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While settling his recently deceased father's estate, a salesman discovers he has a sister whom he never knew about, leading both siblings to re-examine their perceptions about family and life choices.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Sabotage (2014)
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Members of an elite DEA task force find themselves being taken down one by one after they rob a drug cartel safe house.
Director:
David Ayer
An elite DEA team raids the safe house of a drug cartel and hide $10 million in the plumbing. When they go back to retrieve the money it is not there. The team is under investigation for the missing $10 million. Then after a couple months the investigation is lifted. The team trains together again and then celebrates at a strip club. Then one of the team is murdered. He wakes us in his RV on railroad tracks. Then a second team member is nailed to the ceiling in his ceiling. The third team member is gunned down at his remote cabin. There is a female City of Atlanta investigator in charge of the murders. After investigating the cartel angle, the twisted truth comes to light.
Monday, December 15, 2014
Cold in July (2014)
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When a protective father meets a murderous ex-con, both need to deviate from the path they are on as they soon find themselves entangled in a downwards spiral of lies and violence while having to confront their own inner psyche.
Director:
Jim MickleThursday, December 11, 2014
Red Riding Hood (2011)
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Set in a medieval village that is haunted by a werewolf, a young girl falls for an orphaned woodcutter, much to her family's displeasure.
Director:
Catherine HardwickeWriter:
David Johnson
Valerie (Seyfried) is a beautiful young woman torn between two men. She is in love with a brooding outsider, Peter (Fernandez), but her parents have arranged for her to marry the wealthy Henry (Irons). Unwilling to lose each other, Valerie and Peter are planning to run away together when they learn that Valerie's older sister has been killed by the werewolf that prowls the dark forest surrounding their village. For years, the people have maintained an uneasy truce with the beast, offering the creature a monthly animal sacrifice. But under a blood red moon, the wolf has upped the stakes by taking a human life. Hungry for revenge, the people call on famed werewolf hunter, Father Solomon (Oldman), to help them kill the wolf. But Solomon's arrival brings unintended consequences as he warns that the wolf, who takes human form by day, could be any one of them. As the death toll rises with each moon, Valerie begins to suspect that the werewolf could be someone she loves. As panic grips the ...
Reclaim (2014)
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A desperate American couple discovers all is not what it seems when they uncover a high-stakes underground scam while traveling abroad. To expose the truth and get back to the U.S., they must risk their lives to save their daughter.
Director:
Alan White
A desperate American couple discovers all is not what it seems when they uncover a high-stakes underground scam while traveling abroad. To expose the truth and get back to the U.S., they must risk their lives to save their daughter.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
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The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
Director:
Quentin Tarantino
Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega are two hitmen who are out to retrieve a suitcase stolen from their employer, mob boss Marsellus Wallace. Wallace has also asked Vincent to take his wife Mia out a few days later when Wallace himself will be out of town. Butch Coolidge is an aging boxer who is paid by Wallace to lose his next fight. The lives of these seemingly unrelated people are woven together comprising of a series of funny, bizarre and uncalled-for incidents.
Predestination (2014)
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The life of a time-traveling Temporal Agent. On his final assignment, he must pursue the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time.
PREDESTINATION chronicles the life of a Temporal Agent sent on an intricate series of time-travel journeys designed to ensure the continuation of his law enforcement career for all eternity. Now, on his final assignment, the Agent must pursue the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)
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As a cowardly farmer begins to fall for the mysterious new woman in town, he must put his new-found courage to the test when her husband, a notorious gun-slinger, announces his arrival.
Director:
Seth MacFarlane
Set in 1882 in the American west, Albert is a lowly farmer with a nice girlfriend. But when she leaves him for the more successful and handsome owner of a moustachery store, Albert returns to his lonely daily life of trying to avoid death. Then the mysterious Anna rides into town and captures Albert's interest and heart, but with her deadly husband in tow, Albert is going to have to become the western gun-slinging hero he never was. It won't be easy because there are a million ways to die in the west.
OK, I've signed up to IMDb just to comment on this Movie. First Off I'm not A Seth McFarlane Fan. I don't like Family Guy and I Thought Ted was Childish.( But I am over 40) So when I read the reviews on here I had to go and see this movie for myself. Nothing could be that bad (I thought): And I was right. There is nothing wrong with this Movie. Its never going to win an award but I don't imagine they thought it would. Its funny, the characters are likable and the actors are excellent.
It would appear that somebody wrote a bad review on here and as usual, The Sheep jumped on The band Wagon.
This is as good a comedy as any I've seen in the last few years and better than a lot I've seen in the last ten years. The story was good and kept me entertained throughout the Movie. It was crude in places but its Seth McFarlane Folks ! What did you expect?.
I was glad I went to see this and came out with a smile on my face. I understand that maybe Ted was aimed at an age group a lot younger than me, but I just didn't like it. However, I did like this movie. As I said at the start, don't follow The Sheep. Give this a go and you wont be disappointed.
It would appear that somebody wrote a bad review on here and as usual, The Sheep jumped on The band Wagon.
This is as good a comedy as any I've seen in the last few years and better than a lot I've seen in the last ten years. The story was good and kept me entertained throughout the Movie. It was crude in places but its Seth McFarlane Folks ! What did you expect?.
I was glad I went to see this and came out with a smile on my face. I understand that maybe Ted was aimed at an age group a lot younger than me, but I just didn't like it. However, I did like this movie. As I said at the start, don't follow The Sheep. Give this a go and you wont be disappointed.
Monday, December 8, 2014
The Maze Runner (2014)
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Thomas is deposited in a community of boys after his memory is erased, soon learning they're all trapped in a maze that will require him to join forces with fellow "runners" for a shot at escape.
Director:
Wes Ball
Thomas wakes up in an elevator, remembering nothing but his own name. He emerges into a world of about 60 teen boys who have learned to survive in a completely enclosed environment, subsisting on their own agriculture and supplies. A new boy arrives every 30 days. The original group has been in "The Glade" for two years, trying to find a way to escape through the Maze that surrounds their living space. They have begun to give up hope. Then a comatose girl arrives with a strange note, and their world begins to change. There are some great, fast-paced action scenes, particularly those involving the nightmarish Grievers who plague the boys.
Wow, I really anticipated on this movie, suspense, action, the unknown, it all sounds very exciting. Now I must say that I have seen some very good movies and series round this theme that may influence my judgment, for example The Cube (1 - 3), Persons Unknown, Saw, etc. all have a person or group of persons who don't know how they get there or how to get away. How is it possible that those movies, some dating from 1997, are so much better then a 2014 movie? And being almost 2 hours long, how come so little happens in those 2 hours? Some reviewers already mentioned the contradictory and illogical elements in this movie, and yes, this does this movie, with such much potential, not much good, it's just annoying to see them not try what is so logic. The movie is entertaining, but leaves you very unsatisfied.
Friday, December 5, 2014
Casino (1995)
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Greed, deception, money, power, and murder occur between two mobster best friends and a trophy wife over a gambling empire.
Director:
Martin Scorsese
This Martin Scorsese film depicts the Janus-like quality of Las Vegas--it has a glittering, glamorous face, as well as a brutal, cruel one. Ace Rothstein and Nicky Santoro, mobsters who move to Las Vegas to make their mark, live and work in this paradoxical world. Seen through their eyes, each as a foil to the other, the details of mob involvement in the casinos of the 1970's and '80's are revealed. Ace is the smooth operator of the Tangiers casino, while Nicky is his boyhood friend and tough strongman, robbing and shaking down the locals. However, they each have a tragic flaw--Ace falls in love with a hustler, Ginger, and Nicky falls into an ever-deepening spiral of drugs and violence.
