09.19.15
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Everest

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Everest is the exhilarating true story of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, in which a climbing expedition on Mt. Everest, led by Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) and Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal), was devastated by a severe storm.

After Gravity showed you the suffering of being in space, Everest demonstrates the horrors of being at the highest place in the world, at a cruising altitude of 747, in dazzling IMAX 3D. Everest is a visual spectacle, using barely any CGI or effects, and filmed beautifully, showing you the amazing but terrifying landscape of Mount Everest. Every shot is incredible and beautiful look at. I felt sucked into the movie’s setting when I saw it in IMAX 3D. The movie’s score is also very well done.

Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, and John Hawkes all did an incredible job acting as terrified climbers who have something to come back home for. Jake Gyllenhaal is also very good in his role, but he’s only likable and decently written, not amazing. Emily Watson and Keira Knightley are also good, but Robin Wright is miscast and overacted. Sam Worthington has a decent small role, and Michael Kelly is solid, too.

Everest may seem like it’s only some amazing views, but that’s not it. Once you’re an hour through the film, a storm approaches, threatening the climbers that we have related with. At this point, all the terror and amazement increases as the climbers struggle to survive. There is so much suspense that my breath was taken away from me, and I was on the very edge of my seat. It is very hard to watch what these climbers went through, but the theater experience ultimately leaves you in awe.

Everest is ultimately able to convey the beauty and horrors of the titular mountain in such a touching, amazing, and terrifying way. It is realistic, intense, wonderfully shot and directed, well-acted, and an unforgettable way too kick off the Oscar season.

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09.13.15
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The FilmToppings Summer Movie Awards 2015

I recently held my 2nd annual summer movie awards on Instagram. You guys voted for the following categories. Here are the results:

Best Cinematography: Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Visual Effects: Jurassic World

Best Score/Soundtrack: The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Best Director: George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Actor: Paul Rudd – Ant-Man

Best Actress; Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road

Worst Movie: Fantastic Four

Best Movie: Mad Max: Fury Road

Those are the winners of this Summer’s movie awards! A few Honorable Mentions, movies that were nominated a lot but didn’t win anything, include Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Tomorrowland, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Inside Out. I honestly thought this Summer was mostly a lazy time for movies, as it was filled with disappointments. However, a few movies, including ones that won, managed to live up to my expectations. Let’s see if these movies have luck in my Oscars at the end of the year!

Also, I have a YouTube channel that is up and I will start posting videos on it very soon!

09.12.15
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United 93

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In recognition of the 9/11 attacks 14 years ago, I decided to watch Paul Greengrass’ 2006 drama United 93 for the first time yesterday. Because of the occasion, I will review it, too.

United 93 depicts what happened on United Airlines Flight 93, hijacked on September 11, 2001, but the only one out of the four planes hijacked that day to not reach its target. It is an incredibly realistic and moving dramatization of the events the film depicts. Not much happens within the first 45 minutes, but after that, it becomes very intense. There isn’t a specified protagonist, and no known actors, but the performances feel amazingly realistic, without doubt. Once the hijacking begins, everything become so intense, real, and in the end, heartbreaking. Thanks to director Paul Greengrass, I felt like I was watching an actual event. He directs the film masterfully, and like he does with Captain Phillips, he is able to convey the story on flight 93 and the narrative of the attacks. It ends very dramatically, and takes your breath away at the last moment of the film.

Overall, United 93 is an excellent, captivating movie that feels realistic and emotional, and that I would recommend for ages 15 and up.

This review is dedicated to all the passengers who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

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08.23.15
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The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

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In the early 1960s, CIA agent Napoleon Solo and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin participate in a joint mission against a mysterious criminal organization, which is working to proliferate nuclear weapons.

After a month of mostly disappointments, we get The Man from U.N.C.L.E., an awesome, wildly entertaining action flick. Guy Ritchie takes a ’60s spy television series and brilliantly turns it into a Bond-style thriller that’s loads of fun. Henry Cavill is a great protagonist, and although his personality is not completely convincing, mainly because he’s a Brit playing an American, he has great chemistry with Armie Hammer, who also does a great job. Alicia Vikander is very good too. Since she made her breakthrough with Ex Machina this year, she has been very pretty and attractive in all her roles. However, she feels like a cliche damsel in distress by the end of the film. Elizabeth Debicki’s villain is also slightly predictable, with her motive not being completely clear, besides wanting to continue a criminal family business from past generations. Hugh Grant does a great job but could’ve had some more screen time. Nevertheless, I was mostly entertained by the movie’s cast.

