The Judge Review

Robert Downey Jr. has made a name for himself over the past six years. He was a promising actor in the 90's and early 2000's that fell off the face of the earth due to his troubling drug issues. Then in 2008, he starred in the Marvel film Iron Man and since then, he's become a big name box office wise and praised critically for his roles. But after a string of box office hits, Downey Jr. wanted to slow things down and make a father-son drama known as The Judge as his first film produced under the Team Downey company that he owns with his wife. The trailers seemed promising enough and made me think that both Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall had strong chances at this year's Academy Awards. In the end, while Downey Jr. and Duvall give compelling performances, The Judge is a film full of clichés and unoriginality that it's easy to forget about by the year's end.

The main positives truly lie in the performances from Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall. They play a very realistic father and son in this film. Their arguments and support of each other feel realistic and don't feel over sensational unlike the rest of the film. Although their scenes are great together, they shine individually too. You feel for both characters who want respect from each other, but show it in completely opposite ways. The other positives lie in the cinematography and music. Thomas Newman's score is subtle but also very soothing and it fits the scenes well. And Janusz Kaminski's shot choices are very beautiful to look at and the dark color palette works too.

Unfortunately, the rest of the film is a mess. While most of the cast is very good in their roles, they are underused and some characters deserve more development than others. Billy Bob Thornton is truly great in his role and I honestly feel he deserved more screen time than he was given. The only cast member that I felt was truly awful in the role was Jeremy Strong playing Downey Jr.'s mentally challenged brother. It's a lazily done performance that not only is a terrible one, but a truly offensive view of mental disabilities. I'll give Strong slack that some of the blame is from the script, but his performance feels like he's only there to accept the paycheck and run and truly not care about the community his character represents. Strong's performance in the film might be the worst I've seen all year and I hope he gets a Razzie nomination for his role.

The rest of the film's problems lie in its direction and script. Honestly, who thought it was a good idea to hire David Dobkin, a comedy director known for Wedding Crashers and Fred Claus, to direct a domestic courtroom drama? His pacing feels uncertain throughout, he has sprinkles of a courtroom drama, a comedy, and a father-son tearjerker. In the end, there's way too many subplots throughout that the film's long length feels wasted as a result. But hey, at least this film is a step up compared to Dobkin's last film, the atrocious and unfunny The Change-Up. The script does not help it either. Honestly, I called the exact ending of the film 20 minutes in. It rips off so many scenes from other movies and the dialogue feels dumbed down so the lowest denominator cannot predict the film. Unfortunately, for movie buffs like myself, it's very predictable and the films it rips off do a better job at handling the material.

The Judge is honestly a huge disappointment for me. Downey Jr. and Duvall give it their all, but the rest of the film is a predictable, overlong, and dull mess. It has a few good emotional moments and the music and cinematography are fantastic, but honestly I expected a lot better since this was Downey Jr.'s passion project. I do hope he does more films like this given his acting ability, but let's hope the next film is not as forgettable as The Judge was.

Rating: 4.5 out of 10

Gone Girl Review

David Fincher is one of the few directors in Hollywood currently that can take any source material and can completely make it his own while staying faithful. Doing so, he's become the classic director everyone knows and loves him for. He's made many classics out of books that are considered ordinary yet interesting, such as Fight Club, The Social Network, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. When I heard he was attached to direct Gone Girl with a cast of Ben Affleck and Tyler Perry, I had many doubts since the plot sounded like a regular murder mystery novel and the cast hasn't done anything really noteworthy recently. But watching this film, I further realized that I was wrong. Fincher has done it again, and has made a suspense thriller for the ages.

The fact that the book's author Gillian Flynn wrote the script gave me plenty of hesitation as well. We have seen so many great authors write screenplays and the films end up terrible (an example is Cormac McCarthy's disappointing and dull script for The Counselor). But here, Flynn writes it naturally, adding dark and meta humor when necessary and putting the tension in perfect spots. What also surprises me about this script is how she has made so many unlikable characters so relatable that you want them to succeed at the end even if they don't deserve to.

