logan

People expecting this to be a typical comic-book movie may be surprised to learn that it's really not. The liberal use of the F word and the brutal non-cartoony violence may cement that point as well. The character of Logan is an ornery man with claws for weapons after all, so this movie not holding back from those elements actually makes a lot of sense. It should be pointed out that there are still some comic book easter eggs, and acknowledgement of the general X-Men mythology, so the movie doesn't completely ignore it's roots. However, the Wolverine in this film is now old, full of regret, and is tragically a mere shadow of his former glorious super-heroic self.

The more melancholic tone and careful pacing that Director and co-Writer James Mangold gave this, is what sets it apart from other comic book movies. As a longtime fan of these characters, it was easy to feel a sense of sadness in seeing their twilight years as depicted in this story. The premise itself of a reluctant man trying to just disappear from the world, who encounters a young girl in trouble that upends his desire to be left alone, is simply quite engaging. This man who represents the past, and this girl who represents the future, is a very effective combo and the heart of this movie. Thematically, this film offers a lot of compelling things to consider.

Story-wise, I wanted this to keep going past it's running time of 137 minutes. From the brutal opening that sets up the kind of action sequences that's to be expected from this, the chases and escapes, the quieter moments of people having dinner together, to the many scenes of Logan being an a-hole, plus Laura kicking ass, there's definitely a lot that I really liked about the plot. Especially those action set pieces. Overall the journey this movie took me from beginning to end was absolutely worthy of my time. 

Hugh Jackman is amazing playing the role as the weary and ill-tempered old man Logan. Patrick Stewart is fantastic as the very old Charles Xavier, and adds some welcome comedic moments. Dafne Keen is also quite incredible playing the very dangerous Laura, and people might just be shock to see how deadly this young girl can get. The supporting cast of Stephen Merchant and Boyd Holbrook are also good in their roles as well. 

Could "Logan" be one of the best "comic book movies" ever made? That may be a debatable argument in the general sense, but I can safely say for sure that this is the best movie that features the Wolverine. 

LOVED IT  enjoyedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

a united kingdom

Love, Marriage, Racism, Controversy, Leadership, Politics, Government, and Determination. This movie tells us a powerful true story that shaped a country and helped moved a people towards the goal of equality. As most biopics go, the narrative has to condense several years of history into less than two hours, but thankfully Director Amma Asante was able to keep the plot moving and engaging throughout.

Another major factor that helped this movie was the amazing performances by David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike. Both actors were able to showcase the love and respect Seretse and Ruth had for each other, as well as the strength to overcome all the opposition and hardship that faced them. It is truly a wonder for them to stay together, when it seems like the whole world wants them apart. It was very easy to sympathize with the two characters, and then to feel the joy for their happier times. The theme of "love conquering all" is as cliche as it can get, but it didn't bother me one bit here. 

As a historically educational film, it's important that this story reaches more people. As a movie about two star-crossed lovers, it's very inspiring and only makes you want to aspire to find a love like theirs. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible

collide

With all the car sequences, criminals with guns, and a protagonist that would do illegal activities but with good intentions, it seems like this is trying to be Europe's version of a "Fast and Furious" type of movie. Sure the "ends justifies the means" reasoning found in the story is morally flawed, but hey look at all those spectacular stunts and car crashes! Once you get pass the first portions that sets up the characters and all that, the rest of the movie are a series of exciting action sequences. It's not setting a high bar or anything like that, but they were perfectly enjoyable enough to watch. 

Nicholas Hault and Felicity Jones may be the primary characters you would want to see have a happy ending by the conclusion of the movie, but it's really Ben Kingsley as Geran and Anthony Hopkins as Hagen Kahl that you will want to see more of. They steal the show. Kingsley and Hopkins look like they are enjoying themselves hamming it up for the camera, each showcasing their own colorful ways of making their characters stand out more in entertaining fashion. Kingsley with his pop culture references, to Hopkins doing a stereotypical Bond villain type. Fun stuff. 

