Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

In the past decade, there have been many film studios trying to capitalize on the Harry Potter popularity, by adapting a book to a film series in the same vain. The end result, all have them have sucked or at best okay. One of those films happened to have the director of the first two Harry Potter films, Chris Columbus; and that film was "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Theif."

The film told of a young boy named Percy Jackson, the demi-god son of Poseidon, who is accused of stealing Zeus's master lightning bolt. He then sets out to Camp Half-Blood, where he meets up with other demi-gods of the world he's entered, but now enters a fork in the road between putting balance back into the world and bringing back his mother who was killed. For a film that establishes Greek Mythology into its own way, which I think is an interesting idea, it really didn't strike that much to me. It wasn't the worst of this trend of Potter-clones, but it still wasn't a good movie. The best aspect that I got from this film were the actors, especially Logan Lerman who has really evolved more as the years have gone by.

It's then it got it's sequel, "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters." How was it? Pretty boring actually.

This time around, the long dead half-blood-now-tree that keeps the strong barrier around Camp Half-Blood, Thalia, is starting to die and soon will leave everyone defenseless. It's then Percy learns of the Golden Fleece, which can heal anything it's put over and even more. Despite not being picked for the quest to find it, Percy and his friends, Grover and Annabeth, along with Percy's cyclops half-brother, Tyson, set out to find the Fleece. The troubles that lie ahead for them is that Luke, the demi-god son of Hermes, is still alive and is after the Fleece too, so he can bring back Kronos. While this idea does seem like it should be an easy hour and thirty minute film, the manage to stretch it out to almost two hours, and it really gets unpleasant.

The actors that do return, like Stanley Tucci, Jake Abel, Alexandra Daddario, Brandon T. Jackson, and Logan Lerman pretty much give the same performance from the first film, but then there are new characters who felt unneeded or just unlikable. Douglas Smith plays Percy's half-brother, Tyson, and while I do think he's trying his best here, he didn't feel all that needed, except for the encounter with Polyphemus. Aside from that, there really wasn't much needed from him, even after he saves Percy's life. Though the character that became hard to watch was Levin Rambin as Clarisse La Rue. The minute she was on screen and gave that snarky insult, I knew I was going to hate this character. If I went into more one why I didn't like her, we'd be here all day.

The action scenes, while not great were watchable. Though it does get annoying when characters with swords only use the hilt, up until they're fighting a big special effect. Which brings me to the special effects, which looked awful, especially when you see Kronos, who looks like that ghost rock monster from "Super Mario Galaxy." That, and for a film that was almost two hours long, that final battle felt rushed, which really pissed me off, since I wanted to see what they could have REALLY done with that.

Overall, "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters" was just a waste of time. I haven't read the books, and after these films, I probably won't have much interest in them. While it has its moments, it doesn't save the film enough.

Rating: 4/10

Elysium

Ever since he gained the strongest point of recognition with "Good Will Hunting," Matt Damon has made it as one of Hollywood's top actors. Since then films like "Dogma," "Ocean's Eleven," "True Grit," "The Departed," and "The Bourne Trilogy" have all shown us how strong an actor he can be. And that leads us to his newest film, "Elysium."

In the year 2154, Max Da Costa is among many people that are stuck on Earth, while the richest people in the world live paradise on Elysium, a country sized space station that allows humans to live life in the strongest luxary. When Max is exposed to radiation, he is then equipped with an exoskeleton, and now it's up to him to override Elysium and save his friends and the many people of Earth. The film does have many interesting ideas going, and it also manages to keep that flow going fairly well with exciting things coming in certain directions.

Matt Damon as Max manages to do well in the role, and you can see the conflict really come into play after his accident. The only problem I had was his character wasn't quite developed enough for me to have that much sympathy for him, which does tend to bring the film down a bit. Jodie Foster plays the head of Elysium, and honestly...she felt pretty unnecessary. She wasn't bad, I'm just saying if you took her out of the film, it wouldn't have changed much at all. William Fichtner plays Da Costa's boss, John Carlyle, and he does fairly decent, but not much is done with this character as I was expecting. I would have loved to see more happen with him. Sharlto Copley plays the villain, Kruger, and he's very entertaining to watch in this movie. He's crooked, he's determined, and has great personality. He manages to come back from death after being hit by a grenade, showing how this character can be a force reckoned with. However, his character seems pretty one dimensional, as all his character's nothing more than a hitman.

