Tag: Sci-Fi

Fans of the Men in Black franchise recently became thrilled to know there is now a 3rd installment. Like its predecessors, the third movie has all the slime, goofy special effects, and laser guns you could ask for in a sci-fi action comedy. It also has some really good actors and that is what ultimately makes this movie franchise a winner.

Men in Black 3 was directed by Barry Sonnenfield, known for Pushing Daisies and the Lemony Snicket … children’s movie (among others). He has created an exciting movie here that includes a powerfully written twist at the end. The film stars Will Smith as Agent J, Tommy Lee Jones as agent K, and Josh Brolin as a younger agent K. By way of trivia, IMDB reveals that Sacha Baron Cohen was considered but not chosen for the role of Boris. He would have been great no doubt but as it stands, the character they got to play Boris does an excellent job. Based on the acting, special effects, and clever twist at the end, I gave this movie a high rating. It was a fun roller coaster ride that provoked thinking about stuff like time travel. I love sci fi movies that make me think.

By way of summary: Agent J is transported back in time to help save Agent K from Boris’ deadly actions. As he goes back, we see the slime and future devices in retrospect … “retro-furtristic” if you will. It could have been a film on Roswell or Area 51 as it presented the retro cars of the 40’s and 50’s. Horrible Boris the Animal is at his worst here. We witness him murder and commit crimes through time and up to the present. Nevertheless, through a series of events, Boris is defeated and Agent J returns to the present day victorious. He has saved K’s life by going back in time. I won’t reveal the twist here but fans of the franchise are going to love it. I think anyone, pre-existing fan or not, will find it both touching and exciting at the same time.

In my final analysis, I found Men in Black 3 to be a wild and crazy ride that I might consider going on a second time. The actors and the writing deserve the most credit I think. And of course, let’s not underestimate the power of slime. For a fun night out at the movies (kids or adults) I recommend Men in Black 3.

There has been so much buzz about this film and most of it is merited. However, I most love this movie for the simple reasons of: character foreshadowing, the slow motion fighting, and Wonder Woman’s love for flawed humanity.

Wonder Woman

“Before she was Wonder Woman she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained warrior. When a pilot crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world, she leaves home to fight a war to end all wars, discovering her full powers and true destiny.” -IMDB

Cast

Gal Gadot Diana
Chris Pine Steve Trevor
Robin Wright Antiope
Lucy Davis Etta

Directed by

Patty Jenkins

Written by

Allan Heinberg, Zack Snyder

Other Info

Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, War
PG-13
Fri 02 Jun 2017 UTC
141min
IMDB Rating: 8.2

Patty Jenkins is the director of this visionary film. I admire the way she put it all together. Even though I thought the war scenes and time in Germany could have been cut shorter, the movie works like an amusement park ride. To anyone about to see it I would say: get ready to be rattled! Jenkins is known for Monster which is a biopic based on the female serial killer Aileen Wuornos played by Charlize Theron. There is no superhero element to Monster but it’s a great work that tells a controversial story. So far, she has directed two powerful flms. Let’s hope to see more from her.

There are many powerful actors in this film but the most stand-out are Gal Gadot and Chris Pine. They are wonderful. Whether we are talking about basic action sequences or the love story element, both make the A grade. There is an innocence to both of them that makes the love story work as well as the saving of humanity sequences. Gal is 32, let’s hope she continues to be in the franchise. Her beauty is matched by her acting ability and flexible action moves.

Character foreshadowing is done several times in the film. One time is when they are in the German streets and there is a bearded man watching them. By the second glimpse, it was clear to me he was tracking Wonder Woman. Around another corner and I found out I was correct. Another example is the evil force. We see him a couple times in another form and to me it was clear who he was. What do you think? If you hven’t seen it, you will likely see it as I did. This is a simple directing tool but it works well to keep the movie rolling along with audeince interest. t’s a way of getting their engagement in noticing it. But there’s another film trick used that far surpasses this one.

The cgi slow mo effect used in the fight scenes is not new to us in films. We saw it a lot in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the Matrix, as well as pretty much every superhero film made in the past 20 years. The difference here is the way it’s done. There is a marked improvement over anything we have seen before. This special efects and editing team did their homework. I found this tool of film incredible in the story.

The third reason I loved this film is because Wonder Woman pledges to save humans even despite their penchant for anger and war. She falls in love with a human and that helps but it’s her experiences on the battefield that bring her to the conclusion that we are worth saving. The quote she utters at the end and a few tines before (again, the foreshadowing) speaks to personal belief and giving people according to your love rather than what they deserve.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This is one of the best superhero moves ever made due to its structure, the cgi and slo mo effects, and the incredible beauty of Wonder Woman’s message for humankind.

9/10

This is a repost of Will Smith as Hancock: Lacking Human Moments published first on Yahoo Voices Jul 16, 2008.

Will Smith’s movie “Hancock” is a superhero flick that struck me as lackluster at best. There are a few moments toward the end that worked but overall it was just a movie trying to win an audience through special effects.

In the beginning we find John Hancock curled up on bench in Hollywood, California. He’s clutching a bottle of booze much to the chagrin of a little kid urging him to go get the bad guys. This scene is wholly confusing and I found myself guessing that he was a well known bum with amazing powers. Sounds stupid huh? Well, I was 100% correct. In the first 2/3 of the movie we see Hancock go through rehab and do jail time. I kept hoping we’d get something to hold onto in terms of a moral, but it never came. I suppose one could justify that big chunk of the movie by saying it shows people should be responsible and stay in jail even when they have the superhero ability to break any brick wall down (or thick steel for that matter). I’m sorry but the morals here, which are always there in great super hero movies, are cloudy if not non-existent. This superhero movie had no morals and therefore slipped and fell most of the way through. Now, in the last 1/3 of the movie it recovered somewhat, at least in the morals department. We find out he has a wife he didn’t know about and he does a few things to save her life. Without giving away too much of the plot, I will just say this moral of “selflessness” is presented in the most cryptic way it takes a movie reviewer to glean it, at least that is this movie reviewers opinion. If I were to ask one of my kids what the moral is of the scenes between Hancock and his wife I have a feeling I’d get a blank stare.

Should superhero movies be that complicated?

The second area the movie flopped in my opinion was the lack of human moments. Ironically, superhero movies are great because they reveal the humanity through the characters. Not only did these characters lack endearing human qualities, they seemed one dimensional, like a storyboard that was never fleshed out with human characteristics. I found the characters flat and built to serve only the grossly overdone violence that never stops from the first scene. This movie has tons of CGI effects that are neat to look at but unfortunately they don’t carry the weight needed to become a great superhero movie like “the Hulk” or “Spiderman.” I am a big Will Smith fan, but unfortunately, not even Will Smith can save this colossal train wreck.

Hancock will be a good rental for kids that want to see things get destroyed or by drunks that find identification in going to jail to sober up. For the rest of us working class heroes that need good movies to inspire and propel us to do great things, this movie will fall on empty ears and desperately-seeking-for-more than “Hancock,” human eyes. Those eyes, in case the makers of Hancock are interested, want morals and human moments in movies, it’s what keeps us coming back.