Dolphin Tale 2 (4/10) Worthy of a Direct to DVD status

“You can't just throw two dolphins in the water together.”

And that’s basically the only conflict driving the plot for this sequel. I was a huge fan of Charles Martin Smith’s first film starring Winter, the dolphin with the prosthetic tail, but there isn’t anything appealing about this sequel which barely has a plot. I felt that there was never really much at stake here and many of the emotional moments felt forced, unlike in the first film where there was a lot at stake. There were a lot of fillings and subplots that never did anything to help build the pacing, and despite remaining family friendly, most children will probably be bored by this sequel. I never got engaged with it and perhaps much of that had to do with the weak script and the lack of conflict. The characters which I really liked the first time around didn’t do anything for me in this sequel and I didn’t feel that same connection they had with Winter this time around. Dolphin Tale 2 has all the right ingredients for a direct to DVD movie, but somehow it has been released in the big screen and received some positive reviews from the critics (only 4% lower than Interstellar according to Rottentomatoes). It astonishes me considering this film is formulaic and predictable with very little going for it. A week from now everyone will forget about it. 

The true star of the franchise is Winter, but in this sequel we really don’t get to see the dolphin all that much. There really isn’t much at stake either, and we know how everything is going to play out. The cast is back again, which means we get some cameos from Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, and Kris Kristofferson, but they aren’t given any substantial role this time around. The film centers once again on the child actors, Nathan Gamble and Cozi Zuehlsdorff, who deliver solid performances but don’t add much to the story. From the first scene you can tell that the producers were simply trying to cash in after the success of the first film because there is not much going for it story wise. The true story is inspirational and the original film has touched many people’s lives, but there wasn’t any need for a sequel. 

My Review: Deadfall (4/10)

"What would home look like? I don't know. A farmhouse in the valley, I guess, like the one we grew up in, Liza and I."

Academy Award winning director for his foreign film The Counterfeiters, Stefan Ruzowitzky, now brings us an American crime thriller dealing with dysfunctional families. It seems to be an odd choice for a director who had so much success back in Austria considering this is an average B-film that doesn't introduce anything new or unique to the genre. Deadfall never manages to deliver the thrills that it promises either and has a rather unsatisfying ending. At times it felt like a film that was trying to be something else, but it never quite figured out what it wanted to be and ended up only scratching the surface of the dysfunctional family drama it was so desperately tying to explore. Perhaps it suffered from trying to add several subplots and intertwine them together towards the climactic end, but ultimately Deadfall felt like your average crime thriller with a strong ensemble cast, but a poor and unimaginative script. Deadfall never quite delivers the thrills and the characters are underdeveloped turning this film into a messy ordeal. As much as I wanted to enjoy this, I couldn't find anything redeeming about it, and not even the beautiful Olivia Wilde shines here. It's a dull film that tries to be more important than it really is with way too many subplots and overlapping themes that are barely explored.

The screenplay was written by Zach Dean centering on two siblings, Addison (Eric Bana) and Liza (Olivia Wilde), who are heading towards the Canadian border after having pulled of a casino heist. We never see the actual heist take place since the film opens with them already in route to the border when all of a sudden in the midst of a blizzard their vehicle crashes into a deer. Addison is forced to kill the patrolman and decides to split up with Liza and meet up later as the police will be after him. On another note, we are introduced to a former boxer named Jay (Charlie Hunnam) who is being released from prison. The first thing Jay does is call his mother June (Sissy Spacek) who lives in a farmhouse near the spot where Addison and Liza crashed. She invites Jay over for Thanksgiving dinner despite the fact that he's been estranged with his father Chet (Kris Kristofferson). Along the way, Jay finds Liza nearly freezing to death near the highway and he decides to give her a lift. Addison on the other hand is being hunted by Sheriff Becker (Treat Williams) and his men who are closing in on the trail of blood he's left behind. Becker's daughter, Hannah (Kate Mara), whose also an officer is ordered to stay in the station and out of trouble. As the characters are all introduced it becomes inevitable to realize that they are all going to intersect somewhere along the way.

