Dog’s Movie House: Catching Up With “Rogue One, Hidden Figures,” And “Underworld!”

Howdy Folks!

It’s The Kendog here with some catch-up work to do.  Sorry about all the delays, but between working on trying to get the font fixed (I know gray against black can be a bit of a strain), the holidays, my other job, and unforeseen circumstances, the output on this site has been sketchy at best.  Most people make New Year’s Resolutions about weight loss (you can throw me in that category as well, heh) but my resolution involves giving you patient folks more timely content on this sight.  This first article is to catch up on some of the more recent releases out there and is designed to serve as a series of capsule reviews for these films with the promise the future reviews will be more detail oriented. 

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Let’s start with the juggernaut that is “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”  It’s going to be at the top of my list of films for the year, and not just because I’m a huge Star Wars nut.  Gareth Edwards and his scenarists have crafted a stand alone Star Wars film that combines elements of “Saving Private Ryan,” “The Dirty Dozen” and the more established Star Wars Universe.  Edwards (“Godzilla”) has crafted a grittier version of Star Wars, involving characters that aren’t clothed in the traditional black and white of the Trilogy Star Wars movies.  It takes about a half-hour to get going, but when it does, hang on to your hats. . .you’re in for a wild ride with some of the most intense battle scenes in any Star Wars movie. 

The performances are uniformly good, with Felicity Jones earning top marks as Jyn Erso, the rebel who’s father is deeply involved with the construction of the Imperial Death Star, a spaced-based weapon that can destroy an entire planet.  Diego Luna, Mads Mikkelsen, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed, and Ben Mendelsohn all do fine work, but there are two other supporting players who make “Rogue One” a joy to watch.  The first is Alan Tudyk, who performs the motion capture and voices the robot K-2SO, a former Imperial Interrogation Droid now working for the rebels.  The other is Hong Kong martial arts legend Donnie Yen who plays a blind warrior priest named Chirrut.  Not only is he a badass warrior who is just strong enough in the force to enhance his combat capabilities, but he also has a sense of humor that is a welcome tonic to the mostly somber goings-on throughout the movie.   Overall, this is fine addition to the Star Wars universe and, after the success of “The Force Awakens” it proves that Disney knows what they’re doing after buying Lucasfilm from good ole’ George.   5 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer!

The next film on my list is just as good as “Rogue One” but for entirely different reasons.  You have to add “Hidden Figures” to your list of must see films of the new year.  “Hidden Figures” tells the little known tale of three black women in 1961 who, while working for NASA, helped the fledgling space program get John Glenn into space.  All three women, brilliant in any time period, do this while navigating the institutionalized racism that makes it almost impossible for them to realize their full potential. 

The most valuable player in this particular tale is writer/director Ted Melfi (“St Vincent”) who imbues this true story with such a smooth pace and wonderful performances from everyone involved that the two hour plus running time seems to fly by.  Taraji P. Henson is wonderful as Katherine Johnson, the human “computer” who becomes responsible for making sure John Glenn survives his trip into space.  Octavia Spencer is equally good as Dorothy Vaughn, the head of the computing pool who realizes she has to adapt to the arrival of the first IBM computer or end up out of a job.  As a result she ends up operating the IBM better than the folks who installed it.  Rounding out the trio is Janelle Monae’s Mary Jackson, a gifted and brash engineering student whose race is the only thing standing in the way of her becoming an engineer in truth.  She wins, in court, the right to take night classes at an all-white school to achieve her dream.  Melfi weaves these stories together in a terrifically entertaining fashion that will leave you laughing one minute, cheering the next, and holding on to the edge of your set in suspense in the next.  The trio of leads gets great support from the likes of Kevin Costner, Jim Parsons, Kirsten Dunst, and Mahershala Ali (who’s equally good in Golden Globe winner “Moonlight.”).   This is one of those films that more than lives up to the hype and I will be tremendously disappointed if this film doesn’t get a great deal of love come Oscar season.   5 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer!

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The last film on my recap is, unfortunately, not the way I would have liked to end the list.  I think we can officially say the Underworld franchise is pretty much done.  “Underworld: Blood Wars” is the fifth film in the series and is just as much of a mess as the previous entry, “Underworld: Awakening.”  In this film, Selene (Kate Beckinsale), the vampire death dealer, finds herself on the run from both vampires and werewolves for reasons too convoluted to go into here.   Both warring factions want both her and her hybrid daughter’s blood, believing both to be the key to winning this never-ending war between the supernatural species. 

There’s a kernel of a good story here, but first time feature director Anna Foerster makes a right hash of things, especially in the film’s second have.  Plot threads are dropped and never picked up, the editing of the fight scenes is choppy, and the script by Cory Goodman is full of contrivances that don’t give the talented cast a chance to do anything more than mug for the camera.  The film is only ninety minutes long but feels interminably longer.  I confess my lovely wife had to gently nudge me in the ribs to keep me from snoring at the midpoint of the film.   Only Charles Dance as the ancient vampire Thomas looks like he’s having any fun.  Beckinsale looks great but has very little to do but spout bad one-liners.  Pretty boy Theo James is in the same boat, and Tobias Menzies as the werewolf leader Marius is the victim of some atrocious CGI werewolf effects.  In fact, the entire production makes me long for the days of Rick Baker’s work in “An American Werewolf In London” or Rob Bottin’s practical genius in “The Howling.”   If you are a huge fan of the series you might enjoy this latest installment, but everyone else should look elsewhere for their cinematic entertainment.  1 ½ Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer!