Movie Review Speedrun (A Quiet Place Part II, Godzilla vs. Kong and more!)

 

Hello everyone! Today I'm doing something a little different. So there are many movies I saw so far this year and I haven't reviewed every single one. Well here's where I do, they won't be in the same format I usually do, they'll be shorter reviews just going over what I generally thought about them. Hope you enjoy!

A Quiet Place Part II (2021)

A Quiet Place Part II was a movie I was dying to see since it was announced, since I LOVED the first film. The film is once again directed by John Krasinski and basically continues the story from right where the first film left off. This was one of the best sequels I have seen in quite some time! This movie was in my eyes, perfect! I don't have a single issue with it. Just like the first film, the tension is relentless, you always feel like these characters could die at any moment. All of the scares work beautifully! The opening scene is riveting, the white knuckled tension provided from the chaos taking place blew me away. The film is marvelously acted, Emily Blunt gives one of her absolute best performances in her career. Both of the child actors are great in the film, and Cillian Murphy also gives the best performance he has given in years! The musical score and sound design are flawless! If the film is still playing in a theater near you, check it out while you still can! I can't wait for the Blu-ray to come out because I am buying that on day one!

GRADE:  A+

FILM INFO:

MPA rating:  PG-13 (for terror, violence and bloody/disturbing images)

Run time:  97 min

Release date:  May 28th, 2021

Studio:  Paramount Pictures

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

Godzilla vs. Kong is the 4th installment in the Monsterverse franchise and is directed by Adam Wingard. It tells the story of Kong as people attempt to move Kong off of Skull Island to find a different habitat for him, meanwhile Godzilla suddenly attacks a facility unprovoked as a company named APEX is up to something. This film was a great time! This film is fun, action packed, fast paced, of course I have a couple of issues with it, but overall I quite loved this film. The action sequences are incredible, the fights between Godzilla and Kong are exhilarating! The visuals are beautiful, there's a lot of reds and blues, that color scheme was quite gorgeous to look at. I was actually interested in the story, which was something that was lacking in the last Godzilla film. I enjoyed the last Godzilla film just fine but that movie did lack interesting characters and story. This film's story was interesting enough and most of the human characters were actually quite interesting. This movie doesn't focus on humans quite as much as the previous films but the ones that were here were mostly interesting. My issues with the movie were that the main guy who hatches up the plan to re-locate Kong was just very bland, I didn't give a shit about him. The villain was also really bad, he provided nothing for the film other than to introduce Mechagodzilla, thankfully he doesn't have a lot of screen time.  Overall, Godzilla vs. Kong is definitely a movie I highly recommend if you're just looking for a fun action film to watch on a Friday night.

GRADE:  A-

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  PG-13 (for intense sequences of creature violence/destruction, and brief language)

Run time:  113 min

Release date:  March 31st, 2021 

Studio:  Warner Bros. Pictures

The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard (2021)

The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard is the sequel to the 2017 film, The Hitman's Bodyguard. It's once again directed by Patrick Hughes and stars Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Selma Hayek, Morgan Freeman and Antonio Banderas. There's really nothing to the plot other than Ryan Reynolds has to protect the hitman's wife this time instead of the hitman. I'm just gonna get this out of the way, this movie was fucking awful, just complete shit! Everything about this film was a major downgrade from the first film, and the first film was just a movie I thought was okay. The action sequences weren't exciting at all, there's a huge abundance of shitty CGI blood. The comedy was horrible, I never laughed once here! I knew that I would be in for dogshit when one of the first jokes was a title card when the movie was taking place in Capri, Italy and they had to specify not the pants. The jokes didn't get any better from there. It looks incredibly cheap too, from the awful CGI blood, to the very obvious green screen. There are YouTube videos that look better than this! This movie also loves to use the record scratching sound effect whenever there's a sentimental moment going on and a character happens to ruin the moment, it happens like 5 times in this movie and it got on my fucking nerves! Speaking of shit that got on my nerves, Selma Hayek surprisingly! She really reminded me of Josh Gad from Pixels where most of her dialogue was her yelling everything! Don't waste your time on this piece of shit, it's absolutely one of the worst movies of the year.

GRADE:  F

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  R (for strong bloody violence throughout, pervasive language and some sexual content)

Run time:  99 min

Release date:  June 18th, 2021

Studio:  Lionsgate

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

Raya and the Last Dragon is the latest in Disney's animated film library. It's not a musical this time, it's just a regular film. It's about a girl named Raya, who must find pieces of an orb made by these dragons after an entire nation gets divided and turns against each other so she can reverse this curse that turns everyone into stone. This film was very, very good! It's one of the best films Disney put out in like 5 years. After the mediocre films that were Ralph Breaks the Internet and Frozen II, I was expecting this film to turn out the same way, thankfully it took me by surprise! This film had very likable characters, I cared about every one of them, even the villain. The action sequences were very well done and exciting, and the animation was BEAUTIFUL! The story was simple, but it was always engaging. My only real issue was that the comedy didn't always land. There's a lot of comedic moments in this movie, nothing really made me laugh out loud but a lot of it did work, there were moments however where it didn't work at all. It's a great film for families and it's by far the best family film of the year so far. 

