Guardians of the Galaxy - Review

After another Infinity Stone falls into dangerous hands, a group of criminals and misfits team up to defend the galaxy from destruction and oppression in Guardians of the Galaxy.




I just have to start by saying this... Guardians of the Galaxy was amazing. I said it. I knew I would say it, but there it is. I seriously loved it and had practically no issues with anything. It was entertaining as hell, funny, and had a lot of fun little tidbits added in. Not to mention we got our first real look at the big Marvel villain, Thanos.

Starting with the plot, I thought it was interesting enough for an origin of these characters. We got enough information to get us started and they did a great job establishing Peter Quill (aka, Star-Lord) as the main character. I really enjoyed the supporting characters and I thought everyone was used fairly well.
The villains were also handled beautifully. Ronan was extremely menacing visually and he looked more like something out of Hellraiser, but I think we can credit James Gunn for that. Nebula was also well done and I loved how she was portrayed. Getting to the big reveal of Thanos, it was enough to keep you both satisfied and wanting more. The visuals looked amazing and I think Josh Brolin was a fantastic choice. It also put a lot more into motion and hinted at things we will most likely see in Phase Three as well as the announced Guardians of the Galaxy sequel.
The only character I felt was extremely underused was The Collector. They made such a huge deal with him being in this movie but he was more enjoyable in the after credits scene for Thor: The Dark World than in Guardians of the Galaxy. It was treated more like a cameo than an actual role.Gamora was also a bit underused and seemed more like the typical tough chick in the universe, but she at least had more explanation and plot.

Either way, I don't think Marvel has anything to worry about regarding this story. Any concerns of people being onboard with a talking raccoon and a giant tree have definitely been squashed. I thought Rocket was probably the most enjoyable character aside from Star-Lord. He was funny and quick on his feet and the way Bradley Cooper voiced him was perfect. I can't even describe how much I loved it.
One thing this movie achieved at great length is taking us out of how "normal" the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become. Up until this point everything seemed very explainable to humans using science, logic, and a little open mindedness. With this story you have to accept that there are creatures and things outside of what we've already been shown that are just as dangerous and relevant. The only glimpse we really have had into the expanded universe, up until now, was with the Thor movies and even then he was exiled onto Earth and the magic of Asgard was pretty easily explained and present on Earth. With these characters and this story it's going to start introducing a lot more comic magic and fantasy that the MCU has lacked. If you thought Guardians of the Galaxy was a stretch you need to remember than these are comic book movies and they are not grounded in reality. 

One thing I am seriously hoping for is that Marvel brings back James Gunn for the sequel. The element he brought to these characters is definitely not something that could be replicated. They made a fantastic choice hiring him.



To talk about a couple spoilers...




The post-credits scene was a waste, in my opinion. Something about letting Howard the Duck have a cameo seemed wasted. I expected something relating to Age of Ultron or even Doctor Strange, but I was not expecting what we got at all. It wasn't relevant.
But, on the subject of what else The Collector had in his possession, we saw quite a few characters that we have already seen in Marvel films. Along with Howard the Duck and Cosmo the Spacedog we caught a glimpse at an imprisoned Dark Elf from Thor: The Dark World as well as a Chitauri warrior from The Avengers. We also saw visions of the Aether and the Tesseract while the Infinity Gauntlet was explained. 


What did you think of Guardians of the Galaxy?

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Review

10 years after the Simian Flu outbreak, Caesar and his growing population of genetically altered apes is confronted by humans nested in a nearby compound as they struggle to survive. After briefly coming to peace, a war begins between apes and humans to determine which is Earth's dominant species in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.


I was excited for this one primarily because I am a fan of Planet of the Apes in general. I liked the old movies and I really liked Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Now that I have seen Dawn I think that this is well on its way to becoming a dominant new take on the story.
The effects were spot on, the new characters and actors were a nice change, and it had a fairly interesting plot. My main complaint about this movie was timing, though. It seemed to take a very long time to even get to the real conflict and climax of the plot. I understand they wanted to focus on the progress Caesar made with the apes, but that seemed to surpass the struggles humans have faced over the past 10 years.

As far as the plot goes, the basics of it revolved around Malcolm who was given the task to regenerate a nearby dam so the compound could restore electricity and try to find other survivors or compounds. That's all well and good until Caesar is pressured by his ape council, primarily the former lab-monkey Koba, to show dominance over the humans. Caesar struggles with it ultimately pushing Koba away as well as inadvertently threatening the humans.
I will say the main wasted character, in terms of screentime and development, was Gary Oldman's character Dreyfus. The marketing built him up to be this major villain and ape hater but in reality he was hardly in the movie. He made a couple speeches and helped in the battle between apes and humans but he wasn't really a main character. I don't think any of the humans were really main characters other than Malcolm. This was truly an ape story and those apes were the main characters. I liked seeing Caesar's family and his interactions with his son. I also liked the brief return to James Franco's character and, I won't lie, it made my eyes a bit misty.

The main battle scene and the short events leading up to it were fantastic, but like I said before it seemed like we were waiting forever to get there. There was a point where I was sitting in my chair thinking, when is this going to pick up? When will someone fuck with Caesar or when will one of the apes go rogue and betray him? It was a long wait. 

Overall I don't think I would say this one was better than Rise of the Planet of the Apes, but it was still very good. Definitely worth seeing.

X-Men: Days of Future Past - Review

In the future, mutant exterminating machines called Sentinels are sent to destroy the mutant race. A small group of survivors send one of their own back into the past to help destroy the future in X-Men: Days of Future Past.



I'm going to just go right into this and say this movie disappointed the hell out of me. I had very high expectations given how great X-Men: First Class was. I have to say I enjoyed First Class a lot more than Days of Future Past.
It has a great start bringing us into the future and re-introducing us to mutants we already know and it brought us into the past very well, but it soon became really jumbled together and it flipped back and forth way too freely. I have quite a few problems with this movie...

