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Creed (2015)
Creed - a new era for the Philadelphia folk hero
Rocky Balboa returns as Adonis Johnson Creed's mentor in Ryan Coogler's Creed. Who knew that Stallone still had some acting chops?
Creed is about Adonis Johnson played by Michael B. Jordan who wants to be his own man and step out of his father's shadow. His early years as a youth were struck by group homes and juvenile detention, but Apollo's wife, Mary Anne, takes him into their lavish home. The movie jumps into Adonis as a 20-something promising boxer who decides to dedicate himself fully into the sport. He goes by Johnson to ensure that he's not cashing in on the legacy, but he has some difficulty in finding a mentor. He travels from LA to Philadelphia to find Rocky Balboa played by Sylvester Stallone to convince him to train him.
The movie does nearly everything right. It follows the Rocky formula correctly with some deviation, and it has a good mix of a serious and dramatic tone with some bits of humor throughout.
At first, the stakes aren't as fully realized since Adonis has a decent job and lives in a nice mansion with his mom due to Apollo's earnings. Despite the cushy lifestyle, he doesn't embrace it and he wants to make a name for himself as a boxer. As the movie progresses, his dream to be a fighter in his own right becomes more important and forefront, since he wants to become his own man. If he fails, he disgraces himself and the name. His dignity rather than his possessions are more important to the story.
At times, the movie was a bit heavy handed in the dramatic department, but this was a nice generational shift into grittier and more dramatic movies since the ones in the 70s and 80s were a bit more light-hearted.
Michael B. Jordan does a great job in playing Adonis or as he's more commonly called, Donnie, and throughout the whole movie, the childhood trauma of group homes and juvenile detention is evident. The need to be his own man rather than living in his late father's shadow is prevalent. His pain and memories are reflected in his training, motivations, and how he carries himself.
Sylvester Stallone is natural as Rocky, and it's been a while since Stallone has done a serious acting job. The Rocky franchise is what he does best, and it brings the heart of his acting out. He's good at bringing humor in the midst of a serious Adonis Johnson.
The mentor-student relationship between Adonis and Rocky was done well without being hammy at all. It hits all the right emotional and dramatic notes.
The way the fights were shot were close. It was like watching a close to the shoulder 3rd person shooter. There are hardly any distant shots like from pay-per-view boxing. This closeness shows how personal and meaningful this fight was for Adonis. Throughout the movie, the camera-work was close- up as well.
I didn't like the music as much in this movie, but I'm not a big hip hop and rap fan. I missed the classic trumpet-roaring Rocky music, but it's still in the movie but briefly and sparsely.
This movie was directed well overall by Ryan Cooper and there are hardly if any flaws in this movie. It's tight and well edited, especially the fight scenes. The movie does have some references and homages to the previous Rocky movies. Some of them seem cheesy, but what's a Rocky movie without cheese?
Creed is a good movie, but I didn't absolutely love it. I should have loved it, since it was well put together. I think there was no need for another Rocky movie, and that's why I didn't enjoy it as much. Nevertheless, it's worth it to see in theaters this holiday season. Creed is a worthy successor that begins the Rocky franchise in a new and refreshing era.
Jurassic World (2015)
You would think that Chris Pratt + Dinosaurs = Awesome Movie, but don't expect the magic from 1993's Jurassic Park.
There were higher expectations for this movie, but it was disappointing. As an action movie, this movie is good. It helps you forget Jurassic Park III, but it's between Jurassic Park and The Lost World. The problem was that it tries to be sophisticated, but it fails to do so. It's a commentary on how corporations can be evil, and when mankind messes with nature, nature fights back. It's similar in themes with Jurassic Park (1993), but it feels artificial in its effort to capture Spielberg's vision in the land of the dinosaurs.
The two brothers in the movie, Zach and Gray Mitchell, are a similar throwback to Timmy and Lex from the original movie. It tried to add heart to the movie with a conversation about parents who might be divorcing, but it was never brought up again. It was filler. Chris Pratt saved this movie for the most part. He was a little funny and sarcastic, but he was also a tough guy who knows how to survive and deal with the dinosaurs. However, his character was too strong, so there wasn't a lot of fear that he would fail to save the day.
The cinematography of the movie was one of the better parts of the movie, since it showed majestic views of Hawaii and added CGI to parts of island. There was also blatant product placement of Mercedes Benz cars, since they looked too good and pronounced from the rest of the scenery.