Many will fault this movie as having an uninspired cliche filled story, and looking too generic to bother seeing. There are also the obvious flaws and unbelievably stupid situations that will make you want to do a face palm in disappointment. Not to mention all the bad guys who constantly try and shoot our hero, but can never seem to hit their target. A lot of suspension of disbelief here. However, look at those cars going really fast and crashing on the autobahn! 

loveditenjoyedit  IT'S OKAY  itsmehitsterrible

get out

When the movie "Jaws" came out in the 1975, it made swimmers think twice before getting in the water. When the movie "A Nightmare On Elm Street" came out in 1984, it made kids feel unsure about wanting to go to sleep. When "The Blair Witch Project" came out in 1999, it made people wonder about what bad things might happen in the woods. When "Paranormal Activity" came out in 2007, it made people a little uneasy about the home they are sleeping in. With the movie "Get Out" in 2017, it's probably going to make Black people think twice about visiting their white girlfriend's isolated suburban town that's populated by white people. 

Despite the fact that I did enjoy this movie, I actually do not think that this is the best and scariest horror film that I've seen in a long time. In fact, I'd go as far and say that I didn't really think it was that scary at all. With that said, I have to admit that this is an expertly written and directed movie that mixes social commentary about racism effortlessly within the horror genre. The build up, the set up, the plot reveals, all were done very well. Although I'm downplaying the scare factor, the premise of this movie is still technically scary, but it's really more in the creepy category of scary. Creepy people. Creepy dialogue. Creepy visuals. Creepy interactions. Creepy awkwardness. Truly the creepy factor is this movie's strength, and those are the moments that will haunt your thoughts after seeing this. 

It has to be said that I truly appreciated it that Writer-Director Jordan Peele used very minimal cheap jump scares. Speaking of tired scare tactics by typical modern scary movies, people who are looking for pure terrifyingly horrific scenes might be a little disappointed. There are some gore, but nothing that traumatizing. There were some tense moments, but it never really got too intense. Add in some good comedic moments with supporting actor LilRel Howery, and we've got here a very well made horror movie that shouldn't be too frightening for those who are easily scared off by this genre. 

LOVED IT  enjoyedititssokayitsmehitsterrible

fist fight

There's one big issue with this movie, and it's that it just wasn't that funny. There were jokes and sight gags that constantly happen in it, and my brain did register that they were suppose to make me laugh, but the problem is that I couldn't find it in myself to actually laugh. Maybe I did laugh for one, two, maybe three of the jokes, but I think that's it. The movie seemed obsessed with trying to be outrageous and edgy, that it forgot that it can't just rely on that method alone, and actually needed to make it funny as well. I know comedy is subjective, but c'mon now! 

I was ready to write off the whole movie as an absolute waste of my time, but it managed to salvage the experience during the last twenty minutes. Specifically speaking, there is one scene towards the end that involves actress Alexa Nisenson that I genuinely enjoyed, and of course there's the teacher fight that actually was fun and entertaining to watch. Those two set pieces were like the main pay-offs to everything that happened before them. They could have saved us a lot of time and just released those two parts online as short films that would have worked on their own without the rest of the movie. 

Despite the numerous issues I had with "Fist Fight" (should have just been called "Teacher Fight"), I can't blame the cast at all. The cast did as good a job as they can for the roles given to them. Big kudos to Charlie Day and Ice Cube for looking like they still gave it their all, even if the film didn't really live up to their talents. I actually did like the premise of the movie, the social commentary about teachers, students, and the school system, about standing up for yourself, and having accountability, all that I liked. I just wished all that would have ended up in a much better film. 

loveditenjoyedititsokay  IT'S MEH  itsterrible

resident evil the final chapter

Can I just say that this is a terrible movie and call it a review? No? You want me to waste more time on this movie and give you a few more words? Alright. How about... The action sequences were terribly choreographed, and incredibly unexciting. The visuals were generally uninspired and boring to watch. There were practically no real scary moments in this movie, short of some jump scares and sudden loud noises. The story was insipid and contrived, with things just happening because they had to happen. I didn't care about any of the characters, although Milla Jovovich's Alice looked like she at least tried to play her poorly written part as best as she could. Speaking of which, there was one very brief plot point towards the end of the movie, that gives a much needed resolution to the Alice character that I really did appreciate. Besides that one single positive thing, this movie was a complete waste of my time. 

loveditenjoyedititsokayitsmeh  IT'S TERRIBLE 

a cure for wellness

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. 

loveditenjoyedit  IT'S OKAY  itsmehitsterrible

the great wall

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. 

loveditenjoyedit  IT'S OKAY  itsmehitsterrible

the lego batman movie

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. 

LOVED IT  enjoyedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

a dog's purpose

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. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible