Star Trek Into Darkness Review

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By Kayley Erlandson

When last we saw them, the crew of the U.S.S Enterprise had finally gotten the gang back together, so to speak. We’re rocketed right into the action with what feels like a classic Star Trek episode, with Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and Dr. “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban) on the run through a vibrantly scarlet jungle forest, pursued by chalk-skinned indigenous people and Spock (Zachary Quinto) precariously trapped in the heart of an erupting volcano. Although Spock accepts his fate with his trademark cucumber cool demeanor and calculated logic, Kirk brazenly breaks Starfleet protocol to save his first officer. Kirk’s beloved Enterprise and crew are taken from him when Spock files a truthful report of the mission.

Dr. Carol Marcus and Captain Kirk

No sooner has Kirk been demoted and instantly reinstated when a terrorist named John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) attacks Starfleet and flees to Kronos, the “out-of-bounds” planet of the volatile Klingons. Under Admiral Marcus’ (Peter Wellers) orders, Kirk takes his crew to capture the seemingly unstoppable Harrison.

To reveal more would be a disservice to anyone who plans to see this movie, especially fans of the original show and movies.

Kirk and Spock question Harrison

First things first. Star Trek Into Darkness looks fantastic with its gorgeous scenery, rollicking action, and decent 3D visuals (which I normally don’t notice or care about). In an effort to keep with Wrath of Khan lore (which I will definitely not spoil here), some bits of the plot seem chunkier than the smoother storyline of director Abram’s 2009 reboot. Perhaps that is the weakness here; the 2009 movie tried to set itself apart from the previous Star Trek storylines with an alternate reality for the characters, whereas Into Darkness constantly references past works in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

Kirk, Scotty, Bones, Sulu, and Uhura

But despite the oft-wanting plotline, the characters are such fun to watch and listen to, even the members of the crew that don’t get much to do (Urban’s Bones was criminally underwritten, yet hilarious), that it hardly seems to matter. Fan favorites Spock and Kirk get the most to do here, each confronting major character weaknesses addressed in the last movie. Spock hides his feelings of comradeship and the pain of losing his home planet beneath his façade of logic and disregard for his own life, whereas we see that Kirk didn’t quite grow up at the end of the last movie, believes himself to be invincible, and still lets his emotions dictate his actions.

John Harrison

The villain in Into Darkness manages to be infinitely more menacing the Romulan Nero from the 2009 movie. For one thing, we actually see interactions between the heroes and the villain, and Harrison’s smooth baritone, icy gaze, and proclivity for manipulating the weaknesses of others makes him a formidable foe indeed.

I’m not sure if die hard Trekkies will raise their hackles upon the reveal of some of the plot twists, but I ultimately enjoyed some of the reimaginings of classic scenes and characters.

 

Chekhov dons his red shirt

It’s hard to dislike something so self-aware, which is one element this movie definitely does not lack (“Chekhov, put on a red shirt,” Kirk promotes a member of his crew, whose face immediately goes white as a sheet).

Into Darkness ramps up the action and gives us more heart than your average run-of-the-mill summer movies.

Should you go? Yes, and boldly so.

Oblivion Review

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In the year 2077, Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) and his partner, Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) remember nothing of their pasts. Their memories were wiped by their colleagues at the command center, called the Tet, after they took a job as a “mop-up crew” on the now-abandoned surface of Earth. Some survivors of the alien race (called Scavs) who caused the nuclear annihilation of the planet, still pose a threat for Jack as he goes around repairing drones that monitor the desolate land for the hostile aliens. But as is the case with your standard sci-fi movie, there is obviously more to Jack’s world than meets the eye.

Jack and Julia, the woman from his memories, steer a crashing ship.

Jack’s pesky memories keep surfacing through his subconscious mind, consisting of confusing snippets of interactions with a nameless woman (Olga Kurylenko) he has never met before. One day Jack gears up for a routine drone check, and witnesses a spaceship crash into the Earth’s surface. The sole survivor: the same woman from his memories, who claims to be his wife. The drones are eager to blow her up, but Jack saves her and sets out on a quest for answers to his world. From there, Oblivion offers twists at every turn.

