Review: ‘Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts’
Mediocre 'Bumblebee' Follow-Up Runs In Neutral But Has Some Key Parts In Place

By
Travis Hopson
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Long gone are the days of Michael Bay’s billion-dollar Transformers movies. As a die-hard fan of Transformers since I was a kid, those awful but strangely popular movies tortured my soul. That was corrected with 2018’s delightful soft reboot Bumblebee, which leaned hard on nostalgia and an all-ages spirit to make Transformers fun again. Unfortunately, the result was critical acclaim and only modest box office. But it was a step in the right direction. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts capitalizes on some of what its predecessor did well, while falling back into old bad habits that drive it offcourse.

The plot is basic Transformers stuff, and is kept relatively simple compared to the weirdly convoluted Bay stuff. We’re introduced to the planet-eater, Unicron (voiced by Colman Domingo), a Galactus-level beingf who has his sights set on the home of the Maximals, robots that transform into jungle animals. When their leader Apelinq sacrifices himself against Unicron’s powerful minion Scourge (Peter Dinklage), the rest of the Maximals, now led by Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman), flee to Earth where they hide out for thousands of years, keeping secret a powerful weapon that Unicron seeks.

A strength of the post-Bay era has been the human leads. Gone are the bland male figures played by Shia LaBeouf and Mark Wahlberg, replaced by characters who represent a different swath of the country. And so we are introduced to Brooklynites Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos), an ex-Army dude with a sick little bro and an overworked mom (Luna Lauren Velez, having a great month after Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse); and brainy museum artifact researcher Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback), who meet-cute with the Autobots just in time to help them and the Maximals battle Unicron’s forces. Both characters are easily likeable, resourceful, and bring street smarts to the table where the Autobots have none.

As an old school Transformers geek, it’s been a joy to see this franchise properly represent the characters that I love. Of course, Optimus Prime (voiced by longtime voice-god Peter Cullen) brings his booming authority as their leader, but he’s never been the cool one of the team. Bumblebee is back, with more movie quotes than ever albeit in a reduced role. Arcee (Liza Koshy), a pink female Autobot who transforms into a Ducati motorcycle, retains much of her charm from the classic animated Transformers the Movie where she became a hit with fans. The breakout character this time around is Mirage, voiced by Pete Davidson and apparently written by Pete Davidson based on his pesky, erratic demeanor and borderline edgy humor. I suspect that, like Davidson himself, Mirage will be either hilarious or aggravating depending on your mileage with the actor.

Set in 1994, director Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II, and underrated drama The Land) is able to cover up the pedestrian story with a bevy of killer hip-hop beats from the era, giving the film a swagger and attitude that had been missing. But there’s not much else that truly stands out about Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. The fight scenes are a damn sight more watchable than the city-smashing mess of Bay’s movies, but they are just as meaningless and forgettable. Another familiar problem is that the villainous Terrorcons have little to no personality, and just sort of blend into the background. It goes without saying that the script is atrocious at times, sounding robotic even by Transformers standards. The humans aren’t supposed to sound like A.I., are they?

While Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a mediocre entry that is never “more than meets the eye”, this fan still has hope for the future. The introduction of Unicron and continued talk of returning to the Autobot homeworld of Cybertron is all table-setting for what could be an amazing sequel. Ramos and Fishback are the best leads this franchise has had, and if only they could find a way to get Bumblebee‘s Hailee Steinfeld into the mix. Finally, the film ends on one Hell of a tease that got the crowd at our screening into a fanboy frenzy. And it had me buzzing, too, even if I think it sets an impossibly high bar to reach.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts opens in theaters on June 9th.

‘Sympathy For The Devil’ Trailer: Nicolas Cage Is The Devil Terrorizing Joel Kinnaman In New Thriller

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June 6, 2023

If Nicolas Cage as Dracula wasn’t enough pure, unchained evil for you, then how Cage as the Devil himself? I mean, he’s even got the red hair to show for it. Sympathy for the Devil finds Cage terrorizing Joel Kinnaman in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, but when you’re going up against the embodiment of evil, can you ever really win such a game?

Here’s the synopsis: After being forced to drive a mysterious passenger at gunpoint, a man finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse where it becomes clear that not everything is at it seems.

The film is directed by Yuval Adler, who previously worked with Kinnaman on The Secrets We Keep. The script is by Luke Paradise. That’s a Hollywood name if I ever heard one.

