1039 replies to this topic

[S K Y F A L L]

I feel like wathing HEAT now. Good stuff, great cast and over all thrilling. I can't even seem to compare it to anything....

[x007AceOfSpades]

You can try and compare it to Ben Affleck's The Town, as there are some slight similarities between the films, but ultimately, Mann's film is much better structured and the narrative is better. That doesn't mean The Town isn't good, because it's an excellent film.

[Call Billy Bob]

Let me put it this way: when Christopher Nolan pays homage to a certain film, chances are it's a great film.(i.e., the bank heist scene in The Dark Knight)

[x007AceOfSpades]

The Judge - 2014 - 4/5 - Directed by David Dobkin - starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall

"My father is a lot of unpleasant things, but a murderer is not one of them."

 

This was initially a film I was looking forward too, but I stayed away from it after hearing from critics and fellow friends and reviewer's that it wasn't that good. The Judge is actually a pretty good film. It's not great by any standards, but it features a good story with two outstanding performances by Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall, which makes this a must see just on those two men alone. Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.) is a successful defense attorney in Chicago, an expensive one two. On the eve of a big trial he gets a call that his mother has passed away, on top of dealing with a divorce. He leaves to go home to the town of Carlinville, Indiana for his mother's funeral and reunites with his brothers Glen and Dale (Vincent D'Onofrio and Jeremy Strong, respectively) as well has his estranged father, Judge Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall) the Judge of Carlinville for over forty years.

 

Hank and Joseph don't get along at all, and in fact greatly dislike each other. However Hank and his brothers notice damage to their father's car one morning and Hank is brought into the police station after his father comes under questioning about a hit and run. Hank, knowing his father doesn't stand a chance of freedom without him, steps up to represent his father in the court of law and to prove his innocence, while prosecutor Dwight Dickam (Billy Bob Thornton) goes after Joseph with first degree murder. During this time, the father and son must put aside their difference and help each other just this one time.

 

Looking at the trailers, The Judge might come off as a court room drama, which it is to some minor extent. It really focuses on the estranged relationship between Hank and Joseph, and why they dislike each other, and how all it was, was a son just wanting to be accepted by his father. It's a pretty emotional film with two performances by Downey Jr. and Duvall that are more than excellent. Robert Duvall is ever, the brilliant actor and I'll be damned if his performance as Judge Joseph Palmer isn't one of his finest. It was also nice to see Robert Downey Jr. turn in a performance and shake off the cob webs from Marvel and Iron Man. For once I was actually believing Downey Jr to be Hank Palmer and not himself playing Tony Stark. One of his best performances in recent memory and him and Duvall are dynamite together. Their chemistry is outstanding and they feed off of each other so well.

 

Though it's a court room drama, it's more a of a family for the reasons I've stated in my previous paragraph. However, it is without it's faults. Some of the characters are very underdeveloped and we only find out little tidbits of information about them and they turn out to be nothing more than just filler so we can focus on Downey Jr. and Duvall more. There's also a few uncessary sub-plots in the film that try to focus on the character of Hank, such as his divorce with is wife and his old girlfriend from high school, Samantha (Vera Farmiga). Ultimately they do explain a bit about Hank, but don't do much with the overall film, and slow it down more than anything, along with the cliches you can see coming a mile away.

 

However, this wasn't a bad film entirely. There are faults in the film, but for the most part, it is very well made and a surprising film to see. It is indeed longer than it should be, but it's written well, and acted great. Why this got horrible reviews, I'll never know, but the film's IMDb score should let you know. In the end, The Judge turned out to be a very good film with fantastic performances to remember.

 

"This family's a f****** Picasso painting."

 

John Wick - 2014 - 5/5 - Directed by Chad Stahelski and David Leitch - starring Keanu Reeves and Michael Nyqvist

"Yeah, I'm thinking I'm back."

 

Sylvester Stallone and Gareth Evans, eat your heart out. This is a real action film. It's by far the most fun I've ever had with an action film since possibly Dredd two years ago. It's fast paced, it's bloody, it's violent, it has a straight forward story, and one of the coolest, calmest, and most collective characters in some time; John Wick. Guys... I'm thinking Keanu Reeves is back.

 

John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is regarded by many to be the best hitman there is. He leaves the game to settle down with his wife, until she passes away due to cancer. She leaves him a gift, a puppy named Daisy to cope with his loss and to gain a friend. One night, John is attacked by three Russian men, one of which is Iosef (Alfie Allen) who kills his puppy and steals his 1969 Boss 429 Ford Mustang. After asking around, John finds out that Iosef is the son of the Russian New York Mafia boss, Viggo (Michael Nyqvist). Realizing his son made a huge mistake, Viggo tries to smooth things under with John, but it goes sour. Viggo then puts a contract on John for two million dollars, all while John Wick goes out for blood.

 

Sounds like your average revenge thriller, I know, and it sounds like contradicting myself after what I wrote in my review for The Equalizer. There's something different in this gem of a film that is John Wick, and that it's more than just an average action action film or revenge thriller. John Wick was a man who was just seemingly mourning his deceased wife, but still finding something worth living for in his puppy. That's what he liked more than anything. Oh and that sweet Mustang too. So if your puppy was killed and your car was stolen, wouldn't go out seeking blood, killing guys to send a message, because they messed up your retirement? You're damn right, never mess with a retired man and his car and puppy.

 

John Wick is a ridiculously fast paced action film. Once the excitement begins, it just keeps going, but it still allows breathing room for the main character of John Wick, along with the secondary characters and the overall plot. Unlike The Raid 2 which I felt was longer, much longer than it should've been and featured action scenes I felt I saw in the first film, John Wick is highly engaging. I felt The Expendables 3 did a poof job making you connect to it's characters or it (thin) plot and redundant action scenes, but here you completely get who John Wick. You understand what he goes through. His violence is justifiable: THEY KILLED HIS PUPPY AND TOOK HIS CAR

 

It's been a while since I've seen Keanu in a film, and one that was bad a**. The last thing I remember him in was Scott Derrickson's The Day The Earth Stood Still remake. This film is Keanu Reeves kicking more a** than he did in Speed or The Matrix Trilogy. He's more than this "man with nothing to lose". While it may seem that the characters of John Wick and Robert McCall are similar, I find Wick to the far more interesting one. Not to mention, We see John Wick getting beat up, getting shot and stabbed, something we didn't see with the superhuman that Robert McCall was. John Wick is a bad a**, yet he's vulnerable, he's humanized, and I was able to believe that.

 

The film also features a supporting cast that includes Michael Nyqvist who usually plays villains for Hollywood, but this is probably the best Hollywood villain he's played and the scene of him describing John Wick as "killing three men in a bar with a pencil" was great. Not to mention Keanu Reeves is fifty years old, and he kicks more a** than action stars of today. Willem Dafoe plays a fellow hitman and mentor to John Wick in small role but it was cool to see Dafoe in an action film.

The rest of the cast includes Adrianne Palicki, John Leguizamo, Lance Reddick, David Patrick Kelly and Ian McShane. Also worth mentioning the Nine Inch Nails/Trent Reznor-esque soundtrack/score that was present in the film that really made the action scenes all the more enjoyable and really propelled the film.

 

Now on to the action scenes. Yes, they're pretty much consisted of gun-play and hand-to-hand combat, but they were shot and choreographed very very well. Being directed by former stunt choreographers and coordinators, David Leitch and Chad Stahelski, they understand how an action scene should look and how it should be presented. Too man films rely on being over repetitive as well as the never ending usage of the shaky cam fetish and nauseating cuts with the editing. Here, everything flows. They let the action scenes speak for themselves and just let it roll. John Wick also features quite possibly one of the best nightclub shootouts that rivals the one featured in Michael Mann's Collateral. The action is brutal and unforgiving, and just edge of your seat enjoyable.

 

Interstellar was a cinematic experience (in IMAX) that I'll never forget and was outstanding in that right, but goddamn was John Wick a blast, and one of the best action film/theater experiences. I haven't had this much fun watching an action film since Dredd and hell, even Skyfall. Yes it's crazy that I'm giving this five full stars when I probably shouldn't but I'm dead serious. This is one of the best action films in recent memory and has Keanu Reeves kicking more a** than he ever has and just having a blast.

 

John Wick kicks a***. If you're a fan of action films and Keanu Reeves, do yourself a favor and see John Wick!

