American Hustle

American Hustle is the next film done by the Director of Sliver Linings Playbook and The Fighter. If you were to combine the cast of those two movies you would get the basic cast for this film. It stars Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Bradley Cooper in the main three roles. It also stars, my gir,l Jen Lawrence in a supporting role as well Jeremy Renner in a supporting role.

This film has a style all of its own. I loved the tone of this film. It was funny and it had moments where I was on the edge of my seat much like last year's Argo. David O. Russell basically took some pages from Martin Scorsese's playbook and applied them thought out the film. He also had his own style all over the film as well. It really worked for the film and I enjoyed it so much. The acting was so great. All the leads and all the actors did amazingly well in this film. The acting alone should get you in the door. Now that being said my two favorite actors of the film were Lawrence (was that a surprise people) and Bale.  Bale to say the least was amazing. He put on a hell of a show and did so much to his body for his role. Then Lawrence just steals every damn scene she is in. There was a moment in the film where Lawrence and Bale are arguing and I forgot who both were and just got lost in the scene which was easily one of my favorite scenes of the year. Something else that was amazing in this film was the writing. Some of the best lines of the year were in this film and I also loved the story.

Now my one and only fault is in the middle. I feel like it loses it focus and starts to slow down a lot. In it's defense however, it does pick right back up at the start of the third act. The film is a great ride and really funny. It is easily one of my favorites of the year. I don't want to get into spoilers but here is my final thoughts. If you like a Goodfellas feel mixed with a Sliver Linings Playbook feel then this is your film.

RATING
3.75 out of 4

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug is the follow up to the first movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected  Journey. It stars a ton of people. I mean, to list the cast would take about half of the review. It is directed by Peter Jackson of course, and follows the same journey to the lonely mountain to get  back the Dwarfs' home.  If  you read my first review of The Hobbit I thought it had a lot of issues that needed to be fixed. Did they fix them? Well lets get to the review.

Peter Jackson did a really good job of fixing a lot of problems from the first film. I actually really enjoyed this one. The pace issues were gone in this film. The action and story actually move at a very good pace and you don't feel like your just watching filler like you were in the first part. They fixed a lot of the CGI problems that I had with the first one. I felt like they used more practical effects in this film and then the CGI that they did use was very good. It felt like I was actually looking at a real thing instead of a CGI image. The acting for the film was good on all accounts. The story of course was still very good and very enjoyable. This was the hobbit movie that I have been waiting to see. The action was a lot better and very cool. Also they bring back some of the darker tones. Nowhere as dark as the LOTRs but it is a little darker then the first which really fit this movie. Also Smaug was one of the coolest looking CGI creations I have ever seen. And with the powerful voice of Benedict Cumberbatch behind him he became a very memorable character. 

I am going to get to the elephant in the room. There is a lot of added stuff in the film that of course is not in the book. So with that, if your a fan of the book you have been warned. Keep this in mind Jackson and the studio wanted to make this into 3 movies out of a 310 paged book. So I think they are going to have to add a few things. I personally who have never read the book thought all the added stuff was good and fun. Also even with the pace of the film being fixed you are still very aware that you're in the theater for about 3 hours. So remember, if you don't like long films this is one is not for you. So with that all said and done my rating for you guys is this 

RATING

3 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

Frozen (2013)

Frozen is the new animated Disney film, not the Adam Green horror film. The film stars Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell in the Princess roles. The story is about a coming of age queen that basically has the powers of ice and snow.  The film is a return to the classical way Disney films are made with the songs and the magic of Disney.

To start off, the film is a musical with a grand total of around 10 songs. All of them are good. I mean, I enjoyed every song that was played in the film. My personal favorite of the film is "Let It Go". I have that song still stuck in my head about 3 hours after the film. The animation in the film was perfect. It was gritty and it added a great layer to the film. The pace and the tone were great. It was very fast paced and it hit that great classic Disney tone. That Disney tone is one of the hardest tones to hit and this team of people hit like a hammer to a nail. It really is just impressive in it of itself. The pace is fast but works for the film and keeps you from getting bored. The voice acting and the characters themselves were very good. My favorite character, Elsa (Menzel), was great and really brought life to this film. Another great character was Olaf. He comes into the film and just pushes this film from good to great and turns it to an instant classic.  The overall theme of the film, love, works very well into this film.

My problems with film are very few. My biggest problem of the film is that the songs all feel very unbalanced. The beginning of the film  is jam packed with songs, just one after another, and it's almost like stepping over into Le Miz. Then, it just stops for a long time and eventually brings it back for one song. It just really took me out of the film. My other problem, which is just a personal one and may not apply to everyone, is the fact that I really wanted to see more of Elsa. She is in the film a lot and is one of the main characters of the film, but I just wanted a little more like one more song from her or another scene. That being said this easily my favorite animated film of the year. With that being said I am going to give it a

RATING
3.25 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Catching Fire is the next in the Hunger Games series and it's going be 4 films long and stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth. There is also a huge slew of side characters with great actors in their roles. The biggest difference between this film and the first is that the director from the first, Gary Ross, has fallen to the new man in the chair, Francis Lawrence.

With that new man in the chair, we get a much different feel and a little bit of a different tone. The first thing that you will notice all shaky cam is gone. Instead, we get a great looking and well shot film. A lot of dark night photography and it all looks great. I mean, I have seen better but still much better than the first film. Now, the tone has changed but only ever so slightly. The first one is so dark and serious with very little humor and this film puts a little more humor into the film than the first one. I think the humor is both good and bad. They had the perfect amount of humor in the film and all of the jokes work and hit well with me. I think the pace of the film is amazing. It is close to two and half hours and it really doesn't feel that long in the theater. Also, I really enjoyed all the acting. No one is bad in the film. There are a few stand outs. One being Hutherson (I bet you thought I was going to say Lawrence). I liked him in the first one. In this one, I enjoyed him even more than in the first film. He seemed to have lost many of the teenage attributes of his character so I really enjoyed him and his character. Lawrence on the other hand was amazing like she always is. For example, she hits so many emotional moments in the movie and does it with grace and perfect timing. One of my favorite moments is the very ending shot and shots in the tubes (you'll see what I mean when you see it).

Now, my biggest problem with the film is this I really wanted to spend a lot more time in the Capital. I loved the Hunger Games part. It is action packed and very well done but the story that I want to see is the is revolt against the Capital. It is a very minor problem and it has nothing to do with the writing of the film just the way the books are done.  Also, the film has so many themes that it is trying to get across to the audience is just a little too much. All of them are done simultaneously and their is too many of them. Maybe pick and focus on just that one at a time could make it better but I really don't know. Not taking much away from the overall score of the film but it was just a minor thing that I noticed. Overall, this is easily the best action movie of the October, November, and December season so far. Don't miss it.

RATING
3.5 out of 4

Thor: The Dark World

Thor: The Dark World is the sequel to Thor. It stars all the people from the first film and is directed by Alan Taylor.  The story of this film is simply. The dark elves have come back form the deepest parts of space. They come to destroy and put the world back into darkness using the Aether.

What this film had going for it was the director and the cast of Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston. I loved Hiddleston in this damn movie. I mean I almost thing he really saves the film for me. The man truly loves the role and you can tell. Then Hemsworth really is Thor. It will be really hard to ever replace that man. Then there play back and forth was so prefect and well timed. I mean every time Loki (Hiddleston) is on screen he just kills it. You actaully really care for his character in the end of the film. Also the direction by Taylor works so well you get that super fantasy and epic feel from his background work Game Of Thrones. The action which there is a lot of comes fast and hard and very well shot. I also thought the pace that he set in for he film worked over all.

