Fish and Cherries Productions

Pacific Rim is a rare type of summer blockbuster that not only delivers on visuals and action, but on story and characters as well. Admittedly, the story is very simple and straightforward, but the world they build around the story makes it feel a lot meatier. It could have been very easy for the movie not to take itself seriously and go into self-parody, but doing so would have robbed it of a lot of the heart that I think makes it work. That is not to say the movie does not have fun with itself sometimes; there’s an amusing bit involving the mecha’s fist and an office decoration, Charlie Day of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia fame is part of a great comic relief duo that works really well off of each other, and Ron Perlman’s outfit is absolutely impossible to take seriously. The only problems I had with it were that I wished they had done more with some of the other Jaeger (the giant mecha the humans used to fight back) pilots and there was a bit at the end that could have either been a plot hole or an oversight on my part. That said, it is still a very strong action movie that had me invested all of the way through with one great thing going for it: the lead guy and girl do not become a romantic item! Doing so could have broken the movie and I am glad they avoided that. Mr. del Toro, take a bow.

The Hundred-Foot Journey took a while to win me over, but once it did, I recognized it for being a truly heartwarming tale. The experience was like a dish with very subtle flavors that took a while to really kick in. Inevitably, this movie will draw comparisons to Chef, since they both came out this year and tackle similar topics. But while Chef is mainly about self-discovery and coming into one’s own, The Hundred-Foot Journey is about the Indian and French cultures coming together through food. For me, one of the movie’s big boons is the characters, who turn out to be quite three-dimensional by the end of the film and experience some legitimate growth. I also really appreciate the film’s ability to convey things without using words, since “show, don’t tell” seems to be turning into a lost art nowadays. If The Hundred-Foot Journey suffers from anything, it’s that the plot can feel overcrowded with a lot of plot lines between all the different characters. Some characters don’t even get much development because the movie doesn’t have time to even give them a fraction of the spotlight. Me personally, I found it to be great and am seriously disappointed with everyone who saw the Ninja Turtles movie instead of this when it opened. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to lie down. I kind of gorged myself on Indian food after I left the theater.

Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, contrary to popular expectation, did not have the characters powering up for 80% of the movie. However, that doesn’t prevent it from being more than a little flabby. The most particular grievance is in the middle where the movie dives into some self-indulgent fan service that really doesn’t add anything to the story and would have been cut were this not a 20th anniversary special. In fact, a lot of the comedic bits kind of dragged in the middle, which is a shame because I actually appreciated the comedic focus and how it wasn’t so obsessed with being serious like the Dragon Ball Z series was. While we’re on the subject of comedy, I absolutely loved Lord Beerus as the villain and how unlike any other series antagonist he is. He’s threatening and imposing, but also goofy and amicable, and while I think his motivations are a bit petty, I at least appreciate that he keeps his fights with the small-time heroes brief rather than drawing it out. I would honestly say that beginning and end of the movie were great, but the middle could have used some work. So while it was great to see my old heroes in all their beautifully animated glory (and the animation was beautiful, despite some awkward CGI during the final fight) and I did walk out of the theater feeling good, I think the movie is a pretty mixed bag. This is definitely a movie for DBZ fans and I think everyone else will just feel lost and bored. On the whole, I’d say this was just like a ninety minute episode of the TV series, but given how little happens in any given episode, I don’t think that’s entirely accurate. It’s more like someone condensed an entire arc into one movie… and forgot to take out the filler episodes.

