Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider

Dir: Roar Uthaug 

Cast: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Daniel Wu, Walt Goggins

       Video game adaptations have always been a dodgy aspect of filmmaking. From 

   JCVD's portrayal of Guile in the Street Fighter film to the horrible Bob Hoskins' 

   Super Mario Brothers film of the early 90's, it hasn't exactly been great. This 
   version is a less hypersexualized version that starred Angelina Jolie way back
   in 2001.

       The beautiful Alicia Vikander stars as Lara Croft, a young woman who has a 

   taste for adventure. At the start, we see her working as a bike courier in the streets

   of London. Before she can claim her inheritance money, she finds clues to the 

   disappearance of her father Lord Richard Croft (West).  

       She follows the clues to a remote island encountering merciless mercenaries 

   using slaves to find an ancient grave reputed to hide mystical powers. The evil

   Mathias Vogel (Goggins) captures her to use her knowledge of opening the 

   ancient crypt to bring about the end of the world.

     The Good: The action scenes were intense to watch and didn't know if 
   Alicia was actually hurt or not. I appreciated the nod to Indiana Jones movies
   when the booby traps were set off. The father/daughter dynamic hits all the
   right notes. Alicia Vikander is very easy on the eyes. 

    The Bad: While Vikander did a decent job portraying the famous heroine, 
  she lacks the charisma that Jolie's take had. This movie had less action and
   more drama which dragged the film down a tad. 

    Overall: Judging by the trailers, I thought it'd be a cheesy flick and it turns 
   out it isn't. It's a very enjoyable film that doesn't take itself seriously. The
   open ending left me wanting more in a sequel should they decide to make 
   another one. 

Grade: C (7/10)

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman

Dir: Patty Jenkins

      Cast: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Danny Huston,

      David Thewlis

       The DCEU has had a pretty bad track record when it comes to their movies. This 

    breaks that trend and is actually pretty good. The gorgeous Gal Gadot stars as 
    Diana, an Amazonian warrior who believes in the greater good in humanity and
    must fight to protect it. 

       Much like the first Thor, Wonder Woman begins with little Diana looking up to

    her mother while being raised on the remote island of Themyscira. This island is 

    strictly inhabited by strong women who fight like Roman soldiers. As Diana grows
    up, she gets trained to fight just like her fellow sisterhood.

      One day while she is gazing out over the ocean, a spy named Steve Trevor (Pine)

   crash lands on the island and tells her that a war to end all wars is about to happen.
   She makes it her personal mission to save the world before all of humanity is lost. 
   The two team up to take down the Nazis who want to use powerful mustard gas
   to end humanity.

     The Good: 
    The action scenes were phenomenal along with the slow motion shots during the
   fight sequences. The cinematography was excellent, as there was a perfect blend
   of action, comedy and some romance. Her theme played during the action scenes
   was on point. Chris Pine and Gal Gadot shared great on screen chemistry and the
   attractive Israeli is quite easy on the eyes.

   The Bad:
    It was a little long for me but it kept my interest up enough from becoming boring.
   The villain of the film falls into the pit that every Marvel movie did; forgettable.
   He had so much more potential as his convoluted plan didn't work as hoped. 

   Overall:
   Wonder Woman is your typical fish out of water story and it's an excellent movie
   from start to finish. From here on out, it's a step in the right direction for the 
   DCEU. It should light a fire under Marvel to keep them from being complacent.
   The passion project for director Jenkins worked out pretty well for her and it 
   opened the door for future female directors. Little girls should be inspired 
   by Wonder Woman's fearlessness to take charge and kick some serious butt.

 Grade: B+ (8.5/10)

Beauty & the Beast (2017)

     

Beauty & the Beast
Dir: Bill Condon
Cast: Emma Watson, Luke Evans, Josh Gad, Kevin Kline, Dan Stevens,
Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellan, Emma Thompson

      It has become a yearly tradition for Disney to release a live action adaptation of their

animated classics that started with Cinderella. This is one is based on the 1991 Oscar 

winning film of the same name.

    Emma Watson portrays Belle, a bookish young woman who encounters a lonely beast

(Dan Stevens) while looking for her father (Kline). The cursed beast must find true love

before the last rose petal falls or he remains a beast forever. Living in the dark castle,

he hides from the townspeople never to show his face. Keeping him company are

sentient objects that sing and dance.

   The narcissist villain Gaston (Luke Evans) comes to town looking to marry Belle.

Frozen's Josh Gad plays his sidekick LeFou who constantly praises him. The 

controversy surrounding his character has been blown out of proportion and 

shouldn't have been an issue to begin with.

    The movie was quite enjoyable with its memorable songs. The costumes and

settings were top notch as well as the CGI. There are a few scenes that may be

intense for the little ones but older ones should be able to handle it.

    The Beauty and the Beast is a proper remake and should be regarded as one.

It's a perfect date movie and a tale as old as time. 

    Grade: A (9.5/10)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Director: Gareth Edwards

    Cast: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Donnie Yen, Forest Whittaker, Mads Mikkelsen,

 Alan Tudyk (voice)

       When Disney bought out the Star Wars franchise in 2012, it set out to not only 

  make more movies but spinoffs as well. Rogue One is set just before A New Hope.

       Felicity Jones plays Jyn-Erso, a young woman who learns her father worked 

 for the Imperials and helped building a moon sized weapon called the Death Star.

 She and a few handpicked soldiers from the Rebel Alliance guide the effort to 

 destroy what her father had created. A reprogrammed droid, K2-S0 (Tudyk) joins

 them and provides comic relief during the intense battle scenes.

        

      While the movie is quite long, clocking in around 2h/15m, it doesn't shy away 

 from the grittiness that is war. While I enjoyed most of the movie, I couldn't help

 but think that this was nothing more than a big budget fan film. Director Gareth

 Edwards took the beloved Star Wars franchise and made it completely dark. 

  

       Despite the PG 13 rating, this movie is definitely not for small children who

 are easily scared. Not that it's gory but is just grim and serious in tone. It's not 

 a story worth telling. 

Grade: C (6/10)

Star Wars : The Force Awakens

     

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Director: J.J. Abrams

     Cast: Daisy Ridley, Oscar Issac, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Harrison Ford,

     Domnhall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie

           Thirty years after the last movie is a long time for a franchise that still keeps 
  making money. In Episode VII: The Force Awakens, we find our hero, Rey (Ridley),
  a plucky young woman who is stranded on a desert like planet called Jakku. She 
  dreams of being somebody. Until one day, she meets a soccer ball sized droid, BB8,
  who carries a secret message. She learns that the Evil Empire is after the droid.
          Along the way, she meets a former Imperial Stormtrooper named Finn (Boyega)
  who defected after refusing to carry out orders to kill innocent civilians. Finn 
  befriends a Rebel pilot Poe (Isaac) and become close friends. Rey, Finn and Poe
  join forces with the legendary bounty hunter Han Solo (Ford) and Wookie pal
  Chewbacca.
          They are pursued by their evil leader Kylo Ren (Driver), a Jedi obsessed 
  with honoring Darth Vader's legacy and wants to follow in his footsteps.
           Director JJ Abrams is good at making scifi films but his overused of lens 
  flares becomes quite distracting. The plot structure is very close to the original
  A New Hope. The acting is good and the characters are fun to watch as well. 
  I couldn't help but feel like this movie has more loose ends than a tailors shop.
  Perhaps, the plots for the next movie will tie those up.

 Grade: B- (7/10)