Time 2 Sing

            Anthropomorphic animals, a means of telling wild stories and a favorite of many in regards to the colorful webs woven with talking animals.  They’ve been a staple in many children’s arts, finding ways to make memorable characters come to life and teach the lessons and morals to the younger generations, and perhaps provide some babysitting as an added bonus.  This week the latest addition to the anthro vault has arrived and it hopes to be a smashing success as the first installment was a few years ago.  I’m talking about Sing, the movie that brought American Idol and Animals together (sort of), and ended up opening the hearts of many people and providing a lot of TikTok material in the process.  So now a few years later, the cast reunite to hopefully give us yet another inspiring story, with plenty of stuff for everyone to enjoy and overuse in the next three to four years.  Can the Sequel still entrance us, or are we doomed to another mundane sequel.   Robbie K giving his thoughts on: 

Movie: Sing 2 (2021)

• Director

• Garth Jennings

• Writer

• Garth Jennings

• Stars

• Matthew McConaughey(voice)
  • Reese Witherspoon(voice)
  • Scarlett Johansson(voice)

LIKES:

The Animation:  

DreamWorks may not break the ground that Disney does with the CGI work they do, but it still does impress this reviewer with how gorgeous they make the world of Sing.  The popping colors of various set pieces are full of that hopeful energy, perfect for an entertaining movie and keeping your eyes in wonder at the fun to be had.  Yet, at the same time, there is a “darker” side to things, which are a work of beauty on its own to help paint the mood and add on to the work of the voice actors.  As for movement, it is smooth, great transitions, and filled with that same pizazz the first installment did in the dance and singing moments, alongside the natural movements of the characters.  The whole design of the world is a great blend of human merging with animal, and the copying of our architecture and it just makes for a wonderful setting. 

The Voice Acting: 

Sing 2 has acquired quite a cast to bring the group to life, which is always worrisome when it comes to using them to their complete potential.  Sing 2 fortunately does an okay job with that and the actors get props for their performances once more.  Buster Moon, our loveable koala, has the same hopeful tone McConaughey infused in the last film, adding a bit more stubbornness and focus now that he has been established. Witherspoon feels like  a natural again in her role, and nails the performance of the mother and nervous star attempting to go the next level, adding care, charisma, and of course the acting chops she has shown in movies like Home Again.  Johansson is the one with a little more diversity than anyone as Ash, who goes a little more into both sides of the spectrum from the Rockstar jamming youth, to an old spirit wise animal, who manages to intelligently keep things together.  Yet the winners for my favorite performances are Nick Kroll, Bobby Cannavale, and Garth Jennings.  Kroll as Gunter is sensational, he’s the energy and ridiculous, peppy pig, with the lines that are the most memorable and they have taken the foundation and elevated him further to be my particularly favorite character.  Cannavale plays the wolf, and much like other films where he adds the villain tone, he injects the tone of the antagonist quite well without diving too far down the rabbit hole of evil.  He was arrogant and an egomaniac, typical of a businessman with everything, and it fit into the world well, allowing him to bare his teeth more as the movie progressed.  I think he nailed the character to the best degree and I certainly give him props for making a good kids’ movie villain.  As for Jennings, the director as the voice of the female chameleon continues to be another awesome performance in mannerisms, comedy, and heart given the scenes that Ms. Crawly takes on in this film. 

The Heart: 

Sing took a concept of American Idol with animals, and managed to go deeper into the soul and heart of humans to inspire as it approached the ending.  In Sing 2, the story takes another deeper step down that road and manages to do a glorious job of getting you teary eyed/smiling at the wonder to be hold.  There are a lot of subplots in this story, using a wide variety of characters as they are forced to balance, analyze, and address the problems they are facing.  For this reviewer, they managed to tug some heart strings very well, and once again inspire to do better and open my mind to new possibilities.  Sing 2 is certain to hit a lot of the target audience the same way, and depending on the age and makeup of your kid, might just dig deep into them as well and get them to be excited about things to come.  It’s the quality core component of the family aspect of this film, and I don’t think many will be disappointed by the direction they took. 