GRADE:  A

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  PG (for some violence, action and thematic elements)

Run time:  107 min

Release date:  March 5th, 2021

Studio:  Disney

Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)

Spiral: From the Book of Saw is the latest film in the Saw franchise, it's directed by Darren Lynn Bousman (who directed Saw II, III and IV) and stars Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson, and tells the story of Chris Rock, a detective who uncovers a Jigsaw killer copycat and his plot to kill all of the corrupt cops in his precinct. As a fan of the franchise, I must say that this was the best film in the franchise since the original! This movie goes back to the roots of the franchise where there's a lot more psychological horror. You definitely get the gory, gruesome traps that you expect from Saw, but there is also a bigger reliance on psychological horror. This film was extremely well made, the cinematography was shockingly good, and despite the fast editing coming back after Jigsaw ditched that style of editing, the movie doesn't use it very often and everything for the most part is very smooth. Chris Rock was also surprisingly good here, he does comedy extremely well as you would expect, he gets a hilarious monologue early on in the movie about Forrest Gump. He also nails the serious moments extremely well! Samuel L. Jackson was awesome as always, he doesn't get nearly as much screen time as you might think, he's definitely a supporting role here. He's actually a huge part of the movie's plot, but he's not in the film that much. He does make the absolute most of the scenes that he's in though. The traps are all great here, I loved each one of them, they are quite brutal, and when it comes to the psychological aspect, the traps actually contribute to that. They are gruesome like we expect them to be, and they keep them simple too, which was definitely a surprise. The story is nothing new for Saw, but they do a good job at keeping things interesting. As for issues, not all of the acting is all that great, which I do expect in a Saw film, the leads are great, but the rest of the acting is pretty rough. I was also mixed about the ending, I liked how bleak the ending was and it did leave me wanting to see what comes next after this, but the movie does end fairly abruptly. Overall, Spiral was a damn good Saw film, it pleased both the gore hound and the psychological horror lover in me. I loved Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson, and while nothing new plot wise, they did still manage to keep me interested. If you like Saw, you should check it out if you haven't already.

GRADE:  A-

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  R (for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture, pervasive language, some sexual references and brief drug use)

Run time:  93 min

Release date:  May 14th, 2021

Studio:  Lionsgate

Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)

Judas and the Black Messiah is a biopic about Fred Hampton, the leader of the Black Panther Party in 1968-1969 Chicago. The movie is directed Shaka King and stars Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton. This movie was fucking incredible! This movie was engaging, extremely well acted and surprisingly tension filled. I loved the story and it made me want to learn more about Fred Hampton. Daniel Kaluuya acted his fucking ass off here, his speeches were compelling, he's very charismatic, and he sells the emotional scenes beautifully. The dialogue isn't anything like you would hear in an Edgar Wright or a Quentin Tarantino movie but I loved hearing all of the dialogue. There's a ton of tension here, there's gun fights in this film and they are intense! They don't make them like typical action movie gun fights, they are realistic and when someone dies or gets hit, you feel the impact, it is executed so fucking well! The plot involving this guy being hired by the FBI to infiltrate the Black Panther Party was my favorite part of the film, you get to see how scummy the law enforcement really was and still is to this day, and I loved every minute of it! The best thing about movies like this and others like BlackKklansman is that they show you that even though they showcase events that happened decades ago, they expose that in reality, not a whole lot has changed since then like a lot of people will try to tell you otherwise. This movie also don't try to make the two sides look like heroes and villains, they portray them as people with flaws, they're not perfect, everyone does terrible things in their lives. If you want to see a compelling look at a time period where there was a lot of injustice and people trying to stand up to the system to fix the problem, this is a great choice.

GRADE:  A+

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  R (for violence and pervasive language)

Run time:  126 min

Release date:  February 12th, 2021

Studio:  Warner Bros. Pictures

Coming 2 America (2021)

Coming 2 America is the sequel to the 1988 Eddie Murphy comedy film, Coming to America. It's directed by Craig Brewer and once again stars Eddie Murphy. It also stars Wesley Snipes, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan and even James Earl Jones reprising his role from the first film. I loved the first film, it's a hilarious, charming and surprisingly sweet. This film is the complete opposite of that, this movie was fucking atrocious! Have people forgotten how to make comedy movies? This was one of the most unfunny comedies I have seen in quite some time! I got zero laughs out of this, there was no charm, there was nothing sweet about it. This movie had nothing to offer whatsoever. Also what's with the PG-13 rating? The first film was rated R, and it had that vulgarity that I like in comedy. The comedy was so tame here, it had no fucking edge to it, it's mostly cringe dad jokes! The story was so fucking boring! The movie also felt like it was shot like a sitcom, not an actual movie, a lot of the production values were not impressive at all. The only possible positive I have for this movie is that Eddie Murphy, Wesley Snipes and James Earl Jones were trying. If you have Amazon Prime Video, don't bother with this movie, it's not worth your time.