The movie’s action, like other action films this year, takes it to a completely new level. There isn’t too much action within the first hour, but there is still plenty of action during the run-time of the movie. Whenever the action came on screen, I found myself entertained out of my mind. The action is amazingly coordinated and brilliantly shot, not to mention the awesome soundtrack that gives the movie a ’60s feel. The way the movie’s story is set up is great. The movie altogether entertained the hell out of me from the beginning to the end. It’s not your typical cliche action story except for maybe a plot point or two. It’s not as cheesy of a movie as it seems, and is much better as its approach with marketing.

Like I’ve mentioned in previous posts, 2015 has been an excellent year for action movies. Kingsman: The Secret Service, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation all defied expectations and were awesome in their own ways. Now, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is one of those films. With its action, directing, cast, and soundtrack, it makes an awesome popcorn flick definitely worth checking out on the big screen.

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08.09.15
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Fantastic Four (2015)

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Four young outsiders teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe which alters their physical form in shocking ways. The four must learn to harness their new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy.

Fantastic Four brings the 4 heroes back to the big screen. For good? Unfortunately not. The movie was only made so that Fox could keep the rights to the characters. And despite the studio also making the film to re-imagine the franchise for a new decade, no good effort comes out of this movie. The  script is lousy, cliche, and couldn’t be more predictable. It’s everything we’ve seen before, and nothing new came out of it. The directing isn’t good either, and although director Josh Trank apparently had a much better version of the movie before its release, Fox interfered and forced him to re-shoot. The result is something that couldn’t be more cliche, and like The Amazing Spider-Man 2, was interfered massively by its studio, resulting in the movie being worse than the director’s original idea. I am tired of this happening in post-productions, especially with high-budget films. I don’t believe a studio is there to avert a movie from the director’s vision, is the director is the most important person behind the camera of a movie.

The cast members are all horrendous. They are not interesting to watch on screen, as they do not bring their characters to life well. Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, and Jamie Bell all deliver boring performances and aren’t special at all. Sure, they are great actors in other movies, but they didn’t work well with the script in this movie, especially because they didn’t deliver their lines well. Toby Kebbell gives a decent approach at first, but by the time his character becomes a villain, starts saying villain-y things and doing villain-y stuff, he isn’t interesting, either. Like the rest of the cast, Reg E. Cathey and Tim Blake Nelson are extremely boring, as two very cliche and predictable supporting characters.

Like I was saying earlier, everything about the story is extremely cliche, from the themes about family to the opening story about curious children wanting to solve the mysteries of science. There wasn’t a single bit of it I didn’t find to be familiar, just like my first impression of the movie when the first trailer was released back in February. The movie’s pacing is actually alright. It takes its time at first, but later it spends 40 minutes trying to convey the same thing over and over again, and then it ends way too early. It should have been at least 20 minutes longer, although no one would want to sit through 20 more minutes of utter garbage. By the end of the movie, the film’s approach is so awful. The ending is very weak, and they way they try to set it up for a sequel is in the most cliche and frustrating way possible, ti the point that I hope the sequel is scratched along with plans for a shared universe with the X-Men. I can’t yet decide what’s worse: this, or the dreadful 2005 Fantastic Four movie.

Unsurprisingly, Fantastic Four doesn’t satisfyingly bring the characters to the big screen, and more than that, it makes us want them to leave the screen. It’s time to put this franchise to rest.

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08.08.15
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Shaun the Sheep Movie

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When Shaun decides to take the day off and have some fun, he gets a little more action than he bargained for. A mix up with the Farmer, a caravan and a very steep hill lead them all to the Big City and it’s up to Shaun and the flock to return everyone safely to the green grass of home.

