transformers the last knight

You know a blockbuster movie franchise is going down the wrong path, when each installment doesn't seem to be in competition on which one is the best (obviously the first one), but which one is the worst. Between Michael Bay's Transformers parts 2 to 5, I have to say that "The Last Knight" takes the crown as the worst of the bunch. What an obnoxious mess of a movie. 

For the longest time now, us fans simply want to watch a Transformers movie where it's focused more on the Transformers themselves. We want less scenes involving human characters that we don't care about, and more scenes of Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, etc... What does this movie do? Even MORE scenes of human characters we do not care about. When we do have the transformers on screen, it usually involves four scenarios. One, a scene where a human is either berating a Transformer, or is talking to them like they are some kind of pet or child. Two, an extended sequence where they are in their vehicular form, in what is basically another action scene where we don't really see a robot. Three, a Transformers shooting at something off screen. Four, an actual Transformers vs Transformers fight scene, that usually don't last long enough. 

Speaking of characters, the majority of the Transformers don't have much to do at all, except have a few lines of dialogue, or just to be in the middle of an action sequence. Peter Cullen and Frank Welker are absolutely wasted in this movie.  The only Transformer that had some actual spotlight put on them is Cogman; voice acted by Jim Carter, who while he can get rather annoying at times, actually provided some entertaining scenes. Bumblebee has the most screen time out of all of them, but he was still mostly just an ancillary character whose purpose is just to be the token Transformer of a given scene. 

Can we please get a better director and writers for this franchise? Enough with the frenetic action sequences of bullets flying, random things exploding, and unnecessary chase sequences. Those things wouldn't be an issue, if they were at least enjoyably fun to watch. The action in this movie are like a visual representation of what a migraine would look like. The writing for this movie is unfortunately all over the place in it's idiotically unnecessarily convoluted story of trying to link up together all these multiple plot lines, and characters that we aren't given enough reason to care about. I get that they are going for this whole "the world is going to end unless we do something about it" epic story telling, but at least make it entertaining. 

The only ones who seem to be having some fun in this movie are Anthony Hopkins and Jim Carter as Cogman, but they aren't enough to save this. Everybody else are way too serious in a very pretentious way, and that includes the precocious 14 year old girl that we're suppose to feel something for. When it tries to be funny, it almost always falls flat, or just comes off as patronizing to the audience. Here's a word of advice to this movie... a hundred scenes of characters arguing and bantering with one another is only fun if they are executed properly! 

Michael Bay, you, your schizophrenic edits, your love for things blowing up, your ridiculous amount of aspect ratio changes, and your general lack of restraining your indulgences, should really leave this franchise. You've claimed to quit Transformers several times already, and yet you keep coming back. Leave!!! 

loveditenjoyedititsokayitsmeh  IT'S TERRIBLE

47 meters down

I know this is primarily being advertised as a shark movie, and it's true that our protagonists are trying to avoid getting eaten by such an animal. The sharks however aren't the main things that this movie focuses on in terms of danger. Getting accidentally dropped 47 meters in the ocean while in a cage, with a limited amount of air, and the dangers of decompression sickness; aka "The Bends," plus other scuba diving rules and jargon, are many other things to worry about on top of the sharks. If anything else, this is a movie about how dangerous deep sea scuba diving can be. 

Due to the focus on scuba diving, plus the addition of sharks being a threat, the movie is actually a little bit more interesting than yet another story about a dangerous shark encounter. There is a bit of background story exposition in regards to the main characters, but I simply would call those the boring moments. This movie does not pick up until they get to that boat, and get in that cage. For only a 90 minutes run time, there is that significant chunk in the beginning that I could have lived without. 

Mandy Moore and Claire Holt are good in this at least. Their story progression as they try to survive this experience can be a bit predictable, but they play their archetypes well enough. Mandy Moore is the inexperienced panicky one, and Claire Holt is the more experienced braver one. Can you easily guess where this movie goes with their characters? Sure, but the "lessons" about scuba diving adds a nice touch of expositions, and the risky actions they take does add to the tension when watching this movie. 

