“This is the most beautiful miracle I’ve ever seen...” — Vanellope von Schweetz
I’ve gotta admit, I haven’t been terribly excited about the animated fare Hollywood has been dishing out in recent years.
Some animated movies have been far too serious for their own good (“Inside Out” and “Zootopia” come to mind), veering into “message movie” territory. They set aside the silly joy that movies like “Toy Story” and “Shrek” had back in the day and feel unnecessarily manipulative.
The first “Wreck-It-Ralph” movie was fun — taking viewers inside the world of videogames with a story that was lighthearted and amusing (with a nice dose of nostalgia thrown in).
This Thanksgiving we get the sequel titled “Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It-Ralph 2”...
Now, I don’t really know what the movie will be about (other than the obvious), and I don’t really want to know what exploits await Ralph and Vanellope after they are transmitted via wi-fi router to the internet.
I’m mainly excited that Vanellope — who shrugged off the title of “princess” in the game Sugar Rush — gets to meet the assortment of Disney princesses in “Wreck-It-Ralph 2.”
It isn’t a secret that “Tangled” is one of my favorite Disney animated films — and highly underrated, in my opinion. I'm happy we’ll get to see (non-brunette) Rapunzel on the big screen again this November.
(I watched Disney’s “Moana” for the first time last month, and was surprised how much I liked it.)
We also get some “Star Wars” action in this “Wreck-It-Ralph 2” trailer (since Disney owns everything we know and love...)
See for yourself... check out the latest trailer for “Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It-Ralph 2” (coming 11/21/2018):
The image of Cruise holding Pete Mitchell’s “Maverick” flight helmet — while he looks at an F-18 Hornet from a distance — is awesome.
(Since F-14 Tomcats were retired from service in 2006, F-18s will be featured prominently in the new movie.)
I saw “Top Gun” several times at Omaha’s defunct Indian Hills theater back in 1986. Watching those flight sequences on that massive “Cinerama screen” was a breathtaking experience.
“Top Gun” epitomizes movies of the 1980s. Attractive cast, soundtrack full of hits... loud, fast, and fun.
(I still think my wife Bridget should let me get a turntable, but alas...)
That soundtrack is one of my favorites — from Loggins’s “Danger Zone” to Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away” to Harold Faltermeyer’s “Top Gun Anthem” (which my brother-in-law Sean mentioned was originally meant for a “dream sequence” in the movie “Fletch).
I remember pre-ordering “Top Gun” on VHS from the Applause Video that used to be at 84th and Dodge.
One of the first movies I purchased on DVD (when I bought my initial DVD player) was “Top Gun.”
(Bridget and I are also big fans of the similarly-styled Cruise/Simpson/Bruckheimer film “Days of Thunder”).
In the intervening years, I’ve purchased “Top Gun” on Blu-ray (the movie has yet to be released on disc in 4K).
I can’t wait to see Tom Cruise suit up as jet jock Pete Mitchell in this “Top Gun” sequel.
My only hope is that they keep it authentic — and avoid “fake-looking” CG flight sequences (which permeate so many action movies these days).
Knowing what a perfectionist Tom Cruise is — and his penchant for doing insane stunt work — I’d imagine that the producers will try to keep things real.
I realize I am probably too big a “nostalgia buff” for my own good (my wife constantly teases me about that fact), but it is just so much fun to revisit pop culture’s past.
For example, YouTube’s wonderful “Karate Kid” sequel series “Cobra Kai” (read my review of "Cobra Kai") completely hit the mark. It wasn’t merely nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake, and reminded us why we still love those iconic characters.
Cruise has stayed amazingly youthful in appearance — which should add credibility when doing a sequel to a movie that’s 32 years old. We can only hope that Val Kilmer has been working out the past couple of years...
Time to pull those old bomber jackets out of mothballs, dust off the aviator glasses, buzz the tower, and head back “into the danger zone.”
Former Force Reconnaissance Marine Logan West is back — filled to the gills with testosterone and loaded for bear with a Kimber .45.
In “Oath of Honor” — Matthew Betley’s second novel featuring his deadly protagonist — West & Co. must stop a weapon known as ONERING from wreaking havoc in the hands of nefarious foreign players.
West and Force Recon buddy John Quick joined the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force at the end of “Overwatch” — doing their bit to aid FBI Special Agent Mike Benson.
The early stages of “Oath of Honor” find West and Quick knee deep in “blood and glory” as they root around Unalaska, Alaska, attempting to track down the missing ONERING device.
