The Greatest Showman

P.T. Barnum had a difficult life. From his father dying when he was young - leaving him orphaned - to falling in love with a woman whose father disapproved of their relationship, he's had to constantly fight for what he has and to make a name for himself, as well as provide for his family. He does well for awhile, until he's laid off and must look for some more work. During his search he has the bright idea to bring together some of the world's wonders and put on a show that would dazzle audiences around the world. His dream is not without some detractors, however. Many people see the acts in his show and label it a "freak show", calling for the show to be shut down. Despite that, he perseveres with his show and also develops a deep relationship with the members of his show, and gaining an understanding of people who aren't necessarily allowed into "popular" circles of modern society.

The Greatest Showman was a pleasant surprise, as I wasn't expecting it to be a musical. I guess I didn't pay too much attention to the trailers, so when the movie opened with the first song, I was confused at first but then once I settled in and watched the movie, I loved every minute of it. For the first time in a long time, I was able to sit back and just enjoy the story unfolding onscreen and the music without feeling like I had to purposefully look for things to critique. The music is enthrallingly catchy, each of the performances from the actors were wonderful, and I loved the vibrant and extravagant sets. Even though I already knew he could sing from his performance in Les Miserables, Hugh Jackman knocks it out of the park again with his portrayal of P.T. Barnum. It amazes me just how good of an artist he is.

Another thing I appreciated, especially as an individual with a disability, was the overarching message(s) of acceptance regardless of disability, social status, etc. The song This Is Me, though it wasn't my favorite song out of the entire movie, resonated with me deeply. I'm sure that was the intention, of course, but still it was great to see.

Even if you aren't a big fan of musicals in general, it's still completely worth it to check out The Greatest Showman. As mentioned above, it's the first movie in a long time that made me forget everything and just sit back and have fun. That's a feeling I hope keeps coming back in the future from here on out.

Tomb Raider

Long before she became known as the Tomb Raider, Lara Croft was simply a young woman living in London trying to get by on her own without the assistance of her family's estate. If Lara receives her inheritance, then she would have to finally face the truth - that her father is indeed dead, and has been for years. Just as she's about to sign the papers for her inheritance, she comes across an old video of her father explaining his final project before he disappeared. It seems he was on the trail of a treasure involving an old legend of the Japanese queen Himiko, a queen rumored to have supernatural powers, able to even control death itself. Lara's interest spikes, so she follows in her father's footsteps in the hopes to not only succeed in finding Queen Himiko, but to find out the truth about her father once and for all.

I've played the Tomb Raider game of which this latest movie is based on, and I honestly felt like this is one of the best (certainly one of the more faithful) video game adaptation in recent years. I absolutely love the popular Angelina Jolie version of Tomb Raider, but to me Alicia Vikander makes a much better Lara Croft. For starters, Alicia's version of the character is much more fleshed out, more of an actual person as opposed to simply a sex symbol that the original movie version was. The older movies were completely fun and I loved them, but this new version made me actually care for the character and what happens to her. Same goes for Dominic West as her father, Lord Richard Croft. I could feel the father-daughter bond between Richard and Lara, so I loved their scenes together. Unlike the previous movies, we actually get to see Lara grow up onscreen and see just how close to her father she is, and the result is wonderful to see.

As far as how closely the movie follows the game, there are certainly some significant changes (some of which I can't specify because of spoilers), but I liked the direction the movie takes with the material. I can't wait to see where they go from here with Alicia Vikander as the Tomb Raider. I know many are tired of sequels/prequels/remakes, and for the most part I'd agree, but for the Tomb Raider franchise I'd like to see more if they're going to be anything like this movie. Even if I weren't a big fan of the Tomb Raider game(s), I have no doubt I would've enjoyed the movie regardless.

Boss Baby

Seven year old Tim Templeton is living the dream. He's got great parents who are always attentive, and enable his tendency to have an overactive imagination, sometimes even playing along and being apart of his games and roleplaying. Life is the best it's ever been for Tim..until one day when his parents bring home a surprise - a new baby brother. Over time Tim feels like he's being left in the dust with the baby getting all the attention instead of him. It'll take one last adventure with his new baby brother in order to help him realize growing up is something that needs to happen and having a baby brother isn't always a bad thing.

Boss Baby is something that I never thought I would enjoy. In all honesty, the only reason I watched it was A) It was on Netflix and I was bored (didn't see it in theaters), and B) I saw it had been nominated for Best Animated film and I've been trying to see all the nominated films for this year. After watching it, I can say that it wasn't a bad movie, but I'm not quite sure I would have considered it Oscar worthy. I'm sure part of it was how it's not really a movie geared towards an adult guy like me. Some of the humor was hit or miss for me - though, again, I'm sure young kids would enjoy it. The story itself I did find refreshingly original. The voice acting was great as well, especially Miles Bakshi and Alec Baldwin as Tim and Boss Baby, respectively. It's no classic on the level of something like Toy Story, Up or The Lion King, but it is an enjoyable movie.

John Wick: Chapter 2

All former assassin John Wick wants is to be left alone. Yet after previously having his car stolen and his dog murdered, he got pulled back into the game. However, even after taking care of the people responsible for his dog and car in hopes of finally fully retiring, John gets pulled even further back in to the assassin world when his former boss calls for payment due on an old favor. Years ago, John had a contract to kill someone of importance. He never made good on that contract before he initially retired, so his old boss Santino D'Antonio comes to him to make sure that he fulfills the contract. Unfortunately, the contract is for Santino's sister, and in a bit of double-crossing Santino puts out a hit on John Wick after Wick does the deed. Now Wick must go on the run to clear his name.

There isn't much to say about John Wick: Chapter 2. If you've seen the first John Wick, or if you're a fan of the hard-R action flicks of the '80's & '90's, well, then you know what you're getting into - and will most likely enjoy it. Chapter 2 ups the ante in regards to the body count and the ways in which said bodies are dispatched. Case in point, Chapter 2 has what I'd consider the most, uh, creative way a pencil or pen is used to attack and kill someone since either The Dark Knight or even The Bourne Identity. These days it seems like it's difficult for movies to have a good balance of action/violence and humor, but much like the first John Wick, Chapter 2 handles that balance well with quite a few great one liners and great thrilling action sequences. I enjoyed the original John Wick more, but its sequel was worth seeing in a theater, especially more than once. As long as you don't go into it expecting something "smart", can look past a simple storyline and just sit back and have fun, John Wick: Chapter 2 is, along with its predecessor, one of the better action movies of the last few years.

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.