Inside Out (2015)

We love Pixar, don't we? Its like the best. Though the last several years have been hard on the company, we still know that we're going to get something good out of it... so long as it doesn't have cars in it.  You know how this review is going to go already.

I originally did not have interest in seeing Inside Out. It didn't seem like that interesting of a movie that I needed to pay to see in theaters. With the endless good reviews for it,  people posting spoilers on Reddit, and the fact that this has been a boring-ass summer, I went and saw it.

The first reaction once the movie was over was "aw that was cute." And not like how my reaction with Frozen which I thought was just "cuuuuteee (?)" just actually "cute." This is a very genuine film written by people that give a damn. However, the entire time watching this, I was thinking how I wouldn't want to see it again. I've seen the top Pixar films (Finding Nemo, Up and Wall-E) more times than necessary that I'm almost tired of seeing them, despite being very timeless. I want to be able to not get sick of Inside Out and enjoy it. I say that because the only downside of this movie is that there are some parts that drag. Similar to Princess and the Frog, the beginning and ending are great and exciting, but the middle can get tiring.

Regardless, there is a tremendous amount of creativity used in this film. Things I could never come up with even if I tried. Even if the plot is a little convoluted, the writing is very precise. The second thing has to be the acting. It is a bit surprising that most of the actors here have mostly done TV. They have done a few films here and there, but they're mostly known for their TV roles. The best has to be Louis Black, who was the major reason I wanted to see this film. This role was made for him and it is absolutely hysterical. The rest of the cast is equally as good. My favorite character has to be Bing Bong, but that may be because he is played by Richard Kind. There is something just so funny and genuine about his performance that I adore.

The basic theme of this film is something I admire as well. Aside from the fact that this film will be shown in every high school psychology class in the future, I like the idea of telling people is okay to embrace your feelings. Its okay to be sad, its okay to have bad days, you can't be happy all the time. The sick bastard in me was wondering what happens when someone has a mental illness or Alzheimers or something. What happens when  Riley enters her sexual awakening stages or has PMS? That would be hella interesting. So hella.

Otherwise this is a good film, not Pixar's best, but still done very well. Very smart and well thought out, which is something I cannot say for the other family films out there these days. Its going to win best animated feature, unless Zootopia or The Good Dinosaur blows people out of the water. I'm giving this film a good score despite not wanting to see it again, but that is to preserve its goodness.

Grade: A


Also, the short film, Lava, was adorable. I loved every minute of that. Definitely in the top 5 of Pixar's best shorts.

Grade: A+++

Jurassic World (2015)

Damn, from chubby to sexy af.

I have been waiting 10 years for this movie. Ever since I came across the IMDB page and there was a plot synopsis  involving T-Rexes with machine guns. There was points in time were this movie seemed like it was never going to happen.  Over the last 2 years, there has been a full swing of hype. Even more so this past month. I can't remember the last time a movie, aside from the Marvel ones, had so many commercials and product tie-ins. It seemed like every other commercial or item in the grocery store had something to do with Jurassic World. Regardless, I was still excited knowing full well this will be a blown out, Summer blockbuster.

I was mostly excited for this movie because Jurassic Park has always had a place in my heart. It came out the same year I was born and it has always been a movie I can watch a million times and not get sick of. I quote it so many goddamn times and I still laugh at all the dumb cheesy shit and get tense. I remember when I was little, I liked The Lost World more than the first. The idea of a T-Rex running around a city always scared me and I always thought it would something that would actually happen. Anytime I heard a loud noise outside my window while I was sleeping I was convinced it was a T-Rex. Looking back at The Lost World, it is a cheap sequel at the end of the day. I still enjoy it, but it is a bit of a let down if you compare it to the original.  I also remember when Jurassic Park 3 was coming out, it was a huge deal, then it kind of went away. Even still people seem to forget the 3rd one and you can't really blame them. It is not the worst squeal that ever was or ever will be, but it is forgettable with some really annoying characters. I must also mention that I did go to the Jurassic Park section during my visit to Universal Orlando and geeked out like the son of a bitch that I am. It felt like you were actually in the park had it been practical, though I was disappointed there wasn't a random goat on a leash. 

Jurassic World was pretty awesome. However, the first half of the movie was slow. I was getting a little worried once that bitchface red headed lady came in and the two unlikable children and the incompetent employees. It was like "Aw shit, this shit again?" What is with this franchise and annoying characters? Once the pacing picks up, it doesn't fucking stop. I can't remember the last time I loudly gasped in a movie theater or was clenching onto my hair. 

But for every awesome thing in this movie, there was at least one mildly retarded thing in return. Few examples (possible spoilers):

• No bitch in the history of bitches can run in cheap-ass, Payless heels all day and through the jungle. Why couldn't she run into Jimmy Buffets and grab flip-flops. I know they fucking have them!  Shits not the best buts its more practical anyway.
• Everyone in this movie is selfish and retarded.
• More use of CGI over practical effects. I know it is expected now that every movie has it, but it still a bit of a let down how little practical effects there were. What made the effects in the original look good even to this day was the lighting and equal distribution of practical and CGI. Regardless, these effects still look great, but there were times I don't feel like the actors were giving into it. 
• The product placement. I already said in my Pitch Perfect 2 review my issue with it and the difference between Necessary and Obnoxious PP. In all honesty, most of the PP here made sense. When you go to a theme park these days, there is PP and restaurant tie-ins everywhere. The plaza in the movie almost looked like City Walk at Universal Orlando. However, the fact that in this world everyone has a Samsung Galaxy phone and drives a Mercedes is a bit ridiculous. 
• What is with the annoying children in these movies? I'll admit these kids aren't as bad as some other movies but its a trend that people are getting sick of. 
• No Jeff Goldblum. 
• All the side character development shit. No one needs that, I don't need a human connection. I'd rather know the problems of the dinosaurs, thank you. 
• Everyone is in panic and being attacked by pterodactyls, KISS ME.
• I almost wanted to say "Wow! this is a great remake of Jurassic Park 3!" There so many similarities between the two. The lost boys, the pterodactyls, the characters going back to the original facilities, the "new dinosaur" that was said to be better than the T- Rex gets her ass kicked by a fucking T-Rex, etc.

All these problems will refrain me from giving this film a perfect score, but I still enjoyed the hell of it. My favorite aspect has to be the commentary about theme parks. Universal is basically making fun of itself and Disney. There were several nods mentioned throughout that basically points out the flaws of theme parks. How expensive everything is, the rush to find the next best attraction even it may not be safe, liability issues, covering up shit that has happened in the past, product placement, and others. I even noticed how they were poking at Disney World's Magic Bands and the way the guest relations people were doing the Disney Point. I mentioned before that the park itself had some similarities to how it looked in Universal Orlando as well. As someone who just got back from working at these places in Orlando, I found it all very amusing. 

Otherwise, my favorite things were your favorite things. Chris Pratt was great, and of course because he is on top of the world right now. Every single moment that involved a dinosaur had me at the edge of my seat. The fights between the dinosaurs and watching them eat people was as satisfying as cutting into construction paper. The part me that had me say "OH MY FUCK-" with a four year old child in front of me was when the Mosasaurus  came up from the water to take the Indominus. Also when the raptors were coming after the truck had me shit. The usage of new dinosaurs is always neat to see. I'm glad to see DNA Strand guy make a cameo along with BD Wong. John Williams score coming back always makes people happy. 

Overall, although it was not as good as the first, it was definitely not as awkward as the 2nd and 3rd. Take it for what it is: a fun popcorn movie that doesn't talk down to the audience. 

And for god sakes don't take your toddlers to see this. You want them to see dinosaurs ripping people apart? What the hell is wrong with you. Do you want them to end up like me?

Grade: A

Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)

I really cannot say a whole lot about this movie because I don't remember a whole lot, despite seeing it yesterday. It was not my intention to see it, my friends wanted to and I wanted to get out of the house.

