Posts Tagged ‘Brian Tyree Henry’
The Matrix of Leadership
Transformers One
Director: Josh Cooley
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Jon Hamm, Laurence Fishburne, Keegan-Michael Key
Running Time: 1 hour and 44 minutes
Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Please note this film is animated and created with CGI
A host of stars get some much needed voice work as voice overs in the new Transformers One film directed by Josh Cooley, which is a first fully CGI created animated feature film with dazzling visual effects and an entertaining origin story, which acts more like a prequel for the Transformers before they land on earth. The action takes place on Cybertron.
Chris Hemsworth, Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story, JoJo Rabbit) and Oscar nominee Brian Tyree Henry (Causeway) voice the three main lead bots – Orion Pax, Elita 1 and D-16. Orion Pax and D-16 are lowly miner bots in the Cybertron hierarchy and when they don’t follow protocol they land up on a heroic adventure along with the smart Elita 1 to discover what the seemingly benign Sentinel Prime expertly voiced by Jon Hamm is really up to.
As the trio leave Cybertron and go to the planet’s surface, they meet the talkative B127 voiced by the excellent Keegan-Michael Key (Wonka) and soon discover that Sentinel Prime is using the lowly non-transformative bots to do mining for a more sinister force.
As Orion Pax and his friends discover the truth about their world they encounter Alpha Trion, voiced by Oscar nominee Laurence Fishburne (What’s Love Got To Do With It) who gives them their transformation cog back allowing them to expertly transform into the multi-functional robots they are meant to be.
Soon Orion, Elita 1 and the gang confront the evil Sentinel Prime who has doubled the amount of mining on Cybertron and then much to Orion’s surprise his best friend transforms once his real power is restored.
Since live action versions of Transformers have all but been exhausted, it was a smart move to release an animated and completed computer generated version of Transformers One, a humorous and colourful origin story fit for a younger audience which will entice them to watch the earlier films.
Its 17 years since the first live action Transformers film was released back in 2007 which launched the careers of Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox and Josh Duhamel and there is still lot in this Hasbro toy inspired franchise to explore and develop.
While it was fascinating to watch the superb animation, which this film deserves to be recognized for, it is equally interesting to identify the different voices of the famous cast members.
The visual effects and production design of Transformers One is amazing and as animated film, this serves as a worthy addition to stand deservedly alongside the multiple Live action versions.
Transformers One is entertaining, humorous and filled with moral lessons about leadership, corruption and deception.
Take the kids to watch Transformers One and discover the origin story of the rise of Optimus Prime. Transformers One gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and is recommended viewing. The talented voice cast expertly compliment the incredible visuals on screen.
The Skar King of Hollow Earth
Godzilla x Kong The New Empire
Director: Adam Wingard
Cast: Rebecca Hall, Dan Stevens, Brian Tyree Henry, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen, Rachel House
Running Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
Film Rating: 7 out of 10
In the ambitious sequel to the 2021 monster film Godzilla vs Kong, director Adam Wingard returns as director for the 2024 film titled Godzilla x Kong The New Empire and deftly expands the storyline of Kaylee Hottle’s character Jia whose foster mother Irene Andrews is once again played by British star Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Frost Nixon, The Prestige).
Downton Abbey star Dan Stevens (I am Your Man, Blithe Spirit, Beauty and the Beast) is added to the cast as the goofy Titan veterinarian Trapper, all bravado and hippie vibes as he expertly extracts a broken tooth from an anesthetized King Kong after Kong snapped a front tooth after eating a primordial creature in the Hollow Earth, his natural reclusive playground which appears to contain more subterranean secrets which are revealed later in the film’s sprawling narrative.
Oscar nominee Brian Tyree Henry (Causeway) stars as fanatical Titan podcaster Bernie Hayes who relishes the opportunity to team up with Andrews and Trapper as they have to figure out the strange symbols that Jia has been receiving, which reveals a distress signal from a lost ancient civilization.
