The MUMMY - Rebooting the franchise, & starting the DARK UNIVERSE. But...

If THE MUMMY it's franchise-starter for UNIVERSAL's DARK UNIVERSE, it does a good job at that too. If it's a mindless summer entertainer, it does a decent job of that too. But if it's supposed to be a anything more, it doesn't do that well. And considering that it has a wonderful cast of Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Sofia Boutella and Annabelle Wallis amongst others, its almost a shame that it doesn't rise to more!

SPOILERS? Not sure...
It's a very cliche story of a lost artifact that turns our hero into a vessel for "pure evil" (of course you don't want that!). To defeat the pure evil, the hero has to sacrifice himself. In that process, there's a woman, who he really cares about (not sure why, how, and it's not convincing at all), so he has to save her as well. But eventually, he manages to destroy the "pure evil" and save the woman, without having to really sacrifice himself. 

GOOD:

• Russell Crowe - He plays the Dr Henry Jekyll (and Mr Hyde), and he's really good. When are we getting his own movie? I'm sure we are!
• Tom Cruise - The 54 year old, can play a convincing 30s soldier, who is intense like "Tom Cruise". It works for the movie.
• Sofia Boutella - She is rocking as princess Ahmanet. Another role with tattoos & markings on her body, and she's the tattooed girl of Hollywood. But regardless, she's good!
• CGI/VFX/Action - The usual HOLLYWOOD summer extravaganza, it's fun to watch.

Not-So-Good:

• There's no real story. Re-hash of everything we have seen, with almost nothing new to offer.
• Love story between Nick (Tom) and Jenny (Annabelle) doesn't play out. And it's a BIG bummer, since the climaxe kinda relies on it.
• Tom Cruise - He could bring so much more to the movie. The fiddling with dark-side. the romance. Ground breaking action (like Mission Impossible). But no, nothing!
• CGI/VFX/Action - It's nothing we haven't seen. Nothing!

So, you should go ahead and watch the film, if you like Tom Cruise, or THE MUMMY, or just want to have brainless fun. But if you are expecting anything more, it's on you!

On June 9, it takes a monster to defeat a monster. Watch the final trailer. #TheMummy. -- Follow: https://www.facebook.com/TheMummy/ https://twitter.com/themummy https://www.instagram.com/themummy/ -- Tom Cruise headlines a spectacular, all-new cinematic version of the legend that has fascinated cultures all over the world since the dawn of civilization: The Mummy.

Wonder Woman (4/4) | DC finally cracks the MARVEL code... or does it even better?

So far, it's almost been uncontested that MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) is far better than DCEU (DC Extended Universe). But finally comes a film, that not only questions that, but almost reverses the position. Wonder Woman releasing this Friday, is a marvel in many ways (pun intended!). A major studio superhero film, lead by a female superhero - Wonder Woman, and directed by a woman - Patty Jenkins. This makes Wonder Woman the first summer tent pole superhero film directed by a woman, and Jenkins is the first woman to direct a superhero film with a female protagonist. And so far, it's the highest rated superhero film on Rotten Tomatoes , at 94%, beating all previous DC and Marvel films. 

In the film, American pilot Steve Trevor crashes on the island of Themyscira and tells Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) about World War I, Diana leaves her home to try to stop the war and becomes Wonder Woman. Sounds simple, for a superhero origin story? It is. But it's also truer to its origin material, aka the DC comics. The setting from World War II, is changed to World War I. And it follows the new storyline to tell that Diana is daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta. There is a reference to her being made from clay, and given life by Zeus, to honor the original storyline, and it also serves as a plot device. Her life-mission is to stop and destroy Ares, the god of war. So she spends the film searching for him, eventually finding him and fighting him, and maybe destroying him.

What makes this film stand out is the tone of the film first. Thankfully it doesn't follow on the footsteps of Zack Snyder's Man of Steel or Batman v Superman. Patty Jenkins proves that DC films can be cool, funny, spirited, and not-superdark but still full of kickass action & fun. She sets up a new tone and new standard for DC films. This film is reminiscent of the first Captain America film or even Avengers, in that sense. The storytelling is crisp, with lot of humor, emotion and amazing action. There is frequent commentary on several social issues from gender bias (the amazing scene with Diana trying several dresses in UK, or going into parliament, or springing to action in war), racial issues (being brown or indigenous) , war and peace etc etc. The film does not become preachy though, but just presents those issues as part of the narrative.

Witness the rise of a Warrior. Watch the NEW #WonderWoman trailer now! -- WONDER WOMAN is in theaters June 2, 2017. From Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Entertainment comes the epic action adventure starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen and Robin Wright, directed by Patty Jenkins.

