Annie (2014)

Hmmm. I don't know how I feel about this. I grew up watching the one made in the 80s, with the pale-skinned, red-headed, freckle-faced kid that didn't let anybody (not even an old cranky billionaire) push her around. I didn't mind that they changed Annie's character, it made sense with the year they set it in. However some things didn't make sense. Some lines to the original songs they changed so it made more sense with the decade it was set in, but other lines or words they didn't when they really should have. I mean, they used the "Hard Knock Life" song and kept pretty close to the original. But, what does the phrase "hard knock life" even mean? Yeah, they briefly explained it, but why use that phrase at all? No kid in this decade would use that phrase, let alone know what it means. Also, they're cleaning up didn't make sense; who begins mopping before picking everything off the floor?? Not the best prop director, if you ask me.

I don't want to go into all the details about why I didn't like this film, because it really wasn't a bad film. It was definitely better than the last remake Hollywood attempted (Annie (1999)), and let us never speak of THAT again!!

Annie (2014) does NOT compare to the original, but let's be honest - nothing ever will.

I give Annie 7 out of 10.

Penguins of Madagascar

Pretty funny movie. The villain, Dave (Kevin Malkovich) reminded me of Megamind a bit, but that's ok I guess. They did write themselves into a corner at one point. If all they needed to turn the penguins cute again was something of immense cuteness, why did Dave have to create a serum to make them monsters? Couldn't he have just used something of immense monstrosity to take away their cuteness? Really, Private (Christopher Knights) should have stopped Dave before any of the penguins got shot with the serum.

The jokes were also kind of dead by the time I saw them in the theatre. The parts that were suppose to be the most funny had been in the previews so I was completely desensitized to them. However, I did enjoy Dave's clever name-dropping throughout the film. The first one everyone noticed, of course, but I don't think many noticed the others he through out there. It made me chuckle.

I give Penguins of Madagascar 5 out of 10.

Update and thingsssss

I am so sorry, you guys! It's exam period again, so things have been really busy. Also, christmas, so this have also been really broke. Hopefully, next week I can find some time to see something in theatres. Be patient, my friends!!

Big Hero 6

I've been looking forward to this movie for quite some time and, to be honest, I was a bit disappointed. Oh, sure, it was a good film, but it lacked originality.

First, the 6 characters resemble The Avengers quite obviously. I mean, the design of Baymax (Scott Adsit) 's super suit was pretty much a complete copy of Ironman. Also, the fact that Hiro (Ryan Potter) pretty much rides him like a dragon is kind of a copy of How to Train Your Dragon. They also have a similar bond to Hiccup and Toothless #Unoriginality

Second, I'm PRETTY sure the villain is either a copy, or maybe just a reference, to one of the bad guys in Star Wars (can't saw which one because I actually haven't seen the films....). Also, on a side note, THAT IS A FREAKING CREEPY VILLAIN FOR A CHILD'S FILM, DISNEY!!!!! And that sparrow symbol was a direct copy of the Mocking Jay film/book's symbol!!

And, third, failed teleportation? I'm pretty sure something like that happened in a game called PORTAL. Also, it kind of looked like that futuristic battle teleportation television show that was on in the 90s....what's it called? Stargate? Something like that. Anyway, No originality.

On the plus side,the characters where decently rounded, and the plot flowed nicely. Although they focused on Hiro and Baymax, the divided the rest of the character-focus equally amongst the other 4. Also, there was a significant moment where I thought they may have written themselves into a corner, or forgotten something that resulted in a flaw within the story, but they found a way out of it rather gracefully, so there's that.

I can't decide if I liked Big Hero 6 or not. although there were definitely parts I really liked, there are aspects of the film that just make me angry. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's unoriginality,especially when it comes to film. Disney has become such a disappointment to me, lately.

I give Big Hero 6 6 out of 10.

The Judge

I don't think this is even in theatres anymore, which is really unfortunate because it was good enough to be placed onto my top 10 of 2014 list. The moment it is either on DVD, BlueRay, or Netflex, you all need too watch it because, holy guacamole, it was - IS - fantastic!!

The cinematography was wonderful. Very unique, at times, but it worked. How it was shot gave the audience a clear view of the plot, the details of the characters and scenes, what a specific character may have been thinking in certain scenes, it was just all around GOOD.

Hank Palmer (Robert Downey, Jr.) was a rather deep character, and Downey does an amazing job playing it off. This film has allowed me to respect him as an actor on a whole new level. Moments where Downey was crying in a scene, or holding back tears, I fully believed Hank was genuinely crying or wanting to cry. The realness was just so beautiful.

If I had to pick a favorite moment, it would have to be the very last shot of the very last scene. Hank is in the courtroom, after the trial had finished, he goes up to the judges chair and spins it around. As it spins, he stands there, staring at it. I honestly wondered if the chair would ever stop, but as it spun, it was almost like I could see the gears turning in Hank Palmer's head as he continued to star at the gradually slowing chair. I knew that he was contemplating whether or not HE should be the town's judge. As the chair slowed and eventually ceased, it stopped with the seat of the chair open towards Hank, as if to invite him in. That, mixed with the look on Hank's face, told me that he had just made his decision. BOOM. That's good filmmaking!!

I could say so much more, and I really should have written this last week so that I could recall all I wanted to share about this film. It was just so good, honestly, one of the best I've seen. Please, watch it.

I give The Judge a 10 out of 10

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I wanted to see The Judge, but the person I went with had no interest in that, so we saw this instead. I had wanted to see this, but I didn't expect the humour to be AS forced as it was. Yes, it was funny, but there were moments where it was just way too extreme to be a realistic scenario, and I really hate when movies do that; you're not a cartoon, don't try to be.

Over-all, I didn't mind the film. It was funny and Steve Carrell, as usual, was hilarious. The main kid bothered me a bit, mainly because of how he talked, but that's not a big deal. I did, however, enjoy the last scene during his birthday party. I'd recommend the movie just for that along ;)

I give Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day a 5.5 out of 10.

St. Vincent

I meant to post this a while ago, but I've just been so busy that it slipped my mind! Anyway, you guys are in for a treat. I was able to see an advanced screening of St. Vincent a couple weeks ago, and I'm telling you, it was amazing! Absolutely beautiful writing, the dialogue, the story, how the plot worked out, just beautiful.

I really don't want to give too much away, since I went into it assuming it'd be a comedy. I'd like you all to be able to go into the theatre with your own idea of what to expect. Basically, Bill Murray is great. His character is basically a jackass, but has a good heart. The kid he befriends is basically a reflection of Bill Murray's character, which I think is brilliant. I loved everything about this film...except the first shot of the opening scene, that I could have gone without.

It comes out October 24th, GO SEE IT!!!!!

I give St. Vincent an 8.75 out of 10.

The Boxtrolls

The detail put into this film is amazing. I absolutely loved it. I don't think many fully appreciate all the tedious work that has to go into a stop-motion film. Anyway, this was one of the best films I've seen this year, stop-motion or not!

I loved how the dialogue was in this film. The trolls had their own language (which was many gibberish) but instead of adding subtitles whenever they communicated, they used the magic of cinematography to translate what they were saying, and it worked beautifully! I never had to ask myself "what's going on here?" or, "what are they saying?" I understood everything, and the only English words they used were the names they had for one another (Like "Fish," or "Eggs."

Speaking of cinematography, the cinematographer of The Boxtrolls is fantastic. Not only that, but the set up for the scenes was amazing!! So much physics were involved in the making of this film!! I LOVED IT!!

The characters were great. The villain couldn't have been more villainy, you just knew he was the villain by looking at him. And, for once, the villain's henchmen were not complete idiots; they were actually quite intellectual beings who believed they were doing the right thing the entire time! Their banter was great, the dialogue between the two of them was just splendid. They were such adorable characters! The main characters, Eggs (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) and Fish (Dee Bradley Baker), we the cutest things! The relationship they shared was just beautiful. Honestly, I have never been more in love with characters in a cartoon (ish) film before.

This was an all around fantastic film and I order everyone to watch it.

I give The Boxtrolls 9 out of 10.

The Maze Runner

Wow. This...this was good. Suspense. Mystery. Twists. Action. Definitely recommend (I'm sorry, there really isn't much I can say without giving away parts of the film).

8 out of 10.

The Drop

This was a bit slower-paced than I had expected. That's really the only thing I didn't like. There were twists, though, and details that added to the suspense. That was cool.

I liked the little side-story with the dog and how they tied it into the main story. The female love-interest, however, could have been a stronger focus. I didn't quite feel for her what I should have, she seemed almost unimportant until the very end. Also, there was a moment were, based on a previous detail shown, I was able to predict something that was about to happen. I LOVE when writers do that in a suspenseful way!

The cinematography was beautiful. How some of the clips were transitioned together was fantastic, I really have no way to describe it.

This is a short review because I saw it 3 weeks ago and it's no longer fresh in my mind and I'm too lazy to go into full detail.

I give The Drop a 6 out of 10.

The Captive

I have three reasons for you to see The Captive:

(1) Ryan Reynolds.
(2) Ryan Reynolds with a beard.
(3) Ryan Reynolds with a beard in plaid.

If those aren't good enough for you, then allow me to share some other elements of the film There may be slight spoilers, so if you'd rather not read on, just know that this was a pretty great film and I'd recommend you watch it.

First, the cinematography was beautiful. I believe it was shot in Canada, around the Niagara Falls area, and it's just beautiful. There were some interesting shots as well,, like in one scene, the main antagonist, Mika (Kevin Durand), is sitting in front of a computer monitor, having a video conversation with Cass (Alexia Fast), who is in a locked room. The camera is at his back, so the audience can't see his face, but there is a mirror beside the monitor angled in such a way that the camera can see his reflection. Genius blocking.

The film went out of order, showing scenes from before Cass went missing to years afterwards and back to before. There was one scene where a detective went to ask some business man some questions about a police officer that had gone missing. She had been working on Cass' case, and there seemed to be some sort of romantic connection between this woman and the detective (which is confirmed in a later scene). It then goes back to before the woman was missing and goes in order up to when she was kidnapped. I love when films are directed this way! It keeps me interested and engaged in what's going on.

To be completely honest, I assumed The Captive would be like any other missing-person movie (a.k.a. all the Taken films) and I was really only interested because of Ryan Reynolds (I mean, come on. It's Ryan Reynolds), but, I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed this film.

I give The Captive 7.5 out of 10.

Oh, Dear.

No movies for me this month. I discovered a plumbing problem in my bathroom, so I'm really broke this month. Also, school started up again, so I have to focus on that as well. Hopefully, next month will be better!

The Giver

I should have posted this days ago, but I've been kind of lazy, as well as preoccupied with other things.

Apparently, this is based on a book that I didn't even know existed. Anyway, I really enjoyed the film. This review is going to be short and sweet because I don't want to go into detail about it (mainly because you should just go see it). The cinematography was beautiful, and I'm certain they used real life footage of events that actually happened throughout history. That was a nice touch. Brenton Thwaites (Jonas) did a marvelous job reacting to the things his character saw/experienced. How would one react to seeing an elephant for the first time? Especially if they only learned their existence moments prior? Great acting on his part, honestly.

Read the book, see the film, whatever, just partake in this thrilling and beautiful story.

I give The Giver 7 out of 10.

Guardians of the Galaxy

This was such a good film. I was interested in it because it looked funny and dumb, but it was better than I had thought it would be. I had been hearing nothing but good things about it since it first came out, and some had compared it to The Avengers (which worried me, to be honest, since that is a film major's nightmare), but it was good.

I loved the sci-fi feel Guardians of the Galaxy has. At times, I felt like I was watching a Star Trek film, which was cool, even though I've never been into that sort of thing. The never explained WHY Ronan (Lee Pace) wants to destroy Zonar (I think that's the name of the planet Nova is on), unless they did and I missed it, so that bothered me. I also didn't like how most of the best jokes were included in the previews, so they weren't as funny as they should have been. I liked how they tied in his sentiment towards his deceased mother, though. Peter Quill, also known as Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) carries with him a mixed cassette tape (for those youngins out there reading this, a cassette tape is a device that records audio onto a thin, skinny film that's wrapped up inside) that holds a collection of his mom's favorite songs. There were a few other things that tie in, but I don't want to spoil anything for those interested in watching it, so I'll keep those to myself.

One thing I really didn't like was that, at the beginning, it looked REALLY CGI. They probably used a bit of that so they could make it into a 3D movie. I really don't understand Hollywood's obsession with 3D. It's annoying. Wearing glasses are annoying. Our eyes get damaged enough watching a movie in the dark, I don't want to cause them any more pain by making them focus on virtually made 3-dimensional images. Fortunately, my eyes soon adjusted to the odd animation and it no longer looked CGI-ish shortly after the beginning credits rolled.

The soundtrack was fantastic, I sang along to almost every song! Also, side-note, Chris Pratt is a babe.

I give Guardians of the Galaxy 7 out of 10.

Lucy

Do not see this film. I have never before wanted to walk out more than during this movie. Lucy was a total let-down. I was terribly frustrated with the logic behind the plot; it didn't make sense and was unrealistic. Also, there were multiple scenes where semi-important information was left to the imagination, rather than being properly explained. Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) was, at first, made out to be what I would have assumed was a ditzy blonde, but then she didn't play the part. The story also dragged. Honestly, I wanted to walk out before it was even half way through. I was not impressed.

I did, however, enjoy some parts of the cinematography. At one point, Lucy gets kidnapped and they show shots of her being pursued and caught by a group of large men and that of a female elk being preyed on by a pack of cheetahs. The similarities between the two situations were astounding; I loved it.

I give Lucy a 2.5 out of 10.

The Fault In Our Stars

I saw The Fault In Our Stars today. I did not want to see it (this is becoming a regular thing, it seems). However, I certainly do not regret seeing it, and now I wish to read the book!

Looking at the story itself, it is a beautiful movie. It's very realistic, which I almost don't like, but I believe I would dislike it more if the characters all had a happy ending. The casting was great, in my opinion. From the cinematography point of view, there were some moments I absolutely loved. One of my favorites was when Augustus (Ansel Elgort) and Hazel (Shailene Woodley) and finishing off their date. The signify this by first showing a shot of his empty dessert plate, then a shot of hers, all the while they are having a conversation voiced over. Beautiful! I love when directors do things like that.

The Fault In Our Stars was great, and, for once, something deserved the hype that it got! I didn't want to see this because it looked overrated, cheesy, and had been done before (aka A Walk To Remember), but it was different; it truly is as good as everyone is saying, and it's not cheesy at all. Of course, it has it's cheesy moments, sure, but it is so full of heart.

I give The Fault In Our Stars 7 out of 10.

Earth to Echo

I saw Earth to Echo yesterday afternoon. When I first saw the previews, it looked interesting. It sort of reminded me of Steven Spielberg's E.T. film, you know, alien from space trying to get back home? I thought maybe this was someone's take on that story, only different. It wasn't. The best way to describe this movie is Iron Giant mixed with Wall-E mixed with E.T. mixed with Stand By Me. Except, it's completely different than them at the same time.

A bunch of people are being forced out of their homes to make way for a freeway that's said to be built where their houses are. Three boys in the neighbourhood are the best of friends and are not pleased about moving away from each other. Their relationship with each other reminds me of the four boys from Stand By Me. They seem more like brothers than just friends. It's very sweet and heartwarming, and they way each boy is introduced to the audience is fantastic. Especially Munch (Reese Hartwig), full name Regional Munch. He was my favorite; so quirky and odd, I loved it!! The personalities of the boys meshed really well together, too. They were all so different, but I think that's why it worked. They writers are brilliant.

I absolutely LOVED the camera work in this film!!! The narrator, Tuck (Asrto), is into filming and making movies and things, so he always has at least one camera with him at all times and is constantly filming. The way they film this movie was mainly from his perspective. Unless the camera was placed somewhere (and you could tell when Tuck, or his friends, put the camera down), you never saw all the characters at a time; someone was always out of view because they were manning the camera! I loved that! It didn't feel like I was watching a movie, it felt like I was watching a home-video or a Youtube video or something. VERY COOL!! The also did some shots from the alien robot's perspective, so we could see things through its eyes. The editing in this film, my flying fish. I loved it. LOVED it!! (Can you tell I'm a bit of a film-editor geek?)

I give Earth to Echo 9.5 out of 10!!

How To Train Your Dragon 2

I did not plan on going to a movie this month, but I had enough Scene points for a free one, and a few friends wanted to go, so I went.

How To Train Your Dragon 2 was the most emotionally overwhelming film I have scene in a long time. I loved it. I loved all of it (except for one scene near the end that ripped my entire soul out and will never ever allow me to forgive the writers, EVER). The cinematography was beautiful, the animation was smooth, the characters were well built, it was just all-around GOOD.

The shots they made were breathtaking. Being a dragon-training movie, there are plenty of sky shots. One of my favorites was when Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) jumps off Toothless the first time. The shots of the clouds, and then landscape is just gorgeous! Just beautiful, loved it. Another of my favorite scenes is during the Alpha dragon battle. There's a shot where Hiccup and Toothless are soaring high above the giant dragon, but you don't really see them. Instead, you see the battle behind them from a bird's eye view. All you can see of them is a blurred silhouette. It was the kind of shot that made my heart jump out of my chest for a moment. Beautiful.

This was probably one of the best sequels I've seen, too. Most writers take note of the enjoyed humour of a film and then focus on that when making the sequel. HTTYD2 definitely had a lot of jokes, but I don't think they focused on the humour more than they did the plot. My favorite joke was when the female twin, Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig), first sees the captain of the dragon trappers, Eret (Kit Harington), she reacts any way a normal female would; she swoons. What makes her reaction funny is that she doesn't hide it from him. She says her thoughts of him out loud, in front of her peers, and even to Eret's face! And the focus the give him in the film while she's looking at him is brilliant! At one point (possibly more than that), they do a close-up shot of his biceps flexing. I just absolutely loved it haha!

They did such a good job with this movie. I'd recommend it to anyone. One last thing I'd like to mention, I really enjoyed the little bit of detail they added to Hiccup and Astrid's (America Ferrera) relationship. The first scene that has Hiccup in it, there's a small braid at the back of his neck. Later in the scene, when Astrid joins him, as she's talking to him she braids another bit of hair beside that one. He never unbraids either of them throughout the entire film. I don't know about you, but I just think that is the sweetest thing, and it says a lot about their relationship.

I give How To Train Your Dragon 2 an 9 out of 10.

Casanova (2005)

I believe this one is a remake, although I have not seen the original, so I will not be comparing the two. It's been a while since I've watched this last, so it was nice to see it again; I always enjoy watching and rewatching movies.

Heath Ledger stars as Casanova. I tell you, I could write a whole entry on that man alone! What a phenomenal actor! He really was the character he was asked to play, in every movie he's been in. He was a great actor. Like I said, I could go on and on about him. Casanova is no different. His character is not only Casanova, but he pretends to be other people throughout the film as well. Ledger does the role very well, indeed.

I love the humour in this movie. It's not listed as a comedy, I don't think, but it has it's moments. Every now and then, there's a one-liner or something subtly silly takes place. It makes the overall feel of the film a bit lighter. My favorite scene is when Paprizzio (Oliver Platt) shows Casanova and Lupo (Omid Djalili) his self portrait and Lupo asks who it's a painting of. Paprizzio kind of just slowly, and awkwardly, slinks away. I love it! Cracks me up every time!

The cinematography was pretty good, nothing special or unusual to me. I did like how some of the camera angles were through crowds of people, that was sort of interesting. What I really appreciated, though, was the scoring. The music was very well done, it fit the film perfectly! It makes the whole movie more enjoyable.

Just a side-note, Casanova is known for having sex with women. With that being said, I think they did a very good job of keeping it PG. I just wanted to point that out.

I give Casanova a 7 out of 10.

The Neverending Story

Ah, I am SO behind this month!!! Oh well. So, I chose to watch The Neverending Story. Made in the 1980s, it's pretty advanced for it's time. The graphics and costumes are amazing, truly. I mean, obviously, at some points you can definitely tell the actors are in front of a green screen or of strings, but for 1980?? It's pretty darn realistic!!

I really like how the book literally interacts with the boy reading it, and, in a way, with the movie's audience as well. The narration is beautiful and how they connected the storybook with the movie's reality was smoothly done. I really liked how the child playing the boy would look up from the book whenever something important happened within the story; as if to let whatever he just read to sink in before moving on. Very good acting on his part.

Although this film was pretty good, I just have one question... where is he? A storage room? It honestly looks like some long forgotten, and possibly haunted, large random room. How he ever managed to get the key for it is beyond me. They never explain that. Also, he stays LOOOOOONG after school is out - wouldn't his father worry about him and go looking for him? Especially if it's storming outside!! Makes no sense.

I give The Neverending Story a 6.5 out of 10.

