Don't Breathe Review (2016)

Don't Breathe

 Hahaha ha ha. Oh man, that was the scariest game of Marco Polo I've ever seen. . .

  When I first saw the trailer for Don't Breathe my reaction was, "Please stop making trash like this. Seriously? We're supposed to root for a bunch of idiot kids breaking into a blind guy's house? #rude"

  Then the reviews started coming in, saying it was the best horror movie of the decade etc. So I decided to go see for myself. And it was a good thing I did.

  In this twisted version of the home invasion genre, we are given an extremely clever, brilliantly executed, and tightly edited piece of film. Don't Breathe knew exactly what it wanted to be and it really went for it.

  Suspenseful, scary, exciting, and fun. It's been a while since I've come out of a horror film with those adjectives on my brain, and for that I give this film major props. However, one of the minor problems I did have with Don't Breathe, and the reason I can't quite get it to 10 stars, is that all of the characters are so unsympathetic. At times I was rooting for the old man, other times I was rooting for the kids, and by the end of it,  I just wanted something terrible to happen to each and every one of them. That said and character's aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this for what it was and it achieved exactly what it wanted to achieve. 9 out of 10 stars. (I'd Buy It On Blu-Ray)

Imperium Review (2016)

Imperium

  So as most of you know, I really love talking about some smaller, less mainstream movies that may have passed under your radar. Well today, I bring you a movie based on true events called, Imperium.

  In Imperium, Daniel Radcliff stars as an FBI agent going undercover into a white supremacist gang in order to stop a predicted terrorist attack.

  There were some things I really like about this movie, so I'll talk about those things first. 

  1. The tension. The whole time Daniel Radcliff's character is undercover, you never know who knows what, if he's convincing enough, if he's about to get caught, or if they're about to get away with something awful. The entire film, you're at the edge of your seat, rooting for Radcliff not to get caught, all the while waiting for something really terrible to happen. 

  2. I loved the moral conflicts the film presented. There is a scene (non spoiler) where the gang wants to go harass an interracial couple, and Daniel Radcliff's character can either blow his cover and help the people escape, or join in on the harassment so he looks convincing. It was scenes like these that really made the film. 

  3. Daniel Radcliff does an excellent, extremely convincing job in this role. After Harry Potter, Radcliff has picked very unique, interesting films to be in, like Swiss Army Man and Horns. While I admit, he still has room for some minor improvements, I think he's got a lot of talent and he really showcases it here in Imperium. My only complaint, is that I wish his character had more of an arch. He is the same person at the beginning of the film as he is at the end of it.

  As for the things I didn't love so much. . .

  1. There wasn't a lot of characterization for the gang of white supremacists. While you know people like them exist, they didn't feel very fleshed out as individuals. Unlike American History X, their arguments for their racism and hatred was very obviously wrong and the movie made sure you knew they were wrong. What I'm trying to say, is that it is very heavy-handed in it's represented perspective. Where a film like American History X really makes you see for yourself why racism, and white supremacy is wrong. American History X painted the characters as real human beings with complex feelings and rational, capable of change. 

  In the end, while I really really like Imperium, and I found it highly entertaining, I wish it had been a little less preachy in areas, and let the remarkable story speak for itself. 7 out of 10 (Really Good)

The Light Between Oceans Review (2016)

The Light Between Oceans 

  Sigh. . . I'm not usually into romantic movies, but the The Light Between Oceans is quite something. 

  Director Derek Cianfrance has been on my radar for a while. I fell in love with him after watching Place Beyond The Pines and Blue Valentine (Now two of my favorite films). Something about the way he tells stories is deeply affecting in extremely layered ways. Every film he makes feels like his passion piece, and The Light Between Oceans is no different. 

  The cinematography for this movie (by Adam Arkapaw) blew me away. The wide sweeping shots of the ocean and the lighthouse . . . Ugh. Just stunning and moody, and romantic. 

  Then we have two of the best actors working today; Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender. The first act of this movie could have very easily been a sappy Nicholas Sparks disaster, but the chemistry between Fassbender and Vikander work so well. Maybe the fact that they're dating in real life helped with authenticity, maybe not. Either way, you are really rooting for these two through thick and thin. 

  One thing about Derek Cianfrance, is that his films tend to be kind of long. Because of this, he can come off a little self indulgent. If they had shaved off thirty minutes of the film, I wouldn't have been mad, but so much charisma and effort was put into all three acts that it never really ruins it. Overall, I was super taken by this movie, but I'm not too sure of it's re-watch-ability. 7 out of 10 (Very Good)

War Dogs Review (2016)

War Dogs

  Inspired by true events, War Dogs is the story of two young guys who win a 300 million dollar contract to arm the Afghan Military. 

  Let me start off by saying that I came out of this movie highly entertained. The pace was rapid, the directing and cinematography were solid, the jokes were on point. Jonah Hill killed it in this role of shady sleezebag. From his over the top, high pitched laugh, to his character's unreadable motives, he really was one of the best parts of this film.

  Miles Teller, (who I've been watching closely since Whiplash and The Spectacular Now) also does a great job in this more adult role. Never seeming too young, or miscast.

  While both character aren't exactly likeable, we're invested in them and their story the whole time.

  As far as negative things to say? I wish some of the consequences of the character's actions punched the audience a little more in the gut. In a way, a lot of what they did felt somewhat glamorized, cool, and adventurous. I wish they would have dug deeper into the lives affected by their foolishness and greed. 

  That said, War Dogs delivers on what the trailers say it will be. An extremely fun, charismatic, and often humorous look into the shady business of weapons trading. 7 out of 10 stars (Very Good)

Anthropoid Review (2016)

Anthropoid

  Honestly, summer of 2016 has been a pretty disappointing year for movies. That's exactly why I was so excited when I saw the trailer for Anthropoid (Featuring one of my favorite actors of all time, Cillian Murphy).

  This film is about the assassination of SS officer Reinhard Heydrich. From what I've heard, the true story is followed pretty accurately, and I really believe that this film did it justice. The acting is top notch, across the board, the cinematography is non-showy and simplistic, and they really take time to flesh out their characters without using exposition. This film shows the true horrors of war on a big and small scale, and really demonstrated the humanity of these soldiers who were put in charge of such a dangerous, controversial mission. I liked how every scene was intentional, even in the romance. Everything just felt necessary. 

  That said, while watching the movie I did feel acutely aware of the whole cinematic experience as a whole. It is grounded in that you can take it very seriously, but it is also very polished, perhaps to a fault.

  In the end, Anthropoid is a gripping, honorable look into the history of a fairly unknown mission. 8 out of 10 stars (I'd Buy It)

Suicide Squad Review (2016)

Suicide Squad

  *sighhhhh* My initial reaction after watching this movie was, "It's flawed, but it's not that bad." Then I thought about it a little more and honestly, it really is that bad. 

  If you are a fan of this film, you might want to leave, because I'm about to rip Suicide Squad to shreds. 

  There are soooo many places I could go with this review and so many things I could bash, but I'm going to start with the biggest problem, and that is plot. Oh wait, there is none. The whole first half of this movie is gathering all of these big bad villains to form a team in case a bad version of Superman ever graces the planet. These introductions to the characters are done with the longest, choppiest montage scene in movie history, filled with expository information, and a theme song for each individual character. Not only is this extremely lazy writing, but it's also extremely lazy writing. Not to mention, non of these people are really that evil. They try to get us to sympathize with the characters so much and humanize them, that they lose that sense of evil in the first place. If anything, they're more like anti-heroes, which kind of defeats the whole point of watching a movie about the baddest bad guys.

  Speaking of which, our main bad guy is Enchantress played by Cara Delevingne. Aka, the worst villain of all time. When I first saw her, I thought she looked pretty dang creepy, and I actually liked where they were going with her character. Then suddenly, they decided to go bigger and I guess badder, by turning her into some sort of CGI, half-naked, goddess. All Enchantress did the whole movie was create more CGI slaves and dance weirdly in place. Yeah, you heard me correctly. She belly dances while she creates these CGI slaves. Keep in mind, when I say CGI slaves, I mean, like 2002 bad CGI slaves. Honestly, some of the worst CGI I've seen in recent years. Absolutely horrendous on all accounts.

   If there is any saving grace to this film, it is definitely Will Smith and Margot Robbie. Both actors are charming and charismatic, but they have nothing at all to work with. Their characters are cartoony and their dialogue is ridiculously stupid. It was like their lines were written just to be put on a gif on tumbler. All of this shouldn't be surprising, considering the script was written in six months and then rushed into production. It is very obvious that the studio has little regard for quality, so long as they're making that green. And that's essentially what this film is. It was created to be marketed. They literally devoted more screen time to Harley Quinn's butt, than they did to developing any of the characters. I mean, come on! And don't even get me started on the awful, lazy costume designing.

  Before I end this rant, I will tell you my thoughts on the Joker. A lot of people wanted to see Suicide Squad just because of him, myself included. If that's the case, you'll be severely disappointed. The Joker is hardly in the movie and what we do see of Jared Leto's seemingly solid performance is tampered with by weird, unnecessary editing.

   I know that there are people who had a good time with this movie. To them I say, good for you. We all want different things out of our films. What disappoints me the most, is that Suicide Squad has everything going for it and still misses the mark by a long shot. They went too big where it wasn't necessary, took no time to develop their characters or story, and never raised the stakes high enough for me to care about the end result. 2 out of 10 stars. (Not Very Good)

The Invitation Review (2016)

The Invitation

 So I just found out about this movie recently. Apparently it came out in April as a limited release and was then sent straight to Netflix afterwards. Anyway, I heard some good things, decided to check it out, and I sure am glad I did.

  The Invitation is one of the best psychological thrillers I've seen since Joel Edgerton's The Gift. The film is about a man named Will (played by Logan Marshall-Green) who is invited to a dinner, reunion party with his ex-wife, her new husband, and some old friends. That's as far as I'll go into the story because I don't want to give away spoilers. The less you know the better.

  What was so great about this film was the way tension and paranoia was built. It's kind of a slow burner, but you always feel like you're on the verge of something horrifying happening.

  The pacing is perfect, the characters are interesting and layered. There wasn't a single second of this film where I felt bored. The Invitation is a skillfully executed film with a simplistic story, that is majorly effective. I give it a 9 out of 10 stars. (I'd Buy It On Blu-ray)