I saw the first Pitch Perfect only a few months ago. My roommates had it on and I watched it just because most of my friends have praised it and I had still never saw it. It was basically the new Mean Girls for me, I avoided it for so long because I thought it looked stupid. Then when I finally saw it, it wasn't that bad. I didn't think it was amazing, and though it has basically the same comedic style as Mean Girls, it wasn't as good as that. There has been a trend with female-driven comedies that have ranged from good to bad, at least in my opinion. It has nothing to do with the fact they're mostly women in these films, women and men are equally as funny. I think it is mostly the writing and the "how many vagina jokes can I cram into a single scene" problem. I had a film professor that compared The Hangover to Bridesmaids (I fucking hate Bridesmaids, by the way) and asked why one wasn't as successful as the other. His conclusion was the inability to relate to the characters of Bridesmaids like you can to The Hangover. I find this relevant to most other female-comedies. No body talks or acts like the women in Bridesmaids or The Heat. The same way nobody acts or talks like the women in Pitch Perfect. I can't relate to any of these girls because I'm not a passive-aggressive, self-absorbed bitch like most of these characters in these films. I seem to be the only early-twenties female out there that doesn't fall for these mediocre movies and I miss the days of 9 to 5 and She-Devil, but that is beside the point.

Anyways, sorry for that tangent. Pitch Perfect 2 was mediocre at its best. The first thing that really bothered me about it was how it didn't really have a consistent plot and it seemed to sway away from it a lot. It became more of a series of events rather than one cohesive story. But who cares about that when there is a shroud of dumb jokes. I did laugh at most of them, I'm not going to lie. It was mostly the most random moments that I thought was funny because I'm so random lulz.

The second thing that bothered me was the product placement. There's 2 types of PP in my book: Necessary PP, and Obnoxious PP. This film had the latter. Necessary PP would be if a character would be drinking a soda, they wouldn't be drinking from a blank can, they would be having a Coca- Cola more than likely. Obnoxious PP would be the camera showing the character picking up the Coca-Cola and drinking it with the label staring down at the camera at all times. There may be one or two lines were the characters says "Hey, do you want a Coca-Cola? I love Coca-Cola" or whatever. Throughout this movie there is obvious PP for Pantene, Cover Girl, M&Ms, Beats Headphones, Apple and many more. There is one scene were the girls are getting ready in the makeup room and talking, and in the background is a bag with the huge letters saying COVER GIRL. Its bad enough there was already commercials for Cover Girl tying in with Pitch Perfect 2 for the last couple weeks. I find that shit really annoying and it feels like the movie was only made to be a commercial rather than for the story. I understand PP is used to help pay for the production and what-not, but most audiences are not dumb enough to need those products to stare them down in order to get a message.

The third thing is most of the main characters in this film just weren't that captivating to me. Anna Kendrick, though a good actress, just isn't that pretty to me like she is for Reddit. She has the case the "Bitch Face" and it just bothers me. Rebel Wilson is ok, but she can do better than making fat jokes all the time. Side note- why do people always make fun of her, and Melissa McCarthy, for being fat like they don't know it? They know it, they embrace it, they don't make it seem like being fat is a good or bad thing, move on. I didn't understand why there were a  few girls in the group that didn't have any lines compared to the other girls; why even have them? I found myself liking the side characters more than anything. David Cross and Keegan-Micheal Key were my favorites. Other than that, I didn't care for anyone's motivations or actions.

The forth thing is a song numbers. I don't like radio pop songs and that is what 90% of the songs they cover. It is also completely obvious that they had ghost singers the whole time. I know that ghost singers are used for most musical films, from West Side Story to Sweeney Todd, but they at least make it believable. I just was not getting into the auto tune, the remixing, the songs I hear over and over again on the radio and at the club that drive me up a wall. Some times there was just so many songs going in and out and all at once it got pretty jarring. The beat boxing was the only thing I enjoyed.


I really can't believe I just wrote so much for a movie I had no feelings for. I neither loved it nor hated it, and I do recommend it to others if they're into these kind of bubblegum movies. Join me again for Jurassic World, I am so goddamn excited for this movie.

Grade: C

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Real hero of this movie.

FIRST OFF: Holy hell is there a huge gap between the last review I did and this one, and I am sorry for that (not that I have any followers or anything but yeah). Life has been crazy with work and school. I constantly had to ask myself, do I want to write a review or write this paper for school? In which I just took a nap instead. I want to go back into this, re-do this whole site and make this more of a career-thing. So anyway...

Someone said on YouTube comment that Mad Max: Fury Road is like a movie of heavy metal band album covers. This has been the most accurate description of this movie ever. You can take any shot from this movie, and put it on a heavy metal band album and it will work. It more so reminded me of the Twisted Metal game series, but I know that game has more based off of the original Mad Max series than anything else.

For the record, no I have not seen any of the Mad Max films. Sorry, I just haven't gotten around to it. I had no intention to see this movie originally. After hearing nothing but good things about it and how it seemed to be a "stop what you're doing and go see this" kind of movie, I knew I had to see it. I also had a feeling that this wouldn't be as good seeing at home on a tiny screen. After seeing it, the ticket price was definitely worth it.

What makes this movie work is the pacing, it never stops. Even during the movie's "break" moments, there is still tension to be had. My heart was racing the entire time. The other thing that makes it work is that its an action movie, and its not fucking retarded. Sure it is over the top as all hell, but in a good way.

If I had to nitpick anything from here, some of the editing was a bit jarring. I can tell there were some edits for theater release. An Unrated release is fer sure gonna happen. The other thing is that I don't understand how the slave girls have perfect skin. I wash my skin twice a day and it looks shitty. These girls live in dirt and sweat and they're perfect. But that doesn't matter.

My favorite thing about Mad Max had to be the soundtrack. My god it was so good, can we please get more film soundtracks with drums and electric guitar? All of the lead actors were also great. Most of them have proven themselves adaptable in any role, no matter how crazy they are. This only proves that more. All of the sets, props and effects are something that should be used as good examples for any inspiring filmmaker.

Overall, great film and is a lot of fun. It is definitely not for everyone, but still enjoyable for most. Now excuse me, I got testicles that dropped while watching this.

Grade: A

Late to the Party: Iron Man 3 (2013)

Finally!

Following the events after The Avengers, we return the focus onto America's favorite asshole, Tony Stark! The battle in New York has left Tony emotionally scarred so much that he has panic attacks. Meanwhile, a new terrorist group attacks the country under the surveillance of Iron Man's #1 villain, the Mandarin....OR IS IT?!

I'm going to go right into spoiler territory and dive into the film's biggest problem, the Mandarin. This is the main villain for Iron Man and there was a lot of build up and potential for his appearance in this film. They even chose a great actor to play him. AND THEY COMPLETELY BLEW IT. Why would they go the route of "ah nope he's not the real villain, this guy is!"? Especially when the real villain is boring as all hell? I don't even remember his name and I'm not going to bother looking him up. People have been waiting for the Mandarin just like they did for Loki and Red Skull and just like they are now for Thanos. The plot twist of him being a drunken actor was complete bull. Why couldn't it be the other way around? Have the boring villain be replaced by the Mandarin? This is just like The Dark Knight Rises. It is obvious they only had the Mandarin to draw in the audience and damn did it work out for them. assholes.

Ok rant over. Aside from that, this was still a good movie...when Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle were on screen. The rest of the characters were just there. I mentioned before I like Pepper for being a smart, love interest without being too annoying, but here she just blended in. Even when saving Tony  I couldn't get excited for her. The other side characters, I don't remember them. The bottom line is that Downey and Cheadle did a great job as usual. Their charisma and delivery draws you in and makes you fall in love with the characters.

