Top Ten Most Anticipated Movies of Summer 2017

The summer movie season is one of the best times of the year for movies. It is the time of year where we get the big summer blockbusters as well as some indie darlings that fly under the radar. With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 coming out this week, I decide to list my Top Ten Most Anticipated Movies of the Summer. For movies to appear on this list they must be released between May 1st and August 31st.

10. Alien: Covenant:

Ridley Scott returns once again to the Alien franchise. Back in 2012, Prometheus was released with a lot of hype but overall disappointed a lot of people. I felt that it was okay but it never really felt like an Alien movie. So far the trailers for Alien: Covenant give the feeling that this sequel to Prometheus is a proper Alien movie. I do have some issues with what I've seen from the alien creature but I hope the movie at least provides some intense situations and some brutal deaths. Alien: Covenant will be released on May 19th in the US. Trailer

9. Spider-Man: Homecoming:

When Captain America: Civil War was released last summer, one of the surprising highlights was Tom Holland as Spider-man/Peter Parker. He brought this youthful energy to the team and provided a lot of the laughs. This summer we get to see Tom return as Spider-man this time in his own movie called Spider-man: Homecoming. With Homecoming, we also get to see Michael Keaton return to comic book movies as the villain, Vulture. A lot of people say this movie feels like a John Hughes movie from the 80s and I hope that Spider-man: Homecoming does feel like a smaller superhero movie. Spider-man: Homecoming will be released on July 7th in the US. Trailer

8. Wonder Woman:

Well it's that time of year again where we get another DC Comics movie. Lately the DC Comics movies have been very disappointing. Last year Suicide Squad was one of my most anticipated films of the year and I found it to be complete shit. I hated pretty much everything about that movie. So far the trailers for Wonder Woman have been promising. I feel that Gal Gadot could be a decent Wonder Woman, I mean she was the best part of Batman V Superman last year. I like that this movie takes place back in World War I and from the trailers the action looks great. Wonder Woman will be released on June 2nd in the US. Trailer

7. The Beguiled:

Here is the first indie movie of the summer on my list. The trailers for The Beguiled make this movie look terrifying. I am not familiar with the book it is based on and the original movie that was released in 1971 starring Clint Eastwood. This version of The Beguiled stars Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell, Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning. The cast alone should get everyone excited about this movie. Colin Farrell has been one of my favorite actors for a long time and I have really enjoyed what Elle Fanning has been in recently. The Beguiled will be released on June 23rd in the US. Trailer

6. It Comes At Night:

I am someone that doesn't really like horror movies, but for the second time on this list here is what would be considered a horror movie, It Comes At Night. This is another movie where the trailer is absolutely terrifying. One of the main reasons I am anticipating this movie is because it is being released by A24. For those that don't know, A24 is probably the best film studio around today. Each year they put out one fantastic movie after another. Some of those films include Swiss Army Man, Ex Machina, Room, The Witch and Moonlight (winner of Best Picture at this years Academy Awards). Another reason I am looking forward to It Comes At Night is that it stars Joel Edgerton. Joel is one of my favorite actors working today and I will see anything he is in. It Comes at Night will be released on June 9th in the US. Trailer

5. A Ghost Story:

Oh look, another movie being released by A24. As I mentioned above I love A24 and will see any movie they release. Another reason I am excited about A Ghost Story is that it stars Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck. I adore Rooney Mara and love seeing her in movies. Casey Affleck is usually pretty solid in his movies and is coming off winning the Academy Award for Best Actor. I've only seen the one trailer for this movie and have read that you should go into this movie knowing as little as possible and that is what I am trying to do. A Ghost Story will be released on July 7th in the US.