Just an Update

To those of you who actually read (and possibly even look forward to) my blog posts, I will not be able to review any new movies this month, unfortunately. I am extremely tight for cash because of April-June is the season of taxes. I know I have already missed a few weeks (however, that doesn't seem to matter; my views are still rising!!), but I have decided that instead of seeing new films and writing about them, this month I will watch old films (whether that be classics or unheard of) and then review them. Since I have nothing to do with my time this month, I will most likely do more than just one a week! If you have any in mind that you'd like me to review, feel free to leave a comment on this entry!

I would just like to say how grateful I am to those who actually read this sad excuse for a blog. I started this mainly for myself, so I could look back on what my first opinion of certain movies were. I honestly did not expect anyone other than my closest friends to read it, so thank you! You are all lovely, and I appreciate each and every one of you for taking the time to read my crazy opinions!

Maleficent

I saw Maleficent today. Originally, I had no intention of seeing this film. Whenever Disney makes a movie based one another they have made previously, I'm always worried the new will ruin the old (which is why I never watched Mirror, Mirror). I was also concerned Angelina Jolie (Maleficent) wouldn't be a good pick for the role. I was, however, surprisingly pleased. 

The animation of this film, although clearly CGI, was remarkable. The only reason you could tell it was digitally animated was because those shown on screen were not actual creatures in reality. The work of Disney's CGI team is always done well.

Jolie surprised me. I didn't think she'd fit this role. Don't get me wrong, I have watched many films she's starred in and enjoyed all of them; she's a very talented actress! I just wasn't sure she was the best fit for this. I was wrong. She did wonderfully. I especially liked her reaction to *SPOILER ALERT* when Stephen cuts off her wings. It was so real.

One detail I particularly liked was Maleficent's younger self. The casting was done extremely well, here. I think most only look for similarities in the facial features and maybe the general body figure, but I'm sure Disney tried to find someone so similar to Jolie that they looked at even the fingertips of the actresses. The girl playing young Maleficent has very similar fingers to Jolie. It's details like this that make me enjoy movies as much as I do.

I give Maleficent 7.5 out of 10.

The Neighbors

I had not intended to see this film at all. initially. It didn't look like the type of thing I'd enjoy. Unfortunately, there was nothing else playing that had come out this month, so The Neighbors it was.

I was quite surprised to see that it wasn't as bad as I had thought, especially for an 18A rating! Of course, there were definite 18A moments, but I anticipated worse. The camera work was pretty good, especially during the party and rave scenes. I disliked the focus on weed/drugs, and the fact that the parental characters swear all the time, but that's just my personal opinion.

It has a bit of a deeper story than one would expect. It's really the story of how these newly-made parents figure out that their lives are forever different and how to be ok with that. It's also the story of a scared kid finishing college and doesn't know what to do with his life afterwards. This adds depth to the characters and makes them seem more real.

I give The Neighbors 6 out of 10.

P.S. I'll be out of town for about a week so I'm afraid there may not be an entry next week.

The Other Woman

Oh man, it feels like I haven't posted an entry in forever! Even though, I'm sure I did so last week. Things have been so slow-going since this last school year ended. I actually had been gradually shifting my sleeping schedule farther and farther, so I was up all night last night. Now I should be tired at the appropriate time and will go to bed at said time! Anyway, on to why you came to this blog...

I had been told before seeing this film that "[I'd] love it!" and "it's so funny!" (quoted directly from 2 friends of mine), and they were indeed correct. I absolutely loved this movie! Leslie Mann is freaking hilarious as Kate! Paired with Carly Whitten (Carmeron Diaz), they make the perfect comedy duo! I'd say this was entertaining enough for even a man to enjoy (and admit to said enjoyment!). The dialogue was brilliant, in my opinion, and the plot was great. About a third of the way through, however, I did start to wonder when the two leading ladies would team up. The character building did seem to take a bit longer than I had anticipated, but it worked out in the end. The humour was rich and kept me laughing well after the gag had ended (just ask those who happened to be in the theatre with me). This is the best comedy I've seen this year. I may even add it to my List Of Favorites, which I will share at the end of this year. This would be a great date-night kind of movie!

I give The Other Woman an 8 out of 10.

Transcendence

I have been waiting FOREVER to see this film!! Ok, maybe not forever; but a long time, anyway! Unfortunately, I think I raised my expectations too high (I mean, who could blame me when Johnny Depp is involved?). I enjoyed it, don't get me wrong! It was definitely worth seeing! I just thought it would be...different. It was good, though.

From a cinematography perspective, I really enjoyed the defined and slow-motion water particle shots; there was so much detail in the 5 seconds of watching a raindrop fall off a flower petal, it really makes you appreciate the small things of this world. I wonder, though, how much of that was real. I've shot photographs of running water similar to the shots they filmed, so I know it IS possible to do without any computerized editing - but did they only use the camera? Or was CGI involved? I could probably look it up, but if you haven't figured it out by now (if you've been reading all my entries so far), I'm lazy. I like asking the questions, but I'm not too keen on researching the answers.

Johnny Depp (Will Caster) was wonderful, as always. He has never let me down; in all the films I've seen him in, he has always done well (in my opinion). Seeing his character slowing losing strength was incredibly believable. I love seeing great actors doing great jobs on the role(s) they've been given.

Overall, I liked this Transcendence. The cinematography was astounding, although there were some shots that made me wonder "why is that significant?" but the shots that were important made up for those. If I were to give this film one word to sum up it's storyline, it would be...weird.

I give Transcendence 7.5 out of 10.

Noah

Before I state my opinion on this film, I would just like it to be known that this adaptation of Noah is completely inaccurate. However, it IS based on a TRUE STORY and real events. If you're interested to know the actual story, you can read it here, in any version you'd like: The Real Story of Noah.

So, I've been hearing a lot of bad reviews (pretty much all from fellow Christians) on this movie. They've been saying that, because it's not correctly written, it's a bad film. Well, I beg to differ! Yes, I admit that they added/changed a few minor details to make it more dramatic and interesting, but when have they NOT changed a story to increase the chance of it being a hit? There have been tons upon tons of book-to-movie adaptations that were extremely distant from the original story! But, people still watch them. I enjoyed Noah. The cinematography was exceptionally good. There were a few transition montages that were edited in such a way to make it look like one long shot where nothing changed except for the main subject in the frame. I can't remember if I've ever seen that done before, at least not done in that way. It was probably one of my favorite parts of the film. Another thing I took note of was the use of repetition. There were a few moments where they'd show the same shots in the same order as the first time they had been introduced, or the same scene, but shot slightly different. I remember learning about the power of repetition in my film class this last year, but it's a very old technique and I don't think I've seen it done in my lifetime. I loved the cinematography of this film, and the directing wasn't half bad, either!

As for casting, Russell Crowe (Noah) is great in everything he's in, but Emma Watson (Ila) was astounding. There was a particular moment during her role that I especially liked; she had just given birth to twin girls and Noah had threatened to kill them. The amount of effort and heart she poured into her reaction to that was captivating. I have never seen a woman act in such a way, but there is no doubt in my mind that one would have that exact response in a similar situation. I recommend everyone sees this film at least once.

I give Noah 8 out of 10.

