Tag: Movie Review

REVIEW: 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016)

Theatrical Release Poster – Paramount Pictures

The following is a review of 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, a Michael Bay film.

Michael Bay gets a lot of hate from the online film community. A lot of people hate his films, and some of his films, namely the Transformers movie franchise, represents what many see as the worst aspects of film today. Michael Bay once said, that he makes movies for teenage boys, but, with 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, he has made a surprisingly mature film that I think is his best film since Armageddon, which I still really like. Continue reading “REVIEW: 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016)” →

RETRO REVIEW: Star Trek (2009)

Theatrical Release Poster - Paramount Pictures, et al.
Theatrical Release Poster – Paramount Pictures, et al.

The following is a retro review of Star Trek, a J. J. Abrams film.

I wasn’t a fan of Star Trek before 2009. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. J. J. Abrams made me a Star Trek fan. I’ve since gone back and seen some of the shows, but this film is still what made me a fan, and still my favorite thing in the franchise. 2009’s Star Trek is fast-paced fun. It’s exhilarating. It looks amazing, and it is one of the best science fiction action films I’ve seen.  Continue reading “RETRO REVIEW: Star Trek (2009)” →

REVIEW: The Neon Demon (2016)

The Neon Demon Poster
Theatrical Release poster – Amazon Studios, et al.

The following is a review of The Neon Demon, a Nicolas Winding Refn film.

I like a lot of Nicolas Winding Refn’s films. I think he’s one of the most talented Danish directors out there. Drive is probably his most well known film, and definitely the film people praise the most. Drive is amazing, and I really like his Pusher-films too. Only God Forgives gets a lot of criticism, and I get where the criticism is coming from, but, ultimately, I thought the good outweighed the bad there. I really didn’t know what to expect from The Neon Demon.  Continue reading “REVIEW: The Neon Demon (2016)” →

REVIEW: Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

ID4-2 Poster
Theatrical Release Poster – 20th Century Fox

The following is a review of Independence Day: Resurgence, a Roland Emmerich film.

It’s been twenty years since the release of the original Independence Day. That film from 1996 is a nice, fun little popcorn film. I have a lot of fun with it, even if it isn’t considered a ‘great film’. That said, I was really pessimistic when I sat down in the theater to watch the sequel, Resurgence. I had heard that Will Smith wasn’t in the sequel, and that Mae Whitman had been replaced by Maika Monroe. I was worried, but I wanted to like the film. Now I’ve seen it, and it’s even worse than I had feared.
Continue reading “REVIEW: Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)” →

REVIEW: The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)

Release Poster - Netflix
Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a quick review of The Fundamentals of Caring, directed by Rob Burnett.

Based on the novel, The Revised Fundamentals of Caring, by Jonathan Evison, the Netflix original film, The Fundamentals of Caring follows Ben (played by Paul Rudd), a caregiver, who has been hired to take care of Trevor (played by Craig Roberts), who suffers from Duchennes muscular dystrophy.

Trevor is pretty rude to Ben, but after they get to know each other Ben, and Trevor’s mother (played by Jennifer Ehle), arrange for Trevor to go on a road trip with Ben to see some of the more odd sights on the American highway. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)” →

REVIEW: The Nice Guys (2016)

The Nice Guys Poster
Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros. Pictures

The following is a review of The Nice Guys, a Shane Black film.

The Nice Guys, a crime buddy comedy, follows the enforcer Jackson Healy (played by Russell Crowe), who sees himself as an unlicensed private detective, and Holland March (played by Ryan Gosling), a miserable and cynical private detective. Healy and March start at opposite ends of the same case. March has been hired by the aunt of porn star Misty Mountain who recently died. The aunt claims to have seen her niece alive after her death, and the clues point March towards a girl named Amelia (played by Margaret Qualley). Meanwhile, Healy has been hired by Amelia to intimidate a number of people who have been following her. This causes their paths to cross. As Healy and March inevitably team-up, they are now tasked to find Amelia, who is being chased by two thugs.

Continue reading “REVIEW: The Nice Guys (2016)” →

REVIEW: The Conjuring 2 (2016)

Conjuring 2 poster

The following is a review of The Conjuring 2, a James Wan film.

I loved the first The Conjuring. James Wan had made another great horror franchise, and it pretty much came out of nowhere. It was magnificent, and it is now regarded as a new horror classic. Needless to say, there was a lot of pressure on the filmmakers to recreate the greatness of the first film. Now, while I don’t think it is as amazing as the original film, The Conjuring 2 is a pretty great horror sequel. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Conjuring 2 (2016)” →

REVIEW: The Conjuring (2013)

Conjuring 1 poster

The following is a quick review of The Conjuring, a James Wan film. The review was written on June 9th, 2016.

Right now, James Wan is the most promising horror movie director. He hasn’t really made a lot of wrong moves, or bad movies for that matter. I’ll be seeing the sequel to The Conjuring later today, so I can’t really evaluate The Conjuring 2 yet, but just look at what he has directed. He started the Saw-franchise, as well as the Insidious-franchises, extremely well.

The Conjuring is already a horror franchise, seeing as we already have the first spin-off (2014’s Annabelle) as well as a sequel. We can’t overlook Dead Silence, which has gotten a lot of negative reviews, but I know people that love that film too. James Wan is a terrific horror director, and The Conjuring is the closest thing he has gotten to a true masterpiece. It is terrific.  Continue reading “REVIEW: The Conjuring (2013)” →

REVIEW: The Do-Over (2016)

The Do-Over Poster Netflix
Release Poster – Netflix.

The following is a review of The Do-Over, a film by Steven Brill.

The Do-Over is the second of four Netflix original films starring Adam Sandler. The first film in the big Netflix-Sandler deal was The Ridiculous Six, which I think was the worst film of 2015. That said, though, I do think Sandler is a talented comedian, and he has shown his talent in the past. I’m always intrigued by Sandler-films, and I’ve actually been pretty excited for The Do-Over for a while now. Sadly, I have to say that The Do-Over is another disappointing Sandler-film.  Continue reading “REVIEW: The Do-Over (2016)” →

REVIEW: Warcraft (2016)

Warcraft Poster
U.S. Theatrical Release Poster – Universal Pictures

The following is a review of Warcraft (also known as Warcraft: The Beginning), a Duncan Jones film.

I’m somewhat familiar with Warcraft. I think I’ve only played 5 to 10 minutes of World of Warcraft – definitely not more than that – but I did play Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos a lot. But while I’m somewhat familiar with the franchise, I don’t remember the story at all. To be perfectly honest with you, I haven’t been a fan of the trailers for the film, but I have a lot of faith in the film’s talented director, Duncan Jones.  Continue reading “REVIEW: Warcraft (2016)” →