Movie Review - Mortal Kombat II

Director: Simon McQuoid
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Fantasy
Runtime: 116 minutes
Year: 2026
Starring: Karl Urban, Adelie Rudolph, Martyn Ford, Tati Gabrielle, Jessica McNamee, Mehcad Brooks, Ludi Lin, Josh Lawson, Hiroyuki Sanada
 
Description: The fan favorite champions, now joined by Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) himself, are pitted against one another in the ultimate battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders.
 
Review: “Mortal Kombat II” attempts to correct the mistakes of its 2021 predecessor by going all-in on pure tournament chaos, but unfortunately gets bogged down in a muddy stream of soulless computer-generated effects and a virtually nonexistent script.

The story picks up where the invasion of Eathrealm left off. Cole Young and the remaining protectors travel to Outworld to recruit allies, including the arrogant movie star Johnny Cage. However, they are immediately lured into a trap by the tyrannical Shao Kahn, who organizes an illegal, decisive tournament to subjugate Earth once and for all. With this premise, director Simon McQuoid delivers a film that, unfortunately, feels like a two-hour, exhausting string of cinematic fights without a shred of dramatic impact. Karl Urban is the highlight, as Johnny Cage, with his weary Hollywood charisma. And if you are a fan of hack-and-slash action you are in for a treat, as the film fully lives up to its R-rating. The iconic fatalities from the games are brought to life with plenty of blood and spectacle.

However, as soon as the characters stop fighting and start talking, the film collapses like a house of cards. The plot surrounding Shao Kahn’s tournament is paper0thin and serves purely as a pretext for action, resulting in wooden dialogue and forced explanatory scenes.

Ultimately, the film lacks real tension. Because death is meaningless in this universe and characters are just as easily brought back to life, the emotional stakes during the mission to save Earth are nonexistent. “Mortal Kombat II” offers plenty of mindless entertainment and bloodshed for the hardcore games, but as a movie, it’s a messy, noisy, and soulless product. Take me back to the “Mortal Kombat” movie from 1995 please.

Rating: 2/ 5

TV Show Review - The Boys (Season 3)

Season: 3
Genre: Action/ Comedy/ Crime
Number of episodes: 8
Year: 2022
Starring: Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Anthony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Jensen Ackles, Paul Reiser, Colbie Minifie, Claudia Doumit, Giancarlo Esposito, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capon, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell     

Description: A group of vigilantes sets out to take down corrupt superheroes who abuse their superpowers.

Review: “The Boys” are back, and it takes another stab at all the insanity of the previous two seasons. The series still manages to strike the right (and sometimes painful) chord in a hilarious, satirical way. This third season is gory and never before, but also has the strongest emotional core. Layered, sharp and at times moving.

It begins with a Butcher we haven’t seen before: sober. Hughie working for the FBSA in order o do something against the supes from the inside in a more normal way. In short, the Boys are no more. Still, the superheroes manage to fuck it up well again in the eyes of the member of the Boys and yet soon find each other again.

Still it is abundantly clear that Homelander is the greatest danger. Seeking validation, but never more broken and dangerous, he enters the field of supervillain with confident strides with threats to wipe out entire states. Actor Anthony Starr has never been as scary as he is in this season. I haven’t hated a character as much as Homelander, since Joffrey in “Game of Thrones”.

The two main storylines are that of an increasingly unstable Homelander and that of Butcher who thinks he has found a weapon that can work agains his threat. In addition, there are about sic subplots that “The Boys” also juggle. Extraordinary, it manages to keep them all interesting. Extremely clever and above all unprecedentedly efficient.

Of course there is also the necessary satirical moments based on real life. For example, cancel culture is riduled, Black Lives matter and the LGBTQ+ community are discussed and even a Pepsi commercial is imitated almost exactly. There is also the obvious reference to Trump supporters among the fans of Homelander. So every episode is crammed with references, social commentary and satire.

The biggest newcomer in season three is Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy, who is truly a highlight. Seeing him as a hero for many season in the TV-show “Supernatural”, he now plays a supervillain. Just as sleezy and fake as Homelander, only more old-fashioned. The characters of Butcher, Black Noir and A-Train get more depth.

“The Boys” does it again, it seems like the show is getting better by the season.