Captain America: Winter Soldier

I really enjoyed this film, despite it's plot-holes. The action scenes were really action-packed and tense, and the emotional scenes were really suspenseful. There were a few twists, which was nice, and at the moments where I was confused about what was happening, the characters seemed to be just as confused. I liked that.

The camera work was really good, in my opinion. There was a lot of hand-held shots, which at times I thought was an odd choice for the scene, but it worked. There was also a scene where Young Stevens (Cap. America, played by Chris Evans) was getting home from a funeral, or something. Throughout that whole scene, I kept trying to figure out if it was the REAL actor, a double, or CGI. I have a feeling it was CGI, and if so, that was the best CGI work I've ever seen. It was very realistic and believable to me.

Plot holes. So many plot holes. The main one I will point out is the fact that the story focused on S.H.I.E.L.D. and yet, only 3 of the 7 main members of S.H.I.E.L.D. ever showed up, even at important or crucial scenes, like when someone significant almost dies or is in need of major help. The bring up Iron Man's name a couple times, but that's about it. I mean, the whole story is centered around S.H.I.E.L.D. being compromised! You'd think the other 4 heroes of New York would step in and one point or another; seems rather ridiculous to exclude them.

I give Captain America: Winter Soldier 7 out of 10.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

I FINALLY got to see The Grand Budapest Hotel a few days ago, and it was brilliant. I had been trying to see it for weeks, but for whatever reason, it was never playing in my city! Until this last week. It was definitely worth my wait.

The narration was done in an extremely unique and creative way; I don't think I've ever seen something narrated that way before. The perspectives of the story switched at least 3 times during the opening scenes. It sounds as if that'd be confusing to the audience, but it really wasn't. It was done so beautifully and smoothly that everything just flowed. I was very pleased with how this film was directed. Wes Anderson is a brilliant man.

I remember reading somewhere (although, I can not recall where) that The Grand Budapest Hotel had the best cinematography seen. Of course, I didn't doubt the reviewers statement, but I decided I'd challenge it anyway. I went into the theatre, ready to take note of camera angles, movement, prop and actor placement, etc. It was, indeed, the best cinematography I've ever seen, can't even begin to explain or describe the many creative ways characters, shots, scenes, and the like were all displayed. The only thing I can tell you is to see it for yourself.

One last thing; if for nothing else, watch it for the casting. The actors/resses they picked for this film is outstanding, in my opinion!

I give The Grand Budapest Hotel a 9.5 out of 10.

Muppets: Most Wanted

I went to see The Grand Budapest Hotel last night, but, for whatever reason, it's not playing. SO, I saw Muppets: Most Wanted instead. It wasn't that bad, although it did have some flaws, and I won't recommend watching it.

The jokes were really funny (despite the humour-dead audience I seemed to be among) and they threw in some inside-jokes from previous Muppet movies, which I rather enjoyed. The music was great, as always, and the plot was interesting. However, there was one major plot-hole that I noticed. There was a this thing about Miss Piggy wanting Kermit to marry her, which eventually became a whole side-story in the film. What confused me was that, to my knowledge, they had already gotten married in Muppets Take Manhattan, so why is Miss Piggy talking about marriage now?? Are they not already married? That was the major plot flaw that I noticed, but there were at least two other small ones. There's a part where they randomly showed that Nadya (Tina Fey) had a massive crush on Kermit, but then they didn't go anywhere with it, nor did they bring it up again! I was left rather confused, although, I don't know if the children in the audience even noticed. The second minor flaw was near the end. The gang had just gotten Kermit back, and foiled Constantine's plan. For some reason, (SPOILER ALERT!!!!) Constantine decided to kidnap Miss Piggy, even though she is in no way needed for any type of plan he had or would have, and once they get her back, Nadya appears with a bunch of guards to arrest Kermit for breaking out of jail. This doesn't make sense because HE WAS NEVER SUPPOSE TO BE THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE, so to get arrested for getting out does not make any sense!!! 

This film, though funny, frustrated me. I give Muppets: Most Wanted a 3 out of 10. 

Divergent

A friend invited me out to see Divergent yesterday. I hadn't originally planned on seeing this film; it had looked kind of boring to me (I have NOT read the books, so don't judge me). She had free tickets, however, so I wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to see a free movie!

I definitely do not regret watching this. It was a really great movie! Keep in mind that I am not comparing this to the book, as I have not read the book. I am looking at this separate from the book it is based on.

It was very fast-paced, which I liked, but not so fast that too much information was thrown at you; it was just right. I am not going go say much on the film, as I don't want to ruin it for those who have yet to see it, but I will mention a few of my favorite moments/things.

One moment I really enjoyed was the first time Tris (Shailene Woodley) met Four (Theo James). After a shot of the two of them in frame, it goes to a point-of-view close-up shot of Four's face, but only briefly. The way it resulted in was the feeling of attraction to him from Tris' point-of-view. I've never seen that sort of thing portrayed that way before. It was unique.

Basically, this movie, on it's own, was really good. You'll have to ask my friend if it matched up with the book or not, though, since she's read it.

I give Divergent a 7 out of 10.

RoboCop 2014

I went to see RoboCop last tuesday. It wasn't that bad. Since it was a remake of the one made in the 80's, I decided I should watch the original and compare/contrast them.

Both films are fairly decent on their own. RoboCop 2014 is a pretty realistic take on what the future could be like, technology-wise. The graphics were very realistic and detailed, which I liked. RoboCop 1987, however, had a better plot in my opinion. The graphics sucked, though. It was mainly stop-motion animation, which was rather cheesy and lame. But, the plot was well built. For whatever reason, they changed the storyline for the remake. Instead of Alex getting blown to bits by some sort of shotgun (I think), he gets blown up by his own car. In the 1987 version, he is declared dead and is then used for a robot version of law enforcement. In 2014, they tell his wife that his only chance for survival is if he is attached to false robotic ligaments, making him part robot, part man. The remake of RoboCop has all the same key situations, but the circumstances are extremely different from the original. To me, the original storyline makes more sense; they claim him deceased and treat him as property. In the remake, they give him a second chance at life, but then try to turn him into property. Separately, I enjoyed both versions of RoboCop; reared together, I prefer RoboCop 1987 (which is rated R and is rather gorey; just a warning).

Overall, I give RoboCop (2014) 6.5 out of 10.

3 Days to Kill

3 Days to Kill. more like 3 days of confusion. I wasn't sure I wanted to see this, but Non-Stop looked unoriginal, and I had already seen everything else that was playing (That's the problem with this movie-viewing challenge I've given myself). I would have been better off seeing Non-Stop.

Unfortunately, I got to the theatre a bit late, so I missed about half of the first scene. By the way,I should warn you; though I recommend you NOT spending money on seeing this movie, I will be giving some spoilers in this review. If you have any interest to see 3 Days to Kill and go against my advice, I suggest you stop reading right now, because I WILL BE SPOILING IT FOR YOU OTHERWISE. That's how bad of an action film this was.

