Reviews

Today, I'm going to do a quick review of As Above, So Below. This one was yet another found footagesque type horror film with a relatively low budget and a mainly unknown, but familiar cast.

This movie didn't really work for me. I found it to be a little boring and the story seemed familiar, much of it seemed to be kind of recycled from The Descent and of course the Blair Witch Project. Some of the supernatural elements were interesting, but in this case the feeling I got was that I had to be there to really know how scary it was.

For some reason, watching this, I wasn't nearly as terrified as the people in the movie were. It felt like the camcorder style it was filmed in kind of dulled the edge. It likely would have been better to make this just as a movie rather than a found footage film. I also found it almost too well lit in most parts...the lighting was a little too bright which kind of removed some of the ominous feel.

Not to mention the mostly not scary antagonists. Lots of noise and horror elements we've seen before thrown in here and some pretty weak bad guys make for some yawns unfortunately.

The ending was way to tidy as well. I really hate predictable endings in an already fairly predictable genre. Someone needs to come along and shake this style of movie up, or just get rid of it. I know this won't happen though because these movies basically print money because they are so cheap to make.

In the end, this movie came a little too late into the genre and the story felt a little hokey to me...like I said earlier, I guess you had to be there.

I was one of the non-believers. I couldn't see how Marvel was going to pull this movie off with a bunch of secondary characters who I really didn't know much about. After all, in the comic adaptation world we've been used to seeing the major players turned into big budget spectacles and the more minor and fringe characters being released by secondary studios...

I have never been so happy to be wrong. When I say I was a non-believer, I was going into this movie fully expecting to see the first Marvel flop in recent times. That said, this wasn't just a movie, it was an event. I honestly believe it launched the long term platform Marvel recently announced and enabled less mainstream characters such as Dr. Strange and Ant Man to get full blown big budget productions.

Much of the movie's success comes from Chris Pratt's portrayal as Peter Quill/Star Lord. He was born to play this character and is a bona fide star and leading man. It's one of those moments when a star is born and it just so happens the platform he did it on was one the best films of the year.

Another thing that makes this movie so great, and what Disney/Marvel are masters at, is making it accessible to everyone. I think everyone form Junior to Granny would have a ton of fun watching this movie. The mix of humour/action/effects/story make it a truly unique experience. It's like they took what they had learnt from all of the previous Marvel movies and combined it into this one. Every detail was put into the production most likely because of people with opinions like mine where we were not sold on this concept.

Something else that stood out for me was that this didn't feel like your typical 'super hero(es) save the earth' story because of the space element. It seemed larger scale and a fresh direction. It was one of the more original story lines because these are aliens and not typical super heroes like The Avengers. All of this combined to create a more unique and refreshing experience. That and the heroes weren't cut and dry good guys, they were definitely more of a grey area.

In the end, if you haven't already, get down to that theatre before it's too late. You don't want to be the person who didn't the full experience of this theatrical event. After that is done, stream it on Amazon so Disney knows how much this movie was loved. This was definitely my movie of the year...there were some other good ones, but none in the league of 'GoG' as it is now known. Flixer Approved!

Believe it or not, this was a movie I was looking forward to watching. I enjoyed Luke Evans in the Hobbit and had high hopes here. Don't get me wrong, I fully understood the differences between this and a traditional Dracula movie. I was just curious to see if it was going to work...

I was a little late to the game, and I could see this movie hadn't got much love, so I had the expectation going in that I was going to be disappointed. Honestly, I wasn't. This movie delivered on it's promise of an action/fantasy movie rather than a horror origin story. It had horror elements, but it was fairly toned down to reach a broader audience. That was probably the main gripe I had with it. I think a Dracula movie geared towards teens is probably never going to be a good idea. Dracula is supposed to be ruthless, brutal, and evil incarnate.. That said, he could be heroic in his early origin, but I think he would still have to be ruthless and brutal and I didn't have that feeling here. He was too much of a good guy for me. Even the way he killed the baddies was kind of watered down on the brutality side (not saying it wasn't interesting, it was more Hobbit than Dracula though) With that out of the way, I enjoyed the performances from Evans and Dominic Cooper as Mehmed. I really liked the effects; particularly the epic battle sequences which did a good job of showing the power that Dracula possess. The story was a little vanilla other than the back story to where the powers come from.

In the end, this movie was a decent action/fantasy flick but it was certainly not the Dracula movie I would have liked to see. Turn up the Dracula and turn down the audience concerns. One last note -- I hated the 'extended' ending...please don't make that sequel.

Yes, we have yet another strong entry into the animated film category by Disney. It seems whatever they touch these days turns to gold...

I really enjoyed this story and the film. It was familiar but just different enough to make it interesting and fun to watch. It's actually a superhero movie but you'll have to watch to find out why. This was part of the fun and what I thought kept the story interesting.

