Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues: NR #57

Continuing this week of reviews, I'm going to critic the newest Will Ferral comedy that has been, in many people's minds, long over due. Does it live up to the original, or is it too late. Let's find out in my review of...

PLOT

Set in the year of 1989, "Anchorman 2" continues the story of Ron Burgundy and his San Diego news crew. In this chapter of the legend, we find the crew being introduced and becoming apart of the new way of reading the news, 24 hour news. But when the crew ends up in the 2-5 a.m slot, Burgundy decides that they should start telling what the public wants to hear and not what they need to hear.

PROS

While the humor is different from the 9 year old original, "The Legend Continues" is still very funny. I found many moments where I was laughing hard, and annoyingly loud.

Will Ferrell falls right back into the roll of Ron Burgundy, it's almost as if he never stopped playing this character.

One thing the movie has over the original is that it has a message to it. While it is obvious, you could probably figure it out by the plot description alone, it's done very well and takes a few good shots at modern news stations.

CONS

While the movie is funny, there are slightly more misses then hits. One reason is because the humor is so different from the original. It's much more random and non-sensical, which means there are a ton of throw away lines. There are also a lot of scenes that go on way to long, the biggest offender being the dinner scene between Burgundy and a black family. While it's kinda funny at first, it gets almost racist by the end of it's long run.

While they are prominent in the beginning, everyone who's not Burgundy or Brick are thrown by the wayside. The people given the biggest shaft are Paul Rudd and David Koechner. They are given nothing to do and just stand around and...look.

CONCLUSION

While not as funny or memorable as first, "Anchorman 2" still supplies plenty of laughs and silliness to please fans, like myself, of the first one. Just don't go in expecting a masterpiece of comedy

    

The Wolf of Wall Street: NR #56

I've decided that from now on, whenever I go on a long hiatus or don't update one week, I won't even acknowledge it. I've done it so many times now I'm starting to run out of things to say. So this time, in order to make up for the break, I'm going to review a movie everyday this week to bring in the new year! 

So to start out this game of catch-up, I'll be reviewing a new release from this past Christmas, the new and highly anticipated film from Martin Scorces that almost didn't come out this year. A film I'd been dying to see ever since I heard the concept. This is my review of...

PLOT

Starting in the late 80's, "The Wolf of Wall Street" tells the real life rise and fall story of Jordan Belfort, a Wall Street big shot who's love of money brought him to Wall Street and his shady business practices gave him his near billions. While his love for money pushed him up in the world, his equal love for drugs and sex will be his downfall. That doesn't mean he can't have fun on the way down!

PROS 

While I'm sure no one will be surprised by this, Leonardo DiCaprio gives a knockout performance. He seems to be having a ton of fun with the role and brings his all. This fun aspect comes from all the other actors as well. The other stand-out in this film is Jonah Hill, who gives a funny yet solid performance.

Rounding out the cast is a plethora of excellent supporting characters played by the likes of Rob Reiner, director of "Princess Bride" and "Stand By Me", Jean Dujardin, and Matthew McConaughey in a criminally short role. While these people aren't in the film too often, they do give it their all.

While you may think this film will be comedy-drama, it actually is a straight up comedy, and one of funniest ones I've seen all year. There's always something hilarious happening and it always gets a big laugh, at least out of me. There is one scene in particular where DiCaprio takes some strong drugs. It's the funniest thing I've seen all year and it goes on for 10 minutes,  never losing it's ability to make me laugh.

Not only funny, this movie is also a ton of fun. I haven't had this much fun in a movie all year. There are many party scenes and other scenes of debauchery that are just amazing to watch.

While the film is one minute short of 3 hours, it never feels that long. There's always something happening that I didn't feel the time until I got out of the theater and checked the time. 

CONS

Really there's nothing I have a problem with here.

CONCLUSION

I'm not sure if I got this across in my review, but this is one of my favorite movies of the year. While it's not trying to have a big message or reinvent the wheel, it is trying to be crude, crazy, controversial and have fun while doing it. In that aspect, it succeeded with flying colors and blew me. I haven't stopped thinking about it ever since I saw it yesterday. If you can handle copious amounts of cursing, nudity, drugs, and partying, then this film is perfect for you.

RATING

RUN TO!!

 

Akira/ My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: CR #43/44

This week, I was planning on tearing a movie apart, until a golden opportunity appeared out of the blue. I was able to see one of the most highly regarded animated films of all time in amazing quality. Yet, I didn't want to drop me original plan. So I decided to put them together. This is my double review of...

Akira

PLOT
Taking place in 2019, 30 years after WWIII and the destruction of old Tokyo, Neo-Tokyo is on the verge of destruction. Kaneda is the leader of a youth bike gang with his friends. When chasing after a rival gang, Kaneda's best friend, Tetsuo, gets into a wreck and is kidnapped by the government and entered into a secret project. At the same time, there's a group of rebels who are trying to save the children in this program who have been given essentially super powers. Tetsuo, armed with these unmastered powers, escapes and runs rampant in the city while Kaneda, the rebels, the governement, and the other super-powered children try to stop him from destroying the whole city and finding out the truth of the Akira project.



PROS
The animation in "Akira" is simply amazing. It's fluid, detailed, and even impressive by today's standards. The film earns the title of "greatest anime film" with its animation alone.

"Akira's" story is very original, at least for its time. It's full of big ideas, symbolism, and large scale destruction.

The film's pace is extremely fast and never lets up. There's always something going on in "Akira", whether it be extreme violence, story revelations, or world building, no frame of the film goes unused or feels wasted.

The score for "Akira" is also great. It's surreal and tribal, with a lot of chants and odd noises and instruments. It adds an odd feeling to the whole movie that somehow fits.


CONS
The plot can be a little convoluted at times. A lot of the bigger moments and their explanations are more hinted at then anything. While I'm glad the whole thing wasn't spelled out, I just wish there was a little more to help the viewer fully understand what's going on.



CONCLUSION
For years now, I'd always heard of "Akira" and how great it was, how it changed animated films forever and inspired so many other films like "The Matrix" and "Chronicle". Now that I've finally seen, I can agree with those statements 100%. While not the most cohesive movie, "Akira" is a marvel of animation and still holds up 25 years after its original release. I was enthralled by the film and couldn't stop watching. If you love animation in any way, shape, or form, this is a must see.


RATING
RUN TO

Equestria Girls... Uggghhhhh....

PLOT
Twilight Sparkle and her friends have been invited to the Crystal Empire for a celebration. That night, Twilight's crown is stolen by a bitter former student of Princess Celestia, ruler of the land of Equestria, named Sunset Shimmer. She escapes through a portal that leads to a world that no one has ever seen before. Twilight must go in alone, except her pet baby dragon Spike runs in after her, to retrive the crown and save Equestria from destruction. Once through the portal, Twilight discovers that she has been turned into a human and Spike has become a dog in this new world centered around a high school that human versions or her friends all attend. Now, Twilight must become princess of the Fall Formal dance to win the crown and save both her world, and this human one.



PROS
The first 10 minutes of the movie are great, because they take place in the pony world. This part also serves to tie up some loose ends from the recent season finale.

The animation, like on the show, is great. It's very colorful and fluid with a lot of stuff going on in the background.

The song "Helping Twilight Win the Crown" is a great song. While I realize it's insanely simple and probably not that well done, I still found it to be incredible catchy and fun.



CONS
Where to start. The plot, once we've entered the human world, is horrible. There are many plot holes and useless things that are really distracting. There's a whole soccer scene that's not funny in anyway, and turns out to have nothing to do with the movie. It's supposed to move the plot along, but without the scene the plot would've just kept going. The whole thing feels rushed and lazy.

The humor in the movie is extremely cliched and bad. This is a real disappointment, since the show is usually really clever and funny. Yet, most of the jokes here fall flat and have been done to death before.

Flash Sentry, who's a new love interest character for Twilight Sparkle, is a horrible character. He's whole personality is that he plays guitar, that's it. He contributes nothing to the story except for one thing that could've easily been resolved without him. It's also revealed at the end that he has a pony counterpart. While it has been said that he won't, thankfully, play a role in the show, this makes his character even more worthless.

Besides the song mentioned in the "Pros" section, all of them are forgettable and bad. A lot of them don't even have a place in the film. Another problem with the songs is that three of the four songs are all in the last 20 minutes. They don't give you enough time to soak in the songs, which are already bad, so this makes them even more forgettable.

Near the end of the film, the whole thing goes off the rails. The villain and her plan are reveled in their true form, both of which don't make any sense. If you think about her plan for more then a minute, there's a huge flaw that I won't go into since it's a spoiler. It's just poorly done.

There are a tons of in-jokes and references to the brony fandom, which I'm not quite sure how I feel about. On one hand, they stop the movie to a screeching halt for these references which contribute nothing to the plot and are gone just as fast as they appeared. On the other hand, they stop the movie to a screeching halt, which I desperately wanted each time these jokes appeared. Either way, these references feel like the animators and writer Megan McCarthy are jingling keys in front of our faces so we don't pay attention to what's actually going on in the film.


CONCLUSION
I know what you're probably thinking "Sam, why are you so mad at this film? It's a straight to dvd movie, what did you expect?" Well, being a big fan of the show, I expected at least something decent from this movie. What I got was a rushed mess of film made to capitalize on the recent "animated girls in high school" craze going on in kids entertainment. Whatever advancements the show had made on making little girls entreatment not sound like a bad thing, this film has nearly crushed them. While I'm still going to watch the show, I'll hopefully never see this movie ever again.


RATING
RUN AWAY!!


