FILM REVIEW OF "BRIGHT" (2017)

Clearly, Netflix wants to go toe-to-toe with Hollywood, and they are challenging it with their own provocative, slam-bang, $90-million, pulp-fantasy-thriller “Bright” (*** OUT OF ****), toplining Will Smith and Joel Edgerton as a rare pair of LAPD beat cops.  Although Smith plays a human, Edgerton is cast as an Orc!  Essentially, “Suicide Squad” director David Ayer has taken his superb police procedural “End of Watch” (2012) and retooled it as something like director Graham Baker’s “Alien Nation” (1988) with the fantastic beings from Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” franchise.  Clocking in close two hours, “Bright” conjures up non-stop action, nail-gnawing suspense, unbearable tension, complete with surprises and revelations galore.  Smith is as charismatic as ever, but he isn’t mimicking his “Bad Boys” character Mike Lowery, a role that he plans to reprise in two forthcoming sequels: “Bad Boys Forever” and “Bad Boys 4.”  As veteran patrolman Daryl Ward, he is mired up to his neck in devastating debt, and his chief aim in life is to survive long enough to get his pension.  Meantime, Ward finds himself in a predicament like nothing any policeman has confronted.  The world of “Bright” is as gritty, violent, and racially charged as 21^st century America, but this imaginative epic takes place in an alternate universe where far-fetched creatures, such as Orcs, Fairies, Elves, and others have been co-existing with humans since the dawn of time.  Were it not for these extraordinary characters, “Bright” would amount to little more than another foray in urban crime.  Sadly, this inventive hokum suffers from two shortcomings.  First, predictable plotting undermines the outcome because Ayer and “Victor Frankenstein” scenarist Max Landis paint themselves into a corner. Second, the filmmakers provide only the most basic backstory about this bizarre new world.  Meantime, the original “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” actress Noomi Rapace keeps things exciting as a demonic elf who tries to ice our heroes, while Edgar Ramirez is equally as tenacious as another kind of Elf with a badge. 

Patrolman Daryl Ward (Will Smith) isn’t ecstatic about having an Orc as his partner.  In the alternate universe of “Bright,” Orcs are savage, toothsome creatures who resemble a a synthesis of olive-skinned albinos and ghoulish vampire of the 1922 silent horror classic “Nosferatu.”  Basically, Orcs are blue-collar, bottom-feeders who stick together inseparably and rank beneath the most woebegone ethnic groups ravaged by poverty and racism.  Nick Jakoby (Joel Edgerton of “Smokin’ Aces”) is a typical Orc, and his fellow Orcs display nothing but contempt for him.  Since they have no use for him, Nick has no use for them.  Indeed, Nick has always dreamed of wearing a badge.  Imagine his surprise when his dream comes true, and the LAPD hires him on the grounds of diversity.  Meantime, Daryl is desperately trying to hold onto his job.  Unfortunately, riding with Nick is no bargain as Daryl discovers when out of nowhere a shotgun-wielding Orc blasts him with a shotgun.  Fortunately, Daryl survives, but he isn’t happy that he must resume riding with Nick.  Ward’s irate fellow police officers heap endless criticism on him for tolerating Nick. They argue that he should charge Nick for incompetency, so the LAPD will fire the rookie.  Daryl’s fellow officers fear that if Nick proves himself as a valuable contribution to the force, more Orcs will follow.

