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Film reviews

Transformers: Rise of The Beasts Review

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The good news is that Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is not directed by Michael Bay. That’s a relief because as Bay continued to make Transformers movies there was less and less meaning to his films. Instead of Bay, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is directed by Steven Caple Jr., who brings a bit of a nostalgic touch to the franchise. The film has almost a 90s vibe, so the new world in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is moderately appealing. But the film ultimately fizzles out and lacks much exhilaration.

The plot of Transformers: Rise of the Beastsis that the Autobots are battling for the earth. Humans Noah Diaz (played by Anthony Ramos) and Elena Wallace (played by Domonique Fishback) leave a struggling life in Brooklyn to be part of the battle for their planet. The enemies of the Autobots are the Decepticons. Robots that are also part of the fight include the Maximals, Predacons, and Terrorcons.

The film begins with an introduction as to why the robots face danger. Later the film transitions to the life of Noah and Elena, and then they get thrown into the world of the Autobots. The robots include Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen), Optimus Primal (voiced by Ron Perlman), Scourge (voiced by Peter Dinklage), Mirage (voiced by Pete Davidson), and plenty of others.

The introduction to the plot does have some fascination, so the universe around Transformers: Rise of the Beasts initially had me sold. But for me the film often felt like a repeat of previous Transformers projects. There was the same basic setup from the other projects, and many aspects from previous films were repeated, especially in terms of the Autobots and the Decepticons. So I found myself beginning to lose attention and enjoyment. As it progressed the film seemed to be going more and more in the direction of Michael Bay’s versions.

The technology and robotics in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is phenomenal, and maybe it’s worth seeing just for that. And it has humor and witty surprises, so it’s good for some giggles. It’s 90s setup also saves it somewhat. The faithfulness of the 90s with the Autobots and the Decepticons is its strongest suit. But the writing is stale and the storyline is weak. The introductions are rushed and the film became a sleeper for me. I feel this one is a dull installment in the franchise that doesn’t leave much to look forward to. No question that it will find its audience, its fanbase of those who love the franchise, but I’m not a fan of this one.

To be clear, I didn’t find Transformers: Rise of the Beasts awful. It just lost the opportunity to take the franchise in a new and exciting direction. I have no doubt that new director Steven Caple Jr. was trying for an invigorating experience. But he just didn’t get there. Two and a half stars for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

Chicago Critics Film Festival 2023, Film reviews

Starring Jerry as Himself Review

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When one wants to experience a film based on actual events, it does not get any more real than Starring Jerry as Himself. Directed by Law Chen, the film provides real-life documentation of an elderly man who faced many financial constraints due to being scammed. Starring Jerry as Himself may even be one of the most important films of 2023 because of the way it presents a harsh scenario, i.e., being scammed, which is all too common today. Starring Jerry as Himself held my attention due to the intense struggles Jerry faces and how much stress they cause in his life. The stress, however, is just the beginning in Starring Jerry as Himself.

The film focuses on a family that documents the various facets of their father Jerry. He is an immigrant who has supposedly been recruited by the Chinese police to be an undercover agent. This may or may not be true. Within an instant Jerry starts to see his life spiral downhill when his accounts are messed with.  Inspector Ou (played by Fang Du) and Officer Zhang (played by Haosong Yang) inform him that he needs to be careful, and that the Chinese government are onto him. Jerry now finds himself facing a scam that can even impact him at his age.

The film shows that a trail of funds is in odd places. Jerry struggles to think clearly and his decisions cause the audience to be curious about how much disaster Jerry can create for himself. Starring Jerry as Himself give off vibes that are stressful yet invigorating. The investigations, the realizations, and Jerry’s thinking all turn this true story into a conspiracy.

Overall, the feeling that the audience will feel is distress. They will feel this way because there is no easy way out of the choices Jerry makes or the orders he must follow (or assumes he must follow) from the authorities. Starring Jerry as Himself is a film which offers a realistic experience, where an event based on actual events strikes its audience to its core. Starring Jerry as Himself is a movie that is bound to enthrall its audience due to its serious subject matter.

In Starring Jerry as Himself, the problems complicating Jerry’s life appear to potentially be a setup. His experience involves situations in which Jerry assumes he is talking to authorities he can trust, but it may in fact not be the case. Sometimes he thinks he is doing the right thing by keeping certain people in the loop regarding his finances, but his communication with them may instead cause him to go down a deeper hole. Jerry must rely on the right resources before he loses his funds which provide his support and livelihood.

The experience of realism is Jerry’s life as he deals with a complicated conspiracy makes this film intriguing. An error with a scam sets off a turmoil of conflicts for Jerry. Can he recover what was taken from him? Find out in Starring Jerry as Himself. Three stars out of four stars.

Film reviews

The Flash Review

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A long and anticipated wait is over—Ezra Miller as Barry Allen, also known as “The Flash”! After many halts in production and Miller’s erratic behavior, The Flash is finally here. But from my perspective, this long-awaited experience was mediocre at best.

The Flash provides little backstory, it jumps right to the main story, and its approach to the writing is poor. In fact, I found very few invigorating moments in this film. I continually asked myself just what direction this film is going to take. The DC universe has many superhero alumni. One is Michael Keaton returning in a role as Bruce Wayne as “Batman!” And there are other positives and surprises in the DC universe. The Flash is not one of them. It is fatally flawed.

In his role as Barry Allen and “The Flash!”, Miller of course has a super power that allows him to move from place to place in the blink of an eye. But Barry is a sensitive individual, and he has a dark past that he wishes he could turn around. A family tragedy puts him in a place where his chosen course is to go back in time to change the future and save his mom. The problem is that the world he enters does not have any heroes. Without the assistance of heroes, Barry may not be able to accomplish his self-assigned mission. Despite Ben Affleck also coming back as Bruce Wayne and “Batman”, Barry’s resources and teammates are limited.

As Barry continues to embark on his mission, Bruce Wayne and Batman do play a role in helping The Flash. At times it almost seemed like there is more of Batman than The Flash. I often felt like I wasn’t in the world of The Flash. I was in a different universe of previous superheroes.

It is no doubt a challenge to craft a strong storyline, and The Flash is proof of that. Instead of a strong storyline it has lots of random moments of poorly written adventures. So although I had faith in Ezra Miller’s performance and my excitement was high for this film, this one didn’t come close to meeting my expectations.

One of the glaring flaws of The Flash was the shifting of timelines. It was simply an utter mess. Barry’s time travel grasped my attention visually, but it kept feeling like being thrown into universes of clouds with no solutions. My view is that most of the cinema superhero universe seems to be in the clouds, and much of the blame may be on the studios rushing their projects. The Flash was delayed then rushed, and while the rushing speed of Barry and The Flash brought some thunderbolts of joy, the rest of the movie is a blur.

I’m trying to find something positive to say about The Flash, and it did have some surreal surprises, but most of the film is a mess. Again, I had faith in Miller, and I was hopeful that this would be a great experience. But it kept failing where there could have been brilliance. In fact, I would say that a better title for this film would have been The Flash and His Lame Adventures. Just two out of four stars for The Flash.