a cure for wellness

Can you handle the Cure? Visit http://TakeTheCure.com now An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company's CEO from an idyllic but mysterious "wellness center" at a remote location in the Swiss Alps. He soon suspects that the spa's miraculous treatments are not what they seem.

There's that moment in the movie where I went, "oh that's how it's going to end, leaving us to speculate on the little clues and answers it gave, which allows us to formulate our own conclusions to the mystery?" I would have accepted that there and then, except the movie keeps going on, reminding us that this has an indulgently luxurious pacing, that could have preferably been a tight mystery tale if it was edited down from it's unnecessary running time of 2 hours and 26 minutes. I actually did want to see how the mysterious premise plays out until the end, but it started to feel a little like a chore in trying to get there. Do not watch this movie if you are the impatient type. 

Gore Verbinski is a visionary Director that is able to give us very beautiful imagery that could be put up in a museum as art. Then he mixes that in a narrative that has a very ominous tone that makes us suspicious of just about everything we see in the movie. Repeat that formula throughout multiple scenes, over and over and over again. If it wasn't for the gorgeous visuals, I probably would have been satisfied in just reading a full plot synopsis for the intriguing premise. If I did that however, my eyes wouldn't have been subjugated to the unnerving and disturbing imagery, that perfectly captures the unnerving and disturbing story. This movie goes into some creepy and dark places, that's for sure. 

Ambitious in both the visuals and in the thematic story level, there's a lot that I actually do admire about this movie, and it is undeniably thought provoking. The problem is that it felt overly indulgent enough to the point that I have no desire to revisit this movie. 

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the great wall

The Great Wall - In Theaters February 17, 2017 http://www.thegreatwallmovie.com Starring global superstar Matt Damon and directed by one of the most breathtaking visual stylists of our time, Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying Daggers), Legendary's The Great Wall tells the story of an elite force making a valiant stand for humanity on the world's most iconic structure.

It's a bit disappointing to see how Director Zhang Yimou; who has made some artistically beautiful visionary films, has somehow found himself making this relatively generic Hollywood monster movie. It comes complete with the archetypal characters, familiar plot tropes and cliches, straight forward story, plus a dash of that "white savior complex." It's almost like all the ambitiousness put on this movie was focused on the visuals more, and unfortunately that department didn't exactly produce masterful work either.

From the characters, to the premise, to the visuals, most everything here is generally bland. I say most everything, because there are things that I did in fact like. The sense of scale shown in this movie is incredible to watch. The extremely large army of the great wall, with each factions distinguishable by the striking color coded armors, is quite the sight to watch in action. The design of the monsters they are fighting, and how they are portrayed, is actually really good as well. Plus there are set pieces that were genuinely enjoyable to watch play out, like the first wall defense action sequence, or the "whale catching" plot point. 

I suppose the best compliment I can truly give this movie is that it honestly wasn't horrible. It's unfortunate that "The Great Wall" has several lackluster qualities to it, but the genuinely entertaining aspects might just be enough to justify it from not being a complete waste of time to watch. 

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the lego batman movie

In theaters 2017! http://LEGOBatman.com https://www.facebook.com/LegoBatmanMovie/ In the irreverent spirit of fun that made "The LEGO® Movie" a worldwide phenomenon, the self-described leading man of that ensemble - LEGO Batman - stars in his own big-screen adventure.

Needless to say, this isn't your typical Batman movie. This is a more comedic take on the character, that isn't above tossing references to other versions of Batman, all the pop-culture jokes that are mentioned, and the inside-jokes of fan service. It's also set in the Lego Movie universe, so die-hard comic book fans might have issues with how these classic characters are portrayed in this movie, compared to the more traditional takes. In terms of logic, the story goes into very absurd and ridiculous places, that asks the audience to just go with it even if it doesn't make sense. If all that sounds like the movie you wanted this to be, then congratulations, you should have a lot of fun with this. 

