Film: CHiPs

GENRE: Comedy

RATING: R for nudity, language, and violence
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 40 minutes

STARRING: Michael Pena (End of Watch, Ant-Man, Crash, Tower Heist)

Dax Shepard (Parenthood), Vincent D’Onofrio (Daredevil, The Cell, MiB)

DIRECTOR: Dax Shepard (Hit & Run)

WRITER: Dax Shepard (Hit & Run)

PLOT: A flimsy remake of the TV show with a rookie highway patrolman paired with an undercover Fed.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Often watched the show but wasn’t a superfan.

STORY STUFF: Not much of a story for this movie. The plot meanders a lot as we try to figure out who the crooked cops may be. I was not really invested with what happened. A couple laughs here and there but mostly juvenile in nature.

ACTING STUFF: Pena and Shepard are fine with some decent chemistry. I did not find myself caring about what happened to them. They were really just caricatures.

ARTISTIC STUFF: Nothing much to talk about. Enjoyed some of the songs used for the soundtrack. During the credits, I was surprised with the number of stunt people used in the film. Wowsers.     

VERDICT: One star out of five

SEE IT IF: Want to see explosions, boobs and chuckle a couple times.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: The Circle

Film: Beauty and the Beast

GENRE: Fantasy Musical

RATING: PG for action violence
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 9 minutes

STARRING: Emma Watson (Harry Potter, Perks of Being a Wallflower)

Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey, Legion), Luke Evans (Dracula Untold)

DIRECTOR: Bill Condon (Dreamgirls, Twilight: Breaking Dawn)

WRITERS: Stephen Chbosky (Perks of Being a Wallflower),

Evan Spiliotopoulos (Hercules-2014, lots of Disney straight to video sequels)

PLOT: Real life adaptation of the Disney cartoon about a woman who falls in love with a monstrous looking prince.   

FULL DISCLOSURE: Not my favourite Disney cartoon. Haven’t seen the Broadway musical either.

STORY STUFF: They do an awesome job adapting the animated version of the film while throwing in (less-catchy) songs from the Broadway musical and other fun things. I was surprised how much Belle’s dad was featured in the story; maybe it was because Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda) was playing him. As a side note, he didn’t really have a good reason for not telling his daughter what happened to her mother. Also, the prince gets a pretty big curse, Gaston gets nothing.

ACTING STUFF: Great work all around. Watson plays Belle perfectly. The voice acting for the artifacts are spot on. My highlights though would have to be Evans as Gaston and Josh Gad (Frozen) as La Fou. They are a treat to watch. It helps that I love both of their songs as well.

ARTISTIC STUFF: Beautifully shot. The cinematography and production design are gorgeous. Of course, they are matching the animated film most of the time, but still. Some of the CG was a tad overdone but it didn’t bother me too much. We saw it in 3D and while there were a couple of times it is used well, I still prefer to see it in 2D.    

VERDICT: Four out of five stars

SEE IT IF: You are a Disney fan, even if the cartoon is not your favourite.
UPCOMING REVIEWS: CHiPs

Film: Logan

GENRE: Action, Drama

RATING: R for strong violence and language
RUNTIME: 2 hour and 17 minutes

STARRING: Hugh Jackman (X-Men, The Wolverine, Les Miserables)

Patrick Stewart (X-Men, Star Trek: NG), Dafne Keen (newcomer)

DIRECTOR: James Mangold (Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma, Wolverine)

WRITERS: Scott Frank (Minority Report, Get Shorty, Dead Again),

Michael Green (American Gods-TV), Mangold (Walk the Line, Copland)

PLOT: A tired Logan helps an ailing Charles Xavier and a young girl with mutant powers.   

FULL DISCLOSURE: Expecting this to be the best Wolverine film.

STORY STUFF: A great way to end the story of Wolverine. This film is well crafted and powerful at times. There are great scenes that touch on aging and family. I do think that the film goes on a bit long but I can forgive it as this is Wolverine’s swan song.

ACTING STUFF: Jackman & Stewart age their roles well as they fight to hold on. With the R rating, Professor X has gained more of a potty mouth, which I guess could be excused on his age. Keen, as new mutant Laura, is wonderful even though she doesn’t talk much. Her facial expressions and fighting skills are a treat. I also liked Stephen Merchant (Extras, Hello Ladies) as Caliban but I would have liked more background on him. Unfortunately, the bad guys were too cookie-cutter for my liking. I would have enjoyed more depth to their part.

ARTISTIC STUFF: Well shot action throughout. Because of the R rating, it is pretty violent. Even beheadings.  

VERDICT: Four stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You like the character Wolverine, even a little.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Beauty and the Beast