MINI-REVIEW: Elysium

MOVIE
Elysium

CAST
Matt Damon, Jodie Foster

RATING
R

RELEASE
August 9, 2013

DIRECTOR
Neill Blomkamp

STUDIO
TriStar Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 49 minutes





STARS
***3/4









REVIEW:

Four years ago, a newcomer director named Neill Blomkamp jumped onto the scene with a little movie called "District 9."  This film was so critically and financially praised that it ended up being nominated for Best Picture that same year.  So it's pretty safe to say that "Elysium" was a very hyped up film.  After seeing the film myself, I have to say that it's pretty damn incredible.  The special effects are spectacular and look incredibly realistic.  The story is damn original and just plain incredible.  Aside from Jodie Foster's mediocre performance, everyone in this movie, particularly Matt Damon and Shartlo Copley, are giving amazing work here.  Finally, Blomkamp has the eye of a true filmmaker and is definitely on his way to becoming the next Spielberg or Lucas.  Overall, aside from Jodie Foster's performance and the final half hour feeling a little lacking for the most part, "Elysium" is an incredible science fiction movie that will definitely be remembered for years to come.



PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

Ender's Game

Prisoners

Rush

Insidious: Chapter 2

Captain Phillips

The Counselor

The Monuments Men

MINI-REVIEW: The Frozen Ground

MOVIE
The Frozen Ground

CAST
Nicolas Cage, John Cusack

RATING
R

RELEASE
August 23, 2013

DIRECTOR
Scott Walker

STUDIO
Lionsgate

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 46 minutes








STARS
***







REVIEW:

Nicolas Cage has a reputation where he will star in any movie that comes crawling to his door.  This has resulted in stupid films like the "Ghost Rider" franchise and many direct-to-DVD films that nobody has ever seen, myself included.  However once in a while, Cage manages to break out of his, um, cage, and turn in solid performances.  In the past decade, he's given spectacular performances in films like "Adaptation" and the original "Kick-Ass," and while "The Frozen Ground" isn't one of his best performances ever, it's definitely a return for Nick Cage as a good actor.  It might not be a perfect movie, but "The Frozen Ground" is a solid mystery thriller with solid performances and a good story to add on to it.

The acting overall is solid, with Nick Cage turning in fine work, John Cusack playing a menacing villain, and Vanessa Hudgens giving a good, but not great performance.  The story is predictable, but enjoyable at the same time.  The script is hit or miss, but overall a generic script with some decent dialogue.  Director Scott Walker effectively brings the gritty side of the 80s out with this solid drama-thriller.  It might not be a great movie, but it is better then one might expect considering some of Nicolas Cage's recent movie choices.  If his new festival flick "Joe" is nearly as good as this movie, then expect Cage to be making a big comeback to good roles, along with good films in general.

REVIEW: I Declare War

MOVIE
I Declare War

CAST
Gage Munroe, Siam Yu

RATING
NR

RELEASE
July 26, 2013 (VOD)
August 30, 2013 (LIMITED)

DIRECTOR(S)
Jason Lapeyre, Robert Wilson

STUDIO
Drafthouse Films

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 34 minutes







STARS
****








REVIEW:

Believe it or not, this is a film that I've had on my radar for nearly a year now.  After it was announced to play at my local film festival last October, I looked it up and the premise sounded incredibly intriguing: 13 year old kids using their imagination and everyday objects to play a game of War in the woods.  Unfortunately, I had to miss the screenings of the film, and after finally seeing the film over 10 months later, do I regret missing this film on the big screen.  The best way to describe this movie is this: if "Rugrats," "The Goonies," "The Sandlot," and "Super 8" were all combined together with the video game "Call of Duty," then you'd have "I Declare War."  This film is brutal, hard on the language, funny, sweet, relatable surprisingly, and just a downright awesome movie that deserves to be seen by anyone who is a kid at heart.

What I admire the most about this film is how deep it is for a film about kids playing imaginary war.  Screenwriter/co-director Jason Lapeyre understands the pain, humor, language, and imagination of adolescent teens and shows every aspect of childhood problems, from first loves to crumbling friendships, in a very accurate and realistic way.  As someone who has gone through first crushes and a big crumbling friendship, I have to say that this film got to me in a way that I didn't expect it to.  I also have to hand it to the young actors of this movie for giving it their all and delivering solid performances.

Instead of having pretty, glossy, and decently acted child actors, the filmmakers made a wise decision to cast, in my eyes, real kids in this movie.  Every kid actor in this movie, aside from maybe one or two, act, look, and feel like natural kids throughout, particularly in the scenes that don't involve violence of any kind.  Gage Munroe, the lead in the film, is somebody who I could imagine seeing in school and being friends with, despite our age difference.  Every child has their own agenda, whether its trying to impress a boy or just capture the other team's flag, and all are believable.  Even though the villain of the film, played by Michael Friend, is kind of over the top in terms of his decisions and his acting in general, it all makes sense why he's doing these things once the final 15 minutes come rolling in.  And believe it or not, I actually felt the pain of the villain, but at the same time was rooting for the hero, despite both characters not being all that perfect in terms of being loyal friends to their teammates.  Nevertheless, every child actor is great in the film, despite some being better than others.

"I Declare War" is one of those under-the-radar movies that I could see getting some type of cult-status in the near future.  All of the acting is solid, the story and the script are enjoyable and strangely relatable, and the direction from co-directors Jason Lapeyre and Robert Wilson is top notch for a low budget movie.  I honestly wish this got a bigger release than just a few Alamo Drafthouse theaters across the country, but I am extremely grateful that I got to see this film at least.  If you like coming of age movies, war films, or both, then "I Declare War" is the type of movie for you.  It's vulgar, brutal, touching, funny, and one of the best and will probably become one of the most overlooked films of 2013.

