over the moon.

When we got back to my house after the movie we began racing whatever we could find. Bikes, skate boards, scooters, whatever two people could race each other on we did it in the street outside my house. For a bunch of twelve year olds this movie was the world, so I was saddened to learn so many hate this, or at least find it the low point of the series, to which I highly disagree.

Revisiting this for the millionth time this week I can clearly see now why some are turned off to this movies charm, but I'll never understand it. The absence of Vin is almost never felt in this movie due to the brilliant casting of Tyrese as our favorite Roman Pierce. He has more charm and charisma in his pinky than anyone else to touch this franchise and it explodes all over this movie.

One of my favorite aspects of the first two Fast movies are the cars. They serve as a wonderful time capsule for the early 2000's when these silly kit cars were all the rage, and 2 Fast is the peak of it all. Brian's green Evo and Roman's purple Eclipse are tricked out to the gills in a way only acceptable in 2003 and man, they are gorgeous. Bring it all together with the opening race and the massive spill of street racers in the final chase and this movie features some of the most memorable designs in the franchise.

This, along with the next movie, are often criticized for their unconventional approach to sequels and for their lack of the main "family" story. On the surface, this is fair, but when you really look back on these two movies both are crucial to the further development of the series. This goofy one-off story where Brian and Roman pad their pockets with some stolen cash is massively important in that it establishes Brian as a full force criminal now. Yeah, he'll comply when he has too, but this story makes it clear he now operates on the other side of the law. Also, this movie brings both Tyrese and Ludacris into the franchise, so you have to love it.

Despite the rocky start to the series, these movies have always made money. So even though there was no clear path for the story to take after 2 Fast it was obvious they had the audience for another. Enter Justin Lin and the beginning of the rest of this franchises life, and also it's bastard black sheep Tokyo Drift. The movie starring neither Vin or Paul Walker and the one that has received more "what the hell" comments than any other Fast film. It's wacky, bold, and just a really fucking cool movie.

For a while after its release this was seen as the movie that "almost" killed the franchise due to its massive departure from the first two movies storylines. However, what seemed like a quick turn around on a new fad (drifting) actually ended up being possibly the most important story of them all. Despite Lucas Black not becoming a series regular this film has influenced the rest to come in more ways than most are aware of.

Before we get into all of that though, I just need to gush about this wonderful piece of cinema. I told you my friends and I were gonzo for the last movie, so you know we were there opening weekend for The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, and from that opening needle drop in the credits I was completely hooked. Featuring some of what I believe to be the best car chases/races, and character moments of any of them, this has been and always will be one of my favorites in the series.

Lucas Black is cool in the lead role, though he sticks out even more these days as the most American American who ever America'd. It's in the supporting roles that this finds its voice. Bow Wow is fantastic as Twinkie, the other army brat in town who has a knack for hustling and Brian Tee is great as D.K. Where Tokyo Drift makes its mark though is with the casting and introduction of Sung Kang as Han, the coolest mother fucker to ever see the screen in a Fast movie.

What is there to say about Han other than he was so damn good, and so beloved in this movie that when the franchise continued on with Justin Lin they back tracked the timeline just so they could bring his character back (after foolishly killing him off). He doesn't give a shit about anything, he let's this young American punk wreck his car just so he can get a peak at his character. He's also the coolest snacker to ever see a bag of chips, seriously, we should all be aspiring to be more like Han.

I'll admit, my love of the character clouds my judgment here because it's obvious Justin Lin's introduction in this movie is what truly turned this series around for the better. He came in and not only helped find a path for the story to take, he elevated the filmmaking. Tokyo Drift is where the races become something much more than just a quarter mile drag on a city street. Between the opening race in the housing development (my favorite) to the final drift in his classic Mustang, this movie is amping up the car action in every way it can.

The Fast & Furious movies, especially the early ones, have always boasted great soundtracks that are always representative of the time they were made. None, however, matches the majesty of the Tokyo Drift soundtrack. The inclusion of Japanese pop music is one of my favorite little treats of this film that I believe only adds to its greatness. Seriously, if nothing else go and listen to this music again, it's ridiculously fun.

