Movie Review - Turbo

(Sorry I'm late! Life conspired against me!)
Turbo

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Michael Peña, Samuel L Jackson, Luis Guzmán, Bill Hader, Snoop Dogg, Maya Rudolph, Ben Schwartz, Richard Jenkins, Ken Jeong, Michelle Rodriguez, Mario Andretti, Mike Bell, and more.

Directed by: David Soren Screenplay by: Darren Lemke, Robert D Siegel, and David Soren Cinematography by: Chris Stover Original Music by: Henry Jackman

Premise: Theo is a garden snail, but the slow toils of the garden where he lives just aren't for him. His dream is to become a racer, regardless of what his brother says or the fact he's almost an outcast within his own community. A freak accident with nitrous oxide after months of drinking his favorite racing hero's sponsored (and full of possible side effects) cola changes something inside Theo so that his body will move as fast as his dreams. But even after fate brings him to a kindred spirit, the human Tito, there are a lot of obstacles still to be overcome - not the least of which is his own brother. (Rated PG)

Review:

1) Voice Acting - Total Thumbs Up: "Turbo" has nice voice acting work by all involved. Ryan Reynolds really brings through Turbo's yearning for racing as well as his utter bafflement with regards to his brother not understanding what drives him. Paul Giamatti did a great job as Chet, easily conveying Theo's brother's frustrations and worries. Samuel L Jackson was fun as Whiplash, the 'not quite sane' leader of the racing snail group at Starlight Plaza. The decision of getting Bill Hader to play Guy Gagné proved a great choice, as Hader gave Guy just the right amount of suave and sleaze, depending on the situation.

2) Artwork/Animation - Total Thumbs Up: As usual Dreamworks delivers a gorgeous piece of animation. From the factory like garden environs of the snails to the racing track of the Indianapolis 500, there is meticulous attention to detail. So despite the mind boggling premise with it's necessary 'suspension of disbelief', it's not hard at all to accept that the world portrayed in "Turbo" is real.

There are several visual gags and repeated bits throughout the film. Make sure to sit through part of the credits as a recurring moment finally gets a resolution and a laugh.

3) Story/Plot - Thumbs Up:  Despite my own eagerness to see this film, I'd been wondering exactly how they planned to pull off the main premise, and if they could do so in a satisfying manner. I was actually quite pleasantly surprised by their choices! "Turbo" is not one of those contrived arrangements where the hero gets to his final goal without any realistic hardships. The story actually places real life stumbling blocks in the hero's path, like the need for big money to pay entry fees, or the fact it takes more than just dreaming to reach your goals.

Another surprise were the two concurrent themes with regards to brothers and dreamers - not only do we get the struggle between Theo (the dreamer) and his older brother Chet (the pragmatist), we also get the same friction on a human level with the Dos Bros Taco stand owners, Tito and Angelo. So "Turbo" actually tackles some quite emotional and adult themes.

Conclusion: "Turbo" was a lot of fun on several levels. It's more adult in themes than one would expect, but still has a lot of 'gags' and action to keep both kids and adults well entertained. And if you're a racing fan, there's even more to love! Don't forget to sit through part of the credits.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Paying Full Price To See Again)

Movie Review - R.I.P.D.

R.I.P.D.

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Bacon, Mary-Louise Parker, Stephanie Szostak, James Hong, Marisa Miller, Robert Knepper, Mike O'Malley, Devin Ratray, and more.

Directed by: Robert Schwentke Screenplay by: Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi Story by: David Dobkin, Phil Hay, and Matt Manfredi Based on the Dark Horse comic by: Peter M Lenkov Cinematography by: Alwin H Küchler Original Music by: Christophe Beck

Premise: Having succumbed to temptation, Detective Nick Cruz and his partner took some gold they found during a police raid. Later regretting the impulse, Nick seals his fate when he informs his partner he's decided to turn his share in to the evidence department. Soon dead, Nick's soul is sucked towards the sky, but then gets diverted sideways into the R.I.P.D. - the Rest In Peace Department. They want him to help bring back the souls of the dead which have fallen through the cracks and remained on Earth rather than move on to Judgement. These dead's corrupted souls will affect the living world, turning it toxic, so they must be brought back or eradicated. So Nick has his hands full and in the midst of it reconcile himself with the fact he's dead. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Thumbs Up: Jeff Bridges in his role as Roy will make you laugh, cringe, and want to smack him all at once. These emotions are clearly and nicely reflected by Ryan Reynolds as Nick. Kevin Bacon was fun as Hayes - sweet, friendly, and evil. James Hong and Marisa Miller looked to have had a lot of fun playing Nick and Roy's earthly avatars.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: The first minute or so after Nick's death were awesome. I loved treatment of that whole scene. Then there's the sequence as he leaves the ground and is pulled heavenward only to be shunted sideways into jarring normalcy  - also nicely done. Some of the CGI movements of people were a little too flexible to pass as real people, but could be considered a 'nitpick'. Though this same flexibility served them well later with the 'deaders'. 

