The Jungle Book Review

Story: The man-cub Mowgli flees the jungle after a threat from the tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba). Guided by Bagheera (Ben Kingsley) the panther and the bear Baloo (Bill Murray), Mowgli embarks on a journey of self-discovery, though he also meets creatures who don't have his best interests at heart.

Based on the novel by Rudyard Kipling, director Jon Favreau pulls a James Cameron and creates a jungle that is immersive and a character all in itself.  Like Avatar, The Jungle Book's jungle and animal inhabitants are completely done in CGI while also using motion capture to really add depth and human emotions. The detail put into this really fantastic. To make the animals and jungle look so real they took many photos of the indian jungle and got photos of animals to get all the features just right. The Jungle Book sets a new standard for CGI and is sure to get a nod for Best Visual Effects.

Neel Sethi is perfectly cast as Mowgli and he does an excellent job working along the many amazing visual effects. He is basically working all alone and he does such great work here. It is also his first film and I am very impressed, would love to see him in more.

 The voice cast is on mark, Ben Kingsley plays the black panther Bagheera, Bill Murray plays the loveable bear Baloo, and Idris Elba plays the terrifying tiger Shere Khan.  These three are craft the most interesting sidekicks, comics and villains. Idris is by far the best villain so far this year. Lupita Nyong'o is a great addition to the cast, she is so sympathetic as the wolf mother, Raksha. Christopher Walken plays the part of King Louie and is brilliant. And the late Gary Shandling makes his last voice/screen appearance as a little character called Ikki. One who is very underused is Scarlet Johansen. It may be due to her commitment to work with Marvel but I would have loved more exploration into her snake character like what they did with Mother wolf.

Composer John Debney does a wonderful job with the score. His score with the combination with the amazing visuals add to the enticing fun you'll have watching this movie.

The Jungle Book is bottom line the new Avatar with a better story and a much more family friendly adventure.

A sequel has been confirmed with the same director and hopefully the same cast. There is still more material to mine so it is an excepting treat. I wish it to come out sooner than the many Avatar sequels, maybe go head to head with Andy Serkis's adaptation, I would say this one would still win out. In all honesty, why is Andy even doing an adaptation this one is the best. If Andy doesn't get the visuals right it will flunk, the story is a family friendly story and Disney has done the best job. I am also afraid Tarzan has big shoes to fill.

Thats what made this film work, it was not dark, it was pure family fun adventure and did not try to be anything else. Andy's take and Tarzan may only be good and not be the fun family adventure that this was.

Rating = A +, 5/5, Gold Star
 

The Boss Review

Story: Melissa McCarthy headlines The Boss as a titan of the industry who is sent to prison for insider trading. When she emerges ready to rebrand herself as America's latest sweetheart, not everyone she screwed over is so quick to forgive and forget.

This is another comedy from the husband/wife duo of Melissa and husband Ben Falcone, Tammy being their first directed team effort movie.  Kristen Bell, Kathy Bates and Peter Dinklage co-star as her assistant, her idol and her ex-lover Ron. Its a great cast which is full of great laughs, some sadly which are spoiled from the trailer.

As the story goes her ex lover gets her thrown in jail for insider trading and when she comes back out, he's taken her company away from her. So, she stays with her ex-assitant, Claire, for a while until she comes up with a plan. After tasting Claire's brownies and taking Claire's daughter, Rachel, to her Girl Guide's meeting Michelle creates a group of tough ass chick girl guides selling brownies.

The shenanigans she gets up to with the girls, the street fight, are hilarious and worth the price of admission. Eventually, things get awkward when Rachel gives Michelle a family made gift. This causes her to cut Claire out of the girl brownie guides and eventually she sells the company all because, like her idol (played by Kathy Bates) she gets to close to her business partner and she breaks things off.

