Kick-Ass 2

With the country still in the grips of a super hero craze, it's only natural that Kick-Ass, an underground comic about real people attempting to emulate the superheroes they idolize, gets its sequel to.

Kick Ass-2 picks up 2 years after its predecessor. Dave, after all but hanging up the Kick-Ass mask, feels the urge for action, and reconnects with Mindy (aka Hit Girl) who is failing at balancing life as a High School freshman and a martial arts crime fighter. Also in the aftermath of the first movie, Chris D'Amico (Formerly Red Mist) takes vengeance in his hands and begins assembling a group bound for chaos and destruction.

As a side note to this review...As with the first Kick-Ass movie, the trailers are extremely misleading in my opinion. The trailers are very geared towards the comedic aspect of the film. While the film certainly has it funny moments, this movie is much closer to a dramatic action movie.

The writing and feel of the movie was similar to Kick-Ass, which is important to the continuity of the series. One thing that wasn't there, was the innocence from the first movie. While the argument could be made that the first movie exposed these characters to the real world consequences of being a hero, I missed the wide-eyed optimism from the first movie. Another thing that I was not crazy about, though this stayed true to the comic book, was the name that Chris D'Amico chose as his villainous mantle. 'The Motherfucker' to me just does not seem to embody the dark side of this character, though it is a spot on representation of the 'spoiled brat didn't get his way' aspect of the character.

The actors did a pretty good job of maintaining their characters in this movie. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloe Grace Moretz have obviously grown with their characters, and did bring a more adult feel to the movie. Jim Carey did a great job as Colonel Stars & Stripes, and put his very unique twist on the character that makes me like him as an actor. I think some of the superfluous characters are harder to get around, though the entire point of the movie was to take the personal experience of the one individual who stood up and expand it to a community that he inspired.

The appearance of the movie was the most jarring for me. Added to this movie was word bubbles, scene change descriptions, and even animated character facades, something completely in the other direction of the first movie, and I didn't really appreciate it. It brought an almost infantile aspect to a movie that is anything but childish. Also I am not a fan of the style of graphic generated bloodshed that has lately become very hip, just because it doesn't look even close to real (better than the kool-aid blood of the 70's and 80's, but still takes me out of the movie.). Also there are a couple scenes where the violence is just too overdone, even for a movie with a 15 year old ninja.

Final Judgement:

While it was obviously made in the spirit of the first movie, the addition of comic book-like graphics, the overpowering number of characters that are introduced, some overkill on violent scenes, and a certain loss of character from our hero makes the movie inferior to its predecessor, but still a pretty good watch, especially for fans of the first movie.

Score:★★★★★★★☆☆☆

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Elysium

If you had five days left to live, how would you spend it?

Elysium follows ex-con Max de Costa, a production line worker who is given a death sentence after being exposed to high amount of radiation. While he lives on Earth, which has become a slum since the wealthy had retreated to the space station 'Elysium', he is unable to cure his sickness, but is given the chance to break into the futuristic utopia.

The writing, like Blomkamp's last masterpiece, District 9, is wonderfully fresh. This is the kind of future I really crave to see in a Sci-Fi movie.  The older generation of Sci-Fi felt too sterile and clean, it's nice to see spaceships in the same movie as a grill made out of an oil drum. Incorporating social issues that we face now in this futuristic dystopian world obviously comes naturally to Blomkamp. While District 9 tackled racism and immigration, Elysium looks at class warfare and health care. 

The acting in this movie was fantastic. Matt Damon, as he almost always does, has an amazing performance in this movie. I was a little thrown off by the quasi-french accent Jodie Foster had throughout the movie, but that is a minor detail. The gold star of the day however, goes to Sharlto Copley. I loved this guy as Wikus in District 9, his breakout performance,; and his portrayal of Murdock in the A-Team movie was flawless, but this role was going to be a test as his first villainous role, and like a champ, he knocked it out of the park. I truly believe that Copley is probably one of the most underused actors out there compared to the quality of the performance he gives.

The cinematics is beautiful in this movie. The scenes that cut from the slums of Mexico to the paradise of Elysium are really amazing, going from the dusty, dead, and overcrowded to the pristine opulence is definitely a smart artistic choice to have. My only nitpick that I can find here is that Kruger's ship looks very reminiscent of the alien technology from District 9. I can understand how this happened, as Blomkamp is most likely the one who created the 3D model (his previous job was doing artistic 3D models that decorated the covers and pages of the magazine 'Popular Science'), but I would have liked to see something just slightly different.

Final Judgement:

Too often these days, do we hear the words 'Must See' attached to a movie. I would classify very few movies as a movie that someone "must watch". That being said, Elysium is one of those movies. To be honest this was the movie I was waiting for all summer to see. A perfect blend of creativity, beauty, and raw emotion. Frankly I was worried this movie wouldn't live up to the high expectations I was putting on it, but it blew them away. This is not only worth the ticket price, it may be worth a second ticket just to soak it in again.

