Creed II (2018) review

For more than 4 decades, the city of Philadelphia has been closely tied to one of the most iconic film franchises of all-time, the Rocky series. It all began, of course, with the 1976 classic about a local boxer named Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone, who also wrote the film) whose journey to fight the heavyweight champion of the world led to him doing the impossible and going the distance. And the film itself went down that same path, surprising everyone by winning Best Picture at that year’s Oscars. The series would then continue on with five more sequels up until 2006’s Rocky Balboa, and while some of the sequels admittedly got rather silly at times, the franchise continues to remain a staple of pop culture, Philadelphia culture, and the sports film genre. And while Rocky’s time in the ring ultimately came to an end after the sixth film, fans of the franchise were treated to a surprise comeback when it was revealed that the series would continue in 2015 with a spin-off titled Creed. Under the direction of Ryan Coogler, the film shifted focus onto Adonis Johnson Creed, the son of Rocky’s original foe, Apollo Creed. And upon its release, the film was a smash hit with both critics and audiences, with many touting it as one of the best installments of the franchise. But now ‘Donnie’ Creed is back in the second installment of his new series, Creed II, which sees him take on his most personal opponent yet; the son of the man who had killed his father more than three decades prior, Ivan Drago. This time, however, Ryan Coogler was unavailable to direct due to his commitment to a certain Marvel superhero flick that lead actor Michael B. Jordan also happened to be involved with. And while it was initially reported that Sylvester Stallone would be stepping in to direct after previously helming films 2, 3, 4, and 6, it was instead decided to maintain the trend of the previous film by allowing a new generation of filmmakers to work on the franchise. Thus, general newcomer Steven Caple Jr. steps in to helm a sequel that, to reference one of this series’ many iconic songs, shows that this franchise still possesses that ‘Eye of the Tiger’.

It has been three years since Adonis ‘Donnie’ Johnson Creed (Michael B. Jordan) successfully managed to overcome the burden of following in the footsteps of his father, the late Heavyweight Champion Apollo Creed, with the aid of his father’s foe turned friend, fellow former Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). And after becoming the new Heavyweight Champion himself, Adonis is more than ready to start off a new chapter in his life with his fiancé, singer Bianca Taylor (Tessa Thompson). However, the past once again comes back to haunt Adonis when a new challenger emerges in Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), the son of notorious Russian boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). Drago, of course, became infamous back in the ’80s when he killed Apollo during a simple exhibition match, and after being beaten by a vengeful Rocky in his home country during a subsequent bout, he now seeks redemption by training his son to take on Adonis. But while Adonis immediately sets his eyes on fighting Viktor and avenging his family name, Rocky warns him that he’s way too dangerous of an opponent given the track record of the man who’s training him. Adonis hastily ignores Rocky’s suggestion, however, and takes the fight which, simply put, does not bode well for him. Dealt with some intense injuries, Adonis now finds himself on the slow path to recovery as he prepares for the inevitable rematch where he seeks to avenge his family’s legacy while, at the same time, being forced to deal with some heavy-hitting developments in his personal life.

I think it’s safe to say that when it was revealed that Creed II would be bringing back Ivan Drago, some were a bit fearful about the film returning to the overall tone of Rocky IV, which is widely considered to be the goofiest installment of the franchise. This was, after all, the same film where Rocky bought an actual robot for his brother-in-law Paulie, featured a full-blown musical performance by James Brown singing ‘Living in America’ and was mostly just a series of montages where Rocky faced off against the equivalent of the final boss in a video game. But thankfully that’s not the case with Creed II, as it does maintain the same serious tone of its predecessor. And in this instance, it’s fitting to have Donnie face off against Drago’s son because it more than fuels this film’s emotional depth given everything that their family did to his all those years ago. True to franchise form, this film maintains a strong emphasis on its main protagonist and the physical and mental struggles that he goes through, and director Steven Caple Jr. does a phenomenal job when it comes to handling the story’s most emotional moments. And while there aren’t any major single-take fight sequences like in Ryan Coogler’s film, the boxing matches in this film are still excellently filmed and edited. In short, both Creed films fully succeed in accomplishing the same thing that the original Rocky films managed to achieve all those years ago. They properly set up their main characters and the ‘underdog’ situation that they find themselves in and then proceed to take their time to ensure that audiences are fully endeared to them. Thus, when the film’s final boxing match does occur, we’re fully behind them as they take on their opponent, resulting in an emotionally satisfying conclusion. Yeah, it’s undoubtedly become this series’ defining formula at this point, but it’s still quite effective in its execution, which is saying something considering that this is the eighth installment of the series.

As was the case with the first film, Creed II primarily belongs to Michael B. Jordan, who’s fantastic once again as Adonis Creed. Even when he ends up diving into a situation without thinking things through first, he still manages to be a highly sympathetic protagonist and Jordan’s charisma is in top form here. A lot of this also comes via his relationship with Bianca, who in just two films has more than managed to become more than just the equivalent of what Adrian was to Rocky in the previous films. Jordan and Tessa Thompson have phenomenal chemistry and one major plotline that revolves around their newborn daughter Amara being afflicted with a serious physical condition provides the film with one of its most emotionally devastating moments. Phylicia Rashad also happens to get a bit more to do this time around as Adonis’ mother (and Apollo’s widow) Mary Anne, primarily thanks to her sharp wit whenever she shares a scene with Jordan. And, of course, there’s still Sylvester Stallone being as great as ever as Rocky Balboa. Admittedly, this one doesn’t give him the same emotionally-charged storyline that he got with Rocky’s cancer diagnosis in the first Creed, but he continues to maintain Rocky’s status as one of the most endearing protagonists in film history. But perhaps the most impressive thing that this film manages to achieve is taking the character of Ivan Drago and effectively presenting him in a serious manner. That’s right, this isn’t the over-the-top goliath of Rocky IV anymore; instead, we get a man who’s deadly committed to regaining his former glory no matter the cost. In other words, it’s easily the best performance of Dolph Lundgren’s career. Admittedly, though, his son Viktor doesn’t get as much to work with character-wise. Granted, Florian Munteanu does prove to be quite the physical foe for Adonis to face and there is some decent characterization with him when it comes to him trying to understand why his father is so desperate to win back those who shunned him after his loss to Rocky. Ultimately, though, he arguably gets even fewer lines than his dad did in Rocky IV.

