Maleficent

Maleficent stars Angelina Jolie in the title role. Sharlto Copley is also in the film and plays the films villain. The film is really the retelling of the old classic story of Sleeping Beauty. It was trying to show the film from the what was the villain of the story in Maleficent.

The thing that really drew me to this film was the star in Jolie. I saw her in the trailers and saw that she was going to be good. That is what I got. Jolie is very good in the film and is truly having a lot of fun with the role.  Plays it near perfect. I never really saw the Jolie, but just the character of Maleficent. Another thing that I really enjoy is the how the director (Robert Stromberg) shot the film. It really looked great. The way he shot Maleficent in the film gave her a great imposing and powerful look. Also I enjoyed how just the whole film looked and I really have to hand it to him for trying to tell a more visual tale with the relationship between Maleficent and Aurora. The feel of the film is great. Like it really feels a classic fairy tale. Not one of the dark ones we have seen a lot of recently, but just a good old fashion fairy tale.

 It really wants to be a great film. I truly does. I can see that people really did give it there all in the film. My first problem is the pace of the film. It isn't a slow film, but its just to fast of a film. None of the scenes really get to breath or have any true tension. This leads to my second problem the film is the script. It nails the feel of the film, but mess up the characters. Your really don't get to know any of the motives of Maleficent at a big moment in the film. I feel like the director wasn't clear enough. You also really don't get to know any of the characters because of how fast paced the film is.  The film could have been a really good film, but is just a really good renter. If you like Jolie or the idea of villain in the main role of the film then this is for you. If that doesn't sound like you then wait for dvd or skip this one.

RATING
1.75 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men 7 should really be the title of this film. There have been seven, and I repeat, seven movies in this series. We get the return of so many people that it would be easier for you to just go and look it up on IMDB( It's pretty much everyone).  The biggest return in my eyes is the man in the chair (not the wheel chair), Bryan Singer. The one who started this crazy new era of comic books in my eyes. A basic overview of the film is that robots have taken over the world and the X-men need to send Wolverine back in time to save it.

Now a lot of people were worried that Singer had lost his touch after X2. Now most of the films weren't completely terrible. They just weren't that great of films. Also, the X-Men series hit a few rough spots without him. He is back in complete form with this film. It was almost as if he had never left the series. The film starts off and I could already tell who directed it. Singer moved the film at nearly perfect pace. I mean I haven't been this sucked into a action/comic book film in a long time. He does everything right. All the moments that need to be dark and dramatic work and all the parts that could have humor do and the action is tense. Everything works, nothing feels out of place or really off. He puts a theme through out the whole film. Which is something my critic mind loves. The acting is needless to say amazing. I mean when you have Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian Mckellen and James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, should you really be worried about their performances? The film is basically a perfect way you want to see a X-Men movie and a summer film.

I do have a few nick picky complaints. I don't like the way Singer handles some of the characters. Don't get me wrong, everyone gets their time to shine. And they shine greatly. The only problem I have is the addition of a couple of characters in the future parts. You don't really get to know them. I mean like at all. Now it doesn't hurt the film. Its already two hours and the only way they could fix it is to just make more of the film. Which would throw off the other parts of the film. So like I said it's just a thing I noticed. With that being said this movie is a great summer film. You will be really happy after you leave the theater.

RATING
4 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

Godzilla (2014)

Godzilla is about... How do I say this without sounding dumb? It's about a giant dragon-like monster that comes from the depths of the ocean and starts to basically ruin everyone's day. Now if you didn't know that, don't worry you won't feel out of place in the film.

I am not that big of a fan of Godzilla movies, when I say that understand that means I haven't seen that many of his movies. Actually I have only seen the old cartoon and 1998 version which is not that good. This film was made by Gareth Edwards and he is a big fan of monster movies. See his debut film Monsters which was a very character driven monster film. I would say the same  about this one. It is very much about the characters. Which is a good thing! I personally loved this film for that. The tone and pace that he sets are perfect for the film. Everything felt very real in the film and how the world would actually react to seeing a giant monster attack. The score and look of the film are extremely well done. I would say the look of the film is one of the strongest points. Now the thing that I have to say I really liked best about this film is the way that it was marketed. Not much of the story was told in the trailer and you basically went in pretty blind. This was a great thing for this film. There are a lot of big moments that no one has seen yet and I am really excited for people to see this. Also one scene I do have to talk about, don't worry no spoilers, is the scene where you see Godzilla for the first time. It is amazing! They make Godzilla seem very powerful and just awe inspiring.