In case you’re wondering, the ONERING device’s moniker is a reference to J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy “The Lord of the Rings.”
At one point in the novel — as the team works to thwart the villains — Logan says of the ONERING device, “It’s brought nothing but death and misery to us and our country today. Tolkien would be furious. ‘One ring to rule them all,’ my ass...”
Macho dialogue that feels like it stepped off the set of a Jerry Bruckheimer action movie is something you’ll be treated to in a Betley novel.
The narrative in "Oath of Honor" primarily takes place in Alaska, Spain, Sudan, and Las Vegas. Betley gives more "page time" to supporting characters like John Quick and Mike Benson this time out, and the extra development is nice.
In addition, Betley introduces some new characters, including a mysterious LEGION operator named Amira Cerone, and CIA operative Cole Matthews.
As was the case with “Overwatch,” Betley is good about peppering the story with various tools of the trade — Type 05 machine guns, two Heckler & Koch MP5 models, and M79 grenade launchers find their way onto the page.
Helicopters are also featured prominently in “Oath of Honor.”
In particular, a Russian Hind Mi-24 helicopter — unofficially nicknamed the “crocodile” by Soviet pilots — antagonizes West and Quick in Sudan during the latter stages of the novel.
I wondered if this was the same chopper Sylvester Stallone battled in “Rambo: First Blood Part II” and “Rambo III,” but recalled reading something suggesting the “Hind” featured in those movies was a modified helicopter of different origin (which would make sense since it was the waning days of the Cold War).
(Same for the helicopter seen in Dolph Lundgren’s 1988 action movie “Red Scorpion”... which might actually be the same modified craft from the “Rambo” films...)
Anyhow, the Hind Mi-24 isn’t the only “crocodile” that Logan West has to do battle with in “Oath of Honor.”
Let’s be real... it doesn’t matter if we’re talking about “flying tanks” or ravenous reptiles, Logan West is up to snuff.
Betley admits in the “Acknowledgments” section of “Oath of Honor” that this story is a “different kind of runaway train” compared to “Overwatch.”
That is indeed true.
“Oath of Honor” moves away from the first novel’s “origin story” focus, and instead sets things up for Betley’s next few novels. There were moments in “Oath of Honor” that had a vibe similar in feel to a Vince Flynn thriller (the ending, for example).
Betley’s novels tend to epitomize the look and feel of post-9/11 espionage thrillers. That means readers get tough stories, about tough men, doing tough things.
If you are like me and enjoy the rugged novels of Vince Flynn and Brad Thor, give Matthew Betley a try.
Paris is quickly becoming one of the most compelling protagonists in the thriller game. Her heroic antics are tempered by the fact that she lives with Type 1 diabetes. She is a well-drawn character, and the intricate family saga woven into her story adds depth and dimension.
“Skyjack” finds Paris escorting two young brothers — Jabari and Ayan — from Africa to Great Britain. Thea’s brother Nikos started a charity to help recovering child soldiers, setting up an adoption program as part of the service.
The boys are first-time fliers — excited to meet their adoptive parents. Shortly into the flight, a passenger has a heart attack. The co-pilot (who happened to be using the restroom at the time) informs Thea that the pilot has locked the cockpit, ignoring multiple communication attempts. The plane is re-routed to Libya. Our kidnap-and-ransom expert soon finds herself — along with her fellow passengers — in a hostage situation.
This sets into motion a series of events that would make the late great espionage novelist Robert Ludlum proud.
The skyjacked plane is part of a larger plot involving a B-47 Stratojet that went missing in 1956, a Sicilian crime boss named Prospero Salvatore, and an Austrian arms dealer named Gernot Dietrich (who has genocidal tendencies).
We learn about “secret organizations” that the CIA and British Secret Service helped train in Europe following World War II — put in place to guard against communism, operate in the shadows, and aid against a possible Soviet invasion. Some of those organizations are alive and well today... with less-than-noble goals.
The structure and pacing of Kimberly Howe’s “Skyjack” improves upon that of her first novel. She does an adept job navigating the various threads in the narrative. The story has a heft that keeps the momentum rolling to the final page. Howe isn't afraid to tackle larger philosophical issues in the geopolitical realm. That fact helps her novels transcend from "potboiler" status into something more meaningful. In "The Freedom Broker" she looked at the psychological scars left when a child is kidnapped — and the ramifications that follow. In "Skyjacked" she deals with the issue of xenophobia impacting the world today.