1. Character development was seriously lacking in this installment. There were way too many mutants that needed explanation and way too many with explanation of things we already knew. For example, there was no need to constantly explain what happened to Wolverine. He is probably the most developed and most utilized character of the X-Men franchise so far. He was a main character in the first three films and has two solo films. We know what happens to him and we don't need it explained to us all the fucking time.

2. Overhyped characters that were fairly irrelevant at the end of the day. The biggest offenders here were Bishop and Quicksilver. These two characters were hyped up at an alarming rate, especially Quicksilver, and they each failed to bring anything major. Bishop turned out to just be a surviving mutant battling Sentinels in the future. He had no explanation, no character development, and I don't think his name was said more than once.
Quicksilver was approached in the past simply because Wolverine said he knew him in the future. Again, no explanation other than the fact that he was fast. He has like 10min of total screentime and was one of the most hyped characters in the promos. Not to mention the Carl's Jr. commercial.

3. Despite being the main villain, Mystique was overshadowed heavily by both Trask and Magneto. Simple as that.

4. Not enough Sentinel action in the 70's. Actually, there wasn't enough action in the 70's at all. It was mostly Charles complaining and Wolverine struggling.

5. The time jumping got to be confusing. In the end, they focused more on the future than in the past and that was a huge mistake. The storyline we were invested in was not the mutants in the future. It was in the attempt to stop the Sentinels from being created. That was why Wolverine was sent back to begin with!

6. The way the mutants from First Class were utilized was stupid. Angel, Azazel, and Havok were completely wasted and would have been better off not being mentioned at all.



I think I just have to stop now. I am not saying I hated Days of Future Past because I didn't, but I did not love it like I thought I was going to. Definitely not the way I love First Class. There were things I enjoyed, but unfortunately they are a bit overshadowed by the bad. Nice try Bryan Singer, but Matthew Vaughn did a better job.

Her - Review

A lonely man in the wake of a divorce unexpectedly develops a relationship with his new operating system. Samantha is designed to meet his every need, but Theodore quickly discovers the possibilities and dangers of dating a computer in Her.



I have been patiently waiting to see Her for months. I wanted to see it when it was first released but, as always, my city was not playing it so I have been waiting for it to come on DVD. I got especially excited when Spike Jonze won Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars. After seeing the movie I have to say it was not only well deserved, but it should have won more.
Her is probably one of the most thought provoking and heartbreaking films I have seen in a very long time. The style was beautiful, the dialogue was funny and raw, and the acting by Joaquin Phoenix was spot on. I am not ashamed to say I cried three or four times during this movie. Aside from the emotion it confronts it really does leave you with the question of, is this advancing technology just going to hurt people in the end?

Starting with the plot, it was fairly simple. We are thrown into the near future where technology is advanced but not anything on the level of The Jetsons. People still walk places, there were no flying cars, people still had jobs, and people still communicated. However, we had fully interactive computers and games, the technology had replaced certain human things, and the introduction of the OS programs like Samantha. Theodore purchases Samantha under the impression that she will help him organize his life and help him through his day.
When I say the technology had replaced certain human things I am referring entirely to Theodore's job. His sole purpose in the company he worked for was to write letters for people. How is this technology replacing human work? He never actually wrote anything. He spoke to his computer which then translated his voice through a program that handwrote the letter for him. All he had to do was say "print" and boom, you have a handwritten letter... written by someone else. The saddest part is I think that is a very plausible future for us as a society, but let's keep moving.
I was somewhat impressed with the level of believability Jonze gave our future society. Unless I missed it, you don't find out what year this takes place in but I sat there after the movie was over and thought to myself, "man this could realistically be us in 10 years."

Back to what Samantha is actually programmed to do, the OS was advertised to help with organization. He buys the OS to help organize his emails and his life overall. Samantha quickly adapts to his personality, his work, and his routine in a way that is both impressive and scary. She organizes his emails and decides which are important based on his tone of voice, she adapts to his finances, sets up meetings with his friends, and persuades him to do certain activities. It truly felt at times that you were going to have some major reveal of a call center somewhere with people sitting at a computer working these so-called OS programs. The fact that it never happened is up for us to decide whether that is cool or creepy. I vote somewhere in the middle.
Before too long the OS programs as a whole begin to advance at a ridiculous rate and we see it purely through Samantha. She begins to wonder what Theodore is feeling, why he responds the way he does, and the way Scarlett Johansson voices the character you can often hear the emotion in her voice. It is as if he is talking to a real person who is trying to connect with him on a truly emotional level.
Before too long we find Theodore falling for the voice in his computer. The strange part is the computer is also falling for him. He seems willing to just let it happen and figures he has someone he can talk to and it's great, but Samantha struggles more with the fact that they can't truly be together physically and I thought that was the most interesting perspective of this movie. The computer was more concerned than the human which is not something I expected. Going in I figured Theodore would be the one who initially had these concerns. Turns out he was so lonely he didn't really care at first. Also the fact that Theodore is passing up pure, human opportunity with his neighbor (played by Amy Adams) to date his computer.

Without going into too much detail about how this story ended, I just want to say that it was a great foreshadow and oversight into our current culture. I mean, we are already in the world of online dating and people falling for someone they've only talked to in a chat room. That has already been our reality for 5 years. How much further can we take this before being human is truly lost? How much longer do we have before people stop talking to each other and just talk to their computers?

The better question is, what good does falling in love with an OS bring? Does it perpetuate loneliness or truly give us something to grow off of and get back on our feet to talk to someone?

In our current world it's hard enough to approach someone and see what they're all about. People are too busy on Facebook and Twitter looking for the next hashtag craze. Give us 10 more years of this, if not 5 more, and we will soon be Theodore and Samantha. It is both scary and intriguing. I applaud Spike Jonze for bringing us this story because it is insightful, intelligent, and heartbreaking. Oddly enough, it has more human element and emotion than other films that are not centered around technology and artificial intelligence.

Best movie of 2013 by far and the best I have seen in a long time.

