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Game Night (2018)
A fun, entertaining well made comedy
Game Night is the latest comedy made by the people who made Horrible Bosses, which I also liked. This movie is fun. The highest praise I can give the movie is the cinematography. I was really surprised with it. There are shots in which the cars and the surroundings look like game pieces, which is such a great choice. The action scenes are very well made, the camera is so creative and it sometimes reminded me of Edgar Wright. I absolutely loved the cinematography. The script is decent and it could have been easily fixed. The big twist at the end surprised me and it was a great payoff. Unfortunately, the movie aside from the twist is kinda predictable. Its a very safe script, but I laughed a lot throughout the movie. The acting is decent, and the only standout is Jesse Plemons and Rachel McAdams. They did not play themselves and actually got into their characters. The rest of the cast are really boring. The characters are not really all that special. The pacing was really good. I really enjoyed Game Night and although it could have been great, its a perfectly fine entertaining comedy.
Tomb Raider (2018)
Boring, cliche film
Tomb Raider is the latest video game adaptation by Roar Uthaug, a nameless director. Rarely is a video game movie good, in fact, its never good. Its no surprise here. This is your typical action movie with your typical dialogue and typical everything. It's very cliched and flawed. The direction and script are awful. I was never entertained during the movie. There is no attempt to make an interesting character out of Lara. She never learns anything, she never has any arcs nor any development. There is no style in this movie, it's so factory based, its disgusting. There's nothing special about the camerawork, the editing, nothing is even remarkably good. Its just below average. The editing is ok. The color grading is actually pretty gross looking. Its so frustrating that you have a beautiful jungle and it looks disgusting since the color grading is all gray and ugly. There are some nice shots of the beach and of a camera following Lara running. But that's it. Everything else is either boring, average, or, painfully cringe inducing. The dialogue in this film is atrocious. Most of the dialogue is cliched and conventional, and some of them are so cringe. The ending tries to make an "intriguing" twist, but it just falls flat completely. It comes out of nowhere and in retrospect, it does not make sense at all. The acting is also really bad. Alicia VIkander does a terrible job, and her shouts in the movie are so laughable. It's sad that this movie actually takes itself seriously. Don't see it.
3/10
The Commuter (2018)
Entertaining action thriller
The Commuter is the latest Liam Neeson action movie about how Michael needs to resolve the situation he is in. Its very unusual for Liam Neeson to be bad in a movie. He is really good here as he gives a very physical performance and he is convincing as this ex-cop. The directing here is surprisingly really good as there are many creative choices made to the story to make it above-average. The pacing is also really quick and fun as it has no scene that drags. The acting overall is good, nothing awful, nothing amazing. The only actor that is really great is Liam Neeson, the rest are fine. The script is probably my biggest issue here. The script is very obvious and its made for the audience to understand everything and there is no subtlety, which could have made the movie better. The story is very cliched, and there was rarely a moment that surprised me, aside from the directing. The cinematography can go to awful to great. There is a scene in which Michael is talking with a former friend. And the camera work is so horrific, i was getting dissy. It was hand-held and it was shaking. I didn't understood why did the director made that choice, but it was distracting. But later there is a really good action scene which is tricked to be filmed without takes. So the cinematography is 50/50 for me. Overall, this is a really entertaining movie and a very well directed one.
6.5/10
Mindhunter (2017)
Fantastic Thriller
Mindhunter is the latest show on Netflix and its how some FBI agents begin to investigate psychos and how they react in order to stop the next one. I was excited to watch this since David Fincher is involved with this series and he's one of my favorite directors. His direction is always excellent, with perfect shots and a lot of creative choices. This series starts slow but its basically setting up the story and the characters, and putting them in a nasty, disgusting situation. The only episode that drags is the first one but the rest of the episodes are so fantastic, it overshadows the first episode. All of the characters are fantastically written and they behave very differently from each other. You know their backstory, their personal lives, and their motivation for doing what their doing since not a lot of people want to be involved in these kind of murders, so the series does a very well job as to explain why do these characters are driven so much to their jobs. The acting is of course fenomenal as expected. Fincher directs 4 episodes but its not obvious since all of the episodes feel so similar, it feels like a 10 hour movie. The flow of the series is perfect (except for the first episode), each episode is roughly 50 minutes, and it never drags since every scene has a purpose and there is not a single dull moment nor a boring backstory. Every scene has at least one character. I love how they take their time to humanize each character, as they seem very monotone when investigating murders. The music was great, with a lot of variety, and the soundtrack fits the series well since the setting is the late 70's. The writing is stellar, there's a lot of subtlety, which I absolutely love since a lot of popular media are so worried to leave nothing at expectation and nothing left for the viewer to think. The cinematography is great as it feels the style of the 70's. There's so much tension during the interrogation scenes, they felt so grounded in reality and it felt like I was eavesdropping on an ongoing FBI investigation. Every character acts so naturally, even the psychos act like how a real psycho would act. I had a fantastic time with Mindhunter, is one of the best series I've seen, and I think its a masterpiece, the direction, writing and characters could not have been any better. I can't wait for season 2.