In the more recent years, since the series has found its greater purpose, and since Han has returned, more and more people have come around to this movie. I often call it the "Halloween III" of these movies, due to its black sheep status and not having either of the two leads of the franchise appear in it. Well, not until the end at least, that Vin cameo had my theater roaring. I just hope it's growing popularity gets them to somehow bring Han back...again.

What at the time looked like two weird, unconventional sequels have been shown with time to have been more logical than most thought. Half through solid franchise planning and the other half through clever improvisations on the story they have now found their crucial place in the overall arc. Though Vin is always missed, and the absence of Brian will never be easy, these two movies have grown lives of their own that none of us expected them too after their initial release. If you've never given these a shot because of these things, or weren't sold on them the first time around give them one more shot. I think a lot of you will be surprised to see what they have going for them now that we have eight Fast & Furious movies.

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!

(Movie Review) Free Fire - A Ton of Bullets and A Lot of Laughs

Free Fire (2017)

Action, Crime, Comedy

Directed By: Ben Wheatley

With franchise culture at an all-time high, and every movie seemingly having to connect to something else, it feels wonderful to see a movie that is just simple. No crazy plot twists, no overcrowding, no complex story beats, just pure and simple fun. That is exactly what Free Fire, the latest from Ben Wheatley is. What could have easily been some highbrow crime movie is instead a ninety-minute action packed laugh riot that stars one of the most impressive casts of the year.

It's 1978 and two gangs arrive at an abandoned warehouse in Boston to make a deal. The Irish want guns for their war back home and the sellers simply want to get rich. The deal doesn't go over as smooth as they'd hoped, however, and before they know what's happening they find themselves in a bloody shootout for the guns and the cash. It is an hour and a half of dirty, bloody, violent, hilarious action that feels more authentic than most movies of its kind.

Wheatley's style is unique making all of his films divisive, it seems film geeks either love him or hate him. This should be no different, though it is his movie that most appeals to general audiences, its simplicity may turn away some of his older fans. He's not trying to do anything profound here, he just brought together an incredible cast, gave them a simple story, and let the bullets do the rest.

Armie Hammer, Sam Riley, and Jack Reynor are stand-outs here. Though the rest of the cast is impressive in its own right with great performances from the likes of Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy, and Michael Smiley, it's these three that make the movie as entertaining as it is. Armie Hammer has more swagger in this movie than a pimp on a Saturday night and his interactions with most of the other characters are wildly funny. Sam Riley plays a pivotal role as Stevo, a junkie with a big mouth and man does he play a wonderful piece of shit. 

Jack Reynor was my personal favorite, I found his character to be the only one in this scenario that you could feel bad for in anyway, thus putting me on his side right out of the gate. He's also funny as hell and strikes great chemistry with Armie Hammer, give these guys a buddy movie! They all spend most of the film in the dirt, covered in bullet wounds yet each of them manages to find a way to be remembered. 

Often times when a film tries to do "period piece on a budget" they forget that aesthetic isn't the only key to telling a decade's old tale. These characters have to walk and more importantly talk like they are from the times the are portraying. This is something that struck me early on in this flick, not only do they all look wonderfully 70's in their fashion, but they are scripted just as they should be. The entire story takes place in an abandoned warehouse, yet it is undeniably a 70's set movie.

Free Fire is hardly the first movie we have seen of its kind, good old fashioned "shoot em' ups" have been around since the days of the classic western, but he infuses it with an attitude and kind of humor that makes it feel fresh. Though the violence is often and brutal, he's not showing us anything new or even that audacious, but he continually surprises us with the humor. Take for example a scene between Armie Hammer and Jack Reynor's characters where they get into a fight. It's an expected turn in the story at that point, but Wheatley finishes it in the last way you'd think. It's a brilliant, hilarious moment that is a perfect embodiment of what he is trying to do here.

With the social landscape rapidly changing bullet heavy movies like this have come under some scrutiny for potentially "fetishizing" gun culture. I personally don't think a film where a bunch of people who are trying to buy guns and end up being picked off one by one with said guns to be anything more than a cautionary tale. Bullets hurt and this movie wants you to not only know that but feel it as well while these people are continually crawling through the dirt only be shot, again and again, its agonizing. 

I'll always applaud a movie for getting right into it without wasting way too much time on setup and character introduction. Free Fire gets all of that out of the way in the first ten minutes and from there continues to be a non-stop piece of action cinema. It may not be as profound as his previous work but it also offers up more pure entertainment value than any of it as well. This a simple movie made for us to spend ninety minutes having a blast in the theater, embrace it. 