The most common word that is being tossed around with this film is ‘predictable’. After the whirlwind success of the first Creed, several critics have lamented the fact that this film decides to go for a straight-forward plot that rehashes one of the most notable storylines from a past installment of the franchise. Well, to that I say this… yes, it’s predictable… but is that really such a bad thing? After all, the Rocky films usually aren’t known for re-inventing the wheel when it comes to their writing. And yes, that even includes the first Creed, which literally ended the same way as the original Rocky four decades prior and ultimately worked as well as it did thanks to Ryan Coogler’s strong direction and the outstanding lead trio of Jordan, Stallone, and Thompson. And despite the loss of Coogler as director for this one (though he did stay on as an executive producer), Steven Caple Jr. does an excellent job in his place because he continues to maintain an emphasis on the most important aspect of these films, their characters. Sure, you can tell that things will end up being alright for Donnie and his family, but it’s more about the journey there than the destination itself. Plus, it even manages to take the series’ goofiest villain and find some bits of humanity within him, thus making him just as intimidating as he was in Rocky IV but in a vastly different way. In short, Creed II is another rousing success story for this legendary franchise that, pardon the pun, delivers yet another emotional knockout. And considering the recent announcement by Sylvester Stallone that revealed that this will ultimately be his final turn as Rocky Balboa, that effectively makes this film one hell of a send-off for a true icon of the big-screen right as his new protégé becomes a legend in his own right.

Rating: 5/5!

TOP 12 FAVORITE FILMS OF 2015: #12-10 + Honorable Mentions

Like I’ve said before, I don’t like ending a year of film on a bad note. That’s why I do my Top 10 ‘Worst Films of the Year’ list first; so that I can get that out of the way. The internet may like talking about the bad stuff more, but not me. After all, as I’ve also mentioned before, I’m actually getting really sick of the internet’s constant cynicism, especially towards film (e.g. CinemaSins, Honest Trailers). Hence why I officially dub 2015 as ‘The Year that the Internet Overhyped Everything’. Because if you ask me, 2015 was actually a really great year for film. The main reason why was due to a better variety of films compared to last year, specifically what came out that summer. Sure we got films like ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ but there was actually quite a severe lack of films that were, at the very least, family-friendly. Seriously aside from ‘How to Train Your Dragon 2’ and ‘Maleficent’, name me one major film geared towards families that came out that summer that wasn’t rated PG-13 or higher? There wasn’t even a Pixar film that year. This year on the other hand had much more to offer if you ask me. However, this year’s lineup of films also had to endure a lot of hype built up by the internet given all of the major films that were coming. And as evident from the responses towards some of these films, clearly film fans haven’t learned their lesson that overhyping anything is always going to end up backfiring on them. So yes, a lot of the films on this list were controversial amongst film fans in their own unique way. So expect to see me make a lot of arguments against the general internet consensus in favor of these films. I won’t lie… this was a really frustrating year for me in regards to dealing with cynical BS towards a lot of the films that I liked this year so this is pretty much my way of venting against all of that.

For those who are new to this blog, I had originally done a Top 12 list instead of the traditional ‘Top 10’ simply as a joke because I had started this blog in May 2012 and decided to do a 12-film list for 2012. However, that ended up becoming my trademark so that I could talk about as many of the films that I loved each year as possible. Before I begin, I need to lay down my three primary ground rules for this list. First of all, I have to warn you that this will be a SPOILER POST. I will be discussing the key elements of all of these films in heavy detail so if you haven’t seen any of these films, read on at your own risk. Second, like every year, I haven’t seen every single film that has come out in 2015. So you won’t be seeing films like ‘Spotlight’, ‘Ex Machina’, or ‘It Follows’ on this list. With that said, and boy do I hate having to now establish this disclaimer every year, yes my list predominantly consists of blockbusters. So if you’re a hardcore cinefile that immediately disregards this list because I don’t have many indie or award-winning films on this list, as well as the fact that some of these films weren’t very well liked by most people, I’m sorry but that’s just how I roll. I promise that I will try and make a better effort to see more indie fare in the future but for now I have to go with the films that I’ve seen which are, yes, primarily blockbusters. And finally, and most importantly (seriously I cannot stress this enough), please be respectful in regards to both my opinion and the opinions of others. These 12 films are just my personal favorites so don’t go giving me crap just because I liked a film that you didn’t like. Believe me, as I’ve been writing these posts I’ve had to deal with some particularly stingy trolls who have mocked me for liking a certain film and quite frankly it’s annoying as hell. Remember folks, film… is… subjective!! As a way to test whether or not some of you are willing to accept different opinions, I am going to make the following statement;

‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ is not in my Top 12 nor is it one of my Honorable Mentions.

If you’re still here, then let’s start this 4-part retrospective of my Top 12 Favorite Films of 2015. But first, as always, let’s get the Honorable Mentions out of the Way. This year I have six to name.

KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE

The first major ‘Grade-A’ release of the year (at least from the films that I saw), Matthew Vaughn gave us another kinetic and highly entertaining action blockbuster with ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’, based off of the comic book series of the same name (minus the ‘Kingsman’ part) by Mark Millar, who Vaughn of course also worked with on ‘Kick-Ass’. Paying homage to the campier days of the spy genre, this film is full of crazy but awesome moments, like when Harry Hart (Colin Firth) kills a whole hate group in a church to the tune of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Free Bird’ or when the heads of almost all of the henchmen of main bad guy Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) explode in firework-like fashion. Colin Firth shines in an against-type action role as does newcomer Taron Egerton as young Kingsman recruit Eggsy, with Egerton very much holding his own against acting heavyweights like Firth, Jackson, and Michael Caine. With one great film out of the way, it’ll be interesting to see where this film’s sequel is going to go. There’s even talk that Colin Firth may return for the sequel even though his character was killed by Valentine after the whole church sequence. Did Hart fake his death? Did he become a ghost? We’ll just have to wait and see…