GRADE:  F

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  PG-13 (for crude and sexual content, language and drug content)

Run time:  110 min

Release date:  March 5th, 2021

Studio:  Paramount Pictures

Infinite (2021)

Infinite is a new science-fiction action thriller directed by Antoine Fuqua and stars Mark Wahlberg and is about a man who discovers that these hallucinations he gets are actually visions from past lives. I was looking forward to this movie, because I love Antoine Fuqua as a director, his past movies I really enjoyed, such as Training Day, Shooter, Southpaw and the 2016 remake of The Magnificent Seven to name a few. I was also hoping that Mark Wahlberg would finally be in a good movie again because he hasn't been in any good movies since Patriots Day. I'm sad to say that this movie is absolutely terrible. This is by far Antoine Fuqua's worst film in his career. This movie is very poorly acted, it's not thrilling or exciting, and WOW is it messy! I know some people didn't like Christopher Nolan's Tenet (which I very much recommend by the way, it's excellent) because people found it very hard to follow. Tenet is MUCH easier to follow than this shit is! This movie left me confused and annoyed, because this movie jumbles together all these plots together to the point where it doesn't make any god damn sense and they don't even answer every question leaves. Don't worry, this is spoiler free in case anybody wants to check this out. The action sequences are technically fine, but they aren't exciting or thrilling, they leave zero impact on the film. The acting is also REALLY bad! This was Mark Wahlberg's performance since The Happening, his performance was very phoned in and uninspired. The only thing I liked here was the concept. There was so much potential for greatness in this film. I was shocked by how poorly executed this movie was. I was hoping Antoine Fuqua would make a great sci-fi thriller, but wow he dropped the ball. All I can say is, there's always next time.

GRADE:  F

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  PG-13 (for sequences of strong violence, some bloody images, strong language and brief drug use)

Run time:  106 min

Release date:  June 10th, 2021

Studio:  Paramount Pictures

Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021)

Those Who Wish Me Dead comes to us from Taylor Sheridan, who wrote Sicario, which is a wonderful piece of cinema. It stars Angelina Jolie, Jon Bernthal, Nicholas Hoult and tells the story of a survival expert who must protect a teenage murder witness from twin assassins, there's also a forest fire going on. This film is a solid popcorn action flick. It's nothing groundbreaking but as far as popcorn movies go, this is a damn good one! This movie has some very good action sequences, it's very violent, lots of shootouts and very convincing hand to hand combat. The forest fire also adds a great sense of danger and urgency to the action sequences, making them more exciting. The acting overall is very good, Angelina Jolie actually gives a very solid performance, she's very good with the action, it's her best action performance since Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The cinematography is beautiful, she shots of the forest were amazing, the action sequences are all shot flawlessly. I don't think there's really any real flaws with the film other than it's just not the kind of movie that really stands out among a lot of other action thrillers. It's just a highly enjoyable action movie where you just kick back, relax and enjoy the ride.

GRADE:  B+

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  R (for strong violence and language throughout)

Run time:  100 min

Release date:  May 14th, 2021

Studio:  Warner Bros. Pictures

Willy's Wonderland (2021)

Willy's Wonderland is an indie horror movie starring Nicolas Cage as he stars as a strange, nameless drifter who gets stuck in a small town and is hired to clean a shut down Chuck E Cheese like place to pay off his car repairs, little does he know that the animatronics are cursed and bloodthirsty. Yes this is probably the closest thing to a Five Nights at Freddy's movie we're probably going to get. This movie is extremely straight forward and simple, which I very much appreciated. This movie isn't the best movie in the world but it's a very fun, cheesy, campy horror film. If you want to see 88 minutes of Nicolas Cage brutally killing killer animatronics and also a slasher movie going on at the same time, this is a wonderful choice! This movie is quite gory, and all of the gore is practical too, and it's glorious! Nicolas Cage is highly entertaining as he always is, he actually has no dialogue at all in this movie, but he still brings his signature charm from his overacting, just by seeing him kicking ass! As with a lot of slasher movies, this movie does carry some of the tropes, including having very disposable characters who are just there to die. My biggest issue is the subplot involving these teenagers who want to burn down the place Nicolas Cage is in, it's by far the least interesting thing about this film, and it does take up quite a bit of this movie. It's an indie film so I'm not going to be so hard on it, and I enjoyed this film a lot too! It's no masterpiece or anything but I don't think the director was in any way trying to make one, he just made a very fun, campy movie with gore, violence and Nicolas Cage being awesome.

