Love & Friendship is an interesting title for a movie where I never felt the love or the friendship. There must be something about this movie that I just don't understand.
Kate Beckinsale stars in this adaptation of the Jane Austen novella titled Lady Susan. Beckinsale plays Lady Susan, a widower who is trying to find a husband for both her and her daughter, Frederica.
This is a movie that has universal acclaim with a current rating of 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, but for me it was a miss. It is a beautifully shot film and the acting is outstanding. The story was just dry and dull. Lady Susan is not a likable character. With the way she treats relationships, I don't care if she ever finds a husband because most likely it will not be about love. Kate Beckinsale does a fantastic job making her charismatic and you can see why a guy would fall for her, but since you get to see the other side of her, you can't help but not like her. And maybe thats the point.
The poster for this movie says "Flat-out hilarious" and I could not disagree more. There is one character that is hilarious and that is only because he is a moron. The character is Sir James Martin and he is the man Lady Susan has picked for her daughter to marry. The only reason for this is because he is wealthy. Outside of Martin, the only other funny moments were one-liners various characters give. For me, though, those didn't happen often.
Love & Friendship is a beautifully directed film. The costume and set design was fantastic. The acting was stellar especially Kate Beckinsale, but overall I was bored for pretty much the entire movie. I obviously am not the intended audience for this film and it shows with how I feel about it.
Monday, May 30, 2016
A Bigger Splash Review
A Bigger Splash stars Tilda Swinton, as a world famous singer named Marianne. She is on an Italian island with her boyfriend Paul, played by Matthias Schoenaerts. Marianne is recovering from throat surgery when suddenly her ex-boyfriend, Harry, and his daughter, Penelope, show up uninvited. Harry's sudden arrival puts this unwanted strain on Marianne and Paul's relationship. Throughout the entire film you wonder if at some point one of them will crack.
The first thing I took away from seeing A Bigger Splash was just how beautiful it was. The Italian landscape was bright and vibrant. The places the characters visited made it feel like you were on vacation with them, especially this small secluded restaurant on a hillside. I also enjoyed watching them embrace the Italian culture with the meals they made. I know these are odd things to take away from the movie, but it really made it feel like you were there.
The acting in A Bigger Splash is outstanding. Since Tilda's character is recovering from throat surgery she is not allowed to speak. You have to rely on her facial expressions or her interactions with Matthias to know what she is trying to say. When she does speak it is a gentle raspy whisper. The standout for this movie though is Ralph Fiennes who plays Harry. He brings this energy and spunk to the film. Harry loves the Italian culture and takes Marianne, Paul and his daughter to the must see locations. You can also tell Harry still has feelings for Marianne every time they share screen time together.
One complaint I have with A Bigger Splash was that at times it really slowed down. I enjoyed watching them move from location to location, but once they got there and just talked it got a tad boring. They would also show these flashbacks of Marianne and Harry that would give insight to their past relationship. I felt that these were unnecessary. I could tell from the way they interacted that they had a steamy past, I didn't need to see it in flashbacks.
A Bigger Splash is a gorgeous film with outstanding performances from Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes. It isn't the most exciting movie ever made, but is still worth seeing, especially if you have ever wanted the Italian island experience.
The first thing I took away from seeing A Bigger Splash was just how beautiful it was. The Italian landscape was bright and vibrant. The places the characters visited made it feel like you were on vacation with them, especially this small secluded restaurant on a hillside. I also enjoyed watching them embrace the Italian culture with the meals they made. I know these are odd things to take away from the movie, but it really made it feel like you were there.
The acting in A Bigger Splash is outstanding. Since Tilda's character is recovering from throat surgery she is not allowed to speak. You have to rely on her facial expressions or her interactions with Matthias to know what she is trying to say. When she does speak it is a gentle raspy whisper. The standout for this movie though is Ralph Fiennes who plays Harry. He brings this energy and spunk to the film. Harry loves the Italian culture and takes Marianne, Paul and his daughter to the must see locations. You can also tell Harry still has feelings for Marianne every time they share screen time together.
One complaint I have with A Bigger Splash was that at times it really slowed down. I enjoyed watching them move from location to location, but once they got there and just talked it got a tad boring. They would also show these flashbacks of Marianne and Harry that would give insight to their past relationship. I felt that these were unnecessary. I could tell from the way they interacted that they had a steamy past, I didn't need to see it in flashbacks.