As I mentioned earlier, I was not impressed with the cast announcements originally. Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry, and Neil Patrick Harris haven't done a film like this before and have also never played characters of this type. Yet they all do it so perfectly. Affleck nails it as the lead Nick Dunne, a man who you should hate based on certain facts but you feel pity for because of this disturbing situation. It's obvious he was casted because he can relate to how chaotic the media circus can be because of his famous relationship with Jennifer Lopez, because he feels so natural here. I'm looking forward to him more and more becoming Batman now. The real stunner is Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunne, who gives it her all in every scene and absolutely deserves a Best Actress nomination, if not a win for this powerhouse performance. Tyler Perry is great comic relief as the lawyer Tanner Bolt, and Neil Patrick Harris creeped me out big time as Desi Collins. The rest of the cast do respectively well also.

Fincher creates this world with a beautifully dark and consistently uneasy tone. The dark color grading and beautiful cinematography really help this. Not to mention the stunning score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the score helps the audience feel with the characters and the unsettling tone naturally. What most surprised me about Gone Girl was how it ended. Fincher's last film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was a brilliant suspense thriller that kept me on the edge, but the last 10-15 minutes felt thoroughly unnecessary and completely took away the tense, uneasy feeling that the former 2 and a half hours gave me. Gone Girl, on the other hand, wraps up every possible storyline it has but it has possibly the most disturbing ending I have ever seen in a mainstream film in a long time. Fincher plays the last 15 minutes here, thinking the audience will go home safe, but nails it by deciding it to end it by keeping the consistently uneasy tone that the rest of the film has. It's obvious he learned his lesson from Dragon Tattoo.

Gone Girl is a perfect modern thriller, a never-ending nightmare of a film. Disturbing, darkly funny, brilliant casted, and well-written, Fincher has outdone himself yet again. This is one of the few films this year that I went home thinking and worrying about the characters after the film. I still care. This film might end up being my favorite this year if nothing else surpasses it. See it even if you haven't read the book (I didn't read it).

Rating: 10 out of 10

The Boxtrolls Review

LAIKA is a studio that specializes in stop-motion animated films. They have been around for almost a decade doing contract work for films such as Corpse Bride and are responsible for a very funny segment in A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas. But what they are most well-known for is their two films, Coraline and Paranorman. These two films changed the game for stop-motion animation, it allowed the sub genre to develop more creative and detailed worlds while having relatable characters and intense stories to go with it. In my opinion, these films make LAIKA the Pixar Studios of stop-motion. But as Pixar stumbled early by releasing A Bug's Life after their masterpiece Toy Story, LAIKA has made a similar mistake with their latest The Boxtrolls. It's a decent film that takes risks throughout, but in the end it never reaches the high-caliber quality that Coraline and Paranorman have.

The main positive that this film has going for it is the fact it is not afraid to be too dark or intense for children. The film deals with the theme of dealing with differences and being equal with one another, but the film does not sugarcoat the extremes that conflict this theme. It also deals with genocide, a theme that is hardly ever shown in children's films. The film deals with these themes bravely and openly and it doesn't tone it down to avoid scaring children. The fact the film even has this theme and handles it well gives it major respect points from me.

The stop-motion animation, per usual from LAIKA, is astounding to look at. The details of the setting and characters are all so refreshing to look at. The hard work that is put into making these films is amazing and it truly shows here. However, while Paranorman and Coraline develops the world around them, The Boxtrolls really doesn't do that. The camera quickly glances at the world around the characters every so often, but in not enough time for us to truly feel we're entering the world of the story like those other two films did.

The voice casting works well here too. Richard Ayoade and Simon Pegg's characters steal the show as the philosophical henchmen, while Kingsley does great with the villain role. The rest of the cast does well in their respective roles.

The main issues I have with this film come from the script. The plot itself is very predictable, there are no real twists or things coming out of left field. Every twist that this film tries to have can easily be guessed and has been seen a million times. Another pitfall that the script suffers from is not developing the main characters well enough. Paranorman and Coraline's biggest strengths come from developing all of the characters, main or side. With this film, I felt the side characters were well developed, but the main character was just a standard archetype of a boy and I felt that the Boxtrolls were meant just to look cute for the kids and really nothing more. As a result, I feel that LAIKA made this film cutesy just to get the money rolling by appealing to families instead of making a film with memorable characters and a well-written script that will appeal to all.

While The Boxtrolls does have a few great dark moments and some funny jokes, this is easily LAIKA's weakest film to date. The script should have been worked on as hard as the animators work on their fantastic stop-motion. While it is entertaining and it does take risks every so often, the film just doesn't impress me as much as Paranorman or Coraline did. Hopefully, LAIKA's next film will focus more on the creativity those two films had rather than playing it safe like The Boxtrolls did.