Godzilla - Review

After an unexpected meltdown at a Japanese nuclear plant, scientists begin chasing after an unknown entity causing supersonic disturbances with nuclear power in Godzilla.


I will start by saying that I really enjoyed Godzilla for what it was and I liked it more than I was expecting to. However, I do have some minor gripes without going too far into everything.

1. There was a lack of Godzilla. When he did show up he was badass, but you go through about 75% of the film without ever seeing him.

2. Bryan Cranston was wasted.

3. Elizabeth Olsen was wasted.

4. Despite being as long as it was, it was fairly fast-paced. Stuff that should have been focused on wasn't.


Despite all that, I enjoyed it. There should have been a bit more Godzilla, but I assumed that was just to setup an inevitable sequel. The creature itself looked awesome.

This is a terrible review because I don't really have that much to say except take it for what it is and just have fun. That's what I did and I walked out a happy camper.

Transcendence - Review

While researching technology which would allow computers to interpret the human brain's full potential, Dr. Will Caster is poisoned by a radical anti-tech group leading his wife and research partner to test his theories on his own, dying body in Transcendence.



I'm not saying I was overly excited to see this one, but I do enjoy a good sci-fi movie every so often so I was intrigued. I thought the concept seemed really promising but that's about it. It was promising but didn't really deliver.
Personally, I didn't have a hard time following the subject matter and I found the basis of it interesting, but it wasn't really executed that well. They introduce this massive conflict between AI and anti-AI terrorists and it doesn't really live up to it. It's mostly about a wife's struggle to let go of her husband and I didn't go in expecting that at all.

The acting was mostly flat, including Johnny Depp, and given the cast I expected more. Cillian Murphy was not utilized properly as was the same with Morgan Freeman. Rebecca Hall wasn't bad but she didn't really have a lot of chemistry with Depp which didn't help when she was forced to communicate with an audio recording of his voice.
Aside from this, I just found it boring. Nothing was really carried out properly, the plot was rushed, and overall there wasn't really a good lead into the short-lived climax of the movie. If you wanted to see Transcendence I would wait until it's on Netflix. It's not worth the theater time.

Blue is the Warmest Color - Review

After a chance encounter with an artist with blue hair, Adele begins a multiple year journey to learn how to discover herself, her needs, and her wants as an adult in Blue is the Warmest Color.



I went into this movie fully knowing what to expect because of the reputation it gained after Cannes. It was both praised and criticized for it's NC-17, graphic portrayal of a same-sex relationship involving a confused, underage girl. There was also a lot of complaining after it failed to receive a Best Foreign Film nomination at the Academy Awards. After seeing it for myself, I wouldn't say it's the masterpiece people made it out to be. 

The way I see it... this would have been a decent movie if it was about 90min shorter and wasn't full of the random, graphic sex scenes. I feel like the scenes were there primarily for shock value as they didn't really hold any relevance to the plot and had absolutely no reason to be that graphic. As a result it took away from the plot. If I wanted to see something like that I could go to a porn website and see the exact same thing.
The length was an issue primarily because a majority of the film was filler. By the time the main character Adele even meets Emma, the girl with blue hair, I was bored and had been wondering what the past 45min had to do with the plot. Even after she enters a relationship with Emma, I felt there were a lot of scenes that did not have to be there or ran too long. Watching Adele teach a kindergarten class for 10min is a perfect example. We get it, she became a teacher. Watching her teach has no importance to her relationship with Emma. It didn't need to be there. It was almost like each hour was an act and I mean it when I say it could have been cut in half and been as effective.

The bright spot by far was the performance by Adele Exarchopoulos. She truly was fantastic, but I think she was overshadowed by overall poor execution and poor, underdeveloped supporting characters. Reading a synopsis of the movie gives you more than the actual film does.
I am glad the Academy excluded this movie because it didn't deserve to be there. Bottom line. I would have been happy if Exarchopoulos received a nomination for her work, but it would have justified the critics praise that I honestly feel is undeserved.

Sorry to say it, but this was another average lovers quarrel that ran too long and had unnecessarily raunchy sex scenes. Nothing special.

Escape From Tomorrow - Review

During his family's visit to Disney World, Jim begins experiencing hallucinations and odd coincidences that test his sanity after a chance encounter with French teenagers in Escape From Tomorrow.


I'm the first to admit that I only watched this movie mainly because of the controversy it stirred up. When I heard about a guerilla movie filmed inside the Disney Parks I was intrigued to see exactly what it was about. However, I will admit that I don't really understand what the hell happened in this movie.
Regarding the main character of Jim, I don't really understand what the significance of his "madness" was exactly. Was he really hated by his wife because he had wandering eyes? Was he insane and/or had blackouts and came to during weird events? How did his daughter not tell the mother what was happening but the son was verbal about the weird things? While on the subject of the son, what was that kid's problem? Was he a robot or something?

There are just too many questions with this movie. I wouldn't go far enough to say I didn't enjoy it, but nothing really came together. It was just a bunch of weird events shoved into one movie and they tried to tie them all together with one central character. It didn't quite work.
I will say that for an undercover film it was pretty well shot. I have been to Disneyland many times and the camera policy isn't really there. I've seen guests walk around with GoPro cams on hand-held tripods and stuff like that, so I'm a bit surprised that this was such a big deal. Go on YouTube and you'll find hundreds of videos shot inside Disney Parks. I appreciated the use of black and white, too.


I don't know. Anyone else watch Escape From Tomorrow? What was your take on it?

Dallas Buyers Club - Review

After being unexpectedly diagnosed with HIV, Ron Woodroof begins an underground drug business to expand the usage of non-FDA approved HIV/AIDS therapies among fellow sufferers. As a result, he begins facing legal opposition by the Food & Drug Administration and his own doctors in Dallas Buyers Club.