GRADE:  B

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  Not Rated

Release date:  February 12th, 2021

Run time:  88 min

Studio:  JD Entertainment

Wrath of Man (2021)

Wrath of Man is an action heist thriller directed by Guy Ritchie and stars Jason Statham as a cold, mysterious man who works at a cash truck driver in Los Angeles as he thwarts a robbery as he begins to have his mysterious past questioned. This was another movie I was excited for because Guy Ritchie is one of my favorite directors and Jason Statham is one of my favorite action stars, plus Jason Statham has worked with Guy Ritchie a few times before so I was excited for a new movie with that combination. This film was a blast! It's got everything I expect from a Guy Ritchie movie, it's got style, wit and energy! Jason Statham is doing here what he does best, he kicks a lot of ass, and he's fucking cold in this movie too! Think of his character from Crank but a lot more serious, he'll fucking murder your ass in this film. What actually came as a surprise in this movie was how dark it was! Guy Ritchie usually puts a lot of humor in his movies, and while the dialogue is still very witty and sharp, it's not as comedic as a lot of his other movies, it was a surprising turn that I was not expecting. The action sequences are intense, stylish and very violent! Plus you get to see Post Malone get shot in the face, just a standout moment this movie had. This movie's storytelling is very interesting, but very good. It's told in the way a lot of Quentin Tarantino movies are told, in chapters and in a non-linear fashion. My only issue with this film is that the first act is a little slow, it's not a major issue but it's something I had to point out. Wrath of Man is a kickass action movie with a great performance by Jason Statham, awesome action and fantastic direction by Guy Ritchie!

GRADE:  A

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  R (for strong violence throughout, pervasive language and some sexual references)

Run time:  119 min

Release date:  May 7th, 2021

Studio:  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Miramax

So there we are, these are my reviews that I didn't put out throughout the past few months! Hope you enjoyed this post. I have a lot more reviews coming up soon, including more MCU reviews, F9, some classic reviews and my review of the DC cinematic universe coming soon too, which will only be the ones I haven't reviewed yet, and will be done in the same way as this entry was done.

Ant-Man - Movie Review

Ant-Man (2015)

Ant-Man is the 6th and final film in Phase 2 of the MCU. It's directed by Peyton Reed and stars Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Michael Pena and Evangeline Lilly, and is about a guy named Scott Lang, a petty thief who just got released from prison and is hired by this guy named Hank Pym to steal these particles from his own facility. Released in 2015, the film was a box office success and received positive reviews from critics.

THE GOOD

I remember when I saw the trailer for this film for the first time when I saw Avengers: Age of Ultron and thinking to myself, this looks fucking stupid. Boy was I wrong when I actually saw it, this movie is fucking great! I was legitimately surprised when I actually thought this film was better than Age of Ultron. I loved Scott Lang, Paul Rudd does a great job at bringing some cockiness and charisma to the role while at the same time not being exactly like Tony Stark. Michael Douglas is great as Hank Pym, the de-aging effects on him in the opening scene was also fantastic! Michael Pena was the best part of the film, he has all the best dialogue, he's the funniest character in the film. Evangeline Lilly was pretty annoying to me at first, but she gets much better as a character as the movie goes on. The story was really good, I loved that this movie plays out as a heist film. The action sequences really bring a lot of creativity to the story too, there isn't a lot of action in this movie but this was one of the few times where I actually didn't mind the lack of action, because I was so interested in Scott Lang's situation with his ex-wife and daughter, and the heist. The action scenes really were creative, and fucking awesome visually! Every time the Ant-Man sequences happen, they were so cool, it was cool seeing him so small and seeing him still throw normal sized people around, it's unrealistic as fuck but it was so much fun to watch! This film is also in my opinion one of the best written films in the MCU, the dialogue is so sharp and witty, and filled with humor.

THE BAD

My only issue with Ant-Man was the villain. Not only was he a very generic villain, but the movie does succumb to the issue that Phase 1 tended to get into where the villain just gains the same powers as the hero, it's boring and predictable.

CONCLUSION

Ant-Man is an extremely breezy, fun, light movie. It's a great time with a fun heist, creative action sequences and awesome, likable characters. The film is very witty and sharp with its writing. It's another very high recommendation and continues the awesome streak of the MCU.

GRADE:  A

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  PG-13 (for sci-fi action violence)

Run time:  117 min

Release date:  July 17th, 2015

Studio:  Disney

 

Avengers: Age of Ultron - Movie Review

 Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Avengers: Age of Ultron is the 5th film in Phase 2 of the MCU and the sequel to The Avengers. It tells the story of Tony Stark building a form of artificial intelligence in an attempt to make the world safer, but it ends up backfiring and now the A.I. is bent on world domination and annihilation of the human race. Released in 2015, the film received mostly positive reviews and was a major box office hit.

