86th Annual Academy Awards: PREDICTIONS

Seeing how we are only a few days away from the 86^th Annual Academy Awards, which will be held on March 2^nd and hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, it’s that time again to do some predictions over who might be going home with an Oscar this upcoming Sunday. Now, I won’t be covering all 24 of the Oscar categories and that will mostly be for one of two reasons; A.) I may not be that familiar with the topic, such as sound mixing, sound editing, and makeup or B.) I haven’t seen most of the films in that category. In the case of the latter, I’m mainly referring to the Short Films (both live-action and animated), documentaries (feature and short-subject), and the foreign films. Also, in some categories, I’ll be listing some snubs that I feel occurred when these nominations were announced because there were a few noteworthy ones this year (as is technically every year). With that said, let’s get started…

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

*GRAVITY

*THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG

*IRON MAN 3

*THE LONE RANGER

*STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

Possible Snubs: I’m kind of surprised that ‘The Lone Ranger’ got a nomination in this category (it also got one for Best Makeup) seeing how, you know, most people hated it. I didn’t, but for all of the reasons why I did like it, none of them were really for the effects. In its place, I would’ve given the nomination to a film like ‘Oz the Great and Powerful’, ‘Man of Steel’, or ‘Pacific Rim’. But even if one of these films did get that nomination, it’s kind of unlikely that they would win because…

My Pick: GRAVITY

Yeah, it’s obvious, isn’t it? It’s almost certain that ‘Gravity’ is going to win this award because its effects were one of the most praised elements of the film. There’s really no competition here. I mean, out of these other four, the only other one that I feel could come away with an upset is ‘The Hobbit’ because of the excellent effects for the dragon Smaug. But at the end of the day, this one’s pretty much in the bag.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

*AMERICAN HUSTLE

*GRAVITY

*THE GREAT GATSBY

*HER

*12 YEARS A SLAVE

My Pick: THE GREAT GATSBY

A bit of a wild card pick here, because I know that not everyone was as big of a fan of this film as I was (if you recall, this was my fifth favorite film of 2013). But if ‘The Great Gatsby’ were to win one of these awards, I have a feeling it would be in either one of the two categories it’s nominated in; this or Best Costume Design (maybe both) because both the Costume and Production Designs for the film were truly great. I have a feeling ‘American Hustle’ might take this one (and for the record, the film did have an excellent production design) but for this category, I give my vote to the one and only… Gatsby!

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

*HAPPY (‘DESPICABLE ME 2’)

*LET IT GO (‘FROZEN’)

*THE MOON SONG (‘HER’)

*ORDINARY LOVE (‘MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM’)

Possible Snub: While this is not exactly a snub, I do kind of have to talk about what was previously the fifth song in this category, ‘Alone Yet Not Alone’ from the film of the same name. Never heard of it? Don’t worry because when this nomination was first announced, I didn’t know about it either. However, a few weeks ago, the nomination was revoked because one of the writers of the song, Bruce Broughton, had contacted members of the Academy for some support; Broughton being a former governor of the Academy and currently a committee member of the Academy’s music branch. The song itself was actually pretty good (it had a really sweet melody), but there’s nothing that can be done now; it’s no longer nominated. With that said though, why then is the Academy just going to stay with only four songs in this category? Why not just give the open spot to another song, like Lana Del Rey’s ‘Young and Beautiful’ from ‘The Great Gatsby’ or ‘Oblivion’ from M83 and the film of the same name. Heck, I would be fine if they gave it to ‘A Little Party Never Killed Nobody’, also from ‘Gatsby’. Anyway…

My Pick: LET IT GO (‘FROZEN’)

‘Ordinary Love’ won this year’s Golden Globe for Best Song, but I’ll admit that I’m not that big of a fan of it. I mean, I get the whole thing about U2 and their connection with Nelson Mandela but at the same time I don’t think it’s the ‘Best Song’ of the year (from a film perspective, of course). That honor, I feel, should go to Robert and Kristen Anderson-Lopez for the standout single from Disney’s ‘Frozen’, ‘Let it Go’. It truly is one of the best songs from any Disney film in recent years; in fact I’d say it’s the best since the last Disney film song to earn an Oscar, ‘You’ll Be in My Heart’ from ‘Tarzan’. As for the other nominated songs, my runner-up pick would be ‘Happy’ from ‘Despicable Me 2’. I have not seen the film, but boy does that song have a catchy beat.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

*THE BOOK THIEF

*GRAVITY

*HER

*PHILOMENA

*SAVING MR. BANKS

Possible Snubs: Um, where Hans Zimmer for ‘12 Years a Slave’? Now that was one of the best scores of the year. It was a simple score, but one that had so much powerful emotions in it at the same time. Also, while I haven’t seen the film, how about Alex Ebert for ‘All is Lost’? You know, the score that won this exact same award at the Golden Globes. Ah well…

My Pick: GRAVITY

This was actually a rather hard category to predict because I was torn between not two, but three of the scores that were nominated (the only three whose films I actually had seen). There’s Thomas Newman’s score for ‘Saving Mr. Banks’, which had some really beautiful melodies in it that, to quote my friend Matt, will make you want to watch ‘Mary Poppins’ again. There’s also the score from ‘Her’ by Arcade Fire which was really poignant and moving. But in the end, my vote will go to Steven Price’s score for ‘Gravity’, a score that goes along quite well with the intensity of the situations that occur within the film. I especially love the final selection from the score, which shares the name of the film, primarily for the epic choral performance at the end of it. For the record, I would be fine if any of the three scores I just mentioned win this award but if I had to pick just one, this would be that one.

BEST ANIMATED FILM

*THE CROODS

*DESPICABLE ME 2

*ERNEST AND CELESTINE

*FROZEN

*THE WIND RISES

Possible Snubs: No nominations for a Pixar film this year? I say that especially when considering that ‘Monsters University’ was a really good film. Sure, it wasn’t Pixar’s best film, or even the Best Animated Film of the year for that matter, but it was far better than the previous Pixar film, ‘Brave’, which for the record wasn’t bad but at the same time I wasn’t a fan of it winning this award last year because it wasn’t the best Animated Film of 2012.