Score:★★★★★★★★★★

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We're the Millers

Get 2 tons of pot from Mexico to Denver...easy, right?

Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston headline this comedy where a middle aged drug dealer is forced to carry an unspecified amount of marijuana across the boarder, and to give him the guise of an innocent family, recruits his neighbor; a stripper, the boy accross the hall, and a homeless runaway girl.

The writing was decent in this movie, jokes were spaced nicely, they seemed pretty fresh. The overall plot isn't particularly new, reminiscent of a couple other movies, but still unused enough to feel like a movie we haven't seen a million times.

The acting, like any comedy, is where the movie shines the most. Sudeikis, as always, is brilliant at his delivery and definitely is the talant that sells this movie. Aniston delivers a mostly adequate performance, but does have moments that will make you laugh. The two kids in the movie, Emma Roberts, but especially Will Poulter also deliver pretty solid performances.

With most comedies, many of the visual aspects of the movie take a back seat to focus on characters more than explore for artistic shots, one disappointing aspect about this though, is that for the dialogue being so strong selling that the character's all call Denver home, it would have been nice to see the Denver skyline. It was pretty easy to tell this was not shot in Denver at all, as a resident of the mile high city.

Final Judgement:

It's a decent movie, but this is the type of comedy that before you buy a ticket, you are more than likely already aware if you will like it from seeing the previews. Nothing was revolutionary in the field of comedy here, but it certainly is better than a lot of other comedic movies out there. If unsure, this would still be a solid movie in your netflix queue.

Score:★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ 

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Percy Jackson II

The son of Poseidon is back to save the realm from being destroyed...again.

 Percy Jackson, after the events of the first movie, finds himself in a slump, losing confidence in himself after not performing quests and tasks measurable to those seen in the first film. Soon though, he is hurled into a mission to find the legendary Golden Fleece.

The acting is in line with the first film, though by far the greatest cameo title goes to Nathan Fillion, filling the role of Hermes like a champ (look for a subtle Firefly reference!), there a close second with Stanley Tucci as Dyonisis. I am however, very disappointed that they had to recast Pierce Brosnan's role with Anthony Head. While I had no issue Anthony's performance, recasting a role in a series, no matter how large or small (I'm looking at you, Dumbledore!) brings you out of the movie.

The movie was gorgeously shot. It was a treat seeing a high budget imagining of a Hippocampus, and the other monsters are equally as fascinating.

The writing is what you would expect coming out of the first movie. You have the returning hero in his sophmore slump...yadda, yadda, yadda. Like the first movie there are parts that feel well written, and other parts that are pretty campy and predictable. The biggest issue for me, and this is more than likely a jab at the novels themselves as opposed to the script, is that these tales of Percy Jackson reference that character like Hercules, Perseus, and Odysseus were real people, then introduce characters, such as Medusa in the first movie, that were killed by these legendary heroes.

Final Judgement:

If you liked the first movie, it is a safe bet you will be more than happy with this sequel. While it is in the same spirit of the last movie, it is obvious that the characters, and the plot are growing up a bit. Despite that, this would make a good family movie night that will entertain kids and adults.

Score:★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

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2 Guns

Washington. Wahlberg. Going head to head with anyone who gets in their way, including each other.

 '2 Guns' follows to deep undercover agents, a DEA agent (Washington), and a Navy Intelligence Agent (Wahlberg), who are unknowingly on the same sting. After their sting leads them to rob the same bank, they end up with more then they bargained for. More money, more enemies, and more problems.

 I didn't do much research on this movie, so I was kinda blown away by how much I liked it.

 I have always been a fan of Denzel, and it's hard for him to disappoint. Wahlberg, while he can be hit an miss, nailed his part in this movie. More importantly though, is that the chemistry the two had together felt very natural, and very organic. While they aren't technically cops, the dynamic of the two together will have you reminiscing of movies like Lethal Weapon.

The cinematics were pretty much what you would expect out of an action movie. gunfire, explosions, car chases, etc. None of these were bad, but nothing new and impressive.

The writing, while nothing extremely out of the box, still felt nice. Punchlines were spaced well between the intense action scenes, giving your eyes and brain some relaxing time. What I didn't expect was the serious moments, that Denzel of course handled like a pro.

Final Judgement:

While it may not have been as out there as some of the other movies this season, I would say this makes a good movie to see in theaters. You won't be disappointed with the good mix of action and comedy.

Score:★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 

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The Wolverine

The poster child of the mutants is back, and out to kick some serious komono. Can the X-men franchise keep the momentum of First Class?

'The Wolverine', easily enough, follows the character of the same name. Wolverine, aka Logan, aka James Howlett, is living in the wilderness, hiding from the world after the events of X-Men 3. He is located by a man he saved while he was a POW in a Japanese prison in WWII. He is offered the chance at walking away from his powers, to end his mortal suffering.

This movie was a pretty big miss for me.

