Oblivion

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DIRECTOR: Joseph Kosinski

GENRE: Action/Adventure, Adaptation, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

RATED: PG-13

CAST: Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Morgan Freeman

SYNOPSIS: In the year 2077, after winning a war against aliens that tried to colonize Earth, humans abandoned their home planet and left it in ruins. Jack Harper remains stationed around Earth as part of the "clean-up crew." His assigned mission to scout the area and fix drones is almost complete, and in a matter of time, he will be able to leave and join the rest of the human population at their new homes. However, on a routine day, a spacecraft crashed, and Jack encounters human woman who immediately recognizes him. A chain of events then unfold as Jack's reality is shattered and all odds are against him. 

PERSONAL COMMENTARY:                                                        

This is one of the movies that takes a shocking turn of events. You come in thinking you're going to see a specific kind of movie, but something totally unexpected happens that takes you off course. This made the movie all the more interesting, exciting, and mind-boggling. I've always enjoyed science fiction, and this futuristic setting didn't disappoint. I found the movie quite entertaining, and it actually made me start philosophizing after it was over because of the psychedelic and twisted story. 

The plot and storyline was interesting, especially near the end of the movie. Things escalated so much near the end, that it made the beginning seem a little drawn out and uneventful. I would say the pacing of the movie makes the impact of the ending a lot stronger, but I do think Jack should have been a little more productive in the beginning. I don't want to give any spoilers, but what happens is really the highlight of the movie. It was great!

Other than that, special effects were nice, and the movie was pretty well-rounded. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and if you really do enjoy science fiction, I do recommend watching this. It was probably so good because it caught me off guard. My rating is a 4.0 out of 5.

Dark Skies

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DIRECTOR: Scott Charles Stewart

GENRE: Horror, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

RATED: PG-13

CAST: Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton, Dakota Goyo

SYNOPSIS: A husband, wife, and their two sons face disturbing, unexplained occurrences in their home. They discover that something terrifying and unexplainable has targeted them and threatens the security of their family and home. The husband and wife must solve the mystery and keep their family safe. 

PERSONAL COMMENTARY:                                                        

I didn't watch anything recent for this week, so I had to backtrack a little bit to this horror movie that I had watched but never posted about. 

This horror movie isn't the typical kind with gore and violence. It actually had a good interesting story, and the characters were portrayed well. I almost teared up at the end because of what happened. I think this movie fits perfectly into to the science fiction genre with a bit of thriller and suspense. The feel of the movie reminded me of another movie, "Knowing." 

In the beginning of the movie, it took some time to develop the story, and I didn't even know I was watching a horror movie. I wasn't on the edge of my seat until it got near the end, and I wished that there was a little more thrill than there actually was.

Nonetheless, it was pretty good, and I would recommend watching if you're a little bored, or in the mood for a small thrill. It's not a must-see, but it's something different. I would give the movie a 3.5 out of 5. 

G. I. Joe: Retaliation

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DIRECTOR: Jon M. Chu

GENRE: Action/Adventure, Sequel, Adaptation

RATED: PG-13

CAST: D. J. Cotrona, Lee Byung-hun, Adrianne Palicki,  Ray Park, Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis

SYNOPSIS: The G.I. Joes must contend on their own as they face their sabotaged government and the Cobra.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY:                                                        

NOTE: I'm sorry for the horrible depiction of Storm Shadow, and Snake Eyes above. It would be nearly impossible for me to create a realistic illustration of them in the time allowed.

Overall, for those who have seen the first GI Joe movie, this on was just as good. It wasn't better, and it wasn't worse. 

The strongest point in the movie was the action, of course. It was action-packed throughout, which made it very entertaining. Some action scenes were awesome (like the one on the mountains). The plot was what is expected of these kinds of "hero" action movies, and there isn't anything quite notable, but I did like the extra focus on the relationship between Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes. Otherwise, the shift in cast and characters was a little disappointing, and not what I had wanted to see happen.

