The Rover: The Best?

Critically acclaimed at the Festival de Cannes, The Rover rakes place in the Australian Outback 10 years after "the collapse," which is presumed to be a global economic collapse or perhaps just the collapse of society. Whatever it may have been, it has laid waste to Australia, where Guy Pearce's(Memento, L.A. Confidential) car is stolen. The entirety of the film is Pearce attempting to get his car back. Eventually he runs into Robert Pattinson(Twilight). Filled with haunting cinematography and even more horrifying realities of life and human nature, Director David Michod constructs a world that the audience will buy into. Of course along with the beautiful yet petrifying cinematography and camera work is a consistent score. Filled with violence, intrigue, suspense, tension, and meanings, The Rover pulls you in until the very last credit rolls.
8.5/10  

Begin Again: See it Again?

In Begin Again, a down music-business executive and a down songwriter end up meeting and try their hand at making a unique album. Starring Mark Ruffalo(The Avengers, Zodiac) and Keira Knightley(Pride and Prejudice), this film appearing as a romantic comedy ends up feeling like a dramatic comedy. Filled with rich and very original humor from very relatable life situations, honestly hilarious. Dramatically, it delivers as well but not on par with the comedic aspect. Adam Levine co-stars and vastly underperforms in his role. It is possible to blame the writing or just the character but I believe this is not Adam's strong suit. Another strong aspect was the New York cinematography, whether it be a backdrop or right in the heart, it was always stunning. Furthermore on the positives, the soundtrack which was a mix of originals and borrowed material was nearly perfect and helped accomplish the mood of each scene and the collective film. Some downsides, the character development was strong but wasn't exactly linear or consistent. This problem occurred multiple times with multiple characters. With a plethora of positive reviews and a good amount of mixed to negative, Begin Again has nabbed a 62/100 on Metacritic. A critical take on the music business and a nice outlook on family and love.
7.5/10

Collateral: What's The Damage?

10 years late, but nonetheless, Collateral is critically acclaimed as one of the best thrillers in (somewhat) recent years. Starring Tom Cruise (Top Gun) and Jamie Foxx (The Soloist), the film takes place over the course of one night in LA. A modest cab driver finds his life flipped upside down when his passenger ends up being a contract killer. Already the basis for this story is ludicrous, along with that there are some issues within the film. Most of all, the awkward comedy writing and even worse  the deliverance of said comedy by Jamie Foxx. A movie with such a dark tone and even darker cinematography deserves better than the poor comedic writing thrown in. It's easy to shrug off but still a takeaway from the film overall. Onto the positives, Cruise delivers as he always has and always will. Foxx is on and off, in my humble opinion. Although appearing as a simple thriller/action "blockbuster" attempt, there is deeper meaning lodged within the film and its characters. More specially the importance, or lack there of, of life. Truly asking the audience, "how much do you care?" "What is your life worth?" And so on. If you can get past the little inadequacies then you're sure in for a treat. 

8/10

Guardians of the Galaxy: Best Movie in the Galaxy?

Marvel studios ventures into uncharted territory with Guardians of the Galaxy, a space-adventure (comedy?) that follows a rag-tag group of five companions searching for a magical orb that can crush worlds. A very simple story arc right? Right. And that's a highlight of the film, their knowledge of the story and not letting it stray too far or get out of hand. This can be attributed to James Gunn's (Slither) handling of the film as director. He creates a character driven story with instantly loveable characters. The way the story intertwines together, allowing all these "heroes" to meet is smart and quick, unlike the Avengers. The cast is lead by Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation, Her), Zoe Saldana (Avatar), Dave Bautista, featuring Vin Diesel (Fast Five) and Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook) as Groot and Rocket. The real show stealers are Groot and Rocket, Groot can only emit 3 words but is a caring tree and definitely unforgettable. Rocket (Raccoon) is a mischievous character who manages to be compelling with every sentence. Right down to the laugh, Cooper hits every beat. Now straying away from the characters, the cinematography for Marvel movies doesn't have that high of a bar but Guardians surpasses that expectation and more with amazing color hues, saturations, and huge space set pieces. Finally, the soundtrack was truly memorable, a slur of 70s songs that fit the mood perfectly. Overall, there are some problems, the biggest of which are the villains. They aren't given nearly enough screen time to appear menacing or important but that does not matter when the heroes are this fantastic. Marvel has catapulted past all the expectations and created my favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe movie yet in Guardians of the Galaxy.

9/10

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Dawn of a Franchise

The 2014 follow up to 2011's smash hit Rise of the Planet of the Apes has just hit theaters and with raised expectations due to Rise's success, it has some big ape shoes to fill. That said, boy does Dawn of the Planet of the Apes deliver. Roughly 8 years after the events of the first film, there has been peace for a small civilization of humans living in San Francisco, along with the apes from the first film who have made a civilization of their own. However these two did not know that the other race even still existed. So when the humans cross paths with the apes when searching for a dam to supply power back to San Francisco, things get hectic. At times the film feels like The Dark Knight Rises or even Gladiator, yet it never feels like it is trying to be those films. There is a clear cut vision from director Matt Reeves (Let Me In), and it the movie feels very uncluttered and focused, delivering multiple themes yet focusing on one concise event. I cannot stress how fantastic that is from Reeves. Plot aside, the visuals are stunning although at some points it's easy to tell that they took dome money away from a couple of shots. Albeit, Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings Series) does deserve some recognition for his performance as Caesar, he will most likely not get nominated for Best Actor. Along with Serkis, there is a somewhat limited but definitely great performance from Gary Oldman (Dark Knight Series) and even Toby Kebbell (War Horse) as Koba. Something that truly caught my attention was the cinematography and overall camera work. There are two shots in particular that have been revolving around in my head, some of the most unique and fresh camera work I have ever seen. Along with that, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is one of the most unique and original films/sequels I have ever seen.

