Disney and Marvel team up to produce one of the best animated films of all time.
This movie was spectacular. Although it was not a Pixar film, it definitely ranks up there with the greats: Toy Story, Up, and Incredibles (also every other Pixar film besides Cars 2). Compared to other recent Disney films like Wrek-It-Ralph and Frozen, Big Hero 6 completely blew them out of the water. First off, let's start with the characters and voice acting. Each character had their moments. First off the 14-year-old genius named Hero. He and his brother are both science geeks and love building things such as...BAYMAX! Baymax is the stellar gem of this film and makes Olaf look like...well...a snowman with the great weakness of heat. Baymax had so many quotable and unforgettable lines that just drove the movie home. Even though he is an emotionless robot, his and Hero's relationship grows into an amazing bond. The other supporting characters were also great, one being Fred whose dad you may just recognize Marvel fans *wink wink*. The action and visuals were also stunning. Imagine the Avengers, take out all the boring parts, make it animated for kids, and there you go. 'Nuff said, it's worth the watch. With this being a kids film I was predicting a pretty predictable film. At some points it was, but still it really wasn't too bad. One thing that Big Hero 6 did that has not happened with me since Toy Story 3 was that it made me shed a little tear. You know a film is truly brilliant when you have only been connected to the characters for a half hour or so and they already turn on the water works. Kids will absolutely love this one, as well as adults. If you think Marvel is just a little too much for your kid or you're worried they won't sit through the movie, this is the answer to your prayers. It's not like other kids movies where its a pain to sit through *cough cough* Frozen *cough cough* (If I offended you just Let it Go guys. Whoops, now its stuck in your head. My bad.), but anyone can get into this film. Overall, it is now one of my most favorite animated movies. It brought so much heart, and well super heroes! Plus I loved finding those Marvel Easter eggs. You can't go wrong with this one. It'll make you laugh, it'll make you cry, it'll make you feel good inside. Big Hero 6 gets a 10/10. PLUS: the short film before the movie titled "Feast" was one of the best short films Disney has ever produced. It is a short heartwarming film for all you dog lovers out there. Truly awesome. Dylan O'Brien stars in the latest dystopian thriller based off James Dashner's novel. I have read the book (forced to for English class) and I absolutely loved the series. I had high expectations for the movie.
It was good but it didn't quite live up to the expectations. The acting was amazing, almost exactly how I pictured it in the novel, the action was very well made with the vicious Griever characters, but the story line was weak. I tried picturing it as if I hadn't read the book and it was very confusing in the beginning. I get that is how it was supposed to be because he Thomas, the main character, lost his memory, but it made the whole movie very hard to follow. You were constantly asking questions and I don't mean that in a good way. There were just too many characters to try and follow and it got confusing. One thing that was done well was the suspense that they built up while trying to solve the mystery of the Maze. I think the reason the pulled this off was because of the very creepy looking Grievers, and the excellent acting from O'Brien. Also, I loved the way that they lead into the next movie, the Scorch Trials, because I believe that movie will be MUCH better, because that was my favorite novel. I did enjoy the movie, don't get me wrong, but I feel that if you hadn't read the book you wouldn't really like it at all. Was it better than the God-awful Divergent? Of course! Was it better than the critically acclaimed Hunger Games? Not quite. Overall, this was a good young adult film but I felt like it could be somewhat confusing. The action was great and it kept you on the edge of your seat, but I feel like my only genuine love it came from the novel. The Maze Runner gets a 7.75/10. Growing up I was absolutely obsessed with the 2003 TMNT series. I collected every single action-figure, had 3 Battleshells, the huge Turtle Lair, and had just about every DVD (still do). I've always loved the Turtles and I always will, so I was excited for the movie.
