Reviews

Birdman is an ambitious film with great performances and excellent camera-work. The movie revolves around an actor, who famously portrayed a superhero(funnily enough, Keaton acted as Batman in the 90s), struggling to make it in the theatre world. What's fascinating about the movie is that you feel as if the movie is taken in 1 take, not kidding, 1 take. There are no cuts, no edits, as you continue to track all the actors from day to night and back to day. Editing is little rough, but the camera-work is superb and so is the performances. Keaton delivers one of his best and honest performances, and I wont be surprised if he gets an Oscar nomination. Definitely worth a look.

Jake Gyllenhaal is a horrifying genius in Nightcrawler. First time director Dan Gilroy really knows how to make his audience question our morals. A must see.

Nightcrawler is a well told story, well directed and an overall good film. Jake Gyllenhaal should undoubtedly get an Oscar nod for his role in this film. Music score is brilliant and questionable at times and dilutes the quality of some scenes. The ending is also a little unsatisfying and I feel as though this film should've either ended a scene or two earlier or that an extra scene should've been added afterwards. Regardless the flaws are overlook-able and this film will definitely be considered for a few Oscar nods if not receive them. 4/5: Good.

I think we all agree that the less Keanu Reeves has to say, the better. JOHN WICK is the perfect film and role since his former hit-man seeking revenge does all his talking with his gun(s). There really isn't much to the film. This is just a straight up, R-rated, ultra-violent shoot 'em up with some great action sequences. I love how the characters run out of bullets and have to reload during a fight. Stuff like that make the film funny at times amid all the head shots and blood. Keanu is very good when it comes to action scenes and this is his best action movie since the first Matrix. Very cool, very calm, and very deadly. The perfect ex-hit-man to root for.

I think the biggest hurdle that I faced going into this movie was my own expectations. Don't get me wrong, there is something very slow, grimy, and nearly tangible about the film. There is even something very artistic in how it is all presented and how the story is told. I just expected a faster pace and hoped for a memorable performance from James Gandolfini in his final role. If he knew it would be his last film, I think he would've tried to do more than show us how Tony Soprano would've ended up had he been run into bankruptcy and lost all of his connections in the mob world. Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace stole the show however. In their characters, there is something very simple about both who they are and what they are working through, and it shows even when there are no words. Both actors held their own, and kept this movie from sinking under the cloud of depression that it is shrouded in.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is proportionately perfect with the amount of laughter, action, and even emotional content. The film's mischievous misfits presented great chemistry along with its dynamic supporting cast. With plenty of CGI/special effects to be captivated by it also makes a strong case in being in its own realm separate from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's heroes and heroines and makes for a very promising film to close out the summer. My expectations were high and yet it not only met them it exceeded them. The tone throughout is pitch perfect. It is amazing to see how efficiently we were introduced to so many layered characters and yet the movie never lags. The visuals were stunning and by the end, I felt something I hadn't felt in years, the desire to get in line and see it all over again. I can't wait to know more about their adventures that I even went right to the source material and began reading. Bravo. Rather than the comparisons to the Avengers as some have made, I saw the story more closely related to the arc in Star Wars. 30-40 years from now the kids in the theater today will likely have the warm fuzzy I get when recalling SW when they think of GOTG.

An improvement on its underrated predecessor, The Purge: Anarchy is a thrilling film about so much more than just scares. This time around writer/director James DeMonaco seems better equipped to tell the story he wanted to. The moral and political messages are handled with a more delicate hand, and the characters seem to be better written and more important to the story itself. There are still some issues, mainly the conclusion of the film and the fact some of the dialogue feels stilted (especially when pushing the message of the film), but the film is thrilling enough and intelligent enough to be enjoyable to fans of the genre. Well written and acted. Kept you on the edge on your seat throughout the movie. This was a refreshing and original idea for a thriller.

Heart wrenching, character driven apes on horses running from explosions with a plot resembling The Godfather in familiarity... A must see and definitely a movie I will watch over and over... A brilliantly-realized successor to a solid franchise reboot, "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" shows what can be done when a talented director with a strong script and cast creates a summer blockbuster that doesn't feel the need to dumb itself down in order to succeed. The film has a number of epic setpieces including a colossal battle sequence, but unlike the previous movie, it doesn't leave things as a cliffhanger for another movie despite the fact that a third film is already being planned. Here's hoping they're able to create one of those rare infallible trilogies that never falters, like "The Lord of the Rings" or the original "Star Wars" trilogy. (We predict the third movie will either revive the title "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" or go with "War of the Planet of the Apes," because that's really the only way the story can go from here. Definitely worth the price of admission and more.

