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Category: Fantasy

  • Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019)

    Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019)

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    Love it or hate it, Pokémon is one of the most popular worldwide phenomenons that’s still going strong today. Originally created by video game designer Satoshi Tajiri, Pokémon has gone on to become the most profitable media franchise ever. The franchise has spanned over numerous video games, manga, trading cards, and an anime series that’s still going on today. An amalgamation of “Pocket Monsters”, the basic concept is about capturing creatures with extraordinary powers and engaging them in battle. While there have been numerous animated movies, including some theatrical films, there’s never been a live-action film of the property. Most of the time, video game movies tend to not be of high quality, and Nintendo knows this well. After the Super Mario Bros movie in 1993 failed, Nintendo has refused doing any live-action movies based on their properties. With the growing popularity of Pokémon, we now have Pokémon Detective Pikachu.

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    After learning of his father’s death, Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) travels to Ryme City to collect his father’s things. In Ryme City, humans and Pokémon live together in harmony and Pokémon battles are deemed illegal and outlawed. While searching his dad’s apartment, Tim finds a Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds) who can understand him and vice versa. Pikachu has a hat with Tim’s father’s name written on it, but he has amnesia and is looking for clues. He believes Tim’s father is still alive, but Tim isn’t interested since the two drifted apart after his mother’s death. Soon, they get caught up in a mystery involving a toxin that makes Pokémon go crazy and attack their trainers. Along with ambitious want-to-be reporter named Lucy Stevens (Kathryn Newton), they set out to figure out what’s going on. They soon find that it leads back to the enigmatic Clifford Enterprises and a mysterious Pokémon.

    Like many who grew up in the mid to late 90s, I was super into Pokémon and obsessed over them. As I grew older, I lost interest in them, but when I found out about this movie, I got curious. Having seen it, I can say that while not perfect, this was better than I was expecting and very entertaining. What easily makes this film work is Ryan Reynold’s performance as Pikachu, who essentially repeats his Deadpool shtick. Obviously, there’s none of the violence or cursing from those movies, but he has the same wit and sarcastic attitude. But while he’s entertaining and makes the experience worth it, Justice Smith doesn’t quite hit the mark and falls flat. Granted, he’s not as bad here as he was in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, but he’s mostly uninteresting and bland. Kathryn Newton has fun moments, and Bill Nighy adds some class here.

    For Pokémon fans, this will be a treat as there are tons of recognizable Pokémon all throughout. One of the more interesting aspects of the film is the world-building and seeing how humans and Pokémon work together. For instance, we see Squirtles helping put out a fire, a Machamp redirecting traffic, and a Ludicolo that’s a bartender. We also see an underground Pokémon fighting circuit, where one can assume it works the same way as cockfighting. While all of the Pokémon are CGI, they all look pretty good and fit in with the world perfectly. The mystery is interesting, though it’s fairly easy to guess where it’s going, and the plot is fairly standard. Despite its flaws, you can tell the filmmakers really cared about the material and wanted to do it justice. Overall, Pokémon Detective Pikachu is a fun if flawed adventure for fans and non-fans alike.

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  • Krull (1983)

    Krull (1983)

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    In the 50s and 60s, science-fiction was looked down upon as merely kids stuff that couldn’t be considered high art. While the late 60s brought ground-breaking sci-fi films like 2001 and Planet of the Apes, the genre was still stigmatized. That is until 1977, when a little sci-fi film the studio had no faith in was released called Star Wars. After that film became a massive success, numerous studios wanted to capitalize on its success with their own space operas. Enter Columbia Pictures, who wanted to get in on the action with their own sci-fi epic. Stanford Sherman, the writer of Any Which Way You Can, was hired to pen the script. Peter Yates, director of Bullitt and Breaking Away, was hired to direct and the film was given a $30-million budget. Now titled Krull, there was a lot at stake, so how did the film turn out?

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    On the planet Krull, Prince Colwyn (Ken Marshall) is set to marry Princess Lyssa (Lysette Anthony) to unite their kingdoms. That is, until a creature known as The Beast invades with his army of Slayers, traveling in The Black Fortress. The Slayers attack the castle before the wedding, kill the two kings, kidnap Lyssa, and leave Colwyn in the wreckage. After being nursed back to health Ynyr, the Old One (Freddie Jones), he is tasked with finding the Glaive. The Glaive is the only weapon capable of destroying The Beast, but The Black Fortress teleports every day at sunrise. The two ride off to find the Emerald Seer, who can tell them where The Black Fortress will teleport to. Along the way, they meet Ergo the Magnificent (David Battley), Rell the Cyclops (Bernard Bresslaw), and a group of bandits. Together, they must find the Black Fortress and slay The Beast.