Word has spread like wildfire around Los Angeles about a virulent league of Elves known as the Inferni. Moreover, these Elves have been toiling to resurrect a renowned ‘Dark Lord’ warrior to subjugate mankind.  Legend has it the Inferni can with a magical wand deemed "a nuclear weapon that grants wishes." The Inferni are ranked as ‘bright’ because they can wield this wand.  Furthermore, accounts claim there may even be some humans who can brandish it.  Meanwhile, anybody else who dares to touch it is doomed to incinerate themselves before they can realize their dreams.  Daryl and Nick stumble onto a wand one evening in a hood when they respond to a shooting and find themselves in the middle of a supernatural showdown.  They help a renegade young Elf, Tikka (Lucy Fry of “Mr. Church”), who has slain another Inferni with that deadly incandescent wand.  Dumbfounded by these circumstances, Daryl summons his watch commander, Sergeant Ching (Margaret Cho of “One Missed Call”), and his fellow patrolmen, to make sense out of this uncanny situation.  No sooner have they arrived than the police see the wand as an answer to all their troubles.  Furthermore, they conspire to kill Daryl and Nick, so nobody will know how they acquired the wand.  Daryl turns the tables on them, then Nick and he realize they are now being stalked by a more formidable Inferni, Leilah (Noomi Rapace), who wants the wand and is prepared to kill anybody who gets in her way.  Indeed, Leilah is ten times more powerful than Tikka, and Leilah’s posse is pretty much indestructible, too.  If Daryl and Nick don’t have their hands full enough, they must contend with a crippled gangsta, Poison (Enrique Murciano of “Collateral Beauty”), who needs the wand, so he can walk again.  Poison rules an army of trigger-happy, machine-gun toting thugs.  Adding to the complications is another Elf, Kandomere (Edgar Ramirez of “Point Break”), a government agent who supervises a Federal Magic Task Force that wants the mysterious wand, too.

Director David Ayer rarely lets our embattled buddy cops catch their collective breath as they run a gauntlet consisting of the ruthless Inferni, Poison’s homicidal hellions, and corrupt LAPD officers.  Before everything works out for them, Daryl and Nick must dodge barrages of bullets and discover that the wand can resurrect the dead.  Ayer intersperses the careening car chases, harrowing shootouts, and high-octane explosions with plenty of exposition, so we learn little by little the amazing powers of the wand and the various characteristics of the heroes and villains. “Bright” delivers more than enough wattage to keep audiences enthralled before its obligatory feelgood ending

FILM REVIEW OF ''THOR: RAGNAROK" (2017)

Chris Hemsworth looks like he had a blast making “Eagle Vs Shark” director Taika Waititi’s colorful, tongue-in-cheek, superhero saga “Thor: Ragnarok” (**** OUT OF ****), the third—and best--entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe about the Asgardian God of Thunder.  “Thor: Ragnarok” shares more in common with director Kenneth Branagh’s origins epic “Thor” (2011) rather than with Alan Taylor’s sequel “Thor: The Dark World.”  Unlike the first and third entries,” “Thor: The Dark World” (2013) maintained a serious and straightforward tone.  Basically, the second “Thor” spurned comedy, slaughtered Thor’s mom Frigga, and reformed Thor who had behaved like a blowhard.  Comparatively, Waititi and his three scenarists, Eric Pearson of “Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter,” Craig Kyle of “Planet Hulk,” and Christopher L. Yost of “Max Steel,” not only ridicule Thor, but they also challenge the Son of Odin as he has never been tested.  Typically, superhero sagas qualify as predictable since you know the hero will vanquish all adversaries and restore order to the cosmos before the end credits.  Although the original “Thor” was seldom surprising, our hero suffered the consequences of his hopeless arrogance.  Odin deprived his son of his supernatural hammer Mjölnir and banished him to Earth without powers.  Good movies run their heroes through a gauntlet, and “Thor: Ragnarok” pits the God of Thunder against a virtually invincible adversary--his heretofore unknown, elder sister Hela.  While she is more than enough to keep him occupied, Waititi and his writers have added the Incredible Hulk.  These adversaries keep Thor behind the eight-ball for three-quarters of its swiftly-paced 130 minutes.  Thor tangles with enemies for the first time who can withstand the worst he can dish out.  Hela ranks as one of his more memorable foes, and two-time Oscar winning Best Actress Cate Blanchett has a field day as Hela, the Goddess of Death.  Decked out in a black, dominatrix outfit, this Goth-looking gal resembles Angelina Jolie’s “Maleficent,” and the antlers that spring from her head before combat make her appear genuinely sinister.  When he isn’t dodging Hela, Thor tackles the gigantic Hulk in an off-world gladiatorial arena.

