The Last Movies of the Year Special: Point Break (2015) Concussion (2015) Carol (2015) The Danish Girl (2015) and The Hateful Eight (2015)

Hello all,

Okay, so since I work retail and this is one of the busiest retail times of the year, I am going to be really busy until early January. So, instead of me running around and trying to pump out multiple reviews in a very short amount of time, I’d figure I’d do what I did with Rocky and put the last films on my list to watch for the year together on one big list in the order listed above for the sake of getting it done and done well. So once again I’ll be writing each section as I see the movie and then when I’m done, it will be posted. So let’s begin shall we?

Point Break (2015) Review

So I did say I was going to review the original Point Break…..that is until I watched it. All I can say about the Original Point Break was that it’s a well made film with a few memorable scenes, that’s also really boring. Not bad, just boring, it’s the type of film I’d recommend you watch once for the sake of watching it, it gets a 6/10. Now that being said, how does the remake hold up? Well……

Plot Summary - Johnny Utah (Luke Bracey) is a rookie FBI agent and former pro athlete, who is sent in undercover to find evidence that a group of extreme athletes are also criminals lead by a man named Bodhi (Edgar Ramirez) who are following the path of an extreme sports ritual known as ‘The Osaki 8’.

Pros - The idea of the Osaki Eight is admittedly a more interesting motivation that the original had which was just a bunch of surfers robbing banks to hop from town to town.

Cons - Everything fucking else. Yeah no shock here the remake is fucking awful. Whereas the original was boring, it at least had character development, an interesting idea, a good cast, and a plot that made sense and they actually engaged in. This, removes all of that, to bring you ii hours of meaningless sports scenes and then it remembers that oh yeah we have a plot to lazily retread. This movie is so bad, it Utah actually forgets why he was there halfway through the movie. Bodhi drags him to their next heist, and just when he’s about to take off, Utah reveals himself. They give chase, and then Utah fucking realizes Bodhi was committing all the crimes in the beginning of the film all along, EVEN THOUGH IN THE BEGINNING UTAH WAS THE ONE WHO SUSPECTED THEM OF DOING IT IN THE FIRST FUCKING PLACE!!!!!!! He inserted himself into the group in the first place to try and confirm his suspicions of Bodhi and his group being the robbers, and then when he does, HE’S SURPRISED IT WAS THEM ALL ALONG!!!!!!!! What the fuck?! WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?! The rest of it is just as bad. He shares all of five minutes with his love interest, Bodhi doesnt trust him but brings him along anyways, they even get why it was called Point Break in the first place wrong! The dictionary definition of Point Break is this:

point break

noun

noun: point break; plural noun: point breaks

(in surfing) a type of wave characteristic of a coast with a headland

It makes sense in the original because they were surfers! but in this they say to Point Break is to overcome fear?! It’s so forced it doesn’t even make sense, because THEY GO SURFING IN THE FUCKING MOVIE AND THEY COULD’VE USED IT IN IT’S PROPER CONTEXT!!! If the original Point Break inspired Fast and Furious at it’s best, then the Point Break remake is inspired by Fast and Furious at it’s fucking worst.

Final Score - 1/10

This movie is god awful. I bet it wasn’t even originally supposed to be a point break remake it just got turned into one because fuck it why not? Fuck this movie.

Concussion Review

Plot Summary - When a former football player dies and lands at the office of coroner Dr. Bennet Omalu (Will Smith) who diagnoses him with a new disease that he suspects was caused by his football career. When he publishes these results, The NFL begins to make his life a living hell for him and his friends and family.

Pros - The cast is really good and the story is really fascinating, especially coming from a non football fan. That’s all I can really say.

Cons - It’s a bit slow at times, there’s a few scenes that feel out of place, and it does fall to the typical drama movie cliches.

Final Score - 7/10

It just misses being an 8, because while it is a well made movie, it doesn’t really make that make of an impact. It’s not as bad as other films like this, it’s just not much more interesting than the better films of this genre.

Carol Review

Plot Summary - In the early 1950’s Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara) is an aspiring photographer who meets Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett) an older woman going through a divorce. They find an instant attraction to each other which leads into them forming a relationship.

Pros - The cast is the most phenomenal part of this film. Rooney and Cate are the easy stand outs amongst the cast but everyone here is on point. The writing is quite good too as it doesn’t try to be shocking or exploitive, it’s at heart a love story during a time in history when they’re kind of love was considered unnatural. It also has some really gorgeous cinematography as well.

