Category Archives: Action

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!

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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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04.06.15
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Furious 7

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Following the events of Fast and Furious 6 (as well as Tokyo Drift) Owen Shaw’s brother, Deckard (Jason Statham), seeks revenge on Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew. The gang teams up with a government agent (Kurt Russell), and a young computer hacker named Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), to retrieve a device that will help them take down Deckard, as well as a terrorist (Djimon Honsou) hunting Ramsey.

Furious 7 is easily the best in its franchise. Director James Wan brings the stakes up and does a fantastic job with the action and the cinematography. The film is very exciting, and the sound and effects make the action more thrilling. The cast all do an excellent job, and the script made me laugh at parts. Everything plays out perfectly, besides the fact that Jason Statham isn’t such a strong villain. The ending is sad, and a brilliant sendoff to Paul Walker, who was killed in an accident on November 30, 2013. I really hope they don’t make any of these films without him, he is part of the heart of the franchise and I can’t imagine this series without him. I’m glad this movie had as much heart as it did, which is one of the reasons it’s better than its previous installments.

Overall, Furious 7 takes the series up a notch with exciting action, humor, and a touching cast. I would recommend this film if you want to get to the movies to simply have a ton of fun!

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03.20.15
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The Divergent Series: Insurgent

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In the second installment in the Divergent saga, Tris Prior and Tobias Eaton are on the run, to escape Jeanine Matthew’s schemes and find out the truth about their society.

Insurgent surprised me by a lot, I don’t think the first one is that great, but this one defientely surpassed my expectations. With colorful visual effects, a great cast, gripping action sequences, and a thoughtful premise, Insurgent is everything you need to make a good book-to-movie adaptation. Although the movie doesn’t really go into depth with characters, and doesn’t convey much emotion, it’s a very fun time, and is well filmed and written. It feels very different than the first film, and has very nice 3D visuals, that I would recommend. Shailene Woodley is a convincing heroine, and all the characters receive the amount of screen time they deserve. The movie ends on a high note, but leaves me wondering why they would still make 2 more movies, instead of 1 (besides for money, of course).

Overall, Insurgent is visually stunning, entertaining, put together very well, and rewarding and recommended for all fans.

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02.28.15
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Kingsman: The Secret Service

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Harry Hart (Colin Firth) is the head of a elite secret spy organization called the Kingsman. When he finds a regular street kid named Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (newcomer Taron Egerton) down on his luck, he recruits him into the intense training program. Meanwhile, criminal tech mastermind Richard Valentine is planning a mass genocide by activating a rage-inducing mind-control app on everyone’s phone . When the Kingsman learn about the crime, Hart and Eggsy have to spring into action, track down the mastermind and his weapon and stop his plot.

Kingsman: The Secret Service is not your typical spy movie. From the beautifully done action sequences to the solid cast, this is one awesome movie you don’t want to miss. Director Matthew Vaughn adds a light and humorous tone to the film, and directs the movie’s action sequences so well. The action is amazingly choreographed and shot, and the music that goes with the scenes fits them very well. The cast are all hilarious and touching. The one thing it lacks is the heart that Kick-Ass had, and  I didn’t care as much about the characters, even though they’re mostly developed well. Also, I never had hatred of Samuel L. Jackson’s villain, who felt rather funny and charming than menacing and evil. His humor worked and his performance was great but he didn’t feel much like a villain. But other than that, Kingsman: The Secret Service is pure entertainment. Combine Austin Powers, Kill Bill, and James Bond, and this is what you’ll get. So go watch this hell of a film once you have the chance!

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) Poster

02.07.15
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Jupiter Ascending

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In a bright and colorful future, a young destitute caretaker gets targeted by a ruthless son of a powerful family that live on a planet in need of a new heir, so she travels with a genetically engineered warrior to the planet in order to stop his tyrant reign.

February brings another slight disappointment, although I wasn’t expecting much from this movie. I thought it would be pretty fun, and don’t get me wrong, it is pretty entertaining. But whenever there isn’t action, it’s sometimes painful to watch. The movie suffers from an abundance of characters, a not-so-talented cast, and a ridiculous story-line. The acting is all very bad, especially our lead, Mila Kunis. She is great in comedies, but she does not know how to do a serious role. Channing Tatum does fine, but the chemistry between him and Kunis’ character is absolutely needless. Eddie Redmayne is a weak and terrible villain, who doesn’t speak clearly and acts very bratty. I wouldn’t be surprised if he won an Oscar for his role as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, but he does not do good in this role. Douglas Booth’s character is confusing and unlikable. Sure, the visual effects are amazing to look at, and this universe imagined in the film is cool, but it isn’t delivered well, and the subplots are awful, are very painful to watch, and simply show us how bad of an actress Mila Kunis can be, not that she typically is.

Overall, Jupiter Ascending is a disappointment, having too many characters played by bad actors, too many stupid subplots and product placements, and a whole lot of wasted potential. Besides the Matrix trilogy, the Wachowski Brothers have not made any good movies in their career. This and Speed Racer are proof.

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02.01.15
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Paddington

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Paddington tells the story of a young Peruvian bear who travels to the city in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone, he begins to realize that city life is not all he had imagined – until he meets the kindly Brown family who read the label around his neck that says “Please look after this bear. Thank you,” and offer him a temporary haven. It looks as though his luck has changed until this rarest of bears catches the eye of a museum taxidermist.

