'Straight Outta Compton' Might Turn Out Being as Groundbreaking as N.W.A.

Straight Outta Compton is the surprise movie of the year.  No one was expecting this movie to be this much well received.  I also like the movie, but probably not as much as the general acclaim that it’s currently receiving.

This movie is a biographical film about N.W.A., the revolutionary hip hop group that originated from Compton, California.  It chronicles events from how Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, MC Ren, and DJ Yella formed the group in the 80’s up to Eazy-E’s death in the 1995, which covers the rise of N.W.A, their cultural impact, feuds, and personal struggles.

I enjoy some hip hop songs but I’m not particularly a fan of the genre.  I’m familiar with some hip hop history and culture, but I have to say that I’m not so knowledgeable about them.  I know who Ice Cube (because he has become an actor) and Dr. Dre (because Eminem, who I liked as a teenager, thinks highly of him) are, but I can’t remember having heard of Eazy-E and the others prior to this movie.  Thus, I find Straight Outta Compton a very fascinating and informative look on hip hop history and culture.  Most of the things that the movie presented are new to me.

But more than being a fascinating study, Straight Outta Compton really works well as a movie.  The production values are terrific, perfectly embodying where and when the movie is set on.  The direction is both energetic and polished, and the acting is quite engaging.  Many say that the actors’ portrayals of the N.W.A. members are spot on, but I wouldn’t really know – except for O’Shea Jackson, Jr. as Ice Cube – since I don’t know most of them, but I believe this is true.  I also enjoyed seeing Aldis Hodge (he plays MC Ren) on screen again; I really liked the guy as Alec Hardison in Leverage.

The movie also touches upon some relevant themes and social issues, which is interesting.  There are some insights that I have to nod in agreement, but I don’t really agree with much of the overall message of the movie – or N.W.A. for that matter.  The writing is probably being manipulative in sending its message, but I understand where it’s coming from.

Overall, I don’t think Straight Outta Compton is the potential classic that many think it is.  But I could be wrong.  Time might find that it’s as groundbreaking to biopics as N.W.A. is to hip hop music.  Either way, it definitely has enough interesting things going for it to make it one of 2015’s most important, must-watch films.  

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Strong Performances Help 'Southpaw' Overcome a Hackneyed Plot

Southpaw is a boxing drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Billy “The Great” Hope, the undefeated junior middleweight champion of the world.  With his loving wife (Rachel McAdams) by his side serving as his chief adviser, Billy enjoys a successful career, the love of his family, and a lavish lifestyle.  However, tragedy strikes when a brawl breaks out during a charity event and his wife is accidentally shot in the chaos.  Broken down, Billy begins to abuse alcohol and drugs, and his life spirals downwards as he loses his title, his money, his house, and – due to succumbing to a destructive lifestyle – the custody of his daughter (Oona Laurence) as well.  Hitting rock bottom, he finds an unlikely shot at redemption at the hands of gym owner Tick Willis (Forest Whitaker).  With Tick as his trainer, Billy begins his grueling journey back to the top.

Southpaw has an unoriginal plotline.  It’s a story that I've seen in different forms for countless times already.  And yet it’s not boring to watch this familiar story unfold again.  This can probably be attributed to the all-around riveting performances of the cast – especially from Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker, and child actress Oona Laurence – who kept me absorbed on the narrative.  Gyllenhaal won’t get an Oscar for it, but his performance in this movie is another testament that he’s one of the most talented actors around today (seriously, he should had at least received an Oscar nomination for Nightcrawler).

In addition, the in-ring action is intense, gritty, and beautifully choreographed; the drama brings the feels and induces misty eyes; and the clichéd “riches to rags to riches” plot outline is actually executed in perfection.  Moreover, I’m sucker for well-done redemption stories, and Southpaw is a solid though unimaginative one.  So, yeah, despite the cheesy elements and narrative flaws, Southpaw has enough going for it to be considered an enjoyable and touching movie.