MINI-REVIEW: You're Next

MOVIE
You're Next

CAST
Sharni Vinson, Nicholas Tucci

RATING
R

RELEASE
August 23, 2013

DIRECTOR
Adam Wingard

STUDIO
Lionsgate

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 35 minutes









STARS
***1/2









REVIEW:

In my recent review of "Texas Chainsaw," I talked about how modern horror films heavily rely on blood, gore, jump scares, and sex, which makes me believe that Hollywood executives believe that audiences are stupid.  Horror films rarely take chances and do something that can please just about any movie fan in general, so when something like "You're Next" comes around, it's something of a marvel to behold.  It might not be something revolutionary or uniquely original, but this movie is the type of horror flick that I feel people need to see.  "You're Next" isn't as scary as the trailer might suggest, but the scares are substituted for laughs, blood, and an overall fun as hell Halloween movie.

If you go to this movie for incredible performances and a gripping script/story, then you clearly haven't seen a self aware horror film before, have you?  The performances aren't that good, but that's mainly because these cast members aren't actors, but rather friends of the director and the screenwriter of the film, Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett.  Sharni Vinson is a total badass in this movie and someone who I think should be cast in more horror and action movies due to her awesomeness in this flick.  The film isn't so much scary as it is fun and awesome, and that's thanks to a solid script from Barrett and good direction from Wingard.  "You're Next" isn't a groundbreaking horror film by any means, but it does take the genre and flips it on its head and having a bloody fun time doing that, just like "The Cabin in the Woods" last year.



PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

Don Jon

Getaway

Riddick

Carrie

Ender's Game

Runner Runner

Escape Plan

REWIND REVIEW: G.I. Joe: Retaliation

MOVIE
G.I. Joe: Retaliation

CAST
Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
March 29, 2013

DIRECTOR
Jon M. Chu

STUDIO
Paramount Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 50 minutes






STARS
*1/2








REVIEW:

With action movies, all that I ask for is to be mindless entertainment that is pure cheese and nothing but a good time.  Take for example "White House Down."  It might have been stupid and over the top, but at least it never took itself seriously, and in return delivered a fun action film.  "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," the sequel to "The Rise of Cobra," has all of the stupidity and cheesiness of "White House Down," but none of the fun.  This is a movie that got pushed back nine months for a 3D conversion and to add two extra scenes with Channing Tatum before he's killed off 20 minutes in.  Just a little heads up, those scenes don't add ANYTHING to the tone, quality, or story of the film, other than the fact that C-Tates and Dwayne Johnson's characters were buds.  Overall, aside from one fun action scene on a mountain, "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" is a stupid, boring, poorly-acted, cliche driven, and all around bad movie that just keeps butchering the "G.I. Joe's" reputation on the big screen.  And this is coming from someone who actually enjoyed "The Rise of Cobra" back in 2009.

REWIND REVIEW: Texas Chainsaw

MOVIE
Texas Chainsaw

CAST
Alexandra Daddario,
Dan Yeager

RATING
R

RELEASE
January 4, 2013

DIRECTOR
Jason Luessenhop

STUDIO
Lionsgate

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 31 minutes







STARS
**









REVIEW:

Horror movies these days try to be gory and edgy rather than tense and creepy.  I personally feel that this is because filmmakers, and more specifically Hollywood executives feel that audiences are too dumb and only want blood and sex.  Movies like "The Cabin in the Woods" and "Evil Dead" are examples of how horror films can have blood and sex, yet at the same time be very clever, have many scary moments, and even be funny at times.  "Texas Chainsaw," unfortunately, falls into the category that I will simply refer to as "torture porn."  While I was somewhat entertained during the movie, this film suffers from wooden acting, a bland script, and moments of sheer stupidity that just took me out of it.  Even the twists of the movie aren't very clever and don't exactly have great payoffs.  Sure the gore is cool-looking and the film is kinda fun, but "Texas Chainsaw" overall is a wooden, stupid, and mediocre film that, with a better script and a better director, might have actually been a good horror movie.  Maybe not "Evil Dead" good, but at least tolerable enough to be decent.

REVIEW: Kick-Ass 2

MOVIE
Kick-Ass 2

CAST
Aaron Taylor-Johnson,
Chloë Grace Moretz

RATING
R

RELEASE
August 16, 2013

DIRECTOR
Jeff Wadlow

STUDIO
Universal Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 43 minutes







STARS
***1/2







REVIEW:

I gotta be perfectly honest with something: why this film has a 29% on Rotten Tomatoes will forever be a mystery to me. As someone who loves the original "Kick-Ass," I was pretty excited for the sequel,  titled "Kick-Ass 2." I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I loved the original, because it's rare that sequels live up to its predecessor, but I just wanted it to be nothing more than a good sequel and an entertaining superhero film overall. And frankly, that's exactly what I got. "Kick-Ass 2" is an ultra-violent, very funny, and incredibly dark follow up to the original that is a lot better than critics are giving it credit for.

This sequel picks up two years after the first "Kick-Ass" ended, and Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl, aka Dave Lizewski and Mindy Macready, have gone their separate ways. Mindy still puts on the costume and fights crime around the city, while Dave is trying to live a normal life. However, a whole new wave of superheroes inspires Dave to become Kick-Ass once more and join a superhero group called "Justice Forever," run by a born again mobster known as Colonel Stars and Stripes. At the same time, Mindy's guardian Marcus orders her to hang up her Hit-Girl outfit and try to become a normal high school teen. Also happening, Chris Chris D'Amico, aka Red Mist from the first film, dons a new outfit and changes his name to "The Mother F***er," and starts building up a supervillain group known as "The Toxic Mega C**ts" in order to get revenge on Kick-Ass after killing his father. It's up to Kick-Ass, Justice Forever, and hopefully Hit-Girl, to save New York and destroy this super-villain league before things get way out of hand.

