The Postman (1997)- Delivers

Kevin Costner attempts to improve his rep in the post-apocalyptic genre, after lukewarm reviews for Waterworld a few years before this.  As for me, the Costner thespian we know is back as the selfless, out of touch, unlikely hero who attempts to uncover the best out of corrupt humanity.  Unfortunately, the box office didn't agree, and it remains underrated, mostly absent from air time.
Kevin Costner directs this antithesis to The Walking Dead.  Instead of the cliche end-of-the world visuals, like zombies, scorched cities, dying earth, we get to see new images like anachronistic postal service uniforms, Wild Western towns, and American flags...whaaat.  Maybe that was too different for the uncreative.  Yet, it makes fashion statements for its new society.  The unarmed 'Postman' takes it upon himself to wander around and give hope that a shadow U.S. government is in place by such nonthreatening means as the power of the pen.  O.k., so it might be too much to expect.  Yet, there is a reality check raised by the persecution of the 'Neegan-like' Gen. Bethlehem (Will Patton), leader of the ruthless new world order.  A guerrilla battle ensues.  The Postman's abnormal romance to Abby (Olivia Williams) reveals a stronger female role than the protagonist mail worker's.
The ending battle was also refreshing for the lack of a bloodbath.  The late legendary classic rocker, Tom Petty, dismisses himself from famedom, appearing as Bridge City Mayor--a genre role he had always pursued.  That adds to the idealistic chic of the movie that some thought as "goofy"--not quite, just a bit overoptimistic.  Still, I liked this better than the overbudgeted Waterworld blockbuster.  There were more relationships, as in TWD, and that's really what defines us.  Almost 3 hours is too long, but the subplots provided good sequence.  I give this a Winning 35 yd. Line.

The Walking Dead (AMC 2010)- Couch Potato Z

At the eve of Mid-Season 8, headed to Season 9, TWD is the King of Binge Watching!  It takes place during a zombie apocalypse set in the southern United States.  The core group has gone through near obliteration since its 2010 debut numerous times.  They have experienced the rise and fall of diverse societies, including their own.  The worst horrors are not just zombies anymore.
Even though I love Z movies, I was late warming up to this one.  The leader from the start, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln, a Brit with an acquired twang), appeared as a apparently boring unknown. Well, it seemed like there was too much development occurring outside of zombie encounters.  Suddenly, I realized that the human relations were the main component.  The role players have so much background that it would fill this review. Only five remain from Atlanta: indomitable Rick, his spitfire son Carl (Chandler Riggs), the homemaker turned Rambo Carol (Melissa McBride), Hillbilly menace Daryl (Norman Reedus has his own show now), and berserker Morgan (Lennie James), now in self exile and on his way to crossover to Fear the Walking Dead. Their lives become so intertwined, that I give a SOBS ALERT, because every year major characters are killed off.
Frank Darabont, executive producer, and Robert Kirkman, comic book creator, are geniuses for taking us on the greatest climax roller coaster of all.  NOW, a master villain has risen, Neegan and his army of 'Neegans'--a Machiavellian new order.  Others came close, but this one exacts tribute and demands that they can even own your wife.  The recent battles are so intense, we don't know who the real 'Walking Dead' are amidst the vicious struggles for survival.
The violence has reached such extreme Rated R levels, that Kirkman had to assure it will never get gorier than Season/Episode 7-1, the most violent ever on a cable T.V. show.  The Z make-up was life-like since Episode 1-1, and now it's incredible.  It will turn you into a couch zombie yourself just to catch up.  Winner of various Emmys and many accolades, I give it an easy TOUCHDOWN!