Guardians of the Galaxy was, as expected, a lot of fun and a great direction for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to go. It’s interesting because apart from being a new, untested property, Guardians also has the least continuity connection with the rest of the movies (apart from one significant plotline), which was refreshing, but at the same time I sorely missed some reference to the Asgardians or having the only human scene have a Stark Industries billboard in the background. It’s also a new direction because this is the first straight up comedy in the franchise; while Iron Man and Thor definitely straddled the line between action and comedy, Guardians of the Galaxy dives in head first and decides it doesn’t want to come up for air. Sadly, though, the comedy water didn’t penetrate all of its internal organs, as the villains are both lacking in humor and personality. They’re cool, but that’s about it. While we’re on the subject of weak characters, I felt that Gamora was underutilized and didn’t really live up to her reputation as the deadliest woman in the universe. The rest of the main cast is great fun, though I have to give the award to Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon. That man truly nailed the part. With all that said, I’m worried that there’s a bit of a quirkiness to the directing, writing, and editing that may put people off a bit, though I personally enjoyed it. All in all, though, if you can get past that, you’ve got a great experience that I will personally recommend (could’ve used more “I am Groot,” though). Now, Marvel, if you could now do a Captain/Ms. Marvel and Black Panther movie, that would be great. Don’t keep me waiting now.

The following film was viewed at an official screening at San Diego Comic Con 2014 and was in no way involved with any illicit obtainment of the product.

Batman: Assault on Arkham takes place in the universe of the Batman Arkham games and has a fun premise: a group of supervillains on the government’s leash called the Suicide Squad is ordered to break into Arkham Asylum while Batman is in the peripheral focus in an Ocean’s Eleven-style heist story. Unfortunately, the movie drops the ball quite heavily, particularly when the plot gets essentially hijacked by Batman and the Joker in the second half and the characters we’ve been following have to fight for relevance. Also, the “fun” in the premise is quickly lost with all of the pointless shock deaths that occur, some of which include a rather endearing character or two, for the sake of being “serious” and “mature.” In fact, I’m not even sure whether or not one of the characters died or not. It was rather confusing. Also, I hate to beat the DC Comic and women horse even further, but dear GOD, I don’t think either of women in this movie were treated as anything other than sexual desires or counterbalances to a guy in the movie. Badass and combat capable sexual desires, but that bonus can only take you so far. There’s one scene where Killer Frost has to pass as a corpse to get into Arkham and one of the guards straight up leers at her naked body. I’m not making this up. The guy straight up leers at a CORPSE. This is not a human reaction unless the guard is a necrophiliac and if that’s the case, why would anyone, even an incompetently guarded place like Arkham, employ them in the morgue. Furthermore, the opportunity to have the numerous personalities on the squad play off each other is wasted by having the movie mostly go through action scenes constantly and having almost zero character development. There’s one entertaining quiet scene between Deadshot and Captain Boomerang near the beginning, but that chemistry doesn’t hold throughout the movie. The logic’s a bit dodgy in places too. The animation and action scenes are beautiful to look at, but that’s the standard for the DC Animated movies. There’s also no point talking about Kevin Conroy as Batman and C. C. H. Pounder as Amanda Waller, since they are rarely anything other than excellent and this was no exception, but I will say that this is where Troy Baker really shaved off the rough edges and came into his own as the Joker. Overall, though, I wouldn’t give this a glowing recommendation. The genius of Bruce Timm is well missed in these latest animated movies and the dynamic characters are all but lost amidst poor handiwork and a muddled and far too grim script. If you were looking for a fun action heist, I think this will leave you dry. But if you’re looking for a grim and serious Batman animated movie, then I would recommend putting in Batman: Under The Red Hood instead.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a conflicting movie, but an overall good one. Caesar returns as Andy Serkis’ outstanding role as the apes have begun developing their own culture while humanity is struggling not to slip into devastation. The parts with the ape civilization are honestly the best parts of the movie, with all the dialogue taking place in sign language with rarely a spoken word. The humans, on the other hand, are a little bland, even though they are sympathetic. In a way, it harkens back to WALL-E, though the quiet period doesn’t last quite as long and the humans aren’t colorful enough to stand out. But the film falls into one of my least favorite tropes behind the Amnesia Reset Button, which is the trigger-happy/xenophobic/take your pick asshole who screws things up for both civilizations (see the Doctor Who episode “Cold Blood” for this trope in action). This time, we get not one asshole, but three, one of whom turning out to be the villain, so I get a three-for-one sale on something I didn’t want to the first place. Hooray. Like the first movie, the action pieces are astounding and quite brutal, but there are also some really grim, almost holocaustian scenes that stay for just a bit too long. So I’m a bit mixed on this movie, but there was still enough quality to consider it good. I’d recommend you see it for the sequel at least, because make no mistake, there WILL be a sequel.

