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Monsters University (2013)
A fun college movie. Just don't put it up to Pixar standards.
Okay, so Mike Wazowski was my favorite 3-d animated character as a child, so I was pumped to hear that this film was all about him! Do I think they succeed? Yes, but please don't compare this to Pixar's other works! That is just setting the bar way to high! Mike was interesting in this movie. It's odd because he's getting in trouble in this movie, but in Monsters Inc. he was constantly trying to get Sulley OUT of trouble by sticking to the rules. I guess he matured or something? Anyways, I'm reviewing this movie as a college flick, because that's what this is. And boy is it a fun one at that! I wish they could have put more character into Randall, but that doesn't matter to me that much since there are plenty of fun new characters to get to know. My favorites are Terri and Terry, the two monsters stuck together but that's just my personal taste since I'm a twin :) The humor was parodying college life which I thought was a great choice. Dean Hardscrabble being the extremely strict teacher gets some great moments. There is also an incredibly awesome third act to go with the film. That is the part most people walk away remembering. The third act, in my opinion, stands with some of PIxar's finest. Hopefully both kids and adults will have fun in this college adventure.
Her (2013)
The screenplay alone is worth your time.
I was beyond pumped to see such an original concept get some critical praise. Her's screenplay alone is what people should be praising. It is probably one of the best screenplays I have ever seen. It has relatable and quirky humor that constantly grabs your attention. It adds great character and heart to the story. The humor is also very funny with great gags on how life works and great quotes from Amy Adams's character. Unfortunately I can't rate this film higher because of two reasons. One is the film's length. Some parts felt they took way to long to get going and didn't keep the plot moving. Another problem was some of the sex scenes. I just felt some of them were ridiculously unnecessary. I understand some of them (the pitch black scene where Theodore is only DESCRIBING the actions is great), but with other scenes I wouldn't have much of a problem with them if they didn't feel so awkward and forced. The plot also went into a weird direction as well. For instance, what is the first thing the computer Samantha wants to learn when she was first created? How to have sex. ..I'm not making this up. She even goes to the length of hiring someone to pretend to be her and have sex with Theodore! It's...odd to say the least. The film originally set up a feeling that this world is all about listening and not actually seeing or doing (heck, a whole major character doesn't even have a body). Putting in a sex scenes ruins the notion that Samantha can have a character without actually having a body. It defeats the purpose. But other than that if that doesn't bother you, there's not much negative to say about it besides the movies length. The writing alone is enough to recommend this one.
Kokuriko-zaka kara (2011)
Nice.
A simple coming of age story. The visuals, as always for Studio Ghibli, are amazing to look at. They certainly know how to create an immersive atmosphere. The characters and story are good, but don't stand out that much until the third act. That is when the emotions kick in. I don't know why but watching anime characters cry is a tough thing to get through! Maybe it's because the animation creates the emotion of sadness as if it were spilling out of the character. Anyways, it's extremely emotional and almost got me to tears. And that is the only sad point in the movie. The rest of it is extremely sweet and harmless. If you like Studio Ghibli and the trailer looks good to you, then you will probably enjoy this movie a lot.
Philomena (2013)
Incredible story put to the big screen.
Philomena is awesome. She is the only likable character in this movie and boy does she pick up the slack! She is an adorable old lady, despite being haunted by such tragic events. Want to know what's also awesome? The score. Even before I saw this movie, I purchased the soundtrack after hearing it on the Oscars. It's that good (and infectiously catchy).
So, the characters in this movie were an...interesting group to watch. The nuns...were just cruel and evil. Why....just why are you going to be so mean? One thing I really enjoyed was that the movie had these great argument pieces between the two leads, mainly due to religious differences. It showed that nobody was right in the argument. That was wonderful! There was also, at first, nobody to blame in the present for Philomena's heartache of losing her son. It was just the two leads looking for answers, each with different goals in mind (the man wanting to write a book about her by any means, since he's unemployed). That was great since it wasn't a clique good vs evil story. However, the film quickly took a 180 degree turn as it turns out, there was someone to blame! (THOSE NUNS!!!). Now it's a clique good vs evil story!