I went into Dallas Buyers Club with very minor information in terms of plot and characters, and I think that it was better that way. I loved the acting, loved the story, and I thought it was very well put together. Matthew McConaughey really was on point along with Jared Leto.
The character of Ron was really brought to life by McConaughey. The transformation he endures after his diagnosis was very present and well paced. It was believable and it showed that this rugged, cowboy had a side that wanted people to be as successful as he was. Jared Leto took the show with the character of Rayon, though. He was loveable, positive, and you just felt connected to him immediately. I don't know why it was but I was pulled in very quickly. I haven't seen Leto nail a role right on the head since Requiem for a Dream. After seeing this movie it fully solidifies my prediction that both Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey should, and probably will, win Oscars for this film. I am somewhat surprised no one gave Jennifer Garner a Best Supporting Actress nod. Just putting that out there.
As far as the plot goes, like I said it was very well put together. I never once felt that it was rushed or too slow. I haven't read up on the real events with Ron Woodroof so I can't really comment on how accurate it was. I do recall hearing the character of Rayon is fictional, so who knows what else might be.

I think, as disturbing as it may be, they portrayed the time very well. It was a scary and desperate time for both physicians and citizens when the AIDS crisis hit. People who had it didn't have much hope other than drug trials and the doctors and pharmaceutical companies didn't know what else to do but use the patients as guinea pigs and tell them that was their only option. Ron just took a step back and figured if he could find another way to help himself and others with the same disease he would fight to give people that option. I thought it was very well done.
As far as Oscar predictions go, I think this could be a dark horse and might just sweep the major categories. I don't know if it has the street cred to beat out Gravity, 12 Years a Slave, or American Hustle for best picture, but it might. I am also banking on Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto winning in their categories. Easily.

Compliance - Review

A small fast food restaurant becomes the victim of a prank caller pretending to be a police officer investigating a cashier for theft in Compliance.


All I really have to say is I don't know how or why these people didn't realize this was fake. That is when you hang up, call the police, and inquire about why one of their officers is making a fast food manager run their investigation. Ridiculous.

The saddest part is this is based off a true story. I wouldn't say this is a bad movie, it's just confusing.  I didn't think people were this dumb. I don't even have anything else to say.

The LEGO Movie - Review

After President Business vows to permanently super glue the LEGO universe together, an average construction worker named Emmet is recruited by a secret group of master builders to try and save their world in The LEGO Movie.


I will admit that I went into this movie excited for a couple reasons. First of all, Lego's are awesome. No question. Second off, the trailers were funny and the movie genuinely looked good. After seeing it I am happy to say that not only was the animation fantastic but the movie itself was also very fun. I haven't enjoyed a movie like this in a while.
Starting off with the premise, I thought making a movie about a Lego universe was very cool and like many others, I don't know what took them so long. The concept is just so open for interpretation and creativity. The plot itself had a nice message as well showing that without creativity we don't really have a future. Making a normal, average construction worker "the special" because he thought of things that didn't seem important to most but were cool to him was a nice touch.
Along with the plot being great, the animation rendered was so fantastic. I loved how everything was made of Lego's. If there was a fire it was out of Lego pieces. If there was smoke, it was made out of Lego pieces. Even liquids and the opening credits were Lego pieces. The characters maintained classic Lego form, but the voices and facial rendering gave them so much life.
Speaking of voices, I thought the voice cast was perfect. Morgan Freeman, Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, and Elizabeth Banks all killed it and they made the seemingly simple Lego figures really come to life. I applaud them for that. The characters themselves were absolutely hilarious, too. I thought Emmet was a very endearing character and extremely likeable. The police officer voiced by Liam Neeson was also great. I laughed a lot at him. 
One main thing that I loved about this movie was the absolute immersion of the Lego universe. There were Lego characters in this movie that I played with as a kid, like the 80's space guy and the basic construction workers. I think I even had pirate Lego's as a kid. They were all included and the way they wrapped them all together into the same universe was a lot of fun. Warner Bros. really did their research on this one and the end product was fantastic.

If you have little kids they will absolutely love The LEGO Movie. I saw it with my 10-year old nephew and we were both laughing throughout the entire movie. Aside from that, I think people of any age will enjoy this movie. Most of the people in my theater were adults with no children and everyone seemed to be having a good time. I never thought I would say this with such enthusiasm, but bring on a sequel. I am totally on board to see more Lego movies because I sure loved this one.

As much as it pains me to say it, I think this movie surpassed Monsters University and definitely crushed Frozen. This definitely should give Disney and Pixar something to think about because it was a lot better than the last couple offerings we've had. Now excuse me while I go sing "Everything is Awesome" around the house all week.


Oh, and there is a Star Wars cameo. Just saying =^D

The Spectacular Now - Review

After suddenly breaking up with his girlfriend, a popular senior stumbles into a relationship with a lesser known girl at his high school. The two teens help each other learn the advantages, struggles, and the dangers of living exclusively in the present in The Spectacular Now.


I watched this movie because I had heard great things about it from a lot of different people. People were saying it was different, fresh, and a nice spin on the romantic genre. I wouldn't say this was a bad movie, but it was definitely not something we haven't seen before.
The main character of Sutter (Miles Teller) is an extremely typical character. He is the life of every party but is struggling underneath his facade with alcohol and internal pain. Because that's not typical at all. He winds up falling for this girl Aimee (Shailene Woodley) by complete accident and winds up using his own problems to sabotage their relationship after a short time. Again, it's been done. On the way to the end of the film you see Aimee evolve and mold herself to Sutter because she loves him and wants to be what he is used to, but Sutter is more determined to "live in the now" and not let the boundaries of the future tie him down. Yes, that is despite the great thing he has going with this girl.