The characters were interesting and fun (especially Baymax). I think Disney may have another popular character on their hands with Baymax. Children in the theatre loved him every time he came on screen and he was an interesting take on a robot. I also enjoyed how his mannerisms and programming were explained in detail which helped very much with the story and keeping things in perspective.

As is the norm for Disney, the effects and animation were top notch. That said, I saw the movie in 3D and I can honestly say I don't feel it added much. You could watch this in 2D and be just as impressed.

The the only problem I found with the movie was the villain. The whole scenario was fairly predictable. They played it a little too safe with this section of the story and it would have been more fun to have it be as fresh and original as the rest of the film.

I was really on the fence about what I thought of this movie.

On one hand, the effects were fantastic. They did a really great job of creating the tornadoes and giving you that sense of power and terror that they generate for the people who are affected by them.

On the other hand, the acting and side story was absolutely atrocious. I know that we need to have some kind of story to go along with the effects in order to create characters and build the peril their in, but in this case it did much more harm than good. Most of the actors were terrible, although some were passable. Richard Armitage didn't sell me that he was a Vice Principal and he was way too cool under pressure. It seemed like he should have been cast as a cop, a fireman, a mercenary or something like that. He was an action star outside of an action star role...(I'm not saying Armitage is an action star, I'm saying it appears as if the role was). I'm not really sure he was needed.

Just a note, it probably would have been better if they just stuck with the red neck side story. It was weak, but it was a better fit in my opinion -- the storms should have been the stars in this one.

I can honestly say that had they taken the cheesy overly dramatic speeches and 'character development' out of the picture, and used the characters more of background noise rather than trying to flesh them out, I think it would have been better. As mentioned, the effects were top notch and if there would have been more emphasis on them the movie would have been more watchable.

That said, I've watched movies where the effects ruined the movie but I think this is the first time where the movie has been ruined by the movie itself !? Don't know what I mean? Watch and see for yourself.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was definitely one of the stronger movies of the year. The story was strong, it wasn't predictable, and it didn't feel familiar. Lately, this is a rarity, and a refreshing one at that. I felt very satisfied at the end of the movie, but was hoping for more; to me that is the sign that I have watched a superior movie...

Cesar and the apes are pure movie magic. It's amazing to think that the entire movie was based around CGI motion capture characters. They looked and behaved in such a realistic way that I forgot I was watching animations. Serkis has to take credit as well -- the man is a motion capture genius. He has completely immersed himself in this character which adds much to the believability of a thinking, talking chimp.

Toby Kebbell wasn't far behind with his portrayal of Koba...I was shocked when I saw he played Koba...I think you may have found your calling Toby -- your performance here was by far the strongest I've seen from you.

The only flaw with this movie is the human characters. I don't think they were bad, but Franco had such a strong performance in Rise, and his character was fleshed out so much more, that I just don't think this group was in his league. That's important because I didn't feel as if Serkis stole the show in the last movie, but I really think he did here. Because this movie had such an important role to play in the history of this universe, I would have hoped to care a little more about the people in it...but alas it wasn't to be.

It's rare that a reboot/remake is so far superior as Dawn is to it's predecessors (minus Rise of the Planet of the Apes of course). This is probably one of the best, if not the best, reboot series ever.

Many people were concerned when they said they were going to reboot the reboot a few years ago and look where we are now. I would venture to say that overall I enjoyed this a little more than Rise simply for the increase in scale and the spectacular special effects.

This movie was a nice reminder of why I enjoy film and going to the theatre so much...so thank you for that.

The book of life was probably the happiest movie about death you'll see. The story was fantastic, the animation was very interesting, and the music was very effective.

This movie doesn't seem to have a lot of hype behind it and was kind of a one off animation by Guilermo del Toro between the more promoted releases of The Box Trolls and Big Hero Six. It's too bad because this was a really well done film. The colourful Day of Death Mexican theme was a really new and interesting style of animation. I also really enjoyed this movie because it was billed for kids and it was one of those rare cases where I feel it was really geared towards children. It's a very positive movie and even the antagonist in the film isn't really that bad of a guy. If you have small children, don't be fooled by the concept, this movie is perfectly safe for them.

The story was a little bit predictable. I think most adults will be able to predict the ending right away, but that doesn't mean it wasn't interesting or fun to watch. There is enough going on around the main plot to keep things exciting and keep you interested.

I think if the story was approached a little differently, and perhaps more time was spent in the underworld, this could have been a real classic. The said, it was still a very good movie on it's own and I'd highly recommend going to see it if you have children or are just looking for something positive and pure to watch instead of the many children's movies that are also geared to adults that are coming out in droves.

