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.
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Friday, January 13, 2017
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.
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!
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!
Saturday, January 7, 2017
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).
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).
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
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 - Musical or Comedy
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
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
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
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
Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
Best Motion Picture - Animated
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
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
Best Original Song - Motion Picture
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.
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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.
Saturday, December 31, 2016
My 2016 Movie Rankings
- Arrival (5 Stars)
- The Revenant (5 Stars)
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens (5 Stars)
- Sing Street (5 Stars)
- La La Land (4 1/2 Stars)
- Captain America: Civil War (4 1/2 Stars)
- Swiss Army Man (4 1/2 Stars)
- Kubo and the Two Strings (4 1/2 Stars)
- Deadpool (4 1/2 Stars)
- Zootopia (4 1/2 Stars)
- Hunt for the Wilderpeople (4 1/2 Stars)
- Train to Busan (4 1/2 Stars)
- Nocturnal Animals (4 1/2 Stars)
- The Lobster (4 1/2 Stars)
- The Jungle Book (4 1/2 Stars)
- Manchester by the Sea (4 1/2 Stars)
- Fences (4 1/2 Stars)
- Indignation (4 1/2 Stars)
- Anomalisa (4 1/2 Stars)
- Gleason (4 1/2 Stars)
- Don't Breathe (4 Stars)
- 10 Cloverfield Lane (4 Stars)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (4 Stars)
- The Witch (4 Stars)
- Green Room (4 Stars)
- Star Trek Beyond (4 Stars)
- Midnight Special (4 Stars)
- Doctor Strange (4 Stars)
- Carol (4 Stars)
- Everybody Wants Some!!! (4 Stars)
- The Nice Guys (4 Stars)
- Pete's Dragon (4 Stars)
- Don't Think Twice (4 Stars)
- Hell or High Water (4 Stars)
- Hacksaw Ridge (4 Stars)
- The Edge of Seventeen (4 Stars)
- Loving (4 Stars)
- Lion (4 Stars)
- Moana (4 Stars)
- Finding Dory (4 Stars)
- Maggie's Plan (4 Stars)
- Eye in the Sky (4 Stars)
- Miss Sloane (4 Stars)
- Purple Rain (4 Stars)
- Sully (4 Stars)
- Cafe Society (3 1/2 Stars)
- Captain Fantastic (3 1/2 Stars)
- A Bigger Splash (3 1/2 Stars)
- The Shallows (3 1/2 Stars)
- Queen of Katwe (3 1/2 Stars)
- The Accountant (3 1/2 Stars)
- The Magnificent Seven (3 1/2 Stars)
- The Light Between Oceans (3 1/2 Stars)
- Bleed for This (3 1/2 Stars)
- Moonlight (3 1/2 Stars)
- Florence Foster Jenkins (3 1/2 Stars)
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (3 1/2 Stars)
- Denial (3 1/2 Stars)
- Kevin Hart: What Now? (3 1/2 Stars)
- Jason Bourne (3 1/2 Stars)
- Our Kind of Traitor (3 1/2 Stars)
- The Hollars (3 1/2 Stars)
- Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates (3 1/2 Stars)
- Sing (3 1/2 Stars)
- The Secret Life of Pets (3 1/2 Stars)
- Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (3 1/2 Stars)
- Demolition (3 1/2 Stars)
- Rule's Don't Apply (3 1/2 Stars)
- Keanu (3 1/2 Stars)
- Triple 9 (3 1/2 Stars)
- Bad Moms (3 1/2 Stars)
- Trolls (3 1/2 Stars)
- Weiner-Dog (3 1/2 Stars)
- Race (3 1/2 Stars)
- Miles Ahead (3 1/2 Stars)
- Me Before You (3 1/2 Stars)
- Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (3 1/2 Stars)
- Concussion (3 1/2 Stars)
- Eddie the Eagle (3 1/2 Stars)
- Kung Fu Panda 3 (3 1/2 Stars)
- 13 Hours (3 1/2 Stars)
- The Finest Hours (3 1/2 Stars)
- Storks (3 1/2 Stars)
- The Infiltrator (3 Stars)
- Deepwater Horizon (3 Stars)
- Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (3 Stars)
- The Neon Demon (3 Stars)
- Pride & Prejudice & Zombies (3 Stars)
- Snowden (3 Stars)
- Allied (3 Stars)
- Birth of a Nation (3 Stars)
- War Dogs (3 Stars)
- Ghostbusters (3 Stars)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (3 Stars)
- Criminal Intelligence (3 Stars)
- The Girl on the Train (3 Stars)
- X-Men: Apocalypse (3 Stars)
- The Angry Birds Movie (3 Stars)
- Hardcore Henry (3 Stars)
- Sausage Party (3 Stars)
- London Has Fallen (3 Stars)
- Money Monster (3 Stars)
- Now You See Me 2 (3 Stars)
- A Hologram for the King (3 Stars)
- Nerve (3 Stars)
- Free State of Jones (3 Stars)
- The BFG (3 Stars)
- Risen (3 Stars)
- Love & Friendship (3 Stars)
- Inferno (3 Stars)
- Alice Through the Looking Glass (3 Stars)
- Hands of Stone (2 1/2 Stars)
- Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2 1/2 Stars)
- Ben-Hur (2 1/2 Stars)
- Hail, Caesar! (2 1/2 Stars)
- I Saw The Light (2 1/2 Stars)
- Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2 1/2 Stars)
- The Legend of Tarzan (2 1/2 Stars)
- Miss Hokusai (2 Stars)
- Warcraft (2 Stars)
- Criminal (2 Stars)
- Assassin's Creed (2 Stars)
- Passengers (2 Stars)
- Collateral Beauty (2 Stars)
- Independence Day: Resurgence (2 Stars)
- Allegiant (2 Stars)
- Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2 Stars)
- The Huntsman: Winter's War (2 Stars)
- Southside with You (2 Stars)
- Suicide Squad (1 1/2 Stars)
- Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (1 Star)
- Ratchet & Clank (1 Star)
- The Dressmaker (1 Star)
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
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
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
Thursday, November 17, 2016
The Edge of Seventeen Review
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
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
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
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