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION

Now under the care of producer AKA ‘franchise savior’ J.J. Abrams, the ‘Mission Impossible’ series has really been able to stand out as one of the premier action franchises in the industry. One of Tom Cruise’s frequent collaborators, Christopher McQuarrie, took on directing duties for the fifth film, ‘Rogue Nation’, which is another highly entertaining action thrill-ride full of awesome/practically-done stunts by action superstar Cruise and featuring a particularly standout performance by Rebecca Ferguson as ‘female Ethan Hunt’ Ilsa Faust. My only gripe with the film, hence why I actually still prefer Brad Bird’s ‘Ghost Protocol’, is that this film sort of ignores one of the best elements of ‘Ghost Protocol’; the team dynamic that had been generally missing from earlier installments. While Benji (Simon Pegg) is involved just as much as Ethan Hunt is in regards to the main plot, both Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and Luther (Ving Rhames) are mostly ignored up until the third act. While it may have the advantage of a better villain in Sean Harris’ Solomon Lane, I still prefer ‘Ghost Protocol’ for its stronger balance of the roles of Ethan Hunt’s teammates. However, ‘Rogue Nation’ is easily the series’ second best installment to date and McQuarrie more than proved himself worthy enough to be chosen to helm the sixth film, a first for the series in that no other director has ever directed 2 ‘Mission Impossible’ films.

BLACK MASS

I’ve never really been in the camp who feel that Johnny Depp has been in a slump acting-wise these past few years. To me, it’s just been a case of him picking a few weak projects, some of which unfortunately ended up being major commercial bombs at the box-office like ‘The Lone Ranger’ and this year’s ‘Mortdecai’. However, with ‘Black Mass’, Depp gives one hell of a career-high performance as the legendary Boston gangster Whitey Bulger. Equally terrific, however, is Joel Edgerton as Whitey’s primary ally in the FBI, John Connolly, who orchestrated the FBI’s alliance with Whitey’s gang, the Winter Hill Gang. Admittedly the story may be a bit standard as far as the gangster genre is concerned but Depp more than commands the screen as Bulger to the point where he can be quite terrifying at times. He may or may not get an Oscar nom for his work here, but he’s definitely the highlight of this fascinating true story about one of the most notorious gangsters in U.S. history.

THE MARTIAN

Easily the best film that Ridley Scott has done in years, ‘The Martian’ is a light-hearted but epic space survival story highlighted by Matt Damon’s outstanding performance as stranded astronaut Mark Watney. His journey to get off Mars is a highly compelling one that is very smart from a scientific perspective but smartly executed to the point where it can appeal to those who aren’t familiar with the science that’s explored in this film. In other words, Watney makes science fun. I mentioned earlier that the film is ‘light-hearted’, which to some may sound a bit weird given that it’s supposed to be a survival story. Well that’s because throughout the film, Watney maintains an optimistic and occasionally witty attitude that provides us with quite a lot of funny moments, like when he accidentally causes an explosion while trying to produce water or when he expresses his displeasure with fellow crewmate Melissa Lewis’ (Jessica Chastain) collection of disco music, the only music that he can listen to while trapped on Mars. Though in the case of the latter, it means that the film has a really nice soundtrack as well as one hilariously awesome and very much fitting piece of end-credits music in the form of ‘I Will Survive’. In short, ‘The Martian’ was a really fun entry in the sci-fi genre that, if it ends up getting an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, will definitely be the fan favorite of general audiences against all of the other nominees.

STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON

Director F. Gary Gray took on the grand story of ‘the world’s most dangerous group’, N.W.A., in the biopic ‘Straight Outta Compton’. While the film is produced by band members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre and stars Cube’s son O’Shea Jackson Jr. in the role of his father, the film actually never feels very egocentric. Obviously some will view the casting of Jackson Jr. as his father as a case of nepotism but he does do a genuinely outstanding job in the role as do Corey Hawkins and Jason Mitchell in the roles of Dr. Dre and Eazy-E, respectively. It admittedly should be noted that these three are the main focus of the film, meaning that fellow N.W.A. members MC Ren and DJ Yella are basically reduced to being side characters here. And as for the film itself, it showcases both the highs and lows of N.W.A. in a solid matter without ever feeling like it’s trying way too hard to over-glorify them. The story of N.W.A. may have been a bit too large for a two-and-a-half-hour film but aside from some slow points here and there, it’s a powerful and emotionally charged biopic highlighting how a bunch of guys from one of the most dangerous cities in America rose up against the oppression they faced in their hometown to become music superstars.

STEVE JOBS

After the Ashton Kutcher-starring ‘Jobs’ turned out to be a critical disappointment, Danny Boyle and Aaron Sorkin found much more success with their take on Apple’s founder Steve Jobs. Their film is a three-act series of events that all take place before Jobs unveils major products like the Macintosh and iMac. The pairing of Boyle’s direction, even if his artistic style is downplayed in this case (which many felt was actually a good thing), and Sorkin’s electric screenplay come together to produce a fascinating look at the legendary Apple founder/personal computer pioneer. Like Mark Zuckerberg in ‘The Social Network’, Jobs is shown to be a person who is impossible to fully love or fully hate due to his tendency to piss off his associates but is clearly a technological pioneer ahead of his time. It’s also very much an actors showcase, with Michael Fassbender shining as Steve Jobs, even if he doesn’t 100% look like him, while being backed up by a terrific supporting cast that also includes Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, and Jeff Daniels. You can definitely expect to see ‘Steve Jobs’ get some attention come awards season.

And now it’s time to begin listing off my Top 12 favorite films of 2015. Kicking off the list at #12 is the unexpected continuation of one of cinema’s most beloved franchises. But under new direction and taking a unique new path that still respects what came before it, this film ends up being another knockout effort from the ‘Rocky’ franchise.

