Reviving Ophelia

Elizabeth (Rebecca Williams) is a typical teenager who's found what's seems to be a great guy in her boyfriend Mark (Nick Thurston). The relationship starts to turn sour once Mark starts to be abusive and controlling. Reviving Ophelia is Lifetime movie trying to convey the dark sides and dangers of relationships.

I am all for a film trying to show how important to be safe in relationships even if it's only a televison film. I think it is important to expose this important issue and in the most serious manner which maybe could even save a life and the Lifetime channel would seem to be the perfect place for a tv film like this. The Lifetime channel seems to have a wide audience and they have made many films.

So why then is Reviving Opehia so cheesy when it's dealing with a such touchy and important subject?

Even though she is a victim of assault, Elizabeth is hard character to root for because she can get away from her abuser Mark and she is clearly something of a button-pusher. You obviously can't like Mark either because he is a guy beating up a woman and not taking responsibility for his actions. Keil (Carleigh Beverly) Elizabeth cousin, is the character in the middle who's supposed be trying to help Elizabeth get away from Mark but the two unlikable characters are in the way of her character realizing her full potential. Even Jane Kaczmarek as mother Marie Jones, previously known for good stuff like Malcolm in the Middle and Part of Five, falls short and her acting here is far from where it usually is. The cast does have some chemistry though everything is toned down due to this being a tv film. The plot really has only one subject and it really has little substance.

Reviving Ophelia is so full of problems that it's main message that "that abuse is bad" gets very lost in the middle of it. After that, it is a bit laughable and you keep watching because you have nothing else to do. We watched this in my high school Relationships class as we spent a whole unit learning about abusive relationships. Frankly, just about whole class laughed at this movie and my buddy next to me cracked some sex jokes and commented about all the attractive actresses that appear in this film. It did make this bad tv film seem more bearable.

2.5/5

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Gremlins

There are so many types of monsters around in the film industry. Godzilla and King Kong are the type of monsters that are massively big and known to cause terror to large cities. You can also say a monster is something like Dracula, Freddy Krueger or just a murdering villain. In my mind, you can't always put a type of monster into a certain genre and this is a type of discussion that could last for a while.

Fitting into that long discussion should be the 1984 film Gremlins, a monster film in many ways. Inventor Randy Pultzer (Hoyt Axton) while in Chinatown gets an animal known as a mogwai as a early Christmas present for his son Billy (Zach Galligan). A mogwai could be described as very small and fury creature who's owner must observe strict rules regarding their handling or negative consequences will occur. For example, they can't be fed after midnight, can't be exposed to bright lights nor can they come into contact with water. If these rules are not observed basically you get "monster terror".

To say a mogwai is one certain type of creature would wrong. A mogwai is a type of creature that could appear in a Saturday morning cartoon or a family film but once those mogwai handling rules are broken, he turns into the exact opposite who could be something very R rated. It is then a type of creature wanting to cause harm to the town and also a very ugly looking thing. The actions scenes involving them interestingly combine horror and comedy. The scenes involving them are quite fun and also ahead of it's time with some great special effects.

 That said, there are some plot holes in these scenes. Being set at Christmas time, many of the action scenes are set in the snow. So how can the gremlins run through snow as they do when you know snow is filled with water which is against the mogwai rules? You can't feed a mogwai past a certain time but the film gives us no clue to what time zone we are in and if you think about it, anywhere in the world it's past midnight somewhere?

As any good film should do, this film give the cast many things to do. Billy is our leader and main fighter for the town. Phoebe Cates playing Kate Beringer is the Billy's love interest. She is very likable and also very sexy as always. Randall Peltzer is the father who I'm sure feels some sort of blame towards the creatures creating havoc in his town and his character does have some funny moments with his strange and worthless inventions. Even Corey Feldman shows up as the character Pete who is like your little brother in that he is highly annoying and just seems to roam around without direction but you like him though.
  

Gremlins apparently was one of the movies which introduced the PG-13 rating. It is a film that in some respects defines 1980's era films. It is a film that I enjoyed more when I was a little boy but the teenager in me still found something in it that I liked. Gremlins would surely work for a modern family audience today. This is a film that is as powerful then as it is now. Monster film joy.