After the credits, the main guy, Ethan (Kevin Costner), finds out he has cancer and has 3 months to live. The CIA knows this and has relieved him of his services. He decides to spend his last few months with his teenage daughter (Hailee Seinfeld), who he hasn't seen in 5 years. For whatever reason, she and her mother (his ex-wife, which isn't made too clear in the movie AT ALL) live in Paris, France. I understood they had lived there her whole live, yet she had no kind of french accent whatsoever. There were also some father-daughter moments that didn't make sense and weren't always necessary. For example, Ethan brings her a bike. She refuses to even look at it because it's purple, implying that she hates that colour. She later admits she doesn't know how to drive a bike. What teenager, IN FRANCE, can't drive a bike?? So, they have a father-daughter bonding moment as he teaches her to drive a bike. I think they could've had them bond in a million different ways than teaching her to ride a bike.

While he is in France, a woman (Amber Heard) finds him and asks him to work for her as a hit-man in exchange for a possible cure for cancer. The job needs to be done in 3 days (hence the title) and afterwards, he's off the hook forever; no more killing. He begrudgingly accepts. Now, this woman, she is suppose to be this black-leather-wearing sexy character, it seems. Because of this, for two thirds of the movie, I thought there would be a twist and she'd end up being the villain. Also, the first scene we see her, she has almost-platinum blonde hair. The next we see her, she has brown hair with blonde ends. Why the sudden hair change? Was it suppose to add to the storyline somehow? All it did was confuse me. Anyway, so he has to kill the guy, gets medication for his illness and then he'll be relieved from his services once and for all. Or so I thought. Near the end of the movie, he finally has the opportunity to shoot the guy he's been tracking down for the last 3 days when he has an episode and passes out momentarily. when he awakens, the guy is still there (he was injured from the previous scene, so he couldn't get far) and was about to grab the gun that had fallen out of Ethan's had when he fell, when out of nowhere his boss, the woman, shows up! She kicks him the gun and he aims it at whatshisface. She says, "Shoot him. Shoot him, ethan!" and he hesitates and then replies, "Actually, my wife wants me to quit." and he drops the gun and rolls over (he's still recovering from collapsing before). His boss then shots the guy, the scene fades out and fades back in to 6 months after the fact. It's christmas, he's with his daughter and ex(?)-wife at a cottage. he is no longer working for the CIA or anything, and he gets the last vaccine shot of cancer medicine mailed there from that leather-wearing woman. None of this makes sense to me. First, how did she know the guy would be where he was? If she had a gun and could shot him herself (which she did), why did she need Ethan? And if Ethan could just quit at any time and still get what was in the original agreement, why did he agree to it in the first place????

I'm trying to think of something I enjoyed from this, and I'm honestly drawing a blank. I hated this movie. The action parts weren't even that action-packed. I was bored within 2 minutes of buildings blowing up and guys getting shot. Oh, there was one thing I kind of enjoyed the use of; there was this guy that Ethan was suppose to kill after he got information from him about the man he was suppose to track down, but he doesn't kill him. He discovers he has twin daughters and decides to keep him alive so he can contact him every now and again to get advice on dealing with his own daughter. That I found quite amusing.

I give 3 Days to Kill 1 out of 10.

Labor Day

I was very tense during the first few scenes. The level of danger within the story at this point was high, and I could almost feel it. As I watched Annabel (Kate Winslet) and her son, Henry (Gattlin Griffith)), subtly forced into taking home this strange man (Josh Borlin), I could practically  feel their fear. Anything the characters were experiencing on screen, I experienced as well. It was all very real.

The way Labor Day was filmed was rather interesting. The very first scene involved shots from a moving vehicle; passing trees, buildings, etc. The way the shots transitioned, however, kind of took me by surprise. The editor decided to have the shots fade into each other. This, to me, was rather shocking and made me a bit uneasy because it took me a moment to figure out what I had just witnessed. It was different, that's for sure.
Another thing that was different was the focus on detail. Whenever a new scene would start, there were often shots of the character(s)'s hands, or an item they were picking up, or something, before showing who was in the scene and what was happening. I didn't mind it, it was an interesting way to set the scene, and it allowed for them to experiment with close-up shots.

Only one thing bothered me in this film; the flashback scenes. At times, it appeared as if the actor(s) on screen was/were in CGI, or at least partially in CGI. I don't like it when they do that. Why can't you get someone that looks similar to the character and film them with makeup or something? Digital animation looks fake to me.

I give Labor Day (I keep wanting to type "labour" day #CanadianProblems) a 6.5 out of 10.

Monuments Men

There were some really cool "film moments" in this movie. The first scene hows shots of paintings that change whenever a loud bang is heard. Once all the paintings in the collection have been seen, the camera jumps to a man hammering something (hence the loud banging noise). It was really interesting seeing the noise synchronized with the camera shots. There was also a montage scene when the lead character is getting his Monuments Men together. The music suited perfectly, and the scene itself was a rather important/serious one, but with a hint of humour. I really enjoyed the scoring of this movie, and the camera/editorial work.

The story was good, very well directed and easy to follow. I love American history, especially its war history, and I was not disappointed by this at all. If you are into action, drama, or war history, I recommend watching this.

I give Monuments Men a 6.5 out of 10.

Winter's Tale

What my body went through during this, I can not even begin to describe. I was literally on the edge of my seat the entire time, and when I wasn't, I was hunched over, arms tightly wrapped around me, head tucked into my chest, knees pressed up against my stomach; tense, so very tense. Winter's Tale caught me by surprise. I went into the theatre anticipating an epic love story of some kind, but it was far more than that. I was drawn inside it's story from the very first scene, and stayed entranced until the very end of the credits. This is also the first film I've seen this year that I actually want to go out and purchase. I don't want to give anything away, but I very strongly recommend you see Winter's Tale. Just do it.

There was a very strong focus on light, which I loved to watch. You could see twinkles and such constantly throughout the film, whether it be insignificant in that background, or purposely right in your face. Since there was such a strong focus on light, this allowed the writers/director to play around with shadows (which they did). There was this one scene in particular, when Pearly is speaking to Lucifer...well, you'll just have to go watch it for yourself because I REALLY do not want to spoil anything!

I give Winter's Tale 12 out of 10. That's right, I just went beyond my rating limit.

That Awkward Moment

This was a lot more chick-flicky than I had originally expected. I mean, I knew it was a romantic comedy, but I had thought it would be more comedy than romance (to be honest, the comedy parts weren't all that comedic...) It was a sweet movie, though. Cute story, very well directed and filmed, the costume designer/director was a genius! They put Jason (Zac Efron) in allllllll the right wardrobe choices ;)

There were a couple nude scenes, and some gross sexual jokes/comments that I could have gone without. What I noticed most, though, that I didn't like is that there were a few lines that I remember hearing in the previews that were not in the actual movie. They were in the blooper-reel that played at the end. Why show a blooper in the previews? That is false expectation! I did not enjoy that.

Overall, it was a pretty good movie. I definitely don't regret watching it. But, would I recommend it? I don't think so. I mean, unless you're into Zac Efron and/or love stories with sick humour, than by all means, go see it!

I give That Awkward Moment a 5 out of 10.

