Westworld (1973)

Westworld (1973)

7/10

Starring

Yul Brynner

Richard Benjamin

James Brolin

Directed by Michael Crichton

With HBO announcing the release of the Westworld series, based on the 1973 film and set to premiere in fall 2016, I just had to see the original movie to know what to expect.

Westworld as a film packs a punch, with wonderful directing by Michael Crichton and standout performances from the cast, especially Yul Brynner’s portrayal of a rogue robot. The settings are also something to admire—they’re so well-crafted that you can picture such a thing happening in real life. The movie is a thriller, taking us on a ride of man versus machine.

HBO’s attempt to make a series based on this movie will be the second try, as CBS attempted it in 1980 but canceled the show after airing just two episodes.

For me, the movie is well-structured from start to finish and doesn’t need any elongation. But we’ll have to wait and see what HBO has in store.

This film is more than just fun to watch—it’s enticing in the way it’s written. Michael Crichton, who wrote and directed this film, later wrote another book based on a failed theme park. That book became the 1990 classic and later a billion-dollar film franchise: Jurassic Park.

This sci-fi film is set in the near future, and Crichton captured the idea of what people would love to experience. Interestingly, many of these things are available today. There are now numerous parks where you can see reenactments of historical events.

I’m not sure if such parks existed when Crichton wrote this story, but what I do know is that this was the first movie to introduce the concept of a computer virus corrupting a program or machines in a theme park setting.

The movie begins with the introduction of Delos, a park with three segments: Westworld, a reenactment of the Old American West; Medieval World, a reenactment of medieval Europe; and Roman World. While the movie focuses more on Westworld, we also get glimpses of what’s happening in the other worlds.

A newcomer to the park, Peter (Richard Benjamin), meets an old-timer, John (James Brolin), on their way to Delos. John explains to Peter that everything in Delos feels real—you get to live and experience life as it was in the world of your choice. In Westworld, where they’re headed, you can kill people and choose to be either good or bad.

The entire Westworld is populated by both humans and androids, and the only way to tell them apart is by their hands. Guests are given real guns, but the park’s computer program ensures they can’t shoot humans.

The manager of Delos notices that the machines are breaking down more often than they should and witnesses them breaking protocol on the monitors. This leads to closing the park to new guests, but they allow current guests to continue enjoying their stay.

Before long, the theme park goes rogue, and machines and humans turn on each other.

Westworld is a fun movie, and I’m glad I saw it.

Angry Birds (2016)

Angry Birds (2016)

4/10

Starring the voice of

Jason Sudeikis

Josh Gad

Danny McBride

Maya Rudolph

Directed by Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly

Other than clarifying why the Birds hate the Pigs, this movie had nothing to offer me as a viewer, and I had to fight to stay awake thanks to the massive dose of boredom it served. I am surprised though, I have many around me who find this movie very entertaining, so the chances are some of you reading this will too.

It’s not always necessary to go with critics’ ratings, but when both critics and audiences give a movie bad ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, you might as well believe the movie is bad—or see it yourself to decide.

For me, the writers and producers were handed an empty plate. This Angry Birds movie is based on an app game where the objective is to knock down obstacles and take out as many pigs as possible along the way. The app has no concrete storyline, so the writers and producers could have spun this movie in any direction they wanted. Unfortunately, they chose this boring route.

The Angry Birds Movie starts with the introduction of an island filled with flightless birds. We’re then introduced to Red, a bird with anger issues who loses his temper at the drop of a hat. He’s avoided and sidelined, while the other happy birds live carefree lives.

One day, a ship docks on their island, and pigs led by Captain Leonard arrive, claiming to be friendly and wanting to get to know the birds.

Red suspects they’re up to no good and decides to find a way to stop them.

Thanks to the massive popularity of the game, the movie took first place during its opening weekend—a feat I don’t expect it to maintain. Angry Birds arrived at a time when Disney has family weekend entertainment locked down. The bad reviews might push families to stick with Disney this weekend, opting for second helpings of Zootopia (2016) (which I saw three times), The Jungle Book (2016), or Captain America: Civil War (2016).

This year, we’re expecting four video game-based movies, with Ratchet and Clank (2016) leading the way. However, its bad reviews are affecting its box office performance. Angry Birds, on the other hand, has been a crowd-puller for a long time, with the games downloaded millions of times. Because of its popularity, this movie should still be profitable by the end of its run.

For me, though, I’m just disappointed by the movie’s storyline.

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

2/10

Starring

Christopher Reeve

Gene Hackman

Jackie Cooper

Marc McClure

Directed by Sidney J. Furie

Plagued with a horrible storyline and graphics that practically ruin the legacy of the last three Superman films, this is a movie where, 20 minutes in, you’re sure you’ve wasted your time. You might even start to feel sorry for Christopher Reeve for being part of this film and for how it tarnished the wonderful franchise he built as Superman.

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace is a movie where the story revolves around Lex Luthor deciding to take on Superman on his own turf. While that might sound fun, the writers and producers found a way to wreck it. Despite numerous ways they could have spun this—like introducing Bizarro—they decided to go with Nuclear Man. Before you rack your brain trying to figure out who Nuclear Man is in the comic world, don’t bother—he’s not there. He’s just a character the writers made up to fill the void.

Beyond the ridiculous premise, the movie is full of plot holes. For example, how did Nuclear Man know where Lex was? How come when Lex called Superman, he said, “Only you can hear me,” yet his picture appeared on a large display screen? Then there’s the whole Clark and Superman double-dating scam, which made the women look foolish for not figuring out that Clark didn’t come back up when he missed his elevator. I could go on picking apart this movie’s plot, but there’s no point.

The movie was both a critical and commercial failure, largely because the producers of the first three films (Alexander and Ilya Salkind) had already damaged the series with Superman III (1983), which leaned into comedy instead of staying serious. They tried to revive the franchise with Supergirl (1984), which also flopped critically and commercially. After these consecutive failures, they sold the franchise.

The new owners made this film with a minimal budget and what feels like the crappiest script they could find. Jon Cryer, who played Lex’s nephew Lenny Luthor, even noted that the movie felt like an unfinished project due to the studio running out of money.

As mentioned earlier, the movie’s plot revolves around Lex getting revenge on Superman. His plan kicks off when his nephew Lenny breaks him out of prison. Lex steals a strand of Superman’s hair from a museum and uses it to create a clone—not just any clone, but one powered by solar energy. This new villain is named Nuclear Man. Now, Superman has to face off against a clone who’s just as powerful as he is.

I really wish this film had never been made.