"Replicas" Review: Best Sleep I've Had In The Theater in A While!
When a film opens cold (not screened to critics ahead of time) that’s never a good sign. It signifies that there was a point during the production of Replicas in which someone said, “this isn’t going to do well.” By that point, it was too late to go back or abandon ship, and the production pushed forward and was distributed to theaters.
Will Foster (Keanu Reeves) is a scientist on the cusp of transferring human consciousness by mapping the brain of the recently dead and inserting it into a synthetic brain. If the science of what I just said doesn’t make sense, don’t worry, there’s more! After a recently failed attempted transfer, Will and his family decide to take off for the weekend. On the rainy streets of Puerto Rico they get in an accident in which Will is the sole survivor.
Will quickly calls Ed (Thomas Middleditch), his assistant of sorts, to come to the scene so that they can get his family’s consciousness in hopes of cloning them. From there we get a series of moral debates, more scientific jargon that doesn’t make sense, and a scene in which Will grieves more over picking a name out of a bowl than when his family initially died.
This film is not even half baked, it hasn’t even been in the oven. Our connection to the characters in this film is as weak as Will’s to his family. We barely see them interact before the accident, and therefore his push to replicate feels as lifeless as Reeves acting in this film. Middleditch is the bright spot of the film as he offers up the moral questions to the premise that just didn’t transfer well to the big screen. However, his character continues to be complicit in the “nefarious” behavior as even he notes.
The best part of this movie was the minute of sleep that I got during the third act. I woke up refreshed, ready to take on the rest of the snoozer, and push through. I wouldn’t even watch this when it comes out on Netflix if I were you.
Rating: F
"Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie" Review
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie is the type of film that makes me go look up the property it’s based on. Not because I was enamored with the film, but because I want to know why this film was made. The children’s novel sold more than 70 million books worldwide! Unlike some of the animated features that share the same space, you have to dig through the sophomoric humor to get to the heart of the film but it’s there. With that said, I’m not sure the book should have been put on the big screen.
George (Kevin Hart) and Harold (Thomas Middleditch) have been besties ever since they heard their kindergarten teacher say Uranus. Since that moment, they spent as much time together as possible, telling jokes, pulling pranks, and creating comic books about a superhero they’ve created called Captain Underpants along the way. Their jokes and pranks never go unnoticed by teachers (who are usually on the receiving end), students, and especially their principal, Mr. Krupp (Ed Helms). Their latest prank pushes Mr. Krupp over the edge and he decides to separate the two.
With the doom of their friendship on the horizon, George acts quickly and uses his ring to hypnotize Mr. Krupp. And it works! He believes he’s Captain Underpants. His mission, is to put fun back in the school. Too bad Professor Poopypants (Nick Kroll) has other ideas as a dastardly villain in disguise as a teacher.
The film feels exactly like it should if an elementary school boy wrote it and a top notch animation house produced it. (No offense to writer Nicholas Stoller.) The narrative quickly derails, comes back and goes off in other directions much like a conversation with an elementary student, but traded for side bits within the film. It’s smart enough to know what it is and make self deprecating jokes. It has a great underlying theme of how friendship can overcome all.
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie might be a good time for youngsters, diehards who read the novel, and adults who still get a kick out of fart jokes. If that kind of thing doesn’t float your boat, then this movie is not for you. If anything, the film might just take you back to your childhood and what the definition of best friend meant then.
Rating: C
"The Final Girls" Review:
I remember watching “Friday the 13th” and “Nightmare on Elm Street” marathons on the occasional Friday the 13th back in the day. Even though I would watch from underneath a blanket in fear, it was something about the slasher flicks that I enjoyed. “The Final Girls” is a celebration of the 1980s style slasher flicks. It knows what it is and what it’s doing. It’s a movie on the timeline of a cinematic history full of movies and it uses tropes from over the years to make its point. There is so much going on in the film that highlights the past through a contemporary lens, but in the best way possible!
Max (Taissa Farmiga) was always playing the role of the grown up with her mother, Amanda (Malin Akerman), a one time star of “Camp Bloodbath” 1 and 2. Three years after losing her mother in a car accident, Max is invited to a movie marathon of her mother’s biggest role by the franchise’s biggest fan, Duncan (Thomas Middleditch). Max drags her best friend Gertie (Alia Shawkat) to the theater. They run into Max’s possible new flame Chris (Alexander Ludwig) and his ex/mean girl, Vicki (Nina Dobrev). The teens double for the stereotypical characters that can be seen in “Camp Bloodbath”.
After a fire breaks out in the theater, the group try to escape through the theater screen to the back exit but are transported into the “Camp Bloodbath” movie, “Last Action Hero”-style. They soon discover they are stuck in a continuous 92-minute loop of the film and the only way to get out is to get involved in it. As the film moves forward, each cast member steps into their position. Duncan is the genius who knows the Camp Bloodbath movies in and out. While you may assume that you know how everyone else fills their roles, it’s their interaction with their counterparts that makes the film so interesting!
As Chris interacts with Kurt (Adam DeVine), the jock of Camp Bloodbath, viewers can see the 80’s definition of the athletic male stereotype versus the 2015 version. Yet, where the movie finds a lot of it’s emotional depth is in the interaction with Max and her mom’s character, Nancy. The chance for Max to speak to her mom again turns “The Final Girls” into a fun movie with wit and heart.
For the film geeks, the movie is technically proficient and brilliantly executed. All the elements of slasher films are there for dissecting through humorous scenes thatserve the story: slow motion running, backstory flashbacks, stepping over titles, jump screams from the killer appearing in the window, swelling scores, and so much more that this review could turn into a paper. There are plenty of spoof horror films out that you probably can roll your eyes thinking about right now, but this I assure you is not one of those.
“The Final Girls” is an absolutely brilliant film that celebrates the process of filmmaking, the history of slasher films, and the emotions we feel as viewers when we go to the movies. You can’t reinvent the wheel that Wes Craven created in “Scream”. However, you can create your own brand. “The Final Girls” does that and some! Go see it now!
Rating: A+