‘Pitch Perfect 2’ Doesn’t Have a Perfect Pitch

This sequel to the hit 2012 musical comedy basically has the same familiar elements of its predecessor: an anime universe*, likable but one-dimensional stereotypical characters, too many  a cappella puns, a cappella battles, and Rebel Wilson’s willingness to make fat jokes at her expense.  However, Pitch Perfect 2 is unable to hit the same high notes as the first one and wobbles in a few off-key parts (narratively speaking, of course).The...

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Blake Lively Makes ‘The Age of Adaline’ Worthwhile

Typically, I groan at similar movies that have the same corny characteristics and ambition as The Age of Adaline, but I surprisingly like this one.The story focuses on a young widow named Adaline Bowman who ceases aging when she got hit by lightning after a vehicular accident (yep, it’s silly at it sounds, and it’s made even sillier by giving it a faux scientific rationale that is supposed to be established by 2035).  The only one who knows...

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'Kung Fury' Is an Awesomely Absurd Work of Art

Kung Fury is probably the most epic Kickstarter-funded production since last year’s Veronica Mars movie.  It’s a 30-minute short about a cop named Kung Fury who became a kung fu master after being simultaneously hit by lightning and bitten by a cobra.  Sounds insane?  Well, everything about Kung Fury is insane.  An arcade cabinet that transforms into a killer robot, a hacker that can send someone back in time through hacking,...

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‘What We Do in the Shadows’ Is a Fresh, Hilarious Spoof of Vampire Mythology

What We Do in the Shadows is a mockumentary from New Zealand about four vampire flatmates of varied ages and personalities.  With a documentary crew following them around for a couple of months, the undead friends are filmed arguing about house chores, roaming around clubs to pick up victims, accepting a neophyte vampire and his human friend into their circle, dabbling in modern technology, bickering with werewolves, obsessing about past flames,...

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That Time When Kobe Taught Me to Love Defense

Note: this is from the draft of a post I wrote some years ago in a LA Lakers fan community blog, with some slight edits.In basketball, the defensive aspect of the game is often overlooked by most audience.  It’s just that offense’s elements – like dunks, alley-oops, fadeaways, 3-point shots, killer crossovers, and no-look passes – can easily incite excitement from its observers.  If defense is ever given any attention, it’s mostly on blocking...

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Pros & Cons of the 'Supergirl' Pilot

Just like what happened last year with the respective pilots of The Flash and Constantine, the pilot for the new DC TV series Supergirl was recently leaked online months before the season officially starts.  Here are my thoughts – labelled in Pros and Cons:CON: It was completely the same as the trailer – and I disliked the trailer. When the trailer for The Flash pilot came out last year, I was underwhelmed – it didn’t compel me to watch...

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'Tomorrowland' Is a Disappointment, but Still Worth Watching

This original science fiction story, which is somewhat inspired by the futuristic themed land of Disney theme parks, tells the story of a promising teenager named Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) who got hold of a mysterious pin that allowed her to see a glimpse of a secret futuristic utopia named “Tomorrowland.”  Enamored of what she saw, and desiring to go there, she seeks the help of an embittered inventor named Frank Walker (George Clooney)...

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Don't Judge This Movie by Its Bland Title; 'Spy' Is Comedy Gold

In Spy, Melissa McCarthy plays the part of CIA analyst Susan Cooper who volunteers to go on a field mission for the first time in her career so that she can continue the unfinished assignment of her partner, the debonair secret agent Bradley Fine (played by Jude Law), after he was seemingly killed by the arms dealer, Rayna Boyanov (played by Rose Byrne), whose house he was trying to infiltrate.  Finally given the opportunity to prove herself...

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‘Focus’ Strong Leads Elevate an Otherwise Middling Movie

I’m someone who greatly enjoyed the Ocean trilogy, has Leverage as a favorite TV series, and considers 2013’s Now You See Me as awesome while critics hated it.  I have an affinity for twist-filled heist/con comedies.  So there’s no wonder that, despite of Focus’ lack of substance, I was still very much entertained by the movie.The plot of Focus centers on a veteran grifter named Nicky (played by Will Smith) who takes an alluring amateur...

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‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Is an Unexpected Cinematic Masterpiece

  As a cable-loving kid, I got to see and enjoy all of the original Mel Gibson-starred Mad Max movies.  This franchise – or, particularly, the second movie, The Road Warrior – introduced me to the “post-apocalyptic” subgenre and has ever since served as my benchmark for future post-apocalyptic stories I encountered.  When it was announced that a new Mad Max film starring Tom Hardy was happening, I wasn’t really enthusiastic about...

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Top 10 Fictional Drivers

Simply stated, this is a list of fictional characters that are defined by their time behind the wheel.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that this list is dependent on their driving skills.  They are picked and rank depending on how I find them interesting as wheelmen characters.10.) NEEDLESS KANENeedless Kane is the driver of the most popular car from the Twisted Metalgames, Sweet Tooth (which, for a time, I mistook for the name of the driver...

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‘Legends of Tomorrow’ Trailer Incites Excitement

The Legends of Tomorrow trailer just came out a few days ago.  And I was blown away.  With the goodwill that its parent shows, Arrow and The Flash, have established, I was already sure to watch this from episode one.  But because of the trailer, I’m now really excited for it.Constantine is cancelled, Gothamis awfully stupid (glad I stopped watching it early), and Supergirl(which had a recent trailer as well) isn’t looking too...

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'Project Almanac' Fails to Become the 'Chronicle' of Time Travel Movies

I always have high standards for time travel stories.  I expect them to be smart.  I want interesting time travelersthat do interesting stuff in their time traveling, and clever set-ups made possible by time travel.  There should be a general adherence to the time travel rules it set – whether they are plausible or outrageous.  If it’s going to wobble a lot with its time travel logic, then, at least, the story should be engaging...

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'The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of the Water' is a Madhouse of Fun

  SpongeBob Squarepants has established itself as one of the funniest and most enjoyable cartoon properties ever.  It’s not as brilliant as The Simpsons or Looney Tunes, but if you get over the inherent annoyingness of the characters and the tone, you will realize that SpongeBob Squarepants is comedy gold – effectively using both absurdity and cleverness to be consistently hilarious.The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of the Water is exactly...

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'Parasyte' Could Be the Best Anime Series of 2015

If the year ended today, Parasyte –the maxim– (yep, that’s how the complete title goes) would be my choice for “Best Anime Series of the Year” (its original run was from October 2014 to March 2015) in the 4th Bernels.  Of course, there’s still half of the year to go, and it is still possible for another 2015 anime series to impress me more, but Parasyte is so good that it would take something really mindblowing to knock it off its pedestal.The...

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'Chappie' Suffers by Being Released in the Same Year as 'Ex Machina'

                                                                                       I’ve just watched Ex Machina and Chappie back-to-back, and I think it’s appropriate to write about them in a single post, since, as the title implies,...

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Insane Theory: Natalie Portman Is Going to Be the Next Thor

When it was announced last year, as part of Avengers NOW!, that a female will not only assume Thor’s powers and Mjolnir but his name as well, I wasn’t particularly sold on the whole idea.  I argued in a past post that “Thor” is much of a definitive male name as “Spider-Man”, and letting a female assume the “Thor” name will make as less sense as Carlie Cooper assuming the name of “Spider-Man.” But, now, eight Thor issues...

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