As a 33-year-old male, I wouldn't expect a movie about a 17-year-old female to be one that I would relate to. Surprisingly, though, I found the movie The Edge of Seventeen to be extremely relatable and enjoyable to watch.
The Edge of Seventeen is about a high school junior named Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld) who is extremely awkward others and only has one true friend, Krista (Haley Lu Richardson). One day Krista starts dating Nadine's brother, Darian (Blake Jenner) and this causes Nadine's world to fall apart and makes her feel like she has no where else to go in life. Woody Harrelson is also in the movie, playing Mr. Bruner, one of Nadine's teachers and Kyra Sedgwick plays Nadine's mom, Mona.
What I enjoyed most about The Edge of Seventeen was that it was relatable. I've always been one to feel like a loner that has only a couple of people that I would call true friends. I've always been one that can be awkward around members of the opposite sex. I've had unexpected tragic events happen in my family life. And I've been jealous of those closest to me. These are all things that Nadine goes through during the movie and because she goes through them, just like I have, I can relate to her and feel what she is going through. While watching the movie, there were a few times where I just wanted to put my arm around Nadine and say, "Don't worry kid, it's going to be okay".
I also enjoyed most of the performances in the movie. This movie lives and dies on Hailee Steinfeld's performance. Hailee comes across as genuine and at times absolutely hilarious. There were a few scenes, especially those with Woody Harrelson, where I was wondering if they were ad-libbed. Many of the jokes would come randomly and felt organic with the scene. Woody Harrelson also surprised me with this performance. In a lot of Woody's more recent performances he is very eccentric and appears to be on numerous drugs, but in this movie he is calm and actually feels like an adult. It feels strange describing him that way, but if you watch this movie, I think you would agree. After one scene later on in the movie, I was actually wondering why Woody accepted this role because it isn't like anything I've seen him in recently. The surprise performance for me though was from Hayden Szeto, who plays Erwin, an awkward teen who has a crush on Nadine. Whenever he was on screen you knew you were going to laugh as well as say "awwww, that's so cute" from all the awkward things he would do around Nadine. Blake Jenner and Haley Lu Richardson gave okay performances. At first Blake's character wasn't given much to do besides be the typical popular jock, but towards the end of the movie he did get a little more depth. Haley's character is your standard best friend in these high school movies and isn't given too much to do, but she does a good job at it. The one performance I didn't really enjoy was Kyra Sedgwick. Her character was just mopey and sad throughout the entire movie. She never really felt like a real person. Her actions always seemed extreme and unrealistic.
Besides Kyra Sedgwick's performance, if I had to pick something I didn't like, I would have to say it would be the flow of the first half the movie. While watching the movie, something just felt off about the first half. Not all the jokes were landing and the story was just up and down. There would be some really funny jokes flying back and forth between characters and then all of a sudden a fight between either Nadine and Darian or Nadine and Krista would occur and kind of take me out of the movie. It wasn't until the movie decided to stick with one story beat and tone that I could finally get into the movie and emotionally get invested in it.
For some reason I have a hard time not trying to compare this movie to Juno. When Juno came out in 2007, I absolutely loved it. I haven't seen it in a few years so not sure how it still holds up, but I feel that it was an edgier movie with better jokes and I enjoyed the music a lot more than what is in The Edge of Seventeen.
The Edge of Seventeen ended up being way more entertaining then I thought it would be. There were numerous laugh out loud moments caused by jokes I was not expecting. I found a lot of the movie to be relatable and sweet. The performances from Hailee and Woody were worth the price of admission alone. For the me, The Edge of Seventeen doesn't reach Juno levels, but I still had a really good time and can easily recommend it.
4 out of 5 Stars
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Friday, November 11, 2016
Arrival Review
And with that, I now have a new #1 movie of the year, Arrival!
Arrival is a movie directed by Denis Villeneuve, who also directed Prisoners and Sicario. It is about a linguist named Louise Banks (Amy Adams) who is recruited by the US military to try and communicate with aliens that have landed in twelve different locations around the world. With the help of Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), Louise must learn to decipher the alien language to determine if the alien lifeforms are here for peace or war.
There is a lot to say about Arrival, but I will try and keep it brief and spoiler-free.
First off, this movie is stunningly beautiful. Just like Denis previous films, the landscapes are gorgeous, the colors are vibrant, and you can't help but have your breath taken away scene after scene with the way the camera moves. The very first time Louise and Ian arrive at the alien spacecraft in Montana, you get this swooping helicopter shot that shows the gorgeous landscape of Montana as well as this simple alien spacecraft that is unlike anything seen in other science fiction movies. Most movies have bright lights and intricate shapes on their spacecrafts, but this one just looks like a skipping stone, super sleek and simple. Another gorgeous scene in the movie is the first time Louise and Ian enter the alien spacecraft. When you see them interact with the spacecraft, the expressions on their faces were the same that I had on mine. The amazement and intensity of it made it feel like you were there with them.
There performances in Arrival were outstanding. Amy Adams knocks it out of the park. At the beginning of the movie you learn about her character's past and it is completely heartbreaking. Throughout the movie Amy brings out this subtle broken and helplessness and you can feel the pressure she is under to succeed. With Jeremy Renner's character, you always feel this sense of optimism. Just the look on his face makes you feel like everything is going to be okay and the answers can and will be found.
Another aspect of Arrival I really enjoyed was the score. The score was done by Johann Johannsson, who also did the score for Denis Villeneuve's Prisoners and Sicario. I thought the score did a great job of building up the tension and then would also bring out this sense of peace and tranquility for each scene. It's the first score this year where I sat there and wanted to listen to it over and over again.
