Terminator Genisys - Review

"I'll be back."

We won't be waiting.

The Plot

In the future, humanity has achieved victory over the machines of Skynet thanks to the leadership of John Connor (Jason Clarke). But Skynet has put to use their secret weapon, a tactical time machine to send a Terminator back in time to kill John's mother, Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), which would erase John from existence. To stop the machine, John sends back his most trusted soldier, Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back in time to save his mother. But when Kyle arrives in the past, he discovers Sarah is already battle trained and prepared for his arrival, as well as under the watchful eye of her own Terminator Guardian, Pops (Arnold Schwarzenegger). With the timeline drastically changed, Kyle must join forces with this new alternate timeline Sarah and her Guardian in order to combat an unexpected new threat to the past and future.

Review

Terminator Genisys was meant to be a rebirth of the very forced franchise churned out of the first two Terminator films. The method the writers of the film chose to go about this? Time Travel. It has become a device that is known for fixing problems in sci-fi movies that need a reboot. The two biggest, and probably only examples, are J.J. Abrams' Star Trek and X-Men: Days of Future Past. If I had to compare Genisys to one of those films, I'd say it is more in line with Days of Future Past. Both films use time travel as a plot device to wipe away the previous continuity in order to establish a new one by directly referencing events that occurred in previous films. However, Days of Future Past did this very seldom and was really focused on telling a story that requires time travel for an unseen point in time in the film's series chronology. While Genisys directly takes you back to the first Terminator film and does shot for shot scenes from it as well. This is where the biggest problem lies.

Genisys possesses a story that cannot stand on its own. A reboot's job is to completely start fresh, referencing the old, while making way for the new. This film however, almost requires you to have seen the first two Terminator films in order to fully understand what is truly at stake. Yes, there is enough to make it feel like a stand alone, but the first hour of the film just required too much homework of watching the previous films in order to fully understand it. Ironically though, the first half is the best part, which is a testament to how good the first two Terminator films are. It is the second half of the film where things really fall apart, because in the second half the heroes (the human ones) time travel to 2017 in order to combat a new threat. And this threat is a very familiar face.

If you've seen the trailer, then you know who the threat is. If you haven't, then I won't say here. It is a shame really, because the new threat the writers devised for this film is actually an intriguing premise that gets poorly handled. The very existence of this new threat, along with the new old threat that creates the new threat, is at the center of what is wrong with the movie. The story gets too convoluted in trying to explain this new threat, as well as tries too hard to bring the characters to our current present day for future installments. This was all really about getting the characters where the studio wants them to be so that they can do whatever they want with them without feeling like they're disrespecting the franchise. Unfortunately all this convoluted mess feels more as a disrespect rather than a respect. It just doesn't work and doesn't make that much sense if you were to think about it.

But how are the performances? They're below passable. The leads that is. Emilia Clarke is an incredible actress in Game of Thrones, and given that the director of this film is from Game of Thrones one would expect a great performance. Unfortunately, she is far from being the successor to Linda Hamilton. Plus, you'd think at this point since she's raised by a Terminator she'd be a lot more muscular like Hamilton in the second film. But here she looks like a normal girl, who can handle guns, but not the beast of a woman Sarah Connor is usually associated with. Then there's Jai Courtney. I'm pretty sure the guy is really nice, or has a good agent, because he's pretty much in every major Hollywood film. But he's just so wooden, that he'd be more perfect as a Terminator rather than the human hero.

The three big standout performances though come from Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke, and J.K. Simmons. The three of them are easily the best parts of the movie. Schwarzenegger stills shows he's old but not obsolete as the Guardian Terminator, Jason Clarke proves to be an admirable and heroic John Connor, while Simmons plays a his role, that I won't specify, with such memorability, you'd wish he was in the film more. Their performances are the only saving grace of the film. Which is saying a lot since most of the action scenes in the movie are not bad, but not impressive either. Which doesn't help making this convoluted plot anymore watchable.

Final Thoughts

Despite being convoluted and confusing, while also blatantly setting up for sequels, the film itself is passable entertainment. But by passable, it actually suffers from being extremely boring. Which is a word that should never be associated with The Terminator. It is a forgettable film with competent direction, but a terrible misguided story that doesn't give its leads enough to work with. You won't remember watching this film, as I'm having a hard time remembering anything in the movie after seeing it a few hours ago from writing this. So in the end, it can be passable, but it is not memorable.

SCORE: 4/10 - The four is for Emilia Clarke, Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke and J.K. Simmons

Jupiter Ascending - Review

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

That's pretty much the funniest line in the movie. Besides the "I love dogs," line.

The Plot

In the Universal Business of Time and Youth, the three sibling heirs (Eddie Redmayne, Tuppence Middleton, and Douglas Booth) of the Abrasax Family compete to possess the Earth. The problem is, standing in their way is the sole heir to the planet Earth. Her name is Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis), who is the genetic reincarnation of the Abrasax siblings' mother, The Queen of the Universe. With bounty hunters hired by each sibling to capture her, Jupiter is thrusted into a world that goes beyond the planet Earth and into the large universe of industry. Her only protector is an albino werewolf soldier named Caine (Channing Tatum) whose allegiance may lie with one of the three siblings who desire her capture... or her death.

Review

If that plot synopsis confused you, then chances are this movie will. Well, it actually won't. The Wachowski Siblings are probably best known as the directors who gave the world The Matrix. It is arguably one of the greatest science fiction films of all time, as well as being one of the most influential action films for the post-modern age. Unfortunately, after that movie, the siblings have not created something that would be deemed successful, both critically and financially. I'm in the camp though that does love Cloud Atlas, an ambitious film that was also co-directed with Tom Tykwer. So one can say I was hoping that this film can at least recapture the magic of The Matrix by taking a much more lighter in tone route. And for the first hour, they succeed tremendously. But then after the first hour, that's when things become episodic. And not in the good way.

If The Matrix was about a character entering a universe within a computer, then Jupiter Ascending is pretty much the opposite by actually launching out into space. The film starts with the simplistic chosen one hero plot line, which works really well in the first hour of the film. Kunis's Jupiter is definitely someone down on their luck and has a tragic backstory that make you feel for her. Which is how it should be. We're ready to root for whatever curveball in life she gets thrown into. Unfortunately we only feel that way in the first hour. Kunis's Jupiter actually doesn't have a very well developed character arc. She does start the movie with one mood and ends the movie with another, but it didn't really feel like she's grown as a character. Her change didn't seem all that life changing, despite the fact she just discovered she's the Queen of Earth, which should've been a hell of a lot more life changing than what was given in this story. But it was fine.

Playing her protector on this journey and forced love interest is Channing Tatum as the albino defected werewolf, Caine Wise. Tatum has definitely grown into a solid actor, and this movie continues to prove it as he was easily the best part of the movie. Which is saying a lot given that there  is a potential Oscar winner in this movie playing a villain. But that potential Oscar winner is not being nominated for his performance in this movie. But on the subject of Tatum, his character is the one that has a more thought out and developed story compared to Jupiter's. And that is mostly attributed to the relationship between him and his mentor Stinger, played by Sean Bean. Unfortunately, their plot is the Z-Plot of the movie. And by Z-Plot, I mean that Kunis's Jupiter is involved with the A, B, C, and D plot.

