Tag Archives: movies

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!

Theatrical release poster

05.22.15
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Tomorrowland

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Bound by a shared destiny, a teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor embark on a mission to unearth the secrets of a place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory.

Without question, Tomorrowland is the most inspiring, thoughtful, and interesting movie I’ve seen in a long time. With excellent directing from Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol), and wonderful acting from Britt Robertson and George Clooney, Tomorrowland perfectly captures Walt Disney’s imagination, and inspires audiences that they can all make the world a better place. Personally, I was very attached to the film’s sci-fi setting, characters,and screenplay. The movie’s setting is not your cliche, post-apocalyptic world, but a very original and intriguing setting. I loved the way the future is depicted. It symbolizes what we can do if we reach high enough. Britt Robertson does a great job portraying a young, curious heroine. George Clooney also does a great job in front of the camera, despite the fact that his character is unlikable at first.  There are a few scenes that aimlessly drag on and don’t deliver the information that they are meant to, but other than that, I do not understand why everyone is complaining so much about this movie (it has an unbelievable score of 50% on Rotten Tomatoes). People haven’t quite understood it for what it is, unlike me, who deeply appreciated the movie and disagrees all the critics who are ranting about it.

Just when we thought Hollywood ran out of originality, we received this movie. Tomorrowland is truly astonishing, fascinating, brilliant, well-acted, and definitely a must-see for audiences age 12 and up. Brad Bird, you deserve your applause once again.

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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.

01.12.15
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The 72nd Golden Globe Awards

Last night was The Golden Globe Awards! It was awesome! Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were hilarious, and the show was great! Here are the winners for movie categories:

Best Picture – Drama:
Boyhood

Best Picture – Comedy:
The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Actor in a Drama:
Eddie Redmayne – Theory of Everything

Best Actor in a Comedy:
Michael Keaton – Birdman

Best Actress in a Drama:
Julianne Moore – Still Alice

Best Actress in a Comedy:
Any Adams – Big Eyes

Best Supporting Actor:
J.K Simmons – Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress:
Patricia Arquette – Boyhood

Best Screenplay:
Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu – Birdman

Best Director:
Richard Linklater – Boyhood

Best Animated Film:
How To Train Your Dragon 2

My thoughts on the winners:
I wish Benedict Cumberbatch won instead of Eddie Redmayne, and Birdman should have won Best Comedy instead of The Grand Budapest Hotel. They are both great movies, but I think Birdman is the better film. But I think that Birdman is in no way a comedy. It is definitely a drama. I am also very bummed that Interstellar did not win Best Score. But I am very happy that JK Simmons won best Supporting Actor, and Selma won Best Original Song. I think The Imitation Game should have won Best Drama, but then again, I haven’t seen Boyhood yet. I really wish Whiplash was nominated for Best Drama, though. And I wish Emma Stone won Best Supporting Actress. I’m glad How to Train Your Dragon 2 won Best Animated Feature instead of the highly over hyped (but still good) Lego Movie. There were a few winners I wasn’t all happy with, but there is still the Oscars next month!

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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01.07.15
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The Imitation Game

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During World War II, mathematician Alan Turing tries to crack the enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians.

2014 has come to an end, and this movie is one of its best films. Every moment of the film kept me interested and pulled in to the story and the characters. The screenplay and dialogue are so great, at times it was funny, moving, and emotional. It was not slow at all, I actually thought it could have been a little longer, because the first hour went by way too quickly. The cast and acting in this movie are incredible, especially Benedict Cumberbatch, the star of the movie. I have seen him in many movies before, but this is his best performance yet. I didn’t feel like I was looking at an actor, I felt like I was looking at a real person. I felt close to the character at times, and cared for him. He definitely deserves a nomination. Keira Knightley was great too, but didn’t steal the show like Cumberbatch. She was very good, but nothing so special. The rest of the cast are also very good.

This movie really blew me away and interested me a lot. I now want to know a lot more about Alan Turing and this story. Overall, I loved this film and would highly recommend it. One of the best films this year, and one of the year’s best performances, from Benedict Cumberbatch. A definite Oscar contender, and a must-see.

The Imitation Game (2014) Poster

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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12.12.14
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Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

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Riggan Thompson, a washed-up actor who once played an iconic superhero, must overcome his ego and family trouble as he mounts a Broadway play in a bid to reclaim his past glory.

Birdman is definitely one of the best movies of the year, or maybe even THE best. The plot is great and very interesting, The cast are all fantastic, especially Michael Keaton and Emma Stone. Zach Galifianakis was really good, too. The cinematography is great, and I love how the entire movie is, like, one take. There is only one camera on the set that moves with the actors from scene to scene. It’s unique, and unlike any other movie. It was a great experience. The directing is fantastic as well, and this is probably Alejandro G. Inarritu’s breakthrough film. I’m glad he got nominated. Keaton and Stone deserved their nominations as well. This movie deserved it’s other nominations, too. I think it has a great change of winning Best Picture, or Director.

Birdman is definitely one of the greatest, most creative films about film making and the media. I loved the way Michael Keaton showed me the distress and suffering he was going through with himself, and Emma Stone did great as his just-out-of-rehab daughter, who doesn’t like him for not being around when she was younger. The directing and cinematography are also fantastic. I would highly recommend this movie, it’s definitely a must-see! I think the age limit would be 14 or 15 because of some inappropriate content.

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11.20.14
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Whiplash

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Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller) is a talented drummer — talented enough to make it into Manhattan’s prestigious music conservatory, Schaffer Academy. There’s no bigger badge of approval at Schaffer than to be invited to join its elite jazz band, which is run by the tough and mysterious Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons). Fletcher has groomed some of jazz’s best players, but pleasing him is a minefield. Fletcher’s methods include — among other, more traditional methods like pedagogy and charismatic history-sharing — complete and utter humiliation. Andrew is thrilled to make the initial cut, but surviving Fletcher’s class may break him, and his love for music, for good.

I was very impressed by this movie. The cast, the directing, the script, and the style of the movie are all great. Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons both did an amazing job, and I think they both have a chance of getting an Oscar nomination. I thought the story and dialogue were great, too. The directing is excellent, and I think this is a huge breakthrough for Damien Chazelle, the director of the movie. This is a type of movie that really made me think. The ending of the movie really made me go, “Wow!”. The movie delivers the message that you have to try as hard as you can in order to succeed. The style was great, and I liked how it felt like a very musical film. The cinematography was also great. This isn’t my favorite movie of the year, but possibly on my top 5 or top 10. It’s a great film and I would definitely recommend it, but only for ages 14 and up, because there is some very strong language.

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