As many of you know, I enjoy little bits of trivia found in espionage novels — especially when they are subtle nods to other stories in the genre.
At one point during “Skyjack,” Rif Asker (Thea’s longtime friend and compatriot at Quantum International Security) finds himself inside the cockpit of a Czech Aero L-39 Albatros. This is the same plane featured in the opening sequence of the 1997 James Bond movie “Tomorrow Never Dies.” As someone who built model airplane kits as a kid, I love to see unique military aircraft featured in detail.
There won’t be another Thea Paris novel out until 2019, but I’m already looking forward to reading the next adventure with this fine lady.
If you like espionage and suspense thrillers in exotic locales, give Howe’s novels try. Howe is the executive director of “ThrillerFest,” the annual convention of the International Thriller Writers. If you’d like to learn more about the author, visit her website at www.kjhowe.com.
Remember in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” when Luke Skywalker said to Rey, “It’s time for the Jedi to end”...?
Maybe he was onto something...
In the period of time since Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, they have made four “Star Wars” feature films.
Fans of my generation — in surprisingly large numbers — think “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is the best of the new batch.
“Solo: A Star Wars Story” is able to capture the relaxed flavor and feel of “Rogue One.” Both of them share similar characteristics. Both take place in a time frame before “A New Hope.” Both experienced production woes which required extensive rewrites and reshoots.
In the case of “Solo,” the retooling also involved an entirely new director being brought on board (so did “Rogue One,” if you believe the rumors out there).
The biggest thing the two movies have in common is the fact that the Joseph Campbell-inspired “philosophy and mythology” of the franchise is largely absent from the story.
That brings me back to my comment at the beginning of this post. Maybe “Star Wars” is better when the focus is on action.
As Han Solo once said, “There’s no mystical energy field that controls my destiny... it’s all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense.”
That quote embodies the spirit of “Solo: A Star Wars Story.”
“Solo” tells the story of a young Han Solo (Alden Eherenreich). The film starts out with Han and his girlfriend Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke) trying to escape the clutches of a criminal underworld figure on Corellia. The two are separated, but Han vows to return for her...
The film then shifts focus to the rise of Han as a pilot and smuggler. We see him fighting in the trenches for the Empire (he was booted from the Imperial Flight Academy). As fate would have it, he soon finds a way out of the trenches as he connives his way into a criminal gang led by Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson).
The story itself feels like a western. The “Star Wars” franchise is at its best when it is a sweeping horse opera in space. “Solo” was written by a man who knows that genre well (Lawrence Kasdan) and his son (Jonathan Kasdan).
(If you’ve never seen Kasdan’s brilliant 1985 western “Silverado,” you’re missing out.)
We learn a number of fun bits along the way. The origin of Han Solo’s name is revealed. We learn how he meets Chewbacca. We see how Solo gets his iconic blaster pistol. We even get an Easter egg in the form of Lando’s “skiff guard” costume.
Han eventually crosses paths with gambler and con artist Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover). Lando owns the spiffy Millennium Falcon, and has a sidekick droid named L3-37.
The main “heavy” in the film is a gangster named Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany in an understated and effective performance).
Going any further would tread into “spoiler territory,” and I don’t want to do that.
The movie itself isn’t particularly groundbreaking or remarkable. However, it is a lot of fun.
Director Ron Howard told “The ‘Star Wars’ Show” that, “Using the Han Solo character, it sort of pushed things in an adventurous direction. It’s almost kind of got a little 70s feel... that rebelliousness, that recklessness. And so, that’s informed a lot of the action, it’s informed the way the scenes are staged, the way the action is cut, the way it is shot...”
I don’t know how much of the movie we see is Howard’s versus the previous directors (Phil Lord and Christopher Miller). We’ve heard tales that 80 percent or more of the movie was reshot.
Regardless, Ron Howard deserves considerable credit here.
He is a fine director. He starred in George Lucas’s 1973 film “American Graffiti” (another brilliant movie you need to see) and directed the 1988 fantasy film “Willow” for Lucasfilm (the movie recently celebrated its 30th anniversary).
Howard keeps the action moving — which I consider a virtue. Far too many theatrical blockbusters feel bloated with unnecessary exposition and backstory.
“Solo: A Star Wars Story” kept charging ahead during its 2 hour and 15 minute run time.
You can also tell that Howard & Co. weren’t bashful about “eliminating” elements in the movie that were starting to feel unnecessarily cheesy or geeky (you’ll understand what I mean when you see it).