If you missed last weeks round up of reviews, you can check'em out here:http://newandclassicreviews.blogspot.com/2013/11/12-years-slave-bad-grandpa-captain.html










 

12 Years a Slave/ Bad Grandpa/ Captain Phillips: Triple NR's #53/54/55

…Hello?

…Is anybody there?

…..

I guess I'm all alone here, just me and my blu-rays.

Good think I remembered my remo-…

Where…where's my blu-ray remote? I swear I packed it.

It…it's gone…

no…no… it's not fair….IT'S NOT FAIR!!!


Hey people, sorry I've been away for, what, four weeks now? Yeah, every sunday after I saw a movie, I was either too busy or just too tired. So today, I'm up and early, and I'm reviewing three of the biggest movies out this fall season. These movies may have been out for a while, but they've yet to be judged by yours truly. This is my first triple review of…

Captain Phillips

PLOT
Our story follows Captain Richard Phillips, a cargo ship captain who's commandeering a ship going on a normal route on the Atlantic ocean. At the same time, there are a group of Somali's who are almost forced by their situation and higher-ups to capture a ship and gain some profit from its contents. These pirates just so happen upon Captain Phillips' ship and manage to get on board and capture the ship. Now Captain Phillips must try to survive and reason with these desperate pirates to save not only himself, but his crew as well.


PROS
The main actors of the film, Tom Hanks and the people playing the pirates, give knock-out performances. The Somali's, even though they're from Philadelphia I think, look very convincing and also manage to be sympathetic. Tom Hanks, even though we've seen many time how great of an actor he is, gives an Oscar-winning performance, especially near the end. I won't spoil it, but let's just say "Captain Phillips" covers a side of tense and violent situations that little no film covers.

"Captain Phillips" is extremely tense and never losses this tension throughout its over 2 hours running time. While there isn't a lot of explosions and action, it manages to be engaging and entertaining while still being character based.


CONS
While "Captain Phillips" is tense throughout, it does drag a little once they enter the life boat. While it's not a huge problem, I did find myself becoming bored during this time.


CONCLUSION
First of all, let me apologize for how short this review is, it's been about a month since I've seen this film. Yet, I don't want this review's length to take anything away from how I feel about "Captain Phillips" It's a character driven thriller that will have you at the edge of your seat the entire time, and by the end you may even have a tear or two in your eye. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and will be shocked if no one from this film doesn't get at least a nomination at this year's Oscars'.

RATING
RUN TO

Bad Grandpa

PLOT

Spinning off from the infamous Jackass skit, "Bad Grandpa" tells the story of 86-year old Irving Zisman who's just lost his wife. Instead of having a mourning period, Zisman see's this as an opportunity to finally do all the debauchery he's always dreamed of. That is until his daughter forces him to take his 8-year old grandson, Billy, cross-country to his real father. Now Zisman must deal with his grandson as they go on a road trip full of accidents, pain, and hilarity

PROS

"Bad Grandpa" is just like any Jackass movie, except this time it has a story. Now, that's not a bad thing. I personally love the Jackass movies and crack up at least once in every one. While this is more of the prank side of Jackass then it is the crazy stunts, it is still funny.

If there's one thing that will live on past this movie, it's the kid. Jackson Nicoll is his name and he is a pro at this stuff. He never hesitates, never does anything half-way, he goes all in and gets the best factions out of people. I feel this kid is going places, and we'll all remember that the role that got him his fame was the chubby kid in "Bad Grandpa"

CONS

Unfortunately, like a lot of comedies, the best jokes are spoiled in the trailer. While there are a few surprises here and there, in particular a scene in a male strip club, most of the scenes that would've had me singing this movie's praises are in the trailer.

The point of "Bad Grandpa" is to be a Jackass movie with a story, and this story is bad. While I did enjoy the movie, the story would have to come in and just bore me. It's extremely cliched and is saved by the film's style of comedy.

CONCLUSION

While not the best Jackass movie in the series, it is definitely a solid one and had me laughing throughout. Yet, it's not something you need to rush out and see. If you have a bunch of friends over one night and just want something to put on and laugh at, "Bad Grandpa" is perfect for just that.

RATING

WALK TO

Well I've already used the Intermission poster…

How about this…

Now that's over…

Let's get serious…

12 Years a Slave

PLOT

Based on a true story, Solomon Northup is a free black man living i Saratoga, New York in 1841 who has a family and is a skilled violinist. One day, two men invite Northup to join their circus as a violinist and wine and dine him. When Northup wakes up the next day, he's been abducted and chained up, ready to be sold. Now, Northup must try to survive his slavery as we watch the horrible atrocities done to him and many other slaves during a 12 year period.

PROS

Everyone brings their A-game in terms of performances for this film. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Solomon Northup and give a quiet but powerful performance. All of the white actors; Paul Giamatti, Sarah Paulson, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Paul Dano are all despicable human beings and give equally amazing performances. The stand-out in terms of white actors is Michael Fassbender who plays the main plantation owner who's known as the "N-word breaker", and he earns that title and then some. If I see Fassbender on the street in the next few weeks, he's dead, I hated him that much. Luckily, that's how I was supposed to feel.