The Performances/Music:

Let’s face it, with a title like Sing as your franchise, you know a heavy element is the music that has been purchased/created for this film.  Once again Illumination Studios has done a great job of acquiring a diversity of songs to sing in their list, and have integrated both original and covers of the song to help get the earworm going.  Unlike several other franchises though, they manage to maximize most of their songs into the plot and give more purpose and meaning to their inclusion then simply just shoving them in the movie.  Jennings and his music team really hit their A game for me, finding the right placements of songs in the non-performance moments to help elevate the emotion to new levels, and giving us a great cover to boot.  Yet, it’s the performance moments that really pizazz and become the hybrid of movie and stage show that was always promised in the original movie.  Sing 2 gives us amazing numbers to the unorthodox Sci-Fi Stage show, and is really the crown jewel that climactically finishes this heartwarming tale.  I loved the ending so much for many reasons and feel that this will be a lot of audience members’ favorite moments when they hit this film.  This part is definitely worthy of theater level viewing, and if you got the guts for 3-D, I think it helped to be honest. 

DISLIKES:

The Plot: 

It’s a kids’ film and I get things have to be a bit lighter to not bore the hyper energy kiddos that will be the primary target.  However, Sing, Madagascar, and Despicable Me have all proven that you can layer a plot and still be good.  Sing 2 started to do this, but I don’t think it reached the full potential that it was going for.  Outside of predictability, the movie seems sort of lost in which aspects to work through, giving a timetable that makes for rushed moments and impasses that are hurdles a bit too quickly.  That level of integration in the first film is only a sliver, perhaps due to focus on the ending, or perhaps due to pandemic cutting into time and budget.  Either way, the plot is complete, but without the solid ending may have suffered more given the integration issues. 

The Character Usage/Growth:

Sing 2 already had a heavy cast to begin with, but they added more to the mix to try for expansion and it was decent and fun.  However, like the plot, the character growth, focus, and abilities are a bit blander than I had hoped given the advertising for this movie.  It’s a fast paced juggle, going from subplot to subplot in rapid manner and never giving us the time, focus, and energy to really see them work past the fears and limitations plaguing them.  Many of the moments are to one scene, or a quick montage that offers little backstory, bonding, and trust that we saw in that first film.  Things are again too sewn together in that Playhouse Disney sort of way, and for older audience members like me seeing those moments helps add spectacle to the film.  Again, it’s not the worst suspense of disbelief, but something more was needed to help spread and balance the stories and songs that I was looking for. 

The Advertising: 

This is one of those major cases where commercials went way too far to give you the movie, as they gave you almost the entire movie.  Sing 2’s commercials showed way too much, and offered little surprise or twists that this movie could have used super well.  I’m guessing that from what I’ve seen in trailers, you have about 60-65% of the movie already for viewing, with only the stage show offering any incentive to still see it.  Sing 2’s advertisement aggressiveness may have ruined more of the film than any other aspect, just because I had pieced the entire thing together from the bits and pieces they gave in their 2-3 minute ads for about 10 ads.  That is indeed the biggest weakness for me in this film, so if you have avoided the commercials… good job and this will be a moot point. 

The VERDICT:

Sing 2 is a great sequel in terms of entertainment, teaching, design, and spectacle when it comes to animated movies.  It has heart, it has energy, and it really builds off the base of the first movie in the goal to give something new, while respecting the traditions.  The voice acting is fun, with the new voices finding a welcome home in the big animal city, while the new world is clever in its portrayal of our world.  It really is the music and performances that are the selling point though, and for this reviewer the backbone of why you should hit the theater to check this film out.  Limitation wise though, I don’t think the movie did quite the best work when it came to character and time management, taking a fast track approach and really sidestepping the true potential of the soulful moments the first film did so well.  The movie may have been too hopeful in its inclusion of voices and characters and needed another half an hour to reach the same level of quality the first one did.  However, the worst part is the aggressive advertisements that have given much of the movie away and if you can avoid this, well then you are in good shape and should be god, but otherwise you know most of the movie from watching those alone.  My scores for Sing 2 are: 

