Movie Review: The Good Dinosaur (2015)

Hello all,

There’s now quite a few films floating around my area this week, so I’m happy to say I should have quite a few reviews for the next week and a bit. I don’t know when I’ll be able to get them all out, but rest assured I’ll do my best to see as many as possible. In the meantime though in the second half of our they snuck on me yesterday double feature today I look at Disney/Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur. So do they have another legendary film on their hands? Let’s find out together shall we?

Plot Summary - In an alternate timeline of earth where the dinosaurs never died, Arlo (Raymond Ochoa) is one of three dinosaurs born on a farm, and while his siblings adjust easily to the life, Arlo’s timid nature makes it hard for him to work. While guarding the food silo, a cave boy, later named Spot, (Jack Bright) gets caught in Arlo’s trap, but Arlo frees him and he runs off. After Arlo and his father give chase, his father is killed in a flash flood. When Arlo sees the cave boy sometime later, he gives chase only to find himself swept down river and end up far from home. Now, with Spot’s help, Arlo must conquer his fear and find his way home.

Pros - The animation is honestly really beautiful to start. For a 3d animated film, there are quite a few shots here that look like they could be paintings on a wall somewhere. The character designs are interesting as well, and they also probably have the most accurate portrayal of what raptors might have actually looked like minus some creative liberties. The story is basically a species swapped boy and his dog story, and it’s actually a well played out one as well. The voice cast is great, and even though he sticks out like a sore thumb, Sam Elliot as a T-Rex is pretty good casting in my mind.

Cons - I will say that for the story as good as it is, they do stick more to the traditional disney pixar formula than Inside Out did. As much as it is a formula that works, that does mean there are certain moments of the movie that you know are already going to happen before they do.

Final Score - 9/10

A little more formulaic, but overall another great addition to their movie line up and one of the better kids movies this year.

So, after doing some digging, I have discovered that every rocky movie is on netflix. All six of them, and since Creed is considered a spin off of sorts, I now have to debate whether or not to add Rocky Films to my viewing line up.

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

Double Movie Review: Secret in Their Eyes (2015) and Victor Frankenstein (2015)

Hello all,

So to my surprise (rather embarrassingly) two new movies actually came out today, thank you american thanksgiving, so in addition to seeing Secret in Their Eyes I managed to also get in a viewing of Victor Frankenstein, and now we’re here with a double review. So how did a remake and a reimagining hold up? Let’s find out together shall we?

Secret in Their Eyes Review

Plot Summary - Ray Kasten (Chiwetel Ejiofor) returns to LA from New York, with a new lead on the case involving his former partner Jess Cobb (Julia Roberts) and the murder of her daughter 13 years earlier. With the help of the district attorney Claire Sloan (Nicole Kidman), Ray attempts to right a wrong, and bring a killer to justice.

Pros - The cast is pretty solid here, seeing Julia Roberts especially in rare form as the grief stricken mother still trying to focus on her career despite her loss, she also quite a few scenes where she comes off as rather menacing. The suggested romance between Ray and Claire is also pretty good, showing a rather realistic evolution in their relationship and how they see each other. The setting and tone is also intriguing, rewriting the story to work in a 2002 LA, at the height of post 9/11 paranoia which also plays to key moment in a story which I thought was a slight improvement over that same point in the original.

Cons - Despite the one good moment though, the rewrite for the most part robs what made the original so great. Instead of watching the characters gradually get more involved with the case as the story progresses, since it’s personal from the beginning, the stakes never really rise much higher than that. Also there’s a couple of big disconnects between the beginning and the ending of the film once the ending is revealed, it kind of unravels key parts of the story.

Final Score - 3/10

It was originally gonna be a 4, but the mostly poor rewrite is what massively brings down the film. If you can, watch the original instead.

Victor Frankenstein Review

Plot Summary - Told from Igor’s (Daniel Radcliffe) perspective, the story is of him meeting Victor Frankenstein (James McAvoy) and their friendship and their ultimate plan to bring a man from the dead back to life.

Pros - Daniel Radcliffe is great as Igor, bringing a real humanity and depth to the character we usually don’t see in most adaptations. James McAvoy as Victor is fantastic though, bringing a tremendous energy and even quite a bit of Humour to the role. The supporting cast is interesting and varied, and they capture the time period well, and even the creature designs are rather good as well.

Cons - This might sound odd, but despite everything I said, the telling of the story itself is rather….basic. What I mean is is that it really doesn't do that much to stray from other adaptations of the story. There’s also four passing of time montages which was rather off setting, and I also noticed two slight editing and continuity issues.

Final Score - 8/10

Honestly, there are better adaptations out there, but truth be told, this one was actually surprisingly good, and if your looking a silly fantasy horror film then this one wouldn’t hurt.

So the other film that came out was The Good Dinosaur, don’t know when I’ll see it, but I know I will.

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

DVD Review: The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)

Hello All,

So about a week ago I found myself browsing a dvd rack at a gas station, when I found a DVD of a film called The Secret in Their Eyes. Clearly not the Julia Roberts version currently in theatres for obvious reasons, turns out the new version is a remake of a 2009 Argentinian film that actually won the Oscar that year for best foreign film. So since I don’t get a chance like this very often I’ve decided to do a original vs remake comparison. So for this review we’ll do the original, and when I can I’ll review the remake. So since the original is an Oscar winner, does it really deserve it’s Oscar status? Let’s find out shall we?

Plot Summary - Retiree Benjamin Esposito (Ricardo Darin) is struggling to write his first novel, and decides to visit Judge Irene Menendez-Hastings (Soledad Villamil) to recount an old rape and homicide that they had worked on together 25 years ago. Irene tells him to start from the beginning, and Benjamin begins to look back through the case and piece together the memories of his past to put the story back together.

Pros - Honestly, I really like pretty much everything about this film. The story is surprising and well told, the cast is phenomenal and it’s incredibly well made. Seriously it’s one of the best foreign films I’ve seen in quite some time.

Cons - I got nothing.

Final Score - 10/10

Honestly, I really do like this film. I’m actually now really curious to see the remake and see what they’ve done with the story.

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

Movie Review: The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part Two (2015)

Hello All,

Before we begin I’d like to make a correction. I mislabeled Mockingjay Part One as a movie review instead of the complete series. I rushed into getting it done and I labelled it without thinking and I apologize.

So this weekend saw the release of the last Hunger Games film, titled Mockingjay Part Two (Obviously). I managed to squeeze in a showing after my original plans took longer than expected so I did manage to see it just in time thank god. So, after all these years and all this build up, how does the send off to one of the biggest young adult series end? Let’s find out shall we?

Plot Summary - After recovering from the end of Part One, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and the revolution prepare the final march onto the capitol, with many obstacles to overcome along the way she now finds herself with one last mission: To Kill President Snow Personally.

Pros - Since this is their last hurrah, the cast gives it their all and do it well. The last bit of character development and where everyone ends up is all well thought out and done well. The film also manages to capture the hard reality of war as well, as it manages to be rather bleak and somber about all of it, instead of everyone marching in heroic victory. It even manages to keep the story interesting for the most part.

Cons - Okay, some of what I might complain about might just be that I haven’t read the books, but since this is the movie version, the movie itself still needs to make itself accessible to non book viewers. So that’s my little rant.

    When they are in the capitol they talk about how traps are laid out all over, and yet we really only see four of them. Only two of them were really interesting, one had me completely baffled. They get attacked by these pale humanoid creatures with no eyes, and were not given any explanation as to what they are, so when they lose comrades it makes it feel empty because you’re confused as to what just happened. There’s also another character that they come across who's been modified to look like a tiger, and I think we’re given a hand explanation as to why. Also how Peeta and Katniss interact, and I know they’ve been building it up over the series, in the end it doesn’t feel like they’re in love it feels like they’re settling for each other. The ending also just kind of wanders off, it’s supposed to be an unknown future type of thing but it just left me feeling nothing really. While the story was interesting for the most part there’s also a lot of big things that are simply glossed over.

Final Score - 6/10

The best I can figure is that the movie will satisfy books fans, but as for someone who has only seen the movies I can honestly say I’m a bit disappointed. I guess I expected a lot more than what I got and while it’s better than the first movie, it’s not the greatest ending to a series I’ve ever seen.

DVD Review is next, and I’ll tell you why when the time comes.

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

Movie Review: The Night Before (2015)

Hello all,

With December and the holidays around the corner, we’re starting to see an influx of this year’s offering of Christmas movies and Holiday offerings, it’s time we talk about a staple of this time year, the Christmas movie.

Now I can imagine that most people have their favourite movie they watch during the holidays. The most well known and arguably the best Christmas movie ever made is of course it’s a wonderful life, a movie that you will mostly likely see playing more than any other movie at this time of year.

Some people are a fan of what they might call non traditional Christmas movies. I personally make it a habit to watch the first Die Hard around this time of year, simply because the events of the film do indeed take place on Christmas. My intentionally made for Christmas Christmas movie is of course Arthur Christmas which I reviewed last year.

So basically every year around this time studios want to try and add new Christmas movies to your yearly rotation. My first dive into this year’s batch of Christmas movies is The Night Before, reuniting the director and stars of 50/50 a movie which I rather enjoyed.

So will this be a new Christmas tradition, or will the makers be getting a lump of coal in their stockings this year? Let’s find out shall we?

Plot Summary - Fourteen Years Earlier, Ethan’s (Joseph Gordon - Levitt) parents passed away on Christmas Eve. So his friends Isaac (Seth Rogen) and Chris (Anthony Mackie) start a tradition of hanging out and going wild every Christmas night. This year is planned to be their last however with Isaac becoming a father and Chris becoming a star athlete, so they plan to head to a wild party and celebrate Christmas together one last time in epic fashion.

Pros - Right away, the movie is actually pretty funny, with most of the jokes being rather clever and even the slightly lower brow jokes being pretty solid. The cast is great, everyone puts gets their great scenes and lines, and even Michael Shannon shows up in probably one of the funnier supporting roles I’ve seen in awhile. The pacing is great, you find yourself suddenly realizing where the story is and wondering how you managed to get this point and actually rather enjoying the journey of it all. The three characters each have their own side stories in the film, and each one of them being mostly unique and interesting. They even manage to put a nice spin on the couple getting back together in the end scene that I can’t say I’ve seen done in recent memory. It especially works as a Christmas movie, because it also manages to be a heartfelt story about friends and family as well, which what most people argue that Christmas is about.

Cons - There’s one rather weird bit involving James Franco, I’m not going to spoil it here, but I would honestly say the one kind of dragged out joke they have him involved in to be the most out of place and the least funny scenes in the movie. The build up towards it was funny, but then it kind of filters of and then ultimately lands with kind of a meh punchline.

Final Score - 9/10

Honestly, this might make it’s way into my personal Christmas movie rotation, even if it won’t be the one I watch first. Overall though, it’s an awesomely funny and heartfelt movie, perfect for those of us who like a little more humour in our holiday season.

I will try and see Mockingjay when I can. I actually have most of the weekend off work so expect it soonish.

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

The Complete Series: The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part One (2014)

Hello all,

So in our last entry into the complete series of the Hunger Games Movie before the release of the new one, I tackle last year’s entry Mockingjay Part One. So let’s not waste anytime shall we? Will the penultimate entry into the series hold up? Let’s find out.

Plot Summary - After the events of Catching Fire, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) finds herself in the once thought destroyed District 13, where she finds herself thrust into the front of the new revolution to overthrow the capitol and establish a new government.

Pros - Yet again I mention the fact the cast is once again awesome, having all hit their strides and now fully diving into their characters. Newcomers also do a good job, especially Julianne Moore as the president of the revolution. The look and feel of the film is solid, especially the burnt out District 12 and the war ravaged 8. They also manage to have some cool action scenes thrown into the mix as well, and some interesting mixes of things going on. I will honestly say the ending, roughly the last 40 minutes or so, of this film might strangely enough be my favourite scene just for the intensity and like I said already the interesting mix of things going on in the scene.

Cons - There’s a quite a few scenes of them trying to get Katniss to film propaganda pieces, and while they’re an interesting idea, feel really out of place until the end of the movie and sort of take you out of the film quite a bit. There’s also quite a few padding scenes in there, mostly because I suspect with part one being the shortest film that they wanted to avoid having it be under 2 hours in length.

Final Score - 8/10

I will say, it’s a strong 8. Until that scene I was sitting at a 7, but I bring it up to 8 because while Catching Fire was good and solid throughout, Mockingjay was up and down until that ending scene.

So, at long last, I can confirm that I will be indeed seeing a new film Thursday night, and that film will be……..The Night Before. Yeah Mockingjay was pretty full seating wise for the advance shows so it might be a few days for that one. I will say though, I’m now eager to see it so expect it soon.

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

Movie Review: Room (2015)

Hello All,

So there are a few films on my radar for this week, including one I found on DVD. I even have a few films I have to watch in preparation for those films as well so, yeah a lot of watching for me this week. So I figured I’d best get this one out of the way considering it’s already been out for a week here (I think.) I’ve been hearing a lot about this movie, so I figured it was one I should see. How did I like it? Let’s find out shall we?

Plot Summary - Joy “Ma” Newsome (Brie Larson) lives in a small, sealed off shed, with her now 5 year old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay). What to Jack seems like the whole world, is actually known to Joy as an imprisonment by a man only known as Old Nick (Sean Bridgers). When Joy sees an opportunity, as well as a more urgent need to escape, she recruits Jack into a scheme to get them both to escape.

Pros - So right away, I’m jumping on the bandwagon and saying that yes Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay do some of the best acting I’ve seen in awhile. Especially Jacob, as most child actors manage to be okay at best, but honestly he might be the best child actor I’ve seen this year (Sorry Levi Miller, you were still great though.) The film also has a really this really bleak look to it that manages to capture the gravity of the situation perfectly, and it actually changes along with the story in a way that I honestly didn’t even realize was happening until now.

Cons - Okay, I know this might considered a nit pick, and I’m sorry, but the one thing I really thought the movie needed was a better sense of how time passed in the movie. Now I understand in some films like this they purposefully leave it ambiguous but I honestly think if we had a better understanding of it we could get a better sense in how far along they’ve come throughout.

Final Score - 9/10

I highly recommend this film despite the nit pick, and this will at least be on the honourable mentions for this year. I would be happy if either Brie or Jacob got at least an Oscar nomination because they do deserve the recognition.

Okay, there’s five films supposedly opening this weekend, plus one I have to watch on Netflix, and the one I have on DVD. I know there’s at least one I can do Thursday night, and I have the DVD and the Netflix one to watch before hand.

So until those numerous occasions, I’ll see you folks at the movies.

100th Blog Post Special! My Top Five Favourite Movies of all time!

Hello all,

So, we have reached a mile marker. 100 blog posts isn’t that exciting? Now granted if I had done one review at a time we would’ve past this point a long time ago but I argue that other sites give you multi reviews so why can’t I? Besides, still being an independent reviewer I have less time to see these movies so I want to keep you guys up to speed with me as to how far I am in the year.

    Now I’ve had a few ideas for this posting, some I may never do, some I might do very soon, but for now I thought I’d give you all an insight into my mentality with a listing of my top five favourite movies of all time.

    Why only 5? because truthfully I’ve never sat down and actually wrote myself a personal top ten, but if I ever do I’ll save 5 - 10 for a later special. I will also say that I am aware that there are movies that might be considered much better than my favourites but these are my favourites because I like these better than other movies. Does that mean I’m right in choosing these? no, once again this is all just my personal opinion.

    Now I will skip pros and cons and scores, there all 10/10 in my mind, but instead I just wanna talk about why I like them and their significance to me. So let’s get started shall we?

5. Pulp Fiction (1994)

The opening scene in this movie is actually a pretty funny one, an exchange between a couple about their occupation of choice. I will admit though, I know the exact moment I was hooked, and it went like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5_GV0NzJ7c. After that, watching all three of the stories in this film play out, we went on a wild ride with gangsters, boxers, rednecks, there were shots fired, swords swung, dancing scenes, with fantastic dialogue, tons of quotable lines, and an overall sense of just fun and mayhem.

I actually started watching Tarantino films when my dad took me too see Kill Bill as a kid and I think I watched this one after Kill Bill Vol 2. Little did I know that that would start me down the rabbit hole of his filmography, making him my favorite director today.

Why number 5? Honestly, it’s a solid film, but I think Pulp Fiction being his most known movie, it’s the one that, at least from my experience, everyone likes and yet it’s few people’s favourite. While I do really like the film enough to give it this spot I find myself also in that camp of it’s not my absolute favourite, but I love it enough to give it number 5.

4. Drive (2011)

The most recent entry on my list, I remember actually doing some research on this film before it came out, and while I admit that I was originally taken in by the trailer (which was the first time I learned about misleading marketing practices) once I did some digging I was surprised to find out how much more of an art house film that this was.

It’s the style of this film that grabs me the most, from the way they show the different points in the film cinematography wise, to the variety of characters, to the for the most part grounded action scenes. It’s a crime filming oozing with style and substance and 99% likely the first arthouse film I’d ever seen. Drive to me is an action film done with a sense of realism that still managed to be interesting, for most people.

Why Number 4? This might sound weird, but it’s the bad marketing that holds this one back for me. I still get people telling me they hate this film whenever it comes up and I honestly can see why. It’s wasn’t the hardcore fast and furious style action that was advertised and I can understand that disappointment. If it had either been advertised properly or had a bit of a better balance in terms of that kind of action it would’ve gone over much better (and also what I partially blame for Nightcrawler failing.)

3. Clockwork Orange (1971)

    Now onto the flipside, the oldest film on this list. Another example of a really stylized film, it’s also the story itself that honestly still rings true today with the basic message being you can't force people to change no matter how much you force them. Now while the book has an ending that isn’t seen of the film (also I read the book because of the movie which is rare for me, I recommend both) the film itself I think makes the slightly better version of the same point.

The main thing I like about this film is the atmosphere, it captures this perfect overlapping sense of dread no matter what is going on in the scene. There’s also scenes and imagery from the film that’s still highly parodied, satirized, and paid homage to all the time. It’s also a film that to me has this perfect arching story and quite honestly is one of the best written films I’ve ever seen.

Why Number 3? no one will ever say being in the top three is a bad thing, but I guess it’s mostly just the way that this list got organized. If you tell people Kubrick is your favourite most people think you’re a snob, plus since it’s the oldest on this list it get’s harder and harder to talk to people about it. It’s a film that I think is due for a re release and honestly once again I think is still relevant to today's culture. I guess what I’m trying to say is it’s a film that’s hard for most people to get behind.

2. Oldboy (2003)

    That’s right, the 2013 Spike Lee film that nobody saw, was a remake of what was at the time a ten year old South Korean film. Definitely a film that only film geeks or foreign cinema geeks would most likely know, I’m embarrassed to admit I actually found out about this film on 4chan in my younger lurking years.

    Somebody once described this film as a greek tragedy, and it actually wasn’t until I was much older when I realized how right that statement was. It’s also a rather interesting film in the terms of it’s story and how it plays out, which I will say right now Spike Lee’s version completely missed the point of what the film was about because of just a simple change to how the story played out.

    Why Number 2? Because of the ending. I really like the ending, it’s a good ending, in fact the ending is basically what brings the whole film together, but anyone who has ever seen knows that the ending might leave quite a few people horrified and looking at you funny for enjoying it. Like Clockwork Orange, it’s a hard film to talk about, but for a much more difficult reason.

And now, my number one favourite film of all time is………

1. Reservoir Dogs (1992)

This is the very first conversation in the movie, and from the moment I heard it I was hooked https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J782jBp_pW0. I had seen a few Tarantino films at this point but I knew there was something in particular I was looking for. I found that in Reservoir Dogs.

