Reviews

"Cars 3" returns to its roots, and expands on its world without jumping the shark. The story and its beats are predictable, but it's the character focused parts of the film that keep it interesting since most of the film spends too much time referencing the first, as well as flashing back to moments that happened minutes ago, and it gets repetitive. The first half was the roughest to get into since it rushes exposition in order to get to Lightning's crash scene, which ends up not being that big of a deal anyways so it just makes the film longer than it had to be. What saves the film though was the 2nd half, where we finally get to slow down, and take in the story. If you enjoyed the first film, you'll find some comfort here. It's still one of the weaker PIXAR films to date, but it's not bad either as it eventually provides some new ideas to make it worth your time, and I appreciated it for being practical.

Despite the title, "The Mummy" spends too much time preparing us for the upcoming "Dark Universe" instead of focusing on the main plot. When the film starts, it serves us the entirety of Ahmanet's past, which ruined the mystery of her character, and ends up making the adventure feel pointless. Once she's been established, the rest of the film is either "Mission Impossible" (and I'll admit those scenes helped keep the film at least entertaining), or just prolonged exposition about "Dark Universe" stuff. As for the main plot, it tries to capture the intrigue of the original 1932 story, and the excitement of the 1999 film, but it only ends up a contrived mess. This is why I have an issue with the cinematic universe. Good stories get sacrificed for this bigger picture, and they never go anywhere. Here's to hoping they give the other classic monsters the screen time and storytelling they deserve. All this film needed was a little thing called patience. It's a shame they decided to rush it.

"Wonder Woman" is the answer to the DC universe's prayers. It focuses on telling a story without trying to be edgy/trendy. It takes its time to develop Diana, as well as the world around her. As the film progresses, you see her grow into the character she was destined to be as she breaks past her naive perspective on how the world and the humans within it work, and it was nice to see a basic super hero flick with some depth. Most of the action sequences are polished and entertaining, but sometimes they bring a touch of reality to a scene, and play an integral part to her growth. Sadly the climax turns into the usual, with a villain encounter that undermines what the film was trying to accomplish with his cheesy performance and light show of a battle. There were also drawn out jokes and scenes that wasted precious screen time, but it manages to end strong despite, and I still say it's a step in the right direction for the genre. It's time for less trends, and more good story telling.

I wasn't expecting a masterpiece, but I certainly wasn't expecting it to not be entertaining. At least the previous films had great swashbuckling fun and wit. They told bizarre stories that had strange characters, all of which had something to offer to the film. The adventures were full of surprises, making them worth at least checking out, and Jack Sparrow was a character that was actually worth waiting for. This film had no personality. No heart. No passion. It was nothing more than a "bottom of the barrel" film with cheap sex jokes and physical gags, most of which were served by Jack Sparrow. He was drained of the spirit that he had in the previous films, and wasn't even worth the time he was on screen. Nobody cared, nobody tried, and the full theater was nearly emptied halfway through the film. What once was a film series known for their cinematic experiences, is now nothing more than a dried up corpse, a result of Disney's relentless need to milk their products to death.

"Covenant" has the incredible atmosphere that Scott is so good at creating, the gore is just as visceral as it always is, Michael Fassbender and his characters are great, but it is far from groundbreaking. At least "Prometheus" had originality. This film completely sacrifices poignancy for cheap scares, and when it does attempt to get deep, it ends up spewing too much convoluted information, and just confuses you with disconnected lore that goes nowhere. Characters are useless. The pacing is too fast and it doesn't let the film build up tension. It shows you everything, and ends up flaunting the Xenomorph like the pop culture icon that it has become. It tries to expand on the loads of information we're given in "Prometheus", while at the same time give us Alien stuff. In the end, it was just Alien stuff, thus making all the information from the last film pointless. It's simply a depressing spectacle of filmmakers trying to please audiences with nostalgia, and nothing more.

I'm definitely torn. I loved the story, I loved the characters, and some action sequences made for some great cinema. I liked that there was an actual story to be told, especially when it's told with integrity. It focused on the story, whilst being entertaining. Now the methods they chose to make the film entertaining hurt the film. The large scale action sequences were filled with excessive amounts of effects that made scenes blurry. The editing of certain scenes made the film jumbled, and hard to follow. It also has trouble figuring out what the tone should be, jumping between trying to be funny and meta, or gritty and epic. If you're looking for a fast paced medieval flick, and you don't mind that it's loosely based on the Arthurian tale, you'll have a good time with this film just like I did, at least when the film wasn't being… weird. It wasn't anything incredibly special, but I enjoyed the story in all its medieval glory, and I wouldn't mind revisiting it from time to time.