While "47 Meters Down" generally feels like a throwaway underwater thriller of a story, it has it's merits of playing the game of "will they" or "won't they" make it alive by the end. I should say that there is a plot point that will definitely challenge your limits on what you can accept from this movie, and that might completely sour your experience watching this. All I know is that while the movie "Jaws" made you afraid of going in the water because of sharks, this movie is an example on why you shouldn't do deep sea scuba diving. 

loveditenjoyedit  IT'S OKAY  itsmehitsterrible

all eyez on me

Since this is a movie based on real life, there is a lot of contention on how accurate it is in it's adaptation of rap legend Tupac Shakur's story. Whether it got the facts correct or not is one thing, but the other question is on if this movie is entertaining to watch or not. It is enjoyable to watch in many regards, but there are times when I wished they could have edited out certain scenes. Some scenes have a tendency to be too brief, while others tended to be longer than it should have been. 

Like with most biopics that try to cram years worth of history into a tolerable running time for a movie, this one had issues properly balancing out the things it actually needed to show us. I would say that the first half of the movie was able to pace things out a little better, and allowed the story to just grow in a reasonable way. The second half of the movie however seemed to just be content in giving us highlights after highlights without much in terms of a normal plot progression. The narrative of the movie just felt off several times, although it has the benefit of still being about a very fascinating true story and person. 

Demetrius Shipp Jr is pretty amazing playing the role of Tupac, and there is a certain confidence to his performance that really carries the movie through and through. Even if the script can sometimes fail him, Demetrius seems to be able to rise above the flaws and is able to keep our attention. If anybody else was going to upstage him, it's Danai Gurira as Tupac's Mom Afeni Shakur. What an electrifying work by Danai that absolutely steals the movie whenever she is on screen. 

Since this isn't exactly a documentary on Tupac, I can understand why the direction took certain liberties for cinematic reasons. Either way, Demetrius Shipp Jr, Danai Gurira, and the legend that is Tupac, should be enough reason to check this movie out. 

loveditenjoyedit  ITS OKAY  itsmehitsterrible

the book of henry

At first this looks like a conventional family drama film, about a boy genius who seems to have taken the reigns on taking care of his adorable younger brother, and his goof of a Mom. It's also like a conventional caper thriller, about an intricate plan to save the girl next door from an abusive step-father. One part of this movie is lighthearted and touching, the other part is dark and gripping. Combined together, makes this a rather unique experience. A movie mash-up of two different genres? Yeah, not every movie goer is going to accept the tonal differences that it gives. That may not be for everybody, but it worked for me. 

There's another thing that people might have a problem accepting about this movie, and that's the fact that Henry is a boy genius. Some people might get turned off by how seemingly perfect and smart he is at everything. Speaking of Henry though, Jaeden Lieberher plays the precocious boy really well. Jacob Tremblay is also fantastic as his younger brother Peter. Both of these child actors are simply great on screen. To top it off, Naomi Watts is excellent as always, playing the loving but ultimately carefree Mom; Susan. I thought the role-reversal of Henry and Susan was pretty charming, but others may not feel the same way. 

I'm not done yet saying what might be oft-putting about this movie for people. Without revealing spoilers, there is a plot in this movie which leads to the ending, that depending on your point of view, may come off incredibly far-fetched, and will ruin your suspension of disbelief. I myself thought it worked well enough as it wanted to be, but talk about a risky story to include in this movie. With all the chances this takes with it's premise, I have to show some admiration for Director Colin Trevorrow and Writer Gregg Hurwitz of attempting to make this into a feature film; questionable decisions aside. 

Needless to say, this movie isn't for everybody. I myself thought the characters themselves were enough for me to feel really invested in the story, but I can see how the plot will be really problematic for other people. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible

rough night

As I usually say about funny movies, it's that comedy is subjective. What one person may find funny, another person may not. So did I personally find "Rough Night" hilariously funny? Not really. I laughed a few times, or smiled for some moments acknowledging a joke, but I didn't find anything here that made me genuinely laugh out loud. I did find the farcical premise generally humorous, which is a group of friends trying to party it up for a bachelorette get together, and then things go wrong when somebody dies. It's not an entirely unique plot, but it's not something I would fault them for. There are even certain plot points that do pay off by the end of the movie as well (stay for an important after credits scene), which I can appreciate that they thought the story through enough to pull those off. 

A lot of outrageous things do happen constantly in this movie, but unfortunately just the act of showing something outrageous doesn't automatically mean comedy gold. There's a lot of raunchy humor here, as well as situational comedic scenes, and it seems like it does make many attempts to create memorable funny moments, but a lot of it just falls flat. There is even this one recurring sub-plot involving actor/co-writer Paul W Downs that I found absolutely obnoxious and just plain stupid. Needless to say, logic is absolutely thrown off the window here, but that's neither here nor there. 

