Category Archives: Film

Movie review: New ‘Lion King’ impressively brings tale full-circle

July 18, 2019 Tim Lammers Leave a comment

“The Lion King” (PG)

The cinematic circle of life is now complete with the updated version of “The Lion King,” director Jon Favreau’s visually stunning live action rendering of the 1994 Disney animated classic. Faced with a no-win situation of either changing up the story and certainly facing fan ire or staying faithful to the 25-year-old original, director Jon Favreau took the path of least resistance and went with a virtual shot-by-shot remake of the film, which still felt energized by the photorealistic setting and characters, a winning voice cast and of course, stirring songs by Elton John and Tim Rice, as well as the iconic score by Hans Zimmer.

For the uninitiated few who’ve never seen the film on the big screen or video, “The Lion King” tells the story of Mufasa (voice of James Earl Jones – the only 1994 cast member to reprise his role), a majestic lion king who is blessed with the birth of his first cub, Simba (JD McCrary). The young lion immediately earns his birthright to become heir of the throne, which a fate Mufasa’s brother, Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor), refuses to accept. Staging the cruel death of Mufasa and leading Simba to believe he’s at fault for it, Scar rules the pride with a villainous pack of hyenas by his side, destroying the morale of Mufasa’s queen, Sarabi (Alfre Woodard) and her loved ones and decimating the environment around them.

AUDIO: Hear Tim review “The Lion King” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM. Segment brought to you by Mike Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.

Meanwhile, Simba, thought dead by Scar, escaped and grew into adulthood thanks to the comical meerkat and warthog duo of Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen), and once a full grown lion, Simba (Donald Glover) happens upon his childhood friend Nala (Beyonce Knowles-Carter) to learn of the devastation Scar has caused. Returning home to the pride to confess to accident that killed his father, Simba learns who was really responsible for Mufasa’s death, setting up a fight for the throne and a last-ditch effort to save his home.

Despite the fact that “The Lion King” is as much a remake as a remake gets, Favreau and his visual effects crew still have to be credited for creating a canvas that’s even more stunning than the director’s wondrous live-action adaptation of “The Jungle Book” in 2016. Granted, those familiar with the tale of “The Lion King” will likely hold the memories of the original film dear, and the story won’t seem nearly as fresh as when they first saw it; but that likely won’t be the case for younger viewers, and there’s no question that the new film will become a classic for a new generation.

As familiar as the new “Lion King” feels, the story does give Nala a bigger role (if you get Beyonce in your movie, you have to make it worth her while), including a new song, “Spirit,” which is destined for a Best Original Song Oscar nomination (John and Rice, who won an Oscar for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” also penned a pair of new songs ). The film’s photorealistic effects also make some of the characters feel more daunting, particularly the hyenas, which are much more frightening than they were in animated form (the original film was rated G).

Favreau no doubt added more subtle moments to the film, which is nearly a half-hour longer than the original. Fans will no doubt be able to discover the differences between the new “Lion King” and the original with multiple viewings, which will no doubt happen when this film reaches video after what is guaranteed a very successful theatrical run. After 25 years, “The Lion King’s” roar is as loud as ever.

Lammometer: 8 (out of 10)

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.

Tim Burton Book 2 — Click book cover for info on how to buy!

Cool Movie Toys, Film

Cool Movie Toys: San Diego Comic-Con 2019 exclusives

July 18, 2019 Tim Lammers Leave a comment

The 50^thannual San Diego Comic-Con is finally here, beginning with a preview night Wednesday before it kicks into high gear Thursday. The bigger it becomes (it’s already massive, with a reported average of 130,000 fans from all over the world), the more stars it seems to attract, particularly from the superhero, sci-fi and horror movie realms.

And while throngs of fans descend upon the San Diego Convention Center’s famed Hall H to see panels of stars from upcoming films and perhaps some teaser footage not available anywhere else, there’s a large contingent of fans also attending the annual gathering to get some exclusives: toys and collectibles not available to the general public.