Victoria helms the computer.

Oblivion is a stylistic and intriguing tale of humanity’s future.  Joseph Kosinski dips his hand into the cookie jar of his directorial debut, Tron Legacy, borrowing a seamless juxtaposition of the sterile and the natural, weaving a technically superb futuristic atmosphere. Oblivion is more contemplative than it might have you believe; the action set-pieces that are prominent in the trailer are underwhelming in the grand scheme of things. And Oblivion considers its scheme to be very grand indeed.

Jack takes a break

There is a lot going on in Oblivion: a lot of twists, turns, and characterization. These are not bad things; in fact, I usually complain when they’re absent from a film. In this case, I applaud Oblivion’s aspirations while questioning the execution.  At over two hours long, Oblivion’s scope still feels better suited for a mini-series than a single movie, packing itself to the brim with content, occasionally letting logic and explanations fall to the wayside.  The problem of excessive content is apparent from the get-go, with a lengthy voiceover narration in the beginning shouldering the bulk of expository responsibility, taking several minutes just getting everyone on the same page.

Upon reflection of the plot, I’m still confused about some important aspects of Oblivion that I’m fairly certain were never answered. A second viewing may reveal that the answers I seek are tucked away in the plot somewhere. In the meantime, the ending left me with more questions than answers, asking viewers to take a big leap of narrative faith with what the filmmakers would like to have me believe is an intentionally vague (i.e. deep, thought-provoking) ending, but may merely serve to hide the fact that the writers didn’t know how to explain the end the movie.

Julia and Jack reminisce on top of a dilapidated Empire State Building, a la An Affair to Remember

As far as dystopian future movies go, Oblivion is good, but not a classic. It borrows too heavily and obviously from other popular sci-fi movies to stand the test of time by itself. Echoes from Planet of the Apes, Wall-E, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and even An Affair to Remember are all present and accounted for. It’s as if someone stuffed all the influential sci-fi movies in a blender and pushed “puree.” I feel like I’m being harder on this movie than I was on Olympus Has Fallen, which was not my intention. Oblivion is clearly of greater stock than the filmed patriotic ode to Gerard Butler’s awesomeness.  But Oblivion’s potential as a great sci-fi movie was undercut by its own ambition, telling an overloaded tale of humanity that makes you think, but doesn’t quite pass as a timeless sci-fi movie.

Olympus Has Fallen Review

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By Kayley Erlandson

On a fateful winter night, capable Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) pulled the President of the United States (Aaron Eckhart) from a car teetering on a bridge, but at the expense of the First Lady (Ashley Judd). Everyone knows Mike did the right thing, but he’s taken off the Secret Service and given a desk job in Washington D.C. with a window overlooking the White House. One day, Mike is tapping away at his computer when a hostile airplane begins shooting down civilians in the capitol.

Terrorist leader Kang (left) speaks to the President

Mike races outside to help, but finds himself in the middle of a North Korean terrorist invasion of the White House. Somehow, Mike makes it inside alive, but by that time the White House (code name Olympus) has fallen. The President and several other important politicians are being held hostage in the “safe” bunker below. The terrorists demand that America withdraw from the DMZ in Korea, or they will kill the President. Not on Mike’s watch. He’s an Ameri-CAN, not an Ameri-CAN’T. He takes a proverbial shot of testosterone and shoots his way to the bunker to save the President and other hostages.

“Not evil”

I went to this movie as a throwaway bit of entertainment, entering with no expectations. In the case of Olympus Has Fallen, this strategy allowed me to enjoy the movie to its fullest. By no means perfect (pretty far from, in fact), it exuded more “Die Hard-iness” than A Good Day to Die Hard did (and yes, I’m still sore about how royally that film was botched). Olympus reminded me of the simple, corny 80s movies, complete with bad guy prone to cartoonish behavior, who is shown at slanted camera angles that serve to amplify his evilness.

Actual footage from Olympus Has Fallen*
*not really

Also, Mike’s superficially developed relationship with the President’s young son was so tacked-on and brief I half expected Mike to throw the boy his game jersey and the boy to chirp, “Thanks, Mean Joe!”

