NEW THIS WEEK
Set
20 years after the original sci-fi summer blockbuster, Independence Day: Resurgence takes
place in an alternate timeline. The nations of the world have united together,
using the technology left behind by the alien attack in the first film to build
a advanced, Utopian society. When the aliens return, somehow bigger and more
hostile than ever, it’s up to an unlikely team of scientists, soldiers, and
politicians to fight them off using everything we’ve learned since they first
arrived.
We Said: “Independence
Day: Resurgence is every bit as fun, every bit as silly, and every bit
as destructive as the original.” Rating:
3.5 out of 5
The Good: Much like the
original Independence Day, this new film is nothing but big, loud,
blockbuster fun. As a sequel, it’s actually rather clever, and introduces a lot
of interesting ideas about how we’d rebuild after the mass destruction seen in
the first Independence Day film. Many of the original cast members
return, and continue to totally nail the silly/sincere tone that director
Roland Emmerich’s movies typically go for. It’s nostalgic, it’s goofy, it’s
exciting, and a lot of the visuals are just as stunning as in the original
movie. Resurgence is pure fun.
The Bad: Okay, so this movie
is a mess. A fun mess, but still a mess. It’s hard to accept an Independence
Day movie without original star Will Smith. They try to make up for him
with Liam Hemsworth’s character, but it just doesn’t land as well as the
filmmakers would hope. The plot of the movie is also incredibly confusing, and
next to impossible to follow. My biggest problem, however, is its awkward
shifts in tone. Sometimes it would introduce a new concept, plotpoint or character
and it would be actually compelling; but as soon as you start to get into that new
idea, the film then shifts back into being a big loud action movie again. Then,
once you start enjoying the thoughtless destruction, it shifts back to characters
and ideas. Both tones are cool. Resurgence just can’t decide which
movie it wants to be more.
Overall: Independence
Day: Resurgence is a very fun mess. Exactly the kind of mess you’d want
the Independence
Day sequel to be. It’s loud, it’s silly, it’s occasionally well thought
out, but mostly it’s just a fun time.
In
this sequel to Disney’s 2010 live-action remake, Alice once again returns to
Wonderland. This time she has to save the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), who has
recently become cripplingly depressed. Concerned for her friend’s well being,
Alice seeks the aid of The Master of Time (Sacha Baron Cohen) to travel back through time and right the
wrongs that are upsetting the Hatter.
We Said: “Resembling nothing that author Lewis
Carroll ever wrote; Alice Through the Looking Glass is a nonsensical mish-mash of
half-baked ideas..” Rating: 1 out of 5
The Good: James Bobbin does a
very good job of taking over the franchise from previous director Tim Burton.
The visual look of this movie is pretty awesome, particularly the scenes that
play with time. On the topic, Sacha Baron Cohen is a lot of fun as the essence
of time itself. I’m enjoying the trend of dropping him into little campy bit-parts
in movies like Les Mis, Hugo, and now Looking Glass. He’s a
pretty consistently entertaining character actor. Alan Rickman also appears
briefly in a voice-over role, and just hearing one of his final performances is
really something special. The movie has some fun moments here and there, but it’s
mostly the visuals that stand out in Through the Looking Glass.
The Bad: The plot of the movie
somehow manages to be both paper-thin and overly complex. It uses tired time
travel tropes to add a level of unnecessary and unwanted explanation to the
absurd characters created by Lewis Carol. Most of the actors also seem very
upset about having to do this movie, which just enhances the tired pace the
film moves at. Very rarely does Alice ever become anything more than
‘okay’.
Overall: Alice
Through the Looking Glass is another disappointing sequel. It looks
incredible, but doesn’t have a lot to say. It’s fine, I guess.
Set
in 1930’s Hollywood, Woody Allen’s latest dramedy stars Jesse Eisenberg as a
young man who falls in love with the secretary (Kristen Stewart) of his casting
agent uncle (Steve Carell)
We Said: “[Woody Allen’s]
latest, the intriguingly-titled Café Society, is undoubtedly
gorgeous in both setting and casting, but it shows a basic filmmaking
incompetence that would get any other director drummed out of the business.” Rating: 1 out of 5