4. Baby Driver:

Written and Directed by Edgar Wright, that's all you need to know about Baby Driver. I have loved every movie made by Edgar Wright and from what I've heard the streak will continue with Baby Driver. The cast for Baby Driver looks incredible and the trailers give off this energy that gives the expectation that this movie will be an absolute blast. The response from people that saw Baby Driver at South by Southwest caused this movie's release date to be moved up from August to June, I can't remember that last time I heard of that happening. Baby Driver will be released on June 28th in the US. Trailer

3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2:

The first Guardians of the Galaxy movie was awesome. The characters were fun, the adventure was exciting and the music was fantastic. The trailers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 show that the sequel should be more of the same. Plus the sequel gives us Baby Groot and that alone is a perfect reason to be excited about this movie. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be released on May 5th in the US. Trailer

2. Dunkirk:

A new movie from director Christopher Nolan, that's all I need to hear to get excited for Dunkirk. Nolan is another director who I have enjoyed all his previous movies with The Dark Knight being one of my favorite movies of all time. Visually Dunkirk looks incredible and I look forward to seeing Nolan's take on a war movie. Dunkirk will be released on July 21st in the US. Trailer

1. War for the Planet of the Apes:

And here we are, my most anticipated film for the summer of 2017, War for the Planet of the Apes. This is the third movie in the reboot of the Planet of the Apes series. Andy Serkis returns as the chimpanzee Caesar. Serkis' motion capture work in the previous Ape movies has been impressive and I look forward to seeing what he does in this movie. With this movie I am trying to avoid the trailers because I want to experience everything when I see it on the big screen. Visually I know this movie will be impressive and I hope that it will touch me emotionally. War for the Planet of the Apes will be released on July 14th in the US. Trailer

Predictions for the 2017 Academy Awards

Here are my predictions for the 2017 Academy Awards that take place tonight

Best Picture: La La Land
Actor in a Leading Role: Denzel Washington (Fences)
Actress in a Leading Role: Emma Stone (La La Land)
Actor in a Supporting Role: Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
Actress in a Supporting Role: Viola Davis (Fences)
Animated Feature Film: Zootopia
Cinematography: La La Land
Costume Design: Jackie
Directing: Damien Chazelle (La La Land)
Documentary Feature: OJ: Made in America
Documentary Short Subject: The White Helmets
Film Editing: La La Land
Foreign Language Film: The Salesman
Makeup and Hairstyling: Star Trek Beyond
Original Score: La La Land
Original Song: City of Stars (La La Land)
Production Design: La La Land
Animated Short Film: Piper
Live Action Short Film: Timecode
Sound Editing: Hacksaw Ridge
Sound Mixing: La La Land
Visual Effects: The Jungle Book
Adapted Screenplay: Moonlight
Original Screenplay: Manchester by the Sea
   

Weekend Expectations: Feb 10-12

After a weekend of not going to the movies, it's time to get back to it. This weekend has two releases that I am really excited to see: The Lego Batman Movie and John Wick: Chapter Two.

The Lego Batman Movie: Two words: Lego and Batman. That's all I need to hear to get excited about this movie. Batman is my favorite comic book hero and Lego was my favorite toy growing up. In 2014 when The Lego Movie came out I was blown away with how much I enjoyed it and how great Batman was in that movie. Now that he is getting his own movie I look forward to laughing a lot and enjoying seeing all my favorite DC heroes and villains.

John Wick: Chapter Two: Also released in 2014, when John Wick came out I didn't really know what to expect. What I ended up seeing was a movie with some of the best action scenes in recent memory. With Chapter Two, I am expecting much more of the same. I am looking forward to seeing Keanu Reeves kicking some ass and just laying out tons of people. I am also looking forward to seeing what Ruby Rose does in this movie. I enjoyed her a lot early this year in xXx: Return of Xander Cage and expect her action scenes to be just as great in John Wick: Chapter Two.

Weekend Expectations: Jan 27-29

This weekend there are no major releases that I am interested in seeing. I haven't watched a Resident Evil movie since the second one, the controversy behind A Dog's Purpose will keep me from seeing it and Gold just doesn't look good. Because there is nothing new to see, I will be catching up on two movies that were released last weekend, Split and xXx: Return of Xander Cage.

Split: This is the latest release from M. Night Shyamalan. Lately Shyamalan has not made very good movies, in fact I haven't seen one of his movies since Lady in the Water in 2006. I really enjoyed his earlier work, especially Signs. So far I've heard that Split is good to very good and that the twist at the end is incredible. Those two things alone have me excited to see Split. I am also looking forward to James McAvoy's performance. In the trailers he looks absolutely stunning. I am also looking forward to seeing Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch) and Haley Lu Richardson (The Edge of Seventeen).

xXx: Return of Xander Cage: My expectations for this one are extremely low. The only reason I am going to see this is for its mindless action sequence. I don't remember anything that happened in the previous two xXx movies but I have feeling that won't affect what happens in this movie. The one thing I actually am looking forward to is seeing Donnie Yen in another movie. He was one of my favorite parts of Rogue One. I am basically going into this movie expecting to laugh at how ridiculous the action is.

