47 Meters Down

Hollywood's invention of the thriller genre is fairly old, not quite as old as the comedy, drama, horror, war, western, musical or even sci-fi ones, but old nonetheless. Thrillers are typically reserved for the dramatic and horror genres as to give that special twist. So when the thriller "Jaws" was released back in 1975, it started a phenomenon that has stuck with us today. Since we've seen the Jaws sequels, "Piranha", and the more recent "The Shallows". Now with "47 Meters Down" in the books, will this kind of film carry on?

 

Two sisters, Lisa (Mandy Moore) and Kate (Claire Holt) vacationing in Mexico become trapped in a shark cage on the ocean floor 47 meters down. As their oxygen starts to run out and with great white sharks circling them, the sisters must find away to get to the surface alive.

Between the two sisters, Kate is the outgoing one whereas Lisa is the boring, not willing to take chances one. Kate is able to convince Lisa in taking a shark cage excursion nearby run by Captain Taylor (Matthew Modine). The idea is to drop the women 5 meters down so they can excite at the view of great white sharks and maybe take a few picture, etc. Then, all of a sudden, the cage bolts and the wench breaks and they plunge to 47 meters down. Will they survive? Can they reach the surface?

 

Others to round out the cast are Chris J. Johnson as Javier, Yani Gellman as Louis and  Santiago Segura as Benjamin.

 

This was eerily directed by Johannes Roberts ("Alice" '02, "Hellbreeder" '04, "Darkhunters" '04, "Forest of the Damned" '05, "F" '10, "Roadkill" (TV movie) '11, "Storage 24" '12, "The Other Side of the Door" '16) plus TV. Certainly this film isn't a far cry for this filmmaker considering his resume, but the plus is that with horror being a good deal of his work, this film is a thriller and not necessarily horror. Will see if he can continue to branch his way out of horror and more into the thriller genre. It was interestingly written by Roberts and Ernest Riera. If there is any other film that could compare with this is "The Shallows". They both involve a person(s) trapped with sharks or shark nearby so it ends up as a cat-and-mouse game. But even with "The Shallows", it didn't involve a shark cage, but rather a surfer trapped on an over sized rock 200 feet from shore with a shark waiting. So although they were similar, they still differed. The writing was able to capture the sheer terror of the two women that were unable to escape the sunken cage and certainly kept me riveted for the 90 minute running time. This is not to say there were no problems with this. There was a bit of choppiness and some lack of cohesiveness in script and at one point, when you thought it was over, there was more. This is OK, but it was conveyed like there was a continuity issue, but after watching it realized what was going on.

 

For those that are thriller fans, this, like "The Shallows" and even "Jaws" will be the film for you. It's short, cuts to the chase and keeps you on the edge of your seat all done in a 4DX format as well as 2D. Grab the popcorn and prepare to be scared.

 

Out of 4 Stars: 3                            Rated: PG-13                                  89mins.

 

 

 

Megan Leavey

With the Middle East wars continuing as long as they have, Hollywood has been able to produce a bevy of war films to not only entertain us, but hopefully teach us something in the process. We've seen a plethora of them: "Jarhead" '05, "Stop-Loss" '08, "The Hurt Locker" '08, "Zero Dark Thirty" '12 to mention a handful, but not too many have chronicled a marine and a canine who save lives. Not that it's gotten a lot of press, but "Megan Leavey" has got to be one of the most effective Middle East war dramas the screen has seen in a while.

 

Based on the true life story of a young marine corporal, Megan Leavey (Kate Mara) whose unique discipline and bond with her military combat dog, saved many lives during their deployment in Iraq. When she is assigned to clean up the K9 unit after a disciplinary hearing, Leavey identifies with a particularly aggressive dog, Rex, and is given the chance to train him by Gunny Martin (Common) and told if she screws this up she's history. Over the course of their service, Megan and Rex completed more than 100 missions until an IED explosion injures them, putting their fate in jeopardy. She befriends another marine, Matt Morales (Ramon Rodriguez) who also has a combat dog of his own, so between his encouragement, not to mention that of Sgt. Andrew Dean (Tom Felton), Leavey feels less pressure. After Leavey finishes her tour of duty, she quickly works at the possibility of adopting Rex and comes to realize, all too soon, that this task is certainly easier said than done.