 

"John Wick isn't exactly the boogeyman. He was the one you sent to kill the f****** boogeyman."

 

Ouija - 2014 - 0/5 - Directed by Stiles White - starring Olivia Cooke and Ana Coto

"It's only a game."

 

Friendly reminder that it's horror film trash like Ouija and Annabelle that happened to get wide releases and make bank and qualify as being scary to young adults and teenagers, who couldn't tell a real horror film apart from their ass. Now that I got that out of the way, I usually find the whole Ouija board game to be a load of S***. I remember when I was kid I would see my then teenager sister playing the game with all her friends. It looks boring, but hey, what do I know? Anyways, I'm still trying to figure out why the producers thought it would be a good idea to take a board game like this and turn it into a movie. Remember Battleship? Of course you do!

 

The opens up with two young girls, friends Debbie and Laine playing the Ouija board game, flash forward to present day and Debbie (Shelley Hennig) is playing the board game by herself, only to feel unnerved. She tosses the board game into the fireplace before going outside to talk to Laine (Olivia Cooke). Debbie tells her that she's fine and that she's going to spend the rest of the night at home, and Laine takes off. Later that night, Debbie goes upstairs to find the board still intact, and she hangs herself. Days pass, and Laine seeks answers as to why, so her and her friends grab the Ouija board and start playing, and as usual, S*** happens.

 

Like Annabelle is the same type of evil spirits/possession horror film that has plagued the cinema for several years now, and there's nothing new about them. It's nearly an hour and a half, and also like Annabelle it goes absolutely nowhere. Of course there's jump scares, but you see them coming a mile away, thus killing the surprise for them when the actually do happen. It's extremely laughably bad, and offers nothing and just further proves that these types of "horror films" are what studios want.

 

Where did all the talent and creativity go with horror?

 

"How are you supposed to talk to someone using a board game?"

 

Hercules - 2014 - 3/5 - Directed by Brett Ratner - starring Dwayne Johnson and Ian McShane

"I AM HERCULES"

 

So this is the other film (the first one was Lucy) that opened up the day before my birthday. I ended up seeing Lucy instead. I followed this film during it's production via Dwayne Johnson's twitter and instagram. It seemed pretty cool, until I saw the trailer. The trailer will market this film as some over the top, summer blockbuster that's too serious. In fact, Brett Ratner's Hercules isn't that serious. It's fun when it's needed to be. It's hammy when it's needed to be. It kicks a** when it's needed to be. Ultimately the trailers marketed this film wrong. It's a decent action film, and Dwayne Johnson really embraces the character of Hercules. Dwayne Johnson plays the legendary Hercules, the demigod-son of Zeus who leads a band mercenaries completing various tasks for gold. Hercules and his men are approached to lead and train the armies of Thrace for Lord Cotys (John Hurt) to defend their kingdom. Hercules accepts and trains the armies and leads them into battle, only to eventually find out that Cotys isn't the honorable and honest man Hercules was led to believe.

 

What I really liked the most about the film was Dwayne Johnson's portrayal of Hercules and the overall character himself in the film. Dwayne Johnson may look silly, being this hulking stature with a funny wig on his head, but he's actually very enjoyable in the role. He's funny, charming, and all around bad a** as Hercules. The character itself is the son of Zeus, yet chooses to follow his own destiny and live his life as a mortal man, shaming his father and the legend he was supposed to become. It shows him as being a vulnerable character, until the very end of the film when he fully embraces the man he is to be. It was good to see some characterization as well humanization to Hercules, and Johnson is great in the character, on top of being highly ambitious.

 

Hercules isn't without it's faults though, as some of the characters feel very underdeveloped and just filler, not to mention there are several scenes in the film that just plod along instead of moving the forward with the pace. The action scenes are very well done, but the Thracian war sequence goes on for far too long, much longer than it should've been. The effects in certain areas feel too computer-y and almost laughable. Irina Shayk however does nothing in the film, and honestly, doesn't display any sort of acting ability, other than being another model turned actress. However, I do appraise the film for mixing in humor in the right moments during scenes, specifically the action scenes, as it breaks the ice from trying to be "too serious". The chemistry between Hercules and his mercenaries was good, and Ian McShane really shines as a friend and mentor to Hercules.

 

For me, Hercules is an unintentional B-Movie, but it's still very good and highly entertaining. Think of Dwayne Johnson's first leading role, The Scorpion King. It's just incredibly hammy, but again, enjoyable. Brett Ratner isn't the greatest director of all time, but manages to make this more entertaining and fun than say Clash Of The Titans. It's worth a watch if you're willing to blow an hour and forty minutes.

 

"The people need someone to look up to. They need a hero."

 

The Giver - 2014 - 2.5/5 - Directed by Phillip Noyce - starring Jeff Bridges and Brenton Thwaites

"You don't mind if I accelerate your training a bit, do you?"

 

Leave it to Hollywood to take a good book, one I liked when I was 12-13, and turn it into something esque of The Hunger Games and Divergent (The latter I have not seen.). It's been updated since it's original publication twenty-one years ago, which causes it to lose it's merit, however I did find The Giver to be not entirely bad, just simply "okay", even though it does try too hard at trying to convey emotions and events in the film. Set in 2048 in a utopian community where emotions, feelings, races, etc has been erased in favor of Sameness. It follows Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) as he is chosen to be the next Receiver Of Memory where he undergoes training with The Giver (Jeff Bridges) where he is given memories of which other people in the community do have. Memories of joy, love and war, memories no one know. Soon after, Jonas learns more about the past life of generations before him and that this utopian society he lives in feels more like a dystopian society.

 

For what it's worth, I enjoyed the film more than I thought I was going to, after seeing initial trailers and such. However, it is still far from being a faithful adaption. I didn't like changing the age of the main character from twelve to nearly eighteen, as it felt that the innocence of child going through these painful memory recieving's was just thrown at the window. Not to mention there's impressive technology, which was a given since the film was released in 2014, you can't have it look like something else, as it will bore audiences. When Jonas experiences War and real pain, he just simply leaves The Given and sets his own agenda, whereas the book, he leaves, but eventually goes back to gain more experience with pain.

 

In the book, it's the society as a whole is faulty, in the film the Chief Elder (Meryl Streep) is basically the reason memories are not permitted and her role is expanded to play out for the typical antagonist role. In the book once the memories are transferred to Jonas, they fade from The Giver, and the memory of music is never appropriately explained, but in the film it is with Rosemary (Taylor Swift) explaining music to The Giver. Pretty much the only screen time is used to showcase Swift's musical talent, as well as her lack of acting talent. And there's added relationship with Fiona (Odeya Rush) in the film, which wasn't there in the book. The third act of the film also plays out like a bad action/sci-fi film too which makes it completely laughable.

 

Now that I got that out of the way, I'm afraid there's little positives I can discuss. Other than Jeff Bridges' great performances as the Giver, I can't say much about the rest of the acting or the film for that matter of fact. In fact, now that I think about it, I'm actually quite disappointed with The Giver and what was done to the book. The more I think about it, this was Hollywood taking a good children's/young teenagers book and trying to turn it into something for teenagers and young adults and potentially attract the same crowd that flocked to see The Hunger Games and Divergent.

 

I guess it took me to discuss the changes of the book and film to finally realize how mediocre and disappointing The Giver. Weird to have a change of heart at the last minute like this, but I'm quite disappointed now. The film took good moments from the book and basically went on autopilot and became something the book never was.

 

"When people have the freedom to choose, they choose wrong. Every single time."

 

Maps To The Stars - 2014 - 5/5 - Directed by David Cronenberg - starring Julianne Moore and Mia Wasikowska

"If we don't look at things, they can make us crazy."

 

I love David Cronenberg. Honestly I do, and It'll be great to revisit him this coming year in January (along with other directors), but man was Maps To The Stars one of the most haunting, funny, and finest satirical films in recent memory. A Great satire on Hollywood and celebrities and such. It's Cronenberg with the haunting atmosphere and no body horror, but it still manages to be Cronenberg (I hope this makes sense, as I feel like I've just repeated myself.). It's just as dark and twisted as some of Cronenberg's other films, if you must.

