“Jason Bourne”

Unashamedly, I’m a Bourne fan. Always have been. And, even though all Bourne fans knew this addition to the franchise wouldn’t hold a candle to the first three movies, it still happened and it was still the Bourne we remember — even if he doesn’t.

Bourne Ultimatum seemed to close out  the series pretty well, with Bourne being supposedly shot dead and floating somewhere in the East River; however, the story continues now in Jason Bourne with him being forced to come out of hiding because he’s starting to uncover more truths about his past with the help of Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), former CIA operative. Was this new movie necessary? Not really, but it’s hard to listen to our heads that are yelling at us, “No!” when our hearts are telling us, “Yes!! More JB!” Granted, there’s plenty of room for growth for the series, being that there are now 13 books written about JB’s journey. The story of Jason Bourne/David Webb has proven to have great potential and will probably live on for a while, despite what may be Director Paul Greengrass’ wishes. “I hope the franchise lives on, because I’ve got immense affection for it,” he stated to Lorne Manly from The New York Times, “…I’m not even going to think about it for some years.”

The premise is revealed within the first 30 to 45 minutes of the film and, honestly, I was fine with that. They gave me all I needed to know regarding JB’s mindset and where he’s headed (the borders of Berlin, London, and even Las Vegas) this time. Nine years since Ultimatum, Nicky now works “underground” in a hacktivist group, led by a man who plans on exposing the CIA. She then hacks into its database, downloading everything on Black Ops including information on the Treadstone program that alters what JB knows about his past thus far. Eventually and just one or two quick shots later, Nicky finds Bourne in Greece– he’s currently in hiding, making a living in illegal street-fighting. Meanwhile, head of CIA cyber obs division, Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander) is alerted of the breach unbelievably fast and informs CIA Director Robert Dewey, played by Tommy Lee Jones. Naturally, they work to bring Bourne in, but preferably take him down.

Bourne learns about a new program formed by the CIA called “Ironhand”, described at least twice on different occasions as “worse than Snowden”. (I’m thinking that this nugget of information is supposed to prove worthiness for this new Bourne flick because it was announced subtly yet still noticeably.) Oh, and in addition to the CIA hunting down Bourne, there’s also a character who we know only as Asset (Vincent Cassel) with a personal vendetta against him as well. The CIA is also in cahoots with a company called Deep Dream that’s a bit random too. No one knows what exactly it does and how, but it’s threatening to break ties with the CIA, and it continues to shed light on the issue of public safety versus privacy issues — a very common “Bournesque” quality used in daresay all the films.

Although the plot sounds like it would actually turn you off, the pacing in Bourne films is always done really well — you’re escorted from scene to scene quickly, but the information isn’t overwhelming or incomprehensible — and it’s the choreography of the action scenes and camera angles that make these movies a joyous roller-coaster ride.

A: A beefed-up Matt Damon, unrealistic — but who really cares and who’s counting — car chases involving a SWAT car bulldozing its way through the Vegas Strip like Moses parting the Red Sea, new and old faces, and face-on-fist action scenes are all the elements that make up for the lack of substance in Jason Bourne.

“Suicide Squad”

Following the Death of Superman, the world — more specifically, the government — is faced with settling for a new kind of hero. You know, a hero that won’t cost much and one that won’t be missed if they are dead. Sounds like a decent story, no? Sounds like DC could do a lot with this concept? I thought so too, but instead, Suicide Squad soon proved to be all bark and no bite.

Suicide Squad was teased to us months in advance as being something similar to DC’s version of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: a movie with a memorable pre-released soundtrack, funny comeback-lines, powerful pops of color and perspective in cinematography, and lovable — and sometimes loathsome — characters. Oh yeah, and a welcomed possibility of a sequel. However, the film failed to accomplish a few things, but most importantly, it failed to provide direction. And, I have loved most of Director and Writer David Ayer’s previous films (Fury, End of Watch), but it just seemed like he was lost in the superhero world here.

The first hour of the film was dedicated to introductions. I felt like I was at an AA meeting where I was forced to meet every naysayer and possible former criminal in the room and then I had to introduce myself and figure out how I stack up to these “bad guys”. In case you’re unfamiliar with who makes up the Squad and you haven’t seen the movie yet with every back-story panned out for you, here’s a list and my first impression of the character:

• Deadshot (Will Smith): “The hitman” who basically struggles with the thirst for blood and his duty to his daughter whom he loves more than anyone and everything. It’s what you’d expect — Will Smith being Will Smith in a rather tight-fitted suit.
• Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie): Probably the best thing about the entire film; I would daresay she was the most anticipated. Harley Quinn is the perfect amount of crazy, fueled by her toxic love and obsession for The Joker (Jared Leto).
• Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney): Not much is really told to us about Boomerang, except that he’s somewhat dangerous, he’s Australian, and that he has some ties to The Flash. Being in one of the stronger comedic roles, you can’t help but tolerate him.
• Diablo (Jay Hernandez): You know he can emit fire from his body and that it can get out of control and you know that he represses the memory of the death of his family and that’s pretty much it. He’s one of the most influential characters, but probably the most boring as well.
• Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje): He’s basically a human with a rare skin disorder, but he’s a “monster” nonetheless. We don’t know how he got this way or where exactly he came from, but he’s just…there.
• June Moon/Enchantress (Cara Delevingne): Perhaps one of the more impressive of the stories was hers, as she’s an archaeologist possessed by an ancient, evil tribal goddess. There’s plenty of screen-time for her, but her purpose gets a little clouded when she becomes part of the team, but soon becomes the problem.
• Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman): He’s recruited to lead the Suicide Squad and is ironically in love with June Moon. His character is pretty transparent, but I suppose he gets the job done.

Others include the ruthless Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), appointed by the U.S. government to create a task-force to counter the Justice League in the event that they go rogue. Viola Davis is perfect for the role and her character makes the most sense in this senseless tale; however, we don’t know much about her except for what we’re given at face-value. Also, my biggest complaint was that there wasn’t enough Joker as promised; many of his scenes didn’t make the final cut. I speculate it was because the staff worried about the kind of feedback they would get since everyone knows Heath Ledger set the bar so high for that role. Leto portrayed The Joker as a flamboyant mobster who runs the town and its criminals. I’m interested to see what else he does with the character even if that means there’s more Suicide Squad to come.

C+: The action scenes — the few that there were — were a blur and the dialogue and story-telling could have been demonstrated better. For what it was, the film was just O.K. but I wished it were something else entirely.

“Star Trek Beyond”

Aside from the fact that JJ Abrams allegedly abandoned ship to direct last year’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens flop, Justin Lin did a fantastic job of taking the reigns and creating a visually breathtaking and phenomenal tribute to the 50th Anniversary of one of the world’s biggest franchises in movie history. I was also happy to learn that Simon Pegg was one of the writers this time.

Star Trek Beyond begins with Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) feeling lost and a little aimless in the vastness of space. Meanwhile, Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto) learns that Ambassador Spock has died and he begins to question what his purpose really is. (It’s all very introspective.) Again, we see how Spock and Kirk’s souls run parallel.

There’s minimal interaction between most of the characters at the beginning, but the conflicting emotions between them are still tangible on screen. Not to mention, there’s so much of Anton Yelchin on screen that I am nearly moved to tears every time he’s shown. He will be forever missed.

When the crew stumbles on a creature from another planet asking for help to rescue her crew from an evil villain named Krall (Idris Elba), chaos ensues. Without giving away too many spoilers, the action is intense, quick, and it doesn’t let up until the end credits roll. Bad for them but great for us because of how awesome everything looks and sounds!

What looks like a fun-house ride is actually one of the coolest and most stressful action scenes I’ve seen — Lin uses sweeping camera angles and spinning set stunts in order to show the USS Enterprise literally being torn apart by Krall and his “bees”. The entire crew except for Kirk, Spock, Doctor Bones (Karl Urban), and a few others are taken fugitive. With most of the crew gone, no ship, and with very little hope, Kirk devises a plan to rescue his crew and save the rest of mankind before Krall destroys it.

The best moments are saved for last in the final scene. (I don’t even want to spoil it..!) The choreography for the fight scenes are done really well and if you’re observant enough, you’ll catch plenty of little Easter eggs, including the hit from the first Star Trek film “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys. Just go see it.

A+: I didn’t have any complaints. I only wished it lasted longer.

“The Shallows”

I didn’t expect it to be this good. I expected to see the same angle of Blake Lively that I always do, and I would leave the theatre with the same hate-envy because she’s so freaking perfect, but with no substance. But, The Shallows shows that she’s more than just a pretty face — she can be a bad-ass too and look hot doing it.

The film is nerve-wracking from the very start. A kid is shown kicking a soccer ball on a beach in Mexico (of which, we never learn the name of) and he discovers a banged up helmet with a GoPro attached to it. We only get a nibble of what’s on the footage, including the shark, already portrayed as a mysterious monster that haunts the sea. Who’s helmet is that? Who else has this shark killed? I thought the lead shark from Jaws had died?

Nancy (Blake Lively) catches a ride from a local named Carlos (Oscar Jaenada) but quickly thanks and shoos him away once she reaches the beach that her late mother once told her about, and assures him that she’ll catch an Uber on her way out. What could possibly go wrong?

