November 2016!!

The Month Of November has two films to review, the first Being Doctor Strange.

RunTime:115 Minutes

Starring-Benedcit Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Rachel McAdams

Plot-"After his career is destroyed, a brilliant but arrogant surgeon gets a new lease on life when a sorcerer takes him under his wing and trains him to defend the world against evil".


My Thoughts 

I will start this by saying I am not knowledgeable in the doctor strange universe at all, I knew nothing about the background of this character (other than what i found on Wikipedia when i did a quick background search on doctor strange). I flip flopped on seeing this movie all year, I finally decided to give it chance. After seeing the film I can say it was solid, it wasn't the best Marvel Universe film, but not the worst in my opinion. the Story was solid for the most part once the movie hit its stride, it was slow in some parts but this is an origin story film and it comes with the territory. The acting overall was solid form the entire cast, the standouts for me were  Chiwetel Ejiofor for his portrayal as Karl Mordo (he is one of my favorite actors and it was nice t o see him in a completely  different role than he normally does. Benedict Cumberbatch was solid for his portrayal as Doctor Strange, I am not personally a fan of Mr.Cumberbatch but I put that aside and took his performance for what it was and he was solid and did a good job. The rest of the cast did a good job in their roles i will lastly mention Tilda Swinton for her performance as the ancient one, she was also very good. The CG in this film for me was wonky in some parts (especially the scenes when buildings were doing 360's and spinning around) which was unexpected for a marvel film as they usually do a great job in this department. other than that the CG was good and I enjoyed the fight scenes for the most part as it was pretty cool to see all the different magic attacks between the sorcerers. The villains for me were underwhelming, that may have to do with me not knowing much about them, but in the moment I was not impressed with the villains overall, but I understand in the Doctor Strange universe the villains used maybe very prominent and feared but for me after the film was over I asked my self "that's it?, that's how you beat them? which took away from the movie for me,  I like the villains to be menacing and super powerful and for me to have a sense that beating the villain will be a problem, I never had that feeling in this film. Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a 90% saying "Doctor Strange artfully balances its outré source material against the blockbuster constraints of the MCU, delivering a thoroughly entertaining superhero origin story in the bargain". I definitely do not agree with that rating, but as I mentioned earlier the film is solid and for an origin story sets up Doctor strange into the MCU very well. Overall this was a solid film and I recommend it to fans of the MMCU or doctor strange himself.

Rating

Solid entry into the MCU  as a origin story, lacked in some areas for me to make it a really good MCU movie but it was solid. 7.5/10!!!



The Next and last film to review for the month is Arrival.

RunTime:116 Minutes

Starring-Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker

Plot-"A linguist is recruited by the military to assist in translating alien communications".

My Thoughts 

Arrival is a film that I initially wasn't going to see, but after seeing the trailer one day, I decided to give it a try. this was a good film. The Plot wasn't exactly revolutionary aliens come down and inhabit 12 spots all over the globe down and a linguist is needed to help decipher why they have come to earth and what intentions they have. for the most part the plot was engaging and kept me interested throughout the 116 minute runtime. The acting in this film was very good with a cast i wouldn't expect anything less from (especially from Whitaker and renner). Amy Adams in the lead role was solid but overall I didn't like her character and some of the choices her character made in the film which has more to do with the plot of the film but I just didn't like her character that much and found her kind of annoying actually, I haven't seen Amy Adams in many films so I don't have much to compare it to, she wasn't terrible just not great. The especial effects in this film really left much to be desired, the CG was of very low quality, and you could easily tell what was CG and what was not. it took away from the whole experience of the film, especially the scenes involving the aliens. Certain events happened in the film that really bothered me, it had to do with choices certain characters made and how it unfolded throughout the film, lets just say I would have made different choices and  I don't want to  give anything away but a lot of the choices Amy Adams character made I did not agree with. One aspect of this film that I really did like was that the story really made you think about how events from the future and past can effect the present and potentially the future itself, it made you think which many movies nowadays do not, and though it conflicts with me gripe about the choices characters made in this film, it was nice to see a film that didn't rely solely on big explosions or huger set pieces  to get the viewers attention. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 93% saying " Arrival delivers a must-see experience for fans of thinking person's sci-fi that anchors its heady themes with genuinely affecting emotion and a terrific performance from Amy Adams". I agree with some of this, I didn't love Amy Adams, but the movie does make you think and that was enjoyable. Overall this was a good film that i recommend to anyone who wants to see a sci-fi film that isn't just special effects and has overall good CG and makes you think, I am glad that I decided to watch it.

Rating

Overall Solid Acting, Good Cast, Good plot with a few exceptions I had with it, Good film. 7.8/10!!!

September 2016!!

The Month of September brings  three films to review. The first film is "The Disappointments Room".

RunTime: 92 Minutes.

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Lucas Til and Michaela Conlin




 Plot-"A mother and her young son release unimaginable horrors from the attic of their rural dream home.".


My Thoughts 

This movie came to my attention right before it came out, I did not plan on seeing this until recently. The plot seemed semi interesting and I thought i would give it a chance. BIG MISTAKE, this movie was boring and when i say boring i mean literally nothing happened interesting for the entire run time. The acting was actually decent and I have no complaints on that front the entire cast was solid overall. but the plot that seemed interesting to me before I saw the movie played out so badly over the length of it. the attempts at being scary were executed wrong, the movie also tried to be suspenseful which again played out badly. it is rare when i see a movie where nothing happened of note. it was like the director was going through the motions and just made a movie to make it with no real pint whatsoever. The film didn't try to be anything other than a waste of  92 minutes of my life. Honestly I don't want to talk about this film anymore, I say skip it and i don't recommend to watch this movie for any reason whatsoever.

Rating

Skip this film it is the definition of boring, The acting is the only positive 5.0\10!!!





The Next film to review is "The Magnificent Seven"

RunTime: 133 Minutes

Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt and Ethan Hawke

Plot

"Seven gun men in the old west gradually come together to help a poor village against savage thieves".

