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FilmToppings Summer Movie Awards 2014

So I held this summer movie awards thing on Instagram, where there was a couple of categories and people had to vote. So now I will announce the results:

Best Movie: Guardians of the Galaxy

Best Actor: Andy Serkis – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Best Actress: Emily Blunt – Edge of Tomorrow

Best Visual Effects: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Best Badass: Rocket Raccoon – Guardians of the Galaxy

Worst Movie: Transformers: Age of Extinction

I hope you all had a great Summer and that you saw a lot of great movies during it.

08.19.14

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A Tribute to Robin Williams

A week ago, the world lost Robin Williams, a hilarious comic genius who made the whole world laugh. He was admired and beloved by all his fans, who are all very sad now. He managed to make the whole world happy, but apparently not himself. Robin committed suicide because he was in deep depression. On August 12, a day after he was found dead, a police officer confirmed that Williams had hanged himself with a belt.He may have had a great time onstage, but behind the screen his life was completely different. He was very sick and he was depressed, so I guess he killed himself.

I have not seen all of his well-known films but I have seen many of them. My favorite is Mrs. Doubtfire, a comedy about an actor (played by Robin Williams) disguises himself as a female housekeeper to spend time with his children held in custody by his former wife. That movie seriously cracked me up! It’s one of my favorite comedies! Also, he really rocked as the Genie in Aladdin. The movie itself was OK but the Genie stole the whole show! I’ve heard about many other of his great movies, like Good Will Hunting and Good Morning Vietnam. I haven’t seen those ones yet but now I plan to. Robin Williams was definitely one of the funniest actors I know and he will always be remembered, along with his movies and his roles.

08.07.14

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

My rating:

Darkness has settled over New York City as Shredder and the evil Foot Clan have their intentions on unleashing a chemical attack on the city. The future is grim until four unlikely outcast brothers rise from the sewers and discover their destiny as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Turtles must work with fearless reporter April O’Neil and her wise-cracking cameraman Vernon Fenwick to save the city and unravel Shredder’s diabolical plan.

I didn’t think this movie would be good at all but I have to admit, I kind of enjoyed it. The action is fun and some of the humor is good, but it is a dumb movie, too. I didn’t like Will Arnett’s character, he was a bit annoying. Megan Fox was good as April O’Neil, and I felt that even though she’s been in bad movies, this role was fine. The 3D visuals are what surprised me (they were really good). I felt that I could relate to the turtles at some points.

I really liked the Shredder. He is an awesome villain who reminded me of the Winter Soldier from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, because they both have a mask and they are both super bad-ass! The battle between the turtles and Shredder was pretty awesome.

Overall, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an enjoyable movie but it is really dumb. I would recommend it for kids age 12 and up.

07.31.14

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Guardians of the Galaxy

My rating:

Intergalactic adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits – Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he and his team must find a way to stop Ronan’s madness and save the galaxy.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is improving as it goes. And this movie is definitely it’s best yet. I have to admit, it’s even better than The Avengers! It’s smart, funny, entertaining, and full of heart. The pace is good (it’s never too slow), the characters are all very funny, and best of all, the action scenes are extremely fun to sit through. It really has a Star Wars feel to it, with all the spaceship battles, the fact that the Guardians keep traveling from planet to planet, and I sort of felt that Ronan was sort of like Darth Vader, with a helmet, a low voice, and an ugly face.

One thing that didn’t turn out like I thought it would be but didn’t really bother me was that Thanos (a god-like figure who works with Ronan and is Gamora’s adoptive father) had a smaller role than I expected (just a one minute cameo), but that’s OK. Maybe he’ll have a bigger role in the Avengers 2!

My two favorite characters to see onscreen were Rocket and Groot, the hilarious duo who know how to kick ass. Lots of the other characters were also very charming and funny, especially Quill (the space outlaw who calls himself “Star-Lord”).

In conclusion, Guardians of the Galaxy is brilliant, smart, wonderfully silly, and is as entertaining, awesome, and fun, as any other Marvel movie. I would recommend it for any Marvel movie fans!

07.24.14

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Hercules

My rating:

Having completed his twelve labors, Hercules, accompanied by his team, his hired by the King of Thrace to defeat a tyrannical warlord who threatens the people of Thrace. But soon Hercules relaizes that this war isn’t what it seems.

From the trailers, this movie looked bad. I didn’t think it would be good mainly because I don’t trust the director (Breet Ratner, director of movies that haven’t been good, including X-Men: The Last Stand), but this time, Ratner surprised me. I found myself enjoying this movie from the beginning to the end. The action scenes managed to enteratain me a lot. Dwayne Johnson (AKA The Rock) does what he’s best at: kicking ass. And when the Rock kicks ass, he’s an awesome action star.

When I saw the first trailer of this movie, I was thinking, “Not another Legend of Hercules!” The Legend of Hercules was dumb, had terrible acting and visuals, and felt more like a B-movie than a Hollywood movie. This Hercules flick is nothing like that. This one is actually entertaining, the actors are well-casted, and this time, it doesn’t fail to tell the epic legend of Hercules.

In conclusion, this movie is fun, entertaining, and has great charcters and action scenes. Brett Ratner has finally found himslef a good job.

07.22.14

by filmtoppings

The Fault in our Stars

My rating:

Hazel and Gus are two extraordinary teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them – and us – on a unforgettable journey.

I saw this movie after reading the book. I wasn’t disappointed at all. Nothing from the book was messed up or left out. Hazel and Gus are a great couple just like in the book and the duo who played them were great. I also really liked the actor who played Isaac, Augustus’ best friend who lost his eyes to cancer. I also liked the humor in this movie. It makes you laugh in a way than other comedies don’t.