Animation/Adventure/Comedy:  8.0

Movie Overall:  7.0

Gentlemen Come Calling In Quality

            Have you ever wondered what the dry atmosphere of Downton Abbey would be like if presented in the form of a mafia movie?  Yeah me neither, but it is the thought that came to mind when I was watching this film today.  A trailer that was sort of lost on me, today’s work directed by Guy Ritchie had me a little undecided how this film would go.  Potentially a stuffy, slow, hard edged movie with lots of cursing and torture, I could only imagine what I would get, especially when another fan left in a rant 20 minutes into the film.  What was the end result?  Robbie K here to give you some insight as he checks out:

 

Movie:  The Gentleman (2020)

 

Director:

Guy Ritchie

Writers:

Guy Ritchie (screenplay by), Guy Ritchie (story by)

Stars:

Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Michelle Dockery

 

LIKES:

• The Humor
• The Character Usage
• The Mystery/Politics
• The Connections
• The Presentation
• The Censorship of violence, for the most part
• The Acting

 

DISLIKES:

• The Excessive Cursing For Me
• Missing Some Action
• The Extended Ending
• Some Stereotypical Annoyances
• The Rapping Video
• Slow At Parts

 

 

SUMMARY

 

When it comes to the British writing style, this reviewer always looks to the potential for balanced writing.  Sure enough, this is one of the times where the writing is truly representative of a masterpiece in multiple facets.  This tale contains some amazing humor to it, not so much in the form of slapstick, one liner filled form, but a much deeper levels that uses timing, setting, and wit to maximize the laughs.  It’s dry I’ll admit, but the humor goes so well with the plot at hand that it adds rather than distracts from the enriching plot that this film contains.  With this supporting component, the movie continues to get better in the way it balances so many things to make an engaging mafia tale.  First the character usage, the movie is filled with a lot of stars and they are utilized very well, with so many (including secondary characters) having a purpose and contribute to the film in a way or manner to make their inclusion worthy.  While it seems spotty at first the movie’s progression begins to start connecting all the players in the game, starting to unravel and help give pieces of the story without ever giving away the big mystery.  It’s this balance of connections with the mystery that for me was the biggest engaging piece to the movie, that teasing to see how deep the politics run always being that itch you can’t scratch.  Yet, for a movie about crime lords, you know politics is going to make an appearance and once more they impressed me with the presentation.  Again choppy, The Gentleman appealed to me because the politics had heat, tension, but were not so drawn out and convoluted to be boring, something not easily accomplished in this day and age for a movie.  Yet if that’s not interesting enough, the movie also manages to sneak in a more unique presentation, told through the imagination and sleuth of Hugh Grant’s character, who is filling the pieces with his evidence and theories to help piece the story together.  The genius for me is, the holes he has acts as the missing pieces for you to try and string together the ideas yourself before the big reveal.  You might also be concerned for violence, after all, the crime lords with this much power do not show the nicest attitudes to those that threaten them.  Fortunately, the movie manages to censor most of the extreme violence and torture that these movies can be famous for, and this little extra class did not take from the movie, but only added.  Finally, all of this is fantastically acted, with each major character executing their role in so many levels I could take another page to describe.  Let’s just say McConaughey has found a new favorite role for me, finally ditching the super sleazy for a role that is much more complete to show off his talents.  Hunnam as well was indeed a fantastic pillar character, filled with a level of emotional complexity that seems to be so monotone, but yet contains layers that unravel.  I did not find too many overacted moments and was very thrilled with seeing so many stars shine.

