STAR TREK BEYOND (2016) Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg

Director:     Justin Lin

Writers:       Simon Pegg, Doug Jung

Actors:        Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana

The first five minutes are nostalgic and quiet, funny and filled with charm.  Captain Kirk is considering leaving the Starfleet, so it’s time for serious reflection.  After this last assignment, then perhaps he’ll quit.  And then… ATTACK!  All hell breaks loose.  The enemy is comprised of a hive mentality, and the ships are like bees swarming to engulf the lone Enterprise.  There is no way the Enterprise can withstand such a blitzkrieg attack.  And they don’t.  The ship breaks apart and dozens of life-pods eject the desperate crew members onto a hostile planet occupied by the enemy.  Kirk and his team are split into different factions, and they each adventure forth to find and rescue the survivors of the debacle.  When the individual teams find each other, they unite to create an impossible plan to escape the planet and then conquer the enemy somehow.

Filled with humor and charm, this is a very satisfying episode in the Star Trek franchise.  What made it outstanding for me was the focus on the humanity of the group.  They care about and for each other and are willing to include so-called “alien” species into their embrace.  The topography of the enemy planet is beautiful and terrible all at once and seduces the very stretches of our imagination.

Chris Pine has matured into a believable Captain.  His passionate rush into danger has been tempered somewhat, and our respect for him grows proportionately.  The same goes for the inimitable Spock, always so true to himself.  The other characters live up to our expectations and it’s easy to  draw more colors into the spectrum of their personalities.  Director Justin Lin has an intimate understanding on how to maximize the filming technologies of today.  CGI effects are incredible… don’t walk out before end credits because they are breathtaking… scrolling against a panoramic view of our wonderful solar system.  In short, this is a frabjous film!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2660888/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt
TAGS:  Star Trek Beyond, Justin Lin, Simon Pegg, Doug Jung, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Idris Alba

THE LEGEND OF TARZAN (2016) Alexander Skarsgard, Samuel Jackson, Margot Robbie

Director:  David Yates

Writers:  Adam Cozad, Craig Brewer

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Stars:

 Alexander Skarsgard, Samuel Jackson,  Rory J. Saper, Christian Stevens, Margot Robbie

COMMENTS:   The 6’4 Alexander Skarsgard is not my ideal vision of the legendary Tarzan.  I come from the Johnny Weismuller generation and Skarsgard is just too blond and Nordic.  This version tells the story of Tarzan after he  has been educated and “civilized” in England as Lord Greystoke.  His background as Africa’s Tarzan is told in flashbacks, which are well conceived and successfully believable. I found myself emotionally engaged in him as a child being raised by the apes.

So far, okay but not heart-pounding.  Lord Greystoke agrees to accompany American Samuel Jackson to explore slave-labor shenanigans in Africa to mine diamonds which the bankrupt King Leopold II of Belgium desperately needs.  Christoph Waltz plays Leon Rom, who will do whatever it takes to make King Leopold’s goal happen.  Leon, sleazy and ruthless, is a worthy villain to match Tarzan’s prowess. Chief Mbonga (Djimon Hounsou) agrees to help Rom get the diamonds if Tarzan is delivered to him. The Chief needs vengeance against our hero.

Once we’re in Africa and Tarzan reunites with the jungle animals, the screen explodes. Not only does the shirt come off – exposing Skarsgard’s magnificent body – but so does the genteel layer which has entrapped the passionate ferocity of a man who survives according to the laws of the untamed jungle.  Now, he must rescue his beloved Jane from the wily Rom.  If that were all to Tarzan, audiences would be happy enough.  Surprisingly, Skarsgard brings emotional fragility to his role as well.  There’s one beautiful scene where director David Yates frames a closeup profile of Skarsgard’s forehead and eye in the foreground, with the apes and villainous natives he’s looking at in the background.  The brilliant light shining through Skarsgard’s blue eye depicts the vulnerable essence of humanity which must confront the feral savagery of the jungle and its natives,  An unforgettable, beautiful scene.