10s Movie Review - Pete's Dragon

Director: David Lowery
Genre: Adventure/ Family/ Fantasy
Runtime: 103 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Oona Laurence, Wes Bentley, Karl Urban, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Oakes Fegley

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 29: A REMAKE

 
Description: The adventures of an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliott, who happens to be a dragon.

Review: Disney is rapidly turning its catalog of classic animated film into live-action movies. The original version of “Pete’s Dragon” is only partially animated, the dragon is hand-drawn. In this live-action Disney film, they created dragon Elliot in a more realistic way and it looks stunning.
Young Pete loses his parents in a car accident and disappears into the nearby woods, where he befriends dragon Elliott. This dragon has been a myth for decades for the nearby town. Meacham, one of the citizens, claims to have seem him once. His daughter Grace never believed him, until she finds Pete and hears his stories about Elliott.
With “Pete’s Dragon”, Disney returns to the warm family films that made the company so great. The emotions that are evoked are sincere, so that the makers can easily be forgiven for the straightforward type of story. It’s a magical, heart-warming story, with amazing visuals.  

Rating: 4/ 5

10s Movie Review - Dredd

Director: Pete Travis
Genre: Action/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 95 minutes
Year: 2012
Starring: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Heady, Domhnall Gleeson

Description: In a violent, futuristic city where the police have to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop (Karl Urban) teams with a trainee (Olivia Thirlby) to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug SLO-MO.

Review: The first time the comic book character Judge Dredd got a movie, was in 1995, starring Sylvester Stallone. It wasn’t a success either critically or financially. Fans were also not very satisfied with Stallone’s interpretation of the comic book hero. Especially the fact that Stallone’s Dredd took off his helmet constantly, which Dredd practically never does in the comics. Seventeen years later, Karl Urban took on the role of Dredd.
The first thing to notice about “Dredd” is how raw and grim director Pete Travis’ vision of the future is. In a post-apocalyptic future, the population lives close together in megacities, with crime rates as high as skyscrapers. Everything is dirty, people walk ins rags and the poverty is almost palpable. There is very little room for humor, and the jokes that a remade often come at the expense of a poor soul who finds himself on the wrong side of Dredd’s gun.
Urban plays the title role with appropriate authority. His helmet never comes off, but Urban’s jawline is charismatic enough. With few words but many actions, he makes Dredd a determined and unstoppable force. Thus he forms a fine duo with Olivia Thirlby as the inexperienced Judge Anderson. While Dredd deals with the violence in a purely physical way, Anderson uses her feelings and her brain. It provides a nice interaction between the two opposites, and Urban and Thirlby know how to convey the bond of trust that slowly but unspoken develops between the two.
Across from them, the duo faces crime queen Ma-Ma, a violent brute. Ma-Ma deals in a drug called SLO-MO, which causes the user’s perception of time to slow down, making for some nice 3D scene. The two judges find themselves trapped in Ma Ma’s domain, apartment building Peach Trees. This results in cat-and-mouse game, with both sides not shying away from any violence. The action scenes are numerous, rock-hard, and simply but effectively put together. The violence is occasionally quite explicit. “Dredd” has an atmosphere that resembles an eighties action film and it is this no-nonsense approach that makes this film so entertaining.  
“Dredd” barely distinguishes itself from similar action films. Fortunately, it doesn’t pretend to be anything more than that either. This was a great film, not for the faint of heart though.

Rating: 4/ 5

TV Show Review - The Boys (Season 2)

Season: 2
Genre: Action/ Comedy/ Crime
Number of episodes: 8
Year: 2020
Starring: Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Anthony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Elisabeth Shue, Tomer Capon, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, Aya Cash, Shawn Ashmore, Giancarlo Esposito

    
Description: A group of vigilantes sets out to take down corrupt superheroes who abuse their superpowers.