    You learned about the characters and the story as it played out through flashbacks, the soundtrack was phenomenal, every scene in this film to me is solid gold. There’s never a moment in this film where I’m bored, I’m always invested and even having seen it as many times as I have I’m still eager and excited to relearn this film all over again.

    Why Number 1? This was the film where, after the first time I watched it, I knew I wanted to make my own films for a living. Anything that can help you decide what to do with your life to me earns a high place in your heart, and in this case as well number one on this list.

So there you go, my top five favourite films.

I’m now on my way out to catch another film, so expect another review later this evening or early tomorrow.

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

The Complete Series: The Hunger Games Catching Fire (2013)

Hello All,

So carrying on with the second film in our Hunger Games marathon we now turn to 2013’s entry Catching Fire. Having not been a big fan of the first film, I had my doubts when people told me it was better than the first one. Since I’m now committed to watching them however, it was about time I put that statement to the test, and how did catching fire do? Let’s find out shall we?

Plot Summary - Following the events of the last film, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) prepares for a victory tour, but is advised by President Snow (Donald Sutherland) that she must convince him that she will not be a threat and that her actions will not start another rebellion. When the time comes for the 75th Hunger Games to begin, since it is the Third Quarter Quell, the decide this year that previous victors of past Hunger Games must compete, once again thrusting Katniss straight into the games.

Pros - Once again Jennifer Lawrence shines as well as the rest of the cast. The ones we’re familiar with now have room to grow and expand after the vast amount of information we got in the first film. To give you an example, I hated Effie in the first film, but now she’s actually quite a sympathetic character in the sense that having gotten to know Katniss and Peita she actually feels sorry to see them going through this again. The pacing is much better as well, when I had to pause it at one point I was shocked to see that I was only forty minutes into the movie when I felt like more time had passed. The toned down the over satirization of the capital culture which is also nice and we get to see a bit more of district twelve as well.

Cons - They took out the hosts commentary on the games which I actually enjoyed from the first one, and the ending is a bit anticlimactic as we don't see…...well if you've already seen it you know what I’m talking about.

Final Score - 8/10

A vast improvement over the first one, Hunger Games Catching Fire is actually really good, although I will say, as much as I didn’t like the first one, if you’ve never read the books then watching the first one will help you understand what’s going on better.

I have an idea for number 100…..it’s going to take me some time though….so I’ll get started as literally soon as I’m done this.

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

The Complete Series: The Hunger Games (2012)

Hello all,

I’ve just finished five long days of working and I am worn out. Finding myself with lackluster movies playing in my near vicinity I decided to prepare in advance for one of the bigger planned releases coming out this year…...The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2 (I may do Star Wars if I have the time my December is looking pretty busy at the moment.) Now in a very similar situation to my last series Mission Impossible I find myself having only watched the first one and not the others. Luckily this time all of them are available on Netflix so I’m going to try and watch them all from there (with a brief pause while I figure out what to do with review number 100.) So tonight I tackled the first in the Hunger Games series and were the odds in the movies favor? Let’s find out.

Plot Summary - In a dystopic like future, every year as part of a tribute,a young boy and a young girl are sent each from twelve districts to compete in the titular Hunger Games, where they all fight to the death until one remains the victor. In District Twelve, in preparation for the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers as tribute in order to save her sister from competing. When she is sent into the games, her goal is not to win, but to survive.

Pros - This was the movie that launched Jennifer Lawrence and you can clearly see her giving it her all and she does wonderfully with it. You can really Katniss evolving and adapting to the situations as they play out and she does a good job of capturing the range of emotions needed. The rest of the cast does pretty well too, making for a wide and interesting assortment of characters. There are also some rather emotional and intense scenes once the actual hunger games get going in the second half of the film.

Cons - The first half of this film makes me want to punch people. When they’re in the capital and so much exposition and build up just gets dragged out on and on for what feels like forever. I know they need to set the characters and the surroundings and follow the book somewhat, but they missed a great opportunity and what I feel would’ve been a much better way to tell the story.

