The Call of the Wild is an adventure film based on the Jack London 1903 novel of the same name and Twentieth Century Pictures’ previous 1935 film adaptation. The film is directed by Chris Sanders, in his live-action directorial debut, written by Michael Green. Set in the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, a dog named Buck is stolen from his home in California and sent to the Yukon, where he befriends an old man and begins a life-altering adventure. The Call of the Wild is a classic, so if you know the story, there’s not much here for you but if you don’t, the story is the bonus.
Once upon a time, during the 19th century Gold Rush, there lived a very Large but gentle St. Bernard/Scotch Collie named Buck, who lived comfortably with his master, Judge Miller (Bradley Whitford), in Santa Clara, California. Being so big, Buck was awkward, clumsy and somewhat of a menace to the township and in his home. One night, Buck is abducted and shipped to the Yukon aboard a freighter. During the voyage, a crew member treated Buck badly, kicking him and preforming other violent acts. After arriving in the Yukon, which is the opposite of California in terms of weather and distance, Buck gives chase to his kidnapper. Despite losing the chase, Buck manages to return a harmonica that was dropped by John Thornton (Harrison Ford), moments before being sold to Perrault (Omar Sy) and his assistant, Françoise (Cara Gee). The new owners use a dog sled to deliver mail across the Yukon. Perrault hopes to make the long trek to the mail depot before the deadline. For the first time, Buck is introduced to snow and the other dogs in the pack, including the vicious pack leader, a Husky named Spitz. Throughout their travels, Buck gains the loyalty and trust of Françoise and the other sled dogs, which antagonizes Spitz. This is not the last ower Buck will have, sadly the next owner will be the worse. Buck’s adventures are exciting and sometimes quite emotional. You’ll have to see the movie to get the rest of the story, as it is a good one.
I thought The Call of the Wild was a wonderful story except for the CGI dog, I loved the movie. When I think of how much effort the Lion King team put into creating the movement of each animal so that they appeared as realistic as they possibly could, The Call of the Wild showed that the same effort was not used to make the character of Buck. His movements were weird and unnatural at best! I couldn’t stop thinking that this dog is not real, which spoiled the movie for me. I think it may have been better for Buck to speak for himself instead of being narrated by Harrison Ford. CGI technology ruined this movie for me. Actually, they could have used a well-trained dog for most of the movie, as the only reason I could think of using CGI would be the fighting scenes.
As of February 27, 2020, The Call of the Wild has grossed $32.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $16 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $48.6 million. Due to its high production and marketing costs, the film is projected to lose the studio around $100 million. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 61% based on 161 reviews, with an average rating of 6.03/10. The website’s critics consensus reads: “It’s undermined by distracting and unnecessary CGI, but this heartwarming Call of the Wild remains a classic story, affectionately retold.” Check It Out!
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (also known as Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker) is a space-opera and is produced, co-written, and directed by J. J. Abrams. It is the third installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, following The Force Awakens (2015) and The Last Jedi (2017), and the final episode of the nine-part “Skywalker saga”. This movie was produced by Lucasfilm and Abrams’s production company Bad Robot Productions and was distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The Rise of Skywalker follows Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron as they lead the Resistance’s final stand against Kylo Ren and the First Order, who are now aided by the return of the deceased galactic emperor, Palpatine. I think I’m a little tired of Star Wars — this one was just ok.
Blade Runner 2049 is an American neo-noir science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. Blade Runner 2049 is a sequel to the 1982 film Blade Runner, which was a big hit receiving 8.2 on IMDB. 2049 is set thirty years after the first film. A blade runner uncovers a secret that threatens to instigate a war between humans and replicants. I didn’t like this sequel as much as the first film but still thought it was good.
This Star Wars is a good one. I loved seeing some of the old gang and I loved that there will be more Star Wars on the horizon, scheduled for 2017. As much as I liked The Force Awakens, I didn’t like it as much as some of the past Star Wars episodes. About 30 years after the second Death Star was destroyed in Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) who didn’t make an appearance until the very end of this movie and is also the last Jedi, has disappeared. The “First Order” is looking to eliminate Luke and the Republic but Luke’s twin sister, Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) is opposing the First Order while searching for Luke to get his help before they are destroyed. Resistance’s X-wing fighter pilot Poe Damerson (Oscar Isaac) has a partial map of Luke’s location stored in his Droid BB-8. Poe is captured by Stormtroopers but his Droid gets away where it meets a scavenger named Rey (Daisy Ridley) who helps to conceal BB-8. In the meanwhile, the Stormtroopers torture Poe for information leading to the map, finding out the map is hidden in the Droid. Poe tries to escape when he gets help from a First Order Stormtrooper called FN-2187 who later renames himself Finn (John Boyega). Unable to continue to kill or function as a Stormtropper for the First Order, Finn joins the Resistance and escapes with Poe. Finn and Poe find BB-8 on planet Jakku where they meet Scavenger Rey. The planet is attacked by Stormtroopers, and Poe disappears, presumed dead, while Rey, Finn and BB-8 meet Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew). Together they team up to continue this worthy Star Wars adventure that has more twist and turns than any other production I’ve recently seen. There are many villains leading the First Order. The dark warrior, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) who is the son of Hans Solo and Leia Organa and Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), plus the ruthless commander of the First Order, General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson). Lupita Nyong’o plays Maz Kanata, a wise and perceptive operator of a shady cantina on a planet called Takodana. Maz tries to help Han and his new team, giving the lightsaber that belonged to Luke and his father to Finn for safekeeping.
Ender’s Game is so realistic that I came away wondering if such a thing had already happened. From the casting of a puny looking kid, (played by Asa Butterfield) to a large, menacing Sergeant (played by Nonso Anozie) I knew this movie was going to be good. Gavin Hood (Director and Screenplay Writer) didn’t try to make this into a Hollywood spectacular production of bells and whistles, but instead stuck to the likely issues such as kid jealousy, rivalry and adult authority, as if it was really happening. Even the alien was painted in a better light than usual. I loved the ending and I loved the acting. Viola Davis played a compassionate Major who was not afraid to speak her mind, while Harrison Ford was the no nonsense Colonel who headed up the recruitment program.
I was terribly disappointed in this movie. I expected a great film instead I got a mediocre, unrealistic drama. The best thing about this movie was the absolutely gorgeous creature (Liam Hemsworth) cast in the role of Adam Cassidy. Not even the lovely Amber Heard could hold a candle to this beautiful hunk of a man. I found his looks so distracting that focusing on the plot became difficult. Gary Oldman did the best he could with his character (Nicolas Wyatt) as did Harrison Ford who played (Jock Goddard), the jilted CEO who became a rival of his former employee. There’s plenty of threats thrown around and the pawn in the middle, of course, is Adam, who was sort of forced into espionage and deception. Eventually he gets in too deep to just walk away. I felt the characters could have been stronger and the means to the end was a little corny.
CAROL's WORLDS 