Review: Before I started watching this show, I wasn’t very enthusiastic, since we get so many superheroes in movies and now also TV. I had just finished “The Umbrella Academy” which I really liked because it had a different take on it. And the same goes for “Watchmen”, which also took a very different route. But after reading all the positive reviews, I decided to watch “The Boys” and I loved the first season. It was a wild rollercoaster filled with blood and gore, great characters and surprisingly good storylines. I enjoyed the dazzling combination of conflicting interests, cutting edge action and hopeless situations.
This second season builds on the hopeless efforts of an unorthodox group of vigilantes to end the evil Vought International and The Seven, a team of superheroes that works for Vought and is mainly allowed to show up for photo sessions and interviews. They barely fight actual crime, although that’s supposed to be their main task. In reality, it’s all about making money though smart marketing strategies. Vought’s leadership is ruthless when the image of these heroes is compromised, because they earn gold from the merchandise and promotions.
To Vought’s frustration, it’s been rumbling within The Seven for a while now. After they fell into disfavor in season one, A-Train and The Deep are eager to rejoin The Seven. The arrival of the unpredictable and mysterious new hero Stormfront gives the team new dynamic. However, her plans are not immediately clear. She behaves completely different from the good and seemingly incorruptible other members and that makes Vought and Homelander quite nervous.
Besides the fuss within The Seven and the rebellious behavior of Stormfront, the megalomaniac and physically invulnerable Homelander is especially busy with the sudden arrival of ‘super-terrorists’. He considers himself the leader of America, a protector of America. His own hypocritical interests and manipulative manners drive Homelander to murder all of them. His unstable behavior gets even worse when at the same time he decides to interfere more intensively with his son’s upbringing.
The counterbalance in the series is formed by the undercover fighters of the CIA, the titular Boys. The unstoppable Butcher has his own reasons for pushing his boys to the limit in their almost hopeless battle against the powerful, perhaps unbeatable superheroes. This season it will become more clear where his hatred of The Seven and Homelander in particular comes from. And Hughie tries to restore his relationship with Annie, also known as The Seven member Starlight. Something for which he regularly has a hard time with Butcher.
These and other storylines are key and interweave into one of the most original series of the year. The viewers won’t have difficulties in understanding the motivation for the different characters, although the methods used are doubtful. The main motive is clearly survival in a world where danger is almost ubiquitous. How do you successfully fight against demigods, especially when they dismiss murder and innocent victims as an afterthought without ethical objections? And not unimportantly, how do you preserve your humanity in this bloody battle?
The start of season 2 is a bit slow, but eventually the writers manage to deepen the story without stopping the progress of events. You get to know more about certain characters and new ones are introduces. MM was probably my favorite this season, since with Butcher being less present at the start, he unintentionally becomes the leading figure for the boys. I also loved the dynamic between Frenchie and Kimiko. I also realized that Queen Maeve is one of the best characters on the show. She is not pure evil, because she still knows the difference between good and bad. Maeve probably started out just like Starlight, but she is so deep into it all now, it’s hard to go back. The addition of two new characters Stormfront and Lamplighter was very welcome. Stormfront is a really well-written character and perfectly portrayed by Aya Cash. Lamplighter is only in a few episodes but Shawn Ashmore really impresses. And I wished he would be around longer. But the one that really stands out is Anthony Starr as Homelander. He was already a dick in season one, but he is even a bigger dick here. If that were possible. Starr really took in that role and he is a really good actor. Because I constantly want to slap him in the face, when he probably is a really nice guy in real life.
The only negative for me is probably the roles of The Deep and A-Train in this season. The Deep’s storyline isn’t all that interesting and A-Train doesn’t have a lot to do.
I was very pleased with season 2 of “The Boys” and the ending really looked promising. I’m glad I decided to watch this show, because it’s so good.

TV Show Review - The Boys (Season 1)

Season: 1
Genre: Action/ Comedy/ Crime
Number of episodes: 8
Year: 2019
Starring: Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Anthony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Elisabeth Shue, Tomer Capon, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, Simon Pegg     
Description: A group of vigilantes sets out to take down corrupt superheroes who abuse their superpowers.

