Nerve

First Hit:  I sat down in my seat with a bit of apprehension, and this all changed as soon as the film rolled, it was a blast.

This film could have easily been a bomb. But what kept it from being a dud was the explosion of characters, “watchers” and “players”.

The main character Vee (Emma Roberts) who is the beautiful girl, who doesn’t know her beauty and she hides in the background. She's a watcher and engaged with people but through her creative (although we don’t see much of it) side as a photographer.

Her BFF is Sydney (Emily Meade), a risk taking girl that does what she can for attention. Yes, she's a player and it is obvious that by playing "Nerve" she attempts to convince herself and others that she is not insecure.

"Nerve" is like the old "Truth or Dare" game but the difference is that there is no "truth" in "Nerve"; it is all "dare". It has been created anonymously by a group of hackers/programmers on the dark web, and it invites anyone to be a player or watcher. The more dares completed and the more complex dares a player attempts to "complete", the more money the player can win.

If the watcher’s like you, you win more money for completing the dare. Watchers get to watch you do the dare live on any device. Emma gets goaded to becoming a player by Sydney and because her fear is real and it puts her outside her comfort zone, she instantly becomes a favorite of watchers.

The watchers hook her up with Ian (Dave Franco) and together they take on the dares presented to them. One that touched me was riding a motorcycle together with the driver blind. It touched me only because I was in a passenger car in my late teens with the driver’s eyes were covered by a back seat passenger who shouted out driving commands. It only lasted about 2 minutes on a quiet, no traffic street, but it was a bit nerve-racking.

Anyway the contest to win the big prize becomes engaging for the watchers with Vee and Ian as a team, Sydney and Ty (Colson Baker AKA Machine Gun Kelly) as the other front runners. Many of the dares are difficult to watch, some are inventive, while others are a bit odd. The intenseness and playfulness of each dare was well shot and most of the dialogue fit the players generational sound and meaning. This film was fun.

Roberts was spot on perfect. Her growing into a player worked well as her inner strength came through. Meade was really strong as the girl craving for attention but, in the end, still had heart. Franco was great and it was nice to see him in a non-comedic role. He brought charm to his character. Baker was perfectly intense as was needed. Miles Heizer as Tommy, Vee’s friend, was charmingly protective of Vee reflecting his hidden love for her. Juliette Lewis as Roberts' mother was wonderful. Jessica Sharzer wrote a script that was spot-on to the time, place, and feel of the characters and their situations. Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman did a wonderful job of directing this with intense and thoughtful scenes. They got great performances out of the actors and script.

Overall:  This film surprised me with how good and fun it was to watch.

Star Trek Beyond - 3D

First Hit:  Although the script and visuals were dark in tone, I loved how the main characters embodied the Star Trek story and allowed me to enjoy this film.

It is not easy to keep a film succession, based on a television series, engaging while upholding the essence of the story that has been around since 1966.

To be clear, it is Chris Pine (as Captain Kirk), Zachary Quinto (as Commander Spock), Karl Urban (as Dr. “Bones” McCoy), Zoe Saldana (as Lt. Uhura), Simon Pegg (Montgomery “Scotty” Scott), John Cho (as Sulu), and the late Anton Yelchin (as Chekov) that make this film engaging and the story work.

I wasn’t a fan of this particular story or the darkness of the film, but the crew of the Starship Enterprise was amazing. They have magically embodied the original characters and brought them 5 decades into the future with dignity.

This is what I loved about this film, the characters and actors. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), who plays a significant role in this film, isn’t added to the mixture of the Star Trek crew in future films. The villain in this film is Krall (Idris Elba) who is looking for a item that will allow him to destroy the Federation.

Pine, Quinto, Urban, Saldana, Pegg, Cho, and Yelchin are compellingly amazing at their ability to continue the growth and transition of these characters by bridging the 50-year gap from the characters’ inception to today. They all deserve heart felt kudos. Boutella is very strong and the character she embodies fits well with this film and the crew. Simon Pegg and Doug Jung wrote this script that allowed the characters to shine through. However, I wasn’t necessarily impressed with the overall story plot. Justin Lin did an admirable job of keeping the tone and focus on the characters.

Overall:  I enjoyed the film mostly because the crew of the Starship Enterprise was perfect.

The Legend of Tarzan

First Hit:  Although entertaining, action packed, and occasionally thoughtful, the mostly poor CGI, scattered continuity, and unrealistic abilities, made watching this version of the mythical hero mediocre.

As John Clayton/Tarzan, Alexander Skarsgard has the perfectly chiseled body. The lack of spoken dialogue added to his being convincing that he was raised by apes, but when he spoke, I questioned this belief.