Cons - Like most dramas it does have it slow moments, and while I didn’t mind them for the most part there were a couple of times where it felt like it dragged on a bit, especially at the end.

Final Score- 9/10

Overall it’s a really good film, even if it does have it’s odd slow moment. Definitely worth a watch.

The Danish Girl

Plot Summary - In 1920’s Copenhagen, Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne) lives with his wife Gerda (Alicia Vikander) who both work as artists. When Gerda asks Einar to pose for him when her female model doesn’t arrive, Einar dressing up brings up feelings of gender confusion in him and causing him to dress more and more as his alter ego Lili.

Pros - Quite Honestly I enjoyed almost everything about this film. Eddie just loses himself into the role of Lili and brings real depth and emotion into his confusion over his identity. The film is also really well shot and looks phenomenal. Alicia as Gerda also does her fair share of acting as Lili’s support while also dealing with the loss of Einar.

Cons - I think the ending felt rushed. I they spent a lot of time on the build up of it and then they tried to squeeze a lot of time into a rushed third act.

Final Score - 9/10

Again, an overall good film even if the ending feels slightly rushed.

The Hateful Eight

Plot Summary - Told over the course of Six Chapters, the story finds bounty hunter John “The Hangman” Ruth (Kurt Russell) transporting criminal Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) alive for the $10,000 dollars on her head. With a blizzard following behind them along the way, they come across Major Marquis Warren (Samuel Jackson) and Sheriff Chris Mannix (Walter Goggins). When they arrive at a shelter to seek refuge from the storm, they find five men already there, which leads John to believe one of them is there to help Daisy go free.

Pros - Not gonna lie, as a huge tarantino film fan, this is exactly what I wanted this film to be and he exceeded expectations. The cast is probably the best one he’s had so far, and he manages to balance out their scenes and presence in the film out fairly evenly. The writing contains his classic humour and dialogue, and the cinematography and shots that build the film are phenomenal. He filmed it in Ultra Panavision 70mm film and it does show it greatness well, managing to capture a huge range of scenery in one shot and he uses it to it’s best effect. Lastly, the digital version is 2h and 48m but it just flies by, as the story is well paced, and it manages to be a suspenseful and interesting one all the way throughout as well.

Cons - Nah, I can’t think of any.

Final Score - 10/10

It’s honestly one of the best films of the year, all bias aside. It’s just awesome.

So apologies this took so long. Since I’m posting this on New Year’s Eve, I’m pleased to say that the year end top ten lists will be the next three posts. That’s right, we’re doing to do three lists this year, starting with everyone’s favorite list, The Worst Films of 2015, so stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, this New Year’s Eve I find myself at home this year, so I might put on a stream later tonight, so If you find yourself alone tonight and want to watch a man play some games, why not swing by the twitch channel? I don’t have a starting time yet, so make sure to keep swinging by.

Until then, I’ll see you folks at the movies.

Movie Review: The Big Short (2015)

Hello all,

So I’ll admit, for this one I basically ran in just as the movie started because I had the wrong start time. Like no trailers or anything just pure starting point. Anyone who knows me knows that I fucking hate when that happens, so I’ll try my best to not let that alter my view but GODDAMN IT I HATE IT WHEN I DO THAT! So, despite that, is the film any good? Let’s find out together shall we?

Plot Summary - Starting before the 2007 banking crisis, four outsiders of the Wall Street financial system saw an opportunity to profit from the impending crisis, by forming a new way to bet against the system that was about to burst. This movie is the mostly accurate retelling of what these men did and everything they uncovered.

Pros - As a completely math illiterate person, I honestly thought I’d get lost in all the financial talk, but the film actually approaches explaining the financial terms in ways that are pretty funny, and informative, without feeling like we’re being talked down too. I actually managed to understand everything and feel like I can explain about 90% to someone else, which for me is good. It’s also a remarkably self aware film, as there are fourth wall breaks to explain things, even going so far as to point out how a key part of the story got re - written versus how it actually played out in real life. Everyone in this film is giving the acting there all, and Ryan Reynolds as the main narrator does awesomely. It’s also very well written and plays out really well.

Cons - This movie is very dialogue heavy. A lot of it is about financial stuff, and as much as you do get great insights into everyone’s personal identities, a lot of people will probably find all the financial talk off putting if they have no interest in the story or it’s subject matter.