I feel as if though this is more of a character study film than an action film. Though the action set pieces were good and engaging, most of the focus was still on Tony and the little things he was doing. It was very interesting to see what this character went through after the events of The Avengers. It was smart to show that even a superhero could be traumatized and suffer from anxiety after a near-death experience. Whether or not it was appropriate for a strong, free-willed person like Tony, I'm glad this film took a different approach. Iron Man 3 felt like a better follow up to The Avengers than Thor: The Dark World. In that movie, the characters treated those events like a second thought. I'm glad it didn't rely too much on "you have to see The Avengers in order to understand what is going on." Yes, everyone and their mom saw it and, for the most part, loved it, but how many still remember it?  

How did this compare to the other Iron Man films? The first one will always be on my list of favorite superhero films. I thought it was a great introduction to a classic superhero while being respectful to the source material. The second one, while still good, was a bit under-whelming. The third one is more of the same. There were a few boring parts, but for every mediocre moment, there was a good moment. As always, there was good line delivery and set pieces that really keeps you engaged. Even though the part with the Mandarin a load of crap, they still tried something new and it was definitely worth it for Downey's performance. 

Grade: B

I'm hoping Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy puts a stop to this Avengers Syndrome.

Late to the Party: Saving Mr.Banks (2013)

Saving Mr. Banks is a biopic telling the story of how Walt Disney negotiated the rights for Mary Poppins with the author, P.L. Travers. And that's it! There's your plot summary! There are all these conflicts they had with developing the script, flashbacks to Travers's childhood and awesome 1960's sets in there too.

There are many things I love in this movie. I love the telling of a story about what a studio goes through in order to get the rights from a book to adapt it into a film. That happens to be one of the biggest studios ever for one of the most successful movies of all time. I love all the subtleties in it that only Disney nerds like me would know. I was going totally crazy during the scene where they visited Disneyland just like if I were there in real life! I loved how it soaked in the time period it took place in. The performances were great and you could tell the actors were much invested. 

That is the major draw in this film, the performances; especially the two leads. On one hand, there is a person many people may not know. On the other, you have a character EVERYONE knows. Emma Thompson's performance was great. I really believed her character and her motivations. She wasn't too abundantly rude and obnoxious and you can see where she is coming from with opposing this idea. The rest of the cast did a great job as well as they were all interesting in their own ways.

Then there is Tom Hanks as Disney. Let's start with the role itself. This is a role playing as someone EVERYONE knows so well is insanely difficult. If you mess up, EVERYONE is going to tell. It is similar to playing a US president or biblical figure. Playing such a huge public figure like Walt Disney is not easy and was a huge move for this movie. That being said, Hanks does a good job, but this isn't his best. We've seen Hanks play roles based of real life people and he does great every time. With this, I didn't see Walt Disney, I saw Tom Hanks playing Walt Disney. I felt like some of his mannerisms and the way he talked was not perfected enough. I still heard Captain Phillips with that Mid-Western accent. I can't say it was bad because Hanks has proven himself as an actor and this is a challenging role. 

The only thing I did not like about this film was the flashback sequences regarding Traver's childhood. At times it slowed the movie down and I wanted to go back to the 1960's and continue with that story. It felt like it was a different movie that got tangled up into the other one. Showing Traver's tough childhood could have just taken a single scene. Instead we are interrupted by multiple scenes of uncomfortable situations and disengaging acting. I felt like these parts were boring and a bit excessive. I appreciated that it brought a more dramatic tone for the film so that it is not too cheesy, but it needed to be tone down just a little. Another tid-bit that threw me off was the ending. In the real story, Travers went up to Disney and said “I like Julie Andrews but I hated Dick Van Dyke, re-do everything.” In this film they didn’t go into full detail about what happened after the screening, but they did show Travers crying during. I think this was a bit out of character. If she was pissed off about the penguins and Dick Van Dyke in the movie, why would she suddenly start crying? That is such a large change in emotion and felt unnatural.

I wish there were more autobiographical stores about Walt Disney. His life was so interesting and so many things happened surrounding the company that it would make for an interesting movie or mini-series. Disney may have not been the perfect person it is difficult getting the green light for anything that tells his story. I feel like a lot could be said about the starting of the company, the building of the theme parks, all the successes and failures they endured and maybe even the struggles they went through after his passing. I felt like Saving Mr. Banks was a good start and could start a foundation for more improvement. This was a very enjoyable film and I liked the mixed tone of dramatic and comedic. Live action movies produced by Disney tend to struggle to get my attention for being too cheesy or bland, but this one definitely changes all of that. 

Grade: A

So maybe I should get around to watching Mary Poppins now....

Late to the Party: Thor: The Dark World (2013)

So much handsome.

I have this thing called The Avengers Syndrome. I came up with it after I saw X-Men: First Class. I didn't see that film until two weeks after I saw The Avengers and I didn't much care for it. I felt very underwhelmed and didn't get the excitement many other people had for it when it first came out. Ever since The Avengers came out, other comic book films have felt obsolete. Everything worked so well in that film that we didn't get from the others. This is going to make it increasingly difficult for future comic book films, whether it be Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, or whatever. I say this because The Avengers Syndrome came into play in several parts of Thor:The Dark World and that isn't really anyone's fault.

Taking place after the events in The Avengers, we return back to Thor and his fight against enemies of the universe. We also return back to his bitchy, bland, stupid girlfriend, Jane and her "sassy" friend, Darcy. After being threatened by the Dark Elves lead by Malekith, Thor must resort to desperate measures in order to save not only Asgard, but Earth as well. That's were LOKI comes in and saves this movie from being really boring and useless.

A quick recap of the first Thor movie, I thought it was good. It could have been A LOT better, but there wasn't really anything to get mad about. Thor definitely felt more like a pilot episode as most of it is establishing the characters and the overall conflict is pretty minor in retrospect. Thor: The Dark World continues that, but still feels episodic. I said the same thing about The Wolverine, but with that movie, there were so many new characters thrown in. I didn't give a damn about any of them much less the bland story. At least with Thor: TDW, I still know these characters and still care about what happens to them. None of this makes either of the films bad, but for a Thor movie, I was really expecting something more. Thor is such a strong character surrounded by a complex environment that could make for an epic movie. I wish they took more time with it and didn't push it out so quickly. The only thing I hated about the last Thor movie was the same thing I hated about this movie, and that's Jane.

Jane is such a terribly written character. There's a difference between a strong-willed, intelligent woman and just a bitchy, arrogant girl. The intention was for Jane to be the first part, but turned out to be the latter. Why does Thor like this girl? She brings nothing to the table. She doesn't care about him. She is only motivated to do things if it benefits herself. When Thor comes back after 2 years, instead of being happy to see him, Jane bitches him out. She slaps him- twice, and starts going off on "Where have you been?! I've been waiting for you! I don't care if you been fighting all these battles and had this huge responsibility brought on you while I've been sitting on my ass doing science that is completely useless!"
Bitch, he's a god. He can't devote all his time for your sorry ass. You knew going into this relationship that would happen. Aside from that tidbit, why is Jane even in this film. She felt very shoe-horned in. I do feel that bringing in a love-interest for Thor is essential not only because she was in the comic, but because it brings another dimension to him. If they're going to have this character they could have done a better job. I don't think it is entirely Natalie Portman's fault, but she is a very mediocre actress. I don't much care for her and she wasn't the best choice.

While on the subject of bad female characters, there's Darcy, played by Kat Dennings. I didn't think Darcy was as annoying as many other people do, but she is really high up there. The good thing is that she isn't in this film a whole lot. I do give credit for their attempt at having a comedic female character, but the execution was terrible. I more so blame poor writing rather than Kat Dennings's acting. I really didn't get as mad as her as I did towards Jane.