It is a surprisingly short film which climaxes in a heist to steal the papers about selling the company to her ex, Ron. Dinklage is a perfect comedian and is perfect in this, he goes so far as to sword fight with Melissa, which was both cool (he was in Game of thrones) and hilarious. Kristen was great as ever, her best scene is the bra scene with Melissa, which was sadly spoiled in trailers. Kathy Bates was also quiet the funny bone tickler as she played up the role of Boss to Michelle. Tyler Labine from  comedies such as Tucker and Dale vs. Evil and Animal Practice plays the love interest of Kristen and gets a funny role to play in the film's third act. Comedian Kristen Schaal also appears as one of the girl guide leaders, she provides some good chuckles as well.

While not as emotional as Tammy or gut wrenchingly funny as Spy it is still a fun enjoyable little movie to see for fans of Melissa McCarthy, she is a true comedian and will knock all expectations out of the park this summer with Ghostbusters!

Rating: B

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Story: Its been two years since Superman's colossal battle with General Zod devastated the city of
Metropolis. The loss of life and collateral damage left many feeling angry and helpless, including crime fighting vigilante Batman aka Bruce Wayne, who starts a vendetta to end Superman's reign on Earth; while the conniving Lex Luthor launches his own crusade against the Man of Steel.

Two years ago we got the retooling of comic book icon Superman, now we get the battle of all battles in Batman v Superman, which also stands as a prequel to the epic two-parter Justice League. While I loved Man of Steel, BVS has a lot in it creating a very lengthy picture that goes on for a bit too long. A few dream sequences could be cut and some unnecessary cameos can be taken out. As far as sequels go this one is by far the very best in what it does, entertain. The story is fitting as Batman seeks to take down the man of steel using the kryptonite that Lex had discovered from Zod's terraformer. He just needed an extra push to get him to really go after Superman. There's some nice surprise guests from the first film and an ending that will surely shock any avid fan, unless you find the seriousness of the entire affair to be beyond laughable.

Casting, Ben Affleck makes for the perfect battle worn hero and Gal is a wonder as the Princess of the Amazon. Even Jesse Eisenberg is able to nail the role of Lex Luthor, becoming very menacing near the end. Henry, Amy, Laurence, Diane, and even Harry Lennix make substantial returns to their roles from the first film. I was actually very happy to see the return of Harry Lennix and his sidekick Major Carrie Farris, gave some good continuation from the last film. Even seeing a cameo of Kevin Costner as Clark's dad make a surprise appearance was a sweet touch.

Hans Zimmer and new comer Junkie XL do a fantastic job composing the new themes for Wonder Woman and Batman while also developing the themes Hans wrote for Superman in the first film.

A visual action blockbuster Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the popcorn movie of the year and is an excellent way to start the summer movie season. See this over the third Divergent film as it may not be a favourite among critics but at least you'll still have a fun time. I mean come on, its Batman vs Superman, how could you not pass this up.

Rating: B+

Deadpool - The Review

Story: A former Special Forces operative turned mercenary is subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopting the alter ego Deadpool.

X-men Origins: Wolverine was a movie for Wolverine yet it was packed full of mutants, fan favourites, that it just left a sore taste in everyone's mouth. Thankfully, The Wolverine somewhat righted what we missed, a good wolverine movie. Now, for them to right Deadpool. Ryan Reynolds played the character in Origins but was shut up in the end. Years later we get the film that he deserves.

A character study in his own right, watching a Deadpool movie is like diving into his mind. Story is simple. Tough guy falls in love with hot chick, develops troubling disease and then finds help from a dark organization.  The film does justice with the character of Wade Wilson and gives Ryan Reynolds the opportunity to stretch his comedic muscles and man is he funny. The jokes are by the dozen but all spot on, one line pointed to the fact we only really see two x-men in the movie. Deadpool jokes the studio couldn't afford to bring in more x-men.

One huge plus is we finally get to see Deadpool the way he is meant to be seen. His costume is amazingly spot on. Plus, the physical comedy is spot on, especially when he tries to beat up Colossus by breaking every bone in his body. Colossus is also done service here as his character gets more than nothing said and looks more like he does in the comics. Though, given the chance, I am sure Bryan Singer would have given Colossus more to say and do (but with x-men movie comes so many characters)

In all truth, Ryan Reynolds is the true star of this picture and the one and only who brought it to the screen. So to Ryan I say thank you and lets hope a sequel gets green lit, or we'll have to wait another 6-7 years for a follow-up.

