THE ICE AGE ADVENTURES OF BUCK WILD

Voices of:  Vincent Tong     Aaron Harris     Utkarsh Ambudkar

Simon Pegg     Natalia Martinez     Ray Romano     Queen Latifah

This is an Ice Age adventure in the usual Disney vein.  Typically, in the franchise’s tradition, some current universal issue is addressed (e.g., climate change, its threats and others’ to animals and to earth), along with changes in relationships within small groups, like a family or a herd, facing a major threat.  This one focuses on children ready to leave home, pitting their urges against the common parental holding on, and changes that take place in relationships across time.

            In a previous version of Ice Age (e.g., Continental Drift) it is Manny (Romano) who has trouble letting his daughter Shira leave home; in Adventures of Buck Wild, it is Ellie who wants to keep their adoptee possums, Crash (Tong) and Eddie (Harris), from striking out on their own.  Various points are made about their not being ready to be on their own range from “You’re not ready” (Ellie) to “it’s about time” (Manny)—perspectives that will be familiar to all.

            As we follow the possums sneaking out to forge their own futures, we are taken with them on numerous adventures that make them question their decision to leave home, some of which are treacherous.  Notably, although they do reconnect with their old savior Buck Wild (Pegg) after entering the “Lost World”, earth’s most dangerous place where ancient dinosaurs rule, they will still go through numerous trials, concluding with the usual Disney ending when points are made about sticking together as a family/herd and care and concern about others.

            The biggest threat in this story is evidenced by Orson (Ambudkar), the animal with the big brain who wants to rule the world.  The familiar narcissistic traits of such a personality are apparent, which make it easy to dislike him.  But although autocratic regimes (accurately portrayed in this rendition) wanting power are familiar to all of us, there is little insight in this film about how to counteract such entities.  Simply resorting to old—previously relevant—strategies about sticking together or wreaking vengeance is not going to do it.  There have to be reasons for sticking together—not just something like “we’re a family.”

            This production is an example of a franchise that has outlasted its relevancy, despite its efforts to relate to the modern world.  Yes, we know about climate change and the difficulty personal relationships undergo across time, but what to do, really?  

            This is a cartoon not expected to give us profound insights, but it would have been nice to see some clever insight—even comedic—that would give us a clue.  There are encouraging statements made about change across time—its benefits as well as the anxiety it produces, and about how despite change, some elements such as a person’s basic identity remain the same.  It is a bit amusing to see how personal responsibility is modelled in the echoing arguments about “it was my fault”, “no, it was my fault.”  

However, I can’t imagine anyone maintaining interest in this franchise across all its repetitious 20-year iterations.  It’s likely that only newcomers will engage with this one, the latest.

 

Oh, to be transported to a universe—even a fanciful one—where today’s problems would be addressed intelligently.

 

Grade:  C                              By Donna R. Copeland

 

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT

Tom Cruise     Henry Cavill     Ving Rhames     Simon Pegg     Rebecca Ferguson

Sean Harris     Angela Bassett     Vanessa Kirby     Michelle Monaghan     Alec Baldwin

     Apparent impossibilities is a running theme in Mission Impossible movies, and this one just about maxes out on them: Careening car chases on busy city streets, a glass and wall smashing brawl in a brilliantly lit men’s room leaving blood everywhere, reverberating near-miss gun shots (although many make their mark, of course), shifting identities (friends turn out to be foes and vice versa—who’s to trust?), multiple players with agendas of their own, complex nuclear bomb dismantlement, and literal cliff hangers make this an exciting, nail-biter of a story.

     Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is given the assignment of sabotaging a plutonium deal that is likely to end up as a nuclear weapon in the wrong hands.  He smarts at CIA head Erica Sloan’s (Bassett) last-minute instruction that one of her agents, Walker (Cavill), accompany him on the mission. Hunt gets a sample of Walker’s rashness and ineptness early on in the mission, and it takes all his patience to stomach him, especially when he seems not to have any inkling that Hunt has rescued him early on in a dive out of an airplane at high altitude.

     Never mind.  They get right to the business of identifying the parties involved in the plutonium trade, which is more complicated than they imagined.  They will encounter men with ideals to change the world order [Dr. Nils Debruuk (Kristopher Joner) and Solomon Lane (Harrison)]; British Ilsa Faust (Ferguson), perhaps of MI6 and well known to Hunt, who is mystified when she appears on the scene; and periodic reappearances of Sloan and Hunley (Baldwin).  In the process, accusations and proofs of loyalty abound.  

