The Fundamentals of Caring

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 The Fundamentals of Caring is a Netflix original film based on the novel The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, and starring Paul Rudd, Craig Roberts, and Selena Gomez. Admittedly, I’ve never read the book the movie was based on, and went into this completely blind. One first compliments I want to give this movie is the character development. The film’s protagonist Ben, played by Paul Rudd, is very fleshed out. He’s a guy who’s never been a caregiver before, but desperately needs a job, and is trying to avoid signing the divorce papers his estranged wife served him with, to a point where he’s ignoring court orders. He’s still dealing with his son’s death three years prior to the movie’s events. Craig Roberts is stellar as the wheelchair-bound Trevor. He has a cynical (often dark) sense of humor, having spent his entire life in a wheelchair, and has never gone further than a nearby park when it comes to leaving his house. My deepest reservation about this movie was that Selena Gomez was playing the female lead. If there’s one thing movie does prove to me, it’s that this girl has acting chops. Honestly, she was my favorite character in this movie, and my overall favorite part of the movie, something I admittedly never thought I’d say about Selena Gomez. Along the way, there’s a character named Peaches that we’re introduced to. All I’ll say about this character is that I’m glad there’s not too much of her. This is a movie that has a goof amount of heart and doesn’t really delve into the territory of cheese (which it easily could have). It’s on Netflix, so if you’re interested, check it out and see what you think. 

9 / 10        

Finding Dory

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Finding Dory is the long-awaited sequel to the movie Finding Nemo. How does it hold up? Well, it's fantastic. Especially, considering the fact that it probably isn't the most necessary sequel in the world. A lot of the movie gels together really well. The voice cast all on point, especially Ellen DeGeneres as Dory, proving that sometimes a side character can work just as well in the lead role as they can in a supporting one. The animation is gorgeous, and absolutely up to Pixar's usual standards. Something that Pixar does incredibly well with is mixing different tones together into the movie and almost never making it feel odd or forced. You laugh when you're supposed to laugh. You choke up a little when you're supposed to do that. If I have but one issue with the movie, I do think the ending goes on a bit long, and probably could've been cut down a little bit. But, overall, this movie is another fine addition into the Pixar catalogue, once again proving that they have regained the mojo we all thought was lost in Cars 2. 

8 / 10 

X-Men: Apocalypse

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 X-Men: Apocalypse may not necessarily be the absolute best movie in the X-Men movie franchise, but it’s far from being a bad movie in my opinion. The movie is incredibly-acted for the most part. Michael Fassbender as Magneto feels as though he has progressed the most. This is a man who has tried to run from his past, but is stripped of nearly everything he loves. Oscar Isaac plays En-Sabah-Nur (a.k.a. Apocalypse) with just the right level of coldheartedness and faux fatherly love. Franchise newcomer Alexandra Shipp portrays an Ororo Monroe that feels much closer to her comic book counterpart. Sophie Turner also proves herself to be a solid Jean Grey. Although, I’ll admit I did like the idea of her casting pretty much from the get-go. This movie went by in a blink for me, never once feeling like its 2 hour and 20 minute runtime. I started out liking this movie, and felt as though it just kind of got better as it went on. Once again, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender have fantastic chemistry. On the more negative side, I feel as though the character of Mystique has kind of regressed in this one. She feels as though she has go through her First Class storyline of accepting her natural blue form. Jennifer Lawrence does still do a decent job in the role. The action scenes are all good. Honestly, I feel like Apocalypse really does push itself with the PG-13 rating giving some fairly gruesome and visceral moments that a movie like this wouldn’t normally have. Does this movie reach the level that I felt First Class and Days of Future Past did? No. It is the weakest of the prequel trilogy, due mostly to certain character regressions and small storyline inconstancies within the trilogy. 

8 / 10   

Now You See Me 2

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Now You See Me 2 is the sequel to 2013's Now You See Me (duh). In this film, the horsemen are roped into stealing a device by a millionaire, played by Daniel Radcliffe. There are a lot of twists and turns taken throughout the movie. The cast is solid. Daniel Radcliffe is actually really good in his first real villain role. Lizzy Caplan is pretty damn entertaining. Her character talks a lot, and is very energetic, and this works to her talents very well. In anyone else's hands, this character would be the most annoying thing I've ever seen. The five main actors have great chemistry with one another. John M. Chu delivers a little flash. There's a scene where the horsemen are being shaken down and have to keep the guards from seeing this card that has a device on it. Throughout the whole thing, they are using sleight of hand. As I said, there are a lot of twists and turns, and despite the director and screenwriters trying their best to answer them, things don't always work. For example, Isla Fisher was unable to reprise her role, and it never felt like they could come up with a good excuse as to why, so they just decided on something and didn't bother to explain it any further at all. Overall, I do feel there were some shortcomings that just didn't work, but that the movie itself was still a flashy, fun bit of popcorn entertainment.

7 / 10     

Cell

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Cell is a movie that I personally had both highs hopes for and deep reservations about. It’s based on the book by Stephen King and stars John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, and Isabelle Fuhrman. It’s essentially about what happens when cell phones bring about the end of the world, and turn people into raging, droning zombie-type creatures (You know, King may have been on to something there). Cell was the first book of Stephen King’s I ever read front-to-back, so it holds a special place in my heart. Now, the best thing I can say about this movie is that it does seem to follow the original book fairly well. However, the direction feels absolutely nonexistent, and the editing feels as though it was done by monkeys half the time. In fact, the whole movie has an incredibly cheap look and feel to it, which honestly just makes it even worse. The movie slows to a grinding, plodding pace at points, made all the more obvious by the look on John Cusack’s face that seems to say “I don’t want to be here.” Because of this, Cusack, in my opinion, gives a truly awful performance. The funny thing about this is that Jackson and Fuhrman actually seem to be trying, and putting actual emotion into their performances. As someone who honestly loved the book, I wanted to like this movie. I really did, but the end result just didn’t amount to anything or even really work that well for me, despite being a somewhat faithful adaptation with a couple of committed-enough performances. 

3 / 10       

The Conjuring 2

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The Conjuring 2 is the sequel to 2013’s The Conjuring. Much like the first film, this second movie is one of the scarier movies I’ve ever seen. It does occasionally fall into the jump scare tropes that have plagued recent horror movies. However, the jump scares here aren’t false. They feel earned. I have to compliment James Wan’s direction once again. He understands how to build tension in a scene and use the creepy atmosphere to his advantage. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga make for solid leads, once again coming off as believable and likable protagonists. But, newcomer Madison Wolfe is the movie’s absolute standout. She plays the young girl being affected by the haunting presence. If she doesn’t work, the movie likely doesn’t work. Fortunately, her performance is haunting, emotional, and chilling, all the while coming off as a genuine little girl, as opposed to the stereotypical creepy kid that you’d find in almost any other horror movie. The movie is over two hours long, and sometimes you can feel that when the movie already has a slow pace to let the more frightening elements sink in. Despite the fact that the movie might be a touch long, and does dip into cliche every now and then, The Conjuring 2 is a good horror movie, and worth a look from horror fans. 

9 / 10   

Game of Thrones S6E7: The Broken Man

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The episode begins by showing us that Sandor "The Hound" Clegane is still alive. He's more of a man of peace now, working and living with a village that he has come to call his home. He has even found a mentor in Ray, played by Ian McShane. We then cut to a moment between the High Sparrow and Margery Tyrell (neither of whose game I'm completely sure of what the end result is). I think it's possible that the two are playing each other in the other's own right. This is furthered by her discussion with her grandmother Olenna. Jon Snow, along with Sansa Stark and Brienne of Tarth, tries to rally the wildlings to join him in an army that could attack and defeat Ramsay Bolton, god willing. Fortunately for him, he is successful. Cersei attempts to convince Olenna to help battle the High Sparrow. Olenna reminds Cersei that she is surrounded by enemies, and has terribly few friends left. Jamie Lannister and Bronn confront the Blackfish, who is "disappointed" by what he sees of Jamie Lannister. We see Theon and Yara are still very much on the run. This isn't a long scene, and I don't feel necessarily needed to be included. Jon and Sansa argue over the number of men they have and the number of men they need. Ray, Sandor, and their people are confronted by Lannister bannermen. Arya has a run in with the waif shortly after buying herself passage to a ship headed for Westeros. Much of Sandor's fellow villagers are slaughtered and the episode ends with him picking up an axe, presumably taking up the mantle of the hound once again.