Director Yates has also captured the beauty inherent in nature undisturbed, featuring Africa’s many breathtaking landmarks. The CGI scenes are transcendent.  We watch Tarzan gliding through the jungle treetops, one vine to the next, and we feel the same exhilarating celebration of freedom in the journey.

The script is well written, establishing relationships which make the storyline work on all levels.  I wish the opening scenes were shorter, because it doesn’t quite hook us in right away.  Still, once Lord Greystoke becomes Tarzan again, okay, we’re in for the ride.  I was happy to see the versatile Samuel Jackson play a hero for a change.  He makes a great sidekick, his wise-cracking, irreverent character injecting welcome humor to Tarzan’s intense heroics.  Djimon Hounsou's role was too small for me.  He fills the theatre with his charismatic onscreen presence, and the scene where he comes to terms with Tarzan is a powerful and satisfying one.

In summary, this is a fun adventure film, and a magnificent Skarsgard Tarzan.

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0918940/?ref_=nv_sr_1

TAGS:  Alexander Skarsgard, Samuel Jackson,  Rory J. Saper, Christian Stevens, Margot Robbie, David Yates, Tarzan, Adam Cozad, Craig Brewer, jungle, Africa

"THE REVENANT" (2015) - Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson

Director:     Alejandro G. Iňárritu

Writers:       Mark L. Smith; Alejandro G. Iňárritu; Michael Punke (book)

Actors:        Leonardo DiCaprio; Tom Hardy; Domhnall Gleeson

COMMENTS:   Based on the trailers, I had no interest in watching this movie about the early years of struggle among native Indians and the early colonization of the Americas. While I understand filmmakers of integrity want to capture authentic battle scenes on screen, I personally have no inclination to watching such types of movies.  Then, DiCaprio won the Oscar for Best Actor, and the film won Best Picture, so I decided It was worth my full attention.  AND… I was rewarded.  This is not a battle picture between two opposing factions, so much as it is one man’s personal battle to overcome physical pain and debility in order to live up to his personal honor of avenging his son’s death.  Then, finally, his last battle is within himself… will he surrender his  personal moral codes to a passionate hatred of the man who murdered his son.  DiCaprio immerses himself fully into his character and earns his Oscar win with every inch of progress towards his enemy.  Tom Hardy is profoundly believable as the antagonist in this drama.  Director Iňárritu is unquestionably a master of his craft.  My only wish is that the trailers had chosen other scenes which were less focused on the external battles and more on the internal ones.

IMDB Site:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1663202/?ref_=nv_sr_1

TAGS:  Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, American Indians, Fur Trappers, Alejandro G. Iňárritu, Revenant

"STAR WARS - The Force Awakens (2015) - Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Daisy RIdley, John Boyega

Director:  J.J. Abrams

Writers:  J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, Michael Arndt

The CGI and techno aspects are brilliant, as usual, but what has always drawn me to the STAR WARS epic movies are the characters… their fragility as human beings pitted against the necessity of living up to their personal ideals. The nostalgic sentiment is there, embodied in the return of the original characters – Han Solo, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker.  Daisy Ridley lives up to expectations as the “new” female protagonist (acting out the young spirit of Princess Leia), but I couldn’t develop an attachment to any of the other “new” characters… not in the same way I fell in love with Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher in the first original series.  There are tragic overtones which resonate profoundly and which leave a deep echo of loss.  Yet, deep within me, I’m wondering if the series has sacrificed development of heroic “new” characters for the sake of generating more impressive technology.  In fact, I personally found the battle scenes less cogent and less impressive than battle scenes from a few of the previous STAR WARS movies.