The second hour of the film diverges into three different plots that don't really connect other than the fact that the three antagonistic forces in each plot are siblings. The first "pit stop" after the fantastic hour involves Kalique Abrasax, played by Tuppence Middleton. Although there is something untrustworthy about her, she doesn't delve too far into the villainous route that her brothers do. Her main purpose is to provide exposition. A lot of exposition. It's a wonder why she's even in the movie at all if she's only going to show up to give exposition and have no effect to the larger story. The second pit stop after Ms. Exposition is a wedding with Titus Abrasax, played by Douglas Booth. He gives a variation of the exposition that Kalique gives during the first pit stop, except he actually tries to do something. He wants to marry Jupiter, so that he can inherit the Earth. Which is sort of creepy given that Jupiter is the exact genetic replica of his mother. But just like Kalique's pit stop, if this part was removed from the movie, it would not make a difference. Then there's the final pit stop in the movie involving the eldest Abrasax sibling, Balem, played by Oscar Nominee Eddie Redmayne.

Redmayne is promoted as the central villain of the movie. And while his character Balem is definitely sprinkled throughout the movie, he doesn't appear to really do anything until after the first two unnecessary pit stops in Jupiter's journey across the universe. While he doesn't give exposition, he could've easily been given the exposition of his siblings AND be a more MENACING VILLAIN. But instead we have a crybaby who talks like an old man about to die. So he comes off as not being a genuine threat. His henchmen of Dragon Men do appear to be a genuine threat. But like Balem, they don't really do anything in the first hour and half of the movie to prove they are a threat. I strongly believe that Balem's story is far more important than the ones involving his brother and sister. In fact, his brother and sister could've been removed from the movie entirely, which would allow more time to develop him and his alien Dragon Men. But no, his initial menace that was hinted at in the fantastic first hour, does not carry over to the second.

That's not to say the movie is boring. It is a fun and entertaining film with incredible breathtaking visuals. The action is astounding and just keeps getting better as the movie progress. The problem is, there are so few action scenes because in between are long periods of talking about business and harvesting and politics. Which is why if the movie just focused on Balem as the central antagonist, this movie would've been so much better. It saddens me to say that, because Tuppence Middleton and Douglas Booth gave far better performances as antagonists than Eddie Redmayne. 

Final Thoughts

This is a genuinely entertaining movie. I was not bored while watching it. Like I said, the first hour, which takes place predominantly on Earth, is a fantastic way to begin a movie then send us off on a journey to space. Unfortunately, no matter how beautiful space is, the second hour just doesn't live up to the adventure promised in the first hour. When we're suppose to be feeling something for Kunis's Jupiter, we instead feel more for Tatum's Caine and Bean's Stinger. All in all, despite all that, I'd say it is a fun watch. It is after all an original film, so it is always good to see something new. Even though it falls apart in the final hour. At least it's not a complete disaster.

SCORE: 6.5/10 - An extraordinary first hr, but a disappointing yet still entertaining second hr

Interstellar - Analysis and Review

To boldly go where no one has gone before.... I had to say that

This is Christopher Nolan's second foray into science fiction. The first one being Inception, which in many ways was more of a love letter to the anime film Paprika and heist movies than actually dealing the legitimate science. This film on the other hand is meant to be more about the science, and how it can possibly save humanity from extinction.

The Plot

The world is dying. Militaries have been disbanded. All technology and education are dedicated to turning people into farmers. And the only food left on Earth, is corn. But when ex-pilot and aeronautical engineer Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) discovers a message produced by an anomaly in gravity, he discovers the location of a clandestine branch of NASA called Lazarus. There, he is recruited by Dr. Brand (Michael Caine) to lead an expedition through a wormhole that appeared within their solar system to find a new home for humanity. Cooper leaves behind his family in hopes of finding them a chance for survival. Humanity was born on Earth, it was never meant to die here.

Analysis

Christopher Nolan is right. We no longer appear to look up to the stars. Instead we are more concerned about what is happening here on Earth. 

The Space Age during the Cold War may have been an age of dreams clashing in a time of potential disaster, but it was still an age of dreams. After we made it to the Moon, it seemed like the world was ready to conquer the galaxy, and then maybe the universe. But instead we're still here. Still having ideas and fantasies, but never anything that can be reality. Of course there have been probes and satellites sent to Mars, but for some reason it didn't seem to inspire many as it did when we first landed on the Moon. Even the European Space Program, Ambition, sets out to catch a comet and succeeded. While it is a small triumph on the road to space travel, it feels like it doesn't matter.

What happened to us? What happened to the ideal of reaching the heavens? I believe it is because there is this feeling of, we've been there and done that. Reaching the Moon seemed to be the greatest thing this planet has achieved. But honestly, it made everything we've done after that seem pointless. If there is anything that I hope this film will do, I hope it does inspire some to travel and seek out new worlds. But till then. We will watch as satellites do the work for us, and forget about a major achievement as if it was nothing. At least not yet. But for now, it is nothing. And that is sad.

Review

This is the movie that people who are not fans of Nolan will use as their ammunition to unmask him to the world as a fraud. Because there is definitely plenty of things wrong with this film. This is also the movie that people who are enthralled and worship Nolan as the god of cinema will use as their torch to continue to ignite the flames of genius that he supposedly is. Because there is a lot of this film that is utterly breathtaking, with a message that is extremely powerful. So which side of this war between Nolanites and Nolan haters do I stand on? Somewhere in the middle.

This is Nolan's most ambitious film with the most ambitious ideas that have not been explored since 2001: A Space Odyssey and the original Star Trek series. The dream of space travel. The scientific theory of wormholes. The theories of what would happen to someone inside a singularity? All of these things are tied together by a simple and unscientific concept. The love of a father and his daughter. Matthew McConaughey continues his spree of being a force in acting as he delivers a powerful performance as our reluctant heroic astronaut. Mackenzie Foy plays his daughter, Murphy, and shows that she is definitely a young one to look out for in the future. Their relationship is what binds this movie together and it is one of the strongest points of the movie.

The other strong points of the film have to do with the space travel sequences, the new planets, and the surprisingly breakout characters that were not really promoted in the previews. One of the things I love about Nolan's take on film is how he uses old school techniques in modern filmmaking. All the spaceships in the movie are real. Whether it be models or gigantic moving sets that the actors can actually step inside of, they are tangible objects and not made out of computer generated imagery. I could easily tell this from the way the moving parts of the docking stations and the shuttles worked. In CGI there is a slight delay and an unintentional grace to movement, even if it meant to be a small one. With models it feels more alive and the eye knows that it is a real thing. The same goes for the creativity of the planets from the water planet to the ice planet to the desert planet. All of them were filmed in actual locations with some CGI in order to enhance the otherworldly feel. And who are the breakout characters that I am talking about? The robots! TARS and CASE, two rectangular robots that I was not aware would be in the movie, and I'm so glad they were. These two robots are pretty much where most of the humor comes from, in an ultra serious and dramatic film. They are a relief as well as a breath of fresh air in terms of design on how a robot would look like. They are pretty much a direct reference to the Monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey, with the exception of being able to transform and are a lot more helpful.