SPOILER ALERT!
Okay, so Philomena's son tries to find his real mom, but the nun tells him that Philomena abandoned him as a child (LIES!). And Philomena later forgives the nun anyways! (which is a shame since I really wanted to see her absolutely lose it). Man did that makes me feel furious!
There was the problem of Philomena's indecisive nature in the film.
"I want the book published." (4 minutes later) "Nevermind, I don't want the book published."
"I want to go!" (2 minutes later) "I really want to stay!"
That got a little annoying. But that's only a minor complaint, because otherwise I really liked Philomena. Fantastic acting and wonderfully catchy score from Alexandre Desplat lead to a great Oscar-nominated feature.
Chef (2014)
A tasty treat, but is it a memorable one?
WARNING: The following contains minor spoilers for the movie Chef
Get your taste buds ready!
Because Chef is a feast for both the eyes and taste buds. First of all, props to the cameraman for getting some expert shots. They looked very cool, especially during scenes featuring food (which did almost make me feel very hungry by the way) And don't go to this movie with an empty stomach. Everything in this movie is surrounded by food. The main character, a chef (obviously), feels at the top of his game. However when a bad review comes his way (2 out of 5 stars, which isn't that bad in my eyes), the chef lets the criticism consume him, mainly since he wasn't able to create the food he wanted to prepare because he didn't own the restaurant. Things then escalate when he explodes on Twitter, thus a twitter war ensues between the critic and the chef, which eventually leads to the lead getting fired. Now without of job he must find his inspiration to get back on track with both his career and personal life (he was recently divorced). But how?
The character of the chef is an unlikable one, which is kind of the point. He thinks highly of himself which makes it very interesting to watch him fall. He doesn't progress very much in the film until the end. Near the end it made me mad when he didn't let his son work with him once the school year started. But he didn't explain why! It just makes him look even more jerkish in my eyes (which, by the way, an unlikable central character is a major pet peeve of mine). By the way THE KID ACTOR DIDN'T STINK!!! IT'S A MIRACLE! He became better and better as the movie progressed. It's as if he got more and more comfortable with his character on screen. As I mentioned before, this film has a lot of food in it. A lot. So much that it is actually used in almost every single transition into a new scene. I'm not kidding. Even if the scene has nothing to do with food the transition to the next scene involves food. What if the chef is angry? He angrily cooks food. What if he's spending time with his son? You'll bet he'll make some more food! I wouldn't have a problem with this if they didn't do it so many times. It makes the film feel like a cookbook and not so much a film of good storytelling and creativity. Speaking of storytelling, the main focus actually isn't the relationship between the chef and the critic. It's between the chef and his son, which is totally fine. In fact, I would actually prefer this over the war against the critic or the relationship between the divorced parents. However, the two parts of the story I just mentioned go by unnoticed until the end of the movie, where you see the couple get back together and the critic become a business partner with the chef. The only problem with this is that these story aspects never really developed; therefore I honestly didn't care that much. It just makes the film look unfinished since there wasn't enough time to flesh out these stories and were instead placed at the end in order to end everything in a nice little bow.
But like I mentioned, Chef is a tasty treat. With an interesting premise and interesting characters, what could go wrong?
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
No more shaky cam sure does help.
Like the first movie, the pre-Hunger Games sections, in my opinion, are much better than the scenes in the arena. Here the pre-Hunger Games portion is outstanding! It goes through everything you wanted from the book and then some! I'm happy they took out the cheesy love portions from the book. The first half constantly kept me glued to my seat. ...and then the arena portions happened. Thank god for no more shaky cam! However, the conveniences, much like in the book, are horrible. For those of you who don't know what I"m talking about there is this fog that burns skin or gives you a bad rash or something. In other words, don't touch it or it'll kill you. Katniss's group runs away from the fog and then right as the fog catches up to them, the fog moves upward and disappears (they could just killed Katniss there but whatever). They then reach this pond RIGHT NEXT TO THEM and it heals them! *presses button "That was easy!" That annoyed me a lot, but the first half and climax were very well done and the acting as always is very good. I would be looking forward to Mockingjay Part 1 if I didn't hate the book so much.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
So wrong yet so right.