8.5/10

MUST SEE!

Locke: Locked In

Writer/Director Steven Knight (Eastern Promises) creates a 1 hour and 25 minute journey of a man named Ivan Locke. Tom Hardy (Bronson) stars as Mr. Locke, essentially the film centers around one car ride and Locke's life which slowly unravels around him. Truly a genuine and original film barring some similarities to other films (Buried), although the narrative is almost entirely within a single car, the audience is reeled in by this man and his life. Personally, I was just engrossed in Ivan Locke himself, along with the story but the character development of Locke is so deep and rich that it is almost impossible to not feel involved with his life. A one man show, Tom Hardy delivers a reverent performance. All camera work and angles are somewhat peculiar, but they all bring a different emotion, from dread and sorrow to hope and chance. One thing that cannot be argued is the breathtaking cinematography; delivered in terms of just a car, a man, and a highway. In the end, Locke is a one man show that will touch everyone and also put everyone on the edge of their seat every time the phone rings. 

A must see.

9/10

Shompton Police Review

Recently released, Shompton Police, from my understanding, a two part film has hit the web. 

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6NWtAl7UJM

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ5NYCrRUIg

Part 1 opens strong but dwindles as we go on. A strong and somewhat comedic performance is put on by Dylan Tywan which eventually overshadows another great performance by Kyle Ficarrotta. The cinematography and overall camera work took me out of the film for a bit but was good enough to make the viewer understand what was happening. 

Part 2 was a blunder of sorts as it did not compare to episode 1 and eventually came to a disappointing conclusion. That said, the camera work and action improved heavily for this sequence. However the end of part 1 never fully linked part 1 and 2, thus confusing the viewer and causing the film to take a hit. Overall, the two part film idea was smart but needed more of a connection. Part 1 delivered some memorable scenes and great performances whereas part 2 did not.

Part 1: 7/10

Part 2: 3/10

Shompton Police. 

Produced and distributed by lenoci5 Productions.

The Grand Budapest Hotel: How Grand?

The latest installment in the Wes Anderson (Bottle Rocket) universe is The Grand Budapest Hotel, which focuses on a particular adventure featuring Mr. Gustave H. The entire film is a leveling of flashbacks, like a reverse Inception (2010). Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter Series) stars as Gustave and works at The Grand Budapest, his former lover and friend has been murdered and he was framed.. Or was he? From a director's standpoint, this film is a marvel, fantastic character development and a great pact of story along with an interesting narrative. All of the camera work and cinematography was crafted to near perfection as always with Wes Anderson's films. Nonetheless this is a Wes Anderson film, witty comedy, odd quirks, good storytelling. All are present and there throughout, however there is a minor annoyance to me; the film ended up feeling like more of an ensemble cast rather than a focus on Gustave H. which bothered me during the film. In hindsight, the ensemble feel was obviously intended. Alexandre Desplat's score is heard and felt, the cast is top notch despite many getting less than adequate screen time (Jude Law, Bill Murray, and many others). Overall, The Grand Budapest kept me involved and entertained at the multiple storylines and provided many clever chuckles throughout.

8.5/10 

Under The Skin: Under Your Skin

Writer/Director Jonathon Glazer (Birth) brings us one of the most unsettling and easily one of the deeper films of 2014. The only way I can explain this movie's plot without ruining it is this: An alien is placed in Scotland to abduct humans. A simple plot, but this movie is complex and although not the most riveting of films, it will keep you engrossed due to its creepy and very much consistent tone of dread. Scarlett Johansson (The Avengers, Lost In Translation) stars in this Sci-Fi/Horror, and although she delivers a great performance, she is given a very simple role that could've been played by any woman in Hollywood. Nonetheless, she does perfom and the movie performs as well. Although it is classified as a horror, it does not completely frighten the viewer but rather unsettle him/her. Mica Levi's score was eerie yet stellar in terms of what it did for the audience. Under the surface of this film lies a deeper meaning that can be interpreted many different ways but it is a fresher meaning and not one commonly found or even thought about. The cinematography/camera work in general was breathtaking, many shots of the Scottish countryside and scenery are used. There is a lack of dialogue throughout the movie (the first line is only spoken 14 minutes in) which somewhat bothered me, but it did let you think, which seemed to be its intended purpose. Although I don't think the silence served as much of a purpose as this technique did in other films such as Drive or There Will Be Blood. All in all, I found this movie to be very intriguing and thought provoking. I do not recommend this for the common movie goer as they could find themselves "bored" or uninterested, however if you enjoy good films and want to think about yourself a bit, I strongly encourage you see Under The Skin.

8.5/10

Why "The Walking Dead" Is Overrated

Although popular amongst viewers, I dare to say The Walking Dead is one of the most overrated shows currently on air. Here are some pros and cons 

Pros:

-Phenomonal first season

-One of the best Pilots I've ever seen

-Intriguing story line (on paper)

-Acting is typically first rate

Cons:

-Deathly slow second season

-Many episodes drag and feel like a chore to watch

-Although there is character development, all of it is abrupt and doesn't make sense

-Humans become more of a problem than the Walkers

-Rick Grimes becomes one of the most boring characters on television

The show isn't the worst thing on television, but it certainly is the most overrated. AMC should make a point to have the series focus on the zombies and what they can do to stop them rather than the Governor and other human antagonists. After starting the fourth season I have dropped the show entirely. I understand this is an unpopular opinion but hopefully you can see my points and at least take that into consideration.