My Pick: FROZEN

I’ve heard many reports that predicted that the Academy is likely going to give this award to ‘The Wind Rises’, seeing how it’s to be Hayao Miyazaki’s last film (I think; it hasn’t really been clarified if this is true yet). Now, I’m sure that ‘The Wind Rises’ is an excellent movie, as is the rest of Miyazaki’s work. However… I haven’t seen it. So, in its place, I’ll go with my pick for the Best Animated Film of 2013, ‘Frozen’. This one has really grown on me in the weeks since I first saw it in theaters. It truly is one of the best Disney films to come out in recent years and I feel that it will stand toe to toe with some of the most revered films in the Disney lineup. I’m really happy to see that it’s become the biggest hit for Disney Animation since ‘The Lion King’, as it has grossed over $980 million at the time I’m writing this and I have a feeling it will join that fabled billion dollar club in the next few days. But to all of you ‘Frozen’ fans out there, I ask that you please be prepared in case ‘The Wind Rises’ wins this award because there is a chance that it might win it. Don’t worry though, as these two films are the definite front-runners, so we’ll just have to wait and see who takes it on March 2^nd.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

*BEFORE MIDNIGHT

*CAPTAIN PHILLIPS

*PHILOMENA

*12 YEARS A SLAVE

*THE WOLF OF WALL STREET

My Pick: TIE (12 Years/Wolf)

I couldn’t pick just one in this category. I would be fine if it went to either John Ridley for ‘Twelve Years a Slave’ or Terrence Winter for ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. Both featured excellent screenplays for their own unique reasons. With Ridley, it was for not skimping on any of the horrors and struggles that slaves faced during that time. With Winter, it was for writing a screenplay full of witty and hilarious dialogue. Both of these films earn my vote.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

*AMERICAN HUSTLE

*BLUE JASMINE

*DALLAS BUYERS CLUB

*HER

*NEBRASKA

My Pick: HER

Spike Jonze had a lot to work with in regards to ‘Her’. I mean after all, this is a story about a man who falls in love with the female voice of his computer’s operating system. Even with that strange premise, Jonze managed to make the characters feel real and yes that even includes the A.I. Samantha. He won this award at the Golden Globes, so I’m rooting for him to win it at the Oscars this year.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

*SALLY HAWKINS (‘BLUE JASMINE’)

*JENNIFER LAWRENCE (‘AMERICAN HUSTLE’)

*LUPITA NYONG’O (‘12 YEARS A SLAVE’)

*JULIA ROBERTS (‘AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY’)

*JUNE SQUIBB (‘NEBRASKA’)

Possible Snubs: I haven’t seen ‘August: Osage County’ and I’m sure that Julia Roberts was excellent in it, but in her place I would have given the nomination to Margot Robbie for ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’, as she made quite an impression for what was most definitely her breakout role.

My Pick: LUPITA NYONG’O

One thing about this year’s acting nominees is that there are pretty much direct front-runners in every single category (both lead and supporting). In the case of Supporting Actress, the front-runner seems to be Jennifer Lawrence for ‘Hustle’. Now, I love Jennifer Lawrence; she’s a great actress, she’s one of the most likable actresses working today, and she was great in ‘American Hustle’. But for this year, my vote goes to Lupita Nyong’o for her role in ‘12 Years a Slave’. She makes one hell of an impression in what was only her film debut with a very powerful and emotional performance. I’m fine if J-Law wins for ‘Hustle’, but I feel that this award should go to Nyong’o instead.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

*BARKHAD ABDI (‘CAPTAIN PHILLIPS’)

*BRADLEY COOPER (‘AMERICAN HUSTLE’)

*MICHAEL FASSBENDER (‘12 YEARS A SLAVE’)

*JONAH HILL (‘THE WOLF OF WALL STREET’)

*JARED LETO (‘DALLAS BUYERS CLUB’)

My Pick: MICHAEL FASSBENDER

Thankfully, Fassbender was not robbed of an Oscar nom like Leonardo DiCaprio was for ‘Django Unchained’ last year, both of whom portraying vicious slave owners in their respective films. Jared Leto is being tapped as the frontrunner for this award, but I haven’t seen ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ so I have to base this on the films I have seen and of the other four nominees in this category, my vote is for Fassbender. He really got into this role and even if he doesn’t win here, I have a feeling that this will not be the last time Fassbender gets a nomination.

BEST ACTRESS

*AMY ADAMS (‘AMERICAN HUSTLE’)

*CATE BLANCHETT (‘BLUE JASMINE’)

*SANDRA BULLOCK (‘GRAVITY’)

*JUDI DENCH (‘PHILOMENA’)

*MERYL STREEP (‘AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY’)

DEFINITE Snub: This category has the biggest snub of this year’s Oscars in my opinion; Emma Thompson for ‘Saving Mr. Banks’. Her performance carries the whole film and was easily the highlight of the film. Who would I switch out to have Thompson put in this category? Meryl Streep; it’s nothing against her (like with Roberts, I can’t say anything about her performance because I haven’t seen the film) but this is her EIGHTEENTH (!!) Oscar nomination. It’s kind of getting old seeing her get nominated almost EVERY year. She won this award for ‘The Iron Lady’ two years ago, beating out more deserving nominees like Michelle Williams for ‘My Week with Marilyn’ and Rooney Mara for ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’. But as for this year’s nominees…

My Pick: AMY ADAMS

I’ve given ‘American Hustle’ quite a bit of flak, calling it one of the most overrated films of 2013. I still stand by that even though I’ve warmed up to the movie a bit more after a second viewing. But out of all of the members of Hustle’s cast who are nominated for an Oscar, Adams is the most deserving. It was her who stood out the most in the entire movie, more so than Jennifer Lawrence, Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, and Jeremy Renner (by the way, you have to feel bad for Renner because he’s the only one of these five who hasn’t gotten a single nomination for his own work in the film (not counting the ‘best ensemble awards’). The front runner in this category is Cate Blanchett for ‘Blue Jasmine’ but like with Jared Leto (and his lead co-star; more on that in a second) for ‘Dallas Buyers Club’, I haven’t seen ‘Blue Jasmine’ so based on the films I have seen, Adams earns my vote. For the record, I’ll be fine if any of the cast members from ‘Hustle’ win an Oscar, but I feel that she is the most deserving out of all of them.