My Thoughts

 I am a big fan of Denzel Washington (he is one of my all time favorites) I make it a point to see any of his films when they come out. I was somewhat excited about this film, I had not seen Denzel in a western type movie before, so that intrigued me. After seeing the film I can say it was decent, not a great film  but it was worth seeing once. The acting for me overall was good with Denzel Washington, Vincent D'Onofrio and Ethan Hawke standing out to me for their portrayals as members of the magnificent seven, I also liked Peter Sarsgaard's performance as Bart Bogue the main villain in the film. Chris Pratt's performance for me was underwhelming, I did not like him in this film at all, he was the jokester of the the seven and i didn't find him funny (The more I see of him in films the more i am beginning to dislike him as an actor). the other members of the seven did decent jobs at what was required of them for their roles in the film, no complaints I will say Byung-hun Lee and Manuel Garica-Rulfo while not having a lot of speaking lines (they both have heavy accents so maybe that contributed to that) I did enjoy both of their characters a lot especially Byung-hun lee, his character was very unusual to be in this group considering the time period. in terms of artistic fighting style he was my favorite. One more performance that i did not like was Haley Bennett she was the main female lead in the film, I have only seen her in one of other film (The Equalizer coincidentally also had Denzel Washington in it) and she was poor for me in that movie as well, so far not impressed with the little sample size of her talent I have seen. The plot of the film is something most viewers have sen before its a tale of revenge, redemption and humanity when working together can overcome the most daunting tasks. I didn't have a problem with this plot and it played out pretty well on screen over the 133 minute run time, I will say the film got boring in some parts but overall it was a decent plot, that i mostly enjoyed and it kept me engaged. The action set pieces in the film were well done, when the fighting gets going its very fun and fast paced and a joy to see on the big screen, I commend the team who setup all of the action parts of this film, they were well done. One issue I had for this film, which is always a worry for me with a film with a main cast this big was character development a few of the seven I felt didn't get as much of a backstory as other, for the msot part the characters all had a backstory and the viewer knew why they joined the group, but I wanted to really feel for all the characters and a few of them I didn't have that connection that I had for others of the group. Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a 62% saying "The Magnificent Seven never really lives up to the superlative in its title -- or the classics from which it draws inspiration -- but remains a moderately diverting action thriller on its own merits". Overall I agree this film wasn't magnificent by any stretch, it had a few flaws , but  it was a solid  action movie set in the old west, that had overall solid acting, a decent plot line that has been seen before, but wasn't stale. I reccomend to see this if you are a fan of any of the massive cast or like action films or the old west time period.

Rating

Solid Film, worth seeing 7.5/10!!!!



The Last freilm to review is"Miss Peregrin's Home For Peculiar Children"

RunTime:127 Minutes

Starring: Eva Green, Samuel L. Jackson and Asa Butterfield

Plot

"When Jacob discovers clues to a mystery that spans different worlds and times, he finds Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. But the mystery and danger deepen as he gets to know the residents and learns about their special powers".

My Thoughts 

I will start by saying I have not read any of the books in this series, but the trailer looked interesting and I decided to give this film a try. I will say this film did a good job of giving the viewer a good overall feel of what is going on in this film and what everyone's roles are. The acting for me was okay, not great or terrible but okay, none of the cast really stood out to me which I expected, I will say Eva Green's performance for me was weak. I have seen a few of her films and she has been decent in most of them,m this film for me was probably her worst acting Job I have seen from her so far. The plot once the movie got going made sense and I was able to follow it pretty weak, which is always a plus especially for a movie based on books that the viewer may have never seen.  The special effects for me were a huge letdown in this film, the budget for this film was $110 Million, but honestly I couldn't tell the budget was that high, the set pieces looked good in the film but for the many characters that required CG effects it looked no better than a SYFY channel movie to me which really took away from the overall experience which was disappointing for me. I have seen my fair share of Tim Burton films and I admire how his films usually have a dark theme to them, even films that maybe not be dark in nature once he gets his hands on them he turns them that way and transforms them into what he wants. that was not the  case for this film, It didn't have a Tim Burton feel to me at all other than the fact that he made a cameo in it. That maybe my fault for going in with certain expectations from a movie directed by Tim Burton, but regardless this film in terms of the tone and feel of it was not what I expected at all. Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a 65% saying "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children proves a suitable match for Tim Burton's distinctive style, even if it's on stronger footing as a visual experience than a narrative one". Overall This film wasnt bad it was worth seeing once, and I do hope they make movies for the other two books as I am interested to see where the storyline goes from here, but there was some things about this film that took away from the expereicne as a whole.

Rating

Decent  Film, if you are a fan of the books or fantasy films I recommend, if you are a fan of Tim Burton do not come into this expecting the normal Tim Burton feel to the film. 7.0/10!!!

August 2016!!

The Month of August brings with it two Films to review the first Being "Suicide Squad".

Runtime:130 Minutes

Starring-Will Smith, Margot Robbie and Jared Leto


Plot 

"A secret government agency recruits imprisoned supervillains to execute dangerous black ops missions in exchange for clemency".

