Hot Pursuit

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Consistently, as I watched this movie go on, I was asking myself why isn’t this working? The movie has a talented cast, but for some reason, it’s just not seemingly able to amount to anything. At a point, I finally realized that this could not be called a movie. By the half-way point, I saw that it was just adding up to a series of non-stop talking, obnoxious screaming, and mindless noise. Calling this a bad movie is an insult to movies everywhere. This thing is ungodly unfunny, insulting, and idiotic. The screenplay and direction are horrible. The main characters stupid and unlikable. Admittedly, there are a couple of chuckles here and there. Unfortunately they are few and far between. This “thing” gets harder and harder to stomach as it goes on. I cannot say how much I had the thought of Shut the f**k up running through my head. Do I think this movie is bad as The Loft? No. But it’s definitely worse than Paul Blart 2. If you are thinking of watching this movie in any way shape or form, DON’T! I mean it, there isn’t one redeeming thing about this movie. Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara are two very talented actresses, and they deserve so much better.

0 / 10  

The Departed (2006)

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The Departed, to me, feels like one of those movies that just seemed to get everything right. The casting was great. The screenplay by William Monahan was phenomenonal. As always, Martin Scorsese shines in the director's chair. Every single actor in the movie worked in the role they were supposed to play. Matt Damon does fantastic in he rare villainous role he operates in. Something else I have to commend for the movie is the use of various X's that are seen onscreen throughout. I don't want to say what is about the use of the X's I love so much because that would be a spoiler. The pacing is fantastic, as the tension in certain scenes builds up to something fantastic that you may or may not see coming. Every scene had me sucked into what was happening, and the violent outcomes of several of these moments serve simply as a beautiful climax to several scenes. The various twists and turns are also awesome. After I watched the movie, I really had to ask myself if I had any issues with the movie. No. No I didn't.

10 / 10 

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)

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I spent a good half hour wondering why I was having so much trouble getting into this movie. For the record, my issue isn’t the fact that I think the movie is chalk full of unnecessary gruesome violence. I’m not that kind of guy. The problem I have is that I think the movie’s kind of boring, and not very engaging. At times the movie does peek my interest. For example, there’s a scene where the main character and his protégée go to buy a new television set, and the turn it takes is very interesting. Michael Rooker is one the most underrated actors working in my opinion, and he’s just as good here as he is in everything else. The movie does have a pretty cool gritty look to it that adds a touch of realism, but for the most part the script just does not engage me in the events that unfold onscreen. It’s not necessarily a horrible movie by any means, it was just dull for the most part, with a strong lead performance and some engaging moments sprinkled throughout, just not enough to save the movie for me. 

5 / 10   

Inside Out

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The past couple of years have shown that Pixar is, in fact, mortal. Cars 2, Brave, and Monsters University are easily the weakest movies in Pixar’s catalog. Fortunately, Inside Out seems to be the studio’s ultimate salvation. The animation and 3D are fantastic. The movie has its funny moments for sure, but it’s not out and out hilarious. At points the movie does actually touch you emotionally. The voice cast in the movie is awesome. Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling, Lewis Black, Phyllis Smith, and Bill Hader all showcase the various emotions they are supposed to play. The movie takes an idea that has been done before and does it in a very unique, original, and clever way. The morals that the end of the movie offers are fantastic, and very real. The movie is definitely for a younger crowd, but there are certain jokes and references that adults will like and appreciate too. Already, Inside Out is shaping up to be one of 2015’s very best movies, and for good reason. 

10 / 10  

Jurassic World

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For me, Jurassic World can be added to the catalog showing just how awesome Summer 2015’s movie season has been. Is it as good as the original? No. But there is a lot of good in this movie in my opinion. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are great in the movie. Their characters and chemistry work well. The effects are really good, even if there is a bit too much reliance on CGI. The raptor training was actually really interesting to watch in this movie, and I actually believed Chris Pratt had a sort of bond with CGI dinosaurs, which I can’t complain about. The kid actors are alright. Not the best, not the worst. Some of the sub-plots are kind of stupid, and I don’t think they work as well as they were probably supposed to. There was one used to flesh out the kid characters a little more that never really added anything to the overall story. It came out of left field and was dropped just as quickly. This is probably my second favorite movie in the Jurassic Park franchise. It’s not as good as the first one, but I think it’s better than the first two sequels for sure. 

9 / 10   

The Others (2001)

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I absolutely loved this movie. The acting was great. There was a lot more depth and emotion to the movie than most ghost films in the past ten or fifteen years could possibly give. Nicole Kidman shines in her role as a devout Christian mother trying to solve the mystery of what's happening. Throughout the whole movie I was intrigued in what was happening, invested in the mystery presented on-screen. There were times where I was actually frightened. The setting of the country manor was as haunting as it was beautiful. From time to time the movie dragged a little, and at times there were jump scares. Both of them do knock the movie down a touch. The movie's twist ending is probably one of the absolute greatest I have ever seen. In case anyone reads this review and hasn't seen the movie, I don't dare give it away. The best way I can describe this movie is that it starts out as an episode of Downton Abbey and then transitions into The Sixth Sense. I'm not huge on the former, but I do really like the latter. If you're a fan of ghost movies, definitely don't pass this one up.

9 / 10 

Jason X (2002)

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So, I'm gonna get some flack for this, but I actually like this movie. Not because it's a "good" movie, but I do think it's hilarious. Jason has a kill early on where he freezes a girl's head in liquid nitrogen and smashes it on the counter which essentially causes her face to break into a million pieces. That was awesome and pretty damn brutal. For the most part, I think the filmmakers knew exactly what they were going for. Aside from the liquid nitrogen kill, a lot of them were played more for comedic effect. It almost seemed like they said "It's Jason in space. What the hell, let's have fun." For the haters, I do sympathize with you on Uber Jason, I saw no reason to upgrade the iconic character, when all that really changes is his look. He doesn't really get any stronger. He can't, he's undead. He doesn't get smarter, and he doesn't really adopt any particularly new and clever ways to kill people. Before anyone brings up the liquid nitrogen thing, he did that BEFORE he got the upgrade. Yes, Jason X is very much a bad movie and Uber Jason was a horrible idea, but at least it's a bad movie I can watch and have some fun with.

6 / 10