The holes in reality and the collapsing parking garages came out great. The bank vault and the casefiles area were truly superb. Even better is the scene at Hayes' house when a truth is revealed.  

3) Plot/Story - Neutral: For readers of the Dark Horse comics, the details of how Nick died and how he came to be employed by the Rest In Peace Department are not the same. In the film Nick is well aware of who killed him, while in the comics he possessed no idea on who had done the deed. A point which proved a major factor on why he signed up for the department.

While the set up and plot were believable and worked overall, there were several spots that didn't quite work or where explanations were bypassed. Roy calls attention to the fact that one of the 'deaders' is exhibiting powers he's never seen before but nothing is ever done to reveal any information on why he could do it. A reference is made to special talismans late in the film, but nothing ever ties them back to the particular character. There were also no explanations for the intensity of decaying power of a recently deceased person - so this was yet another items left unresolved.

It didn't help that when things were at their lowest point, and Nick has finally had his fill of Roy, he stuck around with him. Sadder still was the lack of follow up once the main ordeal was over. Did the Eternal Affairs department set everything back as it had been or was the footage of all the 'deaders' now forever in the internet? We never find out one way or another.

I will say there was one piece of genius in the film - setting up a rough and tough man of the west with a beautiful woman avatar. Someone obviously was hoping to teach him a lesson. 

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: CGI or real, the stunts worked well. The setup when Nick realizes time seems to have stopped was great - kudos for the number of explosions and flying debris frozen in time and space.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Some interesting angles and sweeping looks at the city of Boston. Really neat shots in the Rest In Peace Department areas too.

6) Music - Total Thumbs Up: The film had some nice background music tracks by Christophe Beck. There is also a song Jeff Bridges helped write and perform that will have your eyes rolling. They play a more professional sounding version during the credits.

Conclusion: Though "R.I.P.D." feels a lot like a "Dead Like Me" meets "Ghost Busters" and "Men in Black" mix, the problems with skipped explanations and lack of real follow up at the end, kept it from being an awesome combo. Still, it was definitely entertaining. You'll never think of coyotes in the same way ever again.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - Green Lantern

Green Lantern

Starring:  Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Tim Robbins, Geofrey Rush, Michael Clark Duncan, Clancy Brown, Temuera Robinson, and more.

Directed by: Martin Campbell  Written by: Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim, and Michael Goldberg. Based on the DC Comics: Green Lantern

Premise: Test pilot Hal Jordan gets kidnapped by a mysterious light which takes him to the side of a dying alien. Abin Sur informs Hal that he has been chosen as his replacement in the Green Lantern Corps.

Review: I've been familiar with Green Lantern for a long time, having been a comic geek for most of my life. While Green Lantern was not one of my main reads, I ran into him from time to time so all the names, locations, and things were very familiar. Not being too close is good otherwise I might be tempted to pick it apart as a purist. :) But even so I did notice some changes. Not that they weren't good changes, mind you!  Several of them actually gave more depth to the whole mythology in my opinion.

The Guardians and the planet Oa were awesome! Totally loved where they went with the look and feel of the place. I totally loved that a lot of the attitudes against humans that showed up in the series was preserved here. The travel gateway for the Lanterns was also pretty cool. Basically all the space stuff was great!

I very much liked the explanations of the Green Lantern suit. Gave it a big SF boost. I also liked the new rendition of the Lantern itself - looking more alien and fluid looking. They also gave the power of the lanterns a meaning - Will. In the comics yellow was a color the GLs had no power over. Here it isn't the color itself but the power the color represents, which is Fear.  In the film they are toted as opposites rather than something it had no effect against. But overall worked well.

Loved Ryan Reynolds as GL.  He really lent a lot of feeling and even comedy to the role. Hal's switch to truly embrace his destiny wasn't as good it should have been (too quick and sudden) but Reynolds did what he could with it. The love interest got some actual background and personality, which was great.

The one thing they did that I utterly loved was keeping the imaginative ways to use the power of the ring I'd always seen in the comics. I always felt it was that spark of kid like imagination that made Hal Jordan so capable as a GL. Wish they could have done more, but what they had was great!

Overall, it was visually outstanding, the plot decent, the characters fleshed out pretty well. Make sure to sit through the credits! There's just a bit more. And something that fans of the series will have been looking for. Only thing I didn't like about that was that even though I knew it was coming, there was not enough there to show/support why it happened. Because as things had been left, there was no reason for it. You'll see what I'm talking about when you see the film. :P

Rating: A strong 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth full price of Admission)