Angel Has Fallen

This is the third movie of the Olympus Has Fallen series. Actually, this was the first one I watched before going back to see the other 2. There is continuity between the films, but it’s not anything too complicated that can’t be picked up. In this one, Secret Service Agent Mike Banning, played by Gerard Butler, has to go on the run after being framed for an attack he didn’t do. He must work alone trying to uncover the true culprit and plot.

The movie is an action film, though the fighting isn’t as fantastical or over-the-top as some things like Mission Impossible or John Wick. It feels more grounded overall, though it is still a one person show with Mike Banning having to do most of the work. This time around, he doesn’t have the help and support of the US Government, so he must find help elsewhere.

The movie isn’t too complicated. Perhaps you can figure out who the bad guy is going to be just by being a famous actor hanging around. The plot is just there to push Mike Banning into a new situation where he must save the President single-handedly once again. It’s there for those that want a simple film that you can relax and enjoy.

I don’t have too much more to say about Angel Has Fallen. If you want more Mike Banning, this movie has it. It’s much like the other films, though I feel the action scenes here are simpler, possibly due to Gerard Butler getting older. The movie doesn’t feel as visceral as the previous films, but it still does have it’s moments. The scene in the woods is also fantastic and outrageous.

Green Snake

Green Snake is based on a Chinese myth. This movie is actually the sequel to the film, White Snake, though White Snake is not on Netflix, so I haven’t seen it. I do know the original story, though, so I’m going to give you a short summary before going into Green Snake. It won’t have any spoilers for this movie since Green Snake happens after the end of White Snake and is a wholly original story. It might be a spoiler for the White Snake movie.

The actual story is all about the White Snake. The White Snake is an actual monster snake that turns into a woman and marries a man. Together they have a child. But there is a monk, Fahai, that is thinks the White Snake is a monster in disguise. He convinces the husband to give the White Snake a potion. If she is a human, nothing will happen. If she is a monster, she will return to her true form. The husband does so and is scared away when White Snake returns to her snake form. The husband hides with the monk at the temple. That is when White snake and her sister, Green Snake, attacks the temple trying to get the husband to return.

The movie Green Snake starts there at the end, with White Snake and Green Snake attacking the temple to get White Snake’s husband to return. Then the movie goes off into it’s own thing with Green Snake as the main character. The monk, Fahai, defeats the sisters with White Snake getting trapped under a tower and Green Snake getting knocked out. When Green Snake awakens, she is in a strange mish-mash world where people with deep obsessions go. Green Snake happens to be obsessed with freeing her sister from the tower and can’t find peace. The world she’s in is dangerous and constantly changing. There are monsters and worse there, and Green Snake has lost access to her magical powers.

The movie is an action-packed adventure in a dangerous city. There are various factions all struggling to survive in a dangerous world where at any moment, ghosts can come and infect people, creating more ghosts. It is an interesting place.

The story mainly follows Green Snake as she struggles to escape that world as well as her feelings of hatred for the monk as well as feelings of sadness at how useless White Snake’s husband is. Through the long journey, Green Snake doesn’t actually change that much. There are some small differences, but who she is at the beginning is pretty much who she is at the end. The story isn’t about her growth but rather her struggles and journey out of the harsh world of Asuraville.

Green Snake is a fun character to follow. She certainly has trust issues in others, but she still struggles and pushes along. Her stay in Asuraville brings her into contact with a lot of new situations and characters. She stays firm in her quest to escape and then free her sister from the pagoda.

Along the way, she makes friends with a masked individual, a leader of the Raksha gang and a mysterious fox-woman merchant. The fox merchant is the best character in the movie. She just has a sassy air about her no matter what happens along with a fun, playful voice. The masked individual has lost his memories, so you know there is something going on. Learning the whole story around him is satisfying and interesting. It might seem strange, but it all works out within the rules of Asuraville.

The movie is a fun expansion on an old Chinese myth. Asuraville is a rough place, but it makes for an interesting setting full of strange people. The characters work well in the movie, and the setting and journey are fun. It is a Chinese fantasy that makes me want to see their take on the White Snake story.

Olympus Has Fallen

Olympus Has Fallen is an action movie starring Gerard Butler as Mike Banning, a secret service agent. A well-organized militia has attacked the White House. He happens to be the only guy capable enough to not be caught in the attack but still close enough to sneak in before the perimeter gets set up. So it’s all up to him to save the day from these mysterious attackers.

The movie is mostly about the action. All of the people in the White House are incapable of doing much of anything to help, so it all has to be on Mike Banning. The action is solid and there is some variety. And the visuals of all the secret service agents on site and other staff members getting gunned down does feel visceral and really makes you want Mike to win.

