The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Review

Justin, Mike, and I saw The Amazing Spider-Man 2 on May 3, 2014!! I can honestly say going into this movie I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as I personally did not like the first of this new trilogy at all. However, I am pleased to say that this was very well done. I still believe that the first two movies in the Sam Raimi trilogy are the best Spider-Man movies. but I'd put this one right after those.  I was shocked (no pun intended) by the overall quality of this movie. They got their act together for this one. The performances by Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield, Dane Dehaan, Jamie Foxx, Paul Giamatti, and Sally Field were all pretty good for the most part. Stone did really well with Gwen Stacy here and I think her and Garfield's Peter Parker had better chemistry than in the first one. Dehaan did really well as Harry Osborne descending into madness. I liked his approach, but I could have done without the emo look. Of course, it's really a nitpicky thing, because DeHaan did well tapping into the mind of the character. Jamie Foxx's portrayal of Max Dillon presented him as somebody that is more of a tragic hero than a pure villain. His frustrations with being invisible to the world can be something anybody can identify with. His transformation into Shocker was great-effects were absolutely amazing. The only thing I'd criticize is that his story did parallel Doctor Manhattan in Watchmen a great deal right down to the blue look. Shocker actually looks like Willow or Jeff Hardy's alter ego character he currently portrays in TNA Wrestling (at least one version of the character does). I do think Foxx really gave a tortured soul aspect to the Shocker character that made it stand out. The battles between him and Spider-Man were visually impressive. Paul Giamatti's appearance as Rhino was interesting-criminal mastermind that had a manic edge to it. Giamatti is an excellent actor, so his approach worked for the darker nature of this movie. Sally Field did a phenomenal job as Aunt May. She is exactly how the character should be. Overall, the plot of the movie focuses around three parts: 1. Peter Parker balancing his life as Spider-Man and his personal life with Gwen Stacy, 2. Peter's friendship with Harry Osbourne and the subsequent connection of Oscorp and his parents, and 3. Max Dillon's struggle with his invisibility as a human being to his larger than life persona as Electro. Each of these stories were written well, and some of them were met with some shocking (again, no pun intended) results. I am still recovering from a certain event towards the end of the movie. The whole theater screamed at this event. I honestly couldn't believe how graphic it was. Some of the dialogue was cheesy, and certain interactions felt awkward (the first time Harry & Peter share a scene), but that's just minor things because its a comic book movie, so you're going to encounter things like that. Overall, I'd give this movie a 4/5. The cast, darker storylines, incredible scores, brilliant storytelling for the villains, and better portrayals of Gwen and Peter from the first movie made this a very good superhero movie. It also did an excellent job of shaping things for the next movie in terms of main plot as well as hinting at new character arcs. This is one of the best movies of 2014 in my opinion.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Review

I saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier on April 8, 2014!! I am not a big fan of The Avengers, but I always see the superhero movies that studios put out. I'll be honest: I'm more of a DC guy, but when it comes to Marvel I love X-Men, which I also look forward to seeing at the end of May. Captain America is great, because he actually comes across as a hero in my eyes in terms of how he conducts himself, and what he stands for.  Many of the other Avengers like Thor are portrayed as heroes, yet I find him to be really pompous and always root against him. I'm a Loki fan-much more intricate character, which is probably why the second Thor movie was more enjoyable for me than the first one. It really showed that Thor has an antagonistic personality, and made Loki more sympathetic, while still maintaining that cerebral part of his personality.  I just wanted to make that point. In Captain America: Winter Soldier, they successfully combined the events of the first movie with the events in this one. There was really good connection between the past and the present. I liked that Hydra ultimately becomes a first class antagonistic organization-very planned strategies. It's great when comics and movies portray intelligent villains. Chris Evans does an excellent job as Steve Rogers. I thought that Scarlett Johansson was very good as Black Widow. I really just want them to make a stand alone Black Widow movie, as I find her character to be fascinating. Unlike Rogers who is a super soldier, she's a mortal woman just going out there kicking ass and looking good doing it. This is a great look at being wary of who you can trust. We find out SHIELD is compromised. The movie really does a great job of creating different twists that kept the movie flowing. I predicted who was behind the whole hostile take-over as soon as they introduced the character, but it was still very well done. Samuel L. Jackson was at his best as Nick Fury in this. Sebastian Stan did an excellent job as the Winter Soldier. Anthony Mackie looks a lot like the Falcon should look from the comics, and his friendship with Rogers looked natural on screen. This movie had some of the best action sequences in comic book movies. I think the scene where Nick Fury is attacked on the street is one of the best scenes you'll find. The sequences are fast and exciting. Every character from Captain America & Black Widow to Alexander Pierce (played brilliantly by Robert Redford) & Maria Hill (played by the awesome Cobie Smulders) had a chance to shine. Everybody had a purpose, while the story was very intricate combining the threat of Hydra in the past with the present day hostile take-over of SHIELD. This movie was very well done. I know everybody thinks the Avengers was the best movie ever (I don't at all), but I would say Iron Man 1 & Captain America: Winter Soldier were the two best individual Avengers movies, while my favorite Marvel movie is X-Men: First Class. The deeper look at the main characters, the strong usage of the supporting characters, the intricate detailed plot filled with double turns bridging the past & present, and the excellent action sequences make this a truly special comic book movie. There's also some great twists in SHIELD headquarters during the final battle sequences that were handled so perfectly. I'll give it a 4/5, as I do most comic book movies with the exception of The Dark Knight and X-Men First Class which both earned 5/5 from me. Also, stay after the credits for the extra scene which helps set up Avengers: Age of Ultron (which should be 1,000 times better than the first one hopefully) really well. I'll just say we got a great look at two characters that will have a tremendous impact on that movie. One of my all time favorite Marvel characters (Black Widow actress first name & Hermione Granger are your hints) was one of them. They handled that pretty well. I was very impressed with Captain America; Winter Soldier. It's been a while since I could say I really liked a Marvel movie before this.

The Grand Budapest Hotel Review

Dad and I saw The Grand Budapest Hotel on April 4, 2014!! I've always been a fan of Wes Anderson's work, because he's always walked a fine line between genius and ridiculous. This honestly could be his finest project. I was into the movie the entire time. There was never a point where I thought anything dragged.  The cast was top notch, and may be one of the best ensemble casts you will find in a movie. The story of Gustave H. was interesting. I thought Ralph Fiennes was magnificent in this role. I've always been a big fan of Fiennes throughout the years-very good actor. He was on top of his game here. He perfectly balanced eccentric nature with distinguished gentleman very well. Following his and Zero Mustafa's journey to right certain wrongs by solving a big mystery made for a truly entertaining movie. While there were different story arcs for each character, these arcs all converged into the central plot of the movie. There were so many mememorable scenes, as well as great dialogue throughout. I also want to point out that I usually am not a fan of Adrien Brody's work, but he was really entertaining here. He basically served as a chief antagonist here, while Willem Dafoe was perfect as a creepy assassin. The chief plot revolves around paintings, wills, hotels, bakeries, and the larger than life character of Gustave H., and the men and women he came in contact with. It's a brilliant movie in so many ways-the performances, the amazing usage of color, the insanity of certain scenes that work really well, and the different cameos made for one great movie experience. Some of the cameos included F. Murray Abraham (who looked shockingly like Abraham Lincoln here-not kidding at all), Edward Norton (he was great as a scout master in Moonrise Kingdom as well), Bill Murray, and Harvey Keitel. It was really great seeing Saoirse Ronan as Abigail (actually perfectly cast in this role based on her work in Hanna and The Host). I think the other actor besides Fiennes and Brody that really stole the show was Tony Revolori as Zero. He and Fiennes had such incredible, natural chemistry. Their dialogue scenes were really well done, and their zany adventures were so much fun to follow. I really enjoyed his last movie Moonrise Kingdom a great deal, but Grand Budapest Hotel was excellent. I really can't wait to add this to my DVD collection. There are so many memorable moments, characters, and dialogue, and the cast was able to adapt to the roles really well. All of this combined with the attention to small details as well as the elaborate story passed to different generations certainly warranted a 5/5 for me. This is such a fun movie to watch. I'd highly recommend seeing this as it's a perfect example of why I still enjoy going to the movies. Among all the one dimensional action movies, comic book movies, etc. there are still some that portray artistic merit, and Wes Anderson's Grand Budapest Hotel does that in multiple ways.