Although the terrorists take over the White House with relative ease, they were somewhat lacking in the torture department. For an R-rated film that didn’t skimp on the blood and gore, I thought the “torture” was mild at best and laughable at worst. Their way of “torturing” secret nuclear launch codes out of some of their hostages is lightly pressing a knife to a neck or kicking someone a few times before the codes were theirs for the taking.

This movie’s idea of hard-core torture. Eat your heart out, Zero Dark Thirty.

And even though getting this information was pertinent to their ultimate goal, the terrorists wait several hours in between trying to get the information from their captives, giving Gerard Butler plenty of time to come to the rescue. This is just shoddy terrorism and poor time management on their part.

The United States of Gerard Butler

Olympus exudes more patriotism than the Fourth of July and apple pie combined, in an utterly ridiculous, in-your-face kind of way. There is no shortage of American flags being symbolically interacted with (thrown, burned, emblazoned behind the hero, etc.) while the camera lingers. In addition to excessive “patriotism shots,” the occasional serious imagery (such as the Washington Monument hit by a terrorist plane and collapsing onto itself, uncomfortably bringing up memories of 9/11) felt inappropriately at odds with the lighthearted everyday-man, “shoot-em-up” premise. Olympus Has Fallen borders on the ridiculous and unintentionally humorous at all times. It’s a dumb film, but for me, it was the fun kind of dumb. All I did was suspend my disbelief and I had a good time. Logic can come later

Mama Versus Dark Skies

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By Kayley Erlandson

I reserve the right to watch horror movies once a year on Halloween. It’s not that I’m scared stiff of anything with an ominous soundtrack, I  just find myself drawn more towards character development and interesting dialogue over 10 minute scenes of frightened people taking tentative steps through ill-lit hallways to investigate a strange sound. I recently went to two thriller/horror movies currently in theaters: Mama and Dark Skies. I was surprised by both: the former in a good way, the latter in a not-so-good way.

Scene from Mama

Mama tells the tale of two little girls who spent five years devoid of human contact in a secluded cabin after their parents were murdered. The girls are finally discovered and brought back to their loving uncle and his punk rock girlfriend (Oscar winner Jessica Chastain), but a supernatural entity who cared for the girls while they lived in solitude, “Mama,” has followed them back to civilization. As the girls bond with their new surrogate parents, Mama’s jealousy surfaces and the demonic spirit begins to wreak havoc.

While the setup is slightly contrived and the ending somewhat flat, Mama offers up some genuinely creepy moments. Mama’s tragic backstory is told through legitimately eerie dream sequences and the young actresses play their parts well. As is the case with most thrillers, what lurks offscreen is often more frightening than blatantly gruesome imagery and Mama’s atmosphere drives the movie and allows the audience’s dark imagination to run wile in the first half of the film. There is a particularly unsettling wide angle shot where young Lily plays with a just-offscreen Mama while the others in the house go about their everyday business.

However, the lame Dark Skies was poor attempt at horror. [To discuss the major problem with this movie is to reveal a plot twist, so stop reading if you want to avoid spoilers.] In Dark Skies, a family finds themselves terrorized by an unknown entity who enters their home in the dead of night, eats their food, rearranges their pictures, and talks to their young son in the middle of the night. And, spoiler, it ends up being aliens. Why are they there? What do they want? Why do these highly intelligent beings spend their time dumping all the food on the floor? It is never adequately explained.

A scene from Dark Skies

I am absolutely perplexed by this movie’s existence. Dark Skies works better as a comedy than a “horror” movie with poor setup, mind-numbingly stupid characters, and the lame explanation of the “supernatural” happenings. It failed to frighten me once. In fact, I found myself laughing through scenes that were supposed to be taken seriously.

While Mama invites the audience to imagine the supernatural at work, Dark Skies aspires to explain everything  to the audience. Mama may not be perfect, but its awareness of the power of audience imagination over explanation of the supernatural made Mama more effective as a thriller.

A Good Day to Die Hard Review

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By Kayley Erlandson

In 1988, John McClane scurried across shards of broken glass with his bare feet and cemented his status as the epitome of “action hero” in the minds and hearts of the movie-going public. The last couple of decades have brought about a few changes. McClane retired from the NYPD and has a few less hair follicles than he did in the 80s, but he still won’t hesitate to reluctantly rise to the occasion if a terrorist threatens the well-being of the public.