Where this film falls apart though, mainly has to do with the need to beat science over our heads as well as the message of love being a transcending variable. Nolan took the ambitious idea of explaining all these scientific theories to an audience who would watch movies like Transformers and expect them to want to take in every second of information. The problem is, there is too much information. Now, some films have a lot of exposition in them. Look at David Fincher's films. But Nolan and his screenwriter brother, Jonah, put so much exposition that unless you are aware of the type of science being spoken (like I do) then it is very easy for the average movie goer to get lost in what all the science means. And it is a shame that the exposition is given to the supporting cast consisting of Anne Hatheway, Wes Bentley, and David Gyasi. While Hatheway's character, Amelia, gets to have more of an emotional character arc, she still winds up being just an exposition person along with the other astronauts. Their characters could've been handled better, as well as all the other characters in these films who are not the father and the daughter. 

There is even an appearance by a well known actor, who will be a welcoming surprise to audiences, but quickly devolves into a villain that ultimately seemed forced. But because of who it is, it was a nice character change for this actor. Still, it seemed unnecessary to give this movie a human villain.

While I was able to get by with the massive exposition and was fine with the appearance of a villain, what I didn't buy and nearly took me out of the film was the final 40 minutes of the movie. The build up of the film was built around real science and things that we do know. The final 40 minutes enters the realm of extremely weird science fiction that almost dissolves all the realism that this film is built around. While I understood it, it will definitely be a major turn off for the audience who will view it as too weird and too convenient. And I mean really convenient. In fact, anyone who is smart enough to see the massive foreshadowing in the beginning of the film will be disappointed by how convenient and weird the trigger for the foreshadowing is. It was just too much of a "WTF" moment that it really does not sit well for me.

Then there is the true resolution. It wasn't the way I wanted it to end, emotionally. That sounds like a pretentious thing to say, but if one were to think about the ending, everyone who watches knows there is a proper way to end the movie. And the way it does in this film is definitely the right one, but executed improperly.

Final Thoughts

This film could've removed a lot of characters and a journey to the water planet. It also could've gotten rid of half of the science talk and half of the "we need to be better" talk. If those were not in the film, this movie would've been a thousand times better. That's not to say that it isn't a thousand times better than other movies that have come out. Because it is, yet it isn't. This is an incredible film that reached too far and was incapable of doing all it set out to do. And that is fine for me. It is also fine for Nolan haters who see it as the living proof of him being a hack. It is also fine for the Nolan fans who admire the ambition. In the end it is still an incredible film that suffers with a horrible ending and too much exposition for its own good. This is the movie experience of the year, but not the greatest movie of the year. 

SCORE: 7.5/10 - This movie will become a classic, but in 30 years from now

Doctor Who - 8x08 Mummy on the Orient Express - Review

Classic

That is the best way to describe this episode of Doctor Who. The Doctor and... Clara... embark on their final adventure together. But while The Doctor and Clara hoped that this final rendezvous would just be a quiet one to end their run on a whimper, it instead winds up being a lot more than they bargained for. A mysterious force is killing passengers on board space train, and another even more mysterious force wants to control it.

The best way to describe this episode's opening minutes with the Doctor is "shocking." Mainly because once he stepped out of the T.A.R.D.I.S. he was immediately followed by someone fans were not expecting: Clara. Given the way things ended in the previous episode, it was believed by many fans that Clara was going to be gone for a while. No one actually believed her to be gone for good for this series, but no one expected her to be back this soon. So, in short, this is suppose to be the "break up" adventure. It was brilliant marketing to keep Clara out of the promos in order to make fans believe that she's gone. However it does seem weird that her return is so abrupt given how things ended last time. And this episode does not help her case of wanting to leave him.

This time around, instead of deciding whether to kill a gigantic baby to save the world, it is how many people you have to kill in order to discover the truth? That is because on board the train, people are seeing a creature called The Foretold, which is essentially the Mummy from classic horror cinema. The creature has a specific method of killing in which it appears in the vicinity of its next victim then takes 66 seconds to kill the victim. It is all very methodical and very specific. And by chance, on this train ride there just happens to be several individuals who seem perfectly fit for studying the creature. And that is when the real game begins, as it is revealed that the A.I. that supports the train has been taken over by someone called, Gus. This Gus has gathered these individuals onto the train specifically for the purpose of studying the creature and figuring out a way to capture it. Even if it means every single one of them has to die.

This puts The Doctor in an impossible choice once again. The only way to study the creature is from the individuals who see it and only have 66 seconds to explain everything they can. And since it has a pattern of targeting the weak first then working its way up to the strong, The Doctor is literally the last on The Foretold's hit list as he knows if he were to see the creature within that 66 second time limit he would know how to handle it. What this situation does is that it reenforces the concept of The Dark Doctor that many were introduced to in Capaldi's run. He shows no concern for individuals who are literally about to die because to him they are dead already and can't be saved. Instead of comforting these individuals he prods them for information, with the only thing close to comfort coming from the Doctor is him saying that whatever information is given can possibly save the next victim. Because as I stated before, he has already declared the victims dead before their time is up. It is a ruthless methodology that Clara is once again angry with because of how callous the Doctor has been acting.

This episode is ultimately a companion piece to the previous episode, Kill the Moon. Both episodes are about making hard decisions when there doesn't seem to be any good choices. Kill the Moon was more or less The Doctor giving the hard choice to Clara so that she can see what type of hard choices he has to make on a near daily basis. In here, Clara is once again exposed to his hard choice, but this time she sees how The Doctor deals with it. And in the end, it is this revelation of how they both view the problem and the best way to solve are not so different from one another after all. In a sense it is really meant as a way to get Clara to understand that The Doctor is a dick, but it's not because he wants to be, it's because the situation requires him to be one.

While it is abrupt to have Clara return after the events of the previous episode, this was a good way of resolving what happened. And it was done in Classic Doctor Who fashion. Having seen some of Tom Baker's seasons on Netflix as the Fourth Doctor, this episode pretty much was a big love letter to Baker's Doctor. From dealing with a monstrous mummy and all the way down to the sour candy reference. It is an incredible episode as it compliments what came before. However I don't know if as a standalone that level would be the same. Still, this is definitely showing that Capaldi is The Dark Doctor, but not by choice because the universe forces him to be. And Clara hopefully understands that now.

SCORE: 9.5/10 - This gets bonus points for being a love letter to the Fourth Doctor
STATUS: Continue to Watch - Things just seem to keep getting better and better

Review of Previous Episode - CLICK HERE

Doctor Who - 8x07 Kill the Moon - Review

Human nature

In this outing of Doctor Who, The Doctor is told by Clara to apologize to her student, Courtney Woods, for telling her that she's nothing special. Instead of directly apologizing though, he takes both of them on a trip to the Moon. A trip that takes them to the year 2049, where they learn that an astronaut team was sent to the satellite with one mission: DESTROY THE MOON!