Shaun the Sheep Movie isn’t exactly what I expected from a stop-motion film without dialogue. The movie actually turned out to be funny, charming, and exciting. The animation is done brilliantly, with the clay settings and characters being brought to life very well, with a great soundtrack, too. The humor was great, and made me laugh quite a lot. There are a few brilliant scenes in which there is some humor like I’ve never scene before. The film’s script doesn’t use those cliche fart jokes or other overused jokes on that track except maybe once. The story is great and always entertains. It is able to differ from other recent animated movies with its charm, interest. and style of storytelling. The movie has no dialogue whatsoever, and is so entertaining in that way. It knows how to use non-verbal humor in such an awesome way, that isn’t what you’d expect from other animated movies of its kind.

Overall, Shaun the Sheep Movie is surprisingly entertaining, hilarious, well-animated, and fun for the whole family – and adults of some taste.

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07.31.15
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Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

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When the IMF is targeted by the Syndicate – a rogue organization committed to destroying the IMF, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) reassembles his team (and is joined by a female assassin) to protect their organization, and their world as they know it.

When Tom Cruise is in an entertaining action film, what can go wrong? The series continues with tons of action, humor, and great cast members, and the franchise keeps getting better, film by film. Director Christopher McQuarrie, despite doing an awful job with Jack Reacher, brings the action and fun to life wonderfully. The action scenes are incredibly entertaining, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Like I said before, Tom Cruise can never mess up an action movie. He does amazing stunts in all of his films, and is in great shape, despite already being 53. Simon Pegg is always great comic relief, and I loved watching him on screen as much as I did in the previous movies. Jeremy Renner also reprises his role from Ghost Protocol and does a very good, as well as Ving Rhames, another returning cast member. Rebecca Ferguson’s character, however, could have been written better, and could have been incorporated better into the script, including her dialogue, but she does know how to kick ass well. The movie’s villain is also done well, more believable than the one from Ghost Protocol, but still doesn’t beat Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s antagonist from Mission: Impossible 3.

The story and narrative in the film are very good, going straight into the action and bringing you right into the fun. There are a few obvious references to the other films (and the TV series they’re based on). Of course, by the end of the movie, I was blown away (I saw the movie on a huge IMAX screen in London, and the immense viewing and sound added to the film’s awesome experience), and hopeful about the potential it has for future films.

Overall, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is a great and possibly the best installment in its beloved series. It is incredibly entertaining, well-acted, and well-directed. It lived up to all my expectations, and I can’t wait to see what happens next with the series.

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07.23.15
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Paper Towns

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Quentin “Q” Jacobsen lives next door to Margo Roth Spiegelman, his childhood friend from whom he has since drifted, but still has feelings for. One night, when she climbs through his window and summons him on an all-night road trip of revenge, he cannot help but follow her lead. The next day, however, Margo doesn’t come to school, and after a few days it becomes apparent she’s missing. Q soon learns that there are clues in her disappearance that seem to be meant for him to make sense of. But as he gets deeper into the mystery and discovers more about the person Margo actually is, he becomes less sure of who and what he’s looking for.

As a big fan of the book, and one of the people who was impressed by last year’s The Fault in our Stars, I had high hopes for this movie. Although it falls slightly short of what I expected, it’s still very charming, funny, touching, and often entertaining. There are a few changes made from the book, but none that bothered me or affected the story’s quality. Nat Wolff does a great job playing a funny, likable and realistic teenager, portrayed very well. However, Cara Delevingne steals the show as the fascinating Margo, beautiful and perfectly casted. The rest of the cast also do a great job. The teenage protagonists are all very charming, funny, and are portrayed in a very realistic way, in the aspect that they are all facing normal teenage emotions and maturing in a believable but very interesting way. Paper Towns is able to not only entertain and make audiences smile, but also conveys a coming-of-age message, ultimately. It teaches about friendship, desperation, and ultimately understanding what life is about. In addition to this nice story, the soundtrack is well-composed and great to listen to, like The Fault in our Stars‘ soundtrack.

Like I said before, Paper Towns was a slight disappointment. The main problem is that it is way too short. It not only feels rushed, but doesn’t take the time to explain important points of the story, like Q’s relationship with his parents (who only get five seconds of screen time), the bonding between the teenagers the film focuses on, and many people getting involved in Margo’s mysterious disappearance, which were all very important in the book. The movie should have taken at least 20 more minutes to convince us that the protagonists’ mission is worthwhile, and about their entire personality. They weren’t the changes in the book that brought the film down a little, but the pacing and uneven narrative the film has.