Weekend Expectations: Jan 13-16

For this weeks Weekend Expectations I am picking four movies even though I technically will only see two during the weekend. I hope to see Patriots Day and Live by Night early next week so I decided to include them.

Elle

Elle is one of those movies where I don't know too much about. What I do know is that it has won a few Best Foreign Language Film awards, including last week at the Golden Globes. Also at the Golden Globes, actress Isabelle Huppert won Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama. It also has appeared on numerous best films of 2016 lists. Given all those accolades you would assume that my expectations should be high, but I have also heard there is a little bit of controversy with Elle. I don't know the entire details of the controversy but I will look into it once I have seen the movie. Because of this, I will have moderate expectations for Elle.

Jackie

Jackie is another movie where I have heard tons of good things about it. I have heard it is beautiful to look at and that Natalie Portman gives a great performance. But I have also heard some negative things saying it doesn't live up to peoples expectations. Just like my expectations for Elle, I have moderate expectations for Jackie.

Patriots Day

I'm not sure what to think of Patriots Day. The cast looks spectacular, it has Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, J.K. Simmons, Kevin Bacon and one of my favorite actresses Michelle Monaghan. Most of the reviews I have seen for Patriots Day have been very, very good. I'm not sure how I feel about having a film already being made about such a tragic event that happened only three plus years ago. Given director Peter Berg's recent filmography, Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon, I know that this movie will be emotional, graphic and extremely patriotic. Lone Survivor exceeded expectations but Deepwater Horizon was a bit of a disappointment for me. I should probably have high expectations for this one, but I am once again going in with moderate expectations.

Live by Night

Oh look, another movie directed by Ben Affleck. I really enjoyed Gone Baby Gone and Argo, but don't really remember anything about The Town. Reviews for Live by Night have been pretty bad and the trailers haven't really impressed me. Given those two factors, my expectations for Live by Night are pretty low.

A Monster Calls Review

A Monster Calls is a movie based on a book by the same name and is about a young boy named Conor (Lewis MacDougal) whose mother (Felicity Jones) is terminally ill. Conor has a vivid imagination and spends a lot of his time drawing. One night while drawing, a tree (voiced by Liam Neeson) in the cemetery near his house comes alive and tells Connor he will visit him each night and tell him a story and on the fourth night, Connor must tell the tree a true story. Other characters in the movie are Conor's grandmother (Sigourney Weaver) and his father (Toby Kebbell).

The first thing one must know about A Monster Calls is that it is extremely emotional, as one would expect when one of the main characters is terminally ill. This is one of the few movies that has got me to cry "ugly" tears. You know, the type of crying where it is hard to breath cause your throat is dry and swelling and tears are running down your face non-stop. This also isn't a movie where just the ending is emotional, there are multiple moments throughout the movie where I was in tears.

Another thing that must be known is how visually stunning this movie is. The tree monster effects are great and you feel like he is actually interacting with Conor in real life. Also when the tree monster is telling Conor the stories, the movie changes to this watercolor animation that beautifully shows these stories. I also found the set design to be fantastic, especially when Conor was with the tree monster in the cemetery. If you have seen the trailer, you would have seen these scenes where the ground in the cemetery is collapsing as well as the church there. I just loved the way these scenes looked.

I found the performances in this movie to be great. Lewis MacDougal does a wonderful job as Conor. During most of the movie Lewis must act along side a tree monster that is obviously not on set with him and he does a great job of convincing you that the monster is actually there. I can't imagine how hard it would to cry and yell at something that you can't actually see and Lewis does this in spectacular fashion. Felicity Jones is stunning as Conor's mother. Throughout the movie her character gets worse and worse and Felicity does a great job both physically and emotionally portraying those various stages. Initially you would think Sigourney Weaver's character would just be the evil grandmother, but Sigourney also brings this heartbreak to the character since it is her daughter that is dealing with this illness.

