Deadpool - Review

R  |  108 min  |  Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Review - Matt Mungle

**In theaters February 12th 2016**

Synopsis: A former Special Forces operative turned mercenary is subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopting the alter ego Deadpool.

Review: DEADPOOL is one of the purist and most beautiful love stories to ever grace a cinema screen. In a sea of flotsam, self absorbed, and egocentric Super Heroes Wade Wilson is a beacon of light guiding us home. Thank you, Mr. Deadpool for saving our holiday and possibly even our lackadaisical lives.

Wade (Ryan Reynolds) has served selflessly as a military mercenary always putting others ahead of his own comfort and fortune.  The one thing that has forever eluded him is that special someone to gently hold at the end of a long day. Then he meets Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) and with her he finds a reason to do many things; to her and for her. Their love is unbridled and unmatched. 

But as if scripted by the demi-gods of Nicholas Sparks a tragedy befalls them which threatens their blissful existence. Wade puts his trust in the wrong people, mainly one liar named Ajax (Ed Skrein) who promises healing. Even that goes terribly wrong and Wade must now hide behind a mask in order to walk among the beautiful people. Deadpool is born and this sets in motion a chain of events that will break your heart and leave you chanting, "Let love win", from the theater aisle. 

DEADPOOL is hands down one of the best super hero films to ever crawl from the pages of Marvel Comics. Never before has one been so relatable and of the people. Instead of sitting in a lofty penthouse making billions of dollars this is a guy you can sit at the bar and have a drink with. You can tell him all your troubles and he will not only listen but offer you words of honest encouragement -sprinkled with a tad a sarcasm- that will lift your spirits and tickle your funny bone. You will leave feeling so good about yourself that you forget all the troubles you thought were so unmanageable.

Wade is not just a man of words though but of extreme action when it is called for. Especially when it comes to taking care of his lady. Think King Leonidas from 300 meets Michael Bolton singing that one cover song. It is that powerful. So when Vanessa's life is in danger he pulls out all the stops, and a few other things, and takes on some mutated a-holes in a bloodbath of vengeance.

If you thought you were over and done with the super hero comic movie genre Deadpool will cause you to rethink that decision.  It makes fun of everything that the industry holds dear. In doing so it strips away all the armor and allows you to laugh at the most inappropriate dialogue. Seriously, there is very little in this movie that is appropriate. We should all be ashamed to say we applaud it. But isn't that what true love is? I think so.

DEADPOOL is rated R for strong violence and language throughout, sexual content and graphic nudity. Do not see this with anyone you would not be willing to burp or pass gas in front of; while completely naked. It is very adult but you have to put aside your adult mentality to love it soooo much. Will Ryan Reynolds finally win an Oscar? No, but neither has Iron Man Jr., Captain Evans, or that web swinger. And I can tell you now who you will like better.  I give it 5 out of 5 taxi cab rides. The smaller your hands are the bigger this film will feel.

THE CHOICE - Review

PG-13  |  111 min  |  Drama, Romance
Review - Matt Mungle

**In theaters February 5th 2016**

Synopsis: Travis and Gabby first meet as neighbors in a small coastal town and wind up in a relationship that is tested by life's most defining events.

Review: The poster for THE CHOICE is a dead giveaway that it is based on a Nicholas Sparks book. Sure they look all happy now but you know that something seriously bad is going to happen to one of them and the other will have to find a way through it. Sparks 101. Luckily the cast is adorable enough to salvage a small morsel of goodness in a pot luck stew of a script. 

Travis (Benjamin Walker) and Gabby (Teresa Palmer) find themselves in a predictable Rom-Dram scenario and the fact that they can't stand each other at the beginning of the film is only a formality. They drive each other crazy which drives them straight into each other’s arms. His southern boy charm makes good kindling for her feisty personality; igniting them into a blaze of attraction. But they both have some choices to make - hence the title - which at times are clear to the audience and other times not so understandable. The path the story takes to get from opening credit to final tear drop is a mix match of holes, rushed decisions, and hurried plot points. All of which are draped in that signature Sparks fashion. 