Like many teenage movies, Paper Towns is very funny, charming, and well-written, but doesn’t completely have the aim for the main characters that I was searching for. But I would recommend the film for any fans of the book or the film’s genre.

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07.21.15
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Big Game

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After Air Force One is shot down by terrorists in Finland in an attempt to kill the President of the United States (Samuel L. Jackson), the President (who survived the crash) teams up with a 13-year-old Finnish hunter (Onni Tommila) to take down the terrorists who are trying to hunt the President.

Lately this summer, most movies I’ve watched were very disappointing, and were either bad or decent at the most. However, Big Game is a movie that I enjoyed at moderate level. I actually had very low expectations for this movie. The marketing and trailers made the film look incredibly awful and cliche. It is, without question, a very cliche movie, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be more than a boring, predictable action flick. The action actually happens to be pretty fun, and even though it isn’t anything we haven’t seen before, it does have an entertaining factor. The action is well done, and not as predictable as most recent films of its type. It has some fun comic-book styled violence, and feels a lot like a 80’s or 90’s action-adventure movie. The performances from Samuel L. Jackson and young Finnish actor Onni Tommila are both good. Their characteristics are convincing, with Samuel L. Jackson conveying an interesting point about being the president, and Tomilla acting as a relatable character my age.

The story is constructed well, despite the fact that the movie is extremely short, especially for an action movie (it’s only an hour and a half long). There is one point at the end that remains a loose end and isn’t quite clear. Some of the dialogue doesn’t work, and some sound extremly familiar, being previously used in action movies of its type. The movie does use one-liners, but they mostly work. The movie also has a limited humorous factor, which works as well. Like I said before, many plot points turn out to be cliche and familiar, but the movie is still entertaining and not completely predictable.

Overall, Big Game is a very fun movie with great action and good performances, but not much more. If you simply want to have fun at the movies, then this movie is a good recommendation.

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07.16.15
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Ant-Man

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The next movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe finally brings Ant-Man to the screen. Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

As Marvel begins to enter a darker phase of films, with films such as Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War coming out, it’s starting to adapt to a very likable new style, with tons of unpredictable humor being thrown into their movies. Ant-Man is able to partly convey it, but is a letdown considering the fact that its from Marvel Studios. Paul Rudd is a superb star, as he coveys all the humor and heart I wanted from him. Michael Douglas gives a decent performance as mentor Hank Pym. I was let down by Evangeline Lily and Corey Stoll. I was expecting a deeper and more emotional character from Lily, and a villain that was more incorporated into the script and convincing enough from Stoll. Michael Pena is able to deliver a charming performance as one of Lang’s buddies, and Bobby Cannavale does an awful job, not to anyone’s surprise.

The style the film takes on is fun, but doesn’t fulfill the story’s needs and character developments. The subplot involving Scott’s relationship and connection with his daughter (and his hatred of his ex-wife’s new fiance, who also happens to be a cop played by Bobby Cannavale) is extremely cliche and has been used hundreds of times in the past decade in cinema. Same with Scott’s training to become Ant-Man, it’s not anything we haven’t seen before or wouldn’t see coming. The dialogue needs a lot of improvement, with too much awkward dialogue and things that kept repeating themselves. I never felt so close to the characters, since they aren’t given enough time to connect with the audience, because the movie is way too rushed, not to mention it’s very short, with a run-time of only 115 minutes. However, the film still keeps the humor from its preceding Marvel movies, and does not fail to entertain. The movie even has a few callbacks to the Avengers to remind you that it’s a Marvel movie, and a post-credit scene worth staying for.

Overall, I was let down by Ant-Man due to its lack of convincing character development, its run-time, and its script, but it is still able to entertain and make you laugh. The film would’ve been much better with Edgar Wright sitting in the director’s chair. Moving forward, I have faith in Marvel that they will do a great job with Phase Three, but I was disappointed with Ant-Man, as it’s meant to be a more moving finale to Phase 2.

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