Hercules, Heracles, or whoever he is, the Demigod son of Zeus is still a movie star. January's The Legend of Hercules died a quick death; let's see how this second 2014 movie, Hercules, does.
Hercules (Dwayne Johnson) made a name for himself performing the Twelve Labors. In reality, he has a crew of warriors helping him. They've been wandering the land ever since Hercules was exiled from Athens. His crime was the murder of his family ... but did he do it?
King Cotys of Thrace (John Hurt) summons Team Hercules to save his people. The evil King Rhesus (Tobias Santelmann) is out to conquer the land and the King needs their help to train his soldiers. A healthy sum of gold awaits them for a job well done. But is there really more to the story?
And that's all you need to know about the plot.
A comic-book miniseries, Hercules: The Thracian Wars, was the basis for the movie. Team Hercules is even presented like a sword-and-sandal superhero team. A death-seeking prophet, Amphiaraus (Ian McShane), stands out the most among his comrades.
Its premise is that it demystifies the Hercules myth. The monsters turn out to be either illusions or mundane. Hercules is strong enough to topple the humongous statue of Hera, and yet he can bleed. It would've helped a lot if the "truth" behind the labors was explained more. In consequence, the film acts like it's going back and forth on its premise.
Now we go to the technical aspects. Its sets and costumes looked OK. There were some good visual effects, but other effects were far too obvious. All in all, it was an adequate looking movie.
Available in both 3D and Flatscreen, Hercules is an OK matinee at the movies. If all you want is something big and dumb, this won't disappoint. Don't expect it to be anything substantial; don't even imagine how it could get worse.
About Me
- Jethrotcat
- This is the blog where I talk about the latest movies I've seen. These are my two Schnauzers, Rufus (left) and Marley (right, RIP). As of now, the Double Hollywood Strikes are officially over. May the next strikes not last as long as these ones did.
Friday, July 25, 2014
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The Apes are back in their first 3D feature, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Like its immediate predecessor, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, this feature displays sound and fury, signifying something.
The brain-booster which enhanced Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his fellow apes went viral. The end result is a complete and utter collapse of the human race. Ten years later, Caesar rules his apes in the woods outside San Francisco. They haven't seen a human for two years; as far as they know, they really are dead.
One day, the apes meet actual, living humans. These humans just want to reactivate a nearby hydroelectric dam to bring back power to the city. The Apes just want to be left alone. One of the humans, Malcolm (Jason Clarke), decides to negotiate with Caesar for the dam. It's an uneasy process but it looks positive for both sides.
Caesar's lieutenant, Koba (Toby Kebell), used to be a mistreated lab animal. So naturally, he can't stand the idea of making nice with humanity. Koba pushes the Apes to war on the humans; Dreyfus (Gary Oldman), the other human leader, is more than willing to fight back. Caesar has to step in to save the peace.
Director Matt Reeves takes over for Rupert Wyatt for this sequel. With him comes composer Michael Giacchino, who once again composes a memorably epic soundtrack. Editors William Hoy and Stan Salfas contribute action and suspense to the film's set pieces. One case is a highly-advertised scene of Koba acting goofy for unsuspecting humans.
The film continues its predecessor's use of motion-capture Apes. Once again, the end result is a visual highlight. These computerized characters look and act like real Apes. You wouldn't guess they were computerized unless someone told you.
In Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the tensions between man and ape keep the audience on edge. Its human characters are just as meaningful as the visuals. The visual effects amaze the audience rather than overwhelm them. The end result shows that there is great life in this old franchise.
The brain-booster which enhanced Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his fellow apes went viral. The end result is a complete and utter collapse of the human race. Ten years later, Caesar rules his apes in the woods outside San Francisco. They haven't seen a human for two years; as far as they know, they really are dead.
One day, the apes meet actual, living humans. These humans just want to reactivate a nearby hydroelectric dam to bring back power to the city. The Apes just want to be left alone. One of the humans, Malcolm (Jason Clarke), decides to negotiate with Caesar for the dam. It's an uneasy process but it looks positive for both sides.
Caesar's lieutenant, Koba (Toby Kebell), used to be a mistreated lab animal. So naturally, he can't stand the idea of making nice with humanity. Koba pushes the Apes to war on the humans; Dreyfus (Gary Oldman), the other human leader, is more than willing to fight back. Caesar has to step in to save the peace.
Director Matt Reeves takes over for Rupert Wyatt for this sequel. With him comes composer Michael Giacchino, who once again composes a memorably epic soundtrack. Editors William Hoy and Stan Salfas contribute action and suspense to the film's set pieces. One case is a highly-advertised scene of Koba acting goofy for unsuspecting humans.
