X-men: Apocalypse Review (2016)

X-men: Apocalypse 

  Days of Future Past was my favorite Marvel movie since Iron man 1. What does that mean? It means I was stoked for Apocalypse. 

  In this new instalment to the X-men series, we are introduced to several new characters. Storm, Arch Angel, Nightcrawler, Jean Grey, Cyclops, and of course Apocalypse, played by my man, Oscar Isaac. 

  What I really love about the X-men series is it's storytelling and the parallels between the mutants and humans to real life. Compared to the other marvel movies, X-men just seems more grounded in reality and more layered. 

  While Apocalypse started out good, it starts to feel a little underwhelming once Apocalypse starts collecting Mutants to be his four horsemen. The plot and the tone didn't add up from that point and everything seemed so much bigger than it felt.

  Despite this, I still found myself quite enjoying the film. Quicksilver had another awesome scene and a lot more screen time, which made me happy. Wolverine had a cameo, which made me happy. ANDDD we got to watch Magneto put in some work, which always makes me happy. 

  Can I also talk about how underrated James McAvoy is as an actor and to this series. Whenever he cries, all the sudden I'm a sympathetic crier. I also wanted to give a special mention to Tye Sheridan as Scott Summers. He seriously nailed that role so well that I thought for a moment James Marsden had returned to the screen a few decades younger. 

  Even though I'm a big Oscar Isaac fan, I found the way Apocalypse was written to be somewhat cliched. He simply wasn't menacing enough to go up against such an overflow mutant heroes. Unfortunately this brought the movie down a bit. It was ambitious, but couldn't quite grasp what it was reaching for. I give X-men: Apocalypse a 6 out of 10 stars. (Worth Ticket Price)

 

Captain America: Civil War Review (2016)

Captain America: Civil War

  Before I begin this review, I must admit that I'm not a Captain America fan and so my opinions on the movie are based on my personal feelings for the character. 

 That said, let's talk about the new additions to the Avengers.

  Chadwick Boseman as black Panther. Let me just say, that super suit was baaaad. (I mean that in a good way).

  I've been impressed with Tom Holland since 2012's disaster drama, The Impossible. If there was one thing motivating me to see this movie, it was definitely Spidey. Turns out, it was for good reason. Spidey was exactly how his character should be. Young, geeky, and with corney jokes. He was my favorite part of the film by far. I"m really looking forward to his solo movies.

  Let's continue to the plot. I like the way they set up both sides of the "war" and gave reasonable arguments. At some points in the movie you really don't know who's right or who to root for. This was cool because it engages the audience and they can actually partake in the story.

  My problem was with Bucky Barnes. I don't care if he's Cap's best friend, the length Cap went to defend him seemed ridiculous and frankly a little bit gay. There's a reason #givecapaboyfriend is going viral on twitter. At one point, Bucky even asks why he's doing this. Honestly, that what I wanted to know.

  As in every marvel movie, there are some funny quips and good actions, but also like other marvel movies, it's very shallow. Every film just feels like a long trailer for the next film and eventually they all start to blend together and feel like the same movie. 

  Am I saying it's bad? No. A lot of people enjoyed it as well as critics. However, if I never saw this movie again, I'd be okay. 4 out of 10 stars. (One Time See)

Jungle Book Review (2016)

Jungle Book

  Disney has done it again, bringing cartoons to life in their latest achievement, The Jungle Book. I'd seen versions of the Jungle Book as a kid, but I can't actually remember seeing the original cartoon. That said, I had no real remembrance of the story other than a kid in the jungle who talks to animals. 

  There was a lot of hype for this movie and I can see why because it is a visual feast. Not only are the animals beautiful and real looking, but the entire forest is made of CGI as well. Andy Serkis's motion capture studio takes us to a whole different world and it's gorgeous! 

  Another thing I really liked about the movie was the voice overs, especially Christopher Walker as King Louie, Idris Elba as Shere Khan, and Ben Kingsley as Bagheera. 

  The way they incorporated a couple of the songs into the film was really cool as well and gave it that Disney charm. In fact, I just loved the whole soundtrack in general and the way it added emotion to the scenes.

  As most of you know, I have a real hard time with child actors. Considering that the main character is a child, here's what I thought on the newcomer Neel Sethi. For his first film ever, going up against literally all green screen, I'd say that Sethi did quite a good job. However, there were times where the greenness of his performance took me out of the film.

  While I could go on nitpicking some of the minor things tone wise in the movie, we still have a very solid, heart-felt film that works on a lot of levels and is great fun for the whole family. I give Jungle Book a 6 out of 10 stars. (Worth Ticket Price)