Movie Review - Lucy

Lucy 

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Min-sik Choi, Amr Waked, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Pilou Asbæk, Analeigh Tipton, and more.

Directed by: Luc Besson Written by: Luc Besson Cinematography by: Thierry Arbogast Music by: Eric Serra

Premise: Studying and partying overseas, Lucy gets forced by her new boyfriend to deliver undisclosed goods in a briefcase to a client. Then her boyfriend is killed before her eyes and Mr. Jang, Richard's client, abducts her. A new product is about to hit the market and Mr. Jang is making sure nothing goes wrong. So Lucy, with three others, is forced to have surgery so they can act as mules for delivering the new drug  into four other countries. When she slaps one of her captors for taking advantage, he stupidly beats her and ruptures the bag inside her. Rather than die of an overdose, Lucy's mind opens, using more of its potential. But the very drug that has opened her world is killing her, so the race to reach 100% brain use before she dies is on. Mr. Jang, however, is not to be thwarted so easily. (Rated R)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Scarlett Johansson should get an Oscar for her work on the first fifteen minutes or so of the film. There is never any doubt that she is a woman utterly terrified by the predicament she finds herself in. She literally shook with her character's fear. A truly amazing piece of acting on her part.

Later in the film, her awesome work in the beginning creates a masterful contrast to the calm, almost detached manner as her character changes. Min-Sik Choi gave me goose bumps. And in a fun turn, he's super calm and cold at the beginning, but by the end of the film he's a frothing madman. Amr Waked was fun as the French police captain caught in the whirlwind that is Lucy 2.0. Morgan Freeman was Morgan Freeman - need I say more?

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: The special effects teams did a great job on this film. From the cool cell subdivision sequences to the bubbling organic computer, there were lots of great visuals going on. They also did a great job playing with time and locations as the audience follows Lucy during different sections of her expanding mind. The disassembly of the buildings as time flowed backwards was a very nice sequence. Lucy losing cohesion in the plane was another great bit of CGI.

3) Plot/Story - Total Thumbs Up: Mr. Besson plays a lot with contrasts and contradictions in the film. As I touched on earlier, there's a swapping dichotomy between the character of Lucy and Mr. Jang. You can even see some the same play between Mr. Jang and Captain Pierre, as one can't accept and rebels against the current reality, while the other adapts. There's even a nice loop effect is woven in with regards to Lucy's name.

Some interesting themes get explored - life, death, how to measure worth, what helps keep us human. Yet all the deep talk and themes are wrapped in so much action there's never time to breathe, let alone get bored.

One gimmick employed in the film, especially at the beginning, was the shift of topics without them actually being a real shift. As Lucy argues with her boyfriend about not wanting to do him a favor, then Morgan Freeman lectures about theories with regards to the brain's potential, moving shots or nature, and back again to shifting between each other again - at first the action seems random, but it all slowly coalesces into a tightly related whole. And while this has been tried before and not always to good effect, the use of it in this film was pulled off well and to good effect.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: "Lucy" is filled with stunts. Murder, shoot outs, car chases, airport chases, full out gun battles in hospital hallways and places of learning. They even fire off a bazooka indoors!

Then we have Lucy - with stabbings, beatings, pinning people to ceilings, throwing them across the room, crashing cars, and more stunt inducing fun. Oh, yeah.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: From the streets of Taipei to the streets of Paris, the film had a great variety of locations and flavors. Some good panoramic shots really enhanced the experiences shared with us as Lucy continued on her mental voyage.

Conclusion: "Lucy" is a non-stop thrill ride. Some nice thought provoking science mixed with ugly reality wrapped around a ton of action. The R rating should be taken seriously where kids are concerned. There were enough stunts and flying lead to fill any action film buff's cravings and more.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - Transcendence

Transcendence

Starring: Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Cillian Murphy, Kate Mara, Morgan Freeman, Cole Hauser, Clifton Collins Jr., Cory Hardrict, and more.

Directed by: Wally Pfister Written by: Jack Paglen Cinematography by: Jess Hall Music by: Mychael Danna

Premise: A terrorist group executes simultaneous terrorist acts on scientific labs and scientists working on artificial intelligence. Recent breakthroughs by one of the killed men, however, gives hope to Evelyn Caster as her own husband lays dying from a bullet laced with radioactive material. But the terrorists are still out there and want to stop them, no matter the cost. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: It was a lot of fun watching Johnny Depp as the brainy scientist later turned computer. Rebecca Hall did well as his passionate wife and scientist in her own right, despite the bad writing which pretty much left her with nothing in the second half. Paul Bettany's emotions on both sides of the issues presented were definite bright spots - well done. Kate Mara was very convincing, and even creepy, as the young terrorist leader.

