Creed 9.5/10 Amazing movie. Probably the best sequel to Rockey but it can also stand on its own. Jordan is amazing in it. Stallone best performance in years. Only issue with it is at times it can be slow with the love story stuff.

 

Creed
Very good.

 

That's my take on it too. I just couldn't relate. Maybe I didn't have enough of a troubled childhood, or difficult growth, or whatever is needed to emotionally connect with her. Joy and Sadness also came off kind of annoying to me. I didn't really root for them, and I think you need that in a movie.

I'm not sure schizophrenia was what they were going for. I think they were going for "coming of age the wrong way by going down a dark road". Instead of maturing more "normally", if you'll accept that term for it. I think the implications of running away would have resulted in no new islands of interest, or possibly the loss of all things she held dear?

Either way, it just didn't pack that punch I generally see in the movies I like. Like I said before, I'll definitely watch it at least 3-5 more times, because I tend to cycle through Disney movies quite regularly. I'm willing to concede that my opinion will probably improve on the film.

 

Finally got around to seeing this after I read about all the hype for it:

Kingsman: The Secret Service - 10/10

 

Best since... Rocky Balboa.  

 

Mockingjay 2 - 5.5/10

Obviously the book was split into two movies as a cash grab, and both movies suffered from it. The ending of M2 especially was given short shrift.

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Prim's death, Gale's "banishment," and Katniss realizing her love for Peeta were so abysmally covered that I was very disappointed.

Like others have said, there were several parts where I was really bored.

 

Mockingjay Part 2 - 9/10. So. Much. Crying. But it was very good except I don't like that they split movies in half

 

Some Like It Hot - What the hell did I just watch? And I mean that in a good way. This movie was just weird, very weird. It was so damn funny and yet very disturbing. I did feel it dragged a little bit in the middle but that aside this was quite enjoyable. I think I'm going to give it an 8/10, although I still haven't compressed everything I just experienced.

 

Ex Machina 9/10:

Wow... What a mindblowing trip! This is one very intelligent, very thought provoking film. It's one of those flicks that you shouldn't make a rash decision on, but let it simmer, then give your verdict.

Oscar Issac should be nominated for an Oscar for his performance, seriously. He was equal parts funny, jerk/jackass, but always mesmerizing. At first you're expecting someone like his character to be more like Sheldon from TBBT, but this worked so much better having him be a know it all smartass. Issac's performance was stellar and compelling. You loved to hate him, but had to laugh at him. He was like the cooler older brother you didn't want to admit was cool.

Domhnall Gleeson was possibly the weak spot in this one. For the most part, his character, Caleb, was perfectly fine. You could identify with him, you could feel what he was feeling. The problem was Gleeson himself. At various points during his performance, you could slightly hear his American accent shift into his Irish brogue (he's actually Irish, btw) but for the most part, he had you fooled until those few brief seconds where his voice would shift. His a's sounded more like British arr's. Other than that, I wanted him to have a bit more emotion, a bit more oomph behind his performance. Caleb came across as kind of a wimp of sorts, but a bit too wimpy. (That's more of a writing problem than Gleeson's however.) Gleeson was excellent in About Time, though, another flick of his I absolutely recommend.

And finally... Alicia Vikander. Forget The Man From U.N.C.L.E., which was a fun romp and she'll most likely be known for, this is the performance that should put her on the map. She's not just visually enticing, but the humanity and vulnerability she gives Ava is spellbinding. At all times she has just the right amount of expression, the right speed and pacing, the right amount of softness and then when you least expect it, she lets the devil out. She deftly switches back and forth between the different facets of Ava's personality and doesn't miss a beat.

She might be supermodel level in her looks, but she's far above in terms of inner quality and grace. Just an absolutely captivating performance and she alone makes the film worth a watch.

I'll be honest, at first I was disappointed by the ending and felt that it botched the entire film, but I was wrong. The more I think about it, we're Caleb. We're the ones exploiting AI, not the other way around. We're the monsters, we're the ones playing God and when our creations run amok, it's on us to suffer for it.

The film keeps you guessing all the way to the end, it makes you think, it makes you feel, it thrills you and it makes you question what kind of person YOU are. Very thought provoking, definitely a sit down and discuss type of film.

It's a shame it didn't get more recognition, and I'm glad it's a stand alone film because a sequel would ruin it's impact. That said, Ava is such an amazing character and I'd gladly watch a film about her progression any time.

I was able to pick it up through Walmart's Black Friday sale for $3.98 and it's more, much more than that. I absolutely recommend it and I think Oscar Issac and Domhnall Gleeson are going to be a lot of fun in Star Wars The Force Awakens. Especially Issac. I hope they don't make Poe Dameron too serious, because Issac shines when he can be a cocky smartass.

 

hotel transylvania 2:- 6.5/10

pretty fun movie, man mavis in that black gown look amazing.. adam sandler can act if he tries.. he does it pretty well here..

 

Yeah, I think Ex Machina is one of this year's best movies if not THE best.

 

Scott Pilgrim vs The World - 10/10, there is a reason it is my favorite film.

I forgot that on Friday I saw, Victory Frankenstein - 5/10. That movie was decent, not great or anything but the two leads at least made it watchable.

 

Star Trek: Nemesis
The finale for the 24th Century era of Star Trek. And... it is a let down.

So we open on Romulus teasing us on what this movie could've been and could've given us a nice closure on one of the franchise's oldest enemies, instead we get a boring, uninspired villain who took the focus on one main character leaving the rest behind and unfocused on and useless for the most part when we should've seen them all together as the one family they've established for seven years.