THE GOOD

I find this movie to be very underappreciated. It's not a perfect film by any means, it's definitely not as good as the first one, but this movie does so many great things that I simply can't ignore. First of all I really loved the character development for Black Widow and Hawkeye! At first they were just there to be part of the Avengers, they were really badass, but they were kinda just there, but here you get to know a lot more about them, and it was compelling! Just like the first film, it's great seeing all these characters all together working off of each other, they all have amazing chemistry with each other, and it was always fun seeing them kicking ass together! As far as characters go, they are all as good as they've always been, I loved that this movie didn't ditch the kind of character Captain America became after The Winter Soldier, I loved how Joss Whedon knew to let these characters evolve! Iron Man is still becoming increasing more compelling overtime, yes, everything in this movie is technically his fault, but his intentions were noble and at least he tries to fix what he caused, nobody really acknowledges that. You also get a lot more Hulk this time around, which I loved! One thing I actually think this movie does even better than the first one is the action sequences! I very much enjoyed the action in the first one but here they hit much harder and they are more intense. Seriously, the Hulk Buster sequence was fucking business! The script is solid too, the dialogue is very witty and funny, just like it was in the first one! I really loved Ultron in this movie, he's also quite funny, he's very sarcastic, he was fun to watch! The introduction of Vision was wonderful, they did him so very fucking well!

THE BAD

So here's my flaws with the film. I thought this movie felt very rushed. The original cut of the film was about 3 hours long, and it really did feel like the studio mandated the cut of several scenes to keep the movie to 2 and a half hours. I also really didn't like Quicksilver in this film, he was so lame here. The slow mo was done well in the action sequences, but just him as a character was so lame, I didn't give a shit about him whatsoever. If you want some good Quicksilver, watch X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse.

CONCLUSION

Avengers: Age of Ultron is not a perfect film, but I can't help but still really love it! The characters are as delightful as ever, the action sequences are incredible, it had a good villain, the movie is just a blast! This movie just like the other Avengers films where it just feels like a comic book lover's wet dream!

GRADE:  B+

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  PG-13 (for intense sequences of sci-fi action, violence and destruction, and some suggestive comments)

Run time:  141 min

Release date:  May 1st, 2015

Studio:  Disney

The Sparks Brothers - Movie Review *98% Spoiler Free*

 The Sparks Brothers (2021)

The Sparks Brothers is a new documentary film directed by the legendary director, Edgar Wright! That's right, the director of the Three Flavors of Cornetto trilogy, Baby Driver and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World! The film tells the story of the career of Ron and Russell Mael, two musicians who formed their own band called Sparks! I am a fan of Sparks so I was excited for this film! The film was released yesterday and I saw it last night in the Melville theater, the film received hugely positive reviews.

THE GOOD

As I said in my intro, I'm a fan of Sparks, and I am also a fan of Edgar Wright, so I was expecting greatness! I fucking LOVED this movie! This movie absolutely blew me away! This movie was so full of fierce energy! This was nearly 2 and a half hours long and it really didn't feel like that at all! The story of Sparks was so fucking engaging, I always loved learning about these guys and how they formed the band, I loved learning about how they made each album, everything was so compelling! I am so glad there is now a movie out there that (hopefully) brings some attention to these guys. The directing is absolutely flawless! The movie is full of energy, style, wit, Edgar Wright directs the shit out of this fucking movie! You can see the passion leaping off the screen! The music of course is wonderful! I love the band's music so I was having a blast hearing their music throughout the film. I loved the celebrity appearances in this film, I won't spoil every single one, but you do get Mike Myers, Weird Al Yankovic, and even the voices of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost doing voice work in animated segments. This movie just felt so larger than life in its scope and feel, it absolutely felt like a love letter to this band. This movie's editing was PERFECT, which is one thing I definitely expected out of an Edgar Wright film. This movie moves incredibly fast, and the film has so much stylish editing, it is everything any filmmaker should absolutely admire, or anyone who wants to become a filmmaker such as myself should absolutely take notes from! This movie is also quite funny, this movie made me discover how humorous the Mael brothers really are, they really did inject a lot of weirdness and humor in their songs throughout their 50 year career, but their humor really shines here when you actually get to know them as individuals in this film.

THE BAD

I had no issues with this film whatsoever, this was absolutely the best documentary I have seen since Won't You Be My Neighbour?

CONCLUSION

So here is where I end my gushing about the film, but I'll still gush about it in my conclusion, this is my favorite film of the year so far! The Sparks Brothers was so full of style and energy. It was always compelling, this was seriously one of the best documentaries I've ever seen! I hope people support this movie and give Sparks the attention they deserve.

GRADE:  A+

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  R (for language)

Run time:  140 min

Release date:  June 18th, 2021

Studio:  Focus Features

Guardians of the Galaxy - Movie Review

 Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Guardians of the Galaxy is the 4th film in Phase 2 of the MCU. It is written and directed by James Gunn, and stars a giant cast including Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista Michael Rooker, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, among many others. The film tells the story of 5 criminals in space who end up teaming up to defeat a ruthless warrior named Ronan. Released in 2014, the film was met with highly positive reviews and like many other MCU films, was highly successful at the box office.