While the human interest angle of the narrative fades very quickly in favour of the gigantic monsters, it really is Kong and Godzilla who take centre stage in this CGI effects laden sequel which is truly spectacular as the two beasts lure each other to exotic geographical landmarks like the pyramids outside Cairo and to the Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro. Godzilla after nestling comfortably in the ancient ruins of the Colosseum in Rome is awakened as he senses Kong’s presence but this time it is not for combat but to unite against a far greater threat.
The new threat appears as the Skar King of Hollow Earth, a malicious ape that has a massive following who is planning on using Shimo, an ancient ice powered Titan, Godzilla’s nemesis to threaten the delicately balanced status quo between Monarch’s worlds.
With Jia discovering her natural tribe and the humans trying to survive amidst the gigantic battle between Kong and the Skar King, Godzilla x Kong The New Empire is a stunning, visually exciting special effects feast of monster battles, fantastic creatures and an epic battle of Titans.
While Godzilla is embedded in Japanese cultural mythology cemented recently by the 2024 Oscar win for Best Visual Effects for the Japanese language film Godzilla Minus One, Kong gets amble opportunity to explore his territory and origins as he navigates a Planet of the Apes inspired Hollow Earth environment. In this film, Kong steals the show.
In Godzilla x Kong The New Empire both beasts get ample screen time even with the radioactive Godzilla emerging out of the ocean in Rio with a pink glow. This monster fantasy film definitely has a specific fan base and if you belong to the tribe that loves Godzilla films and Japanese Anime then you will thoroughly enjoy this 2024 sequel which remains tantalizing, exciting and filled with colossal action.
Godzilla x Kong The New Empire gets a film rating of 7 out of 10 and definitely see it on the big screen, preferably in Imax 3D.
Recommended viewing as the first big action film, eagerly starting off the 2024 summer blockbuster season.
Showdown in Kyoto
Bullet Train
Director: David Leitch
Cast: Brad Pitt, Joey King, Sandra Bullock, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Logan Lerman
Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Running Time: 2 hours and 6 minutes
Based upon the novel by Kotaro Isaka, Dead Pool 2 director David Leitch stitches together a complex crime film in Bullet Train featuring a lot of dialogue and some bizarre action sequences, referencing Pulp Fiction but set on a high speed train from Tokyo to Kyoto involving a group of very weird assassins including the twins Lemon and Tangerine wonderfully played by Brian Tyree Henry and Golden Globe winner Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Nocturnal Animals), the Hornet played by Zazie Beetz (Joker) and the main star Ladybug played with charisma by Oscar winner Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood).
Bullet Train involves a sinister crime boss named White Death, a Russian emigrant who infiltrates the Yakuza or Japanese organized crime and the length he goes to to draw out his arch rival The Elder, played with panache by Hiroyuki Sanada (Mortal Kombat, Mr Holmes, The White Countess) and the Elder’s son Kimura played by Andrew Koji.
As the Bullet Train speeds from the Japanese capital of Tokyo to the artistic capital Kyoto, a menagerie of assassins appear on board including Lemon and Tangerine, The Prince played by Joey King and Ladybug whose simple task it is to steal a briefcase filled with cash and alight at the next station. Literally everything goes wrong, from bad guys drinking sleeping tablets to an escaped boomslang slithering through the high tech train.
Using multiple flashbacks to such places as Mexico and Johannesburg to establish backstory, the assassins square off against each other, as one by one they get eliminated or so we think, as they speed ever faster with deadly efficiency to the showdown in Kyoto whereby The Elder is going to meet The White Death.
Fortunately Brad Pitt’s charm carries Bullet Train to its thrilling conclusion amidst lots of witty dialogue, the occasional samurai sword, many guns and an errant poisonous snake. Amidst all the nuanced innuendo’s and gory action, there is a complicated plot which unravels itself like a boa constrictor killing everything in its path.
With flashes of anime, traditional Japanese imagery and sparkling with originality, Bullet Train is a fascinatingly bizarre film with sufficient action and fight sequences to keep audiences glued to the screen. Of particular note is the brilliantly choreographed fight sequence between Tangerine and Ladybug played by Aaron Taylor Johnson and Brad Pitt.