 

Yet, there are still some styles of this movie that did not quite hit me as hard as the others, at least in terms of liking it.   First of all the cursing.  Old record, I know, and given my own mouth sometimes it’s becoming less, but there are a few words used freely in this movie that were a bit excessive.  Part of the culture, great, but like in Django overuse of the word soon starts to become lazy and stale for this writer.  While I enjoyed much of the toned-down storytelling, I’m always partial to a bit more excitement to help spice up the mob war films.  A shoot out here or there could go a long way but the satire and humor in this film sort of dilutes the action that starts forming, before dropping back into the mincing tactics.  Anyway, looking at the character profiling, the film is both genius and frustrating for me in its generational portrayal, with the contenders for the crown. At the same time the stereotypical summaries of each generation are little overdramatic and extreme, leading to sort of annoying moments that weren’t the worst, but felt a little out of place (this is especially true for Henry Goulding’s character).  I’ll admit there are also some bloated moments in the film, but these are few and far between and as stated, a little swap out with some action could have helped with these moments, again few and far between.  The part that really stuck out for me was the rapping.  Kudos for the art behind it, the impressive speed at which they rap, and the dance stunts in the back, but that’s about all I’m going to say in terms of appropriate.  When the video first appears it sort of does not make sense, but thankfully the writing uses it as a good plot device to help make up for how forced and advertising it seems.  Like I said earlier, it’s a generational stereotype that was a bit annoying to watching and were probably the most annoying characters of the bunch, despite having some of the coolest moves.  Again, thank goodness for the writing making up for them.  Sadly, the other thing that was both funny, yet again excessive is the ending, a few fake out and extension that almost feel like last minute tag-ons that may or may not have been needed.

 

The VERDICT:

            To be honest, I was very surprised with how much I enjoyed this movie and how much the trailers did not ruin the experience for me.  British settings, humor, and styles of writing continue to prove successful in balancing a lot of balls and I’m super impressed with how much correlated together in this piece.  The drama, the mystery, the presentation, and the politics are all super well represented in this gang war, never getting so caught up in details to be boring, but not slighted to feel robbed of good development.  That unique presentation we talked about only further adds some fun edges to it, and works with the gaps to help keep you engrossed.  Finally, the actors really bring the characters to life and worthy of several awards with how well they bring these strange characters to some cool levels.  Yes, the writing is still a little overdone at times, there are some annoying moments/stereotypes to consider, and a few slow parts that could have been ironed out.  However, the balance of this movie and just fun, classy writing really make this one a worthy trip to watch in theater for performances, and a definite check in at home when you get the chance. 

 

My scores are:

 

Action/Crime:  8.0 (not as much action)

Movie Overall:  7.5 – 8.0

Aimless Artistic License That Might Be Perfect For Target Audience. Beach Bumming It Up

 

You have those actors that draw people in right? These movies that utilize this card sometimes take the path last taken and offer a… unique twist to tell a story. Welcome to Robbie K’s movie review, and tonight’s movie utilized this tactic quite well in the form of  Matthew McConaughey.  Bringing the wild Lincoln showman to the screen, they hoped to take a very unique concept to the silver screen and wow us with a movie about drugs.  What is in store?  Well stick around to find out as I review:

 

Movie: The Beach Bum 2019

 

Director:

Harmony Korine

Writer:

Harmony Korine

Stars:

Matthew McConaughey, Snoop Dogg, Isla Fisher

 

 

LIKES:

 

McConaughey can act stoned

Funny… at times

Less than 2 hours

Artistic Approach

Good Musical Score

 

SUMMARY:

 

As stated above, The Beach Bum is certainly an experience that tries to point out the “fun” life can have if you have power to get past illegal actions. The lead continues to show he can play a variety of roles, with a legitimate stoner role being added to his resume.  Moon dog the carefree spirit was a very unique role and I think that McConaughey succeeded in the free spirit approach that it required.  At times, his ramblings, drunken stupors, and facial expressions were entertaining, some well-timed jokes matching perfectly with the theme. Yet there were other moments where Snoop Dogg was able to steal the show just being himself.  This Bum was able to get some laughs at, but it didn’t quite leave me in stitches like other comedies do.

Instead, the movie does get points for the “experience” component of it.  Moon dog’s journey does have a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, that once it arrives turns out to be a semi-inspirational message that I think will please the target audience.  However, the path to get there is not going to be for everyone, but fortunately the movie has a couple of other high points for me that might make it better.  One of them is the fact that the movie is under 2 hours long so we get to the end hopefully faster.  The second and probably best thing for me though, is the great musical score that spans a number of decades that really sells the feelings that Moon dog is putting down in his sequences.  That track listing has a good toe tapping theme to it and it works so well for this reviewer.