If I had to pick something I didn't like about A Monster Calls, it would have to be that there are a few things that Conor does that go unpunished and it kind of takes you out of the film. I found myself having a hard time believing that if someone were to actually do the things he does that they would not get a way with it. In the movie he just gets away with it because people know that he is going through a rough time with his mom.

I found A Monster Calls to be a beautiful movie. It is emotionally intense, looks fantastic and is wonderfully acted. A Monster Calls need to be seen and should be seen on the big screen, just remember to bring the kleenex.

4 out of 5 Stars

Expectations met? YES!

Weekend Expectations: Jan 6-8

Expectations will almost always affect the way you feel about something. I found that to be the case often when seeing movies. I have decided to start writing down my expectations before I go see movies each weekend. Then when I review the movie, I will post a star rating as well as whether or not expectations were met or even exceeded. The movies I plan on seeing this weekend are A Monster Calls and Hidden Figures.

A Monster Calls:
The main expectation I have for this movie is tears, lots and lots of tears. I've heard this movie is extremely emotional. I am also expecting some incredible visuals. The director J.A. Boyona has made some visually stunning movies with The Orphanage and The Impossible. Boyona is also set to direct the sequel to Jurassic World, so I am looking forward to how seeing this helps set up what to expect from that movie.

Hidden Figures:
I really enjoy movies about NASA and space. Hidden Figures may not take place in space but it deals with the space race with Russia and I'm interested in learning more about how that went down. I am also interested in learning more about how things were done before we had computers and how it was a group of African-American women that were an important part of NASA. Being an engineer I am also looking forward to the nerdy math stuff. After seeing Janelle Monae in Moonlight and I am looking forward to seeing her in Hidden Figures. I have been a fan of her music for a while now so I am interested in how she continues to do acting.

Expectations for both movies this weekend are relatively high. From what I have heard so far, they should both live up to those expectations. Check back later for reviews on both films (hopefully).

74th Annual Golden Globe Awards Predictions (Film Categories Only)

Below you will find the nominees and my choices for who I think should win. I only picked the film categories since I don't really watch any television shows. The 74th Golden Globe Awards take place on Sunday, January 8th on NBC.

Best Motion Picture - Drama

-Hell or High Water

-Lion

-Manchester By The Sea (My Choice)

-Moonlight

-Hacksaw Ridge

This category is pretty much down to just two movies, Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight. Personally I enjoyed Manchester by the Sea a lot more than I did Moonlight, so my pick for this one is Manchester by the Sea.

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Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

-20th Century Women

-Deadpool

-Florence Foster Jenkins

-La La Land (My Choice)

-Sing Street

I can’t imagine La La Land losing this one. I would love it if Sing Street one, but La La Land has been winning pretty much every other best picture award this year (along with Moonlight).
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Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

-Amy Adams - Arrival

-Jessica Chastain - Miss Sloane

-Isabelle Huppert - Elle

-Ruth Negga - Loving

-Natalie Portman - Jackie (My Choice)

I haven’t seen Jackie yet, but from everything I have heard, Natalie Portman is spectacular in it so I have a feeling she will win this. Isabelle Huppert has also won a lot of awards for her performance so she could win as well.
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Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

-Casey Affleck - Manchester by the Sea (My Choice)

-Joel Edgerton - Loving

-Andrew Garfield - Hacksaw Ridge

-Viggo Mortensen - Captain Fantastic

-Denzel Washington - Fences

Casey Affleck is the heavy favorite in this category. Denzel is a strong contender, but I don’t see him winning given how many awards Affleck has one this award season.

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Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

-Annette Bening - 20th Century Women

-Lily Collins - Rules Don’t Apply

-Hailee Steinfeld - The Edge of Seventeen

-Emma Stone - La La Land (My Choice)

-Meryl Streep - Florence Foster Jenkins

From what I have seen Emma Stone has got this in the bag. I have heard good things about Bening’s performance but I haven’t seen 20th Century Women yet. I really hope Streep doesn’t win.

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Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

-Colin Farrell - The Lobster

-Ryan Gosling - La La Land (My Choice)

-Hugh Grant - Florence Foster Jenkins

-Jonah Hill - War Dogs

-Ryan Reynolds - Deadpool

My choice would be Ryan Gosling, but wouldn’t be surprised if Ryan Reynolds won. I’m really glad that Colin Farrell got nominated because I really enjoyed The Lobster, but I don’t see him winning this.

