Key & Peele Shine But Keanu The Cat Shines Brighter
You know exactly what kind of movie you are getting walking into Key & Peele’s first big-screen venture. ‘Keanu‘ is basically one of the best sketch ideas for their show expanded to a feature length movie. The result is a hilarious & relevant comedy that showcases what the two men do best.
The real star of the show is the 7 tabby cats that play the titular Keanu. The adorable kittens made even the most cynical critic say “aww” quite a few times. Wait till you see the brilliant collection of movie-themed photos that Jordan Peele’sRell takes of Keanu; they are priceless and I need the calendar of them as soon as possible.
Something I really enjoyed about the movie is they avoid falling into major cliches. Half-way through the film, I expected Keegan-Michael Key’sClarence & Peele’s Rell to have a major fight and the story would halt to reunite them. That never happened! While they did buttheads at times, they never went down that tired route many comedic films take. This allowed the story to keep going. Once the action picks up, it never stops. Also, the ending doesn’t end on this overly happy note. While most comedies wrap everything up with a happy bow, ‘Keanu‘ remains funny but keeps it real.
The fact the directorPeter Atencio can sustain the premise for more than a 5-minute sketch is another point of praise. Atencio is usually found directing segments for the ‘Key & Peele‘ sketch show so he seems comfortable working with the guys and the obscurity. The director handles the material written by Alex Rubens and Jordan Peele very well. The gangster violence is never sacrificed for a laugh; both comedy & action are well balanced.
Also, what was up with ‘Keanu‘ being a low-key love-letter to the music of George Michael? As teased in the some of the trailers, the former frontman of WHAM! fills up most of the soundtrack. Other than some random rap songs, Michael’s best hits like “Father Figure” & “Freedom ’90!” are heavily played. This random homage does lead to genuinely hilarious moments; the biggest being Key re-creating the famous music video for “Faith“. It was worth the viewing alone.
‘Keanu‘ has far more highs than it does lows. The action-comedy movie starring Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele leaves me looking forward to the two actors doing more big-screen movies.
Will you be seeing Warner Bros. ‘Keanu‘ when it comes out this Friday?
The Micronauts have a large following thanks to the comic series which helped to add back story to the toy line. This is new series is the attempt to introduce a new generation of fans to the franchise. Will it be able to capture a new audience?
The story by Cullen Bunn doesn’t beat around the bush and goes straight in by explaining how a force is decimating planets. Then moves into introducing the main characters, sending them on a mission, and giving nods to Baron Karza, who is scheming to take over the universe. If it sounds like there is a lot going on in the comic it should. A lot of elements are introduced in this issue and it’s often hard to keep up. Still, the moments when Acroyear and his team are fighting are entertaining.
The art looks very detailed. Compared to the previous incarnations of the characters, this is definitely the more appealing of any adaptation of the Micronauts ever made. It should be considering how many people worked to make the final product. The book had four finishers (Fico Ossio, Max Dunbar, Jack Lawrence, and David Baldeon), four colorists (David Gracia Cruz, Joana LaFuente, Thomas Deer, and John-Paul Bove), and David Baldeon doing the breakdowns. A lot of artists in the kitchen but the results speak for themselves and the book looks great.
The issue makes you wants to read more but it does feel like they are trying to compress a lot into the first issue. Especially with the description from the website of the actual story. Despite everything mentioned, their really isn’t any actual time travel happening yet. This means, the story is going to go very far and deep in a short amount of time. Fans will want to pick this one up so they don’t get lost.
Smart phones turn people into zombies in Cell, the new Stephen King adaptation starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson. Here is the trailer, which doesn’t really sell us anything new. There’s always room for surprises though:
When a mysterious cell phone signal causes apocalyptic chaos, an artist is determined to reunite with his young son in New England.
Not much detail, but it has potential if for no other reason John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson are an interesting pairing. And it’s a Stephen King adaptation which, nobody’s ever made a poor one of those, right? It just kinda seems like this is the sort of King story that works better on the pages, but I’m willing to be wrong.