The point I am making with this is despite what I heard about this movie, it is yet another typical teen romance film. It does have high points but they are nowhere near the amount of typical, expected moments this movie is full of. As far as acting goes this basically solidified my annoyance with Miles Teller. I just find him very annoying and I don't understand why he was cast in this movie. He had no chemistry with Shailene Woodley at all. Speaking of Woodley, I thought she was probably the best part of this movie. She played unassuming and shy quite well.
In terms of character I think this was the weakest aspect. You get the backstory of these characters, but not enough to make it feel relevant. It's almost like Sutter was with Aimee just to have someone to hang out with. There was a lack of chemistry and an overall lack of want between these two characters. It was very one-sided. Sutter is very selfish and constantly treats Aimee like a backup plan. Not to mention he is almost always under the influence of alcohol and she desperately adopts that lifestyle because she knows that's how he is. She was supposed to be a smart kid and came off desperate. He was supposed to be a loveable, popular kid and came off as a drunken douchebag.
The ending was probably the worst part of it because it seems like they skipped over a solid 2-3 months of time and then threw you back into the story. You don't know what happened between these people that got them to that point, you don't understand how these characters evolved... you just are left empty at the end. 

Again, not a total loss but don't go in expecting anything spectacular (no pun intended). The Spectacular Now is yet another badly cast teen romance drama. It's a shame given the hype this movie got among critics. If you have a choice, (500) Days of Summer was a lot more satisfying.

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones - Review

After the mysterious and sudden death of his neighbor, Jesse begins experiencing odd paranormal disturbances. While investigating the bigger picture he discovers he has been specially marked for possession in Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones.


Let this be a disclaimer that this review will contain spoilers. If you haven't seen this movie and want to, I suggest you come back after you have seen it. You don't want the ending spoiled for you. Trust me.






Last chance.










I will be the first to say that I absolutely despise the Paranormal Activity movies. I think they are boring, full of cheap scares, and a bit over stretched. With that said, I was not excited to see The Marked Ones especially after I learned it was a spin-off. I saw the trailer and while I gave it credit for actually looking more eventful I still didn't put much stock in it. After seeing it I have to admit, despite how embarrassing this is for me, this was a pretty damn good horror movie and by far is the best of the Paranormal Activity franchise so far.
Why do I say this? Well, first off there is no footage of people sleeping. None. That made me extremely happy. Second, it was consistently eventful throughout the entire movie. There was none of this boring as hell for an hour and then eventful for the last 10-15min. I also thought the acting wasn't all that bad either. The kids were believable and they weren't as annoying as the previous teenagers we have had, especially in Paranormal Activity 4.
As far as the plot goes I thought this one probably had one of the most interesting storylines. The basics of it are Jesse's neighbor was a witch and tried possessing his classmate, Oscar, and then the demon marked and possessed Jesse. I think the setting was a nice change of pace because it dealt with completely different people in a different area of California.

The movie, obviously, was full of gimmicks but there was the good and the bad.

The best gimmicks:

The haunted Simon Says toy
The rehash of the bite mark as the symbol for "the marked ones"
The time travel reveal

The bad gimmicks:

Falling backwards and not hitting the ground
Super strength in beating up gangsters


A lot of the gimmicks and elements were easter eggs, to a point, referencing the previous movies. These are not limited to the Spanish newspapers in Katie's house (PA4), the reuse of the bite mark (PA), the word "meus" written on the wall (PA2), The box of stolen VHS tapes (PA2), grandma Lori's house being the witch coven (PA3), and young Kristi and Katie appearing in the neighbor's basement.

Now this all led up to something... I do have to say the ending was not only the best part of the movie, but it was definitely the best of the entire franchise.I recognized the grandma's house almost immediately because despite not liking the movie as a whole, I will say that my favorite part of Paranormal Activity 3 was when Dennis ran down the hallway and opened the door with the room full of witches just standing there. Hector, Marisol, and the gangsters raid the coven and these crazy, yelling witches come out of nowhere and get blown away shotgun style. They enter the house and encounter a demonic Jesse and more witches that seem to appear out of nowhere. Marisol and the gangsters bite the dust leaving poor Hector the cameraman running from Jesse.
Remember me saying one of the best gimmicks was time travel? Here is where this comes into play. It is explained to a point that the witches can travel from point to point in reference to demonic possession. Yes, this means they can travel through time to the event of a full possession. Hector is running from Jesse and he opens a door in grandma's house and finds himself in a familiar spot. I immediately recognized it as Katie and Micah's house from the very first Paranormal Activity. You see Katie walking down the stairs as she did at the end of PA, she grabs a knife, and when she turns around she looks at Hector and starts screaming for Micah, as in the first movie. This is what we didn't see in the movie because the camera stays stationary in the master bedroom. Micah sees Hector, pushes him, and then Katie starts stabbing him. Hector gets scared and when he turns around you are surprised by a full demonic Jesse popping up and killing Hector. There is speculation that the person who turns off the light on the camera downstairs is Alex from Paranormal Activity 4, but I think it looked like Katie.

Here is my theory about this ending... This all literally happened at the same time from the very beginning. We just didn't know it at the time. I think Katie could have had a brief relief from the trance to scream for Micah and lure him downstairs because she saw Hector in the kitchen. We didn't know it because as mentioned before, Micah's camera was stationary in the bedroom.

Director Christopher Landon has done a nice job wrapping this all together to this point. I'm not saying I am suddenly a big fan of Paranormal Activity franchise, but this was a nice surprise. No shit, I screamed when Jesse popped up at the end looking like the devil. It caught me 100% off guard. I think this was a good set up for Paranormal Activity 5 and it finally made a connection between the previous four movies that is more than Katie randomly popping up everywhere. It's nice to know this spreads beyond this singular family and this witch coven is worldwide. Bloody good show.

American Hustle - Review

After a scheme gone wrong, top con-artist Irving Rosenfeld and his British partner are recruited and forced to work for the FBI under the direction of Richie DiMaso, an over-ambitious FBI agent. Little do they know DiMaso has his sights set on intentionally bribing and busting East Coast power brokers, politicians, and mobsters in American Hustle.


