Dunkirk is Christopher Nolan's crowning achievement

There are few in Hollywood who can craft a visual marvel quite like Christopher Nolan.  He has re-defined the superhero movie with his Batman trilogy, and has also created the best mainstream action movie of the 2000's in Interstellar.  I look forward to his films more than any other director in Hollywood, except perhaps Quentin Tarantino.  His films aren't just run of the mill action fests... they're must-see events.  Needless to say, I was looking forward to this film more than any other this year (with the exception of the next Star Wars entry).  I can happily report that Dunkirk is an absolute masterpiece and it stands as the high water mark in Nolan's distinguished career.  There isn't a single wasted frame in the entire film.

The story of Dunkirk is one that I, sadly, was not really aware of.  The stakes are extremely high.  It takes place in 1940, well before America enters the foray of World War II.  The Brits and their allies are backed up to Dunkirk beach in France and are literally surrounded by the Germans on all sides.  No less than the fate of the free world is at stake.  These soldiers are literal sitting ducks, hoping to not be picked off by the mighty German war machine before they can be rescued across a short 26 mile stretch of ocean.  Large ships are mowed down by German U-Boats, so it's up to a fleet of civilian ships to head stright into a warzone and rescue their brethren.  Nolan throws you right into the action.  He wisely discards any and all back story and throws his audience right into the battle.  Like the opening to Saving Private Ryan (a personal favorite of mine), Dunkirk excels at bringing its audience to within a stones throw of the brutality of war.  It's an adrenaline rush from start to finish, and I found myself clenching my chair throughout its entirety.  The battle is told through three perspectives:  The land, air, and sea.  It's brilliantly edited out of sequence, leaving the audience to experience different levels of trauma throughout it.

At 106 minutes, Dunkirk is Nolan's shortest film.  However, you feel every single one of those 106 minutes.  Hans Zimmer delivers a brilliant score that only adds to the drama (I'll never hear a stopwatch the same way again).  It's largely a dialogue free film, however that's not a knock against it.  I'd argue that the score is more important than any piece of dialogue in the film.  It builds and builds as the tension mounts until you find yourself exhaling at the end of the film, having held your breath through most of it.

That's not to say that there aren't great performances in it.  Newcomer, Fionn Whitehead is how the audience experiences most of the film.  He is the representation of the 400,000 soldiers trapped on the beach.  His dread is their dread.  Tom Hardy plays an air force fighter pilot in charge of the aerial rescue.  Oscar winner Mark Rylance delivers a deeply personal performance as one of the civilian boat rescuers.  Kenneth Branagh and Harry Styles fill out the cast with superb performances.

This film deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible.  Sadly, I did not get a chance to see it on an IMAX screen, which left me a little disappointed.  Nolan is the master of practical effects, and he filled his beaches with thousands of extras and as many real ships and planes as he could get his hands on.  I'm greatly anticipating the making of features on the Blu-Ray disc.

Dunkirk is the best movie I've seen this year.  It's a story about bravery, honor, and sacrifice.  4 out of 4 stars.  It delivers on every level and proves that Nolan is a master of suspense and emotion (a knock on him prior to this film).  Go see it!

War For The Planet Of The Apes is a fitting conclusion to the rebooted Apes trilogy

When people ask, "why are they constantly rebooting or remaking every piece of cinematic treasure?" you can point them to the recent reboot of the Planet Of The Apes as an example of getting it right.  There is so much dross and garbage trotted out before audiences every year, that it's easy to disregard anything with an "R" word before it as trash.  However, on the off chance that Hollywood actually gets it right (see the most recent Spider-Man reboot as another example), these stories can be worthy successor to their much beloved originals.

War For The Planet Of The Apes is the third (and reportedly final) entry to the Apes family of films.  The previous two (2011's Rise and 2014's Dawn) have been heralded both for their storytelling and their landmark special effects.  War is no different in this regard.  Once again, the team manages to deliver top notch motion capture work alongside real locations and human actors.  Andy Serkis again reprises his role as the simian leader, Caesar.  In this film, the war that was teased at the end of Dawn is in full swing.  The human resistance is in its final throes, and is attempting to find (and kill) Caesar and the rest of his ape compatriots.  The humans are led by the exceptional Woody Harrelson (in full Marlon Brando Apocalypse Now mode).  They believe the only way to victory is through complete annihilation of the apes.  Caesar is a much more conflicted leader.  He still seeks peace, while doing what it takes to protect his kind.  Unlike Harrelson's character, Caesar wears his emotion on his face.  He is a conflicted leader, who is haunted by his past actions and his love for humanity.