A Bigger Splash is a gorgeous film with outstanding performances from Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes. It isn't the most exciting movie ever made, but is still worth seeing, especially if you have ever wanted the Italian island experience.
Thursday, May 26, 2016
X-Men: Apocalypse Review
X-Men: Apocalypse is the third movie of the "reboot" of the X-Men series. In this movie, there is a scene where the writers and director of the film pretty much say what they think of the film before it was even released. In this scene, four of the young mutants go to the mall to see the movie Return of the Jedi. As they are walking out of the movie, two of them argue which Star Wars movie is better: A New Hope or The Empire Strikes Back, then another one chimes in and says "At least we can all agree the third one is always bad".
X-Men: Apocalypse starts off in ancient Egypt where a powerful mutant named En Sabah Nur (Apocalypse) is betrayed by those that worship him. Apocalypse ends up being trapped within a tomb deep underground only to be discovered in 1983 by a new group of worshippers. Apocalypse soon discovers how humans have been destroying the world with weapons and fighting and decides he needs to rebuild the world. To do this, he recruits four mutants that are called the Four Horsemen. Charles Xavier learns of Apocalypse's plan and knows he must do whatever he can to stop Apocalypse.
I wouldn't say X-Men: Apocalypse is terrible, but it has a lot of problems. One of the things that bothered me the most about the movie is the CGI and the way the movie looked. There are some scenes in this movie that are terrible looking. In one scene, Apocalypse and the Four Horsemen are standing on a mountain side and it looks like they are standing on a soundstage made of styrofoam. Near the end of the movie, when Apocalypse is destroying the world, the CGI looked extremely amateur and something I wouldn't expect from a big budget summer blockbuster. Also the costumes the Four Horsemen wear are tacky and impractical, especially Psylocke's.
In the previous two X-Men movies, the focal point of the story has been the relationship between Charles Xavier and Magneto. Xavier feels mutants and humans can get along but Magneto feels mutants need to stand up and be the superior race. The emotional pull of that conflict really made the first two movies succeed. In X-Men: Apocalypse, that relationship is pretty much missing. It is there in brief moments, but it is not enough to leave an emotional impact. The more I think about the story elements in X-Men: Apocalypse, the more annoyed I get with the direction the writers went.
Where X-Men: Apocalypse succeeds is in being a big budget summer blockbuster comic book movie. The action scenes are great, especially one involving Quicksilver. If you have seen the previous X-Men movie, Days of Future Past, you know that Quicksilver's scene in that movie was fantastic and the one in this movie is just as wonderful to watch. It was also enjoyable watching the mutants use their powers to fight against each other. There are also plenty of little nuggets that fans of the comic book series will love.
X-Men: Apocalypse is a decent summer blockbuster comic book movie, but overall is fairly forgettable. The CGI in the movie is distracting and the story will not impact you emotionally. I think if you are a fan of the X-Men comic book series or have enjoyed the previous movies in the franchise you will enjoy X-Men: Apocalypse. Plus it's no where near as bad as X-Men III and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Thursday, May 19, 2016
The Nice Guys Review
The Nice Guys is a movie that takes place in Los Angeles in the 1970s and the main characters are anything but nice, at least most of the time.
The Nice Guys is about a private investigator named Holland March, played by Ryan Gosling, who is searching for a girl named Amelia. Amelia has hired Jackson Healy, played by Russell Crowe, to find March and get him off her tail. Healy ends up running into two other guys that are also looking for Amelia, but they offend Healy, so he decides to join March in the search for Amelia. Along the way March and Healy learn that their case is more than just for a missing person.
Where The Nice Guys succeeds the most is in the chemistry between Gosling and Crowe. Seeing them on the big screen together is an absolute blast. Crowe plays a big, brute enforcer and Gosling plays a bumbling investigator that would rather screw people out of money than actually solve their case. That combination works so well in this movie. Sometimes they must get out of situations using Crowe's physicality and other times they must use Gosling's detective work even when it comes to being just blind luck. Of the two, though, Gosling shines the brightest. His character adds this energy to the movie that puts a smile to your face and makes you want the movie to never end.
