Gran Turismo

 It's been ages since I brought up Neill Blomkamp. What's he been up to lately? Well, he did the horror film Demonic and he would have done Alien 5 if not for reasons. He's back with Gran Turismo, which is both named after the racing video game series and a biopic of a particular real-world racer, Jann Mardenborough.

The film opens with a history of the eponymous games. Among its fans are Jann (Archie Madekwe), who dreams of racing real cars over his ex-footballer dad Steve's (Djimon Hounsou) objections. Meanwhile, marketing bigwig Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) gets Nissan to sign off on GT Academy, a reality show in which GT racers are trained as actual racers. Jann qualifies for the GT Academy after he wins an online race. He and nine other recruits are put through boot camp by ex-racer Jack Salter (David Harbour). Eventually, Jann makes it to the finish line. It's not clear sailing from here.

Jason Hall and Zach Baylin's screenplay fundamentally sounds like every cliched sports movie ever. The son with big dreams, the parent with (admittedly sound, considering the sport) objections, the gruff trainer, the tragic accident, the big comeback and so forth. There's naturally a rival, who comes not in the form of a GT student, but Josha Stradowski's arrogant Nicholas Capa. It's still as emotionally effective as every cliched sports movie ought to be. You'll feel it when Jann has his tragic accident and cheer when he makes his comeback. 

There's a good cast here. Madekwe as Jann is so likable, we're invested in him even when the film slows down. We're impressed as Jack is when he diagnoses a brake problem from his GT experience. Speaking of Jack, his unabashed cynicism is delightfully entertaining, and we're invested in him as he becomes a genuine supporter. Hounsou's Steve is a lot more believable than most forbidding fathers. We especially feel it when he and Jann reconcile at the end. Capa and the other GT racers are just there. The most the latter do is fill out Nissan's team at the climax in Le Mans.

Blomkamp's panache helps liven up the proceedings. There's an audacious charm when the film briefly turns into a live-action video game at times. Jann is even "awarded" a trophy for avoiding the cops after a drunken party. It's also impressive to see cars assemble around Jann a few times. The racing scenes, both digital and real, are spectacularly shot & edited and are set to a dynamic score by Lorne Balfe & Andrew Kawczynski. 

Gran Turismo's true story is a reasonable framework for its video game narrative. Its plot is overtly familiar, but you'll still be invested in its lead character all the way through. Its racing scenes are worth seeing on the biggest screen you can find. They're just as spectacular as Ford V Ferrari's races. See it soon if you want to see it on the biggest screens possible. It's sure to liven up what maybe an otherwise dull September.

Blue Beetle

DC’s newest film, Blue Beetle, involves one of its oldest superheroes. Or rather, the latest incarnation of one of its oldest superheroes. The name debuted in 1939, but his latest alter-ego, Jaime Reyes, debuted in 2006. I could go into detail about his multiple publishers before DC, but that would complicate a review of an uncomplicated movie. Let's go.

Jaime (Xolo Maridueña) returns home from law school with debt on his mind. Not only does he have student loans to deal with, but his family is about to lose their home following his dad, Alberto (Damian Alcazar) losing his business after a heart attack. He and his sister, Milagro (Belissa Escobedo), are hired as cleaners for evil rich lady Victoria Kord's (Susan Sarandon) mansion. But they're quickly fired. Victoria's niece, Jenny (Bruna Marquezine), promises Jaime a new job or two. But all Jaime gets out of the job interview is a Burger Box which Jenny tells him not to open. 

Jaime opens it anyway and finds a metal scarab, Khaji-Da (Becky G), inside. Victoria wanted it to reverse engineer her own line of super soldiers, the OMAC. Instead, the scarab merges with Jaime and morphs him into a blue-armored superhero. Naturally, Jaime wants answers from Jenny. Victoria wants her “property” back and sends her proto-OMAC, Ignacio Carapax (Raoul Trujillo), after him. The whole family will have to chip in to stop the bad guys.

Director Angel Manuel Soto and writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer have created a light superhero film. Jaime's first transformation into Blue Beetle is more farcical mayhem than horrific. Underscoring the scene with the Spanish song La Chona accentuates the chaos until Bobby Krlic's score fully takes over. There's more hilarious chaos during Jaime's subsequent outing as he deals with his new powers. Its chipper tone keeps our eyes on the screen instead of our watches during its 127 minutes. Its most cliche elements, including Carapax's proclamation "your love for your family makes you weak," Jaime's retort to that, and a family member's seeming death (as opposed to another's actual death), aren't a detriment.