     Cruise is up to the role as always in his rendition of the Hunt persona and in his continuing bravery in doing as many of his own stunts as possible.  (He suffered an ankle injury during the filming.)  But the number of times he is hanging onto a ledge gets to be almost humorous.  It’s hard to see Henry Cavill (of Superman fame) play the role of thoughtless agent and possibly something worse, a bit of miscasting, since he is not always able to achieve the sinister threat of such a character.  Rhames and Pegg not only contribute fine supporting performances as Hunt’s loyal team; they finely and convincingly execute welcome comedic lines when the going gets tense.  Other supporting actors (Ferguson, Harris, Bassett, Kirby, Baldwin, and Monaghan) perform admirably in their roles, although scenes between Hunt and Monaghan’s character are unnecessary and way too saccharine.

     There are so many chases and characters to follow in this breakneck-paced action movie, the viewer can easily lose track, but the main thrusts come through, and you can count on getting the main points by the end.  Sprinkled in here and there are clever little motifs that bring chuckles (for example:  In tense moments a character will ask, “How…?”  The reply:  “I’ll figure it out.”)  At any rate, director Christopher McQuarrie (Mission Impossible:  Rogue Nation) seems to have maintained the series’ good reputation, and perhaps may even have improved on it.  

Be prepared for hair-raising ride—literal and metaphorical--in this action thriller.

Grade:  A-                                    By Donna R. Copeland

READY PLAYER ONE

Tye Sheridan     Olivia Cooke     Ben Mendelsohn     Lena Waithe     
T. J. Miller     Simon Pegg     Mark Rylance

Philip Zhao     Win Morisaki     Hannah John-Kamen

      Are you ready for the world of 2045?  Steven Spielberg’s vision is that everyone will be so absorbed in virtual reality (VR) games they’ll be spending most of their time there, rather than in the work-a-day real world.  We get a striking picture of how that will be by watching Ready Player One.  Unfortunately (for me), most of the action is like a video game with car chases, fights, and wars.  But there is a story underlying all the racing around, plotting, and attempts to figure out a master gamer’s clues leading to a lot of money and ownership of the Oasis, the ultimate gaming organization of the time.

    Humble Wade Waits (Sheridan) lives in the “Stacks”, a slum in Columbus, Ohio, consisting of house trailers (rather then apartments or condos) stacked upon one another (a visual masterpiece reminding of the favelas up a mountainside above Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), and right away we get to watch him traverse down to the street level by jumping, leaping over balconies, and sliding down a rope.  Wade’s parents died, and he lives with his sister Alice (Susan Lynch) and her current boyfriend, an abusing lout. 

     Now, Wade has an avatar, Parzival, and he is hell-bent on solving the riddles left by the mischievous creator and owner of Oasis, Halliday (Rylance), who—by the way—has died.  But whoever solves his riddles for three keys will become rich and gain the power of ownership of Oasis. 

     Parzival manages to develop a kinship with other avatars, and they form a party of five:  Wade/Parvizal, Samantha/Art3mis (Cooke), Aech/Helen (Aech), Sho (Zhao), and Daito (Morisaki), working together to find the keys; but they are thwarted by the unsavory giant corporation led by Sorrento (Mendelsohn) and his minions, foremost of which are I-ROk (Miller) and F’Nale Zandor (John-Kamen).

    A matching of wits and devices follows, with the occasional appearance of Halliday/Anorak making the keys available as they are won.  Sorrento has developed a corrupt organization that is determined to out-smart anyone else in vying for the keys by hook or by crook—mostly crook.  The scenes switch back and forth between the virtual reality and real worlds, which becomes frightening when you realize that what happens in VR can affect people and events in the real world. 

     The story is engaging, acted out so well by the two leads, Sheridan and Cooke.  It was rewarding to see them as a real team, with one and then the other taking on a critical role in saving each other.  Usually, it’s Art3mis who is the quick wit figuring out the clues after Parzival’s initial win.  It’s nice to see the breaking of stereotypes in this and in their personalities, with the Cooke character being sharp and canny, and the Sheridan character being more naïve, but still solid in values and character.  Ben Mendelsohn is perfect as the charming, conniving villain Sorrento.  Other noteworthy performances were rendered by Lena Waithe, T.J. Miller, Hannah John-Kamen, Philip Zhao, Win Morisaki, and Simon Pegg.

     This is fairly typical Spielberg with impressive production, substantive story, and well-defined characters.  It’s fascinating (and humorous) as well in its multiple references to other films (not necessarily Spielberg’s), and it does a good job in having appeal for both younger (technology, videogames) and older audiences (references to other films).  Janusz Kaminski’s cinematography, Alan Silvestri’s music, and Adam Stockhausen’s production design make this a first-rate production.

     As much as I loved watching this film, it is primarily aimed toward fantasy enthusiasts who will revel in the special effects and references to previous iconic films.

