I saw Army of the Dead...

Writer/director Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead (now streaming on Netflix and playing in those few theaters still operating) is a companion piece to his 2003 Dawn of the Dead remake. Its release comes at a lingering, pandemic period when freedoms continue to be restricted (with all the debatable pros and cons attached to all the vague hows and whys); only here we're not dealing with a reality-variant Andromeda Strain, but rather an exploit of fast-moving, flesh-eating (and often organized) living dead in a heist context. 

The set-up is simple, where an Area 51, military caravan gets into a crash outside Las Vegas. A zombie is unleashed from a trailer the soldiers are carting, and once they're bitten and transformed, the group heads to Sin City to wreck havoc. (The opening-credit sequence does a swell, sardonic job of condensing the raging takeover.)

To instill star value, Dave Bautista plays Scott Ward, a former mercenary who now flips burgers in Vegas for a buck, even as a countdown begins in Washington to nuke his realm on July 4th: a controversial plan that some insist won't purge the infestation. 

As fate would have it, Ward is approached by casino honcho Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada) who enlists the big man to lead a team to crack a safe to attain millions in cash before the big blow-up. 

Along the line, others get involved due to one cause or another (Ella Purnell; Omari Hardwick; Huma Qureshi; Theo Rossi; Tig Notaro; Ana de la Reguera; Garret Dillahunt; Nora Arnezeder; Lyon Beckwith; and scene-stealing Mathias Schweighofer), establishing a Romero-esque ensemble of harsh but identifiable characters who are set to risk it all for a share of the moolah. 

Some humor cuts in, though Army of the Dead is a far cry from Zombieland or Return of the Living Dead, even if it does use more levity (in a Guy Ritchie sorta way) than let's say the Walking Dead or for that matter, Snyder's Dawn retelling. There are also moments of kill-a-loved-one poignancy to pad the variance, though that doesn't make the movie Maggie, either. (To boot, cool, reinterpreted tunes haunt the atmosphere: a lovely touch.)  

The balance is pretty successful, with the intermittent, contrasting spurts bouncing off copious, CGI carnage and general weirdness. My favorite interlude comes early, when these hot, undead showgirls attack a guy in his hotel room. (The gals are topless. That's an aesthetic plus.)  And oh, the zombie tiger is amazing, as is the zombie king (Rich Cetris) and his sexy zombie queen (Athena Perample). Yeah, infect me, baby!

Even with its unique attributes, Army of the Dead is nothing novel. Some folks may dismiss it as just another link in an ongoing flesh-eating-flick chain. Maybe they're right to do so, but I found the film a dandy diversion, even when it referenced those too-close-to-home temperature checks. In other words, the movie is good, gruesome fun, even if it does have one foot planted in restrictive reality. 

I saw Guardians, Vol. 2...

In August '14, the film version of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning's "Guardians of the Galaxy" took the Marvel/space-opera scene by storm: a mega hit that exceeded expectations with its retro zeal in both action and pop-cultural sounds. It was the story's varied underdogs, however, who made the film great, with its ensemble becoming the most embraced since "A New Hope". 

On this basis, it was only a matter of time before our lovable gang reappeared and yep, they're even hipper and quirkier for "Vol 2": Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt); Drax (Dave Bautista); Gamora (Zoe Salanda); (Baby) Groot (Vin Diesel); Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper); and Yondu (Michael Rooker), who once acted as Quill's troublesome, surrogate father. Oh, and let's not forget Gamora's resentful sis, Nebula (Karen Gillan); in addition to exotic empath, Mantis (Pom Klementieff); conscientious Kraglin (Sean Gunn); conniving, golden gal Ayesha Kismet (Elizabeth Debicki); and Star-Lord's maybe-he-is-maybe-he-ain't dad, a chap called Ego (Kurt Russell). Heck, even Yondu's has own lofty father figure, the Ravager leader otherwise known as Starhawk...Stakar Ogord (Sylvestor Stallone). Now how's that for a shape of things to come!?! (The addition of Russell and Stallone also make this a "Tango and Cash" reunion of sorts, even though the two never cross paths during the film. Pity...)

We now find our heroes combating a tentacled entity called the Abilisk, to assist a race called the Sovereign, but this interlude and the various circumstances and thugs that surround and/or stem from it (like Chris Sullivan's vile Taserface), don't drive the plot as much as Ego's weird intent. In fact, the father/son reunion soon becomes a tense focal point, giving the story that shaky Skywalker feel. Ego's ultimate motives, therefore, pave the path of this wild adventure, as does the biological baggage he carries, which can evidently alter the universe as we know it. This makes things real sticky for sonny-boy, but of course, Star-Lord can see through pretentious guises, no matter how paternal. 

The adventure flies fast with its top-of-the-charts accompaniment, and thankfully, the ride never loses track of our various friends and foes: i.e., character development somehow prevails within the special-effects onslaught. The strength of character, therefore, might make this franchise the closest of all to its Marvel roots, with "Vol 2" clinching the deal. It also succeeds in keeping its characters (i.e., their motives) more in touch with those important, founding fathers who "Star Wars" has, alas, dismissed over the decades: John Carter, Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. Hell, why not throw in Rocky Jones and Tom Corbett while we're at it? "Vol 2" is as damn nostalgically zestful as it gets. 