In the center of all this is our lead, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman aka Diana Prince. This is undeniably a shining star under her belt (pun intended, again!). Whether its being a fierce warrior, or naive princess, or a fresh off the boat immigrant in London, she rocks in every scene. Her performance makes the film better than what it already is.  Chris Pine as Steve Trevor is a close second. He's charming, worldly, impressive and definitely above-average (in his own words, seriously!). Rest of the cast is pretty well cast, and does a great job as well. The 2 actors to definitely point out will be Elena Anaya as Doctor Maru / Doctor Poison and Lucy Davis as Etta Candy.

Good:

• Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. Chris Pine as Steve Trevor. Practically, the entire cast!
• The humor. Thanks to good writing, and performances by Gal, Steve, Lucy and Said, to mention a few, the film is funny, really funny.
• The action. Not surprising for a DC film, but it is good.
• The social commentary. Not preachy, but important for film's spirit. Congrats Allan and Patty!

Not-so-good:

• The accents of Amzonians. I mean, were they all immigrants with different accents? I guess so. But the accent also keeps changing, as they talk. Hello Robin and Connie?
• The length of the film. At 141 minutes, it's not awful, but for some it maybe lil too long. I found it short though.
• It's too damn good? Just kidding!

Watch the film if you enjoy good action films, with humor and a heart. Don't watch, if you want to miss one of the best superhero films.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales | Javier Bardem is a ghost on quest to revenge on Jack Sparrow

There are some actors that could—literally—read anything and make it exciting. If they wanted to read the ingredients on a candy wrapper and make you weep, or quake in fear their natural abilities could and would produce their desired impact. Those thespians are rare: Cicely Tyson, James Earl Jones spring to mind, and so does Oscar® winner Javier Bardem.

Right now Bardem can be seen as the vengeful, cursed undead, Captain Salazar in Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Films “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” the fifth film in the now-iconic “Pirates of the Caribbean” film franchise, which returns Johnny Depp to his Academy Award®-nominated role as the outrageous, swashbuckling scoundrel Captain Jack Sparrow. Bardem is joined in this new adventure with Oscar® winner Geoffrey Rush.

Everything about the film is created to make it have that wow impact which includes the very look of the Captain Salazar’s (Bardem) ghostly crew and his particularly gnarly look, half spectral with a deterioration of corporeal flesh and fresh, red blood oozing from his mouth, taking charge of his doomed and cursed ship — The Silent Mary.

The ship which was designed by architect/production designer Nigel Phelps, was inspired to make the ship a “floating Spanish castle” with turrets, swiveling cannons on deck, and statues of medieval knights in full armor adorning her decks and exterior.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is in theaters May 26, 2017 in 3D, RealD 3D and IMAX 3D! Johnny Depp returns to the big screen as the iconic, swashbuckling anti-hero Jack Sparrow in the all-new "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales."

According to the press notes, The “cursed” version of the Silent Mary presented a fascinating contrast, a symphony of picturesque deterioration: large gaps in its rotting wood structure; seaweed crawling up the mainsail; kelp adorning the fraying ropes; turrets, cannons, statues, weaponry, all now covered in slimy green moss. The former pride of the Spanish Navy now a terrifying spectre, much like its cursed undead Captain Salazar.

Actors work with their surroundings. The more convincing to them, the better it plays to a world-wide audience. “Both ships are a work of art,” says Javier Bardem of the two versions of the Silent Mary, “but especially the ship that is cursed and becomes the ghost ship. It was mesmerizing and what I felt being on it was the sadness; this eternal pain I always imagined my character and his crew were carrying for so many years because of the curse. The pre-cursed one was the opposite. It was shiny and powerful and completely indestructible. And that’s what the character of Salazar is like when he’s alive. He’s very keen to be the king of the sea and the ship reflected that.”

Bardem is an unconventionally handsome man to get his ghostly look just right, it took him two to three hours a day in the chair under the artful care of Academy Award®-winning makeup and hair designer Peter King. “It’s pretty amazing what they’ve done with the makeup,” notes the actor. “Once it’s on, it really helps you to get in the mood. But also, it doesn’t kill your expression. My greatest fear was that I would not be able to show emotion or feeling with the prosthetics on my face, but that was not the case. I could do that, which is where you see the quality of those makeup artists. So yes, it was a long process of being in the chair every day, but also very rewarding because it helped me to see myself like that and to find the character.”

Describing Salazar and the ghost crew, Bardem notes, “I think they are people who have been abandoned and dead inside, but there is kind of a living rage, a flame of life that they are constantly seeking. They are not figures of death, but of life that could happen soon, and they are trying to reach it.” Adds Peter King, “Creating Salazar and his ghost crew took some three months of concept work, throwing ideas backwards and forwards between Espen and Joachim, Jerry and myself, and my team.”