Now this film has a few really big problems. I biggest problem with the film was the tone. Its not like it is a dark tone and it just didn't work but it was the villains. Like the villains were this super sci-fi bad guy. Like there were moments when I was swear I was watching Star Wars. SPOILERS DO NOT READ HERE ON IF YOU DON'T WANT THINGS SPOILED. I WILL PUT READ HERE FOR NO SPOILERS.  The moment when a star ship comes flying in and starts to shoot lasers at the the home base and almost destroys it. Really took me way out of the film and if you get pulled out of the a Thor movie it must be something that is really out of place. READ HERE. Now there are other problems with the film as well. Like I said above the back and forth between Loki and Thor is amazing and perfect.  I wanted so much more of it. Like that was the moment in the film that I realized I was watching a comic book movie and it felt so good, but it comes and goes sadly.

My final thoughts are this Thor: The Dark World is a good action film for Nov. I think if you enjoyed the first you will really enjoy this film and if you didn't like the first one. You may like this one better. It isn't the best Marvel movie but it is still a good time at the movies.

RATING
2.5 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

12 Years A Slave

12 Years A Slave is a true story seen thought the eyes of Solomon Northup. The man was a free man in the in New York. When he joins a group of man to make some money. When he wakes up caught and about to be sold back into slavery. The film stars a lot of people. The main two actors in the film are Chiwetel Ejiofor (really happy I don't have to say that name aloud) and Michael Fassbender. The film is directed by Steve McQueen.

I am going to start off saying this movie is acted so well. I mean really well almost every person nears the praise that they are getting. Not just Fassbender and Ejiofor, but all the actors to me did amazing. They all weren't actors to me they were the characters they were trying to be so for that I gave my highest praise. Fassbender was not on screen that man is my favorite actor in right now he has not done a bad job in any of his films. That man can act and will be doing so for awhile. Now Ejiofor was equally as amazing as Fassbender was. There are so many times where the shot was set up were it was just his face and you got to see the real emotion on his face and feel with the character. The credit for that goes to McQueen and Ejiofor.  McQueen has made more art house films in the past. Like Shame and Hunger. I have never seen Hunger but I have seen Shame and that was one of best movies of that year. Now with that being said the art house isn't completely gone McQueen's style is felt all over the film, but it is more held back as it were. I think this really help the film a lot it was able to focuses on the story it was trying to tell and emotions it wanted you to feel.  McQueen sets up some amazing looking shots. Some of the transitions were just amazing as well. The editing was just perfect all the shots last the perfect amount of time.

The pace and the tone are perfect to say the last. I will admit that the pace is slowed down at times, but it really didn't bug me that much. Like it doesn't happen many times and I also saw this film at a later time so that could have effected the pace of the film. Now also the violence in the film is hard to watch. McQueen really wanted you to see the brutally of it and he shows it with no remorse. It made for a much better movie and set up everything so well. This film is easy one of my favorites of the year. Please if you have the chance go see this piece of Art.

RATING
4 out 4 Ticket Stubs.

Ender's Game

Ender's game is based off the book written by Orson Scott Card. The film is centered around Ender Wiggin and the world that he lives in. The world he lives in is earth in the future after a massive war with the evil alien race. So the military fearing the fearing of another attack by the them start to enlist this very gift kids to train and fight for them in this war.

Now to begin. I think this film is a really well done science fiction tale. It creates a great world and a very cool enemy. I also think the films action is really well done. It has really great moments. I really enjoyed like the 30 of the film. It was really good and set up for a get end of the film. Another really strong part of the film was the acting done by the main two. I thought Harrison Ford and Asa Butterfield did a great job. Ford was super intense in the film. Then Butterfield I really enjoyed as a main character. He was clam and cool and just all around good character. I will get more into the characters in a little bit later on in the review. I also really enjoyed the way it was shot and the tone of the film that in credit to the director of the film Gavin Hood. I also liked the score to the film it created very hardcore and moving moments all at the same time.

My problems with the film is the pace. All the problems really go back to the pace of the film which is super odd. Like you can tell this is based off the book and they are moving really quickly thought the book to get to the end of the film. The only thing is the film is slow. I really don't know how Hood pulled that off. Like it was a slow film with a lot of fast and no breathing scenes. It made no sense to me in the theater.  Also since the pace of the film was so sloppy that you really don't get to know the characters. Then only people you care for is Ender and Graff (Ford). Also Ford really doesn't have much of an arc in the film maybe it is extended in the later books of the series, but I don't know the books.

I think this film is okay and is still a fun time in at the movies much like I thought Carrie was. This was better then Carrie. Which i saw just was unable to do a review. I think if you want to watch it go ahead. Its not you are going to walk of the theater mad you saw it, but if you aren't a fan of this type of film run fast.

RATING
2.5 out of 4 Ticket Stubs.

Carrie mini review.
If you wanted to see Carrie and ever saw it go see the new one. If you have seen the old one it is better so just stick with that.
1.5 out of 4 Ticket Stubs.

Princess Mononoke (The Ghibli Archive)

Princess Mononoke is held to be one of the best of the Studio Ghilbi films. I read online that it was supposed to be Hayao Miyazaki's last film back when he said he was going to retire. What the film is centered around is a Prince Ashitaka the last prince of his people who gets cursed defending his village from a cursed boar. He must leave his village and try and find a cure. When doing this he comes across forest gods and village that are trying to kill each other and thats the story.

Well to begin I am going to say this all the Studio Ghilbi films look amazing. This is like the Brave (be it a lot better) of the Studio Ghilbi. It has a lot of stuff work with like the landscape and the people it greats to create. It has great shots of mountain sides and it also has some really epic looking battle scenes. Now when it comes to the story this is a very good story with a really big and completely obvious message.  It isn't really much subtext to the theme of film. It is nature is good and man is good we need to work and live together and have no war. Miyazaki did a great job of balancing the two stories understanding were both sides come from. Now I will admit you feel more for the forest spirits like the humans are in the wrong, but that could be different from each viewing or who is viewing it. The acting in the film was good. I mean I enjoyed everyones voice, but I don't thing anybody brought anything to the role but it is still good. The tone of the film is amazing. The tone that is set by the film is this dark but very fantasy like world were everything has weight to it. The soundtrack is amazing. This my second viewing of the film. I really enjoyed it this time around. I thought it thought way to highly of itself. Now this viewing it wasn't as bad and a lot better.

My real only problem with the film is the pace. It is really action packed and really well made I think some scene just drag on a little. Not too badly, but sometimes I was like alright I get it lets move on please. I think if you are a person who things down on Anime or any from of Japanese film making this film should prove that it can very adult medium. This film can turn someone who things its just kid stuff to someone that is the total opposite. I mean this won the best Japanese film of the year at there "Oscars". I think more films need to be made like this.

RATING
3.5 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

Studio Ghibli

This intro is for those who don't know about Studio Ghibli. Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio. Created by the great animator Hayao Miyazaki. Most people have heard of a lot of these films due to the fact disney took them a ported them to America. They have many of there films dubbed. So all of this films are Japanese influenced. Now I am going to do what I did with Disney Collection posts. I am going to watch and revisit some of them. A lot of these I am going to be seeing with fresh eyes it will be really cool. I am going to try and find all the dubbed ones and only those I won't go and back and watch it again subtitled. Some aren't dubbed and those are the films that I will review with subtitled. I am just going to watch them randomly, but I will try and keep them in order. So with all that being said look out for the first review which will be Princess Mononoke.