As “Thor: Ragnarok” unfolds, we learn the wicked fire demon Surtur (voice of Clancy Brown) has captured our eponymous hero and plans to execute him.  The haughty Surtur informs Thor that Odin no longer sits on the throne of Asgard.  Furthermore, he explains that a long, foretold prophecy referred to as ‘Ragnarok’ with bring about the impending destruction of Thor’s planet.  Once he plunges his crown into the Eternal Flame in Odin’s vault, Sutur boasts that he will conquer Asgard!  Trussed up like a turkey fit for a feast, Thor listens to Sutur’s boasts until the God of Thunder’s wayward hammer homes in on his location like a boomerang.  Thor smashes the fire demon’s dreams to smithereens.  He hastens to Asgard and discovers that his shape-shifting, half-brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston of “Kong: Skull Island”), has been impersonating Odin, who has been exiled to Earth.  While he awaits death, Odin warns them that his first-born child, Hela (Cate Blanchett of “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”), will break out of her prison and attack Asgard.  Earlier, Odin had incarcerated his daughter because she harbored ambitions far greater and destructive than his own!  No sooner has Hela returned to Asgard than she shatters Mjölnir as if it were glass and drives Thor and Loki off.  Afterward, Hela eliminates all of Thor’s compatriots, while the God of Thunder ends up on the remote planet Sakaar where gladiator combat is the rage.  

The Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum of “Independence Day”) rules Sakaar and conducts himself like the Roman Emperor Commodus.  Commodus dictated which gladiator would triumph, even if he had to rig the outcome.  The Grandmaster has acquired an unrivalled champion in the form of the Incredible Hulk who vanished under mysterious circumstances after the battle at Sokovia in “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015). Thor surprises everybody when he clocks Hulk.  Previously, nobody left the arena alive after fighting Hulk, but Thor impresses the Grandmaster enough that the tyrant allows him to live.  Thor tries to recruit the Hulk to accompany him back to Asgard to overthrow Hela.  Scrapper 142 (Tessa Thompson of “Creed”), the bounty hunter who delivered Thor to the Grandmaster, keeps him restrained with a tazer. Eventually, Thor persuades her to join Hulk and he in a revolt against Sakaar’s founder. Further, Thor learns that Scraper 142 was a Valkyrie who fought against Hela and left after nearly dying in battle.  Meantime, Hela has lain waste to Asgard, but this doesn’t dissuade Thor from returning to rescue his people and then take them to a new homeland.  The scenes that depict thousands of Asgardians seeking refuge aboard a space freighter evoke memories of the British Army’s evacuation of Dunkirk during World War II.  

For the record, since it doesn’t take place on Earth, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård), and Jane’s assistant Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) are nowhere to be seen in this second sequel.  Heimdall (Idris Elba), the gatekeeper of the Bifrost on Asgard, went missing in “Thor: The Dark World,” but he reappears in “Thor: Ragnarok” and plays a vital role in getting the people of Ragnarok in their ill-fated rebellion against Hela.  Thor’s merry threesome: Fandral (Josh Dallas), Hogan (Tadanobu Asano), and Volstagg (Ray Stevenson) show up briefly for this apocalyptic opus, but Lady Sif isn’t around because actress Jaimie Alexander of “Blindspot” could not fit the third “Thor” into her schedule.  Chronologically, “Thor: Ragnarok” occurs two years after the events in ““The Avengers: Age of Ultron,” while it happens four years after “Thor: The Dark World.”  If you look closely at a skit staged in Asgard when Thor returns, you’ll spot Matt Damon of “The Bourne Identity” playing Loki in a play, while Chris Hemsworth’s older brother Luke Hemsworth impersonates him as Thor.  Scarlett Johansson has a cameo as Black Widow, and Benedict Cumberbatch has a scene with Thor where the Son of Odin’s drinking stein replenishes itself mysteriously.