Naturally, the cast keeps our attention all the way through. Maridueña as Jaime is a likeable go-getter and incredibly selfless long before he meets Khaji-Da. His on-screen family and their chemistry are endearing. In addition to Escobedo, Adriana Barazza (Grandma), Elpidia Carillo (mom Roccio) and George Lopez (Uncle Rudy), get some great lines. Their collective likability makes the midpoint devastating, but they all bounce back when they storm Victoria's castle with Jenny's dad's (second Blue Beetle Ted) weaponry. 

Now for the others. Jenny and Jaime make a good on-screen couple. She's easily more likable than her condescending aunt, played perfectly by Sarandon. Carapax is capably brutal, while his aforementioned taunt makes tragic sense once his backstory kicks in. The Kords' head scientist (Harvey Guillen) is so delightfully goofy, that we feel a bit sorry when Jenny swipes Khaji-Da under his nose. The film makes a big deal out of Khaji-Da being a planet destroying weapon, but Khaji-Da's personality barely correlates with that. Khaji-Da has some great chemistry with Jaime, too, especially when it stops him from killing Carapax.

The film's visualization of Jaime's Blue Beetle armor highlights its technical proficiency. The costume designed by Mayes C Rubeo blends spectacularly with its CGI enhancements. Its various powers and weapons are pretty cool, too. Its production design is equally impressive for turning Decatur into the fictional Palmera City. I'm pretty sure I recognized a few streets beneath their own digital enhancements. The only bit of CGI that didn't blend well was a surprising gadget in the climax. Everything else is seamless. The action scenes also blend nicely with Krlic's techno score.

Blue Beetle is every bit as fun as The Flash wanted to be. It's just as fun watching its superhero talk to his family as it is watching him fight bad guys. Its most poignant moments come when the Reyes family are comforted by their neighbors following their midpoint tragedy. You'll leave the theater hoping for more rather than being glad it's over. Indeed, the mid-credits promise a certain character's return. Overall, it's a late summer surprise that you need to see as soon as possible. It's even playing with a Spanish dub. So, you have your options. 

The Last Voyage of the Demeter

 It's time to hear more about a film I namedropped.

Did you ever want to know what it was like to sail with the definitive vampire? Well, we've got the movie for you. The Last Voyage of the Demeter expands the Log of the Demeter section of Dracula's seventh chapter to feature length. Let's see how they fared.

July 1897. The Demeter makes port in Bulgaria. Captain Eliot (Liam Cunningham) and his first mate Wojchek (David Dastmalchian) look to fill the crew on their way to London. All prospects jump ship once they realize that the Demeter is taking on a certain bunch of crates. Dr. Clemens (Corey Hawkins) comes aboard after he saves the captain's grandson, Toby (Woody Norman), from being squished by a crate.  Clear sailing, right?

A week or so later, the crew discovers an anemic stowaway named Anna (Aisling Franciosi) inside one of the crates. Suddenly, something else feeds on the crew. It turns out that Dracula (Javier Botet) is aboard, and Anna was brought along as his "rations." She and the survivors have to keep Dracula from reaching England. I think you know how it ends for them.

This was conceived by writer Bragi Schut Jr and directed by André Øvredal (Trollhunter, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark). What do I think about the end result? It sets up its mood rather well when the Demeter is found crashed ashore in the opening. Clemens's introduction and how he gets a spot on the Demeter is quite compelling. It's even got some strong jump scares, particularly when one of the crew turns into a Zombie Vampire. 

Where does it go wrong? An overwhelming sense of genre blindness. The Demeter realize Dracula's with them when he slaughters the livestock. They don't know he's a vampire but realize he's dangerous. But they don't even look for his hiding spot until much of them bite it. It's not a rather proactive plot, to say the least. Schut was inspired by Alien in writing the script, but both the xenomorph and Nostromo crew were more active than either party here.