"12 Years a Slave" holds nothing back when showing slavery during this time period. Luckily, it never feels gratuitous, since we care about Northup and know that slavery really was this bad and maybe even worse. The film is so dark and brutal that in the first 10 minutes I had to look away at one point.

The cinematography, like director Steve Mcqueen's (no not that Steve Mcqueen) two other films, is beautiful. Even though the images are horrible and hard to watch at points, they're shot so well that it emphasizes the horribleness and almost forces you to watch.

CONS

Really there's not much wrong with this film besides the occasional nit pick. 

CONCLUSION

"12 Years a Slave" is not only and honest and extremely well made film, it's also a very important film. This is a film that dares to question this horrible time in American history, that is not afraid to go all out for the sake or proving a point. The reason I know this is movie that everyone who can stomach it needs to see is that this is the first movie since becoming a serious film fan I actually cried in. I've always come close to crying and teared up in movies, but this was the first time a tear or two fell down my face. If you have any interest in seeing this film, drop everything and do so.

RATING

CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT!!!!

Gravity: NR #52

ONCE AGAIN, I apologize for missing last week. I was out of town and it was late by the time I got home. Luckily, I'm going to review last week's newest release, a realistic start-studded survival film. This movie is...

PLOT
Ryan Stone is a doctor who's on her first mission to space, a routine mission to fix a satellite. She's accompanied by Matt Kowalski, an experienced astronaut who's on his very last mission. While working on the satellite, fast moving debris hits the satellite, leaving Stone and Kowalski as the lone survivors a drift in space. Now they both must survive long enough to reach another ship and hopefully escape alive from the harsh realm of space.


PROS
Sandra Bullock does a great job as the lead of this film. The film never leaves her perspective and almost never leaves her side, so you need someone the audience can relate to and feel for. Bullock is the perfect person for the job and carries the movie well.

The special effects are spectacular and constantly amaze you. They're so realistic that I kept forgetting this was filmed on a green screen and just got caught up in the film.

The camera work is also amazing, constantly moving and spinning with and around the characters. It's almost a character itself.

The film does a great job at conveying a sense of isolation. It accomplishes this feat by having scenes go on for 10-15 minutes at a time, never leaving Bullock's side, and keeping the silence of space silent. What I mean is that besides the score, there is little to no sound, with what sound there is muffled. It creates a mood and pulls you into the movie's world of empty space.

Unlike most films, the 3D is great and works very effectively. There were times when I literally ducked and flinched when something came towards the screen.

Tension is this movies speciality. I was close to yelling at the screen so many times I was that tense. True Story: "Gravity" is 1hr 30min. long, 1hr 15min. in I released I'd been tense this whole time and finally relaxed.

The cinematography is gorgeous and constantly boggles the mind. There are tons of breathtaking moments in the film and are worth seeing in the theater just for that.


CONS
I hate to say it, but I don't have any real complaints with this movie. I always try to find something to fault in a film, but this one is near perfect.


CONCLUSION
"Gravity" is a truly astounding film. It is the reason why we go see movies. It finally brings back the notion that art films and mainstream blockbusters can coexist as one. I absolutely adored this movie and would love to see it again and again. This is one of the best movies of this year and is a must see for anyone who can stomach the near constant tension this film exudes.

RATING
RUN TO

Lee Danials' The Butler: NR #51

To continue my reviews of older theater releases, this week I'm reviewing a movie that's been a huge surprise success, at least in the eyes of the studios. A movie that is all about the performances and historical figures and events. This week, I'm reviewing...

PLOT
"The Butler", based on the life of a real White House butler, follows the life of Cecil Gaines, a man whose been taught from childhood in slavery to be subservient and to never speak up. In the late 50's, during Woodrow Wilson's term, Cecil becomes a butler at the White House. During this time, Cecil's son, Louis, is going off the college and is involved in the budding civil rights movement. Father and son clash as their two different views on life and of each other change over a period of 30 years.


PROS
This movie is all about its performances and it delivers. Everyone gives a great performance, the stand-out being Oprah, who plays Cecil's wife. She truly is a great actress and it's a shame she's not in more films.

Cecil's relationship with his son is the best part of the this movie. The scenes they have together are all great and are the true backbone of the film. Seeing these two different people from different times and different philosophies clash is very interesting and help to keep the movie going for its 2 hour length.

There are a few reenactments of famous moments from the civil rights movement and they're all done very effectively and hit me hard. I was close to tears during all of them and while they may be a tad over dramatic, they still convey their point very well.

This is a very black focused movie, which I really appreciate. Most movies about the civil rights movement or about a black person over coming something usually have to have a white person there to help them out and do most of the work, like the person can't do anything without the help of a white person, "The Blind Side" for example. Luckily, this film avoids that completely and is better for it.