The action scenes and special effects are pretty decent, but the shaky came does get annoying, AS ALWAYS. The film was directed by Neil Blomkamp, the man behind "District 9;" people actually thought that this movie was supposed to be a sequel to that, but there are so many heavy differences that I don't know why people would think that. That's like saying the "Hellboy" movies are a continuation to "Pan's Labyrinth," just because of the director and look of the film.

Overall, "Elysium" was...okay at best. If you thought that "D9" was overrated and you're curious about this film...I'd say skip it, it's pretty much the same level.

Rating: 6/10

Despicable Me 2

                In 2010, Universal’s newest animation studio, Illumination, had brought itself to the public with their first film, “Despicable Me.” The film tells of Gru, a villain who wants to be #1, but is always one step behind his rival, Vector. In an attempt to get Vector’s invention and succeed in stealing the moon, Gru adopts three little girls to assist him. And throughout the film, we see Gru start to become attached to them the more he spends time with them. While it wasn’t really anything ground-breaking, especially since it was a month after “Toy Story 3,” it was a good movie. For a first time with animation, Illumination did a fairly decent job and made something that’s fun for both kids and adults, with some likable characters and some very decent voice acting. And with a film like this, it was bound to have gotten a sequel.

                In the new film, Gru has given up the villain’s business and moved on to be a better father to his children: Margo, Edith, and Agnes. When a villain steals a formula to turn anyone into a berserk hairy beast, Gru is recruited by the Anti-Villain League to capture him and bring him to justice. During his mission, he starts to develop a relationship with his partner, Lucy, especially since his girls want him to find love and give them a new mommy. The film does an especially good job, adding new ideas and jokes, all while still being genuine. It continues the story, and doesn’t try to repeat the same story and keeps it going strong.

                Steve Carell reprises his role of Gru again, and he manages to keep the character fresh, making sure that the character is made his own. Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, and Elsie Fisher return as Margo, Edith, and Agnes, and they have a much bigger part relating to the movie this time around. Here, Margo is starting to show her interest in boys, which is something Gru is trying to cope with, especially when she’s falling for the villain’s son. And let me say, the pay off it leads to is hilarious. Agnes and Edith are also trying to find Gru a perfect match, so they can have the feeling of having a mother, especially when Agnes has to recite a performance for Mother’s Day. It really adds to the touching factor that was done well with the first film, which is made better here as well. Kristen Wiig also returns to the film, but this time she’s playing Gru’s partner and love-interest, Lucy Wilde. Surprisingly, she was actually my favorite character in the film, since I’m not too big a fan of her work, but here she managed to prove me wrong and be very likable. She’s energetic, crazy, and her personality was just all over the place that I could hardly keep myself from laughing every time she was on screen.

                One thing this film made work so much better were the minions. In the first film, the minions really didn’t do much aside from just being comic relief. Here, they actually serve more purpose to the plot, and are actually a key element involved with the villain’s plan. Speaking of which, the villain El Macho was just a joy to watch. Originally, he was played by Al Pacino, and was put all over the promotional ads for it, but for some reason he dropped out and was replaced by Benjamin Bratt. Bratt does a pretty good job you can’t tell that much difference.

                The one problem that I had has to do with the final act, but that dives right into spoilers. I’ll I can say is if you’re going to establish a character with certain traits, only for her to forget about them at the end, give a better reason for them to not work.  If you’ve seen the film, you know what I’m talking about. Also, I wish the final battle with Gru and El Macho had lasted a bit longer. Other than that, there isn’t that much I had a problem with it.

Overall, “Despicable Me 2” was an enjoyable film with a big audience, and there are plenty of jokes for both kids and adults to enjoy. If this does spawn another film, aside from the minions’ film, I’m open to see what comes next.

