Step Up (2006) Review:

Channing Tatum is one of those actors who came from out of the blue from the alternate career he once had. Originally using the skill of dance as his money maker, it would only be until he starred in He’s the Man (2006) alongside Amanda Bynes did he start gaining traction in his movie roles. However, that same year he would star in this film too where Tatum would return to his original career path but in movie form. All the crazier is how he would return to a much more significant film under the name Magic Mike (2012) which would gain him critical success. If anything, this could be seen as his starting point to that of what he would later be best known for. The thing is for this movie, it’s a little bit standard in the execution.

The story’s setting takes place in the urban city where Tatum plays Tyler Gage, a foster child who grew up among others in the streets with no real role model. One day after being caught trespassing in an arts school, he is sentenced to community service cleaning up the school. Little did he know that he would not only find Nora Clark (Jenna Dewan) as a possible partner but also as a dance partner after her main partner injures himself. The narrative was written by Duane Adler and Melissa Rosenberg who would later write for the Twilight (2008) franchise. Directing the feature was Anne Fletcher in her directorial debut and as her first outing it is fine. There are various parts to the film that needed fine tuning but overall the handling of it was okay.

The weak points in the story are mainly just how the story plays out. For those who have seen a lot of films may see all the twists and turns to come because of how formulaic it is. For example, being that the genre this film is in is mainly drama and music, audiences will obviously know that there will be sexual tension between Tyler and Nora and the ups and downs that come from that. It’s just bound to happen. Tyler also has two friends from the hood Mac (Damaine Radcliff) and Skinny Carter (De'Shawn Washington), whom of which he hung out with and got into trouble with. At the beginning of the film, they scuffle with a gang leader…well, at some point that’ll come back to bite them. These kinds of setups are painfully transparent in how they’re set up and how it’ll finish.

There’s even Nora’s friend Lucy (Drew Sidora) and Miles (Mario) who Tyler befriends. At some point these two characters make a connection and it’s apparent what’ll happen between those two characters too. From an acting perspective, all thespians do their jobs correctly. While the playout of the story is very familiar the actors do what they can to make their characters convincing and it works. Channing Tatum easily plays Tyler as the thug bad boy with no direction despite having a skill he doesn’t take advantage of. Jenna Dewan as Nora clearly can play an upper class person who has no understanding of what Tyler is going through. Coincidentally Jenna Dewan would get married to Channing Tatum shortly after and be with him until 2018. While that’s just trivia, that’s not all the good parts.

Visually, what’s on screen is good too. Michael Seresin is credited as the cinematographer to this movie and he captures all the right things. All the dance scenes are well shot too. Started with movies like Rambo III (1988) and two years before ended up helping with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). The dancing itself is also well choreographed where it looks like no one had issues following how to perform in that respect. Lastly for music, the score to this feature is not that prevalent. Since it is a dance genre film, the majority of the music belongs to soundtrack artists. Even with that though Aaron Zigman supposedly scored the film. The same composer behind The Notebook (2004), which is surprising considering how popular that love story movie turned out to be. There’s no score available that can be found for this movie though, which isn’t surprising.

The story is very generic and music belongs mainly to the soundtrack, which makes sense for the genre. It’s just not as entertaining as it could be, although it still holds up. The acting is good as are the dance sequences and the camerawork.

Points Earned --> 6:10

Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone (1989) Review:

It seems like in most mainstream animes that gained large popularity among fans, feature films would come out after every season. The release schedule to these franchises are mostly consistent. The best example of this is Pokémon. The Sailor Moon series looked to be fairly on point with this as well, even though the first and final season were not bookended by any films. The original Dragon Ball show run followed this rule though. After every season, a film was released which made sense in terms of execution. However, the concepts for this films were quite different. For some reason, the creatives behind it felt it was better to retell various sections of the show in a different continuity. So far for the sequel series, Dragon Ball Z, the film release is sticking closer to the show.

Fans start off with Gohan (Stephanie Nadolny), Goku’s (Sean Schemmel) son being kidnapped by a group of demonic warriors. The leader of this group is led by a character named Garlic Jr. (Chuck Huber), an individual who has a bone to pick with Kami and Piccolo (Chris Sabat). Garlic Jr.’s hope is to become immortal and destroy the world in the name of his father Garlic Sr. The original script behind Akira Toriyama’s manga adaptation goes Takao Koyama. This is the same individual behind various episodes to Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. The same goes for director Daisuke Nishio and who also worked on the first two Dragon Ball films. For this feature, there are points that make it a much better start than the Dragon Ball films before it, but still not totally a bullseye.