 

Others to round out the cast are Bradley Whitford as Bob, Megan's father, Edie Falco as Jackie Leavey, Megan's mother, Geraldine James as Dr. Turbeville, Will Patton as Jim, Megan's stepfather, Miguel Gomez as Gomez, Jonathan Howard as Pete Walters, Shannon Tarbet as Barb and Corey Johnson as Master Sergeant.

 

Interesting that this was directed by documentarian, Gabriela Cowperthwaite ("City Lax: An Urban Lacrosse Story" (Documentary) '10, "Blackfish" (Documentary) '13), but considering this film was, not only a biopic, but was presented in a documentary like format, it should be no surprise. She will surely receive more work if this film has any clout at all. It was executed well by writers Pamela Gray, Annie Mumolo and Tom Lovestedt. Gray is the most seasoned writer here with several films and tons of TV to her credit, and even though Mumolo's resume includes a lot of comedies, she has proven she can write a brilliantly cohesive, well thought out dramatic script. The only one here with the least amount of experience is Lovestedt which debuts with this film. With this screenplay under his belt, he should be offered more work. As stated prior, this film's script was cohesive, tight and was conveyed so easily that the audience will be riveted to their seats. Certainly tying up this true story with a follow up at films' end of Megan and Rex replete with film footage, made for a nice closing as well.

 

If you like war films, this is for you, however this was as much a human experience film as it was a 'war film', and so there was something for everyone here. Not that it's a spoiler alert, but if you decide to see this, bring a half a box of Kleenex. This film, like so many others are important to see, if for no other reason, than to appreciate what our men and women do under the most stressful conditions to protect the very freedoms that we blatantly take for granted.

 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                  Rated: PG-13                                    116mins.

 

The Mummy

Again, Hollywood just can't resist to go with safe than explore something original. "The Mummy" is about as old as films themselves: we have "The Mummy" released in 1932, then again in 1959, then in 1999, not to mention all the 'Mummy' film offshoots from those films. Of course, this being summer, reboots are more forgiving, however it would be pleasant to see a little originality on the big screen ever so often.

 

Though safely entombed in a crypt deep beneath the unforgiving Middle East desert, an ancient princess, Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella), whose destiny was unjustly taken from her, is accidentally awakened in our current day bringing malevolence grown over millennia, and terrors that defy human comprehension.

Now, a soldier of fortune, Nick Morton (Tom Cruise) must stop the resurrected monster as she embarks chaos through the streets of London. His assistance from a cryptologist, Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis) and Nick's soldier of fortune buddy, Chris Vail (Jake Johnson) are the only ones he can truly depend on. From the sweeping sands of the Middle East through hidden labyrinths under modern-day London, this story truly takes advantage of its different locales to set the scene.

 

Others to round out the cast are Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll, Courtney B. Vance as Colonel Greenway, Marwan Kenzari as Malik, Simon Atherton as Crusader, Stephen Thompson as First Man, James Arama as Second Man and Sean Cameron Michael as Archaeologist.

 

This was boldly and intensely directed by Alex Kurtzman ("People Like Us" '12) plus TV and tons of producing. This filmmaker was amazing at being able to bring tension and chaos around every corner. His ability to keep his characters in peril as they are attempting to solve this problem was delineated well. Even though he is a newcomer in the feature film realm, given more work, he will excel incredibly. It was written by David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie and Dylan Kussman based on a screen story by Jon Spaihts, Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet. For all the experience between these writers (two out of the three are seasoned), it's surprising of the different inconsistencies it had. I would go into detail of them, but it would end up being a spoiler alert. Suffice it to say, certain situations didn't click as well as it could have. Both Koepp and McQuarrie are talented and seasoned writers, so I'm not sure what happened--bad day at the laptop? Not sure. Don't get me wrong, it was a thrilling plot--sort of reminiscent of the 1999 version, but also had its own story at the same time. Although the 1999 version excelled past this version, this was still easily able to hold my attention throughout its running time. The visual effects designed predominantly by ILM (Industrial, Light & Magic), MPC (Moving Picture Company) and Double Negative were seamless. I thought the 1999 version had exemplary visuals until I saw this one--they were awesome for sure.

 

Certainly with all the big-budget films we've seen already, we are in the dog days of the summer season. Films during this season, this one included, are produced to allow us to escape the stresses of life, go in and enjoy, and this film did that, replete with flaws, but fun nonetheless.

 

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                Rated: PG-13                                110mins.

 

 

 

Wonder Woman

If Hollywood isn't producing a ton of sequels, reboots and franchise films, there're churning out superhero movies by the truck load. We've seen a plethora of them: "Superman", "Batman", "Spider-Man", "Deadpool", "Guardians of the Galaxy", "Dr. Strange", "Captain America", "Ironman" "X-Men" to mention a handful. So in this day and age of gender equality, Hollywood had to pacify its audience by producing "Wonder Woman".

 

An Amazon princess named Diana (Gal Gadot) lives in an idyllic existence with her mother, Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) and her warrior trainer, Antiope (Robin Wright), on an island occupied solely by female warriors, but her life changes forever after American pilot Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crash lands nearby. When he tells her that a massive war is engulfing the planet (WWI), she decides to travel with him to the outside world, hoping to use her powers to put an end to the conflict. In her world, the god Aries (War) could possibly return one day to cause havoc, so she has concluded that this evil German leader, officer Ludendorff (Danny Huston) has got to be Aries, so she vows to rid of this mad man. Along the way, she becomes the legendary superheroine known as Wonder Woman.

 

Others to round out the cast are David Thewlis as Sir Patrick, Said Taghmaoui as Sameer, Ewen Bremner as Charlie, Eugene Brave Rock as The Chief, Lucy Davis as Etta, Elena Anaya as Dr. Maru and Lilly Aspell as Young Diana (8).

 

This was meticulously directed by Patty Jenkins ("Monster" '03, "Five" (TV movie) (segment: "Pearl") '11, "Exposed" (TV movie) '15) plus shorts and TV. I say meticulous because this script chronicles Diana's life from age 8 to adult hood centering on her obsession with being a warrior knowing this was her calling. Each transition was delineated carefully. Jenkins work, although isn't aplenty, however it is definitely quality. It was surprisingly well written by Allan Heinberg (Tons of TV) based on a story by Zack Snyder, Heinberg and Jason Fuchs, which is based on the DC comic "Wonder Woman" created by William Moulton Marston. I say surprisingly since this is his first feature film screenplay. What has served him is all the TV he has written. He, in a sense, has 'paid his dues'. Don't get me wrong, this script has flaws, such as when we see Diana in her world, it seems like she is living in the old Roman days centuries ago. Then when Steve Trevor crash lands, you think that he had inadvertently found a time portal and went back in time to her world. Obviously one comes to realize that the idyllic island Diana lives on is 'time trapped' and they share the same time period. Now, if one is a "Wonder Woman" afictionato, which I'm not, this wouldn't seem like a discrepancy. But this is where the writer should be writing for the mass audience. Plus there were a few small places of choppiness, but otherwise, this screenplay was well executed especially considering the newness of this screenwriter in the feature film biz. And the visual effects created predominantly by MPC (Moving Picture Company) and Double Negative were seamless and actually added to the story without it appearing to be hyped up.

 

Certainly if you're a Wonder Woman or comic book fan, you'll be in comics heaven, but even if you're not, it is still entertaining. Look, I'm not a comic book fan, but this even moved me through this script with ease. You can also see this in IMAX or a nifty 3D format. Enjoy!

 

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                   Rated: PG-13                                   141mins.

 

Baywatch

Have I mentioned that Hollywood is in the business of producing a few original films amongst the plethora of reboots and franchise films they produce? It's getting ridiculously obvious when anyone can see that original films are becoming rare these days--so much so that expecting reboots and franchise films is the norm rather than the exception. So when "Baywatch" came along, I had extreme trepidation thinking about going to the multiplex to see this one, and now I see why.