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!

(Movie Review) The Fate of the Furious - All Reality Has Been Left Behind, Thankfully

The Fate of the Furious (2017)

Action, Crime

Directed By: F. Gary Gray

Despite the many changes this franchise has taken over its sixteen years of life, there have always been constants. The most important of them all, as everyone surely knows, is family. This is the idea that has grown to be the center of the franchise and take it from street-racing Point Break rip-off to high stakes action sci-fi. Now eight movies deep they decide to finally show us what happens when Dominic Toretto betrays his one true belief, family. This proves to be a totally serviceable plot to get the gang back together, driving cars, shooting guns, and blowing things up in The Fate of the Furious (seriously though, what's going on with the naming of this franchise, it's bonkers).

Now living his dream life with Letty (Michele Rodriguez) in Cuba, Dom (Vin Diesel) gets sucked back into the life by a mysterious cyber-terrorist named Cipher (Charlize Theron). They have no idea why, but Dom has decided to betray his family for her and destroy all that he has claimed to love. When it becomes clear to them he's turned the team realizes they're the only ones who can stop him, and they will do it by any means necessary. This 'Cipher' is more dangerous than anyone they have come up against before and it's going to take a lot of horsepower to take her down.

There was a lot of pressure on this movie to prove to its fandom that it can keep going in the absence of one of its fundamental characters. The loss of Paul Walker was a tragedy, one that many believed should have stopped this series in its tracks. They pressed on regardless and whether you like it or not an eighth movie is here, and if you ask me, they handle his loss as well as anyone could. There are only two moments where you feel the lack of Brian in the story and that's when the film specifically calls attention to it.

They don't erase his influence on the film or ignore that his character exists, but they also don't keep reminding you that he's gone. What they do instead is push some of our favorite members of the team into more defined roles. Guys like The Rock's Hobbs and Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw get a real chance to shine and become the highlight of the movie. Their characters get to do some really unexpected things that will surely be problematic for some fans, but for those who can embrace what's going on, it's an absolute blast.

There are some interesting decisions made in the story, not all of which pay off. With Dom betraying his core value it's hard not to spend a decent chunk of his scenes just being angry with him for doing it and even once it is explained why you're never truly satisfied with it all. Charlize Theron is also totally wasted as the villain, she's one-note and given basically nothing to do. As I said, the plot is serviceable but, it gets us into some of the most ambitious, jaw-dropping mayhem we've seen the team in yet. It's easy to forgive a boring plot when everything that is going on around it is so damn fun and ridiculous.

One of the other slightly awkward jobs this movie found itself having to do was retconning, the paths they take the story and its characters down force the movie to delete and rewrite some franchise history. This mostly pertains to the Hobbs/Deckard relationship which is sure to be the most talked about aspect of this film. Especially because, at times, this movie feels like it has way more focus on these two guys than it does Dom, it feels like an attempt to maybe find a new Brian to help keep the series going. 

The team dynamic is what holds this film together, without the long-established chemistry of the gang this movie could have easily fallen flat. I have faith that these men and women could carry just about any story they want just with their charm and charisma. Any time Ludacris and Tyrese share the screen magic is happening and a giant smile is plastered on your face. Couple this with some choice cameos throughout and you have a Fast movie that hits all the major buttons fans are looking for. 

It's not just more of the same, though. Continuing to build on the franchise F8 dives deep down a rabbit hole of absurdity in its action and execution. As with all of these films, there are moments where you have to pick your jaw up off the floor because you can't believe they did what they just did. Moments like when a giant wrecking ball takes out a small army of vehicles chasing them on their most recent job, or Tyrese driving a bright orange Lamborghini across a frozen body of water. It's all meant to make you go "holy shit" and have the best possible time doing so, in this sense the film totally succeeds. 

Though F8 does well in the absence of Paul Walker they still have major changes to make if they want to keep going from here. They may have done a fine job distracting us from focusing on the fact that he wasn't there, but it isn't enough to keep it going through multiple other films. They need to find someone to, in a way, replace the role the character of Brian played in this series. Dom can't be the heart and soul of the team, he's just the hard-edged fearless leader. This all just makes the ninth movie that much more interesting, if they can pull this transition off there is no telling how long this will continue on for. 