Like “Star Wars” back in 1977, the filmmakers weren’t afraid to edit the film down to its essence.
“Solo” wasn’t an act of “self indulgence” like Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi.” It also didn’t meander with pointless subplots and patronizing social messages.
Rather, “Solo” captures the soul of what George Lucas was trying to do with “Star Wars” back in the 1970s — channeling those classic, Saturday matinee serials.
I was surprised how much I liked Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo. He did a good job turning on the roguish charm. While he might not be Harrison Ford in his prime, his performance left me wanting to see another “Solo” movie.
There have also been rumors swirling about a “Lando” movie in the works. When Donald Glover isn’t making controversial music videos, he is a fine actor. I enjoyed his portrayal of Lando Calrissian and wouldn’t mind seeing the character headline his own film.
“Solo: A Star Wars Story” reminded of the days growing up playing with my Kenner action figures. I remember when I “finally” found the Han Solo figure at the Southroads Mall Sears in 1978.
I also have fond memories of receiving Kenner’s Millennium Falcon set for Christmas in 1979 (I knew exactly what that big box was when I saw it under the tree).
Disney and Lucasfilm need to be careful about how they proceed with the “Star Wars” franchise moving forward. I know the current trend is to “Marvel-ize” every property at the box office, but the “powers that be” need to make sure they don’t mess up the “special sauce” of “Star Wars.”
“Solo: A Star Wars Story” reminds us that the franchise — at its core — is supposed to be a fun, mindless adventure.
While “Solo” is far from perfect, it embodies what “Star Wars” is all about.
CBS has decided to give “Magnum P.I.“ what I call “The Lenkov Treatment.”
You might be wondering what I’m talking about...
Peter Lenkov is the producer behind the network’s popular “Hawaii Five-O” and “MacGyver” reboots — shows that stray from the source material, and give a fun, fast, Jerry Bruckheimer-esque makeover to iconic series.
The purist in all of us might scoff, but you can’t deny the charm in Lenkov’s reboots.
“Magnum P.I.” happens to be one of my all-time favorite shows. I own all eight seasons on DVD. I have watched all eight seasons on DVD. Tom Selleck is one of my favorite actors — his series “Blue Bloods” and his “Jesse Stone” detective movies (based on the Robert B. Parker novels) are among my preferred TV properties.
Talk of a “Magnum” reboot has been in the ether for years. I cringed each time I heard about plans to do it.
One plan involved the director behind the movie “Dodgeball” taking a shot at rebooting the show for a theatrical release. A more recent possibility involved Eva Longoria producing a show around Magnum’s daughter Lily (who we met as a little girl in the eighth season of “Magnum P.I.”).
After “Magnum P.I.’s” run in the 1980s, Selleck himself even discussed the possibility of a movie sequel written by “The Hunt for Red October” scribe Tom Clancy (who, according to Selleck, was a fan of the series).
Frankly, I’ve never been sure what a reboot would look like. “Magnum P.I.” is sort of the ultimate 1980s show. Many of the show's signatures — hawaiian shirts, short shorts, red Ferraris, the Vietnam War, mustaches — are relics of a decade long since past.
So much of Selleck’s persona is infused in the show.
For example, Tom Selleck was born in Detroit, Michigan, in the 1940s. The man is a big baseball aficionado. As such, we see Magnum wearing a Detroit Tigers ball cap throughout the series.
But here we are...
CBS released a first look preview of its upcoming “Magnum P.I.“ series.
The show has been updated for today. Thomas Sullivan Magnum is played by actor Jay Hernandez. His backstory is that of a former Navy SEAL turned private investigator in Hawaii.
He doesn’t sport the ‘stache, but he does have a goatee.
Magnum’s military buddies T.C. (Stephen Hill) and Rick (Zachary Knighton) are found in CBS’s new preview.
In the original series, Rick was a club owner with connections to organized crime. Not sure what his story is in the new series, but it appears they are staying true to the persona created by Larry Manetti in the original.
T.C. was a former military chopper pilot who owned a company called Island Hoppers in “Magnum P.I.’s” original run. T.C. is a former Marine helicopter pilot in the new show, and he looks to be driving a “bumble bee striped” Hughes 500D helicopter like the one in the original series (which has made at least one appearance in CBS’s “Hawaii Five-O” series).
The biggest change is that of the character Higgins. As is often the case in reboots — whether we are talking “Starbuck” in the “Battlestar Galactica” reboot, or “Cousin Kono” in the “Hawaii Five-O” reboot — a gender change is apparently in order.