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Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

-Naomie Harris - Moonlight

-Nicole Kidman - Lion

-Octavia Spencer - Hidden Figures

-Michelle Williams - Manchester by the Sea

-Viola Davis - Fences (My Choice)

Viola Davis’ performance in Fences is spectacular and there is no way she doesn’t win this award.

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Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

-Mahershalla Ali - Moonlight (My Choice)

-Jeff Bridges - Hell or High Water

-Simon Helberg - Florence Foster Jenkins

-Dev Patel - Lion

-Aaron Taylor-Johnson - Nocturnal Animals

Mahershalla Ali has been been winning award after award after award for his performance in Moonlight and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. I’m surprised to see Simon Helberg nominated. For me, he was the worst part of Florence Foster Jenkins.
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Best Director - Motion Picture

-Damien Chazelle - La La Land (My Choice)

-Tom Ford - Nocturnal Animals

-Mel Gibson - Hacksaw Ridge

-Barry Jenkins - Moonlight

-Kenneth Longergan - Manchester by the Sea

I feel like this one is between Damien Chazelle and Barry Jenkins. Like I previously stated, Moonlight didn’t really do it for me, so I’m going with Damien Chazelle.

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Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

-Damien Chazelle - La La Land

-Tom Ford - Nocturnal Animals

-Barry Jenkins - Moonlight

-Kenneth Lonergan - Manchester by the Sea (My Choice)

-Taylor Sheridan - Hell or High Water

Manchester by the Sea is a devastatingly beautiful movie, I don’t see how Kenneth Lonergan could lose this one.

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Best Motion Picture - Animated

-Moana

-My Life As A Zucchini

-Sing

-Zootopia (My Choice)

-Kubo and The Two Strings

My heart says go with Kubo and The Two Strings because I absolutely loved that movie, but I feel like Zootopia is going to win this one. I’ve never even heard of My Life as a Zucchini.
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Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language

-Divines - France

-Elle - France

-Neruda - Chile

-The Salesman - Iran, France

-Toni Erdmann - Germany (My Choice)

I haven’t seen any of these movies so I am just going off what I’ve heard other people say and going with Toni Erdmann. I wouldn’t be surprised if Elle won though.

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Best Original Score - Motion Picture
-Nicholas Britell - Moonlight
-Justin Hurwitz - La La Land (My Choice)
-Johann Johannsson - Arrival
-Dustin O’Halloran, Hauschka - Lion
-Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams, Benjamin Wallfisch - Hidden Figures

The music in La La Land is spectacular, I think it’s got this one all wrapped up. I would love it if Arrival won though.

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Best Original Song - Motion Picture

-Can’t Stop the Feeling - Trolls

-City of Stars - La La Land (My Choice)

-Faith - Sing

-Gold - Gold

-How Far I’ll Go - Moana

This is a tough one, but I’m going to go with City of Stars. I could see How Far I’ll Go winning but I prefer City of Stars. I must say that I’m disappointed that none of the songs from Sing Street got nominated. I tried to find Gold to give it a listen, but it isn't available on Spotify.