Rating: 8/10

The Wolverine

                The year 1998 started up the golden age of Marvel’s Comic book films, as the Wesley Snipes film, “Blade,” brought in much of the possibilities come to life. Since then, we’ve seen many studios make adaptations of famous Marvel comic book films. Following in “Blade’s” success was the 2000 flick, “X-Men,” the first superhero team-up film that instantly sparked into a franchise. And today, we’re given the newest to the franchise, “The Wolverine.”

                Years after the events of “X-Men 3: The Last Stand,” Logan has gone into hiding, trying to deal with the pain of killing Jean Grey. He is then taken to Japan to meet Ichiro Yashida, a man who Logan had saved during World War II, who wants to repay him for what he’s done for him and wants Logan to give him his powers so Logan can have a normal life and die like a normal person. After declining, Logan is soon found protecting Yashida’s granddaughter, who is next in line to take her place as head of the family, but also has the problem of not healing right after an encounter with the Viper. Out of all the “X-Men” films that have been released in the past, this one stands as not only the best, but the most enjoyable out of any of them. It really sets itself as more of an American Samurai flick, but also being true to heart on what it is. To a lot of people, this is the TRUE Wolverine movie we have all been waiting for.

                Hugh Jackman does it again, showing off his amazing portrayal of the character, but does it so much better this time around. He still stands high as my favorite actor, and this film doesn’t disappoint on that. Tao Okamato as Mariko, Yashida’s granddaughter, gave off a good performance as well, but her character did seem a bit off to me. She has some scenes where it looks like she can hold her own, but that’s often disregarded when she’s being taken hostage. Aside from that, she did exceptionally well in the film. Rika Fukushima as Yukio, the one who brings Logan to Japan, was all kinds of badass samurai. Her interactions with Logan really do stand out among the rest of the film, and her actions scenes really do make her look like she sprung out of an anime. Famke Jansen also appears in the film, and surprisingly more than I expected. I thought that her scene in the trailers would have been it, but they managed to use more of her and in an effective way, as she portrays Logan’s side of wanting to die, so he could be with her. Haruhiko Yamanouchi as Yashida proved to be a great character as well, but there are things about him that do lead into spoilers, but he really has such a deep presence to him that just feels so enhancing and connecting.

                The action scenes and effects are incredible to watch, and you can just feel the intensity of it in each heavy hit. If there is any action scene that really hits it strong, it’s the train scene. At first, it could have been cheesy, but this film (along with a good amount of other films) manages to make it a fantastic action scene, that you feel the speed and wind in your hair as you’re watching it. The only action scene that was my least favorite, which is my only problem with the movie, was the last one. Not that it was bad, but that it felt rushed and a little confusing. I don’t want to spoil it, but when you see it you’ll get what I mean.

                Overall, “The Wolverine” stands as my favorite X-Men movie, and I’m going to be looking forward to the upcoming “Days of Future Past” next year.

Rating: 8/10

R.I.P.D.

                In 1999, the Sci-fi channel brought in a show called “Good vs. Evil,” about a cop who dies and is brought into an afterlife police department, taking on criminals of the undead who are refusing to accept death. Before that, in 1997, “Men in Black” had set its mark on the world of buddy-action films. These two have had cult followings throughout the late 90’s to early 2000’s, being something within the science-fiction genre that hasn’t been seen on TV or movies. Why do I bring this up? Well, because they’re both being heavily ripped-off in “R.I.P.D.”

                “R.I.P.D.” tells of the story Nick Walker, a man who is double-crossed by his Kevin Bacon partner, and is then recruited into working for an afterlife organization that takes in dead spirits who refuse to accept the afterlife. He does this, while teamed up with Roy Pulsipher.

“R.I.P.D.” is pretty much the plot of “Good vs. Evil” all while trying to be “Men in Black.” Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve addressed before that rip-offs aren’t all bad, if they’re at least enjoyable. “Olympus Has Fallen” and “The Hunger Games” are examples of it being done right. With “R.I.P.D.” it never tries in anyway shape or form to be interesting in the slightest. The acting is crap, the action scenes are boring, the script is lackluster, and the special effects were so terrible I had to check if my eyes were bleeding from just looking at it.