Noah Review

I saw Noah on March 29, 2014!! I had been anticipating this movie for months, and in my opinion it lived up to my expectations. In my opinion, the story mixed with the ensemble cast made for something special. The story in general focuses on the biblical figure of Noah, but it's really an amazing look at humanity. The basic theme of this movie to me is the complexity of human beings-we are all capable of good & wickedness, and its the choices we make that determine who we are as a person. I thought that was presented well throughout the movie utilizing events from Genesis-Noah's Ark, Adam & Eve, etc. Each character arc was really interesting to follow. The other piece looks at ancient stories that the human race is descended from a singular family. Darren Aranofsky's incredible direction did a very good job of displaying that story as well.

Russell Crowe was very good as the haunted man chosen to save the world-he showed how difficult it can be to choose. The performance resulted in his best acting performance since his role as Maximus in Gladiator or John Nash in A Beautiful Mind. However, I felt the best performances were by Emma Watson as Ila, Jennifer Connolly as Naameh, and Logan Lerman as Ham. It was incredible seeing Emma Watson involved in such a huge project like this. I've been impressed with all of her roles, but with Noah she moved into another level showing great emotional range, particularly with how important her character arc is to the story. Her delivery of lines, mixed with emotional selling of the moment was blended so well that she brought me right into the scene. One scene in particular between her and Russell Crowe regarding choice was so powerful. So many people in the theater were getting into it as they should have. Watson was doing so well, and Crowe may have turned in his best performance as Noah since Maximus in Gladiator. Watson's arc was definitely the most powerful of everybody's and ultimately was the most important one in the story. I'm glad an actress that I have a ton of respect for was able to get this role. Watson's Ila is one of the better female roles I've seen in a while in a movie.

While Watson was excellent, Jennifer Connolly was also amazing. I've always been impressed with Connolly's work. Her characters are always really interesting female character studies, particularly in Requiem for a Dream. This movie showed that behind every man there is a woman helping him to make decisions. Naameh encourages Noah to take different courses of action instead of the ones that he is told to commit. Connolly's character is always watching the family interact and assessing the situation. Her eyes always sell a scene perfectly. The biggest decision of the movie revolves around Watson's Ila character, and it's Connolly's Naameh that delivers an incredible tour-de-force with incredible emotion. The passion she gives in this speech is so well done-you really feel her anger. I think a big reason is because Crowe & Connolly have starred in multiple movies together, so they were able to capture that emotion even better.

While Ila was definitely my favorite character (some of the hardships her character initially has to deal with is so painful), my second favorite character was Lerman's Ham. He was kind of the outcast of the family in some ways, but Lerman made it work so well. He was another character dealing with several difficult decisions. Logan Lerman is a very talented actor who has been in movies since The Patriot, but turned out great performances in movies like the Percy Jackson series and of course Perks of Being A Wallflower with Emma Watson. That was great seeing them together again here. Lerman's character seems to have to work harder to gain his father's affection. Some of Ham's scenes are shocking to watch, and I really found myself getting caught up in his arc. Lerman's emotions are torn throughout the movie, but everything he does is interesting whether its helping a lost girl or what he will do when a knife is placed in his hand. Great acting by Lerman. Him and Watson stole the show for me.

I've mentioned how I loved the ensemble cast, the character arcs, and the story in general, but I also want to point out how incredible the music and visuals were. The music fit so well with the emotion of the scenes as well as capturing the epic feel of the movie. Each element of the this movie gives it a definite 5/5. It's my favorite movie of 2014 thus far, and I am looking forward to getting it on DVD.

