World War Z (2013) Review

Good or not, a zombie movie always seems to be interesting. You're either laughing out loud, terrified, or excited for action, and sometimes all at once. Except for the rare movie that doesn't do any of the above, like 28 Days Later, which was a not-too-exciting car trip of bonding. Fortunately, World War Z is the complete opposite of that. It times itself perfectly, having the perfect runtime and not dragging on with any scenes or being too quick with some scenes. The exposition is done well, Gerry's love of his family is clear and no one, including the audience has any idea what's happening. And once, Gerry sets off to fight zombies on his own, the film picks up to the interesting because super-exciting level. We have fun watching Gerry run from Zombie after Zombie, whether it be Zombies climbing over walls, Zombies chasing him in the dark because his cell phone went off, or Zombies infecting everyone on a crowded plane, or the gem action scene of the movie, the final zombie fight scenes in the research labs. Yes, World War Z could have used more star power than just Brad Pitt, and its ending was too unresolved and unclear, but it's undoubtedly a solid, original entry in the zombie genre and works great for action junkies too.
Movie Rating: B+

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015) Review

There are very few directors who make movie after movie without fault. Some of the most brilliant directors out there have their fair share of bad movies. But, there are also those who started with a winning streak and continued that success. While Brad Bird and Quentin Tarantino fit that description better, Matthew Vaughn is on a winning streak now. He's only directed 5 movies total, but not a single one of them is bad. His specialty seems to be extremely fun, original, action movies. He made the best X-Men movie happen, and he also directed Kick-Ass. Kingsman is another movie on his winning streak. Kingsman has the cool new gadgets, great one-liners, great villains, badass heroes, new actors, experienced actors, a great story, and it's the most fun I've had in a long time. As far as spy movies go, Kingsman is top-notch. I usually don't visit the movie theaters until April or May, but I'm glad I made an exception for this.
Movie Rating: A

Pulp Fiction (1994) Review

Without a doubt, Pulp Fiction is one of the greatest crime movies of all time. It has a great cast playing great characters- Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Harvey Keitel, and Tarantino himself. The story is perfect- each character has his or her own storyline and they intersect perfectly at certain points. And the dialogue is amazing.
Yes, the story is all over the place with the movie ending at the beginning, but who cares? It's amazing.
Movie Rating: A+

Reservoir Dogs (1992) Review

Reservoir Dogs was Tarantino's debut. It has most elements of a tarantino classic. Great dialogue, great characters, awesome gore. But it doesn't have the runtime or the interest level of any of the other films. During an argument with Mr. White, Mr. Blonde says "Are you going to bark all day, little doggie, or are you going to bite?" I think that quote sums up the movie. It's all dialogue, but no action. There are little pieces of action to bring us back into the movie, but at certain points, the conversation gets too long and too boring. Especially with the unnecessary backstories. It sets Pulp Fiction up well and breaks new ground, but it doesn't compare to the quality of Tarantino's masterpiece.
Movie Rating: B

Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014) Review

I remember reading this book as a kid. I never dreamed it would get a movie adaption. For the family-kids-PG-comedy to work, it needs to be enjoyable, memorable, and funny. Or at least the first two. After seeing the awful reviews, I assumed enjoyable, but stupid, cheesy, and clichéd. But, there were wrong. This is part of the underrated films of 2014. Alexander is enjoyable, memorable and funny. And it's that one movie that's less than 90 minutes. Normally, I find kid's characters annoying and dumb. But, every single character is fantastic. Well, except Alexander. He's annoying and dumb. But, I loved everyone else. Steve Carell was awesome as usual, Jennifer Garner does well as the mom, the siblings are interesting, and it didn't hurt to throw in the baby. The movie is extremely entertaining, especially with such a wild premise. And it even makes you laugh here and there. A successful, surprising, adaptation that maybe even deserves- a sequel?
Movie Rating: B+

Gone Girl (2014) Review

Gone Girl is David Fincher's latest hit. It received critical acclaim, and the audience liked it too. But, it's not a hit. I'm so-so on liking Fincher films. I didn't like Se7en or Fight Club at all, really, but I absolutely loved the Social Network. I haven't seen The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo or The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Of course, there were many great parts about it. Great performances for good characters- Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris. An interesting plot with plenty of twists. And a solid R rating. But Gone Girl is far from perfect. It starts that way and remains it, until the very disappointing ending. It feels like we have at least 30 minutes to go on how Ben Affleck will get revenge on his wife- but no, it ends there, unresolved.
Movie Rating: B

The Godfather Part II (1974) Review

For The original godfather, I complained that the runtime was far too long and the movie itself wasn't very interesting. Fortunately, the sequel heard my message loud and clear. Godfather Part II's extremely long runtime is much more excusable, and is actually a decent length to portray everything that happens in the movie. The Godfather Part II is also much more interesting. Less long discussion, more action. But, the Godfather Part II loses all the gems of the original. There were three things I really liked about the Godfather- great characters, dialogue, and awesome scenes. Only one was present in the sequel. The dialogue was fantastic again. But we don't have badass killing scenes like the original did. And the characters just aren't as enjoyable. Michael gets much more screen time, which should be good, but unfortunately, he basically turns into the devil himself. My other favorite characters weren't as great either- tom lost a great amount of screen time, and Vito changed actors for the worse. It was decent, but it fails to improve upon the original.
Movie Rating: B

Battle Royale (2001) Review

I don't usually watch foreign films. It's not the different language that I don't like, more lack of famous faces. But, an ultra-violent action-drama similar to the hunger games that has praise from Tarantino. Sign me up. And it looked it damn good, too. But let's get one thing right in that description- it's not that violent at all. And yes, I probably would have liked it more if was more violent. Battle Royale was a complete disappointment. It's thousand times better than the hunger games and it gets a lot right, (and the hunger games seems to be a total copy of it) but it screws up. It sets the scene up well. We know which characters to root for, and which not to. We're disturbed a little, but eager to watch the fights. And we're betting on who dies and who doesn't. But it's confusing as hell and doesn't mean a thing. Yes, it was entertaining and sometimes cool. But a good 75% of the movie takes place in the dark and we can't see a thing. And the list of characters is so large, which the percentage we are introduced to is so little. So constantly, I'm thinking who the hell are these people? When it's finally done, the finale ruins it all. It doesn't explain much and it's completely strange. Maybe next time I'll stick with the American movie.
Movie Rating: B-

There's Something About Mary (1998) Review

I like comedies. But I'm not huge on laughing. I find them interesting and sometimes funny, but they usually don't tickle my funny bone. There's something about Mary would be one of those exceptions. There's something about Mary is a funny movie. It's filled with interesting characters, great performances from unreliable actors, romance, and a lot of comedy. And for a romantic comedy, it works well. It's not incredibly cheesy or lame as a romance film, but it's still easily recognizable as one. It's a little inappropriate, but it doesn't go so far that you're vomiting when you're laughing. And it doesn't succumb to a cheesy, romantic ending. Yes, the guy you've been rooting for gets the girl he was fighting for. But, the ending is perfect because some more comedy is thrown. The length is perfect, the jokes are great, and it doesn't copy anything. We need more films like this.
Movie Rating: A-

American Beauty (1999) Review

American Beauty is an amazing movie. The entire time characters talk about being ordinary, when they're anything but. The dialogue is great, and the movie is never boring, and actually always entertaining. It doesn't borrow any clichés, and doesn't succumb to a happy, cheesy ending. The performances are perfect and the entire movie is so comedic that it's almost a comedy- making the drama a thousand times better. And it's incredibly unique. It's so different, yet it completely acknowledges that and the weirder it becomes, the better the movie. And the negatives of this- none.
Movie Rating: A+

Source Code (2011) Review

Source Code is another film that resets the day until the protagonist learns how to solve his problem. Like groundhog day and Edge of Tomorrow. These kinds of film have proved to be extremely entertaining, and Source Code is no exception. But it doesn't even compare in quality to either. Source Code is insanely original, much more original than the others, but it tries far too hard. It's a mess. Every moment of the film we're being clobbered with sci-fi ideas, and soon, it becomes confusing. And unlike Groundhog Day and Edge of Tomorrow, our protagonist doesn't wake up in the same spot every death. Between his death and wake, he has to communicate with others about what he's doing in the resetting day. And after a while, it gets tiring. The ending wraps things up well, but in all, it's far too complicated.
Movie Rating: B

The Godfather (1972) Review

Ah, the godfather. Considered by many to rank among the greatest movies of all time. That's why my particular review may be bound to criticized. Sure, no one reads this blog anyway, but unlike most people, I didn't absolutely love the godfather. It had it scenes. I loved characters Tom and Mike, and all the performances were fantastic. The dialogue was brilliant, and some scenes were perfect. But, did it really have to be three hours? That's the one problem I had with the movie. It draws everything out to a extremely slow pace and made me bored out of my mind. The truth is, we could chop a good 40 minutes out of the godfather, and then, just then, it would be beautiful. But now, I'm not ready for another 175 minutes of boredom when it could have easily been 140.
Movie Rating: B

