Movie Review: Superman IV - The Quest for Peace

Stars: 1 out of 5

Pros: Um…some moments of late 80’s cheesy fun

Cons: Abrupt ending makes me not willing to forgive the film’s many flaws

The Bottom Line:

A lecture on peace

Film filled with late 80’s cheese

Feel free to skip

“Why Are There No Air Travel Expenses For You, Kent?”

Oh, I’d heard it was bad.  But, in my quest to watch all of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, I still felt the need to watch Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.  Actually, I didn’t think it was a complete waste until we reached the end.  But then I started thinking about it, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized it’s bad.

This movie finds Clark Kent/Superman (Christopher Reeve) facing changes.  He’s selling his farm back in Smallville.  Meanwhile, The Daily Planet has been bought out by a publishing magnet (Sam Wanamaker) who focuses on tabloids.  The new publisher has put her daughter, Lacy (Mariel Hemingway) in charge of the paper, and she has a huge crush on Clark.  Meanwhile, Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) is still madly in love with Superman, but she has become friends with Clark.

Things start to really get going when a young boy writes to Superman, asking him to do something about nuclear war.  Meanwhile, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) escapes from prison with the help of his nephew Lenny (Jon Cryer) and starts plotting his revenge on Superman.

The movie is cheesy in a way that the first two movies aren’t.  I won’t deny that.  But, somehow, it feels a bit more on purpose than the tone I called out in Superman III.  Gene Hackman, especially, is having fun really playing it up.  Granted, his Lex was never exactly a super grounded, menacing villain.  But his attempt to fight Superman this time around, Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow) does nothing for the film.  It’s almost painfully cheesy.  Still, I was willing to buy into it.

What I did have trouble swallowing was Superman’s sudden announcement that he’s going to rid the world of all their nuclear weapons.  Like that’s going to help at all.  People will just create new ones.  And, I guess what we were seeing was people going along with it as they shot them into space for him to collect?  That just seems odd as well.  I remember how big a concern nuclear war was in the 1980’s.  But this movie, instead of attempting to address it in a meaningful way, just falls back into wishful thinking.  Just proof that Hollywood using “entertainment” to lecture isn’t something new.

It was really hard to follow the world that these characters were living in, too.  Lois seemed to know Clark’s secret a few times.  And then, the next minute, she was as clueless as always.  Meanwhile, Lana Lang isn’t even mentioned despite the fact that she was supposed to be working at The Daily Planet at the end of the previous movie.

I’ve seen some complaints that the special effects are a step down from the first two films in the series.  I actually didn’t find that to be a problem.  My problem was, there are a ton more of them.  Superman fights Nuclear Man quite a bit in the second half of the film, with both of them flying in and out of the atmosphere.  There are entire sequences that are just them fighting.  All of that requires effects.  And the more effects there are, the worse it is going to look.  Not to mention, if you see the effects for 30 seconds vs. minutes on end.

I found the acting to be a bit uneven.  Clark and the crew at The Daily Planet were fine, and I bought their performances.  Lex Luthor and his cohort were over the top, really playing up the cheese.  Somehow, it worked for me.  I’d forgotten that Jon Cryer was in this movie as Lex’s nephew.  It’s fun since he would go on to turn in a fantastic performance as Lex in the recent Supergirl TV show on The CW.

Then there’s a scene where Superman and Clark are supposed to be on a double date.  It was a bit of mindless fun, but it went on far too long. 

Honestly, I was chalking some of this up to late 80’s cheese.  No, the movie wasn’t especially good, but when viewed through that lens, I was a little more willing to let it go.

Then we reach the ending, when the movie pretty much just stops.  I wish I were joking, but I’m not.  I’m unclear on how we permanently stopped Nuclear Man.  Not to mention how the person Superman rescued was even breathing in space.  I’m willing to buy Superman note needing to breathe, but a human?  Then, we get quick wrap ups to several storylines that make little sense and certainly weren’t set up by the earlier events of the film.  Not to mention how I found what lead to Superman’s recovery to be a cheap plot device even if it was set up early in the film.

A better ending would have let me chalk up the flaws with being a late 80’s movie.  But the rushed stop we get to Superman IV: The Quest for Peace makes me much less forgiving.  Yes, this pretty much is as bad as you’ve heard.  Don’t bother unless you feel the need to watch all of these movies.

Movie Review: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Action, entertaining enough

Cons: Plenty of flaws in just about every department

The Bottom Line:

Aquaman returns

In this uneven sequel

Don’t rush to see it

“Are You Calling Me One in a Million?”

I always intended to watch Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.  I just wasn’t interested enough to watch it in the theater.  After all, by the time it came out, we already knew that the DC Superhero movies were getting a reboot, so there was no rush.  But thanks to cable I finally got to see it.

The movie picks up several years after the first one, and we fortunately get brought up to speed, which also helped me remember who all the characters are.  Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman, (Jason Momoa), has married Mera (Amber Heard), and the two have a baby.  He’s finding fatherhood very rewarding.  And yes, they are living on land.  Arthur is finding his job as the king of Atlantis to be much less rewarding than he’d hoped, mainly because he keeps getting tied up in bureaucracy and meetings.  Seems life under the sea isn’t that different from life here on land.

But, over the course of five months, greenhouse gases rise to the point that they are greatly disrupting weather on Earth, both for land dwellers and Atlanteans.  What Arthur doesn’t know is that it is the word of David Kane, aka Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II).  He’s out to get his revenge of Arthur.  But to track him down, Arthur will have to turn to an unlikely ally.  Will it be enough to defeat him?

I enjoyed the first one, so I had hoped to enjoy this one as well.  Sadly, it wasn’t nearly as good as I hoped it would be.  I did appreciate the run time of just over two hours.  There wasn’t much wasted time, and the action scenes, while still frequent, weren’t overly drawn out.

