July was downright boring. I saw Spider-Man: Far From Home. And that's it. And it was fine. And that's it. (Read my review here.) And I got really bored and frustrated of this year's movie selection and am on the verge of going to see Once Upon a Time in Hollywood even though I don't care for Tarantino movies typically.
But August. August looks good. August looks like it might begin turning 2019 around. It's going to need more than one solid hit with me in order to do that in the span of 31 days, and that it just... might... have. (Or maybe it's just wishful thinking and some super solid trailers.) Now let's see if I'll even go see more than one in the span of 31 days!
What looks good to you this month? Did I leave anything out?
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
In theaters August 2nd; PG-13
Is that really its title? Why can't it just be Hobbs & Shaw?? Someday I'll be in the mood for dumb, ridiculous, over-the-top buddy-cop action. And when that day comes I'm sure this will be just the ticket. But I've never been much for the F&F franchise and even within that neither Hobbs nor Shaw ever had much impact as characters. When I do see this, I will be most excited to see Vanessa Kirby. Then Idris Elba. And THEN The Rock and Jason Statham.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
In theaters August 9th; PG-13
Goosebumps for kids grown up? It is based on a series of books after all, which inspires confidence that it could be more than a throwaway creepy summer flick, but it is also compiling all the stories into one film it seems? Which could cheapen it. This is one I probably won't be watching unless it gets great reviews.
The Peanut Butter Falcon
Limited release on August 9th; PG-13
Shia LaBeouf goes on a road-trip to help a runaway with Downs become a wrestler. With Dakota Johnson. Yep. This could easily turn into one of my favorite movies of the year if it plays its cards right -- like it seems to be. The feeling I get watching that trailer is the same the trailer for The Way Way Back gave me, and that's one of my all-time favorite films. It looks so pure and sweet and full of adventure and to be about uplifting things like love and friendship -- how could it not be appealing?
Blinded by the Light
In theaters August 14th; PG-13
Continuing the trend of apparently pure films with uplifting messages comes this movies about a Pakistani-British teen who falls in love with the music of Bruce Springsteen in 1987. I LOVE this trailer, and what the movies seems to be saying about the universality of music (and within that, art in general and the way it can connect beyond culture lines) -- especially great American rock from the 80s, haha! I hope it's sappy and wears its heart on its sleeve. The sappier the better.
Where'd You Go, Bernadette
In theaters August 16th; PG-13
Richard Linklater's latest is based on a novel, and stars Cate Blanchett. It has all the earmarks of something that should be good, but I'm stuck. I can't get over the hurdle of "Cate Blanchett Plays a Normal Person." Don't get me wrong she's one of my favorite actresses. It's just hard for me to buy her as an every-woman, even done up with plain clothes and hair -- she's still exceptional. It's weird. I'll still keep an eye on this for later.
Ready or Not
Limited release August 21st; R
A stylish-looking horror comedy in which Margot Robbie's doppelganger (Samara Weaving) is the new bride of a member of a uber-rich family who have a tradition in which they kill all new brides as some kind of bizarre ritual sacrifice. A killer game of hide and seek in a wedding dress! With in-laws from hell! Also with Adam Brody who is great. I get a feeling I'm going to like this one.
(This is a red-band trailer that contains violence and language.)
Brittany Runs a Marathon
Limited release August 23rd; R
This looks like a cute comedy/rom-com. It's nice to see a movie where the character's physical improvement isn't all about just being more attractive. Here it's about being healthy, and valuing yourself and you life. I'm not sure it can be a great film on that great idea alone, (it should still be funny and honest and put together in a quality, entertaining way) but it is off to a good start.
Showing posts with label Dwayne Johnson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dwayne Johnson. Show all posts
Thursday, August 1, 2019
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Rampage
Dwayne Johnson has over the years, become known for a certain type of movie. The cheesiness he has always embraced with a wink and a smile (remember the 3D gimmick of pec-popping berries at the camera in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island?) but it's only recently that audiences have figured it out; The Rock makes stupid but enjoyable movies -- and he puts effort into them.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was the height of this realization, a movie that had no right to be that funny, that silly, and that meaningful at the same time. Because of that movie, Rampage disappointed me.
It tries to be essentially the same thing: an outlandish premise? Secret animal experiments in space go awry, and the dangerous concoction crashes back to earth, infecting an albino ape with super-growth and aggression. So, yes, check. Comedy? Not as much, but the film is sure to give the ape a "sense of humor." There's banter and one-liners. And meaningful? Well, it is genuinely attempted, but only works against the precedent of movies like Transformers sequels which are the same type of giant and destructive but completely devoid of any meaning.
That is to say, it's extremely light on meaning, but it puts it on full display so we'll notice that there's like, theme and stuff in a movie where an albino King Kong fights a flying giant wolf with quills in its tail. And it does make the movie feel less mindless, but at a cost. Because most of the movie is spent with Davies (Johnson) and co. (mostly just Naomie Harris) trying to keep George (mo-capped by Jason Liles) safe as he grows, and has fits of rage while government idiots (led by the remarkably fun Jeffery Dean Morgan) try to take him away so they can put him down.