It was alright. The Turtles were perfectly executed, but other than that, the movie was just OK. I'll get to the stuff I didn't like later, because I actually enjoyed this film. There was so much nostalgia in this movie for me with the Turtles. Mikey was hilarious as always, Donnie was the nerd that I always relate myself to, Raph was the hothead, and Leo was the fearless leader. They were hilarious with there immature humor and there personalities meshing together perfectly. As expected, Mikey stole the show. Raph did have to step up at one point to save the other three, Donnie had some cool scenes, but Leo hardly got any screen time. I can't really remember a particular scene where Leo stood out. Splinter was kinda weird looking, but he had an awesome battle scene with the Shredder that was stunning. The first few scenes, the Turtles seem to appear a little strange in appearance, but you get used to it as the movie goes on. I think that they're voices were perfectly executed. The action in this film was great especially the avalanche scene and the battles with Shredder. The Turtles would laugh and goof around as they fought the Foot Clan. It reminded me so much of the times I would wake up at 5 AM on Saturday mornings so I wouldn't miss TMNT when it came on at 9. The good old days. So is that why I liked this movie so much? Probably, yes. There were many things wrong with it. It was a basic Hollywood plot and did not have much, if any, character development, especially for the Shredder. We really didn't get any information about Shredder whats so ever and that kinda made me mad. He did look pretty awesome in his suit though, but you really don't feel that scared for the Turtles when you know nothing about the villain. Also the Foot Clan weren't ninjas at all. They were just terrorists with guns. Oh well, the Turtles still kicked their asses and that was fun to watch. Megan Fox absolutely sucked, as well as Will Arnet. Megan Fox is the worst actress ever, and Arnet was completely useless and was just annoying. Those two were in way to many scenes I wanted more Turtles! Another thing that bugged me was the dumb origin story. April having the Turtles as pets? WHA??? Kinda dumb in my opinion. Overall, this movie didn't have the best 'human' acting, or plot, but I loved the Turtles and the action. It brought back a lot of good memories from when I was a kid. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles gets a 7.5/10. Guardians of the Galaxy is the 10th entree in Marvel's Cinematic Universe (Iron Man, Captain America, The Avengers), and let me tell you, it is one of the best.
Director James Gunn did a fantastic job introducing the weird more wacked-out cosmic side of the Marvel Universe. A lot of people were turned-off by this movie because of how strange the characters were, but Gunn just took advantage of it. Every single character was so well written and developed that I can't even decide who my favorite Guardian is! Of course Rocket is hilarious and down right badass, but many of the films greatness moments came from the other Guardians, Drax, Star-Lord, Groot, and Gamora. Some of the best quotes in the movie surprisingly came from Drax. I thought he'd just be some tough wrestler who couldn't act, but I absolutely loved him. His greatest quote had to be the one about metaphors...lol. One thing I think they could have done better was developing the villains Roanan and Nebula. They didn't really have much of a back story besides a crazy Kree dude and Gamora's sister/Thanos' daughter. That was literally my one and only concern with the movie. There were so many Easter eggs for us Marvel fans that just made us jump up in our seat. What I absolutely loved was the scene with Thanos. He was just so menacing with his "bath in blood" quotes, and his grim appearance. He was exactly how I imagined him in the comics it was spectacular. Another great thing that has been building up for a few films now are the Infinity Stones. They finally straight up talked about them and revealed another one- the Power Gem. Iw as so fantastic. The acting in this movie killed, especially Chris Pratt and Dave Batista. They delivered there lines perfectly and I got so involved with the film. What was the greatest part about this movie was how James Gunn wrote the characters interaction. There was so much heart between them, especially with Groots lines. "We are Groot". It was a fantastic touch to a summer blockbuster. There is one thing that we go see summer movies for- the action. It was spectacular and never lost your attention. It never beat on your brain with to much of it, it was perfectly laid out. I loved it. Overall this movie was absolutely great. It was the perfect mix of action, comedy, and heart, and the audience will fall in love with every single character. Even if you're not familiar with the comics you will still love this extremely well made film. Guardians of the Galaxy gets a 10/10. Those darn dirty apes return in the best movie of the franchise. This film takes place a decade after the events of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes". It starts off with Caesar living peacefully with the rest of the apes, where it is obvious that evolution has been happening rapidly. All of the humans but very few have been wiped out by the Simian Flu virus.