Review: Seven superheroes. Four guys. Lots of severed limbs, broken bones, crushed eyeballs and bloody scenes. And I’m not even talking about the borderline humor, drugs and a Jesus-like appearance. It’s all very gutsy, but it made me very happy.
Where superheroes are not only dominating cinemas, TV land has also many shows focusing on people with superpowers. And you have to be really good to impress nowadays. It has to be game-changing to stand out. Luckily for us, Amazon brings us “The Boys”.
In short, “The Boys” is about a group of people who, because of the superheroes, lost something or someone in their lives. They fight against ‘The Seven’, who are the seven most famous, most idolized and richest superheroes on earth. Because being a superhero is not only about having special powers, but is mainly about the media. What is the best pose (when am I the sexiest), which charity do we support (and do we get the most money for), with which minority group am I going to be photographed, in which population groups are we the least popular, and so on. Behind this huge façade is the company Vought, which is run by Madelyn Stillwell.
In The Seven there is Homelander, the superman of this world. Nobody is stronger than him and he is charming and kind to the outside world. But deep inside, he is the worst of them all. Others are A-Train, Transluscent, Queen Maeve, Black Noir, The Deep and Starlight. Starlight, aka Annie, is new. Her biggest dream has always been to be one of The Seven. And now she’s in, only to find out the real truth behind it all.
On the other side we have Hugh Campbell, the innocent guy who loses his girlfriend due to one of The Seven. He gets in touch with Billy Butcher, who leads a small group that fights against Vought.
Karl Urban plays Butcher and he is far out my favorite character on the show. He is so good and I love his accent. He is rugged, a no-nonsense loner who has been through an awful lot. And he nails it. Anthony Starr shines as Homelander, who you just want to slap in the face constantly. He is so unbearable. I haven’t felt like this about a character since Joffrey on “Game of Thrones”.
They where a little off with Madelyn Stillwell’s character. Although the performance by Elisabeth Shue us really solid, the character doesn’t always make sense. Most of the times she is super vicious and always five steps ahead. But there are moments that she makes dumb decisions and that was out of character and didn’t make sense to me. I think the writers didn’t know what to do with her.
I love how this series looks at superheroes differently and uses these adored characters as the actual villains. And the outsiders are the actual heroes.
“The Boys” is a fantastic shows that takes the term superhero into another direction that we haven’t seen before yet. And I love it.

10s Movie Review - The Loft

Director: Eric van Looy
Genre: Thriller
Runtime: 108 minutes
Year: 2014
Starring: Karl Urban, James Marsden, Wentworth Miller, Eric Stonestreet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Isabel Lucas, Rhona Mitra, Rachael Taylor

Description: Five married guys conspire to secretly share a penthouse loft in the city--a place where they can carry out hidden affairs and indulge in their deepest fantasies. But the fantasy becomes a nightmare when they discover the dead body of an unknown woman in the loft, and they realize one of the group must be involved.

Review: Director Eric van Looy made “Loft” in 2008, a Belgian film. A very strong thriller. The Dutch made their own version, also good for Dutch standards. Then Van Looy decided to remake his own film in Hollywood. Sadly this is the least one of the three.
The story is the same. Five married men decide to share a penthouse loft in the city. They can use it whenever they want, for their deepest fantasies. But when a dead body is discovered there, their bubble pops. And since there were only five keys made, all five men are suspects.
How is it possible that this doesn’t succeed? The script is the same, the director is the same and it has some really strong actors. Some of the dialogue was rewritten and exchanged some of the jokes. This brings it one level down, because it’s pretty juvenile humor. But it’s also the cast that brings this film down. Eric Stonestreet, whom I love in “Modern Family”, is miscast. He’s just not good as the rude and sexist Marty. Karl Urban, who can easily play a womanizer, plays his role so flat and one-dimensional. His character completely disappears. James Marsden is solid, but Wentworth Miller and Matthias Schoenarts (the last one was also in the original) did the best job and played their roles like they were intented.
The female cast is just ridiculous, no one noteworthy and all very forgettable.
It’s also very clear that Americans aren’t as explicit, because both the Belgian and Dutch version had an erotic edge which is completely missing here.
“The Loft” is a film you can probably skip when you have seen the Belgian and Dutch version, because they are both much better. Sad, because it could have been successful in Hollywood too.

Rating: 2 / 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 116: Thor: Ragnarok

Director: Taika Waititi
Genre: Action/ Science Fiction/ Adventure
Runtime: 130 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tessa Thomspon, Karl Urban, Ray Stevenson, Clancy Brown

Description: Imprisoned, the almighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth) finds himself in a lethal gladiatorial contest against the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), his former ally. Thor must fight for survival and race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela (Cate Blanchett) from destroying his home and the Asgardian civilization.