Gravity

Gravity is a space thriller. It is about a crew of astronauts that are working on the Hubble telescope. When a ton of space junk comes and hits the ship and the telescope sending the astronauts in a bunch of trouble. The film stars really only two people George Clooney and in the main role is Sandra Bullock.

First off the film is CGI masterpiece. Guys I am not kidding when I say I could tell what was a CGI effect or a built set. It is also helps that this film is amazingly shot. The opening shot of the film is one of the longest takes in have seen in a awhile. Like the director Alfonso Cuaron loves to do this and it works so well for the movie. This movie is really his master piece like he is the star of the movie. Like I don't think this movie would have worked without this director. He was set a tone in one shot. Easily my favorite opening shot of the year so far. The shot goes on for about 20 minutes but it was amazing. This is one of the most tease films of the year. I was on the edge of my seat for the whole movie. Now the acting by Bullock and Clooney was very good. I really enjoyed them you really felt for Bullock because I mean who would want to be in this situation. Clooney felt like a old and awesome old astronauts. I also loved the music for the film. It was beautiful score and very good use. Which leads me into the point about sound it is soundless for parts which just draws you in more and more. I also say go see the movie in IMAX and 3D this is what it was made for spend the extra money.

My only complaint is hard to explain but I will try to explain the best I can. So the writing in the film is good, but I feel like it couldn't be used that well. There is so much in the film going on with the action that the great and awesome writing can really show up for the great parts. There is like one scene of character development  and they needed more and I wanted more.  Everyone needs to go see this movie much like Prisoners.

RATING
3.75 out of 4 Ticket Stubs.

Curse of Chunky

The Curse of Chucky is the 6th. That's right sixth movie in the child's Play/ Chucky series. The film stars the voice of the Chucky (Brad Dourif) who has played him in all six of the movies.  Which makes me happy as a fan. The film is set about 4 years after last Chucky movie ( I didn't know that by watching the movie thank you Wikipedia). It is centered Nica who is mailed the Chucky doll. When crazy things happening because of the evil doll.

Now this movie was supposed to be return to the roots of Chucky which is a horror movie. This is awesome for the true Chucky fan. Which I am I have seen every single Chucky film is that a good thing. No its not a good thing at all. What this film does well is actaully what they set out to do and make a over the top horror film. In the old style of horror. A good old Slasher film. I personally love all types of horror films. I think this why I like B movies so much. Now this a slasher film you have to know what your getting with this film. Lots of blood and over the top deaths along with some odd and goofy humor. It gives you all of that.

Now what the film fails at is being a very fresh and just all around good movie. This film is made for the fans for Chucky and has a lot of call backs to the first set of films. I loved it but most people won't really care. It is a enjoyable film if you like slasher and 80's movies like me, but if your in the majority your not really gonna like this film. It does have some really good and creepy ass scenes in the beginning of the film and actually is able to keep a lot of tension thought out the film, but it isn't very scary like some better VOD horror movies out there.

RATING
Fans 3 out of 4 Ticket Stubs
Everyone Else 1 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

Prisoners

Prisoners stars Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal and a lot of other people. This film is about a child abduction of Jackman's kids and Terrence Howard on a one thanksgiving night. The film is Directed by Denis Villeneuve, and shot by the great Roger Deakins. The total runtime of the film is about 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Well I first want to talk about Roger Deakins to those who don't know I think he is the best working Cinematographer working today. No matter what this guy touches if he is just a consultant or is the actual person working on the camera shot. The film looks amazing. This film looks amazing he use this grey look to the film to create this cold atmosphere. The film is the best shot film of the year next to possibly Mud. Now the director Denis Villeneuve was one of the many shinning stars in this film. This film is tease all the way thought. Ever time I took a breath I swear it was at the end of a super intense scene. He used the great writing done by Aaron Guzikowski. Villeneuve lets each scene play out and breath and get more tease. It was very cool and awesome thing done.  The writer plays into stereotyped films but shades light on these characters which we have seen so many times before.  The dialogue in the film is so good and felt so real. Now this leads me into the characters and the story of the film. The characters are the best part of this film. Loki (Gyllenhaal) is a great character because you can tell that he doesn't want to fail these two families. He will not sleep until he sees justice done. Gyllenhaal performance is amazing I mean he really is amazing and does a great job as this character and I loved him in this. Now Keller Dover ( Jackman) for how good Loki was Keller Dover the best and most intersecting character. You want him to find his kids but he does things that your not sure is the right thing. The film is so good at this and it keeps asking you. Would you do this? How far would you go to find your kids? Then Jackman's acting in the film is insanely good. When both Gyllenhaal and Jackman are on the screen together it is magic. Jackman needs a nod for the performance in this film as well as Gyllenhaal.

I really have no complaints on this film. I think this is one of the best of the year and is my personal favorite film of the year. Prisoners just barely bets out Mud for my favorite. Everyone needs to go see this film. I could go on and on about this film. I didn't  even talk about the pace and the tone (both are perfect). Please go see this film

RATING
4 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

Riddick

Riddick is the third film in the Pitch Black series. Now first off I have never seen the other films so this is coming from somebody that has no knowledge of this series and how it starts. Here is the story in short it is about a man named Riddick (Vin Diesel) has been left on this no named planet to die.

Now this movie was almost three different movies in one. It starts off like I Am Legend. Then it goes into this cat and mouse game with a bunch of mercenaries and then finally ending in with Riddick and the mercenaries fighting together to get off the planet. I really enjoyed the first two part. My liking of the film got less and less as the film went on really. Like when he is on the planet the film is really good. The director was really good at showing the passing of time and was able to keep the tension of the film going. With some pretty cool action scenes. When the mercenaries get there again the tension still there and cool scenes, but the film you can tell is starting to slow down. It was beginning to lose its edge. Then finally by the end of the film I really felt out of the film. Also the film you can tell had a lot lower budget compared to other films. Not saying that the whole CGI thing look awful, but I will say that the motorcycle bike thing that he drives didn't look that cool. Like I think they were trying to make you thing that it was going really fast but it looked like that it was going at a crawls pace. So it came off really funny to me.

So on a whole the film had some really cool scenes. I feel if the film had a more focused script and had a better pace this film would have been a hell of a lot better. So on a whole if your a fan of the Riddick series I say see the film because it does deliver on making Riddick a Badass again, but if you just starting out or you don't like action films what for a dvd/bluray disc.

RATING
2 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

The World's End

The World's End is the last in the Simon Pegg and Nick Frost films. It is about a bunch of all friends coming back together and trying to complete the golden mile. The golden mile is a pub crawl of 12 bars ending at The World's End. Now when the group all get back to there home town they notice something is different about there home town and madness begins.

Now this film I have been hearing a lot of good buzz around this film and plus I really enjoy the other two films them being Shawn of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. So I was expecting something just as good as those two films. Now that being said this film really delivers on a lot of that. This is film is very witty and very funny. I was laughing all the way thought this film. Which is pretty hard to do. Also I really enjoyed Edgar Wright directing style. He was is really good at combining films that don't really belong together. So the tone was actually really good and very well done. Also he was able shoot some of the action scenes really well and they are like is blend of shaky cam that isn't shaky cam it was odd but cool. Now another thing that I really liked was the acting. All the people in the film were great. I mean they all understood what this film was going to be and gave it there all. The actors really do knock this film out of the park.