Unfortunately, they could have cut out one action sequence to given the characters a bit more time to be developed.  That said, I did like how one relationship grew, but most of the characters felt like pieces being moved around by the plot instead of fully fleshed out characters.  This is a script problem instead of an actor problem.

Not that all the acting was good.  It seemed just about everyone had a moment where the acting was off.  Yes, some of that was definitely the writing, which was weak all the way around.  Some of the lines the characters had?  They were cringe worthy no matter how they were delivered.

Which brings us to the climax.  Much of it worked, but there was one aspect that had me rolling my eyes.  Hard.

Plus, we had to get a couple of lectures in about climate change.

Even the special effects are a mixed bag.  Once again, I loved the illusion when they were under water.  But some of the effects looked downright cheesy.

Now, all of this sounds like I hated the movie.  That’s not true.  It was entertaining enough to keep me engaged the entire way through and get caught up in the third act.  I’m glad I finally watched it.  But, it’s just a case of the flaws being obvious and distracting, which kept me from getting fully invested.

I’m not sorry I finally watched Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.  But it’s not a movie I’ll be rushing back to watch any time soon.  Only if you are trying to keep up with superhero movies would you need to seek this one out.

Movie Review: Supergirl (1984)

Stars: 1 out of 5

Pros: Brenda Vaccaro’s performance is fun

Cons: The rest of the movie is a mess

The Bottom Line:

Story has plot holes

Honestly, not much works here

You can skip this one

“You’re Superman’s Best Friend?”  “No, He’s My Cousin.”

I’d heard bad things about 1984’s Supergirl, but I was still curious about it.  And, since it was available on one of my streaming services, I figured I should give it a chance.  You know those bad things I’d heard about it?  They were all true.

Our story opens in Argo City, a giant floating ship filled with refugees from Krypton.  Among them is Kara-El (Helen Slater), who, when we meet her, is playing with the sphere that powers the entire ship.  Shocking, it gets away from her, dooming all those on the ship unless it is retrieved from Earth, where it landed.  So, Kara-El goes to retrieve it.

Unfortunately, before she lands, it is found by Selena (Faye Dunaway), a witch.  It actually makes her able to do magic, so Selena wants to keep it, figuring it will help her plans to take over the world.  Will Kara-El be able to find it?

This movie had so many plot holes you could have floated Argo City through each of them.  Okay, so Kara-El wasn’t the one who took the sphere in the first place, but still, why would anyone do that if it is what is keeping everyone alive?  Why, when Kara-El lands on Earth, did she bother taking on a secret identity since her parents and friends’ lives were dependent on her bringing the sphere back as quickly as possible?  How did Selena find a way to tap into some of the Superman mythos at random?  Why did Kara-El emerge from her pod in a costume so much like Superman’s?

Okay, so Kara-El’s secret identity was there to introduce us to characters from the Superman stories.  Her roommate is Lucy Lane, as played by Maureen Teefy.  And Lucy just happens to be dating Jimmy Olsen, as played by Marc McClure, the only actor from the Superman movies to show up here.  But still, that seemed to slow down what was supposed to be a ticking clock story.

I don’t know that I feel like the plot ever made up for the plot holes.  While it wasn’t quite as bad as a random series of events, it did throw in some truly random things, as if the writers really didn’t know what to do and had to fill screen time while including things Superman fans know about.  Even so, you can pretty much guess where it is going early on.  It’s just the details you’ll have no way of predicting.

Then there’s the acting.  Most of the cast is playing things so over the top it doesn’t work.  There’s fun camp, and then there’s this.  The exception to this is Brenda Vaccaro who plays Selena’s sidekick with the right level of camp and sarcasm.  I found her fun.  I’ve seen Helen Slater in other things, most noticeably in the recent TV show Supergirl, so I know she can do a wonderful job when given good material.  This wasn’t it.  Same holds true for others in the cast.

Of course, the effects are dated.  This came out in 1984, after all.  Even then, I’ve seen better effects from that time period.  Or maybe, I was just enjoying those movies more so I was more forgiving.

There’s a reason you haven’t heard much about 1984’s Supergirl.  And there’s no reason to seek this out to watch it.

Movie Review: Superman III

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: Some acting

Cons: Uneven, cheesy, just generally disappointing

The Bottom Line:

Good performances

In subpar super movie

Overall cheesy

“I’m From Metropolis.  I See Superman Every Day.”

While I’ve never watched the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, I knew their reputation.  So, even though I wanted to watch Superman III, I also knew not to set my expectations too high.  Even so, this movie disappoints.

After spending several minutes on an unexplainable series of near misses and hits in Metropolis, we meet up with Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) as he pitches a story about a man attending his fifteen-year high school reunion.  Yep, Clark wants to head back to Smallville.  Inexplicably, Perry White (Jackie Cooper) agrees to the idea, and Clark sets out.  While there, he reunites with his high school crush, Lana Lang (Annette O’Toole).

Meanwhile, computer programming savant Gus Gorman (Richard Pryor) catches the eye of his boss, evil rich mogul Ross Webster (Robert Vaughn).  Ross wants to use Gus’s abilities to program computers to bend others to his will.  And his will is making more money.  Will Superman be able to stop him?

You might be wondering where Margot Kidder’s Lois Lane is in all of this.  That’s an excellent question.  She heads off on vacation near the beginning of the movie, and pops up in the last scene to set up a romantic triangle that I’m assuming doesn’t pay off in the next movie.  Essentially, she has a glorified cameo. 

They were setting up Lana as a new long term love interest here.  It’s very obvious to anyone paying attention.  Honestly, I would have liked to see that play out in another movie.  Sadly, Annette O’Toole wasn’t invited back for the next one because she was excellent as Lana.  Fortunately, she was able to transition this to playing Martha Kent on Smallville.  Because of knowing that connection and enjoying her work on that show, I was curious to see this movie.