While this film isn't as bloody as the first "Kick-Ass" was, it's certainly a lot more violent and a lot darker than its predecessor. I give props to director/screenwriter Jeff Wadlow for taking a chance and making this a deep and gritty comic book film rather than a hilarious and cartoony one. There are many moments, two that come to mind right away, that are both shocking and unexpected that it makes your jaw drop in how dark the film got from there. I could sense passion put into this project by Wadlow, and I could see real potential for him as an action director in the future. The script might be dark and violent, but it is also very funny when it wants to be. Now to be fair, making a rape joke is in bad taste, but the comedy for the most part works and is often very funny.  What elevates the humor in the film is the work from the extremely talented cast.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson is as great as always as Kick Ass/Dave Lizewski.  Dave is such a fragile character who tries to be Bruce Wayne but is instead stuck inside a teenager's body, and Johnson pulls that off with perfection.  In this film, Dave is a more mature, but still childish superhero who has to deal with a lot more tragedy here than he did in the first one.  I feel that Johnson should be in a lot more movies, mainly because of how he just brings it with every movie he's in.  The same goes for Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who is also great as The Mother F***er.

People may complain about how goofy and over the top this character is, but that's the whole point.  Chris D'Amico never had a real childhood, so his way to get revenge on his father's murderer is to follow every super-villain cliche, but amp the mayhem and darkness up 10 times the amount of any regular villain.  Plasse is crazy and acts juvenile in the film, but he makes such a fun screen presence at the same time.  However, if he plays a villain again in a future movie, it might be better for him to play it off as a more sinister and despicable character rather than just a kid playing bad guy, if that makes any sense.  The two standouts of the film by far, however, are Chloë Grace Moretz and Jim Carrey.

Carrey might be against the violence in this movie, but there's no denying that his performance as Colonel Stars and Stripes is nothing short of fantastic.  Every scene he's in is filled with either motivational speeches, spectacular violence, huge laughs, or all of the above.  Some may believe that Carrey is past his time and that he should retire once and for all.  For me, I think he's doing better than ever and still retains the title in my book as the funniest man walking the Earth.  Now some may wonder about how awesome Hit Girl is in this movie.  To answer that question, her purpose in this film isn't to best people up, rather be a high school student.

What I liked the most about Moretz in this movie is that this time around, she juggles two lives, in the same way that Spider-Man and Hanna Montana do.  In her first life, she is the vigilante Hit Girl who wants to do nothing more than defend the city she loves so much.  In the other life, her stepfather Marcus has forced her to give up Hit-Girl and become a regular teenager.  What this results to is not a lot of Hit-Girl and more of Mindy Macready trying to fit in with her fellow classmates, and frankly, it actually worked a lot more than one could imagine in their minds.  Her storyline is expanded upon more, and for me added to the film when things took a turn to the dark side.  Sure, her story may result in some gross out moments and really stupid moments, but Hit Girl's story, along with Moretz's performance, enhance the film for the better and help make it a great film in my opinion.

"Kick-Ass 2" is not a movie that will please everyone.  People have been bashing this film for being really dark, unfunny, and basically a carbon copy of the original film.  I personally disagree with them.  This movie might be trying to remake the magic of the first movie, but for the most part, "Kick-Ass" and "Kick-Ass 2" are very different films from one another.  Where the first one was ultra-violent and bloody as hell, this movie is darker and less bloody.  Both are funny movies, but this one is more emotionally moving than funny.  Having said that, the comedy in this film is both shocking and often hilarious for the most part.  The villain might be a little too over the top, and the film might be a little dumb at times, but in my eyes, "Kick-Ass 2" is a great superhero movie.  What I wanted out of this sequel going into it was a funny, violent, and awesome sequel that lived up to my expectations.  Not only did it live up, but it exceeded my expectations by being dark, emotionally moving, and an all around great film.




PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

Don Jon

Riddick

Vampire Academy

47 Ronin

Getaway

Rush

MINI-REVIEW: Drinking Buddies

MOVIE
Drinking Buddies

CAST
Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson

RATING
R

RELEASE
July 25, 2013 (VOD)
August 23, 2013 (LIMITED)

DIRECTOR
Joe Swanberg

STUDIO
Magnolia Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 30 minutes






STARS
***1/4







REVIEW:

It's fascinating that there are not one, but two beer-related movie coming out this weekend in theaters, the first of course being "The World's End."  The second one, though, might have fallen under your radar, but definitely deserves a watch.  This film is called "Drinking Buddies," and it stars Olivia Wilde and Anna Kendrick in a nice little romantic dramady about two couples whose lives get messy after a camping trip together.  Like "The World's End," "Drinking Buddies" isn't about the beer that quenches the thirst of the main characters, rather it's about the personal lives of these characters and the problems that they experience.