The script is the only real thing that is like double edged sword in this film. Like the writing is so good. Like the characters that they create are so good and so well realized and just all around fun to watch on screen that when the (spoilers for the rest of the review sorry it needs to be talked about ) Robots come into the film it feels out of place. Like I would have been fine with this film if there was no action and it was a Dramdy. It would have just held its own. So I think the film forgets what it is trying to do and loses some things but I still very much enjoy the film and I am going to give a

RATING
3.25 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

Kick-ass 2

Kick-ass 2 is the follow up to Kick-ass. So if you ever saw the movie Kick-ass you need to know what your expecting when you go into this film. You should know this film is R-rated so your going to get over the top comedy and its going to be super violent. Now my biggest fear for this movie was I loved the style and tone the Director Matthew Vaughn brought to the first one. So I didn't think his style would be placed into this film because he was just a producer on this one. So lets go to wait I thought about the film.

The acting in the film I found just like the first one done very will and pretty amazing. Chloe Mortez is once again the best and most fun of all the characters. She has really grown up in this film and she has a very cool arch for the film. The boy who played Kick-ass did very well and did a good job in this film as well. Now the wild card in this film was going Jim Carry and I very much enjoyed him in the film and it was a lot of fun to see him in something good again. Now the scripted by Jeff Wadlow who also is the director in this film. I thought his script was actually the best part of the film. It felt like a mix of the movie Super and The Avengers. He had a nice moral and a good theme thought out the whole film. He was also able to make very funny moments. With some really well shot action.

Now my biggest problem with the film is the fact that Vaughn wasn't there. He was there as a producer so. Some of the style and tone is there. The only problem is you can only do so much as a producer. Wadlow does his best job to recreate it but I think he fails. So I think if Vaughn was the director and he had the same script the film would have been much improved. There is also a pace issue at some points I feel is that it is a little too long. It could need some of the fat trimming. Now maybe this is just do I didn't find the direction good because the scenes it would be hard to trim this fat because it was a important fat. So I think this film is going to be a mixed bag for a lot of people and not everyone will enjoy this film. So for that I am going to give it a

RATING
3 out 4 Ticket Stubs

          

Elysium

Elysium. The film is the follow up to Neill Blomkamp who was my pick to direct the next Star Wars movie and after seeing this it just makes want to see his version more. Now what the film is about is about a earth in the next hundred years has become so over populated and polluted that the rich had to leave the planet. So with them needing a place to stay they built Elysium which is a space station with all this amazing stuff. Like clean air and nice lands and the most important thing free health care for all. I am not just saying health care that we have today but health care that can cure you if your face is blown clean off as long as your brain is still working. The film stars Matt Damon and Jodie Foster in the lead roles. Along with Sharlto Copley who is Blomkamp's Johnny Depp.

Now what I really liked about the film was this Blomkamp has a perfect style of film for this. This guy is a master of visual effects like they all look so great on top of good use of effects. He paced this film perfectly and the tone is also perfect. This film would not have worked without Blomkamp at the head of the film. This could have easily fallen apart. Now the acting in the film by the two leads were great. I mean Matt Damon was perfect in the role of Max and Foster I think was great not as good as everyone else but still very good. The one that steals the show in my mind was Copley he plays most likely the best villain of the summer. He is ruthless and crazy and tough as nails. He is everything you want in a villain character. This man sure can act and has a huge range. There is a lot of shakycam that comes with the Blomkamp style but its not bad and actually adds to the film. It helps you get sucked into the film. I makes you feel like your with Mr.Damon being shot at.

Now this film does have its fair share of problems. I think the biggest issue I found in this film was the script. The script needed to be more developed and need just in general more. Like this film needed to be to be a two hour movie not an hour and half. This film doesn't really let you get sucked into the characters and the story. It was far to focused on the symbolism and social problems of today to be a effect message. Like if they would have attempt to make the story and the characters better I feel that the message would have been a bit more impactful. Now with that I am going to give this film

3 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

 

The Conjuring

The Conjuring is the next horror film done by James Wan (Saw and Insidious). The film is about a house in Rhode Island. That is expecting a lot of odd things going in the house. So the family of 6 (that's a lot of kids) enlist the help of the Warren's a pair of ghost hunters.  This film is also based on a true story.

So the first person I would like to mention is the director James Wan. This man has behind behind some of the best horror films past decade. I really haven't hated any of his films.  This man has only have gotten better. This film has some the best just scares in a film. Also the film has some the best paced scares and just tense moments. By the third act of the film I was just on the edge of my seat not knowing what is going to happen. The tone of the film is perfect. Like it has some great old film call backs and feels a lot like the poltergeist. I also want to touch on the story and the acting that was done in the film. The acting in the film was top notch. All the actors in the film cared about the project and really wanted to see that the people that they were portraying with justice.That leads me to the way the story was told. I can tell that everybody just wanted the story to be told and done with serious intentions. Which really surprised me because most horror films just want to scare you. This really just wanted to tell the story  that just happened to be very creepy.

Now the only thing that I can say about this film that is bad. Is the fact that it is very scary. The reason I say this because it freaked the shit out of me. So if you are just freaked easily you will leave the movies crying. The reason why this film is rated R is because it is just very scary. So I am going to give this film  a

RATING
4 out of 4 Ticket Stubs. (one of my favorites this year)

The Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger is the next attempt of a big action series for Disney. It stars Armie Hammer as the lead role and then Jack Sparrow in white face paint as Tonto. Now I was never the biggest fan of the Lone Ranger. I was always a Zorro kid but that just me saying that I really don't hold this close to my heart and I don't know much about the characters and there long history. 

Now This film to has a lot of problems but you know how I do these reviews. I like to talk about the good first. The good in this film is that I think the film was shot very well. I really like the directors style  the director by the way is Gore Verbinski. He is has made some really good films in the past those being The Ring american remake (that I still can't watch to this day), Rango, and the Pirates of the Caribbean (the first three) movies. His stamp and style are all over this film. You can really tell they were going for the same over the top and fun tone that was the first Pirates movie. So also didn't hate all of the actors in this film. I thought William Fichtner was a good bad guy and actually really enjoyed his character. Also the film leaves with a real good taste in your mouth. The last I would say 15 minutes when the actual Lone Ranger theme kicks in is when the film gets great.

Now to the bad. I hated the story and the pace of this film. This film is about 2 and half hours long. It really only need to be a hour and half at the most. This film had the worst pace I have seen a long time most likely since The Hobbit. It was so slow and really didn't go anywhere. The story and script were  a pace of work. The story and then lines were not interesting. Like the story has been done before and done a lot better.  The lines none of them memorable and all the characters the made are not very likable. That leads me into both the characters of the Lone Ranger and Tonto. I really didn't them. Hammer's Lone Ranger was the not likable. He is just a dick of a character plus he is kinda a wimp for most of the film. Then Tonto was just Jack Sparrow in face paint which I knew and was afraid that Depp was going to do. He really needs to get away from that character. I mean I love Depp but do something else for christ sake. This film is already being called a box office flop. I would have a hard time finding anybody really I would recommending it to. I would say wait till the last 15 minutes gets put up on YouTube and you won't miss much.  