The message behind Arrival is also important for the world we live in today. The movie shows the need to communicate and to attempt to understand one another regardless of barriers. It also shows the importance of working together peacefully and not jumping straight to violence.
The message behind Arrival is also important for the world we live in today. The movie shows the need to communicate and to attempt to understand one another regardless of barriers. It also shows the importance of working together peacefully and not jumping straight to violence.
Arrival is the first movie this year where I am dying to see it again and again. I also want to read and learn as much as I can about it. I want it to consume my life and be on my mind 24/7. The ending of the movie is emotionally devastating and I just want to experience it over and over again. I just want to feel that shock and awe.
Everyone should run out and see Arrival and see it on the biggest screen possible. It is stunningly beautiful, the story is emotion and important, the performances are fantastic and the score is absolutely lovely. Please go see this movie.
5 Stars
Thursday, October 6, 2016
The Girl on the Train Review
For the past four weeks, a movie with actors and actresses I really enjoy has been released and I end up finding them to just be okay. This week The Girl on the Train is released and just like Snowden, The Magnificent Seven, and Deepwater Horizon, it is just an average movie.
The Girl on the Train is based on a book with the same name and stars Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Haley Bennett, Justin Theroux and a few other people that aren't really worth mentioning. Two years ago Rachel (Emily Blunt) got a divorce from her husband Tom (Justin Theroux) because he was cheating on her with a women named Anna (Rebecca Ferguson). Rachel now rides a train each day to the city and the train just happens to go by Tom and Anna's house. While riding the train Rachel lets her mind run wild and makes up stories about all the people in the houses the train goes by. Two houses down from Tom and Anna lives Scott and Megan Hipwell. In Rachel's mind Scott and Megan have the perfect relationship and show what love is all about. One day this perfect relationship is ruined for Rachel when she witnesses something and Megan ends up going missing. Rachel decides she must put the puzzle pieces together and figure out what happened to Megan, but along the way she starts to wonder if she had something to do with Megan's disappearance.
Right away, the best thing about The Girl on the Train movie is Emily Blunt. She gives a pretty solid performance as Rachel. You really feel how devastating the divorce was for her and how vulnerable it has made her. Emily does a great job showing not only the physical affects of the divorce but also the mental ones. The look on her face throughout the movie lets you know something isn't right with her mentally. One problem I did have with her character though was that she wasn't that likable so many times throughout the movie, I didn't really care what was going to happen to her. I don't blame Emily for that though, that was a story decision and I can see how it may have been necessary for her character arc but left me feeling cold for most of the movie.
For being a psychological thriller, this movie is extremely slow. It takes a while for Megan Hipwell to actually disappear and once she does, it feels like it takes forever for the actual process for it being resolved to take place. Early on in the movie you spend a lot of time just getting to know Rachel, Megan and Anna. There is a lot of jumping back in time and learning what happened in the months/years prior to the present day events. Many of these flashbacks don't provide that much useful information and make you only dislike the characters even more. Also they try to make it seem like Rachel had something to do with Megan's disappearance, but not once do you feel like Rachel is actually in any danger of being caught by the police and being accused of a crime. The main cop in the movie, played by Allison Janney, speaks to Rachel multiple times and acts like she knows Rachel did it but never brings her in and never acts like she is close to bringing her in.
The Girl on the Train has been compared a lot to the movie/book Gone Girl and at times while watching the movie, it was hard to not think about Gone Girl. Now I haven't seen Gone Girl since it was in theaters in 2014 so I don't remember the little details about it. Some of the basics are easy to compare with both dealing with a girl that has gone missing and couples dealing with infidelity, but as a movie, Gone Girl was way more engaging. Near the end of The Girl on the Train you can tell they were trying to have their Gone Girl moment with a scenes that were extremely violent, but they weren't all that shocking like the one in Gone Girl.
There were a few scenes in the movie involving a computer that drove me nuts. I know these scenes are extremely minor and most people won't notice, but for me they instantly took me out of the movie. In these scenes, a character is trying to log on to someones computer. The problem is the computer is locked and they need to enter a password. Normally on a computer when you enter a password, you do not see the actual characters of the password, but in this movie, they show the word the person actually guessed. I know, I know, this is an extremely minor gripe, but I couldn't stand it.
The Girl on the Train was an okay movie. Emily Blunt gives a solid performance and there were some twists and turns in the story that kept me guessing. The problem is that I didn't really care about the characters so I wasn't too interested in some of the twists and turns. At times the movie got extremely slow and that took a lot of the thrills and suspense out of it for me. I haven't read the book so I can't say go see the movie if you loved the book, but I can say that it probably is only worth watching at home and not on the big screen.
3 out of 5 Stars
The Girl on the Train is based on a book with the same name and stars Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Haley Bennett, Justin Theroux and a few other people that aren't really worth mentioning. Two years ago Rachel (Emily Blunt) got a divorce from her husband Tom (Justin Theroux) because he was cheating on her with a women named Anna (Rebecca Ferguson). Rachel now rides a train each day to the city and the train just happens to go by Tom and Anna's house. While riding the train Rachel lets her mind run wild and makes up stories about all the people in the houses the train goes by. Two houses down from Tom and Anna lives Scott and Megan Hipwell. In Rachel's mind Scott and Megan have the perfect relationship and show what love is all about. One day this perfect relationship is ruined for Rachel when she witnesses something and Megan ends up going missing. Rachel decides she must put the puzzle pieces together and figure out what happened to Megan, but along the way she starts to wonder if she had something to do with Megan's disappearance.