A complex, multilayered, beautifully directed film, Martin Scorsese's Casino is a masterpiece of destruction and betrayal. Few films take so many chances and succeed so wonderfully. It takes some of the basic formulas that were found in Goodfellas and applies them to another type of story - while Goodfellas' view was ground-level, telling the story of the "blue collar" gangsters of NYC, this film tells the story of the guys who controlled those guys. And it's fascinating to watch these people run Las Vegas, control the flow of money, and then fall from the heights of power due to lust, hubris, and greed. An amazing film that will hopefully get the recognition it deserves in the years to come.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
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When a kingpin threatens New York City, a group of mutated turtle warriors must emerge from the shadows to protect their home.
Director:
Jonathan Liebesman
Darkness has settled over New York City as Shredder and his evil Foot Clan have an iron grip on everything from the police to the politicians. The future is grim until four unlikely outcast brothers rise from the sewers and discover their destiny as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Turtles must work with fearless reporter April O'Neil and her cameraman Vern Fenwick to save the city and unravel Shredder's diabolical plan.
No matter how the name Michael Bay is attached to a fantasy adaptation, people will complain anything about the project. But as a producer, does it affect much to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Surprisingly yes. As the same as the public response about the Transformers franchise, people turned out to be ranting at the wrong stuff. At the post-viewing, maybe we can accept the heavy reliance to cartoony CGI, or the large amount of explosions, or the really poor plot. The real sin of these movies is its lack of interest to its main heroes and instead focuses on the human characters. Which is a shame, because it somewhat gets it right with the turtles, their stories are more interesting than the one we ended up seeing. The film does have some rewarding moments, but it just keeps hindering us to the less interesting parts which makes it disappointing.
It is clear that if follows the same screen writing rules of the last Bay franchise. Instead of being about the Ninja Turtles, it rather centers on April O'Neil. Instead of fearing the Foot Clan, the threat would rather focus in some evil corporal manager. Any larger-than-life characters from the source material have only left out as the secondary need of the journey: the turtles are now plot devices and the Shredder is, for some reason, a henchman. I bet the fact that Casey Jones wears a mask is the reason why we can't have him in this film. For the story of April, it might only work as a subplot. There isn't enough theme or intrigue to accomplish unlike the one from its actual heroes. There is some talk about Raphael mistreating his brothers, which is a theme that was already done better in the past TMNT movies, and Master Splinter's backstory as the turtles' father, which is only presented for expository need. They don't get the development they deserve, which makes the drama in the end feels so forced and less than effective.
April's arc would have been tolerable if it gives her more moments to actually connect with the turtles, but the only information it could provide is that they're her childhood pets, she's only using those beloved characters to her job, teasing us the much interesting world beneath the sewers. The palpable respect we may give to this film is the humor. It may not be fantastic and all, but it's not bad either, at least it defines one of its personalities. The action is obviously large and destructive, well at least we get to see more ninja action. The acting is predictable: Megan Fox's humanless expressions make her April O'Neil difficult to root for. The voice and motion-capture actors worked better for having a sense of fun in their enthusiasm.
The single greatest scene of the film is when the turtles are making a tune out of an elevator sound. That is one of the reasons why we love these characters anyway. Newcomers will still convince the fans to give up nostalgia and move on to the changes, but that doesn't mean it has to diminish it as a generic/bland action blockbuster. The film just won at the box office, so definitely there will be a sequel. The only advice we could wholeheartedly give is to have more love to the heroes. We did saw that occasionally, but we hope to have more of their sewer life with their pop cultural obsession and mass consumption of pizza, plus have interesting villains, some real and not forced familial themes, and at least a solid plot since these Ninja Turtles movies hardly ever had one. The fights were the only parts that weren't tamed from them, because apparently that is what the filmmakers are mostly interested at. It just isn't enough, and as a fan, they should have focused on rebuilding its already richer world than this.