Acting is what you would expect from the run-of-the-mill X-Men movies, not the quality First Class teased us with. While Hugh Jackman may have delivered a performance slightly above X3 or Wolverine: Origins, the parts of him that shown we overshadowed by the overall drab pall of 'action movie acting' (I like to call it 'Statham-itis') where the only emotions were pretty much anger, fear, and the punch line.

The cinematics were pretty decent. Color palettes changed pretty drastically over the movie, but changed to adopt to environments, which is nice. My only beef is that it sometimes looked as though the placement of where Wolverine's claws come out were inconsistent...while this seems like kind of a nit-picky thing to look at, Wolverines claws are almost a separate character, how important they are to his identity, so even an inconsistency of half an inch is huge here.

The writing was pretty disappointing. I honestly would have trashed the script for something else. I think referencing the gigantic bomb of X3 as often as they did in the movie was a horrible decision. I think X-Men: First Class was a clean slate for 20th Century Fox to try and springboard back into the super hero genre, but referencing possibly the worst of all the mutant movies as a central plot theme was basically hamstringing themselves. There are literally hundreds of storylines revolving specifically with Logan, but they chose to build a story on the wreckage of a catastrophe, instead of a solid foundation.

Final Judgement:

The Wolverine took a step back from the leap forward the X-Men: First Class gave us. par for the course acting and an incredibly disappointing story make this a movie that you should wait to netflix. Luckily though, we can all look forward to X-Men: Days of Future Past to try and pick up the ball where Wolverine dropped it

Score:★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ 

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R.E.D. 2

The crew is back and older than they were last time!

Frank and the rest of the retired squad is back. In this sequel, there may be trouble in paradise with Frank and his dream gal, Sarah, who has begun to feel the stale-ness of their relationship without the threat of an imminent fire-fight. Trouble finds them as Frank finds himself framed for a terrorist plot, and must find who is responsible while avoiding all the government agencies seeking his death.

This is really one of those movies that feels right to see Bruce Willis in, and his willingness to work in this movie shines through with his performance. Helen Mirren, John Malcovich, and Brian Cox deliver pretty much an identical performance as the last movie, which isn't bad at all, but just like R.I.P.D., which opened the same week as this, the real star of the movie is Mary Louise Parker. er lines are the morter that holds the entire movie together. I have always been a fan of Neal McDonough, so it was nice to see him (though I am on the edge of my seat waiting to see one of his next movies, 'Prototype').

The look of the movie is nothing spectacular, there aren't any artistic shots that change the face of cinema, but you wouldn't expect that from a movie like this. It was nice to see the various different countries that this is filmed in.

The writing was decent. This movie indeed felt like a continuation of the last feature. The jokes were spaced very nicely, which is what you want out of an action comedy,a one-two punch of funny to balance out the intensity of a violent situation.

Final Judgement

This movie is definitely the successor to RED; both in title and spirit. If you enjoyed the first movie, it's all but guaranteed that you'll most likely enjoy this. Even if you haven't seen the first movie, you won't be seriously out of the loop with this movie. Worth a matinee ticket.

Score:★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 

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R.I.P.D.

When we die, it's heaven or hell...right? Not in this action comedy starring Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Mary Louise-Parker, and Kevin Bacon.

R.I.P.D. follows Nick, a recently deceased cop who partners with a 19th century lawman to bring in dead souls avoiding judgement and stumble into a sinister plot to overthrow the afterlife.

As far as acting goes, this movie felt mostly like a comedy; but a decent comedy. Delivery of lines was well done by the entire cast, and the cast definitely had a great screen chemistry. Reynolds and Bridges each have their moments...but the hands down best lines go to Parker.

Cinematics in the movie were pretty good. Colors were where you would expect to see them and shots looked good. The digital animation is what made me question this movie. The animation of the dead creatures is on the fence. The creatures themselves didn't bother me, but the animation itself looked as if it wasn't a smooth as it should be...it was too obviously animation and looked like more time could have been spent into it.

The writing was pretty good too. There is more than a couple movies and shows that have been made about 'Paranormal Police Departments', but this still takes a pretty unique look and approach to it.

Final Judgement

It's not amazing, but certainly not a bad movie either. The characters are witty, the plot is interesting,, and the feel of the movie is pretty genuine. I would say this is worth going to a matinee showing, don't commit a date night to it though.

Score:

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

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Grown Ups 2

So I saw this movie almost a week ago,, and don't have a good reason why it took me until now to post on it.

'Grown Ups 2' continues the story of Lenny Fedder and his group of friends. Now that Lenny has packed his bags and left L.A. to moved back to his hometown, he and his friends spend the day reminiscing about times gone by.

Acting in this movie is...painful. Whether it's Tim Meadows delivering the exact same line and performance ever 10 minutes, Shaq acting like an actor instead of just acting, or any of the other sub par (and thats being generous) performances delivered by a crowd of cameos picked at random from the L.A. yellowpages, and the lackluster performance we are becoming so familiar with from Sandler and his weapons chest of funny actors from the '90s. One of the things I hate most about a comedy movie came true with this movie, being that in order to fill seats, most all of the big punch lines are in the plethora of previews, leaving the audience only the smaller jokes to chortle at.

