I appear on “CTV News at 6” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the brutal and blood “Mortal Kombat II,” the family film “The Sheep Detectives” (and a taste of my interview with star Nicholas Braun) and the road trip drama “Omaha.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 37:21)
I sit with host Deb Hutton on NewsTalk 1010 to talk about a lawsuit against James Cameron, newly unearthed interviews of Arthur Miller discussing his wife Marilyn Monroe, blue dot fever and I review the action flick “Mortal Kombat II” and the family murder mystery “The Sheep Detectives.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join CTV Atlantic’s Todd Battis to talk about the bloody “Mortal Kombat II,” the family murder mystery “The Sheep Detectives” and the road trip “Omaha.”
Watrch the whole thing HERE!
I join “CTV News Toronto at Five” with anchor Zuraidah Alman to talk about new movies in theatres including the bloody “Mortal Kombat II,” the family murder mystery “The Sheep Detectives” and the road trip “Omaha.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 14:56)
I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Renee Rogers to talk about the new releases in theatres, including the bloody “Mortal Kombat II,” the family murder mystery “The Sheep Detectives” and the road trip “Omaha.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with guest host Andrew Pinsent to talk about the new movies coming to theatres including the bloody “Mortal Kombat II,” the family murder mystery “The Sheep Detectives” and the road trip “Omaha.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to make your bed. Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the bloody “Mortal Kombat II,” the family murder mystery “The Sheep Detectives” and the road trip “Omaha.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: The sequel to the 2021 reboot, “Mortal Kombat II” sees the champions of Earthrealm forced to into battle to thwart the rule of Shao Kahn, emperor of the Outworld realm.
CAST: Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano, Joe Taslim, Hiroyuki Sanada. Directed by Simon McQuoid.
REVIEW: A mix-and-match of the videogame “Street Fighter II,” fantasy, and martial arts films like “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Bloodsport,” “Mortal Kombat II” is action-packed, blood-soaked fan service that grabs the spirit of the games for the big screen.
The ultimate clash of the realms begins with the Mortal Kombat champions of Earthrealm—Cole Young (Lewis Tan), Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Jax (Mehcad Brooks), and Kano (Josh Lawson)—joined by Jean-Claude Van Damme wannabe Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) to fight in the Outworld Mortal Kombat tournament. “I got a Saturn Award for best fight scene in film,” Cage says, “so don’t mess with me.”
Determined to expand the realm of Outworld, Genghis Khan-style Emperor Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) launches a campaign to conquer Earthrealm. “Earth belongs to me,” he says.
As alliances are formed and betrayals brew, the hammer-wielding villain triggers bloody, no-holds barred battles, forcing the Earthrealm warriors to defend their sovereignty. “I hope your ancestors are watching,” Kahn cackles.
There’s more. Way more.
There is an amulet that turns men into immortals, a zombie queen, a vengeance hungry royal daughter (Adeline Rudolph), giants with rows of external, razor-sharp teeth and loads of gushing plasma. Director Simon McQuoid, working from a script by Jeremy Slater, crams a lot of backstory, character work and snappy one-liners into the 116-minute runtime, but let’s be real, the narrative is just the stuff in between the fights.
It’s a simple story of good vs. evil, of a dark lord who craves power, immortality and territory and the heroes who fight back. It’s complicated by alliances and intrigue that nonfans may struggle with, but it’s not about the details. It’s about big IMAX action played out on a screen the size of a basketball court.
On that score “Mortal Kombat II” delivers what fans expect, big eye-popping mano-et-mano battle scenes colored with impossible wuxia style flying kicks and airborne leaps. It’s cool, stylized fight choreography that showcases the franchise’s debt to Hong Kong kung fu and martial arts films.
The cast is game, particularly Karl Urban, who brings some much-appreciated humor to the role of Johnny Cage, a self-described “dinosaur doing karate poses.” He refers to the tournaments as a “Squid Game murder party,” and feels it’s unfair that the others have special powers while, “I’m just incredibly handsome.” His presence breaks up the scenes of squirting plasma and helps establish the homage to New Line Cinema’s 1980s–90s action/horror movie era.
Based on the best of the OG games, “Mortal Kombat II” is a throwback, with brutal battles, to the games and the generation that produced them.
Dwayne Johnson has saved his family from an earthquake, fought a volcanic demon and prevented a wild, overgrown ape from destroying Chicago. If you gotta life-or-death problem, yo, he’ll solve it. His new film may be his fieriest yet. “Skyscraper” sees him hundreds of stories above the earth, trying to save his family from certain death. Let’s see him revolve that.
Johnson is former FBI Hostage Rescue Team leader and U.S. war veteran Will Ford. After an bomb blast left him with a prosthetic leg he went into business as a security expert for big companies. His latest gig takes him and family, including wife Sarah (Neve Campbell) and twins, to Hong Kong where he will assess the security concerns for a building nicknamed the Eighth Wonder of the World. At three times the height of the Empire State Building, The Pearl is one of the world’s greatest architectural achievements, but is it safe? That’s what billionaire owner Zhao Min Zhi (Chin Han) wants to know. It’s the tallest most advanced building in the world, it’s a vertical city, but, as Ford says, “you have brought with it every single safety and security challenge I can think of. Not only have you brought them all indoors but you have trapped them 240 floors in the air, No one really knows what would happen if things go wrong.”
Of course things go wrong—there’d be no movie otherwise—when some terrible people sabotage the building’s security systems, starting a blaze on the ninety-sixth floor. Ford’s family is trapped above the fire line so our one-legged hero must rescue them while fighting the bad guys and convincing the cops the fire wasn’t his fault.
“Skyscraper” is the kind of over-the-top action movie that used to star Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone. It’s a manly man movie that values sweaty action over narrative logic, rockin’ schlock over the laws of physics.
It’s Johnson in full-on the video-game hero mode. Fun to watch but whatever high wire antics he gets up to ultimately the stakes aren’t very high. (SPOILER ALERT) The Rock is not going to plunge to his death, leaving his family to become lumps of coal in the world‘s biggest inferno. “Skyscraper” is all about the stunts, the adrenaline and even then they give away the film’s best deed of daring do on the poster and in the trailer.
Johnson is charismatic, has a way with a line but here he is reduced to his most obvious asset, his over developed body, capable of superhuman feats of endurance and skills. He is Hercules a slab of grade A muscle who can power his way out of any situation, most often with a roll of duct tape in tow. (Begging the question, how much did the makers of duct tape pay in product placement. Not since “The Red Green Show” has the sticky stuff been so essential to the plot.) As a man of action he’s second to known, as a character in a film, however, he not as muscular. There’s not much to Will Ford—or any character here—other than a look of grim determination and a flex arm. Even the bad guy, Kores Botha (Roland Møller), is just a Hans Gruber wannabe but without the evil charm or nasty one-liners.
“Skyscraper” is a loud, over-the-top flick. The action may entertain the eye but with no characters to care about all that’s left are plumes of smoke and fire.