I usually have a problem with an unlikable central character, but I just can't resist Ricky Bobby's ridiculously funny character! He is very fun to watch run around, especially when on fake fire. Now, when watching this film don't except any breathtaking stories. Because this story is a very bumpy ride. The first 20 minutes is all obvious exposition and some plot points are honesty too stupid for my taste. The "Shake and Bake" joke got old quickly and the ending is a little messy. (keeping this spoiler-free) They wanted to wrap everything up in a nice little bow but it just doesn't work in my opinion. Mistakes should have consequences and I despise when someone doesn't get what he deserved for his choices. However, the story does have some surprising strong points. Watching Ricky Bobby lose his racing touch was done very well and was interesting to watch. That surprised me. And despite my previously mentioned problems this is an extremely funny film. I haven't this hard in a film in a long time! Sasha Baron Cohen provides some awesomely ridiculous laughs as well. This isn't the ballad expected based off of the title, but this is fun ride with laughs all the way to the finish line.
Fruitvale Station (2013)
The real life story of a tragic New Year's Day incident
This film was amazingly emotional. Maybe I'm a sucker for relatable, realistic dialogue, but I felt this film was probably the most real film all year. The film is about the real life death of Oscar Grant. Oscar's not perfect. He's been arrested before. However, that's what makes his character so great. He's relatable because he's not the perfect lead character, far from it in fact. And yet you still want to root for him to succeed in both making money and taking care of his young daughter. The climax and ending was tragically well put together. The initial shock of what happened was brutal (even though you already know what happens). The acting really helped demonstrate this as well. Also, the ending was very abrupt, but that's the sort of ending I love if done correctly. Showing the mother's reaction first was smart, and then hitting it home with the daughter in the last 2 minutes makes this film an emotional masterpiece. If you want to get into a very real (and language-filled by the way) story with a tragic-filled end, then this is the film for you.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Spiderman is back and must save innocents from even more villains!
I have noticed a general split with this movie. People either love it or hate it. So I went to see the movie with this in mind, and although I don't want to be on the negative (especially because I liked the first one), I have to say that this film is a mess. It suffers from trying too hard to be good while at the same time trying to be popular with the audience. That makes the film fall apart. I knew that the negative reviews had to be from one of two things-the dialogue or the tone, and surprisingly it was the dialogue that weakened the film. This is what makes people either love or hate the film. Fans of the movie get into the relationship between Peter and Gwen, mainly because the dialogue was awkward and somewhat relatable. To me, however, it just made the movie look even more lazy and I just couldn't get into the relationship. Remember how I mentioned the problem this film has by trying to be too cool? This is shown through the music. Electro's music seemingly consists of dubstep. Even Spiderman addresses this in the stupidest manner possible ("I hate this song!" What an obvious way to get people to buy the soundtrack.) There was also a VERY unfitting Phillip Phillips song in the movie as well, again to draw audience members in with the sole purpose of purchasing the song. Also, I didn't understand some of the plot points. Like why did Electro turn against Spiderman so quickly! You were so goggly-eyed towards literally seconds ago! Oh right they need Electro to turn evil quickly so they can get to the other villains! I mean come on, who needs character development! Oh, and the ending was ridiculous too. A little kid almost dies from absolute stupidity (You are not Spiderman! YOU ARE NOT!) Enough about me complaining, what did I like about the movie? Well for one, the climax was handled very well and maturely. (no spoilers here, but those who have seen the film know exactly what I'm talking about). Also, the design of Electro was very cool and creative. However, that alone can't save a messy movie with weak plot points, a lengthy romance (more romance than action btw) and weak dialogue that lead to a very problematic sequel.
