The following is a review of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
The Winter Soldier was something very special. Not only did it have some of the best mid- and post-credits scenes in the second phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it might also be the most groundbreaking Marvel Studios-film since Marvel’s The Avengers. It gave us new friends, reunited old ones, and changed the entire look of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Continue reading “REVIEW: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)”
I remember when I first watched the trailer for this movie. I felt that it had potential, and I was really excited to see the writers of the original The Hangover-movie tackle something focused more on the younger audience. My focus group, I guess. Unfortunately, this movie did absolutely nothing for me. 21 & Over stars Miles Teller, Skylar Astin & Justin Chon as three best friends, on Jeff Chang’s 21st birthday, played by Justin Chon. Initially, I thought this movie might work well – I did somewhat like Teller and Astin as old friends, but their association with Chon’s Chang did not seem real enough.
It didn’t help that the friendship roles perfectly dealt in The Hangover, had been mixed together into these three guys. Skylar Astin’s character was a mixture of Justin Bartha’s Doug and Ed Helms’ Stu. Teller felt like an odd mixture of Bradley Cooper’s Phil and the Stifler-character from the original American Pie-movies. The drunk actions of Jeff Chang made him seem like a mixture of Ken Jeong’s Mr Chow and Zach Galifianakis’ Alan. With that being said, Jeff Chang did seem like a fine character when Justin Chon didn’t try to act drunk. I really like Sarah Wright, who played Nicole, and Francois Chau, who played Dr Chang, and I would’ve liked to see them in more scenes.
Overall, I felt that this movie tried to be like The Hangover too much, and 4 good acting performances were not enough to make me care for the overall plot. I really wanted to like this movie, sadly I did not.
Final Grade: 5.5 out of 10.0. Mediocre movie, too convenient ending.
– I’m Jeffrey Rex
Naughty Dog recently released downloadable content for its new potential super-franchise The Last Of Us. Now, I’m not a huge DLC-gamer, I tend to stick to the originally released story. Going into this story DLC I was very much afraid of it becoming too similar to the Tomb Raider feel, and I was really worried that they potentially would ruin parts of the game campaign I absolutely loved.
As you know, The Last of Us was a 10 out of 10 for me, and I was worried about how I would really react if they released something below average. I was really, really worried. It did not help when I was told one would play as Ellie throughout the game. Don’t get me wrong, I love Ellie – but Joel’s feel was special to me, and I would have loved something like a story DLC focusing on the twenty years prior to him meeting Ellie. Hell, maybe they’ll get to that in a later game . Now, as we move on – please be aware – this coming post is SPOILER filled. Also, know that the original game campaign will also be SPOILED somewhat.
If you played through the original campaign, you might remember Ellie talking about an old friend – mentioning how she got bit. That is one half of the DLC, the other focuses on the immediate period following Joel’s big injury. If you’ve played the original campaign, you should know what I mean – his injury right before winter. The DLC does a nice job of switching at important moments in both stories – and makes the total story theme work perfectly – fighting for life, for love, for friendship – being all poetic […]. Hint. Hint.
Don’t expect a lot with Joel, though you do see the ‘hero’ of the original campaign. Ashley Johnson returns to the game, and yet again is amazing as Ellie. Newcomer Yaani King is perfect as Riley, Ellie’s good friend. Their relationship is the heart of this tale, wherein we see the transformation that Ellie has gone through. Perfect moments include the two girls imagining a Tekken-like game, that hints to the original campaign somewhat. My favourite moment, though, was when they tried out masks. It was just a nice experience to have.
I’ve read other reviews of this DLC, and I do feel like most were right. I totally agreed with IGN’s Colin Moriarty, when he expressed that the combat felt forced – especially near the end of the game. Though there was a great use of the ‘distraction’ technique in this game, wherein you can eliminate danger perfectly by leading the infected to the humans chasing you and Joel.
Overall I felt that the DLC was amazing in story, but lacked a great deal when it came to active combat. The story added feel to the original campaign, and I think it left us at the right point. Some might argue that it wasn’t long enough, that you had to overpay for a short DLC – but I believe that the experience of Left Behind could leave no one wanting in story. Naughty Dog continues to shine.