I should point out that I had some weird flashbacks of Bryan Fuller's failed pilot that was retrofitted into a TV movie for SyFy called High Moon. While both of them do deal with discovering life on the Moon and wearing cool space suits, that is the only comparison that I can really bring up. But to that point, there is something on the Moon. And apparently the Mexican Space Station was the first to discover it. Or would've had the bragging rights to discover it if they weren't killed by that new form of life. And yay for Mexico for having a space station on the moon in the future. But the discovery of life on the Moon is actually why Captain Lundvik (guest star, Hermione Norris) is sent to destroy the Moon. That and other things.

Apparently the Moon has gained weight, and that is probably because of the new signs of life. It is this change of mass and gravity change that is effecting the entire planet. It has gotten so bad that Capt. Lundvik even states that her mission is intended to be the final mission to the Moon, because they have to blow it up in order to stop all the calamities from happening on Earth. But the Doctor discovers something else about the planet. The new life forms that they discovered are actually bacteria. Gigantic bacteria. The kind you would see covering an eggshell. The big revelation? The Moon is an Egg! And it is about to hatch!

Now comes the great problem that The Doctor, Clara, Courtney, and Lundvik are confronted with: kill the creature before it is born or let it hatch and possibly wreak havoc on Earth? That is a tough call. This is probably a very touchy subject that sounds like an abortion brought to an extremely epic scale. So this is really a powerful subject to have in the series as sort of an indirect way of bringing up the subject of abortions. The Moon is an egg about to hatch, with the embryo fully developed. And now here comes astronaut Captain Lundvik and her space shuttle filled with enough nuclear bombs to blow up the Moon. This is definitely an abortion brought to large scale. While the show really doesn't delve too much on the subject, because the subject is more directed towards the human need to survive.

The Doctor does something unthinkable and puts the decision in the hands of Clara, Lundvik and Courtney on whether or not they should kill the hatching Moon, while he goes off doing... what the Doctor does. So now the trio is left alone. Lundvik gives her points that the lives of millions of people are more important than the life of a single creature, who can possibly destroy the world or its hatching may cause more cataclysms. Clara brings up the point that there is always an alternative and that we don't know if the creature's birth will destroy the world while also bringing up that it is the last of its kind. While Courtney gives the most simplest argument and probably the one with the most meaning: She doesn't want to kill a baby. It is interesting how Clara seems to have the same view as Courtney but because she's an adult, she has to rationalize and make sense of things. Whereas with Courtney being a young girl, her view is simplified, but it is also the most profound argument of why not to kill the Moon.

I will not give the outcome here, but it should be known that the Doctor knew what the outcome was going to be all along. But instead of telling the trio the right answer, he forces them into a difficult decision in hopes that they would come up with the right answer themselves. It is this thinking that causes Clara to have a fallout with the Doctor. She couldn't believe that the Doctor would put her in that situation, a situation that could determine the very fate of the entire planet. Her anger is justified as The Doctor does know the outcome but the debate that Clara, Lundvik and Courtney had to go through put all of them through hell. It is fascinating how it took this moment to really show Clara how cold and calculating The Doctor is. Capaldi hasn't been acting as The Dark Doctor we've seen from the first three episodes of his run, but his decision to leave a life or death decision to three people is more darker than anything he's done in his run. So it is no surprise that Clara leaves The Doctor because of this. Yeah... she leaves him. And I have to say, Jenna Louise Coleman's portrayal of Clara during that final confrontation is the best acting I've seen from her in a run that has show just how much range she has. I just hope that her leave isn't permanent. If it is... well, the Doctor always moves on. And so must we.

SCORE: 9/10 - A powerful end to a strong friendship

STATUS: Continue to Watch - Time for some Solo Capaldi Episodes!

Review of Previous Episode - Click Here
Review of Next Episode - CLICK HERE

Doctor Who - 8x06 The Caretaker - Review

It's not easy being one of the saviors of the universe

Especially when you're essentially living a double life. That is what Clara is beginning to realize after she started dating Danny Pink. There's life with The Doctor, which means crazy time traveling and universe saving. Then there's reality. A life that Clara didn't seem to care too much before meeting Danny. And in this episode, Clara's two lives head to a collision course as The Doctor becomes the temporary caretaker of Coal Hill School. The school that Clara and Danny Pink work at.

It was bound to happen eventually. Especially given all the hints that the audience was given about how this confrontation would go down. And it also really becomes clear how much of life with The Doctor is interfering with her chance to have a normal one. One would think it is odd that she didn't feel this way in the previous series. But then again, as I stated above, that was before she met Danny. No, before Danny, Clara was never concerned about her real personal life. Part of that was due to her crush on Matt Smith's Doctor. While as much as she wants to deny that she did not view him in a romantic way, The Time of the Doctor Christmas Special pretty much revealed that she does secretly want him. But given that The Doctor looks like her father, or grandfather, her sights have been set on more human connection. And that human connection starts to show her how crazy her life is.

It shows from Clara's reaction to the Doctor's appearance as the new caretaker of the school. She never had to worry about her personal life colliding with her "hobby" until this moment. And in this moment that is when she really starts to try to control the situation. She doesn't want her lives to collide. She wants them separate. And also, Clara knows that if The Doctor is at the school, something horrible is going to happen. Meaning that her two separate lives will get really mixed up. 

The reason for The Doctor's appearance at the legendary Coal Hill School, a staple in Doctor Who Lore, is because there is an automaton that could destroy the entire planet living nearby. If people had thought that The Doctor has lost his wacky nature, he hasn't. This episode still contains Capaldi's dry and sarcastic delivery that makes him the Capaldi Doctor, but he is definitely doing things that The Doctor is known to do: failing to blend in. Especially when he tries to blend in as the school's new caretaker. It is probably the most comedic take that Capaldi has done, and the comedy is extremely sarcastic yet lovable. It is at this point that I think it is no longer appropriate to call him The Dark Doctor anymore. Sure there is a moment when he exclaims to Danny, "I'm not using Clara as a decay, I'm using her like a decoy," which is still pretty dark, but not as dark as we've seen him in the first two episodes of his run.

Speaking of Danny, this episode is after all dedicated to that fateful confrontation between him and The Doctor. The build up was nice, with The Doctor posing as The Caretaker continuously insisting that Danny is a P.E. teacher because in his mind soldiers can't be math teachers. It automatically sells the audience what he thinks of Danny, and just exactly how these two are going to get along. I'm not going to leave it a mystery if they both discover who the other is because that is the point of this episode. And it is handled really well. It was a confrontation and revelation filled with a lot of ferocity as well as the need to be the alpha male. It is an interplay viewers will have previously seen between Matt Smith's Doctor and Rory, except while Danny is more of an alpha male than Rory and Capaldi's Doctor is pretty much a more convincing alpha male than Matt Smith. This interplay happens in front of Clara, who still continues to try and keep her two worlds separate, but it is too late. The animosity between The Doctor and Danny was handled at the right level where it didn't become too annoying.

This episode really puts a mirror in front of Clara when Danny asks her, who is she? It is a question that she thought she knew the answer to, but with the universal revelation given to Danny, the answer is no longer simple. But when she does come to the answer, it once again adds to her character in ways that she is not even aware.

In short, it was a fun episode. A good confrontation. And good development for Clara. 

