“Transformers: Age of Extinction” review

Michael Bay is back with a new “Transformers” movie. Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci and Kelsey Grammer head the human cast. Is this film the best in the franchise? Or is time for this series to roll out.

The Good

Let’s face it. We know what’s good about a “Transformers” film. There are those money shots that are indeed glorious. But there are also long action scenes involving the humans that aren’t the military. And it’s a breath of fresh air … at first.

Perhaps more surprising is that, even though the film’s run time approaches three hours, it didn’t feel like the longest of the series to me. That may not be high praise, but hey, it’s praise all the same.

There’s way more focus on the human characters this time around … which isn’t always a good thing. But, the characters aren’t nearly as annoying as some of the characters who appeared in past installments. And, Tucci is entertaining throughout while Grammer does his best with his limited character.

The Bad

With the focus so much on the human characters, there’s surprisingly little robot action in this one. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of action scenes. But, never the all out robot vs. robot battle the film was seemingly building up toward. Focusing on story may seem like a step in the right direction … Except when the story is pointless, dumb and with characters who don’t think or act like a rational human being in parts.

Also, none of the characters rank as overly annoying, but they all have their moments. And there are absolute throw away characters who serve almost no purpose in the film (though I’m sure some would make the argument all the human characters in this franchise serve no purpose).

The Final Word

At times, “Transformers: Age of Extinction” seems to bring the franchise into new directions that could be genuinely interesting. At other times, you’re reminded that this franchise has some really bad moments in them. If you’re looking for a lot of action, you won’t be disappointed. But those hoping a new cast meant a new start will be disappointed.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

Box office battle: 6-20-14

Clint Eastwood adapts a hit musical while a sequel to “Think Like A Man” also hits theaters. Who will come out on top?

“Think Like A Man Too”, from director Tim Story, hits theaters two years after the first one surprised many by opening to $33 million. This one stars Taraji P. Henson, Gabrielle Union, Meagan Good, Regina Hall, Dennis Haysbert, Michael Ealy, Romany Malco, Adam Brody, Jerry Ferrara (“Entourage”) and Wendi McLendon-Covey (“Bridesmaids”). Oh yeah. And a little known comic named Kevin Hart.

The film moves its location to Las Vegas, always a smart choice for a comedy (“The Hangover”, “Last Vegas”, “What Happens in Vegas”, etc.) and this one will benefit from a summer opening. “The Best Man Holiday”, also a sequel, earned more than $30 million about the same amount of theaters as this one. Expect this one to be in the same range.

Opening weekend: $35-40 million.

On paper, Clint Eastwood plus “Jersey Boys”, an award-winning musical, should equal Oscar bait, right?

Clearly not, because Warner Brothers is releasing this one in the summer, not the fall. The last musical they released during the summer was “Rock of Ages” with Tom Cruise and a host of others. That movie bombed. And I can’t see this one doing much better. In fact, it might do worse.

The film brings much of the stage cast with it, and adds Christopher Walken to the mix. But, this is going to have limited appeal. I don’t see many young people seeing this film. And Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons aren’t the Beatles. Their appeal to people from that generation are also much more limited. On a side note, it can also be argued Eastwood’s last few outings, including “J. Edgar”, “Trouble With The Curve” and “Grand Torino” haven’t been up to par either.

Opening weekend: $10-15 million.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

 

“Star Wars: Episode VIII” gets a director

J.J. Abrams’ “Star Wars: Episode VII” may just now be filming, but some big news has come out about “Episode VIII”. Rian Johnson (“Looper”) will direct the installment!

Johnson joins Gareth Edwards (“Godzilla”) and Josh Trank (“Chronicle”) as the other directors joining the universe.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

“22 Jump Street” review

Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are back for “22 Jump Street”. Is this a rare comedy sequel that outdoes the original or a “Hangover Part II” sized miss?

The Good: Fear not. “22 Jump Street” is very good. Tatum and Hill are dynamite. The chemistry they have on screen is absolutely hilarious and fans of the first film will undoubtedly love them for the second go around. There are a lot of “in” jokes in this one, specifically on movie sequels that do the same thing all over again. It’s quite funny to see them poke fun at that idea, although there’s a few too many of those for my liking.