CONS
A big part of the advertisements for this movie is the actors playing famous presidents. Sadly most of the actors don't do a good job playing their parts. While the actors aren't bad, they just don't bring anything to the table and it can be hard to tell who's playing who. A good example is John Cusack as Nixon. He looks and sounds nothing like Nixon, he's just being John Cusack and we're told he's Richard Nixon.

The film can get a little over dramatic and cliched at times. While it's not a huge deal, it does take some of the tension and seriousness away from scenes.



CONCLUSION
"The Butler", while an average bio-drama on the surface, rises above by focusing on the relationship with Cecil and his son and less on the presidents and Cecil's affect on historical events. It's a well made film that follows all of the classic beats, but does them well and is worth seeing if you haven't yet


RATING
WALK TO

We're the Millers/ Fight Club: NR #50/ CR #42

Once again I missed a week, sorry, but I was just busy with life and blah, blah, blah. Let's get down to the review(s)! This week, I'm review what I saw last week the movie I saw this week that I have to talk about. I'm reviewing a movie that's been one of the surprise hits of the summer, and one of the most famous cult films of all time. I'm reviewing...

We're the Millers

PLOT
David Clark is a low level drug dealer who sells weed given to him by insanely rich drug lord Brad Gurglinger. When David gets his month's supply stolen, Brad forces him into carrying weed across the Mexican border for him. In order to even get across the border, David needs a disguise. He then hires a local stripper, and momma's boy who's own mom left him, and a homeless girl to act as his family. Once they get into Mexico, they soon find out that they're in fact smuggling tons and tons of weed which was stolen from a notorious drug lord. Now David and company must race back to Brad and not die in the process.


PROS
The first half of this movie is very funny. There's a lot of great dialogue between the characters and most of the jokes work. I never went a long time without at least chuckling.

Ed Helms plays Brad Gurglinger and steals each scene he's in. He's basically a guy who's so rich, he just starts doing crazy things with his money. He's only in the film for a short time, but he's one of the best parts of it.


CONS
While the first half is very funny, the second half gets more awkward and cliched. Around this time, we start to spend more time with a second family. This leads to more failed jokes and wasted time then it does to good times. The message of the film also rears it's head and becomes very sappy. While it's still funny, it's not as much as in the first half.



CONCLUSION
"We're the Millers" is a good comedy, not a great one, but not a bad one either. It has a lot of funny material and kept me laughing throughout, but the second half did lose me. It's fun for a rental or on tv, but nothing you need to rush out and see.


RATING
RENTABLE

Fight Club



PLOT
Our story follows a man (who's only name were given is "The Narrator") with insomnia and a dull, plastic life. He starts to go to seminars for diseased and dying people just to feel something. One day, he meets a man named Tyler Durden who lives a care-free life and is everything the narrator wishes he could be. They become roommates and start an underground fight club. This simple idea soon turns into something that the Narrator never wanted, and what Durden always dreamed of.



PROS
The performances in this film are amazing, the stand-out being Brad Pitt. He's just so charismatic and cool, it makes sense that someone would buy into his crazy idea.

The direction and camera work from David Fincher is spectacular and gives the movie a style all its own. It makes the movie very creative and stays with you long after the movie's over.

What makes the performances even better is the script they're reading from. The script is great and very funny at points. It's clever and highlights the camera work.

I'd always heard about the twist in this movie, in fact I'd had it spoiled for me. Luckily, it still has a huge impact and changes the whole movie. It's surprising and comes out of nowhere, yet makes sense when you look at the clues hidden throughout the film.

The film has a ton of undertones and parody throughout that raises the movie above what it could've been.


CONS
I can't honestly think of any, at least any that ruin the movie in any way. Let's move on...



CONCLUSION
I love this movie, in fact, it's in my top 15 movies of all time. I was entranced by the film, it had me hooked from start to finish. I love the characters, the dialogue, the style, everything. If you haven't seen this gem of a movie yet, you owe it to yourself to experience this once in a life time movie. No wonder it came out in 1999, one of the best years in film history.


RATING
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT!!!!

Blue Jasmine: NR #49

{Preface: Sorry if this review looks different compared to the others. I had to write this on my phone, this may be happening every once in a while. Just wanted to explain myself}

After a long week of crazy celebrity stuff, the crisis in Syria, and school, I need some quiet movie to help me calm down. Luckily, I saw Woody Allen's newest film, one that has garnered critical acclaim and audience dollars. Going in knowing nothing, I saw...

  

PLOT

A modernized retelling of the classic play "A Streetcar Named Desire", "Blue Jasmine" is about a woman named Jasmine who marries a wealthy business man named Hal. She lives a life of luxury and common ignorance. One day, Hal is arrested for embezzlement and other illegal business acts, leaving Jasmine with no money. The only place she can go now is her sister's apartment in San Francisco. Now Jasmine must deal with this loss while also dealing with her fragile psyche.