Palmer fans will appreciate the effort she makes in this one. You like Gabby. She is strong, determined and on a smart path both personally and vocationally. It is this fact that makes it so confusing when you see the choices she makes. Walker has a harder task bringing Travis into some form of three dimensional being. There are so many facets to his character and many of them are in direct conflict with each other. Depending on the scene you may have a strong confident ladies man or a shy country bumpkin. This is in no part the fault of Walker but falls solidly on a script that does not have a firm grip on its own main characters. 

Fans of the genre and of prior Nicholas Sparks films may feel a bit cheated in this one. In the past his films have succeeded because he captures human relationships when they are most vulnerable and allows us to live through them for 115 minutes or so. He creates a place and time that feels nostalgic and makes us want to see love win. In this one it felt as if he absent mindlessly jumbled up a bunch of spare notions and discarded ideas. There is very little synergy and a total lack of cohesion. Each scene feels disjointed from the prior so that the audience cannot settle into a nice romantic groove. Even the dramatic climax seems cheapened by a desire to emotionally manipulate instead of tenderly touching.

THE CHOICE is rated PG-13 for sexual content and some thematic issues. It is an adult themed film both in story and content. Sparks movies are never overtly sexual or salacious and here it remains fairly tame. I give it 2 out of 5 wind chimes. This film may have been the victim of mass production. It does feel more like it was made on an assembly line instead of from the heart. And that is never a good choice for a film prompting us to choose love. 

February Films

Want to know what films to spend your hard earned cash on in the month of February? Or maybe you just desire lively, cinematic discussion. Either way you will want to hear this week's  podcast as I bring in some familiar voices to help break down the February flicks. Also, we spend a bit longer chatting about THE CHOICE which releases this week.

Matt Mungle - @themungle

Preston Barta - @PrestonBarta - Editor at Fresh Fiction (@FreshFictionTV & @FreshFiction), Critic at @DentonRC

Susan Kamyab - @thischixflix - Reporter/Film Critic for Irving Community Television & ThisChixFlix.com

Bryan Klugar - @Bryan_Kluger - Writer at High-Def Digest and Editor-in-Chief at Boomstick Comics

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Be sure and follow any or all of us for weekly reviews and features about the films we discuss. 

Listen to the entire podcast - Listen

Here is a list of films releasing nationally in the month of February. 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5
 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
 The Choice
 Hail, Caesar!

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12
 Deadpool
 How to be Single
 Zoolander 2

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19
 Risen
 Race
 The Witch

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26
 Gods of Egypt
 Triple 9
 Eddie the Eagle

LAZER TEAM - Review

PG-13 | 1h 42min | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi 
Review - Matt Mungle

**In theaters January 29th 2016**

Synopsis: Four losers are thrust into the position of saving the world when they stumble upon a UFO crash site and become genetically equipped to the battle suit on board.

Review: Burnie Burns wrote and stars in the hilarious (for the right crowd) sci-fi comedy, LAZER TEAM. Full of sophomoric one-liners and goof ball characters that you can't help but bust a gut at. 

Set in a small Texas town a group of local rejects stumble upon some Extra Terrestrial weapons meant for the Government. They must now work hand in hand to save the planet. Luckily between the four of them they have an almost complete brain. Bumbling and stumbling their way to success the Lazer Team unites. 

Hagan (Burnie Burns) is a small town cop respected by no one. Herman (Colton Dunn) spends his days in daily drunken angst trying to escape the glory days of his High School Football career. Zach (Michael Jones) is the current High School all star quarter back who has taken one too many shots to the head. Woody (Gavin Freed) is along for the ride but may end up the best of the best. 

Burns gives us a wall to wall script of quotable and laughable dialogue that is so stupid that you can't help but watch over and over again. What helps it work is how the cast deliver the lines as if it was part of their inbred DNA.  Dunn, Jones, and Free each embrace their character apologetically. But why not? You can tell they are having as much fun as we are.  