4/5

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Ghostbusters

In the heart of Manhattan, Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), Peter Venkman (Billy Murray) and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) are scientists who careers are all falling as parapsychologists. After an idea that seems silly, this team creates their own company. Their idea involves a company stopping the ghosts of New York City and they are a team who eventually who's has to save the world. This is the movie Ghostbusters.

What first could be said about this 1984 film is that it definitely relies on the characters. Peter Venkman is the person in the group that could be called the James Belushi of the group. He's the type of guy who basically "slacked" his way to being a scientist and who spends most of his time trying to get at Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) who's apartment was the first place Zuul, a creature wanting to take over the world was found. Egon is the smart guy who is not be messed with and it is his way or the highway. Ray is likely the most likable person of the group who seems to like everyone. Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) joins the ghostbusters group midway through their success but he's the least developed character of them all. Now retired actor Rick Moranis plays Louis Tully who's the nerdy neighbor of Dana who also trying to get Dana's interest and who eventually has his own encounter with Zuul. This is a cast that works so well together and are equally funny and energetic.


                                

The movie takes this original idea of people fighting and eliminating ghosts and gives it quite a bit of depth. The movie is filled with great special effects that are ahead of it's time and the movie also has a cool 80's New York vibe. The plot is more convoluted then it needs to be at times this is the type of story that would only come around in the 80's but is filled with so many highlights that the flaws seem insignificant.

To find someone who doesn't know what Ghostsbusters is in our society, is hard to come by. This is a type of art that will live on forever and creates new audiences daily. Ghostbusters is truly a revolutionary film that you can't get enough of. It is one of those films you could watch ten times without getting tired of it and there aren't many films you can say that about. This movie is truly remarkable indeed.

4.5/5

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Godzilla (2014)

There are monster films that stand alone and then there are monster films that are the godfathers of them all. You could say that the King Kong from 1933 was among the most influential which spawned sequels and remakes in 1976 and 2005. That said, the 1954 Japanese movie Godzilla towers over them all. With over ten sequels and an American remake in 1998, Godzilla is on the biggest scale of all monster movies, to me anyway.

No doubt, the 1998 Godzilla by Roland Emmerich was critically panned. From the silly ideas of babies and asexual reproduction, it was very simple-minded action flick. The sequels that were planned were cancelled due to the bad reception to the film. I actually who enjoyed this version of Godzilla and like others, I think we have all waited too long for this new version. Godzilla is that interesting a character and movie phenomenon.

This new installment, follows around Joe Brody (Bryon Cranston) who is in a Japanese town that has been quarantined after what is said to be a nuclear power plant incident. Joe is arrested for trespassing in this nuclear area as he believes something else is happening there. This suppression leads to more of the same and eventually the beast himself.

Unlike the 1998 film where your cast was typical, this new Godzilla cast is much more diverse. Ford Brody (Aaron Tyler Johnson) plays Joe's son, who's main role is to fight for his family and who eventually starts believing his father that something strange is going on in the area. His wife Elle is played by rising star, Elizabeth Olsen and is a nurse who is running around the city looking for a shelter for her family which makes the her the least interesting character here. Dr Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins) and Ichrio Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) are the scientists who have been investigating the phenomena in this area since the beginning which makes us root for them all the way through the movie.

Besides a few shots in Jamaica, Tahiti and South Pacific Ocean, the 1998 Godzilla movie was set in New York. You can say that took down the film but it also made us question the budget. Once again, this new version is quite exactly the opposite. Ford Brody grew up in Japan but now lives with wife and child in San Francisco. The action scene settings range from Las Vegas, Nevada to Honolulu, Hawaii. It does kind of come off as "all over the place" and maybe a bit too much being attempted but the atmosphere is original and this movie appears to have more of a budget than the last one.

Obviously biggest factor in any Godzilla movie is the creature itself. Whatever Godzilla film you are watching, he is always going to be what you want to see and why you are watching in the first place. This new Godzilla is made to look very modern, with ideas and character development and also his entrance to this film comes much later then you would like. The action scenes and effects involving Godzilla are beyond dazzling but the action scenes are kind of  light on buildup and ideas. Also the final shot of Godzilla is very silly and it's feels as if this is a set up to a sequel.  

