Moana

In the ancient Polynesian Islands, Moana is the daughter of a chieftain who feels the ocean calling to her as if it wanted her to leave her island and explore. Since she was a little girl, she's heard stories from her grandmother of the demigod Maui about how he stole the gem-like heart of Te Fiti, the goddess of the ocean and creator of the world. In the stories, due to Maui's actions the world is slowly dying,  and the only way to save it is to force Maui to return the heart back to Te Fiti. Moana hears these stories and longs for adventure, not realizing just how real the stories really are.

I didn't see Moana while it was out in theaters, I waited until it was on Netflix. I'm not sure why, but it never really sparked my interest. Even then it took me searching Netflix and not finding anything else interesting to watch before I saw it. Having now seen it, I wish I had while it was still in theaters, because it was just as good as pretty much all the reviews I'd read said it was.

While Moana may be the main character, it's Dwayne Johnson as the demigod Maui who steals the show. I think he's grown considerably as an actor since making his debut as the Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns. In Moana, he's still got his trademark goofy humor that he's become known for, and it's a good thing too, because a few of the other humorous moments - especially the ones involving a chicken who's a few fries short of a Happy Meal and always getting into trouble - fall somewhat flat. I'm sure younger kids will find the movie as a whole humorous, but for me as a young adult guy I found myself not laughing as much as I probably would have liked. But while the humor can be 'meh' at times, the rest of the movie holds up well. The songs featured throughout the movie are really catchy, I caught myself humming along to each of them. No surprise, really, seeing as how it's a Disney animated movie and they've always been good at the musical aspect over the years. Auli'i Cravalho also does a fantastic job as Moana.

If you have young kids and didn't get a chance to see Moana while it was in theaters, do yourself a favor and go rent it, or find it on Netflix. It's a fun little film that the whole family will enjoy.

Baby Driver

It takes more than just purely good luck to survive the dog-eat-dog environment of the criminal underworld. Thankfully, Baby has the skills as a getaway driver to pave his own way. As a kid, he suffered major hearing loss due to a car accident that also cost his parents their lives. Since then, Baby constantly listens to music to drown out the ringing in his ears from the accident; and to hold hostage the memories of his parents. Baby also uses his music as a way to help him concentrate while driving. Which is a good thing, because his boss is a crime lord named Doc who makes it clear just what will happen if Baby double-crosses him. Whether it was fate or chance, after finishing a job driving for a group of bank thieves, Baby heads to a local diner where he meets a lovely girl named Deborah. They instantly bond over their mutual love of music, and Baby sees the budding relationship as a potential opportunity to leave his criminal past behind and maybe have a shot at a normal life.

There are dozens of action movies where the protagonist is caught in the web of a criminal life trying to make their way out of it somehow, but what makes Baby Driver so refreshingly original that caught my attention is the main character's use of his disability to his advantage (it might be just me, but I found that to be similar in *some* ways to Ben Affleck's character Christian Wolff in The Accountant), as well as the eclectic soundtrack seamlessly infused within the narrative, similar to that of a musical/song & dance movie minus the characters themselves randomly breaking out into songs. Almost every scene is infused with a song, and the editing is creatively done to make it so every little thing from footsteps to major car chases hit the same beats as the song playing at the time, no matter what genre. Not to mention, Baby's got the driving skills that would make Dom Toretto and his Fast and the Furious crew green with envy. The car chases alone are some of the most creative and thrilling that I've seen in quite awhile. Another thing that got me was how funny it actually was. I know I've touched on this a few times before, but Baby Driver is one of those rare R-rated movies I actually kept constantly laughing at instead of finding the humor to be too unnecessarily vulgar and cringe-worthy. That was personally refreshing to see.

The only thing I really was hoping for and would consider a negative, is I wish Jon Bernthal's character named Griff had been given a slightly bigger part. He, along with the rest of the cast, did a fantastic job, but I felt like he was a bit underused. Same for Eiza González as Darling, though not quite as badly.

Baby Driver is easily on my top 10 of the year, possibly even top 5, and I have no doubt it'll stay there unless there's just a massive surprise out of left field. It's only July though, so we'll see. Until then, this is one I will be seeing multiple times while it's out in the theater, and more than likely getting on DVD once it's out.