Many may watch this and roll their eyes in exasperation. But if you love humor that makes SNL look like Meet The Press then you are in for a treat. Often these comedies cut back on effects and professional film making but Burns and his team bring us a solid looking flick. The Lazer Team weapons are high tech and seamless. The story itself is engaging and well written. But it is the over the top humor that sold it for me. 

Rated PG-13 for sexual material including references, language, action violence, teen partying and smoking. There are many innuendos and sexual references that are made to tickle the High School male funny bone. Those like me who still giggle at the word duty will appreciate them. Others may be put off a tad. I give it 3.5 out of 5 Hero's of Earth. It may not win any high brow awards but it sure was fun to watch. 

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The Finest Hours - Review

PG-13  |  117 min  |  Action, Drama, History
Review - Matt Mungle

**In theaters January 29th 2016**

Synopsis: The Coast Guard makes a daring rescue attempt off the coast of Cape Cod after a pair of oil tankers are destroyed during a blizzard in 1952.

Review: Some stories are worth telling. Especially the ones where human endeavor and a monumental spirit of fortitude overcome even the most extreme circumstances. How these stories are told is the main obstacle. Incredible effects and lines that work only in edited trailer segments often are not enough. Sadly this is not Disney's finest hour.

Incredible is a good word to describe what Bernie Webber (Chris Pine) accomplished on the stormy February night. It is to this day the most daring and succesful Coast Guard small boat rescue mission ever. In one boat you have Webber and his small band of faithful rescuers. In the other you have Ray Sybert (Casey Affleck) and his crew of stranded oilers; their tanker having been ravaged by the storm. Both group of men fighting mounting odds to stay alive. Back on shore is Webber's fiancé Miriam (Holliday Grainger) and members of the small fishing village willing them all to return safely. 

Let us talk first about what does work in this film for there are elements that are worthy of the big screen experience. All of these take place in the water. The waves and oceanic effects are the best I have seen. The ferocious nature of a storm at sea has to be palpable and this one is times ten. The other strong scenes take place on the stranded oil tanker. The intricate mechanics of the inner workings make a steel and iron stage for the men to walk on. It has elements of Poseidon Adventure and Titanic. The acting on that tanker is the most dramatic of any in the film. These are gritty men of action and for many the act of sitting and waiting is a fate worse than death. 

What does not work and sinks this film faster than a midnight squall is the overly staged and predictable dialogue and poor use of dramatic timing and direction. The relationship between Bernie and Miriam is intended to make us long for his safe return. It is meant to ground us to his character and elevate the peril. But instead it becomes a distraction. You almost do not like Miriam. Her strong female tenacity in the face of hardened sea men doesn't come across as praise worthy but annoying. She is an outsider trying to navigate a man's terrain. It does not play out well because it makes the script have to pander to her and make her a principal actor. 

Also, Pine is so much better as the cocky self assured Captain Kirk than the self deprecating rule follower we see here. Webber is a nautical savant in the way he delivers his lines and walks stiffly through each scene. What is intended as humble and simplistic ends up as some sort of disorder. We often see Bernie in a trance like state trying to become one with the water and storm. Again, maybe that was the real Webber but for a block buster film it isn't a good look. The story should have been the main focus. 

As savage and incredible as the waves and ocean looked it lost its effects on the men out in it. This was a brutal storm in sub temperatures yet seldom do the men look cold realistically. I wanted more blue skin tones and icicles clinging to beards. More shivering and teeth chattering. They talked and moved as if none of this was a bother. Only near the end did they try and slip in a moment where the men looked miserable and on the brink of dying. But it was too little and much too late. 

THE FINEST HOURS is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of peril. There are some seriously dramatic moments so best for those over 13 or 14. But rest assured that there is nothing at all in the way of violence, language or any adult content. The men and women act honorably and the message of sacrifice and doing the job you are given is up-lifting. You will be amazed by the true story and shake your head in bewilderment. The outcome of the film should in no way detract from what these men, Bernie in particular, accomplished. I give it 2.5 out of 5 snow banks. A story worth telling, but telling better.