The movie is unevenly paced, and the first two acts are a drag to sit through. You don't care about the brothers because they don't blend in as well, since they stick out as plot devices and filler. The 3rd act is the best part of the movie because there's more action, Chris Pratt, and dinosaurs, instead of the brothers and dinosaurs. However, the Indominus Rex should be called PlotDeviceasaurus Rex. It's a genetically modified dinosaur that's the antagonist of the movie and there were mixed feelings about it. The "natural and regular" dinosaurs were more believable than that behemoth. The special effects of the dinosaurs blended in well with the environment and they were believable. The abilities of the Indominus Rex were inconsistent, and they didn't work that well at times to benefit the main characters. Pratt does action and comedy well, but this movie held him back. However, he was different from his Star-Lord character, since he was more serious.
Jurassic World is a good and thrilling action movie, but don't expect the heart from the Jurassic Park (1993). It lacks the intelligence and sophistication of the original, but it makes it up with the action, dinosaurs, and Chris Pratt. It also tries to throwback to the original with blatant nods to it with its themes and certain scenes. In its attempt to be sophisticated, it avoids bar set by Jurassic Park III and The Lost World. It's a decent reboot, but the next installments better exceed this attempt.
Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)
Hopefully, this is the last Ridley Scott disappointment in his slump
Exodus: Gods and Kings today, and was disappointing. The action scenes are fine, but the pacing and the story were choppy. It starts off with a battle scene and then it tries to go into character development for about an hour. It's rushed and it hardly hits any emotional notes. The director, Ridley Scott, has mentioned that the first cut was 4 hours long, but the running time for this movie was 2 hours and 22 minutes. It would have been improved with added scenes to develop the characters and to create some sympathy for them. The only impressive scenes were the opening battle scene, the Plagues, and the Parting of the Red Sea, so pretty much anything with action in them were the best parts.
Don't expect Gladiator at all. It doesn't hit emotionally like that movie, and it was hard to get into this movie. (minor spoiler ahead) When Moses leaves his family to help the Hebrews, you don't really care for his family. It plays out like so this happens and that happens and it has no weight into the story. They're more like basic markers and they don't develop the characters of Moses, prior to him meeting God. When Moses meets God, then it gets more interesting. Prior to that, it's hard to care for Moses.
Ridley Scott is a visual director, and he delivers on that part. The cinematography, the sets, and the special effects involving the Plagues and the Parting of the Red Sea are what he does well. He can make a movie stylishly and visually look good, but he lacks in the story department nowadays.
There are some miscast actors, such as John Turturro. He plays Ramses's father, and a more intimidating actor or Ben Kingsley who already plays a part, would be a better substitute. It could also be the screenplay, since that had stiff dialogue. Aaron Paul and Sigourney Weaver are wasted because they don't have much screen time. It would have been nice to have supporting character development, but the movie focused on Ramses and Moses.
This wasn't the triumphant return of Ridley Scott. The action scenes were the best parts, but the character development and story were poor. If it only focused on the action, scale of the production, and the special effects, then it wouldn't be as troubling. Since it made some attempt at story and character development, then it should develop it further than what was seen.
Interstellar (2014)
Interstellar is not Nolan's strongest film, but it's still good.
Interstellar had an immersive story, despite the 2 hr and 49 min running time. The acting is good, but it's not the highlight of the movie. It's not bad or mediocre, but the emotional parts didn't make me emotional, except the part at the end. Since McConaughey's character had to leave his daughter, it didn't hit that emotionally. His sacrifice is necessary to save mankind.
The robots, TARS and CASE, reminded me of HAL 9000, even though they weren't the AI of their spacecraft. They were just assistants, but they were a good addition that added humor in this film. Hathaway's character makes a bone headed choice and other characters make such choices too, but it didn't detract from it that much.
The visuals and cinematography were impressive, but the music got in the way at times. It was too loud and the volume should have been lowered, especially when there was dialogue. It adds emotion, tension, and suspense, but it's obvious after they continuously play it for a time. It was distracting, but the dialogue was still audible.
In the last act, the signature Nolan weird occurrence happens. The movie as a whole wasn't hard to follow and it was understandable. The last part was a bit of a reach to understand, but it's doable.
Overall, it's an immersive experience and it's definitely worth seeing, especially as a Christopher Nolan fan. If that doesn't apply, it's a good movie anyways. But beware of the 2 hr 49 min running time.