Rating: 7 out of 10

The Maze Runner Review

As I mentioned in my review for The Giver a few weeks ago, YA adaptations are a big trend in Hollywood. To be honest, I think they may become just as big if not bigger than superhero movies in a few years. Every few months, there is a new YA movie that has a huge fan base behind it and these movies typically involve these elements: a forced love triangle that is the main focus instead of the actual plot or the action scenes, a dystopia that should show dark and twisted ideals but instead tones it down to keep the PG-13 rating, and the end credits/certain scenes being an advertisement for big name indie artists. I was very worried going into this one that it would be another typical YA movie showing at least one of these elements. But to my surprise, The Maze Runner is not your typical YA movie. It's a fun and dark YA adaptation that could become a game changer this sub genre.

One strong positive that this film has is that it strays away from the YA genre and does its own thing instead. While the plot involves a dystopian area with a bunch of boys and only one girl shows up, there is no forced soap operatic romance subplot. Instead the focus is on the plot, which has very refreshingly dark and twisted moments. This is welcoming to me since most YA movies don't even try to take this risk. The other thing that's refreshing is that this movie relies on a really impacting and tense score only and not indie bands trying to make quick cash by showing their music in the end credits or certain action scenes.

Two other strengths this film has to offer is in the acting and directing. I was very skeptical about Dylan O'Brien in the main lead since I am not a fan of his TV show Teen Wolf, but I was very impressed with his performance here. He displays the fear, curiosity, and leadership that his character is written to be perfectly. I have a feeling we will see more of him in movies. Another great performance is Will Poulter, who is best known for playing the naive nerd in We're The Millers. Here,  he plays a ruthless and cruel dictator that audiences love to hate. To my surprise, he plays this part exceptionally well and it truly shows Poulter's range as an actor. The rest of the actors do very well too, going to show that the director picked them for their performances and not their looks. Speaking of the director, this is the debut film for director Wes Ball. He is a visual effects consultant for many films and his choice sounded very wary at first. Especially since the last YA adaptation that had a similar director debut (Eragon) tanked horribly, but Ball handles his directing well. He not only creates a beautifully dark world, but manages to focus on the acting and the characters as well. I hope he gets another big project soon.

While I enjoyed this film, it had some issues. One major issue is that were some unnecessarily slow scenes throughout. Some scenes it worked to build the characters and to develop the plot further, but other scenes were too slow to the point that it could have been cut down to get to the action faster. The biggest problem happens to be in the last 20 minutes of the film. While the first 3/4th's of the film took its time with its characters and action scenes, the last act really falls through. It is rushed to the point where the action scenes feel too quick and easy to get to the ending. And certain plot points feel too quick because of it.

Regardless of its flaws, I really enjoyed The Maze Runner. This is the YA movie I have waited for even though it is not perfect. It's refreshingly dark, doesn't rely on a dumb love triangle, and the performances are all great. Debut director Wes Ball has a great career ahead of him after this film. This film is the start of a potentially great franchise.

Rating: 8 out of 10

The Giver Review

Lois Lowry's book The Giver was one of my favorite books from elementary school. Its original plot of a dystopia with rules of sameness and theme of embracing what life has in store still has impact after years of reading it. The book must have impacted Jeff Bridges as well, because for many years he has wanted to make the book a movie with his father as The Giver. Unfortunately, many studios did not want to touch the book until now when YA novels are becoming a strong trend in Hollywood. They hired Phillip Noyce (Salt and Rabbit Proof Fence) to direct and the famous Weinstein Brothers (The King's Speech) to produce. I was happy for an adaptation until the first trailer came out where I was starting to get hesitant because it looked like it was trying to please fans of The Divergent Series and Hunger Games rather than pleasing fans of the book. I still had hope, and after watching the film I can happily say that fans of the book will be more than pleased with this adaptation, even though it does have a strong fatal flaw.

The performances in this film were surprisingly strong. Jeff Bridges was fantastic as The Giver, he embodied exactly how I envisioned The Giver in the book: a kind, protective, and peaceful old man who wants this community to see the truth. The real surprise in this film is Brenton Thwaites. He plays Jonas with strong naivety and you feel with his character's changes throughout the film perfectly. Thwaites has been in minor roles in many films this year, including a wasted performance in Maleficent, but his performance here proves his talent and he deserves bigger roles in the future. The rest of the cast does well too, even though some of them were heavily advertised but were not in the film very long. But regardless, everyone plays their parts well.