“This is a tour de force featuring two incredible actors,” said producer Allan Ungar. “As an acclaimed filmmaker, Yuval has assembled the perfect cast and brought a unique and gritty vision to this film that will be sure to capture audiences.”

This looks kinda fun? I mean terrible and fun, which is right in the Cage sweet spot.

Sympathy for the Devil opens on July 28th.

DC Readers: Attend A Free Early Screening Of ‘The Flash’

By

Travis Hopson

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June 6, 2023

We’re happy to offer our DC readers the chance to attend a free early screening of The Flash! The film stars Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, Kiersey Clemons, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Antje Traue, and Maribel Verdú.

SYNOPSIS: Worlds collide in “The Flash” when Barry uses his superpowers to travel back in time in order to change the events of the past. But when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, Barry becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation, and there are no Super Heroes to turn to. That is, unless Barry can coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian… albeit not the one he’s looking for. Ultimately, to save the world that he is in and return to the future that he knows, Barry’s only hope is to race for his life. But will making the ultimate sacrifice be enough to reset the universe?

The screening takes place on Monday, June 12th at 7:00pm at Regal Majestic in Silver Spring. If you’d like to attend, please RSVP at the Warner Bros. site here! Remember, all screenings are first come first served and you’ll want to run faster than Barry Allen to ensure seating. Enjoy the show!

The Flash opens in theaters on June 16th.

#TheFlashMovie

New ‘Expend4bles’ Poster Gives A Heavy Metal Vibe, But The Big Names Don’t Rock Anymore

By

Travis Hopson

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June 6, 2023

Looking at the punk rock-inspired poster for Expend4bles, the fourth film in The Expendables action franchise, I’m struck by how those names at the top don’t mean much anymore. The big draw of these movies when they began in 2010 was seeing Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren, Willis, Crews, Rourke, and more all gathered in one gigantic movie. Whether it lived up to the incredible promise wasn’t really the point. Those names were enough to knock your damn socks off.

And now in 2023, many of those big names are no longer involved. Statham seems to be doing this between a million other projects including his Fast & Furious stuff, and Stallone has already stated he’s retiring from the franchise. While some of the supporting cast kicks ass, like Tony Jaa and Iko Uwais, others like 50 Cent and Megan Fox get nothing but side-eye. Why is this movie here? If you can’t have guys like Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, Jet Li, Wesley Snipes, etc., then what’s the point?

“They’ll Die When They’re Dead”? Kinda feels like they already are.

Anyway, the film also features Andy Garcia, Jacob Scipio, and Levy Tran, with Randy Couture returning as Toll Road. Scott Waugh directs from a Kurt Wimmer script that finds the team trying to stop a nuclear conflict with Russia.

Expend4bles opens in theaters on September 22nd. The first trailer drops tomorrow!

Review: ‘The Flash’
Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, And Sasha Calle Go Full Throttle In Entertaining DC Film Slowed By Cumbersome Story

By
Travis Hopson
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Just as Barry Allen wants to run fast enough to escape his past trauma, Warner Bros. is hoping The Flash is good enough to run away from Ezra Miller’s bad headlines. While some are going to give this film the side-eye the whole way, judging it based on the studio’s decision rather than the craft of it, I’m not going to do that. The Flash, after years of false starts, rewrites, reshoots, one imploded Snyderverse, and a star who isn’t even available to do press, arrives with a lot of weight on its shoulders and even more hurdles to overcome. The result is predictably disjointed and messy coming out of such a problematic production, but it’s not enough to slow down a genuine love for the character, a ton of fun surprises, and just the right balance of humor and heart.

If you can believe it, Miller’s Barry Allen is even more neurotic than he was in Justice League when he was just a newbie alongside the veteran heroes. Barry has accepted his place as the “janitor” of the team, racing from city to city cleaning up their messes. A better job is done of putting us into Barry’s headspace. Living a life at superhuman speed means the world around you is painfully slow by comparison. Barry’s metabolism runs at superhuman levels, too, and waiting for his much-needed calorie rush sandwich is a funny kind of nightmare, pushing his patience to the breaking point.

