Best / Worst 2015 + Most Anticipated 2016

Preface: I haven't seen as many films this year as years past. This is partly due to the size of the town I live in and the availability of films at my local theater. Therefore, my list of the best and worst film of 2015 may not reflect the "popular" view. Before giving my list of best movies of 2015, let me share with you, my favorite films separated out via genre.      

Action: Mad Max: Fury Road 
Adventure: Tomorrowland 
Animation: Inside Out 
Comedy: Ant-Man 
Comic Book: Ant-Man  
Crime / Mystery: Mr. Holmes 
Drama: Tentatively: Spotlight 
Fantasy: Star Wars: The Force Awakens 
Historical or Bio Pic: Straight Outta Compton  
Horror: It Follows 
Indie Film: Ex Machina 
Musical: Straight Outta Compton  
Sci-Fi: The Martian 
Thriller: Mission Impossible Rogue Nation 
Western: Tentatively: The Revenant

Notes: I still have a lot of films to catch up on that came out in 2015, hence why Spotlight and The Revenant have "Tentatively" attached to them. As far as Western go, The Hateful Eight could give The Revenant a run for its money, but then again I'm more anticipating The Revenant. The Drama genre has quite a few films that could slide in as my favorite, but Spotlight looks the most promising. The weakest genres this year was comedy, horror, and musicals. Most of the "pure" comedies in 2015 were stinkers critical, therefore, I didn't buy a ticket and watch them in the theater.

Best:

1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens 
2. Ex Machina 
3. The Martian 
4. Inside Out 
5. Ant-Man  
6. Mission Impossible Rogue Nation 
7. The Peanuts Movie 
8. Mad Max: Fury Road 
9. Kingsman: The Secret Service 
10. Straight Outta Compton  

Honorable Mentions: 

Avengers Age of Ultron 
Jurassic World 
Mr. Holmes

Notes: Let me start with my honorable mention. Avengers Age of Ultron and Jurassic World got me in the theater and gave me a good time while I was there, but didn't quite make my top ten. Mr. Holmes just barely made my list. Mr. Holmes was by far in my top films of 2015, but when I narrowed my list to 10 it didn't make the cut. Star Wars: The Force Awakens might not be the "best" film overall, but it impacted me on all levels. Personally, I think Ex Machina is a better film than Star Wars, but I was more entertained by Star Wars.

Worst: 

1. Fifty Shades of Grey 
2. Pixels 
3. Pan 
4. Jupiter Ascending 
5. Minions 
6. Fantastic 4 
7. Chappie 
8. Pitch Perfect 2 
9. The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials 
10. Tomorrowland

Notes: I got to be honest, I didn't watch half of these movies. Primarily because they had bad reviews across the board, including the people in my closest social circles. Some of you may be confused at seeing Tomorrowland on my worst list since it's on my favorites list above. Well, Tomorrowland, had really good adventure qualities, you may say the best of the year. Heck, overall Tomorrowland wasn't really that bad of a film, but it was very disappointing, hence why it's at the bottom of the list. Fun fact: Pixels was on my most anticipated list of last year, but sank to the bottom of the barrel after seeing the trailer.

Most Anticipated 2016: 

1. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 
2. Captain America: Civil War 
3. Deadpool 
4. X-Men: Apocalypse 
5. Warcraft 
6. Suicide Squad 
7. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 
8. The Jungle Book 
9. Doctor Strange (not sure if this trailer is the REAL official or not) 
10. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Notes: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice started near the top of this list but drop drastically once I saw the full trailer, and it revealed what seems to be the entire movie. I'm equally pumped and nervous for Captain America: Civil War. On one hand, it could be just as good Captain America: The Winter Soldier or it could swing the other way and just be Avenger 2.5 and focus too much time on the ancillary characters.   