The acting for the most part is fantastic, with the standout being Olivia Wilde, who gives her best performance to date in my opinion.  The script is quirky, funny, and very heartfelt throughout.  Director Joe Swanberg knows how to channel his actors and how to get them to bring out their best performances in order to make a good film.  The things that I felt lacked in the film were that some of the characters are a little underdeveloped, the film feels slow some of the time, and the ending, while sweet and fulfilling, felt that it could have been a little stronger.  Other than that, though, "Drinking Buddies" is a very entertaining movie with some great performances and an all around feeling of satisfaction once the credits start rolling,

MINI-REVIEW: We're The Millers

MOVIE
We're The Millers

CAST
Jason Sudekis,
Jennifer Aniston

RATING
R

RELEASE
August 7, 2013

DIRECTOR
Rawson Marshall Thurber

STUDIO(S)
Warner Bros. Pictures,
New Line Cinema

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 50 minutes







STARS
***1/2









REVIEW:

After the success of the hilarious 2011 comedy "Horrible Bosses," it was almost inevitable to reunite some of the cast members again for another R rated comedy.  "We're The Millers" reunites Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudekis as a stripper and a pot dealer who pose as a family, along with Emma Roberts and Will Poulter, in order to smuggle weed out of Mexico back into the States so in return they can receive $100,000.  While the film isn't exactly intelligent or original, it is a very funny film depending on the type of mindset you have upon walking into the theater.  A lot of the jokes and scenes hit very hard and produce major laughs almost consistently.  The acting for the most part is very good, especially from the four leads.  To top it off, director Rawson Marshall Thurber has a very strong hold on his actors when it comes to working on comedies.  All in all, if you're looking for a stupid, raunchy, and very funny comedy that is a nice 2 hour escape from the world, then introduce yourself to "We're The Millers" and turn off your brain in order to have a good time while watching it.





PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

Thor: The Dark World

Getaway

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug

300: Rise of an Empire

MINI-REVIEW: Prince Avalanche

MOVIE
Prince Avalanche

CAST
Paul Rudd, Emile Hirsch

RATING
R

RELEASE
August 9, 2013

DIRECTOR
David Gordon Green

STUDIO
Magnolia Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 33 minutes






STARS
***1/4







REVIEW:

The idea of road construction for a movie doesn't sound very interesting from the get-go, yet writer/director David Gordon Green makes "Prince Avalanche" work with two interesting characters in this setting.  These two characters are played by Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch, and their connection in the film is that Rudd is dating Hirsch's sister, who is never seen once throughout the film and adds to the mystery between their relationship.  Gordon Green is probably best known for directing the 2008 stoner comedy "Pineapple Express," and while both films are pretty different from one another, they are equal as movies in terms of ranking out of four stars.  The thing that makes this film pop is the chemistry between Rudd and Hirsch, who bicker like a married couple, yet in some scenes get along like two brothers.  Gordon Green's script and direction are fine, but the humor is fairly dry and sometimes doesn't hit very well.  Overall, "Prince Avalanche" is a good movie with two great leads and a funny enough script that makes it an enjoyable hour and a half.

REWIND REVIEW: Mud

MOVIE
Mud

CAST
Matthew McConaughey,
Tye Sheridan

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
April 26, 2013

DIRECTOR
Jeff Nichols

STUDIO(S)
Lionsgate,
Roadside Attractions

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 10 minutes







STARS
****






REVIEW:

It's sad when some of the finest movies of a particular year get thrown into theaters and don't really do a lot of business or generate a lot of buzz.  "Mud" is a prime example of just that for this year.  This film tells multiple stories at once, with the main story involving two boys who find a mysterious man named Mud on an island and help him get to the woman whom he lost years prior.  Here is a movie that combines "Stand By Me," and adds a romantic subplot, plus a mysterious character into it, and that overall makes a fantastic movie.  Every performance here is top notch, with the standouts clearly being Matthew McConaughey and Tye Sheridan.  Jeff Nichols' direction and original script are fantastic, and the cinematography from Adam Stone is gorgeous.  Overall, "Mud" is a gripping, engaging, smart, and all around fantastic indie gem that is definitely deserving of a watch.  There's a reason why this film currently has a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and is considered by many, including myself, as being on of the best movies of the year.

MINI-REVIEW: The Smurfs 2 3D

MOVIE
The Smurfs 2

CAST
Neil Patrick Harris,
Hank Azaria

RATING
PG

RELEASE
July 31, 2013

DIRECTOR
Raja Gosnell

STUDIO(S)
Columbia Pictures,
Sony Pictures Animation

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 45 minutes






STARS
**3/4







REVIEW:

I don't get what it is, but there's something about "The Smurfs" that I like.  I mean, these films have all of the qualities of a bad kids series, yet for some reason I find them tolerable.  However, there's no denying that "The Smurfs 2" was made just to get some cash from the parents of teeny tiny children who loved the first one and will eat any bad kids movie up like Nutella.  Watching this with the mindset of a child, along with having my young cousin sitting right next to me while watching it, I was having a good time.  It's not a fantastic kids film by any means, but it is worth a rental and does have some enjoyable moments overall.  If you were expecting a detailed review on this movie, I apologize, but this is all I could really come up with.  Smurfing out!




PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

One Direction: This Is Us

Free Birds

The Lego Movie

Frozen

Walking With Dinosaurs: The 3D Movie

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2

REWIND REVIEW: Scary Movie 5

MOVIE
Scary Movie 5

CAST
Ashley Tisdale, Simon Rex

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
April 12, 2013

DIRECTOR
Malcolm D. Lee

STUDIO
Dimension Films

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 26 minutes






STARS
**1/2








REVIEW:

I gotta be perfectly honest here: I am a big fan of the first two "Scary Movies."  They might not be great movies, or even great spoof movies for the matter, but they do make me laugh a lot, that's for sure.  "Scary Movie 3" and "Scary Movie 4" were funny in spots, but they didn't have the charm that the Wayans brothers put into the original two.  So the idea that a fifth "Scary Movie" was coming out not only seven years after the fourth one, but also without the series' lead Anna Farris, wasn't too pleasing for the mind in all honesty.  After watching the film, I gotta say, I laughed more than I expected to.  It's not a hilarious movie by any means, or is it a great film in general, but I was entertained and surprisingly didn't hate it overall.  The acting might not be great and the story is as predictable as any spoof movie can possibly be, but it is a funny enough film to mildly recommend.  Keep in warning, however, to enjoy this film you must lower your expectations and expect an incredibly stupid movie.  I mean, come on, do you really think that "Scary Movie 5" has the potential to be this year's Oscar darling?