Divergent Review

I saw Divergent on March 21, 2014!! The theater was packed. I had been anticipating this movie for a while. I think the storyline of Divergent is intriguing, and differentiates itself from other dystopian novels like The Hunger Games series very nicely. For those that haven't read the book, the gist is that Chicago was divided into five factions following a devastating war. The five factions are: Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, & Erudite. Each faction has a theme. If you're in Abnegation, you're selfless. If you're in Amity, you're kind, If you're in Candor, you're honest. If you're in Dauntless, you're courageous/brave. If you're in Erudite, you're knowledgeable. Everybody is placed into a specific faction to maintain order in society. A test helps young members of factions decide what faction they will end up. There's 3 options: 1. they stay in the faction they were born to, 2. they defect to another faction shunning their family due to the test results, or 3. they go into a faction and aren't cut out for it thereby making them factionless. In these selection tests, some tests can be inconclusive-this is on rare occasions. This means that you possess qualities from multiple factions, which makes it harder for society to control you. This is known as Divergent. That's the basic premise. I really like it, though. I like how a personality trait defines what a faction is rather than an occupation like you'd see in The Hunger Games...but I'm going to stop comparing them, because they are very different stories.

I felt the movie did an incredible job of capturing the essence in the pages of the books. All key events and moments were present. I absolutely love the Beatrice "Tris" Prior character. Her character is constantly evolving from when we're introduced to her in Abnegation to when she undergoes Dauntless training (basically has to forget everything about one faction and survive to adapt in another) to a courageous fighter helping to save the factions. I thought Shailene Woodley was excellent in the role. I find her to be a very talented actress, most notably a spectacular performance in The Descendants. In this movie, she really pulled the character out of the pages and made into a real life entity. Her acting was great-she sold emotion with her eyes extremely well. There was also one scene where she basically lost it following a certain event. Everybody in the theater was upset, and Woodley just made the scene that much better selling the raw emotion. Woodley nailed it for me, and I'm looking forward to more from her. Kate Winslet was phenomenal as Jeanine (basically the main villain of the movie). She absolutely nailed the essence of Erudite to an E!! Theo James captured that mystique of the Four character really well-I believe he was in Underworld: Awakening, which was my favorite of those movies since the original. I also was pleased with the selection for Tris's parents: Ashley Judd & Tony Goldwyn. I liked that Judd's presence seemed to have more layers when we're first introduced (it should based on what readers of the book know), while Goldwyn seemed more plain as he should have been. Goldwyn is a particularly talented actor. Some may know him from Scandal, but I've always known him as Michael Drucker in the Sixth Day-which interestingly enough dealt with a different society as well. Hmm? I was impressed with Zoe Kravitz as Christina, and Miles Teller did a great job of being the douche Peter.

The movie was blended nicely into three parts: 1. introduction/Choosing Ceremony/Intiation 2. The different stages Tris must undertake, and 3. breakdown of society/rebellion. It all blended really well. While it was really faithful to the book, there were a few tweaks here and there that I liked as did the audience which allows this to stand on its own as a movie. The action sequences were very well done, and everybody was cheering, clapping, or crying at certain events during the last 20 minutes or so. It was such a cool atmosphere. I love being in a packed theater for movies like this. The biggest applause and cheers came in a scene involving Tris & Jeanine at the end-it was awesome. You have to see it to know what I'm talking about. As I said, it captured the essence of the book really well, and did great making itself a good movie. The performances, action sequences, and evolution of Tris were captured in a positive light. I give this a definite 5/5. It's one of my favorite movies of the year along with 300: Rise of an Empire. I highly recommend this even if you haven't read the book. It's an incredible story, and one that I was really into reading and watching. At the end of the movie, the entire audience clapped. We knew we just witnessed a really good movie. This isn't a movie where the basic premise is killing people. This is a movie about finding your place in society-I love that.

