I knew going into this that it didn't have great reviews. But I figured what the hell, I'm in the mood for a comedy. And you know what? While it wasn't great, for the most part I had fun watching it.
Ted 2 is the sequel to the 2012 movie which ended up being a huge hit. This time around, Ted (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) has married Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth) and they want to have a baby. But in order to become a parent, he'll have to prove he's a person in the eyes of the law. His best friend John (Mark Wahlberg) and a young lawyer named Samantha (Amanda Seyfried) help him along the way.
Seth MacFarlane, while he seems like a nice guy, is not the greatest director. At least not when it comes to feature length films. This movie was nearly two hours long and it didn't need to be. There were several scenes that really had nothing to do with the plot and were just added in to kill time. I think this would've worked much better had it been an hour television special. But I'll give him credit, while some of the jokes fell flat for me, a lot of them were pretty funny. I found myself laughing quite a bit, mainly in the first half though.
I really enjoyed Mark Wahlberg in this. I've been a fan of most of his movies. His comedic timing in this is spot on. I think he's at his best in these types of movies. He also has great chemistry with Ted, a CGI bear for crying out loud. The same can't be said for him and Amanda Seyfried. I like her and it's not that she's bad here, I just didn't buy her as Mark's love interest.
Ted 2 ended up being better than I thought it would be. I don't know if I'll watch it over and over again, but maybe every so often if I'm in need of a laugh. If you enjoyed the first movie or if you're looking for a halfway decent comedy (and don't mind a little crude humor), check this out.
My Rating: 7/10
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Inside Out (3D)
I've always been a fan of most Pixar movies. So when I heard they were releasing Inside Out I knew I had to see it. And I must say, Pixar has once again hit it out of the park!
Inside Out is about a young girl named Riley whose life if guided by the emotions living inside her mind- Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling). Everything is going great until one day when Riley and her parents suddenly move from their home in Minnesota to San Francisco. With all of these changes, Headquarters begins to explode into chaos!
Pete Docter and Ronaldo Del Carmen have done an amazing job directing (as well as writing) a story that technically is aimed towards kids but at the same time adults can get a lot out of it as well. And as is the case with Pixar, this movie hits you right in the feels.
The animation looked absolutely beautiful. So much effort was put into even the smallest detail, like the way the characters hair looked and moved.
I really don't have anything bad to say about the movie other than I wouldn't bother to spend the extra money on 3D. It's hardly noticeable at all. It's a shame because it had the potential to look really good in that format.
Going into the movie, I was afraid I would be sitting in a theater full of screaming kids. Thankfully that was not the case. There were kids there of course, but I noticed there was also a lot of people my age and older who like me didn't have kids. We all had fun watching a sweet and touching movie with a great message. I can't wait to see what Pixar does next.
My Rating: 9/10
Inside Out is about a young girl named Riley whose life if guided by the emotions living inside her mind- Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling). Everything is going great until one day when Riley and her parents suddenly move from their home in Minnesota to San Francisco. With all of these changes, Headquarters begins to explode into chaos!
Pete Docter and Ronaldo Del Carmen have done an amazing job directing (as well as writing) a story that technically is aimed towards kids but at the same time adults can get a lot out of it as well. And as is the case with Pixar, this movie hits you right in the feels.
The animation looked absolutely beautiful. So much effort was put into even the smallest detail, like the way the characters hair looked and moved.
I really don't have anything bad to say about the movie other than I wouldn't bother to spend the extra money on 3D. It's hardly noticeable at all. It's a shame because it had the potential to look really good in that format.
Going into the movie, I was afraid I would be sitting in a theater full of screaming kids. Thankfully that was not the case. There were kids there of course, but I noticed there was also a lot of people my age and older who like me didn't have kids. We all had fun watching a sweet and touching movie with a great message. I can't wait to see what Pixar does next.
My Rating: 9/10
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Jurassic World (IMAX 3D)
I've been looking forward to this movie ever since it was first announced and got even more excited when I saw the trailers. Judging by the line I stood in to get into the theater (which I swear was just as big if not longer than the line I was in for The Avengers) I wasn't the only one who felt this way. Believe the hype everyone. Jurassic World was amazing!
The movie takes place 22 years after the events of Jurassic Park. Isla Nublar now features a functional theme park called Jurassic World, run by Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard). But attendance is starting to decline so they decide to genetically engineer a new breed of dinosaur. What could possibly go wrong?