My Thoughts 

I will start by saying I am not a huge DC fan (i had a sizeable collection of DC comics back int the day) but in terms of DC movies I was never a huge fan of them (Batman returns is my favorite old school batman film and Batman begins is my favorite of the Nolan films). When I first heard about this movie I had never heard of the Suicide squad or most of the members of it (bar Harley Quinn). but the film did look interesting to me once I saw the trailer. Now after seeing the film the word that comes to mind is "disjointed",  what I mean by that is the beginning of this film was excellent, I really loved how they gave backstory on each member of the team to help establish a connection for the viewer, I really enjoyed that. the second half of the film for me ruined the overall experience for me, the beginning of the film was so good but the last 50 minutes or so was so different it took away from the movie overall for me. From the main villains who to me didn't really feel like villains at all, the joker-Harley Quinn story line (which i know is important, but overall for me didn't add much to the movie other than running time). The plot that got worse as the movie went on. It honestly felt like i was watching two different films, the change about midway was so drastic. n regards to the cast I thought Will Smith was awesome as Deadshot he was my favorite member of the suicide squad, his performance was great. Jared Leto as the Joke was just okay for me, I liked the look of his joker and overall he wasn't bad but i did not like his Joker laugh, I found it annoying, and overall I did not like the way his character was used in the film, mainly the whole Harley Quinn Story Line. Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn for me was poor, but I feel I am in the minority here, my dislike for Harley Quinn stems from not being a fan of Margot Robbie overall as an actress, then throwing in that I personally would have preferred she used the Harley Quinn voice from the Batman show from the 90's and for me it was a recipe for disaster, I did not like her performance at all and throw in the Joker story line (which i wasn't a fan of). I wasn't just not a fan of Margot Robbie's performance it was the Harley Quinn character as a whole, the way the writers portrayed her just rubbed me the wrong way from her dialogue to the mannerisms to the makeup/style, it was all wrong for me. I also enjoyed  Karen Fukuhara as Katana, after seeing her performance I became a fan of the character herself. Lastly I will say I did enjoy Jay Hernandez as Diablo, he was very good, the rest of the cast was okay but the performances were underwhelming overall across the board for me, bar a select few. The special effects for this film were top notch which was expected for a film with a budget over $150 million. This film in my opinion could have been so much more if some things were done differently. Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a 26% saying " Suicide Squad boasts a talented cast and a little more humor than previous DCEU efforts, but they aren't enough to save the disappointing end result from a muddled plot, thinly written characters, and choppy directing". I agree overall with this especially about Choppy directing and the disappointing end result. the beginning of this film was so good but everything else destroys how good the start of the movie is, which was a huge letdown. This film could have been more to me but the disjointed pacing, the unneeded story line with Joker and Harley Quinn, overall bad acting jobs by the cast led to me feeling unfulfilled.

Rating

Great start to the movie but the middle and the ending was disappointing to me, the Joker Harley Quinn story-line was also unneeded in my opinion. this movie could have done some things differently and it would have been a great movie for me unfortunately it didn't and i left feeling it could have been much better. 7.2/10!!!




The next and last film to review is "Don't Breathe"

Runtime:88 Minutes

Starring-Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette and Stephen Lang

Plot-"A group of friends break into the house of a wealthy blind man, thinking they'll get away with the perfect heist. They're wrong".

My Thoughts 


I was a big fan of the Evil Dead Remake, and when I heard that the director of this film was the same director as the evil dead remake, I was instantly interested in seeing this film. This film really conveys the word "tense" from the beginning. the backdrop is the city of Detroit, which really gives a bleak view and feeling to the movie. The actors in this film all did a really great job, I have to give special mention to Stephen Lang he did an absolutely brilliant job as a blind man who had to deal with a robbery being committed in his role, he had a sinister side to him as well which was nice to see, as it made his character feel multi layered to me. The other main cast which consisted of the three burglars (Jane Levy, Dylan Minette and Daniel Zovatto) all did a good job as well. I really liked Jane Levy's performance in this film, I have not seen much of her other work (Other than Evil Dead where she played Mia) but on the basis of those two performances I look forward to seeing her in future films, she has talent. The film had a visceral side to it which I did not expect there were some moments t hat I did not believe that actually happened, it was brutal and I enjoyed all of it. I did really enjoy the whole blind man aspect to this film, it really added something to this film, if the man whose house they were robbing wasn't blind I may have skipped this film in all honesty, but with it involving a blind man, I was really interested to see how someone who cant see could stop his house from being robbed. After seeing the film I have to say it was really well done in that respect. it was well done. I mentioned thew word "tense" earlier in the review and this film really was from start to finish, the characters are in situations where you just don't know what is going to happen and in some situations you think you will know what is going to happen, then something completely different happens which was nice to see, I like being thrown for a loop every once in a while. The runtime was a worry for me, I am always hesitant of a film that is less than 90 minutes long, But I can say this movie felt just long enough, I dare say if it had been longer the film may not have worked as well as it did. Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a 86% saying "Don't Breathe smartly twists its sturdy premise to offer a satisfyingly tense, chilling addition to the home invasion genre that's all the more effective for its simplicity". Overall I agree with this, the film was very good, and other than a questionable ending (which is subjective) I have no issues with the film. I recommend this film it was very good, if you like a film that is tense, visceral and brutal from start to finish and throw in very good acting I say see this, one of the better films I have seen this year.

Rating

Good acting, Visceral, Brutal and tense very good film 8.4/10!!!

July 2016!!

The Month of July Brings with it two films to review, the first being "The Purge:Election Year"

Starring: Frank Grillo, Elizabeth Mitchell and Mykelti Williamson

Runtime: 103 Minutes

Plot 

"Two years after choosing not to kill the man who killed his son, former police sergeant Barnes has become head of security for Senator Charlene Roan, the front runner in the next Presidential election due to her vow to eliminate the Purge".

My Thoughts 

The Original Purge film for me had a very good Premise but it wasn't conveyed properly.  The Purge: Anarchy felt much more like what I expected the first film to be like and I enjoyed it very much. Usually the third film can be make or break, it can either be a  good film and keep the franchise going or be bad film and end the franchise in its tracks. This film was a solid entry and for the most  part I would say it is on par with the second film in my book. This film goes deeper than the previous films and explores how the purge started and why it was started, which for me was nice to see its nice to see some background to the film to get a better idea how everything came together before the films took place. The acting in this film was overall solid no standout performances but no terrible performances either, I will say the design of some of the Purge outfits was very shocking (in a good way) the costumes really help set the mood and I applaud the costume design team. The plot overall was solid after seeing it play out on the big screen it did have moments that felt a little too "Political" and it got a little annoying also the whole idea of the Purge having a religious undertone didn't work for me and it didn't in either of the last two films, I say leave religion out of it and call it what it is People killing people. Lastly there where a few character deaths in the film that I did not agree with which irked me somewhat.Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 54% saying " It isn't particularly subtle, but The Purge: Election Year's blend of potent jolts and timely themes still add up to a nastily effective diversion". Overall the film does nto hiold punches and had a very visceral tome to it there is plenty of gore guts and bad language this is a film that deserved an R rating and it reminds of that the entire runtime of the film. Lastly I will add that the ending of the film leaves it open for a fourth film in this series and if the momentum of the last two films continues I would welcome a new entry into the series.