This is what I most enjoyed about War.  For a war film, there were many tender moments throughout it.  Large chunks of this film are silent as the apes mostly communicate through sign language.  The audience is along for the ride as Caesar and his friends try to end the war for good and bring peace to the world.  Since there is limited talking, a lot of the emotion is done through facial expressions and grunts.  I can't say enough about how good of a job Andy Serkis does.  I don't think he'll get an Oscar nomination for his work in these films, but his ability to act via motion capture is unparalleled.  His personality is felt throughout this film (and its predecessors), and he has done all he can do to bring validity to motion capture filmmaking.

While War does have some tremendous action set pieces, it does tend to drag in parts.  The third act felt a little long, and the Moses imagery was laid on a tad thick for my tastes.  I can't rate this one higher than Dawn (in my opinion, the high water mark to the series).  However, in an already strong year for mainstream blockbuster film making, War For The Planet Of The Apes delivers a highly satisfying and very entertaining conclusion to this trilogy.

Kudos to director, Matt Reeves, and his team.  3 out of 4 stars.

Life is such a blatant Alien rip-off that it's actually insulting.

Hollywood blockbusters in 2017 are basically a steady stream of reboots, remakes and sequels.  We've all come to accept that as the business model for the foreseeable future.  For better or worse, we're going to see comic book movies for the rest of our lives.  With that being said, there's a certain sense of excitement when an original blockbuster comes down the pike during the months of May and September.  If you look at the summer movies this year, there are less than a handful of big budget original movies.  I actually had high hopes for Life, the 2017 space thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds and a host of others.  The trailer looked interesting, and it managed to turn Goodnight Moon into terrifying nightmare fuel.  By some turn of events, I was unable to get to the theaters to see this one during its original run.  I finally had a chance to watch it this past weekend, and the results were... not good.

While Life may claim to be an original film, it's basically a not-nearly-as-good remake of 1979's Alien.  There isn't a single original shot in this nearly two hour stink fest.  From the title card (nearly identical to Alien's title reveal) to the alien baddy, this movie tries to get away with creating something "new" out of completely used spare parts.  The fact that this tries to call itself an original idea is insulting to audiences, critics, and film fans everywhere.  I'm glad to see that it fizzled out at the box office and I'm doing my best to see that it doesn't gain an audience at home.

Stop me if you've heard this before... a crew or ragtag astronauts comes across an unknown foreign substance on their mission, and proceed to bring it on board as it grows and kills almost everyone on board.  I kept saying to myself, "I can't believe they're trying to get away with this" as the alien made its way through the ship.  The alien in this film even bears a striking resemblance to the face hugger from the Alien films.  I kept waiting for a climactic scene in an airlock to close this film out (hint: that's pretty close to what happened).

There's not much to like about this one.  The effects aren't ground breaking, the cast is average at best, and the story is so predictable it seemed like they took the original Alien script and just changed the names and locations.  Please steer clear of this sorry excuse for "original" content.  If this is the best that Hollywood has to offer in regards to original blockbusters, then sign me up for Transformers 38 (who am I kidding?  I'm already signed up for Transformers 38.  I can't quit Michael Bay!).

The Third Spider-Man's The Charm! Homecoming's Tom Holland Finally Delivers A Great Spider-Man Performance.

Spider-Man is on the Mount Rushmore of Superheroes (along with Batman, Superman,and superhero of your choice.  I choose Wolverine), but other than the great Spider-Man 2, he's really had a hard time coming to life on the big screen.  Toby Maguire's rendering of the web slinger kicked off the modern day Superhero craze (I know that X-Men started it, but the first Spider-Man movie took the craze nuclear), but his movies have not aged well (except for SM2, which is still a classic).  Andrew Garfield's turn in the spandex suit never really connected with audiences (although I prefer his origin story to Maguire's), and the studio was more concerned with universe building than storytelling... leading to the absolute clunker of a film (Amazing Spider-Man 2... one of the most disappointing Superhero movies of all-time), and a franchise in desperate need of an identity.  Enter Marvel... the juggernaut agreed with Sony to bring the character back into the fold of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Tom Holland's brief role in last year's Captain America: Civil War was arguably the best part of that film and turned a skeptic like me (I didn't think the franchise could be saved) into a full-on believer.