THE GOOD

This film is 2 hours of pure fun! This is a very clever, witty, funny and exciting film! The film keeps things simple with its story, it's never convoluted, complicated, it's always easy to follow and still always interesting. You can pretty much call this movie The Space Avengers, because that's essentially what it is, and most of everything I loved about The Avengers is also in this film. One of the things that The Avengers and this film do extremely well is having amazing chemistry and banter between the characters. I loved every one of the main characters in this film, each one has their own distinct personality and they are all insanely watchable and extremely likable. I loved the friendship between Rocket Raccoon and Groot, I love the chemistry that Star Lord and Gamora develop throughout the film, and Drax the Destroyer brings a lot of wonderful humor to the film. Everyone is hilarious in this film, this movie has some of the best comedy in the entire franchise. Another thing I love is how much this movie embraces how strange it is. Seriously, if this movie took itself seriously, this movie would not have worked at all. James Gunn understood that you can't take a sci-fi movie that has a talking tree and raccoon in it seriously, you can't be expecting something like Logan or The Dark Knight here. I can't talk about a Marvel film without talking about the action sequences. The action sequences are a blast! This movie doesn't have the nail biting, white knuckled action that Captain America: The Winter Soldier has but it didn't have to! Every action sequence was great though, from the prison break scene, to all the space battles, and the fight between Drax and Ronan, every action sequence work wonderfully. It also happens to have one of the most iconic soundtracks of all time, you get a lot of great 70s tunes here, from artists like Redbone, The Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, Blue Swede, David Bowie and more!

THE BAD

I really only have one issue with this film, but it is a major one. The villain in this movie fucking sucks. There's nothing whatsoever interesting about Ronan, he's an extremely two-dimensional, very boring villain who just does bad guy things.

CONCLUSION

Guardians of the Galaxy is just pure joy. This movie is such an easy watch, thanks to extremely likable chatacters and great performances from the cast, fun action and a simple yet effective story. I love all but one aspect of the film, the villain was really not good in this film. This film is wonderful overall and a very high recommendation for people who love comic book movies!

GRADE:  A

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  PG-13 (for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and some language)

Run time:  121 min

Release date:  August 1st, 2014

Studio:  Disney

Luca - Movie Review *Spoiler Free*

 Luca (2021)

Luca is the latest film from Disney and Pixar, it just got released on Disney+ today and I decided to watch it. The film tells the story of a sea monster in 1950s Italy as he takes human form and goes on a self discovery journey through the summer.

THE GOOD

I really didn't care for this movie at all, it's one of the weakest Pixar films, but I will get to some things that I liked about this movie. The animation and visuals are fucking wonderful, it's what I always expect from a movie made my Disney and Pixar. The voice acting is also top notch here. The film also had a very good message for children about not being ashamed for who you are and accepting youself. This movie in no way treats children like idiots, which I appreciated.

THE BAD

Alright, here's why I didn't like this movie all that much! This film to me felt very uninspired. The story was so incredibly dull! There wasn't a single aspect of the story that kept my attention. The film never explains nor makes any attempts to explain anything about the main character, you don't know why he becomes human when he goes out of water. In fact, it felt like there was no development for any of the characters, and because of that, none of the characters were interesting. There's this girl character who comes into the movie to teach the main character how to ride this motor scooter, and that's all to her character. There's no stakes to the story, nothing really intense happens here, nothing really bad happens to them, it's just my way of saying that not much interesting happens in this movie. There are movies that come to mind when I think of a coming of age story, they're called Boyhood, Everybody Wants Some! and Dazed and Confused. They are similar to this as there's no stakes and nothing really happens in them, but those movies are great because that they knew that in order to make a movie like this interesting, you need interesting, developed and likable characters and make their lives interesting to watch. Richard Linklater (the director of all 3 of those movies) is a master at directing this kind of film. This film does none of those things. This movie also had a villain (like it really needed one) and the villain is so fucking lame! The movie was also not very funny. There was also emotional scenes that fell very flat, there's many scenes that attempt to be heartfelt and emotional but not a single one worked for me.

CONCLUSION

I'm in the minority here but I really thought this movie was boring. I know most people are really liking this movie and I'm not going to convince people not to. I just thought this movie had nothing to offer in terms or story, characters and heart. This movie is the weakest Pixar movie since Cars 3. If you want to watch any recent Pixar movie, just go back and watch Soul, that movie is worth your time!