"Earth to Echo" is directed by Dave Green. This film is a found-footage film, which is a genre that is starting to annoy the living hell out of me. Right out of the gate, I will say that this film looked terrible. I thought it looked very much like E.T. While it did resemble E.T. in many ways, this film actually wasn't terrible. I found myself actually enjoying the film more than I thought I would, and I credit that mostly to the kid actors. The direction taken in this film is turns out to be pretty interesting, and the visuals are pretty good. Overall this is a pretty good kids movie, and it's definitely worth a Blu-ray/DVD rental at least

Another case of critics vs the average movie goer. I'm not Bay fan, but for once I felt he got the formula finally balanced. A reduction of childish attempts at humor, a more serious story, on screen character development of both human and robot characters, TIME to let the plot develop, good use of 3D and CGI, and good action both from humans and robots. Of all the Transformers movies, this is definitely the best for all the reasons it should be. A good sci-fi movie with characters that you can finally believe exist in the same world and far less annoying human actors. The movie is a right mix of comedy / humans and bot on bot action. If you are a fan of the Transformer series you will love all the nuggets and nods to the past. If you are a casual fan and only have seen the other three then you might not understand all the little sub plots.

Snowpiercer is an interesting take on dystopian future, set in a train circling around the desolate frozen world. The train has a class system, and the working class revolts, making snowpiercer somewhat of a mix between Children of Men and The Raid. The film is a solid exhibition of a dystopian future on a train, but I'd also like to see a Utopian version since the upper quartile of the train seemed like a great place for a film to be set it.

snowpiercer has a really solid cast, and Joon Ho Bong does well in his American film debut, this does the lack the humor his Korean films have though. The film incorporates a lot of Interesting political messages, ranging from nazism (the education), capitalism (class system), communism ("government" owns everything and workers revolt), fascism (government controls everything), etc. And It does all this without having an agenda or being preachy.

The end of the film is fairly poor, but the concepts and setting make up for the films lacking.

22 jump Street pulls off an amazing balancing act between elements of its predecessor whilst adding many new and better plot twists, characters and jokes.

This movie is hilarious and fun and wins us over from the start by making fun of itself as a sequel, but like many of its other ongoing jokes, juices this just enough to get maximum laughs without it becoming annoying.

22 jump Street should not only be regarded as one of the rare sequels to better an already good first film, but as a case study for all comedy sequels on how to not just replicate predecessors but truly BUILD on them.

Tom Cruise has been known to fight aliens before, but while his latest effort mimics the best of the genre (Aliens, The Matrix) while adding aspects of history (the Normandy from Saving Private Ryan) and glimpses of comedy (Groundhog Day), this movie ultimately feels pretty damn fresh. Time loop films can easily get repetitive, but director Doug Liman is too smart to give us the same scenes over and over. They all serve a purpose, move the plot, add humor or turn out to be frustrating dead ends for the protagonists. Once you accept the admittedly random reason behind the premise, there is no way not to enjoy this fun ride. This is all too cleverly crafted, breaking the chain of formulaic repetition with a pretty smart script, genuinely thrilling action sequences and impressive special effects. Following the kind of flawed heroes you enjoy growing invested in really helps, of course. Cruise-haters can instead take joy in seeing him getting killed over and over again. But make no mistake: We haven't had a grand-scale alien invasion thriller that worked so well in years, while knocking the audience's socks off.

The re-imagining of Maleficient takes a time old classic and transforms into something better. Personally, I think the original movie lacks plot development. In this movie, we get to know the motives behind Maleficient's curse, revenge on Stefan. While the movie lacks in visuals unlike Alice and Oz, it made up through the unstoppable force known is Angelina Jolie. Angelina Jolie's portrayal of the good turned evil turned good fairy deserves much acclaim. She is able to portray every emotion perfectly. Elle Fanning is also able to portray an innocent Aurora wonderfully. As with the blockbuster hit Frozen, which descipt's true love between sisters, the concept of true love here is shown through a mother-daughter like relationship. While distancing itself from the conventional idea of true love into something more universal, I hope Disney does not completely forget about the classic true love. Taking into consideration this is Stromberg's directorial debut, he does an absolutely great job at telling the story of Maleficient..............