Right away, the best thing about The Girl on the Train movie is Emily Blunt. She gives a pretty solid performance as Rachel. You really feel how devastating the divorce was for her and how vulnerable it has made her. Emily does a great job showing not only the physical affects of the divorce but also the mental ones. The look on her face throughout the movie lets you know something isn't right with her mentally. One problem I did have with her character though was that she wasn't that likable so many times throughout the movie, I didn't really care what was going to happen to her. I don't blame Emily for that though, that was a story decision and I can see how it may have been necessary for her character arc but left me feeling cold for most of the movie.
For being a psychological thriller, this movie is extremely slow. It takes a while for Megan Hipwell to actually disappear and once she does, it feels like it takes forever for the actual process for it being resolved to take place. Early on in the movie you spend a lot of time just getting to know Rachel, Megan and Anna. There is a lot of jumping back in time and learning what happened in the months/years prior to the present day events. Many of these flashbacks don't provide that much useful information and make you only dislike the characters even more. Also they try to make it seem like Rachel had something to do with Megan's disappearance, but not once do you feel like Rachel is actually in any danger of being caught by the police and being accused of a crime. The main cop in the movie, played by Allison Janney, speaks to Rachel multiple times and acts like she knows Rachel did it but never brings her in and never acts like she is close to bringing her in.
The Girl on the Train has been compared a lot to the movie/book Gone Girl and at times while watching the movie, it was hard to not think about Gone Girl. Now I haven't seen Gone Girl since it was in theaters in 2014 so I don't remember the little details about it. Some of the basics are easy to compare with both dealing with a girl that has gone missing and couples dealing with infidelity, but as a movie, Gone Girl was way more engaging. Near the end of The Girl on the Train you can tell they were trying to have their Gone Girl moment with a scenes that were extremely violent, but they weren't all that shocking like the one in Gone Girl.
There were a few scenes in the movie involving a computer that drove me nuts. I know these scenes are extremely minor and most people won't notice, but for me they instantly took me out of the movie. In these scenes, a character is trying to log on to someones computer. The problem is the computer is locked and they need to enter a password. Normally on a computer when you enter a password, you do not see the actual characters of the password, but in this movie, they show the word the person actually guessed. I know, I know, this is an extremely minor gripe, but I couldn't stand it.
The Girl on the Train was an okay movie. Emily Blunt gives a solid performance and there were some twists and turns in the story that kept me guessing. The problem is that I didn't really care about the characters so I wasn't too interested in some of the twists and turns. At times the movie got extremely slow and that took a lot of the thrills and suspense out of it for me. I haven't read the book so I can't say go see the movie if you loved the book, but I can say that it probably is only worth watching at home and not on the big screen.
3 out of 5 Stars
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
The Dressmaker Review
It's not often that while watching a movie, I get a strong desire to walk out, but while watching The Dressmaker, I felt that desire often.
The Dressmaker is about a women named Myrtle "Tilly" Dunnage (played by Kate Winslet) who, after 25 years, returns to her hometown of Dungatar in the Australian outback to take care of her sick mother. While in Dungatar a lot of strange and random things happen, but the story mainly focuses on Tilly trying to figure out what happened 25 years ago when a young boy named Stewart Pettyman had died and she is unsure if she is the one that killed him.
Outside of Kate Winslet's performance, I hated this movie. The tone was all over the place. At times it would be a serious drama and the next moment it would be a slapstick comedy. I found these shifts in tone to be very off-putting and distracting. A lot of the characters in the movie just seem to be way too over the top and unnecessary. For example there is the town doctor who is a hunchback and he just stumbles around town and his wife uses pillows to bounce him around town. I just never understood why he was there. Also so much goes on in this movie that the main storyline of wondering what happened to Stewart Pettyman isn't even brought up for large portions of the movie. Many times throughout the movie something would happen and I would wonder what is going on and what does this have to do with anything.
Another thing that bothered me was the age of the characters in the movie. Tilly's love interest in the movie is played by Liam Hemsworth and I think you are supposed to believe that he went to school with Tilly when Stewart died. I can accept that Liam's character is in his late 20's but believing Tilly is as well was not happening for me. Because of the actor's age difference I wasn't feeling the romance and never really felt a chemistry between them. Partly that can be due to the fact that I don't think Liam is that good of an actor.
I did not enjoy The Dressmaker at all. The story and tone were all of the place. Many of the characters are annoying and serve no purpose. The love story never made sense with chemistry that was nonexistent. It's not often I feel like I'm wasting my time watching a movie, but I felt that way throughout watching The Dressmaker.
1 out of 5 Stars
The Dressmaker is about a women named Myrtle "Tilly" Dunnage (played by Kate Winslet) who, after 25 years, returns to her hometown of Dungatar in the Australian outback to take care of her sick mother. While in Dungatar a lot of strange and random things happen, but the story mainly focuses on Tilly trying to figure out what happened 25 years ago when a young boy named Stewart Pettyman had died and she is unsure if she is the one that killed him.
Outside of Kate Winslet's performance, I hated this movie. The tone was all over the place. At times it would be a serious drama and the next moment it would be a slapstick comedy. I found these shifts in tone to be very off-putting and distracting. A lot of the characters in the movie just seem to be way too over the top and unnecessary. For example there is the town doctor who is a hunchback and he just stumbles around town and his wife uses pillows to bounce him around town. I just never understood why he was there. Also so much goes on in this movie that the main storyline of wondering what happened to Stewart Pettyman isn't even brought up for large portions of the movie. Many times throughout the movie something would happen and I would wonder what is going on and what does this have to do with anything.