RATING
1 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

Pacific Rim

Pacific Rim is the next film directed by Guillermo del Toro. What is this film about it is about huge Godzilla like monsters vs mechs.  There is more of a story to this but does it really matter. I mean we go see this film for the giant monsters and the mechs and does it do this well.

The answer to that question is yes. These mechs and monsters look amazing. These are some the best CGI things I have seen in a long time. They look completely real and all that good stuff. The action in this film is top notch. I mean all the fight scenes are great there isn't a bad scene that has action in it. All the things are fun. The direction of the film is perfect. It is pulled back to so you can see the fight and there is little to no shaky cam. The tone of the film is perfect. It hits that tone that is perfect for just about anybody I mean if they really wanted to they could get this film to be PG instead of PG-13. It is perfect for anybody that is alive. This film is just one of those films that oozes fun. Another thing I would say see this film in  3-d. The depth of feel is amazing and when they do pop out at you it doesn't feel cheap at all. This is one of the films that is so good that it truly sucks you into the world that you are watching and makes you forget about the outside world. I would say if your one of the people that just want to see something very serious and has a really complex story. I would say stay away, but if your looking for easy the most fun I have had in the the theater so far this year (next to star trek) go see it you will not be disappointed. This film will turn you into a 12 year old again in no time falt.

Now this film does have its faults. The acting in this film is not the best. I am not saying everyone is bad, but the main problem comes form the male lead. You really don't feel for his character and the acting he does is just stiff. The female lead is better but still not that great. I will say that Idris Elba is amazing, but that is the only real good performance and the comedy done by Ron Perlmen and Charlie Day is just on point and very funny.  My only real complaint with the film is not real acted well and has a little bit of corny all over the film, but that being said I think it is easy a lot of fun and should be seen in at the movies.

RATING
3 out 4 Ticket Stubs

World War Z

World War Z is the film based on the Max Brooks book World War Z. Now I have read a lot and all the sources say that this movie takes a lot of its own liberality's with the source the material. Now what the film is centered around Brad Pitt and his mission to figure out how to get rid of the zombie plague.

Now this film strongest points are really is the pace of the film and thrills that it puts you on board for. I mean this film roles into about a 2 hour Zombie movie and it really is entertaining for beginning to end. Almost every scene you will be on the edge of your seat watching whats going to happen to Brad Pitt and whats going to happen the area closest to him. My favorite scene which really isn't much of a spolier is the plane scene if you have seen the trailer you know what I am talking about. It really is a awesome scene. Now a real strong point of the film is Brad Pitt. I mean that man is a movie star ( I know that is a stupid statement). He was so good in this film. I mean its crazy that he hasn't won a oscar yet. He is in that group of people that its just stupid that he hasn't won one yet. Along side George Clooney and Leo, but back to the point. You see almost every emotion in the face of Brad Pitt he just really surprised me. Also think the director did a pretty good job with the camera work you see a lot of the action and its pulled away so you get to see the total madness that is going on with the zombies. Now I know one thing I was worried about was the CG zombies. They pull it off like they are creepy and just insane. They like twitch and chatter there teeth it was very well done.

Now this film has its faults and it is to do with the characters of the film. I mean you really don't care about any of them. I mean you care about Brad Pitt because he has a family in the film, but I think that is your on real care for him and besides his amazing acting. The rest of the acting in the film was fine and I am not saying it was bad, but the writing of the characters was just bland and just was there to move the story along. That really is my only and biggest compliant for the film because the rest of the film is very good so my rating is going to be

RATING
3 out of 4 Ticket Stubs.

This Is The End

Alright first I want to say sorry for this super late review. I saw this almost a week ago and just ever got around to writing my review on it. So another update is I am going to see World War Z that will be up tomorrow morning or super late tonight. I am leaning toward the morning just because I think more people will see it.  Now on to the review.

This Is The End stars a lot of big names in film right now. The main two stars are Seth Rogan and Jay Baruchel. The film also stars Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, James Franco and Jonah Hill. They all play charcuteries of themselves. So what I meant by that is Seth Rogan plays Seth Rogan or at least a very over the top version of himself. Which creates for some very good comedy. This movie is easily one of the funniest movies I have seen since. I honesty don't know what the last real good comedy was. So yes movie is real funny and if you like there type of comedy you will love this movie. I mean this movie is vintage Rogan. Also this is also Rogan's first directoral apprentice. Of course he isn't the only director on this film he shares that with Evan Goldberg. I bet he helped with when Rogan had to be on scene and Rogan helped a ton when the cameras were off because I could really tell they both really cared about this film. The tone of the film was actually perfect. Like they hit a perfect tone for the film like yes it was funny, but it also had some actually very intesene moments which really surprised me. I mean they had one of the best jump scares so far this year in theaters. I mean that was really surprising. I had a lot of fun in the theater. All the acting in the film was very good. I have a problem with one performance, but he was still funny.

The one person I had a problem was Danny McBride  He wasn't bad in the film. I just don't think I liked they way they did his character because like he gets way to extreme way to fast I think. Also there are some shot choices that I didn't agree with in the film but for the most part they were very good. Also I have a huge problem with the pace of the film. Like this film was moving so fast in the beginning and then a point the film slows down a ton and I really didn't like that, but it does pick back up in the last fourth of the film. My rating of the film is going to be

RATING
3 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

I also would like to talk about the The Wolf Of Wall Street Trailer that just got released this film easy just jumped to the top of my list for anticipated films of 2013 behind God Only Forgives.

Man Of Steel

Man Of Steel is the highly anticipated film. With the one and only Superman. This film retells the beginnings of the Man of Steel. So that means we get to see everything from Krypton and all the way to Clark Kent beginning at the Daily Planet. The film stars a lot of A list people from Amy Adams as the famous Louis Lane to Russel Crowe and Kevin Costner. As Sups two father roles. The main villain in the film is General Zod played by Michael Shannon. That's all I think I am going to tell you guys about the story in the shack of not spoiling anything.

Now this film has a lot of good and a lot of bad so of course I am going to start off with what really enjoyed about the film. Sups gets to throw down in this film. I mean damn the action scenes in the film are very good and just really fun to watch. Another thing about the action scenes is the CGI is very well done and just all around cool for lack of a better word on how CGI needs to look. Also the acting by Michael Shannon, Russel Crowe and ( the man) Kevin Costner was spot on. I really enjoyed there roles and almost every scene they were in. Costner I think has one of the best if not the best scene in the whole film. I will get more into Crowe and Shannon later in the review. I actually for being a John Williams purist really enjoyed Hans Zimmer score for the film. Which do say is better is completely something complete different. Mainly I don't think William's score would have worked for the film, but they are both still very good.

Okay now to what I really didn't like about the film. The best way to start off this discussion is this Crowe and Shannon were great. Shannon really gave it his all in the film and same with Crowe. Now that being said the characters in the script were not that good. Shannon I felt that the character that he was playing wasn't that great of a villain he really didn't feel that powerful. He was no Joker or Bane or Loki or Death Vadar the list goes on. He was a very forgettable bad guy. The big problem with this film is the script and the fact that there is little to no character development. Superman is the most developed character. Which he needs to be, but the scenes were he is being developed felt few and far between. They were mainly crushed between the action scenes.  Then after that you really don't care about the rest of the characters in the film. Also I really didn't like the hand held camera work. I mean yes it looked nice, but I think this story need to be told from a more classic way of film making, but that is just me. So that is just a heads up on that. My final thoughts about the film was this the whole film felt very forced and it didn't feel like there was any real (for lack of a better word here) magic to this film. Now with all that being said I think they have the right pieces for a really good Superman series I think if they work on it a little bit and tweak a little bit this could be something amazing, but we will have to wait and see on that one. My score will be this

RATING
2.5 out of 4 Ticket Stubs.