I suppose on the positive side of things, I do like the cast. The characters are almost like your typical archetypes of who we are all suppose to find in a movie like this, but it worked regardless because of the decently good chemistry of the cast together. If there was one weak link among the five primary cast members, it's actually Scarlett Johansson who was the least interesting person of the bunch, or Jillian Bell who could be a little annoying at times, Kate McKinnon was odd in a humorous way, Ilana Glazer was amusing with her contradictory ways, and Zoe Kravitz just gets kudos for being in that one particular plot of the movie that involves the neighbors. 

It's unfortunate that this movie didn't really work on me, because it does seem like there will be people who might genuinely enjoy this. I suppose I could just say that if you are a fan of any of the cast, then go ahead and see it anyway. 

loveditenjoyedititsokay  IT'S MEH  itsterrible

my cousin rachel

There are two things about this movie that might not work for some movie goers. The first thing is that Philip; the lead character played by Sam Claflin, makes a rather quick change of heart, from hating somebody to completely falling in love with that person, all in a short amount of time. This is the premise of the movie after all, so I suppose you either accept it or watch something else. I myself bought the reasons why Philip changed his mind, and it does have a lot to do with the character of Rachel; the widow of his cousin played by Rachel Weisz, and the effect she has on him. 

The second thing about this movie that might not work for some movie goers, is how blatantly obvious this seems to be in trying to make you have to decide on whether Rachel really is manipulating Philip, or if this is all just a misunderstanding. Once again, this is after all the premise of the movie, but I would say that Director Roger Michell laid too many suggestions into making us think she really has sinister motives, that the guessing game of whether she is or isn't is very one sided into one conclusion. 

Since the movie is primarily seen through the eyes of Philip, we get to follow him into his descent of madness through the rabbit hole that is his cousin Rachel. From his anger towards who she is at first, through his infatuations, his obsession, his paranoia, we get to experience what he is going through as well. That is where it gets frustrating though, because Philip makes decisions you probably wouldn't do yourself, that are absolutely face-palm worthy. That is the romantic-mystery-thriller aspect of this movie however, and it will either hook you right in all the way to the end, or you get the opposite reaction and can't wait for the end. 

Sam Claflin and Rachel Weisz are both really good in this, with Weisz doing a lot of excellent subtle acting to keep us guessing as to what her real motivations are, as opposed to what her character claims. A period piece, with engaging characters, a mysterious plot, and fantastic cinematography, only shows that this movie is better than it really is. 

loveditenjoyedit  IT'S OKAY  itsmehitsterrible

cars 3

The tag line for the movie's marketing says that "from this moment, everything will change." Saying something like that would imply that this movie is going to be different and offer something new. Which seems unlikely right? Well, with the added characters and where the movie ends up, it actually wasn't lying because everything did change. However this story still borrowed from a lot of plot tropes and cliches that we are already familiar with anyway. In this movie's case, that isn't as big a negative against it as it could have been. 

Despite the generally middle-of-the-road story conventions, I have to admit that I found the movie quite engaging either way. The overall theme about the veteran racer trying to remain relevant in an era where the younger racer is dominating the race, may not be a new story idea, but it was still effectively told. So much so, that I'm not sure if young children are really the target audience for this movie, as it seems more relatable for older adults who realize they aren't young anymore. You've seen that story before, but it's still one that's worth revisiting. 

Simply put, this movie has a fairly predictable premise, and may not have what I would consider a unique story. Even when it does try to subvert your expectations with certain plot turns, the plot still progresses just as you expect things to go. That's not necessarily a bad thing though. Not spoiling that particular plot turn, but I have to say that I really admired the direction the story ended up going, and most definitely made this movie better.

This installment showed that this unusual animated film franchise about talking racing cars can be more than what it simply appears to be in a superficial level. It's got likable characters, a relatable story, great visuals, entertaining funny bits, some enjoyable race sequences, effective themes, and a lot of heart. A lot of heart. At this point, Cars 3 is easily my favorite of the three movies by far. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible

megan leavey

When I saw the trailer, I wondered why the movie isn't named after the dog from the story. It turns out that this story really is all about the lead character of Megan Leavey. Her struggles, her triumphs, and her love for Rex the dog. This is primarily a look into her life, with the dog being a really good supporting actor. I will have to say that although this is based on a true story, the movie itself took many liberties to make things more dramatic. It can be easy to fault it for doing that, but the primary theme and point of Megan Leavey's story still carries through. 

