MOVIE REVIEW: The Shallows

The Shallows (2016)

Horror, Thriller

Directed By: Jaume Collet-Serra

People love to tell you how Steven Spielberg ruined the ocean for them with his 1975 masterpiece Jaws. His film was so effective that it terrified people from ever swimming in the ocean again, and I believe that. I also believe that Jaume Collet-Serra has effectively just done the same for a whole new generation, though on a much smaller level, with his latest film The Shallows. This flick is not Jaws, but it has the spirit of Spielberg's classic mixed in with some amusing B-movie schlock and at its best it is just as effective in making you not want to step foot in open waters again. 

The film's plot revolves entirely around one character, Blake Lively's Nancy, a young surfer and med school student who has traveled to a secret beach in an attempt to find inner peace during a time of turmoil. The surf is great and life seems to be good for Nancy for the first time in a while, that is until a massive great white shark wanders into their secret surf and sets its sights upon her. After the initial attack leaves her injured and stranded on a rock just 200 feet from shore she must find a way to beat the shark and get to solid land. Blending animal attack and survivalist horror harmoniously The Shallows is never short on tense situations and realistic horrors we all hope to never experience. 

This movie succeeds where it matters, everything involving the shark is an absolute blast to watch. From the first attack down to the finale every time that big bastard shows it's fin you know you are in for something fun. Oh, and I do mean "big bastard", this shark is enormous and is not afraid to use its size to its advantage. They do well not to over-saturate the audience with the shark as well so when it does show itself the movies intensity shoots through the roof. This of course would all be impossible if the creature itself didn't look great, so it's also a huge relief to see the special effects used are done exceedingly well. 

Going into the movie I had some reservations, mainly Blake Lively being pretty much the only person we see performing for the majority of the movie. Going into this I had never seen her give a performance that blew me away in any sense of the phrase, but she disproves me here. She doesn't bring anything extraordinary to the movie but she gives one of her best performances to date and it's more than enough to sell the horror she is going through. A large chunk of this movie relies solely on her acting and she mostly nails it when she needs to. 

What keeps this movie from being truly great, though, is all of the filler stuff around the shark attack, everything to do with her family back home and the reasons for why she is at this particular beach are mostly pointless and could be cut from the film entirely. At a brisk eighty-seven minute runtime I understand the film needed filler but there were better ways to go about it. There is a filler scene about halfway through the film that really took me out of the movie for a minute and slows down the end of the second act quite a bit. Fortunately the finale is a seriously intense and a whole lot of fun so it brings you right back into it fairly quickly. 

For the first forty minutes or so of the movie I was watching my worst nightmare unfold. From the moment she hits the water Jaume Collet-Serra uses clever camera work to keep you constantly on edge. Focusing on the water behind her while she awaits a wave or dipping the camera underwater just for a second, he uses simple tricks like these to keep you waiting at the edge of your seat for the next big scare. When the attack finally comes and we have to watch Nancy deal with the fallout from it this film begins to draw on a completely different kind of fear.

If you have a weak stomach or you already have a fear of sharks and the ocean then this movie will destroy you, and I mean that literally. I am not a fan of the ocean, never really have been, but seeing this movie just reaffirmed my disdain for the sea and ensured I won't be messing around with it or the life living within it anytime soon. Shark attacks seem to be occurring more frequently with each passing year and a movie like this will make you all the more aware of those stats, so if you want a good excuse not to hit the salt water this summer I suggest checking out The Shallows before it's out of theaters. It's the perfect B-movie entertainment for this time of year and clocking in just under an hour and a half this flick never overstays its welcome. 

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: Finding Dory

Finding Dory (2016)

Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Directed By: Andrew Stanton & Angus MacLane

Thirteen years ago someone you know found their new favorite animated film, that's because Pixar had just released Finding Nemo and it took the world by storm. So much so that in any other studio a sequel would have been on screen barely a year later. Not at Pixar Studios though, they have always put quality over quantity and they weren't going to make a sequel until they had the perfect story and team of people to do it. Fast forward over a decade later to a time where a part of the initial audience is now raising children who they will take to see FInding Dory, the long awaited follow up to one of the studios biggest films. 

Though it has been over a decade for us it has only been a year since the events of the first movie for our little band of fishes. Dory (Ellen Degeneres) has been hanging with Marlin (Albert Brooks) and Nemo (Hayden Rolence) ever since helping rescue the little guy and now she has become a part of the family. So when she finally remembers something about her parents and wants to travel to the coast of California they are right there with her to take the journey. With the help of some old friends they easily get to the other side of the ocean where they must infiltrate a marine life institute that Dory believes her parents to be living in. 

Even for a sequel, this movie had a lot to carry on its shoulders. Not only is this the follow up to one of Pixar's most popular films but it took an ancillary character and put them front and center. With the focus on the forgetful Dory I know I wasn't the only person a tad worrisome that her schtick would get old fast. Surprisingly it doesn't and it's because we see Dory grow a lot through this film, her character being a clear representation of special needs people made her journey from the beginning to end a treat to watch. Even though I didn't love how it got there I really enjoyed seeing where Dory started and where she finished in the story. The films important and easy to digest message is its biggest strength.