Isabelle Fuhrman and Stacy Keach also star in Cell, directed by Tod Williams, and will hit theaters later this year.
Ernest Hemingway was a fascinating true life character. The life he led makes for a better story than most of what Hollywood’s been able to come up with lately, which is probably why he’s been portrayed over 40 times in film and TV. Papa: Hemingway in Cuba, directed by Bob Yari, is the latest portrayal, and tells a tale from the point of view of one of the author’s closest friends.
Papa is the true story of Denne Bart Petitclerc (called Ed Myers in the film), a Miami newspaper writer who was invited to spend time with his idol in Cuba after writing him a heartfelt letter. The two develop a tight relationship, and Hemingway becomes the father figure that Ed never had growing up (it’s fitting that Ernest’s actual nickname was “Papa”). All of this happens in the midst of Fidel Castro’s Cuban Revolution, and Myers gets swept up in the hurricane that was Papa’s life.
Ironically, the writing is what brings this picture down, coupled with Yari’s poor direction (it was only his second turn in the chair, and his first since 1989). The central plot is never clear, and the story moves much too fast. One minute it’s centered on Hemingway’s involvement in the Revolution, then it jumps to his depression and how it affected his marriage, and then it jumps yet again to Eddie’s own relationship with someone back in Miami. What’s actually driving the story? Where are we as viewers supposed to invest our emotions? Yari doesn’t spend enough time on anyone (including Papa himself) to make us care about what’s happening to them. Why should the audience feel anything towards Eddie’s love interest when her character isn’t developed at all, and she disappears for huge chunks of the movie?
Castro’s Revolution is the most engaging and intriguing part of the story by far, but sadly even that’s done a disservice. This is set up to be the crux of the film: Hemingway’s home is at war and the FBI is after him for various shady reasons. It’s intense, but it gets lost in the mess of assorted plot lines. Had Yari committed to making the Revolution the central focus of his work, it would have been wholly better. Instead, we get the tease of an engrossing storyline only to have it ripped away without a sense of closure.
The dialogue doesn’t do much to help the movie. It’s clunky, clichéd, and extremely expository to the point that it doesn’t sound natural. The characters just sound like they’re reading lines, and it’s actually quite comical at times. That’s not a slight against the actors either; everyone in this picture genuinely looks to be trying their best with the material they were given. Considering this script was written by the actual Denne Petitclerc before his death, it’s hard to see what Hemingway saw in him all those years ago.
Ultimately, there isn’t much else worth saying about Papa. It’s an interesting excerpt from the life a brilliant and tragic figure, but all of that gets lost thanks to messy storytelling from an inexperienced director. Your time would be better spent reading Hemingway’s biography or watching an actual documentary.
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Papa: Hemingway in Cuba opens in theaters this Friday, April 29th.
The description is as blunt and to the point as the comic itself. Picking up right where the previous issue left off, new arrivals are helping to fight back the Decepticon Justice Division. It’s good to see the lost members of the crew coming back to help when the team has its back against the wall. We also see something which comes around once in a blue moon: Rodimus having to gravel and admit he was wrong. Considering how often he is, you’d think he’d be used to it by now.
The main bulk of the issue though is the showdown between Megatron and Tarn. What happens when a man who has walked away from his past meets back up with the student who regarded him as a prophet? Simple, Tarn (the student) is angry and he will hear nothing of this new life path Megatron has chosen. Just as it looks like Megatron is going down for the count another face from his past shows up who also wants a piece of him. The issue is full of such high tension, intense dialogue, and brutal violence you can’t help but read it through several times.
Milne’s art is as on point as it ever was. Some of the best panels include Tarn and Megatron’s talk amongst the field of spark flowers representing all the lives Megatron has taken over the years. Thanks to Joana LaFuente’s color work, the book is awash with colors which help to accentuate the actions taking place.