My 2016 Movie Rankings

1. Arrival (5 Stars)
2. The Revenant (5 Stars)
3. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (5 Stars)
4. Sing Street (5 Stars)
5. La La Land (4 1/2 Stars)
6. Captain America: Civil War (4 1/2 Stars)
7. Swiss Army Man (4 1/2 Stars)
8. Kubo and the Two Strings (4 1/2 Stars)
9. Deadpool (4 1/2 Stars)
10. Zootopia (4 1/2 Stars)
11. Hunt for the Wilderpeople (4 1/2 Stars) 
12. Train to Busan (4 1/2 Stars)
13. Nocturnal Animals (4 1/2 Stars)
14. The Lobster (4 1/2 Stars)
15. The Jungle Book (4 1/2 Stars)
16. Manchester by the Sea (4 1/2 Stars)
17. Fences (4 1/2 Stars)
18. Indignation (4 1/2 Stars)
19. Anomalisa (4 1/2 Stars)
20. Gleason (4 1/2 Stars)
21. Don't Breathe (4 Stars)
22. 10 Cloverfield Lane (4 Stars)
23. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (4 Stars)
24. The Witch (4 Stars)
25. Green Room (4 Stars)
26. Star Trek Beyond (4 Stars)
27. Midnight Special (4 Stars)
28. Doctor Strange (4 Stars)
29. Carol (4 Stars)
30. Everybody Wants Some!!! (4 Stars)
31. The Nice Guys (4 Stars)
32. Pete's Dragon (4 Stars)
33. Don't Think Twice (4 Stars)
34. Hell or High Water (4 Stars)
35. Hacksaw Ridge (4 Stars)
36. The Edge of Seventeen (4 Stars)
37. Loving (4 Stars)
38. Lion (4 Stars)
39. Moana (4 Stars)
40. Finding Dory (4 Stars)
41. Maggie's Plan (4 Stars)
42. Eye in the Sky (4 Stars)
43. Miss Sloane (4 Stars)
44. Purple Rain (4 Stars)
45. Sully (4 Stars)
46. Cafe Society (3 1/2 Stars)
47. Captain Fantastic (3 1/2 Stars)
48. A Bigger Splash (3 1/2 Stars)
49. The Shallows (3 1/2 Stars)
50. Queen of Katwe (3 1/2 Stars)
51. The Accountant (3 1/2 Stars)
52. The Magnificent Seven (3 1/2 Stars)
53. The Light Between Oceans (3 1/2 Stars)
54. Bleed for This (3 1/2 Stars)
55. Moonlight (3 1/2 Stars)
56. Florence Foster Jenkins (3 1/2 Stars)
57. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (3 1/2 Stars)
58. Denial (3 1/2 Stars)
59. Kevin Hart: What Now? (3 1/2 Stars)
60. Jason Bourne (3 1/2 Stars)
61. Our Kind of Traitor (3 1/2 Stars)
62. The Hollars (3 1/2 Stars)
63. Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates (3 1/2 Stars)
64. Sing (3 1/2 Stars)
65. The Secret Life of Pets (3 1/2 Stars)
66. Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (3 1/2 Stars)
67. Demolition (3 1/2 Stars)
68. Rule's Don't Apply (3 1/2 Stars)
69. Keanu (3 1/2 Stars)
70. Triple 9 (3 1/2 Stars)
71. Bad Moms (3 1/2 Stars)
72. Trolls (3 1/2 Stars)
73. Weiner-Dog (3 1/2 Stars)
74. Race (3 1/2 Stars)
75. Miles Ahead (3 1/2 Stars)
76. Me Before You (3 1/2 Stars)
77. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (3 1/2 Stars)
78. Concussion (3 1/2 Stars)
79. Eddie the Eagle (3 1/2 Stars)
80. Kung Fu Panda 3 (3 1/2 Stars)
81. 13 Hours (3 1/2 Stars)
82. The Finest Hours (3 1/2 Stars)
83. Storks (3 1/2 Stars)
84. The Infiltrator (3 Stars)
85. Deepwater Horizon (3 Stars)
86. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (3 Stars)
87. The Neon Demon (3 Stars)
88. Pride & Prejudice & Zombies (3 Stars)
89. Snowden (3 Stars)
90. Allied (3 Stars)
91. Birth of a Nation (3 Stars)
92. War Dogs (3 Stars)
93. Ghostbusters (3 Stars)
94. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (3 Stars)
95. Criminal Intelligence (3 Stars)
96. The Girl on the Train (3 Stars)
97. X-Men: Apocalypse (3 Stars)
98. The Angry Birds Movie (3 Stars)
99. Hardcore Henry (3 Stars)
100. Sausage Party (3 Stars)
101. London Has Fallen (3 Stars)
102. Money Monster (3 Stars)
103. Now You See Me 2 (3 Stars)
104. A Hologram for the King (3 Stars)
105. Nerve (3 Stars)
106. Free State of Jones (3 Stars)
107. The BFG (3 Stars)
108. Risen (3 Stars)
109. Love & Friendship (3 Stars)
110. Inferno (3 Stars)
111. Alice Through the Looking Glass (3 Stars)
112. Hands of Stone (2 1/2 Stars)
113. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2 1/2 Stars)
114. Ben-Hur (2 1/2 Stars)
115. Hail, Caesar! (2 1/2 Stars)
116. I Saw The Light (2 1/2 Stars)
117. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2 1/2 Stars)
118. The Legend of Tarzan (2 1/2 Stars)
119. Miss Hokusai (2 Stars)
120. Warcraft (2 Stars)
121. Criminal (2 Stars)
122. Assassin's Creed (2 Stars)
123. Passengers (2 Stars)
124. Collateral Beauty (2 Stars)
125. Independence Day: Resurgence (2 Stars)
126. Allegiant (2 Stars)
127. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2 Stars)
128. The Huntsman: Winter's War (2 Stars)
129. Southside with You (2 Stars)
130. Suicide Squad (1 1/2 Stars)
131. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (1 Star)
132. Ratchet & Clank (1 Star)
133. The Dressmaker (1 Star)