So that’s covered the romance of it all.  What about the rest?  Honestly, the movie is just strange all the way around.  There are long sections that don’t really add much to the movie.  Some of them were attempts at humor that fall flat, at least today.  Some of them are character moments, but they go on too long.  One extended scene is used as set up for the climax, but I feel like we could have gotten something without the extended time.

Part of it is because Clark/Superman is in a parallel story to the villains without really knowing much about them or what they are up to until it is time for act three.  It feels like we are just plodding along as a result.

In the middle of the movie, Superman gets broken.  Again, this part of the movie went on too long, and I found the resolution to it a bit unsatisfying.

Which brings us to the climax, where the movie devolves (if that is possible) to a cheesy science fiction movie, complete with an all-powerful computer.

And the effects?  Can we say 1983?  Okay, so I’m sure they were state of the art at the time, but they are dated now.  I’d be more willing to go along with them if the movie were better overall.  But there is one part of the climax that is nostalgically bad, if that makes any sense.  Well, old video game players will get it.

Having said all this, I couldn’t help but think how modern some parts of the film felt.  Even back then, we were talking about the dangers of computers and what they could do to our society.  Then there’s the fact that the villain is a rich guy who wants to get richer.  Somehow, he didn’t feel nearly as much a lecture as an equivalent villain would in today’s movies.  Maybe because he was part cartoon.

And no, I don’t think any of the actors were bad.  They were playing the parts as they were supposed to.  It’s the way they were written.  Those who are playing their characters straight were pretty good.  And I did like the scene where Superman/Clark had to confront what he’d turned into from an acting standpoint.  Christopher Reeve was good there even if the scene was pretty hokey.

I do want to circle back to the humor.  While much of it fell flat for me, there were some moments I enjoyed.  And, overall, I did appreciate the lighter tone of the film.

I know the fourth movie is viewed as even worse than this one.  I’m almost afraid to watch it.  But I’ve come this far, so I’ll give it a watch.  Know what you are getting into if you decide to watch Superman III.  Yes, what you’ve heard about it is true.

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Action and acting

Cons: Pacing in mostly predictable story

The Bottom Line:

Guardians are back

Fighting to save one of them

Predictable film

Quest to Save Rocket

Somewhere along the way, I got behind on Marvel movies again (and newer movies in general).  Part of it is the cable movies I’ve been watching.  But part of it is pure laziness.  I wasn’t going to see stuff in the theater and I wasn’t even trying to catch it on streaming.  But I’m trying to catch up now.  We’ll see how long it lasts, right?

All of that to say that I finally sat down to watch Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3.  And I may have found another reason why I let myself get behind.

When this movie opens, it finds the Guardians on a planet, trying to recover from a recent, devastating loss that has hit their leader, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), especially hard.  But when an outside force attacks, leaving Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) fighting for his life, Peter and the rest jump into action to try to find a way to save him.  But the only way forward is going to put them on the radar of a truly evil man.  Will this mission cost all of them their lives?

As I was watching this movie, the biggest thing I struggled with was the fact that I didn’t care.  I mean, you know where the story is going to go, the only question is the how.  Now, I will confess that a couple of things along the way did surprise me, but most of the big questions fell into this predictability.

It also didn’t help that we had extended flashbacks finally filling us in on how Rocket became the racoon we all know and love.  I will give them this, it was definitely relevant to this story.  But I still felt like we could have gotten that same information in less time.  Considering the movie is two and a half hours long, finding something to leave on the cutting room floor would have been nice.  Then again, it wouldn’t have given Bradley Cooper as much to voice in the movie.  I feel like one purpose of these many flashback scenes was to show how truly evil the villain was, but we got that from the modern storyline.  We really didn’t need to devote as much time to the flashbacks as we got.

I think another part of the problem was that we just had too much randomness in the film.  Some of the stops along the way felt weird just to be weird.  Maybe these stops served a purpose, but it just felt like a chance to visit another alien planet.

Now, I will give the film this – the effects looked good to me.  Sadly, we can’t always say that about modern special effects.  And the acting was all good.

And this isn’t to say that the film was bad.  I did get drawn in.  I found the action scenes lots of fun.  And a few moments of humor made me smile and chuckle.  But it wasn’t enough to really make me feel like I’ve missed anything by waiting this long to watch the movie.

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 definitely continues the struggles that Mavel has had in the post Endgame era.  It’s not that this is a bad film.  But I’m also not sorry I haven’t watched it sooner.

Movie Review: The Flash (2023)

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: Emotions at the end work

Cons: Very little else does

The Bottom Line:

Flash gets solo film

But more time spent on others

He deserves better

“Do You Want to Get a Bite?  I’m Still Hungry.”

Yes, I’d heard all the issues with The Flash and the rumors of reshoots even before it came out in 2023.  But, I always intended to give this movie a shot at some point.  It was pretty much as bad as I’d heard.

No, I don’t remember all the behind-the-scenes drama and delays at this point.  But it was one of the last movies in the failed Zack Snyder DC Universe.  That killed interest as well since, by the time it came out, we knew we were getting new versions of these characters.  Really, the movie was doomed.  Not that it was good.

Anyway, the story sort of focuses on Barry Allen, aka The Flash (Ezra Miller).  He’s a science tech in a crime lab who is attempting to clear his father (Ron Livingston) of a crime he didn’t commit – killing Barry’s mother Nora (Maribel Verdú).  But then Barry gets the idea to go back in time to keep his mother from being killed.  What could possibly go wrong?

Of course, we all know what could go wrong.  But in this case, it means a movie that is mostly set in an alternative universe.  Act one sets things up in pretty good fashion.  Yes, there’s an action sequence that could have been cut if they really wanted to speed things up, but that’s a minor issue.  It does what it needs to do to get the story going.