The team has built up the action to a new height. Now all they need to do is bring it home and let the real battle between the Lost Light Crew and the Decepticon Justice Division begin. Luckily, the action and art is so spot on the team won’t have to worry about losing any readers anytime soon. Unless of course the next issue is a bloodbath, but even then what a memorial issue it would be.
Sony released a behind-the-scenes look at Kevin from the ‘Ghostbusters.’ Chris Hemsworth plays the dim-witted administrative assistant.
April 27th is Administrative Professionals Day, and the new Ghostbusters’ assistant, Kevin (Chris Hemsworth), is here to remind you to celebrate your assistant tomorrow. Kevin sets his own unique (and extremely handsome) bar as an assistant. Not every office can have a Kevin, but if your assistant keeps you organized, running on schedule, and your workplace completely free of ghosts, then he or she is just the kind of assistant that deserves celebrating.
‘Ghostbusters’ makes its long-awaited return, rebooted with a cast of hilarious new characters. Thirty years after the beloved original franchise took the world by storm, director Paul Feig brings his fresh take to the supernatural comedy, joined by some of the funniest actors working today – Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and Chris Hemsworth. This summer, they’re here to save the world! The film is produced by Ivan Reitman and Amy Pascal, and written by Katie Dippold & Paul Feig, based on the 1984 film “Ghostbusters,” written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis and directed by Ivan Reitman.
‘Ghostbusters’ will be released in theaters nationwide on July 15, 2016.
Papa: Hemingway in Cuba is an ambitious, lovingly crafted portrait of an influential friendship between a young writer and one of the 20th Century’s literary giants. The film is well cast, beautifully shot, and seems to make every effort towards conveying authenticity of place, time, and emotion.
Unfortunately, the script is on many occasions throughout the film heavy-handed and overwritten, a tremendous irony considering its subject. The performers here do what they can with what they’re given, but scenes meant to deliver the film’s impact are diminished as they veer off time and again into ham-fisted melodrama.
What’s it about?
In the late 1950s, Miami Globe writer Ed Myers (Giovanni Ribisi) writes a letter to his hero, Ernest Hemingway, expressing all the ways Hemingway and his works helped him find his way in life. Hemingway actually receives the letter, thanks to the efforts of Ed’s Globe co-worker, Deb (Minka Kelly, TV’s “Friday Night Lights“), and remarkably, responds by calling Myers at his newsroom desk.
“Great letter, kid,” says Hemingway to an awestruck Myers. “Do you like to fish?”
So begins an astonishing friendship, as Myers gains a father figure and mentor, while Hemingway gains a kindred spirit. But as he becomes a part of Hemingway’s life in those twilight years, he comes to see his hero in a whole different light, and bears witness as the literary giant struggles with age, regret, his tumultuous relationship with his fourth wife, Mary (Joely Richardson), and revolution changing the Cuba he’s come to love.
A true story
The script for Papa: Hemingway in Cuba comes from the late Denne Bart Petitclerc, who wrote it based on his real-life experiences and his friendship with Hemingway. Petitclerc’s affection for his friend is evident in every frame of the film, but the film doesn’t lionize Hemingway. There is an effort to show the complexity of the man – his moods, his struggles with depression, his temper, and his propensity to overindulge in alcohol.
The production, touted as the first Hollywood film to shoot in Cuba since the 1959 revolution, makes a supreme effort to compliment the script with as much authenticity as possible. As a result, Papa: Hemingway in Cuba never fails to impress in terms of the look of the production. From the late 50s-era cars to the buildings and the many scenes shot inside Hemingway’s home, now a national museum in Cuba, it’s a feast for the eyes, especially for Hemingway fans.