The cost in that because George is a good guy character, the movie refuses to let him do anything too terrible. No killing; minor destruction only. And besides a brief red-shirt encounter with the big bad wolf near the beginning, that's all that happens until the last act. Granted, it's better than letting George kill without discretion and then still value his life over the faceless innocents he's rampaging on, but, the movie is called Rampage. And there's not much of it until the final showdown.
Cutting back on CGI monster fights is fine by me, but it's only really worth it if the content that replaces it is better. In this case it's basically a toss-up, and only then because the monster fighting wasn't all that spectacular to begin with. The crocodile with shark teeth we already saw in Annihilation, the flying wolf wasn't nearly as cool as it sounds, and George didn't even do the classic King Kong break-the-jaw-open move. Is it trademarked or something? It a typical CGI rumble.
I would've been happier with more effort put into the rampaging, and I would've been happier with more effort in the character department. I get that both is too much to ask for, (it shouldn't be) but they held each other back, so neither was satisfactory. The most memorable aspect turns out to be the comedy though it rarely got a chuckle from me. The banter between George and Davies was relatively good, and credit for going for the bad jokes on purpose is due -- that was a bold move.
It's the charisma and effort of The Rock that keeps it all afloat, is what this boils down to. He has a special talent for making the worthless content as interesting as anything else. I love Naomie Harris, but her character is so much a nothing-burger that all I could think was what is the world is she doing in this movie. Jeffery Dean Morgan is having fun, but his character is too cliched, and then the second he isn't, the movie drops him. And the bad guys are exactly the bad guys from Incredibles 2, I kid you not.
It has its moments as a dumb CGI romp, but don't kid yourself; Rampage is a mess. And if it's really a mess you're looking for, there are bigger, badder, funner, and more memorable ones out there to be found.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was the height of this realization, a movie that had no right to be that funny, that silly, and that meaningful at the same time. Because of that movie, Rampage disappointed me.
 |
| I guess Welcome to the Jungle really was something special. |
It tries to be essentially the same thing: an outlandish premise? Secret animal experiments in space go awry, and the dangerous concoction crashes back to earth, infecting an albino ape with super-growth and aggression. So, yes, check. Comedy? Not as much, but the film is sure to give the ape a "sense of humor." There's banter and one-liners. And meaningful? Well, it is genuinely attempted, but only works against the precedent of movies like Transformers sequels which are the same type of giant and destructive but completely devoid of any meaning.
That is to say, it's extremely light on meaning, but it puts it on full display so we'll notice that there's like, theme and stuff in a movie where an albino King Kong fights a flying giant wolf with quills in its tail. And it does make the movie feel less mindless, but at a cost. Because most of the movie is spent with Davies (Johnson) and co. (mostly just Naomie Harris) trying to keep George (mo-capped by Jason Liles) safe as he grows, and has fits of rage while government idiots (led by the remarkably fun Jeffery Dean Morgan) try to take him away so they can put him down.
 |
| I'm guessing they made him albino so comparisons to King Kong wouldn't be as obvious? |
The cost in that because George is a good guy character, the movie refuses to let him do anything too terrible. No killing; minor destruction only. And besides a brief red-shirt encounter with the big bad wolf near the beginning, that's all that happens until the last act. Granted, it's better than letting George kill without discretion and then still value his life over the faceless innocents he's rampaging on, but, the movie is called Rampage. And there's not much of it until the final showdown.
Cutting back on CGI monster fights is fine by me, but it's only really worth it if the content that replaces it is better. In this case it's basically a toss-up, and only then because the monster fighting wasn't all that spectacular to begin with. The crocodile with shark teeth we already saw in Annihilation, the flying wolf wasn't nearly as cool as it sounds, and George didn't even do the classic King Kong break-the-jaw-open move. Is it trademarked or something? It a typical CGI rumble.
I would've been happier with more effort put into the rampaging, and I would've been happier with more effort in the character department. I get that both is too much to ask for, (it shouldn't be) but they held each other back, so neither was satisfactory. The most memorable aspect turns out to be the comedy though it rarely got a chuckle from me. The banter between George and Davies was relatively good, and credit for going for the bad jokes on purpose is due -- that was a bold move.
 |
| Let them fight. |
It's the charisma and effort of The Rock that keeps it all afloat, is what this boils down to. He has a special talent for making the worthless content as interesting as anything else. I love Naomie Harris, but her character is so much a nothing-burger that all I could think was what is the world is she doing in this movie. Jeffery Dean Morgan is having fun, but his character is too cliched, and then the second he isn't, the movie drops him. And the bad guys are exactly the bad guys from Incredibles 2, I kid you not.
It has its moments as a dumb CGI romp, but don't kid yourself; Rampage is a mess. And if it's really a mess you're looking for, there are bigger, badder, funner, and more memorable ones out there to be found.
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