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'Magic Mike XXL' Offers the Same Stuff from the First Movie

The thing I liked about the first Magic Mike movie is that it wasn’t just an excuse to have a feature-length show of male sexy dances that women can go gaga for (as how it was being promoted).  It has that aspect, of course, but it’s more than that.  It surprisingly has dramatic depth, an actual well-thought plot, and great performances from the cast.  I love how Rotten Tomatoes worded its evaluation of the movie: “[it allows] audiences to have their beefcake and eat it too.”  That perfectly sums it up.

This 2015 sequel, though not as smart, has the same merits as its predecessor.  It has the sensual sequences that will please the ladies, but it also has a strong story and a sincere message (for the record, I don’t subscribe to most of the philosophy that the movie is preaching, but there are interesting lessons worth considering if they are taken away by themselves) to tell.

Three years after “Magic” Mike (Channing Tatum) leaves the stripper lifestyle, he finds himself missing the excitement of performing and hanging out with his Kings of Tampa mates.  Thus, when the guys drop by and inform him that they intend to end their stripping careers in a high note by participating in an annual stripper convention in Myrtle Beach, Mike goes on leave from his furniture business and decides to reunite with the Kings of Tampa crew for one last blow-out performance.

So it’s basically a road trip movie… but with a lot of stripping and dancing involve.  It has a couple of absurd narrative elements and coincidences, but if you can get over the ridiculousness of the idea of a stripper convention – I don’t know if that’s an actual thing in real life – then all other things fall into place of making Magic Mike XXL hold up as an adequately thoughtful piece of entertainment.

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Instead of ‘Minions’, It Would Have Been Infinitely Preferable to Have a ‘Despicable Me 3’

The immense popularity of the Minions from the Despicable Me movies led them to star in this spin-off movie.  The plot of Minions is basically a prequel – set years before they met and got employed by Gru.  The movie shows us the Minions’ passage through history as they seek to serve the baddest of the bad.  However, from a T-rex to Napoleon, they continuously fail in keeping a master.  The Minions, unable to accomplish the purpose of their existence, fall into depression.  In order to get the Minions out of their slump, a Minion named Kevin takes it upon himself to embark on a journey in search for the ultimate evil boss for his race to follow.  Bob and Stuart accompany Kevin, and the three of them eventually encounter the supervillainess Scarlet Overkill (voiced by Sandra Bullock – a phenomenal actress, but doesn’t have the energy and investment in voicing Scarlet), who they potentially see as the master mistress that will finally save the Minions.

The movie is hilarious.  That is a given, since we’re talking about the Minions after all – their slapstick contributed significantly on giving the fun and uproarious vibes of the Despicable Me movies.  The problem is the Minions are one-note characters that work best serving supporting roles in a thoughtful story centered on an actual developing character like Gru.  As supporting characters, the hilariousness that the Minions bring is at the right dosage and boosts the charm of a movie – just like in the Despicable Memovies.  On the other hand, a full length movie loaded with the Minions’ brainless, juvenile humor is just too much that it’s already borderline annoying.

Moreover, the Minions’ personality, though adorable, doesn’t have the facets that a thoughtful, heartfelt story can be anchored on.  Hence, Minions entertains, but is pretty stupid and shallow; it has no concrete moral or message; and the narrative is predictable – in fact, the trailers have already given away the first two-thirds of the plot.

Minions is a clear money-grab movie.  A big reason why it was made is to sell Minions merchandise.  And it succeeds at it.  For example, when McDonald’s had Minion toys in its Happy Meals, customers skyrocketed.  I witness this firsthand in the local McDonald’s chain.  I myself was compelled to get a couple of them for my toy collection.

Furthermore, Minions succeeds in making money as a movie itself.  It has grossed over a billion dollars and has become the third highest-grossing animated film of all time.  My fear is that due to its financial success, the producers will instead decide to make a Minionssequel instead of a Despicable Me 3, which I infinitely prefer.  I don’t want to hate the Minions as pop culture characters, but I feel that if more Minions movies are made, I would eventually grow to.