 

DISLIKES

 

Aimless wandering

Very Slow

Very Ridiculous

Horrible Means

Lazy Writing

Cameos are okay

Graphic displays of life

Not as Witty as I was hoping

Too Artistic Overall

 

SUMMARY:

 

Taking artistic approaches is a gamble and sometimes it will only hit the target audience, and that is the case for me for this film.  With Moon dog being a free spirit capable of hitting so many avenues he aimlessly wanders around in the film, with little to no point to his amblings. The result is a movie that feels like it’s going nowhere for me, with pacing that feels slow as molasses with the minutes dragging by.  Perhaps it’s the ridiculous concepts and the horrible means by how the stoner accomplishes his goals is not the most entertaining or plot driven component. If that’s the kind of style you are looking for in a movie, then you’ll find great joy in this movie.

Other components that did not work well with me started with some of the lazy writing.  Moon dog and company don’t have the best vocabulary.  While this may work well with the mindset he established, hearing the copious number of cursing and graphic metaphors did nothing, but grow stale for me by the first third of the movie.  In addition, watching Moon dog do horrible things to people, wasn’t even that fun for me, with the carefree debauchery more revolting that thrilling to watch as the sad story continued to progress.  Perhaps the cameos could have saved it, but again the movie didn’t quite utilize in the means I was hoping to get from the glimpses the trailers provided. Most of the celebrities were just as sad of messes, offering little more than more bouts of lazy writing and stupid risk taking that was a sad spectacle. Other times, it merely involved McConaughey’s character taking advantage of the extras and side actors, in displays I care not to have my eyes exposed too for long bouts.  The Beach Bum’s first third felt much like a porno, which isn’t my cup of tea when going to see most films.  In addition, we all know that comedies can sometimes be designed for stupid fun, but this journey lacked any sort of wit and resorted to simplistic stoner techniques that did nothing for me in terms of comedic gold .  As such, the bottom line comes down to the movie being a little too free spirited itself to make for an engaging story or adventure to tell.

 

The VERDICT:

 

I agree with the other reviewers that the movie is artistic and a little more original in its approach than most movies will take.  However, I don’t think the risk paid off well when it came to this reviewer’s preference for a movie.  Unlike Seinfeld, this movie about nothing but living life just didn’t entertain, and the meandering around the state of Florida doing nothing but smashing the rules, acting stupid, and acting as a PSA for the repercussions of chronic substance abuse are not my idea of a theater movie.  Perhaps if left to made for television or streaming it would get higher, but in regards to the other comedies coming out I recommend passing this one up for something else that is worth the price of admission.  My scores are:

 

Comedy:  5.5

Movie Overall: 3.0

Serenity or Unclarity?

 

There are those movies we go for the stars, especially at the promise of some sex appeal that will get the theater steaming in delight. Tonight’s review is one such movie, whose little to no trailers left me with no idea as to what to expect. Yet, sometimes those very movies turn out to be treasure troves of quality, and though you went for the steam you might have found more gleam.  Robbie K is back with another review on:

 

Movie: Serenity (2019)

 

Director:

Steven Knight

Writer:

Steven Knight

Stars:

Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Diane Lane

 

 

LIKES:

 

• Acting
• Tropical Island shots
• Twist
• Originality

 

SUMMARY: As I said, the poster sells you into the film and the leads of McConaughey and Hathaway are the center stage.  The former has the smolder, trashy looking grunge part down, diving once more in the darker roles that involve facing elements that are uncomfortable in this film. Certainly, much more serious than his earlier works, the man proves he is not afraid to take on the roles that others shy away from.  As for Hathaway, the amazing woman played her part well, though the awkward parts may seem a bit flat, she works the role well, especially on the sexier side of things. With these two running the show, eyes will be glued to the screen in anticipation for the next trip to the bedroom.

