"Out of the Shadows" A Better Sequel; "Through the Looking Glass" Is Not

   I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't excited to see "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows". I was. Why? The turtles and I go way back. I'm an 80s baby and a child of the 90s, my childhood consisted of Ninja Turtle action figures, pizza birthday parties, and quality Saturday morning cartoons. The old TMNT cartoon from the late 80s is my definitive version. Coupled with the cheesy movies from the 90s, my turtles will forever be cemented in that time period. That being said, I'm always open to new interpretations. There have been many, and the latest version - kicked off in 2014 with linebacker-sized CGI turtles and a new spin on their origin - was met with mixed emotions. For what it was worth, I really enjoyed the 2014 film. It played enough to my nostalgia while adding new things into the mix that I was able to just take the film for what it was and enjoy it.

   "Out of the Shadows" is a step in the right direction and it made me excited for what else could come in the future. It's completely ridiculous with a cheesy plot and that's perfectly fine for me. It reminded me of the outrageous cartoon of old, where literally anything could happen and the strangest things could be explained away because in the end we really don't care. All we care about is seeing those four brothers in action. This film takes place not too long after the events of the first. Shredder is in jail (now played by Brian Tee), April is investigating Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) for whatever reason, Vernon (Will Arnett) has become the face of justice in regards to the stopping of Shredder from the previous film, and the turtles are struggling with the idea that they'll never be a part of the world they protect. Of course it wouldn't be a sequel without the addition of new characters. Oliver Que-I mean Stephen Amell joins the gang as the hockey stick-wielding Casey Jones. Amell is an interesting actor. I love "Arrow", and his performances are somewhat wooden at times, but dang it if he's not compelling. It's much the same here, except you can tell he's having a blast being in a Ninja Turtle movie. A handful of people have donned the hockey mask as the vigilante, and as cool as Stephen Amell is, Elias Koteas will forever be Casey Jones, (Chris Evans was okay as the voice of Casey in the 2007 animated feature, but he's got that Captain America shtick goin' on.)

   Time to nerd out. The biggest addition to this world is the introduction of three key characters and one key location (though it's merely hinted at). This isn't spoiler territory for this was all revealed in the trailers, but the idea that Bebop and Rocksteady would finally make their way to the big screen just makes my inner 7 year old jump for joy. Sheamus and Gary Anthony Williams play the Rhino and Warthog and do so in such a fun way. Bebop and Rocksteady are as memorable as the likes of Shredder, at least in my book. They were suppose to be in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze" (which now that I think of it, "Out of the Shadows" is kinda like Secret of the Ooze), but instead we got Tokka and Rahzar. Anyway, Bebop and Rocksteady become the formidable dimwits tasked to both aid and annoy their master Shredder. The other major addition is none other than KRANG! I won't say much other than I thought his entrance was a bit rushed, but overall I loved him! And...if you have Krang, that means: Dimension X! The Technodrome! Gah!!

   The story of the movie is fairly straight-forward. What's more interesting are the character beats between the turtles. The four original cast members return with one positive change. Each "turtle" did their own motion capture as well as voice their respective character, except for whatever reason they decided to dub Johnny Knoxville as the voice of Leonardo in the first film. This go around, Pete Polszek returns as the motion capture version as well as the voice of Leo, and I'm so glad they did. Johnny Knoxville was distracting in the first movie, so I'm glad they decided to go that route. Pete has a very "Leonardo" voice...if that means anything to anyone, lol. The CGI looks like it's been cleaned up a bit. In fact, I think that this movie has some of the best CGI work around. I mean, the turtles looked great, and even Bebop and Rocksteady didn't look half bad. The action is great, the jokes are funny, and it's an overall fun experience. It's got its issues, but in reality it's too much of a good time to really matter. As I mentioned before, it doesn't take itself serious and it feels like a giant episode from the old series. It's just plain fun...and I think I like it better than the first, so there's that...if that means anything. #Cowabunga


FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH...

   I saw "Alice Through the Looking Glass" this week. I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing, because based on the box office, NO ONE went to see this movie. In a nutshell, it was OK. I found it entertaining to say the least. Set some time after the first film, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is now a ship captain for her father's trading company. When financial ruin bangs at her mother's door step via the loathing pile of scum she almost married in the last movie, Alice is forced to choose between a "normal" life as a clerk or to continue in her whimsical ways. It's within this dilemma that she is summoned back to Wonderland, where she finds that the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) is fading from existence due to his realization that he had a family and now doesn't know where they are. In order to right the wrongs done, Alice must persuade Time (Sacha Baron Cohen) to travel back and fix things. Hijinx ensue, previous characters appear, plot, plot, plot, and then it ends.

   Tim Burton did not come back to direct this one, and I think it shows. I'm not saying that his "Alice in Wonderland" was a masterful piece of cinema, but there's no denying that Tim Burton has a unique style of storytelling. Even in the midst of colorful, crazy-looking characters, he still manages to squeeze out this magical feel to the piece no matter how thin the story is. "Through the Looking Glass" is director  James Bobin's best impression of a Tim Burton film. Burton is a producer on the movie, so I'm sure there was some influence there, but it just felt like a cheap rip off. From a story perspective, it didn't do much in the way of really connecting emotionally. One of the best things about Depp's Mad Hatter from the first film is that you don't know much about the character, which makes his madness so compelling. This movie gives a whole back story to the Hatter and humanizes him. I found this so off-putting. Imagine we were given a whole movie's worth of back story to Heath Ledger's Joker. Though intriguing as it may be, by humanizing the epitome of madness, the Joker would lose some of his flavor. That's what happened here. The Hatter became flavorless. At least for me, I want my crazy characters to stay crazy because the unknown makes for great drama.

   There's a whole back story between the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) and her sister, the big-headed Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter). It's an odd tale that plays into this notion that everything that was interesting from the first movie needs to be explained. It's true. Practically every little dramatic notion from the first movie is given some sort of explanation or back story in this one. Now, I can't harp too much because I've never read the book this movie is based on, so I can't really say what the original story was. For all I know, this was a faithful adaptation. But irregardless, this movie is flawed, but it still manages to eek out some entertainment value. Think about seeing it...then go see Ninja Turtles instead.