Skull Island: Movie Review

I've been eagerly waiting to see Kong: Skull Island since its debut trailer last year. Having read a mix of positive and negative reviews, I arrived at the theater yesterday with an open mind, and was determined to just relax and have fun. And have fun I did. Lots of fun!

   Many criticized the film for lack of plot and character development, but let's be honest, if you go into this film expecting something profound, groundbreaking or Oscar worthy, you'll be gravely disappointed. But if you're hoping to see Kong crushing and smashing lots of stuff and people getting picked off by gigantic creatures on a remote island, the film delivers in spades. There's plenty of cool visuals and action sequences, and best of all, plenty of Kong. The king of Skull Island isn't just relegated to a few scenes, but appears regularly throughout the movie. Quite the opposite of 2014's Godzilla, where Godzilla was barely present. Kong also looks great, and though it's been a while since I saw Peter Jackson's adaptation, I would say Skull Island's Kong is just as visually impressive, if not more so.

   The best part of Skull Island - besides Kong - is John C. Reilly's character, Hank, the World War 2 pilot who's been marooned on the island for nearly 30 years. Reilly's performance is witty and heartfelt, and he is by far the most fleshed out character of the film. We learn a number of details about Hank: he has a wife and child - who may or may not be alive - and his dream is to make it off the island so he can be reunited with them; he became best friends with the Japanese soldier who was marooned with him, until said friend was killed by a Skull Crawler; and most important of all, Hank loves baseball, beer, and hot dogs. Samuel Jackson's character, Preston Packard, is also highly entertaining; I loved that he basically plays a parody of himself, saying and doing what Sam Jackson says and does best. Phrases like, "Hold on to your butts," and "Motherf----er" are all thrown in there, with the latter being cutoff, of course. The rest of the characters are likeable and not necessarily shallow, but they're still stereotypical and not as interesting or well drawn as Hank and Preston. Tom Hiddleston is adequate as the rough around the edges tracker, Brie Larson as the pesky war journalist, and John Goodman as the shady scientist. But again, do we really go see a King Kong movie for deep character development?

   Still, I was unhappy with how the whole subplot was handled regarding Preston seeking revenge on Kong, since it culminated in such a weak payoff. I expected a big showdown between Kong and Preston, but it was anything but big. So much time was devoted to Preston's hatred towards Kong, and for what? It was as if the writers said, "let's quickly end this conflict so we can hurry to the real finale." Which brings me to my next comment: The final battle with Kong and the giant Skull Crawler was downright awesome! It wasn't a quick, anticlimactic fight, but an epic battle that lasted a good 10 minutes or more, satisfying every need to see Kong smash, bite, throw, and violently wrestle with his lethal adversary. This is by far the best fight sequence I've seen in a Kong movie, and as the battle raged on, my excitement got the best of me. I rose to my feet, tore off my shirt, and began to beat my chest, roaring my devotion to Kong. OK, well, I wished I had, but that wouldn't have gone over well with the theater. Who knows, though, maybe other Kong lovers would have risen to their feet and joined me.

    Regrettably, I did have an issue with a few scenes where the green screen effects stand out like a sore thumb. Each scene involves the human characters and Kong being in the same closeup shot together, and the poor effects spoil the illusion that Kong and these characters share the same physical space. Since these were only a few brief scenes, I didn't let it ruin the movie for me. For the rest of the film, the actors and CGI visuals mix together beautifully.

   What really makes Skull Island unique from other Kong films is the time period. The soldiers who accompany the scientists on their expedition are fresh out of Viatnam, which causes them to bring that war-like mentality with them to the uncharted island. Perhaps this idea is a ploy to make it seem like there's more substance to the story than there actually is, but I for one thought it effective in adding an extra layer of intrigue to the plot and characters.

Final Thoughts

Do you remember back in the 50's when theatres had special weekend matinees showing B movies? Movies like Creature From The Black Lagoon? That's the best way I can describe Kong: Skull Island. It's by no means a low budget B movie, but just like films of that genre, it's a fun, simple creature feature that made me feel like a kid again. So if you take Kong seriously to the point where you're expecting The Dark Knight of Kong films, you'll be disappointed. This is pure, mindless entertainment where you let go and enjoy yourself.