In the end, I enjoyed this big budget, summer film but it is such a different Godzilla film than I expected that it is a little hard to take in. It will likely take me more than a few more viewings to fully accept and appreciate this "very different Godzilla". With this film being so different, you are only to left wonder what the likely sequel will be like and that may be the biggest question mark of them all.      

4/5

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The Amazing-Spider Man 2

In 2012, the first Spider-Man came out from the new reboot series and it came out in a very "out of the blue" way. I can't say I never did appreciate a Spider-Man film though because Spider-Man is for sure one of my favorite superheroes out there. Why though, would they create a Spider-Man series five years after the last film in the original series?

The Amazing Spider-Man of 2012 still was a positive even with all the hate I give it. It brought in new rising stars who we got to know and it played well in the summer market. The film got a new audience for this famous Marvel character and it generated sequels.

In this movie, following the events in last movie, Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is really up in the air (no pun intended) with his relationship with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) and a new villain, Electro (Jamie Fox) comes into the spotlight. Peter Parker also must deal with an old friend Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) who is now in charge of Oscorp and who's emotions turn him into the villain the Green Goblin. Parker is sure dealing with lot of tuff and it's starts to show.

Andrew Garfield is again likable which makes you wish he was around more often in films. He has very good chemistry with his co-star Emma Stone but the story of them trying to solve their relationship is surely past done by now. Still though, they make this film and I don't know where this film would be without the two of them together. Electro is nerdy and not a mentally stable guy and it's quite interesting for him to be in this film because he is not the most known villain in the Spider-Man universe which makes him original. The special effects with him are quite quirky and of a different vibe than what we have seen before but like the most characters in this film, his pacing is way off. Rising star, Dane DeHaan known for the forgotten but solid film Chronicle is just as silly as Electro but it's Dehaan himself who eventually who ruins this character for us. He can't develop the character himself making it a mundane character nor is his acting really up to a par. Even the usually lovable Sally Field as Aunt Jane is nowhere to be found and really adds nothing to film even when she is around.  

There also isn't much of a plot here. Sure, these characters do add something but a large portion of the film wanders around going nowhere and the movie has some really bad pacing. You would expect the typical long, action battle scenes to end the story and here the last battle scene sure does change the whole series. The main settings is New York City which it had to be but really you know what you are getting with this setting by now. It' a plot that has a lot to it but doesn't really go anywhere with it. I give the substance here a barely passing grade.

These are probably some reasons why this is movie is getting hated on after only one week at the top of the box office. You have wonder what Sony Pictures thinks of the future now for this series. This reboot continues to introduce us to new things to this character that we never thought would come to us but still fails to deliver the necessary stuff to make a really good Spider-Man film. I can't even say that I'm even looking forward to the likely sequels coming in the next few years and I never said this when the original sequels were coming. The Amazing Spider Man 2 and this whole reboot series  sure seems like a big question mark to me.

3/5

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Godzilla (1998)

In 1954, the new film "Godzilla" hit the theaters in Japan and made an impact that nobody foresaw or thought would have happened. Sure, in 1933 the famous King Kong was released but Godzilla was still an inspiration for many monster films to follow. These movies include the classic 1954 movie, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and even more recent films including the 2006 South Korean film, "The Host" and "Cloverfield" from 2008. So many monster movies world-wide have been inspired by the original Godzilla movie.

In my mind, around the 1990's, we were long overdue for an American Godzilla film for many years. It is true that in 1956, there was an American production of Godzilla, King of the Monsters! but it had mostly the same footage from the original Godzilla to introduce the monster Godzilla to an American audience. It would seem that a new American version would surely find an audience in the States and create a new audience so to generate sequels.

In 1998, an American version of Godzilla was indeed released. It came with a risk because of the past history of Godzilla movies and it also needed a big budget to properly depict this large monster. In the end, this movie version of Godzilla is mostly hated but I was able to look past this.