Okay, enough negativity. I really do think this sequel is an improvement from the first. There's more focus on the beautiful Asgard rather than a boring, small town in New Mexico. It was random and pointless that they moved to London, but it beats looking at the desert.The special effects for this film is incredible. Asgard feels so real and it is easy to invest into the environment. The same can be said for the character designs. There's is also more focus on the other characters with room to develop. I'm glad we got to know Odin, Frigga and the other side characters more. I am a bit disappointed they killed Frigga. She was a very strong character I wanted to do more. But lets move onto the real star of this film, Loki.

I love Loki. I love Tom Hiddleston. He is such a handsome bastard. Some argue that he isn't the best villain in terms of motivations, but he is definitely a great character. Something about his dialogue and the things he does really make him engaging. However, the downside of him being such a good villain is going to make it nearly impossible for anyone to beat him. This is going back to my theory of The Avengers Syndrome. I didn't give a a fuck about Malekith at all. He was pretty boring actually. Apparently Loki may or may not be in any future films and that is really unfortunate as he is a huge draw. Hopefully Thanos or Ultron will be more dominant but we'll see!

The same can be said for Thor and Chris Hemsworth's performance. Thor is not supposed to be this obnoxious character and Hemsworth does a great job keeping him as he should be. Hemsworth isn't the best actor as he is pretty one-note but he fits into this role really well. Some of Thor's actions are questionable but goddamn, he is just so awesome.

Overall, this movie was pretty good. I liked it for what it was and felt like it was more focused than the first. I am hoping in the next Thor movie to stay the hell away from Earth and mortals and keep it on Asgard. The first half was a little boring but things picked up toward the second half. I found myself only interested when Loki, Thor, Heimdall, Frigga and Odin came on screen. Those were the only truly interesting characters with great performances. There was an obnoxious amount of cop-outs that were unnecessary (you can't kill Loki off and chop off Thor's hand, come on). I wish I saw this film in theaters as it was a lot of fun to watch. I am really eager to see these next incarnations leading up to The Avengers sequel and hopefully this syndrome wains.

Grade: B

Getting better, just not quite.

Fashionably Late: Sita Sings the Blues (2008)

I am honestly surprised I did not hear about this movie beforehand. How did my group of friends in high school that wanted to become animators not know about this? Independent animated films are essentially their own genre that happens to be my favorite one. Something about them how they can do whatever story they want, how they want, in whatever medium really makes them amazing. There is almost no rules or audience they have to abide with. Sita Sings the Blues is a good example of that.

Sita Sings the Blues is an adaptation of the Indian epic, The Ramayana. The story of Sita and her husband, Rama, is told through multiple styles of animation and music by Annette Hanshaw. On the side, the animator, Nina Paley, shares her story of her divorce with her husband. The two stories are compared to one another with old and modern elements. This film is also free! That's right, you can go on YouTube and watch it and not get in trouble for it! Isn't that nice?

I was worried I would not be a fan of the animation. Most of it is flash which I am not a huge fan of. Often times it feels cheap and rushed when done incorrectly. However, this films switches between multiple styles in such a creative way that it looks wonderful. This isn't the greatest animation ever put in film, but it is certainly the most inspired. What makes the difference is the overall design. It is pure eye-candy. The characters and environment are so beautiful that it is impossible to become disengaged from what is happening. Nina Paley obviously had a hell of a time making this with such great attention to detail.

With the integration of the 1920's music, I didn't mind so much as others might. The one thing is that there is a lot of songs in this film and honestly there could have been less. Some of the songs were similar to one another and sometimes felt long. However, I have to give credit for combining a Indian folktale with 1920's jazz music. Something about it made the two fit together wonderfully and gave the story a fun twist.

Some parts of the film did seem long or repetitive. After a while, you do get lost into this world the animator created. It is a story I can definitely sympathize with as it hits on a very personal level. On a side note about this movie being free, I think that is a great idea. I don't think that all movies should become public domain, but more should. Though it would be difficult for the artists to gain profits it would definitely help them spread their name around. If you ever have time I would definitely give this a watch and help those that made it.

Grade: A

Late to the Party: Dallas Buyers Club

I went into this film with zero expectations. I didn't hear hardly anything about it until it was nominated for an Oscar. I watched it a couple weeks ago before the ceremony and was blown away.

Based on a true story, Matthew McConaughey plays cowboy, Ron Woodroof. After living life in "I don't give a fuck" mode, Ron is diagnosed with AIDS with 30 days to live. While at first being in denial, Ron decides to turn his life around after discovering the FDA drugs approved in the US are not making him any better. With help from others, such as the transgender Rayon, played by Jared Leto, Ron begins to smuggle drugs from all over the world and sells it to others diagnosed with the virus. Together they fight not only their illness, but against the federal government that are trying to stop the illegal trade.

This isn't the greatest film of all time, but it is still damn good. This takes a subject that is very difficult by a different approach. How is this film different from other ones featuring HIV/AIDS, like Philadelphia or Angels in America? People have been saying there isn't that many films about this subject. Well, there is, they just don't come out too often. HIV/AIDS can happen to anyone and that is what Dallas Buyers Club does a great job of pointing that out. The focus wasn't entirely on the fact these characters were sick, it was about what they did to try to resolve it and how it changed them. It is more of a character study than it is a plot driven movie, much like American Hustle. The only difference being that the characters here are more believable while in American Hustle they were really all-over the place.

My favorite performance in this film has to be Jared Leto. I really have not paid much notice to him in previous films (or his band) before but now he is really standing out. Playing the role of a transvestite challenging since if it is done wrong, then you're just a man in drag playing around. What makes Rayon stand out is that it is easy to forget that it is Leto playing that character and you believe him.

Then there's McConaughey, whom I have never taken seriously as an actor. I look through his filmography and there is a lot of shit in the mix. However, he has gotten a lot better. He is no longer the laughing stock, hillbilly in Hollywood. Much like Leto's character, McConaughey is very real. I actually feel like I met a Ron in real life. This is probably the greatest character arch I have seen in any film. Ron goes from a total bastard to someone working his ass off to help others, though still focusing on himself.

The rest of the characters somewhat blend into the background, as does the story. I wasn't really wondering how or even if they were going to get the drugs and sell them. I was more concerned with how the characters were going to react to certain things happening around them.

Overall, this really is a strong film. Obviously the message is very important, but I would watch it for the performances most of all.

Grade: A

On a side note about the Oscars, I thought it was very good. I predicted most of the winners ahead of time. The one I was very surprised with was McConaughey for Best Actor. Like Ben Affleck, he has definitely improved. Many people have been asking "How come Gravity won all those awards but didn't get Best Picture?"
First of all, you're an idiot. Second, Gravity was good in the technical features department. Great editing, sound, special effects and just overall a satisfying popcorn-movie experience. As far as a actual movie goes, it is still gimmicky in the end, but not at all in a bad way.There wasn't much of a story, the performances were okay and there wasn't much to take away from it except for the experience to be had. 12 Years a Slave had all that and more. Great performances, hard-hitting story, powerful themes, everything that made it deserve that Oscar.

The ceremony itself was actually pretty fun. Ellen did a great job though it became obvious she was getting stressed when they went into overtime. I really liked how everyone looked like they were having fun and all the stage performances were great.

The Lego Movie

What can I say about this film no one has yet said? The Lego Movie is great. It is funny, it has a good message, it has great voice acting, it is very creative, there's great animation, I could go on and on. It is everything that animated films these days are struggling to balance. For a film that people were not expecting much from, this film goes above and beyond.

The Lego Movie almost reminded me of Toy Story in a way that it would remind the audience of their childhood. The only major difference is that this film has no rules. It does whatever and does not care if it makes sense. It is similar to how we play with toys as children. We make up stories that are totally crazy and bring in all these cool characters and go to all these big places in our minds. I liked that this film did whatever it wanted and almost felt like a group of kids wrote it, in the best possible way.

In all seriousness, this is one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time. Remind you, I am a 20 year old female. I am not the intended audience for this. But I was cracking up with how funny this was. I was mostly laughing for the sake of listening to Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson saying ridiculous lines. I just imagine these actors in their recording booth thinking "What the hell am I saying? I was in Schindler's List for god's sake."