9 / 10 
       

The Nice Guys

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 The Nice Guys is one of those movies that I was incredibly excited for. What was the end result? One of the best movies I’ve seen so far this year. The movie centers on Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling playing two opposites who come together after getting embroiled in a hilariously bizarre murder mystery. are a fantastic comedic pairing with great chemistry and timing. They make for your typical odd couple which helps make them an entertaining pair. Crowe as Jackson Healy is a loose-cannon rough-and-tough enforcer-for-hire is perfect casting, as is Gosling as a constantly drunk private investigator who faints at the sight of blood, and isn’t much help in a fight. Actress Angourie Rice as Gosling’s daughter is the movie’s breakout performance and character in my opinion. I will admit that the movie does slow down to a slight drag at points, but that’s only a minor nitpick for me. This one of those movies for me that has some of the best character development I have seen in a while. Every single character seems fleshed out. This is a movie I wouldn’t mind seeing turned into a franchise (as long as it’s Shane Black coming back to work with the characters. 

9 / 10     

Kindergarten Cop 2

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So, I had no freaking idea this existed until found it on Netflix a while go. I decided on a whim to watch and review it. At this point, you’re probably wondering if it’s as good as the first movie. Obviously, the answer’s no. The second question you’re probably wondering is: what the hell does this movie have to do with the first Kindergarten Cop? Absolutely nothing. I did have some laughs at some of the more surreal moments. Of course, a good movie that does not make. Don’t believe me? Look to The Wicker Man, Pan, or The Happening for further proof. Alright, let’s take a look at the missteps. First, this movie doesn’t star Arnold Schwarzenegger. Instead, it stars Dolph Lundgren. The action scenes are pretty standard. The surreal moments just aren’t enough to make me recommend this movie, as a lot of the time, it comes off as kind of boring, and frankly not very interesting. The difference for me between this movie and the previously reviewed Neighbors 2, this particular unnecessary sequel is just uninteresting. Most of the laughs I got out of this movie came from the kindergarteners themselves, in the way you can get a laugh out of a little kid saying something “cute,” like mispronouncing It’s not something offensive, or angering or anything like that. It’s a bad movie, yes, just not the absolute worst thing I’ve ever seen. 

5 / 10        

Elvis & Nixon

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 Elvis & Nixon centers around a meeting between entertainer Elvis Presley and (at the time) United States president Richard Nixon. Elvis wants to be a federal agent at large (his words). The style of humor is fairly surreal and out there, while still being grounded just enough in reality. There are moments where the movie drags a little bit, but never to the point I found it boring. The thing I feel works best about Elvis & Nixon is the stellar cast. Colin Hanks, Johnny Knoxville (whom I never actually recognized), Evan Peters, and Alex Pettyfer are all good supporting players. Michael Shannon as Elvis Presley is downright hilarious, even if he doesn’t look a thing like the actual Elvis Presley. He expertly pulls off an Elvis that is unbelievably strange, and doesn’t understand why he can’t bring his personal weapons with him into the White House. But, as far as I’m concerned the show stealer is Kevin Spacey who is perfectly cast as Richard Nixon. The man has the look and mannerisms down pat. He’s also a total curmudgeon. As I already said, this is a funny movie that isn’t really a groundbreaker, but a good enough time for an afternoon.

7 / 10       

The Do-Over

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 The Do-Over stars David Spade and Adam Sandler as a couple of guys whose lives end up in a rut. Spade is a loser pushover who twin stepsons constantly berate and bully him, and whose hasn’t changed a bit since high school. He still works at the same place, has the same car, and lives in the same house. Sandler, on the other hand, approaches Spade, telling him he’s with the FBI, but looks more like a criminal, who may or may not be lying (Big shock, he is lying) Instead, he’s a coroner at the city morgue. So, after the last Sandler Netflix movie I watched, I went into this one worried. This isn’t a great, or even groundbreaking movie by any means. Before you ask, yes. large portions of this movie do come off as “Adam Sandler and his buddies want to take a vacation” Immediately that does dock it off a point for me. This is admittedly a nitpick, but I’m also docking it another point because the soundtrack does nothing for me, as I’m not a fan of Chris Brown, Pitbull, or Florida Georgia Line. It does touch on being borderline boring. On the plus side, it’s nowhere near as awful as The Ridiculous 6 was. Some of the jokes did work for me. I’ll admit that they’re nothing amazing, and don’t really reach huge belly laughs. If anything, this movie is more of the bland sort of bad than the offensive kind (with a couple of exceptions in the gross-out gag department). Is it the worst thing I’ve ever seen? No. It’s not even the worst Adam Sandler movie I’ve ever seen. That said, I don’t recommend watching this movie. 

4 / 10