In sum, a pretty entertaining watch. If you're in it purely for the intense action, it's worth a watch in theaters, but if you're looking for a good story, maybe try something else or waiting it out. I would rate this a 3.7 out of 5.

The Host

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DIRECTOR: Andrew Niccol

GENRE: Romance, Action/Adventure

RATED: PG-13

CAST: Saoirse Ronan, Diane Kruger, Max Irons, William Hurt

SYNOPSIS: When alien creatures conquer Earth and occupy human bodies, wiping their memories, Melanie, a part of the small human resistance remaining, risks everything to protect her loved ones and human kind. 

PERSONAL COMMENTARY:                                                        

Firstly, this movie was based on the novel by Stephanie Meyer, the well-known author of the Twilight series. I have heard from most that this book of hers was much better than the Twilight books, but I have not read it myself. 

Without having read the book, I was a little apathetic near the beginning of the movie, and there was a little too much drama and romance going on. I found the pace of the movie slow steady. Things picked up a bit near the second half of the movie, but I wouldn't consider this movie to have much action, as the genre and trailer may suggest. 

The storyline and concept was quite interesting and had a bit of sophistication to it, and it was what kept my attention the most. Obviously, since it was based on the novel, the plot was well thought-out. 

Overall, it was a nice movie, full of emotional scenes, and I admit, it slightly grew on me near the end. I wished there was a little less emphasis on the romance part though. In sum, it's not that great of a watch, and I wouldn't suggest watching this in theaters. Maybe I'm just missing out from what was in the book, but just from the movie, I would rate it a 3 out of 5.

Olympus Has Fallen

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DIRECTOR: Antoine Fuqua

GENRE: Action, Thriller

RATED: R

CAST: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman

SYNOPSIS: A terrorist group takes over the White House and has the President hostage. Disgraced former Presidential bodyguard, Mike Banning, finds himself stuck in the White House, fighting these terrorists alone. Banning is the only hope the national security team has of saving the life of the President and of the world.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY:                                                        

A true movie critic may find this movie boring and unoriginal, but as a part of the general audience, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

The plot and storyline was pretty well done, and although not outstandingly unique, it was above average and well-executed. The strong group of actors starring in the movie contributed well to building character and depth. There was a lot of action -- not the pointless action scenes in most other movies where people fight for the sake of action -- these actions scenes made sense as part of the plot. The timing and pacing of the entire film was also very good. From start to end, the pacing was fast and furious, engaging me every second. As a whole, it seemed like all of the elements in the movie were well-established.

Without thinking too critically, the movie was purely entertaining all the way through. It would definitely be an enjoyable watch at the theater. My rating would be a 4.2 out of 5. 

Dead Man Down

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DIRECTOR: Niels Arden Oplev

GENRE: Action, Crime, Drama

RATED: R

CAST: Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Dominic Cooper

SYNOPSIS: Victor is rising in his position as a gang member, ruled by Alphonse, with vengeance in mind. Beatrice, Victor's neighbor, discover's Victor's secret and threatens to reveal the truth unless he helps her with her own revenge. Together, they devise a life-changing revenge.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY:                                                        

This movie was quite an entertaining watch. I think it was pretty different from the normal action movie.

The best thing about the movie is the story. It starts out kind of throwing the audience right into the middle of the story, and it reveals little by little. The storyline was engaging, and I thought the cast was pretty well put together, including the supporting cast of gang members. Along with that, there was good action and a decent (and kind of expected) amount of drama. 

One thing that really got my attention in the movie that I wanted to share was the song "Eblouie par la nuit" by Zaz. It played on Beatrice's stereo in the movie and during the credits, and I fell in love with it even though I have no idea what it means. 

In sum, it was a pretty great watch. Something a little different and twisted. It would be a good movie to watch in theaters, but not exactly necessary. I would rate it a 4.1 out of 5 (an extra ".1" for the wonderful song).

