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Fantastic Four (2015)
A Movie That Starts Out Promising, But Progressively Got Worse As It Goes On
Strangely enough, this is the fourth movie of the ill-fated franchise that is simply known as the Fantastic Four. The one that came out during the 2000's is one of my least favorite super hero movies I've even seen. I will say that while the new one is an improvement, it's not saying that much. Fantastic Four is an origin story of our lead heroes as they try to do some interdimensional traveling and they get superpowers from the result of it. I will give it this, in the first half of the movie, I was actually pretty invested in the story. I especially liked Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan's characters as Reed Richards and Johnny Storm. There is some intrigue about the characters and what's going on with them. There are some things in the beginning that I felt could be done better (Sue Storm came off just a little bit weird), but overall, I thought it was pretty good. While the first half I don't have too many problems with, it's the second half that I feel that the movie just deconstructed itself into nothing. It kind of shocked me that when I think about what happens in the middle of the movie, do I realize that almost nothing happens. I mean, there are some concepts in the second half that sounds interesting, but because of the way that it told its story, it felt like the filmmakers wasn't really trying. It just feel bland, generic, and nothing of interest really happen. It doesn't really help that the climax of the movie is one of the most boring climaxes I think I've ever seen in a long while. it just doesn't felt like that there's anything at stake is going on. The action is about as underwhelming that you could possibly imagine and the effects were cheaply made. It also doesn't help that Dr. Doom was wearing one of the worst costumes I've seen in recent memories. So in the end, the last twenty minutes of the movie was terrible but it's hard for me to damn the whole movie just because of the last half. Like I said, I think the first half was actually pretty good but it felt like that the people behind it just gave up in the second half and considering the production problems that it had, I could easily see why. Overall, while I do think it's not a good superhero movie, I don't think it's one of the worst. There's not much to recommend unless if you're curious about the movie but, overall, it's definitely worth the skip.
Ride Along 2 (2016)
Another Buddy Cop Movie
There's something about Ride Along 2 that makes it a very forgettable comedy movie that I'm probably not going to remember. The story is a buddy cop movie with Kevin Hart as the wild cop who wants to prove himself and Ice Cube as the straight man. There's trouble brewing in Miami and it is their time to figure what's going on. I think have start out with the humor, because I feel that there is something lacking in that department. It's a real shame because I feel that there are some good concepts behind them, but I'm not sure if it's the writing, the directing, or the acting that comes off as unfunny and rather boring. I feel that Kevin Hart can be a really funny guy. I know that he's trying but there is something about the movie that's not making me laugh outside of a few exception. I think the biggest thing that I can think of is that the story just felt so standard and, in a weird way, it bleeds itself into the jokes and gags in the movie. There's not anything about it stand itself out from other comedy movies that I've seen in my life. Granted, there are some gags that did work but there just seems more where the gags doesn't hit, and in some cases, goes into complete bizarre mode. I will give the movie this, compared to other comedies that I've seen, there's hardly anything about the humor that makes me want to leave the theater (there are some weird exceptional gags though), but the fact that it's just so forgettable is just sad to me. There's nothing really good about it, but there's not anything really bad about it either. It's just a dull comedy so I would say is that if your one of those people that could easily be laughed, then I feel you could get more out of this movie than I can. But for me, this is a movie that I think I'll forget in the near future.
Pawn Sacrifice (2014)
The Interesting Life of Bobby Fisher
From the director who brought us Glory, Edward Zwick gives us a movie about a prominent chess player with Pawn Sacrifice. Starring Toby Maguire, this is the story of Bobby Fisher as we get into a really intriguing history biopic about his life and how he became the greatest chess player in the world. In addition, the movie shows how he's dealing with paranoia and the way it's affecting his actions and thought process. Which is funny because he's already super cocky and to add that he's paranoid brings an interesting layer to his character. What Edward Zwick has done really well is that he captured the feel of the movie that it took place during the down years of the Cold War. Not only that, Tobey Maguire has done an excellent job playing as the paranoid genius. In a way, it reminds me of A Beautiful Mind where it is also about a genius that has a mental health issue. But if there's one thing to critique about this film is that I felt that I never got a real connection with the main character. I think if it spends in its opening scenes giving us a sense of not only who Bobby Fisher is, but how we can connect with him, it would turn from a good film to a great one. But I think the way it is, Pawn Sacrifice is a fascinating story about the life of Bobby Fisher. If you like biopics, this is worth checking out.
The Last Airbender (2010)
The Soulless Adaptation
This is kind of a fascinating movie, mostly because of the amount of hate that this movie brings to it and its director, M. Night Shamyalan. Going into the movie, I knew that I was going to get a bad movie, and while I do think that it's not good, I don't hate myself watching it. I have to point out that I am a huge fan of the TV show but I won't point out the differences between that and the movie as I'm only going to judge the movie on its own. Despite what most people think, there are a few good things about it. First of all, I really like how they handled the villains, specifically Zuko and Uncle Eyro. The two actors did a good job and I bought into their relationship. And some of the action scenes I thought was pretty decent for the most part. Everything else, however, it's not well made. My biggest problem with it is that the story goes by way too fast. There will be moments in the movie where they'll rush through scenes in order to get the story going without spending anytime to get emotionally invested with the characters. Not only that, the acting in this movie kind of sucks, specifically from our main actors. It also doesn't help that there are a few unintentionally funny scenes. But despite of all that, while I do think that it is a bad movie and everyone has the right to hate on it, it didn't really make me angry and I found some entertainment in it. However, If you haven't seen it, just skip it, it's not good.