Scary Movie 5 (2013)
Umm...
I can't even begin to describe how much I despise this movie. They seriously cram in as many pop culture references as possible. Some don't even have to do with scary movies! Scary Movie 5 is an unclever, unoriginal parody of films like The Paranormal Activity series and Black Swan (Black Swan, really guys? Are you that desperate for stretching your movie length?). The ONLY thing that I sort of liked in this movie was the stop-motion they used to parody Paranormal Activity, but still every single joke they crammed in there that actually worked they constantly repeated, ruining the joke altogether. It truly is scary what parody movies have become nowadays.
Godzilla (2014)
Godzilla saves the day in this 2014 remake.
I feel like (spoilers) the movie would have been a heck of a lot more fun if Bryan Cranston had stared in the entire movie. But NOPE! Instead we get Aaron Taylor-Johnson who plays the most bland character out of every character in this movie (I felt more emotions from the MONSTERS instead of him!) Speaking of the monsters, they were SO COOL! Even if the part with Godzilla breathing fire was ridiculously convenient, let's face it, that scene was AWESOME! That's what the film has going for it. What it doesn't have going for it is that although I haven't seen too many monster movies in my life, the film does have a "been there, done that" sort of feel to it. What I mean by that is that the film had a lot of scenes involving kids in peril (who were HORRIBLE actors by the way) and involved the monsters attacking EVERY SINGLE MAJOR CITY! It was pretty much what Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs was parodying. But overall, I liked this movie. The director knew what he wanted to do and achieved it, but at the same time didn't go above and beyond what was expected. Good job remaking Godzilla though!
The Fault in Our Stars (2014)
Trough a chance meeting at a Support Group, two cancer patients, Hazel and Gus, fall in love (aww...)
The Fault in Our Stars put a smile on my face from start to finish, mainly because I had read the book. It does the book justice in wonderful fashion. The characters are very well put together in the film. Isaac in particular gets a lot more of personality and more funny moments in the film than in the book. Props to the writers for that! Also, the film has a wonderful sense of pace. It is able to blend the same realistic humor and drama together from the book seamlessly well. It was also very creative with its visuals as well. For those of you who don't know, the book the film's based on contains a lot of texts and emails during Hazel and Gus's conversations. I like how the movie didn't stick to one style. Sometimes thought bubbles filled the screen and other times the camera showed the screen Hazel was texting on. That being said, do I think this movie is flawless? No. For starters this film has A lot of pop songs. Like I mentioned in my Divergent review, props to them for actually using their soundtrack, but they didn't need to include so many to begin with. Also, the film makes certain parts a lot more sappy and therefore more clique than in the book. It's ironic how much the film tries to stay AWAY from these cliques but sometimes falls right into it. It's almost as if the film was originally made in a unique way, then the director thought "Wait, this film still needs to make money" and decided to add a hint of Hollywood cheese. Either way, this movie was a lot of fun to watch. I can overlook its flaws to be very content with this one. There are few faults in these stars.
The Butler (2013)
Amazingly detailed.
I'm surprised this movie didn't get a lot of Oscar attention, especially since the acting, I thought, was absolutely amazing. Now, I haven't seen The Color Purple, but man Oprah can act! Who knew? I'm also surprised this didn't get nominated because it's a historical piece. Even though it takes place in history, some people's characteristics are changed. That is Oscar bait! The length was also decent enough to tell the whole story of the fictionalized Cecil Gaines.The soundtrack was also very catchy and got stuck in my head very quickly, particularly the slow piano tune used throughout the film. I liked seeing a life story from start to finish, instead of seeing childhood memories through only flashbacks like in Ray. You can tell plenty of work was put into making this film and it definitely paid off.
The Kings of Summer (2013)
Sweet and...independent.