First off, Ryan Reynolds doesn’t even look like he’s even trying in this movie. I have never seen him give such a wooden performance as this since “Green Lantern.” This is the fourth time he’s done a comic book movie and has failed in doing so. If he wants to prove me wrong, he’d better make up for it with “Deadpool,” and actually BE Deadpool. Kevin Bacon is the villain in this movie, and he does it so clichéd and obvious, that the reveal of him being a dead-o couldn’t be any more obvious if he just wore a shirt that said, “I’m fucking evil! Fear me!” because guess what? It’s Kevin Bacon! OF COURSE HE’S EVIL! Stephanie Szostak was incredibly forgettable and felt really forced in. All she did in this movie was being the girlfriend and damsel, all while not being interesting in ANY way. If you had just cut her out of the film, you’d have the exact same film. However, the most aggravating character in this movie was Jeff Bridges. People who have said they hated this movie have cut Jeff Bridges slack, but I disagree. I absolutely HATED this character, and Bridges doesn’t do anything in this movie to make him interesting. All he does in this movie is act like a big-shot rebel from the old west, all while being an annoying prick to Ryan Reynolds. He keeps going on and on about how he was killed and eaten by coyotes, but not once are we ever sympathizing with him. Not only that, but I could hardly understand what the hell this guy was saying in the film. He was harder to understand than Darth Connery Bane in “The Dark Knight Rises.”

The special effects and action scenes don’t help the film much either. It felt like this film should have been released in the early 90’s, when CGI was in its popularity craze; but this was 2013, and these effects look worse than the “Catwoman” movie. And with the creatures being called “Dead-os,” makes me think they wanted to make it like the “Evil Dead” deadites…As for the action scenes, they were boring and uneventful, almost as badly as “A Good Day to Die Hard.” Even with its climactic battle, there was nothing that got me exciting, except thinking I could be watching a better movie with an “end of the world struggle batte.”

The film was directed by Robert Schwentke, the same man responsible for directing “Red,” back in 2010, and honestly to see that the sequel to that be better received just shows how big a mistake it was to do this film. Granted, “Red” wasn’t all THAT big of a movie, but it was still better than this crap.

Overall, “R.I.P.D.” is one of the worst films I’ve seen this year, and in general. It’s pretty much if you took the main character from “Green Lantern,” put him into the premise of “Good vs. Evil,” with a  character that looked like he just walked off the set of “Jonah Hex,” in the style of “Men in Black,” only made into a terrible mess. For a good time, NOT THIS MOVIE!

Rating: 1/10

Pacific Rim

                Giant robot movies have really taken to scale on what they can become today in film. “Transformers,” while a terrible film series, did prove the fact that making films about giant robots IS possible. It just depends on how you can do them in a way that actually works, and isn’t complete and total bull with people on the internet in a complete raging war about it. What people want isn’t just to have robots fights, after going through two hours of annoying and undeveloped characters; what they want is a story with actual context, three dimensional characters, and robot fights that aren’t so damn close, so you can tell what’s going on. Well good news, the director of “Hellboy,” Guillermo Del Toro, has answered your prayers with “Pacific Rim.”

                The film is set in a future, not too far from our own, where kaiju from an alternate world rift in the ocean have come to destroy the world. While they manage to take a couple down with tanks and planes, they double down and created the Jaegers, which are giant fighting robots. Cut to years later, where we meet our main character, Raleigh Becket, whose re-recruited back into the fight, after five years. With him back in the battle, it leaves the military with a better chance of defense, and more time from them to find a way to destroy the rift and finally stop this neverending cycle of chaos. Much like most of Guillermo Del Toro movies, this epic masterpiece is just a love-letter to film making in general. And most importantly, unlike “Transformers,” it has very likable characters, a very enjoyable story, and action scenes that actually have scale and weight to it.

                Charlie Hunnam from “Sons of Anarchy” plays Raleigh, and he really does a great job through the film. He may be the clichéd hero who is determined to do what it takes, but gives the character a great charm to him, much like in every Guillermo Del Toro movie. Rinko Kikuchi takes on the role of Mako Mori, and she’s all kinds of badass in this movie. She did a great job in this role, and throughout you can see in her expression that she’s be through tons of hell. Idris Elba plays Marshal Stacker Pentecost, which is the role of the stern military leader who wants things done by the book. However, unlike most versions of this cliché, Stacker actually has a purpose for most of his decisions, especially with his backstory with Mori. I don’t want to give away what it is, but when you see it, things will come clear.