“Thor: Ragnarok” provides new perspectives on the franchise and exposes a wealth of untold backstory not only about Odin but also Asgard prior to Thor’s birth.  The revelation about Odin’s bloodlust for the conquest of alien realms makes him appear unsavory rather than avuncular as he appeared in the first two “Thor” epics.  Visually, Hela’s clash with the Valkyries resembles an Italian Renaissance painting come to life.  A low-budget, little-known independent director, Waititi brings an entirely different vibe to the otherwise hackneyed material. Waititi and his writers rely on humor to give the lead character as well as several supporting characters a greater sense of depth.  They have breathed new life into the franchise by cutting Asgard out from under the Thor, exiling Odin, and demolishing Mjölnir.  Thor often behaves like a buffoon, and it feels liberating to laugh at his oafish antics. Comparatively, Cate Blanchett radiates a malevolent pugnacity as Odin’s first-born who lives to slay.  She makes an unforgettable villain.  The scenes where she massages her temples and antlers erupt is striking.  Hela’s comeuppance is as spectacular as it is satisfying. The comic touches in “Thor: Ragnarok” may not sit well with some fans who will frown on such shenanigans, but this refreshing irreverence is long-overdue.

FILM REVIEW OF ''GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY" (2014)

“Slither” writer & director James Gunn’s outlandishly hysterical, but high octane science-fiction spectacle “Guardians of the Galaxy” charts an entirely different course in the Marvel Comics Universe. Unlike Marvel’s traditional lineup of superheroes, such as “Iron Man,” “Captain America,” “Thor,” and “The Incredible Hulk,” the “Guardians of the Galaxy” constitute a quintet of non-traditional, anti-heroic protagonists endowed with supernatural abilities. Traditional Marvel heroes are respectable, upstanding, productive citizens in private life when they aren’t clashing with larger-than-life adversaries.  As the son of Odin, Thor is the exception in the cinematic universe because he has no alter-ego.  Comparatively, the “Guardians” are criminals and outcasts, essentially mercenaries thrown together by the exigencies of fate.  A synthesis of Indiana Jones and Han Solo, Peter Jason Quill leads the “Guardians,” probably because they fly with him aboard his intergalactic spacecraft.  An abducted Earthling urchin turned scalawag smuggler who refers to himself as ‘Star-Lord,’ Quill makes an affable enough anti-hero. Quill’s loose cannon compatriots are Gamora, an elite, green-skinned, female warrior assassin; Rocket, a genetically-altered, foul-mouthed raccoon who searches for anybody with high bounty on them; Rocket’s ligneous partner Groot, a humanoid plant that entangles its adversaries with its tree limbs, and Drax, a vengeful, blue-skinned, hulk of a humanoid who parades around without a shirt. If earlier Marvel Comics superhero sagas required audiences to suspend their disbelief to accommodate their bizarre antics, “Guardians” requires an even greater suspension of disbelief, perhaps to the breaking point.  Any time you encounter an obnoxious raccoon that can speak in English and behave like the reckless felon, you’ve got to open your mind up to greater possibilities beyond the world of reality.  

“Guardians of the Galaxy” unfolds on a tragic note.  The setting is Earth in 1988, and young Peter Quill watches in horror as his mother Meredith (Laura Haddock of “Storage 24”) dies from cancer.  Fleeing the hospital, the grief-stricken lad scrambles outside, and an alien spacecraft promptly abducts him! Twenty-six years later, an adult Peter Quill (Chris Pratt of “Moneyball”) is plying his trade as a member of the Ravagers, pirates who “steal from everybody,” on the abandoned planet of Morag.  He tracks down a wholly sought-after Orb.  No sooner has he found this object than he finds himself surrounded by Korath (Djimon Hounsou of “Amistad”) and his subordinates.  Korath works for Ronan (Lee Pace of “Lincoln”), a tyrannical, ax-wielding super villain who wants the Orb.  Ronan plans to ingratiate himself to the ultimate villain Thanos and hand it over to him.  Quill manages to escape in his wing-shaped spaceship.  Later, the blue-skinned Yondu Udonta (Michael Rooker of “Tombstone”), who abducted Quill as an adolescent on Earth, contacts Quill from Morag and inquires about the Orb.  When Quill refuses to cooperate, Yondu puts a bounty of 40-thousand units on Quill.  Yondu uses an arrow that he deploys like a dressmaker manipulates a needle for homicidal purposes.