In the fifth installment of the Die Hard franchise, McClane leaves New York and heads to Moscow to help his estranged, supposedly wayward son Jack (Jai Courtney) out of an international legal jam. McClane arrives and discovers that his son is a actually a CIA operative assigned to ensure the safety of a Russian dissident named Komorov (Sebastian Koch), who knows the whereabouts of an important key that is somehow connected to Chernobyl. A series of events forces the two McClanes to confront their differences while destroying Russian buildings and shooting up some ambiguous baddies together.

I originally thought my review of this movie would be positive. But as I sat in the theater watching A Good Day to Die Hard, I experienced an emotion I had not anticipated: boredom. I constantly had to remind myself to pay attention out of sheer loyalty to the Die Hard brand. It is like going to your kid’s Christmas concert and trying to pay attention so you don’t miss your child’s upcoming solo he’s been working on all month. In this movie’s case, there is no proverbial “solo.” A Good Day to Die Hard was like watching a bunch of other people’s children sing off-key for an hour and a half, because I wouldn’t even consider this movie a part of the Die Hard family.

One scene with McClane and Jack featured a prominently placed pair of mannequin legs in the background that I could not take my eyes off.  By the time I remembered that I was supposed to be listening to the dialogue and not pondering mannequin legs, the movie had switched to another location. I was not sure how the characters had arrived at the new place, but by this time I did not care. It is telling that the mannequin legs made more of an impression on me than plot.
Lastly, I can suspend my disbelief for the sake of a movie, but A Good Day asks too much of viewers when its main characters fall several stories through thick wooden boards (and an assortment of similar situations), yet escape with nary a scratch. A young man would have walked away with every bone in his body broken beyond repair 10 minutes into the movie, and Willis is no spring chicken. It would be comical if I believed the filmmakers had done this on purpose.

My reaction to a majority of A Good Day to Die Hard

The supposedly heartfelt scenes between father and son in this movie were some of the most contrived, cringe-worthy, poorly written pieces of dialogue I have ever heard in a feature film (and I’ve seen Batman and Robin). I found myself dreading the next words issuing from both McClane and Jack’s mouths.  There is a problem when the most likable character in the movie is a two-minute performance of the man playing McClane’s Russian cab driver.

Watching this movie made me feel hollow.  Everything I enjoy about the original Die Hard is missing. No New York, no Christmas setting, no good quips, no distinct or memorable bad guy, and no fun. A Good Day to Die Hard has a lot of bang, but isn’t worth the buck.

Warm Bodies Review

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By Kayley Erlandson

Vampire love stories are so last year.

Warm Bodies gives audiences another teenage supernatural romance…only this time with zombies. A zom-rom-com, if you will.

In yet another reimagining of Romeo and Juliet, Warm Bodies gives us a very original take on the tale of two star-crossed lovers – a flesh-eating zombie and a warm-blooded human.

Misunderstood zombie teenager “R” (for Romeo? Played by Nicholas Hoult) spends his days in a vacant-eyed stupor, shuffling around an abandoned airport. Incapable of sleep, he’s forgotten his name and his past. All he knows is the craving for human flesh, which he incessantly searches for whilst providing voiceover narration for his life in a sarcastic, self-mocking manner.

R and Julie take photos with an old Polaroid camera

One day, R and his zombie pals get the munchies and attack a group of humans. Amidst the ensuing carnage, R sees her: a lovely blonde human named Julie (Teresa Palmer). R chows down on the brain of Julie’s boyfriend Perry (Dave Franco), which in the world of Warm Bodies means that R acquires the memories and emotions of the brain’s owner. In this case, R inherits Perry’s affection for Julie, so he suppresses his hunger and saves her life, bringing her to his Boeing 747 home in the hopes that she will see a glimmer of remaining humanity in him. R and Julie’s relationship blossoms as he helps her dodge zombies and dreaded “bonies” (CGI zombies who are completely stripped of their humanity) during their trek to the human camp led by Julie’s father (John Malkovich). As R’s human emotions begin to surface, his cheeks get a little redder, his words become less slurred, and his heart starts beating again. Despite his returning humanity, can R and Julie ever be together?