What works for the story is that this narrative technically can work as story that comes right after the end of the last Dragon Ball season. Reason for this, it is before the arrival of Raditz, Goku’s brother, and the reveal of his now iconic origins. Additionally, the rivalry between Piccolo and Goku is the only thing spoken of during this film. So the timing stands correct. This is where the alignment ends though. Garlic Jr. and Sr. are one big missing story throughout the shows history. There is proper context given as to why Garlic Jr. seeks revenge on Kami for wronging his father but that’s the extent of it. Unfortunately, there was no actual episode depicting this character in the show, so it feels sort of just thrown in there. This last minute add feels very similar to that of how Dr. Gero would appear in the cell saga. Dr. Gero was apparently around but was never depicted.

The voice acting is great though from most performers. Sean Schemmel is the definitive English dub of Goku. The same goes for Sonny Strait as Krillin, Stephanie Nadolny as Gohan and Chris Sabat as Piccolo and Kami. Chuck Huber as the disgruntled Garlic Jr. works fine. Sadly, Huber’s voice is very recognizable and if anything, for those who can get easily confused may think Garlic Jr. is Emperor Pilaf and that’s because Huber also voices the character. There’s just not much of a distinction between the two characters and how they sound.  There’s also brief voice appearances from Mike McFarland as Master Roshi, Tiffany Vollmer as Bulma, Cynthia Cranz as Chi and Dave 'Squatch' Ward as the Ox King. The animation to the film is done nicely. It is still a product of the 1990’s anime style which gives it a very nostalgic look.

In part, the action that’s animated on screen is awesome too. The hand to hand combat and Goku using his power pole are the fun parts. And there’s always one Kamehameha on screen too. Still like many other anime films, Motoaki Ikegami is credited as the cinematographer to this production. Ikegami essentially had a hand in most of the Dragon Ball films too. Why though, will go unexplained. Finally, the music to this production is a little sad to hear. Instead of Shunsuke Kikuchi’s memorable score cues being use throughout, the English dub went with a new score composed by a gentleman by the name of Mark Menza. Weirdly enough he’s not credited on IMDb but is listed in the credits of the film. Perhaps this is because he didn’t get credit for productions until the mid-90s. Either way, Menza music is okay, but just isn’t for Dragon Ball Z. It sounds like an early version of Bruce Falconer’s music to the series later on.

While the narrative starts off right with acceptable continuity compared to the first set of Dragon Ball films, it still falls short with the villain being rather random. The musical score is also recreated which isn’t necessary. Thankfully, the voice acting and animation keep it mildly okay to watch.

Points Earned --> 5:10

Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie: Black Dream Hole (1995) Review:

For many franchises, when it comes to trilogies the third film can hit two spots. The more unusual route is the final film being a knockout end to fantastic story. Normally though, final films end in the lowest of the lowest rating compared to the ones before it. For the Sailor Moon series, despite it being delayed in sending out its set of films, they started out solid with Sailor Moon R: The Movie: The Promise of the Rose (1993). This was after the second season. Then after the third season finished, the franchise came out with Sailor Moon S: The Movie - Hearts in Ice (1994) as the second entry and it was a little weaker in storytelling. And finally, after the end of the fourth season this movie was released and it is better than the second film. Of course it still has its flaws to contend with.

The story follows the sailor guardians facing off an evil witch who employs henchman fairies with magic flutes to whisk children away into a realm where they will never grow up. They only discover this after Chibiusa (Sandy Fox) is almost kidnapped by the hypnotic sound of the pied piper-esque villains. Of them though, one fairy named Perle (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) disagrees with what’s being done and joins Sailor Moon (Stephanie Sheh) and friends. Writing this feature is Yôji Enokido, who’s also a writer to the show. Doing the English dub is Lisa Lumby-Richards who also worked on the English dub of the show. As for directing, Hiroki Shibata returns from the last film to head this project. From the story side of this film, the underlying message of understanding growing up is apart of life is a significant one. There’s just no way around it.

Additionally, the lesson that a child’s ambitions and beliefs change over time as they grow is also important. The main issue though outside of that is the witch Badiane (Tara Sands). The motive behind the villain and her backstory is largely absent and comes across weak in development. In a way Badiane is just another bland villain from the inventory of evil doers to come and go. The only thing that Badiane is after is the children’s “sugar energy”, which in all honesty sounds really corny. It’s also interesting because practically all of the fourth season of the show was about dreams. And this feature focuses very much of that again on children and the dreams they have. It’s actually quite surprising how often this is mentioned through that season and this film. The other thing that doesn’t make sense is why Perle disagrees with Badiane. No explanation was provided.