What drew me into the first film and kept me going back for rewatches were the plethora of side characters that populate the film. Great characters like Bruce the Shark, Crush, and Bubbles made that first movie so much fun to watch so I was pleased to see this new installment bring in some fresh characters. Hank the Octopus (Ed O'Neill) being the most notable, he spends a good chunk of the film right alongside Dory and is the source of the majority of the laughs in the entire flick. A lazy duo of sea lions (Idris Elba & Dominic West), a whale shark (Kaitlin Olson), and an underconfident Beluga whale (Ty Burrell) also populate the background of this film and each add their own specific charms. 

Despite all of these things they did right to ensure this wasn't a lazy cash-grab sequel, I still found myself having a difficult time fully engaging with the film. maybe its because it has been so long since the original and that I have so many memories with it that seeing this just once isn't nearly enough for it have to have the same emotional pull that the first one had. Even if this movie does have a more interesting plot the journey getting there in the first one was just a bit more fun I think. 

If that's my only complaint with this film I think that is OK, I may not have loved it but I know so many other people do. This movie is going to capture an entirely new generation of kids and teach them a truly important lesson, not to mention what this movie will show special needs children. It's an inspiring movie that tells them they can do anything if they set their minds to it and I think that is much more important than if it entertained me as much as the first one or not. 

Finding Dory just once again proves that Pixar is making these animated films as much for the older crowd as they are for the kids and wildly succeeding at it. It seems like they are starting to get a handle on how to follow up some of these huge movies and the success of this flick only builds my confidence for The Incredibles sequel we will eventually get. If you are a fan of the original get to the theater asap as it is sure to please you and anyone else looking for some solid family entertainment 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: Central Intelligence

Central Intelligence (2016)

Action, Comedy

Directed By: Rawson Marshall Thurber

Often times comedy can succeed in ways that most other films cannot, they can substitute story for jokes and character development for chemistry, just as long as they keep the movie tight. It's easy to forgive a lackluster plot when the lead characters are spouting ten jokes a minute, with most of them landing, and their chemistry is off the charts. Such is the case with the newest film from writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber (We're the Millers) which pits Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock up against Kevin Hart in one of the year's best buddy comedies, Central Intelligence.

Calvin Joyner aka Golden Jet (Kevin Hart) was the king of his high school, captain of all the sports teams, straight A's, and the guy everyone thought would go on to do great things. Bob Stone (Dwayne Johnson) on the other hand was an overweight misfit who took more than his share of abuses from the school bullies. Fast forward twenty years and the roles have switched, Calvin is living life as an everyday accountant and Bob has become a secret agent for the CIA and when their 20 year high school reunion brings him back to town the two end up in the middle of a giant conspiracy that see's them in the crossfire much more than calvin would ever be comfortable with.

When you take a step back and examine this film you pretty much see it is a vehicle for The Rock and Kevin Hart, the two strike great chemistry on screen and this movie is a two hour excuse for them to run around riffing one liner after one liner off of each other. The jokes come at you at a rapid pace from start to finish which keeps this film funny throughout and even when the occasional joke doesn't land another hits so fast you will easily overlook what doesn't work for you. The flick hits most every corner of comedy you can think of giving a bit of flavor for every kind of fan, much like Thurber's other comedic outings.

This film lives and dies by the performances of the two leads, without them and their wonderful chemistry this entire film falls flat. Not only do these two share a screen together better than most comedy duo's we've seen recently but this film also allowed both of them to step out of their typical characters for a bit and try something different. Kevin Hart plays a more reserved character, yeah he has his moments of classic Hart obnoxiousness but for the most part he's giving a much more understated performance.

Then there is The Rock, who makes a choice with his character and sticks with it through the entire movie and let me tell you, it pays off big time. He's not your average CIA agent, despite his huge muscles and extreme training he is still a teenager at heart. From the way he talks to the way he dressed his character is a 90's teen stuck in The Rocks body and man does it make for some great comedy. This also plays into the whole "big man/little man" dynamic that this films exploits in all the best ways.

The one unfortunate aspect of the movie is that all of this great chemistry and character moments all mask a fairly dull story. Even for a silly action comedy this plot didn't offer much to engage the audience and make them care what happens to these characters. The only reason we really care about the two leads is because they have struck such great chemistry. If you are going to this movie just to laugh and be charmed by The Rock however, this is an easy thing to get over.

When you make a flick with Dwayne Johnson there has to be some great action scenes, regardless of how funny the jokes are we want to see The Rock use those muscles on some dirty bad guys and this film does not disappoint in that respect either. Once Johnson's character arrives on screen it isn't long before we see him in a bar fight where he ends up disarming and taking down four large men with guns and from there it just keeps coming. It's refreshing to see an action comedy that delivers wholly in both of those areas.

Above all else Central Intelligence reminds us that these movies need to set out to be funny first and then worry about the rest later. I go see these movies to have a good time and to laugh a lot, I wasn't looking for the next great crime thriller but rather the next great Dwayne Johnson performance, and I definitely got it. After being disappointed by the lack of charm in the disaster film San Andreas last year it was a relief to see him more charming than ever in this one. Any fans of his, Kevin Hart, or the filmmaker Rawson Marshall Thurber are sure to have a blast with this flick. Anyone looking for some lighter fare that is sure to have them laughing shouldn't hesitate to check this one out in theaters.

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