PROS

Everyone in the film gives a great performance, but the true standout is Cate Blanchett playing Jasmine. She gives a performance that encompasses so many different strong emotions and she pulls them off effortlessly. It really is a haunting performance and is a shoe-in for an Oscar.

The script and dialogue are also great, but why expect anything less from Woody Allen? 

The film does a good job at balancing different tones, the main ones being comedy and depression. The movie is laugh-out-loud hilarious at times, yet it's also sad and tragic. The key here is that neither feel out of place and work in there respective context.

Similar to Allen's own "Annie Hall", the movie takes place near the end of the story, with the first half being told through flashbacks. Also like "Annie Hall", it's expertly done and is used to explain references the characters make. In this film, it's also used to show how Jasmine associates certain words with her past and how they lead to her small mental break downs.

One thing that I really liked about the script is that no one character is just Woody Allen. While some characters do  have little bits of Allen in them, no single person completely personifies Allen, which is a welcomed change from his past works.

CONS

I don't mean to cop out, but I honestly can't think of any major problems I have with this film.

CONCLUSION

I went into this movie completely cold. I knew nothing about the plot or it's tone, I only knew it was by Woody Allen and it was receiving universal acclaim. Once it began, I was instantly taken in by its story and real but tragic characters. It is a Woody Allen film, no question, but it certainly will be regarded as one of his best for decades to come.

RATING

(HIGH) RUN TO

The World's End: NR #48

That awkward moment when even your friends who rarely read your reviews know you haven't posted in a while.

Yeah, sorry about the longer then expected hiatus. I promise I didn't intend to wait at all after my 100th review. but a lot of things got in the way. Then school started and complicated things more. Despite all that, I've come back with a, hopefully, triumphed return. Luckily, my return is a review of my most anticipated movie of this year. A movie that's the third in a trilogy of films that have affected my life and are very close to my heart. Does it live up to my obviously insane expectations, or has Edgar Wright made his first mistake. Let's find out in my review of...

PLOT
20 years ago, Gary King was, as his name suggest, king of high school. He had his five main friends, an endless supply of rebellious spirit, and the whole world ahead of him. On the last night of school, Gary and friends decide to attempt an epic pub crawl of 12 bars, 12 drinks, 1 night. Sadly, they never made it to the end. Cut to present day and everyone has moved on and now have respectable jobs and wives and kids, all except for Gary. He somehow convinces all five of them to try the pub crawl again with Gary being the only one who's entirely set on actually making it to the final bar, The World's End. Once they arrive, things seem different, but they pay no mind to it, Soon they discover that the town has been taken over by alien/robot things and must now make it to the World's End while trying to survive this new threat.



PROS
Just like Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz before it, The World's End has the same fast pace and inventive camera movements and editing that has made Edgar Wright famous. I love his style and was happy to see he hadn't lost his touch.

The action in this movie is incredible. Just like the movie itself, the fights are fast paced without being disorienting, letting the choreography play out instead of cutting every half second. There are some truly awesome moments where the whole theater will go "OHHHHHH!!!!" and are worth a second viewing.

Once again, the comedy in the film is spot on, full of clever writing and fast punchlines. There's even Wright's signature background jokes and references to obscure and past films. Word to the wise, watch Shaun and Hot Fuzz before seeing this, there are a ton of references to those films, some obvious and most not. Overall, it had me and the audience laughing hard throughout.

The World's End plays with more dramatic story-telling this time, and it actually works. The first 40 minutes of this film is a buddy comedy with some underlying drama that's actually engaging. I almost didn't want the aliens to show up, well almost. It even gets a little teary-eyed near the end, at least it did for me.


CONS
While I do say I almost didn't want the aliens to show up, it does feel a little weird when they do. I kinda wanted the focus to remain on these friends and they're relationship. It's not a huge problem, since we do spend the first half of the movie with them and they're developed greatly, it's just the last half of the movie becomes a chase film and nothing more.

Speaking of being just a chase film, another problem I have is that this movie does little to introduce new things to its genre. Shaun of the Dead was always doing cool new stuff with zombies and Hot Fuzz did cop movies on a small scale. The World's End is just an average alien invasion movie, a well done one, but it doesn't offer many new things to the table.



CONCLUSION
As I stated before, I've been hyped for this movie ever since 2010, back when we only had a title and nothing else. Do I consider this a disappointment, no. Is it better then Hot Fuzz of Shaun of the Dead, no. The World's End is just as great as the last two, full of hard laughs and quick action. It takes a more dramatic and mature route at points, showing that as the filmmakers have aged, so has the tone of the film. For someone like me who's a huge fan of these movies and has seen them over 10 times at least, I don't even have to tell to see it because you most likely already have. For the rest of the viewing public, I still highly recommend it and hope you support this film.