SCORE: 8/10 - Another whimsical episode that adds to Clara's character development

STATUS: Continue to Watch - I don't think Danny is going to be a traveling companion

Review of Previous Episode - Click Here

Review of Next Episode - Click Here

Doctor Who - 8x05 Time Heist - Review

Time to rob the most impenetrable bank in the Universe

In this outing, right before Clara can go on her second date with Danny Pink, The Doctor receives a phone call. A phone call that results to both of them appearing in a room holding worms with two complete strangers. Their memories of how they got to that point have been erased, thanks to said worms, and the only clue they have is a message from someone called The Architect. Their mission: Rob the Impenetrable Bank. A Time Lord, a Teacher, a Human Computer and a Shape Shifter. Sounds like the right crew for the job.

This episode just might be the most familiar Doctor Who episode yet. I say that since it has been a long time since I referred to Peter Capaldi as The Dark Doctor. I recall only using that for the first two episodes only to have it be briefly mentioned in the third episode review then forgotten all together with subsequent episodes. It is strange that such a dark and grim Doctor seems to be transitioning more closer to a Doctor that Who fans have loved from the reboot. He is still strict and still holds himself more seriously, yet his really dark moments seem to be subdued. Although I say subdued, that doesn't mean that he isn't dark anymore. Just not as dark as he has been for the first two episodes of the series.

This also seems to be the first time that The Doctor is front and center as the main driving force. When the motley crew of amnesiac bank robbers assemble, the Doctor automatically declares himself team leader. It was nice to finally have him back in the driver's seat, mainly because the previous episodes of this series seem to dominantly focus on building Clara's character. Which is fine as many believed her to be a very weak character in the previous season. But really, we want to see The Doctor in command.

They're tasked by a mysterious individual calling himself The Architect to rob something from Karabraxos, the impenetrable bank. An impossible feat as it has security systems that would make a hyper paranoid Batman proud. And if you're going to rob a bank, you're going to need a crew. Mainly two new individual called Psi and Saibra. Psi is an augmented human with computer technology merged into his brain. His skill in hacking into computer systems and breaking vaults make him an obvious candidate for the job. Saibra is a mutant human who has the ability to transform into anyone she touches all the way down to the molecular level. This proves valuable as the security measures of Karabraxos scans everything about a person, including their DNA. But what is interesting about these two characters is how they are slight reflections of The Doctor.

Psi didn't had to wipe his memory by touching a memory worm, he was completely capable of doing that to himself. Being a computer allows him to do such a thing. However even though he loses those memories and still goes on with life, he can't help but feeling that he just lost any connection with those who cared about him. Then of course there is Saibra who transforms into people she touches, which is disconcerting to many. As she points out, individuals hate staring at another version of themselves as it reminds them of the flaws they hate about themselves. Both of these are very strong relations to the current Doctor we have. There are things in his memory that he wishes to forget but he knows he can't for the sake of protecting those he cares about. And if anything, the memory of the War Doctor, who is in a way a reflection of himself, still haunts him as to what he can become. These themes play well into what this episode is building to, as it really is about self reflection as we study who the Doctor of Doctor Who is now.

But of course, no Doctor Who episode is complete without terrifying villains. Ms. Delphox, played by Keeley Hawes, is the current manager of Karabraxos. She possesses a very icy cold demeanor yet very professional that it makes her seem completely detached from what is right and wrong. Her one dedication is to uphold the reputation of the Bank as being the most impenetrable in the universe. People who own entire star systems use this bank, meaning that is big investment to be had. And if you're going to be running the most powerful bank in the world, you have to be detached from greed. But that's not all that is needed to protect the bank. Ms. Delphox also has a mysterious creature she calls, "The Teller," as their greatest security. Kept in chains and a straitjacket, the Teller has the ability to sniff out guilt, making him the perfect hound dog for bank security. He is also the perfect attack dog as his ability also allows him to feed off of memories to the point where its target's brain become mush. The fact that it can sniff out guilt offers a perfect obstacle for The Doctor, a man who is literally filled with guilt. He is probably one of the most creative characters to come on to Doctor Who this series so far, and I hope we'll see more creative creatures like this one soon.

All in all though, if you've seen great heist movies with Ocean's Eleven being the prime example, you can pretty much piece together where this story is going. All the ideas of memories, guilt, and hating your own reflection are all part of the central theme of this series. It all boils down to a finale that may come off as a little disappointing, but not as disappointing as the ending of the previous episode. This was definitely a fun good romp for The Doctor to be The Doctor, and it really shows just how amazingly well Peter Capaldi is suited for this role. It seems we now have a grasp of what kind of Doctor Capalidi is going for, but the idea of the Dark Doctor still looms over him. We'll just have to see if the darkness from him returns. But with episodes like this, I'm fine with waiting for the darkness a little longer.

SCORE: 8.7/10 - Nice to see The Doctor taking charge of the situation once again
STATUS: Continue to Watch - Things just keep getting better

Review of Previous Episode - Click Here
Review of Next Episode - Click Here

High Moon - Analysis and Review

"Welcome to the Odd Side of the Moon"

Usually the phrase "Syfy Original Movie" often gets followed by the word, shark. However luckily this time, that is not the case. But to call this a Syfy Original Movie seems to be the wrong word. In reality it should be referred to as, "A Syfy Pilot for a Series that never got the full order." That sounds about right. And who created this 90 minutes Pilot... I mean TV Movie? Well, none other than the man notorious for creating wonderful shows that don't last past season 2 with the exception of NBC's Hannibal, Bryan Fuller.

The Plot

Return to a futuristic world as imagined by the 60s, where the Moon has become a resource mined by all the major nations of the world. And on this dead planet, a flower is found blooming. An impossible feat. But that is only the beginning of many strange occurrences on the Moon as political intrigue and signs of conspiracy begin to unravel in this quirky, zany, campy throwback sci-fi.

Analysis

Bryan Fuller is either one of the most creative geniuses in television, or the most unluckiest. Before his moderately successful yet critically acclaimed show Hannibal got renewed for a Third Season, there was a time when any show Bryan created would be doomed to end either on the pilot or if lucky the second season. I never realized I was a fan of his shows through the years, as when I saw them I wasn't interested in the people behind television shows. But I do clearly remember a weird show called Wonder Falls about a grad student who has unwanted conversations with inanimate objects who want to guide her through her life. I wasn't wowed by the show, probably because I was too young to understand how clever it was, yet for some reason I kept watching each week. However that only resulted into me watching for four weeks straight because it got canceled after four episodes. Luckily I would learn recently that the show had filmed its entire season with a definite ending and is now out on DVD for fans to experience without the fear of cancellation.

It would only be years later that another weird show would pop up called Pushing Daisies. The story about a pie maker who is cursed with the ability to kill those he touches but bring dead people back to life but only under a minute or else someone has to die to take the place of the resurrected. That sounds morbid, but it is actually funny. It was like watching a colorful Tim Burton show with a dash of Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The world was highly stylized and resembles more of an exaggerated children's storybook that just happens to be telling adult stories. That sounds like an unusual clash, but it worked out beautifully well. And luckily, this show managed to make it to Season 2. But once again, despite being critically praised and Emmy nominated, it was canceled. But luckily once again, Fuller and his writers were able to deliver a definite ending for all the stories told in Season 2.  