V/H/S 2

V/H/S 2 is the sequel to the V/H/S go figure. I saw the first one and loved it. What it is a bunch of short films put into one and all of them have the same style of film making and very good horror ideas. The way they make them is found footage. Now like most people when I heard that it was found footage I was like I am really done with this, but to my surprise the it really added to the first one so when I heard they were making a sequel I was like it better be good.

Now is the film good. Yes it is very good. I really enjoyed it. Since this is an anthology film there a lot of stories and all of them I thought were good. With some great horror moments were I was general very freaked out. Mainly with the very beginning of the film that story really got to me and I was pretty freaked out. The next story I thought was really good fans of the show The Walking Dead will really enjoy that one and I thought out of the 4 shorts this one was the best not because it scared me but of how well made it was. It had some great gore effects and just really good storytelling which just impressed me. Now the pace in this film is a lot better then the first. This one was very well paced and each story comes and goes at really good time. Finally I really enjoyed the tone it didn't take itself to seriously and had a lot of fun with itself at points, but when it needs to be serious it will be.

I think this review going to be shorter then most because its hard to talk about each part of the film without spoiling anything for viewers. I do have to say this a lot of stuff in the film isn't really explained. You kind of have to except it and move on with your day and feel like a lot of people will find that annoying. Also some of the effects aren't the best but they are covered up by good story and actually good shots.

My rating for this film is going to be this.

RATING
3 out of 4 Ticket Stubs.

Mud

Mud is a one of those films that starts off at festivals and does super well then takes forever to get to the center of the country. It stars Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, and few other people one being the kid from the Tree of Life film (which I have yet to see). It really is about the kid from the Tree of Life. It is a coming of age story about love actually Ellis meets a man out on a small island in a boat living there that being Mud.

Now I went into this not knowing much. I have seen and read few reviews for this film and everyone liked it. I also saw the trailer and remember saying I want to see that but not remembering a thing about this film. I am so happy I didn't remember what it was about because what I got out of it was easily one of the best films I have seen all year. Just to start off the acting in this film is great. Ellis the main character is one of the most likable characters I have seen all year. He is one of the most real and fully realized characters in recent memory. Then Tye Sheridan knocks it out of the park with his performance he was great. Also another character that was just as good and well written was Mud (McConughey) he is on a route to a oscar nod. I mean he was so good in the film. There is a part in the film were he tells a story and the camera never breaks and it gave me that Jaws story vide. It was just so cool. Also I loved the direction done by Jeff Nichols he pick some great shots that looked amazing and the lighting they used was great. All this beautiful natural light and "magic hour" lighting it look so good. The pace and tone of the film are perfect. Like the film feels like real life. It has its moments of comedy were you laugh a little to yourself and then you have moments were you are on the edge of your seat watching the screen hoping that the characters don't get hurt because you care so much about them by the end. That is another plus in this film you care about the characters in the film. Which is something that is rare in some films today. The story of the film is so good. It doesn't have that many moving parts, but it has moments in which you want to see what happens to them in that situation. I keep coming back to the characters and the acting in this film because without those two elements this film would be okay but not great in which this film was

So my only real complaint about the whole film is the pace and it isn't really even a complaint its more of a comment. The film may feel slow to some, but I really enjoyed the film all the way thought and the parts that are slow are important to the film over all. So my ticket stub rating for this film is

RATING
4 out 4 Ticket Stubs

I really enjoyed this film. It easy in my top spot of the year right now. Along side Star Trek Into Darkness.

Now You See Me

Now You See Me is the baby of Ocean's 11 and The Prestige. It is about a group of 4 magicians that pull off a series of robbers using there powers of misdirection.  The film stars a lot of people. It would take awhile to list everybody, but the main role in the film is played by Hulk. I am uhmm Mark Ruffalo and is directed by the guy (Louis Leterrrier) that brought us the The incredible Hulk movie and I find that terribly funny but that's just me.  

To what I thought was good about the film. The film had a cool idea for a story and had some really good twists and turns in the plot. So that is the main thing about the film that I really enjoyed which was the plot. It is what really keeps you engaged in the film. Its not the interesting characters or the good dialoge, but the plot that is the showboat of the script. Another thing that you can put in the good column is the stars in the film. Everybody played there roles very well and gave it there all I felt. They all had really good chemistry which each other. Which really helped this film because it would have been hard to sit thought if they didn't.

Now the director I feel didn't do the best job that he could with the script. I think he thought that the script was smarter then it actually was. He tried to make your mouth drop with all the twists and turns and I am not saying that I wasn't like okay I kind of didn't see that coming, but by the end of the film I could totally see where the film was going. So it starts to lose the only card up its sleeve (see what i did there). I also really didn't like the DOP on the film I am not saying that it is shot bad or its on shaky cam the whole time. He just did so much camera movement. I think he was just moving the camera to move the camera and it started to make me sick to myself. So this film tried to be Ocean's 11 and The Prestige's baby and it to me it missed the mark by a ton. So I would say keep your money and wait for the DVD if you really want to see it.

RATING
2 out 4 Ticket Stubs.

The Hangover Part III

The Hangover Part III is the final movie in the one of the most unlikely trilogies  ever. Well to start we all know that this film is kind of about if you have seen the first two, but I will say that the this film is tonality different to the other two films. The reason why I say that is because it plays more like a adventure film then a comedy. They also get rid of them waking up and finding out what they did the night before. This time go around they most help a gangster (John Goodman) find Chow because he stole his gold. Then craziest happens.

New rating system

I am going to change the rating system again. Yes I am sorry but I promise this one is staying for a long time. The only thing I am changing is the total amount of ticket stubs. It's going to be 0-4 now. If your wondering about the other reviews. Here is like a cheap chart. If I give it a 3 out of 5 ticket stubs rating it is now a 2.5 out of 4. I bet you guys can figure out how it's going to work form their. So my next review will be The Hangover Part III. See you guys next time

Texas Chainsaw 3d (spolier heavy)

Okay first off I am sorry this review is so late. Well I am not gonna lie you readers I wasn't planning on doing a review on this film, but after I saw how awful this film was I had to do one. Well this is going to be more of a rant so super amount of spoilers in this review. I am going to give you guys a little background on why this film is so bad. I love the first Texas Chainsaw massacre . I am not talking about the bullshit 2003 one. I am talking about the old school Tobe Hooper one. The reason why I mention that one is because this film starts off with images form that film making this film its sequel reboot of type thing. That movie takes place in 1974. Keep that in mind people.