This film is absolutely incredible. The story is so well written that you are on the edge of your seat the entire time. There is a constant since of danger throughout the whole movie that makes the film go by a lot quicker than the previous one. The only thing that mad me mad was the abrupt ending and cliffhanger, but they did it perfectly because I WILL be seeing the third installment. The movie was perfectly paced and just brilliant. I never once got bored. The acting in this movie was incredible. This just shows that a CGI based movie can truly have great characters and performances. The performance of Andy Serkis who played Caesar, the main ape was incredible. You felt so much power and emotion through him, that you really grew to root for him and his family throughout the whole movie. One thing that this movie did amazingly was character development. There was a lot of tension between Caesar and another ape named Koba and you saw it build throughout the film. The human actors, Jason Clarke and Gary Oldman were also great, but this movie mainly revolved around the apes. The action in this film was also spectacular. Unlike other CGI movies *cough cough* Transformers *cough cough* there wasn't to much of it at all. It was a perfect mix of character and action that a proper suspense that built up to it. The constant since of danger made the action sequences fulfilling to watch. I've never seen anything like the motion capture in this film. You could truly see the actors emotions pouring out of the apes. It was truly incredible and should be cherished forever. I'm sure that this film will have a few Oscar nods. Overall, this was a spectacular film that entertained me every minute of the way through. Definitely go check this one out everybody, you won't regret it. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes gets a 9.5/10. Grab a jumbo bucket of popcorn, a gallon of soda, and get ready to sit through three hours of mind numbing action.
Transformers: Age of Extinction, is the fourth film in Michael Bay's franchise based off Hasbro's famous toy line. This film comes about even with Dark of the Moon, but doesn't surpass the original Transformers. First off the plot was long, drawn out, and somewhat boring. For all of the Transformers sequels, the story always seems to be the same: an unknown transformer from afar wants to destroy Earth for really no reason at all. I guess humans just aren't likable. Anyways, throw in a few human elements on the villain side, (Kelsey Grammer, Titus Welliver) and BAM you have a plot. A lot of times the story made a lot of unnecessary plot points that were confusing. Like where the hell did the Dinobots come from! I understood it, but it was very lightly touched on. Other than them popping out of nowhere, they were very short lived, and honestly, kinda lame. Sure they looked awesome breathing fire and all that ,but dinosaurs? Really? When we were kids the dinobots were awesome (they still are) but it's just a weird concept. One moment Optimus Prime is convincing them to join the Autobots, one minute they're fighting the bad guys, and the next, they are gone. I think Michael Bay threw them in there to bring in some new audiences, because they've already seen the same old Transformer movie three times. He put them in every second of the trailers and probably only twenty minutes of the movie. I mean really? Come on! As for acting, Mark Wahlberg was much better than the stuttering Shia LaBeouf as the lead man. He cracked some one liners and was overall a nice part of the movie. His daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz) on the other hand was more of just eye candy when there wasn't any huge fights going on. A good part of this movie was Stanley Tucci's performance. He was hilarious and had some of the best lines in the movie. His character was a billionaire inventor who discovered Transformium (lame name right?) a rare metal that basically creates Transformers. He of course makes his own Transformers who go haywire by the help of a familiar Decepticon. Overall the acting wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. Just average. And now for the part that most people go to see this movie for: the action. It was amazing. The effects looked great as usual, and there were as many explosions as you would expect to see in a Bay film. The only problem I had with it was that there was SO much action. The first few fights were great and I was really getting into it, but an hour and a half later, it kinda just wore my brain out. After a while my eyes couldn't process anymore and it was almost like my brain just switched off. The action was good it was almost like there was too much of it though. Overall, this movie wasn't bad. Critics are hating it, and I can somewhat see why, but it was entertaining. If you're a teenaged dude who wants to see a movie just to see a movie, you'll love it. The only reason I'm bashing it is because I was watching with a critical eye. It wasn't the best movie but I enjoyed it. Definitely better than Revenge of the Fallen. Transformers: Age of Extinction gets a 6/10. Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort star in the chick-flick of a life time that will make you ball your eyes out.