Rating

Solid Entry into the series 7.5/10!!!


The next and last Film to review this month is "Lights Out".

Starring:Teresa Palmer, Gabriel Bateman and Alexander DePersia

Runtime:81 Minutes

Plot

"A woman is haunted by a creature that only appears when the lights go out".


My Thoughts 

I will say my expectations for his film were not very high. I Honestly expected to really dislike this movie. After seeing it I will say i was somewhat surprised. The acting in this film was actually pretty good by the entire cast which I did not expect. The plot of this movie wasn't something completely   original but with horror films there are so few ideas left that I will not hold that against the film, the plot played pretty well over the 81 minute runtime, though it did have some moments that were predictable but that happens with most horror films once you have seen enough to know what to look for. The special effects used were minimal which is always a good thing in my opinion as too much use of CG can make a film feel cheap especially when the film has a lower budget and you can tell by the lower quality CG. My problem with all PG-13 horror/supernatural films is that you never really get to see the death of characters in the films. the camera either cuts away or you see blood splatter on the wall, which for me is why I always go into movies like this that have a PG-13 rating  with a leery feeling. This film was pretty much the same most characters deaths in this  film happens off screen and you wouldn't see them again till they were dead, which always disappoints me. The origin of the supernatural force in this film I also didn't like, it just didn't really seem that inventive to me, it fit with the theme of the film but I would have liked to see a better origin story for the supernatural force terrorizing the characters in this film. The film for me had to scary parts it did try to get the viewer with the classic jump scare scenes (which for the person who jumped so hard in my row in the theater that he shook the entire row i guess it did work) but for me i saw it coming. I will say the ending for this film did surprise me and it got to me a little emotionally which I commend the writing staff for writing an ending that I actually cared about what happened and will remember the ending for a while. Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a 77% saying " Lights Out makes skillful use of sturdy genre tropes -- and some terrific performances -- for an unsettling, fright-filled experience that delivers superior chills without skimping on story". I agree the performances of the cast was very good and of top notch for a horror film of this caliber. but disagree with most of the rest but that is just my personal take on it. Overall this movie surprised me in a good way I recommend it to anyone who has seen their fare share of PG-13 horror films and knows what comes along with, if you go in with the Right mindset you could have an enjoyable 81 minutes.

Rating 

Well acted, Decent Plot worth seeing once if you like horror/supernatural films 7.0/10!!!

June 2016!!

The Month of June brings three films to Review the first being "The Conjuring 2".

Starring:Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson and Franka Potente

Runtime:134 Minutes

Plot

"Lorraine and Ed Warren travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by malicious spirits".

My Thoughts 

I was a huge fan of the first conjuring film and was obviously excited to see this film when news of a sequel was announced. After seeing the film I can say I did not think it was better than the first film (which usually happens with sequels especially in the horror genre). I can say I did enjoy this film very much. what really stood out to me in this film was the acting of the entire cast, everyone in this film that had significant screen time did a very good job portraying their characters. with special mention to Madison Wolfe in her portrayal of Janet Hodgson the girl who is tormented the most throughout the film, for me she stole the show she had to convey a lot of emotions in theis film and did a spectacular job at all the situations that where thrown at her, I  look forward to see how her career blossoms from here. The plot of this film follows the same kind of outline of the first film (Family haunted by ghostly entity and eventually the Warrens are called in to get to the root of the problem). This film played out similar in some ways to the first film, overall this film didn't have as many jump scare moments as the first film to me but that is subjective. One area of the film that I did not like was the use of CGI there are two characters in the film where you can really tell that CGI was used and it looked extremely cheesy to me, I would have rather had them use animatronics or go a different route in terms of the delivery of those characters all together, it made the film feel of a lower quality. another aspect of the film that I did not like was the ending of the film felt a little rushed in the way that it got rid of the main villain of the film, bad endings can kill a movie for me and while the ending wasn't that bad it definitely changed my overall view of the film.Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a 75% saying "The Conjuring 2 can't help but lose a bit of its predecessor's chilly sting through familiarity, but what remains is still a superior ghost story told with spine-tingling skill". Overall I agree with this, the film didn't feel the same as the original and to me wasn't of the same quality but it was still a solid film that I would recommend any fans of horror films to see.

Rating

Solid film, not as good as the original but still a good horror movie that was well acted. 7.6/10!!!


The Next Film to Review is "Warcraft"

Starring:Travis Fimmel, Pauia Patton and Ben Foster


Runtime:123 Minutes

Plot

"The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders: orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family, their people, and their home"


My Thoughts

I will start this by saying I am a pretty big fan of "Warcraft" (Warcraft III was the first pc game i really got into). I had not bias going into this film, I honestly had really low expectations for this film. After having seen the film I can say that I was slightly surprised by it in a good way, the film was a little better than I thought it would be, the film is nothing great but it was enjoyable for the most part. Any fan of the warcraft games will notice a lot of the characters in this film, and for me that was kind of cool to see so many characters that I remember from the game on the big screen. I will say the CGI in this film was top notch (Would not expect anything less from anything with the Blizzard name on it). It was jaw dropping in some spots especially the Orcs they looked really good and blended in well with the humans who were not not CGI at all. the acting overall was decent the human actors did a solid job no complaints there. The voice actors for the Orcs also did a solid job. the battle scenes in this film were done pretty well overall, I will say it was interesting to see the humans take on the hulking massive Orcs on the battle field but it was nice to see. For the most part they kept the names of the characters the same as their source material, but there is one Major Character that most Warcraft fans will know by name (that I will not mention as I do not want to spoil anything) his name is changed in the film and I am not sure why. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 26% saying "Warcraft has visual thrills to spare, but they -- and director Duncan Jones' distinctive gifts -- are wasted on a sluggish and derivative adaptation of a bestselling game with little evident cinematic value". The plot for me wasn't that sluggish but it differed from the game in sports which I understand holly wood does this to any source material they change it to accommodate how they want the film to play out, As I mentioned before this film surpassed my expectations not by much but I enjoyed more than I thought I would. Overall I say for any fan of the "Warcraft" games this is worth seeing, if you are a fan of fantasy films with top notch special effects and passable acting, I suggest to see this film.