Other than Gosling, the other star of The Nice Guys is Angourie Rice, who plays March's daughter, Holly. Normally kids in movies like this can be annoying but in The Nice Guys, Holly is actually useful. She adds this spunk to the movie that helps bond her father and Healy. Holly is interested in what her dad does for a job and tries multiple times to become an investigator and prove to her dad that she is just as good as he is. Sometimes she succeeds, other times she gets into situations that are way over her head.
The story in The Nice Guys is something that needed to be tightened up. The case that Healy and March are on ends up being way more convoluted than it needed to be. I wish it would have just stayed as a missing person case, but instead it turned into this tale of corporate corruption and it didn't really take that turn until 3/4 into the movie. Because it came so late into the movie, the ending felt really rushed and crammed. There was also some backstory for March that is hinted at, but never fully fleshed out.
The Nice Guys is a fun, original movie. The chemistry between the leads, Crowe and Gosling, is why you must see this movie, they are an absolute joy to watch.
The Nice Guys is about a private investigator named Holland March, played by Ryan Gosling, who is searching for a girl named Amelia. Amelia has hired Jackson Healy, played by Russell Crowe, to find March and get him off her tail. Healy ends up running into two other guys that are also looking for Amelia, but they offend Healy, so he decides to join March in the search for Amelia. Along the way March and Healy learn that their case is more than just for a missing person.
Where The Nice Guys succeeds the most is in the chemistry between Gosling and Crowe. Seeing them on the big screen together is an absolute blast. Crowe plays a big, brute enforcer and Gosling plays a bumbling investigator that would rather screw people out of money than actually solve their case. That combination works so well in this movie. Sometimes they must get out of situations using Crowe's physicality and other times they must use Gosling's detective work even when it comes to being just blind luck. Of the two, though, Gosling shines the brightest. His character adds this energy to the movie that puts a smile to your face and makes you want the movie to never end.
Other than Gosling, the other star of The Nice Guys is Angourie Rice, who plays March's daughter, Holly. Normally kids in movies like this can be annoying but in The Nice Guys, Holly is actually useful. She adds this spunk to the movie that helps bond her father and Healy. Holly is interested in what her dad does for a job and tries multiple times to become an investigator and prove to her dad that she is just as good as he is. Sometimes she succeeds, other times she gets into situations that are way over her head.
The story in The Nice Guys is something that needed to be tightened up. The case that Healy and March are on ends up being way more convoluted than it needed to be. I wish it would have just stayed as a missing person case, but instead it turned into this tale of corporate corruption and it didn't really take that turn until 3/4 into the movie. Because it came so late into the movie, the ending felt really rushed and crammed. There was also some backstory for March that is hinted at, but never fully fleshed out.
The Nice Guys is a fun, original movie. The chemistry between the leads, Crowe and Gosling, is why you must see this movie, they are an absolute joy to watch.
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Captain America: Civil War Review
Why would two heroes decide to go against each other, aren't they supposed to be on the same side? So far this year we have had two movies that forced us to ask this question. First we had Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and I have to say that movie failed to answer that question and just raised many, many more. Next up we got Captain America: Civil War and boy did this movie deliver.
Captain America: Civil War is the third Captain America movie and the thirteenth movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This movie picks up after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron where the world is left wondering, who do the Avengers report to. Since they are based in the US, does the mean the US is responsible? Does the US want to be responsible. An accord is proposed that would cause the Avengers to have to report to the United Nations. This causes the Avengers to choose a side, do they want to help people as they see fit or do they want a governing body decide when and who they should help?
There was a lot to like about Captain America: Civil War. First, there was a meaningful conflict between these heroes we have got to know over the course of twelve movies. We have seen them fight side-by-side. We have seen them interact in casual, every day situations. And now we have to see them pick a side and possibly turn on their friends. This movie does a great job of showing the characters struggling with their decision. Outside of Captain America and Iron Man, each character wrestles with what they want to do and who they want to follow.
Another thing I enjoyed about this movie was the Winter Soldier. When the movie Captain America: Winter Solider came out in 2014, I was excited to see the character the Winter Solider. The trailers made him look like an awesome villain who had a history with Captain America. Unfortunately I left that movie disappointed with the character, but in this movie, I finally got to see how awesome the Winter Solider could be. I love every fight scene that involved the Winter Soldier. He was an absolute brutal and relentless fighter. You also got to see him struggle with things he did in the past.
