Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) Review

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

D: Jonathan Liebesman

W: Josh Appelbaum, Evan Daugherty, Andre Nemec

S: Megan Fox, Alan Ritchson, Jeremy Howard, Pete Ploszek, Noel Fisher, Will Arnett, Danny Woodburn, William Fichtner, Johnny Knoxville, Tony Shalhoub

The heroes in a half-shell are back in their fifth onscreen adventure. This time around they combat the evil underground criminal organization, The Foot Clan, and their boss the evil Shredder. Will they be able to stop the Shredder's evil plans?

I want to first go over my opinions on the other Ninja Turtles films. The original film from 1990 to me is still a pretty decent film, with a pretty good story and some great costumes. The second film is a massive guilty pleasure, yeah it is a weak film but I still enjoy it. The third film... just lame. TMNT (2007, Dir. Kevin Munroe) for me is probably the weakest film, mainly because it seems to think that by making everything dark and angst ridden it is automatically deep. Oh and the new tv show on Nickelodeon is really damn good. 

But now let us get to the newest film. Like a little people I wasn't looking forward to this film, and yes one reason was because of Michael Bay being attached to the project, but after the first trailer... I still wasn't too sure about it. But after seeing more and more and seeing the Turtles interacting with each other I was getting a bit more excited. But after watching the film now I can say that this is... lackluster. It is far from being the worst film in the series, but it could have been so much better.

Let me get this off the bat, Megan Fox was a bad choice for April O'Neil. This part should have gone to someone like Rachel McAdams or Emma Stone. Also the new designs are a mixed bag for me. I don't like that they're really bulky, but the extra features of clothing and such give them nice distinct looks. Except for Donatello's glasses. You know, in you case you forgot he was a nerd. But other than that I like the extra stuff they added. They'll never top the original puppets created by the Henson Company, but they're a little better then the ones used in the 2007 movie. 

Seriously, these designs are so freaking dull!

Speaking of the Turtles themselves, they're fine persona wise. Also they have plenty of funny lines and moments in the film. The director, Liebsman, stated that he really wanted to get the Turtles humor down and he did in my book. Come on, how could not crack a smile at this scene here. 

So what's the major problem with this film? The script. It feels like they're using the first draft of the screenplay for it. It had the ideas and what they want but it feels really underdeveloped. There are some interesting ideas that needed to be explored a lot more. The biggest example of this is that the turtles were not some random turtles found in a random puddle of ooze by a rat (or in some cases Hamato Yoshi). Nope, this time around the turtles and Splinter were part of a scientist experiment conducted by April's now deceased father. One of the other scientists (Fichtner) turned out to be EVIL! And turned out to be a disciple of the Shredder. And they are going to use it to take of the world. OF COURSE! Now April managed to rescue the turtles and Splinter from the lab when April's father destroyed the lab, after finding out the evil scientist's plan. Oh, and spoilers Fichtner killed April's father. Yeah, I'm sure you're all surprised. 

This is an interesting idea, it gives the Turtles and April and stronger connection then just, 'Oh hey I found a bunch of giant mutant turtles. Okay I'm friends now.' But it isn't really developed. The film wants to have the message of family and how even though they come from completely different backgrounds in a way they're still one. But instead we get clunky dialogue about how they're family and such. Critic Jeremy Jahn pointed out that the film seem to rely on you already knowing about the Turtles and their history instead of developing it in the film. (By the way check out his videos, he is awesome.) They could have gone a little deeper by having Splinter still be Hamato Yoshi's pet and then April's. He could have been unsure if this girl was worthy of owning him. 

But what about the action? This movie has to be good in that department. Well... yes and no. The use of CGI does allow them to do more but it goes by so fast that it is a little hard to keep track of what's going on. Also, there is way too much slow motion being used. 

As it stands for me, this isn't the worst Ninja Turtles product, but it could have been better. If you're interested go see it or at least wait until it is out on DVD and Redbox it. If you've been one of those guys who has been going, "F**k Michael Bay!" Then this film won't change your mind. In the meantime, go check out the first two films from 1990 and 1991, and the latest show that's on Nickelodeon. 

Cowabunga!

Rest in Peace Robin Williams (1951-2014)

It is with a very heavy heart that I write this post. On August 11, 2014 after coming home early from work, I got on Facebook and saw the headlines... "Robin Williams dies at 63". I can't begin to tell you the amount of sadness I felt. I even began to cry about the fact that Mr. Williams is no longer with us. The amount of laughter and joy this man brought to me, and countless others, is difficult to put into words. I loved this man and his work. So in this post I will go through the movies and other aspects about Robin that made me love him. I'm sure what I say in this post applies to so many others and I hope they serve him justice. So where do we being? How about the film we've all seen and love: Aladdin

Yes, the film and the role that more than likely got cemented into our heads. "The ever impressive, the long-contained, the often imitated, but never duplicated... duplicated... duplicated... duplicated... Genie of the Lamp!"