The big opening sequence involves a collapsing hospital and a literal downpour of babies from the nursery. While the CGI is a bit dodgy here and in other places, as well, it’s also kind of funny in a Naked Gun sort of way to see Flash racing to pluck the falling newborns out of the sky, even putting one in a microwave. Frank Drebin would’ve been proud! It’s a scene that resembles the remarkable Quicksilver sequences from past X-Men flicks, while lacking in their slickness and style. What it does show is Flash’s quick thinking and quirky way of solving problems, which would become the catalyst for the adventure ahead.

Barry continues to be obsessed with the fate of his father (Ron Livingston), who he knows was wrongfully convicted in the murder of his mother (Maribel Verdú) years earlier. Working as a police forensic investigator, Barry keeps looking for evidence that will set his father free. But more than that, he becomes stuck on the idea of fixing things. And when he discovers he can literally race backwards in time, he ignores sage wisdom from Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck, waving farewell to the Caped Crusader role) not to meddle with the past. It’s their traumas who make them who they are now. Barry doesn’t care, though, and an encounter with reporter/longtime crush Iris West (Kiersey Clemons) convinces Barry to fix his personal timeline and live the happy life he believes he should’ve always had.

The Flash draws heavily on Back to the Future tropes, even going so far as to use the film as a punchline mixing up Michael J. Fox and Eric Stoltz. It’s a crowd-pleasing combo, mixing the nostalgia for that film with superheroics, especially when Barry screws things up royally by encountering his younger, less responsible self, also portrayed by Miller. This version of Barry doesn’t have powers. Nobody in this reality seems to, which makes things difficult when General Zod (Michael Shannon) returns to Earth on the same day he attack during Man of Steel, the film that launched the now-defunct Snyderverse.

Of the many treats this film has to offer, one is the return of Michael Keaton as Batman, albeit a much older, somewhat eccentric version from the Tim Burton movie we all remember and love. The other is Sasha Calle as Kara Zor-el, aka Supergirl, who is the only Kryptonian on the planet until Zod and his minions show up. The two Flashes must team up with them to put an end to Zod before he terraforms the planet and destroys all of humanity.

Screenwriter Christina Hodson has a lot on her plate with this one. The Flash has to find a way to juggle a lot of time travel mumbo-jumbo while doing the one thing a movie about the Scarlet Speedster should never do, and that’s slow down. Unfortunately, the film does get bogged down in A LOT of exposition, especially in the first hour. Barry connects with the Speed Force while running, and for those who don’t know what it is, it can be confusing. There is also another being that seems to be standing in his way, a monstrous figure blocking his complete access to the Speed Force.

That said, when the action kicks into gear it’s damned impressive. Keaton is fantastic, reminding us why he is still considered by many to be the best Batman. He slips back into the role easily, impresses in the physical fights of which there are many, and even gives us the one-liners we nerds are eager to hear. Calle also makes a case for herself to stay as Supergirl for the long haul with her performance as the ambiguous Kryptonian. Questions swirl around whether Supergirl is actually a hero in this reality or not, and Calle plays the portrayal perfectly without giving too much away.

And of course, there’s Ezra Miller. They have been The Flash‘s biggest supporter right from the beginning, and Miller knows the character through and through. The awkward, nervous tics, the rough-around-the-edges social demeanor, Miller nails it. Those hoping his Flash will come to resemble what Grant Gustin brought in the Arrowverse series won’t find it here. Miller makes the role their own…actually, makes both roles their own. The two versions we get of Barry Allen are wildly different; one an experienced neurotic and the other who is more like a stoned refugee from a Seth Rogen movie.

This is the most colorful, vibrant DC movie yet by far. Muschietti and his team have never forgotten that this movie should be a roller coaster blast first, and not a sad, depressing hero journey. The effects when Flash is speeding through the city or into battle are an explosion for the senses, capturing the fun and freedom of moving faster than the speed of thought.

The Flash is imperfect. It packs in a ton of story, and I would argue that the final battle overpowers you with fan-service nonsense that many casual moviegoers won’t come close to understanding. For some, these surprises and shock appearances will elicit gasps of awe in the moment, but they don’t actually add anything to the story. In fact, if you’re like me they’ll make you think about the things that were deliberately excluded. But The Flash is undeniably a thrill and one of the best DC Comics movies out there, with a real love for the character obvious in every single frame. Will it make you forget everything going on behind the scenes? Probably not. But if that’s a concern for you then you probably weren’t going to see the movie, anyway.

The Flash opens in theaters on June 16th.