12. CREED

When ‘Rocky Balboa’ was released back in 2006, everyone thought that this would be the end of the ‘Rocky’ franchise, including Sylvester Stallone. One of the reasons why he had done the film in the first place was to give the series a more proper sense of closure after the fifth film turned out to be a disappointment for many. And quite frankly it very much was a fitting conclusion to Rocky Balboa’s time in the ring. But then to the surprise of many, the series made a comeback this year in an arguably unexpected way. Director Ryan Coogler, fresh off of 2013’s indie darling ‘Fruitvale Station’ reteamed with his lead Michael B. Jordan for a new spin on the ‘Rocky’ franchise with ‘Creed’. This time around, the focus shifted to a new character; Adonis Johnson Creed, the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed, who takes up a boxing career just like his father. But while Rocky may no longer be the main character, he still plays a vital role in this film as Donnie ends up seeking him out so that he can be his trainer. Like the previous films in the series, ‘Creed’ really delivers on the franchise’s definitive underdog spirit, though Donnie is an underdog in a much different way compared to Rocky in the first film. In the first ‘Rocky’ film, Rocky was a nobody from Philadelphia who got the chance of a lifetime to fight Apollo Creed, the heavyweight champion of the world. In this film, Donnie also starts out as a no-name boxer but soon enough the world comes to know that he’s the son of Apollo Creed, forcing Donnie to have to live up to his father’s legacy, something that he most certainly didn’t want to have to do at first.

Ultimately Donnie’s rise to fame shares many similarities to what Rocky went through in the first film, right down to how the final fight plays out. Even though Donnie is very much the underdog against the current light heavyweight champion of the world, ‘Pretty’ Ricky Conlan, and he ultimately does end up losing the fight by a split decision, he manages to go the distance and become ‘the people’s champion’ just like Rocky did when he first fought Apollo. So while the film may not add too much to the genre, Coogler’s excellent direction, especially during the fight scenes (particularly the fight between Donnie and Leo ‘The Lion’ Sporino which was legitimately all done in one take), and the terrific performances from its leads are what truly make the film so great. Michael B. Jordan carries quite a bit of the personality that Carl Weathers brought to the role of Apollo and he has terrific camaraderie with Stallone. And as for Sly… well this might arguably be his best performance in what has been the most iconic role of his career. First of all, he once again conveys all of the great personality traits that made Rocky such a lovable character in the first place, like his great comedic timing. This is best exemplified in a scene where Rocky gives Donnie a list of training exercises that he just takes a picture of with his phone and then gives it back to Rocky, telling him that he saved it to the Cloud, to which Rocky, who clearly doesn’t know what he’s talking about, confusedly looks up at the sky and asks “What cloud?”

But then Rocky has to deal with a fight of his own in this film, outside of the ring, when he’s diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which forces him to confront his own mortality more than he’s even done before. It gets to the point where he decides not to do chemotherapy and is completely willing to let life take its toll on him, figuring that there’s not much left for him in the world, especially now that both his wife Adrian and brother-in-law Paulie have passed away (in her case before the events of ‘Rocky Balboa’ and in his case before the events of this film). It’s only through encouragement from Donnie that he ‘keeps fighting’ and does go through chemo and by the end of the film when Donnie and Rocky climb the iconic ‘Rocky steps’, Rocky is shown to be slowly but surely getting better. Sly is so great in this film that hopefully he’ll get nominated for Best Supporting Actor at this year’s Oscars. After all he’s already gotten quite a few wins from other award circuits so it would be a genuine surprise if he doesn’t get any recognition from the Academy. And who knows? Maybe ‘Creed’ will get even further attention during awards season. Well, no matter what happens, ‘Creed’ is another excellent addition to the legendary franchise that is the ‘Rocky’ series. It’s a film that both respects what came before and does its own thing, effectively giving the series new life. So with that said, could we end up seeing more of Donnie’s boxing career in future films? Only time will tell…

I only have one thing to say to lead into my #11 pick… ‘Just for Kids’ my ass!

11. THE GOOD DINOSAUR

I really don’t get the argument that ‘The Good Dinosaur’ is the first Pixar film that’s solely intended ‘For Kids’. First off, I thought that ‘Cars 2’ was the first based on the general consensus towards that film though I guess those people have already forgotten about that film. And second, this is a film about dinosaurs (that includes the carnivores) that features a scene where one of the main characters bites the head off of a beetle and another scene where both main characters, for lack of a better term, go on the equivalent of an acid trip after eating some rotten berries. Yeah… totally ‘just for kids’. Clearly in regards to the two Pixar films that were released this year (a first for the studio), this was the lesser positively-received of the two. It may have something to do with the fact that A.) this was the second Pixar film released this year and was following in the footsteps of a particularly critically acclaimed film or B.) the film went through quite a few production issues before it saw release, namely a switch in director that resulted in the film being completely reworked. But despite that supposed setback, which might I add was also a case with previous Pixar films like ‘Toy Story 2’ and yet weren’t as scrutinized by the media, ‘The Good Dinosaur’ is another excellent effort from Pixar that is both beautifully animated and strong in the themes that it conveys. I’ll admit, the story is a fairly simple one; it’s a straight-forward tale of the main character Arlo trying to get home after he ends up falling into the river and gets washed far away from home. But even if the plot is simpler than some of Pixar’s other films, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t strong in terms of its overall messages.

Like ‘Wall-E’, the film doesn’t rely too much on dialogue and instead places greater emphasis on visual storytelling. There’s a scene in here where Arlo tells Spot about how he misses his family and that his dad recently died, to which Spot responds by revealing to him, without saying anything at all, that his family is gone too. While there have been some people who felt that the more cartoony looking characters didn’t mix too well with the film’s more realistic-looking backgrounds, I wasn’t too bothered by this contrast at all. As far as the story and characters are concerned, Arlo undergoes an admittedly simple but terrifically executed arc of overcoming his fears as he tries to get back home, enduring everything from vicious pterodactyls (“The Storm Provides!”) to a flash flood similar to the one that killed his father. But at the same time, the film also shows that fear can also be a good thing. As the ‘rancher’ T-Rex Butch says, “If you ain’t scared… you ain’t alive”. The film is also highlighted by a great friendship that develops between its main characters, the Apatosaurus Arlo and the cave-boy Spot (a reverse ‘boy and his dog’ story where the dinosaur is the ‘boy’ and the boy is the ‘dog’). At first, Arlo hates Spot for inadvertently being responsible for getting him into his current situation. But as time goes on, the two do begin to grow closer to each other… And I dare you not to cry at the end when they go their separate ways, specifically when Arlo nudges Spot towards his new family and when the two share one last hug goodbye. It’s a scene that I’d argue is just as emotionally powerful as anything that came out of Pixar’s other 2015 release.