 The film is very sound and I am giving my highest recommendation of see it in the theater. Trust me you will want to hear that roar. My big issue with the film is there doesn't seem to be enough of it. Like the characters are good, but you really could develop them more or make them just a bit more interesting. The action is good and I mean very good. Just you want to see more of the action in the film. Now those are just my own personal problems with this film. I think that most people will enjoy this film very much and won't find many flaws. So go see it when it comes out and you won't be upset.

RATING
3 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

Neighbors

Neighbors is basically a prank war film. I am not sure if that is a genre of film, but it is now. Thats basically all that really happens in this film. I will admit there is actually a story and actaully pretty good one. It stars Seth Rogan and Zac Efron.

I think I  should really start with the star of this film. Seth Rogan, really is a comic genius in my eyes and is very good. He can do both a very powerful comically role, write and even do some drama as seen in 50/50.  He really brings his charm to this film. He makes scene work, that just wouldn't work written down on paper. I mean he is very funny in this film. This whole film is very funny from start to finish. You will be laughing and having a very good time. Now I would also like to say the director of the film was good. I mean really good actually. He does a lot of things with to give it a great style. Which is huge complement coming from me since this is a comedy film. The tone is really knocked out of the park. I have no real complaints in the tone department. I do have a minor complaint about the pace of the film. I think it slows down for a little bit, but not to many will notice it. I just have to make it known.

Now my problems aren't really problems with the film. The first thing I want to say that I noticed is the story. It actually has some underline stuff which I thought was very smart. Like the story is good, but I don't think they really went far enough with in the story. The film really knew its audience so to that I have to give them a thumbs up, but they were trying to tell the audience something and I don't think they will notice. Also another thing is Zac Efron, who is good in the role. I mean he really is good. Nothing but praise from me, but I think other people could have given the same performance. He, to me, really didn't bring much to the role. Like I could see (pre Jump Street) Channing Tatum play this role  and get the same result. Also I don't think the film is very memorable. Not saying that its bad. Just not memorable. So with that the film will leave you with a smile on your face, but then you will make wanting to see another comedy with in the next few days.

RATING
2.75 out of 4

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is the follow up to Marc Webbs The Amazing Spider-Man. The film stars Andrew Garfield in the title role of Spider-Man and Emma Stone in the role of Gwen Stacy. So from besides the cast of the original film we get the addition of 3 villains. Paul Giamatti as the Rhino, Dane DeHaan as the Green Goblin, and Jamie Foxx as Elecrto. This is also the start of the summer season, so let us hope that this film is a good sign for the season.

Well, to start off Spider-Man is my favorite superhero of all time. I love character to death. He is one of my fictional heroes. So with that being said, this version of Spider-Man was perfect. I am talking about the character here not what I think of the film overall just the character. It really felt like Spider-Man and it felt like I was watching a Spider-Man film. Like Webb honestly for me, nails the tone of a Spider-Man film. Light hearted with just enough drama in Peter Parkers life to keep people interested and having actually dealing with the problems of being a superhero. You don't need to make him a dark character like the first one. He is not Batman, don't try and make him that. So in regards of tone and character. I think it really hits it out of the park. Also the score done by Hans Zimmer is one of my favorite scores of the year. It really is great music and feels like a Spider-Man theme.

Here we go and people this really hurts me. Like it hurts me so much I don't even want to write this part of the review. I didn't like this movie as a whole. Sadly. The story of the film is awful. I mean bad, way to bloated. There is at least 6 story lines in this film. It could have been easily cut down to 2. The way that the characters are done and built is very well done. I mean almost perfectly so, but the when the action starts you would blink and you would miss it, because it has to do 5 other stories to tell. Also all the cool action was shown in the trailer. So I won't be putting the trailer in this review just because I want to save some of your enjoyment. There was just so much of what could have been a really good and lovable film it just hurts me to see what we got. So if you are a fan of the characters and good music go see it. Just so I can see a better 3rd try at my favorite web head.

RATING
1.75 out of 4