Review: Innovation and variation is becoming harder within the superhero genre. In the past 10 years, Marvel has brought us 17 movies. Because the characters keep meeting each other in each other’s movies, there is a chance the films lose their identity and become disposable. But Marvel has realized this and are heading into a different direction.
“Thor”Ragnarok” is a bit of a gamble. It’s a complete different route for the God of thunder, because it’s an unprecedented humoristic trip through the cosmos. And it’s a very welcome surprise, because continuing on the same way as “Thor: The Dark World” is simply not an option. Because that would mean that naïve Thor would fall for Loki’s shams all over again, when at the end of the first Avengers film, this relationship has been settled more the less.
All elements that are a threat to the levity of the film, have been removes and are just side issues. For instance, love interest Jane Foster isn’t in it and I’m not missing her.
“Thor: Ragnarok” left all seriousness aside, which makes it a good comedy with action in it. And that's all thanks to New Zealander Taika Waititi, who also directed “Hunt For the Winlderpeople”. And I love this director’s humor. He also voices one of the funnier characters in the movie.
Most memorable is the scene where Thor sees Hulk in the arena and adding the green hero to this film is a great addition. It’s fun to see a different side from him.
The biggest plus is that the world of Thor has become more colorful, in every way of the word. “Thor: Ragnarok” is the best in the trilogy and one of the best in the Marvel Cinemativ Universe. What an awesome movie!

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 41: Star Trek Beyond

Director: Justin Lin
Genre: Science Fiction/ Action/ Adventure
Runtime: 122 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba, Sofia Boutella, Deep Roy, John Cho

Description: The USS Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a new ruthless enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.

Review: It took director Justin Lin a while to turn the “Fast & Furious” series into the success it is now. For the “Star Trek” series it was a little easier, because Lin taking over for “Star Trek Beyond” is an instant success. It’s a great follow up and doesn’t constantly reference the old films and the TV show.
“Star Trek” from 2009 and “Star Trek Into Darkness” from 2013 were trying to build the new Star Trek universe and to reintroduce the characters. Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu, Uhura, Scotty and Chekov finally get to go on their first long space mission in “Star Trek Beyond”, to discover new worlds, civilizations and people.
During a stop, they get a call from the nebula, an unknown part of space where there is no communication possible with the Starfleet. It is a bit suspicious, but the heroes from the Enterprise can’t ignore the call and decide to help them. But they are ambushed and end up on an unknown planet.
The villain is played by Idris Elba, who is unrecognizable but still manages to show his charisma through layers of make-up. Another newcomer is Sofia Boutella as Jaylah.
The film has a high tempo, which makes it feel rushed at times. But the action scenes are great, never over the top. I was sceptic about this film, “Star Trek Beyond” is a really good movie. I didn’t expect that. This “Star Trek” series is very solid.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 3: Star Trek Into Darkness

Director: J.J. Abrams
Genre: Actie/ Science Fiction/ Avontuur
Runtime: 132 minutes
Year: 2013
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Bendict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller

Description: When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

Review: You can easily trust J.J. Abrams with a good action movie, because he did a great job on the reboot of “Star Trek”. Now, four years later, you wouldn’t expect it to reach that same level of surprise. Well, think again!
“Star Trek Into Darkness” contains some of the same ingredients we saw in the first, some action sequences are very similar. But with the humor, action and excitement it keeps your attention at all times.
Most humor comes from the interaction between Kirk and Spock. This is a strong and solid base for this franchise. Especially Zachary Quinto’s timing and dry humor is fabulous, he’s a great Spock. But the movie shouldn’t be called “Star Trek Into Darkness” if there wasn’t a dark side to this film. That comes from the character John Harrison, who is out for revenge. My problem with the first film was the villain, but that’s exactly the strongest point of the second installment. And we have Benedict Cumberbatch to thank. He is a fantastic actor and is probably one of the most convincing villains of 2013. His voice alone makes you shiver, Cumberbatch can make anything sound sinister. He gives his character extra depth, which makes him unpredictable. I’m also glad to see Simon Pegg in a bigger role, but the two female characters played by Alice Eve and Zoe Saldana are underused.
“Star Trek Into Darkness” is a true action fest, even if you’re not a Trekkie.

Rating: 4/ 5