10/10
Ekipazh (2016)
Hilarious
Flight Crew is a Russian disaster movie in which a flight crew gets stuck in an island and needs to get out of there. This is an awful movie. There's barely any redeeming quality to this movie. The directing is horrendous, with really weird stylistic choices and no sense of progression. This is one of the worst edited movies ever. There is so many awful transitions between scenes that baffled me. The acting is really bad. But it was really entertaining and hilarious. Not in the way the filmmakers expected. The main characters make horrible decisions and they are not believable at all. The final shot is so memorable that I was baffled at how anybody could see this and think that is OK. The story is clichéd and boring. The character's logic doesn't make any sense. This is a very entertaining movie to watch since you laugh at the stupidity of the movie. It was a very boring but also hilarious experience. 1/10
Chronic (2015)
Hopeless
Chronic stars Tim Roth and its the story of a nurse that takes care of multiple patients. I really liked this film. The cinematography in this film is one of the best I have ever seen. The way the camera moves and the long and eerie takes throughout the film really gave this film more realism. The color grading is perfect as well. The performances are great and the characters are magnificent. The storytelling in this film is phenomenal. You can tell what will happen (sometimes) and it can be predictable, but its the way its executed that really makes this film special. The direction is top notch and there are a lot of ballsy decisions made in the ending that literally made my jaw drop. There are some problems though. The pacing is really slow and there are a lot of unnecessary scenes. I understand that the director is trying to set up a mood, but it really makes this film really long, even though its only 1 hour and 30 minutes. The structure is also troubling since the first part is a completely different movie than the second and third part. Overall, this is a depressing, bleak, gloomy, great film that really makes you feel weak when the credits roll. 8.5/10
Churchill (2017)
Good Biography movie
Churchill stars Brian Cox and its the story of how the prime minister copes with the plan of D-day. This movie has a very movie-like plot and has very movie-like characters, but it still works. It may be clichéd and it may be very obvious, but what really elevates this movie are the performances. All of them are great. Brian Cox delivers an astounding performance, he was so in the moment and real. He was completely in his character and his accent was well made. His character is well- developed enough that we can care about him, and his main motivation is really clear as his past haunts him and it makes him think twice about his decisions. He really deserves an Oscar nomination. The script is good, but it could be better. There are a lot of great scenes throughout the movie that really stand out, but then there are other scenes that are really flawed and predictable. I literally predicted 2 lines in one scene. The cinematography is gorgeous. A lot of wide and long takes of the wilderness and the beach. The production design and the sound was also great with a lot of references to the past and of the time period. The direction is good but it could be much better. There really isn't a style in this movie, and if the direction had made more unique and original choices, this movie wouldn't have been clichéd. The story is engaging, riveting and it really makes you think behind the decisions made before soldiers step on enemy soil and it makes you sympathize with the characters since the decisions made in the story are really brave. I had a good time with this movie and its a really good biography about a man that really made a huge difference in the world. 7/10
It Comes at Night (2017)
Phenomenal Horror Movie
It comes at night stars Joel Edgerton, Christopher Abbot, and Carmen Ejogo, and its the story of a family that takes shelter at a desolate home in the middle of the woods. I am not going to say anything else since I went in the film knowing nothing about the plot and this made the experience even better. Watching this film I'm glad that I didn't knew what was it about. First things first, the cinematography, lighting, production design, and the music were all amazing. The cinematography was subtle enough that it wasn't obvious and it was expertly crafted throughout the film. The way the camera moved was great since it fitted with the paranoia the characters felt. The lighting was brilliant. Since most of the film is set at night, the sequences when there were nighttime was so real and surreal that it took me off guard. I am so glad that they really thought about every aspect of the film since there are a lot of movies of this genre that don't even give a sh*t about their presentation, their only concern is to spook the audience with jump scares and what not. The production design was also brilliant with a lot of subtle references to the outside world. The direction was phenomenal as it wasn't obvious and it was very subtle. The information given and what was not given was so refreshing since it never explains to the audience what exactly is going on on the outside world. You can easily infer it and it is not painfully obvious nor was it very vague. A movie that did this wrong was World War Z and a movie that did this right was Shaun of the Dead. It is so incredibly rare to find a film that actually respects its audience and actually makes them think when the film ends. You can say whatever you want about the miss marketing but the film itself is very clever. The script was great as it took its time with its characters and the story was not forced in a way that you wouldn't be interested in