Another thing that bothered me was the age of the characters in the movie. Tilly's love interest in the movie is played by Liam Hemsworth and I think you are supposed to believe that he went to school with Tilly when Stewart died. I can accept that Liam's character is in his late 20's but believing Tilly is as well was not happening for me. Because of the actor's age difference I wasn't feeling the romance and never really felt a chemistry between them. Partly that can be due to the fact that I don't think Liam is that good of an actor.
I did not enjoy The Dressmaker at all. The story and tone were all of the place. Many of the characters are annoying and serve no purpose. The love story never made sense with chemistry that was nonexistent. It's not often I feel like I'm wasting my time watching a movie, but I felt that way throughout watching The Dressmaker.
1 out of 5 Stars
Deepwater Horizon Review
Sometimes a movie comes out that after seeing it I really want to love, but the more I think about it, the more I struggle to find something to latch onto. For me, Deepwater Horizon is one of those movies.
Deepwater Horizon is a movie about the oil spill and explosion of the Deepwater Horizon that took place back in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. The movie stars Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Dylan O'Brien, Kate Hudson, and Gina Rodriguez. Mark Wahlberg plays Mike Williams, an oil rig worker, that is sent to the Deepwater Horizon to work for twenty-one days. When Mike arrives on the rig with Jimmy Harrell (Russell) and Andrea Fleytas (Rodriguez), they start to realize something isn't right. A crew that was in charge of running some tests on the drill, end up leaving the rig without performing these important tests. The call for them to leave without performing the tests came from the higher ups like Donald Vidrine (Malkovich). When Mike and Jimmy confront Donald, he lets Mike and Jimmy perform some tests and with the results convinces them to start drilling. Soon disasters strikes and the crew on the rig must work together to reach safety.
What bothered me about Deepwater Horizon was the pace at which things moved. I felt that the beginning the movie spent a lot of time allowing the audience to get to know the characters and I just wanted to get to the action. Then once it got to the action everything happened so quickly and then the movie ended. There were so many characters that emotionally I never got invested in any of them. I was a tad invested in Wahlberg's character but the ending wrapped up so quickly I didn't have time to get emotional.
I was impressed with the action in Deepwater Horizon. The effects used made it look real and made me feel like the actors were in actual danger. There was only a couple of times where I could tell that the flames were actually computer generated. Kurt Russell's character gets some pretty graphic damage done to his face and the make-up used on him looked incredible.
Overall I thought Deepwater Horizon was a solid movie. I never got emotionally connected to the characters like I was expecting to. I thought the action was good and definitely deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible. I don't regret seeing Deepwater Horizon, I was just expecting a little more.
3 out of 5 Stars
Deepwater Horizon is a movie about the oil spill and explosion of the Deepwater Horizon that took place back in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. The movie stars Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Dylan O'Brien, Kate Hudson, and Gina Rodriguez. Mark Wahlberg plays Mike Williams, an oil rig worker, that is sent to the Deepwater Horizon to work for twenty-one days. When Mike arrives on the rig with Jimmy Harrell (Russell) and Andrea Fleytas (Rodriguez), they start to realize something isn't right. A crew that was in charge of running some tests on the drill, end up leaving the rig without performing these important tests. The call for them to leave without performing the tests came from the higher ups like Donald Vidrine (Malkovich). When Mike and Jimmy confront Donald, he lets Mike and Jimmy perform some tests and with the results convinces them to start drilling. Soon disasters strikes and the crew on the rig must work together to reach safety.
What bothered me about Deepwater Horizon was the pace at which things moved. I felt that the beginning the movie spent a lot of time allowing the audience to get to know the characters and I just wanted to get to the action. Then once it got to the action everything happened so quickly and then the movie ended. There were so many characters that emotionally I never got invested in any of them. I was a tad invested in Wahlberg's character but the ending wrapped up so quickly I didn't have time to get emotional.
I was impressed with the action in Deepwater Horizon. The effects used made it look real and made me feel like the actors were in actual danger. There was only a couple of times where I could tell that the flames were actually computer generated. Kurt Russell's character gets some pretty graphic damage done to his face and the make-up used on him looked incredible.
Overall I thought Deepwater Horizon was a solid movie. I never got emotionally connected to the characters like I was expecting to. I thought the action was good and definitely deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible. I don't regret seeing Deepwater Horizon, I was just expecting a little more.
3 out of 5 Stars
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Sully Review
If a movie stars Tom Hanks there is a good chance I am going to like it and Sully is no exception to that rule.
Sully is directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, and Laura Linney. Tom Hanks plays Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who successfully landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in New York City in January 2009. The movie focuses on the plane landing itself as well as the investigation that takes place days after the incident. Aaron Eckhart plays First Officer Jeffery Skiles and Laura Linney plays Sully's wife, Lorraine Sullenberger.
Since the movie is called Sully, this movie either succeeds or fails on Tom Hanks' performance and for me that is where this movie succeeds the most. I thought Tom Hanks did a great job of bringing out the heroic side of Sully. He really felt like a regular guy that pulled off a remarkable feat by saving 155 passengers. There was this vulnerability to his character where you felt bad for him because of the investigation that followed after the crash. Having seen what he did to land the plane you know that he did something heroic, but you have the National Transportation Safety Board trying to figure out if he actually did the right thing and instead of saving people actually endangered them. Throughout the movie I found myself wondering if he actually did the right thing and you also see that on Tom's face where he too thinks he made a mistake. It was those moments where Tom questions what he did that really made me question his actions. I also liked that you got to see how Sully struggled with the new found popularity and being a celebrity. It was something that he wasn't comfortable with. One moment he is just a regular pilot and the next he is on every news station and people are shouting his name while he walks down the street. Tom Hanks' performance made that feel authentic.