Despite the talented ensemble cast, the script is so poorly written that there is not much they can do to prevent their characters from becoming cardboard cutouts. Even the always reliable and legendary actors such as Kris Kristofferson and Sissy Spacek can't do anything to save this film. Hunnam and Wilde have a very poorly developed romantic subplot that felt extremely rushed. Bana didn't really look too menacing as the villain and at times his character felt cartoonish. The dysfunctional family elements that this film tries to explore never really gets anywhere and they all seem too cliche. The male characters are seen as tough while the females are forgiving and patient. The western showdown near the end wasn't engaging either and everything about this film felt ordinary despite the different themes they were trying to blend together. It never digs under the surface of those elements it's trying to introduce and that's why the film feels so dull and empty. Deadfall is not the important and smart thriller it's trying to be.

My Review: Dolphin Tale (8/10)

¨Trying to put a tale on a fish, no one in his right mind would even try it. Luckily for you I`m not in my right mind.¨

I don’t think there will be a more uplifting and inspiring film this year than this story about a tailless dolphin that against all odds learns to swim and survive with the help of a young boy and some marine biologists. It is a tale (pun intended) of hope and overcoming the impossible. I was pleasantly surprised with this movie and fell in love with Winter, the dolphin, from the very opening scene. I don`t think I`ve seen such an uplifting and family friendly film since 2009`s The Blind Side. Ironically the producers of The Blind Side, are also the producers of this film, so they have to be doing some things right. This is a movie the entire family will enjoy and that will bring some tears to your eyes. It`s a very emotional ride and one worth seeing with your family because ¨family is forever.¨ This inspiring story was directed by Charles Martin Smith, and the screenplay written by Karen Janszen and Noam Dromi. Dolphin Tale is actually based on the true story of Winter`s life, and the actual dolphin plays himself in this film so that was a plus. The movie is really well written and the performance from the cast was also interesting, and of course you can`t have an inspirational movie without Morgan Freeman who always brings out the best in these kind of films. Dolphin Tale is a movie for the entire family that you won`t want to miss, and be sure to take a few tissues with you just in case.

Sawyer (Nathan Gamble) is a lonely young boy who lives with his single mother, Lorraine (Ashley Judd) in Clearwater, Florida. He is quiet and his only friend is his older cousin, Kyle (Austin Stowell), an excellent swimmer who he absolutely admires. The bad news is that Kyle has been called for military service and is deployed outside of the country. Sawyer is on his own again, but his life turns around one unexpected day when he runs into an injured dolphin that has caught his tail with a crab trap. Sawyer frees the dolphin and calls the Clearwater Marine Aquarium for help. A marine biologist named Dr. Clay (Harry Connick Jr.) comes along with his crew and young daughter, Hazel (Cozi Zuehlsdorff) to save the dolphin and take him to their facility. Once there they discover that the damage to the dolphin`s tale is permanent and in order to save its life they have to amputate it. Without a tale a dolphin can`t swim, and no tailless dolphin has ever survived, but with the help of the marine biologists and Sawyer (with who the dolphin has a strong connection) Winter manages to survive. When Kyle suffers an accident during his service and returns home, Sawyer meets his doctor, Cameron McCarthy (Morgan Freeman) who makes prosthetic pieces for injured soldiers and comes up with an outrageous idea: ask him to make a prosthetic tail for Winter. Against all odds, Dr. McCarthy accepts the challenge.

Thanks to the film, Winter who was a symbol of hope for many local people with disabilities has now become a symbol of hope around the world. I got the chance to see this film with my dad who is in a wheel chair and he was truly inspired by the movie having to wipe the tears off his eyes several times. Winter is an example to all, and the fact that the real dolphin was used for this film is inspiring. Now I`ve heard many people say negative things about this film thinking that producers are exploiting the animal and that dolphins shouldn’t be held in an aquarium, but this isn`t any ordinary dolphin. This is a dolphin that should be dead, and the people from CMA have done everything in their reach to save his life. Winter isn`t a normal dolphin, he can`t live on his own in the open water, he needs treatment and care and he has received it. Winter is an inspiration to all and his story was one that needed to be told. So if you are one of those dolphin lovers who are against having these animals used in the entertainment business, don`t close your eyes to this film because it isn`t the case here. Don`t miss the opportunity to watch this excellent movie and see some of the good that people are doing to save some animals lives. Dolphin Tale is the most inspirational film of the year so by all means go see it.

    

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