The end was very sad and emotional and I cried a little bit. You’ll probably see it coming but this movie made me emotional more than any movie I’ve ever seen. In conclusion, fans of the book will not be disappointed by this movie, because of it’s accuracy to the book, it’s acting, and it’s humor. So if you’ve read the book and haven’t seen the movie yet, then you should go ahead and do it! If you haven’t read the book, no problem! You would enjoy it anyway. I would recommend it for ages 13 and up.

07.17.14

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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

My rating:

A decade after the virus created by the apes killed most of humanity, the remaining humans and the apes find themselves at the brink of a war that will determine who will become Earth’s dominate species.

This film is absolutely awesome. The CGI of the apes looked very realistic (I could tell they weren’t real apes becuase the director would never be able to get real apes to do those stuff, but the CGI looked pretty real). Some scenes were very emotional and made me almost cry (not really cry, but feel very emotional inside). I really liked the story between the humans and the apes, and it kept me interested and excited the whole time.

I loved Andy Serkis’ performance as Caesar, and I think it’ s his best performance yet. He definetley deseves an Oscar nod for this role. I also really liked Jason Clarke as Malcolm. He had the heart that James Franco had in the previous installment. He was a good choice to play the role. Gary Oldman’s character was great, although it was a very small role, but with a very important position. I think whoever played Koba was awesome. Koba is bascially this very tough ape who holds a grudge against humans for his mistreatment. Koba will do anything to take down the humans and he will make any ape unwilling to follow him pay for it. Overall, the cast is great and nobody in this movie does a bad job.

Here’s my conclusion: This movie has amzing visual effects, awesome action scenes, great acting (especially Andy Serkis), and and it has a great plot that keeps you excited and interested the entire time. I would recommend it for anyone 12 and up!

06.30.14

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Transformers: Age of Extinction

My rating:

In Michael Bay’s new Transformers film, Mark Wahlberg plays Cade Yeager, a struggling mechanic and single father who, along with his best friend Lucas (T.J. Miller), finds a truck which they later find out isn’t a truck at all: It’s Optimus Prime. Cade, his daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz), and her boyfriend Shane (Jack Reynor) find themselves caught in a war between the remaining Autobots and a new army of Decepticons, led by Galvatron, who Optimus soon discovers has a dark secret. The Autobots soon find out that the Decepticons aren’t the only threat to their kind: An organization called the Cemetry Wind, led by a paranoid CIA agent (Kelsey Grammer), are hunting down the Autobots with the help of Joshua Joyce (Stanley Tucci), a scientist who is building his own Decepticons to destroy the Autobots.

At first I decided not to see this movie because I did not like the first three movies, as they were all huge disappointments, but later I decided to give it a try, anyway. But now I realize that the next Transformers movies will not improve on their predecessors at all, becuase that is what has been happening for the last three sequels (except the third movie was better than the second one, because the second one is the worst). Age of Extinction is just like all the others: Dumb characters you can’t ever give a crap about, a needless huge length (this one is almost three hours long), and jokes that only make you laugh because they’re so stupid. The acting in this movie is terrible, especially T.J. Miller, who was really annoying becuase he kept cracking dumb jokes. Mark Wahlberg, who is my favorite actor of all time, was the only person who did a good job acting in the movie (Stanley Tucci was fine too, but not as good as Wahlberg was). All the other main actors did pretty bad (Kelsey Grammer was the worst actor in this movie other than T.J. Miller). I expected the Dinobots to be a big part of the movie, but they’re only in the last 20 minutes! The action scenes in this movie are great, but they’re really the only thing that makes this movie good! Do not expect this movie to be any better than the other Transfomers movies (but don’t expect it to be as bad as Revenge of the Fallen, of course). I think this movie is appropriate for kids 12 and up, because there as a lot of explosions and some language.

06.22.14

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Edge of Tomorrow

My rating:

A race of aliens called Mimics have taken over continental Europe. Their ability to reset the day after getting killed and then being able to mimic human battle strategy makes them unstoppable. Major Bill Cage (Tom Cruise), who has never been in battle before, is drafted into the UDF (United Defense Force), led by Sergeant Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), to fight against the Mimics, which is practically a suicide mission. Cage is killed within minutes, but only after killing a rare species of Mimics, called the Alpha, the ones with the ability to reset time. As the Alpha dies, it’s blood spills on Cage, killing him, but then he wakes up the day before the invasion. He hasn’t realized it yet but he has gained the Alpha’s power to reset time when killed. As he dies over and over again, his skill increases. As Cage and Rita (who later reveals to him that she once had his power) take the fight to the aliens, each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the enemy.

Edge of Tomorrow is funny, well-acted, thrilling, and has amazing visual effects. The script is great, so is the cast and the humor, and best of all, the movie is very original. The movie is filled with suspense, and while you’re watching it, you have absolutely no idea what’s about to happen. The visuals are amazing, especially the Mimics, and the action is very fun to watch. Edge of Tomorrow is better than all of Tom Cruise’s other recent sci-fi movies (including Mission Impossible and Oblivion) because what the others lacked were suspense, humor, and fun. I look forward to more great Tom Cruise movies like this one. I would recommend this movie for anyone 13 and up who loves action, science fiction, and/or Tom Cruise.

Below are the film’s trailer, as well as a hilarious clip from the movie.

06.17.14

by filmtoppings

How to Train Your Dragon 2

My rating:

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.

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