The Picture Box

The Picture Box

A co-worker and friend of mine is trying very hard to get his small student film to the high school section of the Heartland Film Festival, which takes place in Indianapolis, Indian. If you're a connoisseur of films and the art of filmmaking, like myself, then you may enjoy this emotional silent film that showcases how precious our memories become to us over time. As a friend and a fellow filmmaker I fully support this film, and I hope you do too.

Review: To Save A Life

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Title: To Save A Life
Distributor: New Song Pictures (Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Director: Brian Baugh
Writer(s): Jim Britts (written by)
Staring: Randy Wayne, Deja Kreutzberg, Joshua Weigel, Steven Crowder, Sean Michael, Bubba Lewis, Kim Hidalgo
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements involving teen suicide, teen drinking, some drug content, disturbing images and sexuality.
Running Time:
Synopsis: After a childhood friend's death, Jake Taylor, an all-star athlete must change his life - and sacrifice his dreams to save the lives of others.

Other Reviews

Critics:

Roger Ebert: NA
Michael Phillips: NA
EW: NA

Other Sites:

At The Movies: NA
Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 27% (Rotten), Top Critics: 20% (Rotten), RT Community: 88% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 17 out of 100, Users: 8.1 out of 10
MRQE Metric: NA
Yahoo Movies: Critics: NA Users: A

My Review

Source Material: Written by Jim Britts

Acting and Dialogue: B-: Randy Wayne who portrays the protagonist Jake Taylor in the film is puts up a good performance, probably the best out the entire cast. A close second would have to be the guy who played the youth-pastor, Joshua Weigel. Not only did he reminded me of my youth-pastor but he created a believable charismatic youth leader that young people will be willing to follow and trust. The character that was the most unbelievable was Jake's girlfriend, Amy. The actress who play her, Deja Kreutzberg, but way to much melodramatic acting into her role.

Art Direction: C: Shot from a teenagers perspective so alto of hallways and house backdrops, and church since this was a Christian based film. But nothing to get excited about.

Cinematography: B-: The cinematography was fairly decent. it had some shot and light that were interesting and cool but over all just like the art direction not to exciting.

Direction: B-: This film does have a "after school special" feel, and that it's main weakness, well besides the fact that the general audience will call it "too preachy" because of it Christian based storyline. Besides these negatives I think the new comer director, Brian Baugh did a decent job, yeah it may have been slow in parts to some people, but that to be expected.

Screenplay: C+: The main criticism of this film is the fact that it is a Christian base story. I don't know why people get so offended by Christian movies but don't care about another movie with another religion. If we were to replace the Christian message and undertone in this film with another religion's message and undertones would the story be good? I am going to say yes because this film highlights some pretty heavy stuff that happens in teenage life today. That's the positive things about the story, were as the negative thing shine a way different light. The bad supporting characters, acting wise, and the "after school special" feel overshadowed the positive things in this film.

Sound and Music: C+: Hmm, there was some inspirational music from the sound track, but that common for a movie with Christian undertones.

VFX: C: Dramatically driven, little to no visual effects.

Overall: C+: If I was a youth-pastor I would take my youth-group because the film brings out some very valid points that teenager need to hear. I challenge all teens to see this film just on the fact that it dose highlight things that are very possible in their life's, especially in today's society. As an over film it going to do horrible cinematically, as I highlight above but do decent at the box office especially in small "Christian" based towns. Film is subjective.

Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats

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Title: The Men Who Stare at Goats
Distributor: BBC Films
Director: Grant Heslov
Writer(s): Peter Straughan (screenplay)Jon Ronson (book)
Staring: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey
MPAA Rating: Rated R for language, some drug content and brief nudity.
Running Time: 93 min (1 hr and 33 min)
Synopsis: A reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army's First Earth Battalion, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.

Other Reviews

Critics:

Roger Ebert: 2 ½ Stars
Michael Phillips: NA Stars
EW: Owen Gleiberman: F

Other Sites:

At The Movies: A.O. Scott: Skip It, Michael Phillips: Skip It
Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 58% (Rotten), Top Critics: 41% (Rotten), RT Community: 65% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 54 out of 100, Users: 4.0 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 61: (10.% A, 42.6% B, 35.0% C, 9.3% D, and 0.0% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: B- Users: C

My Review

Source Material: Based on the book of the same title by author Jon Ronson, an account of Ronson's investigation of attempts by US military forces to use psychic powers.

Acting and Dialogue: A-: For me the acting was good but then agian some bias comes into play because both Ewan McGregor and Kevin Spacey are by far in my top ten favorite actors.

Art Direction: C: Comedy Bland meaning this film was made for laughs and not necessarily for art.

Cinematography: C: I do like some of the different shoots used, but It too also follows the Comedy Bland style of filmmaking.

Direction: B-: It has a fun atmosphere and I think that comes from an actor turn filmmaker director, seen here.

Screenplay: B+: The story is a good one, I think some of the execution failed but most of the pop culture reference worked, well if your a Star Wars Fan. Personally the funnier lines were the clueless nature of Ewan McGregor character toward the Jedi terminology., why? Well, he play a character from the Star Wars universe for three movies know as Obi-Wan Kenobi, who is a Jedi. So LOL.

Sound and Music: B: Very Representative of the time period and content of the film.

VFX: B-: Very minor VFX were used to creat the different "powers" but nothing to extravagant.

Overall: B-: For me it works for a Comedy because I am a Star wars fan, but for the general public it won't. I think that's the case because it not a Judd Apatow style of humor.

Review: Whip It

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Title: Whip It
Distributor: United Artists (MGM)
Director: Drew Barrymore
Writer(s): Shauna Cross (screenplay), Shauna Cross (novel)
Staring: Ellen Page, Alia Shawkat, Kristen Wiig, Zoe Bell, Eve, Drew Barrymore, Andrew Wilson
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for sexual content including crude dialogue, language and drug material.
Running Time: 111 min (1 hr and 51 min)
Synopsis: In Bodeen, Texas, an indie-rock loving misfit finds a way of dealing with her small-town misery after she discovers a roller derby league in nearby Austin.

Other Reviews

Critics:

Roger Ebert: 3 ½ Stars
Michael Phillips: 3 Stars
EW: Lisa Schwarzbaum: C+

Other Sites:

At The Movies: A.O. Scott: See It, Michael Phillips: See It
Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 81% (Fresh), Top Critics: 83% (Fresh), RT Community: 91% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 67 out of 100, Users: 7.1 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 70: (15.1% A, 53.4% B, 31.4% C, 0.0% D, and 0.0% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: B Users: B+

My Review

Source Material: Based on Shauna Cross' novel Derby Girl

Acting and Dialogue: A-: There is a great ensemble cast and on top of that Ellen Page brings a new and great character to screen, that I enjoyed.

Art Direction: B+: It had good art direction. It pulled off the "rocker-chick" image which encompass the entire the film.

Cinematography: B+: I thought the the shoot choice had a good mixture of up close and personal action shots versus wide let the action unfold shots.

Direction: B-: Because Drew Barrymore is an actor herself she was able to capture that bonding quality that actors, directors tend to have. It seem that everyone involved with the film was having a good time.

Screenplay: B: The story was a bit cliché but at the same time it hit home with the teenage mind set, therefore giving some substance to the story.

Sound and Music: B: Rock and Roller Derby go hand and hand so it fits the content of the film, so that's good.

VFX: C: None to commit on

Overall: B+: I enjoyed this film and I think most of you would too, especially if you enjoy indie film as much as me.

UPDATE: Movies I Want to See

I have two list circulating my indie list of movies I want to see and my Top 20 list. These two list still apply to this list, heck there may very well be some overlap of moves on the list. I want to break it down for you. Any movie on the list with a (*) in front of is an Independent Movie or (Indie). So here we go.