The cinematography was gorgeous and, yet, gushing with the scary realization of too much “alone time.” (Be careful what you wish for, folks.) I was most impressed with how Director Jaume Collet-Serra incorporated phone apps, text over-lays and screen-encompassing FaceTime conversations; we get bits and pieces of Nancy’s background — why she’s at the beach in the first place — and what kind of person she is. Actually, I appreciated it. The less information I knew, the better because we learn about the character’s strengths and weaknesses the most when she’s fighting for her life. And, the plot is as simple and sweet as that: smart, pretty girl surfs alone and gets attacked by a shark.

Also, when Nancy is floating around, waiting for a wave to come in, she spots seagulls hovering around something in the water. She then sees that it’s a huge whale with gashes in its sides. Perfect time for the shark to attack now. Once she’s [finally] grabbed she takes refuge on the whale and climbs on top of it. I hadn’t seen this done before in a film, so I really loved it. Until this scene, I felt like I was the one being baited! Quick movements and sounds beforehand led me to believe that that particular moment was the one that she’d be attacked by the shark. Despite what some people may think and what some critics may say, The Shallows is a thriller that accomplishes keeping its audience guessing and cringing.

There were several spectacular shots throughout the film, also including the scene with the jellyfish, and of course, the final “battle-scene” between Nancy and the white shark. Okay, Lively, you killed it (figuratively, speaking). You won me over.

A-: The Shallows is a visually sexy and calculated build-up that challenges you to find something wrong with it.

Sources: Consequences of Sound, Imdb.com

“Independence Day: Resurgence”

The original Independence Day speech, “We will not go quietly into the night” beautifully given by now-former President Whitmore (Bill Pullman) was, I dare say, one of the most memorable movie-moment-speeches of its era. So much so, that Director Roland Emmerich chose to bring it back once again for the opening credits of its sequel 20 years later. However big the impact it made on us before, Independence Day: Resurgence had trouble finding its balance.

There were a couple of times in the movie that President Whitmore tried to reiterate his iconic speech, but due to [random] health issues rendered him pretty useless until the finale.

Unfortunately for the recurring fans of the franchise, there were a few things wrong with this sequel [SPOILER ALERTS AHEAD]:

• At the very beginning of the film, we were spoon-fed information by an ominous narrative saying that since the last battle 20 years ago –you know, when Will Smith’s character Captain Steve Hiller was still alive — we were able to acquire the aliens’ leftover weapons and advanced technology to use in our benefit. But, with all the “advances in technology” why were we still using the same, crappy cars and fuel? Not to mention, where are our shields?! We’re getting our asses kicked for 2/3 of the movie until the government/science introduces a somewhat effective shield to block the aliens’ attack. I mean, our aircrafts are more hi-tech, plus we have drones now (!), and we were able to salvage extra aliens to keep in a catatonic state for…well, we never really know why. Yay!
• I really didn’t go in expecting phenomenal writing (especially after finding out that it took Emmerich and his writers 15 years to come up with a decent script to follow the first film’s success), so I did my best to ignore the cheesy one-liners and tasteless dialogue.
• Even 20 years later, the development of the back-story was somewhat lacking too. Early on, we’re reintroduced to Dr. David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum), but all that’s really changed for his character is his trendy wardrobe. It’s hinted that he’s had relations with a reporter/investigator in the past, but that’s about it. What has he been doing all these years — other than her?
  • We also get to see recurring characters like Julius Levinson (Judd Hirsch), the cooky Dr. Brakish (Brent Spiner), and briefly we get to see Jasmine Hiller (Vivica A. Fox).
• Worst of all, ID4‘s pacing was off; we were shown too much in too many places too soon. Call me dim, but I had a difficult time trying to keep up.

You may ask, was there anything good about this movie? There were a lot of things wrong with it, but the few things that were in its favor saved the film for me. For instance, a sequel has to make nods to its predecessor, right? (It doesn’t have to, but that seems to be the case nowadays.) ID4 had subtle hints and nods to the original that were just right and not overdone. We heard the iconic speech in the opening credits, but it was used as a little nugget of a clue to show us that the aliens were making a “distress call” to the rest of its planet.

By-far the best moment in this movie was with the Queen alien strapping up and attacking at Area 51. Up until this scene toward the end, we hardly see the Queen at all, and at one point, it looks like there’s a tiny explosion and that’s it — that’s the most destruction we get to see. I almost chunked my popcorn at the screen when I thought it was over then. Thankfully, when we find out she’s back to destroy everything herself, this scene has her stomping through the desert like a Jurassic Park T-Rex, chasing a school bus of kids with Julius driving. It was very cool and realistic-looking, as well.

B+: I liked the movie for what it was — a sci-fi movie. It’s not meant to overshadow the original or even compete with it. There’s more Independence Days coming, and I’ll still stick around, hoping for the best.