Final Score - 9/10

It’s a little dialogue heavy for some, but overall I really enjoyed the movie and it also made me very mad at how the whole thing played out. How the fuck did nobody get arrested? Why did we bail out the banks? Why didn’t we change the rules?........I’m rambling.

I really should do a retro review of Point Break before I go see the remake, although the remake admittedly lower on my list of films to see. I’ll try to squeeze the films in when I can, but I might have to do like a year end wrap up of the leftover films all in one list. We’ll see how it goes

Until then, I’ll see you folks at the movies.

Movie Review: Brooklyn (2015)

Hello all,

Having now seen Star Wars, I guess the biggest question is what would be the movie to see next? Well with the end of the year approaching, most of the bigger releases are not coming out until Christmas or close to it so I figure I’d go take a look at one outside most people’s radar. So let’s see how it stands up shall we?

Plot Summary - In 1952, Ellis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan) moves from Ireland to the United States in search of a better life. After meeting a young italian man named Tony (Emory Cohen), the couple quickly fall in love and start to build a life together, until a tragedy forces her back to Ireland and the town seemingly tries to force her to stay, even trying to set her up with a young man named Jim (Domhnall Gleeson).

Pros -  It’s a well shot, well acted, well told story. It very accurately captures the feeling of someone who is far from home trying to start life on her own and Ronan gives her it all as Ellis. The supporting cast is great as well, playing rather realistic and relatable characters.  It all rather well shot too, with good establishing scenes, nice cinematography and even a few gorgeous landscape shots.

Cons - Uh, not really that I can think of.

Final Score - 10/10

Honestly, I expected it to be an 8, but it really does well with the material and is definitely worth a viewing.

The plan is to hopefully see The Big Short tomorrow. There’s two films coming out on Christmas I want to see, and I may do catch up with a few but I think I’m close to my roster for the end of the year. I did just learn that Hateful Eight is coming out New Year’s Eve instead of New Year’s Day like I thought originally. Can’t wait to end 2015 on that note.

So until then, I’ll see you folks at the movies.

(SPOILER FREE FIRST) Movie Review: Star Wars The Force Awakens (2015)

SPOILER FREE SECTION HERE!

Hello all,

For the good of everyone who has not seen it it yet, I will keep this brief.

It’s awesome, it’s really awesome. It doesn’t quite hit the stride of Empire Strikes Back but it’s awesome.

Final Score - 10/10

Now, for anyone who wants me to go into more detail, way further down will be the usual plot summary, pros and cons and all that.

If you want to read it, go ahead. If you’re wary of spoilers, which I will try my best to avoid, I insist you stop reading this here, go see it, then come back.

I’m dead serious, go and come back if you want, I don’t mind, there’s a reason I saw it right away so I totally understand.

I’ll place a warning right above the section for anyone who changes their mind.

READY!!

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LAST CHANCE!

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If you’re still here, you cannot say I didn’t warn you. Let’s begin shall we?

Last Chance Part Two

Plot Summary - Set 30 years after Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker has disappeared, and the resistance lead by General Leia is trying to find him. When a map containing his location is discovered and given to the droid BB-8, the successor to the Empire the First Order sends a squad to obtain it, forcing BB-8 to flee. When one of it’s soldiers decides to flee and recruits captured resistance Pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) to help him, during which Poe gives him the name Finn. From there, they crash on the planet Jakku, and Finn runs into Rey (Daisy Ridley), a scavenger waiting for her family on the planet who lives on her own. When they are forced to flee the planet, they are picked up by Han Solo and Chewbacca, and set out to meet the resistance.

Pros - It’s basically everything we ask for in a Star Wars movie. I could go on about the great visuals, great acting, amazing story and new characters that add some really cool ideas to the mythos, but I think the best way to describe it is this. J.J Abrams has given us the film that Phantom Menace should have been, the great start to a new series of Star Wars films.

Cons - There is a very controversial scene which I will not say what it is here, and this will be something quite a few fans might hate, but honestly, I thought it was one of the best dramatic scenes in the film and as emotional as it was, it will definitely be a memorable one.

Final Score - 10/10

Any faults I can think of, don’t bother me enough to shake my opinion on this film. I still think Empire is the greatest of them all, but I can easily say this film is the new hope for the next generation and I can’t wait to see more.

I have no idea what I’m seeing next.

But until then, I’ll see you folks at the movies.