After a sudden and mysterious attack on a Japanese vessel and  also some big footprints found in the Panamanian forests, Dr. Nick Tatopoulos (Matthew Broderick) is contacted by the U.S. State Department who discovered a giant mystery which a monster we later called Godzilla and who's main target for attack is the Big Apple, New York City. This is an attack that later turns into much more.

At the time of the movies release, director Roland Emmerich was coming off the huge success of Independence Day and there was much hype surround this film because of that. He brought Matthew Broderick in for the lead role but I believe Broderick is a questionable lead because he has never been the action film actor and his inexperience in this genre shows in this movie. Emmerich also casts popular television actor Hank Azaria as Victor Palotti as a funny guy but he mostly meanders around and is not very funny. Maria Pitillo is the love interest of Dr. Tatopoulos but her acting here is a mess and she gives some clear reasons as to why she's not around in films any more.

 
At first glance, it seems like this is a simple plot but the plot does have some substance. Even though New York City comes off as a simple setting, the film does give us many interesting shots of the city during it's action scenes. The action scenes don't really stand out and the ending is tiresome but the action here is enough to get by. Popular actor Jean Reno plays an very interesting French secret agent which adds a foreign spy angle to this new Godzilla.

What's becomes even more interesting about this American remake is the Godzilla creature itself. Godzilla sure looks like a dinosaur and that maybe is understandable considering this film was made  during the heights of the popularity of Jurassic Park. The special effects here are hit or miss. The film does sets itself up perfectly for sequels but these were late canceled due to the poor audience reaction to this movie. There is also a baby element which later turns into a type of biology lesson that involves asexual reproduction. As you can see, the substance of this movie is kind of all over the place but it sure does add some elements to a film that could have easily been too simple.

In the end, this is a somewhat standard Roland Emmerich film. The movie is very dumb at times and has many problems but in the end Godzilla works in a cheesy kind of way. This was a  silly action film from the 90's that I wish had found it's audience. This is "guilty pleasure" fun indeed.

3/5

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Heaven is for Real

Every year, there are a certain amount of Christian films released. You could say that they are unnoticed or that people forget about them because studios don't seem to have confidence in them to make a profit. No doubt though there have been some religious films that have made their mark on the film industry including The Passion of the Christ in 2004, Jonah: Veggie Tales in 2002 and the famous The Ten Commandments in 1956.

Twenty years down the road, when we look back to the films of 2014, you could say that religion was a theme in some of the films. Even though panned by most people and based off a mini series, Son of God about the life of Jesus was a profitable movie. Noah the Ark with Darren Aronofsky and Russell Crowe about of course the story of Noah the Ark was a blockbuster. The year 2015 will bring us a film about the life of Mary, and also Exodus: Gods and Kings that is in post-production. Only time will tell if there will be more films about religion down the road.

Based off the best selling novel of the same name, Heaven for Real is the true story of Colton Burpo who went through emergency surgery in 2003 and went on a magical journey through heaven during it. It is a journey that left a family in wonder and a small town in Nebraska in a media frenzy .

Even though looked at as a small market film, this film very includes big names. Greg Kinnear plays father and pastor Todd Burpo who is mystified but excited about Colton's experience. Kelly Reilly plays the mother Sonia who takes a more of an emotional approach to the Colton story. Big name actor Thomas Haden Church plays family friend Jay Olson who we can like but really adds nothing to the story.The center of attention to the story is of course Colton with acting by young actor by Connor Corum which is hit or miss and a character that you feel is out of his head. His sister Cassie is played by Lane Style who is given nothing to do and is a character that doesn't add anything to the story. Overall, the cast is kind of a mess.  

This film eventually fails because of it's lack of attention to detail. It just mopes around, gives us no secondary ideas and has a very repetitive in plot. You are left to wonder to as what's more to this story and if this film was a just marketing campaign for the book. You literally leave the theater knowing as much as you did coming in.                                                      

 

Maybe this movie found its audience and I would think most religious people would like it but Heaven for Real is lousy beyond belief. It has an interesting plot to work off of but doesn't do much with it. This is a film with not a lot to it and not for me.

2/5

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