Writer/Director/Star Jon Favreau made an auspicious writing/acting debut back in 1996 with the cultural touchstone, SWINGERS. Since then, he has moved smack dab into the middle of mainstream studio filmmaking with such megahits as ELF and IRON MAN. Perhaps as a way to reconnect with his indie roots, Favreau brings us CHEF, the story of a man tired of working for "the man" who strikes out on his own with a food truck and strives to forge a better relationship with his young son. If this sounds like conventional stuff, it is. It's also charming and lazy in equal measure.

Saw one of the advance screenings last night at cia. Entire audience was clapping at the end. We laughed so much. Kudos to favreau for not going the obvious direction we have grown to expect from movies. chef is a well told and comic story of a once up and coming star chef. Dustin Hoffman plays his role as chef caspers boss brilliantly. When pushed to far some very inspired and comic results transpire. You will want to eat after seeing this , even with popcorn in you. I already plan to buy this when it is out on DVD/blu ray.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was a very fun film but also a very flawed one. On the one hand its a very fun action film with some great performances and great special effect. On the other hand the plot feels like it wants to be so many things that it felt jumbled and lacked focus. The villains were exciting and cool but also felt underwhelming in the ending result. Electro lacked resolution and Harry Osbourne just seemed pushed. Also, what was the point of Rhino? I understand they are trying to setup the Six storyline, but they need to keep the story in one place. Andrew Garfield is the best Spider-Man to ever grace the big screen, sorry Tobey Maguire. Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHann, and the rest are all fantastic as well. The action was beautifully done and Peter Parker's character had some very good development and his wise cracking humor made the film highly enjoyable. Overall while it doesn't tread any new ground we still receive a sequel that lives up to its fun predecessor and proves to be more than worth the price of admission.

The Quiet Ones works on some levels, successfully mixing haunted house clichés with a layered, unpredictable plot, but the fact that it doesn't scare us means it fails on that one fundamental level so candidly vital in the horror genre. The intriguing plot and strong performances make for an interesting watch, but ultimately a forgettable one, which is a real shame. It's still the best horror movie this year as it stands, of course. This movie has the tension necessary to be creepy and unnerving and moderately entertaining.Shame about the last scene and a half. Why can't they let these things end? Does EVERY movie have to become a franchise?

Not sure what I expected, but this movie was funny yet completely unremarkable. While I did laugh a few times, all that I really came out of this one with was a realization that Kate Upton fills a role that is completely defined by her body...having no acting ability apparently wasn't an issue when casting. Also, Leslie Mann has certainly typecast herself in a role, as she seems to have played the same person in every movie that I've seen her in. The laughs were too few and far between for me to think that I enjoyed it...but judging from the noises in the rest of the theater, the women in attendance seemed to get a real kick out of it.

Sports films typically have a love/hate relationship with viewers - most never finding that honest middle ground that satisfies everyone's wants and desires. On one hand, you have the preposterous comedies that cap seriousness, sacrificing dramatic acting in exchange for a series of cheap laughs and feel-good moments, like Rookie of the Year, The Waterboy, and Caddyshack. Then, there's the beloved and devote dramas that live on in film infamy, which includes but is not limited to Rocky, The Natural, and Raging Bull. Finally, you have Kevin Costner's greatest hits, like Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, and For the Love of the Game. And, even though Kevin Costner has left the baseball diamond and thrown his last fastball, he clearly has found a memorable position as the GM of an NFL franchise in Draft Day.

The only real complaint about this film is that it doesn't incorporate actual NFL players - at least not in the manner that Moneyball involved them. Players like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are still stars in the Draft Day universe, however, the Cleveland Browns are a team compiled of fictional players - which probably isn't the worst thing since the Browns severely lack star-power now that the former face of their franchise, Trent Richardson, is no longer on the team. However, this is a miniscule problem in the long run, and the plot progression of the fictional players is allotted the proper time to plant their seeds of worth.

Overall, Draft Day takes full advantage of telling an engaging behind-the-scenes tale using the world's most popular league as a vehicle. From the film's trailers, the film might appear to be one giant commercial for the NFL, but thankfully it turns out to be a well-scripted, charming experience. Draft Day is a fun-loving popcorn flick through and through, but it's also exactly the kind of perfectly balanced story that draws people to the movies, incorporating just enough drama, subtly placing humor in stressful situations, and fulfilling its promise to reveal a compelling mystery that will keep everyone on their toes. For anyone that loves football or is interested in the power-play politics that that place behind the proverbial curtain, you'll have an absolute amazing time watching this feature.