I love that director Colin Trevorrow has basically ignored movies two and three and instead made Jurassic World feel like a direct sequel to Jurassic Park. There's quite a few references to the first movie but it's done respectfully, unlike other sequels/reboots where it's all in your face like, Hey look at this! Remember this?
Chris Pratt sure is on a role lately and I couldn't be happier for him. He's very charming, funny, and does a great job here as raptor trainer Owen. His character was probably the only one I actually cared about. Do I wish they had taken the time to develop the other characters and make them likeable? Sure. But I knew going into this that the real stars of the movie were the dinosaurs.
My hat goes off to the visual effects team. I'm not sure how much of it was practical effects and how much was CGI but the dinosaurs looked very real and was convincing whenever they interacted with the human characters.
The movie looked absolutely stunning on an IMAX screen. You really felt like you were there. But as far as the 3D goes, while it was decent in a few spots overall it wasn't that noticeable. Still, I'd say it's worth the extra money just so you can have that great IMAX experience.
Seeing Jurassic World gave me chills. Everything from the bad ass action scenes to the beautiful score was well done. It felt like I was nine years old again and seeing Jurassic Park for the first time. I can't wait to see where they go from here.
My Rating: 9/10
The movie takes place 22 years after the events of Jurassic Park. Isla Nublar now features a functional theme park called Jurassic World, run by Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard). But attendance is starting to decline so they decide to genetically engineer a new breed of dinosaur. What could possibly go wrong?
I love that director Colin Trevorrow has basically ignored movies two and three and instead made Jurassic World feel like a direct sequel to Jurassic Park. There's quite a few references to the first movie but it's done respectfully, unlike other sequels/reboots where it's all in your face like, Hey look at this! Remember this?
Chris Pratt sure is on a role lately and I couldn't be happier for him. He's very charming, funny, and does a great job here as raptor trainer Owen. His character was probably the only one I actually cared about. Do I wish they had taken the time to develop the other characters and make them likeable? Sure. But I knew going into this that the real stars of the movie were the dinosaurs.
My hat goes off to the visual effects team. I'm not sure how much of it was practical effects and how much was CGI but the dinosaurs looked very real and was convincing whenever they interacted with the human characters.
The movie looked absolutely stunning on an IMAX screen. You really felt like you were there. But as far as the 3D goes, while it was decent in a few spots overall it wasn't that noticeable. Still, I'd say it's worth the extra money just so you can have that great IMAX experience.
Seeing Jurassic World gave me chills. Everything from the bad ass action scenes to the beautiful score was well done. It felt like I was nine years old again and seeing Jurassic Park for the first time. I can't wait to see where they go from here.
My Rating: 9/10
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Spy
I had every intention of avoiding this movie like the plague. But then several friends told me that it was actually good so I decided to give it a chance. I'm glad I listened to them and didn't bade my decision on the trailers, which made this out to be just another dumb Melissa McCarthy "Hey look at me I'm fat!" type of movie. There's a few moments of that to an extent, but I ended up really enjoying the movie.
Spy stars Melissa McCarthy as Susan Cooper, a desk bound CIA analyst who ends up volunteering to go undercover and infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer.
What surprised me the most was that not only was this a comedy, but it also had some really good action sequences. They don't shy away from the violence either. There's people getting shot in the head, stabbed, poisoned, etc. If you're a little squeamish this may not be the movie for you.
I hope Melissa McCarthy does more movies like this because she's actually not a bad actress. I especially loved her scenes with Jason Statham. The two of them actually work well together and it looked like they had a lot of fun. Speaking of Jason Statham, it was great seeing him play a character that's pretty much a parody of every other character he's ever played.
Paul Fieg (who also directed Bridesmaids and The Heat) does a decent job writing and directing. Most of the jokes were pretty funny, but a few of them just didn't work for me. Also, I felt like the movie went on a just a little too long. It would've been even better had he cut out about 20 minutes.
Spy was a really fun and refreshing take on the spy spoof movie. While it's not nearly as good as Kingsman, it's still worth checking out.
My Rating: 8/10
Spy stars Melissa McCarthy as Susan Cooper, a desk bound CIA analyst who ends up volunteering to go undercover and infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer.
What surprised me the most was that not only was this a comedy, but it also had some really good action sequences. They don't shy away from the violence either. There's people getting shot in the head, stabbed, poisoned, etc. If you're a little squeamish this may not be the movie for you.