Director Bob Yari, along with cinematographer Ernesto Melara, fill Papa: Hemingway in Cuba with sweeping shots of glistening ocean waters, swaying palm trees, and bustling Havana streets to fully immerse audiences in the film’s world, a world few outside the island have seen in more than 50 years. Though Cuba may become a more accessible destination for Americans in the years to come, for now, the film provides a sumptuous glimpse at the island nation, in order for audiences to better understand just why someone like Hemingway would fall in love with the place as much as he did.
Casting cannot overcome script failings
Though Giovanni Ribisi carries top billing in Papa: Hemingway in Cuba, it’s Adrian Sparks who dominates the film as he brings to life Hemingway himself. Sparks, a veteran TV and stage actor who played Hemingway to great acclaim in a 2005 one-man stage play simply entitled “Papa,” simply is Hemingway – he never fails to convince as the aging writer.
Joely Richardson proves a capable match for Sparks on-screen as Mary, who was a writer and war correspondent in her own right before her marriage to Hemingway, and thus had her own stories and ego to match his. As depicted here, theirs was a love characterized by emotions both grandly displayed and willfully withheld, one that tended to be explosive when the drinking went too far on both sides. Richardson and Sparks deliver the difficult scenes effectively – it’s tough to take your eyes off the spectacle when the two throw down.
Surprisingly, for all the skill displayed in the film’s cast, their work is held back by a screenplay that at times can’t get out of its own way. Reportedly, the screen story in Papa: Hemingway in Cuba is “100% true”, thus moving the film more into the realm of docudrama than biopic. However, the wordiness of many exchanges between the characters simply goes beyond suspension of disbelief. If anything, it’s almost impossible to believe that Hemingway, with his personal literary style so synonymous with economy of words and language, would ever talk the way he does in this film.
Papa: Hemingway in Cuba also suffers from pacing issues, lumbering from one difficult exchange between characters to the next the way Hemingway himself lumbers from room to room in the house. The last half of the film supposedly covers one long weekend, but with all that happens in that span, all unfolding at a glacial pace, it feels more like a month’s time.
Worth seeing?
If there’s affection in your heart for Hemingway and/or his works, or if you have some curiosity about seeing Cuba as it was in the 1950s (which, for the most part, it still is today), then Papa: Hemingway in Cuba will make for interesting viewing. It’s by no means a must-see in theaters, however – the breathtaking views of Havana’s streets and Cuba’s beautiful beaches, as well as the glimpses inside the Hemingway home, will all be just as effective on home video.
Papa: Hemingway in Cuba
Starring Giovanni Ribisi, Joely Richardson, Minka Kelly, Shaun Toub, James Remar, and Adrian Sparks. Directed by Bob Yari.
Running Time: 109 minutes
Rated R for language, sexuality, some violence and nudity.
By the end of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ Rey (Daisy Ridley) was holding her own when it comes to Jedi skills, but she is still an untrained Force user. At the end of the film, Rey finds Luke Skywalker and gives him his lightsaber back. The stakes are always higher in a sequel, and it appears Rey has some Jedi training ahead of her.
Ridley gave Star Wars fans a brief glimpse of her lightsaber training in the video below. Yoda would be proud.
‘Episode VIII’ is written and directed by Rian Johnson. The film stars Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Benicio Del Toro, Gwendoline Christie, John Boyega, Lupita Nyong’o, Peter Mayhew, Andy Serkis, Anthony Daniels, and Jimmy Vee.
‘Episode VIII’ will be in theaters on December 15, 2017.
IDW’s Strawberry Shortcake comic is based on the newest incarnation of the franchise, Strawberry Shortcake’s Berry Bitty Adventures. The first issue issue has her facing off against Steve Pieman, a Yootoobz (the book’s fictional version of the website) celebrity, who obviously turns out to be the Strawberry Shortcake’s old antagonist, The Peculiar Purple Pieman. Those who haven’t seen the new show but are familiar with the Pieman should know he has not made an appearance in the new serie at all. This is his triumphant return and it feels off.
