Official Synopsis: It’s been five years since Hiccup and Toothless successfully united dragons and vikings on the island of Berk. While Astrid, Snotlout and the rest of the gang are challenging each other to dragon races (the island’s new favorite contact sport), the now inseparable pair journey through the skies, charting unmapped territories and exploring new worlds. When one of their adventures leads to the discovery of a secret ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace. Now, Hiccup and Toothless must unite to stand up for what they believe while recognizing that only together do they have the power to change the future of both men and dragons.
The more I see of this movie, the more excited I get. How to Train Your Dragon 2‘s other full trailer focuses on Hiccup’s relationship with Toothless and the dragons that occupy Burk. This one shifts the focus to his mother and her dragons. You can never go wrong with dragons, so it will be cool to see the original varieties along side those introduced in the sequel, especially the large ice dragon. Like I mentioned about the other trailer, as far as the humor is concerned, so far so good – “I’ll bloody my face with his fist if he tries to take my dragon.” Drago is still not seen very much, which is good because it keeps the mystery around him. And come on, Hiccup has a fire sword! This summer has plenty of movies I can’t wait to see and How to Train Your Dragon 2 is at the top of my list.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 hits theaters June 13, 2014. Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill, America Ferrera, T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse all reprise their roles from How to Train Your Dragon, along with Djimon Hounsou, as Drago, and Cate Blanchett, as Valka.
Synopsis
In 2028, OmniCorp, lead by CEO Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton), has revolutionized security around the world but has had difficulty bringing their products to the United States. When Detective Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is seriously injured by a car bomb, OmniCorp takes the opportunity to create a product the people can get behind and transform Murphy into the cyborg RoboCop. What OmniCorp didn’t plan for was the strength of the human element still left inside Murphy.
Review
Remakes/reboots can be difficult to tackle. They can be done in one of two main ways: simply telling the same story but with a new cast or tell a whole new story using old characters. RoboCop does the latter and does so surprisingly well. There have been many remakes of iconic 1980s movies over the last several years, most have which have been sub-par. So imagine my surprise when I actually enjoyed it! RoboCop manages to pay homage to the 1987 original, but still offers a fresh and updated take on the character.
One of the appeals of the original RoboCop was its exaggerated violence. Not just the violence itself but the fact there was so much that the film became a dark satire. This movie moves away from that and instead become more politically driven. The ethics of transplanting a human consciousness into a machine is a central theme here. It gets touched on a little in the original, more so in RoboCop 2, but it takes a backseat to the violence.
The pacing is drastically different, too. One of my biggest knocks against the 1987 RoboCop is we don’t get to spend much time with Murphy as a person since he transforms into RoboCop fairly quickly. However, this time we see Murphy interacting with his family and his partner, Jack Lewis (Michael K. Williams). I felt this was a stronger lead up to his transformation because allowed us to get to know Murphy before the whole “Am I Alex Murphy or am I RoboCop?” dilemma came into play.
Speaking of pacing, there was also much more time spent on his training than before. This RoboCop doesn’t start patrolling the streets until halfway through the movie. We get to see Alex adjust to his new status rather than just jumping head first into it. Again, this gives us more time to empathize with Murphy and what has happened to him.
RoboCop’s color scheme has been changed, and I actually like the new black color. His design is also much sleeker. Peter Weller’s RoboCop was very clunky, but Kinnaman’s can actually move and run. I think I am in the minority, but I like the new look better than the original. The original’s shiny gray metallic color scheme does make an appearance. There are also several other callbacks to the original RoboCop that I noticed, like the ED-209 looks identical to the one that stood outside OCP headquarters and the RoboCop theme could be heard (but I wish it was used more, the theme is pretty iconic). I was going to list all the references I picked out but there were so many I’m not even going to attempt it.
Micheal Keaton plays a good villain, but I’m not sure about how I feel about Raymond Sellars. For most of the film he seems like he is just a CEO who wants to make his company money, even if that means moving into morally gray areas. But in the final scenes he is all of a sudden supposed to be this bad guy who doesn’t have a conscious. It would have been better if we saw that side of him throughout the whole movie rather than just the end. Otherwise, his character at the end seems out of place compared to the rest of the film.
Honestly, I went into the theater fully expecting to be disappointed when I left. However, RoboCop is one of the better remakes/reboots I have seen in a long time. Part of its success stems from its ability to craft a new story while still paying tribute to the original. Rather than focus on over-the-top violence, this movie is concentrates more on ethics. The story gives us almost half of the movie to get to know Murphy and empathize with his situation. Sellars’ actions at the end of the film don’t fit well with his actions during the rest of the movie. I’m not much of a fan of remakes/reboots, but if more movies handles them the same way as RoboCop, maybe they would actually be something to look forward to.