The film is generally pretty low key without too much flashy scenes going on. There is an extended battle sequence which was done really well, but the majority of the movie is not exactly action packed. There's a lot of introspective moments in the movie, which I thought wouldn't have worked if it wasn't for Kate Mara in the role. I thought Mara was able to display the kind of moody angst, seriousness, and sadness that her character is suppose to have, and yet still be able to show pure happiness when it's needed. Without a lot of elaborate sequences, Kate Mara really needed to carry the movie as much as she could, and she did. 

With a straightforward narrative, and it using familiar biopic plot tropes, it may sound easy to dismiss this movie. Some might also argue that the movie is a little manipulative in trying to get emotional reactions from people. I would say that isn't entirely true, and believe that despite some derivative plot points, this movie earns it's emotional pay offs. I'm not ashamed to say that it actually brought me to tears, and effectively got me there; although I love dogs a lot myself so there's that. 

Despite the simplistic nature of the story, and a predictable plot progression, "Megan Leavey" actually does have an inspirational tale that's worth checking. The pairing of this female Marine and her bomb-sniffing dog is most definitely a story worth knowing. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible

it comes at night

It's easy to praise this movie for it's film making. First and foremost is the cinematography, in how the darkness and shadows are perfectly black, that it captures that creepy feeling of being in a very darkened place, with the only light source being a flashlight or a lamp. Speaking of creepy, the musical score also perfectly ramps up that sense of tension for many scenes. On the subject of tension, the camera work, the pacing, and the overall tone of the film, all work so well together that it's able to put you on edge, just waiting for the shoe to drop. 

So in terms of giving this movie credit for it's technical and visual work, I give Director Trey Edward Shults two thumbs up for making this film look the way it looks. Since Shults also wrote the movie, I have to say that I also admire what he is trying to relay in this story, that ends up being about subject matters on paranoia, trust, love, and needs. In a way this really is a horror movie, but only in the psychologically creepy and disconcerting way. In other words, this is not for everybody, and apparently I'm included there as well. 

I had issues with this movie, in terms of the story and particularly the characters. Every moments or scenes that were intended to make me care about the characters of the movie, were unfortunately ruined by more moments and more scenes where I didn't care for them at all. You must have seen other movies based in an apocalyptic settings, with the primary theme being about survival of the fittest. This film doesn't really stray too far from most familiar plot tropes, cliches, or conveniences, of the genre. That in itself can be forgiven to a point, but then the characters start doing nonsense, and that's when the movie loses me. 

Despite my issues with the movie, I still can't stop but give more kudos for the film making work, It's just unfortunate that it's also hard for me to completely recommend the movie because of how frustrating it can be to watch what happens in it. Some people might even say that nothing truly interesting actually happens in the film. 

loveditenjoyedit  IT'S OKAY  itsmehitsterrible

dean

The best thing about this movie are the cartoons that Demetri Martin drew, and that are prominently featured in this. That sounds like a backhanded compliment doesn't it? Alright, how about the fact that I also liked the visual edits done in the movie, like the split screens, the clever use of closed captioning for one particular scene, and the inclusion of those cartoons. Okay, how about the fact the premise can be pretty insightful, which the cartoons also do a good job reflecting on. Fine, the movie is not all about those cartoons, and it has more to offer... although I really did like those cartoons. 

I suppose my biggest issue with this movie is that it's a little bit of a mess tonally. There are comedic scenes of genuine brilliance, and then there are scenes that just fall completely flat. It also has a dry sense of humor that may not necessarily be that funny for some people, and at best the funny bits are simply tongue in cheek. The comedy mostly consists of scenes of awkwardness or embarrassments, and those can be entertaining enough or full on face-palm worthy. There are also whole bits about Los Angeles and it's residents that was way too heavy on the satire to the point of obnoxiousness. Now that I think about it, I hope it was in fact satire, because if not then Demetri Martin has a very cynical perspective on California. 

Not to completely disparage the movie, but I have to say that I really did appreciate the emotional arc of the characters. Demetri Martin, Kevin Kline, and Gillian Jacobs, were all very good in this movie. I also liked the general theme about grief and thought it felt appropriately personal and moving, creating some genuinely powerful scenes. While not the best movie around by any means, "Dean" does have it's merits. Plus there are those cartoons. 

loveditenjoyedit  IT'S OKAY  itsmehitsterrible