'The Peanut Butter Falcon' Review

Synopsis: Zak, a young man with Down syndrome, runs away from a residential nursing home to follow his dream of attending the professional wrestling school of his idol, The Salt Water Redneck. A strange turn of events pairs him on the road with Tyler, a small-time outlaw on the run, who becomes Zak's unlikely coach and ally.

Runtime: 97 minutes

MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for thematic content, language throughout, some violence and smoking)

Who should see it? Those in the mood for a pleasant feel-good film.

The Peanut Butter Falcon serves as a feature debut for writer-directors Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz following their collaborations on various shorts and documentaries. The duo excels spinning a modern Mark Twain yarn for their first feature though, which will quickly charm you into submission. This buddy-road adventure earns a lot of goodwill from the dynamite pairing of Zack Gottsagen and Shia LaBeouf, as the two actors pal around en route to their respective destinations. Though casting a special needs actor for the lead role is positive in the interests of realism and onscreen representation, this choice could have gone awry. An insensitive script or uncertain direction could have easily compromised the endeavor, but fortunately, the filmmakers offer a mature perspective of Zak and his disorder.

Nilson and Schwartz recognize the unconscious bias through which society perceives individuals with Down Syndrome and acknowledge this most explicitly in a key scene. Tyler doesn't talk down to Zak or treat him differently than he would anyone else. However, not everyone they encounter on their journey offers Zak the same courtesy. This further translates into the making of the film itself as Nilson and Schwartz don't ask any less of Gottsagen than they would another actor cast in the role. Compared to his costars, he endures challenges of equal measure and proves up to the task. For a first-time performer, Zack Gottsagen is exceptional, regardless of his disorder. In the role, Gottsagen demonstrates an authentic assuredness and insecurity in Zak's high and low moments. To top it all off, he really sells the happy-go-lucky attitude. As I've already alluded, his rapport with LaBeouf is especially charming.

All the while, Shia LaBeouf and Dakota Johnson lend sturdy supporting turns. LaBeouf draws a lot from Tyler's particularly troubled past, articulating profound despair in his reflection and a spark of joy in the lighter moments. Rounding out the core trio, Johnson imbues Eleanor with benevolent motherly qualities as well as a determined spirit. 

The narrative's not without its fair share of coincidences. Characters conveniently find each other, and the antagonists are thinly sketched, but none of that undermines this wholesome tale of friendship and family. As the title suggests, The Peanut Butter Falcon is an unusually endearing endeavor which flies in spite of peanut butter-matted wings. 

Film Assessment: B+

Throwback Thursday Review: 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon'

Today I'm continuing my series of Transformers reviews leading up to this year's Transformers: The Last Knight with my thoughts on Transformers: Dark of the Moon. I'll take a break till June before I cover Transformers: Age of Extinction. Next week I'll review Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, followed by Spider-Man 3 and Despicable Me the next two Thursdays. Reviews you can find in the meantime include a Triple-R of Guardians of the Galaxy and new reviews of The Circle, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. Other reviews that may crop up are The Boss Baby, The Zookeeper's Wife, Going in Style, and Free Fire.

'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' Review

Nominated For: Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.

In Transformers: Dark of the Moon the war between Autobots and Deceptions rages on! The opening prologue of Dark of the Moon reveals there was more than met the eye to the '60s space race. International government agencies hid the truth that an Autobot ship was found on the dark side of the moon housing Sentinel Prime and a device with the potential to save Cybertron. Cut to present day, and the Deceptions are scheming in the shadows to retrieve this artifact and revive Cybertron with the Autobots hot in pursuit. Meanwhile, Sam Witwicky has completed college and is having difficulties not only finding a job but adjusting to a complacent lifestyle. On the bright side, he has a new unrealistically attractive girlfriend to sub out for Megan Fox's departure! Anyways, Witwicky once again finds himself drawn towards the conflict in typical Transformers fashion that culminates to an all-out bot brawl in Chicago. 

Michael Bay's back in the director's chair and thankfully his trademarks are tempered this time about. Yes, there's still blatant over-sexualized shots of attractive women and explosions galore but the eye-rolling crude humor and Bay-isms come in smaller doses and are much more restrained in comparison to Transformers and Revenge of the Fallen. Bay's more than game to capture epic action sequences featuring slo-mo to boot! In collaboration with his technical crew, Bay successfully ups the ante on delivering remarkable robo-rumbles. So hats off to cinematographer Amir Mokiri and the vfx and sound departments! I also found it to be a breath of fresh air that Dark of the Moon wasn't so reliant on a rocking soundtrack and that Steve Jablonsky composed an epic auditory atmosphere to surround the raging robots amidst their fervent fight. 

Dark of the Moon also extended its arms to allow Ehren Kruger to step up and headline the script solo this time around. Kruger managed to make the human drama more engaging this time around by fleshing out Sam's character and granting him a fulfilling character arc that built upon his journey thus far (do remember this is a Transformers movie though, so it's not that radical). 

