Weekly Reviews: March 23 to 29 (50/50, 127 Hours, Top Gun, The Theory of Everything, Foxcatcher, 300, Kill the Messenger)

50/50
Two stars that excel at making hilarious comedies, come together with their performances in a serious drama? Yes, that's 50/50 for you. And while it has plenty of comedic moments (mostly fueled from Seth Rogen's great performance), it's actually a smart, intense, and serious film about a guy who learns who only has a fifty percent chance of surviving his cancer. And the best thing yet, is that Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rogen and the Director are teaming up for another movie.
B+

127 Hours
It's a great story, James Franco was perfectly cast, and Danny Boyle was the right guy to make it. It was interesting, but there really wasn't much story at all. The already very short run-time feels too long, and it's very uneventful. Well-made for sure, but the interest factor could have gone up a little.
B

Top Gun
Pretty much Tom Cruise's big role that made him famous, but why was it? Tom Cruise was good, but certainly not fantastic, and the movie itself is so/so. It's claimed to be an action movie, but I don't remember action. Unless you count the really boring and confusing plane fights (that seemed to inspire Green Lantern's really boring and confusing plane fights), there is literally none. The romance is fake and lame, but some characters are able to convince us that some of the movie's relationships are real. Top Gun 2 may happen, but I think it's a little late.
C+

The Theory of Everything
Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking was an amazing performance that may be the best of the decade, but the film itself seemed to lack something. It was good, but just seems like it could be better.
B+

Foxcatcher
I had been looking forward to this film forward a long time. With the delays and the bad trailers, I had lost a lot of interest but still wanted to see. Turns out it's a completely disappointing, overrated, awful movie. Steve Carell certainly gives his best performance as a total and absolute creep, but I can't say the same for anyone else. Mark Ruffalo a great actor, did not deserve the Oscar nomination and was actually better in a superhero movie. Channing Tatum lacks any emotion at all and makes the movie a little duller. The movie is completely unhappy at all times. The beginning is extremely boring and the end isn't very. Not to mention it's super weird. I would have preferred the Carell-Tatum-Ruffalo Comedy.
D+

300

Extremely awesome action sequences and great acting make up for the boring scenes that we didn't really want. Certainly memorable and one of the best in its genre.

A-

 

Kill the Messenger

Looked promising when the first trailer came out, but was actually a disappointment. Was not only uninteresting, but it was confusing too. I still don't know half of the things they were talking about. At least Jeremy Renner was good in it.

C+









Weekly Reviews: March 8 to 15 (Despicable Me, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Lone Ranger, Nightcrawler, The Judge, Equilbirium, 3:10 to Yuma)

I've decided that writing a review isn't fun, but rather time-consuming and hard to think of. The quality of my reviews it dropping too, because it's hard to start and finish a review effectively. My two best reviews were for Snowpiercer and Battleship. I am no longer going to give full reviews for every movie I watch, based on the above reasons. However, I will still give my thoughts on each movie. I'll write a weekly log of Movies I watched, with a brief summary of what I thought about it and what I would rate it. This week's log is Sunday to Sunday because I never reviewed Despicable Me which I watched as on a Sunday, but the rest of the logs will be Monday to Sunday, starting the following week. As for my movie ratings page, I'll leave it there but won't add the new movies. For the trailer ratings page, I'm done rating trailers because its too much of a bore and I'm never really sure how much I like a trailer anyway. I'll leave the trailer page up, but won't add new entries and I may eventually get rid of it. Occasionally, if a bunch of trailers that are for long-awaited movies come out within 8 days of each other, maybe I might put them together and rate them. Here's my first log.

Despicable Me

Despicable was certainly better the first time, but it was still an enjoyable, heartwarming, fun adventure with good characters and is one of the animated greats. Steve Carell and Jason Segel were cast quite well.
B+

The Grand Budapest Hotel
I had seen it one other time, and the quality did not decrease the second time. However, I still think it is incredibly overrated. The cast, dialogue, characters, moments were excellent, not to mention it may be the most original movie of the year. But that's all it has. It's actually not that funny, and it's very strange.
B

The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger may just be the most underrated film of 2013. Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer were perfectly cast and have great chemistry. The villains are good. The adventure is great, and there's plenty of fun to be had. Sure, it's not quite as badass western with a ton a guns and awesome action sequences, but not all westerns have to be. The Lone Ranger has plenty of adventure and it's great for all ages. We really need a franchise for it.
B+

Nightcrawler
Nightcrawler is bold, unique. Unique as in different. It's a dark crime-drama but has plenty of ligt moments and switches back and forth. Jack Gyllenhaal is incredible, making Lou Bloom one of the biggest creeps ever. And it's gritty, intense, and thrilling. There's plenty to like. But, it's also strange unique.
B+

The Judge
I haven't seen The Judge on any top 10 of 2014 lists, and I've read quite a few. And sure, it's not that good. But it's underrated. Downey Jr. and Duvall are effective, well-cast, and excellent together. The story is good as well, but the problem is that it doesn't focus on the case enough and it's too long.
B

Equilibrium
It had some good action and Christian Bale was a good lead, but that's all it had. The story and premise is awful, stupid, strange, and unrealistic. It's too dark, and there aren't any  fantastically awesome moments in it.
C+

3:10 to Yuma
Christian Bale and Russell Crowe have fantastic chemistry, give great performances, and make their characters the highlight of the movie. But, there isn't enough action, it's too slow, and the plot gets old quick.
B+

Fury (2014) Review

Most of the great war movies were made quite some time ago. There aren't many modern ones, either. Fury is one the most recent. It's full of action, guns, dead bodies, and lots of f-words. It starts out slow, and not much happens in the first hour, just exposition, character background and the story just seems to start. It gets more exciting in the next part, but everything in the movie just seems to lead up to the final battle. And I wasn't exactly thrilled sitting through the movie before the final battle happened, but it was sure worth such a fantastic climax. The rest of the movie is so-so, but the climax is easily the highlight. It has everything. Action, a sense of danger, thrills, emotion, and intensity. Fury was unique, but it could have a been a masterpiece like it's finale. And the credits were super weird.
Movie Rating: B+

Mud (2013) Review

Mud features great acting, interesting characters, a good story, an excellent setting, and even some adventure and action. Also, there's really nothing wrong with it. Michael Shannon's in it, too.
Movie Rating: B+

Date Night (2010) Review

Date Night is perhaps the biggest waste of such a great ensemble cast ever. The movie itself is stupid, and not a single moment of it is funny. Steve Carell and Tina Fey have awful chemistry, the movie is short but feels long and I'd rather not have it made.
Movie Rating: C+

Unknown (2011) Review

-Spoiler Alert- Liam Neeson did no action, then he did all action. So, I guess Unknown was the right step because it went away from his stupid, clichéd, action movies. But, Unknown is one of the stupidest movies ever. It tries to be smart, but it completely and totally fails. It starts off as any movie does, and the first big event in the plot is Liam Neeson crashes and is in a coma. But, then it gets a little weird. Nobody knows who he is, he has no proof he is who he says he is, and someone has taken his identity. Okay, I keep watching as Neeson finds clues to who he is. And when he finally gets proof he is actually Dr. Martin Harris, I enjoyed that one movie moment. That movie moment before the plot goes batsh*t crazy. After, the next big reveal is there is no Martin Harris, And Liam Neeson is actually a trained assassin who made him up. What the actual hell? And then it becomes a typical Neeson action movie. The ending sucked too, and I forgot to mention it was boring. I think I'd prefer a mindless, clichéd action movie over this crap.
Movie Rating: C

The Drop (2014) Review

As far as crime-dramas go, the Drop is easily one of the most lacking. Sure, plenty of crime-dramas aren't too great, but they all seem to have their moments, or something great like, good dialogue, awesome characters, or a high entertainment level. But, the drop has nothing of these. It's about 90 minutes of kinda-interesting, kinda-boring exposition all leading up to Tom Hardy shooting a guy and getting the girl. James Gandolfini's acting talent is put to a complete waste as his character seems good, then bad, then good again, then weird and Tom Hardy's character is the only one we're interested in. As for the plot, it doesn't make much sense, and nothing really happens anyway. The trailer was good, but the movie was anything but.
Movie Rating: C+

Whiplash (2014) Review

I was very eager to see whiplash. And the reviews were right. The acting was excellent, easily Teller's and Simmons's best with a well-deserved Oscar for the latter. It was intense, entertaining, exhilarating and awesome. The plot is exceptional, and it has a great opening and ending. Usually, I'm not fan of music but Whiplash is so much more.
Movie Rating: A

Madagascar Trilogy (2005- 2012) Review

Madagascar (2005)
A solid cast. Good characters. A great story. An even better theme. And plenty of adventure. It wasn't quite as good as a Disney epic, but it started the franchise well, brought plenty new to the animated genre, and was funny.
Movie Rating: B

Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa (2008)
The cast and characters remained great, but Madagascar 2 becomes a stupid dancing musical with no meaning. It's easily the worst installment in the franchise, and didn't have any of the gems of the original. It was still funny, though.
Movie Rating: C+

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)
It literally has nothing in common with the first two, except the identity of the protagonists, but that's what makes it the best installment. Of course, the cast and characters are exceptional as usual, and we're also introduced to some new characters, too. Two new allies, voiced by Jessica Chastain and Bryan Cranston. And one great villain, voiced by Frances McDormand. It had fantastic action and adventure sequences, keeps great comedy, has plenty of heart, and is certainly one of DreamWorks finest.
Movie Rating: A-

John Wick (2014) Review

Keanu Reeves seemed to drop out of the movie world after the Matrix. He had plenty of good movies in the 90s, but never did much after the Matrix. He had promising movies, but all turned out to be duds. Until John Wick. Remember his badass action movies in the 90s. John Wick tops them all. (Except the Matrix) John Wick was the most badass, coolest, fun movie in a long time. It was completely ridiculous, but the action was more than satisfying, the plot was good, the cast was great, and John Wick is easily one of the best action stars of 21st century. If they get the sequel right, Keanu could be back on track.
Movie Rating: A

Saw (2004) Review

The famous movie that "redefined the horror genre" and spawned 6 sequels with a planned seventh. Saw. It's certainly original. The plot is there's a killer who kidnaps his victims and puts them in a trap, leaves clues, and they must do a disgusting, painful, and awful task to get out. It was well cast, and I was happy to see two of my favorite lost characters in a movie. But, it certainly doesn't redefine the horror genre. Yes, it's very entertaining and the premise is solid, but it's never actually scary, which pulls a lot away from a horror movie. And sure, it could still work as a thriller. But, the threat is always too low, there's too many boring sub-plots, and it's too slow-paced. Sure, it had decent mystery but was never incredible.
Movie Rating: B-

Now You See Me (2013) Review

Now You See Me is the newest magician movie to hit theaters. It's certainly smart, definitely entertaining, and it has a fantastic cast. But, it's confusing and weird. It starts out solidly, but an hour in, it starts to fall apart. It doesn't explain much and there is still far too much unresolved. And while the cast was excellent, it was put to waste. Hopefully, the sequel sets things straight.
Movie Rating: B-

The Interview (2014) Review

James Franco and Seth Rogen have been in so much together that they have undeniable great chemistry, are totally hilarious, and are usually the highlight of their film (or show). And while I totally agree with the statement I just made, I never actually liked any of the movies or shows that paired Franco and Rogen. Some, I completely skipped because of bad ratings, some were too stupid, some weren't funny enough. That all changed when I watched the Interview. James Franco and Seth Rogen have great chemistry as usually, and of course they're hilarious. James Franco's character is one of the best that he's played. And while The Interview is a great comedy, it works just as well as a thriller. Yes, I know, the premise is stupid, but the movie itself is isn't as actually dumb as advertised, and it's certainly much smarter than anything they've made before. (Or at least what I've seen). The Interview is good for laughs, but I also found it to be an entertaining, fun, thriller.
Movie Rating: A

March Movie Preview

Jan/Feb Recap
For some reason, I completely forgot to do the February preview, but I'll give you those now and sum up my predictions for January.

