The first Purge was a surprise hit last year- having earned $89 million on a 3 million dollar budget. What's not a surprise is that they decided to make a sequel. Most of the time a sequel is rarely as good as the original, but I must say, I really enjoyed Anarchy. Even more than the first movie. It wasn't great by any means, but I still found the whole thing interesting.
The basic premise is pretty much the same as the first movie. So you don't really need to see the first in order to see Anarchy (but I think you should anyway). It takes place in American in the not so distant future. A new government has been formed and has decided that on one night a year, all crime is legal for a 12 hour period (including murder). All police services are suspended and the hospitals are closed during this time as well.
What's different about Anarchy is that, unlike the first, it's not confined to one house. It actually expands and explores this universe. That's what makes it better in my opinion.
The story here follows five characters- a police Sergeant (Frank Grillo) who's out for revenge on the man who killed his son, a mother and daughter named Eva and Cali (Carmen Ejogo and Zoe Soul), and a married couple- Shane and Liz (Zach Gilford and Kiele Sanchez), who's car breaks down minutes before the Purge is about to start. Circumstances bring them together as they try to survive the night.
I like that director James DeMonaco (who also directed the first Purge) too the time to develop these characters somewhat and made you give a shit about them. Most of them anyway. This is something that doesn't happen to often in movies like this.
I also thought the actors did a decent job, especially Frank Grillo. He's quite the leading man and is a complete bad ass in this.
As I said before though, Anarchy is good but it isn't great. My main problem is that it's loaded with cliches and very predictable. There were several times where I sat there thinking, "Okay, this is about to happen..." and sure enough, it did. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching it. I was certainly never bored.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely. I wouldn't tell you to rush out and see it or anything, but definitely check it out at some point.
My Rating: 7/10
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (3D)
SPOILER ALERT: While there really aren't any spoilers for this movie, there are a few for 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I strongly suggest you watch it before you see Dawn. Mainly because it's amazing but also because you'll probably be confused about certain plot points.
I was beginning to have my doubts, but we finally have a well made, intelligent summer blockbuster in the form of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. I knew this movie would be good but I had no idea just how good. Wow!
Dawn takes places ten years after the events of Rise. The Simian flu that started towards the end of the first movie has now wiped out most of humanity. Meanwhile, Caesar (Andy Serkis) leads a flourishing community of apes in the woods near San Francisco. He encounters a group of human survivors, led by Malcolm (Jason Clarke). The reach a fragile peace, but tensions rise between both groups that will push them to the brink of war.
Dawn is directed by Matt Reeves, whose previous work includes Cloverfield and Let Me In. He does an amazing job here. You can tell he really cares about this franchise. He puts so much effort into every little detail and delivers a movie that not only has some amazing action sequences, but a big emotional impact as well.
I also have to give a lot of credit to the visual effects team for all of their hard work. Not once while I was watching this movie did I think anything looked fake. Everything looked so real, especially the apes. It's amazing how far technology has come along even in the last few years. I've always been a huge fan of motion capture. Through the use of this technique you're able to see the actors every facial expression and emotion translated onto the screen.
Speaking of motion capture and actors, Andy Serkis gave another amazing performance. I've said it before and I will continue to say it- this man deserves an Oscar. I don't care what the Academy says- motion capture IS real acting. Just because you don't see his actual self on the screen does not mean he wasn't really in the movie. Check out some of the behind the scenes videos on YouTube and you'll see he performed in each and every one of the scenes his character was in.
I also thought the actors who played the human survivors did a good job as well. Especially Jason Clarke and Gary Oldman. Just so you know, Gary Oldman's character really isn't in this movie as much as the trailers led you to believe.
I ended up seeing this in 3D and I must say it was worth the extra money. The 3D was pretty good overall. Maybe it wasn't as in your face as other movies and was more subtle, but it was still effective.
I honestly can't think of anything wrong with this movie. It's one of the best I've seen this year and has a very good chance of making my top ten list. I highly recommend you see this if you get a chance.
So how does Dawn compare to Rise? I think it's just as good if not better. Matt Reeves is also directing the next installment and I can't wait to see where it goes from here.