it. It lets the characters blossom first, then it tells its story. The characters are so real and their decisions are very clever. There are so many scenes where the characters are interacting and its so tense because you really do care about them and because its really well made. The tension-filled scenes are fantastic and really elevate this film. Not only are they incredibly made, but they were subtle enough that the audience can't really tell what will happen next. The ending is really great as it leaves a lot of things for interpretation and it doesn't give you all of the answers you wanted, and I love when a director makes those types of decisions since it is really ballsy. The acting throughout is stellar except for one character. I thought that the mother in the film really had no purpose and she didn't really act very well. She didn't convince me that she was a mother nor that she was scared. The film is not perfect. There is one sound effect that took me out of the film and there is one decision made in the second act that contradicted the characters previous choice. The character of the mom wasn't really well developed and she really couldn't act. Nevertheless, this is one of the best films of this year and it is still debatable if this is my favorite horror film of the year, but it is a damn great one. 9/10
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)
The moviest movie of 2017 (so far)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales stars Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem and Geoffrey Rush, and it tells the story of how Jack needs to find the trident of Poseidon. I watched the first pirates movie in preparation for this, and I thought it was average. Not my type of movie, but I enjoyed some parts of it. In this movie, I enjoyed little to nothing. The direction is non-existent, it does not have any type of vision or creativity at all. The script is atrocious, with no character development whatsoever and with the most obvious, painfully, cheap jokes any kids movie would have. The comedy is really bad, it really did distract me how much un-laughable jokes there were throughout the movie, and how much they tried to appeal to the mainstream audience. The main villain is laughable, and I do not think that Javier Bardem should've played him, he is too good for this movie. The main motivation for the villain is very stereotypical, I have seen the same motivation many times. The exposition throughout the movie is unnecessary and apathetic, very cliché as well. The action sequences are average, nothing special there. There was very little practical effects in the movie, with a lot of green screen and CGI. There are some logical inconsistencies that really took me out of the movie, as the movie doesn't care about small details. There are some minor positives. The acting is not bad but not great, I think the actors are giving everything they got, but the sad thing is that the characters are underwritten and just plain boring. The cinematography is good, with a lot of unique and interesting camera movements in the beginning of the movie. The ending really did not satisfy me as much as I wanted, since I just wanted to have fun with this movie. I don't think this movie is a mess, its just incredibly boring with nothing driving the characters to the story. This movie needed to have more self awareness and maybe I would've liked it. 2.5/10
Alien: Covenant (2017)
Not a disappointment, just a bad movie
Alien: Covenant stars Katherine Waterston, Michael Fassbender and Danny McBride. The crew of a colony ship, heading for a planet to colonize, discover a signal from another planet and decide to go to that planet. First things off, this movie looks pretty great. The scenery and the locations look really good. But that's a given since Ridley Scott always makes his films look fantastic. The score is phenomenal but its basically the same score from Alien and Prometheus. The acting by Michael Fassbender was great as always and his character was the most intriguing of them all. And that's sadly the only positives I have with the movie. Everything has a "but" for me. The score was great but its the same as before. The production design and the cinematography was great but there was missing a lot of unique color grading. The story is good but its the same as Alien and Prometheus. The pacing is probably one of my biggest flaws. For me, a movie needs to open with a great scene to really get my interest. This movie opened with a good scene but then it gets really boring really fast. There was nothing to the characters and most of them are disposable except for David's character that appears later in the movie. There was nothing really that caught my interest throughout the movie. It never really starts for me. The CGI on the aliens were really noticeable and it did take me out of the best scenes. Like with the first time you see the alien. Its a great scene, but then its immediately ruined by the CGI. They would have used a practical effect instead. The half of the movie it gets really strange. And I don't mean in the kind of unique and special way. I mean the really out of place stuff throughout the second half. It really doesn't fully explain nothing and the reasoning of why the xenomorphs are in the movie is lazy writing. The ending is awful with a lot of really noticeable clichés and the direction is sadly non-existent. The script is really dumb and the characters are really bland. The only positives I have with the movie is that it is really well made and I like some philosophical questions and some scenes with the aliens are unique. But overall, this is a really bland movie with no characters and I would not recommend it. This is one of the moviest movie of the year. 4.5/10
Ex Machina (2014)
Could have been better.