It was REALLY hard to get through "The Circle". There were times where I was almost enjoying it, which was mostly when the film wasn't trying to have character. There were a few moments in the film that I reflected on afterwards that did what the film was attempting to do, and that's spark an important conversation about technology and human rights. But that's the problem; there were only a few moments like that. Whenever it tried to get deep, the acting and over the top nature of the film muddied what little quality was there, and since the film was nearly 2 hours, they had to shove in all these useless characters that offered nothing special to the story. They never made any real impact, except maybe the dead character, but other than that, they just made the film EXCRUCIATINGLY long. It would've made a fantastic short film if they had just cut out all the useless characters, and kept Emma, the dead character, and Tom Hank's character. I imagine it would've been far more impacting.

"Sleight" had SO much potential. The magic sequences were entertaining. The performances were believable, and the characters had time to develop. The tone was set from the beginning to be tense, and the buildup was incredible. The film would keep making you think the girl would be kidnapped throughout the film, but when it finally happens, it cheaps out BIG time. All the subtleties are suddenly exaggerated. Things got silly all at the last moments of the film. The climax was boring. There was no sense of urgency anymore. The tone just INSTANTLY changes. Is this supposed to be epic? Am I supposed to be laughing? I didn't know anymore, and it didn't help that everyone's performances got goofy. The trailers were trying to sell this film as some sort of urban superhero tale, but since it took so long to get to the kidnapping, they had to cram all the heroics in at the last minute, thus wasting all the time they took developing everything including my time. What an absolute disappointment.

There's something depressing about seeing a film that obviously had some work put into it, but in the end their artistry was wasted for just cashing in on a licensed property with trendy music, and trendy references to get cash from family audiences. This film is definitely an upgrade from the previous two Smurfs films we got, and this one was certainly not as bad in regards to quality and for having at least a little more respect for the source material. I will say this film was GORGEOUS. The animation was fluid, the expressions were huge and interesting, and the world was just so fascinating to look at. Problem is, there's just no substance. There is no strong lesson. There is no growth. The plot was extremely predictable, and has nothing but trendy music to keep the film upbeat. It just ends up being another film among a library of films for disgruntled parents to use as a tool for keeping their kids out of their hair for an hour and a half. It's just an unfortunate waste of time.

DreamWorks' latest animated feature "The Boss Baby" could have easily been just another animated movie to pass the time, but surprisingly it had much more to it than you'd think. The film playfully puts you into the perspective of the main character Tim, as he deals with his newborn sibling literally invading his life. There's a fantastic overall lesson that teaches younger audiences (especially those who are the eldest) of the importance of loving their younger sibling, which I haven't seen many films of this genre do. Speaking of perspective, there are these brilliantly animated "imagination" sequences that not only entertain, but help older viewers be put into a place of childhood so you can better relate to Tim's character. Details and concepts like that are never wasted in this film, which brought originality to an otherwise cliché storyline. Though it suffers from the usual DreamWorks problems in regards to certain jokes and scenes, it ended up not being an overall waste of time.

Rupert Sanders' "Ghost in the Shell" live-action remake is yet another missed opportunity among 2017's array of remakes. It has plenty of stunning visuals and action sequences to entertain you throughout, but the film is lacking of anything new to deepen the original story (aside from a few backstory elements). All the things that made the 1995 film memorable, like the thought provoking philosophies and slow pace that made it deep and challenging, are lost in order to have a more entertaining and easy to understand blockbuster experience. They even added the common "American corporate" type villain to give the audience a more defined antagonist. And though the film does mirror key scenes from the original (such as the diving scene or the water fight), they end up rushing over them anyways, once again losing important information to the hands of nostalgia. Remaking this film in 2017 could have been a great chance to include today's issues, but instead it was wasted for box office numbers.

Dean Israelite's "Power Rangers" reboot is a worthy addition to the "Power Rangers" saga despite its flaws and shortcomings. It stays true to the spirit of the series, and allows itself to be serious during certain aspects of the film in order to have a deeper look into the Rangers lives as teens. It takes maybe TOO much of its time building up the characters, but it's worth it in the end since it allows them to get to know each other, thus making their bond believable as well as relatable. If you're worried the film tries to take itself too seriously, worry no more. It has plenty of cheese reminiscent of the series in regards to the jokes, the acting, and situations. The casting is fresh with its array of new talent playing the Rangers, accompanied by Bryan Cranston's solid portrayal as Zordon, and Elizabeth Banks' near perfect performance as Rita. It's campy, it has lots of heart, and it makes for a fantastically fun and nostalgic cinematic experience.

Disney's latest live action remake is a wonderful trip down memory lane, but it doesn't really bring anything new to the table. It follows the animated feature line for line, but with extra scenes and songs to try and deepen the story a little. Those added details don't really go anywhere though, which is an unfortunate missed opportunity when you have such fascinating source material to work with. Getting to see these timeless characters reenacted with today's talent was also a lot of fun, and though they do look the part, their singing voices were tainted with heavy doses of autotuning, and some just lacked energy all together. It felt as if the filmmakers were holding themselves back from making a more fleshed out version of the animated feature, but it was still highly entertaining. The stunning visuals, all star cast, and added details and songs make the story feel new again for today's audiences, but in the end, it reminds me why the first one was so brilliant to begin with.

"Logan" is the hero-flick we've all been begging Hollywood to make. It's visceral, honest, and uses the R rating not to exploit it, but to carry the story in ways that resemble that of the graphic novels these films are based off of. The characters feel organic and relatable despite their mutant abilities, and the action they get thrown into, though graphic and entertaining, don't come off as a distraction, but rather drive the story and provide growth for its characters. The acting is the BEST I've seen for a movie of this kind, with Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart reprising their respective roles and giving the most passionate performance they can give, but the real MVP is the young and talented Dafne Keen. Her character is full of complexities, yet she plays this character with such ease as if she were born to be X-23. The film is beautifully written, with each element dedicated to telling this difficult story with as much grit and soul as a Western. This is how it's done, Disney.

"The LEGO Batman Movie" is not just another kids film, and if you saw "The LEGO Movie" from a few years back, you know what you're about to get! It's well thought out, unbelievably silly and full of energy, and is loaded with life lessons (such as dealing with parental loss, or the not so simple blurred lines between good and bad) all making for a super fun and engaging cinematic experience. The animation is stunningly beautiful and exciting, and the riffs on the Batman comics and films over the years are the cherry on top (the way they look at the 60s Batman TV Series like it's some sort of bad drug trip is one of the funniest things). "The LEGO Batman Movie" is highly entertaining, and a perfect example on how to make a kids film about a toy brand without just focusing on selling the consumer something when it's all said and done. It's fun, and productive! Just like the toys themselves.

"The Final Chapter" of the Resident Evil series is here and its insane collection of action sequences make for some great cinematic fun. Milla Jovovich's final portrayal as Alice is full of passion and grace, and the film ends full circle, thus wrapping up all the films together satisfyingly. Now of course the film isn't perfect. The action cinematography is sloppy at times, and with the film being very "point A to point B" there isn't much left to take in story wise up until the very end, but with its nonstop thrills and epic performance from Milla, the film remains entertaining and nostalgic enough to keep you engaged, and with that, it was a truly enjoyable flick. The Resident Evil film series has finally ended, and for many that's a good thing. In retrospective, it marks the end of an era. Video game movies rarely do well, but this one managed to stick around the longest, and I believe it's because it did what the games chose to do, and that's evolve, for better or for worse.

"The Founder" is a truly well done film. It puts a lot of focus on telling the story of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc without distractions. Michael Keaton was simply born to play this role, as his mannerisms and every word makes it so you truly see what this guy must have been like as he steals the McDonald Bros. livelihood. As John Lee Hancock films go, it's filmed in a way that's whimsical, yet dramatic. When the film isn't glorifying Ray and his questionable business ethics, it also manages to put you into his shoes, and brings him down to our level making him a relatable character (as if to say we are all capable of doing the things he did to get his way). "The Founder" is an eye opening film about a beloved restaurant brand we see every day, and despite the film feeling as if it ended much too soon, you'll still feel satisfied with its focused storytelling, remarkable performances, and truly immersive set pieces.

"Blood Wars" is simply put just another addition to the ongoing tale about the fight between the Lycans and the Vampires as it picks up after the previous film "Awakening". If you've been following the series up to this point, you're not missing much. There are no big reveals, or important changes to characters. It's just another Underworld flick with the usual stylized action and visuals. It's still enjoyable, but there's simply nothing new to bring to the table here. If you haven't been following the films up to this point, you'll either enjoy it for the action and style, or you'll just be left bored and confused with what the point of this war they're fighting is. Underworld was born from the Gothic subculture that ruled the early to mid 2000s, and Blood Wars is a relic of that. If you've been following the films since then, you'll enjoy the film for what it is, and what it represents. Otherwise, you'll be left with another drawn out addition to a series that needs to be put down.