My Rating: 10/10
I was beginning to have my doubts, but we finally have a well made, intelligent summer blockbuster in the form of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. I knew this movie would be good but I had no idea just how good. Wow!
Dawn takes places ten years after the events of Rise. The Simian flu that started towards the end of the first movie has now wiped out most of humanity. Meanwhile, Caesar (Andy Serkis) leads a flourishing community of apes in the woods near San Francisco. He encounters a group of human survivors, led by Malcolm (Jason Clarke). The reach a fragile peace, but tensions rise between both groups that will push them to the brink of war.
Dawn is directed by Matt Reeves, whose previous work includes Cloverfield and Let Me In. He does an amazing job here. You can tell he really cares about this franchise. He puts so much effort into every little detail and delivers a movie that not only has some amazing action sequences, but a big emotional impact as well.
I also have to give a lot of credit to the visual effects team for all of their hard work. Not once while I was watching this movie did I think anything looked fake. Everything looked so real, especially the apes. It's amazing how far technology has come along even in the last few years. I've always been a huge fan of motion capture. Through the use of this technique you're able to see the actors every facial expression and emotion translated onto the screen.
Speaking of motion capture and actors, Andy Serkis gave another amazing performance. I've said it before and I will continue to say it- this man deserves an Oscar. I don't care what the Academy says- motion capture IS real acting. Just because you don't see his actual self on the screen does not mean he wasn't really in the movie. Check out some of the behind the scenes videos on YouTube and you'll see he performed in each and every one of the scenes his character was in.
I also thought the actors who played the human survivors did a good job as well. Especially Jason Clarke and Gary Oldman. Just so you know, Gary Oldman's character really isn't in this movie as much as the trailers led you to believe.
I ended up seeing this in 3D and I must say it was worth the extra money. The 3D was pretty good overall. Maybe it wasn't as in your face as other movies and was more subtle, but it was still effective.
I honestly can't think of anything wrong with this movie. It's one of the best I've seen this year and has a very good chance of making my top ten list. I highly recommend you see this if you get a chance.
So how does Dawn compare to Rise? I think it's just as good if not better. Matt Reeves is also directing the next installment and I can't wait to see where it goes from here.
My Rating: 10/10
Friday, July 4, 2014
Deliver Us From Evil
Oh Scott Derrickson, why did you do this? Why, why, why? He did so well with Sinister- a movie that I really enjoyed and consider to be one of the better horror movies to come out in recent years. Now he goes and releases this crap. To be fair, it's not the worst horror/thriller movie I've ever seen. But it's not great either.
I'm just going to warn you know- this review WILL have some spoilers. I normally try not to do that but for this I don't care. I'm sure most of you won't see it anyway. At the theater I went to, aside from my friend and I, there were only about seven or eight people there. Including a couple who brought a young child. The little girl couldn't have been more than three or four. At least she was well behaved (unlike some guys sitting behind us who wouldn't shut up at first, causing us to change seats) and mostly slept in her Dad's arms the whole time. It just drives me crazy when parents bring their kids to R rated movies. Especially ones like this. But that's a rant for another day.
Deliver Us From Evil is one of those movies that is "inspired by true events". Which really means, "Look, some of this actually happened. But mostly we made this shit up." It's based on a book written by Ralph Sarchie, who recounts his time as a NYPD officer and some of the strange cases he worked on. In this movie, Ralph is played by Austrailian actor Eric Bana (Munich, Star Trek 2009). Ralph is a police officer (married, with a young daughter) in one of the toughest neighborhoods in the Bronx. He and his partner Butler (played by Joel McHale. I kid you not.) investigate a series of crimes that are discovered to be connected by a demonic possession. Ralph, a skeptic with a lot of personal issues, eventually teams up with an unconventional priest named Mendoza (Edgar Ramirez) to try and stop this evil before it's too late.
I wish there was more to the plot but there's not. It's your standard horror/thriller that you've seen a million times before. There's nothing new here.
I'll start off talking about what I did like. I thought the actors did a decent job. Mainly, Eric Bana and Edgar Ramierz. The two of them looked like they were really trying. Which couldn't have been easy considering what they had to work with.