This year’s offerings features a gaggle of new and cool movie playthings, including action figures of actors being produced for the first time, including NECA’s retro eight-inch action figure of the villainous “Karate Kid” coach Kreese (Martin Kove), which comes on the heels of releases of eight-inch figures of Daniel (Ralph Macchio), his coach, Mr. Miyagi (the late Pat Morita) and Daniel’s chief rival, Johnny (William Zabka), as seen in the 1984 film.

Fans who purchase the Kreese figure will also get another special opportunity: to meet Kove, who will be on-hand at NECA’s booth to sign packages of the miniature version of himself. In addition to the Kove figure, NECA’s SDCC exclusive offerings include a special “etched” seven-inch version of Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgard), just in time for the release of “IT: Chapter 2” in September; and a seven-inch scale figure of the young version of John Connor (Edward Furlong) and his motorcycle from the 1991 blockbuster “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.”

As NECA’s offerings prove, there’s a big enough market for action figures from classic films to justify the release of action figures of them, even if only in limited quantities.

Continuing its “Jurassic Park” legacy line of three and three-quarter-inch figures in the past year, figures of paleontologists Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), as well as mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) have already been released, Mattel is about to debut a figure as a SDCC exclusive: Jurassic Park founder John Hammond (the late Richard Attenborough). Hammond’s figure not only features packaging that looks like the gateway to Jurassic Park, it includes a stand that holds a cracked open egg with a baby dinosaur.

While some toy and collectibles companies are concentrating on releasing exclusive products of vintage movies, others are concentrating on more modern fare. Among them are Hasbro, which is selling an exclusive “Star Wars” Black Series six-inch figure of a Sith Trooper (think of Stormtrooper’s armor, but molded in red), the first new character being revealed for the December film “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.”

Also being offered by Hasbro are pair of six-inch figures from the Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Collector (Benicio Del Toro) from “Guardians of the Galaxy” and Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) from “Thor: Ragnarok.” While the exclusive figures are packaged separately (with their respective movie title treatment), they are being sold as a set. Per Marvel lore, the Collector and Grandmaster are brothers, after all.

The San Diego Comic-Con runs through Sunday.

Film, Movie Reviews

Movie review: Action comedy ‘Stuber’ stumbles

July 11, 2019 Tim Lammers Leave a comment

“Stuber” (R)

Despite Dave Bautista and Kumail Nanjiani’s best efforts, the ride-along cop comedy “Stuber” can’t ever gain any speed thanks to a lame premise and dependence on annoying slapstick.

Coming off a small yet another amusing turn as Guardian of the Galaxy Drax in “Avengers: Endgame,” Bautista finds himself in one of the two lead roles in “Stuber,” about Stu (Nanjiani), an Uber driver – hence the nickname Stuber – who finds a ride from hell with Detective Vic Manning (Bautista). Vic has horrible vision without his glasses on, a condition that led to a tragedy involving his detective partner. Wisely, Vic gets Lasik surgery, but shortly after he had the procedure is done and his vision is still poor, the detective gets a tip about the criminal that’s been eluding him.

AUDIO: Tim reviews “Stuber” with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on “Paul and Jordana” on WCCO-AM. Segment brought to you by Mike Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.

Vic’s only option is Stu the Uber driver, who reluctantly carts around the hard-hitting lawman, who seems to leave a thousands of dollars of damage in his wake everywhere he goes. And even though he’s hoping for a golden 5-star Uber rating for driving Vic around, Stu is hoping to get out of the mess as soon as he can so he can meet up with his business partner, Becca (Betty Gilpin), who he’s in love with but can’t quite muster up the courage to tell her.

There’s no question Bautista and Nanjiani make for a likeable duo in “Stuber,” but overall, the film relies too heavy on action comedy tropes that run the film right into the ground. Besides, a plot about a visually challenged cop who damn near kills people because he recklessly insists on getting bad guy is completely unrealistic and is more maddening than funny.

There’s a reason this film was dumped into an unfavorable summer slot the week after “Spider-Man: Far From Home” opens and a week before “The Lion King” dominates the box office. It’s a one-note comedy that will try to make a splash before it’s gone in theaters and likely forgotten.

Lammometer: 3 (out of 10)

AUDIO: Tim talks to the top movies of the summer (so far) and reviews “Stuber” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM. Segment brought to you by Mike Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.