Apparently there was another show on cable that he created called Dead Like Me about a woman who becomes  a Grim Reaper. I haven't seen it personally, but as I predicted, it was canceled after Season 2. Starting to see a pattern with Fuller's work?

It is astonishing though that someone as imaginative and talented as him gets so much praise yet such little viewership concerning his shows. They are so out the box and very weird, that it really does take a specific audience to watch. However, as most critics are not the specific target audience and they love his work regardless, it shows just how brilliant this guy is. But again, his shows just don't have broad appeal. Even his reboot of the classic The Munsters series called Mockingbird Lane was not picked up for a full series, but NBC liked the pilot directed by Bryan Singer so much that they premiered it as a Halloween special. So I am glad that Fuller finally found true success with Hannibal, but I'm also disappointed that despite that success, he still can't get another show started. Which leads us to this little sci-fi gem.

Review

High Moon was not meant to be a movie. It was designed to be a TV Show adaptation of a Young Adult Novel called The Lotus Caves. And from this 80 minute film (90 minutes with commercials) it is obvious that this was always meant to be a Pilot. And with that being said, it would be an excellent crammed first episode, not a movie. 

The show is basically a mash up of several different sci-fi and Sean Connery James Bond films from the 60s during the Cold War. The plot focuses heavily on an American Convict, forced to become a miner on the Moon, discovering a red flower growing on the Moon's surface. This leads to a chain of events that has him labeled as a delusional terrorist who might be working for the Russians, who have been trying to steal from the American mining facilities on the Moon. This brings in the Convict's well connected government official Brother who goes there to discover the truth. Of course if finding a flower on the moon sounds weird, how about Indian assassins, gay Russian spy cyborgs, and gigantic robotic dinosaurs sound? Yeah, there is a lot going on in this "movie."

It should be commended however with how much this Pilot is able to stand on its own as a movie. It does have an ending that resolves the greater plot issues of the story being told, but the ending does leave the viewer wanting to know what happens next. After all a movie is suppose to have broad character arcs and development in order to be called a movie. A show operates on a different level in that the pilot is suppose to introduce you to the world and the characters where they currently stand with their personalities but giving hints of how they will develop later. In other words, there is mini character development in this "film." It is enough for viewers who believe this to be a film to be called efficient development, but it is never large development. However that doesn't mean none of the characters get any development.

Jonathan Tucker plays Stanislov, the aforementioned gay Russian spy cyborg who may or may not be working for the U.S. against the Russian Military stationed on the Moon. He is definitely not the main character, that title goes to the convict and his government brother, but seeing as how I can't remember the names of the other characters except for him and one other player, he definitely stood out the most. Stanislov is the very definition of what Bryan Fuller intended this show to be: James Bond in Space...but good. He is a spy, and being an amputee gives him robotic limbs that act like very James Bond like gadgets. He's Russian, and did I also mention he's gay? He is probably the most fascinating character in the show and the only memorable one. Which could kind of explain why this pilot become a TV movie, because if you can't remember the names of the main characters that does seem like a bad sign. That's not to say that the characters were badly done, because the government brother played by Chris Diamantopoulos actually has some really memorable lines. Particularly an ultra serious conversation about politics with a military general that is filled with breakfast metaphors. But again, none of the main characters are really memorable.

No it really is our gay Russian spy cyborg, Stan, and the sweetly cold Eve Smythe, played by Charity Wakefield, who come off as more memorable. Smythe is probably more memorable because her cold yet unnervingly sweet personality and look at me clothes heavily contrasts the other characters in the show. There is a Japanese character who makes an appearance as the operator of a gigantic robot T-Rex on the Moon, but she didn't have too much character as it is obvious they were planning on saving her for later episodes. So in all out honesty, this show fails in making us care about our main characters, but the story is definitely layered. 

What was being told in this episode is a very nice tale of political intrigue with a bit of sci-fi campiness to make for a strange entertaining flick. Again, while the story does keep developing and interesting ways (did I mention Gigantic Robotic T-Rex) with a very satisfying ending it does leave a level of dissatisfaction that we're only scratching the surface. Too many things happened in this film that could've easily been streamlined to three episodes had it been picked up as a series. I've seen this happened before with NBC's show, Revolution, which had a Pilot that crammed a story worth 5 episodes into a single one in order to get to the fun stuff more quickly. However, I have to reiterate again that while it is crammed, for some reason it still works. Even when we don't exactly remember character names, it still seems to work smoothly.

The throwbacks to the 60s era sci-fi movies and pulp comics are present in this "film," and it is a welcome change from the usual gritty science fiction that we have on TV. It is very whimsical with the right amount of campy and seriousness mixed into a strange tone that is definitely something created by Bryan Fuller. I love the world that was created, and I commend the production design team for bringing back this retro look to contrast with everything else. It is a welcome visual change and is the only visual style that would work for this type of show... I mean... TV movie.

Final Thoughts

Come on, you have to admit that this is F***ING COOL!

It really saddens me that Fuller once again can't get a show on the air. You'd think that with Hannibal's success, this wouldn't be a problem, but alas it was not meant to be. But it really is a strong testament to the power and talent that Fuller has. How often do pilots for unpicked shows get to be aired on television? Rarely. And he's done it twice now. So it saddens me that this "weird James Bond in Space" show will never happen. But I'm glad that the pilot reminds us of Fuller's roots as a writer on Star Trek Voyager and the first season of Heroes. I hope to see him back in the realm of Science Fiction again. But for now, I hope Hannibal can make it to Season Four and that his next show American Gods can at least make it to Season One. Till then, this was a nice reminder of a simpler sci-fi world when things can be fun, weird, political, and smart all at the same time. We'll just never see it again.

SCORE: 7/10 - A lot of potential for a series ultimately wasted as a TV movie

Doctor Who - 8x04 Listen - Review

"Fear is your superpower."

The episode opens up with a question: What if you're never really alone? What if something exists for the sole purpose of hiding. And what would that thing thrive off of from having that ability to hide perfectly? That is what The Doctor tries to discover, as the only clue he has is a single world written on a chalkboard: LISTEN.

This episode is about confronting fear and how we draw our strength from it. Simple as that. And it also deals mainly with something that seems to be a growing theme of this series: Capaldi's Doctor is paranoid. The episode opens with him deciphering how evolution has allowed creatures to become either perfect hunters and perfect defenders yet never perfect hiders. Though I can argue about the insect kingdom, it does beg the question about what if something exists that just wants to hide? The Doctor becomes obsessed with the question to the point where he starts locking on to the idea of recurring nightmares and the sounds we hear at night. What if those sounds are not the sounds we tell ourselves they are but coming from this perfect hider. 

Of course the Doctor couldn't confront this menace alone as he brings along his companion, Clara. By the end of this episode, the word companion will have a much stronger meaning to the Doctor than probably ever before. Lately the episodes seem to put a real prime focus on Jenna Louise Coleman's Clara. Some may see this as a setback for not putting the Doctor front and center, especially with a talent such as Peter Capaldi at the reins. But for those who feel that Clara was not that strong of a character in her first tenure as a companion in series 7 will definitely be thankful for all this screen time and focus. We get a lot more nuances from her in this episode and it really is making her something special. When promoting the 50th anniversary special, her and Elisabeth Sladen's Sarah Jane were the only companions used in a trailer chronicling the 50 years of Doctor Who, which it seems to slightly acknowledge their slight similarities yet major differences. I do believe that there is something special about Clara that could make her a Sarah Jane level companion, and this series is definitely building her as one. And most of that stems from her interactions with Samuel Anderson's Danny Pink in this episode.