Act two is where the movie really falls apart.  Yes, it is fun at first watching Barry figure out what he’s done and then have to start interacting with a new version of himself.  But here’s the things.  This is called The Flash.  It’s supposed to finally be a chance for us to get to know the big screen version of the character.  But we quickly go meet Michael Keaton’s version of Batman and then rescue Supergirl, as played by Sasha Calle.  And who is our villain?  General Zod (Michael Shannon).  If we were going to have a Flash movie, shouldn’t these cameos from other characters be kept to a minimum?  And shouldn’t we have had one of his villains as the threat we are facing for much of the movie?  Barry felt like a supporting character in his own movie, which is ironic given his complaint early on during that first act action scene.

Now, I’m going to contradict myself.  The movie could have done with less Barry.  Essentially, we have two versions of the character through much of the film, both played by Ezra Miller.  And I found both versions annoying much of the time.  Now, I’m not talking about the acting.  This is the way the character is written to be played.  But seriously, could we make him less awkward?

And, to be clear, none of the complaints are aimed at any of the actors.  It is the script that lets them down.

Meanwhile, if I hadn’t watched the show, I wouldn’t have gotten that Kiersey Clemons’s Iris West is a pretty important character in Barry’s life.  She’s an afterthought.  Yes, the lead character’s comic book love interest is sidelined in his big movie.

The special effects are also poor.  Laughably poor at times.  You get a sense of where how things are going to look from that first act action sequence, and they don’t get any better.  For a big budget movie like this, it’s very surprising.

Given all I’ve been saying, I was surprised at just how much the climax touched me.  Yes, we still managed to get the emotional impact we should have.

Going into this movie, I did try to separate my expectations from the TV show The Flash, which I mostly enjoyed, especially the first few seasons.  While not exactly a story that show told, I still feel like that show did the similar story so much better.  Granted, they have multiple episodes to tell a story instead of only two and a half hours.  But this movie didn’t really even try to tell Barry’s story.

And yes, we get more cameos from various versions of DC characters, including those from the Zack Snyder series.  We could have done without most of them since they didn’t really add anything to the story.

The only reason to watch The Flash is if you are a die hard superhero fan, especially since this version of the character is no longer important.  You can just skip this mess of a film.

Movie Review: Furious 7

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Fun stunts and a touching send off

Cons: Plot feels overly complicated (but I’m over thinking a mindless action flick)

The Bottom Line:

Man out for revenge

Means more impossible stunts

And touching ending

“What Are You Going to Do?” “You Might Want to Put on Your Helmet for This.”

Despite my best intentions, it’s been a while since I watched a movie in the Fast and Furious franchise.  First, Furious 7 wasn’t on any of the streaming services I have when I sat down to watch it.  Then I found it on cable, but it sat on my DVR for about six months.  However, when I finally sat down to watch it, I was glad I stuck with this franchise.

As always, the plot is just an excuse for the action sequences.  But, here goes.

When we check in with our characters, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is still struggling with her missing memory.  While Dom (Vin Diesel) is trying to help her, the fact that it isn’t coming back is painful to him.  Meanwhile, Brian (Paul Walker) is struggling with being a family man, leaving all the danger behind him.  But Mia (Jordana Brewster) has a secret she is keeping from him.

But all of that becomes background noise when Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) continues on his campaign of revenge.  After going to visit Agents Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), he leaves a present for Dom.  As the gang comes back together to fight him, they are recruited to find a surveillance device called “God’s Eye” before it falls into the wrong hangs.  Will they survive the latest extreme stunts in pursuit of their mission?

As I said, the plot is just an excuse for the stunts.  Honestly, I’m a little unclear about why they had to go after the program.  It really serves as a McGuffin that just adds another group of characters and a level of complexity that felt superfluous.

But, those action sequences?  They are excellent!  Don’t get me wrong, my brain is scream that there is no what any of it would actually work as I was watching, but I still enjoyed watching them.  They get more extreme again here, but that’s part of what made them fun.  And, with a couple of exceptions, what we were watching looked real.

Likewise, the acting was fine.  These movies don’t spend a lot of time on the characters, but the actors do the best they can with the scripts they are given.

Sadly, actor Paul Walker died while this movie was being filmed in an accident having nothing to do with the film.  They used a variety of filming tricks to finish out his part of the film.  But they also gave Brian a fitting on screen send off.  I found it much more touching than I was expecting it to be.

These movies aren’t great cinema, but they aren’t trying to be.  If you are looking for a mostly mindless action flick, you’ll be glad you watched Furious 7.

Movie Review: Kingsman - The Golden Circle

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Fun, over the top action and laughs

Cons: Violence and sex goes further than necessary, even for laughs

The Bottom Line:

Over the top fun

Sex, violence to go too far

Still good for some laughs

“What’s the Doomsday Protocol?”  “We Go Shopping.”

The friend who originally suggested we watch the first Kingsman movie had already seen the second, Kingsman: The Golden Circle.  He warned me that it wasn’t at all good.  Still, I felt the need to watch it, if only to see how they brought back one character.  Honestly, I felt like it was pretty much as good as the first, which means it’s just middle of the road.

When we rejoin Eggys (Taron Egerton), life is good.  Yes, he’s still working for Kingsman, the super secret spy organization in England.  And that can mean he has unexpected attempts on his life, like an attack from Charlie (Edward Holcroft).  But he’s very happy with his girlfriend, Princess Tilde (Hanna Alström), and he has a good circle of friends.

However, all that changes when an attack comes on Kingsman, taking out almost the entire organization.  The attack is the work of Poppy (Julianna Moore), a drug dealer with an evil plan all her own.  Eggys’s attempts to figure out what to do next take him to America, where a huge surprise is waiting for him.  What will it mean?

As with the first one, this is a comedic take on the spy genre.  Emphasis on comedy.  Everything is over the top, but especially the villain and her plan.