I hope Melissa McCarthy does more movies like this because she's actually not a bad actress. I especially loved her scenes with Jason Statham. The two of them actually work well together and it looked like they had a lot of fun. Speaking of Jason Statham, it was great seeing him play a character that's pretty much a parody of every other character he's ever played.
Paul Fieg (who also directed Bridesmaids and The Heat) does a decent job writing and directing. Most of the jokes were pretty funny, but a few of them just didn't work for me. Also, I felt like the movie went on a just a little too long. It would've been even better had he cut out about 20 minutes.
Spy was a really fun and refreshing take on the spy spoof movie. While it's not nearly as good as Kingsman, it's still worth checking out.
My Rating: 8/10
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Aloha
I was in the mood for a romantic movie this week. Plus it stars Bradley Cooper. What could possibly go wrong? Well, a lot apparently. I didn't hate the movie by any means. It was just... weird.
Aloha is about a man named Brian Gilcrest (Bradley Cooper)- a military contractor who returns to Hawaii to oversee the launch of a weapons satellite. While there he reconnects with his ex-wife Tracy (Rachel McAdams) and forms a relationship with Alison Ng (Emma Stone)- a Navy pilot assigned to him.
What the hell happened to Cameron Crowe? This is the same man who directed Jerry Macguire, a movie that I love and will watch whenever it's on TV. I even thought Elizabethtown was a sweet little movie. But Aloha wasn't even close to being as good as those.
The writing he did was horrible as well. I'm sorry but I don't know anyone who would talk the way these characters do. It was almost embarrassing.
Speaking of characters, what really made me mad was they had such a talented cast- Bradley Copper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Alec Baldwin, etc. and they're all wasted here. To be fair, they did try their best given the material they had to work with. And as much as I like Emma Stone, she was terribly miscast. She and Bradley Cooper had absolutely no chemistry.
The movie was just all over the place. What was Cameron Crowe trying to say here? I feel like in the hands of a different director and screenwriter, this could've been a pretty good movie.
I'll admit though, in the last third of the movie were a few moments that were genuinely sweet. I even laughed a few times. It's because of this that I can't give it any lower of a rating than I already am.
If you're looking for a really good romantic dramedy, I would recommend Silver Linings Playbook instead. Aloha is just okay and very forgettable. If you insist on seeing it, wait until it comes to Netflix. It's not worth the money to see it in theaters.
My Rating: 6/10
Aloha is about a man named Brian Gilcrest (Bradley Cooper)- a military contractor who returns to Hawaii to oversee the launch of a weapons satellite. While there he reconnects with his ex-wife Tracy (Rachel McAdams) and forms a relationship with Alison Ng (Emma Stone)- a Navy pilot assigned to him.
What the hell happened to Cameron Crowe? This is the same man who directed Jerry Macguire, a movie that I love and will watch whenever it's on TV. I even thought Elizabethtown was a sweet little movie. But Aloha wasn't even close to being as good as those.
The writing he did was horrible as well. I'm sorry but I don't know anyone who would talk the way these characters do. It was almost embarrassing.
Speaking of characters, what really made me mad was they had such a talented cast- Bradley Copper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Alec Baldwin, etc. and they're all wasted here. To be fair, they did try their best given the material they had to work with. And as much as I like Emma Stone, she was terribly miscast. She and Bradley Cooper had absolutely no chemistry.
The movie was just all over the place. What was Cameron Crowe trying to say here? I feel like in the hands of a different director and screenwriter, this could've been a pretty good movie.
I'll admit though, in the last third of the movie were a few moments that were genuinely sweet. I even laughed a few times. It's because of this that I can't give it any lower of a rating than I already am.
If you're looking for a really good romantic dramedy, I would recommend Silver Linings Playbook instead. Aloha is just okay and very forgettable. If you insist on seeing it, wait until it comes to Netflix. It's not worth the money to see it in theaters.
My Rating: 6/10
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Mad Max: Fury Road
When I first heard they were making this movie, I kind of had mixed feelings about it. I've only seen the original Mad Max and while I liked it, I only watched it once and that was years ago. Plus I thought great, here we go again with another unnecessary sequel/reboot. But then I heard that it was being directed by George Miller (who directed the original movies) and starring my man Tom Hardy and I knew I had to see it. I'm so glad I did because the movie was amazing and one of the craziest I've seen in a long time.