I probably found this movie a lot funnier than it was supposed to be perceived, but I did really enjoy American Hustle. I admit I went into it a bit uninformed and unprepared because I honestly didn't know what the movie was actually about. I got the basics of the FBI using con-artists for their operations but I didn't really know anything else. I think it's best that I went in that way because the movie was surprising, interesting, and hilarious. I feel like if I would have known more that the enjoyment would have been a little downplayed.
As far as acting goes, the entire cast was on point. There wasn't a single actor I didn't like, even Jeremy Renner, and they all played their roles great. Out of the choices I would say my favorite was Christian Bale as Irving Rosenfeld. The overall appearance alone just steals the show. Bradley Cooper and Amy Adams both played somewhat damaged characters but they still managed to get you to like them. Even though Cooper's character, Richie DiMaso, turns out to be a complete dumbass you do appreciate him in the end. One person I do wish would have been in the movie a bit more is definitely Jennifer Lawrence. I thought her character was hilarious and it's a shame that she was only a supporting role.
Direction and style were both well done, too. I liked what David O. Russell brought to the table with this one and he nailed the 70's style. There were some moments where I felt like I was watching a movie made in that timeframe and not in present day. The actors all had the look, the environments were all retro, and the dialogue was similar.

My only real complaints are small. I am not an advocate for long movies in any way, but I think this one should have been a bit longer. It seemed like they used the interchanging narratives to sum up what could have been shown and I thought that took away from the movie in a small way. The beginning moved a bit fast and a lot of the FBI operations did, too. They also didn't really explore exactly where Richie DiMaso came from. He just appears and all of a sudden gets to put together this massive fraud operation using two con-artists to try and bust the mayor of New Jersey. He set his sights too high and you don't really understand why he did it.

Overall I did enjoy this movie a lot. I think the humor came from the subtle things, like the character's style and dialogue. I found Jennifer Lawrence very entertaining as well as Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper. I understand the award frenzy over this movie and I must say after seeing it that I think it's well deserved. We will see how this pans out when the Oscar nominations are announced.

Thumbs up!

The Purge - Review

In the not so distant future, the reborn United States holds an annual purge to allow its citizens 12 hours of crime for one night out of the year. A wealthy family of supporters gets more than they bargained for after locking down for the night in The Purge.


I know I am late to the party when it comes to The Purge, but I wanted to see it so I decided to still watch it before the year is up. I didn't have anything invested in this originally which is mainly why I didn't see it in theaters. I had seen and heard a lot of mixed reviews about it so I wasn't in a hurry. After watching it I wouldn't say I am all that disappointed, but I am glad I didn't rush to see it because I probably would have been more disappointed.

Starting off with the plot, I think this movie has a great concept. The whole 12-hour crime free night is a very interesting concept and I thought it fit the genre well. However, I don't think that it worked as well as it could have. The fact that the entire focus was on this one family located in an extremely wealthy area hindered the plot a bit for me. Instead of showing the true chaos and so-called benefits of the purge, they focused on a family holed up in a mansion with an expensive security system. It kind of defeated the purpose.
As far as acting goes, it was pretty standard for a movie like this. The kids were annoying, the wife was stupid, and the "intruders" weren't really seen all that much. The best part, as expected, was Ethan Hawke. While on the subject of the intruders, the way they were portrayed made it seem like people participating in the purge were all crazy or had this self-righteous sense of entitlement to rid themselves of the country's undesirables. The previews made it look like the purge was a chance to give people a night to go after people they've wanted to all year or to get revenge. Not to walk around like it's a game and kill homeless people.

In other words, there was a lot wrong with this movie.

1. The son

The fact that the parents didn't beat their son's ass for disarming the security system bothered me the entire movie. They didn't even acknowledge the fact that all of the events happening was their son's fault. Instead they decide to split up and leave the boy alone in the room with the security controls. If he disarmed it once to let someone in, what makes them think he wouldn't do it again?! I would have beat his ass right then and there. I guess punishing your kids still isn't a trend in 2022.
Oh, and the creepy baby doll surveillance robot. What the hell...

2. The daughter

No character development, insignificant to the plot, and annoying. I feel like you don't disappear to some random area of the house after you get intruders during a crime free 12-hour period.

3. The lack of exploration of the future

I'll admit, I was curious to see exactly what 2022 looked like. The only thing we saw was a rich neighborhood and the inside of the family's house. There was no mention of exactly how bad America got before the new founding fathers came in, there was no mention of who the founding fathers were, what type of government America had, how we could maintain an economy of 1% unemployment, etc.. They just threw you into the movie and made you roll with it with no explanation.

4. No character development of the stranger

Seriously. All this guy was in this movie was a random victim who was allowed into the house and then came in handy at the very end. No name, no background, nothing.

5. The neighbors

I will admit that the neighbors kind of made the movie for me, but it seemed like more of a PSA for the delusion of wealth more than anything else. Even though the people were rich and lived in a neighborhood hardly touched by the purge, they felt the need to still try and eliminate the "get rich quick" citizens. They were a bit cult-like and self-entitled for my tastes.


Overall, I came to the conclusion of not understanding why The Purge got to popular and seriously not understanding why it's getting a sequel. I think people are banking on it just on the concept alone despite the fact that the movie had no real substance and shitty characters. I've seen it and once was enough. I won't be seeing the sequel.

Frozen - Review

Anna, a young princess, finds herself in a race against the seasons as she ventures out from her kingdom to find her newly crowned Queen sister, Elsa, after her ice powers unintentionally freeze the kingdom in an eternal winter in Frozen.