Julie and R run for their lives

Warm Bodies offers up some genuinely funny moments thanks to the mixture of mismatched conventional storytelling devices from both zombie movies and romantic-comedies. To spoil any humorous moments would be a disservice. The writing is quite clever and Nicholas Hoult gives a convincing zombie performance as R. R’s inner-monologue throughout the movie works well as a narrative device, emphasizing the disconnect between R’s dead-eyed, grunting zombie exterior and the perceptive, sarcastic R that the audience gets to know.

John Malkovich in Warm Bodies

While the clever writing and good acting give the movie a pulse, some of the secondary characters don’t get their due in the movie’s running time. John Malkovich gives an earnest performance as Julie’s father, but the character’s backstory and motivations for his intense zombie hatred is skimmed over and merely hints of a character that would have been interesting to explore in greater depth.

One of the most disappointing parts for me was the fact that zombies can apparently inherit memories and emotions from the brains of the humans they eat, but this was not explored fully, being used in only a couple early scenes in order for R to get to “know” Julie through Perry’s memories. I thought that as a storytelling device, it had a lot more potential.

The action sequences fail to live up to zombie movie standards, dialing back on blood and guts to earn that coveted PG-13 rating that makes a rom-com more marketable. The climatic showdown of “bonies” vs. humans and zombies ended too quickly, with most of bonies’ ultimate defeat described briefly in an epilogue voiceover. And while the ending was happy, I thought it was too “heart-warming” (forgive the pun) and simplistic for what is partially a post-apocalyptic zombie movie.

Warm Bodies keeps the laughs coming with an original setting and good performances, but has too much rom and com, and not enough zom.

Silver Linings Playbook Review

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Pat and Tiffany practice their dance routine.

By Kayley Erlandson

Bipolar Pat (Bradley Cooper) emerges from an eight-month stint in a mental institution, eager to live out his new philosophy of looking for the silver lining in every situation. Sure, his wife got a restraining order on him after he caught her having an affair and beat her lover to a pulp. But even though Pat is forbidden from going within a 500 foot radius of his wife, he plans to get his life back in order and rekindle their love.  Enter Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a fiery, young widow recovering from depression, who convinces Pat to enter an upscale dance competition with her as a way to impress his wife.

The two bond over tea and Raisin Bran, exchange pointed verbal jabs, and wallow in each other’s quirkiness. Through the ups and downs of their friendship, the two train for the dance competition and learn to coexist with each other’s flaws. Of course, this being the obligatory rom-com in the Oscar lineup, the audience figures it out before Pat does: even though falling in love with Tiffany isn’t part of his plan, she is the silver lining of his soul.

Pat and Tiffany eat dinner with Tiffany’s sister

The first 2/3 of the movie sparkles with wit and fleshed-out characters. Lawrence’s Tiffany is a particular joy to watch, with her sharp tongue and subtly damaged nature. A far cry from her role as Katniss, the “girl on fire”, from the Hunger Games series, Lawrence still shines brightly as a refreshingly unconventional female lead in a romantic comedy.  Cooper’s Pat complements Tiffany’s character and all the interactions between the two overflow with authenticity and occasionally heartbreak.

I laughed and empathized with the characters through the first two acts of the movie, but found only disappointment in the conclusion. At the beginning of the movie, I had wondered why it was labeled as a romantic comedy when it spat in the face of so many conventional stereotypes, but the ending alone pegs it as such.

Tiffany and Pat meet.

My major qualm with tacking on a stereotypical happy ending in this movie’s case is that it sugarcoats and oversimplifies the reality of mental illness when the movie’s premise provides room for something with more depth. Pat’s bipolar disorder receives ample screen time in the opening, but this major definition of his character falls by the wayside somewhere along the line. By film’s end, there is nary a mention of it and the movie becomes nearly indecipherable from any other rom-com. If the ending was any more cliché, it would have ended on a shot of the two lead characters running through a crowded airport into each other’s arms.