If audiences are looking for a weirdly entertaining film filled with cameo appearances, gory action and an exotic location, then buy a ticket for Bullet Train and make sure not to disembark before the showdown in Kyoto. It’s a riveting ride.
Bullet Train gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and will find an audience that enjoys quirky action with strangers fighting each other on a high speed locomotive.
The Apex Solution
Godzilla vs Kong
Director: Adam Wingard
Cast: Alexander Skarsgard, Rebecca Hall, Millie Bobby Brown, Brian Tyree Henry, Lance Reddick, Shun Oguri, Kyle Chandler, Demian Bichir, Kaylee Hottle
There is something magical about watching a film on the big screen. It’s the brief, tense moment, when a deaf little girl manages to communicate in sign language to the biggest gorilla on the planet: King Kong. It’s that moment when a passive bay adjacent to a coastal city like Pensacola or Hong Kong is disrupted by the appearance of Godzilla’s menacing lizard like body, foreshadowing the impending destruction which will occur.
Director Adam Wingard’s Godzilla vs Kong is the reason that cinemas should not be closed down in favour of fashionable streaming services. It’s that amazing cinematic film which has to be seen on the Big Screen.
Wrapping up the Godzilla trilogy and tying in as the sequel to Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla vs Kong has a fantastic cast include Golden Globe winner Alexander Skarsgard (Big Little Lies) as Nathan Lind, Rebecca Hall (Frost/Nixon) as Dr Irene Andrews and British star Millie Bobby Brown who reprises her role as Madison Russell along with Kyle Chandler who plays her father Mark Russell. Also in the cast are Brian Tyree Henry (If Beale Street Could Talk, Widows, Hotel Artemis) as conspiracy theorist podcaster Bernie Hayes and Oscar nominee Demian Bichir (A Better Life) as the evil corporate villain and head of Apex industries Walter Simmons who develops a mechanical Godzilla to take out the real Godzilla.
The star of Godzilla vs Kong is the deaf actress Kaylee Hottle who plays the little girl Jia who manages to communicate with Kong much to the surprise of Dr Andrews.
In monster films, the script and characterisation takes a back seat to the action sequences and Godzilla vs Kong is no exception. The story is action packed ably assisted with dazzling special effects leading up to a spectacular fight sequence in between the neon lit skyscrapers of Hong Kong, in which much of these mega-skyscrapers topple like a house of cards as Kong and Godzilla battle it out, two primordially massive beasts tearing the planet apart only to be confronted by an even greater mechanical monster.
If audiences enjoyed 2017’s Kong: Skull Island and 2019’s Godzilla, King of Monsters, then they will love 2021’s Godzilla vs Kong which is a fitting finale for a monster film trilogy. With excellent special effects and monsters that create empathy for the audiences, viewers will either be on team Kong or team Godzilla.
Godzilla vs Kong is big budget action film best to be seen in a cinema and doesn’t pretend to be anything other than a kick-ass Monster film. This action packed film gets a rating of 7 out of 10 and is highly recommended for escapist fantasy and is suitable for the whole family.
Support your local cinema and buy a ticket to watch Godzilla vs Kong.
Dollar Signs and Empty Promises
Widows
Director: Steve McQueen
Cast: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, Jacki Weaver, Daniel Kaluuya, Robert Duvall, Jon Bernthal, Carrie Coon, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Brian Tyree Henry, Garrett Dillahunt, Cynthia Erivo
In a labyrinth tale which at times is difficult to follow, 12 Years a Slave and Shame director Steve McQueen weaves a tangled web in the contemporary Chicago crime drama Widows featuring an outstanding ensemble cast including a brilliant Viola Davis, Oscar winner for Fences, Oscar nominees Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) as a ruthless hitman, Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom) as a pushy Polish mother along with Oscar winner Robert Duvall (Tender Mercies) as Colin Farrell’s hectic father Tom Mulligan.
What sets Widows apart is that McQueen frames the film as a gritty more complex version of Oceans 8 with pivotal roles for Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki (The Tale) and Michelle Rodriguez as three widowed woman who decided to band together and conspire to do a heist to rob from alderman Mulligan played by Colin Farrell who is in a turf war with his contestant a rising African-American politician Jamal Manning played by Brian Tyree Henry (Hotel Artemis).