And here we are.  Spider-Man: Homecoming is the truest big screen rendition of the classic Marvel character to date, and Tom Holland is easily the best cinematic Spider-Man of all-time.

Since we were already introduced to the character in Civil War, Marvel wisely decided against another origin tale (great power = great responsibility was graciously spared of this one).  Homecoming picks up where Civil War left off.  Peter Parker is a high school sophomore who moonlights at night in the "Tony Stark Internship," a codename he uses to fight crime.  Holland nails the character with a perfect blend of youthful naivete and aww shucks humor.  His interactions with Jon Favreau's Happy Holland had me laughing out loud in the best of ways.  Since we're back in the MCU, Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark appears sporadically (but definitely not overused) as Parker's mentor... to hilarious results.

The main villain is brilliantly portrayed by Michael Keaton (making his long awaited return to comic book movies).  He plays the down on his luck construction foreman turned winged vigilante, The Vulture.  Keaton is incredible in this role.  He brings to this film a blend of relate-able charmer and stone cold killer.  The Vulture blames Stark for his misfortune, which is very topical in today's age of the debate over wealth inequality.

The rest of the very diverse cast is great as well.  They felt (and looked) like an actual New York City school, which I think really helped this film's credibility come through.  Parker's best friend, Ned (played by Jacob Batalon), and the quirky Michelle (played with full piss and vinegar by Zendaya) were the two scene stealers of the movie.  They were the perfect sidekicks to Holland's character.  The best of this film part is that they didn't try to get a bunch of 30 year olds to play high school kids (which I always found distracting about the other films).  It felt like actual high school kids with age appropriate feelings and actions.  Kudos to the Marvel team.  My one complaint about the cast is that Marisa Tomei's, Aunt Mae, was totally underused.  She owned every scene that she was in, but there weren't enough for my liking.  She also delivers the best line of the movie.

Another thing that I loved about this film is that it didn't take itself too seriously.  It was having fun at every corner, without feeling silly.  It also featured an hilarious scene that answered one of my biggest questions about Spider-Man.  I always felt that if I was a villain in the Spider-Man universe, I would just do my criminal activities in the suburbs, which would prevent Spidey from swinging through the air.  I won't ruin it, but there's a great action sequence that deals with this directly.

I'm giving Spider-Man: Homecoming 3 out of 4 stars.  It's the best Spider-Man to date, and the best on-screen adaption of the actual Spider-Man character.  I am excited to see this version show up in other Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.  It's not a film without flaws, and it's hard to rate the third attempt at a reboot a perfect film, but it's definitely enjoyable.  It fits perfectly into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but is a film that can also be enjoyed by people who aren't that familiar with other movies (though I feel you should watch Civil War to get a refresher on the storyline).

Stick around for the standard post-credit scenes featuring an hilarious cameo from another Marvel favorite after the credits.

Transformers: The Last Knight is bat shit crazy... and not in a good way

Before I start this review, I have to get one thing off my chest.  To plagiarize Office Space... I am a Michael Bay fan.  I celebrate (almost) his entire catalog.  I know that as a fan of cinema, I'm not supposed to admit this.  I just can't help it.  The man knows how to craft an action sequence better than most people on the planet, and the eternal teenage boy inside me will always line up for more Total Bayhem.  There are many reasons to dislike Bay.  His movies are stupid.  His plots are non-existent.  And the veiled racism in them are thinner than Kate Moss on a hunger strike.  However, there's something about seeing Sean Connery deliver lines like "winners go home and fuck the prom queen" that appeal to me.  For the past decade, Bay has been relegated to churning out these Transformers movies... with diminishing returns.  He occasionally steps away to make other films, but for better or worse (mostly the latter), he's been handed the keys to the Transformer Universe.

This is his fifth outing in the director's seat, and for the first time, it seems like every one involved in the production is doing it solely for the paycheck.  There's nothing new about this film, and the plot can be loosely described as Mark Wahlberg says some crazy shit followed by robot fighting.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  This is what was very disappointing about The Last Knight.  I'm not looking for the next Citizen Kane with these films.  I know what I'm getting myself in to.  BUT, I do expect a certain level of effort put into each film.  The first film worked because we were finally seeing a beloved 80s cartoon hit the big screen.  The second film was Bay's first attempt at using IMAX cameras.  The third film introduced the series to 3D and had some really cool scenes involving flying winged suits.  The fourth film introduced the Dinobots.  The Last Knight doesn't innovate or introduce us to anything new.  In fact, it seems to repeat bits and pieces from previous films without any regard to continuity.