I really enjoyed Ice Cube in this one. He has a few particularly memorable scenes and easily the best supporting character of the bunch in this film.

Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller already had one hit on their hands in 2014 with “The Lego Movie”. And that irreverent humor shows up again here and once again, they are mostly spot on. They are quickly rising near the top of my list of favorite comedy directors out there, bar none.

The Bad: The film mostly hits its mark, but there are a few moments where the humor seems a little too forced. And some of the supporting characters, while they have their moments, don’t really stand out to me. The villains all seemed, just kind of rushed into the film as a matter of necessity and were missed opportunities to mine for more comedic gold.

The Final Word: I enjoyed “22 Jump Street” a lot. And out of the big comedies so far this summer, this is my favorite ahead of “Neighbors”. Fans of the original will love the sequel. And while it won’t win over any new converts, its target audience will find this film to be an absolute hoot.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

“Edge of Tomorrow” review

Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt star in this sci-fi blockbuster. Will you want to see Cruise’s latest or is this a misfire.

The Good: This summer has been an overall positive one for action films. And “Edge of Tomorrow” is another pleasant surprise. Director Doug Liman takes a more light hearted approach to this film, and it was a definite smart move. Contrary to the tone of the trailers, there’s quite a lot of humor in it, and it all works.

Cruise gives a strong performance. Sure, he may not be on his “Collateral” level, but he shows he’s still capable of leading a summer tent pole. Blunt is also strong, along with a surprisingly fun performance from Bill Paxton and the cast has a lot of chemistry together on screen.

But just because it’s more light hearted than films like “Looper” and “Source Code”, doesn’t mean it’s without its share of thrills. The beach scene teased in the trailers is truly a spectacle to behold.

Seeing Cruise relive the same day may not seem exciting, but it is as he tries his best to prevent the chaos that is happening all around him.

The Bad: There’s a lot to like in “Edge of Tomorrow”. But it’s not without faults. Most notably is the ending, mainly because it feels a little like a cop out. Some of the supporting cast doesn’t get nearly enough screen time to get the emotional reaction they’re going for in a key sequence.

The Final Word: A fun, entraining thrill ride, “Edge of Tomorrow” is a blast. Thanks to some strong visuals and an impressive set piece, this is summer sci fi popcorn entertainment at its best. It may not be as serious as previous time traveling films, but it’s a fun romp.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

Box Office Battle: What does “Jupiter Ascending’s” delay mean?

Surprising news emerged yesterday as Warner Brothers announced that “Jupiter Ascending”, due out in less than two months in July, would be delayed until February 6, 2015. It’s rare for movies to be delayed within six months of release. But less than two months? Should fans be worried? Let’s find out.

The reason: Officially, WB said it’s because they need more time to finish special effects. Frankly, I find that hard to believe. You’d think the studio would know a lot sooner the film wouldn’t finish in time. The bigger issue may come in the form of a new release hitting theaters this weekend.

“Edge of Tomorrow”, starring Tom Cruise, is being released in the U.S. on Friday. It’s getting great reviews (currently at 91 percent at Rotten Tomatoes), but it’s underperforming greatly overseas and there’s a sense that the movie will be a misfire domestically. Coupled with a lack of overall buzz for “Jupiter Ascending”, and the more likely scenario is WB is getting cold feet and doesn’t want to have two big budget sci-fi bombs in the same summer.

Why you should be worried: It’s almost never a good sign to see movies be delayed, especially to a time of year when most studios dump films that aren’t very good at. And a delay like this harkens back to films like “47 Ronin” where, despite all the damage control that studio tried to do, the film just suffered from issues on set and wasn’t very good.

Why you should be optimistic: There are a number of reasons to have faith. First, it’s opening the same weekend “The Lego Movie” came out, which is still this year’s highest grossing film (though not for long). “World War Z”, starring Brad Pitt, had its share of production problems, yet was successful both commercially and critically. And “Jupiter Ascending” stars two bright, young stars in Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis.

I thought the trailers have all looked very good so far. In short, there’s a lot of potential here and perhaps WB is just setting up “Jupiter Ascending” as the first blockbuster of 2015.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.