Having an older character be modernized is one thing but now he’s an internet celebrity and constantly using a selfie stick. Yeah, he’s pulling his old tricks of cheating his way to the top but he’s lacking the over the top antics of his previous incarnations and he also doesn’t the signature dance (“Yah-tah-tah-tah-tah-tah-tah-tah, tah-tah-tah-tah! Cha!”). Luckily, this Strawberry Shortcake is more keen to his tricks and is quick think he might be up to something. Good to see her being more independent and not so easily swindled like she was in the old stories.
The art captures the style of the show well. The characters are all bright and vibrant especially with the effects during the bake off. The combination of art by Amy Mebberson and Fernando Peniche doing the coloring makes for a great product.
It’s not bad but it just seems like they can do so much more especially with the Pieman. Is he going to be plotting a scheme every issue he’s in to boost his viewership on Yootoobz? Let’s hope not. Hopefully the team will take a page from the My Little Pony comics (which most of the crew has already worked on) and do some things the TV ser[easy-tweet tweet=”The Pie Man is back!” user=”@IDWPublishing” hashtags=”#IDW, #Comics, #Strawberryshortcake”]ies can’t like exploring alternate realities or flushing out some plot holes which didn’t get covered properly in the show. This issue is a dull start but there is potential. With any luck this series will become one fans will definitely have to check out.
In our never ending societal need to label every day on the calendar, it seems April 26 (4/26) is “Alien Day,” referencing the planet, LV-426, where the xenomorphs were discovered in the film. It’s a stretch, but whatever. Let the people have what they want, ya know?
And on this Alien Day, the franchise is busy churning out not one, but two films. The first, Alien: Covenant, is coming from Ridley Scott. It’s an Alien movie but it’s actually a Prometheus sequel, which was a prequel to Alien, and this one will… My head hurts.
But what makes my head hurt even more is the fact that this Neill Blomkamp sequel to the original films is still happening. It wasn’t happening, then it was, and no matter where it is in pre-production, unfortunately Neill Blomkamp is still attached as director. And now he’s posted some concept art on his Instagram that tells us one of two things:
Yes, that’s an adult Newt. This means either Blomkamp is completely ignoring David Fincher’s much maligned but underappreciated Alien 3, which opened with Newt being found dead in her pod, or it means cloning is coming back to the franchise, the sole reason for Alien: Resurrection to shoehorn Sigourney Weaver into the credits. Either way, it’s probably a mistake.
Alien 3 is not a bad film, and a nice bookend to the trilogy. Ignoring it feels spiteful, though it happens in Hollywood. But if Blomkamp plans on making this film a true fifth entry into the franchise, then he plans on using the ridiculous plot construction of Resurrection. Odds are he is ignoring Alien 3, the lesser of the two evils I suppose, especially since Sigourney Weaver has already agreed to return. So this will probably be a reset of Alien 3, picking up where Aliens left off – or maybe picking up a few years later since Newt wouldn’t age in the hyper sleep. This is getting complicated, but the most disconcerting thing about it all is the involvement of Neill Blomkamp.
I don’t really want to sit here and bash a filmmaker, it feels dirty. But I think I will for a minute. As we get further and further from District 9, one of the best sci-fi films of the 21st century, Blomkamp has been busy proving that debut masterpiece was a fluke. Elysium is loaded with problems, from Jodie Foster’s weird over acting, to the fleeting nature of the plot, to Sharlto Copley showing up as the villain from what seemed to be an entirely different movie. And then there was Chappie (which has its defenders but, c’mon), a mean-spirited, grating movie length Die Antwoord music video. I aggressively dislike Chappie, and I have little to no faith in Blomkamp anymore.
What’s wrong with a Prometheus sequel? Well, besides it being a Prometheus sequel, that is. It’s a new adventure in the same universe, and might be able to rebound from the overwritten first film. We don’t really need a fifth Alien film with Weaver and the old crew. That story has been told. Tell a new story with new characters and see what happens. And let Blomkamp continue to Shyamalan himself with another original flop.