That also includes the action sequences.  If you don’t go in expecting that, you’ll be thrown by the opening minutes which are out there.  But if you go in expecting it, you’ll enjoy it for what it is.

While you can’t take much of the movie seriously, it still manages to make you take it seriously.  Yes, you know how most things are going to turn out, but they still pull you in anyway.  It’s one of those things where you can’t help but get caught up in the plot even though you know it is ridiculous.

This is an R rated film, so take that seriously.  Even watching this one on TV, there was a fair amount of language, sex and violence.  Like the first one, the violence and sex was sometimes played for laughs, but that didn’t really help the movie, in my opinion.  I found those scenes to be among the most disgusting, in fact.  Fortunately, they weren’t dragged out, at least in the TV version I saw.

All told, Kingsman: The Golden Circle is a ridiculous movie, but a diverting way to spend almost two and a half hours.  No, it isn’t a great movie.  Yes, it has issues.  But I’ve seen much worse movies.

Movie Review: Superman II

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Great action scenes as Superman’s story continues

Cons: Slow second act, Lex is useless

The Bottom Line:

Superman is back

Film still has pacing issues

Not classic for me

“Not Everyone Can Have X-Ray Vision.” “Do I Detect a Note of Jealousy?”

In my quest to watch the Christopher Reeves Superman movies, I had recorded the second when it was on cable.  As much as I had issues with the original, Superman II had its own issues.

After a bit more of the prologue with General Zod (Terence Stamp) and his two hence people on Krypton before it explodes, we get the opening credits, which also act as a refresher of what happened in the original movie.  Pretty clever, at least in my opinion.

When we are off to Paris where Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) is trying to cover some terrorists who have set up a hydrogen bomb in the Eiffel Tower.  When Superman (Christopher Reeve) takes it to space to it can explode without causing any damage, he accidentally frees General Zod and the other two prisoners from the Phantom Zone where they’ve been held prisoner all this time. 

While the trio make their way to Earth with the intent to taking it over, Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve, obviously), and Lois grow closer, leading to Clark making a choice with huge implications.  Oh, and Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) manages to escape from prison thanks to help from Eve Teschmacher (Valerie Perrine).  What havoc will he cause?

Obviously, with the backstory out of the way, this movie can get off to a faster start, and the opening act is fun and thrilling.  We know how it is going to end, but it’s still fun getting there.

It’s the second act where the movie struggles.  We get General Zod’s trio working on taking over the planet while Superman and Lois are out of touch (the wonders of life in the pre-cell phone days).  For me, it dragged.  Couldn’t Superman have learned about the threat earlier?  Because we knew where it was going to go, and I wish the movie had taken less time getting there.

Then comes the third act, which is what we have all been waiting for.  And it was worth it.  I enjoyed the fight.  Yes, we got lots of special effects, but the fight was still contained enough that we could follow what we going on.  Modern superhero movies could learn from it.

Other issues with the film?  I watched the original theatrical cut, and it had a huge plot hole in it.  I had to go back to the internet to figure out exactly what happened.  Yeah, my theory was right, but really?  A line of dialog would have resolved it.  Also, what point did Lex Luthor have in this film?  I get that it’s Lex, but we really didn’t need his character.  They could have accomplished the little bit he did in other ways.

None of what I just said is a slam on the actors.  They are all great at bringing their characters to life.  It’s the fault of the screen play.

The effects are dated; we can definitely tell when a green screen is being used.  But it’s a movie from 1980, so that’s no surprise.  As long as you keep that in mind, you’ll be fine.

I know that the next two sequels aren’t as well regarded as the first two movies, which makes me curious to watch them and see what I think.  I’m also curious to rewatch Superman Returns, which I haven’t seen since it was in the theaters almost twenty years ago.

While Superman II is by no means a bad movie, it isn’t a classic for me, either.  I think nostalgia plays a large part is how much people enjoy it.  For me, that was lacking.

Movie Review: The Hunger Games - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: Performances are good

Cons: The story is a slow mess

The Bottom Line:

A needless prequel

Confusing character arc

And drawn-out story

Needless and Slow Prequel

I never got into The Hunger Games.  Yes, I watched the movies, but I waited until they were on TV.  I wasn’t that excited to see the prequel, The Ballad of Songs and Snakes, but I figured I would eventually.  I was right not to be excited for it.

Set sixty plus years before the events of the earlier story, this movie takes us to the tenth annual hunger games.  The citizens of the Capital are growing tired of watching the children of the districts fight each other to the death, so, in an effort to spice things up, the teens of the prep school are being assigned students to mentor.  And they are being asked for ideas to draw in the audience again.

Future dictator Coriolanus Snow (here played by Tom Blyth) is one of those teens, and he’s been assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler).  Lucy Gray is a singer, and Coriolanus’s ideas of promoting the tributes to the citizens of the Capital make her the favorite.  But what will happen when the games begin?  And what will the fallout of the games be?

Prequels are tricky to tell since we know where the story has to wind up.  As a result, it makes it hard to root for characters or relationships we know are doomed.  That’s part of the problem here.  Much of the movie wants us to root for certain things and people, but we know it is just a waste of time.

And there is a lot of waste of time here.  At over two and a half hours, the movie takes too long to get to the point.  A good portion to the movie is dedicated to the games, which worked in the original since Katniss was the main character.  Here, Coriolanus is the man character, and he’s observing most of the action.  Yes, he gets involved at times, but it just made the entire thing feel slow.

Then there’s Coriolanus’s arc.  It’s too confusing.  We’re supposed to be watching the movie wondering how he turns into the evil dictator we already know him to be.  Honestly, I’m still wondering that at the end.  I mean, yes, the movie ends with him on the path that makes him the evil President Snow, but his actions along the way are confusing.  One minute, he seems to be acting evil, the next he’s acting good, with nothing to indicate why he is changing sides.  As much as I dislike Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, at least there, Anakin/Darth Vader’s character arc makes sense.  Here, it just feels random.