RATING
FANS OF SHAUN of the DEAD AND HOT FUZZ:
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT!!!!

EVERYONE ELSE:
RUN TO

Scott Pilgrim vs the World: 100th Review/ CR: 41

Well, here I am, my 100th review, the review to end all reviews. Who'da thought that? But how did I come to do this, you might say, and who are these strange side projects that surround my reviews, now you also say. Well it's a long story, come closer, and I'll tell you. It all started, two years ago, what a day that was. It's what I call, a bad fur day...wait, that's not it. That doesn't even make sense. Oh well, clever reference failed.

Yes! this is my 100th review! I honestly never thought I'd reach this point, until I made it to my 50th review and started slowly planning this one. Hopefully these plans are good ones and won't turn out terrible. But what am I reviewing today? Why, it's 1 of my 2 favorite films of all time, which I teased yesterday. This is my review of the spectacular...

 

PLOT

Set in the strange and mysterious land of Toronto, Canada, our film follows 23 year old Scott Pilgrim who's dating a 17 year old high schooler. One day, Scott sees the girl of his dreams, literally, he's been seeing her in his dreams for the past few days. Her name is Romona Flowers and she seems like the perfect girl for Scott. There's a catch though, before they can continue dating, Scott must defeat her seven evil-exes in a battle to the death. Can Scott survive this task, or is Ramona even worth the effort? 

PROS

Like all other Edgar Wright films, this one is filled to the brim with his signature style of fast editing and quick humor. I personally love this style and it's shown in full force in this film.

This film is one of the best adaptations of a property, in this case turning a comic book into a movie. While it doesn't follow the book up to a certain point, what it does do seems like stuff that would happen in the comic and remains in the spirit of the property. Even they remove stuff, it makes sense and finds something else to make up for it.

Watching this movie is like watching a living comic. By that I mean the movie uses visual representations of onomatopoeia. For example, when someone gets hit, the word "Pow" pops around that person. It only gets better from there and it allows the film to recreate panels from the comic to a tee.

The film is extremely funny and has the Edgar Wright signature fast paced comedy. There are literally different types of jokes being thrown at you every second. This makes the movie infinitely re-watchable since you find something new each time you watch it.

The action scenes are phenomenal and a ton of fun to watch. They're very fasted paced and shot perfectly, not allowing you to miss any of the action. The fight choreography is also great and really make these scenes.

I've been praising the presentation so much that I almost forgot about the actors, which are also great. All of the actors are perfectly cast and look just like their characters from the comics. All of them also do a great job at acting in general. There are, in my opinion, no weak links in this cast.

The film's soundtrack is very good and diverse. Even the songs made for the movie are really good.

The evil exes are one of the best parts of the movie. They're all unique and interesting, with new ex being better then the last.

"Scott Pilgrim" runs on video game logic and keeps with this logic throughout the whole movie. It establishes this world and its rules and sticks to them, which was a dream for me since I love video games.

CONS
 At the start of the film, the exes are given very cool and detailed backstories, but as the movie goes along they become less important and less detailed. While this does lead to cool fights and more story with the main characters, it is dissapointing to be left in the dark on some mysterious characters.




CONCLUISION
I'm going to be honest with you guys, I'm extremely biased towards this film. I feel that "Scott Pilgrim" was a huge milestone in my life, in the fact that it was a film that I over hyped to an insane amount and it actually lived up to all of my colossal expectations. I truly adore this film and consider it near perfect, and whatever minor problems I have with it, are completely forgotten when I get caught up in the action and comedy. If you love nerdy things in general, this movie is perfect for you and I will be shocked if you haven't at least had interest in seeing this movie.

RATING
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT!!      

My Top 10 Favorite Films

As you may or may not have noticed, my next review will be my 100th review. In celebration of this, I'm going to present my top 10 favorite movies of all time, or at least at this moment. There's still a lot I haven't seen that are likely contenders. Just let it be known that these are my favorite films at this time and is subject to change. Also, None of these films, except for number 1, are in any particular order, these are just 10 movies that I think are the best. All right let's get on with it by beginning with...

#10



If you know me at all, you know that I adore Edgar Wright and his Blood and Ice Cream trilogy, those being this, Hot Fuzz, and the upcoming The World's End. When having to chose between this and Hot Fuzz, I decided that I enjoy Shaun better simply because I think it's slightly funnier. I think it has to do with the fact that I know more about the zombie/horror genre then action buddy-cop films. What makes this film so funny is that it's throwing jokes at you every half second and it throws different types of jokes at you. This makes the film infinitely rewatchable and even funnier the next time you see it. I might be going over the same points that I did in my review, but hey, that doesn't mean it isn't right.