Will Arnett as Batman is fantastic here, and really carries the movie splendidly. I like that this movie is really not above making fun of the lead character, and still gets to do some character deconstructing that leads to an aspect of the Batman persona that is hardly talked about in other movies. I also really enjoyed how it poked fun at the "relationship" Batman has with The Joker; played by Zach Galifianakis. Then there's also Alfred, Dick Grayson, and Barbara Gordon, as well as all the many other characters, that either adds greatly to the story, or are at least there for some comedic scene. 

As with most comedies, the jokes in this movie can be hit or miss. I would say that there are more hits than misses, but some jokes will just fly over a lot of people's heads. The visuals are unsurprisingly great, and the Lego aesthetic and animation style is just so entertaining to watch. Like I implied earlier, the story can go all over the place; for the sake of comedy, but not wanting to ignore that "kid's movie" aspect of it all, there is also an overall thematic message and lesson in this one that I found to be really great. You'll come into this for the laughs, but you might leave the movie learning something worthwhile to improve your life as well. 

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a dog's purpose

A Dog's Purpose - Official Trailer In Theaters January 27, 2017 http://www.adogspurposemovie.com Based on the beloved bestselling novel by W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose, from director Lasse Hallström (The Cider House Rules, Dear John, The 100-Foot Journey), shares the soulful and surprising story of one devoted dog (voiced by Josh Gad) who finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he teaches to laugh and love.

I gotta start with a full disclosure here. I love dogs. I have some myself. This movie was made for people like me, and it'll be hard for me to not see past some of the flaws it does have. Actually I take that back. If this was a horrible movie; dog lover or not, I wouldn't be able to see past the flaws it does have. Thankfully, it's not a horrible movie at all! It may however be a bit on the uninspired variety, has the predictable cliches, overly sentimental, and is undeniably emotionally manipulative. Still the same though, it has one thing going for it, and that's the journey that the dog named Bailey goes through in the story. 

While there are several human characters here, the main star of this movie is the dog named Bailey; voiced by Josh Gad. The gimmick is that when Bailey passes away, he reincarnates into different types of dogs, which also allows the story to give us different eras of time to see because of the premise. Personally, seeing Bailey pass away multiple times pushed my limits on how much I could hold back my tears. Of course, I have to once again remind you that considering my love for Dogs, I'm conditioned to get a strong reaction from such scenes, so I understand if reactions will vary per person. Bailey passing away or the sad situations a dog can go through, aren't the only types of scenes that generated strong emotions from me, as there were many very positively touching moments as well. 

This movie does a good job in celebrating the relationship between humans and their canine companions. There's a lot of scenes that effectively promotes why everybody should adopt a dog, and showcases the positives and negatives that comes with that. The aspect that I think they really did a great job in, is the characterization of Bailey. That dog may seem to have some comprehension about the world; not too far from a human's perspective, but he isn't too smart to the point that he understands everything that is happening. That characterization of Bailey, his perspective on his different owners, and his reactions to what happens to him throughout his lives, are what really sold this movie for me. 

It may have been pandering to dog lovers everywhere, but this movie really hit all the right spots with me. If somebody who watches this ends up going to the animal shelter and adopts a dog because of it, then this movie served it's purpose. It may not be a perfect movie, but it had it's heart in the right place. 

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john wick chapter 2

John Wick: Chapter 2 - Now Playing In Theaters. Get tickets now: http://lions.gt/johnwick2tickets Starring Keanu Reeves, Common, Riccardo Scamarcio, Laurence Fishburne, Ruby Rose, Bridget Moynahan, Lance Reddick, Franco Nero, with John Leguizamo, and Ian McShane #JohnWick2 http://www.JohnWick.movie http://www.facebook.com/johnwickmovie http://www.twitter.com/johnwickmovie http://www.instagram.com/johnwickmovie In this next chapter following the 2014 hit, legendary hitman John Wick [Keanu Reeves] is forced back out of retirement by a former associate plotting to seize control of a shadowy international assassins' guild.