Ranking

Exceeded my expectations, 7.2/10!!!!





The Last film to review for the month is "Central Intelligence"

Starring:Dwayne Johnson, Aaron Paul and Kevin Hart

Runtime:114 Minutes

Plot

"After he reunites with an old pal through Facebook, a mild-mannered accountant is lured into the world of international espionage".

My Thoughts 

I will keep this short and sweet, for me this film was not funny. Kevin Hart I felt was trying too hard and came off forced in some moments in this film, which is a trend I am starting too notice in his films and it is a trend I do not like, I will keep an open mind for any future films that come out, but for me I did not enjoy him in this role. I felt the same about The Rock (I will never call him Dwayne Johnson) I am a huge fan of his and usually enjoy his roles but his role also felt forced to me, I am not sure to chock this up to bad directing or a bad script. The two actors had a few moments that made me chuckle but overall nothing happened in this film that I would classify as genuinely funny which is a shame.Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a 66% saying "Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson make for well-matched comic foils, helping Central Intelligence overcome a script that coasts on their considerable chemistry". I overall disagree with this I did not feel a real connection between the two actors, I felt the exact opposite and that disappoints me as I was looking forward to thjis film and seeing these two in the same film.

Rating 

Disappointing, Not Funny 6/10!!!

May 2016!!!

Now that the terrible month of April is over, time to get back to reviewing movies. The month of May brings with it two films to review the first being Captain America:Civil War.

Starring-Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson

Runtime: 147 Minutes

Plot

"Political interference in the Avengers' activities causes a rift between former allies Captain America and Iron Man."

My Thoughts 

I will be the first to say I am not a huge Captain America fan (comic or film form) to this day I still have not seen the first Captain America film (and have no plans to). I will say this was in my opinion the best film of the three and one of the better Marvel films in recent memory. Most marvel fans know the story behind the civil war story arc and if you do not it is not essential when watching this film but it helps in the sense you will have an idea of what is going on. The plot/story overall flowed well together and was easy to follow for anyone who pays moderate attention to the film, it was interesting to see a plot that did not focus on a supervillian specifically, the plot for this film was different than most of the superhero films from the past, it does require the viewer to pay attention to get the whole story and I did like that. With so many characters in one film a worry I always have is screen time and character development. I will say for the most part that was not an issue with this film, most of the characters got a decent amount of screen time to allow for proper development especially the newer characters. I will say after seeing this film I am really excited for the Black Panther Film Chadwick Boseman was awesome and played the character perfectly in my opinion, the black panther fight scenes were awesome and I cannot wait to see his character more on screen later down the line, most of the other characters we have seen in other marvel films. and for the most did what we would expect from them, I will add that in this film I was not really a fan of Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) usually I am a fan of him any time he plays Tony Stark but in this film I just did not like his character, no specific reason he just irked me in this film. The fighting scenes in this film were very well done and I did enjoy the big War scene at the end between the two factions of heroes, it was kind of cool to see friend vs friend. ****Potential Spoiler*** for anyone who does not know Peter Parker ( played by Tom Holland) was in the film and while his fight scenes as spider man were awesome, the actor himself I did not like, his voice to me was very annoying and I could not stand it, I do not plan on seeing the new spiderman film and his hearing his voice made my decision that much easier.  Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a 90% saying "Captain America: Civil War begins the next wave of Marvel movies with an action-packed superhero blockbuster boasting a decidedly non-cartoonish plot and the courage to explore thought-provoking themes". Overall as I mentioned in the beginning this was a good film and one of the better marvel films I have seen in recent memory, if you are a marvel fan or just want to see a Blockbuster superhero film I encourage you to see this film.

Rating

Solid Film, worth seeing for any fan of Marvel, or big budget blockbusters, and I will end with BLACK PANTHER!! 8.5/10!!!!


The Next Film to review is "The Darkness"

Staring-Jennifer Morrison, Kevin Bacon and Lucy Fry

Runtime: 92 Minutes

Plot

"A family returns from a Grand Canyon vacation, haunted by an ancient supernatural entity they unknowingly awakened and engages them in a fight for their survival".

My Thoughts 

I will not spend much time on a review for this film all I will say is that the film was extremely boring, wants scary in the least had a bad plot, overall the acting was subpar (especially the actors playing the children i thought they were terrible). there was nothing good about this film for me other than Radha Mitchell and I am talking purely on her attractiveness in the film for me personally. Rotten Tomaotes currently has this film at 0%.. I will tell anyone who is intrerested in seeing this film if they want my hoenst option to skip this film and save your time and money.

Rating

Do not see this film, no redeeming qualities what so ever 5.0/10!!

March 2016!!

The Month of March brings one film to review. The film is "10 Cloverfield Lane" Starring John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Gallagher Jr.

Runtime:103 Minutes


Plot

"Waking up from a car accident, a young woman finds herself in the basement of a man who says he's saved her life from a chemical attack that has left the outside uninhabitable".

