Monthly Archives: May 2015

05.25.15
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Mad Max: Fury Road

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In the stark desert wasteland populated by a broken humanity driven with survival and the unending ravage for gasoline, a loner named Max Rockatansky finds himself unwantedly caught in the middle of a chase while aiding the heroine Furiosa, and her female companions, she struggles to return to her homeland and escape the clutches of a ruthless dessert gang leader, Immortan Joe. With the harsh desert sands in front of them and marauders behind, only the maddest will prevail the storm.

2015 has been a great year for action movies. This and Kingsman: The Secret Service have proved so. But Mad Max: Fury Road has truly taken it to the next level. And by next level, I mean level of action, stunts, practical effects, and insanity. George Miller’s way of storytelling is incredible. He comes up with great ways to explain his settings and characters. I was very pulled in to the setting, and loved the portrayals of Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron’s characters. Tom Hardy has a completely different personality than all his other movie characters, he feels mysterious and doesn’t say much, and even though you don’t know much about him, you care for him. Charlize Theron does an amazing job as a strong female character who you deeply care for. She isn’t your typical action heroine, she steals every scene she’s in, and is more of a lead heroine with a heart rather than simply a hot female bad ass.

The action is so entertaining, crazy, and nothing like you’d imagine it to be. The visual effects are beautiful, not only because of the set, but because all the action is practical, without any CGI. This is another reason why the action is so amazing and fun. The way the action is directed is awesome. George Miller makes the action as insane as possible, for example, an albino on top of a huge truck, surrounded by speakers, playing an electric guitar that spits out fire every couple seconds! The beautiful soundtrack and loud dialogue add to the quality of the action. There isn’t much character development where I felt there was supposed to be the most of it, but honestly, this movie is just supposed to be about cars crashing into each other, and crazy people killing each other. Miller deserves a lot of credit for his efforts in casting, filming, choreographing action, and bringing his popular classic franchise back to life.

Overall, Mad Max: Fury Road is action at is wildest, craziest, most entertaining, and with the adrenaline at its highest level. George Miller has done an amazing job with his Mad Max saga, and this one is his best. An awesome ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and highly recommended for action fans ages 13-14 and up!

Theatrical release poster

05.22.15
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Tomorrowland

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Bound by a shared destiny, a teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor embark on a mission to unearth the secrets of a place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory.

Without question, Tomorrowland is the most inspiring, thoughtful, and interesting movie I’ve seen in a long time. With excellent directing from Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol), and wonderful acting from Britt Robertson and George Clooney, Tomorrowland perfectly captures Walt Disney’s imagination, and inspires audiences that they can all make the world a better place. Personally, I was very attached to the film’s sci-fi setting, characters,and screenplay. The movie’s setting is not your cliche, post-apocalyptic world, but a very original and intriguing setting. I loved the way the future is depicted. It symbolizes what we can do if we reach high enough. Britt Robertson does a great job portraying a young, curious heroine. George Clooney also does a great job in front of the camera, despite the fact that his character is unlikable at first.  There are a few scenes that aimlessly drag on and don’t deliver the information that they are meant to, but other than that, I do not understand why everyone is complaining so much about this movie (it has an unbelievable score of 50% on Rotten Tomatoes). People haven’t quite understood it for what it is, unlike me, who deeply appreciated the movie and disagrees all the critics who are ranting about it.

Just when we thought Hollywood ran out of originality, we received this movie. Tomorrowland is truly astonishing, fascinating, brilliant, well-acted, and definitely a must-see for audiences age 12 and up. Brad Bird, you deserve your applause once again.

Tomorrowland poster.jpg

05.01.15
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Avengers: Age of Ultron

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When Tony Stark jumpstarts a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye, are put to the ultimate test as they battle to save the planet from destruction at the hands of the villainous Ultron.

Avengers: Age of Ultron hits you with everything you expect from a blockbuster superhero movie. The cast are all lovable, not to mention their high sense of humor. I felt that the most amazing job came from James Spader, who uses only voice to fantastically portray the menacing A.I. trying to bring “peace” to the world by replacing humanity with robots as the dominant species on the face of the Earth. Ultron is the best Marvel villain yet, as he is unpredictable, and even feels human in the flesh. Newcomers Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen do a decent job. They don’t play a huge role in the film, and I was slightly disappointed by them, as I expected more from them. Another thing I liked about the cast is that each Avenger is humanized, and given a reason to care for. For example, Hawkeye in no longer “that cool guy with the bow and arrow”, he now also feels to the audience like a real person, with a family and a reason to fight. All the main actors are at their best, and I love the new character of Vision, I can’t wait to see what the filmmakers do with him next.

Now, about behind the camera. I felt that writer/director Joss Whedon put such great effort into the film, from it’s cinematography, its stunning visual effects, its boldly hilarious script, and its fantastic cast, to its brilliant storyline. Unfortunately, Whedon won’t be returning to direct the third and fourth Avengers films, but this is definitely a milestone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Recently, there have been two concepts constantly being used brilliantly (and in various ways) in contemporary sci-fi film: Time Travel and Artificial Intelligence. Last year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past showed us the best of modern time travel (not as a film, but as the concept being used in the movie), Avengers: AOU does exactly that with A.I. The ending is a great setup to Phase Three. I can’t wait to see what Marvel has for us next!

Overall, Avengers: Age of Ultron is a must-go for all fans of Marvel’s work! It has a stellar cast, a great sense of humor, and is a very entertaining time at the movies!

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