To be honest, I didn't get a chance to go to the theatre to watch this one. It seems like I wasn't the only one… I think the major flaw with this movie was certainly the story that was used. This was based off of the graphic novel series which kind of humanizes Hercules instead of having him be the demigod he is alluded to being in the legends.

I know people are on a big realism kick, but I think in the story of Hercules it hurts him more than helps him. That said, apparently he still has super strength. He does things such as flip a horse with his bare hands, and kick a horse drawn chariot (minus the horse) at bad guys with enough force to take 3 of them out. This was a bit of a problem for me because the direction they were going was that he was not a demigod, and he even says as much, but for some reason he still possess inhuman strength. I call that inconsistent.

Luckily, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is the one playing Hercules. He is such a strong actor that he is able to carry this movie by himself and I think his portrayal was good given the material he had to work with. I think both he and I would have liked to see him portray the original Hercules and not this watered down version.

In the end, this movie is a good action movie but I wouldn't say it's a good Hercules movie. If you go in with that expectation, you will enjoy it.

This movie fell off my radar for a bit, but I decided I'd give it a watch just because it seemed a little more polished than some of the horror movies I have seen come out lately.

Basically, what it boils down to is that this is a movie you have seen before with a plot and characters you have seen before, but in an attempt to mix things up, it is presented in a mildly different way. It's a tested formula that works to a point, but has just been done so many times over the last few years that it turns into a bit of a yawn-fest. I always go in to these movies expecting something different, but so far I have been disappointed almost every time.

I don't want to spoil anything for you in case you go and see it, but don't expect anything revolutionary. This movie plays it pretty safe from every angle. There is nothing to disturbing, gross, or different about this story to make it stand out. The acting and effects were above average, I will give it that. I enjoyed the performance of Eric Bana as Sarchie and Édgar Ramírez as Mendoza. They hold this movie together although I found the climax of the movies to formulatic which kind of ruined any suspense. Things just went a little too well.

I'll say this movie was worth a watch for the performances of all the actors involved, but it was kind of a bland exorcism movie which will be forgotten and filed away within a year...take note writes and directors, someone badly needs to mix this genre up for me to give anything but an average grade on these movies. Good acting still isn't enough to make up for the shortcomings.

This movie was a strange one. It was billed for children, but I found that some of the imagery would likely scare the pants of any kids below tween age. That and it dealt with themes such as death, cross-dressing, and loss. These are fairly mature topics for a kids movie.

This movie felt very much like a Tim Burton clone, but it was much darker in my opinion. Much of the imagery was gloomy and depressing. The tone was just plain strange for a children's movie.

I think this movie could be considered a kids movie for adults and a PG-13 rating with a change in marketing could have easily pointed it in that direction.

If you look at it that way, the movie was interesting and unique. The animation and characters models were top notch and you really get engrossed in this fantastical world of evil and boxtrolls. The voice acting in this movie was exceptional. In particular, Ben Kingsley is evil at it's finest as Archibald Snatcher. What a fantastic job he did.

In the end, I thought this was a good movie but probably not as kid friendly as you have been led to believe. If you go in with this understanding, you will enjoy it...strangeness and all.

I wasn't expecting much going into this movie, I'm pretty over Jason Segel, but I decided to head into it with an open mind. Well, I regret wasting 1 hour and 41 minutes of my life. This movie was terrible and uninspired, there isn't really a way for me to sugar coat it.

It was rated R, but felt like it was a PG-13 movie with a sex based theme to make in more edgy. It didn't work..a better example of how to make this movie would be Zack and Miri Make a Porno. That movie was in no way perfect, or even close to it, but it felt a little more like an R rated movie than this one. The jokes in this seemed way to toned down for the context, or they seemed very familiar, or out of place. Outside of that, most of them weren't funny anyway. I think I chuckled a couple of times, but I couldn't tell you at which part...there wasn't anything particularly memorable about this movie.

Not even Jack Black could save this movie; this is a movie that should have been done 10 years ago instead of today. The reasons for that are many, and I'm sure you don't need my examples...please don't support something like this..it's everything wrong with the comedy genre these days.

Here we have a movie that I honestly have to say I was on the fence about. There were many rumours swirling that this was some sort of prequel to the Black Widow. Although I knew this wasn't the case, it still made me think someone was just trying to cash in on the Avengers action girl thing which put me off a little bit.

After watching it, I can honestly say this wasn't the case. This movie stands completely on it's own for the most part. The only thing about the story I didn't like was the fact it had similarities to Limitless with Bradley Cooper. Although the premise is slightly different, it definitely felt like this was the same type of scenario -- up and coming famous actor is on the verge of super-stardom and is given a slick movie with an interesting drug based story as a jump off point.