I made the following argument, which my friend Kyle over at ‘Kyle’s Animated World’ made as well, in my review of the film and I’ll reiterate it here. What’s so wrong with Pixar making a film that’s not a 15/10 masterpiece? Nothing is ever perfect and yet Pixar’s track record prior to 2011 was so successful that a lot of people act like their ‘failures’ (or as I like to put it, films that don’t have at least a 90% score on RT (that includes both ‘Cars’ films, ‘Brave’, and ‘Monsters University’)) are worse than they really are. I’ve gone on record defending ‘Monsters University’ as the studio’s most underrated film to date and will also admit that I warmed up a bit more to ‘Brave’ upon re-watch. ‘Cars 2’ I’ll admit I have not seen since I saw it in theaters but I am willing to give it a second viewing. And as for ‘The Good Dinosaur’, it's definitely another underrated Pixar effort that I fear may have gotten overshadowed by its more critically acclaimed fellow 2015 brother. And unfortunately, at the moment it’s been a bit of a dud at the box-office, having only just recently gotten past its $200 million budget. Hopefully it’ll do better when it gets released in other markets like China but until then it’s currently the lowest-grossing Pixar film to date. And hey, all of you people out there who complain about Pixar doing too many sequels nowadays? Well where the hell were you when this original Pixar film needed it? Sigh… well, like my friend Kyle, I will always defend this film as being yet another terrific outing from one of the best animation companies in the industry, one that sadly hasn’t gotten the attention that it truly deserves. In my book, Pixar went ‘2 for 2’ this year.

WARNING: Hardcore Cinefiles are guaranteed to hate the film I put at #10. Seriously if you didn’t like this film, you’re not going to like what I have to say about it. Because contrary to popular opinion, I really enjoyed this film and am eager to see where the series goes from here.

10. TERMINATOR GENISYS

Yeah… crucify me… I don’t care! I loved this film. I saw it twice in theaters. I got it on Blu-Ray. In fact, it’s the first ‘Terminator’ film that I own on Blu-Ray. I liked it that much. And I recognize that a lot of people didn’t. That’s been the case with the ‘Terminator’ franchise ever since James Cameron’s first two films, after which Cameron was not involved with any of the subsequent sequels. And for the record, yes I will admit that the decision to continue the franchise after ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ was an unnecessary one because that film ended on a pretty damn conclusive note, with the Connors destroying Cyberdyne and getting rid of all traces of Skynet and the Terminators. But Hollywood forged on anyway and then produced two more sequels that pulled one of the biggest retcons ever by saying that the Connors’ efforts to stop Judgment Day in the second film only postponed the inevitable doomsday. But you know what? I actually really like ‘Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines’. Was it unnecessary? Hell yea it was. But even with that in mind, the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger and some really solid action sequences at least made it a fairly entertaining sci-fi action blockbuster. ‘Terminator Salvation’, the first of the films that was actually set in the post-Judgment Day world, admittedly was quite a disappointment, primarily due to the lackluster writing, but I didn’t ‘hate it’ that much either. And now we come to ‘Terminator: Genisys’. This was one of those films that just couldn’t catch a break in the months leading up to its release.

First off, there was all the mockery directed towards the title. Yes, that’s not how you spell the word ‘genesis’. Apparently the title is a combination of that word and the computer term ‘sys’ (system). Yeah it still confuses me a bit but you know what, why complain about a film title when it has no impact on the quality of the film whatsoever? But probably the biggest controversy surrounding the film came as a result of the second trailer. Even director Alan Taylor himself was displeased with the trailer as it revealed one of the big twists of the film; that John Connor had been compromised by Skynet and turned into a Terminator. But as someone who doesn’t really get too worked up over trailers ‘giving away’ too much, it didn’t bother me too much. In fact, I was actually quite happy with the reveal because it meant that one of my favorite underrated actors working today, Jason Clarke, was going to have a much more substantial role in the film than what the first trailer for the film had suggested. But obviously, I was clearly in the minority when it came to actually liking that trailer and even though James Cameron himself stated that he did like the film (which, unlike some people, I didn’t view as a marketing ploy at all because he wasn’t involved with the film’s production whatsoever), the film did pretty badly with critics. It even has a worse RT score than ‘Salvation’. In that case, allow me to retort…

‘Genisys’ took the same route as the recent ‘Star Trek’ films, which is fitting seeing how both series are currently owned by Paramount/Skydance, by setting up a new alternate dimension. As Kyle Reese is sent back in time to the year 1984, a mysterious figure (later revealed to be the physical embodiment of Skynet) attacks John Connor, setting off a chain of events that lands Kyle in an alternate timeline. And in this timeline, the scared and vulnerable Sarah Connor that he thought he was coming for has instead changed into a badass warrior with the help of her guardian T-800. But all of that change to the series’ canon has been one of the primary sore spots for many people in regards to this film, with their argument being that the creation of an alternate timeline does away with all of the awesome stuff that happened in the previous films. I’ve even seen a few people refer to this film’s plot as being nothing more than ‘Terminator fan-fiction’. Well here’s where I debunk that myth saying that ‘alternate universe’ storylines are a bad idea. Because I can still go to Best Buy and buy both of James Cameron’s Terminator films on Blu-Ray without any trouble. For you see, folks, no matter what happens next for this series, those original films are still there for you to enjoy. It’s only in the series’ current ‘timeline’ that the events of those previous films have been ‘erased’. And hey, at the very least this film made the smart move of ignoring the retcon of the third and fourth films, re-establishing the original Judgment Day date of 1997 and not 2004. Though seriously, ‘Star Trek’ did the same thing and you don’t see anyone complain about that… oh wait, bad example, a lot of hardcore Trek fans complained about it.

Well regardless of what others say, I personally really like this idea of taking a pre-existing storyline and spinning it into a new timeline. That is because in doing so, it allows the filmmakers to explore the series’ lore and characters from a different perspective. And yes, sometimes that will result in some familiar story/character motifs reoccurring from time to time but these instances can be still be done in a different context and done really well, like in ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ with the whole Khan scenario (again, contrary to what some people might claim). I am legitimately interested in seeing where the ‘Terminator’ series continues from this point on as Sarah, Kyle, and ‘Pops’ traverse through this new timeline together, especially now that the latter has basically become a T-1000 after getting thrown into a vat of mimetic polyalloy. Because while they believe that they’ve taken down Skynet, represented in this film as the A.I. behind a new operating system in the alternate timeline version of 2017, Genisys (hence the title of the film), the mid-credits sequence shows that Skynet’s system core is still running even after the Cyberdyne facility was destroyed so it’ll be interesting to see how Skynet will reemerge as the threat that it is as the series continues. And I think it’s safe to say that Matt Smith’s character, the aforementioned physical embodiment of Skynet that is basically responsible for setting up this new timeline, will be involved in some way.