The movie has a lot of those shots that just makes me feel the need to see Mike go kick some ass. Seeing the White House get taken down does make me feel upset. Of course, this is a movie primarily for the USA, so I don’t know how other countries would view those events, or if they would even be interested. The main villain of the movie, in particular, is smug and conceited. He’s easy to root against, and you want to see him get taken down.

There is a bit of a mystery going on as the officials outside of the White House try to figure out who has taken over and what they want. They coordinate with Mike as best they can. Meanwhile, we get scenes of the President and a few of his staff with the kidnappers. The president, while not being an action guy, does hold his own well. He does the best he can while being at a total disadvantage and shows why he’s the president.

Olympus Has Fallen is a simple movie with lots of action. It relies on simple things to evoke emotion, but those things are iconic to the USA. It’s a shortcut that works well for building tension and emotion. The characters are interesting, including the side characters in the President’s staff. It’s a solid action film that you don’t need to think much about.

The Fall Guy

The Fall Guy, starring Ryan Gosling as Colt Seavers, is an action romp movie mixed with some romantic comedy. A romp-com. The movie also goes into what it means to be a stunt person, the people that make all of the cool shots happen yet you never see their faces. Colt is a stunt person that retired due to an injury. He body got better, but his mentality didn’t return, so he went off to do normal jobs until a favor was called in and he returned to work once again. Only there is more to him being called back than just needing a stunt man.

Emily Blunt plays Jody Moreno, a new director making her first big action blockbuster mixed with romance. She and Colt used to be a couple until Colt got injured and he shut everyone away. Their reconnection on her movie set is both awkward yet kind of sweet. The two still like each other, but Colt’s disappearance really changed Jody’s views on love and how sometimes, it just doesn’t work out. Will they get back together, all while Colt is off doing a secret assignment for the producer? You certainly do root for the two of them to find happiness with each other. They’re just great in their scenes together.

Meanwhile the actual star of the movie, the person that Colt is supposed to be the stunt double of, is missing. That is Colt’s actual reason for being around, to find the star of the movie.

What follows is both relationship drama and sweetness along with a lot of cool stunt pieces. All of Cole’s training in driving, jumping, and doing dangerous stuff gets put to the test as he actually gets into bad situations all while trying to find the star of the film. The action scenes in the movie are great with lots of cool shots, jumps, and action. Colt is definitely better at the driving and jumping compared to fighting since stunt people aren’t actually supposed to fight, but he’s no slouch.

The bad guys of the film, and I won’t say who they are, are quite despicable. It is mainly in their demeanor and the way they behave. You want to just take Colt’s suggestion to beat the crap out of them. They just have that petty kind of energy. The final action scene confronting them does drag on a bit long, though.

The heart of the film is the relationship between Colt and Jody, and that storyline compliments the action parts well. You can’t have one without the other. The movie also does show a bit of what stunt people go through just doing their jobs. It’s not a huge part of the film, but it is a welcome spotlight on them. Being directed by a stunt performer and stunt coordinator, the stunts in the movie are great as well.

The Fall Guy is a fun romantic movie all about the unsung people that make action films work.

Wonder Park

Wonder Park is about June, a young girl with a great imagination who is also a bit of an engineer. She has created a whole imaginary theme park with the help of her mother and has several scale prototypes of rides as well. Or is it all imaginary? There may be magic going on, but that’s neither here nor there for the movie.

What does happen, though, is that June’s mother becomes sick. As a result, June no longer wants to play in her imaginary theme park, Wonderland, any more. (As an aside, I have to think they named the movie Wonder Park instead of Wonderland due to some outside reason, but I haven’t looked into it.) Anyway, Wonderland has been shelved until June mysteriously gets transported to a real version of the park inhabited by all of fun, talking animal staff. The only problem, the park is besieged by tiny chimpanzees and is falling apart. A darkness has fallen over the entire place. They rely on her to save the park because they view her as the engineer.

Wonder Park is a simple story with simple characters. Things lack depth or nuance with the message clearly spelled out. I think this is targeted at younger children, perhaps in the 5-7 range. The characters are pretty much what you see is what you get. They’re fun and wacky with only a bit more to that. The plot is also simple.

What the movie does have is fun visuals. Wonderland, even in the broken down form, looks pretty fun. There are lots of imaginative things going on and it would be amazing (and physics defying) if it was a real place. The action is fun without being too fast-paced.

Beyond the visuals, though, the movie feels basic. It would be fun for the younger kids. For anyone older, it is just a simple way to pass the time.

The Mitchells Vs the Machines

The Mitchells are a dysfunctional family. They get along well enough, but there are differences between them. The largest conflict is between the oldest, Katie, and the father, Rick. The two of them just don’t get along due to differing viewpoints. Katie is artistic and spends all day making videos. Rick is an outdoorsy type that doesn’t get art or how Katie is going to make a living off art. Before Katie heads off to college, though, Rick wants to try once more to connect. To do that, he’s going to take the family on a road trip.

