Sample This (2012)

Sample This is a documentary about The Incredible Bongo Band, the group who created Apache, a song which had a great influence on hip-hop music years later.  Unfortunately, this documentary suffers from a lack of focus.
Let's begin with the presence of Gene Simmons.  While he has a great voice for narration, Gene Simmons has very little (if any) business being in a documentary about hip-hop.  While his appearance is eventually explained, it still doesn't bear enough of a connection to the subject to satisfy me.  Thankfully, there is a good deal of interview footage with people like Questlove and Grand Wizzard Theodore, which does give this doc some element of credibility.
The documentary covers a range of topics through interviews and some archival footage.  It looks at the cultural background of the 1970s, provides profiles of the band members and their producer, and finally gets into the influence of Apache on hip-hop culture via artists such as DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash.  For me, this wide view of the subject makes this documentary suffer.  While the stories of things like political assassinations and music production are somewhat interesting, many of them have very little connection to hip-hop culture, which is supposedly what this documentary is all about.  I was left feeling frustrated to find that the parts I wanted to see only made up the last half hour or so of the film.
Sample This is an interesting documentary that examines some interesting people who unknowingly changed the culture of music.  However, if you're most interested in the song itself and its influence, there's a lot of irrelevant material you'll have to sit through.  There are many better films and documentaries on the subject available, and they won't make you wait for the payoff.

Chain Reaction (1996)

This film was selected via Movie-O-Matic!

In Chain Reaction, a team of university students discover a revolutionary source of clean energy.  Unfortunately, the discovery is leaked, and the tech is stolen after the murder of the project's leader.  The murder is pinned on the gifted young student Eddie Kasalivich (Keanu Reeves) and his fellow scientist Dr. Lily Sinclair (Rachel Weisz).  The two fugitives soon uncover that the murder and theft came from within the project itself, orchestrated by Dr. Paul Shannon (Morgan Freeman) for personal corporate gain.  The two fight for their lives while trying to put the real criminals behind bars.
It's interesting that Chain Reaction still feels timely, even after twenty odd years.  While the technology used on screen is now dated, the themes of environmentalism and corporate greed are arguably even more relevant today.  Sadly, the ideas presented in this film are a little better than the product itself.
Rachel Weisz gives a decent performance, but not one that's particularly memorable.  Even the presence of renowned actor Morgan Freeman doesn't bring much to the table.  His Paul Shannon character delivers a few villainous monologues, and spends the remainder of the film chewing on a cigar.  This is an action filled movie, which works to the advantage of Keanu Reeves, who does best when he doesn't have to talk much.  Unfortunately, the action isn't all that satisfying.  One could argue that the apparent clumsiness of the lead characters is because they're just average, non-athletic science students, but it looks a lot more like sloppy film making to me.  This is especially disappointing considering this movie was directed by Andrew Davis, who is better known for films like The Fugitive and Under Siege, both of which are better than Chain Reaction.
Despite all of its flaws, I can't bring myself to say that Chain Reaction is bad movie.  Maybe it's my soft spot for the 90s, but I can see a certain appeal to this movie.  I also think it did reasonably well at the box office in its time, for what it's worth.  So, if you're a Keanu Reeves fan, or are just looking for a VHS era movie you might have missed, Chain Reaction is worth a look.      

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Produced by the same team who brought us Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island is an interesting retelling of the Kong story that brings the iconic monster into a more contemporary setting.  Set during the end of the Vietnam war, alternative researchers Bill Randa (John Goodman) and Houston Brooks (Corey Hawkins) petition the government to fund an expedition to an uncharted island, which they believe contains a secret, primeval ecosystem, never seen by man.  To get there, they are granted a military escort, headed by Colonel Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson).  Together with a skilled tracker (Tom Hiddleston) and an outspoken political photojournalist (Brie Larson), they all set off into the mysterious unknown.  Upon their arrival, the group are faced with the dangerous wildlife of Skull Island (not including Kong himself) as well as Hank Marlow (John C. Reilly), who has befriended the natives since being stranded on the island since World War II.  While fighting to survive the destruction of Kong, the team desperately try to reach their arriving rescue team, and escape the dangers of Skull Island.
The thing I like most about Kong: Skull Island is how modern the story feels.  Even though it is set in the 1970s, this take on the story feels fresh in a way that Peter Jackson's version didn't.  There is no mention of New York City here, and many of the other typical Kong tropes are absent.  The film doesn't completely abandon all reference to its origins, however.  There are still a few subtle and not-so-subtle nods to the source material, which I thought were smartly used.  While we're on the subject of theming, this film borrows as much from classic Vietnam movies as much as it does the Kong franchise.  There are many notes from films like Apocalypse Now and Rambo, though but not so many that the movie feels derivative.
I also appreciate the way Skull Island gives the monsters plenty of room to play.  This is a huge contrast with 2014's Godzilla, which did a reasonably good job, but spent too much time with the dull human characters narrating the big monster action fans had paid to see.  The visuals of the film are top notch, with some very creative and memorable creature designs.
My only complaint about the cast is it was perhaps a little too large for everyone to get equal screen time.  There were a few characters I would have liked to see more of, but the various plot threads only allowed for a certain amount of storytelling.  For instance, while Tom Hiddleston may have top billing, I found his character ultimately forgettable.  Of the other players involved, I particularly enjoyed Samuel L. Jackson's intense performance as  Col. Packard.  Being a career military man, Packard has no problem with a new assignment, and decides to start his own personal war with Kong, which results in nothing but trouble for everyone else.  John Goodman is also excellent as Bill Randa, a man who knows for a fact monsters are real, and is eventually proven right.  My praises of the cast wouldn't be complete without the mention of John C. Reilly.  His performance as the grizzled, slightly crazed Hank Marlow steals the show, and is one of the most memorable of the whole movie.
Kong: Skull Island breathes some new life into the old bones of the Kong franchise, and is a great modern interpretation of a classic story.