Rating: A

Deadpool

The movie and score reviews for Deadpool I will write and release tonight. You can read my review on the score for the film over on my other blog, http://listen2themovies.blogspot.ca.

Kung Fu Panda 3 Review

Story: Continuing his "legendary adventures of awesomeness", Po must face two epic, but different threats; one supernatural and one that hits a little closer to home.

As with all franchises there is a beginning, middle and end. First,  in 2008, we saw Po first learn that that he is the dragon warrior, than three years later we watch as he learns about his past and comes to obtain inner peace. Now, five years later, he must complete his training and become a teacher of his craft.

My main issue with the new film sadly is the casting. I love J.K Simmons and Kate Hudson but I really would have loved to see what Rebel Wilson and Mads Mikkelsen would have brought to the table. Mads was originally set to play the villain Kai. J.K does a perfect job in the role, just nothing compared to Gary Oldman's performance in the previous picture. Same goes with Kate Hudson in the role of Mei Mei, originally to be played by Rebel Wilson. Rebel has this brand of comedic genius just like Mads has a way with playing villains. Sadly, J.K and Kate are just average in their roles, nothing great but as far as Kai goes the supernatural aspect of the character is something new and very interesting as he takes the powers of fighters dead and alive and becomes ever stronger. Bryan Cranston is the breakout star here as his part never got recast. He plays great as the father figure to Jack Black's Po. They play well off each other and there is a sense of fun that the two are having. Bryan also brings gravitas to the role when it comes to parts about loss and forgiveness.

As for the rest of the cast its great to see everyone come back for the final showdown, even Randall Duk Kim as Master Oogway.

With this film it is defiantly a concluding chapter to an amazing trilogy. Po comes to know his real father and learn more about his heritage while also learning to become a teacher. At first he doesn't succeed and whines up humiliating himself. For a time he focuses on becoming one with himself and truly learning who he is. That is when he learns that he must train his father and fellow pandas to add to their strengths, doing what each one does best.

The choreography is fantastic in this film. Very amazingly animated and fun to watch, adding the supernatural element to the film really gave the final chapter some new stuff to work through and create some very interesting fights and battles as the climactic final battle between Kai and Po is profoundly epic in both its fighting style and visual flare.

Casting miss-haps aside Kung Fu Panda 3 gives a terrific conclusion to Po's journey and is a fun fond farewell to a cast of characters we have come to love so much.

Rated: A-

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review

Story: Three decades after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, a new threat rises. The First Order attempts to rule the galaxy and only a ragtag team of heroes can stop them, along with the help of the Resistance.

After 30 years return to a galaxy far, far away in The Force Awakens. It has actually been at least 10 years since the last Star Wars movie which saw the completion of the prequel trilogy.

Now, the new film follows the events after Return of the Jedi. You'd never think something like this would happen but it now has after the sale of Lucas Films to Disney a new film series has gotten off the ground. If you think Disney and Trekkie JJ Abrams might not do a grande continuation, you'd be wrong.

The story is simple, everyone is looking for Luke Skywalker. The resistance wants him home and the First Order seeks to destroy him. I found previous chapters were more complex but it is nice to reintroduce fans to the saga with an easy to follow story.

We follow characters old (Han and Leia) and new (Poe, Finn and Rey) as begins the follow-up trilogy to the originals. Poe goes seeking for part of a map to find Luke, he is captured but not before giving what he found to his android BB-8. The film is similar to A New Hope as JJ based the new Star Wars film off it, igniting George Lucas to comment on how his version would have been more original.

I still found a great interest in the new characters (both light and Dark). Kylo Ren is a terrific villain and has one amazing costume. His villain is also very believable and dimensional. Another interesting character is Finn (a stormtrooper) who abandons his post and goes on the run. Rey is the true light of this movie, and may be the next Jedi.

Awakens has some terrific side characters, such amazing alien creatures. You can tell JJ had a lot of fun with this film, the movie feels fun. The visuals are also very grounded and realistically crafted. The space battles have never looked so good.

Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens is an excellent continuation of a saga beloved by all with characters old and new and a more grounded visual flare.

Rating: A+