REVIEW: The World's End

MOVIE
The World's End

CAST
Simon Pegg, Nick Frost

RATING
R

RELEASE
August 23, 2013

DIRECTOR
Edgar Wright

STUDIO
Focus Features

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 49 minutes







STARS
****











REVIEW:

What started out as nothing more than a joke made in an interview became something that has given fanboys a reason to be excited once again.  Sure they had the big superhero and fantasy films to look forward to, but nothing could compare to the "Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy."  The third, and possibly last, film in this unorthodox series of movies is entitled "The World's End."  After fighting zombies and insane murderers, the team of director/co-writer Edgar Wright, co-writer/star Simon Pegg, and star Nick Frost's next threat is alien robots of all things.  Having said that, the film's story itself is a metaphor for living in the world of nostalgia and hometowns always being different upon returning to them as adults.  "The World's End" is funny as hell, sharply written by Wright and Pegg, and very touching, though also pretty polarizing when the final 20 minutes of the film begin.  Nevertheless, it is a very satisfying conclusion to "The Cornetto Trilogy" and will leave eager fans happy and with a sweet taste in their mouths and minds.

On June 22, 1990, five friends who just graduated high school attempt to complete a pub crawl in their hometown of Newton Haven known as "The Golden Mile."  Each friend attempts to drink 12 pints from 12 pubs starting from The First Post and ending at The World's End.  Unfortunately, they don't finish the crawl, and the men move on with their lives.  That is, except for group leader Gary King.  King is living in the past and wants to regain some nostalgia by bringing the old gang back together once again.  However when the five gentlemen return to Newton Haven, things aren't as they seem.  Sure enough, the entire town has become alien robots who want to conquer planet Earth.  The only thing that could possibly help them get out of the town alive is finishing the pub crawl and getting to The World's End.

As with "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" before, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg have written a dynamically hilarious and smart script.  Every single joke, including the subtle ones, hit the audience with full force and produce strong belly laughs consistently.  Unlike the first two films, however, "The World's End" is far more touching and emotionally moving than one would expect with a movie about friends on a bar crawl trying to fight off robot aliens.  There are lots of messages involving friendship and living in the past that are really engaging, and to me further enhance the film.  The one thing that may split people who see this movie is the final 20 minutes.  Without spoiling anything, all I'll say is that it's a very different ending than "Shaun" and "Hot Fuzz," but me personally I loved that about it.  Overall, Wright and Pegg's script was sharp, hilarious, and very touching at times.

Simon Pegg gives possibly his best performance to date as Gary King.  King, unlike Shaun from "Shaun of the Dead" and Nicholas Angel from "Hot Fuzz," is somewhat of a despicable character, yet you love him as much, possibly even more, in this film than in any other film he's been in.  Also performing a baton-switch type of role is Nick Frost as Gary's once right hand man, Andy Knightley.  Frost's Andy is pretty much the straight man in the film, that is until the final half hour.  As someone who usually plays the lovable idiot in films, Frost is fantastic getting out of his comfort zone and doing something entirely different for him.

Talking about everyone else in the film would just be constantly repeating myself, so I will say one thing that pertains to every single person in the film: everyone is awesome and hilarious in their own way in the movie, especially the six leads.  I give strong props to Pegg and Frost for playing characters that are polar opposites to their characters in the previous Cornetto films.  Actors in general though need a strong director who can get the best performances out of them.  Luckily for the actors, they had exactly that with Edgar Wright.

Ever since I saw "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" back in 2010, I was instantly in love with Edgar Wright.  There's a lot to love about his eye for making movies, particularly his fast style of editing as featured in all of his previous films.  Wright has never been better here, and you can tell that there was nothing but passion put into this movie.  As someone who wants to be a filmmaker when I grow up, Wright's vision shows that creativity and originality can not only prove that there are still unique and fresh filmmakers out there, but he also inspires people like me to write more original stories like this.

"The World's End" is something of a revelation compared to many summer flicks that have come out in recent memory.  Almost every single joke hits you like a bullet to the chest, and from your chest spews out huge belly-laughs that carry on into the next joke.  Every actor in the film, particularly Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, are hilarious and just great all around.  Edgar Wright's direction is pitch perfect and further proves how fantastic of a director he is.  To top it all off, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's script is not only hilarious and original, but also surprisingly touching.  People might have some issues with the final 20 minutes because of how different it is compared to the other Cornetto movies, but let me just say that I believe it ended the trilogy very well.  "The World's End" is hilarious, touching, original, and one of the summer's best movies.  In the month of August where so many bad movies usually come out, it's nice to end it off with the potentially final film in The Cornetto Trilogy.






Me with "The World's End" director/co-writer Edgar Wright and star Nick Frost after a special roundtable interview for the film on July 31, 2013!!