Fury Road is set in a post apocalyptic world where people have gone crazy just struggling to survive. Max (Tom Hardy) is a loner trying to find peace after the loss of his wife and child. He encounters and eventually ends up aiding Furiosa (Charlize Theron) who wants to make it back to her homeland and escapes the clutches of warlord Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne).
I applaud George Miller for all the hard work he put into creating this fun, crazy, and well made action movie. He really put his heart and soul into it. It's two hours of car chases and explosions and it kept me entertained the whole time. What amazed me the most was that the majority of the effects in here were practical. In an age where CGI is relied on too much this was refreshing to see. How the hell he was able to pull off some of those scenes without CGI I'll never know. I wish more directors would go this route.
Tom Hardy, of course, gives another amazing performance. He doesn't really talk all that much here. But the way he's able to communicate his eyes and his facial expressions... wow!!
Some would say, and they wouldn't be wrong, that the real star of the movie is Charlize Theron. Her performance as Furiosa was badass and she holds her own against all the men in here. For the most part this is her story. At least that's what it felt like anyway.
Nicholas Hoult was the biggest surprise to me. At first I thought his character was just another crazy guy. But as the movie went on and you learned more about him, you really felt for him and could understand why he was the way he was. Nicholas put a lot of heart into it.
Many people have asked if they need to see the original movies in order to see this. The answer is, not really. Fury Road pretty much stands on its own. It might help if you watch the others to get a sense of what this world is about, but you certainly won't be lost if you don't.
I ended up seeing this in 2D mainly because the showtime worked out better for me. But also because the 3D I've seen in most movies lately has been complete shit, and yes the includes Age of Ultron. Anyway, Fury Road looks great in 2D so don't think you're missing out on anything by seeing it in this format.
There is one moment though, which I won't say what it is, that was very uncomfortable for me to watch and forced me to look away from the screen for a minute. Judging by the other people in the theater, I wasn't the only one. It's nothing that should stop you from seeing the movie though. But it's the reason I'm not giving this a perfect rating.
Fury Road is one of the most insane yet well made movies I've seen in a long time. I really hope it does well so that the sequels can get made. Directors take note- this is how you do an action movie!
My Rating: 9.5/10
Fury Road is set in a post apocalyptic world where people have gone crazy just struggling to survive. Max (Tom Hardy) is a loner trying to find peace after the loss of his wife and child. He encounters and eventually ends up aiding Furiosa (Charlize Theron) who wants to make it back to her homeland and escapes the clutches of warlord Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne).
I applaud George Miller for all the hard work he put into creating this fun, crazy, and well made action movie. He really put his heart and soul into it. It's two hours of car chases and explosions and it kept me entertained the whole time. What amazed me the most was that the majority of the effects in here were practical. In an age where CGI is relied on too much this was refreshing to see. How the hell he was able to pull off some of those scenes without CGI I'll never know. I wish more directors would go this route.
Tom Hardy, of course, gives another amazing performance. He doesn't really talk all that much here. But the way he's able to communicate his eyes and his facial expressions... wow!!
Some would say, and they wouldn't be wrong, that the real star of the movie is Charlize Theron. Her performance as Furiosa was badass and she holds her own against all the men in here. For the most part this is her story. At least that's what it felt like anyway.
Nicholas Hoult was the biggest surprise to me. At first I thought his character was just another crazy guy. But as the movie went on and you learned more about him, you really felt for him and could understand why he was the way he was. Nicholas put a lot of heart into it.
Many people have asked if they need to see the original movies in order to see this. The answer is, not really. Fury Road pretty much stands on its own. It might help if you watch the others to get a sense of what this world is about, but you certainly won't be lost if you don't.
I ended up seeing this in 2D mainly because the showtime worked out better for me. But also because the 3D I've seen in most movies lately has been complete shit, and yes the includes Age of Ultron. Anyway, Fury Road looks great in 2D so don't think you're missing out on anything by seeing it in this format.
There is one moment though, which I won't say what it is, that was very uncomfortable for me to watch and forced me to look away from the screen for a minute. Judging by the other people in the theater, I wasn't the only one. It's nothing that should stop you from seeing the movie though. But it's the reason I'm not giving this a perfect rating.
Fury Road is one of the most insane yet well made movies I've seen in a long time. I really hope it does well so that the sequels can get made. Directors take note- this is how you do an action movie!
My Rating: 9.5/10
Saturday, May 2, 2015
The Avengers: Age of Ultron (IMAX 3D)
I've waited three long years for this movie. Now that I've finally seen it I just have to say- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Sorry, I'm still recovering from a massive nerdgasm. Age of Ultron was absolutely amazing!
