Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Transformers: The Last Knight

Michael Bay once again directs another installment of the Transformers film series that he first started in 2007 with Transformers: The Last Knight. This installment sees all Transformers being considered a threat all over the word, with Mark Wahlberg doing all he can to save them all the while Cybertron is headed towards Earth in order to destroy it so the Transformers' home planet is rebuilt. Like the last films before it, this film simultaneously adds to the mythology of the franchise while also causing a lot of retcons based on the history and relationship between humans and the cybernetic alien race. The movie has an incredible opening sequence involving King Arthur teaming up with Transformers to form the Round Table and somehow once again involving the giant robots in many of Earth's biggest historical moments and legends. Despite what the trailers show, Optimus Prime being turned evil and attacking his friends barely even happens as he appears in the beginning, has small appearances in the middle, and only takes action near the end of a film that's over two hours long. There are really good performances by both new and returning cast members like Wahlberg, Josh Duhamel, Anthony Hopkins, and Isabela Moner. Once again Bay injects this installment with sophomoric and immature humor as the previous films, but it's better contained than the last one and there are really good funny moments. The action scenes are well made, but can be pretty hard to figure out due to so many things happening at once and how the editing is very jumbled. As much as I love Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, all of the constant times he says his name and makes a huge speech about the good of humanity or coming home can get really annoying. Over all: 62%
2017 top list so far:
1. Wonder Woman
2. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
3. Logan
4. Alien: Covenant
5. John Wick: Chapter 2
6. The Lego Batman Movie
7. Saban's Power Rangers
8. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
9. Kong: Skull Island
10. Split
11. The Fate of the Furious
12. Beauty and the Beast 2017
13. Transformers: The Last Knight

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Pop Culture Guy episode 28: Beauty and the Beast 2017 and Saban's Power ...

Wonder Woman

Being directed by a woman, having a female superhero in the lead, and being part of the same series that Suicide Squad is a part of, it's no wonder many people were skeptical that Wonder Woman would be even considered good. However, this is the film that elevates the DC Extended Universe closer to the levels of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Wonder Woman is a nearly flawless film that's a game changer, not only for the superhero genre but to many female based action oriented films as a whole. Gal Gadot is perfect as Wonder Woman and has nailed everything in this movie that was missing from Dawn of Justice such as her love for humanity, her belief in man, and her misunderstanding of the outside world. This film proves that, thanks to the hard work by Patty Jenkins, female directors can make successful big budget films. The World War One setting fits very well with the story, the humor works all the way, the story is told better than the last DCEU films, Chris Pine has amazing chemistry with Gadot, and the film is just so fun to watch. Though there are still some parts that don't always work like the many uses of slow motion or that it doesn't answer why if Ares is killed then why there's still war going on after the first World War. Over all: 100%
2017 top list so far:
1. Wonder Woman
2. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
3. Logan
4. Alien: Covenant
5. John Wick: Chapter 2
6. The Lego Batman Movie
7. Saban's Power Rangers
8. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
9. Kong: Skull Island
10. Split
11. The Fate of the Furious
12. Beauty and the Beast 2017

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Justice League/Power Rangers #4

Focusing more on drama than action, Justice League/Power Rangers #4 picks up a short time after the third issue wherein the Justice League and the Rangers figure out a way to get back to Angel Grove. Even though they manage to get back to the Rangers' Earth, they're too late as Angel Grove is domed, teleported to Braniac's ship, and shrunken down. In order to fight alongside the League against Braniac and Zedd's forces, the Rangers are given some weapons that Batman had stored in order to even the odds. By far this is the best issue of the crossover so far due to how well the dramatic moments are written and seeing how much fun it is for the Rangers to use some well known DC weapons like Lex Luthor's battle suit or Katana's sword. The moment where Zach feels responsible for being unable to save his family is very emotional and the cliffhanger with a mind controlled Cyborg is intriguing. Over all: 100%
Top list so far:
1. Deadpool Killustrated
2. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6
3. Civil War: Choosing Sides Vol. 1 #1
4. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4
5. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3
6. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2
7. An Innocent Guy
8. Batman: The Killing Joke
9. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1
10. Batman: The Long Halloween
11. Justice League/Power Rangers #4
12. Justice League/Power Rangers #3
13. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2016 Annual #1
14. Justice League/Power Rangers #1
15. Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe
16. Crisis on Infinite Earths
17. Justice League/Power Rangers #2
18. Free Comic Book Day: Secret Empire
19. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5
20. Star Trek/Planet of the Apes: The Primate Directive
21. Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2
22. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1
23. The Dark Knight Returns
24. Doctor Who: Beneath the Waves Part 1
25. Old Man Logan
26. Cartoon Network Super Secret Crisis War
27. Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 1
28. The Comic Cavalcade: Archives Volume 1
29. Civil War
30. The New Mutants #98