REVIEW: Jobs

MOVIE
Jobs

CAST
Ashton Kutcher,
Dermot Mulroney

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
August 16, 2013

DIRECTOR
Joshua Michael Stern

STUDIO
Open Road Films

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 7 minutes






STARS
**









REVIEW:

It's probably fair to say that the best and most captivating of the new Steve Jobs biopic "Jobs" is the first five minutes of it.  In these five minutes, we see Steve Jobs, played by "That 70 Show" star Ashton Kutcher dawning old age makeup as he's introducing the iPod to the world for the first time.  There's something about the way it's edited and how Kutcher channels Jobs in this particular scene that makes you expect more greatness to come after that.  Sadly, a boring, shallow, and overall average movie comes instead, and what could have been great turned into something you could find on Lifetime.  "Jobs" might have quite possibly the best performance of Ashton Kutcher's career thus far, but as a whole, this is just an average movie.

There's only one thing to really praise about this film, and that is Ashton Kutcher's performance.  Kutcher in this film shows how much of a great dramatic actor he has the potential to be, and the way he embodies the role of Steve Jobs is pretty dead on.  In almost every scene he's in, Kutcher owns it and gives a powerful and believable enough performance.  The truth about the movie is that there aren't any bad performances present, but at the same time they aren't really worth talking about other than Kutcher's.  The main problem with the film is the screenplay, which is pretty much the Dollar Store version of "The Social Network."

Screenwriter Matt Whiteley basically takes the life story of Steve Jobs and makes it as dull and boring as a Lifetime TV special.  Not only that, but he makes Steve Jobs a really despicable person overall.  That might have been how he was in real life, but here, Jobs is portrayed as a pompous, selfish, and cruel character whom you don't want to see succeed at all.  Plus, the "comedy" thrown in the film never worked and mostly relied on making fat jokes through Josh Gad's character.  If the movie had a better script, then this might have been a better film.  Director Joshua Michael Stern does an amateur-ish job at directing this film.  I mean, it wasn't awful directing, but it could have been a lot better as well.  Not much else to say about him.

"Jobs," instead of going out and telling the story of Steve Jobs' rise to fame in style, instead gets watered down into a 2 hour soap opera that's never groundbreaking or great.  Ashton Kutcher is the only thing worth really praising about, because he gives possibly the best performance of his career thus far.  Aside from that, the script is dull and makes Steve Jobs out to be a really cruel character, the direction is amateurish, and the film overall is a Dollar Store's "The Social Network."  If you really want to see this film, then just wait for it on DVD.  "Jobs" could have been something great, but instead it's just a mediocre biopic that is nothing more than an easy way to burn two hours away.

MINI-REVIEW: The Wolverine 3D

MOVIE
The Wolverine

CAST
Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
July 26, 2013

DIRECTOR
James Mangold

STUDIO
20th Century Fox

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 6 minutes





STARS
**








REVIEW:

Sue me, I kinda liked "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."  I know it's not a great movie, has the best acting, and doesn't have a strong script, but I still had fun with it and thought Hugh Jackman was great as always as the title character.  Having said that, I also wasn't that intrigued in another "Wolverine" movie in the first place.  The character might be awesome and just an all around badass, but there hasn't been a movie about him that has been at least as good as the first two "X-Men" films, along with "First Class."  Unfortunately, that streak hasn't stopped yet as "The Wolverine" just isn't a good movie.  Some of the action sequences are fun, one or two of the big twists in the film are clever, and Hugh Jackman is great as always as Wolverine, but the film suffers from being pretty generic, having very little substance, and just overall being nothing more than a generic superhero film.

This is a summer where we got both "Iron Man 3" and "Man of Steel," which are both great movies in my opinion.  So to have something like this come out and ruin the good superhero movie streak is saddening.  I should also mention that the script really tries to hammer in the japanese "honor" system to much, and all of the female performances just aggravated me.  The one big reason why you should see this movie is because of the mid-credit scene, which is better than the entire film.  Still, you can probably find that scene on YouTube, so what's the point of going to see this movie?  Overall, "The Wolverine" is a clunky, generic, and dull superhero movie that just happens to feature cool action scenes and a great Hugh Jackman performance.  If you were waiting for a film that does the character of Wolverine justice, you're gonna have to keep waiting, because this isn't it.





PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

Anchorman: The Legend Continues

The Mortal Instruments: 
City of Bones

Paranoia

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Gravity

Thor: The Dark World

MINI-REVIEW: Pacific Rim 3D

MOVIE
Pacific Rim

CAST
Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
July 12, 2013

DIRECTOR
Guillermo Del Toro

STUDIO
Warner Bros. Pictures

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 11 minutes






STARS
***1/2








REVIEW:

Nothing speaks to both nerds and testosterone fueled guys more than huge ass robots and alien monsters kicking the crap out of each other.  Why "Pacific Rim" tanked at the Box Office is a mystery to me, because it has all of the elements of a great summer popcorn flick: action, comedy, CGI, and 3D.  Adding Guillermo Del Toro, the director of the "Hellboy" movies and "Pans Labyrinth" to that equation just makes it a whole lot better.  And frankly, this is a lot better than many of the big budget movies that have come out recently, including "Oblivion" and "White House Down."  The main thing that makes this film superior to other big budget flicks is that it has a lot of originality in it.  The film's story is entirely original and from the minds of Del Toro and co-writer Travis Beacham.  Thanks to the originality of the film, as well as some of the best CGI/3D you'll see this year, "Pacific Rim" is a high-octaine blast from start to finish.