Oh, and there’s also a hostile robot takeover going on, hence the title of the movie.

The main conflict comes from Katie and Rick. The other members of the family are Linda, the mother, and Aaron, the younger brother. The two of them are trying their best to make Katie and Rick get along. They do get some development and fun scenes in the movie, as well. There is also the family dog, Monchi. Monchi can be a bit strange at times.

The movie is wild with fun action scenes of the family trying to deal with the robot takeover while also trying to get along. There is no better time for heart-to-heart talks than during dangerous situations. Both Katie and Rick grow a lot over the course of their adventure and figure out what family means to them. While one is all for technology and one is against it, the overall tone of the movie is more in the middle. Technology is good when used for good and bad when used for bad. Really, the technology vs no technology isn’t even the main theme. Family is.

The movie is full of fun as well as heartfelt scenes between family. There is a lot of older meme humor going on, but it makes sense for the film. Since Katie makes videos, those meme humor comes her as a young child.

Go watch as the imperfect family reconnects with each other as they take on the possible end of the world. It’s all up to them to save it.

The Sea Beast

If you have thalassophobia, this movie might make you feel things. But it shouldn’t be too bad. This is a movie for kids and a fun adventure on the open oceans.

In the world of The Sea Beast, sea monsters are real and they are constantly attacking human settlements. To counter that, there is a culture of hunters, crews of courageous men and woman going out into the ocean to hunt sea creatures and drive them back. These fights are action-packed, dramatic and full of fun ship maneuvering.

A young girl, Maisie, wants to be one of these hunters. Her parents were hunters, and they were lost at sea. She wants to carry on their traditions and sneaks on board the most famous monster hunting vessel, the Inevitable. But things aren’t as simple as that as soon, things get complicated and Maisie gets stranded along with one of the ship’s crew, Jacob.

Jacob is, perhaps, the most talented monster hunter around. He’s the adoptive son of the captain of the Inevitable and next in line to be captain. He’s a confident guy and nice enough. Outside of monster hunting, though, his skills are rather lacking.

The scenes of ship to monster combat are fantastic. The ships have a lot of details. The way they move on the ocean feels good. The water effects are great. It really brings the ocean to life. The sea monsters all look impressive and terrifyingly huge. There is a lot of cool strategy that the hunters developed over the years to hunt these sea monsters and you get to see them utilize all of their skills.

There is one nitpick I have with one of the crew, Ms. Merino. Every time the captain says something, she’s the one that relays it to the rest of the crew. However, she starts all of her sentences with some form of “You heard the Captain.” If the crew heard the captain, then why are you repeating it? It reminds me of Galaxy Quest where one character’s only role on the show was to repeat what the computer said.

So, I mentioned earlier that there is some complications and Maisie and Jacob gets stranded without their ship. Things start to become less straightforward after that. I won’t go into the whole plot of the movie, but it’s fun and well done. If you want to experience the sea monster hunting movie, go do so. It’s solidly made with great visuals and fun characters. Jacob trying to deal with Maisie is fun. It is an exciting high seas adventure.

Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers

This is the new Chip and Dale movie (from 2022). Rather than an adventure in the classic style of Rescue Rangers, this is more like Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It might even take place in the same world as Roger Rabbit as he makes a cameo. For those that don’t know Roger Rabbit, I’ll explain. In this movie, cartoons are real people. All those cartoons you see on TV, it’s just people hiring cartoons to do acting, so the old Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers show was just two cartoon chipmunks acting in it along with the rest of the cast. The thing is that cartoons tend to use their real names in their shows, but they do still play characters. As such, Chip and Dale, the actors, have regular voices. Chip and Dale, the show characters, have high-pitched voices. So in this world, you have cartoon characters living among real people, sharing a world and hanging out.

In this movie, it has been years since Chip and Dale’s show went off the air. They went their separate ways. Chip is now an insurance agent. Dale is doing the old washed-up celebrity thing where he goes to all the conventions to do autographs and photos for fans of the show. He has also gotten the 3D plastic surgery, so now he looks like a new CGI character instead of the old hand-drawn style.

They have been on the outs for a long time, but now they need to come together as trouble concerning an old friend pops up. The police are useless in the case, so Dale convinces Chip to be detectives, despite them having no actual training. They go through an adventure meeting lots of different cartoons, both old and new, while they look into the trouble with their friend.

Chip and Dale are fun in the movie. They feel like former co-stars that no longer like each other. They slowly become friends again as they bond over the course of their investigations. The places they go to are fun and there are lots of dangers abound. Taking place in the real world, things are treated seriously. There are no cartoon violence. Getting hurt hurts and the bad guys have quite a serious and dark operation going on. Really, what the bad guys are doing is pretty grim. It took me aback.