Ex Machina stars Alicia Vikander, Oscar Issac, and Domhnall Gleeson; its the story of how a programmer gets hired to go to his bosses house far away for a week for a special test. This movie is very overrated. Many people had said that this is the next "Kubrick", I strongly disagree. There are things this movie did very well but there are also things that it did not very well. Oscar Isaac nailed his character and it was the best character in the movie. He was interesting, charismatic, and he was very entertaining to watch. But Domhnall Gleeson's character was awful. He was really boring, non-charismatic, and he was a really bland character. His performance was also bland, there was no subtlety in his performance, there was little to no backstory, and he had absolutely nothing. The direction is really bland. There really is not any style in the movie. The cinematography is good but there is no color. Everything is gray and boring, and even if they show beautiful scenery, its not impressive. There was a lot of color grading missing. The writing is good with a lot of ideas that are great but I just wished that they could have experimented with set ideas more. This movie just lectures and tells you directly of set ideas and philosophies. But the ideas are really great and actually propel the story very nicely. There are 2 great subtle scenes that complement the movie in a nice way, but then they quickly explain everything about those scenes and the subtly is ruined right away. The ending really does not make sense and it was really predictable. I liked the movie but this movie had a lot of problems and very little positives. This movie would have been better in the hands of another director. 6.5/10
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Hilarious Summer Blockbuster
Guardians of the Galaxy starts Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel, and I won't tell you what is about since I did not knew coming in for this movie and it made the experience even better. This is one of the funniest movies of this year and I had a blast. The performances throughout the movie were great, with Chris Pratt showing a lot of emotion. The characters really surprised me, they are really well developed, every character is given a decent enough backstory to really care about them. The chemistry between the main leads was really stellar. The main villain in my opinion is not as good as other Marvel villains, as his motivation is very brushed off. I really liked how now Star-Lord is emotionally engaged with the story and he wasn't just forced into the story. The ending overall really did not surprise me except for one ballsy decision made to a character that I will not spoil, and that it made the ending more emotionally enriched. There is some problems with the script, as a previously stated the ending is somewhat clichéd and there is a lot of exposition throughout the movie, but the characters are really well developed and they are really likable. I also liked how they included more laughs in the movie and I was constantly laughing a lot throughout the movie. So the script is 50/50 for me. The direction was honestly great as the ways that the action sequences were directed were fantastic and really entertaining. The decisions made at the end really surprised me and I really like how this movie did not have unnecessary connections to Infinity War, like Avengers: Age of Ultron did. The green screen is awful, I would have preferred that they were more practical backgrounds as the green screen is really noticeable and it took me away of some of the scenes. At the end, I had a blast with this movie and this is a great way to make a great summer blockbuster with interesting and convincing characters. 8/10
Slow West (2015)
An under-looked western film
Slow West stars Kodi Smith-McPhee and Michael Fassbender and its the story of Jay, and how he tries to reunite with his loved one Rose, and Silas tags along his journey. Slow West is a very unique and weird film, but it is pretty great. The acting was pretty great, the characters are well written and they are pretty memorable. The cinematography was fantastic and it gave a lot of style to the film. The action sequences, although there is only a few, are well filmed and this is where the direction really shines. The director knows what to show and what not to show, and what shows is stellar. The score it pretty great and it complements the film excellently. The script is pretty good although it could be better. In the beginning there is some exposition and the ending is not believable. I honestly don't like the ending since it is very simple and very unrealistic. It leaves you hanging by a thread and it does not resolve things. The score it pretty great and it complements the film very excellently. The major themes throughout the film is well handled and it does not come off as heavy handed nor forced. The themes gave it a lot of substance to the film. This is probably one of the best modern westerns out there and I strongly advice you to see this one since it is that good. 8/10