My Thoughts 


I was a huge fan of the original "Cloverfield" and for years I have been waiting for a sequel. When this trailer appeared out of nowhere a few months ago and after watching it I wasn't sure that this film had anything to do with the Original Film. Then I heard from J.J. Abrams that this film while not a direct sequel to the original, it is set in the "Cloverfield" Universe ,which was good enough for me. After seeing this film it was very different than the original this was a very good film that I highly recommend. First the acting was top notch all three members of the main cast did an awesome job, with special mention to John Goodman, I haven't seen him in an acting role in quite some time but he was so good in this role one of the best performances I have seen by an actor in recent memory.I have been a fan of Mary Elizabeth Winstead since Final Destination 3 and she as with John Goodman is an actor I have not seen in a while, she was really good in this also.  After seeing the trailer for the first time I still wasn't sure what to make of the film in terms of the plot and how it would flow together, The film flowed together very well and it kept me interested the entire run time of the movie. What I really liked about the film was just the tense moments throughout the film and the way the actors conveyed it with their faces and actions, I don't see many films like this that have me engaged so thoroughly and it was a pleasure to see this film. I didn't have many gripes with the film the only part that I didn't like very much was the ending sequence it felt a bit cheesy to me but in retrospect how it effected the character experiencing the entire situation it made sense in the broad scope of the film. Rotten Tomatoes gave  the film a 89% saying "Smart, solidly crafted, and palpably tense, 10 Cloverfield Lane makes the most of its confined setting and outstanding cast -- and suggests a new frontier for franchise film making". I agree with everything that was said t his was a fantastic film and in this early stage of the year one of the best I have seen. I highly recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of a good thriller or a fan of the first "Cloverfield" (there are a few minor references that are hard to spot but they are there).

Rating

Superbly Acted, Tension Filled Very good film 8.6/10!!

February 2016!!

The Month of February brings with it three films to review the first being "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. starring Lily James, Sam Riley and Bella Heathcote

Runtime:108 Minutes
 

Plot- "Jane Austen's classic tale of the tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th century England is faced with a new challenge -- an army of undead zombies".

My Thoughts 

I will be the first to admit that I have never read the Jane Austen book that this film is based on. I knew nothing of the characters or the plot that this film was based on. Having said that this film was actually not bad and worth seeing at least once. First off the cast did a solid job overall and found no real complaints from any of them. it was kind of cool to see a group of Five sisters being Zombie Killers. I have seen my fair share of Zombie movies and I can say this is the first one that I have seen that was set during this time period and it was refreshing, I would sometimes think to myself "how cool would it be to see a Zombie movie set in an older time period" and I finally got my wish. The plot of this movie was mostly standard fare in the Zombie Genre, one difference is that the Zombie's are known about and have been for a long time so the characters interact with their situations accordingly which usually is not the case in Zombie films. The Jane Austen side that intersects with the Zombie Side can be  boring at points and for someone who is exclusively expecting a Zombie movie with "Pride and Prejudice" undertones will be disappointed as this film is a proper mix of both in a 50/50 way which after seeing the film was the way to do it. If you have read the book you will notice many of the nuances in this film such as the characters names and the setting of the film, as I mentioned earlier I have not and it took me some time to catch on. There was not a huge amount of Special effects other than makeup for the Zombies, no really bad CGI or anything like that which is always nice to see as bad CGI can make any movie seem cheap and really take away from it overall. One  aspect of the film that kind of irked me was in certain points in the film the camera angle would switch to the Zombie point of view, and I didn't understand the point of it or what it added to the story. I did like that the film did not take itself too seriously and had its fair share of sprinkled in funny moments that made me chuckle which was a nice touch. Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a 41% saying " Pride and Prejudice and Zombies manages to wring a few fun moments out of its premise, but never delivers the thoroughly kooky mashup its title suggests". I am not sure what kind of "Kooky" mashup they wanted to see but for me I was fine with this film overall and would recommend anyone who is a fan of Zombie films to see at least once as long as you know what to expect.

Rating

Decent film, worth seeing once if your expectations aren't too high. 7.0/10!!!!


The Next Film to review is "Deadpool" Starring Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin and Ed Skrein.

Runtime:108 Minutes


Plot

"A former Special Forces operative turned mercenary is subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopting the alter ego Deadpool".

My Thoughts 

Most people who know me, will know that I am a huge Deadpool fan (he is easily one of my top 5 marvel characters of all time). when word first broke about this film, I was very excited and my anticipation was at an all time high. After seeing the Film I can say they hit it out of the park, this film was awesome and I highly recommend it. Ryan Reynolds was the perfect choice and the only choice I could see for this role, he did a very good job and he should be the only person to ever play Deadpool in any future movies, the rest of the cast was very good with special mention to TJ Miller for his role as "Weasel" his and Reynolds character interplay was very funny and i enjoyed it. The plot was decent enough and was entertaining for the most part, I will say that the villain in this film (Ajax played by Ed Skrein) felt a little weak and overall I felt a better villain could have been chosen but with How the story played out it fit within the story and made sense. the film is rated R and for good reason, if this film was rated anything other than R i would have hesitated to see it. The film was crude,Explicit,No hold's barred and it was perfect, it was classic Deadpool played out on the big screen. from breaking the 4th wall with the audience to the wise cracking jokes to the sexual innuendo the R rating really allowed this film to be what it truly needed to and I applaud everyone involved for allowing this to happen. Other than the weak villain in this film there was not much I found wrong with it, if I had to nitpick some of the jokes for me fell flat but that comes down to personal preference, I also felt the Love story as I feel with most marvel films was not needed but again this comes down to personal preference. Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a 84% saying "Fast, funny, and gleefully profane, the fourth-wall-busting Deadpool subverts superhero film formula with wildly entertaining -- and decidedly non-family-friendly -- results". Overall this was an awesome film and exactly what I wanted to see, I look forward to Deadpool 2 and any other crossover films the merc with the mouth will make a presence in, Highly recommend this film.

Rating

Exactly what I wanted to see, awesome movie 8.5/10!!!




The Next film up for review is "Triple 9" Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Casey Affleck and Anthony Mackie

RunTime: 115 Minutes

Plot 


"A gang of criminals and corrupt cops plan the murder of a police officer in order to pull off their biggest heist yet across town".