It's crazy to see how these movies have grown over the past sixteen years. It's a franchise like none we have seen before and it continues to find ways to stand out amongst the ever-growing crowd of action blockbusters. Though The Fate of the Furious decides to show us what happens when it's broken, this is still a "family" film through and through. It may not have everything needed to please the fans who hopped on after Fast Five, but it's got all the ingredients needed to make any long-time fan go wild. 

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!

Winning is Winning - Looking Back at The Fast and the Furious (2001)

"You can have any beer you want, as long as it's a Corona."

This weekend the eighth installment in the Fast & Furious franchise hits theaters so you know what that means, it's family time. Throughout this week I will be revisiting the entire series in chronological order, so I thought it would be a good idea to re-evaluate these movies that have been in my life for 16 years now. That's right, The Fast and the Furious first hit theaters back in 2001 and I can remember it like it was yesterday. I, unfortunately, did not get to see this one in theaters, but I saw it almost immediately on home video and from the first viewing was totally in love with the family. 

At this point in time, the franchise has grown immensely in popularity and some would argue in quality as well, so it's always interesting to hear peoples opinions on the first three installments. They are vastly different from what we are seeing nowadays and for some, that's a bad thing but for me, it's the charm that drew me into this silly crime world. The goofy cars, the overblown machismo, and the homoeroticism are things that made me only love this movie more and watching it last night, that's still the case.

It's no secret that the first film served as an unofficial remake of the 90's classic Point Break, so I tried to view it through that lens watching it this time around. I only saw that movie a few years back so I revisited it the night before and it was with this watch that every major connection became clear. Some may cry "rip-off" but honestly, this is exactly how you do a remake and they should be praised for it. They took the barebones of the story and reworked it into something new that better represents the times. 

The Fast and the Furious doesn't just live in Point Breaks shadow though, they were sure to make the right changes to allow this to exist on its own. They were clearly successful in doing that as the movie spawned now seven sequels while the former never had one. One of those changes is that we are straight up praising the criminals here, we aren't just meant to understand why Brian doesn't want to blow them in we are meant to fall head over heels in love with their dynamic, and we do. 

It's fascinating to look at the characters in this movie now knowing where they have gone and having seen this movie countless times. Michelle Rodriguez as Letty is barely even a real person, she is playing an archetype that existed in a small period of the early 2000's, it's kind of incredible. Vin and Paul Walker strike their chemistry from square one and although their characters haven't changed much down the line it's fun to see them in the earlier days. 

What changed most for the two leads is the quality of their dialogue, now I'm not saying the spoken words in the newer movies are anything oscar worthy, but this first installment was really hamming it up. There is a line in this movie, I shit you not, where an FBI agent says to Brian "If you want time, pick up a magazine!". It's fucking incredible and we should be so lucky to have goofy movies like this one. 

To cap it all off, the cars used this first time around are truly one of a kind and further this movie as an early 2000's time capsule. They are flashy and silly boasting bright colors and ridiculous custom decals that you'd never see on the streets today. Brian's orange Supra remains one of my all-time favorite movie cars because of it. Also, I think it goes without saying that Dom's old school Dodge Charger used in the final drag race is a true work of art. 

The races themselves are their own kind of fun when we actually get to see them. Most notably the first race where Brian loses his car, the stuff at "Race wars', and the final drag between Dom and Brian. This is where we get to see the racing through "NOS vision" and its a silly, yet effective visual trick they use to emphasize how fast they are moving. Speaking of, I couldn't count a number of times "NOS" is said throughout this film, just adding to its time capsule status. 

Watching this movie again, sixteen years after its initial release there is a lot to take in. First, Ja Rule cannot act and is, in fact, the worst (but in the best way in this movie) and second is that this franchise has come a ridiculously long way since its inception. The Fast and the Furious is only the beginning of what is one of the most unique film franchises ever to exist. Stay tuned for my thoughts on 2 Fast 2 Furious and Tokyo Drift, I can tell you I love them more than most and get hyped for The Fate of the Furious this weekend!

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!