The movie actually started out strong for me. I thought the whole investigation aspect was really interesting. But then as the movie went along things got crazier and gorier. Just to warn you, there's several disturbing image (even ones involving animals). I like craziness and gore as much as the next person but this was too much. By the end it was so over the top that we laughed at how bad it was.
I also didn't care for the way Scott Derrickson shot the film. For one thing, he used that god awful shaky cam. Another is some of the scenes seemed almost blurry. I know he shot them that way on purpose and I get what he was trying to do, but it made me think something was wrong with my vision for a second. Not fun. He also dragged things out way too long. The movie was about two hours total but it felt like ten. Especially the exorcism scene at the end. I wanted to scream, "For the love of god! Just get the demon out of this guy already and be done with it!"
I obviously wouldn't recommend you see this in theaters. At least I had a free movie pass so I didn't waste any money on this. Deliver Us From Evil is okay if you want to get together with some friends, rent it from the Redbox, and have a few drinks. But that's about it. Hopefully Scott Derrickson's next movie will be better.
My Rating: 5.5/10
I'm just going to warn you know- this review WILL have some spoilers. I normally try not to do that but for this I don't care. I'm sure most of you won't see it anyway. At the theater I went to, aside from my friend and I, there were only about seven or eight people there. Including a couple who brought a young child. The little girl couldn't have been more than three or four. At least she was well behaved (unlike some guys sitting behind us who wouldn't shut up at first, causing us to change seats) and mostly slept in her Dad's arms the whole time. It just drives me crazy when parents bring their kids to R rated movies. Especially ones like this. But that's a rant for another day.
Deliver Us From Evil is one of those movies that is "inspired by true events". Which really means, "Look, some of this actually happened. But mostly we made this shit up." It's based on a book written by Ralph Sarchie, who recounts his time as a NYPD officer and some of the strange cases he worked on. In this movie, Ralph is played by Austrailian actor Eric Bana (Munich, Star Trek 2009). Ralph is a police officer (married, with a young daughter) in one of the toughest neighborhoods in the Bronx. He and his partner Butler (played by Joel McHale. I kid you not.) investigate a series of crimes that are discovered to be connected by a demonic possession. Ralph, a skeptic with a lot of personal issues, eventually teams up with an unconventional priest named Mendoza (Edgar Ramirez) to try and stop this evil before it's too late.
I wish there was more to the plot but there's not. It's your standard horror/thriller that you've seen a million times before. There's nothing new here.
I'll start off talking about what I did like. I thought the actors did a decent job. Mainly, Eric Bana and Edgar Ramierz. The two of them looked like they were really trying. Which couldn't have been easy considering what they had to work with.
The movie actually started out strong for me. I thought the whole investigation aspect was really interesting. But then as the movie went along things got crazier and gorier. Just to warn you, there's several disturbing image (even ones involving animals). I like craziness and gore as much as the next person but this was too much. By the end it was so over the top that we laughed at how bad it was.
I also didn't care for the way Scott Derrickson shot the film. For one thing, he used that god awful shaky cam. Another is some of the scenes seemed almost blurry. I know he shot them that way on purpose and I get what he was trying to do, but it made me think something was wrong with my vision for a second. Not fun. He also dragged things out way too long. The movie was about two hours total but it felt like ten. Especially the exorcism scene at the end. I wanted to scream, "For the love of god! Just get the demon out of this guy already and be done with it!"
I obviously wouldn't recommend you see this in theaters. At least I had a free movie pass so I didn't waste any money on this. Deliver Us From Evil is okay if you want to get together with some friends, rent it from the Redbox, and have a few drinks. But that's about it. Hopefully Scott Derrickson's next movie will be better.
My Rating: 5.5/10
Saturday, June 28, 2014
How to Train Your Dragon 2
At first, I had no idea what movie I wanted to see this weekend. All I knew was there was no way in hell I was going to sit through another Transformers movie. Having a root canal done would be more fun. Anyway, I finally decided to see How to Train Your Dragon 2 since it looked really good and I've already seen most of the other movies that are out in theaters right now. It's getting a lot of positive reviews and I can see why.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 takes place five years after the events of the first film. Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and Toothless discover an ice cave that is home to hundreds of wild dragons and a mysterious Dragon Rider who ends up being Hiccup's long presumed dead mother Valka (Cate Blanchett). Soon they find themselves in a battle to change the future of both humans and dragons.