We now get to the on-screen crew. Clemens, as I previously said, had a good first scene. He also had a great finale as he fights Dracula and parts with Anna. It would be a waste if he didn't appear in a sequel covering the rest of the book (I have an idea that purists will hate on how he fit in). Anna turns out to be cool when she proves herself quite adept with rifles. Captain Eliot and Toby get the film's most dramatic moment when the latter is vampirized. Joseph the cook (Jon Jon Briones) is quite quirky, and even unnerving when he goes mad later on. But other than them, the rest of the crew are either unlikeable or dull. Fortunately, the least likeable of them are Dracula's first victims. 

Dracula himself is the film's visual highlight. His visage is that of an even more ghoulish Count Orlok from Nosferatu. His unnerving, withered form leads to a spectacular jump scare when he pounces on a victim like a leopard. What makes him visually marvelous is his design; most of the time, you can't tell if you're looking at a CGI monster or a real man in makeup. The Demeter herself represents some good production design from Edward Thomas. It's a creepy ship even before Dracula makes his presence known. The sound design helps out with Dracula's unnerving shrieks. Bear McCreary's score is pretty bombastic, especially its end credits theme, but it's pretty moving at times.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter is an admirable seabound horror film. It may not be proactive, but its technical aspects and lead character are compelling. Who knows if a prospective sequel will be made given its box-office. But at least we have Nosferatu to look forward to ... whenever. It's surely a unique spin on Dracula, that's for sure. That's it for now.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

 It's been a while since the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles headlined their own movie. It's been a bit longer since they headlined an animated movie. They get to do both in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, which was spearheaded by Seth Rogen but directed by Jeff Rowe. Let's see how it is.

Scientist Baxter Stockman (Giancarlo Esposito) always wanted a family. So, he made a family of mutants with green ooze. His employers, TCRI, hunt him down and kill him. But Stockman's ooze got into the sewers and mutated four turtles into Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), Donatello (Micah Abbey), Raphael (Brady Noon) and Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.) and a rat into their Master Splinter (Jackie Chan).

Years later, the Turtles hide in the New York sewers and only surface to steal supplies. One supply run leads them to encounter their first human friend, April O'Neil (Ayo Edeberi). April is an aspiring reporter who wants to unmask the criminal mastermind "Superfly." The Turtles decide to help her, hoping to be accepted as heroes by the general public. Things get complicated when they discover that Superfly (Ice Cube) and his gang are Stockman's mutant family. Superfly is out to help mutants take over the world. The Turtles can't let him do that, no matter how cool Superfly and his family are.

The film proudly emphasizes the teenage part of the title. They goof around, make mistakes and yearn to connect with humans their age. They’re rowdy & rebellious with their sheltered lives and we believe it. That the turtles are voiced by teenagers this time greatly amplifies this fact. They have such entertaining chemistry and buoyant personalities. It makes it all the more moving when April rallies NYC to help them defeat Superfly after they're initially slandered on the news. Even earlier, Splinter's flashback to how he and the Turtles meet is an endearing moment.

A good hero needs a good villain and Superfly is on the case. He initially appears to be a cool fly when he welcomes the turtles to his family with open arms. But he turns frighteningly vindictive once the turtles show some hesitation. That's all before he turns into a giant chimaera in the climax. The film's literally sketchy art style perfectly sells us on that form's unnerving nature (the component animals still move around!). Giant Superfly gives the Turtles a perfectly suitable final battle. 

Now for a few other characters. The mutant family is made of familiar names such as Bebop (Rogen), Rocksteady (John Cena), Mondo Gecko (Paul Rudd), Wingnut (Natasia Demetriou) and Leatherhead (Rose Byrne). Their personalities are eclectic as their character designs. They get their best moments when they rebel against Superfly. Splinter gets some great character development as he loosens up. April is quite compelling as we see her overcome stage fright to help the Turtles. Meanwhile, co-villain Cynthia Utrom (Maya Rudolph) is just there to be important in the sequel. The mid-credits promise that and another familiar face.

Overall, Mutant Mayhem is an entertaining reboot for the heroes in the half-shell. Its crassest jokes aren't a detriment to its compelling family story and radical fight scenes. It also has a great Reznor & Ross score to punctuate its many moods. Its art style is as unique as its teen comedy angle. See it as soon as you can. It'll make not just a great family matinee, but a great distraction from the heat.