The Complete Series: Star Wars The Complete Saga (Episodes 1 - 6)

Hello All,

So yeah, I’ve made the decision, with the release of Star Wars The Force Awakens next week, that I must tackle the complete saga before hand to refresh my memory of it all, for better or worse. So before we do that however, we will set out some ground rules:

Rule #1: We will not include the clone wars animated movie. I’m a bigger fan of the live action movies and I’ve never watched the tv series. If the requests are there, we will look at it another time.

Rule #2: The films will be watched in numerical order. That means Phantom Menace first and Return of the Jedi last. Yes I know there are other ways to watch them that people prefer but this is my way and my blog and I do what I want.

Rule #3: Original Theatrical Versions only! Because fuck George Lucas and his compulsive need to edit shit that doesn’t need to be edited. Yes I know there are better fan edits out there, I don’t care, so again if the requests are there we will cover them another time.

Alright, now that we laid out the rules, this post will contain all six movies, that I will write right after I’ve watched. Once they are all done, we will post the whole saga up at once for everyone. So with all that done, let’s take a look shall we?

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

Plot Summary - When the Trade Federation invades the planet of Naboo, Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi - Wan Kenobi (Ewan Mcgregor) rescue Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) with the intent of taking her to Coruscant. Along the way the take in young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), who they suspect might be the one to bring balance to the force.

Pros - I think my favorite thing about the film might be the world design. There are so many cool looking planets, ships, droids, and so much other stuff. The final battle of Naboo was great too, and although it had it’s flaws it never really left me that disinterested in what was going on, which might actually make it my favorite part of the movie by far. The cast was mostly solid too, and I honestly think Jake Lloyd gets too much crap for his portrayal as it was mostly not his fault.

Cons - Jar Jar Binks is the stupidest character in this movie and was only needed to advance two plot points, he didn’t need to be so annoying. Now that that’s out of the way the writing is god awful, and aside from a few chuckles most of the dialogue is bad and the attempts at humour mostly fall flat. Basically ninety percent of the movie feels like padding, especially the pod racing scene, and I kind of like the podracing scene. The political crap in the beginning was boring and was the dumbest way I can think of to make Palpatine Emperor, which was basically why the whole movie happened anyways. Seriously, go back and watch it, really pay attention that’s really the whole point of the movie. I’m sure there could’ve been an easier way to do it, hell I haven’t re watched it yet but I’m sure Attack of the Clones did a similar issue better.

Final Score - 5/10

I know, I hate a lot about this film, but I can’t deny that the look of it and the final battle of the film are what keep me from hating it more. It’s not a great Star Wars movie but as a science fiction adventure there have been worse made.

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

Plot Summary - While on her way to Coruscant for a senate meeting, an assassination attempt is made against now Senator Amidala (Natalie Portman.) Fearing for her safety, the chancellor appoints Obi - Wan Kenobi (Ewan Mcgregor) and a now grown up Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) to protect and find her who's trying to kill her.

Pros - It’s definitely an improvement over phantom menace. The acting is much better, the writing is improved, and it still maintains the cool looking worlds, and ship, and creatures, and droids. New characters are cool as well, as we even get to see the origins of a young Boba Fett.

Cons - The plot is thinly written, as a lot of the scenes feel like padding to meet the 2h22m run time. Especially the setup to Anakin and Padme’s romance as it feels very out of place in a Star Wars movie. I’m also not going to say Hayden Christensen was the worst thing ever I just think the wrong aspects of his character development got too much focus.

Final Score - 6/10

I still say it’s better than Phantom Menace, and I did enjoy myself watching it again, if only on a more basic level.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Plot Summary - After rescuing the Chancellor from Count Dooku, the Jedi Council begin to suspect the Chancellor’s actions, causing tension with Anakin, with whom he as formed a close friendship with the Chancellor. Meanwhile, the clone wars continue as the republic has the separatist movement on the run.

Pros - The designs and the effects are pretty cool looking as always. the cast is mostly solid, and the story is interesting.

Cons - Christopher Lee and Natalie Portman are underutilized, the romance between padme and anakin plays out awkwardly again. the third act and ending feel too long and rushed to tie up loose plot ends.

Final Score - 7/10

It’s a soft seven, it is definitely the best of the prequels, but overall, they don’t really hold up to the original trilogy.