*There is a small post-credits scene which hints at some possible future films, so make sure to stick around after the show!    

Read This! - East of West (Vol. 1)

Read This! is made possible by The Gauntlet Comics and Games

At first glance, sci-fi and western don't seem to be genres that would mix well.  However, the popularity of shows like Westworld proves that it can be done with the right concept.  East of West (published by Image Comics) is another of those unusual genre mixes that works surprisingly well, and is a refreshing departure from typical comics.
Written by Jonathan Hickman (best known for his work with Marvel, including the recent Secret Wars miniseries), East of West takes place in an alternate universe where the American Civil War never truly ended, along with Mao Zedong's China.  The story also deals with the possibly impending apocalypse.  That is, if the Four Horsemen can locate Death, who has gone off the reservation, so to speak.  With the help of a mysterious native couple, Death wanders the land in search of his former lover, Xiaoling.  The only issue is that Xiaoling is the daughter of Mao III, current leader of the heavily fortified city-state New Shanghai.
The internal mythology Hickman has created for this book is impressive and intriguing.  The supernatural elements of the story add another layer for fans to unravel in an already complex combination of genres.  East of West is true to its western influences, not shying away from violent scenes and adult situations.  If you're not the type for seeing blood splatter in your comics, this is probably not the book for you.  For the rest of you, East of West provides plenty of exploded heads and eye gouging, much of it courtesy of Death himself.  Nick Dragotta's artwork showcases more than just violence, however.  He has a knack for capturing subtleties of facial expression, which give the reader a glimpse into the motivations of the many mysterious characters.
If you're looking for something out of the ordinary, with action and a good story hook, East of West is a great book to add to your collection.  If the mystery of things interests you, there's plenty more to explore, with several more volumes available.

Pirate Radio (2009)

Pirate Radio (known as The Boat That Rocked in the U.K.) is based on the true story of how a handful of renegade DJs influenced the future of music forever.  In the 1960s, rock and roll was incredibly popular in Britain, but it only got a fraction of airtime on the radio.  A few enterprising radio people sought to remedy this, and began broadcasting 24/7 rock and pop music from ships stationed in the North Sea.  The pirate station known as 'Radio Rock' was the most popular among them.
It's into this picture that we are introduced to young Carl (Tom Sturridge), who has recently been kicked out of school and is sent out to sea to visit with his godfather Quentin (Bill Nighy), the de facto manager of Radio Rock.  Dave (Nick Frost), one of the many DJs on board, takes a liking to Carl, and before long the rest of Radio Rock considers Carl to be one of their own.  While the DJs go through various exploits of debauchery and clashes of ego, Carl discovers one of the DJs on board may be his father, and he decides to seek him out before his return home.  Meanwhile, on the mainland, Sir Alistair Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh), and his new assistant, one Mr. Twatt (Jack Davenport) are determined to shut down the noise pollution of rock and roll for good, whether it's done by legal means or otherwise.  Carl eventually discovers the identity of his father, but only moments later, the entire crew are put into a life threatening situation at sea, and brought out of it in a most unexpected way.
The first thing I noticed about Pirate Radio was the amount of sexual content.  While I was a bit shocked at first, it was certainly true to the era, and it would hardly be fair to judge a movie for that.  The other major attribute of this Pirate Radio is that it's an ensemble film.  Thankfully director Richard Curtis has done very well with other ensemble films like Love Actually.  No one character ever truly feels left out of the story, even if they appear for a few brief moments.  In fact, one could argue that these brief moments are more impactful than the larger set pieces of the movie.  One of my favourite scenes in the film is an exchange between Carl and early morning DJ Bob (Ralph Brown).  It's a very short scene with very little dialogue, but there's a great deal of emotional information packed into that little scene.  I think this stands as both proof of my theory and proof of the great acting and direction of this movie.
As I mentioned above, just about everyone in this film gets their moment in the sun, and each character is memorable in their own way.  One of the most memorable characters is 'The Count' (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who bursts with the kind of rebellious spirit and bullish confidence that could only come from an American.  On the flipside of this, we have Kenneth Branagh's performance as the humourless, yet fiercely determined bureaucrat Dormandy.  He's a character you instantly hate, not only for his personality, but also for what he represents to the fun loving people of Radio Rock and their fans.  These are just a few small examples, of course.  Pirate Radio is so well cast, I could easily pick any given actor and have something good to say about them in this film.
It would be negligent to talk about Pirate Radio without mentioning the music.  What's most interesting is the sheer variety of music there is to hear.  It seems that not a scene goes by when we aren't hearing something play in the background.  The soundtrack is filled with all kinds of different music, from Smokey Robinson all the way to a novelty Christmas song by the Beach Boys.  At its heart, the love of music is the driving force of Pirate Radio, and it communicates this tremendously well.  
If you're fond of classic rock and roll, or have an interest in radio, Pirate Radio is a great movie for you.  It has a good mix of seriousness and comedy, and a brilliantly curated soundtrack to hold everything together.