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April 25, 2018 The Skanner Page 7 Arts & Entertainment FILM REVIEW: Mutant Monsters Decimate the Windy City in ‘Rampage’ By Kam Williams For The Skanner News information is powerful H ey, sci-fi fans, did you fi nd it hard to stomach the sight of a human mating with another species in “The Shape of Water,” too? If so, have I got a movie that’ll wash the bad taste right out of your mouth. Call me shallow, but I much prefer this old-fashioned monster fl ick. Loosely based on the video game of the same name, “Rampage” is reminiscent of campy Japanese classics like “Godzilla” (1954), “King Kong vs. Godzilla” (1962) and “Mothra vs. Godzil- la” (1964). But instead of decimat- ing Tokyo, the gargantu- an creatures here have “ Dwayne Johnson and Naomie Harris in ‘Rampage’ The anthropomorphic primate actually has a name, George (Jason Li- For all the visually-captivat- ing action sequences, what I enjoyed most about ‘Ram- page’ was the comic relief their sights set on the Windy City. Another sig- nifi cant diff erence is that “Rampage” is a big-bud- get spectacular that re- lies heavily on CGI and state-of-the-art special eff ects. Otherwise, you know the drill. Some ordinary animals morph into man-eating beasts in the wake of a scientifi c ex- periment gone terribly wrong. In this case, we have a wolf, a crocodile and an albino gorilla mu- tating into predators. les). That’s because he was raised in captivity by Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson), an ape-whis- perer stationed in Rwan- da where he heads an anti-poaching unit dedi- cated to the preservation of endangered species. However, he makes a beeline to Chicago as soon as he receives word that the enormous ani- mals have begun wreak- ing havoc. There, he joins forces with Dr. Kate Cald- well (Naomie Harris), a disgraced geneticist in need of redemption with access to an antidote. But before the cure can be administered, brace yourself for generous helpings of horror fare, ranging from the scaling of skyscrapers, to mass hysteria in mob scenes, to my favorite, helicop- ters swallowed whole. Rampage marks the third time director Brad Peyton has collaborated with Dwayne Johnson following the equal- ly-bombastic “Journey 2” (2012) and “San Andreas” (2015). The capable sup- porting cast includes Naomie Harris, Jeff rey Dean Morgan, Malin Ak- erman and Joe Mangani- ello. For all the visually-cap- tivating action sequenc- es, what I enjoyed most about “Rampage” was the comic relief coming courtesy of the hero, and invariably in the middle of major mayhem, as if to remind everybody that we’re just watching a movie. Aft er a sightsee- ing boat fi lled with tour- ists fl ips over, Davis says, “Well, that sucks.” Then, when an iconic building is fl attened, it’s, “I need a drink.” And as a men- acing creature unexpect- edly takes fl ight, he mat- ter-of-factly moans, “Of course, the wolf fl ies.” Not only breathtaking stunts but perfect come- dic timing from a beefy action star at the top of his game! Excellent Rated PG-13 for violence, mass destruction, brief profanity and obscene gestures To see the trailer, visit TheSkanner.com. Bill Cosby’s Lawyers Get Slammed 100 Years cont’d from pg 6 By Advocates for Women NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The sexu- al assault case against Bill Cosby went to the jury Wednesday as his lawyers came under heavy criticism for what some called a blatant attempt to “vic- tim-shame” the parade of women who have leveled accusations against the 80-year-old comedian. In the fi rst big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era, the panel of seven men and fi ve women began weighing charges that Cosby drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home 14 years ago. He says his encounter with former Temple University women’s basketball executive Andrea Constand was con- sensual. Trying to keep him out of prison, Cosby’s lawyers launched a withering attack on Constand and fi ve other wom- en who told the jury that the former TV star had drugged and assaulted them, too. Defense attorney Kathleen Bliss chas- tised Constand for “cavorting around with a married man old enough to be her grandfather.” She derided the other women as home-wreckers and sug- gested they made up their stories in a bid for money and fame. She questioned the “personal mo- rality” of one accuser and called another, model Janice Dickinson, a “failed starlet” and “aged-out mod- el” who “sounds as though she slept with every man on the planet.” And she slammed the #MeToo movement itself, calling Cosby its victim and likening it to a witch hunt or a lynching. Critics said the defense team went too far. “They’re playing on the same old myths that have been protecting per- petrators for centuries,” said Kris- ten Houser of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. She said the defense’s closing argument was fi lled with “rampant and ingrained” misconceptions about sexual assault and victim behavior. “It was not only an attack on these six accusers,” Houser said, “it was a verbal slap to survivors all across this country.” of dollars due 300,000 members from many tribes for the lease of as- sorted land and mineral rights. Exhibiting an unwav- ering determination, Elouise did ultimately prevail aft er a three-de- cade battle with the De- partment of the Interior. That selfl ess, indefatiga- ble eff ort is at the heart 100 Years: One Woman’s Fight for Justice. The eye-opening docu- mentary was directed by Melinda Janko, who skill- fully chronicled the land- mark legal case in rather riveting fashion. Overall, a very moving tribute to an intrepid crusader who not only spoke truth to power but miraculous- ly emerged victorious. Excellent Unrated NEWS