It’s not hard to find a silver lining in this particular cloud: Playbook is funny, thoughtful, wonderfully different, and the chemistry between the actors is pitch perfect. The only disappointing part in this otherwise sunny day is the grey, drab overcast of a clichéd ending right before the credits roll.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Review

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By Kayley Erlandson

“I am searching for someone to share an adventure,” Gandalf the wizard (Ian McKellan) proposes to timid hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman). Bilbo, however, is a creature accustomed to comfort and prefers reading a book over brandishing a sword. “Nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things,” Bilbo says of adventures, “Make you late for dinner.”

Bilbo (center) and the dwarves

The adventure in question involves helping 12 rowdy dwarves reclaim their homeland and steal back their gold from a greedy dragon named Smaug. In order to sneak into the mountain castle where Smaug hoards his plunder, the dwarves require a small “burglar” who can pass by the dragon unnoticed, and Gandalf has chosen light-footed Bilbo for the job. The leader of the company and heir to the Dwarf throne, Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), expresses his doubt in adding mild-mannered Bilbo to his crew. But Gandalf insists, and the Bilbo sets out, leaving his home behind, the world ahead.

As a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1937 book of the same name, I eagerly awaited the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Considerably darker than Tolkien’s story, which was originally written as a bedtime story for children, director Peter Jackson’s Hobbit adds some much-needed weight and dimension to the dwarves’ backstory and references to the Lord of the Rings trilogy absent from the novel, which gives the audience ample time to get to know the numerous characters. That said, the movie shuffles along very slowly, especially when Thorin and Co. take a long break for extended exposition in the elven city of Rivendell. Hobbit forgoes the complexity of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and keeps the relatively goofy tone of the book, which honestly became off-putting at times. I’m all for some silliness in science fiction, but at times it felt almost inappropriately light (especially with some unnecessary toilet humor peppered throughout).

Gollum

An Unexpected Journey offers up some strong performances from the leads. Martin Freeman was born to play a hobbit, looking the part and pulling off Bilbo’s uncertainty, kindness, and honest nature while keeping the character brave and plucky. Richard Armitage balances Thorin’s frustrated and prideful nature effectively, managing to bring dimensions to the character not seen in the book. I’m interested to see how Thorin grows as a character in the next two movies. As always, Andy Serkis gives a great performance, reprising his role as raspy-voiced villain Gollum, who somehow manages to be ominous and silly during a deathly game of riddles.

The first chapter in the Hobbit trilogy is a strong piece of cinema. The visuals are beautiful, the action is fast-paced, the characters are developed, and the story is engaging. Although director Jackson made some changes to the story, it didn’t compromise Tolkien’s original story about bravery and heroism. As Gandalf would say, every great story deserves embellishment. And in the case of The Hobbit, it’s a story worth watching.

Breaking Dawn Part 2 Review

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Edward and Bella

By Kayley Erlandson

‘Twas opening night and we sat in our seats,

awaiting our campy, inevitable treat.

The theatergoers munched on their popcorn with care

and knew this quadrilogy’s end drew near.

My desire for the full Twilight experience gave me cause to purchase an opening night ticket for (possibly) the most anticipated movie of the year. Like all things ridiculous and overblown, any Twilight movie is best experienced with the target audience. I refer to this jam-packed theater of star-eyed young girls excitedly anticipating opening night of their favorite series as “the Twilight Zone.” The pun basically makes itself.

Young Renesmee shares a moment with her parents and Jacob

Appropriately, the movie picks up where Breaking Dawn Part 1 left off. Heartthrob Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) has fulfilled Bella’s dream and turned her into a blood-sucking vampire, which she is happy about for some reason. Before the audience can recollect the events of the previous film, Bella quenches her thirst for blood by going mano-a-mano with a mountain lion in a forest. My life now complete, I consider leaving the theater, telling myself there is no way that this movie can top a scene with Kristin Stewart wrestling a mountain lion into submission and eating it rare.

Bella wrestles a mountain lion

Aro, leader of the Volturi

The existence of Bella and Edward’s newborn half-vampire, half-human daughter, Renesmee, infuriates the Volturi, a bunch of bossy Italian vampires who fill their days by luring tourists into their bat-cave and making facial expressions like they just walked waist-deep into a really cold pool  but are trying to pretend it doesn’t bother them (see picture on left).