Another thing that must work for this movie to succeed is the actual landing of the plane on the water. The scenes that showed this event were intense and had me on the edge of my seat, which is impressive given I already knew the outcome. One thing I liked about it was that they showed it from various angles. You first experience the landing from the cockpit with Sully and Jeffery. You see what they had to do inside the cockpit and the communication between them and air traffic control. I enjoyed getting to see how air traffic control handled the situation and their emotional connection to a single plane. You also get to experience it through the eyes of those on the plane itself. You see the calmness in the flight attendants and the fear in the passengers.
Sully wasn't a completely perfect movie for me though. I found the beginning of the movie to be fairly boring and was struggling to stay awake. The movie starts out a few days after the landing has occurred and Sully is still in New York while the investigation is going on. Sully is in a state of shock and struggling to comprehend what he just went through and I felt that since I haven't really seen what all he went through, I was emotionally disconnected to the character. After I finally saw what happened and got to experience the landing, I was more emotionally connected to Sully. Also during this part of the movie, Sully kept having visions of a plane flying into buildings in New York City and I found these to be a tad disturbing and slightly unnecessary. There was also a couple of one liners that seemed completely unnecessary and distracting.
Sully is a movie that overall I really enjoyed. It has solid performances from it's leads especially Tom Hanks. The movie started out pretty slow, but once it got into the details of the landing, I was fully engaged. I think that this is a movie that should be seen on the big screen because of how the landing plays out, the sound and visuals were fantastic. Sully probably won't go down as the best Tom Hanks movie but it is the best of his most recent ones.
4 out of 5 Stars
Sully is directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, and Laura Linney. Tom Hanks plays Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who successfully landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in New York City in January 2009. The movie focuses on the plane landing itself as well as the investigation that takes place days after the incident. Aaron Eckhart plays First Officer Jeffery Skiles and Laura Linney plays Sully's wife, Lorraine Sullenberger.
Since the movie is called Sully, this movie either succeeds or fails on Tom Hanks' performance and for me that is where this movie succeeds the most. I thought Tom Hanks did a great job of bringing out the heroic side of Sully. He really felt like a regular guy that pulled off a remarkable feat by saving 155 passengers. There was this vulnerability to his character where you felt bad for him because of the investigation that followed after the crash. Having seen what he did to land the plane you know that he did something heroic, but you have the National Transportation Safety Board trying to figure out if he actually did the right thing and instead of saving people actually endangered them. Throughout the movie I found myself wondering if he actually did the right thing and you also see that on Tom's face where he too thinks he made a mistake. It was those moments where Tom questions what he did that really made me question his actions. I also liked that you got to see how Sully struggled with the new found popularity and being a celebrity. It was something that he wasn't comfortable with. One moment he is just a regular pilot and the next he is on every news station and people are shouting his name while he walks down the street. Tom Hanks' performance made that feel authentic.
Another thing that must work for this movie to succeed is the actual landing of the plane on the water. The scenes that showed this event were intense and had me on the edge of my seat, which is impressive given I already knew the outcome. One thing I liked about it was that they showed it from various angles. You first experience the landing from the cockpit with Sully and Jeffery. You see what they had to do inside the cockpit and the communication between them and air traffic control. I enjoyed getting to see how air traffic control handled the situation and their emotional connection to a single plane. You also get to experience it through the eyes of those on the plane itself. You see the calmness in the flight attendants and the fear in the passengers.
Sully wasn't a completely perfect movie for me though. I found the beginning of the movie to be fairly boring and was struggling to stay awake. The movie starts out a few days after the landing has occurred and Sully is still in New York while the investigation is going on. Sully is in a state of shock and struggling to comprehend what he just went through and I felt that since I haven't really seen what all he went through, I was emotionally disconnected to the character. After I finally saw what happened and got to experience the landing, I was more emotionally connected to Sully. Also during this part of the movie, Sully kept having visions of a plane flying into buildings in New York City and I found these to be a tad disturbing and slightly unnecessary. There was also a couple of one liners that seemed completely unnecessary and distracting.
Sully is a movie that overall I really enjoyed. It has solid performances from it's leads especially Tom Hanks. The movie started out pretty slow, but once it got into the details of the landing, I was fully engaged. I think that this is a movie that should be seen on the big screen because of how the landing plays out, the sound and visuals were fantastic. Sully probably won't go down as the best Tom Hanks movie but it is the best of his most recent ones.
4 out of 5 Stars
Storks Review
So far in 2016 pretty much every animated movie has featured talking animals. The trend continues with the newest animated movie called Storks. Like I said in my The Secret Life of Pets review, some of these movies have been pretty good while others not so much. For me Storks sits right in the middle. It was entertaining for the most part, just not very deep.
Storks takes place in a world where storks have stopped (not sure there is a world where they even started) delivering babies and instead deliver packages from an Amazon-esque site called Cornerstore. One day, a boy named Nate, decides he wants a baby brother and writes a letter to the storks asking them to deliver one to his house. A human orphan named Tulip, lives with storks and receives the letter and accidentally creates the baby via the Baby Making Machine. Tulip with the help of a stork named Junior (voiced by Andy Samberg) must work together to deliver the baby to it's new family. Along the way they run into various things that get in their way like a pack of wolves and an annoying pigeon that works at Cornerstore.