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‘San Andreas’ Is Solid in the Spectacle, Shaky in the Storyline

The premise of San Andreas is pretty simple: the shifting of the San Andreas Fault causes a massive, vicious earthquake across western USA, and Chief Ray Gaines (Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson), a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot for the Los Angeles Fire Department, has to fly amidst all the chaos and destruction to rescue his teenage daughter (unbelievably played by 29-year-old Alexandra Daddario) and estranged wife (Carla Gugino).

San Andreas has a good amount of action and excitement as a solid disaster movie.  But that’s all it is.  It doesn’t have much depth, originality, and surprise.  There’s some attempt to add a bit more drama unrelated to the disaster aspect, but the execution isn’t good enough to actually add something interesting.  The story is dumb and cheesy.

It’s also burdened with a couple of uninteresting or needless characters.  Good thing that Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson is headlining this, as he injects his magnetic personality into this movie.  So there’s at least one character – the Rock’s character, Ray Gaines – that I was able to easily root for (though I kind of hate that he has to abandon his duty as a LAFD rescuer so that he can go after his family); having him is somewhat enough to be kept invested on the narrative until the end.

San Andreas is not a great movie.  But nobody was expecting it to be one anyway.  It just needs to entertain as a standard popcorn flick.  And the spectacular visuals and the Rock – a charismatic, badass action hero – ensure that it does.

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LeBron Made Me Curious About 'Trainwreck', but It's John Cena That Surprised

Trainwreck is not the kind of movie I usually go see.  But I got intrigued of it because of LeBron James.  There were some praise being thrown regarding his performance, and it really got me curious.   I wanted to verify the hype.

The plot: after her reprobate father impressed on Amy Townsend (Amy Schumer) as a young girl that monogamy isn’t realistic, she lives her life as an adult boozing, partying, getting high, and sleeping around – unwilling to have a serious commitment.  However, an assignment from her editor sends Amy to interview and meet Aaron Conners (Bill Hader), a prolific doctor that treats the injuries of sports superstars.  Amy attempts to keep everything between them casual.  But as the two of them spend more time with each other, and grow liking each other more and more, Amy begins to consider if it’s time to leave her life of non-commitment behind and start cleaning up her act.

It’s a familiar rom-com premise.  But I actually found some freshness in it, too.  It does not have the smartest plot, but I found sprinkles of cleverness here and there, and the humor generally hits the mark.

I’ve never been a fan of Amy Schumer, but I was impressed of the fact that she wrote the script of this movie.  After watching Trainwreck, I’m still not a fan, but I gained some appreciation for her.

And as for what I thought of LeBron James, who plays himself in this movie and the best pal of Dr. Conners… well, he actually did a solid job – actually better than any of Shaq’s acting roles.  But he wasn’t really hilarious – “hilarious” was the emphatic adjective that some positive reactions were using to commend his performance – nor terrific to finally win me over to the idea that a Space Jam 2 starring him would be great.

John Cena, however, is the surprise.  I’m not a fan, but he is phenomenally hilarious in this movie.  Even counting the early days when he was still in his likable “Doctor of Thuganomics” persona, this guy has never been this funny and appealing.  Sure, the writing deserves a good amount of the credit of making Cena’s character hilarious, but his delivery also contributed considerably.

Like Ted 2, this movie has a good deal of cameos.  But unlike Ted 2, its cameos work well, and aren’t annoyingly gratuitous.  The scenes with Marv Albert and Amar’e Stoudemire are pretty funny.

Actually, come to think of it, Trainwreck’s ensemble – both cast members and cameos – generally did a fine job.  No one was terribly out of place in the movie.  And, worth noting that, once again, I had found Tilda Swinton unrecognizable and it surprised me that she was playing that character in the movie.