In previous Transformers outings I never quite cared about the human characters the way I should, but Dark of the Moon course-corrects that issue by zeroing in on the characters you've invested in and restricting screen time for those you'd rather not see. Dark of the Moon could have scraped by with a tighter running time by condensing certain sequences and removing extraneous material but the two and half hour runtime isn't dreadful to sit through. 

As for the performances, Shia LaBeouf goes out on a high note since he seems more committed and serious this time around (largely due to the shift in the way the character was written). Rosie Huntington-Whiteley does a fine job for a model by being more than just a pretty face, most of the criticisms towards her acting is probably a result of Bay's direction and not so much her performance. Huntington-Whiteley fills the Megan Fox void well and I'd even go as far to say she was better in comparison. I've got to say that the chemistry between LeBouf and Huntington-Whiteley felt far more convincing for some reason, even if the relationship seemed just as unrealistic. 

Elsewhere, Patrick Dempsey chews the scenery as the reverse Witwicky, a human allied with the Deceptions, making him an interesting opposing force for Sam to go up against. Familiar faces include Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson as their respective soldiers with Kevin Dunn and Julie White back for one last stint as Sam's obnoxious parents (relegated to cameo appearances this time). 

Peter Cullen, Robert Foxworth, Jess Harnell, Hugo Weaving, and Charlie Adler are all back voicing Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Ironhide, Megatron, and Starscream respectively while Leonard Nimoy entered the fray as Sentinel Prime. Once again, the voice acting's great but that element of the franchise has never been lacking so it's no surprise that it works again. Frances McDormand, John Turturro, Alan Tudyk, John Malkovich, and Ken Jeong each get silly supporting bits and each have a memorable moment or two that will leave you laughing but are relegated to the comic schtick. 

A strong case can be made that Dark of the Moon spotlights the best action sequences and story beats of the franchise as it's the only Transformers film aside from the first to truly entertain me. Dark of the Moon strikes a fine balance of delivering a sufficient story vessel to justify the grand spectacle and dictating that its action is driven by the needs of the story and its characters. That's not to say that Dark of the Moon was revolutionary for blockbusters, it doesn't even come close, but it does stand as a significant improvement to the franchise in my eyes that only gets scrapped back to square one in the subsequent entry. Dark of the Moon has its fair share of problems but succeeded in the vain of being the popcorn entertainment it set out to be, so I can't help but validate that!

Film Assessment: C+

Throwback Thursday Review: 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'

This week I'm continuing my series of Transformers reviews, once again well in advance of the correlating film due to the number of installments in the franchise and sequels that will be released this year. Next week I'm taking a break from Transformers reviews till April and in the following four weeks I will be reviewing The Matrix trilogy and John Wick to coincide with John Wick: Chapter 2 since it will see a reunion between Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne. Reviews of new (or wider) releases you expect over the course of January include Patriots Day, Live By Night, Split, The Founder, A Dog's Purpose, and Gold.

'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' Review

Nominated For: Best Sound Mixing.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen picks up two years after Transformers as humans and Autobots are now working together to track down and destroy the remaining Decepticons while the Deceptions seek to find the remaining shards of the Allspark and resurrect Megatron. Meanwhile Sam Witwicky is off to college and gets wrapped up in the Transformers war again after encountering an Allspark fragment that causes him to randomly see cryptic symbols.

Michael Bay returns to direct, upping the ante of the action and daring to deeply explore Transformers lore. Revenge of the Fallen is almost universally regarded to be worse than its predecessor. However I do think a case can be made that for every dumb moment or failed attempt at levity, there's a cool action sequence between Transformers or compelling concept to balance it out. Yes, there are plenty of Bay-esque elements (explosions, portraying women as two-dimensional sex objects, and dumb crude humor) throughout Revenge of the Fallen, but the film as a whole is not quite as bad as everyone remembers.

Arguably, I'd say that the cinematography, visual effects, and spectacle are improvements over the first. Some of the cooler action moments include a feline Decepticon's infiltration of a covert base, a sequence in which Optimus Prime wields two sword arms to take on a host of Deceptions in an epic last stand, and the battle bot bonanza at the end. Other than that, there's not much to take away from Revenge of the Fallen.

The script written by Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman gets too caught up with trying to explain Transformers lore that it doesn't even really attempt to deepen the already lackluster characters or tell a worthwhile story. It's telling when a screenplay is able to make the robots the most likable and lifelike characters in a film. Occasionally, the film is almost self-referential to a point where characters voice the audience's opinion such as when Agent Simmons tazes Sam's obnoxious tag-along room mate or Bumblebee throws the two Autobot twins out of the frame. It's a relief but a reminder that these characters are more an annoyance than an asset to the story being told (they literally add nothing except maybe a pitiful attempt at comedic relief).