Catch a futuristic ride into the world of virtual reality where “you can be anything you want to be.”

Grade:  B+                                                By Donna R. Copeland

STAR TREK BEYOND

Chris Pine   Zachary Quinto   Karl Urban   Simon Pegg   John Cho   Zoe Saldana   

Anton Yelchin   Idris Elba   Sofia Boutella   Lydia Wilson

          After three years in space, the crew of the USS Enterprise is getting a bit antsy.  Captain Kirk (Pine) applies for the job of vice admiral because he’s a bit bored, those with families are feeling the separation, and Chief Engineer Scottie (Pegg) is dithering about budget problems.  Suddenly, an escape pod appears, and its occupant, Kalara (Wilson) requests Captain Kirk’s help after an alien warlord attacked her ship and captured her crew.

In all good faith, the Enterprise heads to the crippled ship, only to find out it is a trap.  The remainder of the story entails taking on the warlord at great risk, suffering severe threats and requiring all the ingenuity, tactics, and memory the captain and his crew can muster simply to survive. 

          They do encounter an ally in Jaylah (Boutella) when she saves Scotty from soldiers about to capture him.  Her people were already captured and killed by the warlord Krall (Elba).  Much to Scotty’s surprise, she has come upon the Federation’s missing USS Franklin, making it her home, and ingeniously getting key equipment up and running.  Moreover, she has the ability to put a hologram around it to conceal it.

        Star Trek fans will be thrilled with the returning cast from previous films, like Pine, Quinto, Saldana, Pegg, Urban, Cho, and Yelchin (sadly, Yelchin died earlier this year in an accident).  Beloved Spock actor, Leonard Nimoy also passed away this year, and tributes are made to both in the film.  Two new key figures have been introduced, played by Elba (Krall) and Boutella (Jaylah).  

          All the actors kindle the human/bot dramas into a warm and glowing fire, but the film is almost completely overrun by warring spectacles—including, of course, the obligatory hand-to-hand combat.  (How I wish filmmakers of blockbuster movies would eliminate this completely unnecessary motif, particularly in the context of futuristic technology).  The special effects are impressive, but it’s too bad they overpower interesting stories.  This feature clearly marks the influence of Director Justin Lin, known for his The Fast and the Furious action films.  Many will prefer such a hyped up version, whereas the rest of us are more focused on human drama.

A fast and furious rendition of the Star Trek franchise.

Grade:  C                                    By Donna R. Copeland

ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE

Voices of:  Ray Romano   Queen Latifah   Keke Palmer   Adam Devine   John Leguizamo  

Denis Leary   Simon Pegg   Jennifer Lopez   Wanda Sykes   Neil DeGrasse Tyson

          This is the seventh in a series of Ice Age films, and is largely empty animation and special effects without much of a story.  My interest was piqued when I saw that Neil DeGrasse Tyson was going to be one of the voices in the film, in hopes that it would have some educational value; but alas, it is a hodge-podge of story lines with tired themes like broken hearts, forgetting an anniversary, and a father reluctant to let his daughter grow up and forge her own path.  There was only one scene that went against stereotype, and that was the father-daughter (it’s usually a son) competition on an ice hockey rink.  Manny (Romano) is certain he can best his daughter Peaches (Palmer) handily—and tries to make out like he actually did, but she is the clear winner.

        A bit of novelty is seen in the efforts to avert a killer meteor coming to destroy the animals’ home, and Tyson as Neil deBuck Weasel (I like the play on his name) explains in scientific terms how to use magnetic forces to throw it off course.  It’s too bad the filmmakers didn’t expand this sequence and make it the heart of the movie instead of silly love stories. 

       As in all the Ice Age films I have seen, the squirrel creature Scrat (Chris Wedge) appears in the beginning and reappears periodically hugging and chasing his acorn, swarming all around space to introduce and supplement the animation and special effects.  Next we hear about the mammoth family [Manny, Ellie (Queen Latifah), and Peaches] and get the update that Peaches is engaged to Julian (Devine), who is eager to join the family and impress the reluctant Manny.  They’re friends with lions Diego (Leary) and Shira (Lopez), who are wanting to be parents. 

      There is a digression to a yoga fitness community, Geotopia, where Shangri Lama (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) is in charge and where Granny (Sykes) is discovered to be enjoying yoga and massages. 

        But Sid (Leguizamo) as the local scientist is giving fair warning that a meteor that will obliterate them is coming.  After Neil deBuck Weasel instructs them about what they need to do, the animals band together to avert the strike.

        Not much of anything is new and fresh in this production, which should be a message to the writers (Michael J. Wilson, Michael Berg, Yoni Brenner), directors Galen T. Chu and Mike Thurmeier, and producer Lori Forte to hang up the franchise.