 

In this big-screen reboot of the popular '90s TV series, legendary California lifeguard Mitch Buchannon (Dwayne Johnson) is frustrated when a cocky, hard-partying gold medal Olympic swimmer named Matt Brody (Zac Efron) joins his beach-patrol team, but only after a grueling tryout. However, the two men must learn to work together when they stumble upon a local criminal conspiracy headed up by rich, greedy real estate tycoon Victoria Leeds (Priyanka Chopra). Because of her manipulative plans to gobble up the real estate of the bay, this poses a threat to the way of life there. Can Mitch and Matt along with their co-lifeguards which includes Summer Quinn (Alexandra Daddario), CJ Parker (Kelly Rohrbach), Stephanie Holden (Ilfenesh Hadera) and Ronnie Greenbaum (Jon Bass) actually save the bay from Leeds and her henchmen before it's too late?

 

Others to round out the cast are Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Sgt. Ellerbee, Hannibal Buress as Dave the Tech, Rob Huebel as Captain Thorpe, Amin Joseph as Frankie, Jack Kesy as Leon and Oscar Nunez as Councilman Rodriguez.

 

This was directed by Seth Gordon ("The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters" (Documentary) '07, "Four Christmases" '08, "Freakonomics" (Documentary) '10, "Horrible Bosses" '11, "Identity Thief" '13) plus some shorts and a ton of TV. On one hand, this filmmaker is eclectic in his work, however it's certainly understanding how this film would be familiar ground to him. His ability to bring out those chaotic characteristics given the appropriate scenes is executed well. It's not expressly remarkable directing, but for the projects he leans toward, it works for him as with the film. It was written better than I thought it would be by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift ("Freddie vs. Jason" '03, "Friday the 13th" '09). Interesting that two writers with your basic 'slasher' films to their credit was chosen for this particular film, considering this is a comedy/drama. However, I must say, it was executed far better than I dreamt it would. Although this script was predictable as one would assume, it still worked, probably because it wasn't a flat out comedy. Given more projects will serve these two writers, and if you're curious of their style (being team writers), look forward to "Genie" which is in pre-production. This film was based on a story by Jay Scherick, David Ronn, Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant which is based on the TV series, "Baywatch" created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz and Gregory J. Bonann. 

 

If you liked the TV series, you'll love this. I didn't really watch the show, so I'm not a purist. But the fact that it's a drama with comedic overtones helps this work as mentioned prior. It's great escape and fluff. Grab the popcorn!

 

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                                   Rated: R                                    116mins.

  

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dean Men Tell No Tales

I know this is going to be difficult to believe, but the last 'Pirates" film, "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" was released in 2011--6 years ago! That supposedly wrapped up the franchise, but Disney and Bruckheimer Films felt differently. So, 6 years later, we have "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales".

 

Hunted by the malevolent Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) and the rest of his ghostly crew who escape from the Devil's Triangle, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) sets out on a quest to find a mystical artifact known as the Trident of Poseidon which bestows upon its possessor total control over the seas, and gains two new allies along the way: a gorgeous astronomer, Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario) and a young sailor, Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) with a connection of Sparrow's past. Captain Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) subsequently gets involved and ends up making a deal with Salazar: he'll produce Sparrow to Salazar and in return Salazar spares his life.

 

Others to round out the cast are Kevin McNally as Gibbs, Sparrow's first mate, Golshifteh Farahani as Shansa, David Denham as Scarfield, Stephen Graham as Scrum, Angus Barnett as Mullroy, Martin Klebba as Marty, Adam Brown as Cremble and Giles New as Murtogg.

