Category Archives: Action

06.17.14
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How to Train Your Dragon 2

My rating: ratings4

How to Train Your Dragon 2 takes place five years after the events of How to Train Your Dragon: The citizens of the island of Berk now domesticate dragons instead of hunting them; Hiccup and his friends are now adults rather than teens (he’s 20); and he and Astrid are engaged. One day, while exploring new territories, Hiccup and his dragon bestie, Toothless, and Astrid and her dragon, Stormfly, discover both a fort covered in ice and, later, a dragon hunter named Eret, who accuses them of being the “dragon rider” who’s letting his dragon captives go. Hiccup and Astrid get away but soon discover that Eret’s maniacal boss, Drago, plans to declare war on Berk and steal all of the island’s dragons. Meanwhile, Hiccup makes an even bigger discovery: The “dragon rider” is actually none other than his presumed-dead mother, Valka, now a recluse who lives with dragons who are all commanded by a protective alpha. Against all odds, Hiccup and his crew must stand against Drago’s army and hope their dragons can resist the pull of the bloodthirsty alpha dragon under the warmonger’s control.

Sometimes it’s hard to enjoy sequels more than the original, especially if it’s an animated movies, since most animated sequels were pointless and dumb. But How to Train Your Dragon 2 is very enjoyable and makes us think more about the rest of the trilogy (most animated sequels have been crappy enough that the filmmakers decide not to continue the series). Unlike other animated movies, this one doesn’t have any humor, but that’s not what you need to look for in in this movie. The movie is filled with heart, has a great soundtrack and visuals. Dragons 2 feels like the Dark Knight of animated trilogies. It seems likely that Dragons will soon become an unforgettable movie trilogy, just like may others (X-Men, Hobbit, etc.).

Unlike animated rip-offs that have been only targeted for little kids (such as Rio 2 or Epic), Dragons 2 also includes themes that adults can relate to, like a mother-and-son relationship subplot. The fact that adults can enjoy this movie and not just kids makes this movie so much better to watch. From this movie, I can conclude one thing: DreamWorks will never stop making great movies.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 poster.jpg

06.08.14
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Godzilla

My rating: ratings4

When two creatures known as “MUTOs” (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms) awaken and threaten our existence, the huge beast Godzilla must restore balance as humanity is left defenseless. The movies stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Lieutenant Ford Brody, Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins as two scientists, Elizabeth Olsen as Ford’s wife, and Bryan Cranston as Joe, a scientist who is Ford’s dad.

This movie is filled with action, destruction, and awesome monster fight scenes. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Bryan Cranston both did a great job acting, and Bryan Cranston did have a few emotional scenes. The visual effects and the soundtrack are both great. The most exciting parts are the first hour and the last half-hour, which is the boss fight between Godzilla and the MUTOs. The half-hour between those two parts isn’t as interesting, but once Ken Watanabe says, “Let them fight,” everything starts to warm up again. Godzilla feels very similar to last year’s blockbuster Pacific Rim, with all the monster battles and city destruction (especially San Francisco), but Godzilla feels more realistic and exciting, and the scenes before Godzilla first arrives on screen are still interesting. The best scene of the entire movie is when Ford and a couple other soldiers enter skydive into the city, just as the final battle between the monsters begins.

The director, Gareth Edwards, clearly knows how to make a great movie (this is his first blockbuster movie, his other movie was the low-budget Monsters) and I hope he makes a lot of great movies in the future (including a Star Wars spin-off that he is set to direct). The movie is very well-done, including the cinematography, visual effects, and casting, and it’s very exciting. I think anybody 12 or over would love this movie and will have a great time watching it.

05.29.14
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X-Men: Days of Future Past

My rating: ratings5

In the near future, the sentinels have taken over earth in search for mutants, and have destroyed most of the planet. The only survivors are mutants that include Storm (Halle Berry), Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), and Magneto (Ian McKellen), as well as their leader, Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart). They decide to send Wolverine back half a century to stop Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), who’s plan to assassinate Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), the sentinels’ creator, took a dark turn when she was captured and her DNA was used to upgrade the sentinels. Wolverine wakes up in his 1973 body, and he teams up with a young Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), Hank McCoy/Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Quicksilver (Evan Peters), and a young Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto (Michael Fassbender), to stop Mystique from killing Trask.

This movie is very well done. Everybody does a great job acting, especially Evan Peters, who steals every scene he’s in, and Jennifer Lawrence, who does an amazing job playing Mystique. The movie is so well written, and so clever, that it’s probably the best X-Men movie yet, and maybe even one of the best comic book movies I’ve ever seen! All of the action scenes kept me on the edge of my seat, and I never knew what would happen, because it is filled with lots of twists!  The movie never stops entertaining, and is not too short or too long. The movie is very original, and has great visual effects. Everything in the movie makes a lot of sense, and you don’t go out of the theater wondering anything weird about the movie except, “What’s next for the X-Men movies?” (which isn’t actually a weird thing). The ending of the movie gives you nothing about the rest of the movies, which has made me even more anticipated for the next X-Men movie, which will come out in about 2 years. X-Men, by far, is my favorite superhero franchise other than the Marvel Cinematic Universe, except for the fact that X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine were both huge disappointments. X-Men: Days of Future Past was my most anticipated movie of the entire year, and it might also be the best one. Here’s my conclusion: Please, watch this movie. It’s very original, smart, well-acted, visually amazing, and makes a lot of sense. It is, by far, the best X-Men movie, and maybe one of my favorite superhero movies ever.