GRADE:  C-

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  PG (for rude humor, language, some thematic elements and brief violence)

Run time:  95 min

Release date:  June 18th, 2021

Studio:  Disney, Pixar Animation Studios

Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Movie Review

 Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the 3rd film in Phase 2 of the MCU and the 2nd Captain America film. The film is about Steve Rogers and Black Widow teaming up to uncover a new threat, an assassin known as The Winter Soldier. Released in 2014, the film was highly praised by both critics and audiences, with many regarding it as one of the best films in the MCU. The film was also a major box office success, grossing $714 million over a $170 million.

THE GOOD

This film is fucking incredible! This movie really made Captain America a real fucking badass! I loved Captain America in The First Avenger and The Avengers, but here he is flawless in the action sequences, and he given so much more personality. Chris Evans is so fucking great in this role! Black Widow was wonderful here too, even here she is given much more personality and feels more like a character. Despite not having a lot of screen time, Samuel L. Jackson was fantastic as always. Anthony Mackie as Falcon is fucking great, you don't get as much action with him but when he does throw down in the final act, he works great, he's a fucking badass just like everyone else! The story was constantly compelling, just like Iron Man 3, there's a political thriller element to the story, there's this criminal on the run element as well involving Captain America. To me this film felt a lot like a Jason Bourne type movie but in my opinion, even better. Everything involving The Winter Soldier was absolute perfection, he was intimidating, he was interesting, and also fucking wonderful in the action sequences. Let's talk about the those action sequences, they are fucking enthralling! This movie has some of the absolute best action in the entire franchise! They are hard hitting, white knuckled, intense, everything you could possibly want out of them. This movie is filled to the brim with action so you're always at the edge of your seat. There is a bit of shaky cam in the action but it's done properly, it's not some bullshit like Taken 2 and 3 or Kick-Ass 2 where they are shaking the fucking camera to hide poor stunt work, they do it enough to help enhance the intensity of the action and you can still tell what is going on. The screenplay is wonderful too, there's some witty dialogue and humor, the exposition scenes weren't boring, I was always interested. The pacing is extremely fast, this movie hits the ground running as soon as it starts.

THE BAD

I have zero issues whatsoever, this movie is a perfect comic book movie as far as I'm concerned!

CONCLUSION

I fucking love this film! This is definitely among one of the best MCU films, and one of the best comic book movies as well! I loved the action sequences, I loved the direction, the writing, performances, everything! This movie is exactly what sequels should be!

GRADE:  A+

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence, gunplay and action throughout)

Run time:  136 min

Release date:  April 4th, 2014

Studio:  Disney

Thor: The Dark World - Movie Review

 Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Thor: The Dark World is the sequel to Thor and the second film in Phase 2. Released in 2013, the film was successful at the box office and received more mixed reviews from critics. The film tells the story of Thor going on a more perilous and personal journey as the dark elves attempt to plunge the universe into darkness.

THE GOOD

This is a movie that I think is just okay. Let's talk about the good stuff this movie definitely has to offer though! Chris Hemsworth is once again fantastic as Thor! He brings all the same charisma and humor to the role as he did in the first film and in The Avengers, and he's still a fucking badass! Tom Hiddleston is still phenomenal as Loki. The action sequences are more plentiful this time and they are fun, they aren't quite as hard hitting as the ones in the first film but they do work extremely well. The final act is definitely the highlight of the movie, it was extremely imaginative and a blast to watch, with all the fighting (of course) and the portals. There's some good emotional moments too, especially when Thor's mom dies (yeah spoiler alert for the few people out there who haven't seen this movie already, plus Avengers: Endgame also spoils that for the few people as well so I'm in the clear). For the most part the visuals are gorgeous as well.

THE BAD

So as far as the MCU goes, yeah this is one of the weaker ones, which is why I said that this movie is only okay. This movie is not messy like Iron Man 2 but it feels extremely disposable. Besides the action sequences and the performances by Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, this movie feels like it really didn't have a whole lot to offer. This movie is lacking in substance and good storytelling. This movie's story is not very engaging, largely due to having one of the worst and most forgettable villains in the MCU. The Dark Elves are so boring, I never gave a shit about anything about what was going on with the villains. The titular dark world is boring too, and this is where "the most part" comes into play, the dark world is visually unappealing, it doesn't look cool or anything, it's the dullest looking thing ever besides the entirety of The Amazing Spider-Man and Fant4stic. This movie also has a lot of terrible comedy too, mainly from Kat Dennings. She is 10x worse here than the was in the first one, none of her comedy worked here! I honestly don't know if her comedy would've worked any better if it was done by a different actress, but she just didn't have the ability to deliver the comedy very well, and it came off as annoying.

CONCLUSION

Thor: The Dark World definitely has some fun in it, however; it's extremely disposable. This movie contains great performances, some really fun action and even a few great emotional moments. This movie just suffers from that disposable feeling, extremely weak villains and some really unfunny humor.