 

Maps To The Stars begins with Agatha (Mia Wasikowska) arriving in Los Angeles and hires limousine drive, and struggling actor& writer, Jerome (Robert Pattinson) to take her to the site of Benjie Weiss (Evan Bird). She has severe burns on her face and body and takes several medications and there's a part of mystique to her. The film also follows Havana Segrand (Julianne Moore), and aging actress who constantly lives in the shadow of her much more successful mother, Clarice Taggert (Sarah Gadon). As well as the Weiss Family, Stafford (John Cusack) and Cristina (Olivia Williams) who seem to have secrets of their own, which culminates in the end of the film.

 

Maps To The Stars is a film that has characters that are from from good, and are incredibly trash, and dis-likable. Now there's films that have characters that are unlikable, yet uninteresting. Here, Bruce Wagner's screenplay perfect at showing these people for what they really are. Pieces of S***. A bit blunt right there, but it's the truth. Selfish, spoiled, and utterly shallow people in this dark satire on Hollywood and celebrities. They're ostentatious, as they go above and beyond to show to others that they're great people, and absolutely caring, when they have their own problems and secrets themselves. It seems that the story is just as shallow as the people are, but that is not completely true, I find this to be a very refreshing take on satire and a great insight at celebrities and other figures in Hollywood today.

 

Cronenberg moving away from the horror genre, specifically the body horror may seem strange, but I've been impressed with his features since doing so, and Maps To The Stars is just another great feature under his belt. When I say it's just as dark and twisted as some of his previous films, I mean that. It might not be nearly as jarring as say Videodrome, but Cronenberg has found other ways through other genres to leave his audience unnerved, just as he's done years and years prior. It's just a narrow minded, fucked up look on Hollywood from Cronenberg that is largely due in part from Wagner's script. Which leads me to say that Cronenberg and Wagner go hand in hand here as well. A strange duo, yet pull it off masterfully.

 

The acting here is fantastic with Julianne Moore giving her best performance since probably Magnolia, hell even Boogie Nights. She's that good to watch on screen and delivers a performance that will definitely get her some nominations come awards season. Mia Wasikowska is also great here as the odd-ball, yet mysterious and deranged, Agatha and she works great alongside Moore. Cusack who plays a self help guru, Stafford, is probably his best role in probably forever and plays off his own secrets as he tells people what to do and to better themselves, when he's one to talk. I enjoyed Evan Bird in this as child star Benjie Weiss, son of Stafford, who mirrors that of other child actors or are nothing more than spoiled brats (and a mirror of Justin Bieber, for me). Robert Pattinson is in it and has maybe five or six scenes, and though he seems like the only normal one in the film, he really isn't. More than solid performances from everyone in this film.

 

Maps To The Stars turned out to be one hell of a film for me, and definitely one of the years best. Where Dan Gilroy's modern masterpiece Nightcrawler showcased the character that is Los Angeles and the slight satire on the media, Cronenberg & Wagner's film showcases the city of Hollywood (in L.A.) and the satire of the people in it. One hell of a film, definitely a must see.

 

"On the stairs of Death I write your name, Liberty."

 

This Is Where I Leave You - 2014 - 3/5 - Directed by Shawn Levy - starring Jason Bateman and Tina Fey

"It's hard to see people from your past when your present is so cataclysmically screwed up."

 

This Is Where I Leave You is nothing more than your average comedy/family drama film, but still manages to be somewhat decent and funny at times. Also worth noting how I kept thinking about The Judge when watching this, as there's some slight similarities in the film, but nothing too marginally distinct. Three months after Judd Altman (Jason Bateman) walked in on his wife, Quinn (Abigail Spencer) having sex with his boss, he gets a call from his sister, Wendy (Tina Fey) that his father his passed away. The whole family gets together at their old family house and the final request that their father had was that the whole family must sit shiva, meaning they must stay for an entire week and not leave. During the time of shiva, the siblings get to catch up and go down memory lane, and they all get to be what they haven't been in years. A family.

 

The positives: Well for starters all of the characters have their own distinct personalities and the entire cast has a great chemistry between them. It's great seeing them interact like actual family members and not just actors playing family members. It did a pretty basic job on balancing out when it is needed to be dramatic and emotional and when to be funny. There's some pretty funny moments such as the three brothers smoking joints in a Jewish Temple which causes a fire alarm to go off and everyone must leave. The negatives: It was too cliche in certain spots, playing out like several family comedy/drama films that we've seen dozens of times and it feels as if This Is Where I Leave You is cut from the same mold. Though I liked that it balanced out humor and emotions, that doesn't mean the the laughs are consistent, because they aren't' There's spots that are funny, and others that are intended to be funny, but fall too short then intended. Another is that everything plays out too conveniently for the characters. Judd is getting a divorce, goes back home, meets old girlfriend, they start up that relationship again. It was just too convenient.

 

Now when I say that I found some slight similarities with The Judge, you'll know what I mean. Both deal with a main central character in this case Judd (Bateman) and Hank (Downey Jr.) returning home after a parent passes away. The mother in The Judge and the father in This Is Where I leave You and deal with the main central character rekindling with an old high school love, Penny (Rose Byrne) here, and Samantha (Vera Farmiga) in The Judge. This film is about a family that was once together, but slowly dissipated over the years coming together to re-bond, whereas The Judge is about a man who goes out of his way to get his estranged father off of a murder charge.

 

All in all, This Is Where I Leave You is much better than I had initially expected to be, but it's far from being great. It's just simply one of this "in the middle films".

 

"I think with every passing day I remember your father less as a sick, frail patient, and more of that strong, vibrant man I was married too all those years. Also, and popping like Xanax like tic-tacs too."

 

Automata - 2014 - 1.5/5 - Directed by Gabe Ibanez - starring Antonio Banderas and Robert Forster

"You have to obey me!"

 

Automata is one hell of a mess in this dystopic sci-fi thriller. It heavily borrows elements and themes and style of other, more inferior science fiction films, the biggest of which is easily the 2004 film I, Robot. Set in the year 2044, massive solar flares have made Earth's surface radioactive and greatly reduced to population to a mere 21 million (99.7% drop). Jacq Vaucan (Antonio Banderas) is an insurance agent for ROC, a company that makes robots for domestic use in households and for labor use. One night a cop, Wallace (Dylan McDermott) finds a robot that is modifying itself and shoots it. Jacq investigates and finds out that the robot was hiding parts in it, specifically a mini nuclear battery that could power itself indefinitely. Jacq goes on a search for the the creator, or rather clocksmith, who has altered the robot's core.

 

Automata really is a tough film to watch. After the first half hour or so, it goes beyond being on auto-pilot and instead becomes massively inconsistent and dreadfully slow. The first act the film has an almost Blade Runner-esque look with the whole tech-noir style, but drops it in favor of looking like something raw and gritty that you might see from Neill Blomkamp's District 9 or Elysium. Automata is basically a discount version of I, Robot. The idea of a robot thinking for itself and being it's own master is really a been there done that subject now, and this film brings nothing new to the genre at all.

 

With poor acting and uninspiring direction, there's nothing to really say about Automata. Other than to stay away from it.

 

"Jacq, dying is a part of the human natural cycle. Your life is just a span in time."

 

Transformers 4: Age Of Extinction - 2014 - Directed by Michael Bay - starring Mark Wahlberg and Stanley Tucci

"Sweetie, hand me my alien gun."

 

I was asked to go see this with some friends back in July when it had come out, and I declined, based on the track record of the previous films. Finally catching this on Blu Ray, I'm glad I didn't decide to go see in theater, as it would've been the most dreadful 165 minutes in my theater going experience. Having said that, this is only substantially better than Dark Of The Moon and Revenge Of The Fallen, thanks to the casting of Mark Wahlberg and Stanley Tucci, but Transformers: Age Of Extinction continues to follow the same mold of the previous three films, and offer nothing new to the table.

 

Set five years after the Battle Of Chicago (Dark Of The Moon) and all of humanity is afraid of the Transformers and the U.S. Military has severed ties with the Autobots. Cemetery Wind, a CIA Black Ops Unit Led by CIA Agent Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammer) and Team Leader James Savoy (Titus Welliver), Cemetery Wind, with the help of Transformer bounty Hunter, Lockdown, they track down and destroy any and all autobots. Meanwhile in Texas, Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), a single parent and struggling inventor strip the parts of an old truck with his friend Lucas (T.J. Miller) and it turns out they have come across Optimus Prime, who is in hiding. With the government behind Yeager and his daughter, Tessa (Nicola Peltz) and her boyfriend, Shane (Jack Reynor) go on the run with Optimus Prime in search of the fellow Autobots to search of the truth in the hunt against the Transformers and their technology.

