‘Great Wall’ like any other blockbuster

Posted on February 22, 2017 by reelentropy

Image courtesy Paramount Pictures.

3/10 Advertising for The Great Wall centered on one question — “What were they trying to keep out?”

The Mongols. They were trying to keep out the Mongols.

In the 11th century, European mercenary William Garin (Matt Damon) has crossed Eurasia in search of China’s mythical weapon — black powder. His band of 20 men has been reduced to just two by bandits in the Gobi Desert and a mysterious monster by the time he and Pero Tovar (Pedro Pascal) reach the Great Wall of China. The Nameless Order, a special military division that watches the wall, captures them, and they bear witness to the swarm of the tao tei — ravenous monsters born of a fallen emperor’s greed that pose an extinction-level threat if they reach the capital.

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On whitewashing and the death of movie stars

Posted on February 22, 2017 by reelentropy

Image courtesy Universal Pictures.

The Great Wall came out in American theaters last weekend, beating industry expectations with a $21.7 million take. It’s a good result of a movie that was primarily met with claims of whitewashing and racism for starring Cambridge-born Matt Damon in a movie about ancient Chinese history.

Obviously, Damon hadn’t taken a yellowface role, however the initial trailer made it seem. The idea was to have European traders written into the story and get a major star to help with American marketing. It’s still racially charged, but no different than Transformers 4 going to Hong Kong for financial gain.

While whitewashing isn’t really an issue in The Great Wall, the people crying against it were right to be concerned. Ghost in the Shell hits theaters next month with Scarlett Johansson in the lead role, and that’s a major issue.

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‘Wellness’ a valiant attempt at a better movie

Posted on February 18, 2017 by reelentropy

Images courtesy 20th Century Fox.

5/10 Between Pirates of the Caribbean, The Ring and Rango, Gore Verbinski’s consistently popular movies have grossed $3.72 billion worldwide, making him the 10th-highest grossing director in the world.

With a projected opening of $6-8 million, A Cure for Wellness isn’t going to do much to pad those totals.

The psychological thriller starts with Lockhart (Dane DeHaan), a brash, ambitious sales executive, sent to retrieve his company’s CEO, Pembroke (Harry Groener), from a wellness center at the foot of the Swiss Alps known for the local water supply’s rejuvenating properties. Driving back from first visiting the center, of which he is immediately suspicious, Lockhart breaks his leg in an accident and is admitted for treatment. Crippled and with no cell reception, Lockhart is trapped in an extended nightmare of eels, teeth and toilet levers.

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‘John Wick: Chapter 2’ is the hardcore action movie you need

Posted on February 15, 2017 by reelentropy

Guns. Lots of guns. Image courtesy Summit Entertainment.

9/10 John Wick: Chapter 2 is awesome! Everybody go see it.

After John Wick (Keanu Reeves) returned from retirement as an assassin in the previous film, Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) calls in an old favor from him. Wick is given a suicide mission he cannot refuse — and also one for which success means he’ll be hunted for the rest of his life.

The original, a surprise hit from October 2014 that all but begged for a followup, was hailed for its minimalism and realistic action, and Chapter 2 piles and piles and piles on more of the same.

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‘Fifty Shades Darker’ isn’t even good for a laugh

Posted on February 11, 2017 by reelentropy

Images courtesy Universal Pictures.

1/10 Listen

Spanking isn’t kinky. It’s not even sexually explicit, it mostly exists in the context of corporal punishment. These movies are about this supposedly hardcore relationship that climaxes out at spanking and I just

Fifty Shades Darker picks up where Fifty Shades of Grey left off — just after Ana Steele (Dakota Johnson) leaves Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) because she can’t handle spanking. Grey quickly gets her back, promising to just date her and not make her sign some insane contract, and they have a relatively normal, happy relationship for the rest of the movie.

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