The other highlight of this movie was

Spoiler

Data's death

. And man was it sad that he

Spoiler

died

. While not as heartbreaking as

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Spock's death

in Wrath of Khan, it still saddened me to see one of the most iconic cast members to leave on such note without a proper goodbye. And then there's B-4 who obviously is gonna replace him, but he's not as efficient as he is so he's not an immediate replacement.

In other stuff, Riker and Deana are finally married. Can't believe it took them 15 years to tie the knot. And Riker finally becomes a Captain after all these times of refusing the offer. Meanwhile Picard seems to take Kirk's words to heart as he is still a Captain refusing his promotions while Janeway is the Admiral after one trip to the other side of the galaxy. Makes sense.

Space battle scenes were okay, but lackluster when you compare them to what we got on DS9.

Not the best movie out there. First Contact was a better movie than this, but not as horrible as Insurrection.

5/10

 

Indeed. I stand corrected in my thoughts that Hollywood has no value or quality or even talent, anymore. Ex Machina proves that absolutely wrong.

I'm still thinking about the film. Dang.

 

Victor Frankenstein;

this movie is as if they saw Age Of Ultron in advance, and decided "let's do this, but make it in the victorian era!" LOL Victor is basically drunker Tony Stark. if, instead of building Ultron, he built super villains instead. Igor is this movie's Bruce Banner.

you have a guy in this, who they are working for, who is basically a Bond Villain. who wants said monster to become richer. I'm pretty sure he's Goldfinger as a 20 year old rich snob. or maybe Hedonismbot from futurama.

you got

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Charles Dance

showing up, looking like Magneto, but playing his game of thrones character.

Spoiler

to tell victor he's a piece of shit. and then leaves.

Andrew Scott is playing this heavily religious police inspector, who gives lines out like

Spoiler

"You will burn for this!" which Victor replies with; "there is no Hell, there is no god! there is only me!"

so the plot is, snooty Rich English college Fratboy, pays Victor Frankenstein to create super villains, in which Victor and Igor get drunk, off Scotch, and build. And religious police inspector tries to stop him.

so it is basically, like a James Bond movie, but from the perspective of the villains. lol

this movie might not be the best movie ever, but it sure the hell was a lot of fun. Mainly because of McAvoy Playing evil, drunken, madman, Tony Stark. lol

everything else is pretty standard. the set designs are great, the monster itself, looks pretty cool. and so does

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gordon.

however, the monster is only in it

Spoiler

maybe 10 minutes.

and then the movie's done.

this movie did feel like it was Age Of Ultron, in the victorian ages though. And I think it did it better. I liked Age of Ultron, but this is a hell of a lot more fun than that movie was.

this movie isn't meant to be taken seriously. it is campy as shit. and is meant to be campy.

this movie will not be for everyone. not everyone will come out of this loving it.

but i sure did.

8 out of 10. it isn't perfect. should have been shorter.

Spoiler

also; beware, it's gory as can be. as they actually show the organs they are reanimating. which is in the movie's favor. but not for everyone.

it's nice to see a movie that doesn't disappoint, and surprisingly entertains. unlike Spectre, which disappointed, although i still found it entertaining, or Mockingjay the second. which was a complete mess of a film.

I recommend this film over those two.

 

House on Haunted Hill - Well, that was a lot different than I expected. If you haven't seen it, you may want to stop here but I was amazed that the whole thing was a hoax. That was pretty cool. There isn't much in the way of character development though and some of the stuff is laughable. Nevertheless, I give it a 7/10.

 

Creed 8.5/10

This is a beautiful continuation of the world that Rocky took place in. Michael B. Jordan is a star and has the charisma to carry a movie all on his own. The boxing scenes looked great and really made you appreciate the hard work that real boxers put in to their craft. I'm not a huge fan of Stallone, but he always brings his A game to the Rocky franchise and this was one of his best performances yet.

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I always knew that Apollo won that fight at the end of Rocky III in my head-cannon, but it was nice to get confirmation of it in this movie.

 

Gojira 8/10

Loved watching the Criterion blu-ray release of this

 

Victor Frankenstein - 8/10

I’m sorry, but this movie was fucking awesome.

It’s cheese. It’s schock. It’s 60′s Hammer with a touch of Guy Ritchie.

There are better movies in the world but I haven't had this much child-like glee at a movie since Dredd or Captain America: The First Avenger.

The acting was over-the-top but also very enjoyable. Radcliffe and McAvoy brought insanity with humanity. The monster designs were fucking cool. The cinematography and set design is stunning.

 

You know what guys, fuck it, The Good Dinosaur was actually a damn good film.

Solid 8.5 or 9/10

This was LITERALLY a Golden Age Disney film made and done in today's animation technology and skill.

Yes, the dinosaurs were the most simplest designs, but it's no different then having the beautifully painted backgrounds mixed with the simplistic designs of Winnie the Pooh or other characters. It was done as they've said to make the character's pop much more, and divide them from the harshness of nature, so we as an audience would understand, that Arlo does not belong out here and that he's out of his element.

Yes there's some weird designs like the raptors, but that's merely to get that Deliverance, backwoods hillbilly, briarfox and briarbear look for them with using just their natural looks and to addthe "scavenging" aspect to them.

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Also that was some Over The Garden Wall dying crossroads scene they did and it's pretty damn respected in my books to put that in,that and also actually showing things being eaten, makes kids realize their still dinosaurs y'know.

Only thing I would've done differently is cut at the mud slide before Arlo's dad's death, then to the gravestone, only then to HAVE shown the dad's death via Arlo's flashback he had during the second storm.