The film continues its predecessor's use of motion-capture Apes. Once again, the end result is a visual highlight. These computerized characters look and act like real Apes. You wouldn't guess they were computerized unless someone told you.
In Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the tensions between man and ape keep the audience on edge. Its human characters are just as meaningful as the visuals. The visual effects amaze the audience rather than overwhelm them. The end result shows that there is great life in this old franchise.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Transformers: Age of Extinction
"Sound and fury signifying nothing."
That's how one might describe Michael Bay's filmography. The latest entry, Transformers: Age of Extinction, is a bit different. I found it tolerable, more so than the other two sequels.
This sequel retires the other three films' entire human cast. The new star is Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), a hapless inventor with a rebellious daughter, Tessa (Nicola Peltz). Cade specializes in turning junk into new junk. One day, he buys an old truck from a rundown movie theater. Cade takes a closer look and realizes that it is really the Autobot Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen).
In the last film, Prime and the Autobots destroyed the Decepticons once and for all. Their battle maimed Chicago. And now, a CIA squad called Cemetery Wind hunts down all Transformers. They do this with the help of another Transformer, Lockdown (Mark Ryan), who claims to answer to a higher power.
Years on the run have really wrecked Prime. But Cade's goodness gives him some hope for humanity. Prime assembles what Autobots he can to find the villains. What he finds shocks him: Transformers melted down into man-made drones. One such drone, Galvatron, is more than meets the eye. And his eye is set on "The Seed," a terraforming MacGuffin.
Anyone expecting lots of Robot action will get it. Prime and his fellow Transformers fight destructively across locations such as Texas, Chicago and Hong Kong. Its soundmix, co-supervised by consistently Oscar-nominated Greg P. Russell, handles the explosions and smashes nicely. The Transformers themselves look great. One set of Autobots, the Dinobots, are real highlights ... even if they did come out of mostly nowhere fast.
Out of all that sound and fury actually comes a story. It's about a shell-shocked Prime ready to quit fighting for the little man, and Cade the little man who eventually sparks his faith. It's really a captivating story. It's a bit ruined by the 165 minute runtime. We're made to think the last battle is in Chicago, but no, it goes on to Hong Kong. It felt slow at other times, but this was when the runtime was at its worst.
I said it about Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and I'll say it again here. Transformers: Age of Extinction is the type of film made for the big screen. That's one good thing about Michael Bay's style. Hopefully, someone will reel in the runtime of the next film. I can't imagine a four-hour toy commercial.
That's how one might describe Michael Bay's filmography. The latest entry, Transformers: Age of Extinction, is a bit different. I found it tolerable, more so than the other two sequels.
This sequel retires the other three films' entire human cast. The new star is Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), a hapless inventor with a rebellious daughter, Tessa (Nicola Peltz). Cade specializes in turning junk into new junk. One day, he buys an old truck from a rundown movie theater. Cade takes a closer look and realizes that it is really the Autobot Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen).
In the last film, Prime and the Autobots destroyed the Decepticons once and for all. Their battle maimed Chicago. And now, a CIA squad called Cemetery Wind hunts down all Transformers. They do this with the help of another Transformer, Lockdown (Mark Ryan), who claims to answer to a higher power.
Years on the run have really wrecked Prime. But Cade's goodness gives him some hope for humanity. Prime assembles what Autobots he can to find the villains. What he finds shocks him: Transformers melted down into man-made drones. One such drone, Galvatron, is more than meets the eye. And his eye is set on "The Seed," a terraforming MacGuffin.
Anyone expecting lots of Robot action will get it. Prime and his fellow Transformers fight destructively across locations such as Texas, Chicago and Hong Kong. Its soundmix, co-supervised by consistently Oscar-nominated Greg P. Russell, handles the explosions and smashes nicely. The Transformers themselves look great. One set of Autobots, the Dinobots, are real highlights ... even if they did come out of mostly nowhere fast.
Out of all that sound and fury actually comes a story. It's about a shell-shocked Prime ready to quit fighting for the little man, and Cade the little man who eventually sparks his faith. It's really a captivating story. It's a bit ruined by the 165 minute runtime. We're made to think the last battle is in Chicago, but no, it goes on to Hong Kong. It felt slow at other times, but this was when the runtime was at its worst.
I said it about Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and I'll say it again here. Transformers: Age of Extinction is the type of film made for the big screen. That's one good thing about Michael Bay's style. Hopefully, someone will reel in the runtime of the next film. I can't imagine a four-hour toy commercial.
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