The only downside to this film is that some scenes did take a bit too long. Some moments you just wanted to say, "Okay we get it, next scene please." Some of the heavy action moments were also a bit jarring to see. As this film tries to emulate stop-motion and skips the frame rate (or whatever), when there is a fast-paced moment it is hard to follow.  No doubt this is a film you would have to see multiple times in order to grasp everything with so much going on in a single shot. That is pretty damn smart.

Even if you're not a fan of Legos or children's films in general, I still recommend this as a comedy. It is very entertaining and I really hope this becomes a classic. There is certainly something for everyone to enjoy.

Grade: A

Also, this is probably the closest to a Justice League movie we're going to get. So see it.

Late to the Party: Behind the Candelabra (2013)

I was thinking earlier, why didn't I add this to my list good movies from 2013? It is a really good film but I forgot to mention it because I was going based on what movie tickets I kept to remember what I saw. It was a theatrical release everywhere else in the world but was released as an HBO movie in the US because they didn't think it would do well in the box office. I could agree with that, this movie seems smaller than something for a major theatrical release but bigger than a cheap TV movie. I think it works better as an independent film if anything.

Behind the Candelabra looks at the life of Liberace, played by Michael Douglas, and his relationship with his much younger lover, Scott Thorson, played by Matt Damon. The two fall  in love despite their differences in age and wealth. As their relationship grows, other people, and sometimes even themselves, begin to question their love for one another as they have their conflicts. Liberace tries to model Scott after him while others believe Scott is using him for his money. In turn, Scott resorts to drugs to escape from all the stress in the relationship. Although their relationship plummets, the couple still has admiration for one another that is unavoidable until Liberace's untimely death.

Despite it not getting a whole lot of attention, Behind the Candelabra is one of the best biographical films I have seen. The best part about it is that it looks at the other side of Liberace the world didn't see. On the outside, he is a bright, optimistic person. On the inside, he is buried in himself and helping others in order to gain their admiration. This begs the question what kind of person Liberace really was in the end.

Liberace was a very generous guy. He is also very open about his sexuality. He offers Scott to live with him, buys him is own house, clothes and jewelry and even pays for his plastic surgery to look more like him. He even says he wants not only to be a lover to him, but also a father figure he can look up to. Liberace also presented kindness to others, but mostly in the case of when he wants something. In the end, he was a very good manipulator. He knew how to gain sympathy from others and make them adore him only to probably break their heart in the end.

The whole film essentially questions if Scott is using Liberace in return. Though he makes several claims he is bisexual, there is question as to if he really was in love with Liberace. At first he seems very hesitant about being with him, he still accepts his gifts as he came from a poor background. As their relationship grows, Scott begins to expect these generous gifts from him as well as respect from the people that worked for him. When people outside their relationship try to dispute with them, they are in complete denial that they would hurt each other.

Their relationship does have an unfortunate ending. There is a large amount of distrust in one another that leads to their demise. Scott becomes restless with his life of luxury and resorts to heavy drug use that discomforts Liberace. Liberace's ego becomes so large that he suggests having an open relationship prior to cheating on him knowing that Scott could never leave no matter what he did.

Are either Scott or Liberace bad people? No. Fame and fortune got into their heads that made them believe that nothing bad could happen. Their lack of communication, honesty and commitment eventually lead to their end as it would for any relationship. Towards Liberace's death it does become apparent that they still have love for one another. Scott soon realizes that he has deep respect and admiration for him despite cheating on him. I feel like the initial focus for this film was to show that even though that this couple is a bit odd, they are still like any other couple with their conflicts.

Okay, enough with the analysis, time for an actual review. This movie isn't amazing, but it is pretty good in how thought provoking it is. Whether or not the story was accurate isn't what matters to me. I appreciated this film for their strong characters and story. The sets and costumes are also very much worth seeing in all their pure, rhinestone glitz.

Which brings me to the biggest thing about this film, the casting. Michael. Fucking. Douglas. as Liberace. Just say that out loud, Michael Douglas as Liberace. I remember seeing the cover of Entertainment Weekly with Douglas and Damon on the cover as their characters and I couldn't believe it.  Right away I knew this film was going to push boundaries. I was listening to my local radio station and they had co-star, Tom Papa, as a guest and he said it was pretty surreal seeing these mostly 'action' and 'macho' movie stars as these roles. That being said, Douglas does a great job in his role. There were some parts I forgot it was Douglas and it felt more like the real Liberace. Ranging from charismatic to dramatic made his character seem multidimensional. In comparison, Damon sort of seems bland. It is not entirely his fault, that's just how they were in real life. Liberace is entirely over-the-top while Scott blends into the background a little, at least in the beginning in the film. The supporting cast is just as great. Dan Aykroyd, Debbie Reynolds, and Tom Papa are great, although having smaller roles.

My one big complaint about this film is Rob Lowe. Just...why? I kept laughing at his face the entire time. I get the character had plastic surgery but Lowe was just trying way too damn hard. He looks like he's on a Saturday Night Live sketch instead and making a goofy face for laughs.

Other downsides to this film are pretty minor. The editing could have been done better. I felt like they should have taken more time in some parts. I wish they gone more in detail in Liberace's and Scott's lives as they are very interesting people. It seemed like several scenes were obviously cut from the film to make it more suitable for a television movie, even if it was HBO.

This movie is not for everyone. It does not hold back in telling the very personal and hidden life of Liberace. Therefore, there are some raunchy moments. If you're not easily offended, then I would definitely recommend this film if you ever have the opportunity. I feel it has some very important ideas that not too many films have brought up.  It takes a very enthusiastic person and looks at the other side of him and his very provocative and secret relationship.

Because too much of a good thing is wonderful.

Frozen

Frozen has gone through a theatrical run I have never seen before. The first week it did relatively bad, then it jumps to number one off and on throughout the month. I saw this 2 months after the release and the theater was still pretty crowded. I believe this movie gained more by word of mouth than it did with the actual marketing because it was awful.

Seeing the original concept art a year ago made me fairly confident in this film. It looked beautiful. Then the trailers came out and I had a lot of doubt for it, as did everyone else. It really looked like a kiddy version of Wicked and would go through so many cliches. This was mainly my list of predictions I had:

1.  Olaf would be the next Jar-Jar Binks or Mater
2. Some spur of the moment romance
3. Elsa would be this bitchy, bland villan
4. This would be Disney's attempt at Wicked and that's why they casted the two leads from that show.
5. Sven the reindeer would just be another Maximus from Tangled. 
6. Speaking of Tangled, it was just going to copy and paste a lot of the elements that worked well in that film. 

I really thought this movie would crash and burn. After hearing countless great things about it, I thought I would finally see it.  For the most part I was wrong. Frozen was pretty solid. I wouldn't go as far as to say it is as fantastic as Beauty and the Beast or The Little Mermaid. It was good, but not super amazing. To put it this way, I don't know if I will willingly want to see this again. With most other Disney films, I can watch them a number of times and not get sick of them.

Possible spoilers! 

I know this is an animated film, but I couldn't get over questioning some of it. If Elsa and Anna pretty much lived in isolation their entire lives, wouldn't that have some negative effect on their social behavior? How would they be able to learn to interact with the public of they would eventually have to rule the kingdom? Why did they have to keep Elsa locked up for her powers and how did she even get them in the first place? When their parents died, it made Elsa very upset, so why didn't she start a eternal winter then? Why couldn't they let Anna go outside the castle if nothing is wrong with her? I guess they show the aftermath of their isolation  in some way. Anna becomes quickly attached to others after being departed from them for so long while Elsa pushes them away and gets anxious around them. I know, random conspiracy theories, I'm crazy.