Trainwreck isn’t great, but I had fun with it.  It’s a solid rom-com movie that both lovers and haters of the genre will find entertaining and carrying a thoughtful message.

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'Inside Out' Rivals 'Toy Story' Movies As Pixar's Magnum Opus

If I will be writing now my list for best movies of the year, Inside Out will take the number one spot.  Of course, it is possible that I would still get to see a movie this year that I will deem better.  However, if I’m rating movies, I will give Inside Out a perfect score – an A+, or a 100%, or five stars out of five.  So it would take something so awesomely flawless to unseat Inside Out.  And looking at the movies left this year, I think Star Wars is the only potential contender.

Inside Out tells the story of 11-year-old Riley and the anthropomorphized emotions living in her head – Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger.  Riley’s emotions do a fine job in keeping Riley’s life steady and happy… until Riley’s family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco.  With Riley struggling to adjust to her new life, it is up to Joy and the other emotions to guide her through this stressful, life-changing period.

It’s not the first time that a story used the concept of the human brain as a world or command center with personifications of emotions/neurons/cells/thoughts working inside it.  But Inside Out uses the concept in such a fresh, enjoyable, and vibrant manner that it has established itself as the best of such stories.  It presents some innocent but smart insights on human psychology, and succeeds in delightfully embodying some of its concepts in amusing fantasy models and metaphors.

Beautiful animation and a well-written, funny, and heartwarming story are things to be expected from a Pixar feature.   But Inside Out is truly special.  It is superior to most Pixar movies.  Up, Wall-E, and The Incredibles are all terrific timeless classics, but I really think Inside Out is better than them.  No other Pixar film since Toy Story 3 has the thoughtfulness, storytelling depth, and feels that Inside Out possesses.  The Toy Story movies are still my favorite Pixar films – these movies made much impact on me – but if somebody say that Inside Out is better, I won’t correct them.  Inside Out truly makes a strong case of being Pixar’s best.

Inside Out is brilliant and flawless.  The quality of this movie is comparable to the best of animated classics as it will effortlessly make its audiences laugh, cry, reflect, and feel warm and good inside.  And that makes the best kind of family entertainment.

Miscellaneous SPOILER-y musings:

• I also did love Lava, the touching short that run before Inside Out.  Really did a fine job of prepping the audience’s emotions and attention for Inside Out.
• An Inside Out short is coming later this year telling the story of Riley on her first date.  And I guess a full-length sequel is something eventual to happen.  Now, I’m curious what kind of storyline can surpass, or at least match, the perfectness of the first one.  Will it be better if Riley’s story continue after a significant time skip? In high school? Or even college? Will additional emotions be appearing in Riley’s later years?  (Though I doubt that, since it was seen that adults also have the same 5-emotion lineup as 11-year-old Riley.)  I really have no idea how Pixar can expand Inside Out further and offer something unique from the first one.  But I guess if anyone can do it, it’s those Pixar guys.  If it could be a sequel better than the original, then Inside Outcould be the next Toy Story property.
• A character, Bing Bong, Riley’s forgotten imaginary friend from her younger years, basically died in this movie.  A character death in a “G”-rated animated feature isn’t really something disturbing or impossible.  But I wasn’t expecting a character to die in this movie.  It was a shock, but the development added additional depth to the story.
• Later, a bunch of “imaginary boyfriends” – who declared that they “would die for Riley” – actually sacrificed their lives.    Again, not really too disturbing.  But this is just an indication that Inside Out has some subtly dark elements.  And, again, it adds additional depth.
• But the most interesting shocker was the implication that the whole ordeal had put Riley at risk of becoming a sociopath.  Exagerrated, but definitely improved the movie.
• This made me want a more mature story taking place in the Inside Out world to be made.  In the ending credits, we get fascinating and funny glimpses of what’s going on in the minds of different kinds of people as well as a dog and a cat.  Now, what’s more interesting is to Inside Out the mind of a person with a mental disorder, like schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder.  Very intriguing, eh?

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