What you'll notice right away is just how gorgeous the animation is, especially during the flying sequences. I also loved how much detail they put into the look of the dragons as well as the human characters. This is the perfect movie to see in 3D. Unfortunately, the theater I went to was only showing it in 3D for the early matinees. So I ended up at a 2D showing. Don't worry though. If you see it in 2D I can assure you it still looks good.
The story itself has a few more mature themes which was interesting to see. It's one of those movies that both kids and adults can enjoy.
The only thing I didn't like (and this really isn't a big complaint) was that the movie went by way too fast. I was in and out of the theater in less than two hours, and that included all the trailers they showed before it. I wish they had slowed down a bit and taken their time with certain scenes.
Overall, this is one of the better movies out right now. Is it as good as the first movie? Honestly, yes and no. Still, go see it if you get a chance. You won't regret it.
My Rating: 8/10
How to Train Your Dragon 2 takes place five years after the events of the first film. Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and Toothless discover an ice cave that is home to hundreds of wild dragons and a mysterious Dragon Rider who ends up being Hiccup's long presumed dead mother Valka (Cate Blanchett). Soon they find themselves in a battle to change the future of both humans and dragons.
What you'll notice right away is just how gorgeous the animation is, especially during the flying sequences. I also loved how much detail they put into the look of the dragons as well as the human characters. This is the perfect movie to see in 3D. Unfortunately, the theater I went to was only showing it in 3D for the early matinees. So I ended up at a 2D showing. Don't worry though. If you see it in 2D I can assure you it still looks good.
The story itself has a few more mature themes which was interesting to see. It's one of those movies that both kids and adults can enjoy.
The only thing I didn't like (and this really isn't a big complaint) was that the movie went by way too fast. I was in and out of the theater in less than two hours, and that included all the trailers they showed before it. I wish they had slowed down a bit and taken their time with certain scenes.
Overall, this is one of the better movies out right now. Is it as good as the first movie? Honestly, yes and no. Still, go see it if you get a chance. You won't regret it.
My Rating: 8/10
Saturday, June 14, 2014
22 Jump Street
I'm usually not crazy about the idea of remakes. Hollywood seems to have run out of original ideas years ago. So when the 21 Jump Street movie came out 2 years ago, I didn't see it in theaters. But then I cam across it on TV and thought, "Wow! This is really funny." So now that they've released 22 Jump Street, I made sure to see it on opening night. I'm glad I did see it since it was hilarious! After seeing The Fault in Our Stars last week, I was in desperate need of a comedy.
22 Jump Street has essentially the same plot as the first movie. Only this time instead of going undercover in high school, Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill) are going to college.
What I love about what directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (who also directed 21 Jump Street as well as The Lego Movie, another movie which I really enjoyed) have done here is that they don't pretend that this movie is serious or award worthy. It's very much self aware. They make fun of themselves, the original TV show, and even the previous movie. For me, that's what made this so funny and clever. Be sure to stay for the credits. Without giving too much away, it's a brilliant sequence with some surprise cameos.
Another thing I loved about this was Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill. Looking at the two of them you think, "How the hell is this going to work?" But it does! They have great chemistry and you can tell they're friends in real life. They looked like they were having a blast while filming. I would love it if they made more movies together. Maybe 23 Jump Street? We can only hope.
Look, 22 Jump Street is not a perfect movie. A few, and only a few, of the jokes fall flat but so what? I had a great time watching this and I think you will too. I'd say it's the funniest movie I've seen this year. If you liked the first movie then you'll LOVE this one.
My Rating: 8.5/10
22 Jump Street has essentially the same plot as the first movie. Only this time instead of going undercover in high school, Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill) are going to college.