I went into Frozen with an open mind because I generally like animated movies. Despite being 25-years old, I do enjoy a children's movies for the most part. I thought the previews looked fun and the hype over it gave me a lot of hope. However, I walked out of the theater with a pretty "meh" attitude and few laughs under my belt.
I don't know if it was just me, but I didn't find Frozen to be anything too spectacular. It wasn't nearly as good as previous Walt Disney Animation films such as Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph. It didn't even come close to Wreck-It Ralph and the previews are trying to put it on the same level as The Lion King. The animation itself was gorgeous, but the story was lacking for me. I thought the beginning was very rushed and rather confusing at first. They don't really explain what Elsa's "frozen" powers are and the events with Anna were pretty unrealistic. I feel like after having a closed kingdom for 10 years you wouldn't let your princess run freely around the kingdom without people even asking where she was or what she was doing while the soon to be crowned Queen remains locked in her bedroom. It was very weird. The story itself wasn't even emotionally moving. It was one of the only Disney movies that has not moved me to feel something. Hell, I cried during Wreck-It Ralph.
Like I said, the animation was great. The ice effects and the snow were very beautifully rendered and I would put the animation on the level of the previous films from Disney. I think the events of the movie took away from it, though. There was too much music and break into song moments. They didn't flow too well together and seemed to pop up out of nowhere at times with no real lead in.
As far as characters go, I thought a majority of the characters were enjoyable. Elsa was extremely underdeveloped, though. Anna was more of a main character with Elsa as a supporting character and I felt it should be the other way around due to the fact that Elsa was the one with the powers. The funniest character was the reindeer, Sven. Hands down the most annoying character was Olaf, the snowman. He had his funny moments but as a whole he was rather annoying and had jokes that I think were a bit ahead of the intended audience. There was a joke about being impaled and the only people chuckling were the adults. That seems to be typical of kids movies these days.
I also found the blatant similarities between Frozen and Tangled to be a bit distracting. The reindeer was very similar to the horse in Tangled, Anna and Elsa both looked a lot like Rapunzel, and Prince Hans was similar in looks and personality to Flynn Rider. Also the princess being the hero was like, yeah it's been done. I kept thinking of Tangled the whole time. 

Basically, Frozen was just alright for me. I probably could have, and should have, waited for DVD so I could just rent it. I enjoyed the last half a lot more than the first and it had too much singing. It's unfortunate this movie wasn't just a little bit longer. I think an extra 10-15min could have made a big difference. It wasn't a total loss but it wasn't as good as I was expecting it to be.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - Review

After their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion across the districts of Panem, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark return to the arena to fight against other surviving victors in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.


I just have to start by saying this was a great movie and a pretty decent book to film adaptation. I personally enjoyed it more than The Hunger Games and I found it was a lot closer to the source material. Obviously, there were things left out but a majority of what is in the film was in the book. That was a big breath of fresh air. Especially after The Hunger Games had so much missing and had a lot of new things incorporated into the plot.
Starting off with direction, I think Francis Lawrence did a much better job than Gary Ross. The movie itself had a much better flow and it was a lot smoother than The Hunger Games was. I also think the actors had a lot more purpose than they did before.
As far as acting goes, I thought some people did a better job while some people floundered a bit. I thought Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, and Woody Harrelson were fantastic and much better this time around. I'm not saying they were bad in the first movie, but they were more enjoyable and just better this time around. Jennifer Lawrence was the confusing one for me. She was great in The Hunger Games and had her moments in Catching Fire as well, but I feel like she wasn't really trying during the first half of the movie. I don't know if it was intentional to show how damaged Katniss had become or if she is just one of those actresses that has elements she is good and bad at. It was a bit off. I also want to take the moment to say that I cannot stand Liam Hemsworth. They could have cast a much better actor as Gale. I feel like he was cast based on physical appearance and the fact that his brother is Thor.
Regarding the new characters, I thought a majority of the casting was marvelous. Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Jeffrey Wright, Amanda Plummer, and Lynn Cohen were such great choices, specifically Malone and Wright. I thought Beetee and Johanna were portrayed beautifully. Sam Claflin surprised me a bit, too. I won't say that his portrayal is exactly how I envisioned Finnick Odair when I read the books, but it wasn't necessarily bad. Another newcomer is Philip Seymour Hoffman who I thought did a great job as Plutarch Heavensbee, the new gamemaker. He was very believable as the character.

Now I want to talk about aspects of the movie that have spoilers, so if you haven't seen Catching Fire yet and/or didn't read the books I encourage you to come back once you have. You don't want it ruined for you.

Thor: The Dark World - Review

Thor struggles to defeat an enemy neither Asgard nor Odin can overcome while attempting to balance his reunion with Jane Foster and impending rise to the throne in Thor: The Dark World.


To go more in depth to the synopsis:
A long-standing war is brought to Asgard as Malekith, the leader of the "extinct" dark elves, seeks to try and reclaim the Aether, a powerful weapon kept in Asgard's weapons vault. Malekith attacks Asgard as Jane Foster wanders into an alternate dimension in the UK and obtains an unknown source of Aether. During this event, Heimdall notifies Thor that Jane has disappeared from his watch, so Thor returns to Earth and swoops her to Asgard with him. They soon learn that Malekith is after the Aether and will follow no matter where they attempt to keep or hide Jane. Thor winds up turning to his warrior friends and his untrustworthy brother, Loki, to defeat Malekith and the dark elves once and for all.


Now... I want to start by saying this movie was very, very well done. It has a very different theme than Thor did and was a lot more eventful. Thor fully embraces his birthright and is much more aware of his responsibilities as the future King of Asgard as well as the downsides to the throne. I also thought despite the darkness to the overall plot, it balanced humor very well. It was serious, it was funny, and it was very well balanced. And yes, there was a Stan Lee cameo.

As far as acting goes, I think a lot of the roles were switched in comparison to the first movie. Thor was far less arrogant and seemed to embrace his responsibilities more. Chris Hemsworth handled that very well and it shows how in control of the character he is. Tom Hiddleston was great, as always, and Natalie Portman also showed her control of Jane Foster as she had a bit of a different tone in this one as well. Instead of being awestruck over Thor she was a bit defensive but still longing. Her character was definitely left open for at least one more movie. I do have to say that I think the one who dominated this movie was Christopher Eccleston as Malekith. He was just fantastic to watch and very menacing. Definitely a great villain actor.
The shift in directors probably was for the better now that I have seen both movies. Initially when it was announced that Kenneth Branagh wasn't going to return for The Dark World a lot of people had mixed reactions. Some loved that and some hated it. I think Alan Taylor did a fantastic job and brought a new evolution to the characters that was very necessary. It is important to establish these characters outside of The Avengers, and Taylor was very successful.
One more thing to mention here before I get into spoilers is the visual effects. I think this one had some of the best visual effects in a Marvel movie thus far, obviously excluding The Avengers. Asgard is beautifully rendered and the attack for the Aether was handled well, too. I also didn't think the Aether was too cartoonish either. It maintained fantasy but was a pretty good reality borderline.