    Right off the bat, I will say that this film provides some great escapist fun, especially for fantasy fans. Ken Marshall does a good job as the lead, playing Colwyn as a swashbuckler, almost like Errol Flynn. While David Battley is clearly the comedic relief, rather than annoying, he is genuinely funny and has some good lines. Given the budget of the film, you can definitely see the money on screen, especially in the sets and effects. While some of the visual effects seem dated, many are still impressive, especially the stop motion and optical effects. Plus, the Glaive is easily one of the most awesome-looking weapons in movie history, on par with lightsabers. This is the kind of big budget sci-fi/fantasy film that we don’t see much of anymore. There’s a lot of creativity on display and the people involved were clearly trying to make something amazing.

    Unfortunately, the movie was a massive box office flop, making only $16.5 million against a $30 million budget. While I did enjoy the film, I can see why the movie didn’t catch on, especially given its flaws. For every fun action sequence, there’s also a lot of slow moments that really drag the movie down. Also, as awesome as the Glaive is, Colwyn doesn’t actually use it until the third act, which is somewhat infuriating. Much of the film is derivative of other movies, but in fairness, even Star Wars borrowed elements from other movies. Speaking of which, the sci-fi elements feel somewhat shoehorned in, as much of the movie is more fantasy-oriented. Despite its flaws, it’s easy to see why this movie developed a cult following over the years. In short, while somewhat uneven and slow at times, Krull is an enjoyable time if you’re looking for simple entertainment.

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  • Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)

    Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)

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    In June of 1997, British author J.K. Rowling released Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone through the publisher Bloomsbury. Retitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for American audiences in 1998, the book gained widespread critical acclaim. It was a massive hit, leading to several more books until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows in 2007. This led to the movie version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 2001, which became a massive success. This led to seven more films, and the franchise has gone on to be the third highest-grossing film series ever. After the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in 2011, a new prequel series was started. Released in 2016, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them received favorable reviews and grossed over $800 billion worldwide. Following its success, we got a sequel entitled Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

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    Following the events of the previous film, dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) is being transported from America to Europe. While being transported, one of his followers, Mr. Abernathy (Kevin Guthrie) helps free Grindelwald, who kills the guards and escapes. Meanwhile, magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) tries to restore his right to travel after losing it in the last film. The Ministry will only allow it if he joins them in tracking down Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller) who has resurfaced. Newt rejects the offer, but is soon summoned by Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) to find Credence in Paris. Newt accepts once he finds out that Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) is in Paris also searching for Credence. Also searching for Credence is Grindelwald and his minions, who believe Credence is the only wizard capable of killing Dumbledore. It’s a race against time to find Credence while he searches for his identity.

    Now while I’m not super obsessed with the franchise, I generally do enjoy the Harry Potter movies. While some are better than others, they’re generally well-done and entertaining movies with fun characters, interesting stories, and great action. And while I don’t remember much of the first Fantastic Beasts, I do remember thinking it was quirky and fun. With that in mind, it pains me to say that I honestly did not enjoy this movie much. I will say that this movie, on the whole, isn’t awful, and there are some things to like here. For one, David Yates’ direction is well-done and it has great production design and fun spectacle here and there. Also, the performances are generally strong, with Jude Law easily being the best part as young Dumbledore. And every now and then, there is some of the quirky charm that made the first film enjoyable.

    Aside from that, the biggest issue I had with this movie was just how insanely boring it was. After the opening sequence, which admittedly was entertaining, a majority of the runtime is devoted to exposition dumps. There is so much explaining and backstory given that, after a while, I just stopped caring about what was happening. Plus, it’s one of those sequels that undoes what happened at the end of the first film. For example, the end of the previous film had the memories of the non-magic users erased of what happened. However, we learn here that Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) had his memory restored with the explanation being “it didn’t work”. Things like this and how much meandering there is really bogs the movie down and ruins whatever potential it had. Overall, hardcore fans might enjoy it, but for me, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is a pass.

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