What I love about what directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (who also directed 21 Jump Street as well as The Lego Movie, another movie which I really enjoyed) have done here is that they don't pretend that this movie is serious or award worthy. It's very much self aware. They make fun of themselves, the original TV show, and even the previous movie. For me, that's what made this so funny and clever. Be sure to stay for the credits. Without giving too much away, it's a brilliant sequence with some surprise cameos.
Another thing I loved about this was Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill. Looking at the two of them you think, "How the hell is this going to work?" But it does! They have great chemistry and you can tell they're friends in real life. They looked like they were having a blast while filming. I would love it if they made more movies together. Maybe 23 Jump Street? We can only hope.
Look, 22 Jump Street is not a perfect movie. A few, and only a few, of the jokes fall flat but so what? I had a great time watching this and I think you will too. I'd say it's the funniest movie I've seen this year. If you liked the first movie then you'll LOVE this one.
My Rating: 8.5/10
Sunday, June 8, 2014
The Fault in Our Stars
Let me start off this review by saying thank god for waterproof mascara! I haven't cried this much over a movie in a long time. Wow! Words can't even begin to describe just how amazing The Fault in Our Stars is. I'll do my best though.
The movie is based on a popular YA book written by John Green. I haven't read it yet so I apologize if I mess anything up. From what I've heard though, it's a pretty faithful adaptation. Hazel is a 16 year old cancer patient who's pretty much forced by her parents (Laura Dern & Sam Trammell) to attend a cancer support group. There she meets Gus (Ansel Elgort) an amputee whose cancer is in remission. He's very charming, funny, and (despite everything that's happened to him) has a great outlook. They start spending more and more time together and eventually fall in love.
Director Josh Boone does an outstanding job bringing this story to life. Yes it's a romantic drama but, unlike most movies that fall into this category these days, the dialog never felt cheesy and the scenes weren't sappy. It was really sweet yet heartbreaking at the same time. It felt real. They never shyed away from the fact that these two are both dealing with a terminal illness and that their time together will probably be short. I was such a mess throughout the whole movie, as was everyone else in the theater. You could hear all the sniffles. Thankfully there's quite a bit of humor spread throughout. There'd be times where I'd be sobbing uncontrollably and then they tossed something funny in so I was doing this weird combination of crying and laughing.
Another thing I give the director a lot of credit for is getting such powerful performances out of the actors, especially Shailene and Ansel. The two of them actually played brother and sister in Divergent so it was a little odd at first but you quickly forget about that and you really believe they're a couple.
I thought the soundtrack was really nice and fit well with the movie.
I honestly can't think of a single flaw this movie has. It's one of my favorites this year so far. I highly recommend it, but make sure you bring tissues.
Nicholas Sparks movies take note- this is how you do a romantic drama!
My Rating: 10/10
The movie is based on a popular YA book written by John Green. I haven't read it yet so I apologize if I mess anything up. From what I've heard though, it's a pretty faithful adaptation. Hazel is a 16 year old cancer patient who's pretty much forced by her parents (Laura Dern & Sam Trammell) to attend a cancer support group. There she meets Gus (Ansel Elgort) an amputee whose cancer is in remission. He's very charming, funny, and (despite everything that's happened to him) has a great outlook. They start spending more and more time together and eventually fall in love.
Director Josh Boone does an outstanding job bringing this story to life. Yes it's a romantic drama but, unlike most movies that fall into this category these days, the dialog never felt cheesy and the scenes weren't sappy. It was really sweet yet heartbreaking at the same time. It felt real. They never shyed away from the fact that these two are both dealing with a terminal illness and that their time together will probably be short. I was such a mess throughout the whole movie, as was everyone else in the theater. You could hear all the sniffles. Thankfully there's quite a bit of humor spread throughout. There'd be times where I'd be sobbing uncontrollably and then they tossed something funny in so I was doing this weird combination of crying and laughing.
Another thing I give the director a lot of credit for is getting such powerful performances out of the actors, especially Shailene and Ansel. The two of them actually played brother and sister in Divergent so it was a little odd at first but you quickly forget about that and you really believe they're a couple.
I thought the soundtrack was really nice and fit well with the movie.
I honestly can't think of a single flaw this movie has. It's one of my favorites this year so far. I highly recommend it, but make sure you bring tissues.