If you ask me, Alan Taylor deserves a lot of credit for being able to almost completely recreate the opening scenes of the first ‘Terminator’ film in both look and feel, save for a few re-castings (sorry folks, there ain’t no Bill Paxton in here to tell the Terminator ‘F*** you asshole!’) and the whole alternate timeline thing. And yeah, the fight between old Arnold and young Arnold was easily one of the best moments of the entire film. But to me one of the absolute best elements of the film that actually did make it work so well was the strong camaraderie amongst the main trio of Sarah, Kyle, and ‘Pops’. Emilia Clarke does a fantastic job stepping into the shoes of one of cinema’s most iconic action heroines, Sarah Connor, and Jai Courtney isn’t too far behind taking on the role of Kyle Reese. Yes, you just read that right. I actually thought that Courtney, who’s quickly become one of the most despised actors working today amongst film fans (up there with people like Shia LaBeouf) primarily for being a part of a few famous franchises’ most critically-bashed entries (e.g. ‘A Good Day to Die Hard’, this), actually did a really nice job as Reese. I’m not saying that he was better than Michael Biehn in the first film but he did his job serving as the audience avatar trying to navigate through this strange new alternate dimension. And while he isn’t in the film that much, J.K. Simmons is a major scene-stealer as O’Brien, a detective who first comes across the group in LA in 1984, nearly gets killed by the T-1000, and then comes across the trio again many years later in 2017 San Francisco and helps them out there completely accepting of what they tell him about them trying to save the world.

As for Jason Clarke as John Connor, I noted before how I did like that he had a much more substantial role in the film than I had initially thought. At first I thought that he was only going to be in the scenes set in the Judgment Day timeline before Kyle goes back in time but nope, he’s in the film more than that and yes, he plays the main villain. It’s revealed that after he was attacked by Matt Smith’s character, he was transformed into the T-3000 to ensure Skynet’s survival and sent into the future to the year 2014 to help develop its ‘cover’, Genisys. Here’s the thing… Ignoring the whole controversy regarding this reveal being shown in the second trailer, I was totally fine with this twist. Not only that, but Clarke’s become my new favorite John Connor after it had been Nick Stahl in ‘Terminator 3’ for a few years now. Clarke does a really great job in making the Terminator John Connor a pretty darn charismatic and badass villain, who’s like a more advanced version of the T-1000. I have the feeling that some viewed this as a ‘betrayal’ of the character given the fact that he’s always been portrayed as one of the series’ main protagonists. But really that’s far from the case here. See, if the scenario was that Connor was revealed to have been a villain the whole time, without having been turned into a Terminator, then I’d be more likely to say that it ‘betrayed’ everything that the character was in the other films. But instead it’s just a case where John was only turned into a villain by Skynet, which obviously works much better.

But of course I can’t talk about this film without mentioning the best part about it; ARNOLD! Whether you like the film or not, you cannot deny that the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger to the most iconic role of his career was very much welcome. This was the first time that he’s been in the role since ‘Terminator 3’ 12 years ago. He wasn’t in ‘Terminator Salvation’ (not counting his CGI double in that film) and after watching this film, I have come to the conclusion that this was arguably the biggest flaw of ‘Salvation’, even more than the writing. Simply put, you can’t have a ‘Terminator’ film without Arnold. Though with that said, I’ve heard rumors that the next film is going to be the last ‘Terminator’ film that he’s going to do which means that if that ends up being true, then the planned third film of this new trilogy is going to have one hell of a chip on its shoulder in regards to having to move on without the series’ biggest star. But anyway, back to his role in ‘Genisys’. Even though he’s now 68 years old, he still manages to kick major ass and is once again excellent in the role of the T-800, especially when it comes to his great comedic timing. Just try and tell me that you didn’t laugh at least once when he tries to smile, a nice little nod to a deleted scene from ‘Terminator 2’. And despite the occasional bickering that goes on between him and Sarah, specifically in regards to the fact that she is destined to ‘mate’ with Kyle in order to give birth to John Connor, you can actually sense that he’s developed a pretty solid father-daughter esque relationship with her. I’ll admit that on repeat viewings of the film, the scene at the end where he tells Kyle to ‘protect my Sarah’ right before he nobly sacrifices himself to destroy the T-3000 was actually a really effective emotional moment.

So yeah, that’s my whole spiel on ‘Terminator: Genisys’. Clearly I’m in the minority when it comes to liking this film and the general discontent towards it definitely showed from a commercial standpoint when this film was released this past July. Domestically it only grossed about $89.7 million, a total that was way below the film’s budget, which put Skydance’s plan of producing two more sequels to the film in jeopardy. But then in came the foreign box-office to save the day, specifically in China where it grossed over $112 million. Overseas the film managed to gross over $350 million which helped the film breakeven (I think… I’ll admit I don’t know much about this whole ‘budget’ and ‘breaking even’ process) on its $155 million budget. The planned trilogy is still up in the air but at the very least, this film was saved from being a box-office bomb by the overseas market (Thank you China!). And while obviously not too many people are keen on seeing the series continue on at this point, I am very much eager to see where it decides to go next now that it has established a new alternate reality a la ‘Star Trek’. In conclusion, I had a lot of fun with ‘Terminator: Genisys’. Is it as good as the two Cameron films? No, but obviously those two films are one hell of a tough act to follow, though that doesn’t mean that I’m holding that against the sequels that came after it. At the very least, this film does feel like a proper sequel to those films without pulling a major retcon that goes against everything that happened at the end of ‘Terminator 2’, effectively making it the best of the sequels after that film. Many of you will argue that this isn’t saying much but it is to me.