October 16

Where the Wild Things Are

November 6

*Men Who Stares at Goats

November 13

*Up in the Air (limited)

NOVEMBER 25

*The Fantastic Mr. Fox
*Me and Orson Welles
Ninjia Assassin
*The Road
*Up in the Air (expanding)

December 11

The Lovely Bones (limited)

DECEMBER 25 Christmas Day

*The Imaginarium of doctor Parnassus
The Lovely Bones (expanding)
Sherlock Holmes

January 8

Daybreakers

January 15

The Lovely Bones (wide)

March 5

Alice In Wonderland

March 25

Clash of the Titans

Exclusive Review: Sunshine Cleaning

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Title: Sunshine Cleaning
Distributor: Back Lot Pictures (Overture Films)
Director: Christine Jeffs
Writer(s): Megan Holley (written by)
Staring: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Jason Spevack
MPAA Rating: Rated R for language, disturbing images, some sexuality and drug use.
Running Time: 91 min (1 hr and 31 min)
Synopsis: In order to raise the tuition to send her young son to private school, a mom starts an unusual business -- a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service -- with her unreliable sister.

Other Sites:

At The Movies: Ben Mankiewicz: See It, Ben Lyons: Rent It
Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 72% (Fresh), Top Critics: 76% (Fresh), RT Community: 86% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 61 out of 100, Users: 6.9 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 66: (13.5% A, 53.7% B, 55.9% C, 5.3% D, and 0.0% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: B- Users: B+

My Review

Source Material: An Original written by Megan Holley.

Acting and Dialogue: A: I Like the cast not only are the two leads babes but they also put in a decent effort of acting. I also like the Alan Arkin and Jason Spevack combo and how it becomes the comic relief.

Art Direction: B: The actual art direction in the film didn't move me or inspire me, but for the indie quality it was great.

Cinematography: B+: I believe where the art direction lacks the cinematography gains because I think it has interesting camera shots

Direction: B:Christine Jeffs is very new to America filmmaking from what it seems she is more of New Zealand and British filmmaker, making Sunshine Cleaning her first American film. As far as pace it was very well paced, I didn't have boring time.

Screenplay: A: I like the story very much. It did a good job at captivating family rivalry between sister. There is this underline tone that blood is ticker than water, meaning family is important.

Sound and Music: B+: Mainly indie rock artist and score that blended well with the film.

VFX: B: Mainly the make-up and practical effect teams were used on the film and as far as that goes well, it was good.

Overall: A-: For a indie film this film works on many different levels, I do recommend it

Review: 9

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Title: 9
Distributor: Focus Features
Director: Shane Acker
Writer(s): Pamela Pettler (screenplay), Shane Acker (story)
Staring: Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover, Jennifer Connelly, Fred Tatasciore, Elijah Wood
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for violence and scary images.
Running Time: 79 min (1 hr and 18 min)
Synopsis: When 9 first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world where all humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the group, 9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good. They must take the offensive if they are to survive, and they must discover why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they'll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them.

Other Reviews

Critics:

Roger Ebert: 3 Stars
Michael Phillips: 2 ½ Stars
EW: Lisa Schwarzbaum: B+

Other Sites:

At The Movies: A.O. Scott: See It, Michael Phillips: Rent It
Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 56% (Rotten), Top Critics: 65% (Fresh), RT Community: 79% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 60 out of 100, Users: 6.8 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 60: (5.0% A, 44.5% B, 39.5% C, 11.0% D, and 0.0% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: B- Users: B+

My Review

Source Material: Based on Shane Acker's original short with the same name.

Acting and Dialogue: B+: Look at the voice talent one can see there is wide range of people: Christopher Plummer (Charles Muntz in Up), John C. Reilly (In almost every Will Ferrell film), Crispin Glover (George McFly in Back to the Future), Jennifer Connelly (Sarah in Labyrinth), and Elijah Wood (Frodo in Lord of the Rings)

Art Direction: A+: The animation was beautiful therefore the art direction and cinematography gained bonus points.