The performances from the English dub voice cast are all welcome once again for their roles. Stephanie Sheh is and always will be Usagi Sailor Moon. Sandy Fox as Chibiusa Sailor Chibi Moon is as boisterous as ever. Perle the fairy by Colleen O’Shaughnessey is convincing in the role despite the character being a boy. O’Shaughnessey would also voice Jasmine Fenton and the Danny Phantom series as well as Tails in the animated and live-action Sonic the Hedgehog films. Tara Sands as Badiane despite not being a fleshed out villain also does well. Sands would later be known as the voice of Pokémon’s Bulbasaur and even Yu-Gi-Oh’s Mokuba. And as a surprise the other worldly sailor guardians Uranus (Erica Mendez), Neptune (Lauren Landa) and Pluto (Veronica Taylor) return as well for a little screen time.

Cinematography is again apart of this film which by no means is clear as to how. Credit goes to Motoi Takahashi for this even though, it doesn’t seem necessary. Besides that though, the look of the animation is well done. There’s a lot more noticeable frames to the movements in scenes that make things move much smooth. The design of Badiane is also quite unique to look at. Finally, the music which was once again composed by Takanori Arisawa is on point. Since children are the main focus, Arisawa composes a little march for them as the tune Badiane’s henchman play to hypnotize them. The remaining parts of the score are performed by classic orchestral pieces that play right into the scene at hand. Without this component, the film will not have the same amount of appeal.

The villain to this feature is not well developed and one key character’s motive goes unexplained. The themes behind it though play a larger part. The animation, voice acting and music bring the third original Sailor Moon film back to a better standing than the first sequel.

Points Earned --> 6:10

Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku (1990) Review:

For Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball manga series, many readers were enamored with the main character Goku. And for viewers of the anime once it aired, fans were all the more interested by the lore created around the characters. How was there such an incredible boy that defied the odds in so many ways and yet still managed to overcome such challenges? Goku was no ordinary child, not solely because of his skill but most notably because of the strange anatomical feature no other human had – a tail. Topping that off was that during the full moon, Goku would transform into a great rampaging ape. Little did anyone know that Toriyama would end up creating the story to how Goku came to be. Not to mention that it would end up being one of Toriyama’s favorite stories.

The narrative is centered around Bardock, as mentioned in the title, the father of Goku. Essentially serving as the prequel to Goku’s origins, Bardock is the unsung hero who tried to do something only his son would end up finishing. After completing a routine mission with his team ordered by his boss Frieza (Linda Young), Bardock (Sonny Strait) is magically gifted the ability to foresee future events. These events give him glimpses of his son and Frieza. With that, he sets out to learn the truth. Directed by Mitsuo Hashimoto and Daisuke Nishio who both worked on episodes of the show headed this project. When it came to the English dub, Neil Bligh again handled this part with Takao Koyama and Katsuyuki Sumizawa penning the original script. For the most part this feature is watchable albeit some minor issues.

For one, the concept that Toriyama had created and bringing it to screen is great. As mentioned before, the mystery of Goku and his history is revealed here which is unlike any other story told before. Learning of where Goku came from, his ancestry and how his lineage ties to the overall bout between him and Frieza is one big twist. The fact that Frieza thought he would never come across another person like Goku is one big kick from karma. There is a little continuity error fans may notice and wonder why it was never referred to. That being Raditz who openly confirmed his relationship to Goku at the start of Dragon Ball Z. Here though, Bardock makes no acknowledgement of his other son. Strange, it makes sense if there was no good way to put Raditz in the story, but at least make a reference.

From the acting side, all the English dubbing is performed well. Sonny Strait better known for his role as adult Krillin, is also a strong force as Bardock. His voice has just enough gruff to make the character sound like a much more hardened Goku, being that he looks almost exactly the same. Linda Young as Frieza in her starting stages as the ruler of the universe definitely knows how to play the role well. Throughout the special, audiences will also see other treats like Zarbon and kid Vegeta voiced by Chris Sabat. Unfortunately, Sabat also voices Nappa instead of Phil Parsons, which doesn’t sound right but its only for a line or two. Lastly there’s little tidbits of Chris Forbis as Dodoria, Stephanie Nadolny as baby Goku and Sean Schemmel as adult Goku. All of them give performances fans will recognize.