I’m blaming this solely on the writing.  The actors all do a good job bringing their characters to life.  Rachel Zegler gets to show off her beautiful singing voice as well.  In addition, the cast includes Viola Davis and Peter Dinklage and many others I didn’t recognize.  Likewise, the effects are good.

Clearly this movie, and the book it was based on, are just excuses to extend the franchise.  If you are a diehard fan, you’ll be interested in watching it, but if you are a casual fan like me, you can skip The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

Movie Review: Now You See Me, Now You Don't

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Action, magic, and fun

Cons: Too many characters, lectures

The Bottom Line:

Magic and action

New characters for the third

It’s more of the same

“I’m Not a Hologram.” “That’s Exactly What a Hologram Would Say.”

I’ve been watching the Now You See Me movies so I’d be up to date when I joined some friends to see Now You See Me, Now You Don’t, the third in the franchise, in the theaters.  While I wasn’t overly impressed with the first two, I still went along with them to see it.  And it was more of the same for the franchise, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Despite a slick opening illusion, this movie opens to find that it’s been years since the Four Horseman have appeared together in any configuration.  In fact, they have gone their separate ways.  But they have three devotes, up and coming magicians, who are borrowing their stage presence and magic ability to do what the Four Horseman used to do, right wrongs using magic and questionable ethics.  June, Bosco, and Charlie (Ariana Greenblatt, Dominic Sessa, and Justice Smith) have just pulled off a great stunt when their headquarters are infiltrated by Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), one of the original Horseman.

No, Atlas isn’t there to scold them.  Or at least not completely.  He’s there because he’s gotten a message that leads him to believe he needs to team up with them to steal the heart diamond.  But stealing the diamond is just the beginning.  Can the group stay one step ahead of the cops on their trails?  Will teaming up with old faces and friends help?

Before we go any further, yes, the old gang is all here.  We get Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, and Morgan Freeman, plus both Isla Fisher and Lizzy Caplan.  It’s nice to see all of them again, and I loved how they worked the characters in.

However, that’s a lot of characters to balance, and not all of them got the character development they needed.  That’s the issue with a requel (or legacy sequel, fans are divided on the term) like this.  I mean, just bringing back the originals would have been a lot.  Most of the characters do get some small moments to shine, however. 

The particulars might have changed, but if you’ve seen the first two movies, you pretty much know what to expect here.  We’re going to get some close calls and some magic along with plenty of action.  The magic, in this case, is a little more crazy than realistic.  But it’s still fun to watch and go along with the story as it unfolds.

Unfortunately, the movie takes a few moments to lecture and grandstand.  They aren’t big moments, but they still bothered me.  The movie would have been so much better without them.

And I was also really bothered by Isla Fisher’s character’s attitude toward what participating in the hijinks might mean for hear family.  Seems like she could have thought through that better before she jumped in.  Of course, I was happy to see her back in the franchise after sitting the second one out, so I’m certainly acting like a hypocrite myself.

Speaking of which, I did praise the second for continuing the storylines of the first.  This time we get a completely new storyline, so you could really jump in here if you wanted to.  And I enjoyed that instead of trying to force stuff from first two movies here where it wasn’t needed.  There is a place for both kinds of sequels, and I appreciated that this one tried to tell a new story.

Nothing I’ve said here is the fault of the actors.  They are all great at bringing their characters to life.  Likewise, the stunts and effects are entertaining.  A couple of times, the green screen was obvious, but for the most part, I got so caught up in the scene that I bought what I was seeing.

If you enjoy this franchise, you’ll be glad you watched Now You See Me, Now You Don’t.  But if you are on the fence about these films, there is nothing here to change your mind.

Movie Review: Now You See Me 2

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun, action filled, movie

Cons: Characters are thin

The Bottom Line:

Magic and action

What happens next to the cast

Worked better for me

“And Now?  A Pigeon?”

While I found the first movie uneven, I enjoyed it enough to accept an invitation to watch the sequel with some friends.  I’m glad I did because I found myself enjoying Now You See Me 2 quite a bit.

This movie picks up eighteen months after the first movie.  While FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) is still trying to track the Four Horseman (or at least pretending to), the four magicians are laying low, something that isn’t sitting well with Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg).  He’s still in touch with Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) and Merritt McKenney (Woody Harrelson).  The only one who has left the group is Henley Reeves (because Isla Fisher did come back for the sequel).  But Atlas wants to get out there again.  And Jack wouldn’t mind no longer having to play dead.

They finally get called back to action.  Joining them is a new Horseman, Lula (Lizzy Caplan).  And their assignment?  Infiltrate a tech company’s big announcement to reveal some secrets and warn about the new technology.  But their event goes horribly wrong, and the four of them find themselves in danger, with Dylan making a deal with the last person he expected to in order to help them.  Will they find a way to get out of their predicament?

One thing I appreciated about this movie is that it is a true sequel.  It isn’t just a retread of the first.  It actually shows what happens next to the characters, and it builds on what came before.  As a result, I highly recommend you watch these two movies in order.

While the first one really played into the big stage magic acts, this one is a bit more subtle with the magic theme.  Oh, it’s there, but it isn’t nearly as prominent.  But that’s okay because the story that is being told is served by the magic we do get.

And the magic we do get is still spectacular.  Oh, it’s more movie magic than realistic magic, but that’s okay.  It’s still incredibly fun to watch.

To enjoy this movie, you have to be able to go along with what they are giving you.  There’s one scene in particular that is so over the top but it is completely fun.

That’s really the key word here – fun.  This is what movies should be.  There’s action.  There’s adventure.  There are laughs.  You don’t care how realistic it is or isn’t because you are along for the ride.  And it’s a great ride. 