Of course if you are like me, seeing the island shots and aquatic world is quite beautiful to see, as you are transported to another world that makes you want to go on vacation.  Serenity is all about sailing into a lot of unknowns and fortunately the cinematography and the views are a fine feature.

Yet visuals aside, the story of Serenity is certainly an original one, or at least more unique than most.  Much of this has to do with the twist, which once revealed starts to explain the strangeness of characters, dialogue, and performances.  With this approach, the movie goes down a more psychological approach that will dive into a lot of awkward corners and engage your mind to see how deep this rabbit hole goes.  There is little more I can say to avoid surprises, but definitely look to an original touch to the sea of blockbuster stereotypes.

 

DISLIKES:

 

• Waste of Characters
• Pace
• Editing
• Lack of Excitement
• Going Nowhere
• Too Bold On Twist?

 

SUMMARY: Serenity may have some acting, a little bit of visuals, and one heck of a unique approach, but that doesn’t make it perfect by far.  It starts with a waste of certain characters, each intriguing in their initial introduction, but quickly dropped to mundane characters who appear at the oddest times.  While secondary characters do little to expand the group they ironically are the smallest dislike I have.

Instead much of the dislikes for me involve the pacing of the movie.  Serenity is slow, no doubt, drawn out in a drama like film that starts to get lost in the director’s vision.  Because the editing focused more on the steamy, sex appeal or on the concept of the twist, the excitement was practically missing for this reviewer. Promises of deep mysteries, pressured decisions, and a few other usual excitement clichés are quickly lost to the circular spiral of the same problems.  Lines and scenes blend together as the stars get stuck expressing their disdain of their lives, which sometimes makes the scenes boring or repetitive.

  Why was this the case?  I think it was going too bold on the twist.  Trying to execute the original concept, led to lines and sends going very oddly, and by getting lost in the convoluted ideas, the other areas the movie wanted to go for fell short, sinking into the sea of the mundane.  As they say, to go big you go bold, but going too bold can sometimes bite back harder and get lost to most audiences.

 

 

The VERDICT:

 

            Serenity may not be on most radars or fish finders, but within lies an interesting, psychological tale that surprisingly has the steaminess the poster promised.  With acting to take the lead and a story to try and blow your mind, these are the qualities one needs to keep in mind when going to see this film, (use the mantra of There is a Twist, There is a Twist) Still by going on this twist, the usual components that people go to the movies for is loss to mundane tactics and odd approaches, alongside a repetitive collection of complaints and plot points that are difficult to swallow.  Still while not the theater quality film, Serenity is best cast off from the port of your living room and worth it if you want to get a good headscratcher into the film.  Otherwise hold out for something more exciting in the near future. 

 

MY SCORES ARE:

 

Drama/Thriller:  6.5

Movie Overall: 5.0

Does This White Boy Have The Moves?

            Biographies seem to be popular this year, focusing on a number of people and their “contributions” to society.  Today’s biography is more about the horrors of a system than a contribution, but these moments are certainly entertaining.  Hi, Robbie K here with another look at the world of movies and what lies in store for the price of a ticket.  Let’s get started, as I review:

 

Movie: White Boy Rick (2018)

 

Director:

Yann Demange

Writers:

Andy Weiss, Logan Miller

Stars:

Matthew McConaughey, Richie Merritt, Bel Powley

 

 

LIKES:

Good Acting:  Richie Meritt and McConaughey are the central pillars of the movie, holding much of the plot on their shoulders and doing a wonderful job bringing their characters to life.  Meritt in particular has to cover a very complex character, borderline between punk kid and individual of poor circumstances.  He finds that balance very well, makes for an engaging character and really gives you the full experience of the nightmare that Rick went through.  As for McConaughey, he is still the sleazy role, but it’s curbed this time for a respectable character you want to follow.  Their chemistry impeccable and the heart of the movie as they integrate with their well casted supporting crew.

 

The Setting:  It is not as far back as Unbroken, but we get dropped right into a reconstructed 80’s hood, where the danger, drugs, and depression lie in wait like a hungry pack of wolves.  All the costumes, cars, and buildings were retrofitted to have the look and it works quite well to get you into the setting. 