After the first John Wick movie, there is undeniably some high expectations on whether the sequel can match it, or even surpass it in terms of quality. People are going to want to see more elaborate action set pieces. This movie delivers there. People are going to want to see "The Continental Hotel" again. This movie delivers there. People are going to want to see the story expand the world building of this society of killers and assassins. This movie delivers there. People are going to want to see the stakes raised even higher. This movie delivers there. Most importantly, people are going to want to see John Wick continue to be the badass that he is. This movie definitely delivers there. 

Despite it being easy to praise Chapter 2, I actually don't necessarily think this movie surpasses the original, even though there are strong arguments to say that it did achieve that goal. I'll just concede on the fact that it does at least match the previous entry. While this sequel did some things that I had issues with, the good things it does do helps compensate a lot for it's flaws. Several of those awesome action set pieces the movie has comes to mind as one of the good things. In particular all the sequences between John Wick and Cassian; played by Common, were simply fantastic and so entertaining to watch. Everything with Ian McShane's Winston and Lance Reddick's Charon were also very much welcome. 

Now the conceit of this movie is that it does romanticize a hitman's life of violence and fire arms. Lots of deaths caused by bullets here. If you're not okay with that kind of escapist entertainment, then you definitely shouldn't be watching this. Plot wise, the movie does make an attempt to justify not wanting to be part of that world of killers, but that gets easily over shadowed by seeing John Wick taking out so many enemies with such talent, and in such a cool way. I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing that. 

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the red turtle

Through the story of a man shipwrecked on a tropical island inhabited by turtles, crabs and birds, The Red Turtle recounts the milestones in the life of a human being.

Out of nowhere comes this simple looking but gorgeously animated feature that I've ever seen, with one of the most beautiful musical scores I've heard, that was able to give me all the emotions I felt during the opening montage sequence of Disney's "Up," but in an 80 minutes feature. Reading what I just wrote there, I myself am thinking that I'm giving this movie too high of a praise. Then I'm reminded that I was genuinely moved to tears multiple times during the movie, and found myself having a hard time holding those tears back during the end credits. I guess I'm a sentimental fool, but wow did this movie hit me in all the right spots. 

This animated feature was able to say a lot, for a movie that has the simple premise of a castaway that's stranded on an island, and the not so simple encounter with a red turtle. It's like the melding of a realistic setting and a fantasy situation. What it really is though, is a celebration of the circle of life. From desperation, loneliness, anger, survival, determination, companionship, dreams, family, death, and rebirth, this movie spoke to me in so many levels. All of that achieved through the power of it's own visual narration, and without the use of any dialogue whatsoever. 

Some people might take issue with some of the more fantastical elements of the story, as well as one particular scene that may be hard to watch to the point of giving up on the main character, but don't let that dissuade you from seeing this. "The Red Turtle" will likely not be the most famous animated feature around, but Director Michaël Dudok De Wit should be happy in being able to create a very personal feeling masterpiece of a movie. 

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the space between us

In this interplanetary adventure, a space shuttle embarks on the first mission to colonize Mars, only to discover after takeoff that one of the astronauts is pregnant. Shortly after landing, she dies from complications while giving birth to the first human born on the red planet - never revealing who the father is.

Predictable. Implausible. Saccharine. Are just a few words to describe this movie in a negative light. There are also the plot conveniences that are there for the sake of moving the narrative along, while constantly pushing your suspension of disbelief. Inconsistencies about the near-future tech and about the lead character's knowledge-base bugged me as well. Gary Oldman swinging for the fences with some over acting didn't help this film's good will. All that makes this sound like a terrible movie right? Well, I honestly thought it was just perfectly okay. 

Looking past the flaws this movie has, you'll find that the premise still has it's heart in the right place as a young adult romance, and that can't be discounted. There are people who will find many reasons to like about this, as it's clearly pandering to a specific target audience who will eat this story up wholeheartedly. The major positive strength of this movie and a reason to see this, would be for Asa Butterfield and Britt Robertson. Both actors are entertaining in their roles, and I enjoyed seeing the two play off each other. If I was a 10 years old kid, I probably would completely fall in love with this movie. So despite the flaws it does have, it's not a horrible movie by any means. 

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the salesman

After their old flat becomes damaged, Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti), a young couple living in Tehran, are forced to move into a new apartment. Eventually, an incident linked to the previous tenant of their new home dramatically changes the couple's life. " SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/AmazonStudiosSubscribe " Now in Select Theaters!

Although there's a slow burn of a pace here, with several scenes meandering, or coming off seemingly mundane, there still contains some thematically deep layers here to provoke your thoughts. Written and Directed by Asghar Farhandi, it seems like he meticulously laid out the scenes in such a way that little touches of facial reactions to small lines of dialogue becomes more important than they seem to be at first. This film may seem simple enough in the beginning, but it's the growing complication of the premise that will grab hold off you until the end, along with some incredible set pieces that are very arresting to see play out. 

Shahab Hosseini as the husband Emad, and Taraneh Alidoosti as his wife Rana, are simply fantastic here. Playing a couple who are also stage actors, there's a parallel between their characters' craft and their personal lives. The way they try and keep an outside persona to try and hide their true emotions inside comes into play really well. The boiling build up of Emad's fortitude to follow through on the devastating event that happened may be the main plot that drives the story, but it's also the tragic situation that Rana is put in and how she reacts to it that will break your heart. 

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rings

Don't look away. Watch the first 3 minutes of RINGS. A new chapter in the beloved RING horror franchise. A young woman becomes worried about her boyfriend when he explores a dark subculture surrounding a mysterious videotape said to kill the watcher seven days after he has viewed it.

There were several set pieces in this movie, plus some cool ideas and concepts, that I thought could have actually led to some awesome things to show us. Unfortunately, it just never lived up to anything promising at all. The biggest issue I had with this, is that like typical mainstream horror films nowadays, there's an over reliance for jump scares. I was hoping for a scary movie that has a creepy and tense tone, with unsettling imagery that would haunt my dreams, and this unfortunately didn't really achieve that.

There is a mystery story that we all get to see where it's going, and I suppose it was interesting enough to want to see how it ends, but it still didn't really make up for it's flaws. The flaws being the obvious plot conveniences and ridiculous leaps of faith that this movie had all over the place. Just so many stupid things... What a disappointingly mediocre movie. 

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iboy

Tom is an average teenager whose world is turned on its head when a violent encounter with local thugs leaves fragments of his shattered smartphone embedded in his brain. He wakes from a coma to discover that returning to normal teenage life is impossible because he has developed a strange set of superpowers.

I get that there are some really ridiculous superhero origin stories on how they get their powers, but this one really takes a huge suspension of disbelief. HUGE suspension of disbelief! That's the hurdle the audience will have to get over first in order to give this movie a serious commitment to watch through the whole thing. Not only that, but part of the origin story contains a rather dark event that happens to one of the characters, and that's another thing the audience will have to get over to keep watching. With all that said, the rest of the movie is more or less harmless enough. 

This superhero movie doesn't do anything incredibly different than others before it. In fact, it kinda expects you to be familiar with the typical plot tropes that come with this genre of films, as it skips certain expositions that you come to expect from the superhero character. Either way, basically the premise is the typical one man secretly fights against bad people. To be honest, it's not horrible. There's a certain comfortable familiarity to the whole thing, that it's not hard to find things to like about it. 

Once again though, it's that requirement to take huge leaps of faith and the suspension of disbelief that kinda constantly keeps this movie down. If it didn't take itself too seriously, I probably would have had a lot more fun with it. At least the cast that consists of Bill Milner, Maisie Williams, and Rory Kinnear, were good in it. Here's hoping that if there is a sequel to this, they'll do a much better job at it. 

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