So the film opens. First shot of the film there is this huge family of like 5 or 6 people. Which doesn't make any sense because there was no big 5 or 6 member family in the first one. (Kyle begins to bang his head against the stone wall in front of him) Well their was they were all killed mostly. Then these guys from "town" come in and kill off all the members of the family except for 2 people a baby (not in the in the first one) and leatherface of course. These guys that kill the whole family just kill them. So I am sitting here watching the movie and was like are they serious about to do this. Are they about to make the big bad guy of Hooper's film a good guy. Yes everybody they do they make him the good guy, but I am getting ahead of myself. So after the family is killed the film goes forward lets say 20 or so years. Making it around 1994. The little baby girl grows up into the real main character. Heather played by Alexandra Daddairo who is the best part of the whole damn movie. Just because i can look at her for a hour and half. She finds out her grandma dies and finds out she is adopted and all the cliche horror movie stuff. So we go to the house which has leatherface in the basement. Shit happens and people start to get killed. You will not care because the characters are complete bullshit and horribly acted. Also you won't be scared once and if you are scared its because of stupid freaking jump scare (which aren't even that good).

Then we get to the second half of the film and some how the movie gets worse I honestly don't know how they did that. Heather is running from leatherface and gets to a carnival. In which form some odd reason nobody really freaks out that there is a mad man with a chainsaw. She gets away form him. Thank god because then the movie would be over. We get all this dialogue about how nobody went to jail for killing that family and Heather figuring out who she is. During the scene were Heather is figuring out who she is a cop goes and looks at the house where Leatherface is. He pulls out a Iphone so we can see is happening to him and so the the sheriff (who is the worst sheriff of all time) at HQ can see. But wait isn't the fucking 90's. How the fuck is there a Iphone the fucking 90's. Sorry got off track. The cop of course gets killed. Then Heather leaves the police station and gets to a bar and figures out more information and after that she gets capture by the leader of gang that killed the family at the beginning. So guess who comes to save the day. That's right ladies and gentleman good old Leatherface. He comes in and kills the man that killed his whole family and almost killing Heather but only doesn't because there is a burn mark on breast. Which tells Leatherface that she family. The sheriff also sees this whole thing goes down. Just lets them go. So he can live with himself about letting the family die at the beginning of the film. So Heather returns with Leatherface and takes care of him. Fade to credits. ( Kyle is dead form head trauma from hitting his head against the wall)

I am sorry how the hell did this movie get made. Like were they just put something on the screen it will sale. Its a horror movie and only teenage boys are going to this movie and guess what it went to number one. Why do we let this happen. This why Horror films get a bad rep. I love horror films good horror films. Like Insidious or Sinister or for those true horror fans that liked The Innkeepers. Those are what horror films can be and instead we get this shit. I am sorry for all the cursing, but my god this movie made me so mad. For the love of god don't pay money to see this. Don't even see it for free. Just run away from it.

RATING
1 out of 5 Ticket Stubs ( the first 1 I have ever given out)

Star Trek Into Darkness

Star Trek Into Darkness is the follow up to the 2009 J.J. Abrams update of Star Trek. This film picks up after a few of years of the crew been going on missions and now they really feel like a crew, but the real story of movie picks up after there is a terrorist bombing at a London archive. So the crew is chosen to go after the said terrorist.

Now with the story all put away. What did I really like about this film and there is a lot that I really loved. This film to say is a so much fun all the way thought. It gives that old star trek feel of adventure  but also it has some great parts of sadness thrown in there. Like I am not gonna lie to guys I teared up twice in the film. The acting is almost perfect in the film. It is a repeat of last time with all the main stars. They all know what they need to do and how to get these characters across. The thing that I really want to talk about is Benedict Cumberbatch. This dude kills the character that he plays. It his intense and is just pure evil. Definitely one of the best bad guys of the summer season  so far. Now another thing that wanted to talk about was the script. The story and the lines that are in this film are perfect. I loved all parts of the story it goes thought twists and turns that are very welcome. J.J's style is absolute perfect for the film. That includes all the lens flares which  I loved all the way thought the film. The dude has not made a bad film yet in his career. The way the CGI looks is great all the things look great on screen and the film itself looks great. There are so many things about this film are great. The pace and tone of the film are perfect. It hits the same tone that is just all around fun, but still can be very moving when it needs to be and super serious. The pace is perfect it never is not moving forward.

Well form all that positive most people can tell what I am going to giving this, but before I want to do this. This film is also going to piss off  a lot of fanboys of the series. The thing that I don't understand about people being angry about the film is this. Those first films are still there for you to watch and the more important thing is that they are still cannon. This Star Trek series is happening in a completely different timeline. So that means JJ and his team can do whatever they want and it will leave both this and the old versions cannon. So people who get pissed about some changes just remember that.

That needed to be said sorry about the little rant there people, but this is a perfect summer movie and easily the best and funniest so far. My rating is going to be

RATING
5 out 5 Ticket Stubs.

The Great Gatsby (2013)

The Great Gatsby this is the fourth attempt to put this classic American book to the big screen and did they do what they were set out to do. The answer to the question is yes and no. The story centers around a group of characters the three leads being Jay Gatsby (Leo DiCaprio) Nick Carraway (Tobey Magiure) and Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan). The story if you don't is mainly about a love triangle between Jay and Daisy and the person Daisy is married to.

This film has a lot to talk about first the CGI in the film is great it looks really great and you get to see some amazing scenes and some amazing looking sites. Also I really enjoyed Leo he play Gatsby very well I thought. He was very likable and very fun to watch on screen like he always is. I do believe his acting was better in Django, but that is most because he was such a good bad guy. Sorry got off topic there. I also thought that Joel Edgerton (plays Mr. Bucahana) he was a great dick(for lack of a better word). I really didn't like him by the end of the film. Also I thought the script was very good. The part where they are just sitting around and talking is very good and interesting. The film was filled with a lot of really good lines. After watching the film I really would like the read the book. It makes you want to go out and read the source martial.

Okay this film has some problems and they are big ones. I think the biggest was the Direction and the editing. Baz Luhrmann has a very specific way he wants his films to look. The film is a visual onslaught. After away the film gets to your head and it give me a little bit of a headache, but then you finally get used to all the CGI and over the top set pieces. This is the biggest problem with the film. Luhrmann was so into his visuel aspect with the film.  That a lot of things don't mix well. The style of Luhrmann doesn't fit the script. Most of the time I love super stylized movies but this film not so much. Also the editing felt really choppy. Their is a lot of super fast edits and he doesn't anything really soak in. Also I don't Magiure did that great of a job. I don't think he was bad but his character could have been played by almost anybody I felt. This film is very decent. It has nothing really memorable about it.   So for that I am going to give the film.

RATING
3 out of 5 ticket stubs.

Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3. Let the summer movies begin. Iron Man 3 is next and possible last Iron Man movie. Was it good? I will touch on that more later.  Tony Stark (Robert Downy Jr.) is having some issues form his experiences in New York. When the next super villain comes and that is Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin.

Now with this movie we have got a new Director at the helm and that being Shane Black. This movie really is his baby. Form the way this movie begins to the way this movie ends. You know he had his hands in the writing (Which he did) and his very cool style  (the dude is obsessed with christmas). His style was about to match the Iron Man universe very well. His pacing is really good he keeps the film rolling along very well. The tone is very cool. Black's odd sense of humor fits perfect here, but I did feel that there was a lot of humor in this one. Which is odd because this is also the most story driven one and darkest one of the 3 Iron Man movies. All the acting in this film was great. Ben Kingsley was awesome and Robert Downy Jr. is Tony Stark so he of course just as good as he always is. Without giving anything away this films best scene to me was the Airplane scene and if you seen the trailer you know what I am talking about.  Also this film is the most comic booky of all the Iron Mans. Which to me is a big plus and the last I would say 20 to 30 minutes has some very cool and great action.

Now not spoiling anything this film is going to split a lot of fans into two different camps.  It changes something and if your a fan of the books your gonna be seriously pissed off, but if you can ride it out I think you will have a good time still. I really did enjoy the movie and almost everything in the film and it is a lot better than Iron Man 2. Actually this maybe my favorite Iron Man. Now saying that well thinking that is going to be a 5 out of 5 right here, but there is some problems. The problems in the film are actually very hard to fine. The problem is that some of the stuff they do is just okay. Its not bad, but its just underdone. It could have just been done better is what I am trying to say so with that being said I think my rating for the film is going to be

RATING
4 out of 5 Ticket Stubs

Pain and Gain

Pain and Gain is the next film by Michael Bay now Bay has made some not great movies, but he has made some great movies such as The Rock and my guilty pleasure movie Bad Boys II. So I was hoping this movie would be on along of those type of movies. 

This movie stars Mark Wahlberg and The Rock (in his 3rd movie of the year). They plan to kidnap a rich jerk and make him sign all of his money and things over to them. This movie is based on a true story. Here is the biggest problem with this movie. It is one of the oddest things I have ever seen. The movie plays like a comedy a dark comedy mind you, but still a comedy. So the material is so dark and evil that I feel that this story needs to be told, but not in the way that Bay did it. So another thing is this I  thing the only real movie that this can be compared to is Fargo. I am not saying that this is better than Fargo, but it is in the same idea that Fargo had. That the events that happen on the screen are so nuts that the only way that you would believe it if it actually happened. Fargo actually didn't happen . So right there this is different form the movie and in the fact that this did happen.

Well now that is done I can tell you want I actually thought of the movie. This is a Bay movie it has all the staples. All of his favorite shots. All the slow-mos. All the crazy high constant colors. The movie is actually entertaining to a point. Like The Rock is great in the movie and he is really the only good person out of the main three that you like because the other two are dirtbags. I am not saying that Marky Mark was bad in the film, but you are supposed to feel bad for them and you really can't because of the characters they play. Also this film has problems with length and some of the writing. The movie is about 2 and a half hours long and really didn't need to be that long. It could have been count down to a 1 hour and a half. The writing of the film is all over the place sometimes its actually kind of funny  but I think the credit goes to The Rock playing such a odd character for him.

Now there was a lot of negative in that first paragraph. I still really enjoyed the story of the movie. Like I really wanted to see how this story was going to end. I can't believe I am saying this but I enjoyed a Michael Bay story, but I think it was the fact that it was true and if I would have just read this in a newspaper I think I would have been just as invested. So I think the biggest problems I have stated, but since I did enjoy the film I am going to give it

2.5 out of 5 Ticket Stubs.

Evil Dead (2013)

Evil Dead is the remake of the 1981(i got that wrong in my video) horror film The Evil Dead. In this one 4 friends go up to a cabin in a woods and try to get there friend to quit doing drugs.

Now I am a big fan of the first film. It was over the top and a lot of fun and actually really good at scaring people. This film biggest strength is that the film stay so true to the first movie. The Director of the movie really made a great film with a perfect tone. Also you can really tell that Sam Rami and Bruce Cambell where on set everyday watching there once baby film get made into this big budget remake. The thing about the tone that is so great as that it ever lets up after it starts. Also another thing that i enjoyed was the way the film was shot. This film looked amazing and yeah its in a horror film. When you get a good DOP and really solid director for a horror movie that is a huge plus in my book. Now there was one really good actor and that was the person who was playing Mia her name was Jane Levy I thought her performance was the best of the bunch, but she out of all the characters had the most character for lack of a better word.

Now this film had a few problems for one. It didn't scare me. Not to the extent I thought it would. I thought it would be able to scare me just as much as Sinister did and Insidious did. It in this area it did let me down which is sad. Also with the great performance done by you have a bad and awful performance by the actress playing Daniel's girlfriend this girl was awful. I just didn't know why she was in the movie. Oh wait I figured it out. She was there to watch her die (that is really dark). She really didn't need to be in the film.

Now with all that done and said. This film is the best horror remake I have ever seen. It pays true to the frist film a lot and any fan of it will feel right at home. So for all the good this film has I am going to give this film a over all rating of

RATING
4 out of 5 Ticket Stubs

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

G.I Joe: Retaliation is the sequel to the awful G.I Joe: Rise of Cobra. Now I personally didn't really enjoy the frist movie so I was hoping that this one was going to be better. Now I am happy to report that this film is a lot better then the frist. Not saying that this film is great but better

This film takes place right after the first one with the President still being capture and all the leaders of cobra commander still captured. This is a great place to start off the film. Now they delayed this film to "make the 3-D better" but we all know it was to add more Channing Tatum scenes. Now I was actually happy they add more scenes with him.  The Rock and Tatum had a lot of really good chemistry. This is a big plus for me and I wish there was more of it (sorry if that is a spolier to you). Now good thing they did to this film was they changed the tone of the film it was less Transformer like and more on the tone of action film form the 90's. Also the film look pretty good not as bad as the last but pretty good, but the best part of the film is the Rock. He really saves the movie for me. Watching him kick some serious ass all the way thought the film was great. He was the only real reason I wanted to go see the film.

Now this film still had a lot of negatives mainly with it. The film had not the best pace. It was pretty slow. I think that was because of side story Snake Eyes. I really wasn't into it and they also never explain why Strom Shadow is actually dead, but guess it is more to the "reboot". Also the film had one really great action scene in the beginning of the film and it slowly goes down hill form there, but I still enjoyed stuff blowing up and all that jazz. They also casted Raz as some ninja master and i thought he was so bad. I really didn't enjoy his part and his acting.

Now i really did enjoy the film for the fact I just turn my brain off for a few hours or so and enjoy what's on the screen, but if your going to see like the next Skyfall or Avengers you will be disappointed. So my final rating for this film is going to be

RATING
3 out of 5 Ticket Stubs

 

Olympus Has Fallen

Who would have thought with the four big action movies to come with great stars. That Gerard Butler would be in the best and most fun one. This movie is like a combo of Die Hard and Air Force One. It made for a great mix. It has a simple plot which is good for this type of movie. It's about how terrorists take the White House and now Gerard Butler has to go and take it back and also save the president.

Now what I enjoyed about this movie was the fact that it was a 90's action film. I mean you have all the great one liners and so of the best action scenes I have seen this year. I really enjoyed the film. This film really could have been a summer blocker buster if this was few years ago. I don't know why Gerard Butler always picks those not so great Rom Coms, but in this Gerard really kick so serious ass. I really enjoyed his character as well. Like he wasn't a superhero like you can tell he is going down after awhile and he is having trouble. Also the direction of the film was perfect it for what it needed to be. I am happy they keep the film rated R because it gave it that extra like "cool" factor.


This film was not perfect by a long shot. The biggest was the CGI ( I don't know what is with CGI with the past movies). It wasn't the best CGI ever done and you can really tell that is CGI a lot of the time, but the film is so well done and so cool to watch that I personally didn't really mind the bad CGI. Now also I think there is a few bad actors in this bunch. Now the Bad Guy in the film was not the best Bad Guy he is no Hans Gurber, but he is okay and gets the job done. So with all that being said this film is a perfect thought back to the Die Hard and stuff of that era. I really liked and if you want to see a good action film and have a good time at the theater.

Rating
3.5 out of 5 Ticket Stubs