GRADE:  C+

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  PG-13 (for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some suggestive content)

Run time:  112 min

Release date:  November 8th, 2013

Studio:  Disney

Iron Man 3 - Movie Review

 Iron Man 3 (2013)

Today we start with Phase 2 in the MCU! Iron Man 3 tells the story of Tony Stark suffering from PTSD after the events of The Avengers during a national terrorism campaign on America led by the Mandarin. Iron Man 3 was released in 2013 and was met with mostly positive reviews, but was considered divisive at the time. The film was a major box office success, it was the 2nd highest grossing film of 2013.

THE GOOD

In my honest opinion, Iron Man 3 is just as good as the first film! I think this movie is absolutely fantastic! This movie balances action and character stuff perfectly. This movie has a great tone, this movie has more of a political thriller vibe to it, and I thought it worked beautifully. The action sequences are wonderful, this is the most action packed one out of the 3, and each action sequence works great! I loved the sequence where Tony's house gets destroyed, the final act is a ton of fun, and by far the best action sequence in the movie is where Tony saves all the passengers in a hijacked flight that eventually gets destroyed. This movie's visuals are also quite great! The acting is great all around, this movie has one of the best performances by Robert Downey Jr. in the entire franchise. I bought that Tony Stark had very bad PTSD, the anxiety attacks were convincing, every time he panics, it felt like he was really having those attacks, and he sells the emotional scenes perfectly! In my opinion, Iron Man 3 has one of the most compelling stories in the entire MCU, I loved the terrorism element, I loved the whole personal element of the story from Tony's prospective, everything kept me invested throughout the movie. This movie also moves at a more smooth pace, it's not quite as fast paced as something like The Avengers, Iron Man 1 or The Incredible Hulk, but it's definitely not as slow as Iron Man 2, this movie moves at a smooth pace and it's still never boring. This movie also has for the most part some really great writing! The dialogue is wonderful, and this film is really funny! I know people were pissed with the twist in the movie but it got a HUGE laugh out of me!

THE BAD

I do have one issue with the film, and it's not the Mandarin twist that pissed everyone off, I understand why people were pissed but I actually found that quite hilarious, as I mentioned in the positives section. My issue was the scene where Tony gives the Mandarin his address after this major attack. That was stupid, it's the dumbest Tony Stark moment, well maybe the 2nd dumbest, 2nd only to when Tony pisses himself while he's drunk in Iron Man 2. It's a very stupid moment in an otherwise great movie.

CONCLUSION

Iron Man 3 is a fucking fantastic film! It's a major improvement over Iron Man 2 in every aspect. I loved the story, I loved the action sequences, I loved the performances, I just really love this film! Despite the one really dumb moment in this film, Iron Man 3 is a very well written, fun, action packed film, and is among one of the most underrated films in the MCU.

GRADE:  A

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  PG-13 (for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence throughout, and brief suggestive content)

Run time:  130 min

Release date:  May 3rd, 2013

Studio:  Disney, Paramount Pictures

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It - Movie Review

 The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is the the 3rd core film in the Conjuring franchise, and once again stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren as they investigate a murder that may be linked to a demonic possession. This film received mixed reviews from critics. It was released on June 4th, 2021 in theaters and HBO Max.

THE GOOD

This was one of my most anticipated films of the year, because I LOVED the first two films, they were filled to the brim with good scares, great atmosphere and legendary performances by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. My overall opinion of this movie is that I found it very, very disappointing, but I do have some good things to say about this film! Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are still wonderful as Ed and Lorraine Warren, they still bring their A game here! I always love watching them on screen no matter how good or bad the movie could be. There were a couple of good scares in the film. The opening sequence was fucking amazing! I really liked that this movie tried to do something different for the core films in the franchise.

THE BAD

Now we get into why I thought this movie was extremely disappointing. As a horror film, it doesn't work all that well. This movie doesn't have anything besides the lead performances that made the first two movies so good. Besides the couple of good scares, there's nothing here, every other scare is very weak and relies on more jump scares this time around. The story was very boring and uninteresting. I'm sure the actual story this movie is based on is very interesting, but this movie just didn't do it any justice. The film lacked the scope of the first two, the first two films felt like bigger scale horror films, this film felt like a 2 hour procedural on network television. It felt like the budget was cut in half and they just opted to make a 2 hour episode of a horror themed procedural instead of a high quality horror film. This film really reminded me of The Unholy, it's not as bad at that movie, but it really reminded me of it. It has the same lack of tension and suspense, the same lack of scares, and it's basically mostly investigating without the intrigue.

CONCLUSION

I was extremely disappointed with this film. This film was not scary, not interesting, it's extremely boring for the most part. Besides the great performances from the leads, a fantastic opening scene and a couple of good scares, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It did absolutely nothing for me. As far as I'm concerned, this will land into the abyss of the forgotten. This film doesn't even come close to being as good as the first two.

GRADE:  C-

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  R (for terror, violence and some disturbing images)

Run time:  112 min

Released date:  June 4th, 2021

Studio:  Warner Bros. Pictures