Jack The Giant Slayer

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DIRECTOR: Bryan Singer

GENRE: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

RATED: PG-13

CAST: Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson, Ewan McGregor

SYNOPSIS: Jack, a farm boy, finds himself in the middle of a legendary war between humans and giants. He fights for the kingdom and the love of the princess to do whatever it takes to take down the giants.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY:   

It hasn't been long since I have seen Nicholas Hoult in his role as a zombie in "Warm Bodies." In this movie, his character does not disappoint. I think the overall cast for this movie was solid, and each character was portrayed well. 

I have always loved the fantasy genre, and I was eager to see a modern twist on classic fairy tales. It was incredibly exciting and fun to watch, and my attention was captured by every second of the movie. There was one point where I thought the movie was going to be quite predictable, but there was an interesting twist. I loved that it kept the basic concept of the fairy tale while implementing some new ideas to the plot. 

The effects and scenes were amazing. The whole movie was filmed in such a creative way; it was literally a work of art. Everything about the visuals was so artistic and fantastical. 

In sum, I extremely enjoyed watching this movie, and I think an audience of all ages would enjoy it too. It would be a great family movie, and it is worth going to the theater to watch. My inner child wants to rate this movie close to a 5 out of 5. 

Snitch

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DIRECTOR: Ric Roman Waugh

GENRE: Action/Adventure, Crime, Drama

RATED: PG-13

CAST: Dwayne Johnson, Rafi Gavron, Jon Bernthal, Susan Sarandon

SYNOPSIS: Based on a true story, a father helps his son who is facing 10 years in prison after being set up in a drug deal. He goes undercover and sabotages a drug cartel for the attorney in exchange for the release of his son. 

PERSONAL COMMENTARY:                                                     

The idea of this film is based on the 1992 true story of James Settembrino, whose son received a mandatory sentence of at least 10 years in prison for selling LSD. Although James Settembrino did try to help give information about drug dealers in return for his son's release, his efforts were essentially in vain. The movie, of course, does not accurately portray the real story. 

If you're expecting an exciting action movie, then this is not it. This movie leaned more towards the drama genre, diving deeper into the complexities of the relationships between characters and the realistic situations. In some instances it seemed dull since I felt like I had seen the same type of relationship or character before.

There may have been an imbalance between the drama and action in the movie, which made it feel like the pacing of the movie was a bit off. It took a while to get the story going, but it was an interesting watch overall. I would rate this movie a 3.6 out of 5.

A Good Day To Die Hard

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DIRECTOR: John Moore

GENRE: Action, Crime, Thriller

RATED: R

CAST: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch

SYNOPSIS: John McClane goes to Russia to help his unruly son. Little does he know, his son is working for the CIA and is currently in the middle of a mission. In the right place at the right time, McClane teams up with his son work to complete the mission. 

PERSONAL COMMENTARY:                                                        

I wouldn't exactly say that I am a fan of the "Die Hard" movies, but I have watched and enjoyed them. I believe it is the fifth movie, and l think it is starting to get a little dull. 

The action and special effects were pretty intense and exciting, especially since the sound was blaring in my ears at the theater. The action escalated quickly in the first few minutes, and it was well spread out through the entire movie. However, other than the action, there was little else to the movie. It was a pretty typical storyline that included father-son bonding while beating up bad guys, and that's all there is to it. There wasn't much to the characters and personas themselves.

Overall, from what I remember of the previous movie, I did like "Live Free or Die Hard" much more than this one. I wouldn't recommend watching this, and I would give it a 3 out of 5.

Warm Bodies

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DIRECTOR: Jonathan Levine

GENRE: Comedy, Horror, Romance

RATED: R

CAST: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, John Malkovich

SYNOPSIS: In the midst of a zombie apocalypse, R, a zombie, saves Julie, a human, from a zombie attack. They learn more about each other, and R starts becoming more human-like.   Together, they go on an adventure and spark the transformation of the lifeless world. 