 

The Drama/Portrayal: White Boy Rick has a lot of details about the young man’s life, and you’ll get to see much of it in this installment. Drama lovers are sure to become entangled in all the messes of Rick’s life, with those liking the Law And Order scenarios enjoying this one the most.  This film will give you a lot of the 411 on rick’s life and bring about all the emotions that come with it.

 

The Music: Surprisingly, the film had a fantastic soundtrack to report on, a mixture of funk, hip-hop, and a little soul to mirror the themes of the movie. It’s upbeat and has toe tapping beats to keep you going, and actually brings a little edge to the scenes themselves. Bravo to the casting director for their selection because it really worked.

 

The Pace:  While slow at times, the movie does a nice job moving through the various years of Rick’s journey to get you to the end game.  It is a longer movie, but for the most part it doesn’t feel that slow, or rough to get through all the nuts and bolts of this adventure.  Drama lovers of course will not find any of this remotely boring, but if you are not that type and along for the ride, you should find much of this movie entertaining.

 

DISLIKES:

 

The Stereotypical Design: White Boy Rick’s title brings with it a wave of stereotypical portrayals in just about every character in the film.   Whether it be the impoverished, the wannabe gangsters, or the gangsters themselves, the movie really hammers the portrayals to such extremes that it gets a bit cheesy. Perhaps this is how the real-life characters were, but if not, the magnification of these personality quirks got annoying for me at times.  Even Rick himself crossed that line sometimes, so brace yourselves.

 

The Lazy Dialogue: Sometimes quite poetic, White Boy Rick’s dialogue is mostly focused on being either really complacent (full of really dumb pronunciations or Rick being an idiot to be funny), or really lazy (F bomb laden rants).  For such a deep story, I had hoped for a little more movie magic to buffer out the scratchy, lackluster lines they came up with.  McConaughey managed to have some beautifully scripted pieces to work with, and the secondary characters got their fair share of poetry in, but for the most part it was a little too stuffed with normalcy/realism to be impressive for me. 

 

More use Of The Secondary Characters:  Rick knew a lot of people, and his family seemed to be a gigantic rock to which he based his decisions on.  While the movie captured the key details, I felt they didn’t quite utilize or introduce the characters that well for me.  Names were dropped at random, their inclusion was sporadic and I felt many of them had more of a role to play than what was presented.  Many of these kingpins and servants could have been epic antagonists to spice up the story, but again my lack of research and not being with Rick means I don’t know who these guys really were.

 

Disjointed Story: While the movie has covered a lot of Rick’s life story components, the presentation I believe was off for me here too.  Each of the issues Rick faced felt compartmentalized, individuals segments that were prematurely closed and then randomly open at intervals that were inconsistent. Yes, you still get the effects presented with the story, but so many pieces without a strong, underlying foundation, led to a weaker representation of what could have been an epic drama.  Overall it’s not horrible, but it could have been so much better.

 

 

The Verdict:

 

            White Boy Rick is one of those movies that has its fair share of drama to exploit and dive into.  A fantastic setting with great central acting will be the keystones to bring these events to life and pull those liking drug/crime story lovers into the mix.  The problem is, the movie sort of lost itself in the presentation, not giving clear focus on Rick’s character or stories that he had to share and instead giving you snippets into his life.  With how much was going on, there could have been a gold mine of a story instead of just some nuggets they portrayed.  Still, it gets props for completing the information, and perhaps a director’s cut could improve upon it in the future.  As such, this History meets Lifetime Movie presentation can be held until it comes to Redbox, and would highly encourage you to take that route. 

 

My scores are:

 

Crime/Drama: 6.5-7.0

Movie Overall:  5.5

 

Towering Potential Falls

 

Stephen King is a master of many things, and Hollywood has never been afraid to capitalize on the epic tales he has crafted over the years.  This weekend his legendary Dark Tower series gets its own chance to “shine” and prove to fans that the series can continue on. Did Sony studios plan to make a “sequel” to the books thrive, or will if fall victim to the shortcuts the film industry often takes.  Robbie K here to share his thoughts on another movie.  Why don’t we get started then?