IMDB Website:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2488496/?ref_=nv_sr_1
TAGS:  Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, Michael Arndt, Star Wars,

"Bridge of Spies" (2015) Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda

COMMENTS:   What I love about Steven Spielberg is he plants his characters right into the target zone of a moral dilemma.  Tom Hanks portrays Jim Donovan, who is jettisoned into such a target zone.  He is asked to use his rusty attorney skills to defend a Soviet spy.  The people who ask Donovan to do this, including the court judge, expect him to go through the motions efficiently enough to ensure that America is seen as acting with integrity, and at the same time making sure the spy is ultimately judged “guilty.”  Despite being targeted by popular opinion himself,  Donovan dances on the thin thread of this expectation with grace and agility.  Mark Rylan as the Soviet spy has his own brand of honor and he refuses to betray his country, which elicits respect from Hanks’ character. Meanwhile, an American pilot is captured by the Russians.  So rusty attorney Donovan is asked to go to Berlin and negotiate a prisoner exchange of the Soviet spy for the American pilot.  Once in Berlin, Donovan learns that an American student has been imprisoned in a Berlin jail on suspicion of espionage, and he is determined to rescue the student as well as the American pilot.  Once again, Donovan must perform his dance on a thin thread to effect the exchange successfully.

Hanks is magnificent as the “ordinary” man who must rise to the challenge of acting as a hero.  What makes him so credible is that he truly embodies an ordinary man who somehow reaches deep inside himself to find his inherent goodness of character and somehow make miracles happen.  He is driven by an ability to see, without compromise, what is the “right” thing to do despite whatever his country, his superiors, and his enemy want him to do.  And then he acts for his own reasons, which is what makes him a hero.  A splendid film.  Strong recommend.

IMDB Site:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3682448/?ref_=nv_sr_1

TAGS:  Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda, Cold War, Spies, Soviet

"THE MARTIAN" (2015) Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean

Director:  Ridley Scott
Writers:  Drew Goddard (Screenplay); Andy Weir (Book)

COMMENTS:   This is a magnificent film, a tribute to the indomitable spirit of a man to survive under impossible circumstances.  What I love about this is the harmonious mix of science with spirituality.  Mark Watney (Damon’s character) is a botanist who uses his knowledge of science to overcome all the challenges of being alone in an alien planet which is absolutely unsustainable for humans.  His scientific self knows he’s dead already, but his spiritual self refuses to surrender hope or faith in the possibility of a miracle.  Matt Damon is excellent in portraying all the vulnerabilities of a doomed victim, and, in fact, acting is excellent all around.   The premise is a brilliant homage to scientific knowledge, and now I’m wishing I had paid more attention in science classes.

IMDB Site:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3659388/?ref_=nv_sr_1
TAGS:  Mars, Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Krisen Wiig, Sean Bean, Jeff Daniels, Ridley Scott,

"Man From Uncle" (2015) Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander

Director:     Guy Ritchie

Writers:       Guy Ritchie & Lionel Wigram

STORYLINE:  A remake of the TV series

COMMENTS:   A fun, thrilling adventure with gorgeous, heroic stars.  Henry Cavill takes over the Peter Vaughn role – cool, calm, collected and “be-still-my-heart” so handsome.  Armie Hammer portrays David McCallum’s role – silent, stoic, rustic and unstoppable.  He’s tall and muscular and is undeniably a super-warrior, but Armie imbues his role with a certain innocence which lends charm and vulnerability to his character.  I love how they start out to be enemies, forced to work together, and end up being brothers to the cause. Alicia Vikander as damsel in distress is crazy-asskicking when she has to fight for her life.  Ultimately, not so much in distress after all.  I loved the sense of “English” humor threading its happy sparkle through the story.  If you want to laugh while hanging on to the edge of your seat, go see this one.

 IMDB Site:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1638355/?ref_=nv_sr_1

TAGS:  Armie Hammer, Henry Cavill, MAN FROM UNCLE, Alicia Vikander, Guy Ritchie, Lionel Wigram, CIA, KGB, spy