While watching Storks I was fairly entertained. I found myself laughing out loud during various parts of the movie. The funniest parts for me came from jokes that dealt with how people interact around babies. One thing I hear all the time is how great babies smell and that was a running joke throughout the movie, especially with the pack of wolves. I also enjoyed a scene where Tulip and Junior try to get some sleep but the baby will not let them and you just see the physical pain that it is causing them. Another scene I enjoyed was one where Tulip and Junior fight some penguins but they have to do it silently because the baby is sleeping.
I also thought the voice acting was pretty good in this movie. Andy Samberg was pretty entertaining as Junior. Usually Samberg annoys me, but since it was just his voice I found him enjoyable. Katie Crown voices Tulip and I thought she did a decent job. Katie is a voice actress on the show Adventure Time, which I have never watched, so before this movie I had never heard of her. I really enjoyed Ty Burrell as Henry, Nate's dad. He isn't given too much to do but I enjoyed watching him be a busy dad that then becomes obsessed with helping his son. Jennifer Aniston voices Sarah, Nate's mom. She is a pretty forgettable character. Kelsey Grammar was okay as Hunter, the stork boss of Cornerstore. He is only slightly menacing and I wish he had more to do. Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele play the two leaders of the wolf pack when they were on screen I enjoyed them, but they are mainly there for laughs and not much else.
Even though I was entertained during Storks, it never reaches the emotional stakes that Pixar or even Dreamworks can attain. It's a very surface-level movie with it's laughs and story beats but has no depth that makes you emotionally attached to the characters. The main thing that kept me from being emotionally attached is that some of the characters have no reason to being in the movie. The movie tries to have these villains that have no motivation and never pose a threat to Tulip and Junior. One of the "villains" was just really annoying to me and pissed me off anytime he appeared on screen. Another character was just creepy and had no reason to be in the movie.
Storks was an entertaining movie that kids will enjoy and parents will laugh but will find not need to revisit.
3 1/2 out of 5 Stars
Storks takes place in a world where storks have stopped (not sure there is a world where they even started) delivering babies and instead deliver packages from an Amazon-esque site called Cornerstore. One day, a boy named Nate, decides he wants a baby brother and writes a letter to the storks asking them to deliver one to his house. A human orphan named Tulip, lives with storks and receives the letter and accidentally creates the baby via the Baby Making Machine. Tulip with the help of a stork named Junior (voiced by Andy Samberg) must work together to deliver the baby to it's new family. Along the way they run into various things that get in their way like a pack of wolves and an annoying pigeon that works at Cornerstore.
While watching Storks I was fairly entertained. I found myself laughing out loud during various parts of the movie. The funniest parts for me came from jokes that dealt with how people interact around babies. One thing I hear all the time is how great babies smell and that was a running joke throughout the movie, especially with the pack of wolves. I also enjoyed a scene where Tulip and Junior try to get some sleep but the baby will not let them and you just see the physical pain that it is causing them. Another scene I enjoyed was one where Tulip and Junior fight some penguins but they have to do it silently because the baby is sleeping.
I also thought the voice acting was pretty good in this movie. Andy Samberg was pretty entertaining as Junior. Usually Samberg annoys me, but since it was just his voice I found him enjoyable. Katie Crown voices Tulip and I thought she did a decent job. Katie is a voice actress on the show Adventure Time, which I have never watched, so before this movie I had never heard of her. I really enjoyed Ty Burrell as Henry, Nate's dad. He isn't given too much to do but I enjoyed watching him be a busy dad that then becomes obsessed with helping his son. Jennifer Aniston voices Sarah, Nate's mom. She is a pretty forgettable character. Kelsey Grammar was okay as Hunter, the stork boss of Cornerstore. He is only slightly menacing and I wish he had more to do. Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele play the two leaders of the wolf pack when they were on screen I enjoyed them, but they are mainly there for laughs and not much else.
Even though I was entertained during Storks, it never reaches the emotional stakes that Pixar or even Dreamworks can attain. It's a very surface-level movie with it's laughs and story beats but has no depth that makes you emotionally attached to the characters. The main thing that kept me from being emotionally attached is that some of the characters have no reason to being in the movie. The movie tries to have these villains that have no motivation and never pose a threat to Tulip and Junior. One of the "villains" was just really annoying to me and pissed me off anytime he appeared on screen. Another character was just creepy and had no reason to be in the movie.
Storks was an entertaining movie that kids will enjoy and parents will laugh but will find not need to revisit.
3 1/2 out of 5 Stars
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Southside with You Review
When you go into a movie that is about a famous couples first date, you would expect to feel a connection between the characters. I must say that I did not feel a connection at all between the characters in Southside with You.
Southside with You is about the first date between Barack Obama and Michelle Robinson (yes that Barack and Michelle). The movie takes place in Chicago in 1989 where the two work at a law firm. This is the first movie directed by Richard Tanne and stars Parker Sawyers as Barack and Tika Sumpter as Michelle.
I'm going to keep this short and simple, I was completely bored watching this movie. I felt that there was no chemistry between Barack and Michelle. For most of the movie Barack just looks up and down Michelle's body in this super creepy way and made me feel a little uncomfortable. Tika's performance as Michelle was rigid and lifeless. It seemed like it wasn't until three quarters into the movie that you finally saw her smile and that was probably because Michelle was drinking. If someone is on an enjoyable first date, you would expect them to smile a little more. Michelle was not likable at all, she was angry for most of the movie and I could never imagine someone falling for her. Barack had charisma and charm and seeing him interact with Michelle was frustrating. For a lot of the movie I was wondering what Barack saw in her and was wondering why did he want to date her so badly. The dialog between Barack and Michelle was pretty painful and uninteresting. A lot of the things they talked about seemed forced. There were multiple lines that just seemed like they were thrown in just so the audience could say "Hey I heard about that in the news". It never felt like an actual conversation two people would have on a first date.