                Charlie Day and Burn Gorman play Newt and Hermann, two scientists who have been studying the Kaiju for years now. They may be the comic reliefs in this film, but it comes from their own quirky attitudes and determination, especially with Charlie Day. Sure, it may seem like he’s just playing Charlie from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” but here he’s given much more depth and personality, other than just being a crazy nut with smarts. And with it being Guillermo Del Toro, you can always count on Ron Perlman being in the film. He does a great job, playing a black-market dealer, and his scenes interacting with Day is just hilarious. He alone is worth the price of admission, and it’s worth every penny.

                Now let’s talk about the main purpose for the movie, the action scenes. Holy crap, these are some of the most spectacular special effects and fight scenes ever captured on film. This is what everything good about giant robots and giant monster battles should be like. This is Guillermo Del Toro’s love-letter to the otaku in all of us who grew up watching giant-mecha anime like “Voltron,” “Robotech,” and any Gundam series you can think of. Top it all off with a kick-ass soundtrack, and you’ve got one amazing film that will be worth remembering for a long time.

                Overall, “Pacific Rim” is one of my favorite movies of the year, and I’m hoping this film makes its money so it can let Mr. Del Toro make a sequel to both this and “Hellboy!” One more thing, feel free to see the film in 3D, because it is WELL worth it!

Rating: 10/10

The Lone Ranger

                Johnny Depp still stands as one of the most iconic working actors today. Ever since his debut in 1984 with Wes Craven’s “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” he’s appeared in many films that have become classic in an instant. “Fear and Loathing,” “Finding Neverland,” “Platoon,” “Donnie Brasco,” “Cry-Baby,” and “Ed Wood,” just to name the few. He’s done plenty of films to show just how good of an actor he can be and go further and beyond with it. But that doesn’t mean he’s had a share of bad films as well, like “The Man Who Cried,” “The Tourist,” “Dark Shadows,” “Ninth Gate,” and so forth.

                This time, Depp has teamed up with “Pirates of the Caribbean” director, Gore Verbinski, once again, for Disney’s big budget re-imagining to “The Lone Ranger,” marking it as the first Lone Ranger movie in over thirty years.  Now, I never actually was too big on the Lone Ranger, or even knew anyone who WAS a fan of the character, so I’m only going to be judging this film on its own. Before I even saw the film, I’ve heard SO much hatred upon this film, to where Rotten Tomatoes had it at a 25% rating. But that didn’t stop me from seeing this at the premiere showing. And yes, there are many things that I do agree with people that didn’t make the film work and falls flat…However, I didn’t really find it AS bad as people were making it out to be. Also, I’d like to point out that there are spoilers ahead, so I’d suggest you’d skip over to the rating, or continue on with reading what I have to say.

                The movie tells of John Reid, a lawyer who arrives into town to visit his brother and family, all while on the transport of Butch Cavendish, a cannibalistic outlaw. When Butch escapes, John joins his brother and his friends, now deputized as a ranger, but are then gunned down by Butch. John survives, and is told is a spirit walker by Tonto, a native that John arrested after Butch escaped, who both now want to hunt down Butch and take revenge for killing people that they held dear to them.

                First off, let’s get the obvious one out of the way, and that’s Johnny Depp. Now my problem with Depp in the role wasn’t the fact that he wasn’t Indian, and he was just saying he had ancestry and a Native mother to prove he IS part Native; I’m sick of hearing those arguments over and over again, and just the minute it comes into play just gives me a headache; no, my problem was the fact that Depp wasn’t really playing a different character, and was just playing Jack Sparrow while talking Indian. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the Jack Sparrow character, but I find it completely unnecessary outside of the “Pirates” series. It could have worked out fine if Depp kept it subtle throughout the film, but it’s there for most of the film, and it gets old really fast. Depp, we know you got an Oscar nomination for it, we don’t need to see it in EVERYTHING you’re in now.