That said, I enjoyed the story and the acting was excellent. Scarlett seems to be a better fit for me in these action roles rather than the drama or romance movies she does from time to time. I think that time has passed for her and hopefully she embraces these roles, at least for the next few years.

I enjoyed the special effects, but I did find it a little far fetched...and yes, I know it's a movie, but hear me out. It was supposed to be kind of based on fact, but they took some serious liberties with this as the movie went on to the point of ridiculousness. It was a little over the top for me in the end and I would have enjoyed if it stayed a little more grounded. There was a particular part with a computer towards the end that I thought was kind of ridiculous and didn't make much sense, but I get where you are coming from if you don't agree with.

So in the end I felt like this movie was an enjoyable watch, and I'm glad it was successful, but for a reality based movie it became a little too ridiculous for me.

I had been waiting quite a while for this movie. The first movie was very cutting edge at the time it came out so I was expecting big things from this one. There was a large ensemble cast with many big names, and the potential for something great to happen on screen.

Alas, it wasn't meant to be. Sin City A Dame To Kill For was not a bad movie, don't get me wrong...but it seems over time the edginess of the original Sin City has been worn away with so many other properties like Kick Ass for example. Everything was pretty tied up in the first movie so I didn't feel the need to see a sequel.

I think my main problem was the villains didn't seems as twisted or as bad as the villains in the first movie. I mean come on -- Elijah Wood and Nick Stahl were both repulsive and as vile as anyone could be. They were disgusting! I just didn't feel that in this movie, I mean Eva Green was fantastic as usual playing an evil woman, BUT isn't this a role we have seen her in before? It didn't have that Sin City weird vibe to it...she was just a bitch.

I liked the stories in the film (there are 3), but I'm not sure it was such a good idea to have multiple story lines in a movie that is only 1 hour and ~40 mins long. I wish we could have spent a little more time with each of the characters.

Josh Brolin did a good job as new Dwight, but he seemed quite a bit more intense than the Clive Owen Dwight. This made me think about that rather than what was happening a few times.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt did a good job as usual; I felt like he got the short straw though as his character felt like he should have a had a little more story to him. The ending was also a little anti-climactic to prove a point that didn't need proving...but that's just my opinion.

I felt the Jessica Alba Nancy story was a little weak as well, it all happened way too fast on screen. I'm not sure how long the period was supposed to be in the movie, but it could have been an evening for all I know. It sure felt like it.

Powers Booth's Senator was a bit of a let down, he seemed like a tamer version of his son. It truly felt to me like we got the real monster in the last movie and this one was just to tie up some loose ends. The Dame To Kill For storyline was the superior story, and got the title, but the Senator story is the big finale...not sure you could have done it any other way but all that tells me is that this whole thing was probably unnecessary. And that is how I'll leave it, it's not a bad movie but not necessary either -- walk, don't run, to the nearest red box.

The Hunted was director/actor/writer Josh Stewart's first film project I believe, and I thought it was pretty well done! This was a solid found footage suspense/horror movie in the vein of The Blair Witch Project. Very much in the vein in fact.

Let me start off with what I didn't like.

First, and this is a fairly minor gripe, was the fact there was music added to build suspense. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but unfortunately in this case it's supposed to be a found footage film so it seemed very out of place and actually distracted me to the point I exclaimed "Where is this music coming from!?".

Second, I found too many similarities to The Blair Witch Project. I don't mean similarities as in they are both found footage films, but similarities as in some scenes and scenarios seemed very very close. I appreciate the fact it appears he is trying to honour that film, but there is a fine line there. It's very clear this was his influence.

Finally, it was a little to formulatic. I think Josh was trying to play it safe and stuck to a tried and true found footage formula. Not a huge deal but I would have been excited to see something a little different. This whole movie felt a little bit like I had watched it before.

Now the good. I loved the premise, two hunters alone in the woods when things start to go awry. The reasons for being out there make total sense, and it also makes sense why they would continue to push forward even with the strange goings on. They are trying to film a hunting show and need to get the footage of the hunt completed in order to secure their TV deal. Everything is on the line for them.

The acting was very good; both Josh and Skipp do a great job with their characters. You can tell this is something they were very excited about doing and their heart's were into it. It felt very natural and they were believable.

I enjoyed the story, it was very well written and very well done on what was obviously a very teeny tiny budget. I watched Willow Creek a couple of weeks ago and felt this was a far superior found footage film.

Even with the small problems, this is one of the better found footage films I've seen in a little while. Perhaps the fact that it was heavily influenced by what I consider the original found footage film was a smart move, and not a negative after all. I enjoyed it, and hope to see more work from Josh Stewart in this genre in the future. A great first effort!

First, I have to say I never read the graphic novel, so this opinion is based solely on the movie...

This looked a little weird in the trailer I saw a while back, but it looked like it had the potential to be something different and so I decided to give it a shot. Well it was an interesting story, and I was right, it was weird.