Life (2017)
A wanna-be alien thriller
Life stars Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, and Jake Gyllenhaal and it is the story of how a group of astronauts encounter an alien from mars and sh*t hits the fan. I did not expect anything from this movie other than some fun, and i certainly did not get it. This movie is very boring. There is a lot of exposition at the beginning basically telling the audience everything they need to know and there is 6 characters introduced in the movie, and you don't care about any of them since they are not fleshed out. And since you don't care about any of them, tension is now lost because of this.There is one scene when Jake Gyllenhall's character is talking about why he loves to be in space, but there is no reason behind it. There is absolutely no motivation throughout the movie. Characters make idiotic decisions and it is not real. The script is horrible and there is absolutely no direction. Throughout the movie things just happen and there is no room to breathe in and let the characters flourish. Believe it or not, there is some things I like about the movie. The design of the alien is unique and the CGI accompanying it was great. The cinematography is sometimes impressive as the first time we enter the station is done in one shot and the final act was really well shot (I'll talk about the ending in a bit). The performances were good but the chemistry not so much. This movie gives throwbacks to other films and they come off forced as sh*t. There are a lot of stupid decisions and stuff happening but if I talk about all of them in detail, this review will be very long. The ending was awful, predictable, forced and hilarious. I don't think this movie deserves the praise it has by critics and it will be forgotten very quick. 4.5/10
The Great Wall (2016)
The horrible laughable mess?
The Great Wall stars Matt Damon and other actors that I really don't care about, and it is the story of how a large group of people defended the great wall from some monsters. I am just gonna say this right off the bat, I hated this movie. This movie is one of the worst movies I have ever seen this year, and perhaps one of the worst of all time. This movie is so bad, its good. I swear, I laughed consistently at the movie countless times! This movie is so poorly made, that I cannot believe I actually saw this movie on theatres. Even some bad movies that recently came out are made with some effort. This movie did not even try, the effects are atrocious, the green screen is very noticeable and the practical effects look fake. The acting is awful, even Matt Damon, an actor that I love, is so horrifically bad that I did not believe how he acted in the movie. The production design is laughable, its filled with unnecessary colors that got explained in the most dumb way. The action sequences are filled with slow-mo, it never worked, and it was hilarious. The editing was try-hard and it was also funny. The opening scene alone told me that the movie was going to be horrible. There is no character in this movie, not even an attempt. This movie is super clichéd and dumb and no one should never watch it. Unless you are looking for an unintentional hilarious movie. 1/10
Captain Fantastic (2016)
Captain Fantastic was fantastic
Captain Fantastic stars Viggo Mortensen and its the story of this family in which they live in the wilderness. But when they are interrupted by a bad situation and they are forced into going out to the world, a problem ensues. This movie floured me, I loved Captain Fantastic. Viggo Mortensen as a father of a big family was excellent in the role, he really did gave a heartfelt performance that improved me, in which I think its Oscar-worthy. His character is very subdued, he has a very troubled past with his wife, so this serves us as a way to care about this character, he can relate to him. The family had a lot of great chemistry throughout the film, the kids really did surprised me, their performance was so great, that I forgot that they were just little kids acting, but they pulled it off. The direction is outstanding, I have never seen a film like this. It is so original and unique that its really rare to see a film like this nowadays. The style the movie has is so great since the family is drastically different from any other movie family, there are a lot of great lines of dialogue the family members say in the film that its hard to think of another movie family that has said something similar. The cinematography is breathtaking, all of the actors are on their A game, there is no actor who is doing a lousy job. This film reminded me of the greatness of screen writing, that there isn't a big villain in the film, the plot is easy to follow and very simple, the characters are memorable and it is consistently entertaining. There are some issues with the film. There are some audio inconsistencies and in the 2d act the film slowed down a lot and the main theme of the film is lost, but other than that, I had a great time with Captain Fantastic and it is one of the best films of the year. 9/10