Following this film’s great reception, I was expecting a lot more. Unfortunately, I didn’t get anything from what I expected. The movie is predictable, unfunny, weird, and terribly executed. First, the CGI is terrible. Second, the plot is exactly like any other family movie, which makes it so cliché and predictable. Third, the villain was very weak. She had no reason whatsoever behind her will to kill animals and stuff them into her museum. Third, none of the jokes are funny. They are very overused. There were parts when I was literally shaking my head because of where this movie was going.

Overall, Paddington may be appealing to kids, but if you’re over age 11, then don’t watch this film. January still isn’t the month for great movies, it probably never will be.

01.11.15
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Selma

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Selma is the story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s attempts at implementing the Voting Rights Act for the black population in Alabama in 1965. The film focuses on a significant chapter in King’s life, the march of thousands of people from Selma to Montgomery, capital of Alabama.

Selma is one of the better Civil Rights films of recent years. The movie is more talking than intensity, and the first hour is very slow, but the second hour really pulled me in. The movie is very well done. David Oyelowo delivers a great performance, he looked and sounded exactly like the actual Martin Luther King. He delivered every line very accurately and with great emotion. He was very convincing as a true charismatic leader. Carmen Ejogo was great as Coretta Scott King, Dr. King’s wife. All the characters were very well developed, and the actors were well casted. I could feel that director Ava DuVernay made a special effort to remain true to the actual chain of events in order to convey the spirit of King’s struggles and the atmosphere of hatred towards the black population in Alabama. The violent scenes of the beatings and brutality of innocent black people that were peacefully marching were especially horrifying, and I felt like I was watching the actual event, because of the way they reenacted the scene. The film is very convincing about the characters and the period of time in which the film takes place. In the end, the audience and myself were applauding, because the film was successfully able to convey the meaningfulness of King’s efforts and the horrors of that time period. I am glad I live today and not back then, because of the racism and people that made society dangerous.

Overall, Selma is a great film. It’s very slow, but still well made, acted, and directed. David Oyelowo delivers a solid performance as Dr. MLK, and the film does not fail at delivering it’s message to the audience. This film proves to be a true Oscar contender. Highly recommended, but only for ages 14 and up, because of brutal, violent scenes and some racial slurs.

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12.20.14
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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

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In the final installment of the Middle-Earth saga, Bilbo and Company are forced to engage in a war against an army of orcs and keep the terrifying Smaug from acquiring a kingdom of treasure and obliterating all of Middle-Earth.

I really enjoyed this movie. It was a bit short of what I expected, but I still thought it was great. It’s definitely not the best of the series, but not the worst, either. The acting in the movie is very good, like the other 2 movies. None of the important characters were underused, they all got a fair amount of screen time. The visual effects are absolutely amazing and very well done, and I would highly recommend the 3D. The action is suspenseful and intriguing, and kept me on the edge of my seat. The action scenes never dragged, and they were very well-directed and entertaining.

Despite being entertaining and well-made, the movie did have a few flaws. First. the first hour of the movie felt like an aftermath of Part 2. It was just wrapping up from where the second movie left off, and then eventually developing a new conflict. Second, the ending was not dramatic or a great farewell to Middle-Earth like I expected it to be. It was not such a great conclusion, and could have been better. The battle did wrap up things well, but the last 5 minutes is what could have been improved.

Overall, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is a great finale to the series. It’s not as good as the Desolation of Smaug, but still great, I would recommend it especially for ages 11-16.

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12.13.14
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Exodus: Gods and Kings

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The defiant leader Moses rises up against the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses, setting 600,000 slaves on a monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of deadly plagues.

Exodus: Gods and Kings was a huge disappointment. The marketing made it look awesome, but it turned out to be terrible. Ridley Scott didn’t even try. He used to make amazing movies, and he tricked us into thinking this one would be great too! He didn’t do a good job at all, neither did Christian Bale. If they’re in Egypt, why is everyone speaking with an English accent? Joel Edgerton and the rest of the cast were bad, too, except I thought Aaron Paul did a decent job. He wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t great, either. The plot was very bad. Nothing related to the original source, and they didn’t make a good story with the changes. When there is supposed to be drama, there isn’t. There is absolutely nothing going on for the first 40 minutes, and for the 50 minutes after that, there is some plot, but no interesting plot. The action was not intriguing at all. It feels more like the goofy action from this summer’s Hercules, rather than well-directed action like the one in Gladiator. The movie is 2 and a half hours long, but it did not feel long at all. But during the time I was in the theater, I was just bored out of my mind, and really wanted to walk out, but I was hoping it would get better by the end. Nothing moving or emotional has happened by the end, and it’s just a movie that you watch and move on with. I thought the movie would be more than fun, but it wasn’t. It wasn’t even fun at all. It was just boring, and turned out to be the biggest disappointment of the year. I really thought it would be better, but in the end, there was absolutely nothing that was good about the movie, not even the visuals, which I hoped would be great, but they were really nothing special.

Overall, Exodus: Gods and Kings is a terrible disappointment. The director, producers, and cast should have tried much harder. The trailers made it looks awesome, but instead it was awful. I really wanted more from an adaptation like this. But in the end, this movie was just a waste of time, potential, and money.

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