Rating
3.5/5
Trailer
Cast & Crew
Jose Padilha – Director
Joshua Zetumer – Screenplay
Pedro Bromfman – Composer
Joel Kinnaman – Alex Murphy/RoboCop
Gary Oldman – Dr. Dennett Norton
Michael Keaton – Raymond Sellars
Abbie Cornish – Clara Murphy
Jackie Earle Haley – Rick Mattox
Michael K. Williams – Jack Lewis
Jennifer Ehle – Liz Kline
Jay Baruchel – Tom Pope
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Chief Karen Dean
Samuel L. Jackson – Pat Novak
Aimee Garcia – Jae Kim
Douglas Urbanski – Mayor Durant
John Paul Ruttan – David Murphy
Patrick Garrow – Antoine Vallon
K.C. Collins – Andre Daniels
Daniel Kash – John Lake
Zach Grenier – Senator Hubert Dreyfuss
Synopsis
Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) is a veteran boxing trainer who has never had a boxer in a title match. He isn’t fond of training women, either. But when his best friend, Eddie Dupris (Morgan Freeman), insists on training the persistent Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), Frankie takes her under his wing. Working together, Frankie and Maggie work towards their dreams of a championship, forging an unbreakable bond in the process.
Review
Every once in a while a movie comes along that leaves an impression on you long after the credits have rolled. For me that was Million Dollar Baby. I first saw this more recently, even though it came out way back in 2004. It’s too bad I didn’t see it sooner because I had no idea what I was missing.
Million Dollar Baby is a movie about boxing, but it doesn’t follow the conventions of other boxing movies, or at least the last act doesn’t. This film starts off like similar movies, showing the rise of the boxer, their training, and some of their matches. But something happens that catches you (or at least me) by surprise and really changes the tone of the whole movie. It’s in these final thirty minutes or so that have some of the best character moments in the entire film.
Easily the strongest aspect of this film is how well the characters are fleshed out. Over the course of the movie, we learn a great deal about Frankie, Maggie, and Eddie. And not just their backstories, but who they are as people and the motivations behind their actions. By the end of the Million Dollar Baby, I felt a relationship with the characters that I don’t usually get when watching a movie.
There is not one bad performance in this movie. Eastwood is normally known for more action-oriented roles, but he does phenomenal in this quieter role. He just seems to get better and better as he’s grown older. Freeman is always great in any role he plays and I am a fan of a Freeman voiceover. The biggest surprise was Swank. Granted, I haven’t seen very many of her movies, but after watching this one, I look forward to watching her again. Even the lesser seen supporting cast, like Anthony Mackie and Jay Baruchel were great.
I have mentioned before how much a good score can add to a movie. Usually it’s very big and dramatic, but the score of Million Dollar baby is much more subdued and simple. The score, surprisingly composed by Eastwood, is still dramatic, but in a different fashion. It consists mostly of a single acoustic guitar or piano that is very much in line with the feel of the movie but it is every bit as emotional as the full orchestral scores.
Cinematography isn’t something I normally bring up, but I would have a hard time talking about this movie with discussing about the cinematography. There is a great use of shadows and lighting. During the boxing matches, the camera gets close to the action, but too close that you can’t see much. It’s really great work that I think few movies can compare to.
I missed Million Dollar Baby when it was released in 2004 and when I finally did see it, I regretted not seeing it sooner. The characterization is brilliantly written and it’s easy to become invested in the characters and their struggles. It is hard to pick a stand out performance because every actor was fantastic, even the supporting cast. A simple but fitting score and top notch cinematography enhance the experience even further. If you want a movie that has great acting, excellent characterization, and superb cinematography, then Million Dollar Baby is the movie for you.
Rating
5/5
Trailer
Cast & Crew
Clint Eastwood – Director
Paul Haggis – Screenplay
F.X. Toole – Stories from Rope Burns
Clint Eastwood – Composer
Clint Eastwood – Frankie Dunn
Hilary Swank – Maggie Fitzgerald
Morgan Freeman – Eddie Dupris
Anthony Mackie – Shawrelle Berry
Jay Baruchel – Danger Barch
Brian F. O’Byrne – Father Horvak
Margo Martindale – Earline Fitzgerald
Michael Pena – Omar
Synopsis
Four friends, Hutch (Dan Fogler), Windows (Jay Baruchel), Linus (Christopher George Marquette), and Eric (Sam Huntington), travel across the country to Skywalker Ranch to steal a rough cut of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace before it is released in theaters.