 

This was whimsically directed by Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg ("Bandidas" '06, "Max Manus: Man of War" '08, "Kon-Tiki" '12, "Doomsday" (TV movie) '17) plus shorts. When this franchise started in 2003 with "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl", Gore Verbinski directed it as he did with Parts 2, 3, and 4. Then in 2011, Rob Marshall took over the reigns with "Pirates: On Stranger Tides", and now that these two directors took over with this installment, its amazing that these very different filmmakers were able to give that similar feel in Part 5 and this installment as in Verbinski's first four installments of this franchise. This is a very important element to take into consideration so as to makes these installments flow together. If you like these filmmakers' work, Ronning's "Origin" and Sandberg's "Pirates 6" have been announced. This was executed well by writer Jeff Nathanson based on a story by Nathanson and Terry Rossio which is based on characters created by Ted Elliott, Rossio, Stuart Beattie and Jay Wolpert. Interesting that the producers decided to hire a writer that did not write any other of the installments to this franchise, however if not, Jeff Nathanson was certainly a good choice. This writer has a ton of experience and this project shows it. Although having a couple of places of lack of continuity and a couple of very small slow places, this installment actually shocked me. I wasn't expecting a storyline as interesting and fun as this was. If you liked this writing, Nathanson will be co-writing "Pirates 6" which has been announced. And of course, the visual effects predominantly designed by MPC (Moving Picture Company) were absolutely stunning. They were a bit over used to emphasize the fantastical plot, but was still an aspect in making this fun.

 

Certainly if you're a Pirates fan, you'll be in Jack Sparrow heaven, and who doesn't like a great summer big-budget film that they can escape into, eat popcorn and just have fun in the multiplex.

 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                               Rated: PG-13                                 129mins.

 

Everything, Everything

When it comes to the romantic drama genre, Hollywood is king. They have been producing these films since films began, because we are all suckers when it comes to romance, whether we admit it or not, and Hollywood knows this better than we do. Scads have been made: "Love Story", "The Notebook", "The Fault of Our Stars", the most recent "The Best of Me" to mention a few. So why not produce yet another romantic drama to get our emotional fix in the form of "Everything, Everything"?

 

An 18-year-old girl, Maddy Whittier (Amandla Stenberg) is unable to leave her home because she has a rare disease, SCID (Severe Chronic Immunodeficiency) that breaks down her immune system which leaves her allergic to almost everything. She lives in a controlled-environment house with specially filtered air and the only ones she is allowed to see is her mother, Pauline (Anika Noni Rose), Carla, her nurse (Ana de la Reguera) and Carla's daughter, Rosa (Danube R. Hermosillo). However, her life changes for the better when she begins to communicate with the boy next door, Olly Bright (Nick Robinson) who just moved in, and their relationship eventually inspires her to venture into the outside world. Time will tell if she is able to handle it, but with love, so much can be conquered.

 

Others to round out the cast are Taylor Hickson as Kayra, Olly sister, Dan Payne as Joe, Olly's father, Fioni Loewi as Mae, Olly's mother, Robert Lawrenson as Mr. Waterman, Peter Benson as Dr. Chase, Francoise Yip as Dr. Francis and Marion Eisman as Nurse Janet.

 

This was warmly directed by Stella Meghie ("Jean of the Joneses" '16) plus a short. I say warmly because even at its stronger, more intense scenes, there was still a sense of caring and an underlying feeling of understanding between the characters. She is a relative newcomer, but given more work, she will blossom into the director I believe she can be. It was interestingly written by J. Mills Goodloe ("A Gentleman's Game" '02, "Pride" '07, "The Best of Me" '14, "The Age of Adaline" '15). He is a fairly seasoned writer--look at the resume, however when he was interjecting the different imaginations of the two lead actors within the storyline, it was an interesting move, but it came across a bit choppy. I love the idea, but it could've been conveyed a little smoother than was executed. While most of these films are fairly predictable, this, albeit had a degree of predictability, still had some twists and turns you just don't see coming. This allowed the audience to keep attention to what was going on on the screen, otherwise it would have had a problem with mediocrity. Along with a fairly good script, the chemistry between Robinson and Stenberg was delightful as it was real. These actors should find more work considering the credibility they conveyed. Considering the interesting story, Goodloe's next project "The Mountain Between" is in post production as we speak and should be released later this year. It will be interesting to see how that pans out.

 

If you're a hopeless romantic, you will love this, but even if you are not, the twists in the writing and the chemistry with the two lead actors, Robinson and Stenberg will surly capture your attention as you watch this film.

 

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                   Rated: PG-13                                     96mins.