Cinematography: A: As you can see from above, the animation was so good that it gave art direction and cinematography bonus points.

Direction: B+: Shane Acker is a very new filmmaker. If you look at his filmography you will see he only has three film on there, two of which are in the 9 universe. I would say both 9's had good direction.

Screenplay: B: I like how this was still the classic man vs. machine story form but with a spiritual/ sci-fi twist.

Sound and Music: B: I know a lot people are going to see this because the trailers used Coheed and Cambria's music; but if my memory severs me correctly the only music in the film is scored.

VFX: A+: I believe that Shane Acker really knows his stuff when comes to VFX if anything was awesome from this film it would be the CGI. He may have pick up this from working as an animator at Weta Digital during the making of the little film Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Overall: B+: The films I see at the Oscars this year for best animation: Up, Fantastic Mr. Fox , Ponyo, Coraline , and 9. I place 9 on this list because of it's stylized VFX and animation. I do recommend it to watch from a aspect that movies can be animated and not for kids.

Review: Inglourious Basterds

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Title: Inglourious Basterds
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writer(s): Quentin Tarantino (written by)
Staring: Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger, Gedeon Burkhard
MPAA Rating: Rated R for strong graphic violence, language and brief sexuality.
Running Time: 153 min (2 hr and 33 min)
Synopsis: In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.

Other Reviews

Critics:

Roger Ebert: 4 Stars
Michael Phillips: NA
EW: Lisa Schwarzbaum: B

Other Sites:

At The Movies: Ben Mankiewicz: See It, Ben Lyons: See It
Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 87% (Fresh), Top Critics: 74% (Fresh), RT Community: 86% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 69 out of 100, Users: 8.5 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 73: (37.3% A, 39.5% B, 15.0% C, 5.4% D, and 0.0% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: A- Users: B+

My Review

Source Material: Inspired by Italian director Enzo Castellari's 1978 movie The Inglorious Bastards, but it is not a remake of that film, written by Quentin Tarantino.

Acting and Dialogue: A: Let me first off say Christoph Waltz play an awesomely menacing antagonist and should be nominated for his role as Col. Hans Landa. But the buck doesn't stop there the acting in the film was great all around except for maybe Eli Roth, who in my opinion is a better witter/ director. I also have to comment on how great dialouge was. There were a lot of great one-liner spoken by Brad Pitt's character. I laughed almost every time he was one screen.

Art Direction: A: The art in this film is beautiful in a different way.

Cinematography: A: Supurb work the man behind the camera,Robert Richardson, might very well be one of the top cinematographers.

Direction: A-: When looking at Quentin Tarantino's career most people will agree with me that his early films where awesome, cult classics, and his recent films have ranged from decent to "I have seen better." So with that being said Inglourious Basterds is by far a redeeming film for Quentin Tarantino's career.

Screenplay: A: I already mention the great dailoge but this film also has great choreographed scenes. Visually these scene turn out beautiful and that comes from the genus mind of Quentin Tarantino.

Sound and Music: A: The score was very fitting...almost had a Stanley Kubrick feel to it with the music

VFX: B: This film is mainly dramatically driven but there was a lot of scene that used Special Effects and make-up, which was great.

Overall: A-: It's not only a great guy film but it's also a great cinematic adventure. This great film has some negative aspects to it. The first of which is how long the film is, it rings in at two and half hours...and you know it is that long. I have seen films just as long and not felt like there could have been been at least 45 minutes cut out. But through and through I do recommend it.