Another thing that really didn’t work was some of the comedy moments, which really took the mood from the scene it was in, like a chase scene that has a horse drinking from a bottle of rum or a very serious back-story followed by some dumbass line. Disney, you don’t need to make this “Pirates of the Caribbean,” we already have enough of that from Depp.

                Also the story is basically a rehash of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” and no; I’m not kidding when I say that. A hero whose apart of the law, whose brother is killed by a cartoony villain, goes after him with the help of another cartoony character, who had a thing with a sexy-redhead thrown in somewhere; that pretty much “Roger Rabbit,” with Lone Ranger characters put into the mix of things. Speaking of sexy-redhead, Helena Bonham Carter appears in this movie, and is only in the film for two scenes; and no, that one moment in the beginning where she’s seeing the railroad being built does not count. She’s supposed to be a character that helps out Reid and Tonto, especially in the third act, but with how they’ve underused her and how they’ve had other characters, all it does is make you wonder what the point of having her was, especially when her character rips off “Planet Terror.”

                Now the one thing that I felt was completely pointless were the scenes that took place in the 1930’s, which start off the film. The events of the Lone Ranger happening were told through Tonto, to a kid looking at exhibits in a fair. Those scenes didn’t really add much to the film, other than it just to be there for the sake of comedy. And it doesn’t help much that the kid’s the boy from “Spy Kids 4.”

                Also, with the Lone Ranger being a “spirit walker” in which he can’t be killed, they don’t really do much with that sort of thing. There’s even a scene where Reid doesn’t stops believing Tonto about it, and instead of having him shot to make him believe he is, they just have Tonto save Reid from that; but then again, Reid was only shot in the shoulder when he and his brother were ambushed, so I guess that breaks that argument.

                Now with all that I’ve said, what made me think this film wasn’t as bad as people made it out to be? Well for starters, William Fichtner as Butch Cavendish was very enjoyable to watch. Fichtner really knows how to bring out a good villain, being the highlights of even some of the weakest of films. Hell, the things that he does in this film, and just the amount of what they’ve shown in this film, this came pretty close to being Disney’s first R-rated movie.

While I wasn’t too big on Depp as Tonto, I got to give them props for giving them a proper back-story to why he has a vendetta against Butch, as well as explaining how the whole “spirit walker” thing came into play for him. There’s also Armie Hammer as John Reid, the Lone Ranger himself. People complained that this guy was unlikable, because he makes dumb decisions like not killing Butch and instead arresting him. Well, he’s already been established as a man of the law, so he does all those on instinct, especially when he’s admitted he’s not a cruel man. It helps within the final act when he puts all of that aside to finally do something right, and I didn’t have any problem with what they did with that.

People thought that the film should have just been called “Tonto and the Lone Ranger,” since it focused more on Tonto than it did the actual Lone Ranger himself. Yes, I do agree that is a legitimate gripe, but I felt that they explained enough about John Reid as a character throughout the first act, and you can tell in his expression that he’s been through some tough times.

                What I also enjoyed about this film were the action scenes, most notable the final action scene in the end. If anything, these are probably the best action scenes that I’ve seen in any Western flick. The stunt work, the angles, the shootouts, the tension, all of it tied with the Lone Ranger theme playing, thanks to composer Hans Zimmer bringing that to life. Even with all the problems with this film, this still stands as one of the most exciting climaxes I have ever seen. However, it barely makes up for some of the other stuff that came about, through and through. If this film had made a few adjustments, this would have been an interesting pilot for a new Lone Ranger TV series on AMC.

                Overall, while “The Lone Ranger” isn’t quite as bad as everyone made it out to be, it still doesn’t make itself a good movie. It has some redeeming qualities, but in the end it just falls flat as being a very mediocre film. But would the positives still make it worth seeing in theaters? Of course. Like I said, the Lone Ranger himself is a likable character, and there are some damn good action scenes, especially with the climax, and there are enjoyments with the villain. If this film took out all those mistakes and wasn’t bombing as badly, though it wouldn’t have been a problem if it didn’t cost $300 million, then I would have loved to see a sequel, or maybe even a full-on trilogy. But instead, we have this.

Rating: 5/10