2) Special Effects - Thumbs Up: Special effects were very good, though sadly most of them were nothing we've not seen before. Really nice job with the explosions and the nano repair sequences. The lab scene where we see what Will has been working on came out nicely. Best work though was with the repair work done on Martin. The little machine tubes on the med table moving about on their own was cool and creepy all at once.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Down: Sadly, as my husband put it, the plot of the film was "Beautifully Bad". The movie's premise was interesting, but the bad science and the shortcuts, as well as the turning of Evelyn's character into a passive lump, blackened what good was in there.

Some science fallacy is usually expected in movies, but the glaring holes in this one were too large to ignore. A virus made to destroy specific code infecting most systems might bring the internet and other systems down when it first hits, but reloading the original untainted software and rebooting/repairing other systems would allow us to have technology again - not send us into a new dark age. But sadly, this is the status of the world at the point where they begin the film and eventually circle back to.

With the computing power they claim Will has, and which he continues to exponentially increase, there's no way the terrorists would have figured out where they'd gone, as he could clean up/erase transaction trails even as he made them. And since Will put the FBI onto where many of the terrorists were located so they could be apprehended, he would have known, and taken steps, to help out his friend Max. Yet he never even knew his friend had been taken.

If a bullet is so radioactive it can poison someone to death from just a graze (I'd thought from the commercials he'd taken it in the gut) half the people there with him, and especially the cops handling evidence, would have died too.

The biggest error in my opinion, however, was the character assassination of Evelyn. She was the dreamer, the one who wanted to change the world - but after Will is transferred and comes back, she soon becomes an emotionless lump. When she first discovers what else was done to Martin, all she does is say she can't deal with it. Never once mentions to Will the fact (as the woman with the determination and intelligence we were introduced to would have) that he's bypassing people's freewill. There should have been raging arguments over this alone. But sadly, much like was done to Amidala from the "Star Wars" films - a strong willed woman is presented and then turned into a turnip because her strength and intelligence was no longer convenient to the plot.

And let's not forget the fact the terrorists pretty much brought their own fears to life due to their actions - a fact no one mentions or seem to notice. As Will said, the irony that they would take life to achieve their goals of stopping the creation of artificial life was quite ironic. The fact the main instigator never paid for her crimes? Even more so.


4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Some quick fights as well as explosions dot the film, so some adrenaline gets pumped into the audience here and there. Car flipping and even machine throwing thanks to the nanites livened up a few other scenes as well.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Thumbs Up: There are several gorgeous shots of nature, rivers, mountains, and some lovely CGI representations as well. The town Will picks to 'lay low' at definitely looked to need saving. But though Evelyn spoke of Will buying most of the property of the town, and the amount of work they brought to the place, I was surprised at the lack of improvement of the impoverished town. Worse, the town itself became a sore point in the bad plot when those opposed to the machine decide that's a good place to set up operations. As if Will wouldn't have put surveillance equipment on his properties? (It's even worse due to other reasons I'll leave you to discover on your own.)

Conclusion: Cool premise, horrible execution. Between the bad science and miraculous intelligence gathering efforts of the terrorists after they've ditched their electronic equipment, there sadly wasn't much to love.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Catch it on Cable)

Movie Review - The Lego Movie

Lego Movie

Starring: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Alison Brie, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, Nick Offerman, Keith Ferguson, Will Forte, Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, and more.

Directed by: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller Story by: Dan Hageman, Kevin Hageman, Phil Lord, and Christopher Miller Screenplay by: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller Cinematography by: Barry Peterson and Pablo Plaisted Music by: Mark Mothersbaugh

Premise: Lord Business steals the world's greatest weapon from its guardian Vitruvius. Vitruvius warns Lord Business of a prophecy in which a very special person will discover an artifact, and with it bring him to ruin. Eight and a half years later, the one who was prophesied finally appears. Yet he's not exactly what anyone expected. (Rated PG)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: The film had a totally fun cast. Chris Pratt as the empty headed Emmet was fun. Elizabeth Banks made Wildstyle both tough and secretly insecure. But it was Batman, voiced by Will Arnett, who stole the show. His dry delivery of Batman's lines was perfect. Liam Neeson wasn't far behind with his rendition of Bad Cop/Good Cop. Recording for this film must have been a blast.