In terms of the movie itself there were few things I disliked about it. First, the musical numbers were pretty corny. For being made by such a talented team, they didn't feel as creative. I miss the Alan Menken full orchestra numbers that you could play over and over again. These pop songs blasting the electric guitar in this movie and Tangled are not for me. All of the praise has mostly been going to "Let it go" and while I think it is a good song, I'm not totally in love with it. Mostly because it is very similar to "Defying Gravity" and some of the wording is a bit weird. Elsa, herself, is a good character but I don't think she got as much screen time as her sister to fully branch out. Idina Menzel still did a great job with the acting and her design was flawless. Anna could have been a little better. Most of the movie she was pretty annoying. Nothing about her really stood out that would make me like her compared to other princesses. The whole twist about Hans I somewhat expected. I wouldn't consider Hans a villain, just a douche bag. A very bland one at that.

On Facebook, I have been seeing the countless images and statuses saying that "Frozen is the first Disney movie to show that you don't need a man." I disagree with this completely. First of all, Merida in Brave didn't even have a love interest. Mulan didn't do anything just for Shang's attention, she did it for her country. Even though most of Pocahontas's motivation was to be with John Smith, she didn't end up with him in the end even after saving him. I could go on, but this isn't new. We have been seeing the anti-love at first sight relationship for a while now. Kristoff and Anna end up together by the end of the movie. She relied on his help for the most part. Even after Hans betrayed her, she still went to him almost immediately. I do like the one of the messages they had in this film. Some men are out there to hurt girls, like Hans did, and there's some you have to get to know better to admire their qualities, like Kristoff.

I also like the other message in this film that love does not always have to be romantic. There is love you would feel between a family member and sometimes that is a lot stronger. I would never think that Olaf the fucking talking snowman would say the best quote in this movie, "love is putting other's needs before yours." That and "Oh, look! I've been impaled." :)

I wasn't expecting to laugh this much with this movie. It wasn't even funny because it was so stupid and corny. It legitimately had good one-liners and slapstick. The animation could have been a little better. As mentioned before I liked Elsa's design but I'm not sure if I like these characters looking like Precious Moments dolls. Some of the background didn't look all the way finished and appeared flat. As many have said before, they nailed down the movement of the snow animation and it looked real.

Overall, this was definitely "don't judge a book by its cover" movie. The marketing almost killed this and Disney needs to go back to how they used to do their trailers and aiming at kids and adults. I was definitely surprised by the balance of drama and comedy and creating a innovative fairy tale.

Lone Survivor

I really wasn't expecting ANYTHING from this movie. I didn't even want to go to the movies during January and February, there's nothing but crap out. Everyone and their mom knows that all the shelved movies come out around this time because no one is going to the theater anyhow. I really thought Lone Survivor would be the war movie we have seen a million times and would be swept under the rug quickly.

You know what, the first half was exactly that. I kept rolling my eyes at how bad it was. Let's start with the beginning credits showing real footage of Navy SEALs training. Why did they have this? If you want to make a documentary, make documentary. Don't show real footage of these men working really hard during training and then cut to actors playing pretend. It seemed very pretentious and ill-fitting. This time could have been made for the actual first 10 minutes of the movie when it sets were it takes place and the characters. The rest of it goes through many cliches. Product placement, guys hanging around making bad jokes, saying swear words were they don't belong, going through the "all Arabs are terrorists" stereotype. On top of that it went through a slow pace without any good character development. I don't feel like we really got to know the characters before they went on the mission. I wanted this movie to be over with.

By the time we get to the middle it really overcomes all of that. Things get really damn good. Things take a dramatic, action-packed turn really hard. These guys are getting shot at, falling down mountains (a lot), hitting their heads on rocks and plenty of emotional turmoil. Rather than afterward showing them still able to walk, kick ass with only a scratch on their head, they are covered in blood, barely able to move and still pressing on. I really liked the relationship between the villager and Marky Mark's character and got a little teary at the ending. I don't want to spoil it but it is pretty powerful.

I sort of still didn't like that this was pretty much a "fishing for an Oscar" project for Marky Mark and it was exploiting a true story. It was still a good one regardless with a nice theme. There's plenty of cringe moments but could have used more character and  a new first act.

2014 Expectations

2012 was a great year in movies, 2013 was underwhelming in comparison. 2014 looks like it will be the year of the sequels and adaptations! Here's my list of movies I want to see!

300: Rise of an Empire

The first movie I want to see isn't until March, great.

Anyway, I can't believe this is seriously happening. There is no sequel to the fantastic comic books. The first one ended on a fair note with nearly all the characters dying. It was an exaggeration of history made for guys to love and their girlfriends to roll their eyes. Whether or not the sequel actually happened in history is going to be thrown out the window as well. Why is this movie existing and Why do I want to see it?

Xerxes/Sexrex

I love this asshole. His look, his performance, his motivation. It is so over-the-top that I love it. 

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Though I had mixed opinions about the original, the sequel looks like it has more potential just looking at the trailer. It doesn't look like a mopey-dopey comic book movie like the first one, it looks like fun! Just as it should be. The choice for casting the villains sure is a little off. Paul Giamatti as the Rhino? Jamie Foxx as Electro? I'm not seeing it. They are both really good actors but I'm not sure if they fit those roles. Guess we'll see. 

Godzilla

Finally! A cool, modern, Godzilla film to redeem for the awful Matthew Broderick one!Obviously, the Japanese versions cannot be beat. It will still be interesting to see an American version that isn't cheesy with good effects and doesn't make the monster look like an iguana. Plus my favorite actor, Bryan Cranston is in it! 

Maleficent 

Why. WHY. My favorite Disney character is getting her own movie. I should be excited, but I'm really fearful. I really don't want this character's image to be ruined. I could care less about her back story or what happened to Aurora in all those years. I don't need to know! Sleeping Beauty was good as is and didn't leave me with those questions. If Disney wants to make the next big Alice in Wonderland then whatever. I'm not really appreciating their live action remakes/sequels/prequels of their animated features, but I am interested in how they turn out. 

The Fault in Our Stars

I really liked the book. Some parts were pretentious and could have been better, but I liked how it was unlike most of the romantic stories out there. I really don't like romantic films as I think they are unlike any real-life relationships. Something about FIOS felt so real and unique that really touched me rather than having me roll my eyes. I hope the film keeps that and isn't cliched. I really don't want to see it if it is going to be cheesy, aimed at teenagers, and just a sad-sack of a movie. It is a very tragic romance, and I really don't want that to be ruined. 

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. 

For what it was, the first one was pretty good (first as in the prequel, not the original series). I was really intrigued by what was happening and how it all played out. There were a lot of tacky moments, but towards the second half it got pretty serious. This sequel appears that it will go above in beyond in suspense and developing how it got to the rest of the series. I am very eager to learn more about what happened between our time and the original Planet of the Apes. Does this prequel series need to happen? No, but at least they are pretty interesting. The performances and special effects also tie everything together.

The Boxtrolls

Coraline was great. ParaNorman was great. I am really hoping Laika can hit another home run with this one. The teaser itself looks amazing. As usual, the stop motion looks very consistent and detailed. I am glad this company is continuing to use stop motion even if it is not attracting the biggest of audiences. 

Well that's the list SO FAR of films I would like to see this year. Some are not completely set on their release date and others I really don't know what to expect, like Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America:The Winter Soldier. I would love to know what movies you would like to see this year and why!

 

Holiday Roundup! The Hobbit:The Desolation of Smaug, The Wolf on Wall Street, and American Hustle.

Lucky me! I saw 3 movies this week! So lets compare and contrast!

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Everyone has their all time favorite film series. For some it is the Star Wars series. Others it is Indiana Jones. Some it is Harry Potter.  My pick for a favorite film series would have to be Lord of the Rings trilogy. There is so much to love with them. Great cast, beautiful sets, awesome makeup, engaging story, powerful group dynamic and chemistry between the characters. There are some flaws with them, but they are pretty damn near perfect. I don't think we have got set of films like them and it will be a long time until we get another one similar. Many have attempted to create something similar to capitalize on the epic fantasy genre popularity, but failed tremendously.