X-Men Days of Future Past poster.jpg

05.04.14
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The Amazing Spider-Man 2

My rating: ratings3

In this Spider-Man installment, Peter finds himself battling Electro, an Oscorp electrician who becomes a living electric generator after being attacked by electric eels, as well as Green Goblin (AKA Harry Osborn), Peter’s boyhood friend who becomes a weird goblin creature after trying to get Spider-Man’s blood (to prevent dying from an illness), and Rhino, a weird-looking Russian mobster who becomes equipped with a mechanical rhino suit. Peter also must deal with his promise to Gwen’s late father (who was killed in the first film by The Lizard), if he must keep it or not, and what the consequences might be.

This movie was great but disappointing. It has a messy script and narrative and way too much is going on. The villains are dumb and underwritten, and the ending is bad and predictable. But the action and main cast are fine.

The plot surprisingly went very deep into the Spider-Man universe, but that is a major problem. This movie doesn’t only focus on the Spider-Man fighting the film’s antagonists, but also his relationship with Gwen, which the first film didn’t have enough of, which I liked. The first film also didn’t go deep enough into the trilogy, since Curt Connors/The Lizard is a very minor villain in the Spider-Man universe. The second film, on the other hand, does go deep enough into the franchise, with Spider-Man facing a very big villain, the Green Goblin. But there are too many stupid subplots and it could have been shortened by a lot (this movie was actually longer than The Avengers!). Unfortunately the two movies in the Amazing Spider-Man franchise have not been so successful and the franchise might be dead.

This movie kept me at the edge of my seat at many parts and definitely managed to entertain me a lot, but I have to say, it has a lot to live up to. I would recommend it for anybody 12 or up.

Spider-Man upside down on the side of the OsCorp tower.

04.09.14
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Captain America: The Winter Soldier

My rating: ratings3

Captain America is back in this 3-D, action-packed sequel! This time, the super-soldier must face an enemy from the past, which has now taken over S.H.I.E.L.D,  and team up with Natasha Romanoff and Sam Wilson (AKA The Falcon) to defeat it. The film’s cast includes Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Robert Redford, and Samuel L. Jackson.

Just like any other Marvel movie, the film’s action is very exciting and fun. It didn’t have as much humor as I expected, which other Marvel movies, but I was still amused by the action. The film has great visuals and casting, but it’s a bit too predictable. For example, the moment I saw a specific character, I already had the feeling that he would eventually turn out to be a major antagonist. Overall, the film’s plot and action is much better than the original, but some things in the film are very predictable. What the first one was missing was lots of well-made intense actio, which this one did have more of.

I would recommend this movie for any Marvel fans 12 and up, who might find it pretty amusing like I did.

Click here to see the film’s trailer.

03.28.14
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Divergent

ratings1

In a post-war Chicago, the population is divided into five factions: Abnegation (selfless), Amity (kind), Candor (honest) Erudite (intelligent), and Dauntless (brave). Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) finds out that she is Divergent (which means that she doesn’t fit into any of the five factions) after a test, and to hide this fact (since the government has been hunting Divergents because they think Divergents are threats), she joins Dauntless at the Choosing Ceremony. In the Dauntless initiation, she trains to become a true Dauntless member and makes some new friends, including Christina (Zoe Kravitz) and she makes a romantic relationship with one of the instructors, Four (Theo James). Things become more complicated when one faction turns against the other, and Tris and Four must stop the battle and fix everything.

Divergent is neither a fun nor interesting film. From the first 20 minutes, I knew I wouldn’t like the film, and from there it became worse. The story is a complete rip-off of The Hunger Games, there wasn’t anything about it that didn’t feel familiar. The sets, characters, and everything felt so borrowed and uninspired. The cast are all terrible and very overused, not to mention uninteresting. All the characters are boring, and there are some moments that the actors make very embarrassing. Although I admire some of the actors in this film, including Shailene Woodley and Kate Winslet, that is no excuse for their awful job in this film, as Tris was not good protagonist, and Kate Winslet’s villain felt so forced, bland, and unoriginal. Nothing in the film felt new, surprising, or even intense. Everything feels so generic and tries too hard to make you understand things you don’t want to. I don’t know how this will move on as a series without any of the sequels being as awful as this.

If you are a huge fan of the novels, you might want to try this one out, but if you’re not, you should definitely avoid it.

Lead characters Tris and Four stand above a futuristic Chicago.

 

03.18.14
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Need for Speed

My rating: ratings4

Former race car driver turned car mechanic Tobey Marshall (Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul) sets out to avenge a friend’s death, which resulted in Marshall unjustly spending 2 years in prison. Marshall travels to California to face off against his rival racer Dino Brewster (Dominic Brewster), who was also responsible for Marshall’s friend’s death. On their car-explosive-packed trip to California, they battle against Brewster’s henchmen, and some cops as well.

To be honest, this movie isn’t a movie I was really excited for. It wasn’t one of those movies that I would just watch the trailer over and over again to just witness how cool it looks. I just decided to watch it because it looked pretty cool. Now, I have to admit, I really underestimated this movie. Filled with non-stop car crashes and races, what could go better in a car-racing/criminals-who-use-cars-to-pull-off-schemes-themed movie?

Aaron Paul and his insanely awesome crew make a great cast. I have never watched a single episode of Breaking Bad, but after watching this movie, I am now a huge fan of Aaron Paul! Some people might consider this movie a Fast and Furious spin-off, or just a movie based on the video game of the same name, but I like to look at it as Grand Theft Auto: The Movie. With many vehicles getting destroyed, many twists and lots of trying to avoid cops, how could it be too different from GTA? In conclusion, Need for Speed is one hell of a movie.

P.S: Please do not consider taking young kids to this movie. I think it would be suitable for kids 12-13 and up. Otherwise, too many car crashes and explosions!

Need For Speed poster.jpg

02.17.14
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RoboCop

My rating: ratings3

In 2028 Detroit, when Alex Murphy – a loving husband, father and good cop – is critically injured in the line of duty, the global corporation of OmniCorp, which Alex had worked for, sees their chance for a part-man, part-robot police officer. The film’s cast includes The Killing’s Joel Kinnaman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy‘s Gary Oldman, Batman’s Michael Keaton, Sucker Punch‘s Abbie Cornish, The Avengers‘s Samuel L. Jackson, Watchmen‘s Jackie Earle Haley, Snitch‘s Michael K. Williams, The King’s Speech‘s Jennifer Ehle, and This Is The End‘s Jay Baruchel.

I enjoyed this film, mainly because its action; some scenes seem like a campaign level of Call of Duty, with all that shooting and moving around going on. But I didn’t love this movie.  There is a sense that the director didn’t do a good job remaking the original. Some parts are a little slow, but others are very entertaining. There were also some funny parts.  I would recommend this movie for kids 13 and up, because there is lots of violence (some blood, but hardly any), one sex scene (no nudity), and some language.

Here is the film’s site.

Robocop poster.jpg

01.28.14
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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

My rating: ratings3

Walter Mitty (played by Ben Stiller, who also directed the film) is a negative assets manager for Life Magazine who frequently daydreams of fantastic adventures, and has a crush on his coworker Cheryl (played by Kristen Wiig). For the final issue of Life, photographer Sean O’Connell (played by Sean Penn) sends Mitty 25 negatives and says that the 25th one captures the “Quintessence” of Life and that it should be used for the cover. The 25th one, though, is missing, so Mitty must track down O’Connell and travel the world, and makes some stops, including Greenland, Iceland and the Himalayas.

I was not disappointed by this movie, since I was very excited about it when I first saw the trailer. Walter Mitty is filled with comedy and heart, but some parts are a little slower than others. The film has a great plot and great cinematography, but Mitty never really changes throughout the movie. Instead of becoming a better person who doesn’t daydream that often, all he really does is travel the world and make a new friend (an eHarmony employee). I think adults would like this movie just like I did, but it does have some iffy content that might be intense for kids, including some violent scenes and swearing, despite its PG rating. It deserves a PG-13 rating, but I think it would be appropriate for kids 12 and up.

Here is the film’s trailer.

A side profile of a man running with a silver briefcase in hand. Behind him a cityscape.

01.20.14
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Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

My rating: ratings4

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is a reboot of and with a different plot than the original Jack Ryan movies (The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and The Sum of All Fears), which starred Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and Ben Affleck as the CIA analyst. In Shadow Recruit, Ryan (played by Chris Pine this time), who is also a veteran Wall Street executive,  finds out about a Russian plot, led by Viktor Cherevin (played by Kenneth Branagh, who also directed the film) to crash the US economy and start the second Great Depression. Ryan travels to Moscow, and with the help of CIA agent Thomas Harper (played by Kevin Costner), he must stop Cherevin.

I really enjoyed this movie and sat on the edge of my seat at some points of the movie. The movie was kind of slow, though, at other points. The action is great and tense and will definetley satisfy fans of other Jack Ryan movies. This movie is well-acted and very entertaining, but like I said, a little slow. I think all action/spy fans will enjoy this movie like I did. I would recommend this movie for all actions fans 13 and up, since I think it is too violent for younger kids.

Here is the film’s site and trailer.

Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit poster.jpg