2) Artwork/Animation - Total Thumbs Up: Using Legos as a film medium was a stroke of genius. Between the versatility of all the things you can make with them and all the great colors, they made the imagination flow. Especially as we move from the seemingly normal city, to the other worlds also present in the Lego realm, but which had been cut off from each other by Lord Business and his mechanical minions. We're even teased with glimpses of even more amazing and different worlds than the ones we're eventually shown. (That was a Mark 5 I saw flash by, right?)

The Wild West area with it's canyons and Death Valley feel was great. Cloud Cuckooland was even more amazing and full of chaos. (I saw Ducky Momo!) The turbulent sea scene was awe inspiring not just in execution but in the amount of work that must have gone into creating that scene alone.

The animation itself moved smoothly and there's so much going on you can't keep track of it all. I aodred that even the usual intro slides on who made the film were done in Lego. Visual in-jokes and pop culture references from the 80's to modern times abounded. The range on the facial expressions was excellent and utterly complimented the voice acting.

3) Story - Total Thumbs Up: While the plot appears simple at first glance, it has a lot more going on than is immediately apparent. Emmet is also not the only one with things to learn about himself during the journey. And while several plot point resolutions are totally expected, others will catch the audience totally by surprise. I would say more, but I don't want to spoil it.

There are plenty of comedic moments, as well as in-jokes and pop culture references in the script. Long time followers of DC super heroes will find much to be amused by. Batman pretty much steals the show. (As he should.) He even wrote a song. Yes, Batman sings.

The old battle of a thousand wars is here as well - Chaos vs. Order. And in a world made with Legos, what could be more awesome?

Conclusion: "The Lego Movie" is a lot of fun. There's plenty there to keep the kids occupied and the adults amused. Yes, like it or not, you'll probably be singing the Awesome song by the time you go home. (You can pick from the Awesome, the Remix, Saloon, or the Unplugged versions!) Just to see all the amazing things they do with the Legos made the film worth going to see.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - Now You See Me

Now You See Me

Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Mélanie Laurent, Morgan Freeman, Dave Franco, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Michael Caine, Michael Kelly, Common, David Warshofsky, and more.

Directed by: Louis Leterrier Screenplay by: Ed Solomon, Boaz Yakin, and Edward Ricourt Story by: Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt Cinematography by: Mitchell Amundsen and Larry Fong Original Music by: Brian Tyler

Premise: Four magicians receive a mysterious summon. A year later, they put on a huge show in Las Vegas and seemingly rob a bank in Paris with magic. The FBI and Interpol get involved, wanting to make sure to stop whatever the group is up to, though they have no evidence yet to make an arrest. (Rated  PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Mark Ruffalo was fun as the befuddled and out of his depth FBI agent, whom, despite himself, might just start believing in something. Mélanie Laurent will make you want to believe. Woody Harrelson added a lot witty humor. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were awesome when going at each other and when working together.

2) Special Effects - Thumbs Up: This may sound weird, but there were a couple of places where I wished the special effects team had figured out how to make a piece of illusion or two with real components rather than CGI. The fact CGI was used stole, in my opinion, from the premise of what the film was about. When the group was on the stage and the sheets twirled up and around, it was too obvious they were CGI, so it took away from feeling of the show being an actual stage performance.

But aside from that, the special effects were very well done! The final trick and light display over the building looked great.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: From the beginning the audience knows there's a fifth person. Even the symbol for the Four Horsemen is made of five squares. So half the fun of the film is trying to figure out who's behind it all. Clues for motivation are sprinkled throughout, but beware the false leads.

The part of the plot which most impressed me, however were the understated subplots. Several were running concurrently, but one especially means so much more than we initially realize until the end. Even magicians can be surprised by other types of magic. It was fabulous! Yet it's also so understated, it could easily be missed. But I felt it added a lot. And the same concept was done in a couple of ways to more than one person. So that was fun too.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Some great 'gags' are in this film - a super fun fight in an apartment, big car chase through downtown New York, foot chase in New Orleans, escapes, explosions, and more. You'll also see the most bizarre, yet useful use of a kitchen sink grinder...ever.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up:  "Now You See Me" used some great filming locations in Las Vegas, New Orleans, New York City, and Paris. With the large scope of some of the action and tricks, the cinematography showed it all from different angles and panning back enough to show the audience the whole scene. It was used especially well at the site of the third trick, giving the audience an amazing view of the moving art being flashed on the buildings.