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe currently stands, here is my list:

1. The Avengers
2.  Iron Man
3. Thor
4. Thor: The Dark World
5. Captain America: The First Avenger
6. Iron Man 3
7. The Incredible Hulk
8. Iron Man 2


And now it is time for spoilers, boys and girls. If you haven't seen Thor: The Dark World I would encourage you to not spoil it for yourself and come back after you have seen it.

You were warned.



Last chance.



Seriously.

Ender's Game - Review

In Earth's distant future, an International Military force seeks a cadet who can lead them to victory in an alien war. A young cadet named Ender Wiggin is recruited and trained to lead his command and determine Earth's future in Ender's Game.


I have been excited for Ender's Game since I saw the first trailer some months ago. I did read Orson Scott Card's original novel, but that was about 12 years ago when I was in middle school. With that said, I didn't remember a whole lot from the book so I considered myself a viewer that was going into this movie fairly fresh on the material. I must say that I really enjoyed it.
I thought the story was pretty spot on from what I did remember. I liked the concept and the execution. As I was leaving the theater there were those who were criticizing it in comparison to the book, but in a way I am happy that I didn't remember much. I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much otherwise.
As far as casting goes I think Asa Butterfield was a great choice for Ender. I first saw him in Hugo and thought he was great then. He has a way of conveying emotion that is very visible and believable. Ender's guilt over the Formics fate was very well played out. Other cast members I thought shined were Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Ben Kingsley, and Viola Davis. They all worked very well together.
One thing that I thought shined in this movie beyond the casting was the visual effects and the sound effects. They were very spot on and quite well done. I would have loved to see a bit of clean up on the Formics because they looked a little cartoonish for me, but even with that they weren't horrible on the eyes. The sound effects of the alien bugs were great.

My only real criticism is I thought the movie went a little too fast. It is just under 2 hours long and I feel they could have exceeded 120min and given us a little bit more of the actual battle and Ender's final training into the simulations. A majority of the film focused on his cadet training, the struggles with bullying, and the zero gravity games. It was all fine and I wouldn't have cut any of it out, but once that was over they just kind of threw Ender as a Commander in our face and breezed through the simulations and ended the movie. I would have given at least an extra 15-20min. Not to mention the kid they cast as Bonzo was borderline comical due to his physical stature, but that isn't a big deal.

Overall I did really enjoy Ender's Game. I honestly wouldn't mind seeing it again if I get the opportunity. Definitely a recommendation.
And don't pay attention to all that boycott crap people are trying to pull on Orson Scott Card. He isn't profiting from the movie because he sold the rights and the movie has nothing to do with his statements on marriage. Suck it up and enjoy a good movie for once, people.

 

Carrie - Review

In this revamp of the horror classic, a social outcast teenager is pushed to unleash her telekinetic powers onto her peers and her overbearing mother after being tricked for the last time at her senior prom in Carrie.


I wouldn't say that I was necessarily excited for Carrie, but I was looking forward to seeing it. First of all, the 1976 Carrie is by far one of my favorite movies. Not to mention the fact that I love the original book by Stephen King. I will admit that after seeing the first teaser I was a bit concerned and even after seeing the full trailer I wasn't too pro on this remake. However, I did say I would see it. Now that I have seen it I wouldn't say it was completely atrocious, but it was pretty darn bad.

I want to start off by saying something that I said a long time ago: Chloe Moretz is too pretty to be Carrie White. Seriously, she is a really cute girl and appears to be very lively. Carrie is not lively and is supposed to be fairly plain and not necessarily pretty. This was an issue for me throughout the entire movie. Even when they attempted to make Moretz appear plain and a little ragged it didn't work. If they were determined to put her in this movie I would have given her the role of Sue Snell. But she was Carrie and I wouldn't say she did a terrible job but she wasn't on par with what she has done in the past. I have a fairly high expectation from Chloe Moretz because she is that good. In this movie I think she was held back and it was an unfortunate case of bad direction and a poor script. Her sweetness is believable and even the creepiness, but for some reason it didn't all come together. She was definitely just out of her element.
Julianne Moore did a fantastic job, though. She played Margaret White wonderfully. Not the same as Piper Laurie, obviously, but she did it good. As for the rest of the cast I wouldn't compliment any of them, especially Judy Greer. I really like Greer and I think she is a great comic actress, but she was so bland and flat in this movie. Comparing her to the original gym teacher played by Betty Buckley it was borderline insulting. Billy Nolan was a waste of a character in this one, too. Alex Russell probably has a grand total of 5min of screentime.
As far as direction goes, I think Kimberly Peirce really missed the mark here. She was coming off a great movie with Boys Don't Cry, but I have to remind myself that was 14 years ago already. Peirce hasn't directed since 2008 with the military drama Stop-Loss and I'm beginning to think there is a reason she only has three major films under her belt.
One thing that I thought would bother me that surprisingly didn't was bringing the story into the present day. Yes, the kids had cell phones and video cameras and the cliques were a lot more pronounced but I wouldn't say it didn't work. I thought it worked pretty well. The beginning "plug it up" scene played into the whole movie due to the fact that Chris Hargensen recorded everything on her cell phone and posted it online. It brought it up to the times and it was believable.

Now I must mention what really irked me and unfortunately there are spoilers, so if you haven't seen Carrie yet and don't want to know... go away and come back after you've seen it!








Last chance.