My Thoughts 

Let me start by saying I am a huge fan of Cop drama and thrillers, in fact I feel it is a genre that recently has been neglected. When I first heard about this film last year I was really excited to see it, then the film was pushed back till 2016 which was a disappointment. Now having actually seen the film I have to say it was solid. The cast was full of Big names, which can be a worry for me, I have noticed that films that have a lot of big names in them can have to much going on and the acting talent of the cast can get lost at times and degrade the overall quality of the film. For the most part this was not an issue for this film, the cast overall was very good, some of the standout performances for me were Chiwetel Ejiofor for his portrayal as Micheal Atwood the leader of the criminal gang, I have rarely seen a bad performances from Ejiofor and this is another film where he did a very good job. Aaron Paul was another performance that stood out to me he portrayed a disgraced cop with a past he is trying to forget very well. I would have to say that Kate Winslet  had the best performance in this film she played the villain Irina Vlaslov and her performance really made me dislike her character which is t he villains main job. There were two performances that for me felt underwhelming and those were by Woody Harrelson and Casey Affleck, I respect both actors for their previous work, but in this film both characters they portrayed annoyed me, Harrelson's character I just did not like one bit from his mannerisms to the way he talked everything was just off with him. Affleck's character was a little more tolerable but overall his character also annoyed me especially with his incessant gum chewing it really got on my nerves after a while, the way these characters were portrayed may have been how the director wanted but for me these two irked me the whole film. The plot in this film was decent but definitely had its moments where it got a bit boring and cliched in areas but overall it was easy to follow and had enough surprise's to keep me engaged throughout the film. Rotten Tomatoes  gave this film a 55% saying " Triple 9's pulpy potboiler thrills don't quite live up to the ferocious talents of its cast, but the film's efficient, solidly crafted genre fun is often enough to balance its troublesome flaws". Overall as I mentioned earlier this was a solid film, it was for the most part well acted and had a decent plot that flowed well with the tome of the film, If you are a fan of Cop Drama/Thrillers or a fan of the actors in the film I recommend to see this film.

Rating

Well acted, Solid Film 7.4/10!!!

January 2016!!!

The first month of the new year brings four films to review the first being "The Revenant" Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy and Domhall Gleeson

Runtime:156 Minutes

Plot

"A frontiersman named Hugh Glass on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s is on a quest for survival after being brutally mauled by a bear".

My Thoughts 

Before this film came out there was a lot of rumblings about it going on, from the extreme conditions that the cast and crew had to endure to get this film made, too the controversial "Bear Attack" scene to the praise Leonardo DiCaprio was getting for his performance.  After seeing this film I can say that this was a very good film and one of the best I have seen in the last 12 months. first I Want to start with the cinematography, the film is just beautiful, not in a special effects/CGI way but in a natural way, from the embers flowing up into the tree from a campfire to the tranquil sound and fluidity of a river the characters are traversing to some of the wide angle shots that really let you see just how vast and lonely the open wilderness can be, this film was  shot brilliantly and was a sight too see, for me I had never seen such shots done in a movie like this before and I commend the cinematographers for this. onto the acting which was top notch, Leonardo DiCaprio lived up the hype/expectations I had heard about his performance from early reviewers, He was excellent as Hugh Glass, I have seen a good amount of Leonardo DiCaprio Films and for me this performance ranks up there with his Performance as Howard Hughes in "The Aviator". He showed so many different emotions and multi layered facets to his caharacter in this film that I was amazed overall. Tom Hardy was also excellent in this film he is quickly moving up my favorite actors list, everything I have seen him in, he has always excelled and impressed me, and I can see why he is getting buzz for Best Supporting Actor in the Oscars, One more actor I have to mention from the cast Will Poulter was excellent in this film as well in his portrayal as Bridger, the only other film I have seen him in was "We're the millers" and this was a completely different role and he was very good, I look forward too seeing what he does in the future. the rest of the cast did an excellent job and I saw no weak performances anywhere top to bottom good job. The next part of this film that really caught my eye was just the harshness and unforgiving nature it had to it, watching this film you really felt just how hard it was to survive in the wilderness and what it took to make it through, nature is unforgiving and the setting of this film really made the viewer see that. Lastly the "Bear" attack scene was a sight too behold it was visceral and bloody and DiCaprio did a magnificent job portraying the hurt and pain in his characters eyes as he was basically mauled to Death by a grizzly bear. There was not much about this film that really bothered me, something to note for anyone thinking of viewing this film the runtime is 156 minutes or 2 hours and 36 minutes so anyone who is not a fan of long running movies may want to skip this. for me the runtime was fine and the film flowed together pretty well, I will say there were some points of the film that felt they could have been cut from the film and would have not changed much and would have cut down on the run time, other than that I did not find much wrong with this film and  I recommend it too anyone who wants to see a beautifully shot film with excellent acting. Rotten Tomatoes  Gave the film an 80% saying " As starkly beautiful as it is harshly uncompromising, The Revenant uses Leonardo DiCaprio's committed performance as fuel for an absorbing drama that offers punishing challenges -- and rich rewards". I felt that score is a little low but overall agree with what was said.


Rating

Well Acted, Beautifully shot, and very punishing atmosphere combine for an excellent film 8.7/10!!!


The Next film to review is "The Forest" Starring Natalie Dormer, Eoin Macken and Stephanie Vogt

Runtime: 95 Minutes

Plot

"A young woman searches for her twin sister in a Japanese forest only to find herself surrounded by paranormal force".

My Thoughts 

This is going to be short and to the point, the film was below  average in aspect except for the ending it surprised me just a bit and I did not see it coming, other than that I would say pass on this film on all fronts, unless you have 90 minutes to waste and do not mind seeing a run of the mill cliched filled boring film. There was nothing memorable about this film whatsoever the acting was subpar, the CGI was bad enough that you could tell it was CGI and plot/story overall was not very engaging or interesting Rotten Tomatoes  gave this film a 11% saying "The Forest offers Natalie Dormer a few chances to showcase her range in a dual role, but they aren't enough to offset the fact that the movie's simply not all that scary". I agree with everything that was said, all of the supposedly "scary" parts of the film you could see coming from a mile away and that took all of the surprise out of them. I do not recommend this film at all, I did not think I would say this so early in the year but the second film I have seen is definitely one of the worst I have seen in recent memory.

Rating

Bad film all around nothing redeeming whatsoever except a somewhat surprising ending, Pass 5/10!!!