Dodgeball (2004) Review

After watching this film the first time, It wasn't impressive and I never thought to see it again. But just the other day, I was walking around in stop and shop and saw Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story for only $4. So, I bought it. Why not? And was it worth it? Yes, it was. Dodgeball didn't change much: still a extremely dumb, clichéd, short comedy with an extremely lame ending. But one thing did change: it was much funnier. And it's extremely interesting, but it would be bad if a comedy was not. As for terms in how good the movie was, we follow Peter's journey to save his gym, laughing, smiling, and enjoying the whole thing, but in the end it's too short, too lame, too unoriginal, and the ending kills some of the pleasure. Dodgeball, we're ready for that sequel.
Movie Rating: B

The Day After Tomorrow (2004) Review

The Day After Tomorrow is overlooked by, well, pretty much everyone. Yeah, it's no masterpiece or not even a great film, but it gets a lot right. And that's surprising for Roland Emmerich. First of all, the story is perfect. Until a certain point. And the cast is chosen well, and the decision to make it more of a adventure-thriller instead of an explosive action-blockbuster was smart. And the effects are top-notch and look realistic. Unfortunately, it wastes all its' great potential. The setup- the first 60 to 90 minutes are near perfect. You have the audience realize how severe the storm is, we're introduced to the characters, and the movie starts. But soon, far too much focus is put on other sub-plots and we really don't care about the mother. When Sam dropped the phone, the story should have been focused only on him. The second mistake was the short climax. It seems the storm ends right after it starts. There's not enough struggling. Add a good hour to this film filled with many more problems, and it would be a thousand times better. The final mistake was the clichéd ending. You can't be a masterpiece is you steal the same lame ending from every other disaster. Make it darker. Make it sad. Make some deaths happen. Nice try, but we need a remake.
Movie Rating: B

Catch Me If You Can (2002) Review

If there was one word I would use to describe the biopic of Frank William Abagnale Jr., I would say it's cool. From the awesome opening and closing credits, to entertaining escapes, and characters outsmarting each other, this feels like it belongs in Bond genre. And it makes plenty of references to bond, too. And with that much cool factor, you'd think it'd be easily fictional. But it's not. That's the best part of it. You know everything actually happened. And of course, in an awesome Leonardo DiCaprio movie, the casting is perfect. It's like a fugitive movie, with DiCaprio evading the law, and Tom Hanks chasing. And it couldn't be more entertaining, or cool.
Movie Rating: A-

A Few Good Men (1992) Review

A Few Good Men is a courtroom drama. Sounds boring, right? Or it's at least a little bit boring? No, somehow A Few Good Men is extremely entertaining. Part of that is because the story is good, part of that is because the characters, especially Tom Cruise's Daniel Kaffee, and it has some mystery and a fast-moving plot. But, the best part is actions and dialogue between characters. Every second in the courtroom is powerful, smart, and completely grabs your attention. Sure, there are parts such as the ending and the opening that seem old-fashioned for some reason and not everything is completely perfect, but it's so entertaining for raw drama.
Movie Rating: A-

New Trailers: Week of February 15

The Man From U.N.C.L.E.- B
Looked fun and cool, but didn't have enough comedy or wasn't impressive in any way.

Crimson Peak- B
Good acting, authentic history, and scary, it set the movie up well.

Aloha- B-
This will no doubt have a talented, awesome, cast but it seems too heavy on the romantic side and where the hell is Jay Baruchel?

Hitman: Agent 47- C+
Just mediocre action and no known cast at all.