 

I thought the first film was pretty enjoyable and nothing but dumb fun, but to continue onwards with that in the next two films, as well as focusing more on human drama and their problems instead of the Transformers, became the reason I pretty much dumped this franchise and never looked back. Thankfully, this film doesn't have Shia LaBeouf or his annoying parents or uninteresting sub-plots that plagued the second and third films. It introduces us to a new family, the Yeager's where Mark Wahlberg has a daughter that I find hard to believe when Wahlberg barely looks forty. Anyways, it focuses more on one main plot line, with the occasional details about some of the characters being revealed along the way.

 

Wahlberg is certainly more charismatic in the lead role than Shia LaBeouf was in three of them. It's great to have fresh faces and new blood in the franchise, and Wahlberg brings a decent quality to the film that makes it a bit more interesting. Stanley Tucci is another great positive in the film, as he's both hilarious and eccentric in role and is both good when needed to be and bad the next. He's not trying to overact and pretty much understands the hammie-ness of the film and pretty much just goes along for the ride. T.J. has maybe thirty minutes, and serves as the initial source of humor, and I enjoyed his character up until he was killed off. I also enjoy T.J. Miller is pretty everything I've seen him in and plus a good friend of mine looks just like him. The rest of the acting is on the border of passable and awful with Kelsey Grammer being passable, and Nicola Peltz being awful.

 

Now there's something that is a big problem in the Transformers films and that's the fact that seem to get longer and longer with each film. Age Of Extinction is by far the longest film in the franchise and it's definitely noticeable. Around the one hour mark I kept checking to see how much longer I had; One hour and forty-five minutes. It's a major issues as the film could've been over around the two hour mark, but instead to run around for an extra forty-minutes or so and have a massive anti-climatic finale in China. The action scenes are pretty much the same thing, and feel as if they just keep going and there's not sense of subtlety. Then again, it's Michael Bay, so that all goes out the window. It's nearly as long as Interstellar, but at least Interstellar was highly engaging throughout. Age Of Extinction is just bore.

 

Now since Transformers 5 is a lock for June 2016, with Wahlberg returning and Bay leaving, this would be a great time for Paramount clean house. New writing team, new producers, new director and new direction. I had a sense of hope when I saw the Dinobots in the trailer as they kicked ass in the cartoon when I was kid, but they're merely here as a laughing matter and as a novelty. This franchise is getting stale, and it needs new life injected into. But when the last two films in the franchise have both made little over a billion dollars, who gives a S***, right? All in all, Transformers: Age Of Extinction isn't nearly as good as the first film, but it's better than the last two, but still manages to be highly dull. Classic Michael Bay, if you must. Now if Michael Bay can go on and do more smaller films like Pain & Gain, that would be great.

 

"How many more of my kind must be sacrificed, to atone for your mistakes?"

 

Left Behind - 2014 - 0/5 - Directed by Vic Armstrong - starring Nicolas Cage and Chad Michael Murray

"Either I'm crazy, or the whole world is going insane."

 

There once was a time when an actor was highly regarded as one of the generations best, switching between genres like action and drama and suspense thrillers. That man was Nicolas Cage. For a while he was one of the best, and nearly versatile, and his last great performance was in 2005 with Andrew Nicol's Lord Of War. Hell, maybe even Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans. After that, he simply became a shell of his former self and began shelling out films like Drive Angry, Season Of The Witch Bangkok Dangerous, Trespass, and many other films.

 

Then earlier this year he starred in David Gordon Green's Joe, a film that showcased the man's real talent and Cage delivered a performance of the ages. A performance of a career resurgence that stands tall amongst others like Mickey Rourke in Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler and Matthew McConaughey in Jeff Nichols' Mud. Cage had finally made a film worth watching and it was outstanding. I thought to myself, "Nic Cage is back. He's going to come back with a vengeance. He's going show that he's better than Ghost Rider and go on to do great roles like McConaughey".

 

I was wrong. Dead wrong. To Cage, Joe was just another film, nothing too spectacular, but to me, it was more than that. So what does Cage do? He goes and does possibly the worst film of the year, even worse than Neighbors. The over-the-top, melodramatic, apocalyptic Christian film, Left Behind. How can he betray us like this, I thought to myself. Is Nic just massively trolling us, or does he want to ruin his once brilliant filmography? To him, it doesn't matter anymore, a role is a role, a job is a job, it all comes down to one thing: MONEY.

 

To simply it, Left Behind is so bad, I literally cannot describe it.

 

Good bye, Nicolas Kim Coppola, or, Nicolas Cage. Thanks for giving us joy up until 2005 when The Wicker Man began your downward spiral into madness and terrible films. Goodnight, sweet prince.

 

"Aliens?! C'mon, can you believe this guy?!"

 

Get On Up - 2014 - Directed by Tate Taylor - starring Chadwick Boseman and Nelsan Ellis

"I paid the cost to be the boss."

I wasn't really satisfied with Tate Taylor's previous film, The Help, but being a fan of James Brown, I knew there was no way in hell I was going skip on seeing this biopic, Get On Up. Besides being a by the books biopic, Get On Up turned out to be really good, with great direction, good writing, and a beautiful performance by Chadwick Boseman who plays The Godfather Of Soul himself. Get On Up chronicles the story of James Brown from his frail childhood in 1939 being raised by his parents, Susie and Joe (Viola Davis and Lennie James, respectively) in the woods, to his arrest at 17 years old for stealing a suit and eventually meeting Bobby Byrd (Nelsan Ellis) where James would eventually join Byrd's band The Famous Flames as their lead vocalist. The film goes throughout several decades with the band changing and James becoming his band, performing in Vietnam, and in the Boston Garden the day after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr and several other pivotal events in Brown's life until a performance in 1993, where the film concludes.

 

It's been eight years since James Brown had passed away, and it feels as if this film is long overdue, but I think this is the best time to do it. If it had been in production and released a year or so after Brown's death, it would've only seemed like a quick cash-in on the studio, trying to make a quick buck on James Brown's legacy. Now, is the best time, since I find it rare for anyone to talk about Brown and his legacy, this film is sure to get that sparked up again and makes us remember the great entertainer Mr. Dynamite was until the day he died. Now I haven't seen the Jackie Robinson biopic, 42 of which Chadwick Boseman plays Robinson, but it only takes a few minutes of seeing him as James Brown to get completely sucked into him. He's got the mannerism's, the voice, the style, the look, just everything down. Boseman makes you believe that he is James Brown and you just can't take your eyes off of him. The rest of the acting is quite good, with Nelsan Ellis turning in a great performance as Bobby Byrd and being able to stand equal to Boseman. Octavia Spencer has little time, but she's quite well in this, as is Viola Davis.

 

Now, yes it is by the books, and it is highly enjoyable, however I think it would've been great if the film explored the dark side of James Brown. We see only little instances of it in the film, but not the complete worst side of him, opting to show the charismatic side and the tidbits of ego, but not entirely James Brown. It's not bad, but it would've certainly added another layer of depth and another realm to fully explore. The film boasts an incredible soundtrack, hardened with hits and other classic songs from Brown and The Famous Flames, as well as some others artists, and a minimal score by Thomas Newman that is used quite effectively when it's needed to be.

 

Get On Up pretty much turned out to be exactly what I expected it to be, a standard biopic, but a highly enjoyable one. Sure the fourth wall scenes were a little overdone, but as a whole Get On Up is a great film that chronicles James Brown, even if it doesn't tell and show us everything. If anything, Chadwick Boseman's performance will leave you spellbound.

 

"If it sounds good, and it feels good, then it's musical."