Film, Movie Reviews

Movie review: ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ proves there’s life after Avengers

July 2, 2019 Tim Lammers Leave a comment

“Spider-Man: Far From Home” (PG-13)

Tom Holland is back in his second webslinger solo film in “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” a very entertaining follow-up to “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and first chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe post-“Avengers: End Game.” Fans will almost instantly feel that the new “Spider-Man” movie is considerably lighter feels more comic book than the momentous “Avengers: Endgame” and its predecessor “Avengers: Infinity War.”

While “Endgame” bid farewell to some pivotal team members including Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), those team members, “Far From Home” reminds us that while they are gone, they’re definitely not forgotten. “Far From Home” picks up, naturally, after the events of “Endgame,” where “the blip,” as everyone is deeming it, brought back the half of humanity that Thanos destroyed with a snap of the fingers at the end of “Avengers: Infinity War.” Among those returning after five years in cosmic limbo is Peter (Holland), who came back in time to help defeat Thanos, but saw Tony sacrifice himself to destroy the omnipotent enemy and his dark forces.

AUDIO: Listen to Tim’s review of “Spider-Man: Far From Home” with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on “The Paul and Jordana Show” on WCCO-AM. Segment brought to you by Mike Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.

Still struggling with the loss of Tony in “Far From Home,” Spider-Man learns that there are still threats in the world that need superheroes like him to defend. Peter, for the time being, though, would rather ignore those threats and enjoy a simpler life, and take a class trip to Europe instead so he can tell MJ (Zendaya) how he really feels about her. He even wants to leave his Spider-Man suit behind, but Aunt May (the always wonderful Marisa Tomei) makes sure that doesn’t happen and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), also feeling a huge hole left in his life by Tony, is just a phone call away.

Also reminding Peter that he has obligations is Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who purposefully interferes in the teen superhero’s plan to take on the destructive villains the Elementals, which appear to take shape of the natural elements to wreak havoc in different parts of the world. Fury has already joined forces with Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), a mysterious, crimson caped crusader from another dimension on Earth, who no doubt possesses strong capabilities, yet could use someone the caliber of Spider-Man to end the Elementals threats for good. While he reluctantly takes part with Mysterio in the battle against the Elementals’ Molten Man, Spider-Man realizes that he shouldn’t have been so lax in upholding the justice around the world the way he should have, especially since Tony willed him a powerful tech weapon that could spell disaster if it falls into the wrong hands.

If you’re steeped in the “Spider-Man” comic book lore, it shouldn’t surprise you that not everything is as it seems in “Spider-Man: Far From Home” – and to that end, the more familiar you are with the comic book franchise, the quicker you’ll catch on to which direction the film will go. On the flip side, if you’re a casual fan of the series not necessarily versed in the webslinger’s stable of characters, mostly what you see in “Far From Home” will seem status quo until some big reveals in the third act which catch you by surprise. Either way, serious and casual fans should be entertained just the same when all is said and done, it’s just that diehards have a slight advantage with their knowledge of the material going in.

“Spider-Man: Far From Home” is strong on all fronts, and while Holland is charming, Gyllenhaal is impressive as usual and Jackson is his usual, entertaining badass self, director Jon Watts can’t help but put the trio in the middle of explosive third act that’s loaded with all the CGI that the film can muster. That’s not to say the visuals aren’t incredible (they’re in fact, refreshingly trippy at some points as Spidey enters different dimensions), it just feels par for the course for a genre movie. There is a huge payoff, though, as a mid-credits scene already lays out Peter’s path for the next “Spider-Man” movie with a pair of huge surprises, to boot. After the credits, too, is another revealing scene that, while not as eventful as the mid-credits scene, gives us an inkling what other MCU characters are up to post-“Avengers: Endgame.”

Speaking of “Endgame,” while “Spider-Man: Far From Home” doesn’t come close to matching the greatness of its MCU predecessors (not that any solo MCU film could have – “Endgame” and “Infinity War” was a massive undertaking), it definitely has a life on its own and suggests that the franchise as a whole has healthy legs sans Downey moving forward. “Far From Home” reminds us that there’s still a home for Marvel superhero movies on the big screen, even though the direction of where exactly the franchise is going isn’t mapped out yet.