They should've started at the beginning of the actual games, and then flashbacked to moments before the game that was relevant to whatever part of the story they were at at the time. Right at the beginning, have katniss standing there watching the countdown, and then cut back to the reaping ceremony and the process that lead to her volunteering for it, that way we could have learned what she was going through as she went through it, not just dump it all on top of us in the beginning and then expect us to keep track of it all as it plays out.    

Yes I know they’re telling it in the order that it happened in the book, but movies don’t have to be limited by that if they don’t want to. This would’ve been a great way to get non book fans invested and I honestly think that’s what happened with this film is that they played it out in a way to best appeal to fans of the book, the same mistake that twilight kept doing over and over.

Rant over, I apologize.  The way they portray the capital too is ridiculous. There’s subtlety, and then there’s screaming from the rooftops “hey guys look at these people what a bunch of assholes am I right?” After about twenty minutes we get the point, and again, you don’t need to drag it out. This causes everything else happening to fall flat because you’re not invested in what’s going as much cause you really don’t care what’s going on.

While I did like the second half better, again there were also a few moments there that felt dragged out and it causes a couple of moments to fall flat. It also feels incredibly rushed as it just jumps from key point to key point sometimes rather abruptly. This could’ve been fixed like I said from jumping from the currently happening games, to all the stuff that led to the games, that way you keep up the pace and you keep the audience invested by showing them something they’ve never seen before. Because everything feels so rushed the ending feels kind of forced so you’re again not as invested.

Final Score - 3/10

The cast is good and there are some great moments in the second half of the film but it’s a slog to get to it and when you do it just keeps stumbling.

The second up will probably be up by tomorrow, I’m feeling like I might not go out anywhere until monday. Also keep an eye out for the hundredth review, I’m sure it will surprise you.

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

Birthday Double Movie Review: The Peanuts Movie (2015) and Spectre (2015)

Hello all,

As I add yet another year onto my age today, I thought I would take the opportunity to indulge myself by seeing the newer versions of childhood favorites. Growing up, I actually was given some of the original collections of the comic versions of The Peanuts that my dad owned as a kid himself. I even remember watching some of the specials growing up, I even watched the great pumpkin this year for halloween and even dressed up as it’s main character Charlie Brown.

When I was older, I remember seeing the Pierce Brosnan James Bond movies, and even watching some of the olders once again with my folks. When Daniel Craig became bond, I honestly did enjoy his films, even if Quantum of Solace was off for the most part. So, how do the newest versions of childhood favorites hold up the films of old? Let’s find out shall we?

The Peanuts Movie Review

Plot Summary - During the winter, a new little red haired girl moves into the house across from Charlie Brown (Noah Schnapp), the local kid known for his bad luck and his inability to succeed. When Charlie Brown talks to his friend and psychiatrist Lucy (Hadley Belle Miller), she tells him to be more confident in order to win her over. With the help of his friends and loyal dog, Charlie Brown attempts to redefine himself and succeed in the end.

Pros - Honestly, I really did like pretty much everything about this movie. The voice casting is dead on, the animation is beautiful as it’s basically 2D Characters on a 3D plain, with gorgeous colours and cinematography, with even little touches of some the original hand drawn animations layered in as well. They even do this cool thing where they have the odd speech bubble hand drawn, and daydreaming and reminiscing that’s shown with black and white animation in the style of the original comics. The even include clever little callbacks to some of the original cartoons.

Cons - Nah, I got nothing for this one.

Final Score - 10/10

This is a heartfelt, well made film, that captures everything about the originals that made them timeless. It’s one of the best adaptations I have ever seen in my entire life. You should go see this movie even if you aren’t a fan of the originals like me.

Side Note: There’s a little Ice Age short film that plays before the movie, all it does is prove that the ice age films have drastically run out of ideas.

Spectre Movie Review

Plot Summary - After a rogue mission in Mexico, James Bond (Daniel Craig) finds himself chasing after a mysterious organization. When the current M (Ralph Fiennes) grounds Bond, he goes on the lamb, all while racing against the plan of the new Joint Intelligence Service C (Andrew Scott) who plans a new co operative intelligence service while also killing the 00 program.

Pros - The cast does a fine job. Craig is one of the best bonds, Ralph Fiennes as M is a wonderful follow up to Judi Dench, Q and Moneypenny get more screen time and do well with it. Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann is a good bond girl, managing to stand on her own in the story as well. The film looks really cool too, capturing the cool look and feel of the various places featured in the movie.

Cons - The biggest problem in this film are the villains. Christoph Waltz and Dave Bautista are fine actors, but this film, badly underutilized them. Christoph Waltz shows up twice in the film for a grand total of what feels like barely thirty minutes, and all he does is torture Bond a couple of times. But the absolute worst crime though, is that David Bautista, who was fantastic in Guardians of the Galaxy as the stone serious Drax, only shows up three times, and only says ONE DAMN WORD OF DIALOGUE! One word. Sure, he has a cool entrance, a cool chase scene, and a badass fight scene, but other than that there’s not a single unique thing about him that they could’ve made up with by having him talk! I was so disappointed by it, and I honestly feel bad for the two of them. I think they only other complaint I have is that the plot is standard but entertaining 007 formula, even if it does remind me of MI5: Rogue Nation though.

Final Score - 7/10

The rest of the film makes up for the massively disappointing villains and formulaic plot. It is a good movie on it’s own merits, but such a letdown after skyfall.

Overall, today was a good day, and the movies I saw were good as well. I want to try and see The Room on Monday but that’s a bit of a maybe at the moment. I might also try and catch up on some of the films I missed in the past few weeks.

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

Movie Review: The Last Witch Hunter (2015)

Hello All,

As I may have mentioned in my last review, I was suffering from a case of the flu that evolved into a two week long episode, causing me to miss a shit ton of new releases, six in the past two weeks in fact. Now while I can guarantee I’m not going to see all of them, there are a few that peek my interest and may loop back to when I can. I managed to squeeze one in tonight (albeit on a bit of a whim and really good timing) and saw the aforementioned Last Witch Hunter. So how was my first foray back into movies after a long time (for me anyways) away? Let’s find out shall we?

Plot Summary - Kaulder (Vin Diesel) is a witch hunter who was cursed with immortality in the middle ages while killing the witch queen. In the present, witches have an uneasy truth with the humans, including the banishment of black magic, which is upheld by The Axe and Cross, the order which Kaulder works for. When Kaulders handler The 36th Dolan (Michael Caine) is suddenly attacked with black magic, he and the 37th Dolan (Elijah Wood) and another witch Chloe (Rose Leslie) join forces to find out who's responsible and stop an evil plan.

Pros - I have to give best performance and best story arc both to Elijah Wood. Not only is his character arc probably one of the most well done and unexpected I’ve seen recently, it actually drastically changed my opinion of how good the movie was when a key moment in his story happened. The way he plays it too and just can switch on a dime when needed was also really good. The rest of the cast is solid for the most part, no real major complaints. The cinematography and the world presented is extremely fascinating and honestly again is done really well. There were also some really interesting twists in the story which one could argue could’ve been seen coming but was still done in an interesting way.

Cons - In between all the cool world building though, there is just a ton of exposition dumping. There is so much of this movie that is told rather than shown and I honestly couldn’t follow about 99% of it. It affects the way the characters relate to the audience too because like I said the cast is good, but it’s hard to figure if we should be concerned about what’s happening to them when what’s happening is given no context. They also managed to make every climatic villain fight a really anti climactic ending. They’re all very abrupt and just leave you sitting there going “wait that’s it, what the hell?”. There’s also the relationship between Kaulder and Chloe which I will say it didn’t go the route I did, but it was hinted at so much, and they barely gave her a reason to stick around other than he said he’d protect her. She basically gets dragged into the story because plot. The worst thing though was that they brought her in so fast I didn’t even know her name until the movie was almost over, and that’s never good.

Final Score - 4/10

There’s enough here for some people to make this like a guilty pleasure film for them, but for me personally it just misses that mark. The lack of a better told story and an overall sense of vagueness prevents you from getting truly invested into what’s happening.

So there’s actually a couple of movies coming out on Friday, and what a coincidence I just happen to have the day off. Why? Well, all will be revealed in due time.

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