BEST ACTOR

*CHRISTIAN BALE (‘AMERICAN HUSTLE’)

*BRUCE DERN (‘NEBRASKA’)

*LEONARDO DICAPRIO (‘THE WOLF OF WALL STREET’)

*CHIWETEL EJIOFOR (‘12 YEARS A SLAVE’)

*MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY (‘DALLAS BUYERS CLUB’)

My Pick: CHIWETEL EJIOFOR

This category’s front-runner seems to be McConaughey for ‘Dallas Buyers Club’. While I haven’t seen the film, I won’t be complaining if he wins because it will help signify the successful career resurrection that he has had. So… based off of the performances I have seen, my vote is for Ejiofor. Like his co-star Lupita Nyong’o, his performance was very powerful and emotional and he got all of this across saying very little in the entire film. My runner-up pick would be DiCaprio; not only because he brought his usual A-game to the role of Jordan Belfort, but the poor guy has been long overdue for an Oscar.

BEST DIRECTOR

*DAVID O. RUSSELL (‘AMERICAN HUSTLE’)

*ALFONSO CUARON (‘GRAVITY’)

*ALEXANDER PAYNE (‘NEBRASKA’)

*STEVE MCQUEEN (‘12 YEARS A SLAVE’)

*MARTIN SCORCESE (‘THE WOLF OF WALL STREET’)

My Pick: ALFONSO CUARON

I’m just going to come out and say this; Gravity is not my pick for Best Picture but at the same time, I’m more than happy to give my vote for Cuaron in regards to the Best Director Oscar. It was a project that he spent four years on and considering how it turned out, he is very well-deserving of this award. Besides, not every film will win Best Picture and Best Director at the same event (just look at last year’s Oscars; Ang Lee won the Directing Oscar, but ‘Argo’ took home Best Picture). Even if I don’t think ‘Gravity’ is the best film of 2013, Cuaron definitely was the standout when it came to directing.

BEST PICTURE

*AMERICAN HUSTLE

*CAPTAIN PHILLIPS

*DALLAS BUYERS CLUB

*GRAVITY

*HER

*NEBRASKA

*PHILOMENA

*12 YEARS A SLAVE

*THE WOLF OF WALL STREET

My Pick: 12 YEARS A SLAVE

Quite simply, it would be a travesty if this didn’t win Best Picture. It truly was the best film of 2013; a hard film to watch, but that’s what you’d expect for a film like this; one that doesn’t skimp on any of the horrifying aspects of its subject matter. My runner-up pick is ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’, but I’m rooting for this film to win it because it’s the most deserving.

American Hustle: 2nd Opinion

David O. Russell’s ‘American Hustle’ has been one of the best-reviewed films of 2013. On Rotten Tomatoes, it currently maintains a 93% overall score with an average rating of 8.2/10 amongst critics. It has received numerous awards from pretty much every major award ceremony this year from the Golden Globes to the BAFTAS and it is tied with ‘Gravity’ for the most nominations at this year’s Academy Awards. So it seems like this is one of the best films of the year, right? Well, from what I can tell, audiences aren’t exactly agreeing with critics when it comes to this movie… and I’m right there with them. I first saw this movie as a double feature with ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ (a film that ultimately landed the number 3 spot of my Best Films of the Year list) and I originally gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 compared to the perfect 5/5 rating I gave to ‘Wolf’. With ‘Hustle’, I found the film to be very overrated for a few reasons but after a while I was willing to give it another chance, which I recently did. With this second viewing, I've warmed up to this movie a bit more… but at the same time I still think it’s quite overrated.

But first, let me start by saying that the best thing about this movie are the performances from its cast. At the end of the day, this is an ‘actor’s movie’ and everyone does a great job, especially the five leads. The main standout of this film actually isn’t Jennifer Lawrence as many critics are saying, although I will say that Lawrence does a great job making the most out of a pretty minor role and is an absolute scene-stealer. Instead, it’s Amy Adams who steals the show as Sydney Prosser, the seductive mistress of Christian Bale’s character, Irving Rosenfeld. One of the biggest reasons why she outshines everyone else in the cast is that while she may not be the ‘main character’ (more on that in a bit), she does the best job at portraying her character’s inner turmoil, being in a situation where she’s in way over her head ultimately resulting with her being unable to deal with the stress and the pressure. All in all, this film just has an excellent ensemble cast from top to bottom (Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Louis C.K., an excellent uncredited cameo from Robert De Niro, etc.).

However, while this is certainly an ‘actor’s movie’, that unfortunately comes at the expense of the writing, which is a bit of a mess. From what I hear, a lot of the dialogue was improvised by the actors during filming, which for the record can be fine seeing how it allows the actors to find a greater understanding of their characters. But it’s clear that in regards to this movie, the characters and their dialogue are focused on more than the actual story itself. The movie tries to deal with all of these characters and as a result, it sometimes becomes more complicated than it needs to be. As I mentioned earlier, because the film has so many characters that are being focused on, sometimes at the same time, there isn’t really a definitive main character. It seems like Irving would be the main character, but then sometimes it shifts to Sydney and then it shifts to Richie (Cooper). It also drags at certain points, which I find ironic seeing how I saw this after seeing the 3-hour ‘Wolf of Wall Street’, a film that had a longer runtime but never dragged at any point.

I also want to talk about something that has been bugging me ever since the first time I saw this film. According to the general consensus on Rotten Tomatoes, critics found the film to be ‘riotously funny’. With that in mind, I have to ask… what the heck am I missing here? I did not find this film ‘riotously funny’. Aside from a few funny lines here and there, what’s so funny about this film? Is it because they are all in that sort of ridiculous-looking 70’s attire? I just don’t get it. In fact, I’m pretty sure this isn’t even classified as a ‘comedy’; it’s a crime period drama. This is sort of a similar situation that happened with O. Russell’s previous film, ‘Silver Linings Playbook’, I view that film more as a drama than I do as a comedy (though for the record, I think it does have more comedy than ‘Hustle’). On the other side of the spectrum, a film like ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ is a black comedy and as such, the term ‘riotously funny’ is more fitting for that film.