Yes, Mr. Pink returns and he finally gets that date with Clara. However this episode takes place after the date while doing a clever use of showing a devastated Clara returning home to flashbacks of the date showing that she is pretty much to blame for things going bad. Here we really get to learn more about Pink, from not just Sam Anderson's interpretation, but a young Danny Pink as well. Yes, when the Doctor brings up the notion of locating the source of the recurring nightmare, he uses Clara's memories to trace back her experience with the nightmare. However as she had Danny on the mind, instead they wind up meeting a young Danny's experience with the recurring nightmare and how this encounter pretty much shaped the man Clara will fall for in his adulthood. The Doctor makes constant references to finding out how is he connected to her memory timeline, while it is obvious to us why as well as to Clara that there may be more to their future than just a small crush and encounter involving nightmares. It does a great job in showing two people who have both been through a lot yet have high defense mechanisms in wanting to hide what they really are, and it is handled really well in this outing.

It all of course comes full circle when the episode decides to show us the future of Clara and Pink's connection by meeting Orson Pink, also played by Samuel Anderson, who is a future descendent Danny Pink. He is a time traveler, which apparently runs in the family, and his time travel mission goes wrong by being sent to the end of the universe. And here we get to see a play on the shortest horror story ever told:

The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door...

Again, drawing back to the Doctor's obsession with finding this mysterious being that tells him to, "listen." And he does. And there is a knock on the door of Orson's time machine. A knock that should not be possible as it is the end of the universe and everyone is dead, save for the time travelers in a shabby time machine and the TARDIS. When we get the answer to the question of who this entity is and what it wants, it could be considered a letdown. However the origin of where it stems from, this constant nightmare all across time, is probably one of the best moments of the reboot in this series. Again, the reveal brings up more questions than answers, for instance you'll be wondering what that business in young Danny's room was about then, but still the moment used as the Origin of this problem adds a whole new layer to the Doctor's mythology. It just may not have worked out well as writer Moffat would've liked.

SCORE: 8.5/10 - It was nice seeing the development of Clara and Pink

STATUS: Continue to watch, hoping another Doctor Centric episode will be next

Review of Previous Episode - Click Here
Review of Next Episode - Click Here

Guardians of the Galaxy - Analysis and Review

Hooked on a feeling. I'm high on believing!

Marvel Studios has reached the point where they can do whatever the hell they want. And by getting James Gunn to be the guy for their "whatever the hell we want" project... I'm so glad they did.

The Plot

After being abducted by aliens at a young age, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) has now become a notorious rogue feared across the galaxy... according to him. But when his latest job to steal a mysterious object brings his weird world colliding into even weirder territory, he finds himself joining forces with an assassin (Zoe Saldana) sent to kill him; a pair of bounty hunters (Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel) who want to collect him; and a psychopath (Dave Bautista) who...is along for the ride for his own reasons. They will collide against a religious racist fanatic (Lee Pace) and a cyborg with daddy issues (Karen Gillan) featuring an appearance by Djimon Hounsou in order to save the galaxy.

Analysis

The fact that this is the ninth movie made by Marvel Studios and their biggest risk shows that they are fully confident with their properties. But the greatest showcase of that confidence was getting a talent like James Gunn on board. Rarely have I ever wanted to see a director succeed in the business more than Gunn. I was a huge fan of Slither and Super, so I knew right away that he'd be the ONLY guy who could pull off something this insane. Especially since this is not a big name property.

It's true. I may have a lot of knowledge about Marvel and be one of the few people to know who the Guardians of the Galaxy are, but I never read their comics. I know that there was a recent reboot a couple of years ago in order to gain interest in the property, which is how I learned about it. But from what I've been reading about it, it's not that interesting. Which is a shame because these are interesting characters. Yet apparently you have to be a really big supporter of Marvel in order to get into these characters. However, by interesting I mean there is something unique about them that makes them stand out from the cliche characters they are. But that doesn't mean none of them aren't unique. Namely Rocket Raccoon, the only reason people would take an interest in picking up the comics. Just to see a Raccoon wielding a gigantic gun. But other than him and maybe Groot, there really isn't much to do with them. 

The fact that they're not well known or well liked (aside from Rocket and Groot) becomes a major advantage for Gunn. The chance to do something crazy, while at the same time show that these characters can be interesting. Does he succeed?

Review

The characters in this movie are the reasons to watch this movie. Literally. With the dialogue of James Gunn's writing flowing through these characters, they become some of the most interesting Marvel characters to inhabit this Cinematic Universe in a long time. The fact that I stated they're not interesting in my Analysis section says a lot about how much they are definitely the soul of this movie.

You have Star Lord aka Peter Quill played by Chris Pratt. The once chubby guy on Parks and Rec is now on the road to becoming a huge movie star. His devil may care charm will remind many of Harrison Ford's two legendary roles as well as a remembrance of the magic that Robert Downey Jr. brought to the role of Tony Stark. He played the role brilliantly with a lot of wit and flair. Then there is the now official modern queen of sci-fi Zoe Saldana who takes on the role of Gamora, daughter of the Mad Titan. While her character may be the weakest of the bunch as she's more subdued as being a violent person who wants to be a better person, it does not take away from the fact that Saldana can convince you that she is a monster (a sexy one) who wants to change her ways. Then there's a surprisingly great and funny performance by wrestler Dave Bautista as the crazy literal Drax the Destroyer. He may not be as great of an actor as his fellow wrestler Dwayne Johnson, but in the role of Drax he delivers as a psychopath with a singular goal. But all out honesty, the real stand out performances of the film are its two CGI characters: Rocket and Groot.

Rocket and Groot were not motion capture like the way Andy Serkis has been rolling, but that doesn't exempt their respective actors Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel from delivering great vocal performances. Cooper does an amazing job as the angry sarcastic raccoon who doesn't know he's a raccoon. He was definitely the scene stealer of the movie, along with his house plant Groot. While I'll never understand why Vin Diesel was chosen to play a role that only required him to say three words, he still did a lot with his voice to make sure the innocent creature in a bad crowd comes to life. Though it does seem like a waste to have Vin Diesel and not exploit what he's good at, he still does a good job. Which brings me to another point: This movie is a waste of talent.