If you didn't think it was possible, the performances in Revenge of the Fallen are even worse than those found in the original. Shia LaBeouf is a total klutz, spazzing around with what I guess is his imitation of a seizure and failing to make a confident lead the audience or surrounding characters can put faith in. It almost seems that Megan Fox is around purely to run around the desert in a tight low-cut shirt and look attractive on motor vehicles because she has little else to offer in terms of acting ability.

Other returning cast members include John Turturro's rash Agent Simmons, Kevin Dunn and Julie White playing Sam's idiotic parents, and Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson as military personnel. Peter Cullen, Mark Ryan, Robert Foxworth, Jess Harnell, Hugo Weaving, and Charlie Adler all are terrific voicing their respective Transformers, bringing the appropriate demeanor to each one, while Tom Kenny's voicing of the twins Mudflap and Skids verges on the edge of being a racial stereotype. Ramon Rodriguez joins the bots as the single most annoying tag-along character but thankfully his character didn't stick around for the next installment.

Overall, the narrative presents challenges for the characters but none of them stick and there's no consequence for characters and no lasting impression on the viewers mind. The visuals don't exactly make up for the flat story, but do come to the blockbuster's aid rather than hindering it, making some parts of it watchable. In conclusion, Revenge of the Fallen is everything you expect from a Bay production, but dialed up to an eleven.

Film Assessment: D

Throwback Thursday Review: 'Transformers'

Sorry for the delayed review but this week I'm beginning another series of reviews with my thoughts on Transformers, once again well in advance of the correlating film due to the number of installments in the franchise and sequels that will be released this year. Next week I'll be doing my Throwback Thursday Review of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and I will then take a break from Transformers reviews till April. The following four weeks I will be reviewing The Matrix trilogy and John Wick to coincide with John Wick: Chapter 2 since it will see a reunion between Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne. Reviews of new (or wider) releases you expect over the course of January include Hidden Figures, Patriots Day, Live By Night, Split, The Founder, A Dog's Purpose, and Gold.

'Transformers' Review

Nominated For: Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Sound Editing. 

In Transformers two races of alien robots, the Autobots and Decepticons, bring their war to planet Earth and everyman Sam Witwicky is drawn into the conflict. I'm not going to dress it up, Transformers is mindless popcorn entertainment and the fact Michael Bay is at the helm doesn't help much. Bay has a distinct style, it involves big loud CG and lots of explosions, and his tropes are cranked up here. With that being said, it's actually fitting for a movie where metamorphosing robots fight each other in grand action sequences.  

Bay's in his wheelhouse and alongside the visual and sound effects departments does a superb job translating the Transformers to the big screen, handling the action quite well. On the flip side of things, the script from Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and John Rogers features scarcely developed characters with basic motivations and the story is generic, but that doesn't make it bad, just mediocre. The performances are passable for this action blockbuster ranging from pure exposition delivery to regular people running amidst the robot rumble.

Shia LaBeouf makes Sam an awkward protagonist, Megan Fox feels like a dunce in some moments as her mouth is open a little too long and then Mikaela often gets over-sexualized, Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson are around as the military personnel with Rachael Taylor and Anthony Anderson playing the techie comic relief and Jon Voight, Michael O'Neill, and John Turturro playing the governmental agency representatives.

I also feel the voice actors who voiced the Transformers deserve some appreciation for great robotic caricatures including the likes of Peter Cullen, Mark Ryan, Darius McCrary, Robert Foxworth, Jess Harnell, Hugo Weaving, and Charlie Adler.

Transformers is the perfect encapsulation of a big, dumb popcorn movie, the insane action and grand spectacle can't be denied as visually interesting and make for a fun ride but the flat storytelling can't be ignored either. In summary, Transformers encapsulates everything notable from Bay's filmography; explosions, slo-motion, explosions, blatant eye-rolling product placement, and did I mention the explosions?

Film Assessment: C

'Fury' Review

I saw Fury last night and I really enjoyed it! The action scenes were great as well as some of the stunts in the film! Brad Pitt and Logan Lerman both gave incredible performances and worked well together on screen. Shia LaBeouf and  Michael Peña were also enjoyable to watch on screen and gave a good performance with the screen time they had. I'm excited that the director David Ayer will be directing the upcoming Suicide Squad film that Warner Bros./ DC recently announced because he does a fantastic job balancing the film with an ensemble cast. The Suicide Squad is also similar to Fury because the Suicide Squad go on missions aware that there is a high chance that they will die like the men who operated tanks in World War 2, which is what Fury is about. The film takes place over about a day or two days so the film doesn't feel too long or rushed at all. I will warn you that the end of the film is very sad but nonetheless the end is one of the best parts of the film. Overall a great film that I highly recommend you see!