Uninspired 7^th iteration of the Ice Age franchise.

Grade:  D-                                    By Donna R. Copeland

MAN UP

Simon Pegg     Lake Bell     Olivia Williams     Ophelia Lovibond     Henry Lloyd-Hughes     Rory Kinnear

          Man Up, a UK production, is a bit like a British sitcom, in which a youngish single woman half-heartedly looking for her man is mistaken for a man’s blind date at a match-up meeting place, and she impulsively—as is her pattern—goes along with it by taking on the identity of the missing woman whom she had met briefly on the train.  Nancy (Bell) has a sister who is bombarding her with pop psychology aphorisms to encourage the socially awkward Nancy out into the marketplace, which may partly account for her decision to go along with the mistake.

          Nancy has a quirky personality, coming up with humorous pronouncements that tend to be off-putting, and causing the listener to disappear.  She’s also a bit slapstick and clumsy in getting from one place to another.  Nancy been burned in romance, so is feeling cynical about commitment.  Jack (Simon Pegg), her “date” is just as quirky as she is and doesn’t pick up cues that he has met up with the wrong woman.  They end up having a screwball good time fueled by alcohol, though, until she bumps into an old boyfriend, Sean (Rory Kinnear), whose torch still burns for her.  When he discovers what she has done, he threatens to out her unless she does him some favors. 

        As an added complication to the plot, Nancy is supposed give the key toast at her parents’ 40^th wedding anniversary, but typical of her, this gets put on the back burner, making it questionable whether she will let her family down or not.

         If one goes for the humor in British comedies, Man Up will be great fun.  It’s a little slapstick, touches on common anxieties of contemporary singles, is chockfull of incongruities, and keeps the viewer invested in the outcome.

         Bell, a very talented actress, carries the lead well, although overacting—which may be at the writer’s (Tess Morris) and director’s (Ben Palmer) behest—detracts from a solid performance.  She has adopted a British accent, which is largely successful.  The opening scenes with goofy Bell making faces with a lipstick prop can be hilarious, or over-done, depending on the viewer’s preference.  Pegg bring his considerable comedic skills to bear, and he and Bell sync perfectly when they’re cutting up during the first part of their date.  Likewise, at the resolution of the fiasco, they pull it off beautifully.  Supporting actors (Olivia Williams, Ophelia Lovibond, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, and Rory Kinnear) add depth and interest to the main plot.

For a tasty bite of British humor, this romcom is likely to satisfy.

Grade:  C+                                                    By Donna R. Copeland

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION

Tom Cruise     Rebecca Ferguson     Jeremy Renner     Simon Pegg    

Alec Baldwin     Ving Rhames     Sean Harris     Simon McBurney

      With a complex plot and twists and turns, Mission Impossible:  Rogue Nation does indeed appear to be impossible time after time.  As usual in this series, there are suffocating moments when you wonder how on earth (or in the air) they’ll get out of a scrape, and clearly loyal friendships become paramount.  Intrigue is heightened by a central character who keeps you guessing as to where the loyalty lies. 

      In this feature, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is part of the IMF, a U.S. secret service run by William Brandt (Renner) that is currently being threatened by CIA head Hunley (Baldwin), who believes the Syndicate IMF has been after is a figment of their imagination, particularly Hunt’s.  But because IMF is committed, they go rogue, and Hunt is aided by his old pals William Brandt (Renner), Benji Dunn (Pegg) and Luther Stickell (Rhames). 

      By the way, the movie is filled with humorous puns and references to other Missions, and in this feature, the IMF is not the only entity going rogue.  The frequent jokes and asides make the viewing fun, and offset the repeated high-wire acts (e.g., in an opera house during a performance of Puccini’s Turandot) and near escapes from fights, chases, and under-water challenges. 

      I think writer (with Drew Pearce) and director Christopher McQuarrie have successfully extended the franchise one more time, with intellectual complexity, political maneuverings, and derring-do.  The camera work of a master, Robert Elswit, increases the quality.

      Tom Cruise does his usual fine job in portraying an almost superhuman character whose hunches are infallible.  Adding an appealing, more naïve but still smart sidekick like Pegg adds another entertaining dimension.  A stunning addition is Ferguson’s Ilsa, a beautiful, intelligent, and forceful counterpart to Hunt, where there is chemistry mixed with refreshing ambiguity. 

      It’s impressive that this fifth version of the Mission Impossible series remains fresh and captivating after so many years.  McQuarrie has achieved just the right balance in all its entertaining components.

Fans of the Mission Impossible series are not likely to be disappointed.

Grade:  A-                        By Donna R. Copeland