The one problem that I personally had with the film is that it's predictable and kind of formulaic.  Don't get me wrong, the story is still very original, but there are things that happen to the characters and in the plot itself that make it almost like a typical action film, which upset me.  That, however, was only a tiny part of this 131 minute movie.  The acting is fine, the action is awesome and badass, and even the comedy of the movie actually worked, specifically from Charlie Day's character in the film.  "Pacific Rim" might be predictable at times, but it is still a kick ass and fun summer movie overall.  If you want to see big robots fighting alien monsters in the dystopian future from the vision of the guy that did "Hellboy," then go see this movie before it's out of theaters.  Seriously, this is a movie that must be seen on the big screen in 3D.





PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

Jobs

Seventh Son

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

The Grandmaster

Captain Phillips

Gravity

REVIEW: Fruitvale Station

MOVIE
Fruitvale Station

CAST
Michael B. Jordan,
Melonie Diaz

RATING
R

RELEASE
July 12, 2013 (NY/LA)
July 26, 2013 (WIDE)

DIRECTOR
Ryan Coogler

STUDIO
The Weinstein Company

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 24 minutes





STARS
****









REVIEW:

Death is tragic, regardless of the age.  However, one's death could be more tragic than the other depending on the situation.  Oscar Grant, played ferociously by Michael B. Jordan in the new film "Fruitvale Station," was shot in the back by a police officer in the early hours of New Year's Day in 2009 over a misunderstanding and sadly didn't survive.  Since then, there have been many rallies and foundations created to honor the memory of the 22 year old father/boyfriend/son.  Unlike most films based on tragic events, "Fruitvale Station" depicts the last 24 hours of Grant's life, letting the audience get to know him as a person before he meets his fatal demise.  The result is an 84 minute emotional and captivating film that features some of the best performances of 2013 thus far, as well as a stellar directorial debut from Ryan Coogler.

Michael B. Jordan's performance is something of a revelation here.  Throughout this movie, the audience gets to know this character who, like the two main leads in "Romeo & Juliet," unknowingly is about to meet his demise.  Aside from two heartbreakingly desperate moments on his part, Jordan's portrayal of Oscar makes him come off as a really likable character.  Oscar is a loving husband, devoted father, and someone who is just trying to do right for his family.  So when the big climax comes to a start when Oscar and his friends hop on the BART, you kind of have this feeling inside hoping that Oscar's gonna make it, despite knowing that he isn't.  Nevertheless, Michael B. Jordan is incredible in this movie and definitely deserves all of the praise he's been getting.

Melonie Diaz plays Oscar's loyal yet frustrated girlfriend/mother of his daughter, Sophina, and her performance is also great in the film.  Diaz's portrayal of Sophina is a complex one, because her character is difficult to enjoy because of how restricting and cold she can be to Oscar.  However, there are also several moments with her where she just simply breaks down and metaphorically shows that even the strongest of walls can easily come tumbling down.  Octavia Spencer does a great job as well as Oscar's mother.  There's a scene in the movie where Octavia's character Wanda has to let her son go despite loving him so.  Of all of the film's characters, she's probably the strongest of them all, despite breaking down at the end to the news of Oscar's death.  Jordan, Diaz, and Spencer give amazing performances, and definitely will be remembered by the year's end.

I give strong props to Ryan Coogler for bringing this sad and moving story to the big screen.  This is a movie that deserves to be seen and should be considered a wake-up call for the world.  Sure, there are shootings every day, with one of the more notable ones recently being of Trayvon Martin, but rarely are we ever able to get to know these victims on a personal level and weep when they meet their demise.  Michael B. Jordan is stellar in this movie, as are Melonie Diaz and Octavia Spencer.  Coogler's script and direction tell this story with the eye of a professional filmmaker and lets us in to Grant's tragic yet beautiful life.  It's awful how this man lost his life and left behind a girlfriend and a daughter, and the ending to this movie sums that up with perfection.  "Fruitvale Station" is possibly the most powerful and effective of 2013 thus far, and is a must-see for moviegoers everywhere.



PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

August: Osage County

12 Years A Slave

Captain Phillips

Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

Black Nativity

Lee Daniels' The Butler

REVIEW: Lee Daniels' The Butler

MOVIE
Lee Daniels' The Butler

CAST
Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
August 16, 2013

DIRECTOR
Lee Daniels

STUDIO
The Weinstein Company

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 12 minutes








STARS
****









REVIEW:

Nobody was closer, yet more distant from American politics than Cecil Gaines.  Gaines, who in reality was known as Eugene Allen, served eight Presidents, from Truman to Reagan, from 1952 to 1986.  Between all of that time in The White House, times were changing for African Americans, along with the rest of America.  In "Lee Daniels' The Butler," audiences experience The White House from Cecil's perspective, and through that we get a fantastic movie.  Lee Daniels, the director of the critically lauded "Precious," gives us a story that, while sometimes a little slow, flows and is always engaging.  "The Butler" is combines the racism of "The Help" and the chronological storytelling method "Forrest Gump to make a well acted, well-written, surprisingly funny, and moving biopic that is definitely something that deserves to be seen.

Forest Whitaker gives an emotionally powerful performance as Cecil Gaines.  Throughout this film, the audience sees the terms of eight presidents from Cecil's eyes and how that affects his personal life at home.  There are plenty of scenes featuring Whitaker just giving it all he has and just further proving that he's one of the finest actors in Hollywood.  Oprah Winfrey also turns in a powerful performance as Cecil's alcoholic yet supporting wife Gloria.  Her performance isn't as superb as Whitaker, but she is very believable in the film and there are one or two scenes where it shows how talented Oprah as an actress is.  Both performances though are great and the actors shine brightly in the scenes that they share together.