Slumdog Millionaire (2008) Review

Dev Patel isn't in enough movies. And why not? He proved himself capable of good acting in 2008's slumdog millionaire. He's in less than 10 movies total. His character, Jamal Malik, is the best in the story. He's honest, likeable, smart, and interesting. And the story is brilliant, a "slumdog" wins big on a game show, is accused of cheating and explains his answers and prior knowledge. The movie itself stays interesting, thrilling, and even introduces some new terms: Chai Wallah, computer-lockye-D (or something like that). It's genius. It's perfect. The only problem with it is it's Dev Patel's only good movie. Hopefully Chappie will be a success, but I can't see that paying off.
Movie Rating: A

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) Review

There's always that movie that helps you decide what kind of movie you like. That was a mouthful, but that movie might Ferris Bueller's Day Off. And the decision might be that I don't like older, more classic comedies. This would be my second test at that genre. I started with Caddyshack a month back, which turned out to be a complete and total disappointment. I didn't expect nearly as much from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but it was somewhat disappointing. There's a real lack of great characters: except Ferris, of course. And there's a lack of comedy, too. Over the entire course of the movie, nothing was genuinely funny. It was more cool. And that's the one thing I liked about the movie. It was cool, interesting, and unique. It brought a few elements into the comedy genre. The pranks calls, skipping school, and fast running (ending) were all fantastically interesting. Unfortunately, the movie didn't have much else to it, except a fantastic lead. And it feels older than the 80's. But the ending couldn't have been better and brought up the quality of the whole movie.
Movie Rating: B

The Hangover Part III (2013) Review

The Hangover Part III did the opposite of what The Hangover Part II did. While Part II copied everything and didn't make anything new, Part III ditched everything from the previous films and created a whole new formula. And it wasn't half bad. At least, not as bad as it's been criticized and hated. It's a thousand times better than Part II because we're not sitting through the same movie again. Part III is thoroughly entertaining, somewhat original, and has a satisfying ending. It's good. It's fresher than the second installment. It's underrated. But it's far from the best. Part III doesn't even come close to matching the quality of the first installment. For a big reason. It lost it's comedic tone. Part III isn't funny at all, it's weird and oddly dark, not fitting the fun of the first. It held my attention, but I'm not sure it deserved my attention.
Movie Rating: B

The Hangover Part II (2011) Review

As a sequel should, The Hangover Part II tried to imitate The Hangover's success. And it failed. I think a good sequel should have a few links back to the original (characters, locations, jokes), but overall be a unique, standalone, film and have new components that were never tried in the last. Horrible Bosses 2 and 22 Jump Street did that perfectly. They kept many parts from the first film, like characters, location, and a somewhat similar plot, but there are so many new jokes and situations that make them incredibly different. Unfortunately, The Hangover Part II doesn't have any of this. Basically, someone copied the Hangover to the Hangover Part II, and changed the minor details. Vegas gets replaced with Bangkok, L.A. gets replaced with Thailand, Doug gets replaced with Teddy, and that's pretty much it. The basic plot is actually exactly the same, with the very specific details being changed. And all the humor's lost. How the writers thought unoriginality would ever make a successful sequel is beyond me. You could have done better, Hangover Part II.
Movie Rating: B-

The Hangover (2009) Review

The Hangover is absolutely genius. Come again? A comedy is smart? Well, the hangover isn't exactly you're stupid comedy, but it never really outsmarts anyone. I'm giving The Hangover smart points because it is so incredibly unique. And it's kind of a mystery, too. That's the special part. Who would think to make a comedy that is mostly about discovering what happened the previous night? It happened perfectly. A well-chosen cast played great characters who try to figure out what happened in that one, crazy, night in Vegas. The movie couldn't be more entertaining or fantastic.
Movie Rating: A-

Blood Diamond (2006) Review

There are so many ways movie can be entertaining. And so many ways films can be boring. Blood Diamond easily fits in the entertaining category. Part of the reason it's entertaining is graphic, unsettling violence that really makes you pay attention to what's happening. Also, strong characters anchored by strong performances help out, too. The story is fabulous, and it blends action, adventure, crime, and drama together successfully. Blood Diamonds made the right move going out on a hard-R rating, because it captured the emotion, unlike Hotel Rwanda who left us with no sad faces over the much milder PG-13 violence.
Movie Rating: A-

Star Wars 7 Teaser

I know it came out a long time ago, but it was perfect for a teaser, and I couldn't be more excited to watch it.
Trailer Rating: A

Diamonds are Forever (1971) Review

After a disappointing first four films, You Only Live Twice was a nice surprise. And after a terrible turn by George Lazenby, Sean Connery returned to the screen with the second good bond. It delivered the action, the villains, the bond girls, and the quotable bond lines. I only hope Live and Let die is a fantastic sequel.
Movie Rating: B

The first seven bond films ranked:
1. You Only Live Twice
2. Diamonds are Forever
3. Dr. No
4. Thunderball
5. Goldfinger
6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
7. From Russia with Love

 

 

