Reviews

Can you finish this rhyme? "When you're sliding into first and you.....". If so, you'll love this movie. I have not laughed this hard a long time. Felt like a comedy expedition to rediscover my childhood. Few times I had to excuse myself from the room to stop laughing long after the gag was up. A Christmas Story for our generation.

I loved this movie. One of those that I would have never sought out myself, but kept hearing it was good, and finally tonight I put it on as my wife and I were browsing for something to watch. Within 15 minutes we were hooked in, unwilling to miss a single word (thank goodness for modern rewind capabilities). By the time the entire plot was revealed, I was literally sitting on the edge of my nice comfy leather chair. I was right on some things, but those theories were often put into question until the end. I also found myself rooting for certain characters as well. Highly entertaining and well done. Throw in great performances from the cast, and some well timed humor, and I can't find any reason to deduct points here. Excellent.

These are not episodes full of rehashed facts you already knew, rather often revealing about things that you didn't know that you didn't even know. Most episodes feel like coming along for a journey with the host in the spirit of discovery. Best documentary series thus far on the subject.

Saw this with my daughter by her choosing. I was ready for a good horror flick as it had been awhile for me. There is quality here with the acting and overall production, but the entertainment value ends up being minimal. It started out weird and mildly intriguing, settled into weird boredom, and finished with some mild satisfaction that was too little too late. The plot never truly gets going until the final moments, and the scares never really come. This might be worth a rent if you are the type to focus solely on an acting performance, because i thought the 3 main actors did a good job, or even camera shots and such, but as a package it never really grabbed me. If we weren't in the recliner style seats my butt would have been hurting 30 minutes in waiting for it to end - it's that type of flick.

The music is choice 80's B horror movie style - could have been a perfect soundtrack to a better horror flick.

Just got out of the Thursday night premiere which my 17 year old daughter kindly accompanied me to (to spare my wife). We both thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Went in expecting a typical Star Wars flick and this delivered the goods. Familiar heroes against dire odds, still casually cracking the odd joke? Check. Epic light-saber battles and force demonstrations? Check. Jedi/Dark-side character dilemmas? check. Occasional tugging of the heart strings? check. They did a pretty good job tying up the loose ends here, to a pretty epic finale. I was truly surprised by a few moments as well, having only moderately checked out news up to the premier.

The only part I felt was a bit cringey or forced was the immediate scene after the final battle - could be a desolate dark-side ruled wasteland or a celebration - this is a non-spoiler review! Ridley held her own nicely as the focal point of this flick. Yes a couple of characters did feel a bit thrown in, but it was never more than a fleeting thought as we always had important business or familiar visits from old favorites to follow as the movie ran along it's lengthy, but never overstayed running time.

Also worth mentioning that the trademark light humor never really felt forced this time around ala Force Awakens. Even the star of said forced humor in episode 7 did well in this regard and turned out to be a welcome addition.

Star Wars has always been about more than just action, which i've come to realize is why I enjoy these flicks so much. This movie is delivers both the amazing action and the other elements that have endeared so many to the series. Well done.

Just watched this again for the first time in maybe 15 years. Of all the Kevin Smith films i've been revisiting, this is the one i've enjoyed watching again the most. Jason Lee is completely natural in this role and had me laughing constantly. I found myself thinking Shannon Doherty was doing a good job as well. Aside from that, alot of the gags in this movie just work and the ending ties everything together satisfyingly.

This is the first time I saw the extended version which I honestly found unnecessary. The movie is a better overall package in the theatrical cut.

This movie be no means had me captivated or caught up in any acting performances, and i even thought pikachu's comedic attempts fell a bit flat. But my 6 year old son, and his brand new 6 year old friend (seat neighbor) were blown away. And i could see why. They got to see all their favorite characters realized, and the movie did a great job with this. They made this for the children that love Pokemon, not for the dad bringing his kids, and I respect that. 8 stars just watching my son and his friend go nuts every 5 minutes in the theater when a new pokemon showed up. And i did enjoy the movie itself. The animation was darn near imperceptible on pikachu. Just know that this makes no bones about being anything other than a Pokemon movie..cheers!

You would think "Han Solo and Chewy's Backstory" would have any Star Wars fan drooling, but perhaps due to the recent influx of SW movies, I was not that excited for this flick. Once I actually sat down to watch it, I was reminded of all the interesting and revealing opportunities this setting provides. There is so much of the Han and Chewy lore that is revealed here, and it's very satisfying. Yes there is quite a bit of typical action CGI going on which can easily overwhelm me into boredom, but it is balanced here with genuinely interesting moments finding out about Lando, Chewy, and Han. Most of all this movie captures the fun attitude of the original trilogy. It's a good time and well done!

I'm not going to go about how this is a well acted movie (it is) or how the plot leaves many unanswered questioned (it doesn't matter). I felt like I had just finished a workout after leaving this movie. I was tense from start to finish, and i'm not particularly queasy or easily scared. My 16 year old daughter (fine for teenagers, if they can handle the tension) and I were alone in the theater, so we could talk, and by god we did, as we had to relieve the tension somehow.

The premise of the movie had me concerned going in that I was about to see a cliche teenie bopper horror flick, and maybe it still is, but it works better than any horror or thriller movie in recent memory for getting the blood pressure going. I was legitimately scared and enthralled the entire flick, and would have gladly welcomed another 15 minutes when the credits rolled.

There is a side dish of tender drama here regarding a father daughter relationship, which actually works, but other than that this movie does one thing and does it well - scare the bejesus out of you. Everything else good about is just gravy on top.

Highly recommended.