Of the entire supporting cast of actors, ranging from Cuba Gooding Jr. to Robin Williams, the only one worth talking about is David Oyelowo as Cecil and Gloria's first born son Louis.  His performance in this movie is something that shows off how talented an actor can be if he's given the right director and the right script to work with.  The other films he's been in, including "Jack Reacher," didn't give him the right material to work off of, thus ruining the overall performance.  Don't get me wrong, all of the performances in the film are great, it's just that, other than the three actors I have mentioned, the supporting cast has very little screen time.  In fact, all of the presidents in the film have about 5 minutes of screen time each, giving us very little time to appreciate the performances overall.  Everyone in the film is really good, but it's only Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, and David Oyelowo who truly shine and give stellar performances.

From the trailer of this film, "Lee Daniels' The Butler" looked like nothing more than cookie-cutter "Oscar bait," meaning that everything looked hammered in and was made only to get awards.  Luckily, Lee Daniels had something else up his sleeve and made a movie that is emotional, moving, and a lot funnier than you'd expect.  Every performance is great, particularly Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, and David Oyelowo, despite most of them not lasting more than five minutes.  The direction from Lee Daniels clearly shows the eye of a true filmmaker and further proves why he was nominated for Best Director back in 2010. 

The script from Danny Strong, who wrote the Sarah Palin HBO movie "Game Change," is very sharp and has some solid jokes placed in throughout.  People may complain at how fast the film goes through the significant moments that occurred during Cecil's 32 year presence at the White House, but the thing about that is that the film was about Cecil and his family, not about everything around him.  That's why I threw out the "Forrest Gump" reference earlier: this movie focuses on one main character and the changing world around him from his perspective.  Overall, "Lee Daniels' The Butler" is a all around fantastic depiction of one man, who happened to work in The White House, and his experiences as the times were changing.  The trailers didn't even do this film proper justice.

MINI-REVIEW: Red 2

MOVIE
Red 2

CAST
Bruce Willis, John Malkovich

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
July 19, 2013

DIRECTOR
Dean Parisot

STUDIO
Summit Entertainment
(Lionsgate)

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 56 minutes







STARS
***







REVIEW:

Back in 2010, I was lucky enough to be one of the first to see, and love, the film "Red."  For those who have been reading my stuff since then, you may remember that I had "Red" in my top 10 of that year as well.  So it might not come as so much of a surprise that I was pretty excited to see "Red 2" from the moment it was announced.  After seeing the film, I'm going to be perfectly honest: it was a fun movie.  It might have had its flaws, including a somewhat weak villain and a lack of humor that the first one had, but I enjoyed myself and had a good time.  It might not be as great as the first "Red" was, but this sequel could have been a lot worse.

Everyone did a good job in the film.  Aside from Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, and other returning cast members giving solid performances, newcomers Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Byung Hun Lee are perform very well and turn in solid performances as well.  The story, while predictable for the most part, is enjoyable and helps get past the dialogue, which is sadly not up to par with the first film's script.  "Red 2" isn't the sequel that I personally would have wanted after the awesomeness that was the first movie, but then again, it could have been a lot worse.  Having said that, I would still give my money to see a third "Red" film if it potentially gets made.



PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

Prisoners

Saving Mr. Banks

Rush

Captain Phillips

Ender's Game

The Counselor

Escape Plan

REWIND REVIEW: Trance

MOVIE
Trance

CAST
James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel

RATING
R

RELEASE
April 5, 2013

DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle

STUDIO
Fox Searchlight Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 41 minutes





STARS
****







REVIEW:

"Trance" is, without a single doubt, the single most mesmerizing film I've seen in all of 2013 so far.  This film comes from the vision of master director Danny Boyle of "127 Hours" and "Slumdog Millionaire," and all you need to know about the story of this film is that it's about a man using the power of hypnotism to reclaim a memory that will help him find a stolen painting.  Saying anything else, or even recommending you to watch the trailers, ESPECIALLY the Red Band trailer, is a crime to the first-time viewing of this film for someone.  Like "Inception," "Trance" is like a movie's way of giving the brain a mental puzzle.  This film will keep you guessing and guessing until it finally ends, in which you just sit back and try to take it all in.

Atop from its engaging guessing game of a story, the script is top-notch, the acting is stellar, and the visual effects, particularly one shot that is sadly spoiled in the film's red band trailer, are a marvel to behold.  "Trance" overall is smart, polarizing, engaging, brutal, and downright brilliant.  Some may feel differently than I did, but honestly, this is just an experience that deserves to be had, especially those who are either fans of "Inception" or of Danny Boyle's previous work.  Be warned, though, this is completely different than stories involving gameshows, love, or hands caught in boulders.

REWIND REVIEW: Side Effects

MOVIE
Side Effects

CAST
Jude Law, Rooney Mara

RATING
R

RELEASE
February 8, 2013

DIRECTOR
Steven Soderbergh

STUDIO
Open Road Films

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 46 minutes







STARS
****







REVIEW:

What a fascinating film this is.  "Side Effects" comes from the mind of writer Scott Z. Burns and the eye of acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh.  In short, the story of this film revolves around a woman and her psychiatrist whose lives change when a new drug called "Ablixa" comes into their lives.  That's all that can really be said without giving anything away.  In short, this movie is fantastic.  Every scene is more compelling than the last, which is a pretty hard feat to accomplish.  All of the acting, particularly from Jude Law and Rooney Mara, is top notch and of caliber.  There are twists and turns around every corner that just keep you guessing until the end.  Why this film was released in February is a mystery to me, because, had this film been released in April or May, it might have had a stronger awards consideration, particularly from the performances and Scott Z. Burns' script.  Overall, "Side Effects" is an engaging, thrilling, and entertaining medical thriller that is definitely worth your time.