Yes Man (2008)- OK

Jim Carrey as straight guy Carl begins to experiment beyond his trademark hilarious roles that made him famous.  In this movie, he still finds a way to do both.
The film is a satire on the modern day lives many choose to live.  Some are drivers (alphas) and others proceed like Carl, playing it safely, and some are just in their own zone like Carls eccentric manager Norm (Rhys Darby).  Carl's life is normal enough that he still has a circle of party friends.  He even avoids risks like marriage after divorce and getting promoted at work. Then, he goes to a self-help convention where speaker guru Terence (Terrence Stamp) persuades Carl to say yes to all "opportunities."  What follows is always saying "yes" despite the risks, including bungee jumping, airplane piloting, and scooter driving.  Great supplements to the movie are his kooky girlfriend Allison (Zooey Deschanel) and Peter (Bradley Cooper), living the normal ideal.  Yet, as all nice guys, Carl begins to finish last.
We definitely see a new side of Carrey.  He plays guitar and speaks Korean.  He takes on some more serious acting and even goes risque with his first make out scenes--correct me if I'm wrong.
I think he was still funny even though the change was too much for my teens.  Carrey cracked me up even with his straight faces, but still distorted his putty features at times.  The end is pure Carrey!
I leave it at the Winning 35 yd. Line.  In my debatable opinion, Jim Carrey made a good transition. An actor has to progress.  He should've been more in control of directing in the following movies that led to his retreat from cinema to let his wacky side show through, as in this movie.  Figure it out; you made us laugh for so long Jim Carrey.

Wonder Woman (2017)- I Wonder

Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot, formerly Miss Israel) is as spectacular, or more, as her predecessor was, played by Lynda Carter.  I never thought anyone could even come close.  The movie rendition however, suffers from hyperbole but not at the box office.
Wonder Woman is a smashing hit!  It arrives with great timing.  Gadot eased us into Wonder Woman by first appearing in Batman vs. Superman.  A female heroine was a gaping hole in the movie comics genre.  Gadot is perfect for the role.  Her Hebrew accent validates her character's mysterious island roots.  She is a muscle-toned gladiator, full of feminism, and  infused with a progressive desire to improve a world divided at the seams.
Yet, the film makers were a little too eager to fill that vacuum.  Given she is a goddess.  It's a grand beginning, drawing us into Princess Diana's Amazon kingdom.  Wonder Woman arrives into World War I, and the enchantment wears off.  She throws tanks around like styrofoam, but the CGI was not convincing.  She storms across No Man's Land, the killing fields in WWI that were so impassable that the War ended in a stalemate, without a scratch?!?  She is not indestructible.  The movie only used the Lasso of Truth for battle instead of its known use as a truthsayer.  The scenes requiring more development were Diana Prince's, her civilian name, awkward adjustment to the modern world, revealing her witty vulnerable side.  Her persona was made too mythical and belligerent.  She is so dominant, Diana overshadows most good acting like that of her infatuated U.S. army spy Trevor (Chris Pine).
Wonder Woman battles her family's nemesis, the god Ares (David Thewlis), in the end.  As a former collector, it's cool to see DC Comics back on the map.  The sequel is expected.  I push it up to the Winning 35 yd. Line due to my teenagers being split over it and my initial impressions.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)- Jeepers Creepers 2

Jumanji 2 was great teenage entertainment!  This time the players are transported into the game's electronic cassette version, and again play Jumanji with their lives on the line.
I liked it more than the first one, as we are sucked into the Jungle.  A great potion for success was bringing in serious Hollywood muscle as Spencer (the Rock), Fridge (Kevin Hart), Alex (Nick Jonas), and Bethany (gender crossing as Jack Black).  This troupe was hilarious.  The crowd responded to these icons' every gesture.  The action kept rolling, evolving into a climactic treasure hunt.  The villain, Van Pelt (Cannavale), was graphically violent.  He also wants the iridescent gem that our fab celebs are trying to return to the Jaguar's head mount.  The writing embellished the acting even more, by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers.  My younger teenager never cackled so much.
I side with the masses, but the movie kept rehashing and making me cringe.  The fourth player Marth (Karen Gillan) appears and acts more like the Mockinjay (Lawrence) from the Hunger Games.  They actually mention that they are playing in "avatar" bodies, ala Avatar.  The CGI leopards sucked, looking more like Chicken Run animals.  Jack Black, more overweight, scrappier than ever, and middle-aged, gives CPR to a young hunk Jonas at super zoomed slow lens.  Did we need to see that in any gender?
Still, I appreciate a sequel that tops the original.  The grand finale was a crazy helicopter stunt akin to Mission Impossible.  Then again, the whole flick was built to laugh about and ends with positive morals.  I give it a Winning 25 yd. Line, pushed forward by my kids and the cinema crowd.  