Having said that, the characters are overshadowed by the action.  There are some small character arcs, but nothing significant.  You are here for the action and fun, not for the big character growth.  But again, it works.

And this isn’t a slight on the actors.  They are working on bringing the characters to life as best they can.  They are just part of a movie that is focused on spectacle rather than character.  Lizzy Caplan was a great addition to the core cast; I really enjoyed her dynamic with the rest.  And there are some great actors in the cast I didn’t mention by name who are fun.

Speaking of spectacle, this movie is filled with special effects.  And they all work.  I have a feeling they were able to use a lot of practical effects, which helps.  I completely bought everything I saw on screen.

Since I think my issue with the first movie was more personal preference than anything else, I can easily say that Now You See Me 2 was a better movie for me.  Yes, it’s flash over substance, but it’s fun.  And if that’s what you want, you’ll be glad you saw it.

Movie Review: Now You See Me

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Fast paced, slick, fun

Cons: The payoff is lacking

The Bottom Line:

Heist with magicians

Films is fun as you watch it

But ending falls short

“Tonight, We Are Going to Rob a Bank.” 

I don’t know where I was in 2013, but I don’t remember hearing anything about Now You See Me (or it’s sequel a couple of years later).  Last year, I was intrigued when I finally heard about it.  When some friends decided to watch it recently, I quickly invited myself to join the group.  While I know plenty of people who seem to enjoy it, I was of two minds about it.

The story focuses on four magicians, each with a different skill set.  They are brought together by a mysterious person and start to work together as the Four Horsemen.  A year later, they are on stage in Vegas where they pull off an impressive feat – they rob a bank in Paris.  It had to be magic, right?  Now, the FBI is hot on their tail, but that was just their warm up act.  What do they have planned next?  Will the FBI stop them?

I know that isn’t my typical teaser since I didn’t talk about characters or give actor’s names.  Honestly, the character names are a bit irrelevant.  I will say the cast had some big names in it.  The four magicians are played by Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, and Dave Franco, with Mark Ruffalo as the FBI agent chasing them down.  Other highlights from the cast are Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine.  The script doesn’t give the actors too much to work with as far as character goes, but everyone is fine in their roles.

That’s because this movie is a heist film with magicians as the main characters.  As such, it is focused on the magic and the heists.  We see the characters in action, and then we get discussions about how they pulled it off.  All the while, the FBI is three steps behind trying to stop them before they pull their next stunt.

All this gives us plenty of action and cool things to look at.  I can see why these movies have a loyal fan base.  With the various characters we are following, the action jumps around, but is never hard to follow.

And the magic is cool.  We get multiple jaw dropping moments.  Yes, even though I know it is movie magic, my mind is still trying to figure out how they did that.  I want to believe what I’m seeing is real.  Even the explanations of how they did what they did don’t dampen my enjoyment.

But I do have a couple of issues.  The first is my usual with a heist movie.  I don’t like rooting for people to get away with stealing.  Yes, they do try to justify it, but I still don’t like it.  This movie was so slick, however, that I didn’t mind as much as I usually do.

My bigger issue is the ultimate payoff.  I kind of felt like it was a letdown.  I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I felt like there should have been more to it than what we got at the end.

I’m not sorry I watched Now You See Me.  If it works, I’ll join my friends to watch the next one.  But I wish the payoff had been better for this movie.

Movie Review: Superman - The Movie (1978)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: The main cast bring to life characters we quickly care about

Cons: Too much set up before story gets going

The Bottom Line:

Good performances

Can’t overcome poor pacing

Still, it has some charm

“Would You Like a Glass of Wine.”  “No Thanks.  I Never Drink When I Fly.”

For years, I’ve been meaning to go back and watch the Christopher Reeve’s Superman movies.  I think I’ve seen the rest of the live action takes on the character up to 2025 (and I’ll watch the new movie at some point).  So I finally went back to where it began – 1978’s Superman: The Movie.  It’s got a very slow start, but I did enjoy the second half.

If you know nothing about the character, this movie is a good introduction.  If you know much about the character, you’ll find the first 45 minutes or so rather boring.  Heck, the entire first scene of the movie doesn’t come into play here, but my understanding is it is critical to the sequel.  I’m sorry, but it really should have been saved for that film.  Anyway, we see Superman’s parents send him to Earth, the Kents find him, and a couple of scenes of him as a teen before he heads to his Fortress of Solitude to become the Superman we know.

Then, the movie finally gets going.  That’s when we meet the rest of the core characters we know and love.  Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) takes a job as a reporter at the Daily Planet in Metropolis.  There, he meets Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), star reporter who he immediately gets a crush on.  But just as he’s settling into his new life, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) sets a plan into motion that only Superman could stop.  Will he be able to?

Clearly, I didn’t like the first 45 minutes.  Yes, there are some cool moments for those of us who know the characters from the comics (or just the lore in general), but it does nothing to advance the story.  Some of the character set up is interesting, but a little goes a long way.

Once the heart of the story starts, things do pick up.  I enjoyed seeing how the characters interacted.  While the banter might be mild by today’s standards, I still enjoyed it.  I did find Lois especially harsh to Clark, but that’s a minor complaint.

And I have to praise the actors.  They do a great job of making these characters come to life, and their warmth with each other helped pull us in.  I can see why so many people praise Christopher Reeve.  He makes Clark Kent and Superman distinct.  There’s one scene in particular where we get to see it, and it makes his performance shine.

But even so, the story is seriously lacking.  If Lex didn’t introduce himself to Superman in the vilest way possible, Superman never would have known he existed.  Maybe it’s the story telling of the time, but I expect more interaction between the hero and villain before the end.  Or at least a hero who is trying to stop something evil.  Here, it feels a bit like an accident.