Review: ‘Past Lives’
Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro Star In Celine Song’s Revolutionary Take On A Love Triangle

By
Cortland Jacoby
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PAST LIVES- And to think I skipped out on Celine Song’s quietly enchanting Past Lives when it premiered at Sundance, then put off watching it until days ago. It would’ve been to my eternal regret to not catch this captivating tale of fate, destiny, lost love, heartbreak, and hope. Soulful performances by Greta Lee and Teo Yoo as Korean-born childhood best friends separated by distance, who reconnect later as adults when their lives are very different, will leave you considering the missed connections in your own life and how they still leave an impact.

NOTE: This review originally ran as part of our 2023 Sundance Film Festival coverage.*

Who would be in our lives if it weren’t for life-changing events? The question might seem counterintuitive, but it is one at the heart of Celine Song’s quiet and contemplative first feature, Past Lives.

From its first captivating scene, Song grabs your emotions by the jugular and refuses to let go. In her opening shots, we see a trio of people sitting at a, an Asian man, an Asian woman partially turned toward the former, and a white man facing both of them but still sort of by himself. We hear what is presumably a couple from across the bar debating the relationship of the odd threesome. Who is together with whom? Is the woman interested in the white man? Is this some sort of fetish thing?

It’s a comical way to set up expectations and suspicions for the audience before transporting us back decades previously to South Korea, where we meet two preteens, Hae Sung and Nora. The two flirt like kids do, playing games and teasing each other about grades. At one point Nora tells her mother she is going to marry him.

Of course, this doesn’t happen as Nora and her family immigrated to Canada soon after. Twelve years pass and the two find one another on Facebook. Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) is clearly still hung up on the idea of Nora (Greta Lee) while reconnecting with him brings up a lot of emotions for her. The disconnect again only to come back together with Hae Sung visiting her in New York. She is now happily married to the white guy from the beginning of the movie, a writer named Arthur (John Magaro).

Song’s writing has a lightness to it, not weighed down by convention or sentiment. This love triangle is based on the playwright’s real life and though she has experience in the theater scene and as a writer on Amazon’s Wheel of Time, Past Lives is a subtly impressive first feature for Song.

Lee leads a trio of powerful performances, playing Nora with a playful and sophisticated air. Yoo’s showing is more subtle and quiet but all the more heartbreaking again, in love with the idea of his childhood friend and the past. Magaro brings nuance to a character easily made the villain or one-dimensional.

The empathy Song possesses oozes out onto the screen. There’s a moment where she, through Arthur’s character, recognizes that in another movie he would be the horrible white husband keeping the childhood lovers apart. Everything and everyone is more nuanced than that. What is so powerful about Past Lives is that it is a beautiful love story grounded in real life. You watch Greta Lee and Teo Yoo and John Magaro’s performances and you can’t help but relate to every single one. You feel that heartbreak because it could happen to you.

Past Lives is in theaters now. A24 will release it in DC on June 9th.

New ‘Rebel Moon’ Images Reveal Zack Snyder’s Two-Part Space Epic, “Harder” Cut To Follow

By

Travis Hopson

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June 6, 2023

Beginning life as Zack Snyder’s wild idea for a Star Wars movie, Rebel Moon has taken a new life of its own at Netflix. The epic space opera is being revealed like never before courtesy of new images from Vanity Fair, taking us into a very different galaxy far far away as rebel forces battle a tyrannical empire.

Snyder, along with wife and producer Deborah Snyder, confirmed that Rebel Moon will be a two-parter, due to the original version being 172-pages long and clocking in around 3-hours in length. Netflix wasn’t too keen on that, so the decision was made to split up the movie.

However, there will be different cuts of the movie. The earliest version will be one “that anyone can enjoy”, Snyder says, while a later cut will be for “people who are ready to take a deeper, harder dive.”

The film stars Sofia Boutella as Kora, a young woman newly-arrived on the ordinary planet Veldt, who rallies them to resist the oppressive rule of the Mother World. Typical for Snyder, the cast is large and features numerous actors that Snyder has worked with in the past, along with some new faces. Ed Skrein, Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Doona Bae, Corey Stoll, Cary Elwes, Ray Fisher, Sofia Boutella, Stuart Martin, Jena Malone, Staz Nair, E. Duffy, Charlotte Maggi, Alfonso Herrera, Michiel Huisman,Cleopatra Coleman, Fra Fee, and Sky Yang co-star.