Inferno (2016)
Pleasantly surprised
Inferno stars Tom Hanks, and Felicity Jones and its the story of how Langdon and Sienna go in a search for the discovery of Dante's inferno. I never saw previous films so I had no anticipation for this film. I really like the director but I was still in doubt. I was very surprised! I really liked this movie. The acting was great, especially Felicity Jones, and Tom Hanks. But you would expect that they would be great, which they are, is the same thing everyone says all the time "Tom Hanks was great, etc." Credit when credit is due, he was fantastic. The direction was also great. The cinematography was 50/50 for me. There are some incredible shots of Vienna, and other things, but then there is a lot of unnecessary close-ups and a lot of shaky cam. The music by Hanz Zimmer was also 50/50 for me since there are some songs that are great but there are others that is like: Feel like this right now. It was cheesy, and disappointing since I'm a huge fan of Hanz Zimmer. The story was great with a lot of unexpected reveals and twists. There is also a great sense of mystery throughout the film since Langdon has amnesia and cant remember a lot of things. It is a great way to tell a story. You may expect exposition from a film like this, but there is none, the director gives a lot of creative ways to tell the story from visual storytelling. Overall this film was great but it could have been better since the cinematography really did bother me and the beginning was a little hard to latch on to the characters but later it did pick back up, and I would recommend it to anyone. 8/10
The Light Between Oceans (2016)
Amazing movie about relationship
The Light Between Oceans starts Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander and Rachel Weisz. And its the story of a couple living in a lighthouse and in the ocean they find a baby. And that's all I am going to say since the trailer again ruined some important plot points of the film. This movie is very slow but is the kind of movie in which almost everything is on point and it never goes to a route in which derails the movie, I was pleasantly surprised! I loved this film! The cinematography is amazing with a lot of shots of the ocean and the wind, it was truly jaw-dropping. The acting was also great, Michael Fassbender as always gives a brilliant performance. But the actress who surprised me a lot is Alicia Vikander. She is fantastic as this lady who has lost a lot and has a lot of regret. She was truly Oscar-worthy. The story was great as it is not only about the relationship between Tom and Isabel, but it's also about guilt, sadness, loss, etc. The ending floured me, I absolutely loved it. The only issue I have is that Toms and Isabels relationship is a bit rushed and with no real sense of direction, and the beginning is kind-off slow but then it picks it right back up the next 5 minutes. I had a great time with this film and i would recommend it to everybody who wants to experience a heart-breaking story that is actually realistic and authentic.
The Neon Demon (2016)
Impressive visuals with good story
The Neon Demon stars Elle Fanning, Jena Malone, Bella Heathcote, and Abbey Lee. Its the story of Jesse, a model that has recently moved to LA to look for a job. And this causes some problems since a lot models are also looking for the job. First thing, the cinematography is excellent. The use of neon lights, metaphors and head-trippy sequences made the cinematography authentic and brilliant. The score was also great with having a lot to do with neon lights. The whole cast was excellent, and had a lot of character depth. Abbey Lee was the one who made the best performance in my opinion, she made a very devastated look and was the one with the best lines in the film and she nailed it. The story went 50/50 for me. I loved the 1st act and was excited for the 2nd act, but then it went in this weird direction that was unnecessary for the plot. I wanted to see how the beauty of Jesse was slowly eating away her youth and quite literary her life. But then it went in this strange direction with Keanu Reeves character. It would be fine if it was brought on later, but it does not. Also the ending, while amazing to look at, is exaggerated a lot. I got the message, but it was too graphic and too weird for its own good. Aside from that, the sequences stick with you as it is a masterfully, brilliant made film with a lot of rich character depth. The script was also 50/50 for me, some of the lines are amazing and made a lot of references of how beauty is represented today. But the actions of some of the characters are a little weird and left without explanation. I will see this film again for its metaphors and hidden themed messages, overall i did really enjoy this film. 7.5/10
The Whole Truth (2016)
Good lawyer movie.
