Coherence (2013)

Emily (Emily Baldoni) is heading off to a dinner party on the night a strange comet swoops very close to earth. On her way to the party her phone’s screen shatters. Upon arriving at the party she finds that several other guests had a similar experience. They start talking about other events that occurred when comets got too close to earth, including a strange instance where a woman insisted that the man in her house was not her husband… because she killed her husband the night before.

Suddenly the power goes out, and while the group is gathering candles and glow sticks, they notice another house down the street has power. They send a couple of guests to head down to that house to see if their phone works. That is when things get really strange. They find a bizarre note on their door. Other people seem to be moving around outside the house. And eventually a box full of cryptic clues is discovered. As the night progresses people start to behave strangely and Emily wonders if she is losing her mind or reality is losing Coherence.

Good Points:

• Presents an intriguing mystery that does not give its secrets easily
• Some excellent performances by the cast keep you guessing
• Creates an eerie and uncanny feeling

Bad Points:

• Some of the characters are annoying (on purpose)
• It takes some time to really get rolling
• The camera work and editing are often distracting

Overall:

What a neat surprise this turned out to be. The film was a bit slow to start off, and some of the party guests were a bit on the insufferable side. But once the mystery kicked in, I was invested. Baldoni gives a great performance as she tries to navigate the oddities around her. Also kudos to Nicholas Brendon for poking fun at himself and providing an intense performance. The film would be a hidden gem if it weren’t for the camera work and editing. Because the movie is dialogue heavy, the camera work is constantly shifting focus, moving and cutting in strange ways to keep things interesting. Instead I was annoyed and distracted by it. I really wished they stopped trying to spice things up. But if you can look past that, you’ll find an engaging low budget thriller with a neat sci-fi angle… or is it?

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals:  4

Sound: 3

Acting:  4

Script:  4

Music: 3

Direction: 3

Entertainment: 4

Total:  4

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Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

So Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) should be feeling pretty good about capturing criminal mastermind Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) back in Rogue Nation. Alas a whole new set of rogues is taking up Lane’s cause and are threatening to unleash some serious destruction using nuclear devices. Hunt teams up with his crew of Stickell (Ving Rhames) and Dunn (Simon Pegg), but the plan falls apart and now there is a bomb to recover. As usual the head of the CIA , Erica Sloane (played with intensity by Angela Bassett) doesn’t think the IMF is up to the challenge. So she sends her watchdog, August Walker (Henry Cavill) to keep an eye on things.

And boy is there a bunch to keep an eye on. Turns out Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) has an impossible mission of her own – is she working with or against Hunt and his team? There is also a black market dealer known as the White Widow (Vanessa Kirby) who wants a piece of the action. And that action ramps up with a battle royale in a bathroom, an insane car/motorcycle chase in Paris and one of craziest helicopter pursuit put to film.  As the mission gets more and more impossible even Hunt has to wonder – have they actually bit off more than they can chew?

Good Points:

• Top-notch action scenes and thrills
• Some excellent performances
• Keeps the plot moving with intensity and intrigue

Bad Points:

• Goes for the full serious approach to the franchise 
• Goes for a more grim visual style
• The score’s more modern approach may not work for everyone

Overall:

This series just keeps delivering solid thrills and action. This film makes for a fine follow-up to the last film. It also manages to work in elements from all the previous films. It was great to so many familiar faces returning (Baldwin is back and he’s a blast). But the overall tone is so serious and grim, that the fun nature of the previous installments is missed. Still, had a great time with this one, and while I think I enjoyed the previous installment a bit more, Fallout is well worth seeking out.

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals:  4

Sound: 4

Acting:  4

Script:  4

Music: 3

Direction: 4

Entertainment: 3

Total:  4

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Jupiter Ascending (2015)

Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) hates her life. Her family is obnoxious. She spends her days cleaning toilets for rich people who don’t appreciate her. And she can’t manage to get enough money to buy a lovely antique telescope she really wants. But don’t worry Jupiter, Caine Wise (Channing Tatum) is on the way to throw you into an intergalactic war between power-mad siblings. No seriously.

Turns out Balem Abrasax (Eddie Redmayne) is obsessed with controlling earth, because it is a rich source for the most valuable substance in the universe. Of course he may have to enslave humanity to get it, but them’s the breaks. Turns out Jupiter is the key to complete control. Now intergalactic forces are trying to nab her and convince (or coerce) her to their side. Some insane combat explodes across the screen, Mila Kunis falls from great heights several times and hey is that Sean Bean? He is always great. In the end, Jupiter will have to decide how she can best help save the earth, even if she is just a normal girl who hates her life.

Good Points:

• Full of amazing visuals and exciting action sequences
• Creates a unique and engaging world beyond our solar system
• Goes over the top in an entertaining way (including Redmayne’s performance) 

Bad Points:

• Feels like it is a bit overstuffed at times
• Jones isn’t a very pro-active character (but you could argue that is her story arc)
• The over the top feeling may turn off some viewers.

Overall:

Ok I had a good time with this one. I know it bombed in theaters, but I think it got a bit of a harsh treatment. Lots of new stuff on display here and the story is a unique one in modern space opera. I love Michael Giacchino’s score (one of his best). And I think Kunis does a good job in the role. But the movie moves at a breakneck pace and is so packed with craziness it does end up distancing you from the characters. I wanted to like them more than I did. That said, it was worth an evening’s viewing and I’m actually kicking myself for not seeing the flick in theaters – because… damn, those visuals are really something else.

Scores(out of 5)

Visuals:  5

Sound: 5

Acting:  4

Script:  3

Music: 5

Direction: 4

Entertainment: 4

Total:  4

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Anime Juke Box - Princess Nine - Princess Nine

Been a while since we popped in a quarter into the anime jukebox, so I figured it was time. We are in the middle of summer and that means - baseball! And what does baseball mean to me? ANIME of course. One specific anime, Princess Nine. Oddly this little show actually helped me appreciate baseball as a sport. I didn't know until watching this how much strategy and tactics are used in the game and how much talent you actually need to have. Being the bookish nerd, I just figured sports are sports are sports.

Princess Nine tells the story of a girl's prep school creating an actual baseball (not softball) team and all the trials the players, coaches and school administrators go through to make the dream a reality. Of course it has the usual high school drama mixed in, and the team is composed of an unusual group of misfits. It is very entertaining and something we will pull out every few summers to enjoy. The ADV dub is solid (if a little squeaky) and while you can predict how some of the sports story tropes are going to play out, we always have a good time with it.

The music was composed by Masamichi Amano who managed to secure the Warsaw Philharmonic for the score! Princess Nine has a lush score with some wonderfully bombastic moments and drama. Very entertaining stuff. He also was able to work the opening theme song as a theme in the score to the series. That means you've got the full power of the philharmonic playing during the opening credits. I couldn't find the full version of the song, but here is the opening credits version of Princess Nine from Princess Nine.

Score Sample: Spiderman: Far From Home (2019)

Back in 2013, I wrote about how Michael Giacchino is one of my favorite composers working today. He still hasn't lost that place on my list. I try to pick up each of his scores almost as soon as they come out, and his work tends to entertain and engage me each time. The exceptions may be his scores for the two Jurassic World films. Still haven't warmed up to those.

Giacchino was pulled into the world of superheroes early on with his amazing score to The Incredibles. That is still one of my favorite scores by the man, and the sequel score is a blast. It is little wonder that he was asked to score some of the Marvel films, including Doctor Strange and Spiderman: Homecoming.

For the later, Giacchino was stepping into some big shoes. Previous Spiderman films were scored by the likes of Danny Elfman, Christopher Young, James Horner and Hans Zimmer. Each creating memorable takes on the character. Giacchino didn't shrink back, but went for it, crafting a new theme for Spidey and really giving it a workout in the score. His music for the villainous Vulture was also pretty darn cool.

I think Giacchino pushed himself a little harder when it comes to Far From Home. The Spidey theme is back, and gets plenty of time to shine in this score. He also brings back the love theme from the previous score (which I'll admit isn't one of his strongest). But the new material for Mysterio is top notch. He works in some excellent electronics, gives Mysterio an almost heroic but intense theme. We get some great tracks on the score where the Spidey and Mysterio theme work together and then later in counterpoint - something you rarely hear these days, but was something classic composers like Goldsmith and Williams would do all the time. Best of all, the score is a lot of fun, full of action, thrills and excitement. I am actually hoping we get another Spiderman movie, just so I can hear Giacchino round out a trilogy of scores. Yeah that is a total film nerd thing to write.

So here is Giacchino's end credit suite from Spiderman: Far From Home given the humorous title Far From Home Suite Home. It kicks off with Spidey's heroic theme, moves into the love theme, and shifts into a new theme for Nick Fury (and possibly the SWORD organization).Then those synths kick in and you know Mysterio's theme comes out to play. It builds and builds until Spidey's theme puts a stop to it and that hurtles into the conclusion of the track. Enjoy!

Neon Genesis Evangelion on Netflix

Looking for something interesting to watch this summer? Well you could check out Neon Genesis Evangelion on Netflix. This is one of my favorite anime series, and has been cleaned up a bit for the release over to Netflix. Sure you've probably seen people complaining about the new dub, but you can watch the subtitled version just as easily.

Now, it has been nearly a decade since I revisited the series. But I pulled out my old Platinum edition DVDs and started watching the show again. Some things have held up pretty well, other times I'm seeing some of the seams where the limited budget was peaking through. The show was unique for its time, and these days so many shows have been inspired by it, that many of the fresh elements are tropes.

Still, the characters are handled well, the robot and monster design is unique as hell, and all the philosophical, psychological and religious explorations are still worth delving into. The show doesn't really dive into those elements until we reach the second half, but man does it get nuts. Netflix has also gotten the rights to the End of Evangelion which was the feature film that provided an alternate ending (or the correct ending if you listen to some folks) to the series.

All told, this show is worth watching, and after I finish my revisit I'll delve into a bit more on this blog.

A Little Break

Wanted to post a quick update here. I'm taking a little break from this blog. I've actually got another project brewing right now and it is taking up a bit of my time. I'm also watching fewer films because of it, so that just means less stuff to review.

I will be able to post more about my new project over at my sister blog all about storytelling. So check that out if you are interested.

That said, I'm sure I'll come back to this blog at some point in the future. I enjoy writing about movies, MST3K and movie music too much to let that go.

Thanks for stopping by!