(Don’t believe me? Watch this scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr3151RdQWE)

For the record, I don’t think that ‘American Hustle’ is a bad movie… it really isn’t. It’s just that this is easily one of the most overrated films of 2013 and I really hate to say that because this was a film that I was really looking forward to after seeing ‘Silver Linings Playbook’. But in the end, ‘American Hustle’ is a film that favors its cast over its story. The story’s a mess and because there are so many ‘main’ characters, it’s hard to find a single/solitary main character. Also, I seriously don’t get how this movie is supposed to be ‘riotously funny’ because it’s not really supposed to be a comedy in the first place whereas a film like ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ is. Still, this film benefits from a terrific ensemble cast, an excellent production design, and one of the best movie soundtracks of 2013 (I have a feeling that O. Russell was influenced by Martin Scorcese in regards to that). Unfortunately though, even after a second viewing, I still don’t think it’s one of the best films of the year. It wouldn’t even make it into my Honorable Mentions.

Robocop (2014) review

I’m guessing that when this film was first announced, most of you reacted rather negatively to the news. That’s usually the typical reaction that a lot of people have whenever a remake is announced. After all, if the original film is really good, then why bother remaking it when there’s no real need to improve it? I mean, there is potential if someone’s remaking a bad film, but these days Hollywood will just remake anything even when most audiences aren’t that supportive of it. This scenario certainly applies to the remake of Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 classic ‘Robocop’. It’s one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time, and it still holds up quite even after 27 years. So with all of that in mind… why then would I be one of the few who was actually looking forward to this film? Well, that’s because this series is in desperate need of a fresh new start because the two sequels to the original film were both terribly inferior follow-ups. So even though this was still technically a ‘remake’, I went into this hopeful that this could be the first good Robocop film since the original… so I was relieved, and also somewhat surprised, to find that I really enjoyed this new Robocop.

In the year 2028, multinational conglomerate OmniCorp has enjoyed much success overseas with the use of their ‘robotic soldiers’ in law enforcement. However, they have been unable to use their technology in the United States because of a national law, the Dreyfus Act, which prevents them from doing so. In order to work around this, OmniCorp CEO Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) suggests that they create a product that combines man with machine that could be accepted by the public, who have been influenced by the Dreyfus Act. OmniCorp then proceeds to look for a test subject for this new machine, which they eventually find when local cop Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is critically injured by a car bomb that was planted on orders from a local crime boss. With consent from his wife Clara (Abbie Cornish), OmniCorp outfits Alex with robotic body armor, turning him into the ultimate law enforcer; Robocop. However, because Murphy’s consciousness is still present even though most of his body isn’t, OmniCorp now find themselves having to deal with Murphy’s emotions as he tries to not only reconnect with his wife and son, but to also take down those who tried to have him killed.

I did refer to this as a remake earlier, but you may be surprised to find out that, in execution, this isn’t really that much of a remake. Yes, this film does share a couple things in common with the original (heck, they even use Basil Poledouris’ classic theme a few times) and it is sort of telling the same ‘origin’ story. But at the same time, this film manages to do some things to distance itself from its predecessor. For one thing, while the original was a satire full of over-the-top violence, this film has a more political view with themes of corporate greed and safety at the cost of one’s liberty. I also really liked that in this one, Murphy’s family plays a bigger role in the story whereas in the original film (as well as its sequels) they were barely in it. Even some of the ‘questionable’ filmmaking choices that a lot of people were worried about actually turned out fine in the end. Robocop’s new black suit does look pretty cool and it actually fits pretty well within the film itself. Even if you’re still not that much of a fan of it, don’t worry because he is in the classic silver suit for a brief time. Also, while this film may not be as violent as the original, the action sequences are pretty darn good for a PG-13 rated film.

Like the original film, this one also benefits from a terrific cast. In the case of this film, it’s especially in regards to the supporting cast. Michael Keaton, Gary Oldman (who plays the head scientist responsible for the creation of Robocop), Abbie Cornish, and Samuel L. Jackson (who plays the host of a television program in support of robotic law enforcement) all do excellent jobs, as does Joel Kinnaman in the lead role of Alex Murphy/Robocop. Sure, it’s not the ‘best’ performance in the movie but in the end he turns out to be a very worthy successor to Peter Weller in the role. If I did have any complaints about this film in general, it would be that its villains are actually really weak. There’s one villain who you think would play a major part in the film seeing how this one has a hand in Murphy’s accident, resulting in him being turned into Robocop, but they don’t really do anything with him. Then you have another villain who’s basically the ‘main villain’ but you would never really guess that he’s a bad guy because he doesn’t really act like one, even at the end when Robocop is trying to take him down.

I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed the 2014 iteration of ‘Robocop’. That’s mainly because this is more of a reboot than a remake, managing to do things differently from the original while maintaining a few similarities to it. Even though the film does have some pretty weak villains, the action sequences are really good for a PG-13 rated ‘Robocop’ film and the acting is very good from all involved. The bottom line here is that this film was ultimately not the disaster that a lot of people were speculating it would turn out to be. Is it as good as the original? No, but then again it doesn’t have to be. The original will still live on as one of the great sci-fi films but this reboot manages to do things good enough that it ends up being one of the better remakes to have ever come out and the best Robocop film since the original. I’m pleased to say that Paul Verhoeven’s classic is no longer the only good Robocop film.

Rating: 4/5

The LEGO Movie (2014) review

(As you can tell, this review was a little late but, sadly, there is a big reason for why it took me a while to write this. My dad was injured in an accident a couple days ago and, at the time I am writing this, he has just passed away as a result of his injury. As such, I dedicate this review in memory of him because I know that he knew how big of a LEGO fan I am. Love you Dad!)