Here's a link to my review: http://newandclassicreviews.blogspot.com/#!/2013/05/shaun-of-dead-cr-35.html

#9

"Attack the Block" is a film that when I first saw it, I didn't review it honestly. I was so hyped for this movie that when I saw it, I was genuinely dissapointed. The why is it on this list? Well, after seeing it multiple times with multiple different people, I've come to the conclusion that this film is as great as I thought it was going to be. It does the impossible and makes you love characters that you hate at first. It also has great gore and acting from unknown and first-time actors. Overall, I love this film and I gurantee most people will too.

Here's a link to the review: http://newandclassicreviews.blogspot.com/#!/2011/11/attack-block-cr-12.html

                                     #8

This movie is perfect for anyone who wants to get into the film industry in any way. It's all about the love of film and the love of making a film. It's all about a young man who understands what a good movie is, but he just can't make a decent movie to save his life, and there's something really endering about that. The performances are great, the recreations of Ed Wood's movies are great, and Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi is spectacular and haunting at points. This is a great and criminally overlooked film.

Here's a link to the review: http://newandclassicreviews.blogspot.com/#!/2011/09/ed-wood-cr-8.html

                                        #7

                                                                                   

Intresting story about this spot on my list, I knew I wanted either Up or this film on this list, but I couldn't have both. After thinking about it long enough, I decided that I enjoyed Spirtied Away slightly more then Up. Spirited Away was the first Miyazaki movie I saw that really affected me, that hit me in just the right way. After my first viewing, I watched it three more times just because I loveed it so much. It's so visually rich and has a simple but effective story. The score is amazing, my personal favorite being the song played during the train sequence. My only problem with this movie, well actually it's a problem with Disney, is that they've yet to release this and many other classic Studio Ghibli films on Blu-Ray! Either way. this is still an amazing movie and an experiance I'll never forget.

I have yet to review this movie, key word being "yet".

                                                                               #6





I've discovered recently that I like watching documentaries, but what made me become more open to them was this film. Exit Through the Gift Shop shows you that a documentary can be fun and informational. It's endlessly entertaining with it's main subject Terry, and the situations he gets into. In my opnion, it never feels like a documentary, it feels more like am actual story driven film that happens to follow a real-life exactly as it happened. I also love this movie for introducing me to one of my favorite muscians Richard Hawley. I've seen this film many times and probably will see many more times.

Here's a link to my review: http://newandclassicreviews.blogspot.com/#!/2012/04/exit-through-gift-shop-cr-16.html

                                                                            #5







                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Brutal, hopeful, haertbreaking, funny, and infinitly rewatchable, those are words I would use to describe The Shawshank Redemption. What else can I really say? I've seen it, you've seen, we've all seen it and loved it. It's one of those films that was almost completely overlooked when it came out, and just like Fight Club or The Wizard of Oz, it was saved by rentals and tv play. It's a spectacular film that I will alsways love.

Here's a link to my review:http://newandclassicreviews.blogspot.com/#!/2012/06/summer-of-101-movies-100-shawshank.html

                                                                             #4

 

I'd always heard of the Evil Dead films and how amazing they were. I'd been dying to see this particular entry and when I finally did, I knew why people love this movie. It's funny, crazy, creative, and can be pretty scary at times. I've seen this movie at least 10 times and it never gets old. If you love horror and don't mind a lot of gore, why haven't you seen this yet?

Here's a link to my (poorly done) review: http://newandclassicreviews.blogspot.com/#!/2011/06/evil-dead-ii-dead-by-dawn-cr-review.html

#3

When I saw this last year, it came as a complete surprise to me. I was expecting another overrated 4 hour epic from the 60's that would be boring and have like three scenes worth watching. Luckily, it was so much more then that. The story of T.E. Lawerence is so intriging and this film doesn't lose any of that intrige. While it is almost 4 hours long, it earns the right to be long and has few filler in it. I adore this film and if you have the time, I bet you will too.

Here's a link to my review: http://newandclassicreviews.blogspot.com/#!/2012/08/summer-of-movies-5-lawrence-of-arabia.html

#2

A truly emotional experiance, "American Beauty" is another one that hit me in just the right way. Every character is deep and has multiple sides to them, everyone gives an amazing performance, and it was one of the first times I discovered the subtext and metaphor of a film on my own. It's a very important movie in my life and I don't think I will ever forget it.

Here is a link to my review: http://newandclassicreviews.blogspot.com/#!/2012/06/summer-of-101-movies-98-american-beauty.html

#1

This is one of the only movies that I at one time watched on a daily basis, why? I honestly don't have a clue. Maybe it's the endering and deep characters, maybe it's the playful, clever writing, maybe I'm just weird and like weird stuff. Either way, I simply love "Mary and Max" and I recommend it to anyone who will listen. If you've yet to see this masterpiece, you owe yourself a good experiance and should see this right now.

Here's a link to my review: http://newandclassicreviews.blogspot.com/#!/2012/07/mary-max-50th-review-special-cr-22.html

But wait! I have two films at number, but what is it? Find out later today, for my 100th review, I'm going to review my other number 1 favorite film. Here's a hint.