   Oh, and be sure to stay until after the credits - there's a post credit scene that ties this story in with the upcoming Kong vs. Godzilla film. I won't spoil anything for you, but the way they close the scene literally gave me the chills!

3 stars out of 5

Have you seen Kong: Skull Island? What did you think of it? Love to hear your comments!

 

 
 
 

Allied - Movie Review

I want to start off by saying that I absolutely loved Robert Zemeckis's last film, The Walk, and consider it among his best films. So I was very curious to see what he would do with Allied, which is his first attempt at tackling the spy thriller genre.

  First, I'll mention the main thing I liked about the film, and that's Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard. Both had great chemistry and really sold me as spies who were falling in love with each other. Their chemistry only deepens as the film progresses, so that when Max is faced with the disturbing reality that Marianne could be a German spy, we actually feel concern for what might happen to them.

   Brad Pitt gained a lot of critcism for his aloof performance, with many people complaining that he barely says a word in a number of scenes. So he must be phoning it in, right? Well, here's the thing...Max is sullen, a man of few words, but this just made his character all the more enigmatic and believable. He's not a suave James Bond type who fears nothing and always has a witty remark on the tip of his tongue. He's a spy who takes his job seriously, who understands that one wrong word could mean life and death. This is how Max is intended to be, and Brad Pitt does an excellent job of conveying subtle emotion beneath Max's cold persona. Marianne, on the other hand, is his total opposite. She thrives on socializing and befriending the enemy to shroud her true identity. She's elegant and affable, but hides a calculated coldness that makes her character both suspicious and alluring. It's this contrast between Max and Marianne that makes their scenes together so tense, enjoyable, and interesting.

 As far as suspense goes, the film contains a couple good action scenes, and Zemeckis maintains a decent level of tension throughout, sometimes giving it an almost Hitchcock like feel. Zemeckis toys with us, constantly sowing deeds of doubt as to whether Marianne is good or bad; and just when Max thinks he's stumbled on to the truth, he hits a road block that only leads to more questions.

 The costumes and set pieces are authentic and pleasing to look at, lending to the overall Casablanca, film-niorish atmosphere. The costume designs are why the film was nominated for an Oscar, and I think the nomination was well deserved.. 

  OK, time for the things I didnt like. Zemeckis relies too much on digital effects at times, which was one of the few flaws I found with his previous film. A moving and heartfelt scene shows Max and Marianne sitting together in the desert, revealing intimate details about themselves. The desert background is clearly green screened in, and even though the effect isn't horrible, it still distracts from the importance of the moment. In another example, we see a faraway shot of a fake looking, CG Max parachuting to the ground. This totally took me out of the scene and was one of those "Aha!" moments. I know they were probably trying to save money, but c'mon! At least make it look halfway convincing. They should have gotten Tom Cruise to play the role - he would have performed the stunt himself darn it!

 Another distracting element is the modern day mentalities displayed by most of the characters. The F word is used on a regular basis, by both men and women. Back in the 40's, this word wasn't as sociably acceptable as it is today, so hearing it so frequently felt out of place. Also, Max's sister happens to be a lesbian who's openly in a relationship with another woman; nobody seems to mind or question this, which is unusual for the time period. I'm not saying everyone was against gays and lesbians; in WW2, gays and lesbians were later accepted into military service without question, since the military needed every able body they could to contribute to the war effort. Still, the homosexual lifestyle was much less embraced back then than it is today. These historical inconsistencies rob the film of authenticity and distort the time period our story inhabits. Which is sad, because Robert Zemeckis did such a fantastic job recreating the past in his Back to the Future series.

  The film is also guilty of being a bit cheesy at times; for instance, Max and Marianne make love in a car that's parked in the desert, during a heavy sandstorm. They kiss and grope each other passionately as the turbulent wind blows against them. The scene tries to be steamy and romantic, but just comes off as laughable and silly. Same with ( Minor Spoiler Alert ) the part where Marianne gives birth to their child amid a German air raid. Nurses yell for her to breath, breath, breath as explosions and debris erupt all around them. I got a big laugh out of these scenes, but others might be put off by their corniness.