Jonathan Higgins is now Juliet Higgins (Perdita Weeks). Like the original character, she manages author Robin Masters’s Hawaiian estate, and has a past in British Intelligence (and is obviously more attractive than actor Jonathan Hillerman ever hoped to be...). She also has two dobermans (which I assume are named Zeus and Apollo).
In “Magnum P.I.’s” original 1980s run, Thomas Magnum was hired by Robin Masters’s estate to test out the security systems and protocols on the property. He lived in the beach house, was allowed to drive Robin’s Ferrari 308 GTS, worked as a private investigator, and perpetually sparred with Higgins.
It appears those basic plot points hold true to form. What we don’t know at this point is how the show will evolve over time.
Author Robin Masters was something of an enigma in the original series. You never really saw the character, and Magnum started to speculate — as the series wore on — that Higgins was actually the famed pulp novelist.
If you watch CBS’s first look preview, you will hear Magnum suggest that “he” is the inspiration for Masters’s novels in the new series. That is a departure from the original show, but is an interesting angle to take.
There are other nods to the original series in the new preview. The “Cross of Lorraine” rings that Magnum, TC, and Rick wear make an appearance in the trailer.
We also see Magnum riding a surf ski, wearing a Detroit Tigers cap, and driving a red Ferrari 308 GT (among other Ferraris) in the preview.
I’m hopeful that Lenkov and CBS will follow the precedent set by the “Hawaii Five-O” reboot and feature a new opening credit sequence with the original “Magnum P.I.” theme song (written by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter).
Justin Lin (of the “Fast & Furious” franchise) is directing the pilot episode.
I don’t know how this new “Magnum P.I.” reboot will be — or how it will go over with fans of the original series.
But on first glance, it looks like it will be a lot of fun.
If only we could get CBS to give its “CBS All Access” subscribers an early shot at watching the pilot episode...
Speaking of “Hawaii Five-O,” I would expect to see some crossover episodes next season with the two series…which could be awesome!
P.S. -- Tom Selleck had to turn down the role of Indiana Jones in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” because he was committed to filming “Magnum P.I.”
In case you didn’t know, Selleck & Co. did an episode that was an “homage” to Indiana Jones called “Legend of the Lost Art” in the final season of the series.
I just thought I’d mention it because it was one of my favorite episodes on the series:
As the days grow longer, the heat ramps up, and the bugs come out, we can count on the latest comedy movie release from Melissa McCarthy. It's like clockwork.
She is this generation’s Adam Sandler.
Like Mr. Sandler in his prime, McCarthy generally finds herself in likable stories — some better than others — that allow her to show her comedic range.
This summer finds McCarthy starring in “Life of the Party.”
The movie itself is basically a fusion of movies like “Back to School,” “The House Bunny,” and “Old School.”
McCarthy plays Deanna, a housewife whose husband Dan (Matt Walsh) announces he wants a divorce moments after they drop off their daughter Maddie (Molly Gordon) for her senior year at the fictional Decatur University.
The overly sincere Deanna — who has a fashion sense that falls somewhere between an elderly grandmother and trailer park chic — decides to return to school to finish her degree in archaeology, much to the chagrin of Maddie.
What follows is a movie illustrating the “trials and tribulations” of Deanna as she tries to fit in at Decatur University.
If you’ve seen movies like this before, you pretty much know where the story is headed.
Deanna is accepted by Maddie’s sorority sisters, excels in her classes (well, we only see her taking one class), and even attracts a young male suitor named Jack (Luke Benward).
While she might have her detractors at school, she becomes a popular figure on campus.
The movie was directed by McCarthy’s husband Ben Falcone. The two of them wrote the movie together.
"Life of the Party" was fun and had a light tone. There were some laugh-out-loud moments. There were also some jokes that fell flat and stretched on way too long.
Unfortunately, comedies these days aren't what they used to be. Having grown up in the 1980s, I had the good fortune to see some terrific comedies at the multiplex. Today's comedic offerings tend to land in the form of animated family comedies or uncomfortably raunchy adult comedies. It is a shame, really.
In my mind, comedies are hard to do, but when they are done right, you know it (as was the case with the terrific “Game Night” that came out earlier this year — read my review).
While “Life of the Party” doesn’t achieve greatness in the comedic realm, McCarthy’s likable demeanor keeps the narrative moving along.
If you’re looking for something fun — that won’t tax your brain — give “Life of the Party” a try.