I'm not going to go too in depth on the plot of this film because that would hurt my brain.  Here's a short short version.  Humanity is systematically eliminating the Transformers from the earth.  Cade Yaeger (Wahlberg) is the leader of the resistance.  Optimus Prime has gone back to Cybertron to confront his makers.  Anthony Hopkins (in full paycheck cashing mode) is a historian who discovers that the Transformers have been around since the Knights of the Roundtable and have hidden a device on earth that could be used to destroy the world.  At least I think this is the plot.  The story goes all over the place too many times to remember.  I remember dozing off for a bit, but having it not impact my understanding of the movie (never a good sign).  Wahlberg is all wrong in this leading role.  He never goes beyond "say hi to your mother for me" style acting.  At least Shia Laboef was able to muster up some emotion beyond screaming frantically.

As far as Total Bayhem goes, I think this is where I was most disappointed.  The action sequences played out like a bit of "been there, destroyed that."  You could at least count on one holy shit moment in these films, and The Last Knight didn't have a single scene on that level.

Overall, I'm giving this movie .5 stars out of 4, and a 4 out of 10 on the Total Bayhem scale. I know this won't be the last film in the series (and the post-credit scene almost guarantees that), but it's a disappointment to say the least... especially being billed as Bay's last go-around with the robots in disguise.

Wonder Woman is a much needed victory for DC

It's no secret that DC's attempt at building a cinematic universe similar to the Marvel-verse has been bumpy at best and dreadful at worst.  From Man Of Steel to Suicide Squad (maybe the worst superhero movie of all time), DC can't quite seem to figure itself out.  It has entrusted its franchises and tone to Zach "Sucker Punch" Snyder, and the results have been... meh.  From struggles with tone to sloppy storytelling, each outing seems like a preseason football contest.  You trot your stars out to get reps, but with an incomplete playbook.  The DC-verse has felt like its learning how to be a franchise without a coherent direction.  Critics have voiced their venomous displeasure while audiences have shown up in droves (however, I can't seem to find a single DC movie fan).

I tend to be less harsh than others when it comes to the DC movies.  I actually kind of love Man Of Steel more each time I see it.  Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice is a flawed movie, for sure, but one whose director's cut is a vast improvement over its theatrical release.  Like Darth Vader, there's still some good in that one.  The one DC film I just can't get behind is last summer's abortion of a film, Suicide Squad. My friend Adam put it best when he said "it looked like I think Four Loco tastes."  I don't know if there's ever been a better description of a shitty movie ever written.  Looking at these films, even I can admit that they are not even in the same league as Marvel's well-oiled cinematic machine.  I went into Wonder Woman last night realllly hoping that it would be the first step in the right direction... and I am happy to report that, for the first time, DC's cinematic brain trust finally got it right.

Wonder Woman is a movie in three distinct parts.  An original tale, a quirky comedy, and a superhero smash and bash ending.  The film opens with the story of Diana, the Amazon princess, desperate to learn the ways of her fighting, all-female, clan.  It's the first time in the DC-verse where the tones and colors on screen aren't flat and gray, but rather vibrant as hell.  This pays dividends as we see that this ain't your father's DC movie.  It's a good start, albeit one that uses a tried and true formula.  The movie picks up when Chris Pine's character literally crashes the party, turning a paint by numbers action epic into an almost romantic comedy style action film.

Gal Gadot, as Wonder Woman, lets her comedy chops shine during this middle section.  I felt that she struggled showing her more serious side, but absolutely knocked it out of the park with her interactions with Pine's character.  She explores London with an almost childlike wonderment, which leads to some definite LOL's.  I'm really glad that the film went in this direction. For one, it finally breaks the "no fun rule" which has been the go to direction of the DC-verse.  It's a much needed infusion of charm and laughs after a couple films of brooding silence.  I hope the films keep with this mix of humor and action going forward (and judging by the Justice League trailer that played before the film, it seems my hopes will be answered).

The final act of this film reverted back to a more standard CGI-infused superhero formula, but it was still exciting.  There's an incredible battle across a World War I battlefield through a Belgian town that is the action highlight of the film.

I absolutely enjoyed Wonder Woman.  It was the perfect summer movie escape.  I'm giving it 3 out of 4 stars.  It is not a perfect film, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.  I'm actually excited for Justice League.