I do have to give the director a little credit though. The movie was beautiful to look at. There were some fantastic shots throughout the movie. Also the movie had some great music.
Southside with You was a huge disappointment. This movie was completely boring and there was no chemistry between Barack and Michelle. This was a romantic movie that completely lacked any kind of romance. There is absolutely no reason to see this movie and the more I think about it, the more I dislike it.
2 out of 5 Stars (and falling)
Southside with You is about the first date between Barack Obama and Michelle Robinson (yes that Barack and Michelle). The movie takes place in Chicago in 1989 where the two work at a law firm. This is the first movie directed by Richard Tanne and stars Parker Sawyers as Barack and Tika Sumpter as Michelle.
I'm going to keep this short and simple, I was completely bored watching this movie. I felt that there was no chemistry between Barack and Michelle. For most of the movie Barack just looks up and down Michelle's body in this super creepy way and made me feel a little uncomfortable. Tika's performance as Michelle was rigid and lifeless. It seemed like it wasn't until three quarters into the movie that you finally saw her smile and that was probably because Michelle was drinking. If someone is on an enjoyable first date, you would expect them to smile a little more. Michelle was not likable at all, she was angry for most of the movie and I could never imagine someone falling for her. Barack had charisma and charm and seeing him interact with Michelle was frustrating. For a lot of the movie I was wondering what Barack saw in her and was wondering why did he want to date her so badly. The dialog between Barack and Michelle was pretty painful and uninteresting. A lot of the things they talked about seemed forced. There were multiple lines that just seemed like they were thrown in just so the audience could say "Hey I heard about that in the news". It never felt like an actual conversation two people would have on a first date.
I do have to give the director a little credit though. The movie was beautiful to look at. There were some fantastic shots throughout the movie. Also the movie had some great music.
Southside with You was a huge disappointment. This movie was completely boring and there was no chemistry between Barack and Michelle. This was a romantic movie that completely lacked any kind of romance. There is absolutely no reason to see this movie and the more I think about it, the more I dislike it.
2 out of 5 Stars (and falling)
Don't Think Twice Review
Seeing Don't Think Twice was a very rare movie going experience for me. I didn't have any real knowledge or connection to any of the actors in the movie, the plot was about things that don't really interest me and it felt like nothing really happened in the movie. Yet I have to say, I really enjoyed Don't Think Twice.
Don't Think Twice is about a group of friends that are part of a New York improv troupe. The main goal for the members of the troupe are to become a cast members of the hit show Weekend Live (basically Saturday Night Live). When one of the members ends up getting hired to join Weekend Live, the remaining members start to wonder what to do with their lives and tension starts to mount.
The movie is written and directed by Mike Birbiglia, who also stars in the movie. I have seen Mike in a couple movies, but I don't remember him from any of them. The only thing I remember him from is seeing him on Conan O'Brien's talk show. The movie also stars Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele), Gillian Jacobs (Community, I think), and then three comedians I have never heard of, Kate Micucci, Chris Gethard and Tami Sagher. There are also a couple cameos from some famous comedians. I think not knowing the cast helped keep me from comparing them to previous roles and made it feel like they were just playing themselves in this movie.
What I really liked about Don't Think Twice was the connection and bond within the improv troupe. The movie did a really good job of making it seem like these were real friends that have been performing together for many years. It was fun watching them interact with each other and just witness them going through life together. One character has a family emergency come up and watching how the group came together felt special and authentic. Two members of the troupe are in a relationship and the way that it plays out was really emotional and kept me invested in the movie. It was also fun watching what ended up being a behind the scenes look at what it's like to get on a show like Saturday Night Live. For comedians, that show is the pinnacle of making it, so watching these characters strive to get there was interesting.
If I had to pick something I didn't like about the movie, I would probably have to say that for a movie about comedians, it isn't really that funny. Going into the movie, I thought it was going to be a comedy, but it ended up being more of a drama with the occasional laugh. But I would have to say I kind of preferred that it was a drama so it isn't really that much of a negative.
Don't Think Twice surprised me. All the actors are relatively new to me, the main subject of the movie was something that I have no interest in and nothing really happened in the movie, but I still had an enjoyable time watching it. I recommend seeing this movie. It is probably the most "real" movie I have seen this year and it surprisingly hit me emotionally.
4 out of 5 Stars
Don't Think Twice is about a group of friends that are part of a New York improv troupe. The main goal for the members of the troupe are to become a cast members of the hit show Weekend Live (basically Saturday Night Live). When one of the members ends up getting hired to join Weekend Live, the remaining members start to wonder what to do with their lives and tension starts to mount.
The movie is written and directed by Mike Birbiglia, who also stars in the movie. I have seen Mike in a couple movies, but I don't remember him from any of them. The only thing I remember him from is seeing him on Conan O'Brien's talk show. The movie also stars Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele), Gillian Jacobs (Community, I think), and then three comedians I have never heard of, Kate Micucci, Chris Gethard and Tami Sagher. There are also a couple cameos from some famous comedians. I think not knowing the cast helped keep me from comparing them to previous roles and made it feel like they were just playing themselves in this movie.
What I really liked about Don't Think Twice was the connection and bond within the improv troupe. The movie did a really good job of making it seem like these were real friends that have been performing together for many years. It was fun watching them interact with each other and just witness them going through life together. One character has a family emergency come up and watching how the group came together felt special and authentic. Two members of the troupe are in a relationship and the way that it plays out was really emotional and kept me invested in the movie. It was also fun watching what ended up being a behind the scenes look at what it's like to get on a show like Saturday Night Live. For comedians, that show is the pinnacle of making it, so watching these characters strive to get there was interesting.