The CGI apes were well created, but many of the CGI background scenes were obviously manufactured, poorly done. I was impressed at how well Margot Robbie portrayed a very strong Jane Clayton (Tarzan’s wife). Her story was interesting and engaging.

Overall: King Leopold II of Belgium controlled the heart of the Congo, unless he can harvest the resources, he cannot continue to rule the area because it is costing his government money. He wants to harvest a particular area that has diamonds but it is controlled by a native group who will only give up the diamonds by getting a chance to kill Tarzan.

Tarzan is convinced to go back to Africa because whites are enslaving the natives. Convincing him to go to Africa is a US Government agent George Washington Williams (Samuel L. Jackson). The slave issue is real, but being used by Leopold’s agent in Africa Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz) to get Tarzan to Africa to be set up to be killed. The scenes in the African village where Jane grew up were emblematic of the best parts of this film.

Skarsgard did a good job of being Tarzan. His perfect body and athleticism was engaging. Robbie was one of the best parts of the film. Her clear firmness of belief, especially in scenes with Waltz was strongly appealing. Jackson’s character provided humor and reason for the story line. Waltz is a great villain and shows why in this role as well.  His intensity through his face and eyes transcend most peoples'. Adam Cozad and Craig Brewer wrote this overly complex screenplay that dragged at times. David Yates directed this and although entertaining will soon be forgotten.

Overall:  Not a film that will go down as very good.

Independence Day: Resurgence 3D

First Hit:  Could not buy into the story let alone the characters.

Leaving well enough alone is appropriate more often than not. The first film was far more interesting and entertaining.

Here we have a rehash of the same old story embellished with stale lines of bravery being spit out left and right. Jeff Goldblum (as David Levinson) is a key character and has become the headmaster of tongue in cheek dialogue. then there is the rebellious hero, Liam Hemsworth (as a risk taking reckless pilot named Jake Morrison), who makes good on his bad-boy image.

We also have the previous film's hero, Dylan Hiller (Jessie T. Usher) who has to figure out how to forgive Jake so they can work together again. The basic story is that the alien invaders, who were defeated by earthlings years ago, didn’t like it so they came back to suck earth’s molten core thereby destroying it.

Because their weapons are far superior to ours we stand no chance. However, our willingness to fight and will to survive, gives us a way to figure out how to defend our planet. This is an old boring story and, as I said earlier, the producers needed to leave well enough alone and not destroy and create distaste about the brand.

I will not comment on individual performances – it isn’t worth the time. Nicolas Wright and James A. Woods wrote a very tired, uninteresting, and a retread of a story. Roland Emmerich directed this the best he could – it just was more about creating big scenes of bravery and little about people.

Overall:  This film was clearly done to capitalize on the first film and the Fourth of July date the USA celebrates their independence.

Now You See Me 2

First Hit:  Very convoluted and moderately interesting story to show large scale illusions.

I would have settled on a film that had big magical illusions by tricking banks, Wall Street, a crooked company or something of that nature. In other words, more like the first film.

The story attempts to make a computer chip have the power to get past any security on any computer. Insurance tycoon Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine) wants this chip badly because anyone breaking into his computers will find out he’s committed fraud. He enlists Walter Maybry (Daniel Radcliffe) to do what it takes to get the chip that the four horsemen have stolen.

Just to get here, the horsemen J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) and new horseman Lula (Lizzy Caplan), are in hiding from the last film and being chased by the FBI including the horseman’s insider Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo).

The film spends too much time making as issue of Atlas’s wanting to be in charge of the horseman, trying to make a connection with the mysterious “Eye”, and how they got to China.

Then there is the questionably antagonist Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) who appears to be against the horseman but more specifically, Rhodes, but is he?

The film does come together in the end but the magic and illusion (the reason I wanted to see the film) of the last trick was telegraphed and I knew it was coming. In other words, it didn’t work on me.

Caine was appropriately stoic and arrogant. Radcliffe didn’t help his resume any. I didn’t think he was powerful enough to make his role work. Eisenberg was OK but not his best stuff. Harrelson had two roles, his twin and Merritt. I enjoyed their (his) interplay from time to time. Franco had a more minimal role in this film and I’m not sure that was the best move. Caplan as the new horseman was good and brought a more positive energy to the cast. Freeman was his ever present steady self. Ed Solomon wrote a convoluted uninteresting screenplay from his own story. Jon M. Chu probably did his best with this film but the story was weak.

Overall:  My guess there will be another film but if it is based on a story like this one, it will be a not be very good.