(Movie Review) The Void - Practical Effects Are Cool

The Void (2017)

Horror

Directed By: Steve Kostanski & Jeremy Gillespie

I think it's safe to say that the days of overusing CGI in horror films is gone, practical effects work is back and in a big way. This is in large part due to the people who create these amazing effects taking the plunge and stepping behind the camera to direct. We've seen it recently with films like Deathgasm and Stung and now the latest from Steve Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie, who come from a background in art and makeup, The Void. The film lives and dies by its effects work with the creepy crawly's taking center stage over plot and character. 

What looks like another dull night on patrol takes a turn for the worst when police officer Daniel Carter stumbles upon a severely injured man running out of the woods. He immediately takes him to the nearest hospital, which just so happens to be on the verge of closing down with just a bare-bones staff in place. He, along with the rest of the staff, quickly learn that whatever this guy was running from has followed them here and they aren't going to let them leave. All the while something evil is changing the people holed up in this hospital. 

Let's get the obvious out of the way, the effects work on display here is absolutely stunning. Drawing inspiration from all of your favorite eighties horrors like The Thing and The Fly they are doing some seriously incredible practical stunts. These guys know how and when to deliver an effects gag and for the most part, that's what this movie is. They set aside memorable characters and a coherent plot for the sake of gorgeous visuals. 

Though it ultimately holds this back from being an all-around great movie it also makes it immensely entertaining to watch. It's easy to get over undeveloped characters and plot when every few minutes we get another effect that blows our mind. Each different creature holds a wonderful design and they are easily the most memorable "characters" in the film. I'd seriously kill for a book of art on this, there is so much gorgeous imagery to take in here. 

While the gorgeous effects work kept me thoroughly entertained throughout I unfortunately never found a character or plot point to latch on to and allow myself to fully get sucked into this movie. It wasn't due to a lack of trying either, There just isn't any character that gets developed enough to the point where you legitimately care about them, and the same goes for the plot. Every time I thought I had a handle on what was going on they would introduce another half-cooked idea that spirals it back out of control. 

The Void also has a lackluster ending unfortunately that, at least for me, didn't leave any feeling of satisfaction. They brought together a bucket full of good ideas and threw a couple handfuls of them into the movie but they never found a way to truly bring them together as a whole. It's wearing its influences on its sleeve but it isn't bringing us anything new on top of it all. It's cool that you wanted to make a movie in tribute to the Carpenter classics and eighties effects work, but you have to bring something fresh to the table if you want to be remembered.

That's not to say this film won't have a shelf life. I may not remember any of the characters names or any of the major storylines down the road but I can surely say that plenty of the effects work and imagery in this film will stick with me for a long time to come. I love seeing more effects people stepping behind the camera, hell it's where Ridley Scott came from and he gave us Alien so I hope these guys get to make lots more stuff. This may not be a great horror film but it nails it where you want it to most and the effects work alone is worth the price of a rental.  

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!

(Movie Review) Life - Humans Never Learn

Life (2017)

Sci-Fi, Horror

Directed By: Daniel Espinosa

It's fine to "rip-off" another movie or movies, it really is. Every film is pulling from something that came before it in some way or another, but if you are going to go so far as to market your film with the clear indication that you are going to do so at least have something new to offer the audience. The newest piece of sci-fi horror from filmmaker Daniel Espinosa Life wears its influences on its sleeve like a badge of honor and then fails to bring us anything more than lesser versions of those very ideas. 

To the film's credit, they waste no time getting into the main plot and what we all care about. It opens on the crew of the Internation Space Station (ISS) as they attempt to intercept a capsule returning from Mars carrying a soil sample that could be life-shattering. Within minutes of the movie, the crew is already examining the sample and discovering the first official proof of life beyond our own. It's a creature composed of cells that are both muscle and nerves, it's all muscle and all brain making it the "perfect organism", sound familiar?

This creature grows at a rapid rate and as you can probably guess, finds a way to escape the quarantine and hunt them throughout the station. It's one perfect organism against the crew but unfortunately for this movie, they never take the time to build the characters or the atmosphere and in turn, it's hard to really care who lives or dies or to ever feel any real suspense. The most character building we get is the information that one of the crewmembers wives has just had a baby, that's about as deep as it gets. 

Life brings one new wrinkle to the story, that they are in a zero gravity environment at all times in the space station. This is a cool visual gag that makes for some clever moments, but it's not enough to elevate this film to anything more. The story moves too fast for its own good so even though they are bringing a fairly cool new creature to the table we never get the time to grow scared of it, they take it from cute to deadly with the flip of a switch and expect us to go along with it. 