Rocket (Bradley Cooper’s voice) and Groot (Vin Diesel’s voice) descend to Xandar and stumble onto Quill.  Meantime, Korath reports to Ronan about Quill and the Orb. Ronan dispatches Gamora to Xandar, the capital of the Nova Empire, to pick up the Orb.  When Quill arrives on Xandar, he approaches the Broker (Christopher Fairbank of “Alien 3”) about the Orb.  Quill inquires about the mysterious globe because he almost died acquiring it.  When Quill mentions Ronan’s name, the Broker sends Quill packing. Gamora snatches the Orb from Quill.  They fight. Rocket intervenes and bags Quill.  This back and forth shenanigans continue until the Nova Corps arrests them.  They ship Quill, Gamora, Rocket, and Groot to The Kyln, a corrupt, high security prison in space where they encounter loudmouthed Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista of “Riddick”) when Gamora’s life is threatened.  As it turns out, the literal-minded Drax abhors Ronan because the dastard killed his wife and daughter. During the hair-raising escape, Drax teams up with Raccoon and Groot. Eventually, this quintet sets aside their differences, and Rocket orchestrates an elaborate escape from The Kyln that involves shutting off the artificial gravity in the facility.  Our heroes recover Quill’s orange and blue spaceship the Milano and flee from the Kyln.  Before they can leave, Quill also retrieves his impregnable Walkman with a cassette of popular songs that his mother made for him.  Mind you, this constitutes only 45 minutes out of the two-hour running time! 

Eventually, our heroes land on a unique mining colony called Knowhere.  According to Gamora, Knowhere is “the severed head of an ancient celestial being.”  No regulations exist in Knowhere.  Our heroes are looking for Tivan because he knows what the Orb is.  During this interval, Gamora reveals that Thanos murdered her mother and father and tortured her until he remade her into a warrior assassin.  Gamora asks about his Walkman and its significance.  Later, Drax summons Ronan to fight him, and turmoil descends onto the colony. Initially, Ronan defeats Drax, and Yondu catches up with Peter.  Bit by bit, the Guardians begin to bond.  "Oh, boo-hoo-hoo. My wife and child are dead," grouses an angry Rocket.  Groot cannot believe Rocket's insensitivity.  "Oh, I don't care if it's mean!  Everybody's got dead people.  It's no excuse to get everybody else dead along the way."  Groot sympathesizes with Drax and they become friends.  Now, Ronan has the Orb, and he wants Thanos to destroy Xandar.

Debuting in the January 1969 issue of “Marvel Super-Heroes,” the “Guardians” were nothing like their cinematic counterparts, only the pirate Yondu Udonta, appeared in this early incarnation.  These Guardians constituted the last of their kind on Earth, Jupiter, Pluto, and a fourth planet near the star Alpha Centauri B.  Ultimately, the cinematic “Guardians of the Galaxy” imitate in their own sphere of action “The Avengers.”  They quarrel constantly with each other, and they come close to killing each other such is the instability of their alliance.  Director James Gunn and freshman scenarist Nicole Perlman furnish the “Guardians” with distinctive, often hilarious dialogue.  The characters differ enough that no one is the same, and each has characteristics that differentiate them.  For example, the tree creature Groot repeats the same three words “I am Groot” ad nauseam without change throughout the action.  Drax emerges as straight-faced comic relief because he is so literal minded. Ronan makes an intimidating villain, but Thanos (Josh Brolin’s voice) is the most powerful being in the universe.  Gunn and Perlman never let the action slow down, and our heroes find themselves hopscotching from one cliffhanger predicament after another. 

FILM REVIEW OF ''TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES" (2003)

Audacious adrenaline-laced action sequences, a resolute refusal to take itself seriously, and a surprise finale help the new apocalyptic Arnold Schwarzenegger science fiction epic "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" (*** OUT OF ****) overcome its flat, formulaic, road show plot with its loquacious pseudo-scientific gobbledygook. No, director Jonathan Mostow's "T-3" doesn't top James Cameron's 1991 classic "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." Although "T-3" lacks the narrative depth and complexity of "T-2," this $170 million sequel based on Cameron's characters boasts more than enough muscle, mayhem, and momentum to make it worth watching though not altogether memorable. Mostow, who directed the W. W. II submarine saga "U-571" and the Kurt Russell wife-napping nail-biter "Breakdown,"calls the shots this time and acquits himself well enough, considering how shallow the John Brancato & Michael Ferris screenplay remains throughout its lean, mean 109 minute running time. Aside from brawny Arnold Schwarzenegger as the protagonist, Earl Boen as Dr. Silverman qualifies as the only holdover from previous "Terminator" movies. Warner Brothers dumped Edward Furlong, whose real-life drunken antics  cost him the John Connor role, and the studio replaced him with brooding-looking Nick Stahl of "Bully" and "In The Bedroom." Unfortunately, Stahl lacks any kind of charisma and he shares no chemistry with Claire Danes.  For the record, Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor has taken the long hike, too.