Filmmaking is a team effort and to that end, director Joachim Rønning add this, “Part of the idea for Salazar and his crew was that on the day that they die inside the Devil’s Triangle, Jack had tricked them into sailing in there. They can still walk around but they may be missing part of their attire and limbs, and some are even missing half their heads. So it’s quite scary, but it’s also a little bit of fun in that they’re walking around with just half a brain.” They’re caught between the living and the dead.”

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is in theaters May 26, 2017 in 3D, RealD 3D and IMAX 3D! Johnny Depp returns to the big screen as the iconic, swashbuckling anti-hero Jack Sparrow in the all-new "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales."

“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” now playing.

SNATCHED | Could it be your Mother's Day movie?

Can a female lead comedy deliver at box office? Well, the casting is pretty stellar, so expectations would be high. But can Amy recreate her Trainwreck magic, or was it beginners luck? Can Goldie Hawn still deliver the goofball comedies she's known for? That's already a lot of pressure for any movie to handle. And as far as this movie goes, the wonderful cast and talented director Jonathan Levine do their best to deliver you as good product as possible. 

Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn, playing daughter & mother, who go on a vacation to Ecuador, where they end up getting "snatched", and there adventure begins through the jungles of Amazon. That does sound like a sellable & interesting premise, with such sellable & interesting cast as well. However, that's where the problem begins. With such team, you expect a lot. And unfortunately, you may not get as much as you want. But you do get a lot!

The film opens with a hilarious tone, where Amy plays your most annoying customer at a clothing store, who turns out to be a salesgirl (yes, that scene is very Amy, and very funny!). After getting dumped by her boyfriend, she has no one else to go her non-refundable vacation to Ecuador. So she guilts and forces her mom, played by Goldie Hawn, to join her. The mom is super annoyed at every opportunity she gets, and just wants to stay at the hotel. The daughter wants to go out & explore. She meets this handsome & charming British man, who takes her to places under the radar, the real Ecuador. Next day she pulls her mom with her, and they end up getting kidnapped, thrown in a cell with a scorpion, and blood on the walls (after all, it's South America!).

After her boyfriend dumps her on the eve of their exotic vacation, impetuous dreamer Emily Middleton (Amy Schumer) persuades her ultra-cautious mother, Linda (Goldie Hawn) to travel with her to paradise. Polar opposites, Emily and Linda realize that working through their differences as mother and daughter - in unpredictable, hilarious fashion - is the only way to escape the wildly outrageous jungle adventure they have fallen into.

This is where the real adventure starts. They try to escape, where Amy's killing spree starts, which of course annoys her mom more. They meet a small town store-manager turned explorer/adventure (played marvelously by Christopher Meloni), who's trying to help them escape. One the other hand, her super annoying and man-child brother is stalking the state department to coerce them into finding his mama & sister. This whole bit is definitely funny. And so is the scene where a doctor tries to pull out a tapeworm out of Amy, the "old school way". The adventure continues, of course leading them to discover who they are, and find a new love & admiration for their mom/daughter.

I have to say that film is beautifully shot. Almost too beautifully for a comedy like this. Amazon jungle looks lovely, and Ecuador looks inviting (if we keep the kidnappings aside).

That leads to some of the problems in the film. It's filled with stereotypes (gun toting, long haired Colombians). Even though Amy and Goldie do there best to split you up (Amy's scene of trying to "clean herself up" in the bathroom, to get ready for a possible "get together" with James, is joint point blank hilarious AF), there's just several times that the premise is not supporting those jokes. So... Too many cliches & stereotypes? Yes. Does it get boring or annoying? Yes. But is it also funny? Yes, yes. At several places. So should you watch it? That's up to you.

After her boyfriend dumps her on the eve of their exotic vacation, impetuous dreamer Emily Middleton (Amy Schumer) persuades her ultra-cautious mother, Linda (Goldie Hawn) to travel with her to paradise. Polar opposites, Emily and Linda realize that working through their differences as mother and daughter - in unpredictable, hilarious fashion - is the only way to escape the wildly outrageous jungle adventure they have fallen into.

It is Mother's Day weekend, so if you have nothing better planned. Amy & Goldie say, you should go watch SNATCHED. ;)

Production companies: Chernin Entertainment, Feigco Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox
Distributor: Fox
Cast: Amy Schumer, Goldie Hawn, Joan Cusack, Ike Barinholtz, Wanda Sykes, Christopher Meloni, Tom Bateman, Oscar Jaenada, Randall Park, Bashir Salahuddin, Al Madrigal, Kevin Kane
Director: Jonathan Levine
Writer: Katie Dippold
Producers: Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, Paul Feig, Jesse Henderson
Executive producers: Kim Caramele, Tonia Davis
Production designer: Mark Ricker
Director of photography: Florian Ballhaus
Music: Chris Bacon, Theodore Shapiro
Editors: Zene Baker, Melissa Bretherton

Rated R, 91 minutes