Conclusion: "Now You See Me" is a fun ride. Between the magic, the great acting, and the mystery of what set all these things in motion, viewers will have lots to keep them occupied. Plenty of old tricks and new, and the more they show you, the more they reveal while giving nothing away.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - Oblivion

Oblivion

Starring: Tom Cruise, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko, Morgan Freeman, Melissa Leo, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and more.

Directed by: Joseph Kosinski Screenplay by: Joseph Kosinski, Karl Gajdusek, and Michael Arndt  Based on the Comic Books by: Joseph Kosinski and Arvid Nelson Cinematography by: Claudio Miranda Original Music by: Anthony Gonzales, Joseph Trapanese, and M.8.3

Premise: Earth won a war against an alien race, but in doing so spoiled most of the planet. Humanity has no choice but to migrate to Titan. Yet in order to do so, the water of Earth  must be collected and turned into fuel. Safeguarding the suction machines from the remnants of the alien force are automated robotic guards. Jack Harper and teammate remain behind on Earth to make sure the robots keep functioning properly to defend the larger machines. But the attacks of sabotage by the Scavs seem to be getting more inventive. If only the weird dreams wouldn't keep plaguing Jack, he'd be better able to deal with these threats. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting -  Total Thumbs Up: Tom Cruise gave a great performance as the curious Jack Harper. Andrea Riseborough brought a lot more into the film than is first apparent, giving greater depth to the truth's later revealed. Olga Kurylenko added her own sublime touches to the story as well. Morgan Freeman was his usual wonderful self.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: The special effects start from the moment the screen goes dark. When the Universal Logo starts, make sure to look closely. You'll see the orbital Tet and then the Earth itself transform into what it is in 2077. Made for a nice little touch.

The different vehicles in the film were a lot of fun. Jack's flyer is totally cool. The guardian robots were intimidating and fun to watch. They even seemed to have a little bit of a personality, intentional or not. I loved the scanner sequences. They did a lot of nice work with HUD displays and computer tops.

Some cool laser battles and explosions were spread around during the film. Nice stuff! And wait till you see the pool!

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: Jack gets the audience 'up to speed' with a quick summary of how the Earth got to the state it is presently in. Then he mentions the fact he's been routinely mind wiped - a great trigger for letting the audience know things are possibly not what they seem. The repetition of certain phrases and actions hold more meaning than those doing them at times comprehend. Keep an eye on the character of Victoria - at a couple of spots her expressions tell whole stories on their own. Plus it is through and from her that little hints get dropped that all is not what we might think.

Overall, the story was solid. Several surprises show up twisting the story in directions that won't be expected. The science took a couple of hits towards the end of the film, however, as the typical Hollywood ploy of 'destroy the one big thing and it will make all others stop functioning' gets used, despite the actions and facts negating the feasibility of such a course actually stopping the action going on down at the ground. Still, that and the fact the ship wasn't scanned (or if it was, that it didn't pick up the energy signatures of the energy cores), only took away a little of the otherwise quite satisfying film. (Though  - if they'd shown the fighters try to shield the cores in some way, it would have totally fixed the issue.)

There are several bits of homage to older SF films in the movie, but also several to Tom's first big film"Top Gun." (Hint: The flyer has the first one.)


4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Fun action sequences and stunts during the exploration of, and the combat at, the New York Public Library. The massive battle at the hidden base was also good.

Better still was the hand to hand fight in the radiation zone. Tom really does make combat look easy. The one point that impressed me the most on this sequence was the attention to detail on the angles. The moment the gun went off, the poised bodies tell you exactly where the shot went, even though it will be almost a full minute before they actually show it. (Not so exciting was the fact they used this old movie cliche, but at least they pulled it off well.)

5) Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Great use by Claudio Miranda of overhead sweeping shots. It  brought home the isolation of the task Harper and his teammate lived under, while also showing some truly gorgeous benefits of living there as well. It also was a great way to show the audience the huge amount of devastation the planet had suffered and how the events of over fifty years ago changed the face of New York. When Harper rides the motorcycle through the desert of beached ships, it was eerie and fascinating all at once. Seeing well know NY icons as they stand in 2077, made it even more disturbing.