Assassin's Creed Review

Going into 2016 it was looking like it could be the year we finally got some quality movies based off video game franchises. The first movie I thought would reverse the curse was Warcraft and if you read my review, you know that I did not enjoy that movie at all. Now this week we get the Assassin's Creed movie. This is a movie I was looking forward to mainly because I've played most of the games in the series and enjoy the actors that are starring in it. Unfortunately the video game movie curse continues, because Assassin's Creed is not that good.

The Assassin's Creed movie is about a man named Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) who is on death row for murdering someone. The night he is executed, a lady by the name of Sophia Rikkin (Marion Cotillard), actually interrupts it and basically kidnaps him. Sophia informs Callum that the company she works for, Abstergo Industries, needs him to find this ancient artifact, the Apple of Eden. Abstergo wants to use the Apple of Eden to perfect mankind by removing our free will since it is free will that causes humans to be violent to one another. To find the Apple of Eden, Callum must enter a device known as the Animus that will link him up with an ancestor's memories. While in the Animus, Callum gets transported to 15th century Spain and gets to experience what his ancestor, an assassin named Aguilar de Nerha, got to experience.

Now the plot of Assassin's Creed may sound a bit insane, but it does stay pretty accurate to what the video games are like. In each game, you play as a present day character that enters the Animus and then you play as one of his ancestor in some historical time period. Unfortunately for the movie, you spent most of the time with the present day character, whereas in the games you are mainly in the past playing as the ancestor. In fact in the video games, the present day stuff is usually the worst part of the game.

There was one thing that I enjoyed about the Assassin's Creed movie and that was the action. When in 15th century Spain, the action looked and felt like the game. Aguilar and his band of assassin's use a lot of the tactics that are used in the game like running around the city, fighting large groups of bad guys and using hidden blades to silently kill those around them. I felt that the way these action scenes were shot got me engaged in the film and made me feel like a part of the action. I also found that a lot of the parkour stunts were really well done. Unfortunately with these action scenes, they kept cutting back to present day to show Callum in the Animus fighting "holograms" of what Aguilar is actually fighting. This caused the scenes to be pretty jarring.

But, like I previously stated, you don't spend a lot of time in 15th century Spain, so the rest of the movie is completely boring. None of the characters have any depth to them so you never care about what they are doing in the movie. The final act of the movie has these characters that join Callum in the fight against the bad guys, but you never really get to know them. Apparently they are supposed to be other assassins but since you don't spend any time with them beforehand in the movie, so as an audience member you don't really know why you should root for them, other than the fact that they are helping Callum. You also don't really have a reason to root for Callum. At the beginning of the movie you see him as a kid, and then the next time you see him, you are told he is a murderer. You are never shown that he is a guy that is capable of being a hero. Also the main plot point is to find this Apple of Eden artifact. Not once are you shown what the Apple of Eden can do, so you have no reason to believe that it is anything special.

The Assassin's Creed movie is frustrating. The part where it succeeds is also the part where the video games it is based on succeed. Unfortunately, they decided to focus on the boring parts of the game and make that take up over 60 percent of the movie. If they would have stuck with the 15th century Spain time period and focused on the assassin's quest to protect the Apple of Eden, the movie could have been really fun. Instead we get a bunch of uninteresting characters that we don't care about because you never spend any time with them.

I think if you are a fan of the video games, wait to see this when it is available to rent. If you have never played the games or even heard of the games, stay away from this movie, I can't imagine you finding any enjoyment in it.

2 out of 5 Stars