Centering a movie around an alien means the look of it is crucial and for the most part, the design works here with its weird tentacles giving it the appearance of swimming through the zero-g. The abilities they form out of its design also work well and make for the tensest moments of the film, but once the best gag is used they bring it back repeatedly making it lose its impact. They rush through the discovery of the organism to get us into the action faster but we need that build up to set us on edge. 

The cast of this movie is too impressive for its own good and with little characterization for any of them they don't have many opportunities to "wow" us. The film was sold on Jake Gyllenhall, Rebecca Ferguson, and Ryan Reynolds, and they are all certainly in this film. They are each quite good but when the most you get to build off of your character is that he has been in space for too long there is little they can do to just sell this on their presence alone.  

Despite its many shortcomings, I do believe this is a step in the right direction for studio horror. The film uses the R rating to its advantage and clearly lets the filmmaker do what he wants. There are some seriously cool ideas in here but they never grab one and focus in on it. It felt like the writers, Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick (Deadpool), kept coming up with clever ideas and then needing to find ways to bring the story back to its center after executing that idea instead of building it into the next step.

A few years back this may have been one of my favorite new horror films. It moves at a mile a minute and features some great effects work, especially the limited practical stuff they did. With the horror landscape the way it is these days, however, this just feels like an uninspired regurgitation of a handful of ideas we have seen done better in recent memory. If all you are looking for is an action packed alien horror film, Life may be just what you want, but don't expect to be given anything new. For me, let's just say I'm happy the new Alien movie comes out in two months.

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on Twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!

(Movie Review) Power Rangers - Go Go Rita Repulsa

Power Rangers (2017)

Action, Sci-Fi

Directed By: Dean Israelite

Before you ask the answer is yes, I grew up a fan of the Power Rangers. So much so that you can easily find photo's of me in my full body 'Red Ranger' costume as a kid... and not just on Halloween. That being said, I never found myself getting too excited about the properties first big Hollywood movie. Not that I didn't want to see what a $100 million morphin' time looked like, I just didn't have much faith that they would do the show justice, and by that I mean I believed they would lose the bonkers reality that the property exists in. Bonkers like Elizabeth Banks summoning a giant beast made of gold to destroy the planet's life crystals...

This is a full on origins story that introduces us to this new team of rangers for the first time. Jason (Dacre Montgomery) lands himself in weekend detention for the remainder of his senior year after a prank on a rival school goes wrong. Here, the former star quarterback meets Billy (RJ Cyler) who takes him, as well as three other classmates Kimberly (Naomi Scott) Zack (Ludi Lin) and Trini (Becky G.), to something he has found at a nearby gold mine. Five coins that transform them into the Power Rangers, defenders of Earth. They must protect it from the evil Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks) who seeks to destroy all life on the planet. 

It probably seems like a lot but It's all really simple if you're open to its goofy concepts. There's a lot of funny names and silly back story to be set up and they do it all quickly and clearly, so you don't have to worry about any of that going in. This is a YA property, so don't expect much from the dialogue as I fear Hollywood will never understand how young people actually talk, There are some truly awful lines in this movie but thankfully everything going on around them allows for it. 

Power Rangers never pretends to be more than it is and it fully embraces the lunacy of this world. From the moment they find the coins and receive their "super powers" (because oh yeah, they are superheroes now, which is actually really cool) it fully sells the fantasy. It also never seems to slow down from this moment, continually ramping up to its epically scaled finale. We get a lot in the middle of the kids exploring their powers and training for their mission, which is a ton of fun and goes a long way in making us care about the team without ever slowing the pace of the story.

Sure they add in a few new twists to the origin, and sure they are ripping off some key plot elements from some other fairly recent movies... but it all works and considering the original came from a campy children's show there was room for improvement. They kept what worked best for the show then and blended it with some of what works best now and the final product is exactly what a lot of fans have been waiting for. 

The largest key to making a silly concept like this work in a modern movie setting is to have people both in front of and behind the camera that truly care about what they are doing. From the director Dean Israelite down to Bill Hader's voice acting as Alpha 5, every person is putting out 100%. This means everything when the climax of your movie revolves around Elizabeth Banks in an absurd green costume trying to destroy the world. She's absolutely crushing every second of screen time she is given and single-handedly elevates the entire story. Her early scenes feel like they are out of some twisted horror film and she is absolutely terrifying in a way I didn't expect from this. 