As a movie, this is just good. The beginning captivated me instantly, being introduced to this near future depiction. About 2/3 through the movie I started to succumb to the old "typical action movie boredom", followed by a very Spielberg ending that had me seeing visions of Goonies. I bit corny but satisfying.

As a fan service and sheer visual spectacle, this movie delivers. If you grew up on video games in the last few decades you will feel right at home here. The movie actually "gets" the culture it serves, where so many movies either insult or just miss the mark. The fact is we have not had a mainstream movie like this just chock full of reference that shout "this is for you, friends". It's not shakespeare, but very satisfying nonetheless if you are among those that get it. This movie also uses many of the references effectively as comic relief.

Verdict: If you have ever changed out a GPU or wondered if Samus will look different on the next playthrough, go see it. If you have never turned on a PC you were not forced to, you probably will be rolling your eyes by the second hour.

It took me quite awhile to finally see this movie, especially given my love for the 2nd installment of this series -"Aliens". I finally watched it in 2 parts over this past weekend.

The first half of the movie had me skeptical. It felt formulatic and i had seen it all before, reminding me very much of Prometheus. When I was forced to turn off the movie due to life interrupting, I was not even sure i'd bother finishing it.

The following evening I decided to continue on. Glad I did. The second act delivers on quite a few levels. The xenomorph action is well done and downright scary at times. A few CGI scenes break the illusion but mostly I praise the film's treatment of the xenomorphs. In that regard as an Alien film it was quite satisfying. The homages to the original films were a welcome addition. All the while we get revelations about the origins of the xenomorphs, setting up the bridge between this film and Alien.

The characters were merely adequate. No Hudson, Ripley, or Burke level interest here but I found McBride's character and Daniels at least held my interest and I was able to root for them as they attempted to escape with their lives and battled the xenomorphs.Of course Fassbender puts in a good performance, but i would have enjoyed getting more into the human characters of the film vs the time spent fleshing out the android.

Still, considering where this franchise has been, this was better than I expected and stands alone as a good, entertaining flick. It's first and foremost a horror movie and absolutely delivers as such. It's a hard R movie folks, meant to scare, gross out, and amuse. Well done xeno scenes, attacks and deaths. While doing so it carries the story of the xenomorphs that much further, making this flick both thrilling and engaging as the second half unfolds.

Best Alien movie since "Aliens" (which let's face it will never be equaled). Perhaps on par with the original "Alien" for entertainment value if we set aside innovation and significance.

Wife wanted to go see it, and i'm always down to see a horror flick in theater so i said "heck yes lets go." I went in expecting racial parents terrorize black boyfriend. OK, could be fun. Turns out there is a much more interesting and even a sci-fi premise going on here that really had me enjoying this movie quite a bit by the end. The first half does a good job of setting the stage and gets you thinking "ok what the hell is going on here" which is exactly what the main actor is going through - well played.

As for the racial bias against whites - as a white male i'm not feeling it on this. If you watch the movie to completion this goes way beyond mere racism, and more into sick sci-fi. That said the build up to this point is full of comedic racial tension that all but the most grumpy white and black folks can laugh at. This makes the usual thriller build up that more entertaining.

Overall for the genre this was excellent and easily worth a theater outing. 9/10

Spoiler Free Review: I laughed many times, in a good away. I got choked up a few times. I marveled at the wreckage from prior battles. I laughed some more, especially at one of the new characters - actually 2 of them made me laugh quite a bit. I mulled over new relationships revealed and still not yet revealed to us. I wanted to stand up and cheer at times (others did). I left feeling set up perfectly for the next film. Overall it was a fantastic time at the movie theater - which is what i hope for with a movie like this. It has a closer feel to the original trilogy, yet in a league all it's own - not better or worse - just different.

One more thing in my short review: a PG rating may have been sufficient for this movie - i'd feel comfortable taking an 8 year old to this film. Certainly no more violent than empire.

The first time i watched this, i was heavily comparing it to the original. I was looking out for similarities, expecting certain things to happen,etc. Even then, i thought it was 7/10. I thought the acting was quite good, certainly not "abysmal" as some have stated. There is just enough character development for this type of movie. We don't need too much info, just a bit of background for the characters to work with. This is supposed to be "The ultimate experience in Grueling Terror" and it delivers on that promise. I'm surprised this movie managed an "R" rating. While there are some torture aspects, it is mainly gore and much of it is so over the top those with a sense of humor will get a few laughs out it - for instance, touching dialog from a character dripping blood from missing appendages.

Upon the second viewing, I really was able to kick back and enjoy this movie for what it is - An over the top horror and gore fest with very well done effects. The final scene is somewhat unexpected and is the cherry on top, pushing the movie up to a 9 for me. Remember, this is horror, not "Forest Gump". The film succeeds in what it sets out to be - "the ultimate experience in grueling terror". Can't think of any recent movies that matched this on that level.

I've never been a big fan of musicals. I was recently introduced to this story via some earlier movie versions and began reading the book. Regardless of adaptation, the story is a great one. It is a critique of man's ways and a story of redemption(s).

I found this adaptation to be very "human". Actors are shown with all flaws showing, and many added for the roles being played. The singing was great at times, flawed at others, but a good mix of the two. Again it was nice to keep the human aspect intact with the singing. It was easy to connect with the characters due to the visual and audible humanness about them.

I found Eddie Redmayne's performance to be one of the best - he portrayed his characters emotion on his face and in his voice - and in his eyes - nicely. I'm surprised to not hear more about his performance.

Most of all, Les Miserables is a great story! It is food for thought, a social commentary, and at the same time entertaining. If you are not familiar with it as i was until recently, i highly recommend checking it out - again, for the amazing story on it's own.