It has its flaws, for sure.  The director tends to favor Zac Snyder slow motion style action sequences a little too much, and as my co-worker described to me, the score seems a little out of place at times.  The main villain is also completely under-developed.  The big reveal/spoiler fell a little flat, to me.  However, my complaints are minor.  It was a really fun introduction to one of the most classic characters of all-time.

Alien: Covenant is a mixed bag of been there done that

"Questions will be answered."  That was the big tagline for 2012's Prometheus, Ridley Scott's return to the genre and franchise that he created.  Who created the Xenomorphs?  Who were the engineers?  What was that space jockey thing in the abandoned ship at the beginning of Alien?  Going into that movie, I was very excited to dip into the mythology surrounding 1979's genre defining film.  I've always been a major fan of the Alien franchise.  The original film scared the hell out of me and is the high water mark for the entire series.  James Cameron's sequel, Aliens, set the gold standard for action movie sequels.  And I've always been a fan of the much-maligned (director David Fincher hates it) Alien 3.  However, from that film on, the franchise has grown stale.  Be it through a series of direct to DVD quality mashups with the Predator or a failed 4th entry that is better left unmentioned.  That's why I was so excited when papa Ridley returned home.  He was coming back to finish what he started (I've read that he always regretted not making another Alien film).  Unfortunately, Prometheus did not live up to the hype with fans and critics.  It left audiences with more questions than they had going in to it.

I, unlike most fans, actually adore Prometheus.  Like an onion, it reveals more layers each time I watch it, and I view it as a must watch for any Alien fan.  I can admit that it's a flawed film, but it fails in a good way.  It takes chances and doesn't fall into the familiar territory that ended up hurting the later Alien installments.  It introduced the world to Michael Fassbender's, David, the best android in the entire franchise.  It shot for more than just cheap thrills and chest bursting sequences.  And, while it didn't always hit the mark, I will will always defend Prometheus.

Prometheus also made enough money to warrant a sequel.  And here we are with Ridley Scott once again returning to the director's chair for this mixed bag of a film.

I'll start with the good... Alien: Covenant delivers much better action/horror sequences than Prometheus.  The aliens are better in every way (given that the actual Xenomorph didn't show up until the ending moments of Prometheus makes this a given).  They have a couple variations throughout the film, but once the classic Xenomorph shows up, the action really picks up.  The chest bursting scenes are bloody as hell, and there are some genuinely exciting action sequences.

Another improvement in this film is that the human characters have more to them than simply being alien-bate.  I will fully admit that Prometheus didn't always do a great job of injecting life into its characters.  Covenant's characters get more time to develop before the blood starts bursting.  Katherine Waterson, Billy Crudup and Danny McBride all shine in their roles aboard the spaceship tasked with re-populating the human race on a distant planet.  They're all given depth that was previously lacking and their actions have meaning.

My absolute favorite part of this film is Michael Fassbender's dual role.  He reprises his Peter O'Toole-esque, David, from the previous film as well as playing an upgraded cyborg, Walter.  David has gone off the deep end.  He reminds me of Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now... a former company man that has gone off the deep end.  I don't want to ruin much about this character but will say that he is truly splendid in his madness.  Walter, on the other hand, serves as the polar opposite.  He's a cyborg that is fully committed to the cause of protecting humanity.  Fassbender plays him with a baby's sense of wonderment, as he is taught how to become more self-aware.

Now on to the bad... This film struggles to find a balance between Prometheus' mythology and Alien-esque action.  Whereas Prometheus shot for the stars, philosophically, Covenant never gets going in either direction.  It's also a highly predictable film.  Characters go off on their own to check on disturbances and (shockingly!) don't come back.  There's also a big twist towards the end that was about as predictable as a clock.  The final act is a mixed bag of "greatest hits," including air locks, empty hallways and bad decisions.

My biggest beef with this re-booted series is the lack of a strong female character.  Sigorney Weaver's Ripley is the blueprint for how to create a strong female protagonist.  Both Noomi Rapace and Katherine Waterson never quite develop into a top-notch lead character in either of these films, and that's why these recent Alien films have failed to take a hold with audiences.

I'm giving Alien: Covenant 2 out of 4 stars.  It's a perfectly capable entry into the franchise, but doesn't commit enough to the mythology and doesn't break any new ground in the scare department.  It still leaves the audience without answering the big questions.  We still don't know who the engineers are and, judging by this film's poor opening weekend, I fear we may never know.