If I had to pick something I didn't like about the movie, I would probably have to say that for a movie about comedians, it isn't really that funny. Going into the movie, I thought it was going to be a comedy, but it ended up being more of a drama with the occasional laugh. But I would have to say I kind of preferred that it was a drama so it isn't really that much of a negative.
Don't Think Twice surprised me. All the actors are relatively new to me, the main subject of the movie was something that I have no interest in and nothing really happened in the movie, but I still had an enjoyable time watching it. I recommend seeing this movie. It is probably the most "real" movie I have seen this year and it surprisingly hit me emotionally.
4 out of 5 Stars
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Don't Breathe Review
About midway through the movie Don't Breathe, I realized I had a huge smile on my face, does that make me a sick and twisted individual?
Don't Breathe is a horror film starring Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette and Stephen Lang. This movie has a fairly simple premise, Rocky (Jane Levy), her boyfriend Money, and Alex (Dylan Minnette) decide to break into the house of a blind man (Stephen Lang). Something goes wrong while they are in the house and the blind man locks the three teens inside the house. Will the three of them make it out alive or will the blind man be able to handle the home invaders?
What's really interesting about Don't Breathe is that you don't really know who to root for. The blind man is just protecting his house. The three teens are committing a crime and they are on his property so he has every right to protect himself. Throughout the movie, I found myself rooting for the blind man and looking forward to what he would do to the home invaders. But as the movie progresses you do start to wonder if maybe the blind man isn't that innocent and there is more to him than just some lonely hermit. This causes you to maybe start to root of the teens, but you still have this sour taste in your mouth that maybe they do deserve what is happening to them.
The performances in this movie are pretty spectacular. Stephen Lang does a marvelous job as the blind man (and yes that's what he is listed as in the credits). He doesn't have a lot of dialog but his facial expressions are able to show a wide range of emotions from rage to toughness to fear. When you look at him, you wouldn't expect him to be afraid, but then you remember that he is blind and he doesn't really know where the intruders are at in his house so at times he can be pretty vulnerable. Because they are trying to avoid the blind man, Jane Levy and Dylan Minnette have to do a lot of their acting without words as well. If they were to speak or make any type of sound, the blind man would find them. This causes a lot of their fear and anxiety to be shown via facial expressions. I feel like they both did a great job conveying what was going through their heads and that immediately help put you as an audience member into their shoes.
Even though the premise of Don't Breathe is pretty simple, there were still some fun surprises and twists. I felt like the movie was predictable in all the right places and then would throw a twist at you at just the right moment. Early on in the movie, they show you certain things around the house and you just know that those items will play into the story in some way and I really enjoyed that kind of foreshadowing. There is one twist that doesn't really fit with the rest of the movie and probably could have been left out, but it did lead to a moment that made me gag which I'm not sure has ever happened in a movie before.
I was really surprised with how much fun I had with Don't Breathe. I highly recommend seeing this movie if you are a fan of suspense and enjoy being stressed out while watching a movie. Maybe I am just sick and twisted, but I think you too, will find yourself with a smile on your face while you watch Don't Breathe.
4 out of 5 Stars
Don't Breathe is a horror film starring Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette and Stephen Lang. This movie has a fairly simple premise, Rocky (Jane Levy), her boyfriend Money, and Alex (Dylan Minnette) decide to break into the house of a blind man (Stephen Lang). Something goes wrong while they are in the house and the blind man locks the three teens inside the house. Will the three of them make it out alive or will the blind man be able to handle the home invaders?
What's really interesting about Don't Breathe is that you don't really know who to root for. The blind man is just protecting his house. The three teens are committing a crime and they are on his property so he has every right to protect himself. Throughout the movie, I found myself rooting for the blind man and looking forward to what he would do to the home invaders. But as the movie progresses you do start to wonder if maybe the blind man isn't that innocent and there is more to him than just some lonely hermit. This causes you to maybe start to root of the teens, but you still have this sour taste in your mouth that maybe they do deserve what is happening to them.
The performances in this movie are pretty spectacular. Stephen Lang does a marvelous job as the blind man (and yes that's what he is listed as in the credits). He doesn't have a lot of dialog but his facial expressions are able to show a wide range of emotions from rage to toughness to fear. When you look at him, you wouldn't expect him to be afraid, but then you remember that he is blind and he doesn't really know where the intruders are at in his house so at times he can be pretty vulnerable. Because they are trying to avoid the blind man, Jane Levy and Dylan Minnette have to do a lot of their acting without words as well. If they were to speak or make any type of sound, the blind man would find them. This causes a lot of their fear and anxiety to be shown via facial expressions. I feel like they both did a great job conveying what was going through their heads and that immediately help put you as an audience member into their shoes.
Even though the premise of Don't Breathe is pretty simple, there were still some fun surprises and twists. I felt like the movie was predictable in all the right places and then would throw a twist at you at just the right moment. Early on in the movie, they show you certain things around the house and you just know that those items will play into the story in some way and I really enjoyed that kind of foreshadowing. There is one twist that doesn't really fit with the rest of the movie and probably could have been left out, but it did lead to a moment that made me gag which I'm not sure has ever happened in a movie before.
I was really surprised with how much fun I had with Don't Breathe. I highly recommend seeing this movie if you are a fan of suspense and enjoy being stressed out while watching a movie. Maybe I am just sick and twisted, but I think you too, will find yourself with a smile on your face while you watch Don't Breathe.
4 out of 5 Stars
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