Captain America: Civil War also had great action throughout the entire movie. What I liked about this movie and Captain America: Winter Soldier, was that the action usually takes place in tight quarters and for the most part is hand-to-hand combat. The action isn't a bunch of characters flying around a big city destroying numerous buildings like in the Avenger movies. The action is close up and absolutely brutal. You can see and feel the impact of every punch and kick, and occasional flying shield and laser beam. The action also contain great dialogue that had many fantastic one liners, especially from Spider-Man and Ant-Man.
This movie also did a great job of introducing two new heroes to the universe, Spider-Man and Black Panther. This is now the third different Spider-Man we have seen on the big screen and this one way just be the best. This Spider-Man was still relatively new to his powers, but we didn't have to go through the origin of how he got those powers. He was also a young kid and it was great to see him interact with heroes that were older and more experienced than him. Because Spider-Man was inexperienced a lot of hilarious moments happened when he was fighting. Now Black Panther was a beast. His fighting style was fluid and intense. The way he moved it seemed slow but is was graceful and packed a wicked punch.
No matter how much I loved Captain America: Civil War, it still struggled with the one aspect that has plagued all Marvel movies so far, it's villain. The villain in this movie is not needed at all, but is only in it because he will most likely be seen again in another movie. The Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to just keep building up this big bad evil villain that we will see later on down the road, but because of that, all the villains so far in these movies have been pathetic.
Captain America: Civil War is a fantastic movie. It's a great summer blockbuster that has intense action, hilarious dialog and a meaningful conflict. You will laugh, cheer, scream and cry while watching this movie. Everyone needs to go see Captain America: Civil War!
Captain America: Civil War is the third Captain America movie and the thirteenth movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This movie picks up after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron where the world is left wondering, who do the Avengers report to. Since they are based in the US, does the mean the US is responsible? Does the US want to be responsible. An accord is proposed that would cause the Avengers to have to report to the United Nations. This causes the Avengers to choose a side, do they want to help people as they see fit or do they want a governing body decide when and who they should help?
There was a lot to like about Captain America: Civil War. First, there was a meaningful conflict between these heroes we have got to know over the course of twelve movies. We have seen them fight side-by-side. We have seen them interact in casual, every day situations. And now we have to see them pick a side and possibly turn on their friends. This movie does a great job of showing the characters struggling with their decision. Outside of Captain America and Iron Man, each character wrestles with what they want to do and who they want to follow.
Another thing I enjoyed about this movie was the Winter Soldier. When the movie Captain America: Winter Solider came out in 2014, I was excited to see the character the Winter Solider. The trailers made him look like an awesome villain who had a history with Captain America. Unfortunately I left that movie disappointed with the character, but in this movie, I finally got to see how awesome the Winter Solider could be. I love every fight scene that involved the Winter Soldier. He was an absolute brutal and relentless fighter. You also got to see him struggle with things he did in the past.
Captain America: Civil War also had great action throughout the entire movie. What I liked about this movie and Captain America: Winter Soldier, was that the action usually takes place in tight quarters and for the most part is hand-to-hand combat. The action isn't a bunch of characters flying around a big city destroying numerous buildings like in the Avenger movies. The action is close up and absolutely brutal. You can see and feel the impact of every punch and kick, and occasional flying shield and laser beam. The action also contain great dialogue that had many fantastic one liners, especially from Spider-Man and Ant-Man.
This movie also did a great job of introducing two new heroes to the universe, Spider-Man and Black Panther. This is now the third different Spider-Man we have seen on the big screen and this one way just be the best. This Spider-Man was still relatively new to his powers, but we didn't have to go through the origin of how he got those powers. He was also a young kid and it was great to see him interact with heroes that were older and more experienced than him. Because Spider-Man was inexperienced a lot of hilarious moments happened when he was fighting. Now Black Panther was a beast. His fighting style was fluid and intense. The way he moved it seemed slow but is was graceful and packed a wicked punch.
No matter how much I loved Captain America: Civil War, it still struggled with the one aspect that has plagued all Marvel movies so far, it's villain. The villain in this movie is not needed at all, but is only in it because he will most likely be seen again in another movie. The Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to just keep building up this big bad evil villain that we will see later on down the road, but because of that, all the villains so far in these movies have been pathetic.
Captain America: Civil War is a fantastic movie. It's a great summer blockbuster that has intense action, hilarious dialog and a meaningful conflict. You will laugh, cheer, scream and cry while watching this movie. Everyone needs to go see Captain America: Civil War!
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