 

 

LIKES:

 

Nice Set Up:  Doing my research, I realized where the directors were planning on taking this film franchise and the books it is based on.  The Dark Tower acts as a “sequel” to the books and builds as an introduction to the series.  It sets a nice framework up for those who haven’t read the series and prepares us for an adventure that could span multiple films/shows in the future.  It has simplified the complexity of King’s work and thrown hints at how his worlds are connected, perhaps inspiring some rewatching of his classics.

 

Action Scene: Dark Tower primarily is about opening us up to a world and setting the pieces and that unfortunately doesn’t bring much action.  However, the group managed to put a dazzling piece together involving our gunslinger and a round of minions.  Idris Elba finally gets to show off his legendary skills, outside of acting, as the lone gunslinger in his quest to stop the forces of evil.  The stunts are epic, the editing is on point, and the violence is contained to not be overly gory but still strong enough to be considered action instead of a bland use of a gun.  It took the movie long enough to get to this point, but I thoroughly enjoyed the climax fight.

 

The Acting:  I’m not calling this the world’s best acting, or even Oscar Worthy on most levels, but the acting is decent in the Dark Tower.  Tom Taylor as the new kid with the shine, does a decent job playing the troubled, awkward kid and portraying that strange view of the world.  His other emotions, however, needs a little work as these come off dry, awkward, and sometimes a bit underwhelming given the circumstance.  Matthew McConaughey brings his Lexus commercial approach to the mix, the cool delivery of his lines, holding an air of superiority and malicious intent.  He has the villain role down and instills a bit of chill when he appears on the scene.  Of course, the champion of this movie is Idris himself, hitting the role with 100% accuracy.  Elba’s got the rogue part down and the edgy, loner bravado brings the bang to the proverbial gun.  And the chemistry Elba has with his cast only amps up his skills, a talent I always like to see.

 

DISLIKES:

 

Rushed:  Sure the movie made a nice framework for introducing the series to nonreaders, it failed to deliver those important details.  The Dark Tower leaves a lot questions unanswered in terms of the origins of all the pieces involved in this war.  As for the parts they do fill in, these are lacking on so many levels, lacking real depth or mystery to get you hooked into the film. Even worse, much of the quest has little in regards to obstacles, with most problems being solved with little effort.  You get to hear all about the things lying in wait, but their actual involvement in the movie is little to none.  While this not only limits the story, it also limits the special effects and creature design we could have gotten as well.  A few CGI and makeup effects stand out, but the Dark Tower’s first film is rather lackluster given the potential of King’s books.

 

Anticlimactic:  Much of the movie is rather dull, drawn out in a manner of theoretical talks of ideal brain power, anarchy, and abduction.  All the fancy words and magic didn’t help a limited dialog that can be boiled down into a single-minded set of plots that we hear over and over again.  When things finally get going, and all the hot air from the cast is lit aflame… the action barely catches light before being snuffed out.  With the exception of one scene (see likes), The Dark Tower’s gun slinging is not what I expected.  This is particular true for the final fight between antagonist and protagonist that was more lame than impressive.  All the hype and rivalry to end so abruptly, not the direction I would have taken.

 

Predictable/Lazy:  There was so much potential placed on this movie, and the trailer painted what could have been an epic adventure.  Yet, somewhere the film fell victim to cheap shortcuts, low use of nightmarish effects, and a direction that went down the wrong tangent for an opening. It felt uninspired and lazy at times, and perhaps they cut a lot of good parts to fit into the short run time.

 

The VERDICT:

 

Overall the Dark Tower is not bad when you understand the plan to expand upon in the years to come.  As a stand-alone film, it does the job of introducing characters and the world, but it failed to reel me into the full-on adventure.  With a rushed plot, easy challenges, and lazy production approach, this film is mediocre at best given the hype of everything.  Therefore, this reviewer recommends holding off seeing this film until Redbox gets it in stock.

 

My scores:

 

Action/Adventure/Fantasy:  6.5

Movie Overall: 6.0