Star Wars (1977)

Plot Summary - When the plans for the new Death Star station are stolen, Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) sends the plans along with R2D2 and C-3PO to tatooine to find Ben Kenobi and ask him to come to Alderaan. When the droids are intercepted by Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), he meets up with Ben and together with smuggler/pilot Han Solo (Harrison Ford), they try and make the journey to Alderaan.

Pros - I honestly enjoy basically everything about this movie. The writing is strong, the characters are well written, the acting is phenomenal, and truthfully there is really not much else that can compare with Star Wars.

Cons - I guess my only complaint would be that they spend too much time on the Death Star, it does make the final battle seem a bit rushed because of it.

Final Score - 9/10

Overall, I’m glad at this point in my writing of this that I’m finally on to the original films in the series. I had forgotten how much I actually really love this movie and I can’t wait to watch the others.

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Plot Summary - After destroying the first Death Star, the rebellion finds itself on the run from the Empire. After their base on Hoth is attacked, Han Solo and Princess Leia attempt to outrun the Imperial Fleet, while Luke goes to the planet Dagobah to receive training from Jedi Master Yoda.

Pros - Much like the previous film on this list, I basically love everything about this movie. Empire is such an improvement on every level that made Star Wars great. The writing is better, the character development is better, it introduces new memorable characters, iconic scenes, lines of dialogue that are still quoted to this very day. This movie is a classic, and if I ever expand my personal favorites list you can bet to see this on it.

Cons - None! Not a damn one.

Final Score - 10/10

This is my personal favorite of the series, and I still have one more to go. If anyone you know has not seen Star Wars yet, make sure you at least get them this far before you see the new one.

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983)

Plot Summary - After rescuing Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, the rebel alliance proceeds on its plan to eliminate to newly rebuilt Death Star, while Luke prepares to confront Darth Vader and the emperor.

Pros - Once again all the great things about Star Wars are there. The writing, the acting, the story, I even didn’t mind the addition of the Ewoks to the story as they did indeed prove to be helpful.

Cons - It’s lacks the punch that Empire had, it does feel like a slight step down after it.

Final Score - 9/10

Definitely a must watch for anyone new to Star Wars, but to me, not the greatest of the original trilogy.

Apologies for the length of it, but I was on a bit of a time crunch and didn’t even know if I would get it done. There will be a Thursday Night review of The Force Awakens that I’ll do my best to make Spoiler Free.

Until then, I’ll see you folks at the movies.

Brief Intermission: My New Twitch Channel!

Hello all,

This is going to be a quick update post.

I'm currently in the middle of working on the next Complete Series, but to kill some time in between films, I recently made a twitch account.

For anyone who doesn't know, Twitch is a website where people stream themselves playing video games for the amusement of others.

We have no regular schedule yet, but why not come check out the channel and follow it to get an update on when I'm on until a more regular schedule can be made.

The channel is here, and will be added to the sidebar as well.

http://www.twitch.tv/reservoir222

Hope you folks enjoy, and I'll see you at the movies.

Movie Review: Legend (2015)

Hello All,

I honestly can’t think of a good intro for this one. I suppose I can talk a bit about Tom Hardy but all I can really say is is that he is a really good actor and I like him in pretty much everything I’ve seen him in. Even Dark Knight Rises. So how does Legend stand up to his other films and overall? Let’s find out together shall we?

Plot Summary - Legend tells the story of the rise and fall of the Kray Twins, Ronnie and Reggie (both played by Tom Hardy) through the narration of Reggie’s girlfriend then wife Frances Shea (Emily Browning.)

Pros - Tom Hardy is really good in this, managing to play both parts with distinction, making them actually feel like two completely separate people. The rest of the cast is solid too, although we mostly focus on Emily Browning over all the other supporting cast. The also manage to make this a really good looking film too, capturing the colour and the look of the 1960’s perfectly.

Cons - The biggest problem with this film is its plot, or in this case its lack of plot. Sure stuff happens, there’s a chronological order to it all, but what the story is actually about beyond the Kray’s doing stuff, nothing really happens. They just sort of jump from plot point to plot point without any real connecting scenes in between. Stuff happens and sometimes I can tell you why and sometimes I can’t.

Final Score - 5/10

Watch this film for Tom Hardy and the look of it, because there’s no story to get invested into.

So I don’t know if I’ll have time to do my next complete series before I see the biggest movie of the year, but I can confirm there will be a review for it on the 17th. What film am I talking about? you’ll have to check in to find out.

Until then, I’ll see you folks at the movies.