James Gunn's writing/directing finesse is ideal for the character-laden mythology, though I hesitate to give him too much credit, based on his asinine Captain-America-as-a-Nazi acceptance. Unforgivable! And yeah, I sure as hell still hold a grudge over that. Nonetheless, for the sake of this particular, cosmic incarnation, I've no choice but to give credit where it's due. It's really that good. 

As another plus, Star-Lord's persistent pursuit of Gamora is consistently bumpy and never full-fledged lovey-dovey. When it comes to this type of picture, that's the wisest way to play it. Keep the romance unfulfilled. That kills the yawns and ensures we'll want to see the relationship develop, and if it doesn't, no big deal.

"Vol 2" sure ain't Shakespeare. It ain't no "Winter Soldier", either; or for that matter, "Dune"; "Lord of the Rings"; "Planet of the Apes"; "Star Trek" or any number of other more complex, speculative journeys that we keep reassessing to expand our intellects. That doesn't make "Vol 2" any less important or productive for what it offers. I wanna see another chapter real soon, and if the early, box-office tallies are any indication, a third flick is but an intergalactic hop and a skip away. Hooray!!!

I saw SPECTRE Retooled...

Ian Fleming's James Bond is back: that is, Daniel Craig's Bond, in the fourth entry of his 007 series. 

Directed by "Skyfall'"s Sam Mendes (and scripted by Jez Butterworth,  John Logan, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade), "Spectre" is aptly big, bold and nostalgic. Also, just as “Thunderball” faced the challenge of matching "Goldfinger'"s success, “Spectre” has been angled to rival the acclaimed "Skyfall". Against the odds, "Spectre" manages to hold its own and perhaps more than in the prior Craig outings, embraces its globe-trotting past, but with a masterful, foreboding glorification that accompanies the actor's stoic presence.

The evil organization, SPECTRE is familiar to Bond buffs, and its octopus logo (like Hydra's in Marvel) is iconic. However, an insinuated element is now attributed to the Connery-era agency, evident in the Day of the Dead prologue, where citizens sport skull personas. In appearance, they're reminiscent of "Live and Let Die'"s mystical minions, but by no means are they bad guys. They simply stand in lieu of SPECTRE's actual members: dead on the record books, but alive either in flesh or spirit, and because of their furtive influence, a danger to the world. 

As with any Bond effort, the villains are a notch above most, with Franz Oberhauser/Ernst Stavano Blofeld (the devilishly charismatic Christoph Waltz) leading the pack, assisted by Dave "Guardians of the Galaxy" Bautista as henchman Mr. Hinx. (Even Jesper Christensen's Mr. White makes a brief reappearance.) However, mobster Marco Sciarra (Alessandro Cremona) occupies the earliest action, brawling with Bond in Mexico. Even when Sciarra slips from view, his presence prevails through his fetching but beguiling wife, Lucia (Monica Bellucci). 

The primary Bond girl is Lea Seydoux (Waltz's "Inglourious Basterds" costar), who projects a cool, Hitchcockian sexiness as Dr. Madeleine Swann. She's Mr. White's daughter and harbors a secret, making Bond's romantic object of value and concern. 

The rest of the cast bridges their relationship nicely, with Ralph Fiennes now promoted to "M" status; Naomie Harris returning as Eve Moneypenny, along with Ben Whishaw as the quirky "Q". Andrew Scott enters the behind-the-scenes tension as British agent Max Denbigh (aka, "C"), who mirrors Bond's tenacity, though to an Orwellian fault.  

Alas, to its disadvantage, "Spectre" doesn't hit "Skyfall'"s psychological complexity (due to Javier Bardem's memorable Raoul Silva), nor does it offer the previous film's sentimentality (a result of Judi Densch's departure). It's really a straight-forward action piece, where Bond once more uses his superheroic resources to thwart opponents. On the other hand, it's not an utter rehash of prior efforts, despite its many nostalgic nods. It's too cynical and hardcore for that, and SPECTRE remains as troublesome as when last seen in "Never Say Never Again", but now more expansive because of its computerized reconstruction. 

As with any Bond film, "Spectre" is jammed with exoticism, allowing our hero to leap from one locale to another without much apparent cause, but on the plus side, "Spectre" may be Craig's most attractive adventure. Also, the gadget-laden action is on a par with this year's other stand-outs, including "Man from U.N.C.L.E", "Age of Ultron" and "Fury Road".

Where "Spectre" will rank in the franchise's long haul is yet to be seen. Still, in its imaginative scope and visual vigor, the sequel should please most fans. It also demands Craig's re-entry, even if (per recent rumor) that's not to be. This one will be a hard act to follow in any event, but then other Bond sequels have encountered the same circumstances, only to deliver in the end, and good, bad or otherwise, "Spectre" certainly confirms 007 will return!!!