Quality performances are crucial for this movie to succeed, the dialogue they are being given is cheesy and on the nose and their characters equally as much. It's up to them to sell us on them and make us buy into a universe where these kids can receive special abilities to defend the planet from otherworldly foes trying to steal our source of life. It's a movie that is excited to embrace its true nature and go all-out being something they know will certainly not be for everyone.

Let's be clear about it, this movie isn't winning any awards for the screenplay, and rightfully so. It's a cheesy teen property that should be handled as such. The admittedly cringe-worthy dialogue and plot turns that comes out at times will clock some movie goers out, and that's understandable, you have to want to buy into the concept or you'll be out from square one. It's a weird movie, there's no denying that, but for the people who are looking for something gleefully bonkers out of this porperty you will find so much to love here. 

Leaving the theater I was refreshed to have seen a major IP allow itself to be made for a specific group of moviegoers and just have fun in doing so. With every big superhero movie out these days doing whatever it can to be taken seriously I was thrilled to watch one that screamed: "LOOK AT ME! IM WEIRD AS FUCK AND I DONT CARE WHO SEE'S IT". Hate this movie if you want but I am simply thrilled to have seen the Megazord come to life, in turn giving me a glimmer of hope for a Voltron movie in the future. This is more fun than a majority of the blockbuster films released last year and I can't believe I'm actually excited about a massive Power Rangers franchise.

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!

(Movie Review) The Devil's Candy - Stress Inducing Heavy Metal Horror Rocks

The Devil's Candy (2017) 

Horror

Directed By: Sean Byrne

How many horror films have you seen in the past five years that center around a family moving into a new home only to find it haunted by something sinister? It's a common plot device of the genre and we've seen it played out in dozens of different ways, yet The Devil's Candy offers us an entirely new look at the "haunted house" story. The second feature from writer/director Sean Byrne (The Loved Ones) takes us down a new path of demonic heavy metal horror we haven't traveled before. 

Jesse Hellman (Ethan Embry) is a hardcore metalhead and professional painter struggling to get by and support his family. This leads him to take his wife Astrid (Shiri Appleby) and daughter Zooey (Kiara Glasco) and move into a new home in rural Texas. They get the house for a deal because, full disclosure, two old people recently passed away inside of it. It isn't long after moving in that Jesse starts to hear demonic voices in his head pushing him to do things he cannot understand. That's it, that's all you need to know and anything more would be detrimental to your viewing of this movie. 

This is an atmospheric film, often times finding much of its tension in the fact that we as an audience know something bad is going to happen, but not knowing exactly what. From the moment this family moves into the house, we are aware that things are going to go poorly for them, but it could be in any number of ways. This instantly put me on edge watching this movie and once the story falls into place this feeling is only heightened by what's going on. It's a stress inducing film in the best way and it's sure to have you yelling at the characters for doing something you don't approve of. 

Sean Byrne has delivered a clever script that turns an age-old horror trope on its head and is only topped by his execution of the idea. This is a movie that easily could have failed if it weren't made with total confidence and thankfully Byrne is all in on this story. You buy that this "metal" family would move out to the country for a fresh start and that they would continue to make the poor decisions they do.

The cast is headed by familiar face Ethan Embry (Cheap Thrills) who gives a fantastic performance as Jesse, the father. You latch on to his character early on and because of it are constantly rooting for him to beat the demonic voices throughout. His relationship with the daughter played wonderfully by Kiara Glasco is where the audience will find its big emotional connection as you feel their relationship crumbling as the film goes on. Its great character work and without it this film would fail to have much of an impact at all. 

Though I don't want to say anything about his character specifically, it would be criminal not to mention the performance of Pruitt Taylor Vince. Once you watch the film and see who he is and what he's doing you will understand, he gives a haunting performance that is sure to stick with you. It's definitely stuck with me as this film had me on edge for the entire eighty minutes. I never knew who was safe or what was going to happen and because of it, I was treated to an intense movie watching experience. 