Writing, like the acting, was all over the place and was grasping to find a plot point to hold on to.  While it is assumed Adam Sandler's character is the lead he doesn't appear to be much more important than anyone else. One thing that most usually disappoints me with movies that show the 'Day in the Life Of..." type of plots is that there is no room for believable character development, which occurred in this movie.

The cinematography of the movie was really nothing special. While it certainly didn't suck, there was no visual moment that wow-ed me.

Final Judgement

The only reason I would recommend this movie is if you just couldn't get enough of the first 'Grown Ups' movie. Other than that, this comedy movie brings just about nothing to the table that you can't get better of somewhere else. Movies coming out that I am sure will certainly eclipse this movie like 'World's End' or even 'We're the Millers' are what you should be holding out for your comedy faire.

Score:★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ 

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Pacific Rim

Giant robots fighting giant monsters from another dimension. Sounds like something from a terrible Japanese cartoon, right? Well in my modest opinion, this movie definitely did better than that…not that those are high expectations.

‘Pacific Rim’ spins an fantastical yarn, showing us that giant monsters, nicknamed ‘Kaiju’ invaded Earth, forcing mankind to unite against them to bring us the ‘Jagers’, giant man-made metal monstrosities with the soul purpose of killing Kaiju. The story centers around a single pilot (piloting a Jager it turns out, it a two person job) that has placed himself in somewhat of a self imposed exile, and is called upon to help mankind make its final stand against the growing threat of the Kaiju.

The look of this movie was, in a single word, dazzling. The graphic effects were incredibly well done, the robots looked fantastic and, being that you see different generations of robots, believable. Being a Guillermo del Toro movie, you expect some great monsters, and holy crap does he deliver. The Kaiju are a diverse and stunning collection of horrors from a mind that has to run rampant with the things that hide under the bed. I saw this in 3D, and there were a few sketchy moment in 3D, but all in all, the 3D was used as it should be, as a tool to enhance the depth of the field and not as the gimmick it was in the 70’s.

Acting was pretty decent in this movie. The show was definitely Idris Elba’s, demanding all of y=the attention of whatever scene he was in. Charlie Day was surprisingly good, even though he was used mostly as a comedic boxing glove whenever the story needed a good comedy punch. Another great performer in this movie was Rinko Kikuchi, this being her largest performance to date. Ron Pearlman of course makes an appearance, as he and del Toro are good friends.

The story in this film was decent, but I do have to admit I was hoping for a little more drama and story and a little less action. I liked what I saw, but there were some action sequences that are almost exhausting just watching because of the amount of force and devastation caused. Other than that small concern, wanting a little more exposition and detail in some areas, I really have nothing negative to say about the story.

Final Judgement:

This is what you want out of a summer action movie. There was a good story, amazing special effects, and even a little hint at romance mixed up in it. If you are looking for an action movie, buy tickets to this. If you are indifferent or prefer 3D, this is a 3D movie that won't kill your eyes, and this movie in IMAX is breath-taking. While it most likely won't win an award from the Academy, this is a movie that shouldn't disappoint.

Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

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The Lone Ranger

"Hi-Yo Silver, Away!" A battle cry made famous by the Lone Ranger radio show of yester-year. How does this staple of American entertainment fair though, when turned into a big budget blockbuster?

 The Lone Ranger tells the Story of John Reid and Tonto, who have vows of revenge on the same men, for their own different reasons. After an ambush left his enemies assuming him dead, John dons a mask and pursues his enemies, seeking to bring them to justice.

 I was worried about this movie before there was even trailers for it, because it has been quite some time since I have seen Johnny Depp play the traditional role of a supporting actor, he usually plays lead and that's what people want to see him as. Well it turns out I had a right to be worried.

 The acting was...well it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. I have seen better performances from all of the billed cast: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Will Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson, and even Helena Bonham Carter. I never became emotionally invested in any character. Now the lack of emotional depth though, is not something that rests solely on the actors' shoulders, but writers as well.

 Writing is where this movie truly makes its swan dive off of a cliff. As I said, I was worried before about Depp being billed as one of the most famous side-kicks of all time, and it was justified, because this movie, in its essence, was "Tonto: with special guest, The Lone Ranger". Almost all of the heavy lines were given to Depp, and while they shared the screen time equally, Tonto usually upstaged the Ranger. Not only this, but with the subject matter, there was an opportunity to make something really special, since The Lone Ranger is really the superhero for the wild west, and could have merged those genres for a great mix. Instead, the movie turned out to be closer to a comedy, with the story floundering awkwardly when Tonto wasn't making some sort of joke. It very much felt like the writers/director (Gore Verbinski) really wanted an excuse to see a Native American Captain Jack Sparrow, though replacing his affection for rum with an unhealthy affection for a dead bird, which was a plot point that's only value was for a repeated punchline force fed to the audience.

 The cinematography was really the singular saving grace of the movie. It did a good job capturing the feel of a western, very warm environmental colors, but muted and natural colors for anything man made.

Final Judgement:

With a script secreted by some of the same people who beat us to death with the Pirates movies, this movie was never destined to be original...or enjoyable. An icon that has touched every medium of American culture was done a great disservice, and basically was put in the side-car to a bird loving mental patient. There was never any emotion invested in the characters because they were all too busy trying to get screen time with Tonto to make a joke about the bird. My serious recommendation is to avoid this in theaters, avoid redbox and pay-per-view...if you really want to see this movie, wait for netflix to carry it, you won't feel as cheated out of your money.

Score: ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

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Red State

We all know what a Kevin Smith movie involves, right? A smattering of dick and fart jokes, paired with his dynamic duo Jay and Silent Bob. Well not this movie, not even close.

‘Red State’ is a story that follows a small group of boys, who look for a sexual encounter from an online stranger, and get kidnapped by a religiously fanatic group, resembling the Westboro Baptist Church. After the kidnapping, the church is placed under siege by the ATF.

Doesn’t sound like your average Smith film, right? That’s because it’s not. Smith really swung for the fences with this movie, and not only did he succeed in his drive for this movie, but also redefined what a ‘Kevin Smith Movie’ could be, which is important with a TV miniseries about hockey on the horizon for projects he is working on.

The story on this movie was great. It was original, and at times, downright unsettling. I have seen this movie multiple times, and I have only one real problem with it, and it is one that Smith has heard a lot, enough to even address in his podcasts. There is a monologue that carries on for what I feel is too long. Now that being said, the monologue is incredibly well written and acted wonderfully by Michael Parks, so my only wish is that there was something to break it up a bit.

The acting all around is wonderful, but the show really belongs to Michael Parks and John Goodman.  Parks plays the leader of the Five Points Church, who really delivers a character that believes his every action as ordained and justified by the Almighty. Goodman also put out a character of a tired ATF agent who is scared to disobey an order he might find morally offensive.

The look of the movie? Dirty, gritty, and real. This really differs from Smith’s other movies. Almost all of Smith’s other movies have David Klein as the Director of Photography and it definitely shows that they went out of their comfort zone to try to really ground the emotion of the film.

Final Judgement:

This was a brave attempt at trying something new and delivers. The plot is original, the acting is great. I think this is a great movie for Netflix, and worth spending a few hours in front of the TV. If you are looking for an uplifting movie or a comedy, you may want to wait on this movie.

Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆☆

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A Band Called Death

What's in a name? This documentary explores just that question with a long unknown band that has been given praise the world over with quotes such as "They were punk before Punk was punk."

'A Band Called Death', not surprisingly, tells the journey of a band...called Death. Today a name like that would not even raise an eyebrow if a 10 year old was listening to it. But in 1974, when three African-American brothers playing a style of rock no one had heard came along, no one was prepared for it. This documentary follows this band and unfolds for us the story of their inspiration, their failures, rejections, and success over 35 years in the making. All of this spearheaded by one of the Hackney brothers, a visionary lost before his time had found him.

This movie was in a word, wonderful. I have watched plenty of docs before and behind the music, things like that, but this is one of the only ones that really touches you and really invests you in the real life story of these three brothers. This doc was very well edited and tells a very powerful story, and a part of me really wants to see this nominated for Best Feature Doc for an Oscar.

The pictures and music is wonderful, and you can really tell that the music industry has a passion for these guys with heavy hitters like Questlove, Alice Cooper, Mickey Leigh, Henry Rollins, Kid Rock, and Elijah Wood (who apparently owns a record label.) dotting the interviews raving about this band.

Final Judgement:

This bands journey through their various trials and tribulations is nothing short of inspiring and moving. I feel that anyone should be able to watch this movie and get something enjoyable out of it. The story, the people, the musi...everything just really comes together in a big way to make a great watch. This indie movie is only in select theaters across the country right now, but you can rent it on Amazon.com and pick up a hard copy there too, and I really recommend watching it at least once.  

Score: ★★★★★★★★★★☆

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How To Be A Serial Killer

Definitely an interesting take on the serial killer phenomena, This movie I felt was a good watch, I would recommend it  to anyone who is swept up in the serial killer craze (fans of Dexter, Criminal Minds, etc.), but I felt that while an important part about the movie was about finding one's voice, this movie didn't really find itself a home.

'How To Be A Serial' killer is partly a narrative about veteran serial killer Mike (Dameon Clarke) taking a pupil (Matthew Gray Gubler) under his tutelage. There is also a 'camera confessional' aspect delving into characters' emotions, as well as a 'self help video' section detailing the rules one needs to follow to be a successful serial killer.

As for acting, there is essentially only two actors in the entire movie, Clarke and Gubler. Clarke I think did a great job, as did Gubler, but I never felt like the two were friends in the movie, it always seemed like they really didn't mesh together as a team. I did think it was interesting that Matthew Gray Gubler played a serial killer in training when his regular gig is playing a genius savant trained to capture serial killers.

Writing I thought was a key downfall. There were too many elements in the movie that distracted me. It wa part narrative, part self help/tutorial, part camera confession. I think if the camera confessional scenes were clipped altogether it would have worked better, especially since there was never anyone following the characters with a camera; those scenes just felt awkward and unnecessary. It also really struggled to find what it's main genre of movie was...there wasn't enough jokes for me to just say it was a comedy, I wasn't invested in the characters enough to find any particular moment suspenseful, and there isn't enough emotional turmoil to make me think of a drama. I labeled it as all three because it has moments that picked out of each category, like a sampler platter of a movie.

Cinematography was decent in the movie, the colors were very natural, and honestly the best lighting are the night scenes when they are driving, but nothing really stood out.

Final Judgement:

This movie is not going to knock your socks off. Like I said at the beginning, if you are into any of the current serial killer shows out there, it's definitely worth the watch and some of the tutorial sections might crop up in your head during those shows. Otherwise, it's not like society is going to notice is you skip this one.

Score: ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

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Super

This movie surprised the hell out of me. Much better than I expected going into it. This was truly an impressive indie film.

'Super' follows Frank (Rainn Wilson), an average guy who is a cook at a diner, who has led a remarkably boring life. This changes when his wife (Liv Tyler) runs off with the drug dealer 'Jock' (Kevin Bacon) without a note or a reason why. After the police turn a deaf ear to his plea for assistance, Frank takes the law into his own hands and becomes the vigilante The Crimson Bolt. Over the movie we see this everyday crime fighter go from a truly awkward spectacle to behold to a truly fearsome agent of wrath.

The story was both what made this movie work, but what also more than likely what made this movie a mainly underground success. The movie opened a scant two months after Kick-Ass, which follows a similar plot, but had a budget over ten times the size of Super with major studio support. The story was pretty decent, there were a few parts I didn't agree with and thought should have been rewritten or removed completely from the movie.

The acting was not only impressive, but who they were able to hire was impressive. Being able to hire Kevin Bacon, Liv Tyler, Ellen Page, Michael Rooker, Nathan Fillion and Rainn Wilson and still have enough from your 2.5 million dollar budget to make a full length, well shot movie is a feat, and definitely tells us that some of these actors definitely lowered their rates because they just wanted to be involved in the project. Rainn Wilson was great in the movie, he had a rough start for me, but by the end I was totally sold with his performance. I also found it kind of hilarious that this was Nathan Fillion's second role as a kind of lame super hero, the first being Captain Hammer in "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog".

The look and feel of the movie was a lot grittier than I was expecting Lots of muted and earthy colors, which really makes the few times that there is a cartoon-y special effect really stand out. The special effects were done old school. Blood pumps and the like instead of the growing use of digital blood. I liked the style that the effects were used, but there were a few time I think they were just over-used and distracting.

Final Judgement:

'Super' delivers a good story, but some of the special effectsmight be argued that either held it back or added to its charm. The characters develop nicely and the story moves fluidly at a good pace. This movie is on Netflix and is definitely worth finding a home in your queue.

Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

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The Skin I Live In

A foreign movie whose original title is: 'La Piel Que Habito'. This movie debuted a couple years ago, but had a pretty soft opening. It fell through the cracks I think and it is a tragedy.

'The Skin I Live In' is a suspenseful story about a plastic surgeon who, after tragedy strikes his family and his wife is horribly burned, becomes obsessed with developing a highly experimental form of skin graft. After years of work, he begins testing on another woman. This woman is moved to his estate during the treatment, and is regarded as a prisoner in solitary confinement due to the severity of her condition and the surgery she undergoes.

'The Skin I Live In' is a masterpiece. The screenplay is incredibly clever, moving, and haunting. The story, which I will not spoil, is such an intense mind-fuck, you will forget that you are reading subtitles. The non-linear plot flows so smoothly and the story is excellently crafted, you really feel for the characters.

As far as acting goes, I just have one question. "Where the hell has this Antonio Banderas been?!" I had been thinking Banderas had retired from being in adult oriented movies and traded over to kids movies, and I would never again see a bad ass Banderas. But this movie let shine a strong ray of hope that he will still be in grown up movies. Since there aren't many characters in this movie, that makes every role that much more important. Not only does Banderas shine, but his opposite, Elena Anaya, delivers a brilliant performance as well.

The cinematography is great as well. The entire color of the film is very muted and dour, a dark feeling matched by the subject matter. The lighting changes from dreary and disparaging to sterile and emotionless.

Final Judgement:

This movie is fantastic, and you will not be disappointed. I will warn you against seeing this movie if you are looking for a light, happy feeling flick, because this will not be that movie. This movie is disturbing, suspenseful, and at points, emotionally draining. This wasn't nominated for an Oscar, was nominated for a Golden Globe, but lost, and that is a catastrophe. This has to be one of the best Spanish movies I have ever seen, up there with 'Pan's Labyrinth' and 'The Orphanage'. This movie, at least for DirecTV users, is available On Demand for those who have Starz. It's not on Netflix at the moment, and only available to purchase on Amazon instant video.

Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

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This Is The End

So this movie was to me, more interesting than it was funny. It is an important note that Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg made this as a short movie six years ago, and this is the big budget reinterpretation of that short.

'This Is The End' is a story where 5 friends (Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, James Franco, & Craig Robinson) fight to survive when a house warming party is interrupted by Judgement Day. The friends, playing themselves, brave through starvation, survivors, and the forces of Hades.

What I found most interesting, was the fact that all the actors played themselves. You don't see actors playing themselves in completely fantastic and outlandish scenarios in movies too often. The best, prior to this, would have to be Bill Murray's cameo in 'Zombieland'.

The writing/story of this movie was pretty decent. The story progressed pretty smoothly, and the jokes were well timed and spaced. The main story line, between Jay Baruchel and Seth Rogen, was actually believeable and, for lack of a better term, 'Bro-mantic'.

Acting, like most comedies, was the most important feature of this movie. The delivery of the lines in this movie were great, and physical comedy is a strong suit for the entire cast.. The main cast have an amazing chemistry on screen, and it's easy to tell they enjoyed making the movie. The beginning of the movie is literally a mountain of cameos of who's who in comedy, and while funny, is also a little overwhelming to the eyes, because it almost makes you want to scan every face to see who might be in the shot, instead of paying attention to what's happening.

The cinematography of this movie was leagues better than I was expecting. The lighting was gorgeous. The backdrop of fires outside the set gave way for some great lighting choices.  Digital effects were, for the most part, used sparingly and in good taste. There were a couple of obvious green screen backdrops that could have been cleaned up a bit.

I know this movie has been in theaters a while, but it is worth going if you have the time. It is a solid comedy, and if you like any of the bodies of work by this group of actors, chances are you are going to enjoy this movie.

Score: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

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The Internship

This movie was exactly what I expected, and that is in no way a bad thing. The Internship is a comedy that really does bridge a generation gap between the main characters and the supporting actors.  I saw this because I was a fan of the dynamic between Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in their film ‘Wedding Crashers’, and this movie delivers the same feel.

The Internship is a comedy following Billy (Vaughn) and Nick (Wilson), two  forty-something watch salesmen who find themselves in search for a career in a job market they don’t fully comprehend.  They decide to find a way into the Google Internship program, where they and a group of young tech wizards have to compete with other teams vying for the coveted employment at Google.

The look and feel of this movie is very bright, and intensely colorful, and this was not only decisions made by the DP (Director of Photography) Jonathan Brown, but also just the presence and the environment of Google Corp. While there are a few shots that are beautiful, this movie is not the type that is going to have complex camera work or cutting edge effects, this movie is driven by a comedic plot based in the real world, so the writing and acting is what takes import.

The writing does a good job too. Jokes were funny and definitely well spaced. My only complaint with this movie, would be my complaint of any movie like this (‘This’ being the underdogs vs. the alpha dogs). A couple of plot points can be seen a mile away, waving road flares. That’s a risk that has to be made though, because I truly believe writing a good comedy (let alone a great one) becomes exponentially harder as time passes, because no one likes hearing a joke repeated, we like new comedy. That being said and keeping that in mind, the story was pretty good.

The acting is what makes the movie work best. Vaughn and Wilson have great delivery, and the whole team involved with them (Josh Brener, Dylan O’Brian, Tiya Sircar, and Tobit Raphael) have a great on screen group chemistry. My favorite performances however are with John Goodman and Josh Gad, who while only on screen for a combined total of less than 7 minutes, have great delivery of their characters.

One important side note for me, and this is one of my biggest beefs with comedy movies, is the trailers. So often you will see a trailer for a comedy, and a two minute trailer feels obligated to sling a barrage of the movies punch-lines, which really spoils the enjoyment of the joke when it happens in the movie, especially if it is one of the bigger deliveries in the movie. I am happy to say that the trailers for this movie did leave unexpected punch-lines for the audience to enjoy.

I know this movie has been out a couple weeks, but if you haven’t seen it, you won’t feel cheated out of a matinee ticket. If not, it will be a good movie to rent or add to your Netflix queue.

Score: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

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World War Z

So as always, I will try to deliver my accurate review of the movie without spoiling the plot's integrity.

So in my opinion, one should always be approach 'zombie flicks' with trepidation, because it is pretty easy to burn your ticket money with them and not hard to ruin them. That being said, World War Z was alright, compared to other zombie flicks, it was pretty good, but it left me wanting.

Now I haven't read the novel by Max Brooks (son of Mel, the Great) so I am not even going to touch the integrity of the story compared to the novel, but offer an outsiders perspective. The story I felt was the movie's greatest strength and it's biggest downfall. There are moments in the movie that are edge of your seat moments, and also some fairly beautiful and emotional moments in the movie. These moments however, feel like they are quite conservatively spread throughout a plot that feels jerky and stair steps, lacking the fluidity. The story was so eager to show the worldwide consequences of this plague of undead that some story points fell by the wayside. Now maybe 'The Walking Dead' has spoiled me with their fairly nice writing, but these days I don't think it's unreasonable to have a well crafted script for zombies. There are also some fairly significant plot points I find confusing or not well explained, mainly a lot of information on the main character, Gerry (Brad Pitt). One thing I like about the story is part of the ending, but I can't say more for fear of spoiling.

The cinematography on this movie was fairly impressive. handheld camerawork was used minimally, when called for, which is especially appreciated if you watch this in 3D, as I did. Landscapes both bleak and gorgeous dot the movie and really drive home the enormity of the main character's journey. My main complaint with the look of the movie is I think that digital effects were used much too liberally in the movie. Where extras could be used to create a decent horde or run of zombies, 3D animation is instead used to make a wave of zombies (I kid you not, there are some pretty ridiculous digital effects in the movie that defy the laws of physics.) With all the digital zombies, I think the movie really missed a chance to get up close and personal with the undead, which is the scariest part of the concept, when it breaks the audience's comfort barrier.

As for acting in the movie, I don't think any one person stood out, even Brad Pitt, who I was hoping would have delivered a better performance. The acting isn't by any stretch bad acting either, there just aren't to many moments in the movie where you are going to think to yourself "I will remember this next week."

So all in all, it won't be the worst movie of the year, but there were definitely some opportunities missed in the movie that kept this from being something special in the zombie sub-genre.

Score: ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

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Man of Steel

So I am going to do my best to explain as much of the merits and opportunities missed with this movie without spoiling anything, because I do encourage everyone to go out and see it, find your personal views and monologue about the movie, whether you agree with me or not.

I am first going to discuss my thoughts on the movie, some of the blow-back I have heard about the movie, then maybe talk a little on my outlook on what this movie may mean for the DC Cinematic Universe.

I found this movie to be thoroughly entertaining, well worth the price of admission. Visually, the images and environments were gorgeous. I really liked the rendition and the vision of the planet Krypton. I saw this in IMAX 3D and at no point did I think the 3D had 'cheese' factor to it, which is a big detractor for me. The 3D is used to add depth a realism to the movie, and was in no way gimmicky. Digital effects is something you have to expect from a comic-book themed movie. There was quite an orgy of it at the climax of the movie, and personally, I think it could have been scaled back a little, but it was not a giant flaw (Snyder did not have 'Michael Bay Syndrome'). Audio was very well done on this movie, getting the IMAX audio in this movie was definitely worth it. I will never complain when a score is given to Hans Zimmer to write, and I think having him write the score was, in some small way, taking  stand that this is a completely different franchise than the Superman revolving around Christopher Reeve. I really enjoyed the story, which is to be expected from a script by Nolan. This definitely gave good character development to a character that is usually pretty 2-Dimensional. I always enjoy non-linear storytelling, but this does also come with my one complaint on the story. I think that the story juggled timelines a little too much, I think stories set in the past could have been condensed. There are one or two plot holes, not giant ones, that I saw as well, but so as not to spoil the movie I won't discuss them here. Acting was just great. I am totally behind Cavill as Superman, think he did a fantastic job, but in my opinion, the movie totally belongs to Michael Shannon, our Gen. Zod, who I think delivered the best performance of his career here. I loved seeing General Zod as a tortured soul who felt bound to his path, and he knocked it out of the park.

As far as the things I have heard about this movie, while I am sure there are discrepancies in the plot of the origin of Superman, I do also know that with most any published work, in order to appeal to an audience big enough to pay for the large budget of the movie being made, some creative liberties have to be made so that a general audience, not just the comic book fans, can follow the story. Now I have never followed the Superman ethos closely, so I am not going to begin to point out everything that flew in the face of the comics. I do know that the origin is pretty close to the comics, but definitely, if nothing else, pays good homage to the comics too. I also know there was some controversy involving the new suit. I personally have no problem with the new, sans underwear, look. More importantly, anytime a brand relaunch like this happens, with heroes being so identifiable, especially their costumes, changes have to be made to show that this is a completely new storyline.

As for what this means for the DC Cinema Universe. I don't think this movie really means anything to it. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed it, it was beautiful, but, like Nolan's Batman series, it does not feel like Superman was part of a world where there is more going on then just his story. As much as I find it disappointing, I don't know if this movie will tie into any DC Universe series. everything I have read on the subject mostly has Snyder and DC dancing around and not committing to an answer, but with the scope of the movie, it just doesn't seem like it gives much room for other heroes to be involved in this 'Man of Steel' Universe. I could be completely wrong here, but this is just my opinion after seeing the story unfold. Now we already know that when I Justice League movie is made, they will be recasting and rebooting Batman, which already feels strange with the Dark Knight movies still vivid in the pop-culture memory. I look forward to seeing more comic movies, I am a sucker for them, but with DC, I have to say I am a little worried.

Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

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