The movie has good characters with fun banter and nice growth between Chip and Dale. The other cast members from the old Chip and Dale show also appear, but they don’t have a lot of screen time. They are impactful when they do appear.

What I think this movie fails at is the cartoons and people living together in the world. It just doesn’t feel fully realized or fun. Perhaps this is rose-tinted glasses, but I thought Who Framed Roger Rabbit did it much better. There, cartoons and people felt like they took up the same space and when they came into contact, things reacted appropriately. There were small details that were just there to be noticed.

In this film, it feels like two separate worlds. They are both the same side of the magnet. The can come close to each other, but they can’t touch each other. There are two great scenes with cartoons interacting with regular stuff, but overall, the interactions feel shallower and simpler. It doesn’t help that the main characters are both cartoons and the bad guys are also cartoons so there is little chance for cartoons and real people to come in contact. It just feels like two separate worlds overlaid on one another.

The characters and action scenes are great, and the concept is fun. There are cameos abound. Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers is an interesting movie that doesn’t take full advantage of the world. Nothing would change if they were in a totally cartoon world.

Jungle Cruise

Jungle Cruise is a Disney movie based upon their Jungle Cruise ride at the theme parks, much like Pirates of the Caribbean before. This movie feels like a mashup of several other adventure movies including the previously mentioned Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones and The Mummy (The Brendan Fraser one). You won’t see anything new in the film, but it’s still a fun adventure within the maze-like rivers of the Amazon rain forest. Jungle Cruise takes exaggerated action sequences, ancient curses and some fun locales to put out a solid movie. It’s not new, but it is exciting.

The main cast feels ripped straight out from The Mummy. You have the woman scientist, Lily, trying to prove the existence of something magical. You have her brother, MacGregor, who is not as adventurous and would prefer to stay within civilization, where it is nice and comfortable. Then you have Frank, the roguish scalawag, that is guiding them on their adventure. He is the owner of the boat that they are taking their jungle cruise on.

What follows is a high-action adventure with enough pauses and slow moments that allow for character building. It’s not just between Lily and Frank. All the characters get fun scenes with each other.

Their goal going into the jungle is to find a mythical tree that can supposedly cure anything. Of course, the German’s also want it. This movie is set during World War I and there is a German Prince, Joachim, also searching for the tree. He provides both serious moments and funny moments. Add in a supposed curse, and you have one wild cruise along the Amazon river.

Jungle Cruise is a fun adventure movie. You won’t get anything new, but it mixes together a lot of different movies into one fun ride.

Terminator: Dark Fate

This movie is solid with lots of great action scenes involving killer robots and resilient humans. It has a violence level more in line with the second movie. This is a Terminator film that goes back to the earlier films and sets everything after that as sort of an alternate continuity. Only John Connor’s story is over since Skynet is gone. A new AI has taken over the future, though, and a new resistance leader needs to be terminated. Dark Fate once again sends back a human from the future to protect someone from the past and the AI has sent back a Terminator to kill them.

This movie is, perhaps, too much of a return to the Terminator 2 style. It doesn’t do anything new. It tells mostly the same story but with different characters. If you want something that will shake up and bring new things to the Terminator franchise, this is not it. This will bring back some older characters, such as Sarah Connor played by the original actress, along with new characters put into the same situation. The action is fantastic and the characters are fine. It’s just more of the same stuff. If that’s what you want, though, this movie does it great.

A Terminator movie is only as fun as the bad terminator, and I really enjoy the model in this one. The bad terminator is the Rev 9, and since he comes from a different AI than Skynet, he both has different capabilities and behaves differently as well. While the Rev 9 is still single-minded in his task, he takes on a more subtle approach being able to effectively talk his way through situations instead of just shooting everything. His fighting style is also pretty fun and should be seen. The Rev 9 has more of a mild threatening feel where he doesn’t show off until necessary.

On the human side, the new target is Dani, a young Mexican woman that will go on to do things in the future. There is an unnecessary twist in the film in regards to her, but I think most viewers would figure out what the twist is long before it happens. Dani is an okay character that takes some proactive action despite her protectors all being more trained and dangerous. Being a film deep into the franchise, the movie does kind of just blow over the whole being targeted for assassination by future AI thing, but it allows more time for action.

Her protector is Grace, a human sent from the future. Grace is focused character, so much so that most of her development revolves around her mission and protecting Dani. There are a few other characters that help out, too, but that would be going deeper into the plot.

Together, they must figure out how to take out the Rev 9 in order to protect Dani. The action scenes are great with lots of variety, especially coming from the Rev 9. The scenes building the plot and characters come at a good pace. It is a fun movie for those that want more of the same style as Terminator 2.