Sparkle - A Sparkling Remake

This summer which is coming to a close brought us great blockbusters, action-pact films, cheesy children's movies, and remarkable remakes.  I have spent many hours sitting in the dark watching the big screen being mesmerized by what I see.  Sparkle is bedazzling, enchanting, charming, and intriguing.  The storyline grabs you, the singing captivates you, and the stars fascinate you.  Sparkle is a remake of a 1976 film with the same name.  And, although I still believe the world doesn't need yet another remake, this one was enjoyable and sparkling (pun intended).

Instead of telling you what the movie is about and reasons you may not want to watch it (let's be real, the acting is B-list at best), I want to give you the many reasons to the contrary.  Let's start at the top with Whitney.  Majority of the people are going to go see it to because of Whitney Houston who is one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) voices of all time who lost her battle with substance abuse just 6 months ago.  Although her acting isn't award winning, it's plausible, but we really just want to hear her sing, and her rendition of "His Eye is on the Sparrow" was soulful and showed signs of the Whitney we fell in love with so long ago.  It brought tears to my eyes to realize that we will never hear that voice again, and the audience agreed with heavy applause.

Mike Epps plays a sell-out comedian, and even though that is his real-life profession, he is sinister and destructive which is out of character for him.  He was a very convincing bad boy.  Immediately upon entering the scene you decide to dislike him.  I applaud his effort and growth as an actor.  Jordin Sparks, American Idol winner, who plays Sparkle, does a wonderful job for being a singer turned actress.  She's much better at it than Beyonce (that's not hard to do), but maybe not as good as Jennifer Hudson.  Her acting isn't going to get any Academy Award nominations, but her voice is remarkable and she tears up "One Wing" in the end.  Derek Luke, Carmen Ejogo, Tika Sumpter, and Omari Hardwick round out a fantastic cast.  They may not be household names, but with a few more movies under their belts, maybe they will.

Side note:  Ladies, Omari Hardwick is yummy.  Google him.

If the actors and singers aren't reason enough to watch Sparkle, then the maybe knowing who was behind the scenes will.  The screenplay was written by Mara Brock Akil.  She is best known for creating and writing The Game and Girlfriends.  The movie was produce by TD Jakes (he finally gets one right), and one of the executive producers was Whitney Houston.  And to top it off, R. Kelly was the musical director.  It doesn't get much better than that.  Now I know you really want to go see this movie.  Please do.  Try to forget it's a remake, and go just to enjoy it.  You won't be disappointed.

The Bourne Legacy - Aaron Cross is no Jason Bourne

The Jason Bourne action thriller films are some of my favorite.  There's nothing like Matt Damon as Jason Bourne kicking butt and taking names, but Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross didn't really do it for me.  Don't get me wrong, he kicked a little booty, but it wasn't anything like in the first three Bourne movies.  The Bourne Legacy is yet another example of learning when to say stop; enough is enough; let it go man, just let it go.  

The storyline of this one starts up where Bourne Ultimatum leaves off.  At the end of Ultimatum, Bourne jumps in the water and swims off with bullets flying at his head.  Legacy opens with Cross swimming in the water to retrieve something.  The next 45 minutes is of Aaron Cross in the Alaskan wilderness during a training exercise trying to survive with his limited genetic medicine.  Meanwhile, more information about Treadstone, Blackbriar and other CIA operations have been exposed by Jason Bourne and now all agents and cohorts have to be terminated including Cross while the powers that be play the game of CYA (cover your arse).

You would think a lot of exciting action would take place, but I can't really say that.  There are bullets and explosions, and car/motorcycle chases, but in small doses; they almost feel forced and placed to wake us up with all this conspiracy theory talking.  Like, when one of the lab Doctor's that work with the operatives starts shooting at at his colleagues.  We never get an explanation why?  It just sets up a way for Aaron to meet Dr. Marta Shearling and begin his quest for meds.  This movie attempts to tie up the political loose ends from Ultimatum, but it falls flat and is kind of pointless.  Did you really care what happened to Pamela Landy for helping Bourne?  Me neither.  

I really don't want to see the Bourne film series go down in flames, so I say that this should be the last.  I know it may not be, but if no one else goes to see this somewhat boring film, then maybe they'll stop here.  Let's hope that Bourne Legacy is the end of the Bourne journey.

Total Recall - Total Entertainment

One of my favorite Arnold movies is Total Recall.  It's not cinematic genius, but it's sci-fi and action which always works for me.  So, I had mixed emotions about a remake.  I always have mixed emotions about remakes as I think why can't they just do something new?  Are we really running out of ideas?  But, the trailer looked interesting enough, so I said why not?

This version is less aliens on alien planets and more earthly politics.  After World War III, the only livable part of the planet left is either Australia (The Colony) or The United Federation of Britain (UFB) and workers use The Fall to travel through the earth's core to get to and fro.  The UFB is ran be Chancellor Cohaagen played by Bryan Cranston who wants to take over The Colony, but The Resistance is fighting against that, and is lead by Matthias (Bill Nighy) who is in hiding and leading attacks in the UFB through his rebels which includes Jessica Biel.  How does Colin Farrell fit in here?  He plays Douglas Quaid who is bored with his life and decides that he wants his memories altered by going to Rekall where through chemicals and electrodes they can give you whatever memories you desire.  Quaid decides to be a double agent, but before the memory transfer is complete, the UFB police stops the process led by his "wife"/UFB agent (Kate Beckinsale).  Then, all the entertaining action begins.

This version like the original is no Emmy award winner, but there is an understandable somewhat plausible plot, good action scenes, and the actors do their job quite well.  I did miss the Governator a bit, but Colin's ability to please my eyes and speak clearly was a welcomed departure from Arnold.   For those who are looking for something to do on a hot summer day, I say this:  Total Recall is a remake that didn't need to be made, but since it was, I watched it, enjoyed it, and would recommend it.