Daniel Kaluuya plays the insanely evil and vindictive younger brother Jatemme Manning who feels nothing as he tortures a snitch in a wheelchair or makes victims sing before executing them at point blank range.
Director Steve McQueen frames every shot with a keen eye for detail especially the excellent scenes with Viola Davis as she comes to terms with her husband and thief Harry Rawlings explosive demise, shot in a series of intimate flashbacks scenes made more poignant that action star Liam Neeson plays the street savvy thief Rawlings.
What Widows does offer is a sophisticated treatment of contemporary American race relations, inner city corruption, poverty and crime of which there is plenty in this film.
McQueen lets certain scenes linger too long while allowing others to be cut so short that their explosive nature is electrifying. Where he is excels is at is controlling this massive and diverse ensemble cast.
Veteran star Robert Duvall has a fairly major role as the paternal Trumpesque figure Tom Mulligan who is trying to retain his family’s supremacy in the political environment despite his son Jack’s dubious double dealing whose only achievement is offering dollar signs and empty promises.
Equally refreshing is to see Fast and Furious star Michelle Rodriguez in a more substantial role as she battles to keep her family together after her Latino husband Carlos, a briefly seen cameo by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo perishes in Rawling’s heist that goes terribly wrong.
Widows gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and has a massive twist which should keep audiences riveted in a sprawling crime drama held together by superb acting. Highly recommended viewing.
The Acapulco Suite
Hotel Artemis
Director: Drew Pearce
Cast: Jodie Foster, Charlie Day, Sterling K. Brown, Dave Bautista, Sofia Boutella, Zachary Quinto, Jenny Slate, Brian Tyree Henry, Jeff Goldblum
A film’s originality is always a bonus. In this case director Drew Pearce’s bizarre yet crazy action thriller Hotel Artemis set in Los Angeles in 2028 is a stark reminder of how chaotic a world can become when law and order breaks down and climate change ravages a city.
A Multi-National Corporation has control of downtown L. A.’s water supply and riots have ensued. In the midst of this anarchy, two brothers codenamed Waikiki and played by Sterling K. Brown and Honolulu played by Brian Tyree Henry get injured in a bank robbery as well as steal some precious diamonds from the Wolf King of L. A. a crime overlord played by Jeff Goldblum.
The only refuge the wounded brothers can find is at Hotel Artemis run by the Nurse, an embittered, heavy drinking nurse, superbly played against type by double Oscar winner Jodie Foster (The Silence of the Lambs, The Accused).
Hotel Artemis set in downtown L. A. is a Hospital for gangsters and has amongst its guests a lethal assassin codenamed Nice played by Algerian actress Sofia Boutella and a cocaine sniffing arms dealer codenamed Acapulco played by Charlie Day (Pacific Rim, Horrible Bosses).
Written and directed by Drew Pearce, who cleverly makes full use of his diverse cast and wisely gives sufficient screen time for Jodie Foster who really holds Hotel Artemis together as the Nurse who suffers from agoraphobia and alcoholism whilst coming to terms with the demons in her own past, namely the death of her son from a drug overdose.
Action man Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy) plays Everest, the Nurse’s able bodied assistant, while Zachary Quinto plays The Wolf King’s son and heavy weight gangster Crosby Franklin, who breaches the criminal hotel.
While Pearce devotes the first half of Hotel Artemis to building up the characters and creating the chaotic atmosphere, he wastes no time in the second half with action, as each prisoner/guest turns on each and The Nurse realizes that her best hope for survival in this ruthless criminal underworld is by escaping it.
Despite its originality, Hotel Artemis gets a film rating of 7 out of 10.
I felt that writer/director Drew Pearce needed to spend sufficient time fleshing out the backstory to make the ending more palatable. Audiences that enjoyed Blade Runner 2049, will enjoy Hotel Artemis, a dystopian action thriller without the replicants and sophisticated imagery.