Tag Archives: movie review

Jul 13 2017

Spider-Man Homecoming: Review

The sixth film featuring everyone’s favorite wall-crawling superhero has the added caveat of officially being a part of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. Spider-Man: Homecoming not only presents a different on-screen version of the titular character but also it’s most endearing.

High School is the name of the game here. While Sam Raimi and Marc Webb used Peter Parker’s high school experience as a set piece to establish a bigger narrative, Director Jon Watts etches it in Homecoming’s DNA. Homework or crime fighting? That is the question.

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Jun 20 2017

Wonder Woman: Review

It’s fair to say that the DCEU slate of films stumbled out of the gate. Man of Steel received mixed reviews with the needle slightly towards positive. Three years later, Batman v Superman seemingly pissed off everyone on the planet, and Suicide Squad was a bittersweet victory for Warner Bros.

Much like how The Force Awakens had the unenviable task of bringing that “Star Wars Feel” back to the franchise, director Patty Jenkins had her own uphill battles to climb with the latest blockbuster superhero film. It had to be great, not good, while not only reinvigorating a shared universe, but it needed to be progressive in a manner fitting contemporary society.

And it all had to be done with a female lead.

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Jun 5 2017

Alien: Convent – Review

I recently treated myself to back to back movie viewings at my local theater. This is something I used to do all the time. I keep planning to do them but something would always come up at the last minute. This time…success! My two escapes were a bumbling pirate and a deadly extraterrestrial.

Alien has an unfortunate downward trajectory when looking at the films within its universe. Alien and Aliens are revered; Alien 3 has some debated admiration that is highly disparaged and Alien Resurrection…F&%$ that movie.

Fifteen years later, we got Prometheus, which took fans on a “secret” prequel voyage that over promised and under delivered. Famed director Ridley Scott returns to the franchise he created and sought to make up for previous wrongs while expanding upon a nearly untapped mythology with Alien Convent.

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Jun 5 2017

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales – Review

I recently treated myself to back to back movie viewings at my local theater. This is something I used to do all the time. I keep planning to do them but something would always come up at the last minute. This time…success! My two escapes were a bumbling pirate and a deadly extraterrestrial.

The fifth outing in the popular Disney franchise tells the story of a down on his luck Capt. Jack Sparrow who is looking to escape the ghostly wrath of the revenge-laden Capt. Salazar. Jack’s only hope is to find the legendary Trident of Poseidon and to do it, he will need the help of an astronomer and young Navy man with ties to his audacious past.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales brings fun and adventure back to the franchise and it is the best film since the original. That may or may not be high praise since Pirates 2, 3 and 4 left a lot to be desired. Still, this was an enjoyable movie-going experience that had some hits and misses.

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Feb 28 2017

Split: Review

Holy crap…Holy Crap!

Those were my thoughts while I was immersed in the physiological horror that is M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film, Split. The plot revolves around Kevin, played by James McAvoy, who suffers from dissociative identity disorder and has 23 personalities contained within him.

While Kevin is being treated by his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher, one of his personalities becomes dominate over the others and has a compulsion to abduct three teenage girls.  Continue reading →

Feb 16 2017

La La Land: Review

I like to watch all of the films that are nominated for best picture before the Academy Awards ceremony, so I went into La La Land with a critical eye. I exited the theater, however, with a sudden urge to dance in the stars while humming some inspired musical numbers.

La La Land, directed by Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) tells the story of a struggling actress named Mia (Emma Stone) and a struggling jazz pianist named Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) who meet while pursuing their dreams in modern day Los Angeles.  Continue reading →

Feb 8 2017

Justice League Dark: Review

With Doctor Strange bringing the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the realm of sorcery and magic, Warner Bros. Animation does the same with their latest direct to home video offering through DC Comics, Justice League Dark.

DC animated films have been able to hit a lot of notes that their live action counterparts have missed. Of course, the bigger the budget, the larger the amount of creative red tape that will wrap itself around a project such as David Ayer’s Suicide Squad.

Justice League Dark makes great use of its sixty minute run time in setting up the story, introducing the characters and establishing their motivations to get the viewer invested in when the team finally comes together in the climatic showdown.

It’s a formulaic approach to storytelling with the key elements executed to their desired result as the film opens with random acts of murder that end up being not so random. The mystical element to these atrocities calls for a different solution outside of Superman and company.

Jul 16 2016

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice – Ultimate Edition Review

batmanvsuperman

The theatrical release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice left many disappointed with the finished product. In fact, the film was so poorly received that Warner Bros. restructured their entire film division in order to create subdivisions dedicated to specific types of movies.

Director Zack Snyder was raked over the coals to such a degree that fans are demanding his resignation from the helm of Justice League, which is currently in production. So it came to the surprise of no one when a three-hour, rated R version, of BvS was released and was met with eye rolls, since the original was panned to the nth degree.

The Ultimate Edition won’t bring that night and day differential in opinion for most who absolutely hated the theatrical release, however, it does make the film a little more enjoyable for those that liked it to begin with.

Click here to read the entire review at the all new Forces of Geek.com 

Mar 28 2016

Review: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (non-spoilers)

bvs

After three years, it’s finally here. The two titans of the superhero genre lock horns in an effort to usher in the shared DC Film Universe. The plot revolves around the clashing of ideologies between Batman and Superman as they each deal with their own personal struggles. Kal-El now resides in a world where public opinion is divided on whether or not a God-like being should exist in society.

The Caped Crusader is fueled by the tragic events that occurred at the end of Man of Steel, compounded by the constant grief he carries due to the murder of his parents. This grief pushes him to launch his own personal war with the staunch belief that if he can’t put the unstoppable in check, nobody can.

There are a lot of different ways that people are going to look at this movie. Film purists will curse “BvS” with utter conviction due to its overstuffed narrative.  Continue reading →

Feb 3 2016

Thoughts on Film: The Big Short

My wife and I recently saw the Oscar nominated film, The Big Short. It’s the true story of some financial analysts who discovered and capitalized on the eventual collapse of the housing market. It was interesting to watch a movie about a subject that affected my family just like it did millions of families across the country.  Continue reading →