Star Wars Rebels (Disney XD)- Post Clone Wars

The Star Wars animated series takes over the timeline following after the Clone Wars Episodes.  It began in 2014 and has reached the point where it raised the attention of Darth Vader himself, before the events of Star Wars Episode IV.  Lucasfilm Animation is still the producer.
It was a slow start, but the series added to our understanding of the mysterious Force.  At first, we followed the exploits of the handful rebel cell aboard the Ghost led by Jedi Kanan (none other than Freddie Prince Jr.) and master Pilot Hera Syndulla (Vanessa Marshall).  They pick up a feisty young human, Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray), now 17, who becomes Kanan's Padawan.  Ezra takes over the lead role.  He's reckless and has bouts with the Dark Force.  New Force wielders do the bidding of the Sith, like Inquisitors and their saber-wielding henchmen.  Darth Maul returns--not allied to any side of the Force.  Diverse Force tapping creatures and centers explore the dynamics of the Force.
The audience is aimed at children like the Clone Wars, but both also cater to adults.  The latest nemesis next to Darth Vader is Admiral Thrawn, the alien from the Timothy Zahn Star Wars novels. Despite the 3D CGI, my teens prefer the Clone Wars' animation.  The XD characters are stiffer and the pixels more angular.  They tend to be more relatable though, surviving with guerilla tactics lightened by the slapstick antics of the spirited droid Chopper, C1-10P.
Crossover characters keep us waiting to see more, adding validation to the role of the series in the Star Wars universe.  Former clone, Captain Rex (Dee Bradley Baker) is recruited.  Darth Vader even reencounters his old Padawan.  The Ghost crew is even seen in Star Wars: Rogue One.
Star Wars Rebels fed our Force lust when there was nothing, while Disney worked on the Star Wars sequels.  It has reached another nexus at midseason, where events are getting predictable again. Yet, every year it refreshes direction.  Rebels scores a FIELD GOAL at this point.

Logan (2017)- Legacy

The Wolverine trilogy concludes with wonderful poignancy led by the series drivers: a failing Wolverine (Jackman) and a Professor X (Stewart) with pre-Alzheimer's.  Hugh Jackman was given much input in the final portrayal of Wolverine, and he said he wanted the first R rating of his role for plenty of graphic violence.  He resurges with a bang alright, returning middle-aged but with the same bursting veined muscles.  Not to outshine his mentor, Professor X makes an encore of dignified vulnerability, hiding in a shipping container, and reminiscing about their past glory is heart-wrenching.  Patrick Stewart, found another way to never disappoint.
Marvel's X-Men universe's 10th movie is one of the best.  Confusing in their order and losing their air of expectancy, James Mangold creates a memorable one.  Wolverine has a daughter, Laura (Dafne Keen, see above), and a new breed of manipulated lab-modified mutants want her back.  Yes, the government has finally taken control of mutants for its own devises.  Laura is a mute for half of the movie, raised in Mexico with retractable claws and all.  Logan is half the man he was, barely healing himself, as he takes on the responsibility once more of protecting the hope of keeping the remnant Mutant children free.  They are persecuted as they race to a haven called Eden.
Plenty of great themes feed the crescendo.  Such as: dad heart-wrenching protection over daughter against overwhelming odds, a child mutant lacking muscle but with the fury of Wolverine at his prime, the last great stand of Mutants vs. masters, leaders being led, newbies taking over, and even a battle of the wolverines.  Kind of hard to end this right...?
The finale is one of those inconclusive scenarios that in this case, I don't mind.  The last of the Mutants fight for their lives in the lonely but majestic woods of New Mexico.  It was definitely appropriate to end with a Johnny Cash score from his last dark album The Man Comes Around with a black background for the credits.  The tragic ending is open to future possibilities.  Thus, I stop short at 10 & Goal.

