March 29, 2024

Aug. DVDs: Muppets, Horror, Sci-Fi

Posted on August 1, 2014 by in DVD

MuppetsMostWanted2WMuppets Most Wanted (PG)star_yellowstar_yellowstar_yellowStarBlackStarBlackHow can one not like a sequel (actually # 8 in the theatrical series) that opens with a big musical number mocking the historical shortcomings and disappointments of sequels? Thus begins a true-to-form comical adventure with an array of gags strewn equitably along the age spectrum. As always, a surprising collection of celebs pop up for surprisingly brief cameos, adding greatly to the fun of these live-action people and puppet productions. Danny Trejo (Yeah. Machete, himself. That’s not a typo.) was my own favorite in that category, but the competition was delightfully stiff. Ricky Gervais plays the main human villain. That should please any members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association holding grudges from his zingers while hosting their Golden Globes show.

The plot involves a world tour that, unbeknownst to the diminutive “artists”, is actually a front for a major jewel heist, orchestrated by a master criminal who happens to look a lot like Kermit. That sets up several picturesque European locations for the fluffy flock, as stages of the sinister  plan unfold. The action is colorful and zippy enough for the youngest viewers, with plenty of clever tunes, sight gags and jokes for the grown-ups. In other words, every generation of the franchise’s fans will find exactly the kind and quality of experience they’ve come to expect, and walk out smiling.
Oculus1WOculus (R) ­— star_yellowstar_yellowStarBlackStarBlackStarBlackThis horror flick could either be seen as a mess of temporal hopscotching, or a film-school exercise in trying to relate the stars’ sordid past to their scary, suspenseful present. Karen Gillan and Brenton Thwaites play adult siblings who were involved in their parents’ grisly deaths 11 years earlier. He’s spent the interim in prison; she’s been awaiting his release, and preparing to prove that a demon lurking in an antique mirror in their former home caused all the carnage, rather than her little brother. She plans to document the malevolent spirit’s existence as they try on those ghost-hunting  “reality” TV shows, and kill that sucker for good, or banish it back to Hades, or whatever.

Director and co-writer Mike Flanagan careens between their current day and night of confrontation, and flashbacks to the fateful events of yore, sometimes mixing the two. The result may seem more confusing than compelling. One wonders if the evil presence is real, or the delusion of either of its pursuers. The concept is solid. The scripted plan for proving and nailing the entity is cleverly orchestrated. The proceedings are gory enough for genre fans. But the time-mingling format requires more effort to follow than the payoff justifies.

 

 

 

Transcendence1WTranscendence (PG-13)star_yellowstar_yellowstar_halfStarBlackStarBlackScarlett Johansson recently starred as the voice of a self-aware artificial intelligence entity who became Joaquin Phoenix’s “soulmate” in Her. Now Johnny Depp morphs into a computerized version of himself opposite Rebecca Hall, who looks a lot like Johansson (even co-starring with her in Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona). Both sci-fi offerings try to dramatize the upside potential and downside perils of this seemingly inevitable tide in the evolution of technology. The former focused mainly on the intimate, individual level; this one aims for the macrocosm of global consequences of machines that think and feel, in addition to their current range of functions.

Depp plays an admirably humble, humane genius, whose marriage to colleague Hall is the envy of all who know them. When he’s fatally wounded by radicals who fear the likely direction of their A.I. research, Hall and their closest friend (Paul Bettany) try to download his entire personality into an A.I. program, rather than lose the man they both cherish…as well as his scientific abilities. Yet the best of intentions and brightest of minds can’t foresee all the possible problems they might create.

Without disclosing too much plot, suffice it to say the transfer succeeds on some levels, but at substantial cost. The cyberversion of Depp amasses and collates data to great advantage – advances that could save lives and the planet. But his actions are less benevolent than he/it believes. The resulting dichotomy dangles interesting questions about our future – primarily whether we really understand what will be done with the capabilities we’re creating. Is our intellect making us merely kids with toys that are too dangerous for our understanding? Those with religious slants may find issues about the role of God and definition of life once we program  machines that think and feel on their own.

The screenplay makes the premise intriguing for most of its running time, though much of the last 30-40 minutes drifts from the intellectual to the visceral, showing clashes that are more satisfying visually than thematically. Even with its flaws, the film provides a cautionary tale with food for thought. For proof of the production’s gravitas, Morgan Freeman is featured as one of their fellow scientists – always a good sign.

Mark Glass

Mark Glass

 

Mark Glass is an officer and director of the St. Louis Film Critics Association.

Tags:

Leave a Reply

Please fill the required box or you can’t comment at all. Please use kind words. Your e-mail address will not be published.

Gravatar is supported.

You can use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>