Sometimes, there is a movie that, in one way or another, will directly appeal to your childhood. For me, ‘The LEGO Movie’ is one of those movies. When I was growing up, LEGOs were probably my favorite things in the entire world and while I’m not as big of a LEGO fan now as I was when I was a kid, I still have a general passing interest in the brand. As such, this was the first major movie of 2014 that I was anticipating because I was really excited to see an actual ‘LEGO Movie’ on the big screen (this being the first official theatrical LEGO movie). However, at first glance, one might view this as a cynical marketing gimmick done by Hollywood with the main purpose of selling LEGO products which would make sense considering that these are construction toys we’re talking about here. But then you take into account the two men directing this film, Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Their previous two films, 2009’s ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ and 2012’s ‘21 Jump Street’, were some of the best films of their respective years and in the end, ‘The LEGO Movie’ will most likely end up being one of the best films of 2014 for a few good reasons. It’s certainly the first great film of 2014, that’s for sure.

Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt) is just your average guy (or ‘minifigure’ if you want to be precise) who lives a very ordinary life as a construction worker in his hometown of Brickville. However, things begin to change when he comes across an object known as the ‘Piece of Resistance’, which is the only thing that can stop a powerful weapon known as ‘the Kragle’ (in reality, a tube of ‘Krazy Glue’). Emmet soon finds himself at the center of a prophecy where he is believed to be ‘The Special’, the only one who is capable of stopping the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell), who plans to use the Kragle to take over the world by freezing it in place and bringing an end to the idea of ‘creativity’. Emmet joins forces with the ‘Master Builders’, people who are capable of building anything without the need of ‘instructions’, unlike people like Emmet. With the help of allies like freedom fighter Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), wise old wizard Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), and even the ‘Caped Crusader’ himself, Batman (Will Arnett), Emmet sets off on his journey to save the LEGO universe as he tries to prove to everyone (including himself) that he truly is ‘The Special’.

At first, this story may seem like your traditional ‘unexpected hero’ story and that would seem like that’s the case here… or is it? I say that because, without giving anything away, this film pulls one heck of a plot twist near the end that I guarantee a lot of you will not see coming (on that note, I applaud Warner Bros and everyone involved on the project for not giving this key part of the movie away in the marketing). Not only that, but this twist is a really good one as well as it does a fine job of representing the legacy and popularity of the LEGO brand through the eyes of its fan base. The story itself speaks to both the LEGO builders who always follow the instructions (I’m not afraid to admit that I’m one of them) as well as those who like to go ‘outside the box’ and by doing so, this movie will appeal directly to both groups of fans. As directors, Lord and Miller certainly fall into the latter group as proven by some of the creative decisions that they have made in their films, which is once again evident because of this film’s unexpected turn of events.

Also, the animation in this film is fantastic. From what I hear, this film was a mix of computer animation and stop-motion animation. With that in mind, I now want to know what parts of this movie were actually done in stop-motion. I mean, sure, the majority of the film clearly must be computer animated but part of the reason why it’s so good is because, in execution, it really feels like stop-motion animation. It’s quite amazing to see how everything in this movie, even special effects like fire and water, is made to look like they were really made out of LEGOs. Of course, like with a lot of great animated films, this one also boasts an excellent voice cast. Everyone is well cast in their respective roles and this film has a great cast of characters, including the no-nonsense Bad Cop who has a split personality where he’s also sometimes a Good Cop (Liam Neeson in a rare comedic turn) as well as a great comedic interpretation of Batman as done by Will Arnett. Also, be sure to be on the lookout for some pretty cool cameos along the way.

My friend Augie made a good point recently about how Phil Lord and Chris Miller have been very successful at taking projects that wouldn’t seem to be good ideas at first and turn them into something that ends up being far better than what we initially expected. I mean, I’m pretty sure that none of us were thinking that ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ and ‘21 Jump Street’ would turn out to be as good as they were, but they were. The same can definitely be said for ‘The LEGO Movie’. On the surface it does look like a ‘marketing gimmick’ to sell products and in the end there’s part of it that no doubt feels like a feature-length LEGO commercial (it was unavoidable). But then this film pulls one of the best twists in recent memory and as a result, it turns out to be a very well-made animated film. It has excellent animation, a terrific voice cast, and a story that may seem simple at first glance but in the end it turns out to be one that has a lot of heart. This film does a great job at representing the LEGO brand and its dedicated fans. For LEGO fanatics, this is an absolute must-see but even if you aren’t, this is still one that I highly recommend because it truly is one of the best animated films in recent years.

Rating: 5/5!

Robocop Film Series Retrospective

The remake of ‘Robocop’ hits theaters this weekend, serving not only as a remake of the original 1987 film of the same name but also as a ‘reboot’ of the series, being the first film in this series to come out in nearly two decades. Obviously, like with most remakes, many are looking at this remake with either hesitation or anger, and as usual with remakes, it’s for good reason. The original film is such a classic that it begs the question as to why they should even remake it in the first place. But, for some odd reason, I’m actually sort of anticipating this film. I guess it’s mainly because, to put it bluntly, that original film is sort of the only good ‘Robocop’ film that has ever come out in theaters, as we’ll see in a bit with its two follow-ups. Because of that, I feel like there is a chance that this remake will turn out all right because this series is in need of a fresh start. But for now, it’s time to look back upon the original three films in the ‘Robocop’ series.

ROBOCOP (1987)

We begin with director Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 film which, as I said in the intro, is not only the best ‘Robocop’ film to date, but also the ONLY good ‘Robocop’ film as well. It’s a movie that’s incredibly violent (like a lot of Verhoeven’s films) but at the same time darkly comic, with a lot of dark humor that probably shouldn’t even be funny in the first place but somehow it is. It also serves as a biting satire of American culture and the media, from the lighthearted news reports to the commercial parodies, both of which appear frequently over the course of the film. Peter Weller is excellent in the role of Alex Murphy, the man who is killed by a gang of criminals and brought back to life by the OCP Corporation as the cybernetic cyborg policeman, Robocop; Weller just has an excellent presence in the role. The rest of the cast is great as well, including Nancy Allen as Murphy’s partner Anne Lewis and Kurtwood Smith as gang leader Clarence Boddicker (‘Can you fly, Bobby?’). Quite frankly, I can’t find anything wrong with this film. The original ‘Robocop’ still holds up very well 27 years after it came out back in 1987 and is not only one of the best sci-fi films of the 80’s, but one of the best sci-fi films period… sadly, we’re about to get into some not-so-great ‘Robocop’ films.