Terminator Genisys (2015)
An Underwhelmed Sci-Fi Reboot
Arnold Schwarzenegger is back as the veteran Terminator as we have our fifth installment in the franchise: Terminator Genysis. The first two movies were really good as they were influential to the action and sci-fi genres. This movie, however, is nowhere near as good as the first two. The story in this movie is extremely confusing to the point where I wonder if the screenwriters have any idea what's going on. Not only is the plot super convoluted as the story goes on, but it's not really that interesting. The characters doesn't really do a whole lot for me, even though I know that the actors are trying their best. The best parts of the movie is that Arnold Schwarzenegger is entertaining as the aged Terminator and some of the action scenes are actually well handled and nice to look at. But it's own script and story doesn't really help it a whole lot and it comes off as just uninspiring. While not the worst movie, it could've been a whole lot more. This is definitely a skip.
Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015)
A Simply Charming Movie
Shaun the sheep is one of the most simple movies I've ever seen in my life, but I think that it really works to its advantage. Created by the same guys who did Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the sheep is the new claymation movie based on the hit TV show in Britain by the same name. The story is really simple as it's about the farm sheep and the dog Bitzer, led by Shaun the Sheep, who are trying to find their owner who got lost in the big city. One important things to know going in to it is that none of the characters have any dialogue whatsoever, including the human characters, who can only talk through mumbling. But because of the way that they were able to express their emotions, it really works to its advantage. As you might expect from Aardman Animations, this is a really funny movie as it has some really clever gags and physical humor throughout the whole film. With that said, this is not a film that's going to break any new ground, as it's supposed to be a really simple movie. It's not anything great by any means, but I don't think it needs to be as it has a lot of charm that could carry the whole movie. This is a movie I could easily see a lot of people enjoying and have a good time with it as much as I did. Shaun the Sheep is definitely worth checking out.
McFarland, USA (2015)
One of the better clichéd sports films out there.
I think I'm not the only one who's getting a little tired of the sports movie genre that we are seeing over and over again. While McFarland USA is definitely a clichéd sports movie, it's probably one of the better ones that I've seen in recent memories. The movie's about Jim White (Kevin Costner) who became the head coach of a cross country team in small high school in a small town filled with Mexican immigrants. I think what makes this movie stand apart from the other films is that the main characters, mainly the runners, are some of the most likable people. They have a very charismatic energy to them and they're really fun to see them interact with each other and their coach. It also helps that each one has a good amount of depth to them as well as we can see some of their personal dramas that they go through without being too heavy handed. This is well-shot film as they were able to make California a very good looking place and the music has a really cool Mexican vibe to it. Unfortunately, because it's a sports movie some of the plot points of the films were 100% predictable, especially at the last third of the movie, especially when some of the drama scenes felt forced at times. But overall, I think this is a really good film that I believe anyone can enjoy. Of course there are better sports movies out there but as is, it's worth checking out.
Whiplash (2014)
One of the best films in recent years.
There's not many movies that I can think of that put me on the edge of my seat and was completely engaged to the screen as I did with Whiplash. This film is one of the best films I have seen in recent years and anyone that loves movie should watch this film. It's about a young drummer named Andrew (Miles Teller) who's trying to be the best drummer in his field and in order to do so, he's being instructed by a ruthless Jazz Instructor named Fletcher (J.K. Simmmons). From there, it is an intense psychological battle between the two and it is gripping to see the pair butt heads against each other. J.K. Simmons was absolutely brilliant as Fletcher. It's very hard for any actor to be a complete jerk as he was in this film and yet, there was still something entertaining about his performance that makes me appreciate his role in the film. Miles Teller was also really good and a little bit underrated as you can feel that his character is willing to put through hell just to be the best drummer in his field. I find it extremely fascinating that a movie about a jazz drummer could be so incredibly intense and Damien Chazelle, the writer and director of this film, was able to make the whole experience absolutely gripping. The music, as you might expect, is really great as the jazz songs that they have absolutely perfect for this film and extremely catchy as I would catch myself humming the songs long after I watched the movie. But if there's one thing that I have to give the movie big props for is that it was able to make me to applaud at the end of the film (which I've never done that in my life). Without giving too much away, the ending scene is absolutely intense and completely gripping to the point that when the ending sequence was over, I felt like that I was in the greatest movie trip in my life. This is my favorite film of the year and anybody who loves movies need to check this out.
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015)
It's good to see Spongebob back.
I am a personal fan of the Spongebob show as I think that they are hilarious especially in the early episodes. Going into this film, I was expecting to laugh a lot and the movie did exactly that, I laughed a lot. The movie about Spongebob and Plankton, who were once rivals, teamed up together to find the secret formula is a fun one and sometimes, even a little bit too crazy. There are a lot of elements that it really felt like that was in some sort of crazy acid trip because there are incredibly weird things that happen in the movie, almost half of the stuff have nothing to do with the plot. I thought the weird stuff that happens was absolutely hilarious. I also need to mention that the movie marketed to look like that most of the movie is going to be in CGI when, in reality, it's only about 1/3 of the movie while the other 2/3 is hand drawn, which I'm always a big fan of hand drawn animation. But as for my whole view of the movie, I had a fun time. The jokes are clever and fun along with the animation giving some really funny sequences. It's definitely not one of the best animated films, but I still enjoyed myself. If you're a fan of Spongebob or like a good trippy comedy, I think you should check it out.