Happy New year. The month of January brings two films to review, the first being the 355.
Plot-"When a top-secret weapon falls into mercenary hands, a wild card CIA agent joins forces with three international agents on a lethal mission to retrieve it, while staying a step ahead of a mysterious woman who's tracking their every move".
Runtime-124 Minutes
Starring-Jessica Chastain, Sebastian Stan and Penelope Cruz
Post Credit Scene-No
My Thoughts
When I saws w the trailer for this movie, I thought it would be an entertaining action film with a plot that has been seen dozens of times in the past but entertaining nonetheless. I will say this film kept me entertained for the most part, the plot was ruin of the mill and didn't hold much depth to it, but I didn't expect it to going into the film, nothing about the plot captured me and some things that happened as the movie played out I could see coming from a mile away but overall it kept me entertained which was all i was expecting. The cast of this film is what really made me want to check it out, a lot of big names are starring in this film and when I saw that Jessica Chastain and Lupita Nyong'o were starring int his, I expected a strong showing in the acting department,. and I was not let down all of the main cast give good performances given the material they have to work with, there are some cheesy lines thrown in and not every ,line is delivered with Oscar winning authority but the cast was the main reason I watched this movie and overall they did not disappoint. I really Liked Diane Kruger's performance in this film and for me was probable the best of the main cast which is saying a lot given the acting talent on hand. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 26% saying "It has a stellar cast and it's conceptually progressive, but The 355 squanders it all on a forgettable story, unremarkably told". I agree the cast was great and like I mentioned before I didn't expect the plot to be anything to write home about so I took the film for what it was worth and taking it at face value, I enjoyed it.
Rating
Great Cast, lackluster story but entertaining worth seeing if you want some mindless action movie fun 6.5/10!!.
The second and last film to review for the month of January is one I have been looking forward to which is Scream.
Plot-"Twenty-five years after the original series of murders in Woodsboro, a new killer emerges, and Sidney Prescott must return to uncover the truth".
Runtime-120 Minutes
Starring-Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette
Post Credit Scene-No
My Thoughts
I am a big fan of the scream series and ave been eagerly anticipating this next installment in the franchise. One thing I have always loved about the scream series is it has never taken itself too seriously and often has a satirical view of many classic horror tropes and I was happy to see that hadn't changed with this new installment. As with every new scream film since the first we are introduced to a new cast of characters. Overall the new cast I felt did a solid acting job and the new Lead in the film Sam (played by Melissa Barrera) had a good performance as well. Its always nice to have Sidney, Dewey and Gale as the link to the original film and they all added overall to the atmosphere for the film. The plot of this film wasn't too much different that the films of the past in the series, someone dons the ghostface outfit and the body count rises. I will say for me compared to some of the other films in the series, the deaths in this film felt a bit more gory which i enjoyed, the more blood the better in my opinion. One thing i didn't like in this film was once the identity of the killer was known I felt the film could have did a better job of misdirecting the audience I had a good idea who it would be and when I was proven right I felt like I saw it coming. Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a 75% saying "The fifth Scream finds the franchise working harder than ever to maintain its meta edge -- and succeeding surprisingly often". I agree that the film a did a good job overall and the social commentary aspects (that I enjoyed about Scream 4) are definitely there and appreciated. Overall I ewnjoyted this film and while it wasnt perfect it was awelcome addition to the sereis and I am sure Wes Craven would be happy with twhat was put on the screen.
Rating
Welcome addition to the series, was fun and enjoyable and I recommend for any fan of Scream or slasher films in general to watch 7.5/10!!