The animation to this project looks great. Like all other films in this franchise, it very much has all the same look. Especially since this is late 1980s, early 1990s anime. Surprisingly there is no person credited for cinematography in this film. This honestly, makes more sense since animation would not require a physical camera to film what’s being put to screen. However, music is a bit of a disappointment. For some reason, instead of sticking to Shunsuke Kikuchi’s score used in all previous projects, a new score was composed by Mark Akin, Andy Baylor and Dale Kelly. This background music is unfortunately very dated sounding and does not match the setting used except for a few scenes. A lot of it sounds like hard rock, metal and rap. This just isn’t what this franchise is.

This feature provides a wonderful eye opener to those who want to know the origins of Dragon Ball’s favorite main character. The animation and voice acting are all spot on (minus one). The music to this though is less than to be desired.

Points Earned --> 6:10 

It Takes Two (1995) Review:

Family entertainment in films has taken all sorts of forms. There’s movies that involve a mix of live-action and animation. There’s ones that involve fantasy and others involving more mature themes. The one thing though that tends to fascinate people in general are the concept of identical twins. There’s just something about two people who look and sound exactly alike and can sometimes be completely different. However, the similarities can overlap greatly in personality and sometimes even psychologically despite most thinking it is only cosmetic. One of the most recognizable set of twins to come out of Hollywood was Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, also known as the Olsen Twins. If it weren’t for the Full House TV show in the 1980s, it’s hard to say how popular they would have become. By the time this film came out, they were practically ending that series.

The story is about two twins living completely separate and different lives. Amanda (Mary-Kate Olsen) is a down on her luck orphan. She just can’t seem to find a good set of parents to adopt her with the help from her sponsor Diane (Kirstie Alley). Then there’s Alyssa (Ashley Olsen), the daughter of a successful business man Roger (Steve Guttenberg). By chance, one day Amanda takes a trip with her fellow orphans to the Callaway camp that Roger lets others use. Little do any of these four individuals know that their lives will be turned upside down when the twins discover each other and switch places. In a way, this is like The Parent Trap (1961) and its remake of 1998 although sharing a closer resemblance to the Prince and the Pauper. The script was written by Deborah Dean Davis known for penning a couple of episodes to various TV shows like Magnum P.I. and Knight Rider.

This is also Davis’ only theatrical film credit, which is sort of surprising because this is also one of her last credits to date. For viewers who have seen many movies before this one, will not be that new in terms of ideas. The predictability is very standard. Two twins aren’t happy with their current situations so they devise a plan to change that and most can anticipate where that leads to. Further making that more blatantly apparent is the reason Alyssa makes her plan with Amanda. Her mom has long since gone and daddy Roger has found himself a new woman Clarice (Jane Sibbett) who is clearly there for other reasons. It’s just plain as day, when it’s been seen, it’s known how the narrative will be executed. The directing from Andy Tennant doesn’t improve it by that much either.

Tennant would direct a year later Fools Rush In (1997) and even later Hitch (2005). From how the characters are written though, the main ones are still likable in their own way. Kirstie Alley has the very mom-like attitude towards Amanda and that makes her significant. Most remember Alley from her role in Cheers.  Steve Guttenberg as Alyssa’s father is also friendly. He’s doesn’t come off as a jerk in any way, just very blind to his flaws. Guttenberg is well known for his parts in the Police Academy (1984) franchise. As if anything needs to be said about the Olsen twins, their acting is fine. They don’t come across annoying either. Jane Sibbett plays her part well as the woman who hangs with Roger for other obvious reasons. And there’s a butler Vincenzo (Philip Bosco) who also had some parts in other movies like Three Men and a Baby (1987) and Shaft (2000).

The chemistry between actors all seem to work out okay. There are some moments where things are taken too nonchalantly or various scenes seem over the top to be taken so seriously. But this does add to the humor. Filming the project was Kenneth Zunder. Having a mixed history of working on TV shows and movies, Zunder’s work is fine for this okay movie. The shots taken of the camp area and Callaway mansion are very spacious to look at. Zunder’s best credits belong to Chicago Hope and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Lastly the musical score wasn’t that memorable. Mainly because the score wasn’t that prevalent. Composed by Sherman Foote the music behind the scenes are just sprinkled throughout while most of what is heard is the soundtrack. Really not that interesting.

Aside from nonexistent music and a rather straight forward script that makes it quite transparent in story, it’s okay to watch. It’s a nice throwback to various actors people have come to enjoy and remember. The characters are written for each actor well, which gives good chemistry and the camerawork is serviceable.

Points Earned --> 6:10