Chef grabbed me from the very first shot and continued to take me on a wonderful journey. As someone who enjoys cooking, the shots focusing on making food (which the internet calls “food porn”) were right up my alley, but there was so much more to love, especially the dynamic between Carl, played by Jon Favreau, and his son as their relationship continues to evolve. Creative types will be able to connect and learn from a lot of things in this movie, like satisfaction on the job, dealing with harsh criticism, and the danger of getting so sucked into your work that you lose touch with those closest to you. Carl goes through all of these and while he isn’t the most likable person at first, you really start feeling for him at some point or another. Another standout moment is the technology gap between the adults and the kids and how it’s used to further the plot in more ways than the traditional “those darn kids” route. But my favorite part had to be John Legguizamo’s character, who was the likable and fun best friend and surrogate uncle. Every scene with him was just a delight. There are only two nitpicks I have: most of the side characters in the beginning don’t come back or pay off later in the movie and the final scene left me feeling a little strange, like it felt good, but I’m wondering if it wasn’t a bit underdeveloped. Overall, though, it was a really great experience. I think this deserves just as much recognition than the standard blockbuster, even if more people probably went to see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes on the weekend they both opened. And if you want to know what I thought of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, well…

A Brony Tale is a heartfelt documentary looking at the phenomenon that sprung up after 2010, as well as voice actress Ashleigh Ball’s initial exposure to the fandom. The first word that springs to mind when thinking of this movie is “pleasant;” everything from the music to the shot composition to the music invokes a feeling of being welcome and friendliness. This is especially true when the movie simply glosses over the harsh media coverage that has painted bronies in a bad light over the years, while other documentaries would have devoted a section to covering it and rebuking it. Not A Brony Tale. It stays true to its name and make the bronies the focus, from personal perspectives coming from The Manliest Brony In The World, the head of Equestria Daily, and a military man who lost himself in Iraq and found himself again through the show, to outsider perspectives like Ashleigh Ball herself and the psychologist sharing his stories about passionate patients and even his own son. Brent Hodge, the filmmaker himself, admitted in a Q&A that he doesn’t love the show but finds the sense of community in the fandom so wonderful and it shows. There are few documentaries that make you feel good to be alive and this is one of them. The DVD comes out soon and I highly recommend a watch.

Dear Mr. Watterson is a heartwarming and emotional reflection on the legendary comic strip Calvin and Hobbes and its ever-growing impact. As an avid Calvin and Hobbes fan for as long as I can remember, it drudged up many old feelings, from wonder at the amazing art to sadness as the film discussed the famous final strip. Even the more informative selections about the artistic influences on the strip and Watterson’s refusal to license his creations were packed full of emotions and made you empathize with the man, even though you hadn’t met him. Like the comic strip itself, Dear Mr. Watterson fills you with a special kind of wonder and comes highly recommended from someone who doesn’t particularly care for documentaries. Just get ready to yearn for a stuffed tiger to clutch when “the feels” hit.

Edge of Tomorrow is a very well done action movie that gets a bit of bad reputation from its main actor. But make no mistake, Tom Cruise is well in his element here and for those that don’t like him, you get to watch him die many times throughout the movie. The rest of the elements are no slouch either, with special mention going to the plot, the creature design, and all of the action sequences. However, and this is a big however, the ending is a major cop out that makes less sense the more you think about it. It’s true that’s only one thing, but it really drags down what was shaping up to be a great movie. Still, if you can get past that, you’ll find quite a bit to like about this flick. Even if it tripped on the last leg of the race, it’s bound to be smarter than the upcoming Transformers movie.