This time around, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) tries to revive a peacekeeping program but things go horribly wrong. Now the Avengers must once again work together to stop Ultron (James Spader) before he destroys the world.
Director Joss Whedon is back and does another great job handling such a large cast. I don't know of too many directors who could pull this off but somehow he does. Each of the characters is given several moments to shine. There's also of plenty of that Joss Whedon humor that I love. There were several scenes that had me cracking up.
What makes Age of Ultron a little different is that in this one there's a lot more battle scenes. They're a lot of fun to watch and totally bad ass. The only downside is there's very little room to breathe. There was so much action, fighting, and explosions and I just wish they had slowed it down a bit at times. Some of my favorite scenes in the movie were the "quieter" moments that were few and far between.
Of course, I have to talk about Ultron himself. Marvel's villains have always been pretty weak for the most part but here he's done well. It helps that you have a great actor like James Spader playing the role. He has a creepy voice and his performance is just the right amount of scary and humorous. While Loki is still my favorite villain, Ultron is right up there.
I'm not really spoiling anything by telling you this since it is heavily implied in the trailer, but yes there is a romance that happens between Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). I wasn't crazy about it at first but as the story progressed and certain things are revealed, I found their relationship to be kind of sweet. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.
Okay, it's time for me to nitpick just a little bit. While I absolutely love Age of Ultron, I kind of liked the first Avengers movie just a little bit more. Put away your torches and pitchforks. It has nothing to do with the movie itself. It's more of a personal preference.
STAY DURING THE CREDITS! Do I really have to keep saying this? This time there's only one scene and it's in the middle of the credits. All I'll say about it is it sets things up for Infinity War and had most of the people in the theater cheering, myself included.
One last thing- I wouldn't even bother watching this in 3D. You can't even notice it. When some of the trailers shown before have better 3D than the movie itself that's a problem. The movie looks great on an IMAX screen but unfortunately it's only showing in IMAX 3D. Save the extra money and see it in 2D instead.
Age of Ultron was so much fun and mostly lived up to the hype. If you're a Marvel fan or just a fan of superhero movies in general, I think you'll love this as much as I did. I'm really looking forward to seeing where they go from here.
My Rating: 9/10
This time around, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) tries to revive a peacekeeping program but things go horribly wrong. Now the Avengers must once again work together to stop Ultron (James Spader) before he destroys the world.
Director Joss Whedon is back and does another great job handling such a large cast. I don't know of too many directors who could pull this off but somehow he does. Each of the characters is given several moments to shine. There's also of plenty of that Joss Whedon humor that I love. There were several scenes that had me cracking up.
What makes Age of Ultron a little different is that in this one there's a lot more battle scenes. They're a lot of fun to watch and totally bad ass. The only downside is there's very little room to breathe. There was so much action, fighting, and explosions and I just wish they had slowed it down a bit at times. Some of my favorite scenes in the movie were the "quieter" moments that were few and far between.
Of course, I have to talk about Ultron himself. Marvel's villains have always been pretty weak for the most part but here he's done well. It helps that you have a great actor like James Spader playing the role. He has a creepy voice and his performance is just the right amount of scary and humorous. While Loki is still my favorite villain, Ultron is right up there.
I'm not really spoiling anything by telling you this since it is heavily implied in the trailer, but yes there is a romance that happens between Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). I wasn't crazy about it at first but as the story progressed and certain things are revealed, I found their relationship to be kind of sweet. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.
Okay, it's time for me to nitpick just a little bit. While I absolutely love Age of Ultron, I kind of liked the first Avengers movie just a little bit more. Put away your torches and pitchforks. It has nothing to do with the movie itself. It's more of a personal preference.
STAY DURING THE CREDITS! Do I really have to keep saying this? This time there's only one scene and it's in the middle of the credits. All I'll say about it is it sets things up for Infinity War and had most of the people in the theater cheering, myself included.
One last thing- I wouldn't even bother watching this in 3D. You can't even notice it. When some of the trailers shown before have better 3D than the movie itself that's a problem. The movie looks great on an IMAX screen but unfortunately it's only showing in IMAX 3D. Save the extra money and see it in 2D instead.
Age of Ultron was so much fun and mostly lived up to the hype. If you're a Marvel fan or just a fan of superhero movies in general, I think you'll love this as much as I did. I'm really looking forward to seeing where they go from here.
My Rating: 9/10
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