Here’s the synopsis: “A peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy is threatened by the armies of a tyrannical regent named Balisarius. Desperate people dispatch a young woman with a mysterious past to seek out warriors from neighboring planets to help them make a stand.”

Snyder not only directs, but co-wrote the screenplay with 300 writer Kurt Johnstad and Army of the Dead‘s Shay Hatten.

Rebel Moon part one hits Netflix on December 22nd, and there will be a theatrical component as well.

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‘Bottoms’ Red Band Trailer: Rachel Sennott And Ayo Edibiri Launch A Fight Club In New Teen Sex Comedy

By

Travis Hopson

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June 6, 2023

Emma Seligman’s comedy Shiva Baby was one of the funniest, most acclaimed movies of the year, introducing the world not only to their talent as a director, but to star Rachel Sennott. Now the two are reunited, and joined by another rising star, The Bear‘s Ayo Edibiri (with whom she created digital series Ayo and Rachel Are Single), for teen sex comedy Bottoms, which has just dropped a raunchy red band trailer.

When the trailer starts with a high school PA announcer demanding “Could the ugly, untalented gays report to the Principal’s office?”, you know shit is gonna get wild. Sennott and Edibiri play best friends PJ and Josie, who launch a bizarre plan to start a fight club in hopes that’ll help them lose their virginities to their school’s hot cheerleaders. The plan actually works, only too well.

The film also stars Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber, Nicholas Galitzine, with Dagmara Dominczyk and Marshawn Lynch. Seligman directed and co-wrote the script with Sennott, who has also been seen in Bodies Bodies Bodies, and has a role in new HBO series The Idol.

Bottoms opens in theaters on August 25th. The film debuted earlier this year at SXSW to glowing reviews, nearly putting it on par with Shiva Baby.

BOTTOMS, a refreshingly unique raunchy comedy, focuses on two girls, PJ and Josie, who start a fight club as a way to lose their virginities to cheerleaders. Their bizarre plan works. The fight club gains traction and soon the most popular girls in school are beating each other up in the name of self-defense. But PJ and Josie find themselves in over their heads and in need of a way out before their plan is exposed.

‘Talk To Me’ Trailer: Possession Goes Viral In A24’s New Horror Arriving Next Month

By

Travis Hopson

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June 6, 2023

What would you do if you discovered a severed, cursed, embalmed hand that allows you to speak with the dead? Okay, you might try it out ONCE, but would you make an Internet challenge out of it? Turn it into a game that goes viral? Maybe you would, but you’d be stupid; the kind of stupid they make movies about. Like the upcoming A24 horror, Talk to Me, which opens next month.

A standout hit from this past Sundance Film Festival, Talk To Me centers on one particularly stupid youngster who becomes hooked on using the cursed hand to reach conjure spirits, until the inevitable happens and deadly forces are unleashed.

The film stars Sophie Wilde, Miranda Otto, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird, Otis Dhanji, Zoe Terakes, and Chris Alosio. Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou teamed up to direct, and have impressed enough that they’re also working on the upcoming Street Fighter movie.

Talk to Me opens in theaters on July 28th.

When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.

‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Revealed By Anthony Mackie As Sequel’s New Title

By

Travis Hopson

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June 6, 2023

Goodbye Captain America: New World Order, hello Captain America: Brave New World! It’s not often that a Marvel Studios movie undergoes a name change like this, nor do we typically see a lot of “officially” released set photos, but today we’re getting both courtesies of star Anthony Mackie.

Mackie dropped a set photo from the upcoming Captain America film, revealing himself in costume soaking up knowledge from Harrison Ford. The image also reveals the new title, Brave New World.

What’s up with the name change? No idea. Perhaps they wanted something that sounds a bit more hopeful, while still a tiny bit ominous? Perhaps they don’t want any Hollywood Hulk Hogan comparisons?

“When Harrison Ford tells you how kicking ass should look, you listen! LoL… Thanks for the on set wisdom and laughs my friend! Can’t wait to do it again…” Mackie shared on IG.

Ford makes his MCU as General Thunderbolt Ross, taking over the role left by the late William Hurt. The film is directed by Julius Onah, with co-stars Carl Lumbly, Danny Ramirez, Tim Blake Nelson, Liv Tyler, Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, and current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins.

Captain America: Brave New World opens May 3rd 2024.

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