Jack Ryan

This was SO much better than the previews!! The previews were good, but the actual movie was so much better! It was full of action, but nothing too extreme or gorey. There was a romance, but it wasn't the main focus. It was predictable at times, but my predictions were not 100% accurate (which is good, kept me on my toes).

I knew this was going to be some kind of FBI agent movie, but I didn't expect it to be based on real and recent events. It starts off in 2001 with the characters viewing live News footage of the Twin Towers being hit. It then jumps ahead to about 2012/13 and mentions the U.S.A is conversing with Russia (which also happened recently, although I can't be sure that this was based on that). It was very realistic, easy to follow, suspenseful, and moderately unpredictable.

There was nothing really unusual or significant that I took note of filming-wise. However, there was one shot that I'm quite positive they used a dolly for. At one point, one of the characters stabbed an insignificant by-stander and, as the knife went into his stomach, the by-stander was pushed up against a nearby building by the murderer.As he was pushed, the background moved very very quickly, but almost in the opposite direction than it should have (it seemed to go farther back instead of forward). It was a really cool shot. Other than that, there wasn't much else to take note of. I did, how ever, like the first verbal interaction with Jack (Chris Pine) and Viktor (Kenneth Branagh):

Viktor: "You Americans think of yourselves as direct; perhaps you are just rude."
Jack: "You Russians think of yourselves as poetic; perhaps you're just touchy."

I give Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit 8 out of 10.

Her

Wow. I don't even know where to begin with this. First off, I'd recommend NOT seeing this with a significant other or a parent... maybe not even a friend. It was just awkward upon awkward upon awkward. Phone sex was involved. I was not expecting that. So awkward.

Joaquin Phoenix was phenomenal. This was a very emotional film, and the way he played that emotion; Theodore's sadness, his joy, etc were all very believable. I loved his, and Amy Adams' performances in this. Speaking of Adams, seeing her in this shortly after seeing American Hustle (I still can't get over how great that movie was), I was able to compare the two roles, which I liked. She was a completely different person, and you could see it in her movement. At times, I even forgot that Sydney (American Hustle) and Amy (Her)were played by the same actress. I don't think I've ever seen someone this good since Sandra Bullock. She may even be better than Bullock.

From what I saw, I believe Her was filmed almost 100% hand-held. I could look it up to be sure, but that's too much work and I'm lazy. If I'm correct, however, I think that is a very interesting way to have done this movie, and it worked very well for it.

There's not much more I can say about this movie without giving something away. If you do choose to see it, I'd suggest seeing it alone. There are some parts that are just too uncomfortable to view even with the closest of friends.

I give Her 5.5 out of 10.

Anchorman: The Legend Continues

Ron Burgundy; with a mustache made of golden straw akin to that of which Rumpelstiltskin weaved.

How can you not enjoy a movie with a character such as Ron Burgundy? I went in this knowing nothing, except that it was a sequel to Anchorman.
Ron has a kid, and that kid was a fantastic actor! He was basically a mini Ron Burgundy! His wardrobe, how he spoke, it was all Mini-Ron! At first, I thought he was intentionally acting out the role in a cheesy, unprofessional way, for humour's sake, but, no! He was being his dad!

I can't say much about this film without giving away something, and it's best to see this knowing as little as possible. I will say one thing; If you don't see the humour in this movie, YOU MUST BE BLIND.

Just for the record, tonight was the best theatre experience of my life. The audience was so into the movie that people barely whispered when making comments on it, and no one minded! It felt like I was sitting in a giant living-room. THAT Is what going to the movies should be like!

I give Anchorman 2 7.5 out of 10. 

American Hustle

Tonight was an adventure, to say the least. Once the movie was out, I went to my van only to discover that it would not start. I asked for assistance from multiple people, but no one could give me a boost - not even the maintenance staff or a taxi driver. Finally, after almost an hour of running around, looking for help, a very kind man had jumper-cables and helped me start my car! Yay for nice middle-aged men! Here's some advice; if you live in a cold area, keep a pair of jumper-cables in your vehicle at all times. Even if you won't need them, you never know when someone might ask for a boost.

Anyway, on to discuss American Hustle. I have so much to say about this film. I went into the theatre not really knowing what to expect. I had heard great reviews of it from everyone, except from one person; that one person was probably the most excited to see this movie, so to hear she didn't like it surprised me and caused me to doubt the opinion I had develop based on the previews I had seen. I also am NOT a fan of Bradley Cooper, so I wasn't too excited to see him in this. However, I now see why they chose him for that role. He suited that character very well (although, with that being said, it makes me dislike him as an actor even more than before) and he did a great job playing it out.
The Movie starts out with a middle-aged man putting on his toupee. As I watched him doing so, I couldn't help but wonder, "is that Christian Bale??" and, sure enough, it was! I had forgotten he was in this, so I was pleasantly surprised!! He is almost unrecognizable! The only reason I was able to tell it was him is because he has a very distinctive mouth; his teeth rest against his upper lip in a unique way. Yes, I notice things about a person's face. Anyway, his voice, body shape, everything was completely different! But, man, did he do a fantastic job in this film! He made up for having to see so much of Bradley Cooper,to be honest. I had to keep telling myself that the over-weight older man was Christian Bale! I still have trouble believing it. 
Amy Adams, the leading lady of the film, is Bale's love interest and oh my goodness gracious, do they make a cute couple!! I don't normally make such girly remarks, but seriously, they are just adorable on screen!! I have never seen such chemistry between two people in a movie before! Also, as a side-note, American Hustle did the one sex-scene in the most tasteful way possible. They never showed any nudity, but it was definitely heavily implied, and you for sure knew what was happening. However, it was very brief, and very modest (as modest as a modern-day sex-scene can be, that is). I was thoroughly impressed with that. But, anyway, most adorable on-screen couple award, hands-down!
Another thing I would like to mention is Adams' performance. I recently took a theatre course and was taught that you need to change your whole body (how you walk, move, carry yourself, etc) to properly play a different character. Although this is what is taught to a theatre student, and I would assume actors/actresses would know this as well, I hardly ever see anyone actually change their natural movements. Adams, however, is different. I've seen her in plenty of films, as well as interviews and other such things, so I know fairly well how she moves and carries herself. She had a completely different way of walking in American Hustle than I had ever seen her do before. She moved the way Sydney Prosser move. Not only that, but Sydney Prosser moved the way Lady Edith would move. That's another thing I wanted to point out; Adams wasn't just doing the role of Sydney, but she was also doing the role of Sydney, who was doing the role of Lady Edith. She had to do two characters at one time! Of course, similar characters have been done that way before, but Adams did such a phenomenal job at it that I often forgot that, when she was being Sydney, she was being the real character. Lady Edith was so believable, so convincing, that she fooled even myself.