The visual effects are the strong point in this film. The film starts in black and white, since the community cannot see color. But as Jonas gains memories and starts to see color, the film blends black and white with these colors. The finished product looks stunning because of this effect and it goes to show Hollywood that you can make powerful visual effects with a low budget.

The fatal flaw I mentioned earlier is the film's third act. While the film's first two acts were strongly written and faithful to the book, the third act ends up being a cliché of other YA adaptations. The chase scenes have terrible shaky-cam, characters make really dumb choices, and the additional stuff that did not appear in the book had its moments, but ultimately were not necessary. If a stronger writer and director were attached, this third act would have been better executed.

Other than the messy third act, I still really enjoyed The Giver. Its performances, strong themes, and beautiful visuals make up for the third act. I really don't understand why critics gave this film a hard time and compared it to other YA adaptations. In my eyes, this film does what other YA adaptations like Twilight and Divergent don't: has a heart, brain, and social commentary that everyone can take away from in the end. If you're a fan of the book, don't listen to the critics and check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Into The Storm Review

A recent trend over the past five years is the rise of found footage movies. Found footage involves handheld cameras showing a larger than life event through the POV of strictly one person or a group of people. These are typically horror films that showcase a group of people experiencing a supernatural event of some sort. However, more different genres have tried the found footage style. Some have worked, like the 2012 superhero film Chronicle. Others not so well, like the 2011 sci-fi film Apollo 18. The most recent entry in the found footage style, Into the Storm, tries mixing the disaster sub-genre with the found footage style. The end result is a fun and unintentionally hilarious 90 minutes that could have benefited from a stronger script.

What really made this film work was the technical aspects. The visual effects are astounding in this film particularly. The storm is very realistic looking and the damage done with the storm makes it look believable. The cinematography helped make the storm sequences even more intense. You get a good glance of it throughout and actually witness the intensity brings very well. Even the few shaky handheld shots in this film worked well in the environment they are used in.

Although the visual and technical aspects were fantastic, you can tell watching this film that the director mainly put his focus towards the effects and not the script. While the actors tried in their roles, anyone could have played them. These characters really have no distinctive personality at all and are very cliché disaster movie characters. Same goes with the plot, other than the storm there is really nothing else interesting throughout the film. Not to mention the script throws elements from other films we've seen thousands of times, such as certain characters' backstories. The film itself is very predictable, but the predictability helps its unintentional humor.

In the end, Into The Storm is an entertaining mixed bag. The star of the film really is the storm itself and it saves the film from complete mediocrity. Although I really do wish that more time was put into the script and characters, I was never bored in its 90 minute span and I do feel that the found footage style is very effective here. Into The Storm is basically a big-budget SyFy channel film: entertaining, short, unintentionally hilarious and fun when nothing else is playing.

Rating: 6/10

Guardians of the Galaxy Review

This past weekend, Marvel Studios' latest Guardians of the Galaxy shattered August box office records and exceeded modest box-office expectations. This is surprising given that this is the studio's first non-sequel property since 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger. It is also based off an obscure comic from the company and no one figured how well it would do since it's not a big comic and has no big name stars. Well, after seeing the film I can see why Marvel was not skeptical at all. This is their strongest film in their filmography and this is hopefully the start of a great franchise.

The acting here is truly stellar. Chris Pratt is fantastic as the film's lead, Starlord. He puts his all into his role and you can truly feel for him every step of his journey. Watching Pratt's performance reminds me of Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man performance, there really is no one else who can play this role as wonderfully as him. The rest of the cast does wonderfully also, with specific praise to Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper who steal the show with their voice acting performances.

The film's script is its strongest point though. This script written by director James Gunn and Nicole Perlman combines wacky humor, well done character development, and spectacular sci-fi action sequences. Looking back on the film, this is the first Marvel film in a while that actually delivers a strong message that viewers can reflect on. This is a film about loss and how people can gain their lives back after their loss. This is refreshing given that some of Marvel's recent films (i.e. The Avengers) rely on action scenes and leave the message out.

The visual effects are as stunning as the script. Combining both CGI and practical effects, these help tell the story rather than distract from the plot. All in all, Guardians of the Galaxy is a strong film in the Marvel canon. This is my new personal favorite Marvel film and I hope to see these characters be around for a while. Fresh, funny, and exciting, Guardians of the Galaxy is a must-see and worthy of many rewatches.

Rating: 10/10