It is clear that if follows the same screen writing rules of the last Bay franchise. Instead of being about the Ninja Turtles, it rather centers on April O'Neil. Instead of fearing the Foot Clan, the threat would rather focus in some evil corporal manager. Any larger-than-life characters from the source material have only left out as the secondary need of the journey: the turtles are now plot devices and the Shredder is, for some reason, a henchman. I bet the fact that Casey Jones wears a mask is the reason why we can't have him in this film. For the story of April, it might only work as a subplot. There isn't enough theme or intrigue to accomplish unlike the one from its actual heroes. There is some talk about Raphael mistreating his brothers, which is a theme that was already done better in the past TMNT movies, and Master Splinter's backstory as the turtles' father, which is only presented for expository need. They don't get the development they deserve, which makes the drama in the end feels so forced and less than effective.
April's arc would have been tolerable if it gives her more moments to actually connect with the turtles, but the only information it could provide is that they're her childhood pets, she's only using those beloved characters to her job, teasing us the much interesting world beneath the sewers. The palpable respect we may give to this film is the humor. It may not be fantastic and all, but it's not bad either, at least it defines one of its personalities. The action is obviously large and destructive, well at least we get to see more ninja action. The acting is predictable: Megan Fox's humanless expressions make her April O'Neil difficult to root for. The voice and motion-capture actors worked better for having a sense of fun in their enthusiasm.
The single greatest scene of the film is when the turtles are making a tune out of an elevator sound. That is one of the reasons why we love these characters anyway. Newcomers will still convince the fans to give up nostalgia and move on to the changes, but that doesn't mean it has to diminish it as a generic/bland action blockbuster. The film just won at the box office, so definitely there will be a sequel. The only advice we could wholeheartedly give is to have more love to the heroes. We did saw that occasionally, but we hope to have more of their sewer life with their pop cultural obsession and mass consumption of pizza, plus have interesting villains, some real and not forced familial themes, and at least a solid plot since these Ninja Turtles movies hardly ever had one. The fights were the only parts that weren't tamed from them, because apparently that is what the filmmakers are mostly interested at. It just isn't enough, and as a fan, they should have focused on rebuilding its already richer world than this.
Friday, November 28, 2014
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
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A group of space criminals must work together to stop the fanatical villain Ronan the Accuser from destroying the galaxy.
Director:
James Gunn
After stealing a mysterious orb in the far reaches of outer space, Peter Quill from Earth, is now the main target of a manhunt led by the villain known as Ronan the Accuser. To help fight Ronan and his team and save the galaxy from his power, Quill creates a team of space heroes known as the "Guardians of the Galaxy" to save the world.
I know, I know. This will incontrovertibly attract a lot of hate from die-hard Dark Knight fans, but guess what? I'm one of those who thinks Nolan is the epitome of how to make a perfect superhero spectacle.
Or at least, I was until tonight.
This film will blow your mind. Quite literally, it is jam-packed with edge-of-your-seat action thrills and pure comedic gold. Don't be expecting a moody companion piece like that of Nolan's trilogy, or Man of Steel. It keeps more in touch with Avengers, although it's a lot funnier and really builds upon the upcoming Infinity Gauntlet arc.
The actors are incredible, matching the character developments, the dialogue and action sequences are spectacular and the visual effects should surely earn a nod come Oscar time, as I'd personally put them on par with those seen in the recent Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The run length compliments the well-scripted pacing of the movie itself, whilst plenty of interesting secondary characters litter Guardians with an ensemble cast that has exceeded anything yet seen in the Marvel/DC movie worlds. I don't pertain to the DC versus Marvel argument, but this masterpiece alone has certainly put Marvel on the front foot in terms of cinema outings, far surpassing the very enjoyable Man of Steel and, I believe, edging out Nolan's trilogy and then some.
I thoroughly recommend this for any with a borderline sci-fi/superhero love, and advise you to remain for the tantalising post-credits scene, although many of the non-comic fans might not get the references.
Or at least, I was until tonight.