Bright (Netflix 2017)- Tolkienesque

Ah shucks, Netflix found a way to merge Middle Earth with modern day Los Angeles.  An enigma I've been pondering for a while.  As a plus, they infused some star power with Will Smith and David Ayer as director, after Ayer's work on Suicide Squad.  Will Smith's string of sci-fi hit roles makes him a welcome presence!
Ayer simplifies it into street culture, and that's why it works, logging record views, in case too many people didn't understand J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings movies directed by Peter Jackson. After the War of 9 Armies, all these fantasy Tolkienesque races have learned to live together after thousands of years.  Orcs swagger in gangs, dragons dwell in the shadows, Elves are the elite of course, and to keep the peace, magic users (Brights) are illegal.  LAPD Officer Ward (Smith) and his Orc partner Nick (Joel Edgerton) discover an Elf, Tikka (Lucy Fry), in possession of a magic wand.  Magic is a rare power that everyone lustily pursues these cops for it, including their corrupt beat Sergeant (Margaret Cho).  The main hunters for the wand are a band of Dark Elf Infernis led by Leila (Noomi Rapace).  They aim to prepare the return of their Dark Lord.  'Chosen one' prophecies, anachronistic props, feuding races, and exotic Middle Earth ambiences emerge.
Screenwriter Max Landis is souring this excellent form with sociopolitical tangents.  L.A. is a good choice due to its historic multiculturalism.  Police abuse and urban blight are central themes in the film, having deep roots in L.A. Yet, killing pesky fairies and barking, "Fairy lives don't matter," from an African-American off duty officer Ward, rings too close to home.  Also, the overlords are fair-complexioned Elves both in government, society, and the Inferni villains..hellooo!
You still have to admit, that this L.A. fantasy is a creative breakthrough in the rough.  Fortunately, Landis is being cut from the expected sequel, and roughing over of the strong ethnic overtones can begin.  This brims with potential.  Will Smith shines as his usual maverick self and some more Hollywood brass would add more luster.  Continue the social commentary strain that it began. A little truth doesn't hurt us, but don't let it polarize.  Due to my own hopeful elation, I have to push it up to the Winning 25 yard Line.
    

Running Wild with Bear Grylls (NBC 2014)- Celebrities in the Rough

Bear Grylls hosts multiple extreme nature survival shows, with his newest to open in May 2018 (prior episodes syndicated on Nat Geo).  In Running Wild, he challenges celebrities from 2014-2016, like Shak waking up in a bed of leaves and even President Obama, for us to see how they fare through the perils of nature.  It's NBC's hybrid replacement of its prior hit shows Survivor and Fear Factor. Kudos to NBC for continuing to innovate their reality nature genre!
Bear's popularity is booming, maybe due to his contagious childish enthusiasm with the outdoors.  It sparks something in our penned-in urban lifestyles from the times we used to run around exploring our local parks. Now, we get to see how the rich and famous react far away from their spotlights.  As a bonus, Bear makes some truly revealing fireside chats.  By removing all comfort zones, he gets our favorite celebs to open up and share truths that I never heard on other interviews; i.e. Kate Winslet confessed that she presented a bouquet to her audition because she wanted her Titanic role so badly.  
It's a reality show and much more!  Grylls has a hilarious knack for us to witness entertainers face their fears as they hunt, eat their kills, build shelters, and struggle through trepidatious hikes.  Bear is infamous for targeting peoples' phobias as in his past show Bear Grylls: Breaking Point (Discovery Channel).  He coaxed Drew Brees to rappel into a supposed deep viper-infested pit (Drew's two greatest fears), had sensitive Ed Helms help him kill a squirrel, and terrorized Today host Tamron Hall, standing on the side of a helicopter ride commando style.  Some of these famous people actually appear to evolve before us.  Along the way, we learn survival skills for ourselves.
Its star appeal is improving.  Some faces were not even recognizable.  Bear, that's what distinguishes this show from all your other ones, so focus on quality not quantity.  Also, Bear can get a bit extreme. I wouldn't eat putrefied decaying animals.  Regardless, it's worth watching for the dangerous nail biter treks themselves, and Bear's 'Crocodile Hunter'-like animal encounters.  Definitely, ready to progress from 10th and Goal.