A Good Day to Die Hard

The fifth installment in the Die Hard franchise, John McClane travels to Russia  on "vacation" to get his now grown up son out of some trouble he's gotten into. But when there's a McClane involved, he's bound to get himself into the wrong place at the wrong time. Multiply that by two, and it's double trouble.

Cast:

Bruce Willis as John McClane
Jai Courtney as John "Jack" McClane, Jr.
Sebastian Koch as Yuri Komarov
Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Lucy McClane
Yuliya Snigir as Irina

Who will like this movie:

Explosions, guns, and car chases. If I got your attention with these simple words, this is a good movie for you. Have you seen all the other Die Hard movies and your life will not be complete without completing the set? Then buy your ticket. I liken this to the Nicholas Cage flick "Con Air". This is a light show for your senses that doesn't require too much thinking.

Phantom Thoughts

A Good Day to Die Hard was a bad day to go to the movies. In my pursuit to stay neutral in my description and suggestions on who would like this movie, I found it my most difficult venture to date. Considering that I also reviewed the horrendous "John Carter" and "Battleship", that's saying something. I can't say anything good about the latest Die Hard attempt...at all. This is coming from a Die Hard fan. (pun intended) I liked all the previous movies, to varying degrees. The second and fourth ones were among my least favorites, but this one was so pedestrian, it could have been a hostage at Nakatomi Plaza. 

I laughed out loud at several moments while sitting in the theater, however they were not for any comedic quotes or situations, of which they tried to force in there throughout. No...I was laughing at how ridiculous this was. It was like watching a video game of Black Ops. Not playing it....watching someone else play it. First off, they must be trying to convince the movie going public that Mercedes Benz G-Class is a tank you can own. After John McClane carjacks one (Yes...I said carjack. Because he's in Russia and has no authority of any kind, but stops a guy and takes off in his car anyway. Speeding away yelling at the guy he just stole the car from like HE'S the asshole.). He then proceeds to do a Monster Truck style car crushing run that would put Grave Digger in the grave...and come out without a scratch. He then rams into and basically takes out an ACTUAL tank like truck...and then walks away with a few boo-boos.

That's the other thing that makes this like watching a video game...in the first Die Hard, John McClane walks over  broken glass and pretty much drags himself into a bathroom in excruciating pain. In this one, he goes through 2 car crashes, a few falls from at least a 5 story building, not to mention a few explosions. The God-like Thor would not have fared as well as "regular Joe" McClane did. 

There was evidently a story and plot twist in there somewhere, but I wouldn't even entertain a spoiler to try to explain what they were supposed to be. I am really upset that Bruce Willis would even agree to be seen on screen in this garbage. Look, I understand that you like playing the character, but any remnants of John McClane were no where to be found...even when saying the now cliche "Yippie-Ki-Yay..." line. Not even the father/son team up, double the McClane angle added any element of enjoyment. 

They should have called this "A Good Day to kill a Die Hard Franchise."

Until next time, I'll see you in the center seat....Mother-F#@%er.

Warm Bodies

Warm Bodies = The Walking Dead + Romeo and Juliet...almost literally. As told from the perspective of a 20 something zombie, who falls in love with a human girl. His love starts to change him and also change how she sees the undead. It is a relationship that can change the world in a post zombie apocalyptic era.

Cast

 Nicholas Hoult as R
 Teresa Palmer as Julie Grigio
 Rob Corddry as M / Marcus
 Dave Franco as Perry Kelvin
 Analeigh Tipton as Nora
 Cory Hardrict as Kevin
 John Malkovich as Colonel Grigio

Who will like this:

This is the perfect date movie for your Walking Dead fans, nerds or cos players. (You know who you are). It's an undead Rom Com. It has aspects of Shaun of the Dead, mixed with Twilight. It takes several liberties with classic zombie mythology that zombie fans may take umbrage with, but when taken in the light-hearted way it was written, it is enjoyable. If you are looking for a movie that's a little bit funny, a little bit scary and a bit of a romance, it's a good one to catch.

Phantom Thoughts

When I said this was the Walking Dead + Romeo and Juliet, it wasn't just a clever description. (Although it really was, if I do say so myself) It is has taken the plot directly from ol' Willie Shakes classic love story, right down to the famous balcony scene. Teresa Palmer plays Julie (Juliet) while Nicholas Hoult's zombie main character can't remember his name, but thinks it begins with "R" (Romeo...see? Get it?) 

But how does a character express his love to a girl who is fighting against him and all others like him when he can hardly even speak? This is the point in which I have to give credit to Nicholas Hoult. There are a lot of voice over through out the movie to tell R's story by what he's thinking to the audience. And this is where a lot of the humor comes from as it's cleverly written. But for an actor to express this through just the eyes and facial expressions was done very well by Hoult. Anyone who has played a zombie around Halloween (and really, haven't we all at some point?) knows that it's pretty easy to do...just become void of emotion and shuffle along as if it's a struggle to move. But to take that and emote emotion and communication at the same time is not that easy, or believable. Hoult does it. 

The other obstacle I see in making this movie is, how do you make a disgusting, rotting flesh eating zombie, a likable romantic lead in a movie? Well, first is the make-up. Which is done by mildly altering the actor to look more of just dead than a rotting corpse. Then give him the ability to speak...just a few words, and thoughts and feelings. All of which is uncharacteristic of what we know to be zombies. Next you have to have a villain  Normally this would obviously be the zombies themselves. So to solve this, they made another level of zombie called "Bonies". These mummy-like creatures are more animalistic and vicious. They are the soulless undead that other zombies eventually turn into. They are all CGI and at times, not really well done. But you can forgive that since it's not really a horror or sci-fi movie.

John Malkovich plays Julie's Father, and the leader of the human army against the zombies. I felt his role as the bad-ass military like leader didn't suit him very well. Maybe all his work as a villain in other films as well as his bad-ass character in "Red" made him a good candidate, but it didn't work for me.

SPOILER: The love that R has for Julie starts to change him, in fact "cure" him of being a zombie. This change spreads like the virus that caused the zombie apocalypse in the first place and other zombies begin to follow his example. This leads to a battle between Zombies and Bonies that is pretty funny to watch.

Was the timing of this movie planned? Hmmmm...let's see: we are at the height of The Walking Dead craze, this Summer one of the most anticipated movies is World War Z (which there is a preview for  for before Warm Bodies) and it came out just before Valentine's Day. Yeah. I would have to say that it is perfectly timed. 

Until next time, see you in the center seat.