This film will blow your mind. Quite literally, it is jam-packed with edge-of-your-seat action thrills and pure comedic gold. Don't be expecting a moody companion piece like that of Nolan's trilogy, or Man of Steel. It keeps more in touch with Avengers, although it's a lot funnier and really builds upon the upcoming Infinity Gauntlet arc.
The actors are incredible, matching the character developments, the dialogue and action sequences are spectacular and the visual effects should surely earn a nod come Oscar time, as I'd personally put them on par with those seen in the recent Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The run length compliments the well-scripted pacing of the movie itself, whilst plenty of interesting secondary characters litter Guardians with an ensemble cast that has exceeded anything yet seen in the Marvel/DC movie worlds. I don't pertain to the DC versus Marvel argument, but this masterpiece alone has certainly put Marvel on the front foot in terms of cinema outings, far surpassing the very enjoyable Man of Steel and, I believe, edging out Nolan's trilogy and then some.
I thoroughly recommend this for any with a borderline sci-fi/superhero love, and advise you to remain for the tantalising post-credits scene, although many of the non-comic fans might not get the references.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Wish I Was Here (2014)
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Aidan Bloom is a 35-year-old man who finds himself at major crossroads, which forces him to examine his life, his career, and his family.
Director:
Zach Braff
'Wish I Was Here' is the story of Aidan Bloom, a struggling actor, father and husband, who at 35 is still trying to find his identity; a purpose for his life. He winds up trying to home school his two children when his father can no longer afford to pay for private education and the only available public school is on its last legs. Through teaching them about life his way, Aidan gradually discovers some of the parts of himself he couldn't find.
Admittedly, this is the first Zach Braff film I have seen. I only saw one trailer for the film, and it immediately intrigued me. I did not hate this film, but I also did not love and found myself in a lukewarm middle ground. For everything I liked, there was something I did not like.
First off, the story. The story as a whole deals with living life and dealing with death which was pulled off fairly well. However, there were several things in the script that I feel like took away from the film and the story Braff was telling. One of the those things were the laughs or lack thereof.
The script thinks its wittier and funnier than it actually is with most jokes missing that hitting. The movie also thinks it's deeper than it actually is. Maybe that's just Braff's style, but to me it seemed like it was more style over substance.
I did really enjoy the soundtrack for the film and Braff gave a good performance as a 30-something-year-old treading the water in his life.
I will definitely give Braff's future movies another shot and will see Garden State soon, but Wish I was Here was just not as good as I hoped it would be.
First off, the story. The story as a whole deals with living life and dealing with death which was pulled off fairly well. However, there were several things in the script that I feel like took away from the film and the story Braff was telling. One of the those things were the laughs or lack thereof.
The script thinks its wittier and funnier than it actually is with most jokes missing that hitting. The movie also thinks it's deeper than it actually is. Maybe that's just Braff's style, but to me it seemed like it was more style over substance.
I did really enjoy the soundtrack for the film and Braff gave a good performance as a 30-something-year-old treading the water in his life.
I will definitely give Braff's future movies another shot and will see Garden State soon, but Wish I was Here was just not as good as I hoped it would be.
Falcon Rising (2014)
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Chapman is an ex-marine in Brazil's slums, battling the yakuza outfit who attacked his sister and left her for dead.
Director:
Ernie BarbarashWriter:
Y.T. Parazi
FAVELA, the first installment in the CODENAME: FALCON franchise, introduces former marine John "Falcon" Chapman, a dark anti-hero driven by guilt and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, who will destroy himself unless given something else to destroy - a useful weapon-of-last-resort for the U.S. State Department. When Chapman's sister is brutally attacked while on assignment in Brazil, Chapman flies into Sao Paulo to track down her assailants, quickly entering the city's seedy underbelly and discovering a world of drugs, the sex trade, corrupt cops, and organized crime syndicates battling for control.