Final Grade: 9.0 out of 10.0. An amazing stoy shines in a great DLC that forced some combat to appease a small part of its audience.
– I’m Jeffrey Rex
The first I’m Jeffrey Rex Awards features 17 categories.
Every now and again a movie comes along, that will shake you to your core. The kind of movie that will make you think for days. A movie that will leave a lasting impression. There is a popular Danish proverb that goes something like this: “you will hear the truth from drunk people and children,” and Thomas Vinterberg’s latest film definitely challenges that common saying. The Danish director of films such as 1998’s The Celebration has tackled a challenging subject-matter head-on with his latest film, The Hunt. The Hunt is that type of movie. It is an infuriating and heart-wrenching masterpiece, but I also think that this astounding conversation-starter is one of the best Danish films ever made. This is, undoubtedly, a must-watch movie. Continue reading “Review: The Hunt (2013)”
Directed by: Michael Dowse
Written by: Jay Baruchel & Evan Goldberg
Based on a book by Doug Smith & Adam Frattasio
Here is a movie you might not have heard of if you’re like me. The fact is that the first time I ever heard of this movie was when I found it On Demand on the Scandinavian Viaplay-site. However, I do believe the target audience has heard of it. Here is a story of how a simple bouncer becomes a minor-league Hocker Enforcer. Seann William Scott stars as Doug Glatt in a movie that is able to satisfy every audience, or at least that’s what I believe. It’s manly enough for those Hockey fans with a healthy interest in movies, and yet I think it might work with women too. Doug isn’t smart, Doug doesn’t have the life that his family wants – and he’s not really good at Hockey, an understatement perhaps. But he’s good at fighting, and that really is the set-up for this movie, which also stars Eugene Levy, Liev Schreiber, Allison Pill & Jay Baruchel.
Definitely not a bad cast, and it does work to some extent. But, at certain points in this movie, clichés take over. We have our Russian pair of strange, and at times weird, hockey players – that really do some nasty things; we have the stereotypical Captain, who’s old, going through a divorce – and who’s drinking a lot. The Captain is paired with another cliché; a young hockey player who copies the Captain at length; a true sidekick to the Captain.
The movie finds its heart when revolving around two of Doug’s relationships, his relationship with the former Hockey Talent Xavier LaFlamme & especially his relationship with Eva, played by Allison Pill. The latter relationship is what I believe will help the female audience like this movie, not because she’s a sweet sensitive girl, because she isn’t; but because she is her own type, not stereotypical – and interesting to watch go through various stages of this movie.
Let’s talk about the casting choices, some I agree with and some I… Really don’t, for personal reasons. First off, I didn’t expect S. W. Scott to play this sort of character – I expected him to be more… “Stifler”, sorry Seann. But that’s not necessarily bad if you ask me. He is able to do something more than just his typical performance. He isn’t just “Stifler” from American Pie or “Travis” from Welcome to the Jungle. And don’t expect a Mr. Woodcock-like performance either. This is different, and some might argue it’s better. I like what S. W. Scott does, and I’m satisfied with him as Doug Glatt.
This takes us to the rest of the cast. I like Allison Pill, I really do, so I have no problem with her performance. I do, however, have a problem with Liev Schreiber, Eugene Levy and Jay Baruchel. Don’t get me wrong, these are good actors, but Liev just doesn’t work for me in this movie – and I’d have preferred someone else to play Ross Rhea. Baruchel’s character is annoying if you ask me, not funny, just annoying – it might not be Baruchel’s problem, it might be just a badly written character. Then we have Eugene Levy, and sorry Levy but I just don’t see you as Doug’s father – and that is 100% only because you played Jim’s father in American Pie. Sorry, Eugene, but it didn’t feel natural to me because of that – but that’s my problem.
Final Grade: 7.5 out of 10. Enjoyable feel-good-movie.
– I’m Jeffrey Rex.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 