January
Taken 3 was a big disappointment.
Blackhat was an even bigger disappointment, I've decided to watch Paddington instead.
My Predictions <=> Actual Ratings
Imdb: 7.1 > 5.6
RT: 54 > 33
EW: B- > C-
Black Sea was the only prediction I came somewhat close to. I predicted decent, but no contender. RT was slightly higher, Imdb was slightly lower. EW's rating is nowhere to be found.
My Predictions <=> Actual Ratings
Imdb: 7.2 > 6.7
RT: 68 < 82
EW: B = ?
Mortdecai was perhaps the biggest disappointment of them all. I was completely off on this movie.
My Predictions <=> Actual Ratings
IMDB: 7.3 > 5.5
RT: 79 > 13
EW: B+ > C-
My Prediction: B+

February- Since I didn't previously didn't make these predictions, I'll just make imdb's and mine's.
Jupiter Ascending was a colossal disappointment. It seems to be the new great sci-fi, but it ended up being just a waste of time.
IMDB: 7.7 > 5.9 My: B-
SpongeBob: Sponge out of water looked strange, and it wasn't fantastic either.
IMDB: 7.0 > 6.6 My: B
Kingsman: The Secret Service was an awesome success for Director Matthew Vaughn, and brought a modern great to the spy genre.
IMDB: 7.7 < 8.2 My: A (I watched it)
Hot Tub Time Machine 2 looked terrible and was terrible.
IMDB: 5.8 > 5.2  My: C+
McFarland, USA looked cool, and didn't really disappoint.
IMDB: 7.1 < 7.7 My: B+
Focus looked just okay, and that's how it turned out.
IMDB: 7.3 > 7.0 My: B

And without further ado, my March predictions.

March 6

Unfinished Business (R, 91 Mins)

Vince Vaughn has always impressed me in every movie he's been in. He's always likeable, cool and funny. But, he's also the highlight of bad movies and hasn't made a fantastic one yet. Unfinished Business looks to be that one.

My Prediction: A- (For what I'll rate it)
IMDB: 7.4
RT: 73
EW: B+

Chappie (R, 120 Mins)

Chappie looks terrible and seems terrible. I love Dev Patel and Hugh Jackman, but this just seems to be Neil Blomkamp's latest disappointment.

My Prediction: B-
IMDB: 7.2
RT: 55
EW: B

March 13

Run All Night (R, 114 Mins)

Run All Night is Liam Neeson's third time pairing up with Jaume Collet-Serra. I haven't seen unknown, but Non-Stop was fantastic and Run All Night is sure to please in the badass action category. I'll probably like it more than critics, though.

My Prediction: B+
IMDB: 7.5
RT: 63
EW: B-

The Cobbler (PG-13, 99 Mins)

At first glance, this seemed like a successful return for Adam Sandler. The premise was fantastic, the cast is exceptional, and the trailer was more than awesome. But it took a long time to get an official release date, it's not rated R (but whatever), and it's had bad ratings for quite some time.

My Prediction: B+
IMDB: 7.3
RT: 55
EW: B-

March 20

The Gunman (R, 115 Mins)

The cast is great, but the trailer was disappointing. The acting and action looks promising, but could easily disappoint.

My Prediction: B-
IMDB: 6.8
RT: 49
EW: C+

Insurgent (PG-13, 119 Mins)

I hated Divergent, but Insurgent had a fantastic trailer and looks a thousand times more promising.

My Prediction: B+
IMDB: 7.4
RT: 70
EW: B+

March 27

Get Hard (R, ?)

This next Will Ferrell comedy looks funny, but nothing better than he's already done.

My Prediction: B
IMDB: 6.7
RT: 60
EW: B+

While We're Young (R, 97 Mins)

I hadn't heard of this until recently, but I like Ben Stiller and I liked the trailer. Sounds good for me, but probably just a meh from critics.

My Prediction: B+
IMDB: 7.4
RT: 71
EW: B