Nicholas Sparks movies take note- this is how you do a romantic drama!
My Rating: 10/10
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Maleficent (IMAX 3D)
I think it's great that they've been doing a lot of fairy tale retellings lately. I've always loved the idea. Even though most people hated it, I enjoyed Snow White & the Huntsman (although I'm sure a lot of that has to do with Chris Hemsworth hehe). So when I heard they were doing Maleficent and had casted Angelina Jolie I was very excited. Now that I've finally seen it I must say that while I enjoyed parts of it, there were other parts where I felt really let down.
We all know the story of Sleeping Beauty, so I really don't have to talk about the plot too much. This time, as you've probably heard, it's told from the point of view of the "villain" Maleficent (Angelina Jolie). What I really loved about this movie was they gave her an interesting back story that explains how she became the Maleficent that we all know. Unfortunately this all occurs in the first half. The second half had a lot of issues for me. Not that it was completely terrible, I just didn't care for it. Especially towards the very end.
*SPOILER ALERT*
All I'll say is they totally ripped off the Frozen ending. There was even a moment where they ripped off Die Hard. I couldn't help but laugh.
*END OF SPOILER*
I will give director Robert Stromberg a lot of credit though. Considering this was his first time directing I think he did a good job. His previous experience with movies was mainly in visual effects. That to me was one of Maleficent's greatest strengths. The whole movie looked stunning. Especially the fairy world.
That being said, you would think a movie like this would look great in IMAX and/or 3D. Sadly that's not the case. The 3D is hardly noticeable overall and seeing it on an IMAX screen doesn't add much to the experience. If you plan on seeing this in theaters, 2D is the way to go. Save yourself the extra money.
Angelina Jolie was amazing as Maleficent. She really captured the character well and I can't imagine anyone else playing the role. The rest of the actors, including Elle Fanning as Princess Aurora, aren't really fleshed out well. Which is understandable given that this movie is mainly told from Maleficent's point of view. It still would've been nice to see though. I thought Sharlto Copley (who I think is a great actor and was really good as the villain in Elysium) as King Stefan was way too over the top.
Overall, there were some good things and not so good things about Maleficent. Is it worth seeing? Sure why not. And if there are any parents out there that want to take their kids to see it go right ahead. It's certainly a lot better than most of the crap aimed towards kids these days.
My Rating: 6.5/10
We all know the story of Sleeping Beauty, so I really don't have to talk about the plot too much. This time, as you've probably heard, it's told from the point of view of the "villain" Maleficent (Angelina Jolie). What I really loved about this movie was they gave her an interesting back story that explains how she became the Maleficent that we all know. Unfortunately this all occurs in the first half. The second half had a lot of issues for me. Not that it was completely terrible, I just didn't care for it. Especially towards the very end.
*SPOILER ALERT*
All I'll say is they totally ripped off the Frozen ending. There was even a moment where they ripped off Die Hard. I couldn't help but laugh.
*END OF SPOILER*
I will give director Robert Stromberg a lot of credit though. Considering this was his first time directing I think he did a good job. His previous experience with movies was mainly in visual effects. That to me was one of Maleficent's greatest strengths. The whole movie looked stunning. Especially the fairy world.
That being said, you would think a movie like this would look great in IMAX and/or 3D. Sadly that's not the case. The 3D is hardly noticeable overall and seeing it on an IMAX screen doesn't add much to the experience. If you plan on seeing this in theaters, 2D is the way to go. Save yourself the extra money.
Angelina Jolie was amazing as Maleficent. She really captured the character well and I can't imagine anyone else playing the role. The rest of the actors, including Elle Fanning as Princess Aurora, aren't really fleshed out well. Which is understandable given that this movie is mainly told from Maleficent's point of view. It still would've been nice to see though. I thought Sharlto Copley (who I think is a great actor and was really good as the villain in Elysium) as King Stefan was way too over the top.
Overall, there were some good things and not so good things about Maleficent. Is it worth seeing? Sure why not. And if there are any parents out there that want to take their kids to see it go right ahead. It's certainly a lot better than most of the crap aimed towards kids these days.
My Rating: 6.5/10
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