Rating: 5/5!

ROBOCOP 2 (1990)

Robocop 2 has to go down as one of the most disappointing follow-ups to any film ever. Here’s a film that does have some very good things in it, like a good cast, a story with potential, and some great action sequences. Plus, while Paul Verhoeven is not in the director chair this time, in his place is the man behind what is still the best ‘Star Wars’ film to date in ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, Irvin Kershner. What could possibly go wrong? Well, quite a lot of things actually. The overall story, which was written by Frank Miller, does have potential for a really good follow-up to the original film but in the end it’s full of plotlines that go absolutely nowhere. There’s one in particular that bugs me, strictly because of how it retcons the most important aspect of the character of Robocop; that even though he is now a machine, he still has the emotions of Alex Murphy, the man he once was before he was killed in action. But that all changes in one scene, a scene that occurs about only 16 minutes into the movie.

After a scene where Robocop drives by the home of his widow, he is then reprimanded by OCP for doing so and told that he is no longer human. He then has to tell his wife that he is only a machine and that her husband is dead. I like to refer to this scene as the moment in the film where it basically says ‘f*** you’ to the audience because of how this is an incredibly stupid idea for character development. At the end of the first film, Robocop started to feel more gain back some of his human emotions but basically in this scene he’s told to not act like a human anymore and he just does what he’s told. Now, I wouldn’t be so mad at this scene if there was a scene later where he decides to ignore what OCP is telling him and to act more ‘human’… but it never comes. This film takes one of the most defining attributes of the character and shoves it aside like it never happened. This has got to be some of the worst character development for an already established protagonist that I have ever seen. That is actually part of the reason why I’m even looking forward to the remake because I’m hoping the filmmakers could do a better job at handling this aspect of the character… or at least do a better job than they did in this movie.

But that’s just part of this film’s many problems. For one thing, it has quite a mean-spirited tone to it all. This is heavily exemplified in the character of Hob, a kid who is an ally of the main villain, drug-lord Cain. This heartless kid is not afraid to kill people, swears like a sailor, and is just an overall unpleasant little sadist. To make matters worse, the film tries to make us feel sorry for him when he dies, but I’m sorry, that’s not going to happen after all that he’s done in this film. In fact, pretty much every kid in this movie is a troublemaker (believe me folks I’m being very lenient in the words I’m using to describe the kids in this movie). There’s this scene where a bunch of Little Leaguers rob a store and beat up the store owner and another scene where some kids swear at Robocop (basically every kid in this movie has a potty mouth) and one of them even paints ‘kick me’ on his back. I wondering if either Kershner and/or Miller hate kids, because from the way kids are portrayed in this film, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was true.

I have a few other minor gripes, like how the ‘Old Man’ (Dan O’Herlihy reprising his role from the last film) is suddenly changed into a more corrupt character, which wasn’t how his character was portrayed in the first film, or how, now that I think about it, for a movie in the ‘Robocop’ franchise, Robocop’s barely in it! Don’t get me wrong, he is in the movie for a good amount of time but I’d swear that, for most of the film, they focus on other characters instead of him and his partner Anne Lewis. ‘Robocop 2’ might not be the overall worst in the series (that one’s coming up next) but after watching this film again I found myself hating it more because of all of its wasted potential. There are good things in this film, like a good cast, some intriguing plot points, and some really good action sequences, like the car chase between Robocop and Cain or the final battle between them, where by this point Cain has become a cyborg as well (that latter sequence is easily the best part of the film). But in the end, ‘Robocop 2’ does so many things wrong, resulting in a very unpleasant film to watch. It may have the general same level of violence as its predecessor, but it also lacks the great writing that made Paul Verhoeven’s film such a classic in the first place.

Rating: 1.5/5

ROBOCOP 3 (1993)

Oh boy, this one… if you thought ‘Robocop 2’ was bad, then wait until you get a load of this film. ‘Robocop 3’ doesn’t piss me off like ‘Robocop 2’ now does, there’s really no denying that 3 is the worst entry in the series and this is true for a few reasons. First of all, the film is surprisingly rather boring at times. For a movie where Robocop actually rebels against OCP when their plans to rebuild an old section of Detroit into the brand new ‘Delta City’ result in the company having to evict residents of a local neighborhood where they plan to build it from their homes, not much really happens in this movie. Can you believe that this movie makes ROBOT NINJAS boring? Yeah, there’s a robot ninja in this movie and yet they don’t do much with him. The fight between him and Robocop is the very definition of ‘anti-climactic’. I mean, this movie does have some pretty good action sequences, but when you take a cool concept like a robot ninja and do nothing with it, then that’s bad.

Another problem is the fact that this film was toned down to a PG-13 rating after the first two films were rated R, and well deserving of those ratings. Now, I know that a film’s rating doesn’t really affect the overall quality of a film but at the same time, I’m pretty sure this was just so that the studio could market it to a younger audience… then again, that’s kind of what they were already doing in the first place with the first two films even though they were rated R (do I need to remind you about the way kids are portrayed in the second film?) so I guess I’m not really that surprised. Let’s just hope that with the remake getting a PG-13 rating as well that it wasn’t just so that they could appeal to a younger audience. Also, Peter Weller does not reprise his role as Robocop for this movie. It’s nothing against his replacement, Robert John Burke, but something about him in the role just doesn’t feel right. I think it may be the voice in that just doesn’t work for the role, unlike Peter Weller, whose distinct voice fit perfectly for the character.

It’s sort of common knowledge that the third film in any film series is usually the worst in the series by that point, and that’s very much the case with ‘Robocop 3’. It’s not just that the film was toned down to a PG-13 or that Peter Weller didn’t return to the role of Robocop. This film as a whole is just boring and the fact that a story as potentially compelling as this one and an interesting concept like a robot ninja are both squandered in this very, very slow action movie is just sad. It’s also quite sad how a film as great as the original ‘Robocop’ had to be followed by not one, but two mediocre sequels. The third film may not piss me off as much as the second film but at the same time, the former is still the worst in the series in terms of its overall execution. Here’s hoping that the upcoming remake may just be the first good ‘Robocop’ film since the original. It’s been 27 years since that film came out and we’re still waiting.