If you were wary of another "haunted house" story that would play out like the dozen you've seen over the past few years, you can breathe a sigh of relief and go into this movie with confidence that you will be shown something fresh. They hook you with an old school story and then win you over with a clever new take on where it should go. The Devil's Candy is stress inducing in the best way, the way that makes the whole movie feel like a ride, and you will be exhausted by the end of it. 

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!

(Movie Review) The Belko Experiment - Just Another Day at the Office for McLean & Gunn

The Belko Experiment (2017)

Horror, Action, Thriller

Directed By: Greg McLean

Anyone who has followed James Gunn's career pre-Guardians knows that he has a knack for violence and dark humor, which is made quite apparent in his film Super. Team his writing up with the directorial style of Australian filmmaker Greg McLean (Wolf Creek), who is able to capture violence in a way few directors can, and you get a film that is incredibly bleak and painful, while also being a weirdly funny and entertaining genre romp. 

The Belko Experiment keeps its plot simple and wastes absolutely no time getting into it. Belko Industries is an American company operating out of Colombia and its employee's, for the most part, are U.S. citizens that the company has set up comfortably in the country. Every day they go to work in an office building located on the outskirts of town, away from the mass population. These people lead a typical American life until one day a voice comes on the intercom, a voice instructing the employees of Belko to kill each other, or else they will do it for them. 

We only have to wait about five minutes until the first announcement comes over the intercom and we are propelled right into the thick of the story. In that first five minutes, though, McLean is able to visually inform us of the relationships in this office, we clearly see who is friendly with who and how these are all normal people doing normal jobs. This is crucial because once the carnage begins we need to have some connections to these characters as well as some background information about their relationships. 

Gunn and McLean aren't necessarily showing us any new ideas, this kind of story has clearly been done before, but they are giving it a new coat of paint. It's another exploration of just how far the human psyche can be pushed before even the best of us snap and do the worst things imaginable. Sure, plenty will no doubt panic and fall into the game they are merely just pieces of, but what about the one or two "good" people who refuse? Can they be broken? Are humans truly just animals that can only control themselves until a certain point?

As with most of these movies, it never truly answers these questions but it does take a side and in truly brutal fashion shows us the execution of that side. Initially, they won't even entertain the thought of cold-blooded murder but when bodies start to fall, all logic goes out the window. Once the floodgates are opened there is no going back, this is a movie about humans doing unspeakable things to other humans and they want you to feel that.

This movie is definitely not for the weak-stomached as the violence is made out to be authentic and brutal. This isn't glossy Hollywood killing, McLean doesn't do glossy, this is the same kind of reality we see in his other films like Wolf Creek. He wants us to feel the pain of these people, both the victims and the perpetrators and oh boy do we. I don't think I would say this movie revels in its own violence, but it doesn't shy away and it is purposely in your face with it every chance they get. 

Though they ultimately achieve what they set out to do, there are some troubles with the tone of this movie which could confuse some people. I believe this just to be an after effect of the writer and directors differing styles coming together but nonetheless, it's hard to get a handle on what they want you to feel at times. For example, after a gut-wrenching death, the camera may pan over to a sign on the wall or a character reaction meant to pull a truly dark comedic moment out of nowhere. Sometimes the jokes land and other times it feels out of place and confusing, thankfully they never hang on any of them for too long.

The cast of this movie is insane from top to bottom and is at often times what holds this batshit crazy story together. John Gallagher Jr. stars as Mike Milch, the one seemingly good person at this company who wants nothing to do with this game. His stubborn performance carries us emotionally through most of the movie alongside Leana played by Adria Arjona. The remainder of the cast is filled out with all kinds of fantastic character actors like Tony Goldwyn, John C. McGinley, Melonie Diaz, and Michael Rooker. Sean Gunn also plays a bit part as a cafeteria worker and manages the steal just about every moment he is on screen. 

Once it reaches its final act, Belko falls deep down a rabbit hole that it cannot ever emerge from, once it reaches that hole you are either in or you are out. At it's best this is a film that you won't soon forget as the brutality is super memorable, it has some issues with tone throughout but nothing so big that it will ruin your enjoyment of the film. This is sure to please the fans of these kinds of ultra-violent genre flicks while disgusting those with an aversion to this kind of violent reality depicted on screen. In the end I think we will all just breathe a sigh of relief that we don't work for Belko Industries. 

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!