Transformers: The Last Knight

Ever since almost destroying Earth with the ongoing war between Decepticons and Autobots, more and more Transformers are crashing down on the planet frantically searching for something. That thing is an ancient artifact - a staff dating back to the time of King Arthur that belonged to Merlin. As it turns out, the staff was given to him by Transformers who had come to our planet in order to hide it from an evil robot named Quintessa. In his search for answers about his home planet Cybertron, Optimus Prime meets Quintessa and becomes entangled in her deception to destroy Earth and restore Cybertron.

Another year, another Transformers movie. It's getting harder and harder to keep track of the timeline, as well as characters who died or are still alive. There are a couple robots of both Autobots and Decepticons where I was like "Wait...didn't they die already?" Somehow Megatron is still alive, and is apparently fully recovered from having half of his face ripped off in either Dark of the Moon or Age of Extinction (see what I mean about confusing?). Despite other reviews that have described The Last Knight as the worst in the franchise - a particularly difficult feat considering none of them are truly great movies to begin with - I disagree. I disliked Age of Extinction more than I disliked The Last Knight.

Normally I'd go on some spiel about how good/bad the acting was, or whether the story was good or not, but let's face it....pretty much the only reason people still go to see these movies is to see giant robots fight each other. I've gotta give Michael Bay credit here - somehow he's managed to make a series based on fighting robots with a minimalistic story, barely decent acting from *most* characters involved, and action scenes where you can barely see what the heck is going on onscreen...actually FUN. As mentioned, none of them are really all that great (first one's still the best, but that's not really saying much), but for me it's still a fun time-waster type series, especially the latest installment. I can forgive the stupidity of it all, if only for the fact that I have fun watching them. I can't explain it, but there it is.

Now, that's not to say I'm actually looking forward to anymore future installments. I'm not. The only way for me to be legitimately excited for another one is if the rumors are true that The Last Knight is Michael Bay's final Transformers movie, and someone else will be directing future sequels. True, I've shamelessly enjoyed the series so far despite Bay being in charge, but I'd be interested to see what someone else can do with the series. There's been a lot of debate on whether or not the series can be "saved". I think it can, as long as the right person is in charge. Who that is right now, I'm not sure. For now, I'll shamelessly head to the theater and watch Transformers for as long as they keep releasing them. What can I say, I'm easily entertained.

Cars 3

Lightning McQueen has it all - a loving Porsche girlfriend, a supportive group of friends from the small town of Radiator Springs, great memories of a former mentor who happened to be one of the greatest racers who ever lived, and fame found through the racetrack. He's living the good life, and doesn't see an end in sight. Until, that is, a new generation of race cars led by a hotshot named Jackson Storm come up in the ranks who are faster, and more capable on the track. As McQueen's old friends are slowly driven to retirement one by one, he struggles to remain relevant and show everyone that he still belongs. He eventually seeks out the help of Cruz Ramirez, a young trainer who once had dreams of her own of being a racer from growing up watching McQeen's career take off. Cruz Ramirez and Lightning McQueen work together to beat Jackson Storm and prove once and for all that they belong.

The Cars franchise isn't my favorite Pixar franchise, but for the most part I've enjoyed all three. Cars 3 gives Lightning McQueen a fitting - although somewhat predictable - checkered flag to his story and paves the way for a possible new generation of stories. Of course, it's nowhere near as good as the first one, but it holds its own well. I loved seeing Mater and the gang all show up again one last time. I'm not ashamed to admit I almost got a little emotional after realizing Pixar brought back the character of Hudson Hornet, voiced by Paul Newman, (in my opinion one of the best actors in Hollywood) who passed away back in 2008. From what I understand, the director took recordings from the first Cars movie that was both unused lines as well as recorded conversations between Paul and the director about Paul's love of racing, and used that to bring back the character of Hudson Hornet to life.

Pixar's best known for their uncanny ability to make animated movies that both kids and adults can enjoy. Cars 3 continues this tradition by making a good balance between good, clean comedy for both kids and adults, and more serious, yet teachable moments. It was good to see Pixar continuing to stick with that formula.

All in all, Cars 3 is a wonderful ending to the Cars franchise. There is a (very) small part of me that wonders whether a fourth - or more- installment or spinoffs would be good to see, but for now I think it would be best to let it rest. If you get the chance, especially if you have young kids, go see Cars 3.