Yep, this is not only one of Robin's most memorable characters, it is also one of the most memorable characters in animated film history. Williams made the character his own and it can never be duplicated again. It was so good that the famed film critic Gene Siskel said in his review of the film that Williams should have gotten an Oscar nomination. Yeah, he was that good. I loved watching Robin's performance when I was a kid and I love watching it as an adult. It is obvious that Williams had a massive impact on the character and script, and because of that the character is immortalized. And of course, we can't forget the amazing job he did singing "Friend Like Me"

But now onto two movies that I watched a lot when I was kid, Popeye (1980, Dir. Robert Altman) and Hook (1991, Dir. Steven Spielberg). Now I know what you're thinking, "Popeye? Really?" Yes, really. My family and I every summer would go on family vacations and we had a little TV with a VHS player, we'd have a basket of tapes and one movie we'd watch all the time would be Popeye. Now, I'm willing to admit it isn't that great of a movie. But at the same time... what did you expect from a movie about Popeye the Sailor? This worked in my opinion. But what about Robin's  performance? He was perfect. Nobody else could have played this part. Don't believe me? Then watch this!

As for Hook, as I stated in my tribute post to my local video store, there were two movies I always rented from there and Hook was one of them. Now much like Popeye, I'm willing to admit it isn't Steve Spielberg's strongest film, but it is still a massively charming movie. Who else could you get to play an adult Peter Pan who has to go on a spiritual journey to rediscover who he is? Robin Williams, duh! I mean, just watch him!

Mr. Williams won one Oscar in his lifetime and that was for Best Supporting Actor in the movie Good Will Hunting (1997, Dir. Gus Van Sant). When it comes to performances that get an Oscar, I like to believe that there's one point that sets it in stone that this is a worthy performance. For me that moment was this one. But this is a good runner up. Again, my words can't do it justice. Just watch a behold.

But Robin's best trait was his mastery of improvisation. Watch any interview or comedy special he did and he would just tell twenty jokes a minute. It is extremely impressive. Hell, I bet I could sit a chair and he'd probably come up with five jokes there. Check out this clip from his guest appearance on Inside the Actor's Studio. By the way, this episode is one of the funniest bits of television in existence. 

To conclude, there's a lot to talk about with him. I could probably write a series of books about his work. There's still a lot I need to see. But I'll end with this.

Mr. Williams we will miss you. We will miss your charm, your wit, and your ability to make us laugh. We will make sure that future generations know about your brilliant work. I certainly hope that we meet in another lifetime and that you've found peace.

"No matter what anyone says, you'll always be a prince to me."

Guardians of the Galaxy Review

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

D: James Gunn

W: James Gunn, Nicole Perlman

S: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio del Toro

Marvel Studios unleashes another film onto the public, at this point they appear to be unstoppable. But as long as they keep making movies like this (and Captain America: the Winter Soldier) I'm fine with that. This time around we follow a group of unlikely heroes banding together to stop an evil force who wants to disrupt the peace and conquer the galaxy. 

I really like these kind of stories. I like seeing these different people come together for a common goal and seeing the different personas interacting with each other. And this group... well you can't get more ragtag than this group. You've got an Missouri born smuggler (Star Lord played by Chris Pratt), an orphaned alien turning on her abductor/boss (Gamora played by Zoe Saldana), a revenge seeking warrior (Drax the Destroyer played by professional wrestler David Bautista), and a genetically engineered smart aleck raccoon (Rocket voiced by Bradley Cooper) and his walking talking tree buddy Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel). 

A big problem that can happen with these types of movies is that team members could easily become just a one note character. Like, he's the smart one, he's the strong one, he's the notable leader, she's the token woman. But that is thankfully not the case here. Each character has their own unique back story and each contributes to the story. Watching these guys play off each other is awesome. Also I have to give special credit to Cooper for his great voice acting for this movie, the guy made me feel for a talking raccoon. Also this is probably Vin Diesel's strongest performance since The Iron Giant (1999, Dir. Brad Bird). Now that I think about it, Groot and the Giant are very similar. Both are giant man made creatures with mysterious (at least to me) origins, both are soft spoken and gentle, but both can very tough and dangerous. And both do something that... um... when you see the film you'll know what I'm referring to. 

As for the villains of the movie, they serve their purpose well. Though I will admit they didn't leave a big impact on me, except for Nebula. Okay that might be because she's played by Karen Gillan, and I'm a big Doctor Who  fan, and a big Karen Gillan fan. Okay, I have a crush on her I'll admit. But she's still awesome. 

Yes, even when bald and  playing a villain 

Though (SPOILERS) we never see what happened to her so she might appear in a future film, and if something did happen to her, I missed it. 

But the one thing about this film, and all the recent Marvel films I've seen, that I want to point out that makes me really like these films is that THEY'RE FUN! My biggest problem with the some of the DC films is that they're all dark and moody without any trace of fun. Now, I'm not saying their can't be a story or drama but when the story is nothing but the heroes mopping about and talking about their responsibility as a hero, it gets dull. 

Also Marvel just seems to embrace these characters and what makes them unique. None of them are the same. Whereas DC just seems to try to turn them into Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight films.

So to sum it up, I've got no major issue with this film. Check it out. Oh, the 3D is worth it if you want to see it in 3D. 

What are you waiting for? Go see it! Come and get the love from the movie.

Oh and the soundtrack is awesome. 

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