Collateral (2004) Review

In a rare turn, Tom Cruise takes an role as a villain in Michael Mann's Collateral. He's not your average action villain, but instead a crime villain. So, in crime the villain would be the gangster. But, Collateral is one of the few movies that shows the point of view of someone working for a crime boss. A hitman. On an average night in nighttime L.A., Tom Cruise 's character, Vincent, has just another job to carry out. And Max the cab driver played by Jamie Foxx, drives him around to his targets. At first, Max thinks it's all fine, but Vincent's true nature is revealed when his first target falls onto the cab, alerting Max. The chemistry between Vincent and Max is already great due to good acting, smart dialogue, and good character development, but its the smallest part of the plot. Soon, the cops and crime leaders are all over Vincent, and even Max steps up. Collateral delivers all the thrills you expect from an action movie, while still being as smart as a crime mystery.
Movie Rating: B+

 

 

Non-Stop (2014) Review

Studios don't seem to make many hijacking movies. But they could have great potential. Most of them, such as air force one, are action pictures. But non-stop chooses a genre much smarter than action. What's smarter than action? Mystery. The entire plot of the movie focuses on finding out who the hijacker is.  With twists and turns and so much unknown information, the film captures your attention and holds it. The ending wasn't surprising, revealing, or satisfying and the characters aren't very strong out likeable, but the setup of the mystery is brilliant, and entertaining.
Movie Rating: B+

Knight and Day (2010) Review

Knight and Day changes constantly: from quick paced action scenes to more slow romantic moments, from country to country, and from really great movie moments to really awful movie moments, and vice versa. Knight and Day has a million flaws and stupid movie moments that make you compare its' quality to whatever trash Michael Bay this year, but it also has a million redeeming qualities. Those qualities could be compared to the best of the year. Those bad qualities are Cameron Diaz, or at least her character, who went from cool and funny to annoying and useless and changed greatly throughout the film. She seems to be enjoyable with Tom Cruise, but couldn't carry the movie on her own. Other mistakes were: awful villains, ridiculous plot (maybe not a mistake), far too much romance, really stupid moments, and a so-so conclusion. But, there's tom cruise and his awesome character to make up for that. Roy Miller may not be as awesome as Ethan Hunt, but he does his best to define cool. He spouts great dialogue, and makes great action. The film also offers a few laughs and cool score, not to mention it's entertainment. Most scenes are highly watchable.
Movie Rating: B+

Edge of Tomorrow (2014) Review

When was the last time Tom Cruise made a good film before this? In 2013, he struck out in a confusing sci-fi mystery oblivion, and he didn't meet much success in 2012 in a supporting role in the musical-comedy Rock of Ages or in the crime-thriller adaptation Jack Reacher. 2011 was his first hint that he isn't fading as he's aging with Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol. It was easily the best Mission: Impossible, and Tom Cruise couldn't have been more perfect in it. But, after three failures right off that success, maybe he was fading. But, despite bad trailers and doubtful thought, he had another comeback in 2014 with edge of tomorrow. Edge of Tomorrow was the summer shocker, but unlike Ghost Protocol, nearly everyone liked it. It blended action, sci-fi, mystery, and even some comedy into a smart, unique, entertaining masterpiece. It is easily director Doug Liman's best and Cruise will probably get into a roll with great movies, especially with Mission: Impossible V coming out in a few months.
Movie Rating: A

Sunshine (2007) Review

Not many people know that Chris Evans had decent roles outside of playing Captain America. While I think Snowpiercer is easily his best, Sunshine is one of his better pre-MCU performances. The cast is chosen with Cillian Murphy playing the lead, and Chris Evans as his co-star. The movie is extremely entertaining, but it ends up being too dark and without much meaning. At parts, it's too confusing and the ending wasn't the greatest.
Movie Rating: B

Life of Pi (2012) Review

Ang Lee proved himself a great director with such a successful book to film adaptation. And he got mostly everything right, with awesome effects, great acting, good storytelling, and entertaining adventure. It may be one of the few movies that's better than the book. But it's far from perfect. In the start, there are enough amusing characters to elevate pi's origin. And although the book is written that way, the movie dwells far too long on everything that we don't to see. We finally get to Pi's crash and solo adventure, but it's not exciting enough. There enough events happening for the movie to be somewhat interesting, but it never becomes extremely entertaining. And the killing flaw of the movie: it can't be great if every moment doesn't grab your attention.
Movie Rating: B