Wonder Woman

For Diana, it ain't easy being the only child on a mystical island (Themyscira) of warrior women. Add that to the fact that she was molded in clay and given life by the god Zeus, and you have one special girl destined to do great things. Hippolyta, Diana's mother, knows what's in store for her as she grows older, so she tries to keep Diana out of trouble and not learn about her true background. That all changes when an airplane carrying a lone pilot named Steve Trevor comes crashing on to the island. As Diana gets to know Steve, she finds out that the world outside of the island is in a state of turmoil due to being in what has become known to be "The War To End All Wars". The more Diana hears of the war, the more she comes to believe that Ares, the god of war is responsible for the conflict. Against her mother's wishes, Diana leaves the island and heads to the frontline with Steve and a few of his war buddies to confront Ares and kill him once and for all so that the war can come to an end.

I know the DCCU (DC Comics Cinematic Universe) has gotten a bad rap for most, if not all of their movies lately since jumpstarting a connected universe. Personally, I think they've all been relatively good. I'm going to have to go back and watch them all again, but as of now I'd probably rank Wonder Woman as the best DCCU film to date, with Man of Steel a very close second. Like I mentioned in my review of Deadpool, Wonder Woman actually feels like a superhero film as opposed to an action/adventure film that just happens to have superheroes. Heck, I'm not sure I can remember the last time I've had so much fun in a comic book movie. It's been far too long, that's for sure. The scene in Dead Man's Land alone makes the movie worthwhile. I loved Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince in BvS in her short cameo, and now that she has her own movie to shine, I can say she was the perfect choice to portray Diana. Up until now, she hadn't been given a good movie to really show what she's capable of, and so it's good to see her finally get that chance. Chris Pine as Steve Trevor also shines in what is possibly his best role to date.

I'd also venture to say Wonder Woman gives the audience something else which has been lacking in not only DC or Marvel, but movies in general as well - a genuine hero/heroine. It can be a good storytelling device to make your hero/heroes flawed, but every so often it's just better to see a genuine good vs. evil story without any other convoluted baggage trying to come up with a complex story. I hope to see some more of this in both the DCCU, as well as in other Hollywood movies in the future.

The Mummy (2017)

What would you do if you found out you were chosen to be the human vessel of an ancient, dark power? No, I'm not talking about Sam Winchester becoming Lucifer's vessel on the TV show Supernatural (great show by the way), or the Antichrist in general. I'm talking about Set, the Egyptian god of death and destruction. You see, it seems that an Egyptian princess named Ahmanet made a pact with Set to bring him into our world via a human sacrifice of sorts in exchange for power and plunging the world into complete and utter evil. Before she can accomplish this, Egyptian gaurds capture her, and as punishment mummify her alive. Fast forward almost 5,000 years later, and a glorified grave robber named Nick Morton - with the help of some colleagues and the Army - stumbles upon her tomb and unwittingly unleashes Ahmanet onto the world to wreak havoc once again.

I wasn't expecting much, yet even then The Mummy was better than I had hoped. If you're hoping that this latest adaptation was more of the Indiana Jones-esque adventure like the Brendan Fraser trilogy from a few years go...eh, you'll be partially pleased. This latest one is far darker and more horror based than its predecessor, but it manages to find a good balance between horror and action/adventure. The trailers for the movie didn't really help much in making it look like something people would want to see, but it really wasn't that bad overall. I certainly don't think it deserves the title of worst Tom Cruise movie ever. Then again, I tend to be a bit more forgiving that most when it comes to entertainment.

Similar to Enchantress in Suicide Squad, Sofia Boutella as Ahmanet wasn't given all that much to work with. Yet what little we see from her was really good, and really creepy. I also enjoyed Annabelle Wallis as the archaeologist Jenny Halsey. She was more than just a stereotypical damsel in distress/love interest for Tom Cruise's main character. As far as Tom Cruise himself goes, this isn't his worst role, but I wouldn't rank it too high on his list of great roles to date.

As pretty much everyone knows by now, The Mummy is set to be the starting point for a connected "Dark Universe", where all of Universal Studio's classic monsters - Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, possibly Dracula, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, The Wolfman, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Frankenstein's Monster (and his bride), along with The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera - will be coming together. It's still not clear whether it will be similar to Marvel/Dc Comics, where the monsters will team up to destroy a greater evil, or if it'll be more like Freddy vs. Jason, a "Fight Night" of sorts where they all try to kill each other. Either way, I'm personally interested in where this Dark Universe is heading. Between you and me, I'm hoping it's more of a "Fight Night". My only wish is that Dracula Untold was a part of it, but I understand the reasons behind that decision.

If you're looking for a couple hours to kill, The Mummy is a pretty good way to do so. Here's hoping it's an uphill climb from here for the rest of the Monster Mash.