6) Costuming/Makeup - Total Thumbs Up: The costuming and makeup departments did a lot of subtle things that really ramped up the overall feelings and impressions. There was the duality of opposite extremes created purely from the different states we found Jack and Victoria in. Jack toiled, he sweated, got hurt, became dirty. Victoria on the other hand usually looked fresh, rested, composed inside and out, even when being ignored or bypassed by Sally. This was defined even more when we get to compare the contrast between where Jack and Victoria live together to the little hide away Jack has made for himself on the ground.

Conclusion: "Oblivion" is a good science fiction film, actually bringing forth what SF does best. The few faux pas in the science toward the end are not too hard to ignore and don't take away from the enjoyment and the great plot twsists. Keep an eye on Victoria - her side of things will add a lot of meaning and depth to things revealed later. Make sure to pay attention when the Universal logo starts!

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - Olympus Has Fallen

Olympus Has Fallen

Starring: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Finley Jacobsen, Dylan McDermott, Rick Yune, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Melissa Leo, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Phil Austin, Ashley Judd, and more.

Directed by: Antoine Fuqua Written by: Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt Cinematography by: Conrad W Hall Original Music by: Trevor Morris

Premise: Relegated to work at the Treasury Building after a tragic accident took the President's wife, Mike Banning finds himself rushing to the White House when an unauthorized plane makes it into the 'no fly zone' and starts shooting pedestrians, cars, and buildings, in the streets of Washington DC. When he gets there, he finds out the plane is not the only source of danger. With his intimate knowledge of the workings of the White House, he vows to do his duty and make sure the President is secured and the threat neutralized. (Rated R)

Review:

1)  Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Gerard Butler gives a great performance as the highly efficient, yet emotionally burdened secret service agent Mike Banning. Aaron Eckhart showed us a strong, yet also vulnerable president, husband, and father. Morgan Freeman was his usual charismatic self, his portrayal of Trumbull a wonderful portrait of a man rising to the unexpected challenges thrust upon him by fate.

2)  Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: From tourist bus explosions to fifty caliber Gatling gun bullets perforating pedestrians, the special effects team did a great job. The scene where the plane clips the Washington Monument and the slow collapse of the upper part of the same building was amazing to watch. Throw in crashing planes, blown up helicopters, walls, doors, and more and you'll be very busy watching them all.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: The bit of back story at the beginning of the film did a lot to get the audience familiar with the principal characters and make the state of their relationships eighteen months later to become a part of the issues at hand, which was great.

Though I hope that US response to a similar situation would be faster and better implemented, the plan carried out by the antagonist was very clearly thought out and deftly executed. The progression from there as they worked on their specific goal while distracting everyone else by making them think they were after other things worked well.

The part that doesn't hold up under scrutiny is motivation. While Kang stated his reasons during the film, it still didn't explain the willingness of pretty much all of his people to throw away their lives on this gambit. People are wired with the instinct is to live - so to overcome it takes a lot. Yet nothing is shown to substantiate why they're able to summon such fortitude - especially the last group, who knew exactly what they were walking into. The traitor's motivation made little sense as well - especially for it only having been a year and a half since he'd left the service.

The worst of them, though was that though Kang seems to have a plan on how to escape, there's no way it would have worked with what was about to happen, so it made little sense he was even attempting it.     

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: The list of stunt people for this film was enormous! Between being mowed down by different weaponry and having to die in all manner of ways, there were also a lot of hand to hand fights, and gun battles. Sniper rifles, helicopters, all manner of guns, knives, and even super cool weapon systems got a turn. Blood splatter was kept to a minimum, which is probably a good thing. There were so many dead there would have been pools of it everywhere for people to slip on.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: The White House did have a very short front lawn, which is no longer the case, but otherwise looked great. Some nice overhead shots of the White House as well as Washington DC before, during, and after the incident. A couple of scenes with added CGI for the American flag were quite poignant.

6) Costuming/Makeup - Total Thumbs Up: Great attention to detail. Wounds remained visually consistent, which always helps in maintaining the fantasy of the woven story in the film. When Asher is wounded, he really looked hurt. Melissa Leo also made a great canvas for the makeup department as she too, took her share of punishment.

Conclusion: If you don't look too deeply, "Olympus Has Fallen" is a fun, riveting, action flick. Patriotic 'heart strings' will be tugged. Great hand to hand and close quarter combat sequences.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Would Pay Full Price To See It Again)