The Next film up for review is "Ride Along 2" starring Ice Cube, Kevin Hart and Olivia Munn

Runtime:101 Minutes

Plot

"As his wedding day approaches, Ben heads to Miami with his soon-to-be brother-in-law James to bring down a drug dealer who's supplying the dealers of Atlanta with product".

My Thoughts 

I enjoyed the first "Ride Along" film and wasn't really sure what to expect from this film, now having seen it I can say it was funny and had its moments, I don't really need to say much other than Ice Cube and Kevin Hart have good chemistry together and the magic and worked just as well together in this film as the first one. Ken Jeong was a nice addition to this film and his character and  chemistry meshed well with Kevin Hart and Ice Cube.You know what to expect from a film like this, and I will say it had a few moments that had me really cracking up and that is what I want to do when watching a film like this.Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a 14% saying " Ride Along 2 presents a cop-comedy sequel whose well-matched stars can't break the law of diminishing returns -- or lock up a script that unabashedly steals from the original". I agree somewhat the film did feel similar to the first one and other than different location it felt like the same film, again I will say when seeing a film like this  most viewers should know what to expect from the get go, and for me it was to laugh and be entertained and I laughed enough to justify the ticket price for me. Overall if you are a fan of Kevin Hart or Ice Cube or enjoyed the first film or just want to see something that will allow you to laugh for an hour and 41 minutes then I recommend this, if you are looking for great acting or a really good script, I would say skip it as this film does not provide that at all.

Rating

Solid Comedy film, what I expected nothing more or nothing less. 7.0/10!!!


The next film to Review is "The Boy" Starring  Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans and James Russell

Runtime: 97 Minutes


Plot

"An American nanny is shocked that her new English family's boy is actually a life-sized doll. After violating a list of strict rules, disturbing events make her believe that the doll is really alive".

My Thoughts 

I don't really have much to say about this film, I knew going in not to expect much and that is exactly what I got, the film had no scary parts at all (not even a jump scare moment the plot seemed interesting before actually seeing it play out on screen, the acting was passable nothing special here but this isn't a film that you would be expecting Oscar worthy acting in the first place, the only part of the film that vaguely interested me was the ending of the film the last 15-20 minutes were somewhat of a surprise, the actual ending of the film was cliched and expected for a PG-13 "Scary" movie, but other than that this film was forgettable in every sense of the word. Rotten Tomatoes  only has the rating listed for this movie which was 29% (which is always a sign of a terrible film). I do not recommend anyone to see this film, unless you have 97 minutes to kill and do not mind films that when they are over you leaving saying "I wasted 97 minutes of my life that I cannot get back".  skip this movie.


Rating

Terrible Film, nothing redeeming about it at all other than a somewhat surprising last 15-20 minutes not the actual ending itself. 5/10!!!!

2016 Watch list!!!

2015 Was a decent year for films lets see what 2016 has in store to review.


January





8th-The Revenant***

Plot-"The frontiersman, Hugh Glass, who in the 1820s set out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling".

 
8th-The Forest*


Plot-"An unexplained horror occurs in a Japanese forest".

15th-Ride Along 2***

Plot-"As his wedding day approaches, Ben heads to Miami with his soon-to-be brother-in-law James to bring down a drug dealer who's supplying the dealers of Atlanta with product".

22nd-The Boy* 


Plot-"An American nanny is shocked that her new English family's boy is actually a life-sized doll. After violating a list of strict rules, disturbing events make her believe that the doll is really alive".

February 




5th-Pride and Prejudice and Zombies**

Plot-"Jane Austen's classic tale of the tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th century England is faced with a new challenge -- an army of undead zombies".

12th-Deadpool***


Plot-"A former Special Forces operative turned mercenary is subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers and adopts the alter ego Deadpool".

26th-Triple Nine***


Plot-"A gang of criminals and corrupt cops plan the murder of a police officer in order to pull off their biggest heist yet across town"

March

11th-10 Cloverfield Lane**

Plot-"Waking up from a car accident, a young woman finds herself in the basement of a man who says he's saved her life from a chemical attack that has left the outside uninhabitable".

May 

6th-Captain America:Civil War***

Plot-"An incident leads to the Avengers developing a schism over how to deal with situations, which escalates into an open fight between allies Iron Man and Captain America".

13th-The Darkness**

Plot-"A family returns from a Grand Canyon vacation with a supernatural presence in tow".

June


10th-The Conjuring 2***

Plot-"Lorraine and Ed Warren travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by malicious spirits".

10th-Warcraft***

Plot-"An epic fantasy/adventure based on the popular video game series".

17th-Central Intelligence**

Plot-"After he reunites with an old pal through Facebook, a mild-mannered accountant is lured into the world of international espionage".

  July 

1st-The Purge:Election Year***

Plot-"Two years after choosing not to kill the man who killed his son, former police sergeant Barnes has become head of security for Senator Charlene Roan, the front runner in the next Presidential election due to her vow to eliminate the Purge".

22nd-Lights Out*

Plot-"A woman is haunted by a creature that only appears when the lights go out. A feature adaptation of the 2013 short film, "Lights Out" by David Sandberg".

August 

5th-Suicide Squad**

Plot-"A secret government agency recruits imprisoned supervillains to execute dangerous black ops missions in exchange for clemency".

26th-Don't Breathe**


Plot-"A group of friends break into the house of a wealthy blind man, thinking they'll get away with the perfect heist. They're wrong".

September

9th-The Disappointments room*


Plot-"A mother and her young son release unimaginable horrors from the attic of their rural dream home".

23rd-The Magnificent Seven***


Plot-"Seven gun men in the old west gradually come together to help a poor village against savage thieves".

30th-Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children**


Plot-"When Jacob discovers clues to a mystery that spans different worlds and times, he finds Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. But the mystery and danger deepen as he gets to know the residents and learns about their special powers".

November

4th-Doctor Strange*

Plot-"After his career is destroyed, a brilliant but arrogant surgeon gets a new lease on life when a sorcerer takes him under his wing and trains him to defend the world against evil".

11th-Arrival**

Plot-"A linguist is recruited by the military to assist in translating alien communications".