Final Thoughts

As long as you don't take it too seriously, Allied is an entertaining Thriller/Romance that has a satisfying and unpredictable conclusion. The problem is, it yearns to be taken seriously, but throws in too many cheesy moments and historical inaccuracies for its own good. My verdict: enjoyable enough for a few viewings, but doesn't have the rewatchability appeal that Zemickis's better films have. 

3 stars out of 5

Have you seen Allied? What did you think of it? Love to hear your thoughts!

  

   

   

The Presidio: A Lost Opportunity of the 80's

Synopsis

Police detective Jay Austin ( Mark Harmon ) left the military long ago, after a heated disagreement between him and his commanding officer Colonel Caldwell ( Sean Connery ). Now, a woman from Jay's past is found dead at the presidio, the Army base in San Fransisco, and Jay is forced to team up with Colonel Caldwell to solve the case. Things are further complicated when Jay falls for Caldwell's daughter, Donna ( Meg Ryan ).

Review

Several days ago, I discovered this film on Netflix and was immediately excited! I ignored all the negative reviews, passing them off as the ramblings of deranged internet trolls. Sean Connery, Meg Ryan, and Mark Harmon...how could I go wrong? But boy, was I grieviously mistaken!

     The film starts out with promise, opening with a riveting nighttime car chase that had me gripping the arms of my chair. It was the most memorable car chase I've seen since Bulitt. But Presidio's excitement quickly dissolves after that, giving us a dull, poorly written script with some of the worst acting I've seen from Mark Harmon and Meg Ryan. The dialogue between these two is horrendous; their first scene together literally had me cringing in disgust. It was hard to see these talented actors turning in such cheesy performances, but I don't think they're to blame as much as the poor script is. Don't get me wrong, Harmon had moments where he delivered a decent performance; sadly, these scenes usually seemed to be when he was in the presence of Sean Connery and Meg Ryan was absent - sorry Meg. If there was one redeeming factor of Presidio, it was Sean Connery, who overcame the crappy script as best he could and exuded the charm and confidence we've come to expect from him.

     What ruined this film most, I think, was that it felt more like a soap opera than a thriller, with way too much drama regarding Jay and Donna's relationship. One scene goes something like this: "But daddy, I'm a grown woman, I can date whoever I want!"
Colonel Caldwell: "I don't want you dating that man, you hear me!" This continues on and on throughout the movie, to the point where I was tempted to switch off the TV on several occasions. I mean, c'mon! We have two of the best actors alive teaming up to solve a murder, but the main focus is on relationship issues? And when we finally get scenes where Jay and Colonel Caldwell are investigating the crime at hand, there's usually no sense of tension or urgency. It felt more like a boring TV movie than a theatrical release.
     One of the strange things about this film, though, is whenever there's an action scene - and trust me, there's not many - they're very well executed and had me on the edge of my seat! It was as if the film was teasing me, allowing me a temporary glimpse into what it could have been, which made the overall experience that much more disappointing.

Final Thoughts

The Presidio is a missed opportunity, one that left me dumbfounded and angry. If you should by some chance decide to watch it, just skip to the action scenes, particularly the fun car chase at the beginning. But for those who decide against watching it, I've included a video clip of the car sequence below. Hope you enjoy! 

2 stars out of 5

The Presidio - Car Chase Youtube

Dead Men Tell No Tales: Trailer 3 Review

Just watched the newest trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Looks decent, with all the elements you'd come to expect from the series: cool visuals, high flying adventure, Johnny Depp being Johnny Depp, and dead, evil pirates. Wait, dead evil pirates? Haven't we seen this before? That's the problem with this trailer, I don't see Disney bringing anything new to the table. Nice to see Orlando Bloom reprising his role, though. 

It appears this is supposed to be the final entry in the franchise, so hopefully Dead Men Tell No Tales surprises us with an awesome conclusion.