To be fair, I could care less about all the controversy going against the Hobbit films. I'm not going to dwell on them since the internet has already done that and has tainted people's opinions of the films. Peter Jackson didn't really want to make these films! Why is it being expanded to 3 films?! Why are they adding characters?! This wasn't in the book! yadda yadda it doesn't matter. I should also forewarn I have not read the books, but this movie made me really want to.

I liked this movie for what it was: a fun fantasy adventure. It is a shame a lot of people are disliking these movies and I don't think it is fair. People are watching this expecting Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit isn't meant to be like Lord of the Rings. Nothing will ever  be like Lord of the Rings. It is a simpler story directed towards younger audiences. I had a lot of fun with this movie and I feel like people are taking it way too seriously. Probably the same people that complained that the climax of The Avengers was too long.

A quick review, I liked part one. I did think it was kind of forced bringing back many of the characters from LOTR, such as Frodo, Gollum, Saruman and so forth. They didn't really feel like they fit into the story. I was still nice to see these characters one last time after many years. The movie definitely had a different tone compared to the rest of the series and it was a bit off-putting. There's a lot more subtle nitpicks, but it is still an enjoyable movie.

There are some minor problems with the film. Like the first one, it is character overload. Not only are we getting new characters whose names no one can remember, we are also getting our favorite characters from the original coming back...for whatever reason. It is not really clear why some of them are there. It makes it difficult to get to know the new characters and get attached to them. My other problem was some of the special effects felt rushed. Though I do not like comparing this to LOTR, it felt like less time was taken  with the effects. The production time of The Hobbit did have a smaller production time, but some parts felt as if they could be better. This especially went for some of the gold effects and the orcs. I already miss seeing the guys covered in plastic makeup. I could also complain there is no Gollum in this film seeing as how he one of my favorite characters of all time, but I'm sort of glad he isn't shoehorned in. That little bastard, I love him. Hope I at least get to see a little bit of him in the third one for the last time.

However I loved a lot of things about this film. Like I said before, it is fun! There was a good balance of action sequences and times to develop the story. I was interested in seeing were the characters were going to end up and who they were going to meet. Some of the characters they do come across did feel like they had a short screen time. Once again, the performances are amazing. Martin Freeman is such a great Bilbo and serves as a good character to be put in place of the audience's perspective. Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug, much like he did for Khan, was outstanding. I loved how sinister he was and his interaction with Bilbo. He was a great villain much like the others in the series. The other dwarves were not very interesting. We didn't really learn anything new about them and Thorin just looked like a douche bag. I am really not feeling for this character at all. I am eager to see how part 3 is just for the sake of knowing what happens to him.

Honestly, I want 2014 to be over already so I can see The Hobbit: There and Back Again!

The Wolf on Wall Street

This movie reminded me of the book I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell. I stopped reading that book midway because it was annoying. It was just some guy bragging about these ridiculous stories. It was written by that guy in your community college class that sits in the back in the room and just talks about his Friday night and exaggerates most of it and the only one that cares is his loser friend.

That being said, I couldn't tell if I liked this movie or hated it. Half of the movie is bragging. I hate it when people brag. Especially when it is about stupid shit. 45% of it was padding. 5% was genuinely good moments. I hated the characters because they were horrible people, but yet, they were almost lovable assholes. I knew what would happen in the story, but I was still intrigued on how it would all play out.

This movie is very over-the-top in both good and bad ways. Bad being that the dialogue often had me thinking "no one really talks like that." I couldn't stand the way some of the characters talked. The accents felt very forced. I couldn't understand anything that Belfort's wife, Naomi, was saying. The other being some of the events in the film seem are very exaggerated. Whether or not these things actually happen, I don't know, I will probably read the book in the future. The good was that it was very entertaining to watch. There wasn't a dull moment. Even if I disliked some parts it is a better reaction than having none at all. DiCaprio was great in this. He hams up his performance all the way to 11. This is how he should have been in The Great Gatsby if he didn't blend into the background. It was much like Calvin Candie but with more crazy. I'm also glad Jonah Hill played a different role than he usually does, but I still couldn't get totally behind his character. I liked some of the scenes like Rob Reiner answering the phone, I would relate to that. This movie is, however, ridiculously long. There were a lot of scenes that could have been cut down a little. With the Hobbit, I didn't want it to end because I was having so much fun. With this, I kept looking at my phone. Why did this have to be 3 hours? You can only tell a story about a guy snorting cocaine for so long.

There are two things I heard about this movie before going in that are somewhat true. 1) The only people that dislike this movie is women and conservatives. 2) Don't watch this with someone you wouldn't watch a porn with. There's a lot of poon tang. A LOT.

May I also add the audience I saw this with was so annoying. Bro kids commenting on every little thing that happened and yelling "Aw that's so awesome! Holy shit! What the fuck? Cool!" My heart wept for the annoyed girlfriends with them.

American Hustle 

 SIDE BOOB!    I really didn't have any expectations for this film. I didn't know what it was really about. I didn't hear much about it besides that it was really good. Really, I got what I expected, not much. This movie was good, but nothing to do get excited about. I can't really say a whole lot about it. What bothered me was the performances. I didn't feel like these good actors were 100% there. Their accents were either bad or not clear. Their motivations were always mixed up. Though I like (keyword: like, not love) Jennifer Lawrence, she is way too young for the role. I couldn't believe her as a mother falling apart. It seemed like her and Amy Adams should have traded places. Adams also seemed all over the place. It wasn't really a character I could get behind and support. The best actor in this film was Louis C.K. I couldn't get enough of him. Another thing that bothered me was the writing. Some of the things the characters said just sounded awkward and didn't really fit.

What I did like about this film is the sets and costumes. I was loving their clothes even as ridiculous as they were. Overall, I didn't really take much from the story. I was more interested in the characters and how they played off of one another, even if it was awkward.

This movie will probably win several Oscars and that's fine. Not much to say except SIDE BOOB!!


Of these three, I liked The Hobbit: TDOS the most as nerdy as that is. I just had more fun with it. Fantasy adventure films with little problems don't come around often. The Wolf on Wall Street and American Hustle were fine; by no means were they bad. I still recommend seeing all of these films as there is something to enjoy from all of them.

2013 Overview

Here's my list and brief review of some movies I saw that came out this year, preferably the ones I saw in theaters. Honestly, this was a very underwhelming year compared to 2012. We didn't have as many highly rated films and most came out as disappointing. I was not eager to see any movies in particular and nothing really stood out as AMAZING. Unfortunately as well, I haven't been to the movies during this holiday season, so I'll go over films such as Frozen, The Hobbit:The Desolation of Smaug, and Saving Mr. Banks at a later time. I also was not able to see big films such as Iron Man 3, Pacific Rim, or Thor: The Dark World. I was a busy lady this year :(  So lets go over the good, the bad and the ...meh!

The Good

Lee Daniel's The Butler
Lets go over the big criticisms this film had:

• It wasn't based on a true story you filthy liars!

         Unfortunately, this film was heavily fabricated. So much so it probably should not have said "Based on a true story." There were multiple things I have heard through the grape vine of the differences. Honestly, I have not had the time to look up what was true and false in this film. If any of my readers know off hand what was, please tell me in the comments.

• Who the hell casted this movie?!

          The casting of the US presidents in this film was very bizarre. Robin Willams as Eisenhower? John Cusack as Nixon? Alan Rickman as Reagan? All these actors are very good, but they just were not right for the role. They were only on screen for a few minutes and it felt like they spent a few minutes preparing for it. Oprah Winfrey and Forest Whitaker still hit their roles out of the ballpark. I especially liked Oprah's performance as we got to see a side of her that isn't common to her well-known image.