The nuts and bolts John Brancato and Michael Ferris screenplay (their credits include "The Game" and "The Net") picks up the plot about 10 years after "T-2." Leukemia has claimed Sarah Connor's life, and her grown-up son John (Nick Stahl) struggles to blend into the background and lives life "off the grid." He suspects that the future still holds something sinister for him, and he's right. As in "T-2," "T-3" opens with a new Terminator, this time a Terminatrix, the T-X (svelte-looking super model Kristanna Loken of "Academy Boyz"), stalking not only him but also those slated to act as his future lieutenants. Clearly, Mostow and his scribes must have seen Lara Flynn Boyle's mutant bug villainess in "Men In Black 2" and liked the idea. Like Robert Patrick's Terminator in "T-2," this Terminatrix sports a new generation of liquid-metal skin as well as a lethal limb that she can turn into a plasma cannon, stiletto probe and power saw. As villainess go, this bombshell robo-babe is truly bad to the bone! She can crank up parked cars from afar and send them careening off down the road as if they were remote control toys. And she is not out to take prisoners either! This Terminatrix gives new meaning to stereotype about reckless women drivers in an early chase scene when she hijacks a gigantic construction crane truck and demolishes half of Los Angeles trying to run down John Connor. One of those lieutenants on her hit list is mild-mannered veterinarian Kate Brewster (Claire Danes of "Brokedown Palace"). It seems that Kate and John shared a romantic moment together back in their high school days. Actually, it was the day before John’s foster parents were mysteriously murdered. The coincidences get even better. Now, it also seems that Kate's papa is a three-star general in charge of Skynet, an ultra-sophisticated computerized defense system which eventually out-smarts mankind and sends machines out to kill, kill, kill. No sooner has the action in “T-3” unfolded than things go on the Fritz. Least we not forget, in the middle of all this madness, another Terminator shows up in the form of Arnold Schwarzenegger. No, not the same one who died at the end of "T-2," but he is just as obsolete as his earlier incarnation compared with the new Terminator. Nevertheless, Arnold makes life difficult for the Terminatrix.  Kristanna Loken makes a terrific Terminatrix, too.

"Terminator 3: Rise of the Machine" ranks as one of the most physically exhausting movies you'll see. You'll feel bruised and battered, especially after the battle between the two cyborgs in the bathroom. When was the last time you saw somebody tear an entire urinal out of the wall and smash somebody over the head with it? One of my favorite scenes occurred in the police cruiser when the Terminatrix --masquerading as Scott Mason—shoves her fist through the detective’s chest and drives the car. Sadly, "T-3" doesn't provide Arnold with near enough clever one-liners as he had as either "Terminator" (1984) or "T-2," but "T-3" still packs a hugely entertaining punch. Arnold’s favorite like is “Talk to the hand.”  Mostow stages a memorable entrance for Arnold.  He saunters into a bar during ladies night without a stitch on and insists that the male stripper give him all his clothes.  The firefight at Greenlawn Cementery is interesting, too.  When Arnold emerges from the crypt carrying the casket like a stick on his shoulder, the image reminded me of the Spaghetti western hero named Django who drags a coffin behind him with a machine gun in it.  Incidentally, Arnold is toting not only firearms but also John Connor. The worst thing you can say about "T-3" is that it is a high-octane, swiftly-paced, straightforward melodrama with little of its predecessor's wit and wisdom. On the other hand, if you relish break-neck action movies with a high quota of slam-bang auto crashes, trigger-happy shoot-outs, and an over-the-top, face-to-face confrontation between two larger-than-life cyborgs titans, you should catch "T-3" on the big-screen!