 

LOOKING FORWARD TO: (Most anticipated are highlighted in bold and red)

Inherent Vice

Exodus

The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies

American Sniper

The Drop

Horrible Bosses 2

HAVE SEEN:

RoboCop - 1/5

Need For Speed - 4/5

Sabotage - 1.5/5

Nymphomaniac - 4/5

300: Rise Of An Empire - 0/5

Takedown: The DNA Of GSP - 4/5

Captain America: The Winter Soldier - 3/5

Neighbors - 0/5

Godzilla - 2.5/5

X-Men: Days Of Future Past - 5/5

The Raid 2 - 0/5

22 Jump Street - 4/5

Deliver Us From Evil - 4/5

Under The Skin - 5/5

Edge Of Tomorrow - 4.5/5

Non-Stop - 3/5

The Monuments Men - 1/5

Locke - 4/5

Enemy - 4.5/5

The Purge: Anarchy - 3.5/5

The Expendables 3 - 2/5

Lucy - 3.5/5

Joe - 4.5/5

Snowpiercer - 4.5/5

Noah - 2.5/5

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit - 1.5/5

Guardians Of The Galaxy - 3.5/5

Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes - 3.5/5

Dom Hemingway - 3.5/5

Transcendence - 2.5/5

The Grand Budapest Hotel - 5/5

Chef - 4.5/5

The Signal - 3.5/5

3 Days To Kill - 1/5

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - 0/5

I, Frankenstein - 0/5

Boyhood - 5/5

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For - 2/5

Houdini - 3/5

Maleficent - 1/5

Brick Mansions - 2/5

Into The Storm - 0/5

Let's Be Cops - 3.5

Gone Girl - 5/5

Wolf Creek - 3.5/5

Stretch - 4.5/5

Open Windows - 3/5

Dracula Untold - 2/5

Annabelle - 0/5

The Town That Dreaded Sundown - 4/5

Interstellar - 5/5

Nightcrawler - 5/5

A Most Wanted Man - 4.5/5

The Rover - 4.5/5

Fury - 3.5/5

The Salvation - 2.5/5

Sex Tape - 2/5

The Equalizer - 2/5

The Judge - 4/5

John Wick - 5/5

Ouija - 0/5

Hercules - 3/5

The Giver - 2.5/5

Maps To The Stars - 5/5

This Is Where I Leave You - 3/5

Automata - 1.5/5

Transformers 4: Age Of Extinction - 2/5

Left Behind - 0/5

Get On Up - 3.5/5

[Call Billy Bob]

Glad to see your thoughts on The Judge and John Wick - Robert Duvall is my second favorite actor of all time and I've hoped Keanu would make an action comeback for years. Very encouraging!

[x007AceOfSpades]

Don't let the critics' reviews and the rotten tomatoes score prevent you from seeing The Judge. It's very good, and Duvall's performance is his best in years.

 

John Wick, is the most engrossing, entertaining, straight forward action film since Dredd, and having seen it twice now, I wouldn't be surprised if I put it on my top ten list for 2014. It's awesome.

[tdalton]

SEEN:

 

Mitt - 3
In the Blood - 2.5
RoboCop - 2
Non-Stop - 3
300: Rise of an Empire - 1
3 Days to Kill - 2
The Sacrament - 3.5
Godzilla - 0.5
Draft Day - 3
Stretch - 1

Mockingbird - 1

Oculus - 1.5

Stage Fright - 2

Mercy - 2

A Long Way Down - 3

Edge of Tomorrow - 5

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For - 2

Sabotage - 1.5

 
LOOKING FORWARD TO:
The November Man
Gone Girl
The Equalizer
Tusk
Stephen King's A Good Marriage
The Town that Dreaded Sundown
Camp X-Ray
 

Edited by tdalton, 22 November 2014 - 05:14 PM.

[SecretAgentFan]

I must say that my habits have changed drastically.  I went to the cinema at least twice a week in my 20´s.  In my 30´s I tried to see a movie on the big screen at least twice a month.

 

Now, in my 40´s, I rarely go.  I rather watch films on blu ray.  But I rarely watch new films anyway - my interests are drawn to television series which seem to offer what movies used to 20 years ago.

 

So here´s my current favorite films of 2014 (only three of which I have actually seen on the big screen):

 

1.   Interstellar (just a wonderful experience, surprising me at every turn)

2.   Captain America: The Winter Soldier (real fun, some of the best action sequences in years)

3.   The Grand Hotel Budapest (best comedy of the year, best Wes Anderson movie so far, Ralph Fiennes is extremely funny)

4.   American Hustle (laid back, great characters, movie magic)

5.   Saving Mr. Banks (Hanks and Thompson are perfect)

6.   The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (visually amazing, nice "seize the day"-fable)

7.   A Long Way Down (Brosnan is fearless, great performance)

8.   Edge of Tomorrow (Cruise and Blunt are really amazing, but the last third turns me off)

9.   Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (overlooked spy adventure, old-school as I like it)

10.  The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Garfield and Stone are brilliant, Spider-Man is done justice, the plot is all over the place and another example of Sony taking over a franchise and running it into the ground)

 

I liked but did not love:  X-Men: Days of Future Past / Love Punch / All is lost / Bad Words

 

I was disappointed by:  The Monuments Men (great cast, hardly existent dramatic structure), Noah (great cast, ridiculous pairing of bible drama and silly fantasy film), Godzilla (Bryan Cranston with the year´s worst wig, shamelessly overacting, a script that seemed to be cobbled together without a clear vision), Gone Girl (great cast, very well directed, but ultimately a much too faithful and therefore unsurprising adaptation of the novel), Boyhood (great cast, great central idea, but a plodding film, telling the most ordinary, obvious story)

 

What I still want to see:  Guardians of the Galaxy, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Jersey Boys, Magic in the Moonlight, Maleficent, The Hobbit 3,  Mockingjay Part 1  (I guess "Guardians", "Dawn" and "Magic" will shake up my top 10).

Edited by SecretAgentFan, 20 November 2014 - 06:51 AM.

[thecasinoroyale]

Angelina Jolie confirms she is to retire from acting to take up more work behind the camera after her Cleopatra picture:

 

http://www.theguardi...ent-from-acting

 

 

Gutted!

 

[Iceskater101]

 

1.   Interstellar (just a wonderful experience, surprising me at every turn)

2.   Captain America: The Winter Soldier (real fun, some of the best action sequences in years)

3.   The Grand Hotel Budapest (best comedy of the year, best Wes Anderson movie so far, Ralph Fiennes is extremely funny)

4.   American Hustle (laid back, great characters, movie magic)

5.   Saving Mr. Banks (Hanks and Thompson are perfect)

6.   The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (visually amazing, nice "seize the day"-fable)

7.   A Long Way Down (Brosnan is fearless, great performance)

8.   Edge of Tomorrow (Cruise and Blunt are really amazing, but the last third turns me off)

9.   Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (overlooked spy adventure, old-school as I like it)

10.  The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Garfield and Stone are brilliant, Spider-Man is done justice, the plot is all over the place and another example of Sony taking over a franchise and running it into the ground)

 

 

That's a really good list! I love that Jack Ryan is on your list as I really loved that movie too. I also agree with Captain America! Here's my top 10 list of movies in 2014

 

1. Gone Girl (This movie was amazing, David Fincher is one of my favorite directors and Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike were perfect!

2. Captain America: The Winter Solider (this movie has to be on my list! To me, it's the only movie in Phase 2 of Marvel that exceeded the first film which is very hard to do)

3. Guardians of the Galaxy (I was surprised by how good this movie was)

4. Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit (I liked Chris Pine in this role a lot)

 

I think that's all I have so far.

[S K Y F A L L]

Can't say I ever liked her in anything besides GONE IN 60 SECONDS and SALT.

[x007AceOfSpades]

Interesting choices....

WORK IN PROGRESS - Still several films I want to see from this year, so it's all subject to change at any given time.

Top Ten: 2014
1.) Nightcrawler - This film completely swept me off of my feet in the theater and exceeded my high expectations that I had for it. Terrific writing and directing and haunting performance by Jake Gyllenhaal who is beginning to really leave his mark amongst today's great actors.
2.) Under The Skin - The Sci-Fi/Art House alien thriller by Jonathan Glazer is one of more better science fiction films to come along and certainly very aesthetically pleasing. Very over-looked this year due to it's very limited release, but it certainly is outstanding. A science fiction masterpiece.
3.) Boyhood - The Richard Linklater film that took twelve years to make didn't disappoint and managed to be a great film about family, life, and coming-of-age. A very engrossing drama film.
4.) Gone Girl - David Fincher continues to pull out all the stops once again for this twisted thriller. Much better than the book, which is surprising since it followed it by 95%, but it managed to be much more engaging than the book. Packed with incredible performances by Affleck and Pike and an unnerving score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
5.) Maps To The Stars - David Cronenberg and Bruce Wagner's satire on Hollywood is another overlooked film that is darkly funny and eerily haunting as it looks at several sides to celebrities lives in a modern Hollywood and their dark secrets and obsessions.
6.) Interstellar - This is only getting ranked higher than it should because of that IMAX experience which is well worth a ticket price. I don't care what people say, there's seeing Interstellar in IMAX and then there's seeing a film. Christopher Nolan's science fiction film is by far the most ambitious sci-fi epic since Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and though it has some minor faults, it's a very well made film that's scientifically pleasing, thematically pleasing, and has impressive visuals throughout.
7.) The Grand Budapest Hotel - This is only the second Wes Anderson film I've seen and it's didn't disappoint at all. Anderson is an auteur of grandeur, and The Grand Budapest Hotel is one of the finest comedy films of the year, with Ralph Fiennes giving a more than impressive performance, and the film never manages to lose your interest
8.) John Wick - John Wick may be a to-the-point action film and possibly by-the-books, but it was highly engaging throughout, with some of the best shot and choreographed action scenes in recent memory and had a more than old school feel to it. It was miles better than Stallone's Expendables 3 and the massively overrated The Raid 2: Berandal. Keanu Reeves returns to the action genre and does more than just kick ass.
9.) X-Men: Days OF Future Past - With all of the characters present, I was afraid that this going to fall through, but it managed to be the only great superhero film of the year, beating out the, at best, decent Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians Of The Galaxy. It was more than the most epic X-Men film yet, it was, for me, a cinematic event seeing all of the characters from the pages of Marvel Comics united on the screen for a great story. I would say that X-Men: Days Of Future Past is the best superhero film I've seen since Watchmen and easily amongst the best.
10.) Enemy - Denis Villeneuve's psychological thriller is a tricky one to review. Not because it's confusing, because it isn't by all means, but rather because it's one of the strangest, yet best films of the year it is simply hard to review. I've seen it three times now and have practically analyzed every possible aspect you can think of, yet this film still has me staring blank at notepad on my laptop as I try to put this film into a perspective. Terrific performance by Jake Gyllenhaal as always, and I cannot wait to see Villeneuve's next film, Sicario, in 2015 with Emily Blunt.

Top Ten-2014: Honorable Mentions
1.) A Most Wanted Man - A fine espionage film from the great John Le Carre and a real slow burner of a thriller with an outstanding performance by the late, great Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Another overlooked film of the year that simply came and went due to it's limited release.
2.) The Guest - Adam Wingard's love letter to 80's films was much, much better than his attempt at creating a horror/comedy film in You're Next. This is a new school film with an old school feel and Dan Stevens is terrific as the lead character. The Guest is one of the best indie films of the year that will leave you more than happy in the end and will have you recalling classics of the 80's. (My review for this will be up within the week)
3.) Snowpiercer - This South Korean-English language science fiction action film from Bong Joon-ho is one of the finest films and has a very unique look at the post-apocalyptic sub genre. Great visuals and impressive action scenes and stellar acting, Snowpiercer did more than enough to satisfy me. It's a shame that Harvey Weinstein practically condemned this film because Joon-ho declined to cut twenty minutes as well as add monologues in the beginning and ending of the film.
4.) The Rover - Another indie, post-apocalyptic thriller, David Michod's film is more than great from start to finish as it has a simplistic story to follow and brilliant performances by Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson.
5.) Chef - Another overlooked film, Jon Favreau returns to write and direct a much smaller film in Chef, a great comedy/drama that's witty, charming, and heart warming. Great writing and great performances, all around enjoyable film.
6.) Stretch - Joe Carnahan's action/comedy/thriller that got dumped by Universal made it's way onto Netflix and digital distribution and the film certainly didn't disappoint or let go. It's a great over-the-top film with hilarious moments throughout that make for a crazy film.
7.) LIVE. DIE. REPEAT.: Edge Of Tomorrow - Doug Liman's sci-fi/action film was originally much higher on this list, but got dropped much lower simply because of the ending. Aside from that, It's a great film that features more that awesome action scenes and fantastic performances by Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt.
8.) Joe - A small indie film that is slightly similar to last year's Mud, and just as outstanding as that film. It has great writing and directing as well as a brilliant performance by Nicholas Cage. His best in a long time.
9.) Cocaine Cowboys: Reloaded - This documentary on the Miami Drug Trade originally came out back in 2006, but was re-released this year with over an hour of new material. A rather great documentary that just keeps you invested for it's entirety.
10.) The Judge - This is yet a by-the-books film for the most part, but I still cannot see why it was ill received by critics. It's very good and Downey Jr. and Duvall have great chemistry together and both bring more their A-Game.

Top Ten Worst-2014- Thinking about these actually hurts, so it's best to just try and forget about them. Neighbors managed to be the number one worst film for six months, however.
1.) Left Behind
2.) Neighbors
3.) The Amazing Spider-Man 2
4.) 300: Rise Of An Empire
5.) I, Frankenstein
6.) Annabelle
7.) Ouija
8.) No Good Deed
9.) Into The Storm
10.) Maleficent

[tdalton]

Stephen King's The Stand now planned as four films, some cast already in place

 

Fantastic news.  It was never going to work as a single film (although, according to the article, everyone was happy with the script for a single film).  Now they should get the chance to do a solid adaptation of King's novel.

[x007AceOfSpades]

Not like that was a big secret. She rarely does films now anyways, plus her Oscar (bait) film Unbroken is getting some buzz around out, so there you go.

Can't say I ever liked her in anything besides GONE IN 60 SECONDS and SALT.

Agreed. I only liked her in Gone In 60 Seconds, everything else is just asking too much to tolerate.

 

Can't say I'm going to miss her.

[thecasinoroyale]

*prepares Angelina Jolie Appreciation Society*

[thecasinoroyale]

New snap via Twitter of battle damaged T-800 from 'Terminator: Genisys'.

 

     

[DamnCoffee]

Nice! Looking forward to seeing Matt Smith in this. I felt his acting improved greatly towards the end of his run of Doctor Who. 

 

 

Jurassic World 'Trailer Teaser' since that's apparently a thing now...

 

The full trailer will be released on Friday. 

 

AND leaked trailer footage. Looks incredible. Fingers crossed it will be. Loved the first. Loved the second. Thought the third was mediocre, but I have been waiting FOREVER for this film. The CGI is unfinished, so the Raptors look a bit weird, but the low angle shot looks great! Really reminds me of that scene in the first. 

 

http://movies.cosmic...er-leaks-online

Edited by DamnCoffee, 24 November 2014 - 12:02 PM.

[x007AceOfSpades]

That's a great hair piece Arnold has.

[x007AceOfSpades]

As Above, So Below - 2014 - 3/5 - Directed by John Erick Dowdle - starring Perdita Weeks and Ben Feldman

"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

 

The marketing for As Above, So Below will make it seem like this is a found footage film in the vein of Neil Marshall's The Descent. Though both films have slight similarities, they are essentially different, and I happen to prefer The Descent greatly. Having said this, John Erick Dowdle's found footage adventure/found footage horror film isn't refreshing by a stretch but it presents a rather interesting premise which certainly makes the film worth a watch, even if it doesn't deliver the scares the trailer(s) promise until the last thirty minutes of the film. Scarlett Marlowe (Perdita Weeks) is a young scholar who has been focusing on looking and retrieving the Philosopher's Stone for several years, after her father killed himself trying to look for the stone himself. After finding the Rose Key in Iran, she travels to Paris and enlists the help of George (Ben Feldman), a friend and former lover, and Benji (Edwin Hodge) a cameraman. They then discover a riddle and solve it which leads them to the Catacombs of Paris, with the help of a guide, Papillon (Francois Civil), Sousie (Marion Lambert) and Zed (Ali Marhyar), as they search onwards for the stone. However Once they come in contact with the stone, they must move further downwards as a means to escape the catacombs, but instead descend further horror.

 

Studios care more about found footage horror films and supernatural/paranormal horror films instead of say, slasher films and other genres/sub genres. You can't blame them when the terrible Paranormal Activity films do so little, yet make so much. It would seem as this is the case with As Above, So Below, however it isn't entirely bad. I don't look as this film as a horror film at all, but rather an adventure film, that took a left turn into horror film-ville. By that, it turns up the tension and becomes increasingly unsettling in the last thirty minutes of the film with the presence of demons and ghosts, and other terrifying means. Up until that point, As Above, So Below managed to be extremely claustrophobic and creepy relying on mood and atmosphere perfectly. Was going into horror film-ville a wrong idea? Yes and no. No, because it changed shifts and became increasingly more creepy. Yes, because it became a tad too cliche at times, and already took that left turn too late. The film was doing great being practically horror film free and being an adventure/suspense-thriller if anything. If it introduced these horror film antics sooner, it would've been passable, but doing so with thirty minutes to go, felt as the only way Dowdle could rack up tension much easier. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'd have preferred the direction the film was going in until the S*** hit the fan, but at the same time, I also didn't mind it either. It was an awful direction to head in, but it wasn't great. It served it's purpose and did what it set out to do.

 

Now while this film doesn't add anything new to the genre, it is the most entertaining found footage film I've seen since probably Cloverfield. Yes, As Above, So Below is cliched, but it manages to be highly enjoyable and very creepy and entertaining, something the entire sub-genre of found footage really lacks. On the other hand, I also think this film really could've been something better if it wasn't in the found footage style. If it was done traditionally, I think it'd have been much better, but people would probably complain that it is too similar to The Descent of which which it's already eerily similar of in the first place. As a whole, As Above, So Below isn't bad at all, but it isn't great. It's in the middle, but it's a high three star for me. I'm sure I'll re-watch this in the future just for the F*** of it, as it was pretty entertaining and very enjoyable.

 

"People who go in this tunnel, do not come back."

 

The Guest - 2014 - 4.5/5 - Directed by Adam Wingard - starring Dan Stevens and Maika Monroe

"I'm a friend of the family."

 

I've heard some really great things about this film, but yet I was a tad hesitant to watch it since I greatly disliked director, Adam Wingard's previous film You're Next, but nonetheless, saw this anyways. In the end, I was actually more than pleased with how The Guest turned out and it's a film that's pretty much right up my alley. Dan Stevens plays David Collins, a recently discharged U.S. Soldier who makes his way to the Peterson family. He tells Mrs. Peterson, Laura (Sheila Kelley) that he was great friends with her son, Caleb, who was killed in Afghanistan. With no where to go, Laura and her husband, Spencer (Leland Orser) invite him stay at their home for as long he needs, in order to get on his feet. Over the course he forms a friendship with their son, Luke (Brenden Meyer) and their daughter, Anna (Maika Monroe). However, strange things begin to happen all over town and people begin to wind up dead, and to Anna, it's not simply a coincidence and she believes David isn't who he says he is.

 

The Guest is a film that's hard to specifically put into a genre. It pretty much goes into several throughout it's duration. It's a suspense thriller, black comedy, action film, psychological thriller, and hell, even a horror film strangely. The best way to categorize The Guest is to simply call Adam Wingard's film an eighties throwback. Watching the film will remind you of so many other films from the late 70's, early 80's the biggest one will easily be James Cameron's The Terminator as Dan Stevens' portrayal of David Collins is that of Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-800 SkyNet Terminator: They know only one thing, and that's to kill. Stevens has a perfect look to go with this character as he can look charming, nice, and menacing, and he strangely look like that with all three traits rolled into one. While he certainly has more layers than Arnold's T-800, in the end, Collins is a psychopath, and if he feels his identity is compromised, then he resorts to his regular mode which is to kill. It's explained why he does this and why he is like this in the film, which you probably could have figured out reading this, but if not, I don't want to give anything further away regarding his character than I already have.

 

This film really is a perfect love-letter to eighties films. It's got an easy straightforward plot that's supported by a great script, a nice, yet scary main character, a kick-ass 80's inspired synth soundtrack and score, and it's violent -- as hell. Wingard doesn't hold back here at all with the violence. While it may not be as over the top violent or bloody like You're Next, it features action scenes and suspense throughout the film, until the third act where it's pretty much non-stop action from there on out. Wingard directs fact paced, yet coherent action scenes reminiscent of those you've seen in those 80's action films like Raw Deal, for example. They're to the point, violent, and overall entertaining.

 

Adam Wingard's The Guest is a substantial improvement over You're Next and then some. It's one of the better made films of the year and definitely a must see for fans of 80's film of all genres.

 

"This kid called me a 'f*****', so I broke a yard stick over his face."

 

The Zero Theorem - 2014 - 2/5 - Directed by Terry Gilliam - starring Christoph Waltz and Matt Damon

"What's the point of anything?"

 

What to make of Terry Gilliam's The Zero Theorem. Well, for starters, this is only the third Gilliam film I have ever seen (behind Monty Python and The Holy Grail and Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas) and that I'm really not to sure what to make of this film at all. I really drawn to this film by it's poster and the leading star, Christoph Waltz, but again, the film as a while is really.... Something. Maybe it was 2deep4me, but I honestly don't think I can't ever really get my time back. Christoph Waltz plays Qohen Leth, an eccentric mathematician and programmer who often refers to himself in plurals and has just been assigned to "crunch entities" for a company known as Mancom. While doing just job, he often finds himself waiting for a phone call that will tell him the meaning of life, all while trying to solve "The Zero Theorem", a theory that proves the meaning of life and existence is meaningless.

 

It's been said, or rather inferred by some that The Zero Theorem is the final film in the Brazil Trilogy or rather Gilliam's Dystopin-esque Trilogy that also features 12 Monkeys. I haven't seen Brazil or 12 Monkeys so I couldn't write about any similarities between the three films. However, there's a level of quirkiness present in The Zero Theorem with the way each of these characters behave and the way the film is presented with it's visuals and setting. Though this science fiction film touches more on the meaning of life theme than that of dystopian themes, leaving you feeling disappointed and wanting more. I found the acting to be decent, with the only good performances coming from Waltz and Matt Damon. Damon is pretty limited in screen time, but I actually liked his character, and Waltz goes along perfectly with the film. It's a shame the rest of the film really isn't as good as Waltz acting, and it's narrative is a bit jarring to me. Maybe because I'm not entirely familiar with Gilliam and his style, so to speak, but I just couldn't find there to be much to enjoy in The Zero Theorem.

 

As a science fiction film, it's very weak and touches on themes and subjects that have been covered before and that we all have seen before. If you're a big fan of Gilliam, then I suppose you should check this out, though it is wise to proceed with caution upon seeing The Zero Theorem.
 

"Chaos encapsulated. That's all there is at the end. Just as it was at the beginning."

 

Jersey Boys - 2014 - 3.5/5 - Directed By Clint Eastwood - starring John Lloyd Young and Vincent Piazza

"One day, we're gonna be on that f*****' jukebox."

 

Clint Eastwood's Jersey Boys is essentially a much toned down, musical version of Scorsese's Goodfellas, except without the extreme violence, coked up Ray Liotta, crazy-explicit language, and the f*****' shine box. Okay, that's probably a big overstatement. Having said this, Jersey Boys, much like another musical film/biopic this year in Tate Taylor's James Brown film, Get On Up, is essentially by the books, but still manages to be great fun throughout, despite it's problems. Jersey Boys chronicles the early days of Tommy DeVito and Frankie Valli (Vincent Piazza and John Lloyd Young) in Belleville, New Jersey in the early 50's from just petty street kids that happen to have the respect of local gangster, Gyp DeCarlo (Christopher Walken). Frankie and Tommy eventually form the band The Four Seasons with Nick Massi and Bob Gaudio (Michael Lomenda and Erich Bergen, respectively) and begin their young illustrious musical career until their eventual falling out.

 

When I heard that Clint Eastwood was the director behind this, I was a little, well, curious, as it feels weird seeing Eastwood do a type of film like Jersey Boys. It's much better than his last two outings as a director, the dreadful J. Edgar and Hereafter, as this film felt like a refreshing new start for Eastwood and was highly enjoyable throughout. One of the best things about this was the largely unknown cast of actors, which was fantastic as they sucked you into the film, instead of it being someone you've seen in several films and you're having a hard time believing them as a member of The Four Seasons. The acting throughout is great with John Lloyd Young sounding eerily similar to the real Frankie Valli. Hell the actors who played the remaining members of the bad were eerily similar. Great casting. The highlights throughout the film are without a doubt the musical scenes. They're filmed great, edited great, and the sound design is top notch. For his first musical film, Clint Eastwood did a really great job. However, this film does goes without it's faults. For a film about The Four Seasons, Eastwood does give each band member their own time to shine eventually in the film, but Jersey Boys might've worked better if it was called Valli or Jersey Boy(though people might think it's a spin off to that horrid Kevin Smith film). By that I mean, it's essentially Frankie Valli's show from start to finish, and though it's about the band, everyone else is just there for the ride.

 

The film is over two hours, which isn't a problem, but I feel that in some scenes, they go on longer than they should and could've benefited from tighter editing to make the film just flow, instead being red light-green light. Another thing, is I found this to literally follow the same template as Get On Up, which is probably coincidental as both films were filmed around the same time I believe, but if you were to watch both films back to back, you would be able to note the similarities. Another thing was the constant fourth wall breaking, while it was neat the first few times as a means of visual narration, I began to find it too gimmicky.

 

Now I probably enjoyed this more than Get On Up, but both films are pretty equal in almost every aspect. They're pretty much very by-the-book biopics and musical films, but again, manage to be very entertaining in the long run. If you're a fan of The Four Seasons, the by all means, check out Jersey Boys. If you aren't, then go get your shine box.

 

"Everybody remembers it the way they need to, right?."

 

The Babadook - 2014 - 1/5 - Directed by Jennifer Kent - starring Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman

"Nothing is coming in here tonight. NOTHING."

After seeing all the praise given to this, I guess it only made sense for me to check out The Babadook. Well, a lot of horror films usually are giant let down's for me. It's not that I have high standards, but rather because it's either the same genre/sub-genre film being told over and over again, or something new that comes along and just entirely fails. Unfortunately, The Babadook is beyond disappointing. I don't see what made it special at all, on top of anything of value that is present, aside from atmosphere and mood. Nearly seven years after the birth of Amelia's (Essie Davis) child, Samuel (Noah Wiseman), which happens to be the same night her husband died in a car accident, while driving her to the hospital, her son begins erratic behaviors and an obsession with monsters. One night, Amelia goes to read Samuel a bedtime story and he picks a book called "Mister Babadook". Reading it, it appears like a ghoulish kid's story, but turns to something much more darker and sinister. Soon after, Samuel begins to have nightmares and visions of The Babadook, and Amelia can't put up with it, or his behavior anymore. She then pulls him out of school to sort him out, but also begins to experience strange occurrences with The Babadook.

 

What I found myself appreciating was the fact that The Babadook wasn't an all out gore-fest, but rather took to having a steady foundation of a creepy, atmosphere, and a dark mood for the entire films duration. However, this is a modern horror film that is trying to succeed in appearing like classic, old school horror, and it doesn't succeed at all. It's pacing is all over the place and the writing is just as bad. It focuses on being this scary horror film with this evil antagonist in The Babadook Creature, but relies too heavily on the lead character of Amelia. I understand, that in the end, overcoming her fear of this creature will also lead her to finally cope and accept the loss of her husband, but it never tries to be scary at all.

 

It focuses on jump scares or rather spine tingling scares and frights whenever we briefly see The Babadook. While his Nosferatu-esque appearance is certainly scary, there's nothing scary about predicting the next scare or rather, the next scene. The final act then goes into psychological horror territory where it didn't lose me, but rather had me sighing in disdain. I told myself, "Really? This is how the climax has to be?" It felt cheap and lazy and just a quick way to further exploit the psychological aspect of Amelia from The Babadook. The Rotten Tomatoes consensus will tell you that this doesn't rely on cliches, but the climax and third act is all cliches. It will tell you that the story is actually moving, but it was rather slowing the film down from achieving any success.

 

I wish I could see what really made people appreciate and love The Babadook. Honestly, I do, because all I see is just another terrible horror film of the year. Nothing genre-breaking or groundbreaking.

 

"Sometimes I just want to smash your head against a brick wall, until your f****** brains pop out!"

 

LOOKING FORWARD TO: (Most anticipated are highlighted in bold and red)

Inherent Vice

Exodus

The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies

American Sniper

The Drop

Horrible Bosses 2

HAVE SEEN:

RoboCop - 1/5

Need For Speed - 4/5

Sabotage - 1.5/5

Nymphomaniac - 4/5

300: Rise Of An Empire - 0/5

Takedown: The DNA Of GSP - 4/5

Captain America: The Winter Soldier - 3/5

Neighbors - 0/5

Godzilla - 2.5/5

X-Men: Days Of Future Past - 5/5

The Raid 2 - 0/5

22 Jump Street - 4/5

Deliver Us From Evil - 4/5

Under The Skin - 5/5

Edge Of Tomorrow - 4.5/5

Non-Stop - 3/5

The Monuments Men - 1/5

Locke - 4/5

Enemy - 4.5/5

The Purge: Anarchy - 3.5/5

The Expendables 3 - 2/5

Lucy - 3.5/5

Joe - 4.5/5

Snowpiercer - 4.5/5

Noah - 2.5/5

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit - 1.5/5

Guardians Of The Galaxy - 3.5/5

Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes - 3.5/5

Dom Hemingway - 3.5/5

Transcendence - 2.5/5

The Grand Budapest Hotel - 5/5

Chef - 4.5/5

The Signal - 3.5/5

3 Days To Kill - 1/5

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - 0/5

I, Frankenstein - 0/5

Boyhood - 5/5

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For - 2/5

Houdini - 3/5

Maleficent - 1/5

Brick Mansions - 2/5

Into The Storm - 0/5

Let's Be Cops - 3.5

Gone Girl - 5/5

Wolf Creek - 3.5/5

Stretch - 4.5/5

Open Windows - 3/5

Dracula Untold - 2/5

Annabelle - 0/5

The Town That Dreaded Sundown - 4/5

Interstellar - 5/5

Nightcrawler - 5/5

A Most Wanted Man - 4.5/5

The Rover - 4.5/5

Fury - 3.5/5

The Salvation - 2.5/5

Sex Tape - 2/5

The Equalizer - 2/5

The Judge - 4/5

John Wick - 5/5

Ouija - 0/5

Hercules - 3/5

The Giver - 2.5/5

Maps To The Stars - 5/5

This Is Where I Leave You - 3/5

Automata - 1.5/5

Transformers 4: Age Of Extinction - 2/5

Left Behind - 0/5

Get On Up - 3.5/5

As Above, So Below - 3/5

The Guest - 4.5/5

The Zero Theorem - 2/5

Jersey Boys - 3.5/5

The Babadook - 1/5

[seawolfnyy]

Definitely looking forward to the Jurassic World trailer. After 2 sub-par sequels that never actually went to Jurassic Park, we're finally returning to Isla Nublar.

[x007AceOfSpades]

Character Posters for Joe Wrights Pan have been released. Hugh Jackman looks great as Blackbeard.

[thecasinoroyale]

Haha...Hook being the hunk he always was, naturally.

 

 

Can't wait to see the traumatic event that leads him to be disfigured and bent on destroying Peter Pan, whom he obviously works with during this.

 

 

Is it me, or does Hugh Jackman look more like UKs Richard O'Brian here? Others may know him from 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' and 'Flash Gordon'....

 

[Iceskater101]

Wow Rooney Mara looks gorgeous as Tiger Lily.

[x007AceOfSpades]

Can't wait to see the traumatic event that leads him to be disfigured and bent on destroying Peter Pan, whom he obviously works with during this.

It'll be interesting to see how they detail this in the film.

 

Wow Rooney Mara looks gorgeous as Tiger Lily.

You can say that again!

[Call Billy Bob]

Wow, great set of promo posters there! I'm going to be taking an interest in this film for sure.

[seawolfnyy]

Jurassic World trailer:

 

[Matt_13]

Looks great.

[AdaShelby]

[tdalton]

I'm not really sure why I was expecting anything from Jurassic World.  A sequel coming some 13 years after the last installment was already going to have an uphill battle to fight, but for some reason it seemed somewhat promising in its early stages.  That said, that trailer was pretty darn underwhelming.  I'm not sure what I was expecting from the film, but that trailer just felt hollow and dull.

[Call Billy Bob]

Both trailers hit all the right buttons for me, especially Jurassic World. Was hoping for a bit of Sam Neill or Jeff Goldblum, but alas... I'll still be in line to see it at midnight!