The Whole Truth is about a lawyer played by Keanu Reeves that tries to make his client be free because according to him he did not did the murder. Keanu Reeves was good as always and the entire cast made serviceable performances for their roles, which is fine but i expected more from the actors. The story is actually what I liked most about the film and it was the thing that kept it afloat. It was a realistic story that made sense and i did actually give a crap about what was going on. The worst part of this film is a secondary character that is given a weak backstory and it is by far the most uninteresting character in the whole film. The courtroom scenes were the best things of the film, but when it steps aside of the courtroom scenes, it derails the whole film for me. The twist is really unexpected and i did not knew nothing about, making the experience even better. 7/10
Central Intelligence (2016)
Entertaining comedy
Central Intelligence stars Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson and its the story of how Kevin's Harts character teams up with The Rock for a CIA mission of some-kind. The best part of this film is the chemistry of the main leads. Kevin Hart and the Rock play each other really well and they seem to be having the most fun in this movie. But what this film fell apart for me is the "intriguing" story the film tries to tell. Its really dull and too complicated for its own. Besides that, the film is really funny and i think Kevin Hart steals the whole show. The Rock is fine but since his character is being bullied throughout the film and also in the past, the film does a lousy representing what i think is a good message, but its handled in the worst way possible and its really cliché. Also i don't know why but throughout the film, Kevin Hart does not want any part to do with the rock's plan, and it kinda seems that The Rock is a bad guy, and that was kind of weird at first. Then it kicked off where it started at the end based on the chemistry of the leads. Overall, the action well handled, its really funny at parts, and the actors play well with one another, but the story that the film tries to give us, its really bad. Also the overall message is important but not played well in this film. 6.5/10
Me Before You (2016)
Best romance from 2016 so far
Me before you stars Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin and its the story of a woman (Emilia Clarke) and her story of how she falls in love with a man that cannot move either his legs and his arms. Emilia Clarke is amazing as her character, she completely became her character. I cannot think of another actress that will portray her character, well Daisy Ridley can because Emilia Clarke's performance did remained me of her. Sam Claflin was serviceable, he can easily be replaced. The story is really what drives this movie to the top. The relationship between Lou and Will is great, you really believe that they are in love. The music is used appropriately, only one time it annoyed me but it was once and it did not take me out of the film. The cinematography was great as well as the production design. The biggest problem i have with this film its is 3 act. It is really cheesy and makes the cliché that one person gets mad with one another, and you know they're gonna get back together and its just lazy writing. Its not awful but it ain't good either. Also since Emilia Clarke is so fantastic as her character, its really distracting when she is not in a scene, and you kind off get lost in the story. Other than that, I found that Me Before You was a great film about love, relationships and letting go. Beautiful visuals and an unique script made this film the best love story of 2016 (so far). 8/10
Money Monster (2016)
Surprisingly good thriller
Money Monster stars George Clooney, Julia Roberts, and Jack O'Connell, and its a story about a show (Money Monster) and its main host is Lee Gates. He talks about stocks and money, but one day an irate takes the whole crew hostage on the air. So they need to figure out a way to escape this situation. The performances in the movie are great, but especially Jack O'Connell, he is fantastic. I really cared for that character because i did understand him, and his motivations were clear. He is also a broken man with no money left for him. I also liked the originality and the uniqueness of the movie as it is really original and refreshing to see since we are having sequels after prequels after reboots, etc. The biggest problem i had with this film is when we step outside of the set of Money Monster, and we learn about the stock market and many things like that. That basically derailed the movie for me because i really don't care about the stock market. A film that really did make me care about the stock market was The Wolf of Wall Street, and that film was fantastic because it did base its story on the stock market but was directed in a way in which you are always entertained. This film was sometimes entertaining but only when Jack O'Connell and George Clooney were in the same room. The film was funny when it needs to be funny and the film is dramatic when it needs to be. 7.5/10
Desierto (2015)
Good visuals, not much else