There were some known actors in this film that gave decent performances like Michael Imperioli, Gina Gershon, and Eliza Dushku to name a few. I hadn't seen some of them in a while, so it was definitely a good sign when I saw them in the credits.

I found some of the effects to be OK (the character transformations), but some weren't; like fight scenes with obvious stand-ins. You could clearly see they weren't even close to the same actors which was very distracting in an important part of the film.

Another problem was character development. Most of the secondary characters, minus the two leads, weren't fleshed out very much at all. It made it difficult to care about them or what happens to them. Even the main baddie kind of comes out of nowhere which was very strange to me. Normally these characters are developed a little further so we can kind root for the guy guy (girl!) in the end; but that wasn't the case for me.

I was also a little bit annoyed about the movie taking place in such a small area. This normally isn't something I would notice, but they didn't do a very good job with the sets so it was pretty clear to me it was almost all the exact same set decorated differently. I don't have a problem with a low budget movie using the same set; but at least make me believe it isn't.

This was a little bit of a let down for me. I saw some recognizable faces and thought I might be in for a treat, but in the end the negatives outweigh the positives on this one. I think perhaps if the money was spent more on effects, and the writing (my guess is that they tried to stick to the novel too closely) was a little stronger on the character side, this could have been a decent movie. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case so I'll file this one under watch once to see something weird.

So this was an interesting take on the found footage film genre...Bigfoot! I had been looking forward to watching this one for a while. I read it included some of the Bigfoot lore that we are seeing on TV in this new surge of reality TV related to Bigfoot that has come on lately. Seems like he is making a bit of a comeback from his heyday back in the 70s and 80s (Harry and the Hendersons anyone?).

Anyway, on to the film. I couldn't say I was super excited with this one unfortunately. It definitely had it's moments, but some of the scenes (tent scene anyone) were stretched out for way too much of the movie. There was also a lot of suspense built up on not seeing ol' biggie, but it didn't work as well as it did with the Blair Witch Project for example. It seems like instead of taking place over a couple of days, it would have worked better if it was over a few days and there was more investigating and tormenting. The suspense and scares are limited because so much has to happen in such a short amount of time I think. They have to cram in the investigation, first hints something is off, suspense and climax in to too short of a time frame so some things are not as fleshed out as I would have liked. To the amateur (me), this looks totally like a large amount of footage was left on the cutting room floor.

That said, it's definitely an interesting take on Bigfoot and they did a good job of making sure to stay true to all the Bigfoot rumours out there. Lots of knocking, screaming, and stone throwing is going on (was that James "Bobo" Fey?). I'd say it's worth a watch if you are looking to kill an hour and 19 minutes, but don't get your hopes up that you'll be seeing another Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield.

There sure are some confusing reviews on this one. I'm not sure if they were paid or what, but I read a review on a site I frequent and it was very positive. That prompted me to watch this movie although it hadn't really been on a list I had planned to review. Before I start, or receive the typical responses of I don't know a good movie when I see one, I did watch the first one and I thought it was pretty well done. I enjoyed the over the top violence and the cheesy story. In Dead Snow, it works (P.S. I also liked Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters).

That said, what a pile of garbage this was. I'm sorry, but this movie was clearly attempting to become a cult classic. I really hate when movies try to position themselves in this way. You will notice that all cult classics that are cult classics didn't become cult classics because they were trying to become cult classics. Example; Evil Dead. This movie is a favourite because although it wasn't a huge success, and it was made on a shoestring budget, it gained momentum over time for how revolutionary it was. There was nothing like that here…this was pure rubbish.

I found the gore was purposely over the top as in it was meant to generate a shock for specific unnecessary aspects of each scene that were clearly thrown in solely for their shock value, and not as a part of the story.

I found many of the fight scenes to be way to drawn out and choreographed…especially the fights between zombies. There were some unnecessary MMA type moves and holds that had no place here..lot's of repetition as well in the fight moves.

This movie was both in English and Norwegian which I thought hurt the film as the Norwegian actors (who are probably great actors in Norway and Norwegian) did not carry their English parts well and the chemistry between the English cast was at least partially ruined by the language barrier. Make the movie in either English or Norwegian. As a side, I felt this was another attempt to achieve cult status. It felt to me like the English characters could have been Norwegian which would have improved the story but instead they were in English to bring in the larger English speaking audience who may have missed the first movie, but watched and enjoyed Witch Hunters.

The only thing I kind of liked about the movie was Martin Starr. I have to say though, it felt like they went after him as he is already kind of a cult hero because of Freaks and Geeks and Silicon Valley. His character (and I'm talking across most of his work) was specifically the audience they were trying to target and so they brought him in to try to target them. He is by far the best part of this movie, but that isn't saying much.

