The Fault in Our Stars (Film Review)

I've heard (and seen directly in the theaters) that The Fault in Our Stars is a very popular film with teenagers (mostly teenage girls).  All I have to say about that is I’m certainly glad teens these days are gaining such wonderful taste in movies!  The Fault in Our Stars is a very sweet, sometimes funny, and (of course) very sad film, but most importantly it is a beautifully touching romance.  We may only be half way through the year, but I wouldn't be surprised if the film ended up being my pick for best romance of 2014; both for its story, morals, and main actors.

Non-Stop (Quick Review)

Non-Stop is the definition of a fun, summer popcorn thriller; it’s cheesy and highly ridiculous, but quite enjoyably so.  Bonus points for having the king of action thrillers, Liam Neeson, star; who after his role in Taken has become this decade’s cool, middle-aged badass (following in the lines of Willis and Schwarzenegger).  Non-Stop differs from Taken in a few ways however; for one, the side characters are…actually likable and at times kind of cool.  It helps that the film actually has some decent actors playing them, such as Julianne Moore and Michelle Dockery.  I find that in your typical thriller (even the good ones) I REALLY don’t care much about who lives or dies (as long as the asshole villain(s) get their comeuppance in an awesome way), mostly because those films never feel the need to develop anyone besides the hero.  I mean, did anyone actually care whether Mills’ daughter survived in Taken, or was top importance that he got vengeance on the kidnappers?...it was the latter for me personally.  While Non-Stop doesn't necessarily develop the side characters much (save for Julianne Moore’s character), it does flesh out some of their personalities, making them more than simple targets for the villain to kill.  I honestly wanted to see the plane crew survive in the end and even got surprisingly disappointed when one side character supposedly died, though he’s later revealed to be alive; marking one of the few times I was relieved over a minor character’s survival in an action thriller.

X-Men: Days of Future Past (Film Review)

Not bad, not bad at all.  Out of all the long running Marvel series, the X-Men films have always been the least interesting to me; an opinion that was only solidified by the rotten X-Men Origins: Wolverine and partial-reboot X-Men: First Class (a film I openly disliked).  Yet with the recent success of The Wolverine (my favorite superhero film of 2013) alongside the newest film of the franchise, X-Men: Days of Future Past, I find myself gaining a new surge of interest for the X-Men.  Just as The Wolverine far outclasses X-Men Origins: Wolverine, so does Days of Future Past provide a more effective reboot than First Class.

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (Quick Review)

There’s a fine line between effectively balancing comedy with drama and completely messing it up; it takes both skill and an understanding of timing to correctly make a comedy-drama.  If done correctly, said film could become a masterpiece; if done poorly you end up getting The Angriest Man in Brooklyn.  Despite being labeled on its Wikipedia page as a “comedy-drama”, the film shows zero understanding of how to balance the two genres.  The Angriest Man in Brooklyn is a perfect example of how a good concept can be so easily screwed up.

A Million Ways to Die in the West (Film Review)

For a film called A Million Ways to Die in the West it sure takes a while to kill off its first victim (around ten minutes or so); and for a supposed screwball comedy it sure is sparing with its humor while keen on its use of drama.  As Seth MacFarlane’s second directed film I can’t help but compare it to his earlier film Ted, and more so to the likes of his most well-known cartoon Family Guy.  While Ted (where MacFarlane plays a live teddy bear with the voice of Peter Griffin) felt reminiscent to the earlier seasons of Family Guy, with its consistency of unconventional dark humor combined with hidden wit and cleverness, A Million Ways to Die (where MacFarlane acts live using his regular voice aka Brian Griffin’s voice) feels more similar to the newer Family Guy episodes; replacing comedy with unnecessary drama, drawn out action sequences, and more than predictable situational jokes.

Neighbors (Quick Review)

Neighbors might just have my favorite performance from Zack Efron, which I believe has a lot to do with Seth Rogen’s influence.  Efron takes a page from Rogen’s comedy book by utilizing improvisation, quick-paced humor, and affectionate satire towards his real life self; an unexpected direction for him to take, yet works surprisingly well as Efron’s pretty funny in the film (which I honestly didn't expect from the misleading trailers).  In fact the good majority of Neighbors’ performances bring hilarity, with some of the highlights being Seth Rogen (whose humor never fails to crack me up), Rose Byrne (another unexpected delight) and Dave Franco (who gives one of his better comedic performances).  Even the side characters such as Jerrod Carmichael as Garf and Lisa Kudrow as the Dean can steal the spotlight when on screen, a lot of which is due to the great chemistry between cast members; in particular Rogen and Byrne who work off one another with perfect naturalness, as if they've been working together for years. 

Maleficent (Film Review)

It seems these days that a string of comparable reinterpretations have been gaining popularity with mainstream audiences; the adaption of an evil villain into a more complexly grey-zoned character.  With the popularity of the musical Wicked and the adaption of The Ice Queen into Disney’s Frozen, audiences are becoming more interested in the concept of adaptational heroism; now Disney has once more dove into such reinterpretation with the main villain from their 1959 film Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent.  Often considered one of Disney’s greatest villains (a statement I wholeheartedly support), Maleficent tells the story from its title character’s perspective (playing here by Angelina Jolie), changing her into a misunderstood, three dimensional character whose sympathetic past and “dark is not evil” personality makes her an understandable character for the viewing audience…yet I’m not fond of the change.