Veronica Mars Review

I saw Veronica Mars on March 15, 2014!! As a fan of the television series (haven't seen the entire series, but definitely have seen a good amount of episodes), I was excited for this.I saw this is in a packed theater and as an audience we enjoyed the movie the whole way through. For people that know me, they know I am a bigger fan of female characters than male characters a majority of the time, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I like the Veronica Mars character.  If you haven't seen the series, it's actually perfectly fine because they start the movie recapping the show and this movie won't leave you in the dark if you haven't seen it. Kristen Bell is such a fun actress. She always did an incredible job with the character on the show, and it definitely translated well to the big screen. I think her sassy attitude, attractive looks, and intellect utilized to solve cases is amazing. The dialogue, witty banter, and chemistry between main and supporting characters is just as strong as it was during the series. I really liked the mystery plot in the movie. There were many layers to it with the ultimate motive being very interesting. The mystery revolves around murder which naturally is what eventually caused Veronica to become the teenage private eye in the series. The murder in this movie revolves around the former Carrie Bishop. The only thing I wish was that Leighton Meester was able to reprise the character, but scheduling wasn't able to make it work. It still ended up working in the end, and ultimately even though Bishop is a big part of the movie's plot, they were able to find an actress that made it work. Along with Kristen Bell, actors like Enrico Collantoni (he was always great as Veronica's former sheriff turned private eye father. I still miss Just Shoot Me for his character on that show falling asleep during a book club meeting), Krysten Ritter(always entertains me-she's beautiful, is able to dance between drama and comedy quite well, and really helps to add great depth to the movie), Martin Starr (perfectly cast-really strong piece of the movie), and Jason Dohring (his chemistry with Bell's Veronica is always fun to watch) provided great performances. The movie blended great dramatic elements with some very hilarious comedic dialogue and moments. There's also some great cameos including Dax Shepherd which was very well placed and had the entire theater I was in laughing-we loved it. At the end of the movie, everybody applauded because it was very well done. Rob Thomas did an excellent job bringing the characters back and creating an interesting mystery that kept me interested the entire time. I give the movie a 4/5 for great characters, an intriguing plot, and dialogue befitting of the Marshamallow universe. I highly recommend seeing this even if you haven't seen the series. I laughed, gasped, and watched as drama and comedy combined to make a movie with substance and colorful characters unlike a one dimensional action movies, which there are far too much of these days.

300: Rise of an Empire Review

Justin and I saw 300: Rise of an Empire on March 8, 2014!! This was my favorite movie of the year so far. While I enjoyed the first 300, which focused primarily on the Spartan's last stand at the command of King Leonidas, this movie focused on the whole picture of those Greek wars against the Persian Empire. It focused on the origins of this rivalry with Darius I and how Xerxes legend came to be. It also gave us a great look at leaders like Themistokles (who was a big part of this historical time period). I liked the focus on the Athenian side of things. It shows the importance of a united Greece against a huge empire coming for them. The importance of democracy and unity is what allows Greece to compete against the vast size of Persia. I liked how they presented both sides of the war to see where each one was coming from. As far as characters go,  Eva Green as Artemisia stole the show. The back story presented was very well done. It showed how there is a sympathetic side to her siding with the Persians even with Greek blood in her. Green was just perfect in this role. She was calculating and beautiful. Her interpretation of the character was terrific. She incorporated that back story to toughen her up for battle. It allowed her to shape battle strategy.  Along with this, she had so many memorable moments that present a terrifying presence that was perfect for the character Green was playing. I'm a huge fan of Eva Green. I've liked her since I saw her in Casino Royale, and really liked her work in Arthur as Morgana (that show should still be on Starz), and I'm looking forward to her work in the new Sin City movie of which she will have a major part. She came across as Persia's greatest warrior.  Her role as leader made me root for the Persians honestly, though you can sympathize with Themistokle's vision of a united Greece. Sullivan Stapleton did a great job as the leader of the Greek side of things. He was a logical military leader with a mind for politics in Athens.  His scenes with Eva Green were some of the best. The chemistry they shared on screen felt natural. I liked this story a lot more than just the focus of the Spartans last stand. That was a small piece of the big picture, which I think this movie showed. The battle scenes were excellent-a lot more action, the mix of naval battles as well as clashing swords was well presented. The artistic vision during these scenes always interested me. I like the battle between Artemesia and Themistocles. It was the perfect amount of intensity. From the opening showing how this rivalry between Greek city states (namely Athens) & Persia began to that final battle, it is an incredible movie. The story actually has a good amount of historical accuracy in terms of how the naval battles are presented and the common cause to form a Greek union. It also does an excellent job of portraying legends of Xerxes as well as shaping amazing characters like Artemesia (I love this character). The story, the battle scenes, the fair and balanced viewpoint of the Greeks & the Persians, and Artemesia make this a memorable movie that I feel exceeds the first 300 in 2007. As this is my favorite movie of the year thus far, it receives a rating of 5/5. I actually plan on seeing it again in theaters just because I was so impressed with what I saw on screen.