If you are looking for a heart-filled independent film, then this is the right choice for you. This film has a lot of heart put into it, which makes its characters more likable, interesting, and funny. The humor has this old-fashioned vibe to it, making this film great for adults (props to the soundtrack for some awesome retro-gaming like music) Now, do I think the humor stands out as much as the story? Not really, but that's not a bad thing. A comedy's story is usually very weak so that only makes this comedy stronger. Also, the likable cast also leads to some great humor. You want to see these kids succeed in building their own home in the forest and its very enjoyable to watch. A great cast (Moises Arias as an oddball weirdo was an awesomely funny choice), good humor, and a great heart is what a comedy should be made of. The Kings of Summer definitely rules.
The Host (2013)
Why?
The Host is a case of absolute boring. Not even an interesting premise can save this mess of a movie. The characters were bland and the setting was boring (a desert as boring as the film's script). Also, the love angle they were going for was very...awkward. Let me explain, the story is about a young girl named Melanie who gets her body taken over by an alien named Wanderer (Yeah, creative name guys). The girl convinces Wanderer to escape the aliens. They arrive to a "secret" hideout (middle of the desert and the aliens still can't find the humans? Didn't the humans use trucks to get around? Wouldn't that leave tracks?) Notice my problems already. And we haven't even gotten to meet the rest of the cast! What makes the romance in this film awkward is that the alien falls for one guy and the girl inside is in love with another. This makes the film even more choppy and uninteresting. All you do in the second half is watch the girl make out with not one, but two guys (How original!) Then the plot makes Melanie's brother Chandler cut himself in the most ridiculous/hilarious way possible (way to move the plot forward.) Then they have to find a cure for his wound (seriously, how is it possible that I don't care?) So yeah, this film is a mess. Don't expect me to be watching any Stephanie Meyer films for awhile.
Mud (2012)
A coming of age story?
I was surprised by just how engaging this film was, despite its critical acclaim. I was also surprised to find that this film was a coming of age story. Even though a lot of people say that McConaughey's character, Mud, was the central character, I would argue differently. The film is actually about two boys discovering Mud and keeping his whereabouts a secret. But Mud refuses to leave without his true love Juniper. It's intriguing to hear little to no praise about the main child actor Tye Sheridan, who did an amazing job portraying Ellis, a love-stricken teen who believes in true love and wants Mud and Juniper to get together by any means necessary. And they have this plot point without being cheesy AT ALL. You'd be surprised how difficult that is to pull off. I also appreciate this film for its tense and rather realistic moments. Mud being wanted for murder puts him on a lot of people's hit list and also puts anyone associated with Mud in terrible danger. When everything starts to unfold at the end you really feel the impact of it. The only minor problem with the film is that it takes awhile to get moving. The love relationship with Ellis and his girlfriend was also difficult to get into because the girlfriend is very unlikable. However, his film has a lot of things going for it. It's central love story is intriguing and how everything unfold is interesting to watch.
The Lego Movie (2014)
Everything is awesome.
When I first saw this movie's trailer I was very conflicted inside. On one hand, this film could be very fun and visually inventive. On the other hand, however, it could have been nothing more than a giant advertisement for LEGO products. And then the reviews came in. HOLY SMOKES THIS IS A WELL-REVIEWED MOVIE! I don't think people realize just how well-received this film is. It is just as critically praised as any of the Pixar classic films. And after finally seeing this movie for the first time, I can see why. The first thing I should mention is its statements on how society works. It is simple and extremely inventive at the same time. The leaders dividing the land and taking out creativity puts a lot of purpose into the conflict and makes the conflict seem more realistic because humans have and still do divide up their land for their own purposes. The writers take this concept and roll with it, adding plenty of humor to boost. Speaking of the humor, this film is also very funny. It's one of those laugh-a-minute gag sort of movies, which is both a good and bad thing. Good because most of gags really work. Bad because these gags taking away from developing any character in the film. Like I'm pretty sure few people could explain more than two things about each character. Both the main character and villain are rather weak and not that entertaining because there is very little time to develop either of them. Speaking of that adding a clique "You've got to believe in yourself" isn't creative in the slightest and doesn't add to the main character's personality at all. The character I connected to the most wasn't Emmet, wasn't Wyldstyle, but that Uni-Kitty thing. The Uni-Kitty lost its entire home and did its best to always have a smile on its face. It was depressing to watch her almost lose it. This is a problem because the most relatable character was a side character with little purpose or dialogue. I can't go any further without any spoilers, so SPOILER ALERT. If you want to see this movie but haven't yet, skip the following paragraph.
The fact that the kid is controlling the LEGOS is very creative don't get me wrong, but it's also very confusing. The kid is controlling everything, but then whispers to Emmett "It's up to you." ...what?! Weren't you controlling him the whole time? Because I'm pretty sure the film made it clear that Emmett struggled moving in real life.
That being said, this is a visual masterpiece. The LEGO Movie is a mix of stop-motion and CGI, and it is gorgeous to watch. The film's highlights are easily the awesome action scenes where the Master Builders are building and/or rearranging legos. I know it seems like I have a lot to complain, but the thing about the parts I enjoyed is that I don't have to explain them that much. The humor is at some points hilarious and the visuals are absolutely stunning. It's just that these LEGO characters need to build up some character. So "everything is awesome" may be a bit of an overstatement, but the LEGO Movie certainly shows why LEGOS are still popular after all of these years.
Divergent (2014)
Divergent means you're special. Tris is divergent.
Very fun and pretty to look at in the first half. Hilariously bad in the second. It seemed like the movie felt the need to cram in as many Youth Adult cliques as possible within the second half of the movie-the love relationship, the strong independent girl ("No, I AM DIVERGENT!" I almost died of laughter). BTW: Idk why there was Ellie Goulding in the background music all the time. It was distracting for me, but I'll give them props for actually using songs from their soundtrack (cough, Hunger Games) Even though this is considered to be a negative review, I still had a lot of fun with this movie, especially in the hilariously bad second half. Expect to have some fun with this one.
Frozen (2013)
Come, who hasn't seen Frozen yet?
This Disney musical is fun. Flat-out fun. The humor was great and the visuals continue to stun. And it looks like Disney is finally starting to learn how to use 3-d animation to their advantage (another great example of this is 2012's Wreck it Ralph). A good way to describe this film is that it's self-aware. It knew it was treading some similar Disney cliques, and it just had fun with its silly moments. The characters were charming, especially the snowman (yeah, big surprise there). Also, the songs, although a bit cheesy near the beginning, were a wonderful from start to finish. Frozen takes a fairy tale and has fun with it. The animation was wonderful, the characters were charming, and the story was very immersive (was I the only one shocked by that twist near the end?). Frozen is a sweet treat for all to enjoy!
The Kid (1921)
Chaplin's tramp character takes care of a young, abandoned son.
So when I was coming up with what would be a good film to review first, I figured I might as well start with the oldest film that I have seen. That film would be "The Kid." The Kid is a 1921 film made by Charlie Chaplin. Do I really need to explain who Chaplin is? No, okay good. Chaplin directed and starred in this film about his famous "tramp" character taking care of a young child abandoned by his mother. And thus Chaplin's typical slapstick humor ensues. I know some people could argue that this film isn't edgy enough because it's just Chaplin running around being Charlie Chaplin. And although that's true I do sense a lot more heart in this film, especially during the opening scene, where I legitimately felt bad for the mother getting rid of her child. Life can be cruel sometimes. That being said because this is a Charlie Chaplin film, and to me the comedy and drama didn't blend that well. And keep in mind this is the only problem I have with the film. Because it's a Chaplin film and because it's about his tramp character, you sometimes can't tell the difference between comedy and drama. Like seriously your son being taken away now is not the time for comedy! Other than that I absolutely adored this film. And it looks like audience members did to. The acting was great, the score was beautiful, and the story is filled with plenty of heart. The Kid deserves the rating of a 9/10.