Update #5: Indies I Want To See 2009

The Brothers Bloom --- Summit Entertainment --- May 15
Away We Go --- Focus Features --- June 5
Moon ---Sony Pictures Classics --- June 12 --- Review
The Hurt Locker --- Summit Entertainment --- June 26 --- Review
500 Days of Summer --- Fox Searchlight Pictures --- July 17 --- Revew
Adam --- Fox Searchlight Pictures --- July 29
Paper Heart --- Overture Films --- August 7
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard --- Paramount Vantage --- August 14 --- Review
Extract --- Miramax Films --- September 4
9 --- Focus Features --- September 4
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus --- Lions Gate --- September 25
An Education ---Sony Pictures Classics --- October 9
The Road ---The Weinstein Company --- October 16
Youth in Revolt ---The Weinstein Company --- October 30
Brothers --- Lions Gate --- December 4


TBA

Creation (TBA)

Review: The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard

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Title: The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
Distributor: Gary Sanchez Productions (Paramount Vantage )
Director: Neal Brennan
Writer(s): Andy Stock (written by) & Rick Stempson (written by)
Staring: Jeremy Piven, Ving Rhames, David Koechner, Kathryn Hahn, Ed Helms, Jordana Spiro
MPAA Rating: Rated R for sexual content, nudity, pervasive language and some drug material.
Running Time: 90 min (1 hr and 30 min)
Synopsis: Used-car liquidator Don Ready is hired by a flailing auto dealership to turn their Fourth of July sale into a majorly profitable event.

Other Reviews

Critics:

Roger Ebert: 3 Stars
Michael Phillips: 2 ½ Stars
EW: Lisa Schwarzbaum: C+

Other Sites:

At The Movies: Ben Mankiewicz: NA, Ben Lyons: NA
Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 22% (Rotten), Top Critics: 28% (Rotten), RT Community: 54% (Rotten)
Metacritic: Critics: 41 out of 100, Users: 7.5 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 46: (4.5% A, 18.1% B, 35.4% C, 41.8% D, and 0.0% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: C+ Users: B

My Review

Source Material: An Original written by Andy Stock (written by) & Rick Stempson (written by)

Acting and Dialogue: C: Alright I guess when come form a comedian stand point. As far as the jokes every other was funny. The Will Ferrell role was horrible like usual, and not funny.

Art Direction: C: What?

Cinematography: C: What can I say it was a second rate comedy?

Direction: C: Neal Brennan may know comedy because of his stand-up and his work on the Chappelle's Show but his directing career may crumble.

Screenplay: D: The jokes were vulgar and hardly funny. As for the story it didn't go really any where excting.

Sound and Music: C+: The song choice matched the film and the D.J. jokes failed but the playing of the wrong music was funny.

VFX: C: None to commit on

Overall: C-: A mediocre comedy, that wasn't that funny... rent it at best but you might just want to skip it all together.

Update #4: Indies I Want To See 2009

The Brothers Bloom --- Summit Entertainment --- May 15
Away We Go --- Focus Features --- June 5
Moon ---Sony Pictures Classics --- June 12 --- Review
The Hurt Locker --- Summit Entertainment --- June 26 --- Review
500 Days of Summer --- Fox Searchlight Pictures --- July 17 --- Revew
Adam --- Fox Searchlight Pictures --- July 29
Paper Heart --- Overture Films --- August 7
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard --- Paramount Vantage --- August 14
Extract --- Miramax Films --- September 4
9 --- Focus Features --- September 4
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus --- Lions Gate --- September 25
An Education ---Sony Pictures Classics --- October 9
The Road ---The Weinstein Company --- October 16
Youth in Revolt ---The Weinstein Company --- October 30
Brothers --- Lions Gate --- December 4


TBA

Creation (TBA)

Review: (500) Days of Summer

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Title: (500) Days of Summer
Distributor: Watermark(Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Director: Marc Webb
Writer(s): Scott Neustadter (written by) & Michael H. Weber (written by)
Staring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for sexual material and language.
Running Time: 95 min (1 hr and 35 min)
Synopsis: An offbeat romantic comedy about a woman (Deschanel) who doesn't believe true love exists, and the young man (Gordon-Levitt) who falls for her.