PERSONAL COMMENTARY:                                                   

This was a refreshing movie. The concept was new and interesting, and there was a good balance of comedy, horror (more like action and adventure with an extra thrill now and then), and romance. I feel like if any one element was removed, it probably would have been lacking. One thing I did not expect was all the action that was going to be in the movie. I thought there would be hardly any action at all, but there was plenty for a romantic comedy. 

This was probably directed towards a younger female audience, and (maybe) I am considered part of that audience, but I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway. All in all, it turned out to be a very adorable and heart-warming movie, and it's a nice watch. My rating would be 4 out of 5.

Gangster Squad

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DIRECTOR: Ruben Fleischer

GENRE: Crime, Drama

RATED: R

CAST: Josh Brolin, Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

SYNOPSIS: Mickey Cohen is the mob king in early 1950s Los Angeles. He has his mob, the police, and politicians under his control and pretty much gets everything his way. No one dare stands against him, except for a small group of guys from the LAPD...

PERSONAL COMMENTARY:                                                            

"No names. No badges. No mercy." That pretty much sums it up. The storyline was pretty simple, but there was action and cool special effects. 

What stood out to me the most was the theme. The old, "retro-ish" feel of the film was pretty awesome. I liked seeing the classic style; it's something I hadn't seen in a while. The theme just fit right in with the story of mobs and gang wars and vigilantes. The cast of familiar faces also fit the style, and it had a pretty cool "look and feel" to it. 

Other than that, I'm not sure what else to say about this movie. It was entertaining, but I think it would have been better to watch it on TV someday in the future. I'm thinking I'll give this movie a 3.8 out of 5. 

Parker

MOVIE DETAILS:                             

DIRECTOR: Taylor Hackford

GENRE: Action/Adventure, Crime, Thriller

RATED: R

CAST: Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Chiklis, Wendell Pierce, Clifton Collins Jr., Nicke Nolte

SYNOPSIS: Parker is a professional thief with his own set of moral principles. After a successful robbery, problems arise, and his partners in crime take his stash and leave him for dead. Of course, he's still alive, and he follows the traitors to Florida, where they are currently planning their biggest robbery yet. Parker goes undercover as a Texan, and with the help of a real estate agent, plans to get back at his crew and take their loot. 

PERSONAL COMMENTARY:   

BEGINNING NOTE: I hope that there was at least a chuckle or two from the image to the left. If not from the reference to Jason Statham roles, then from the horrible play on words. For those of you who don't know, Jason Statham's earlier movie was called "The Transporter," and now this movie is called "Parker," and that's what I was mostly getting at...

THE ACTORS: I am personally a big fan of Jason Statham, and I think he did just as well in this movie than any other movie he has ever been in. Yes, he tends the play the same kind of character in most of his movies -- the lone "cool guy" who follows his strict set of moral standards and rules and gets the job done (essentially) smoothly -- but he's good at it. Plus, he does his own stunts. An interesting character in the movie was the real estate agent, played by Jennifer Lopez. Hmmm... Jennifer Lopez and action... It doesn't seem to fit. Nonetheless, there was a bit of depth to her character and she wasn't bad at all.

THE MOVIE: I found the movie quite entertaining. The storyline was pretty typical, and the movie was commonplace in the world of action movies. However, there was still plenty of thrilling action, and there was "character" to the characters which kept you from, at the most, falling asleep. There were jokes thrown in here and there, but what I found hilarious was Statham's attempt at a Texan accent. Well, I guess it wasn't all too terrible, but seeing someone like him in a cowboy hat and boots definitely made my day. 

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it, and maybe you'll decide to watch it also. Some of you may think that it's too typical of an action movie, and it may be boring. But if there's any reason to see it all, it's to see an English man disguise as a Texan. I would give this movie a 4 out of 5.