This film is artistic in every dimension. The score is almost hypnotic, and matches the extraordinarily detailed costume and sets used in the film. Because of the brilliance of the script, and the outstanding acting from Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston, the film becomes the real world and as you come out of the theatre, you feel cheated almost because you had been made to feel like you lived in this perfect reality when you certainly do not. You stand there waiting for Adam's music to play, and when it doesn't, you have to kick yourself back into ordinary-life mode which contrasts so entirely with the world you had just been in that the transition is painful.

Almost 15 years since "The Blair Witch Project" pretended to document an ill-fated journey into the woods, its impact is felt more deeply than ever. The found footage horror genre technically pre-dated the digital filmmaking boom by nearly two decades (with 1980's "Cannibal Holocaust") but the age of user-generated footage, when everyone with a smartphone has one trigger finger ready to hit record, has made the device too ubiquitous for its own good.

The two actors performances are credible enough to legitimize the terror, only stumbling when they glare directly into the camera and profess their fears (a "Blair Witch" cliché that has run its course, the confessional moment is the worst example of overstatement). Derek's ensuing plight across the continent, in which he scales buildings and nimbly evades various countries' police forces, suggests "Cloverfield" by way of "American Werewolf in London," but lacks the same wry, self-deprecating humor of the John Landis classic. Instead, directors Proswe and Lee established a macabre scenario and then uses it as an excuse to run wild with the production values, piling up a series of impressive chase scenes and showdowns involving characters with the powers to scale buildings and hurl bodies across the room. It's a superficial delight to watch "Afflicted" gradually ramp up its effects work, and while the scares don't sink too deep, the movie offers surefire confirmation of found footage horror's latest stage.

This was really not that bad for a horror movie. The whole mirror monster sort of thing has been done before but what made this movie refreshing to me was the complete mind trip that was going on throughout the movie. I spent more than like 3/4ths of the movie utterly confused yet it made sense by the end. It was all over the place but slowly, I was able to piece things together. I personally thought it had the right amount of horror that it was actually able to make me jump at some parts without being too cringe worthy like most horror films are. Also, I was impressed with what was done despite the simplicity of the film. Tons of thrills, tons of fun. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed watching this.

Admittedly there's not much to this film outside of Jude Law's force of nature performance, he's a filthy, foul mouthed monolith of vulgarity and nastiness, and a joy to watch, it's a true revelation of a turn for the actor, breaking his posh, pretty boy image to pieces and gobbing on those pieces. Sure there's not much to the script or story, which are threadbare and under nourishing, plus Richard E Grant is somewhat wasted despite being rather wonderful, and there are many coincidental contrivances that sully the film a bit towards the end, but enjoy it for Law, for the stylish, off kilter approach to the British gangster movie genre, for the many gloriously profane monologues and the general fun depravity of the thing, plus it gets extra points for being surprisingly moving come the third act, which does not seem remotely likely given the first two thirds. A solid cult movie in the making.

The second half of Von Trier's latest is not as solid as the first. And, the blasphemous theme is lost in some sort of unsteady rebellion against societal / cultural oppression of women. This aspect is unsteady because if feels like there is also a certain level of sadistic eroticism where the woman is firmly position as the object of cruelty.

All together, it's a really smart, honest and daring look at sexual addiction and dysfunction... then there is this off the rails third act which is completely unnecessary and ridiculous.

While it meanders a little after Volume 1, and the plot makes some baffling leaps, it is still electrifying and well worth viewing, particularly when viewed right after part one.

The original film took some $486 million worldwide (the majority coming from international) and while Rio 2 should come close to that figure – especially given its headline-friendly voice cast and savvy marketing campaign - much will depend on how other family films fare over the busy Easter period.

What made the original such fun was the wonderful way it painted Rio de Janeiro. The sequel smartly opens back in the city, this time on New Year's Eve, dwelling on the humankind partying on Copacabana beach and the animals (mainly the birds) having their own bash on the iconic Christ the Redeemer statute which overlooks Rio. It is an appealing and entertaining start that reintroduces the main characters.

Rio 2 - offered up so much more unique entertainment that this largely jungle-bound romp, which often plays more like a musical than a family adventure.