Other Reviews

Critics:

Roger Ebert: 4 Stars
Michael Phillips: 3 Stars
EW: Owen Gleiberman: A

Other Sites:

At The Movies: Ben Mankiewicz: See It, Ben Lyons: See It
Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 89% (Fresh), Top Critics: 88% (Fresh), RT Community: 92% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 76 out of 100, Users: 7.7 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 76: (31.8% A, 50.8% B, 16.6% C, 0.0% D, and 0.0% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: B+ Users: A-

My Review

Source Material: Original Scott Neustadter and Michael H

Acting and Dialogue: A-:Great performance, not Oscar worthy but never the less good.

Art Direction: B: I like how the art mainly the costume design play right into this whimsical romantic comedy.

Cinematography: A-: It dose have a very indie feel to the entire film, with the split screens and such

Direction: A:For being a relatively new filmmaker, Marc Webb, impressed me with a very good romcom

Screenplay: A-: I very mush so the non-linear storytelling., it give a deeper a more thought proving film, but with his film it was more or less a whimsical version of the traditional non-linear story. I like how the film intermittently jumps back and froth from day to day (Day 1 to Day 234 to Day 5 to Day 112). I hope to see this at the Oscars as a Original screenplay nomination.

Sound and Music: A: Manly Indie rock like most independent filmmaking but it play right into that same whimsical fell the movie has.

VFX: A-: Mainly dramatic driven film but the animated bird was cute.

Overall: A: As far as romcoms go its a great new twist. The opening line "this is not a love story" sums up the entire new spin of romcom that I am talking about. The word whimsical repeats a lot through out my review and that is because it has a playful edge through out the entire film. There is one scene in the movie that is stylization of a classic musical without the musical number, that sum the whimsical atmosphere of the film. So this is one of those films that I say that s not only a good date movie but good movie all around.

Review: A Perfect Getaway

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Title: A Perfect Getaway
Distributor: Davis Entertainment(Universal Pictures)
Director: David Twohy
Writer(s): David Twohy (written by)
Staring: Chris Hemsworth, Milla Jovovich, Kiele Sanchez, Timothy Olyphant, Steve Zahn, Marley Shelton
MPAA Rating: Rated R for graphic violence, language including sexual references and some drug use.
Running Time: 98 min (1 hr and 38 min)
Synopsis: Two pairs of lovers (Zahn & Jovovich, Olyphant & Sanchez) on a Hawaiian vacation discover that psychopaths are stalking and murdering tourists on the islands.

Other Reviews

Critics:

Roger Ebert: 3 Stars
Michael Phillips: 2 ½ Stars
EW: Lisa Schwarzbaum: B-

Other Sites:

At The Movies: Ben Mankiewicz: Skip It, Ben Lyons: Skip It
Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 54% (Rotten), Top Critics: 71% (Fresh), RT Community: 72% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 63 out of 100, Users: 7.1 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 56: (4.5% A, 39.6% B, 37.7% C, 17.4% D, and 0.0% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: C+ Users: B

My Review

Source Material: Original David Twohy

Acting and Dialogue: B-: It was alright...great cast with decent performance, the best of which was Timothy Olyphant.

Art Direction: B-: Most of the art direction comes from the cinematography because of the fact it was shot in Puerto Rico and Hawaii, .

Cinematography: B: Beautiful place on earth always make good cinematography.

Direction: B: I like most of this directors work. He know for The Chronicles of Riddick and Pitch Black. This film also has that same type of direction, so I guess he is consistent.

Screenplay: B-: Can you say plot twist? The whole movie was working up to this big plot twist, which worked but since the movie focus was the plot twist it made the rest of the film rather boring.

Sound and Music: C: Nothing that rememberable.

VFX: B-: Mainly dramatic driven film but there were some particle FX that deals more in the make-up department, so looking at that angle it was believable.

Overall: B-: If it wasn't for the decent plot twist and beautiful locations this movie would have been a ten time worst movie. as far as a recommendation goes I say rent it once it comes out on DVD.

Indie Spotlight

With my NEW Indie label I am going to redirect you to a post over at Cinematical that deals with indies. This post is called Indie Spotlight ... so enjoy.

Exclusive Review: THX 1138 (Director's Cut)

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Title: THX 1138 (Director's Cut)
Distributor: American Zoetrope (Warner Bros.)
Director: George Lucas
Writer(s): George Lucas (story, earlier screenplay, screenplay), and Walter Murch (screenplay)
Staring: Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence, Don Pedro Colley, Maggie McOmie
MPAA Rating: Rated R for some sexuality/nudity.
Running Time: 86 min | USA:88 min (director's cut) (1 hr and 20 min)
Synopsis: Set in the 25th century, the story centers around a man and a woman who rebel against their rigidly controlled society.

Other Reviews

Other Sites:

Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 97% (Fresh), Top Critics: 100% (Fresh), RT Community: 97% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 75 out of 100, Users: 6.3 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 70: (22.9% A, 55.5% B, 8.8% C, 7.4% D, and 5.1% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: NA Users: B

My Review

Source Material: Based on George Lucas' student film Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB

Acting and Dialogue: A: The Acting was very well done. The principle characters all did a great job portraying someone who was virtually emotionless, while at the same time encapsulating the since of being trapped and wanting the need of escape.

Art Direction: A: Sometimes simple is better and when I say simple I mean simple...lets say a blanket of white covered this film. I also like how Lucas has made it a point in his films that the future is now. Therefore this film, among others, the future is portray as being lived-in , unlike modern futures of today that are usually portray with a shiny finish.

Cinematography: A: The cinematography on a technical leave is awesome. It coincides with the art direction's blanket of white...no shadows or outlines on the performers.

Direction: B+: This is George Lucas we are talking about, he is better at marketing and producing films as of late, but back then...his first film, he's not half bad. The paces was good but that maybe due to fact that it has a short running time, maxing out at 88 minutes.

Screenplay: B+: George Lucas has great stories, not so good screenplays, hence why the dialogue in Star Wars has come out cheesy. The good thing about this film is Lucas focused more on the cinematic elements of film making rather than dialogue.

Sound and Music: B: The score worked, I like the menacing feel of film...I guess this is why THX sound exist today.

VFX: A: I am sure for that kind of budget it was top notch. I also like the use of camera trickery plus the enhancement form today's technology. The added VFX made a better film in my opinion.

Overall: A-: As my first time watching THX 1138 I saw the Director's Cut: a remastered cut that had better quality sound and color. Also in this cut there were some additives and changes made to the original theatrical cut, the most noticeable were in the CGI and VFX departments. To see an artist best version of their art work is a treat. I think Lucas see a future where he can change and improve his art when he does these director cuts and remasters of his films. I can't help and comparing Lucas other remastered film, Star Wars. With Star Wars I have seen the original theatrical cut many times so I can compare and contrast the differences, which usually by the end of the day I swing toward liking the special edition better. Comparing that experience to THX 1138, I would have to say I saw the best version of the film and I would like to see the original theatrical cut mainly out of curiosity. To rap things up I do recommend THX 1138 as a good thought provoking Sci-Fi.

Update #3: Indies I Want To See 2009

The Brothers Bloom --- Summit Entertainment --- May 15
Away We Go --- Focus Features --- June 5
Moon ---Sony Pictures Classics --- June 12 --- Review
The Hurt Locker --- Summit Entertainment --- June 26 --- Review
500 Days of Summer --- Fox Searchlight Pictures --- July 17
Adam --- Fox Searchlight Pictures --- July 29
Paper Heart --- Overture Films --- August 7
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard --- Paramount Vantage --- August 14
Extract --- Miramax Films --- September 4
9 --- Focus Features --- September 4
An Education ---Sony Pictures Classics --- October 9
The Road ---The Weinstein Company --- October 16
Youth in Revolt ---The Weinstein Company --- October 30
Brothers --- Lions Gate --- December 4
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus --- Lions Gate --- December 25

TBA

Creation (TBA)