04.16.14
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The 2014 MTV Movie Awards

This Sunday was the MTV Movie Awards, which were hosted by Conan O’Brien this time and included performances by Eminem and Rihanna, as well as Ellie Goulding and Zedd. At the beginning, a new record of 50 celebrities made cameos randomly, including Andy Samberg, Seth Rogen, Mindy Kaling, Ed Helms, Ashton Kutcher, Shaun White, Skrillex, Lupita Nyong’o, Russell Crowe, Logan Lerman, Martin Scorsese, Ellen Page, Jim Parsons, James Franco, Adam Sandler, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Ice Cube, Chris Pratt, Jessica Alba, Paul Rudd, Charles Barkley, Grumpy Cat, and Conan O’Brien himself. There were many great events and award categories, as well as Paul Walker, who died in a tragic car accident in November, being paid tribute to. Mark Wahlberg (who is currently my favorite actor) accepted the MTV Generation Award, and Channing Tatum accepted the Trailblazer Award.

Here is the list of winners:

Best Movie: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Best Male Performance: Josh Hutcherson in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Best Female Performance: Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Best Shirtless Performance: Zac Efron in That Awkward Moment

Best Fight: Orlando Bloom and Evangeline Lily vs. The Orcs (in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug)

Best Kiss: Will Poulter, Emma Roberts, and Jennifer Aniston (in We’re the Millers)

Best Villain: Mila Kunis in Oz the Great and Powerful

Best Comedic Performance: Jonah Hill in The Wolf of Wall Street

Best On-Screen Transformation: Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club

Favorite Character: Tris Prior (played by Shailene Woodley) from Divergent

Best Cameo: Rihanna in This is the End

Best Hero: Henry Cavill in Man of Steel

Best Scared as S**t  Performance: Brad Pitt in World War Z

Best On-Screen Duo: Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in Fast and Furious 6

Breakthrough Performance: Will Poulter in We’re the Millers

#WTF Moment: Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Musical Moment: Backstreet Boys, Jay Baruchel, Seth Rogen, and Craig Robinson in This is the End

Overall, I enjoyed this year’s MTV Movie Awards. It had a great host and great performance. I am really looking forward to the next one.

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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

03.04.14
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The Oscars (86th Academy Awards)

This Sunday, the 86th annual Oscars ceremony took place. Ellen DeGeneres hosted it for the second time. In my opinion, she was very funny! She sure did make the audience laugh a lot. This year, Alfonso Cuaron’s space adventure Gravity won the most Oscars (7 of them!). The Best Original Song nominees performed their songs (Despicable Me 2’s “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, Her’s “The Moon Song” by Karen Orzolek, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’s “Ordianry Love” by U2, and Frozen’s “Let It Go” by Idina Menzel). Also, 12 Years a Slave’s Lupita Nyong’o won her first Oscar (Best Supporting Actress). The cool thing is that 12 Years a Slave is also Nyong’o’s first film! Presenters included Jim Carrey, Harrison Ford, Kerry Washington, Matthew McConaghey(who also won an award the same night), Amy Adams, Robert De Niro, Penelope Cruz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jennifer Lawrence, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Will Smith (who presented the Best Picture award.) Here is the list of winners:

Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave

Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine

Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club

Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong’o for 12 Years a Slave

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity

Best Original Screenplay: Her (written by Spike Jonze)

Best Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave (written by John Ridley)

Best Film Editing: Gravity

Best Sound Editing: Gravity

Best Sound Mixing: Gravity

Best Costume Design: The Great Gatsby

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Dallas Buyers Club

Best Production Design: The Great Gatsby

Best Cinematography: Gravity

Best Visual Effects: Gravity

Best Original Score: Gravity

Best Original Song: “Let It Go” from Frozen (performed by Idina Menzel)

Best Animated Feature: Frozen

Best Animated Short: Mr. Hublot

Best Foreign Language Film: The Great Beauty (from Italy) in Italian

Best Documentary Feature: 20 Feet from Stardom

Best Documentary Short: The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life

Best Live Action Short: Helium

Do you agree or disagree with the winners? Comment below and let me know what you think. I think this year’s Oscars ceremony was one of my favorites. I can’t wait until the next Oscars!

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

02.12.14
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Saving Mr. Banks

My rating: ratings4

This enchanting Disney movie tells the true story of P.L. Travers (portrayed wonderfully by Emma Thompson), author of Mary Poppins, who, in 1961, travels to Los Angeles to negotiate with Walt Disney (played by Tom Hanks) about the rights to turn  Mary Poppins into a movie. Throughout the movie, Travers argues a lot about how to make the movie and how not to. Also, throughout the movie, flashbacks are shown from Travers’ childhood in Australia, and the inspiration for her book.

I enjoyed everything about this film: The scenery, the costume design, the acting (especially Emma Thompson, who delivers an amazing performance as Travers, and I cannot believe she was not nominated for it), and the film’s pace. It’s not as slow as other historical/biographical dramas that are at least 2 hours long. This movie might make you want to watch the original Mary Poppins movie again, since after watching this movie, you understand Mary Poppins in a different way. I would recommend this for adults who enjoyed Mary Poppins and want to know the story behind it, but there is some iffy content that is inappropriate for young kids (mainly drinking). I think anybody 13 or 14 and up would understand and enjoy this film.

Here is the film’s trailer.

Saving Mr. Banks Theatrical 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

01.14.14
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The 71st Golden Globe Awards

This Sunday, the Golden Globe Awards took place. For those of you who missed it, here are the winners (from the movie categories):

Best Picture – Drama: 12 Years A Slave

Best Picture – Musical or Comedy: American Hustle

Best Actor – Drama: Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actress – Drama: Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine

Best Actor – Musical or Comedy: Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actress – Musical or Comedy: Amy Adams in American Hustle

Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club

Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle

Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón  from Gravity

Best Screenplay: Her (written by Spike Jonze)

Best Original Score: All Is Lost

Best Original Song: “Ordinary Love” by U2, from Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

Best Animated Feature: Frozen

Best Foreign Language Film: The Great Beauty (from Italy)

I am predicting that the Oscars might turn out very similarly, with 12 Years A Slave or American Hustle winning Best Picture, Jennifer Lawrence winning Best Supporting Actress, and Frozen winning Best Animated Feature. The Oscar nominations will be announced this Thursday.