Rating: 1/5

Super Bowl XLVIII Trailer Previews

Well, the Super Bowl has come and gone, as the Seattle Seahawks came away with probably one of the most dominant performance in any Super Bowl as they beat the Denver Broncos by a score of 43-8… but that’s not what I’m here to talk about. In fact, I really didn’t watch the game that much. I’m not a big fan of games that are ‘one-sided’, especially if that game happens to be a game like the Super Bowl, but at the same time, I’m glad to see the Seahawks win because they really had a great season and, as a Patriots fan, I’m glad Denver didn’t win. But anyway, instead I’ll be giving my thoughts on a couple of the film ads that aired during the game. I won’t be covering every one of these ads, which include some other films like ‘Noah’, ‘Draft Day’, or ‘Need for Speed’; instead, I’m only going to be looking at the three that I think are the most noteworthy. Two of them are superhero films, while the other gave us our first glimpse at the latest movie in an ongoing franchise. With that said, let’s get started.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

First off, I just want to point out that for this film I’m mainly talking about the online trailer that was released for it, not the ad that directly aired during the game. With that said, I must say… this is, by far, the best looking superhero film that is set to come out this year, more so than ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’, ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2’, and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ (of which we have YET to see any footage for). The first trailer was already fantastic but this one continues to give us an idea of what we might be seeing. This film just looks fantastic, and directors Anthony and Joe Russo are making quite the impression considering that this is pretty much their first action film. The visual look of this film really looks incredible and I’m interested to see where they go with the story which seems to have quite a bit of a ‘spy thriller’ vibe. I have a feeling that this could very well end up being the best film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since ‘The Avengers’ and I’m interesting in seeing how the events of this film could potentially impact the MCU in the future.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2

Like with ‘Captain America’ this will also be based on the full-length trailer more than the actual game ads. I’ve gone on record saying that this is my most anticipated film of the year mainly because while I’m haven’t read much comic-books, Spider-Man is my favorite superhero. I also really liked the previous film despite the fact that it was a reboot done too soon, and I’ve liked what I’ve seen so far for this film from the footage shown. This second trailer continues to get me excited to see the film. Although, at the same time, I’m going into this with some hesitation because, like everyone else, I do have a slight fear that this will become another ‘Spider-Man 3’, seeing how there are going to be three villains in this film; Electro, Rhino, and the Green Goblin (as portrayed by Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), not his father Norman (Chris Cooper)). At the same time though, I have the feeling that Sony realized what went wrong with ‘Spider-Man 3’ so hopefully that understanding translates to this film.

Plus, the news of upcoming spin-off films for Venom and the Sinister Six is very promising so even if one or two of the other villains in this film doesn’t get much screen-time, they will probably have a more substantial role in the latter spin-off. Overall, this movie just looks better than the first film in every way and while I do really like the first film I’m hoping that this one turns out much better. On a final note for this trailer, I love that Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man is more in line with the character because of his wise-cracking personality, as shown by the last scene in the trailer between Peter and Aunt May (‘I was cleaning the chimney…’ ‘We have no chimney.’ ‘What!?’) or an earlier scene where Peter’s trying to wash his costume and tells Aunt May that he’s ‘washing the flag’, despite her telling him that no one does that (‘All right, laundry sheriff…’). Also, while I don’t really want to give anything away about what I THINK might happen in the film, there’s a key scene in the trailer where Peter is saving Gwen Stacy and it has quite a bit in common with a key moment from the comics. I won’t say which one, but comic book fans should know what I’m talking about and there is quite a bit of speculation regarding whether or not that moment will happen in this film. We’ll have to see what happens…

TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION

Finally, let’s talk about the debut teaser for ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’, the fourth film in the Michael Bay directed ‘Transformers’ franchise or, as I like to call it, the franchise that everyone hates, especially the second and third films. And from what I’ve been hearing online, the response to this trailer has been the general same reaction with the common complaint being that ‘it’s all just the same as the previous three films’. While I am a little more positive towards the footage, I do have to agree with what everyone is saying. There’s no denying that it looks just like the last three films; there’s nothing much in it that looks different, aside from a different cast and different Transformers. But with all of that in mind, for some reason I’m still optimistic about this film. It may just be because I do like the previous three films, and yes even the much-maligned sequels. I do like that they do have a new cast in this one instead of the same characters from the last film, particularly Mark Wahlberg as the new lead. I have a feeling he’s going to be a far better lead than Shia LaBeouf. The other thing that intrigues me is the introduction of the Dinobots. I’m not too familiar with this franchise outside of the movies, but even then, the idea of these dinosaur robots just sounds awesome and I can’t wait to see how this will translate onto film. All in all, I’m just going into this one with low expectations although I will stay optimistic about it.

LEGO BIONICLE: Film Retrospective

With ‘The LEGO Movie’ set to come out in the next few days, I was trying to figure out how I could do a LEGO-themed retrospective for this site. However, there’s a problem with that because ‘The LEGO Movie’ is literally the first feature-length LEGO movie. I mean after all, we’re talking about a brand that is primarily known for its construction toy sets. The only ‘movies’ that have been released based around this brand have been direct-to-video. But that’s exactly what I’ll be looking at today. Now, I’m not covering every direct-to-video LEGO movie because while I am a fan of LEGO’s, I haven’t really been a major LEGO fan for many years now so I’m not that familiar with all of the themed sets that they currently release. In fact, I’m pretty sure some of the brands that were around when I was a kid aren’t even in production anymore. Ironically enough, one of those brands is the franchise I’ll be covering in today’s post. This franchise in question was my favorite out of all of the LEGO themes and one that did release a couple of direct-to-video films over the years; BIONICLE.