Review Fanboys is one of those movies that looks at a culture and dives headfirst. Star Wars, and really geek culture as a whole, is placed in the spotlight. I remember when The Phantom Menace first hit theaters in 1999 and how huge of an event it was, so I was looking forward to seeing a film centered around not the movie, but the release itself. Fanboys stumbles a few times, but offers a satisfying experience to Star Wars fanboys.
Since this is a farce centered around Star Wars, there are many, many references to the movies. Almost every scene there is at least some sort of reference to the movie, whether it is a direct quote or nod to the films. If you are a Star Wars fan or have at least seen the original trilogy, you will have a lot to enjoy. As a huge fan of the movies myself, I found it very rewarding. I’m sure if I watched it again I would find many references that I missed the first time around.
The road trip movie format allows for great cameo appearances, and Fanboys takes full advantage. There are several great cameos in the film relating to the Star Wars/science-fiction/cult films, including Danny Trejo, Seth Rogen, Joe Lo Truglio, Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher, and William Shatner (who “can get anything.”). Shatners appearance was by far my favorite, but each one, particularly Fisher’s and William’s, were great nods to the fans.
So this movie takes place in the past (1998), it makes references to future events and opinions. It was pretty funny seeing Windows confident that his internet girlfriend looks exactly like how she described herself and Windows saying Harrison Ford cannot make a bad movie (referring to Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull). It was one of the smaller things but it made the movie more enjoyable if you caught the remarks.
Parts of Fanboys feel really generic for a road trip movie. Several of the segments are unique, such as the groups stop in Iowa where they start a brawl with some Star Trek fans. But others, such as a high-speed chase, could have been a placed in another road trip movie and not seemed out of place. This movie was best when it was embracing its ridiculousness and culture.
The friends’ reason for their road trip is because Linus has cancer and his given four months to live while The Phantom Menace comes out in theaters in six. This subplot is glossed over for most of the film. And when it is brought up, it brings down the mood. Apparently, the cancer subplot was a huge deal for viewers. I think the Fanboys would have been a more enjoyable experience if this detail was omitted.
Fanboys is a fun and wild look into Star Wars fandom. It has some great cameos and funny references to future Star Wars and pop culture events. The cancer subplot was unnecessary and could have been ignored since every time it was brought up the film immediately kept moving on and ignored the fact Linus’ cancer was just mentioned. Fanboys was generic at times but that doesn’t mean you won’t have some fun along the way.
Official Synopsis: The thrilling second chapter of the epic How To Train Your Dragon trilogy brings back the fantastical world of Hiccup and Toothless five years later. While Astrid, Snotlout and the rest of the gang are challenging each other to dragon races (the island’s new favorite contact sport), the now inseparable pair journey through the skies, charting unmapped territories and exploring new worlds. When one of their adventures leads to the discovery of a secret ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace.
I have only recently seenHow to Train Your Dragon, but that doesn’t mean I am any less excited for its sequel. The animation of the first film was amazing, and this looks as gorgeous as ever. We saw the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless develop previously, and they have clearly grown even closer, but I don’t think it will be a big focus this time around. I am more interested to see how the relationship between Hiccup and Astrid has developed since the end of the last film. Even just in this trailer, it seems much of the comedic elements (both dialog and Toothless’ actions) that made Dragon so enjoyable is retained. A good sequel raises the stakes, and this appears to do just that. Drago seems like a worthy threat to not just the dragons, but all of Berk.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 hits theaters June 13, 2014. Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill, America Ferrera, T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse all reprise their roles from How to Train Your Dragon. They are joined by new comers Djimon Hounsou, as Dragon, and Cate Blanchett, as Valka.
Synopsis: In RoboCop, the year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Overseas, their drones have been used by the military for years – and it’s meant billions for OmniCorp’s bottom line. Now OmniCorp wants to bring their controversial technology to the home front, and they see a golden opportunity to do it. When Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) – a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit – is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp sees their chance for a part-man, part-robot police officer. OmniCorp envisions a RoboCop in every city and even more billions for their shareholders, but they never counted on one thing: there is still a man inside the machine pursuing justice.
I’m still not sold on this reboot yet, but I’m willing to give it a try. This trailer is more action oriented and shows more of the special effects than the more character-focused first trailer. It looks to be more serious than the original RoboCop, which may could hurt it. *cough* Total Recall remake *cough* Part of the charm of the originals was they were made to be dark and satirical, and did not take themselves too seriously. If MGM can keep that intact, they will at least be on the right track.
The throwback to the original RoboCop color scheme is a nice touch. Honestly, I don’t think the black looks that bad.
RoboCop, directed by Jose Padilha, will be released February 12, 2014 and stars Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Jennifer Ehle, Michael K. Williams, Jackie Earl Haley, and Jay Baruchel.
Drew's Movie Reviews 