Desierto stars Gael Garcia Bernal, and Jefrey Dean Morgan, and its the story of some immigrants (including Gael Garcia Bernal) going to the U.S, but in order to go there, they need to cross the border. Then an American sees them and starts hunting them. First thing, the camera-work is pretty good. I was constantly impressed with the work of the camera man. Thats probably the only great thing about this movie. Desierto has absolutely no substance, it is just a simple cat and mouse movie. But it doesn't give you that feel of tension, because you simply don't care about the characters. The movie does not take the time to develop the characters, so we don't care about them, making the film feel bland and boring. The acting overall was alright, not awful, not excellent, just in the middle. As i previously stated, the cinematography is great, there are a lot of wide and long shots, so no problems there. The villain has absolutely no motivation, we don't know why he wants to kill them, so we don't identify with the villain. The blood and gore looked really cheap, there is rarely any logic in this film, characters do things without explanation and understanding and overall, just a boring movie with absolutely no character depth. 4.5/10
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Big mess with pretty visuals
Batman v Superman is the long awaited movie starring Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, and Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luther. Everyone has been expecting this movie for a really long time, even myself. The films plot revolves around Superman, and that many people are questioning if he is really a superhero or an alien that can destroy everything. And Batman is caught in the middle of this as in the beginning of the movie, superman was destroying buildings and basically the whole city (This was the ending of Man of Steel). I am not going to spoil a lot of you haven't seen the movie, but if you seen the trailers, you unfortunately know the whole plot and movie with some twists. Positively, Batman looks really good. I think Ben Affleck did a perfect job on portraying that character. His new suit look amazing, and he really did sold me as Bruce Wayne (Although I personally prefer Christian Bale). But i don't really know what the writers were thinking when Batman is seen as a killer and he steals. I really did not have a problem IF they explained why did he killed people and stole, but the movie did not really bother to tell the audience why Batman was doing this. The visuals are good, the CGI is great, and some of the battle sequences were great, no complaints there. Superman was fine, the actor made his role and he was kind off conflicted, the film does not really says much about that. All the actors were great with one exception. Lex Luthor is really annoying, everything he says does not make sense, he is trying to be the next Joker, but fails miserably. Jesse Eisenberg was a bad choice for him, and he was not an interesting character at all. The writing, the pacing and the overall plot is a gigantic mess. In the beginning of the film, it tells the back story of young Bruce Wayne, visuals aside, it was also really awkward as when Bruce falls to the hole with the bats, the bats start gravitating him??? I don't know what they were thinking, but it felt really dumb. Then the film puts the perspective of Ben Affleck and he starts seeing a city being destroyed and many die including a friend of him and his own building. Then the plot starts. It fells like there are WAY to many cuts. Like they made this film R rated but chopped down to be a PG-13 film. Then Lex Luther suddenly appears in his company, then Louis Lane, Perry White, etc. This is where the film starts falling apart completely to the ground. There is literally a 5 min little story for every character, Batman, then Superman, then Lex, then Louis Lane, Then Louise Lane, then the film becomes man of steel 2, kind of. It seems like they made Man of Steel 2, and then cut bits and pieces of the that film and put it in this film. The movie is so broken, that it feels like 4 movies at once and thats my biggest problem. It does not focus on one story, it focus on Batman with Alfred, then Superman and Louis, then Lex Luther (which in my opinion has one of the most awkward and uncomfortable moments I have ever seen in a movie), then some senate debate. It does not feel grounded, it fells broken and messy. Then the film does the very stupid thing (some) comic book movies do nowadays and Batman sends an Email to Wonder Woman, in which she opens certain files about the next movie Justice League. That was the most out of place and awkward scene in the entire movie. There another tie end scene with Flash telling him some information that does not make sense. The battle the movie advertises starts great, then good, then fine, to overdone, to really short. The fight last about 8-10 min. and it ends really stupid. The ending with the monster was really bad, there were like 3-4 moments in the entire final battle that felt bad-ass, and investing. When they beat it, it felt predictable and really corny. The inclusion of Wonder Woman was forced, I did not care at all when Superman died, and the final shot was so stupid and the most comic book movie thing to do to have senseless questions. There are some really good things but the bad things overcome the good and it feels broken, misleading. I loved the Batman scenes and the acting overall was good but it was so chopped up, i did not really know what was going on. 4/10