Because the Cullens have broken ape law by having an “immortal” child, the Volturi take some time off from standing around in black velvet capes looking creepy and make a VERY slow trek to Forks, Washington to kill Renesmee.

The Volturi arrive for the final battle

But the Volturi give the Cullens’ a sporting chance via the laws of plot convenience, providing Edward and Bella enough time to form an army of vampire allies to fight off the Volturi.

Seriously, it takes the Volturi several days to get there. In Twilight’s world, vampires can move at the speed of light, yet the Volturi just slowly saunter onto the battlefield like they’re on their way to the local grocery store.

The Cullens and the werewolves prepare for battle

Besides the general plotline, the movie falls into place with all the elegance of shaking a puzzle box and expecting it to resemble the picture on the front of the box.

In summary:

Violence!

Telepathic CGI werewolves!

Telepathic CGI baby!

Arm-wrestling!

Awkward vampire love scenes!

Jacob takes his shirt off at least once per his contract!

Cop-out ending!

When the credits rolled, a group of young girls tried starting a standing ovation, their enthusiastic claps slowly fading as they realized no one was joining in.

All-in-all, I had a blast watching Breaking Dawn Part 2. I’d even say it’s a step up from Breaking Dawn Part 1. It’s more self-aware of its soap operatic tendencies this time around, actually creating some intentional laughs. The main character, Bella, forgoes her previous “damsel in distress” persona and becomes an active character.

Is it a bad movie? Definitely. But it’s so bad, it’s good.

Wreck-It Ralph Review

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By Kayley Erlandson

2012: the year when the two major family movie studios pulled a Freaky Friday, when Pixar made a Disney film (Brave) and Disney made a Pixar film. Whereas Brave focused on a more conventional storyline about a princess (usually Disney’s forte), Wreck-It Ralph imagines a world close to home, yet beyond our sight: the video game world.

Wreck-It Ralph centers around the titular character (voiced by John C. Reilly), a “bad guy” in a video game whose job is to wreck things. He’s good at his job, but the townspeople who inhabit the building he destroys on a daily basis don’t appreciate his work ethic. “It’s hard to love your job when no one seems to like you for doing it,” Ralph laments.

Ralph teaches Vanellope to drive

Ralph meets Vanellope

On the 30th anniversary of his game, Ralph forgoes wrecking and “game-jumps” to a first-person shooter game called “Hero’s Duty” in an attempt to win a hero’s medal to impress the townspeople back home. He wins his medal, but promptly loses it when he crash-lands in Sugar Rush, a racing game that could induce diabetes by just looking at its sugar-laced architecture. The only way for Ralph to get his coveted medal back is to help a young “glitch” or flawed program, Vanellope Von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) win a race against manipulative ruler King Candy (Alan Tudyuk).

Unbeknownst to Ralph, a Cybug computer virus hitched a ride with him to the magical candy world, multiplied, and now threatens to consume Sugar Rush.  As Ralph races to save his friends, he realizes that he may be programmed as a bad guy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he has to be a bad guy.

Ralph talks to Fix-It Felix

 

Overall, Wreck-It Ralph is a treat for kids and adults. Disney throws itself wholeheartedly into the retro video game mindset from the first seconds of the movie, with an 8-bit version of the “Steamboat Willie” Disney logo. Loving nods to details in video games abound and “cameos” from video game greats like Sonic the Hedgehog show how hard the creators of Wreck-It Ralph worked to give the movie an authentic touch.

The overlapping genres of video games provide lots of laughs (“When did video games get so violent?” Ralph screams as bullets and evil bugs fly around him in Hero’s Duty.) The candy puns in Sugar Rush are clever (at one point, the heroes have to escape Nesquik Sand). The only jokes I didn’t care for was the toilet humor. Ultimately, this flaw is forgivable given that there are far more clever moments than jokes about bodily functions.  Wreck-It Ralph is a sugar-laced, self-aware version of Tron and one of my favorite animated movies of the year.