Now for those of you who aren’t familiar with the BIONICLE franchise, I’ll give you a basic rundown of the story. It all takes place in a world inhabited by organic/machine-like creatures known as the Matoran. These Matoran are looked after by the ‘Great Spirit’ Mata Nui, for whom the Matoran named their island home after. However, things begin to change when Mata Nui is cast into a deep slumber by the evil shape shifter Makuta, allowing him to take over the island of Mata Nui and its inhabitants. To combat this evil, a group of warriors known as ‘the Toa’ (later known as the ‘Toa Nuva’), six beings blessed with the powers of the elements (fire, water, stone, air, ice, and earth) by way of the powerful ‘Kanohi’ Masks that they wear, join forces to take on Makuta and his evil forces. Starting in 2004, a new prequel storyline began focusing on a new group of Toa, the ‘Toa Metru’, who were revealed to have become the village elders of Mata Nui, on another island known as Metru Nui many years ago.

Okay, I’ll admit that looking back, this whole premise sounds a little ridiculous and believe it or not, it sort of gets even more complicated after that. But when I was a kid, I loved this franchise mainly because it was sort of the first LEGO brand that was ‘story-driven’ while most of their brands were just themed around certain ‘concepts’ and licensed franchises like ‘Star Wars’ or ‘Harry Potter’. Sadly, this franchise is no longer around as it was discontinued in 2010. I had already started to move away from being a major LEGO fan before this but even now I’m still kind of bugged about it because it truly was one of the best LEGO brands ever. Maybe one day this franchise can make a comeback, but for now, it’s only a memory. There were four direct-to-video BIONICLE films released during its ten-year run. However, I’m only covering the first three in the franchise because the stories and characters of those movies are the ones that I’m familiar with. I won’t be covering 2009’s ‘BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn’ because that was after I moved away from being a LEGO fan. Let’s not waste any more time and look back at the first three direct-to-video BIONICLE films.

BIONICLE: MASK OF LIGHT (2003)

The first direct-to-video ‘BIONICLE’ film was basically the finale for the original storyline of the Toa and their fight against the evil Makuta. In this film, two Matoran named Takua and Jaller find a Kanohi Mask known as ‘The Mask of Light’. This mask is to be worn by the fabled ‘Seventh Toa’, the Toa of Light, who will be the one to defeat Makuta. Takua and Jaller then head off on a journey to find this Toa. Overall, the story is a little ‘standard’, not holding any surprises along the way. In other words, you can kind of tell what’s going to happen. On the other hand, this film does a great job at handling the ‘lore’ of the series, from its characters to the world of Mata Nui to the ‘Three Virtues’ that all Matoran honor: Unity, Duty, and Destiny and how these virtues play a key part in the Matoran philosophy. For a direct-to-video animated film, the animation is pretty good as far as these kinds of films are concerned. Sure, it’s not perfect but it does have some interesting designs, like how they gave all of the characters a more ‘humanistic’ design while still basing these designs around their more ‘mechanical’ features. Overall, the first BIONICLE movie will no doubt please fans of the franchise and for the non-fans this film is still pretty entertaining even if you’re not too familiar with the license.

Rating: 4/5

BIONICLE 2: LEGENDS OF METRU NUI (2004)

After the ‘Mask of Light’ storyline ended, the BIONICLE franchise went into prequel territory, with the story now taking place many years before the events of the first film on the island city of Metru Nui. Here, a new group of Toa known as the ‘Toa Metru’, six Matoran (who became the village elders (AKA Turaga) of Mata Nui years later) who were transformed into Toa by powerful stones given to them by a former Toa, Toa Lhikan, must prove themselves and protect the ‘Heart’ of the city, which gets a little difficult after they are branded as ‘imposters’. This is a superior sequel to the first one, with a better story that actually has a few surprises. This film also has a better cast of characters, namely because this one actually focuses on the Toa more while in the first film they were sort of the ‘secondary characters’. The animation is also better and once again features some really interesting designs that keep in line with the actual construction toys. When I was a kid, this was my personal favorite of the first three films (it was the only one of them I actually bought on DVD) and looking back, this one still holds up quite nicely and as such, it’s the best of the direct-to-video BIONICLE films.

Rating: 5/5!

BIONICLE 3: WEB OF SHADOWS (2005)

Finally, we have ‘Web of Shadows’, a direct sequel to ‘Legends of Metru Nui’ so in that case... expect some minor spoilers in case you haven’t seen that film. Anyway, in this film, the Toa Metru, after leaving their home to save the Matoran, return to Metru Nui to rescue the Matoran that are still there. However, when they return, they find that the city is in ruins and has been overtaken by an army of creatures known as the Visorak. This one… is really dark in both the story and its design. I mean, ‘dark’ as far as a film geared towards pre-teens and younger audiences can be but still pretty dark. In some ways, it’s more of a stylistic form of ‘darkness’ but at the same time, this film’s plot probably has the most depth out of all of these films. Not only do the Toa have to deal with this new enemy, but they end up being poisoned and turned into ‘beast-like’ creatures known as ‘the Hordika’. This threatens to split the team up, especially after their leader, Vakama, is overcome by ‘the beast’ that is now in him resulting in him actually joining forces with the bad guys. Speaking of ‘bad guys’, this one actually might have the most entertaining one in the entire series in Roodaka, the queen of the Visorak horde who is able to convince Vakama to join her side as they plan to overtake the ‘king’ of the horde, Sidorak. Because of this, along with some great action sequences, ‘BIONICLE 3’ is a nice fitting end to this, shall we say, trilogy of films (again, I won’t be covering the last film in this franchise because that’s where we get into the material I’m absolutely unfamiliar with).

Rating: 4.5/5

I realize that it’s kind of hard for me to recommend any of these films not only because these are direct-to-video films that came out about a decade ago, but also because they’re part of a franchise that hasn’t been running for a few years now; a franchise that is sort of marketed towards a pre-teen audience. But even with that in mind, I now kind of view these as ‘nostalgic’ movies because I was such a big fan of this franchise while it was around and I watched these movies quite a bit when they came out. As such, if you were a fan of this franchise back in the day, then you’ll probably enjoy these films very much and they will serve as a nice trip down memory lane. If you weren’t a fan of the franchise, the films themselves are still pretty entertaining although it does sort of help if you were familiar with the franchise. My personal recommendation would be the second film because out of these three films, I feel that it’s the best overall in terms of execution.