If you love zombie movies….watch something else because this one is trying way too hard to be the cool kid.

Rating: 4/10

To me, this is the comic book property that has the best chance of competing with the Disney/Marvel universe. This movie was much more adult focused and serious than most of the movies coming out of Disney's Marvel machine. I love the Disney movies, but this was almost like a breath of fresh air. It had it's flaws, but they have the source material, the resources, and a very solid cast available to move this franchise in the right direction.

The plot of this was apparently taken from a comic book storyline which I have never read. They definitely selected the right material as I thought it was a great and well thought out story. It was also a great way to bring in the original cast. I only wish we could have seen more of them; for various reasons some of them such as Anna Paquin only had very limited screen time which I thought took away from the story a little. Especially because they were such a huge part of the original franchise. It seemed to me that the reason they weren't in the movie much didn't necessarily have anything to do with the story, and more to do with contracts. Even though I know they may not be in the comic much either I have read that at least Rogue should have had a larger part in the movie than she did.

That said, the only other gripe I had was the focus on Wolverine. We have stand-alone Wolverine movies available if you love Wolverine, so it would have been nice to center the plot around another character, or characters, this time around. There are plenty to choose from and the first movie did fine without him.

These complaints are mostly marginal; and not really a reflection of the movie itself. I loved the storyline and thought they did a truly great job of creating the Sentinels. You actually believe they could pose a major threat to even the most powerful of mutants. The action and effects were top notch and there were some truly great parts such as the Quicksilver sequence that I thought was very well done.

The scale of the movie was also fantastic, you truly feel as if you can grasp the power these mutants posses with the ability they have to control their environment; even on a large scale.

The biggest strength these movies have to me is the all star cast. With names like McAvoy, Lawrence, Fassbender, Hoult, and the fresh face of Even Peters leading this franchise into the future, there is a ton of potential to directly compete with any other comic book movie. Each of these actors is in the prime of their career at this point and they are all being assembled for these movies. They all bring a dramatic depth and believable emotion to their characters on what I believe is a higher level than any of the Avenger cast. As I mentioned earlier, these movies are more dramatic and therefore require more dramatic actors. That being said, this is the perfect cast for a more grown up and serious plot.

On a side note, I hear a lot of talk about Scarlet Johansson getting the first female lead super hero movie; but I believe Jennifer Lawrence is a superior actor and Mystique is a much more interesting character and should be given a movie as well. Who wouldn't love to see that? Overall, this was a great film BUT the focus on Wolverine was a bit of a cop out. I also think the ensemble cast was a little too ambitious as it didn't give every major character from both franchises enough screen time. Outside of the that, the plot, acting, and effects were top notch and I can't wait to see the next entry in this fantastic franchise! Rating: 7.5/10

Edge of Tomorrow tells the story of Cage (Cruise), a soldier who is caught in what seems to be an endless time loop in a war against an alien race. He continuously lives the same day over and over until he meets Rita (Blunt) who is the only one who can help him… Tom Cruise. What can I say? This guy never ceases to amaze me. He truly is a great actor and even at over 50 years old, he is easily able to pull off the lead in a high paced action movie. This movie has great action, great effects, and a fantastic story. Definitely my surprise movie of the year so far! I'll be honest, I went into this movie with low expectations; I figured I'd be getting something mediocre at best. The movie hasn't done well at the box office and I didn't hear or read much buzz about it (too much competition this year?). That said, I truly believe more people should see this movie. It's a work of art.

Lately, Cruise has thrived in roles where he requires large amounts of energy and a high pace. He plays the role of Cage perfectly and with a lot of emotion. One thing about Cruise is he invests not only his time, but his money into these movies and becomes truly passionate about every project he works on in recent days. You can see he put all of his blood, sweat, and tears into this role and his energy bleeds into other actors in the film.

Blunt does a great job as the leading lady and although I thought it was strange casting choice for what is supposed to be a bad ass chick, as soon as I saw her, I was in. She has great chemistry with Cruise in this film, and I think Cruise's energy level is infectious as I found her to be very much on par with what Cruise was bringing to this film.

Paxton has a supporting role as Master Sergeant Farell, he does a decent job but seemed a little cartoonish in a movie that was in a fairly serious vein. He felt a little out of place to me… Another role I should mention is that of Brendan Gleeson as General Brigham. He plays a small, but important part and I think he does a good job in his execution. He doesn't have much screen time, but I still enjoyed his performance.

Outside of the acting, the effects were fantastic. I enjoyed the gritty feel, and the aliens are truly unique and terrifying at the same time. Their superiority to mankind is very well portrayed and a ton of fun.