• It is a ripoff of Forrest Gump!

         It is...

• This movie is so Democratic!

        It was strange how this film made it so obvious it was more in favor of Democrats than it did for Republicans. The way they portrayed the Republican presidents was pretty negative. It also had basically a 5 minute commercial supporting Obama. Personally, I didn't have a problem with it. I'm not a political person, so it didn't phase me, I just thought it was humorous.
     
My own criticism of the film was all the strange coincidences. You mean to tell me that this guy served in the White House AND his son was involved in multiple events in the Civil Rights movement (most occurring across the country from one another) AND his other son was killed in Vietnam? What are the odds of that happening?  That was one fact that was strange to me. If this is actually true, someone please let me know.
Despite everything, I still thought it was a good film. I bawled my eyes out. What this film did a great job in was creating heavy emotion for the characters. I really felt for them. I cried when they showed Jackie Kennedy over the death of her husband. Since the Kennedy Assassination was way before I my time, I never really understood what kind of impact it brought to the country until seeing this film. It was very scary and heartbreaking to everyone involved. As strange at it may sound, but that is what I remember most from the film. You'll either like or hate this movie, just white out the part that says "based on a true story" on the DVD cover.

Prisoners
A lot of people haven't seen or even heard of this movie when it came out. The marketing was not very big despite having Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal  in it. This film had me in suspense the entire time. I really did not expect anything that occurred. It went beyond cliches in order to make itself stand out. Jackman was incredible. Going from a humble family man to seeking revenge in the worst way possible was entertaining to watch. At first, Gyllenhaal's performance came off as very boring. I realized towards the end that he was pretty genuine playing an hard-working detective. I really do not want to give out any spoilers for this film as it is something to see for yourself.  A long movie, but worth the watch.

Gravity
I really don't know what to say about this film that people haven't already said. This film was the definition of "the movie going experience." It really felt like the short films you would see at a theme park, but with a bigger budget. This is also one of the few films I would highly recommend seeing it in IMAX 3D, which I normally think is way too expensive for something so mediocre. I have never had so much anxiety while watching a film before. This film almost can be considered a horror movie as it is still taking something most people fear (free falling in space) and visualizing it. It grabbed my attention and did not let go. I really was rooting for the Sandra Bullock's character the entire time, something I haven't done for her in previous films. This was all paired with great editing, "less is more" sound, and of course, great visuals.

The Bad

The Wolverine
  I never thought a movie about Wolverine could be boring. How is that even possible? Wolverine is such an awesome character and you have a great actor portraying him. That was pretty much the only plus of the film, Hugh Jackman playing the infamous role he made his own. This movie felt more like a TV episode rather than a feature film. It was Wolverine in Japan. That's it. Nothing special happens. Logan doesn't develop much as a character, nothing new is revealed about him, the side characters were forgettable and the villain was a joke. Even though X-Men Origins: The Wolverine was heavily criticized for being all over the place, at least it was entertaining! I can still watch it and not be bored.

Carrie 
I really don't understand why this film had to be remade. The original is one of my favorite horror films. Seeing the remake made me think that a story like this doesn't work in this time period. I really don't know how to explain it, but the original was so good because it was subtle. It took time with the scenes and didn't feel overdone. This remake felt very rushed and cheesy. I didn't like how it incorporated cell phones and social media into the story, it didn't feel necessary. Sure adding it makes it more realistic for this time period, but it wasn't believable. The media would have gone crazy just with the YouTube video they posted alone. The bullies would have been in bigger trouble and Carrie would have gotten help before any of the other events would occur. In a time were people are paying more attention to helping victims of bullying, I don't understand why Carrie didn't get any of it. The special effects were awful. The actors, excluding Julianne Moore, were pretty forgettable. It was the biggest cash cow of the year.

The Counselor 
I should start off by saying I can't remember a damn thing about this film. I couldn't tell you the plot, the characters, anything. I could only remember the really bizarre moments of the film. Those that have seen it will know what I am talking about. I feel like if I type out what happens I'll have to wash my hands or something.

The Meh

Star Trek: Into Darkness
This movie definitely wasn't as good as the first.  I didn't think it was as bad or rage educing as others thought. Then again, this is coming from someone who isn't entirely into Star Trek. I enjoy the basic premise and the characters of Star Trek but I haven't been into the previous films or TV shows. What made this film for me was the performances. The returning cast, once again, did a great job with their characters. Rather than doing impersonations of them, they instead created their own interpretation of the them while still staying consistent. Benedict Cumberbatch was great as Kahn. I don't think it could be compared to Ricardo Montalban's performance as it was very different. I like how Cumberbatch was very sinister in his performance. It felt very much like Tom Hiddleston's Loki. The story itself, I was pretty confused. Was I mad of the recreating of the infamous "KAAAAHNNNN!!!" scene? No, I instead thought it was pretty humorous. This movie probably should have gone a different direction, but it was still worth it for the performances.
Plus this movie had some ridiculously handsome men. I can't argue with that.

Man of Steel 
Upon first seeing this film, I would never expect it would cause so many people to be outraged over it. I thought it was okay. Off hand, the only things I disliked was the horrible product placement, the boring characters (ALL OF THEM), and how it took itself way too seriously. I don't like Nolan's Batman films for being way too serious (shoot me), but it fits more with that universe than it does with Superman. Superman has always been "the all American boy scout" with some wacky elements in it. Here it felt like it tried very hard to create that gloomy mood. It was almost uncomfortable. After seeing it, thinking about it and hearing countless reviews on it, I did notice more flaws. Many of the decisions made by the characters where irrational. The dialogue was abnormal compared to how people really communicate. The fight scene was all over the place ...but still entertaining. I wish it could have been balanced like Spiderman 2 or The Avengers.  I don't feel like I could flesh out more with this film as I am not a huge fan of Superman, nor am I knowledgeable about the lore. Overall, this film was pretty misguided but I honestly didn't think it was as God awful as others thought. By no means am I defending it, but there has been worse superhero films made.
And I still don't trust Zach Snyder.

Monster's University
Like the rest of the planet, I don't understand why this film had to exist. If anything, I think people wanted a Monster's Inc. sequel rather than a prequel. I would ask why not a sequel to The Incredibles as there is a lot of possibilities that could be done, but Brad Bird has stated no interest in making one. I was curious with how this would turn out seeing as Toy Story 2 & 3 were great but Cars 2 was the worst movie I've ever seen in my life (more on that later). Monster's Inc. is one of my favorite films because it because it is very funny and has a charming story. I really don't care if it is stealing from Little Monsters or AHH! Real Monsters!. It still has a nostalgic value as I remember when it came out when I was younger.
Monster's University wasn't bad, but I don't see it becoming a classic Pixar film. There were a few funny moments, but mostly in a "that was so stupid it was funny" way. It was very predictable and I didn't care what happened to the characters. I KNOW what happens to the characters. Mike doesn't get the job he wanted. We know this during the entire film and have to sit and watch him fail. Sully does everything half-assed and still got what he wanted. It is kind of depressing actually. Monster's Inc. was made when I was a kid and I am in college now. The theory is that this film was targeted towards audiences like me as well as kids, but I didn't feel the same sentimentality as I did in Toy Story 3. I was too distracted with thinking "This is nothing like how college is in real life" much like I did with High School Musical. It is a pretty silly thought to have seeing as it is fiction, but it is something I really notice when I watch films. I saw this in a theater filled with families and they all seemed pretty bored. Since when are children interested in what happens in college? Most kids I know don't even know what college is. To conclude, it was still a funny movie, but nothing special. I wouldn't see it unless you're a huge Pixar fan and you're curious.


That's my overview of 2013 in terms of films. Wish I was able to see more! Hopefully I'll catch up on some other releases in the future. What is your Good, Bad and Meh picks of the year? Discuss!