Surprisingly, this movie was good. Not great, but good. In the story about love and cancer, you would likely find it dead and humorless. There were many moments where the film was filled with love and it just downright warmed your heart. The performances in this movie were stunning. Woodley and Elgort killed their roles as Hazel and Gus. You really felt for them in their extremely tough lives. I came out of the movie sad, but also glad that my life was much better compared to theirs. If they could live through cancer, then I can live through all my stupid problems. This movie was filled with easily quotable lines, that boys will now forever tell girls to impress them. "Ok?" "Ok." Overall, the plot of this movie was somewhat slow, and extremely predictable like all chick-flicks. The stunning performances made this one memorable though. The Fault In Our Stars gets a 6.5/10. Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt star in a Groundhog Day/Halo hybrid movie.
This sound like a complete recipe for disaster, but surprisingly, this movie was spectacular. The action was mind-blowing and the aliens looked different, yet real. The story may sound boring, but unlike the movie "Groundhog Day", Tom Cruise didn't relive every single boring moment every time. The way I thought the thought progressed was like a video game level. Tom Cruise would get further into the "level" and then die, having to restart. Every time he would die, the action sequences would just keep getting better and better. The acting was pretty good. Tom Cruise was probably at his best since "Mission Impossible" and Emily Blunt was killer. The way the story is, you wouldn't think there would be much character development between the two, but there is. When the climax comes you truly feel for these characters, and there lives. Overall this movie was the best original blockbuster I've seen in a long time. Go check it out it could use some more money at the box-office since coming out on the same day as "The Fault In Our Stars." Edge of Tomorrow gets a 8/10. Brian Singer (X-Men, X2) returns to the X-Men franchise to direct the best one yet.
This film is fantastic. This is the part of year that I love for movies because everyone that comes out just blows my mind with acting, story, and effects. Days of Future Past was no exception. The story was just brilliant, espeacially for comic book fans. The way that Singer connected the future and the past together was spectacular. To me it wasn't confusing at all. This may be becasue I am fimilar with the comics, but overall I felt like it could be easy to follow. You would need to know some basic knowledge of the X-Men going in. Seeing First Class in the orginial trilogy is probably a must if you want to fully understand the story. I've never been the biggest X-Men fan mainly becasue of all the random mutants they throw in, but they fix that problem in this film. Even the random mutants like Blink and Bishop played HUGE roles in saving the world. One mutant that I thought they would butcher in this one was Quicksilver- I was proven completely wrong. I LOVED him in DOFP. He was hilarious and his powers were absolutley killer. Evan Peters who played him was absolutley awesome. In his slow-mo scene (the best of the movie) I was rolling on the floor laughing the whole time. My favorite mutants and the most critical to the plot were Mystique and Magneto. Jen Lawerence and Michael Fassbender gave great performances. Mystique was no longer a whinny little girl like in First Class- she was an evil bad ass. As for Magneto he has always been a bad ass and he was here again. Hugh Jackman made his 7th apperance as Wolverine in this film and absoluley rocked it. When he first meets Professor X and Beast in the past, it is great, bacuse Wolverine isn't the best person you'd want trying to explain confussing things to people. The only thing I had a problem with was their was a slow period in the middle of the movie for about 15-20 minutes. Other than that, it was action packed. (( SPOILER* The after credits scene will mean absolutley nothing to non-comic book fans, but I regonized him as the evil Apocolypse and the Four Horsemen, the evil first mutant and his henchmen. This was a great nod to the upcoming X-Men: Apocolypse)) Overall, this movie was great. I would watch this again and again. It was by far my favorite X-Men movie, X-Men: Days of Future Past gets a 9.75/10. |