And that’s the end of Part 1 of my ‘Top 12 Favorite Films of 2015’ list. Check back tomorrow for Part 2 where I’ll be listing films #9-7.

Creed (2015) review

Over the span of three decades, audiences witnessed one of the greatest underdog stories ever told through one of the most famous film franchises of all-time; the ‘Rocky’ series. It all began in 1976 with a $1 million budgeted boxing film written by its star, Sylvester Stallone, about a small-time boxer named Rocky Balboa, a ‘nobody’ from Philadelphia who was given the opportunity to fight the heavyweight champion of the world, Apollo Creed. In a way, the first ‘Rocky’ was as much of an underdog as its main character but it ended up becoming one of the biggest sleeper hits of all-time, becoming the highest grossing film of the year and winning the Oscar for Best Picture. It subsequently spawned one of the most famous film franchises of all-time; one that experienced both highs and lows over the years. After 2006’s ‘Rocky Balboa’, which primarily came as a result of Stallone wanting to give the franchise a much better conclusion after the critical and commercial disappointment that was 1990’s ‘Rocky V’, it seemed like the franchise had finally come to an end. But then, out of the blue, comes this year’s ‘Creed’, a film that not only continues the series but takes it in a whole new direction. Under the direction of Ryan Coogler, fresh off of 2013’s critical indie darling ‘Fruitvale Station’, ‘Creed’ shifts the series’ focus from Rocky Balboa to a new character, Adonis Johnson Creed, the son of Apollo Creed. And thanks to the superb direction from Coogler and the terrific lead performances of its two main leads, ‘Creed’ proves that the ‘Rocky’ series still has quite a bit of gas left in the tank.

Adonis ‘Donnie’ Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) never knew his father. That’s because his father was former heavyweight champion of the world Apollo Creed, who died as a result of his fight with Russian Olympian Ivan Drago (as seen in ‘Rocky IV’), all of this before Donnie was even born as the result of an extramarital affair. After spending some time in a youth correctional facility, Donnie is taken in by Creed’s widow Mary Anne (Phylicia Rashad). Years later, a now grown-up Donnie quits his firm job in order to pursue a career in boxing just like his father. After being rejected by one of LA’s top boxing gyms, Donnie heads to Philadelphia where he finds Apollo’s old friend and former rival, fellow former heavyweight champion Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), and asks him to train him. Although hesitant at first, Rocky becomes Donnie’s new mentor as he begins to climb the ranks in the world of professional boxing. When Donnie’s connection to Apollo is revealed to the world, something that Donnie didn’t want to happen as he wanted to establish his own legacy, he and Rocky are approached by the handlers of ‘Pretty’ Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew), the current light heavyweight champion of the world who challenges Donnie to be his final opponent before he goes to prison. Donnie accepts though is now pressured to truly prove himself as ‘the son of Apollo Creed’. Meanwhile, Rocky takes on a personal battle of his own outside of the ring that forces him to confront his own mortality.

As far as being part of the ‘Rocky’ franchise, ‘Creed’ not only continues it from a new perspective but also stays true to a lot of the things that have defined the franchise since the beginning. With this new film, Coogler foregoes quite a few of the usual elements that fans have come to expect from the franchise, namely the series’ primary songs in favor of a more modern soundtrack. But at the same time, the story of Adonis Johnson Creed’s rise to fame is very reminiscent of Rocky’s ‘zero to hero’ story in the first ‘Rocky’ through certain story beats. And even though that means that the story can be rather traditional at times, that is by no means an issue as it’s executed really well given Coogler’s clear affection for the franchise. Of course one of the key themes of the franchise has always been its underdog spirit and this film more than exceeds in continuing that tradition. But while previous films put Rocky through underdog situations like being a nobody taking on the heavyweight champion of the world to proving that he still has that ‘fighting spirit’ even at the age of 60, this film’s underdog story is a case of Adonis trying to prove himself with one hell of a legacy to live up to as the son of Apollo Creed. And while Adonis has overtaken the role of the series’ main protagonist, Rocky is still a vital part of the story. The ‘age’ factor that was a key part of ‘Rocky Balboa’ is once again in play here as Rocky now finds himself having to confront his own mortality, putting him at probably the most vulnerable state that he’s ever been at in his series, especially now that everyone close to him has either moved on or died.

The fight sequences for the film are superb, particularly the one in which Adonis fights a local Philadelphia boxer that was legitimately shot in one single take. As for the cast, there’s been quite a lot of talk about Sylvester Stallone’s performance in this film, with quite a lot of people predicting a potential Best Supporting Actor nomination at this year’s Oscars. And I must say that I completely agree with those people. I mean to be perfectly frank Stallone has always been great in the role of Rocky, even in the franchise’s weaker installments. And this film, the first of the series that he did not write, once again proves that as he once again conveys all of the qualities that made Rocky such a lovable character in the first place, including his inherent likability, his great comedic timing, and most importantly his willpower that allows him to overcome any adversity in his life. But of course he’s not the main character this time around as Michael B. Jordan, one of the best up-and-coming actors in the business, takes on the role of the series’ new main protagonist. And he very much succeeds in that regard, capturing quite a lot of the mannerisms that Carl Weathers brought to the role of his father Apollo while also establishing his own personality; a young man who’s been through quite a lot of rough patches in his life and has worked to forge his own legacy, though of course he still carries the weight of his father’s legacy on his shoulders. But as the film goes on, he too goes through a lot of the same endeavors that Rocky went through in the first film. He falls in love, in this case with an up-and-coming singer/songwriter named Bianca (Tessa Thompson, who serves as an excellent foil to Jordan as Adonis’ love interest the same way Talia Shire was always a great foil for Stallone as Adrian), and even experiences a few personal lows.

Under Ryan Coogler’s fantastic direction (two films into his career and he’s already become one of the best new directors in the industry), ‘Creed’ reinvigorates the iconic ‘Rocky’ franchise for a new generation, primarily by moving away from some of the things that made the series so beloved in the first place (for one thing, you don’t hear ‘Eye of the Tiger’ and only hear brief snippets of ‘Gonna Fly Now’ in the score). But even with that in mind, ‘Creed’ still very much feels like a ‘Rocky’ film through beats and themes reminiscent of previous films, especially when it comes to retaining the series’ trademark underdog spirit. No this film doesn’t do much to ‘reinvent’ the genre but that is by no means an issue when it comes to this film. The fight sequences are excellent, Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone excel performance-wise, and as a result, this series that had previously been considered done has been given new life. Which of course begs the question… will the franchise keep moving forward now that it has a new main protagonist? Where could Adonis’ story potentially go? Will Michael B. Jordan go the same route that Stallone did and one day direct one of these films? Will he end up fighting an Olympian in an incredibly over-the-top fight a la ‘Rocky IV’? Whatever happens next, ‘Creed’ is definitely another great installment of this great franchise.

Rating: 4.5/5

2015 Preview: November

November 2015… the month of James Bond, the Hunger Games, Rocky Balboa, Peanuts, and Pixar. A lot of big-name films are hitting theaters during the month of Thanksgiving so let’s highlight them here today. Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner’s year-long preview of the films that are set to come out in 2015. This is Part 11 of 12 and today we come to the penultimate month of 2015; November.

NOVEMBER 6- The first weekend of the month is highlighted by the one-two punch of 007 and the world of Charles Schulz’ iconic franchise, the Peanuts.

*After 2012’s billion-dollar hit ‘Skyfall’, Daniel Craig returns as James Bond in Sam Mendes’ second Bond film, ‘Spectre’. This new film, as the title suggests, will re-introduce the classic villainous organization known as Spectre that had been absent from the franchise since the 70’s due to legal issues. The film also stars Christoph Waltz as main villain Franz Oberhauser, Lea Seydoux as lead Bond girl Madeleine Swann, Monica Bellucci as secondary Bond girl Lucia Sciarra, and Dave Bautista as the film’s primary henchman Mr. Hinx. Alongside them, Ralph Fiennes (M), Naomie Harris (Moneypenny), Ben Whishaw (Q), Rory Kinnear (Tanner), and Jesper Christensen (Mr. White) all reprise their roles from previous Bond films.

*The classic world of Charles Schulz’s ‘Peanuts’ franchise comes to the big screen (for the first time since 1980) in ‘The Peanuts Movie’. Produced by Blue Sky Studios and co-written by Schulz’s son Craig and his son (Schulz’s grandson) Bryan, this new film sees Charlie Brown and his loyal dog Snoopy go on life-changing quests, as Snoopy takes on his arch-nemesis the Red Baron and Charlie Brown tries to woo the Little Red-Haired Girl.

NOVEMBER 13­- Out this weekend are a true story and an ensemble comedy.

*Antonio Banderas stars in ‘The 33’, which tells the true story of the 2010 Chilean mining disaster in which 33 miners ended up getting trapped for over two months in the San Jose mine when a cave-in occurs. The film also stars Rodrigo Santoro, Juliette Binoche, and James Brolin.

*A major ensemble cast headlines ‘Love the Coopers’, a Christmas comedy that follows four generations of the titular Cooper family as they unite for their annual Christmas Eve party; John Goodman, Diane Keaton, Amanda Seyfried, Alan Arkin, Olivia Wilde, Ed Helms, Marisa Tomei, June Squibb, and Anthony Mackie.

NOVEMBER 20- While the big draw this weekend is the finale to the ‘Hunger Games’ saga, there’s also a Seth Rogen comedy and an adaptation of an Argentinian novel for the non-Hunger Games crowds.

*After four years, the ‘Hunger Games’ series finally comes to an end with ‘Mockingjay Part 2’, the immediate follow-up to last year’s ‘Mockingjay Part 1’. This final film sees Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) leading the districts of Panem in a final showdown against President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and the corrupt Capitol. Lawrence is once again joined by, among others, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, Elizabeth Banks, Jeffrey Wright, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Stanley Tucci, and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.

*Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Anthony Mackie headline ‘The Night Before’, in which they star as a trio of friends who seek to have one last great Christmas Eve hurrah. The film also stars Jillian Bell, Michael Shannon, and Mindy Kaling.

*Screenwriter Billy Ray (‘The Hunger Games’, ‘Captain Phillips’) helms the American remake of the 2009 Argentine thriller ‘The Secret in their Eyes’, which in turn was based off of the 2005 novel ‘La pregunta de sus ojos’ by Eduardo Sacheri. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Julia Roberts star as a pair of FBI investigators, along with Nicole Kidman as their D.A. supervisor, who are severely affected by the tragedy of the death of one of their children.  

NOVEMBER 25- Opening early on Wednesday before the Thanksgiving Holiday are a spin-off to the Rocky franchise, Pixar’s second animated film of the year, and a new take on the classic story of Frankenstein. I’ll also add in one noteworthy limited release.

*Ryan Coogler, director of 2013’s critically acclaimed indie drama ‘Fruitvale Station’, teams up again with Fruitvale star Michael B. Jordan for ‘Creed’, a spin-off to the iconic ‘Rocky’ franchise. Jordan stars as the son of the late Apollo Creed, who begins training to become a boxer with the help of his father’s old friend, the ‘Italian Stallion’ himself, Rocky Balboa, once again played by Sylvester Stallone.

*Pixar achieves a company first this year with ‘The Good Dinosaur’, their second release in a single year. Their newest film explores a world in which the dinosaurs were never killed by the asteroid as a young Apatosaurus named Arlo tries to get back home along with his new friend, a human cave-boy named Spot. The film’s voice-cast includes Sam Elliot, Anna Paquin, and Jeffrey Wright.

*Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy star in ‘Victor Frankenstein’, a new take on the classic story of Frankenstein as told from the perspective of Dr. Frankenstein’s (McAvoy) assistant Igor (Radcliffe).

*And finally, debuting in limited release on Friday the 27^th is ‘The Danish Girl’, directed by ‘The King’s Speech’ and ‘Les Miserables’ director Tom Hooper. Eddie Redmayne stars as Lili Elbe, who became one of the first major recipients of sex reassignment surgery in the 1930’s. Alicia Vikander co-stars as Gerda Gottlieb, who was married to Lili back when she was Einar Wegener, and the film also stars Ben Whishaw and Matthias Schoenaerts.

And those are the films that are hitting theaters this November. Check back next month for the final part of this year-long preview as we close out 2015 with the films of December, which includes a small sci-fi film you may have heard of… ;)