So when I first saw the trailer for this movie I thought it was going to be your typical predictable Hollywood action flick. As we all do sometimes I resolved myself to just forgive anything corniness and just enjoy the movie. I sure was in for a surprise; this movie is anything but cliché -- it was a genuine rockbuster of a film that blew me away.
The fight scenes were really well done and even the acting was surprisingly good. There were maybe a couple small action film stereotypes but they were subdued to the point where they weren't insulting (e.g., ending fight scene at the docks against the bad guys, boss, etc.) In all I was highly entertained and I recommend the movie.
The fight scenes were really well done and even the acting was surprisingly good. There were maybe a couple small action film stereotypes but they were subdued to the point where they weren't insulting (e.g., ending fight scene at the docks against the bad guys, boss, etc.) In all I was highly entertained and I recommend the movie.
The Anomaly (2014)
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A former soldier is taken captive and awakens in the back of a van where he learns that he only has a few moments to figure out how he got there.
Director:
Noel ClarkeWriter:
Simon Lewis
Set in the future, a traumatized ex-soldier discovers that he can only experience life as himself in nine minute bursts every few days or so. Consequently, he has no idea what he has been up to in between times but it appears in his other life he's clearly been up to no good. He tries to piece together what is causing this.
The Anomaly is a really good example of what can be achieved in a science fiction movie on a low budget. Actor/director Noel Clarke and writer Simon Lewis have put together a nicely ambitious genre flick that is structured in a really interesting way. Its technique is not dis-similar to the one used in Memento (2000) where we follow a protagonist who is consistently unsure of how he got where he is. It's a great idea and ensures that the story-line remains intriguing throughout. It also allows for the film to change gears suddenly and for us to be thrown into jarringly different scenarios as well as re-locating locations. The special effects are well used for the latter, where there are nice cityscapes of the likes of London and New York – very well rendered on a tight budget.
Clarke himself makes for a good central character. It's quite a physical role that calls also for a fair amount of action set-pieces, so we have lots of slow-motion fight scenes interspersed amongst the more cerebral sci-fi stuff. Ian Somerhalder makes a mark too as a dapper, enigmatic man who seems to be involved with Clarke in his unknown other life, while the rather gorgeous Alexis Knapp makes an impression as a girl who assists Clarke in finding out the truth. Brian Cox also stars but is restricted to a cameo role unfortunately. Overall, I was very impressed with this flick. While it does go down a sci-fi action route to an extent, and that's okay, it was the more mysterious sci-fi puzzle aspects that really made it tick. It's well worth seeking out and it should be supported simply on the basis that it shows a lot of ambition and good ideas, while never forgetting to remain entertaining.
The Anomaly is a really good example of what can be achieved in a science fiction movie on a low budget. Actor/director Noel Clarke and writer Simon Lewis have put together a nicely ambitious genre flick that is structured in a really interesting way. Its technique is not dis-similar to the one used in Memento (2000) where we follow a protagonist who is consistently unsure of how he got where he is. It's a great idea and ensures that the story-line remains intriguing throughout. It also allows for the film to change gears suddenly and for us to be thrown into jarringly different scenarios as well as re-locating locations. The special effects are well used for the latter, where there are nice cityscapes of the likes of London and New York – very well rendered on a tight budget.
Clarke himself makes for a good central character. It's quite a physical role that calls also for a fair amount of action set-pieces, so we have lots of slow-motion fight scenes interspersed amongst the more cerebral sci-fi stuff. Ian Somerhalder makes a mark too as a dapper, enigmatic man who seems to be involved with Clarke in his unknown other life, while the rather gorgeous Alexis Knapp makes an impression as a girl who assists Clarke in finding out the truth. Brian Cox also stars but is restricted to a cameo role unfortunately. Overall, I was very impressed with this flick. While it does go down a sci-fi action route to an extent, and that's okay, it was the more mysterious sci-fi puzzle aspects that really made it tick. It's well worth seeking out and it should be supported simply on the basis that it shows a lot of ambition and good ideas, while never forgetting to remain entertaining.
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