Overall, this movie is one of those films that I think will turn into a 'cult' favourite. Unfortunately, it didn't do well at the box office but I'm not sure if that was because of Cruise, bad marketing (which some claim), or perhaps a misplaced release date. Either way, see this movie if you get the chance. You will be pleasantly surprised. I know I was… Rating: 8.5/10

I just can't understand what people are expecting when they go to the theatre to watch a movie about giant alien robots that transform into vehicles where the source material is a cheesy cartoon from the 80's..

People, give your head a shake...

This movie is everything it can be and probably much more. We don't have 50 years of dramatic comic book material for source like the Avengers, X-Men, or any of the DC or Marvel properties (to which I assume this is compared). What we have is watered down cartoons made for small children, and 80's nostalgia.

That said, Michael Bay is perfect for bringing the spirit of what Transformers are to the big screen. Loud, destructive, and ridiculous. When I bought my ticket, this is what I expected and this is most certainly what I got....going right back to the first film.

This movie was on a much larger scale than the previous entries and I thought Whalberg was a great replacement for Labouf as the hyperactive lead. Labouf was a little too intense for me in the 3rd movie (he may have gone a little loopy by that time) where Whalberg seems to bring it back down to a more sane level as in Labouf in Transformers 1.

So I raise a glass to Mr. Bay, and I (and millions of others I'm sure) salute you and your fantastically loud and ridiculous transforming robot alien masterpiece! Keep them coming!

The Lego Movie was a very well done, and relevant children's movie that will also be very enjoyable for adults. This movie was a long time coming and they did a great job recreating a living Lego universe. This was everything I was hoping it would be and more.

This movie really made me feel like I was a child again. The plot was very well thought out and really felt like it brought to life what we were all thinking when we were playing with Lego's as kids. I really felt immersed in this world as I watched it.

All of the acting in the film was great, although cheesy at times (unpurpose). Will Ferrell really stands out for me as President/Lord Business as the main antagonist in the film. He's so ridiculous in his role that it's outstanding. It seemed he had a real interest in this project. I felt it was his best work in a few years. The real gem here though is the story. That is what makes this movie so special.

I loved the fact that they were able to bring in many of the modern licensed products such as Lord of the Rings, DC Superheros, Star Wars etc. into the film. My only complaint might be that some of the larger properties, particularly those owned by Disney, were not in the film and some Lego owned properties, such as Ninjago, which are larger properties weren't in it all either. This is a minor complaint as at least some of this probably wasn't something they could really control. I doubt Disney would want a competing film featuring any of their characters.

The animation was really fantastic. It felt like I was watching living Lego pieces rather than an animated movie. I think this movie may not have been as effective if it was attempted even 5 years ago as the animation technology had to be just right.

In the end, The Lego Movie lives up to your expectations and delivers a very well done movie to go along with a much loved brand. You can tell a lot of time and effort was put into this movie right up until the finishing touches in order to make sure the movie did Lego justice. Well done to all involved as I'm sure a new lucrative franchise that will be much loved has been born.

Gravity was a very decent and suspenseful movie. I have heard some complaints about the 'plausibility' of something like this, but I have to say that made no difference to me. Bullock and Clooney do a very good job as this movie is heavily reliant on their emotions throughout the scenes. There isn't much in the way of supporting cast or special effects to take the focus away from them, hence the reason the movie is up for some many awards.

I couldn't really find a flaw with this movie per se, other than the fact I found it a little slow at times. I chalk that up to being one of those moviegoers that critics hate where I enjoy a fast paced BIG movie. You have to remember going in that this is a movie where the main focus is going to be on two characters and so not much else goes on around them.

Bullock did a great job carrying the movie as she is the true star of the film. She gets the majority of the screen time and does a great job going through the emotional roller coaster that is required for this role. This would have been a very tough film to carry and much of the success is because of the way she portrayed the character and carried the film. She'll likely win many awards for this movie.

Clooney plays the more experienced astronaut and his role is very important as far as motivating Bullock's character. He does a great job, but it felt a little bit like he was just playing himself to me. I didn't really feel he was as in character as Bullock was. Seems like he had some spare time so he decided to jump in.

All in all, Gravity is a great movie, but I think it's one of those movies that will win a bunch of awards and be forgotten in a year. It's not going to appeal to every movie goer as it's more geared to showcase an actor's chops rather than appeal to a large broad audience. It'll be loved by critics, but not necessarily be for everyone.

The Counselor was a promising movie with an ensemble cast and a famous director in Ridley Scott. Unfortunately, it seems Scott is trying to be more of a Tarantino or Scorsese with dialogue heavy scenes that are kind of strangely pieced together and often rambling in nature to the point my mind would start to wander. This movie could have been better had the story flowed a little smoother, but I felt it was watchable and an interesting take on the Mexican Drug Cartel… The acting was done well, but I felt like perhaps the editing or writing was very weak. There are some scenes that are kind of confusing (perhaps I'm just missing the point), and I'm not sure they were necessarily placed in the most effective order. This is too bad, because the overall story was engaging and the general flow of the story was interesting from beginning to end.