By talent I mean the actors and actresses playing the villains and background characters feel like wasted opportunities. First off you have Lee Pace, an incredibly underrated actor who auditioned to play Star Lord but instead plays the film's primary villain. Did not care about him. Did not buy his political views. Did not buy his racism. Did not even buy his radical religious views. All I saw was a really talented guy that Marvel felt sorry for not giving him the lead role but instead put him in the movie as a rather dumb evil villain for the sake of being evil. Wasted. Then there's Karen Gillan from Doctor Who fame playing Nebula, Gamora's sister. Again. Do not buy her motivations against Gamora. Do not buy her need to betray her father. I do buy her as evil and easy on the eyes despite being half robot. Wasted. Djimon Hounsou plays Korath. Shows up for the opening scene. Shows up for the middle important scene. Shows up for the end battle. Does nothing impressive. Wasted. Then you have background (I'd call them supporting but eh) characters. Glen Close as Nova Prime. Could've gotten any woman to play that role. Wouldn't have made a single difference. John C. Reily playing a Nova Corps. officer. Anyone could've played that role. He does something important, but then again an extra could've played that role. Benicio Del Toro as The Collector. The most interesting thing he did was not in this movie but in the post credits scene at the end of Thor: The Dark World. Was he good in here? No. Was he important? Yes. Was he still wasted? Definitely. It seemed really pointless having all these talented people in this movie only to have them do small stuff that wouldn't have made a difference to the movie if not cast. The Winter Soldier had Robert f***ing Redford in the movie and he's not a waste of talent. This just feels like a bunch of famous or talented people wanting to be in the movie just because its part of Marvel. While it makes sense career wise, this just seems dumb.

The only supporting character (see that I said supporting) played by a talented actor who is not wasted is Michael Rooker as Yondu. He was definitely one of the many surprises of the movie and he's in the movie a lot more than one might think. Which is why he doesn't feel wasted, because he's given a lot more to do.

And the story is nothing new. It is a standard Marvel story. If you watch it then you'll notice a huge pattern in Marvel movies now. However that doesn't prevent it from being fun. Because believe me, the movie is really fun.

Final Thoughts

Despite my qualms with the waste of a talented supporting cast, I have to once again bring the praise back to the main cast. Pratt, Saldana, Cooper, Diesel, and Bautista are the main reasons you should watch this movie. Even though Saldana and Cooper are proven powerful actors, it is incredible to watch them with a rising star and two genre actors who are giving it their all. Sure, the story is not great. Sure, the villains are not impressive. But watching a movie about the interactions of these characters is way more entertaining than watching the interactions of The Avengers. Yeah, they're that good. So watch for these incredible characters brought to life by these great actors.

SCORE: 8/10 - The best cast of characters ever assembled, versus dull wasted talent

PS: The after credits scene is of Howard The Duck. Just saying that because if you're expecting something awesome, there isn't anything awesome. It is just Howard the Duck. Funny, but only to people who know who Howard The Duck is. If you don't know who that is, don't stay for the post credits.

Lucy - Analysis and Review

The Dr. Manhattan movie starring Scarlett Johansson

If you know who Dr. Manhattan is, then you pretty much know where I'm going with this. If you don't then just read the review.

The Plot

When Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) gets tricked by her boyfriend to deliver a briefcase to some shady people, her life goes spiraling out of control. She is forced to become a drug mule for a new drug that gets sealed insider her stomach, along with three other strangers. However while in temporary captivity before she makes her drug run, her captors savagely beat her which causes the drugs to enter her system. This drug begins amplifying her brain capacity to a level far beyond what anyone can imagine. And a ruthless drug lord is unaware of what kind of goddess he created.

Analysis

The once widely accepted belief that humans only use 10% of their brain capacity has recently been proven false. At the time that Bradley Cooper's film Limitless tackled a similar idea it wasn't met with a lot of hostility as much as this film. I'm putting that out there because I know there are several film critics, youtubers, and various other individuals who call bull shit on this premise. They hate this "archaic" defunct belief so much that they automatically assume the movie is stupid for still holding on to a now false theory. But the thing about it is, even though I know this, it really serves the purpose of the story. I'm not going to defend its scientific inaccuracy mainly because stories require something to drive them, and that is what this movie needed. 

Review

When I think about this movie as a whole, I think of it as really cool ideas that never really figured out how to work properly. Yet at the same time while it may not mesh well together, that's not to say it isn't entertaining. It is weird though. From opening the film with a prehistoric woman to immediately jump cutting to modern times with very little idea of pacing or how to properly do so was very jarring. The editing of National Geographic footage in scenes in order to sell a metaphorical point was kind of weird. This movie is just weird. I like weird. Did I say this movie was weird?

This movie is like a weird mash up of the best sci-fi films (ex. 2001: A Space Odyssey) and the best sci-fi animes (ex. Akira) that don't really add up to much. We're not really sure what is the drive of the story because when one believes the plot will be one thing it might also be about another but turns out to be neither. 

When Johansson's Lucy gains her superhuman powers, she becomes emotionless and is driven solely by...... nothing. One would think that a woman who gets abused by the Korean mafia would seek out revenge, but that wasn't the case. Because she becomes emotionless, when the opportunity comes to kill the man responsible (played by Oldboy's Choi Min-sik) for her abuse, she doesn't kill him. Simply because she is no longer driven by anger. She does gain a mission of wanting to spread her newly acquired knowledge after talking to an expert in the field (played by Morgan Freeman) but that does not seem so urgent. It is not what propels the story forward. In fact she is so emotionless and so invincible that one may not be able to find anything relatable to her. 

There was one singular plot point that could've been the drive of the whole movie. Lucy wasn't the only one who had drugs sewn inside their bellies. And in a scene where she discovers that she is disintegrating and requires more of the drugs to keep her alive, we finally see some vulnerability to the invulnerable character. So one would think that she has to hunt down those other three drug mules in order to keep herself alive. No, she gets the police led by a French detective played by Amr Waked to do the hunt for her. It completely takes away something that could've been the central drive of the story, but then again seeing as how Lucy has evolved too emotionless and extremely efficient, she knows how to handle things more easily. 

To put it simply, you're watching this movie because you're fascinated by what Lucy is eventually going to become. You're not watching it because the story is so engaging, because it almost doesn't exist. And despite having Choi Min-sik playing the villain (who does an excellent job in I saw the Devil) he is not really given much to do other than shoot people that piss him off. So really, you're only interested in watching because you're more fascinated into what Lucy is turning into rather than whatever story they're trying to tell.

I'll give the supporting cast a unified decent performances all across the board. Waked was a good detective and...love interest? Choi Min-sik does mysterious evil well...mainly because there was nothing else about his character other than he's evil. Morgan Freeman was...Morgan Freeman. It is really Johansson who delivers a great performance. However the performance was so emotionless because she evolved to not feel emotions that it is hard for one to connect with her. So....it is great to watch but not a very compelling performance.

I should note that there are several special effects shots in this movie that look like they belong in a PS3 game rather than a movie. They're passable, but compared to other special effects films this year, this was weak in comparison. Given their low budget, it is indeed impressive that the effects are as polished as they are. But again, having been spoiled by films that cost five times the price of this movie, the effects just come off as weird. Which is fine because...this thing is weird.

Final Thoughts

Lucy is an enjoyable experience just to discover what the end result of the titular character's evolution will be. If you were expecting a revenge story in which a woman gains superpowers and abuses them on those who wronged her, this is not that movie. The villains in the movie think its that movie, but the main character has evolved far beyond the plot to even care what the villains think. It is a fun watch and nothing more.

SCORE: 6.5/10 - I'd definitely buy it, but if you think about it there really isn't much in it