The end?  Epic.  I’d seen parts of this movie (if not all of it) years ago when I was a kid, but I didn’t remember much.  A few of those moments from the climax were still in my brain, and I enjoyed seeing the context.

The movie is almost 50 years old, so I’m sure you won’t be surprised when I tell you the effects are dated.  Yes, some of them hold up, but quite often, they don’t.  But that’s okay.  Just relax and let yourself enjoy them.  Frankly, there’s something charming about them even if we are used to more state-of-the-art effects today.

I will be interested in seeing how these movies progress.  While many people do enjoy Superman: The Movie, I found that it showed its age a little too much in the storytelling to truly pull me in.

Book Review: No Hallowed Ground by Steve Hockensmith (Double-A Western Detective Agency #2)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Strong story with plenty of action

Cons: A couple of minor things

The Bottom Line:

Tracking bank robbers

Or is there more to story?

Plenty of action 

More Action in the Old … Mid-West

I seem to be circling around to series I was reading in January right now. Not completely, but there are several series I’ve done that with this month. The latest example is No Hallowed Ground, the second in Steve Hockensmith’s Double-A Western Detective Agency. 

This is a spin off from his popular Holmes on the Range series and is more action oriented than straight up mystery novel. It features a trio that has worked together since their time in the Army. They are Diehl, Hoop, and Eskaminzim. This time around, they are joined by Hoop’s wife, who also happens to be Eskaminzim’s sister, Onawa. 

When the book opens, it’s March of 1894. Their latest assignment takes them to Missouri. Their client is tracking a group that stole the funds from the bank where they work. They need the foursome’s help in getting it back from the thieves before anyone knows the money is gone and the bank loses trust in the community. 

At least that’s the story our heroes are being fed. They suspect there is more going on, but for the time being, they are content to help track down the thieves. Until a confrontation begins to bring the truth to light. Suddenly finding the stakes raised higher than they ever imagined and more outnumbered than they counted on, they have to find a way to save the day before it threatens to unravel the country. 

As I said earlier, this is more of an action novel than a true mystery. Having said that, we have some nice twists to the story that do show Steve’s background as a mystery writer. 

But if you are looking for action, you’ve come to the write place. A few times, I did have to remind myself I was reading an action story, but mostly I was on board with what I was reading. The action starts early, and there’s plenty of it. There’s more meat to the story than in a typical action movie, so the action isn’t non-stop, but there’s still plenty of it. 

The book switches up the third person narrator on a regular basis. This results in us getting the full story and increasing the suspense at times. These switches are always easy to follow and used perfectly. 

As with an action movie, the characters are a little thin. It’s not as bad as in an action movie, but they could be a little better developed. Still, this is a minor complaint. 

We do get some language in the book, but I was more bothered by the violence. Not enough to keep me from enjoying the story, but if that kind of thing bothers you, know it’s there before you pick up the book. 

As with the first in the series, I read this via audio. Chuck Galco is the narrator again, and he does a fabulous job. 

This book delves a little into the politics of the time, mostly in motives for various characters. I appreciated how it handled that. It made me think without preaching. Above all, it felt organic to the story.

If you are looking for an action tale with a story plot, you’ll be glad you picked up No Hallowed Ground. You’ll find the pages flying by as you get lost in the story. 

Movie Review: John Wick - Chapter 3: Parabellum

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: Attempts to weave the action together with a story

Cons: Overly violent with cardboard characters

The Bottom Line:

More violence here

Some story elements that

Don’t really work out

Action Has Consequences

My first thought after watching the second part of the John Wick franchise was that I was done.  But then, I spotted John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum on TV.  By that point, I was curious enough to see what happened in part 3 to record it.  Besides, the price was right.  While it was better than the second movie, I’m still scratching my head over how this franchise has fans.

This movie picks up at some point after the second one.  We’re supposed to think it is immediately after, but it has to be a few hours at least since it finds John Wick (Keanu Reeves) on the run in the dark and the rain while the previous movie ending during daylight.  Anyway, he is trying to get some help into place before the target that The Table has placed on him goes into full effect.  Will he get the help he needs to survive the run of assassins targeting him?  And what might the consequences be for those who do decide to help him?

I will say that this movie was slightly better than the previous one.  While the action was still over the top, it wasn’t non-stop.  Attempts were made to give the story a plot.  I’m not saying the plot was good or made sense.  Seriously, what are these characters thinking?  Considering what The Table wants from people, why wouldn’t people run away from it given the chance?  But obviously, that’s just me being a normal human being, I guess.

And maybe that’s part of why I feel the characters are still paper thin.  Yes, there is some attempt to develop them, but it mostly falls flat for me.  It’s either cliched development, or it just doesn’t work like it is supposed to.

Part of that is Keanu Reeves’s fault.  He gets the most character development, which makes sense because he is the main character.  But his wooden acting makes those scenes laughable.  I’m a little surprised at some of the other actors here.  We’ve got the likes of Ian McShane, Lawrence Fishburne, Angelica Houston, and Hallie Berry.  Their acting is fine, but they aren’t given much to work with.

If you are looking for impossible action, this movie is for you.  While it isn’t as relentless as the previous movie, there are still plenty of action scenes.  You have to suspend lots of disbelief to go along with what is happening here, more so than most action movies, but there are some moments that are still fun.  But the improbability of it all gets to even the biggest fans after a while.

And yes, the movie is still excessively violent.  There are lots of scenes that I cringed away from as I was watching, even when airing on TV.  Know that going in.  I did appreciate the good editing of the foul language in the version I watched.  You could usually still tell what was taken out, but it was much more subtle than normal.  And, it wasn’t as much as I was expecting.  Or I missed the edits.

Honestly, there’s really still no need to start this franchise.  John Wick: Chapter 3 has little to redeem it.  This isn’t a franchise worth spending any time on.