Now to discuss the more indepth parts of the film. The soundtrack is, if I may quote my friend, Joel, "...phenomenal. Never has a soundtrack added more to a film...First-time rating: 8/10." Whoever scored this movie is a genius and I hope he scores more movies I plan to see in the future. Everything was beautifully picked and placed, smoothly edited and worked wonderfully with what was happening while it played. It was perfect.
I was quite intrigued with how the narration/backstory of the characters was displayed. All three main characters where the narrators and, even though the story jumped around between the three of them for the first little bit of the film, it was very easy to follow, and very entertaining. I have never seen a narration like that before. Most films I've seen with similar methods usually have a scene and then go into a flash-back or something, but this one, instead, took a scene and broke it in two. In the middle of the scene, a voice-over narration began before the camera shoots to before Irving (Bale) and Sydney (Adams) met. It later goes back to the split scene (once the audience is all caught-up with the characters and their back-stories) and the story goes on from there. I have NEVER seen that done before, and it was done wonderfully!
I want to say they used a filter over the camera lens to make the film look more of a genuine movie of the 70's (which is the decade it's based in), but I can't be sure. The screen just seemed to have a filmy kind of look to it. If that was intentional, I think that's a great way to further display the story's date. Although, it could have just been the projector.

This was a very good movie, in my opinion. I was so engulfed in it that I verbally, and sometimes even physically, reacted to anything and everything that happened - that's how you know I'm really into what I'm watching. It was quite funny, actually. There were these two guys sitting behind me and every time I saw Cooper and Adams characters being too friendly with one another, I made an involuntary disgusted noise. They laughed at me for that. They also seemed to find my body-movements amusing as well; like, when something intense was about to happen, I would cover my face and whisper something to myself, and I would hear them snickering immediately after. Not that I minded, of course. I'm sure I'm very entertaining to watch during a movie, sometimes. I'm glad I could provide them with some amusement.

Joel tweeted after seeing this, "Whilst it's intelligent, it isn't too confusing. Very well written, exciting idea. Times of poignancy and genuine tension," and he couldn't be more right. 
I give American Hustle 9.5 out of 10 (it would have been 10 out of 10 if it weren't for Bradley Cooper).

p.s. follow Joel on Twitter @JDunnWilson and on YouTube.

August: Osage County

What can I say about this movie? To start, the all-star cast was just wonderful! Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts' roles were very different than anything I've seen either of them do before, and they were both very convincing and committed. Also, did not expect this, but Benedict Cumberbatch was in this! So, if there are any of you Sherlock fans out there (and I know there are), you should probably check out August: Osage County for him, if nothing else. His role wasn't huge, but it was definitely done very well.
The actual storyline was a bit mediocre. It would rise at times, causing one to anticipate what would happen next, only for it to fall shortly afterwards and drag on for what felt like eternity. At one point, there was a scene where Streep's character told her daughters about a crush she had had on a boy in high school and her mother's influence with it. The story showed her relationship with her mother, which, to me, seemed very similar to her own daughters relationship with her. At first, I thought, "This is good. Perhaps they'll change their perspective on their mother now." But, then nothing happened. That information didn't seem to be used once that scene had ended. At least, I didn't notice it being used. There were multiple incidents like that throughout the film, and the end itself was left very open. I left the theatre confused and a bit frustrated that I spent $10.00 on such a dumb movie. The actors/actresses were wonderful, and the way everything panned out was of no fault of theirs. I'm sure the writer(s) could have (and maybe should have) done a better job of creating the story. I was quite disappointed in it.

However, my favorite scene, was when Julia Roberts' character was telling her mom (Streep) to "eat her fucking catfish." and it became a screaming match with "eat the fish, eat the fish, eat the fish," and "I'M NOT HUNGRY." and swears and...it was great.

Even though this movie kind of sucked, I would recommend seeing it. At least once. Maybe not on the big screen, since I wouldn't even pay $5.00 to see that again, but maybe once it's available on netflix or DVD/BlueRay. Watch it then, at least once. Just so you can see and appreciate the actors/actresses that took part in it, and their roles of the film. They were ALL very good.

OH! I almost forgot!!! I went to see this with my lovely friend, Catie, and she is DEFINITELY Margo Martindale's character (the fat auntie). Like, really. She's SO her! We couldn't stop laughing!!

I give August: Osage County 3 out of 10.

The Wolf and Mitty

I have decided this year that, being a film student, I should invest in more movies and cinema experiences. Since I made that choice, I have also decided that I should review and rate them, and why not do so where all may be able to see?
In the last two weeks I have seen both The Wolf of Wall Street and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I will now share my personal opinion on both of these films. However, just to be clear, I am not comparing or contrasting these two. They are way too vitally different from each other for me to properly do that anyway. With that being said, I shall move on.

The Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill, was not what I expected (to say the least). To be honest, I did not pay close attention to the listed rating nor did I notice the reasons behind why it had such a high rating. I wanted to see it for mainly two reasons; Leonardo DiCaprio, and Leonardo DiCaprio in a suit. I was in for quite a shock, however. For one, almost every other word out of anyone on screen were curse words, there was vulgar nudity, and a large focus on drug abuse. If I had only paid attention to the ratings, I would have probably been more prepared for what I witnessed. Would I still have gone if I had known? Yes, and Here's why: Although I did not quite enjoy the over-use of swears and nudity, DiCaprio did (as he always does) a phenomenal job! If anyone out there is a DiCaprio fan, I would recommend they view The Wolf of Wall Street at least once.
Now, from a film-student's point of view, this movie definitely had it's moments. It was beautifully directed, and there were amazing close-ups and a variety of other camera shots that clearly emphasized on whatever needed to be focused on. The way the scenes transitioned, or how the narration was done were just amazing! I realize this is a rather vague review, and I apologize for that. It's been over a week, so the film isn't quite fresh in my memory anymore. Also, I don't want to spoil anything for those who have yet to see it.
I give The Wolf of Wall Street  a 6.5 out of 10. 

Now for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I was quite hesitant to see this movie. I have never been a Ben Stiller fan. The roles he normally plays are usually in sick-humour films, and I am just not into that. However, I do not believe I have words to begin to express how fantastic that movie is. The story starts off in Mitty's home with him fiddling on his computer, debating whether or not to send a "wink" to a someone on e-Harmony. Unfortunately, the "wink" doesn't go through. so he calls the website's tech support for help. Although the beginning seems like it could be insignificant, it later ties in to the rest of the story. Every detail or transition or scene-change is smoothly done, sometimes in very subtle and/or unique ways. I often had a difficult time deciphering between was was the movie's reality and what was going on inside Mitty's head, which I'm sure was how Stiller wanted it. There are quite a bit of long-shot camera angles, perhaps to signify how unimportant Mitty believes he is. His apparent insignificance is rather ironic as the story progresses, since it later shows that he was part of the very backbone of his company.
From a film-student perspective, there are tons of beautiful landscape shots, close-up and not, and just intense panning and tilting shots and...it's just amazing. There really are no words. One of my favorite moments in the entire film was when Mitty trades his childhood toy for a long-board in Iceland and skateboards down a long winding road on a gradual hill towards a small village. The way they shot that scene; the camera angles, the movement...it just made me feel like I was the one skateboarding in Iceland. A very cool feeling.
Like I said, I have never been a fan of Ben Stiller, but he is a spectacular director. I wish this had been the first movie I had seen of him. If it had, my whole opinion of him would be entirely different.
I give The Secret Life of Walter Mitty a 8.5 out of 10.