I think Fassbender does a decent job playing the "Counselor". He has to go through an emotional roller coaster and he does a good job of taking you on that ride with him. Cruz plays his fiancé Laura. She does an effective job in the role, but I think they could have done a better job with her because you don't really seem to feel the emotion that supposedly exists between her and the Counselor. I think they try to build her up to be very important, but I never got to that point with her.

Bardem and Diaz both do a good job. I liked Bardem's fast talking Reimer and his scenes felt more engaging to me. The only problem was some of his dialogue scenes kind of fell apart at the end, but I think that had do with the writing more than the acting. Diaz is still very sexy and she oozes sexuality in this film as Malkina. Some people may disagree because she's not in her 20s anymore, but I think that was supposed to be the point here.

Pitt does a good job as Westray. He is more of a secondary character, but like Bardem, he is able to carry the dialogue heavy scenes well.

Something was definitely wrong with this movie. Maybe it was bad editing, or bad writing in some parts, but the overall story was very interesting and most of the acting was able to hold it together. If you go in with this in mind, you should enjoy the movie and the story it tells.

Here we have another Jason Statham vehicle in Homefront. In this one he plays the role of Phil Broker who gets embroiled with a local meth dealer (James Franco) which quickly escalates until his past starts to catch up with him I know some may be tired of Statham playing the same character with a different back story, but in this particular movie a strong supporting cast does a good job of fleshing this out to the point where it actually became a fairly effective action movie.

I found the story was a little bit of a formulatic rehashing of most lone wolf action movies (including some of Statham's), but it was very well done and Statham is very believable and bankable in his roles. He seems to be happy being type cast into a single character type, and he has learned to embrace it.

That said, we have James Franco in an unusual role for him as Morgan 'Gator' Bodine. Here he plays a sneaky, dangerous meth dealer who is willing to do whatever it takes to accelerate his business. He does a great job in the role and seems to be really into his character and he seems pretty at ease in an action movie (although I found his action scenes were fairly watered down).

Winona Ryder has a decent turn as Franco's girlfriend, but I can't help but think how far she has fallen in the past decade and half. We get some interesting appearances from Frank Grillo as Cyrus, Clancy Brown as Sheriff Keith Rodrigue, and the infamous Chuck Zito as biker boss Danny T. These roles are fairly minor, but I was happy to see them filled with recognizable names to add an additional layer of interest to the movie.

As expected, the action and fight sequences in the movie are all well done and Statham has multiple fantastic martial arts sequences. The movie is violent, but not overly violent or disturbing. Think 80′s action movies without the cheesy dialog (it IS written by Stallone). You root for the hero and boo the baddie .and it's clear cut who is who. No brooding anti-hero here.

All in all this movie was fun to watch. I think Franco could have been a little more believable if he had more action scenes, and this is a very old action movie formula, but I think it's something people may enjoy as break from all of the overly complicated and/or cartoony action heroes we have around right now. A man, his fists, his guns, and explosions! Rating: 6.5/10

In another highly anticipated Pixar/Disney release we get Frozen. Frozen tells the story of Elsa who is to be queen, but hides a secret that could threaten the entire kingdom. Anna is the only one who can save her and the kingdom with the help of Hans (Fontana), and Olaf (Josh Gad).

Frozen was a fantastic movie that I feel is the future of the Disney princess franchise. It has possibly the most memorable and powerful song from any Disney movie and recent history, and it feels like an updated version of the Disney princess that applies to girls today. Many, such as Brave, have tried to find this target and missed the mark. Frozen hits the nail on the head in every way.

It's an excellent adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's original tale 'The Snow Queen'. The story is fantastic, the voice acting is superb from all involved, and being a Pixar movie, the visual effects are top notch. I'm sure even those living in tropical climates got a chill viewing the landscapes (especially in 3D).

I don't really want to single anyone out in this movie, as all voice actors were at the top of their game and filled their roles effectively. It's rare I see a movie where no one performance seems to carry the film. Idina Menzel as Isla does a fantastic job with the emotion required for the role. This is especially prevalent during her songs. Truly fantastic. Josh Gad does a great job capturing the innocence and magic of Olaf. Fontana, Groff, and Bell are also very effective in their love triangle and all seems to have chemistry. I have a feeling they knew they were working on something special and this carried over into their performances.

It's rare I see a movie that's near perfect, but that's what we have here with Frozen. I took off half a point because I think we can do without the cheesy 3D 'pop out' effects, but that is merely a blip and something I know was done for the kids. Go watch this movie NOW! Young OR old! Rating: 9.5/10