Atomic Blond

(loosely based on graphic novel, The Coldest City by Antony Johnston, Sam Hart)

This film held my attention. It was confusing with the many McGuffins scattered throughout the story. However due to the talent of the primary actors Charlize Theron and James McAvoy it is worth watching. The supporting actors, Sofia Boutella, Eddie Marsan, John Goodman, Toby Jones and Bill Skarsgard validated this story with involving personalities. While I have not read the graphic novel (The Coldest City by Antony Johnston, Sam Hart) that this is based on, but I am told that this film is only very loosely based on that novel. Atomic Blond has been advertised as a stylish action/fighting thriller.  It is actually must more of a 1950's type spy story with no one being who they are portrayed to be. The action is highly realistic. The fighters show signs of fatigue and serious injuries. There is a staircase scene, while very violent, glues your eyes to the screen. The music is a bit heavy handed, comparable to horror movies that over rely on jump scares. Once I realized that the everything is twists and turns, it became easier to follow. The story is more of a loop than a straight line.The last 5-10 minutes of the movie does briefly explain what the "blank (insert your own colorful term here)" was going on. While I enjoyed its addition, it did feel tacked on, as if the preview audience had complained about not being able to figure out this film. I would recommend seeing this film, but would wait for it to stream.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)

PG-13         2 hours 17 minutes

This movie was a fun experience along with being visually mesmerizing. The director Luc Besson has wanted to make this movie for a long time. It is based on a French comic series "Valerian and Laureline" by Jean-Claude Mézières and Pierre Christin. Interestingly this series influenced Star Wars quite heavily. There is a prologue in this film (with visuals of course, after all this is a Luc Besson film) which gives the movie its theme and objectives. While knowledge of the comic series is helpful, it is not a prerequisite. The good guys and bad guys are obvious, but not in a way that takes the viewer out of the film. The editing, cinematography and soundtrack all keep this film moving briskly. The leads, Dane DeHaan (as Valerian) and Cara Delevingne (as Laureline) are fine, proficient, not exceptional.  Dane DeHaan was arguably miscast, more due to his youthful appearance than his acting ability.  Cara Delevingne seemed much better in this role than her appearance as Enchantress in Suicide Squad.  Although admittedly that is a low bar. There is some "stunt" casting, notably Rhianna, her section could have used some editing. The dialogue was somewhat simplistic (the comic has a reading level of 12+), which does not do this film any favors. Although the visuals are complex and layered, the plot is simple and straightforward which can be appreciated as so many movies seemed to be 2 hours of prologue for a multiple film series.  While I would enjoy revisiting this world, Luc Besson has allowed this movie to have its own, admitted extravagantly imaged, personality.




ADDENDUM:
This series was first published in 1967. I have read the one of these French (in translated English) comics, #2 in the Valerian and Laureline series,  "The Empire of a Thousand Planets". The plot of this edition was not transferred to the movie.

War for the Planet of the Apes
(July 14, 2017)

(Rise (2011) --> 1st    Dawn(2014) --> 2nd    War (2017) --> 3rd)


I really enjoyed this movie.  The printed prologue at the beginning of this film detailed RISE  and DAWN. This prologue gave viewers a review course without endless exposition clogging and slowing the  film. I do consider this film a war movie.  Wars aren't fought like WW2 anymore.  They are rougher, more scattered, and pardon the awful pun, often fought in a gorilla-style format.  The conclusion was sad, but felt honest.  I hope that if more  movies are made in this universe they do
not  de-evolve (pun#2) into a bat-s**t crazy Heston remake. While I had limited knowledge of RISE and DAWN, a quick wiki read would be enough to follow and  be  entertained by this film.

Spider-Man: Homecoming
(2017)

Not sure if I am ready to play rate the Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Tom Holland, but I did enjoy Homecoming very much.  Tom Holland's real voice is slightly lower and very British. I compared his Spider-Man  image to an interview shot and he does look older as himself.  A superhero movie rises and falls (aka profits) with the supporting players, and this movie had that talent to spare.

The movie has energy, great editing and a decent story.  While it is light on the Peter Parker backstory, I was fine with that direction. While movies should usually be a whole entity, I think that common knowledge and comic mythology should be considered. Admittedly we did not see Aunt May's husband die, but it was acknowledged briefly. Perhaps it was added and then removed by the director. Speculation aside, this movie never drags and always entertains.

Castlevania
Season 1 - Episodes 1 - 4
NETFLIX
July 7, 2017

This is an energetic, enjoyable and quite adult animation series.  There is a Castlevania video game by Konami.  As I have never played it, I cannot say how faithful the characters of the game are portrayed in this film. The animation is vivid and emotionally evocative.  Characters are full realized with personalities and self-expression. I enjoyed the sardonic humor of the characters.  The voice acting (English) is spot-on with the accents and tone.  Energy level is high with no lag.  This is a violent series with bloody deaths of men, women, children and even infants shown.  As this film has vampires, demons, monster, vampire hunters and despots, the high gore level is not gratuitous.  Each episode of the 4 episodes of season 1 is less than 25 minutes. Fortunately this series has been renewed.  Unfortunately Season 2 (with 8 episodes) is not expected until  2018.