Movies & TV series

Top Movies – Geostorm Movie Review (Spoiler Free) – Movie Reviews Sites

Global warming at its peak, Gerard Butler as a trigger-happy scientist and a net of laser satellites covering the world. Welcome to Geostorm!

Genre: Action/Sci-Fi/Thriller

Directors: Dean Devlin

Cast: Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Ed Harris, Alexandra Maria Lara, Daniel Wu, Zazie Beetz, Talitha Eliana Bateman, Eugenio Derbez, Amr Waked, Robert Sheehan Adepero Oduye, Richard Schiff & Andy Garcia.

Run Time: 109 min.

US Release: 20 October 2017

UK Release: 20 October 2017

German Release: 19 October 2017

I went to see this yesterday with no expectations at all, I saw the trailer, knew that Gerard Butler was in it and sat back, expecting to see an entertaining trash film and what I obtained was exactly that. Look, we all know by now that the 90’s euphoria for good disaster movies is long past, the newest ones we obtain nowadays have nothing fresh to add to the genre and mostly copy the formula of those 90’s flicks. In this case, director Dean Devlin who co-worked with Roland Emmerich on a lot of his movies took what he learned from the master of disaster and made a beat for beat copy of his blockbusters.

So Geostorm takes place in the near future – not sure how far in the future because it doesn’t specify the date exactly. The human race is facing extinction due to the extreme change in weather, which is causing disastrous storms, floods, erosion and fires. Jake Lawson (Butler) invents and builds a net of satellites nicknamed Dutch Boy, co-working with the brightest people from around the world. The satellites are controlled from the ISS, which has been modified and updated. When his brother Max (Sturgess) is given control of the programme by the US Senate and forced to fire him, Jake retreats to Florida to live a hermit’s life. Three years later and a week before handing over Dutch Boy to an international committee, the satellites start to malfunction and Jake is rehired to fix the problem.

Storywise, this film makes a couple of interesting suggestions; pointing at the problem of global warming and the disasters that might occur all around the world, as well as not just focusing on the US alone but including a narrative in which every nation of the world puts aside their differences to work together to solve a problem, that might extinguish the human race. While these factors are intriguing and the overall message tried to be a positive one, the film takes itself way too serious considering the fact that the plot is about a physical net of satellites covering the earth and controlling our weather.

Then there is also the fact that none of the characters are in real immediate danger. There are a maximum of three scenes were some of the main personas are being targeted but they either resolve the problem easily, or they simply walk through it as if being Superman. Other than that the narrative focuses on dire scenarios, where out-of-control weather satellites target a few cities and people die. It is horrible and sad, but as a viewer, you are not emotionally invested in any of the extras and thus don’t care about their fate.

The movie really tries to sell Gerard Butler as this genius scientist, but he doesn’t behave nor talk like one. At this point, I am asking myself if Butler was ever good at acting or just lucky with his performances in 300, RocknRolla and even Law Abiding Citizen, because any other movie he was physically in after those, simply sucked! So, in this flick, he plays Jake Lawson developer and engineer of the Dutch Boy satellite system and brother of Max Lawson, portrayed by Jim Sturges, who takes over the project as a White House correspondent (don’t worry, no spoilers here this all happens in the first 10 minutes of the film). The problem is that neither of them has good chemistry and therefore they are not believable as brothers.

Abbie Cornish, as secret-service agent Sarah Wilson, was possibly the most credible persona in Geostorm. Her performance is a little over-the-top at times, but she gives a reliable enough execution of the character. Her romance with Sturges’ Max Lawson, on the other hand, was not credible and felt very forced.

As soon as Ed Harris popped up on screen I knew exactly what his role was. He is not really acting as much as simply being himself in front of a camera. Andy Garcia as the president was an actual waste of casting. He isn’t that often in the film and did not even try to give a decent performance.

The Cinematography is not specifically cinema worthy and would have probably suited more a straight-to-TV movie, but I wouldn’t say that it is horrible. The effects on the other hand range from looking good to being absolutely terrible. I was quite shocked at how the various natural disasters varied in quality; as if they burned through the budget during the first couple of days and then needed to hire a subpar computer effects company for the rest of the shoot, and to be honest there aren’t even that many destruction scenes in this flick.

Verdict: This movie is exactly what I had expected it to be, an over-the-top and absurd destruction-porn blockbuster, with a well-known international cast and a handful of cheesy one-liners. I was actually impressed by the diverse roster of actors in this film and thought that the core message is an important one. The problem is that instead of embracing its ridiculousness, the story takes itself way too serious and the dialogues are partially pretentious. The two main characters were completely miscast and have no chemistry whatsoever, while Andy Garcia was totally wasted as the President of the US. The effects were something of a mixed bag; sometimes looking good, sometimes all right and other times downright awful. In the end though, if you know what you are getting into, Geostorm is able to entertain at an average level. I will give it a 4 out of 10.

Have you seen Geostorm yet? What did you think of it? Leave a comment below to let me know and thank you very much for reading this review.

Top Movies – La La Land Movie Review (Spoiler Free) – Movie Reviews Sites

This bittersweet musical managed to be the feel-good movie of January and is a love letter to old-school Hollywood, jazz music, and the people that try to live their dreams!

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Musical
Directors: Damien Chazelle
Cast: Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, Callie Hernandez, Jessica Rothe, Sonoya Mizuno, Rosemarie DeWitt, Finn Wittrock, John Legend & J.K. Simmons.
Run Time: 128 min.
US Release: 25 December 2016
UK Release: 12 January 2017
German Release: 12 January 2017

I need to confess that I wasn’t looking forward to seeing this motion picture. I might not be the biggest fan of dramas but the musical genre is downright my least favourite category, with Le Miserable and Disney films being the only ones I own on blu-ray or DVD. La La Land, though, managed to put a smile on my face since the first scene! This was another fantastic picture that came out in theatres early January, here in Germany and was sold out for weeks to come. I was lucky to have gotten hold of a ticket for a preview showing, after that, anytime I wanted went out to watch it again, the showings had been sold out.

Mia (Stone) is an aspiring actress, working in a coffee shop and serving the stars while waiting for her big break. Jazz pianist Sebastian is scrapping every dime he can get by playing in restaurants and cocktail bars. Both start bumping into each other at a regular base and once they realise that they have more in common than they previously thought, a beautiful romance starts blossoming, in which both support each other’s dreams no matter the chances of success.

Damien Chazelle, who conceived the idea for La La Land during his years as a student, finished writing the script in 2010, which is supposed to show the struggling life of artistic people in Los Angeles. Having a knack for jazz as well as playing the drums, Chazelle not only has a preference for musical films but also knows how to handle them. His fondness for jazz plays an important part in all three of his movies and while Whiplash focused on his experience as a jazz student at Princeton High School, La La Landcentred on Chazelle’s battle to try and pitch the script during the early stages of his career. No studio wanted to finance his musical since jazz was considered to be a dying art.

The other side of the narrative’s spectral line focuses on the film industry, which is painted through the eyes of a young aspiring actress who can’t land a role. The script romanticises Los Angeles and the old-school Hollywood of the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and pays tribute to so many classics, such as Man with a Moving Cameraor Singing in the Rain. More impressively, Chazelle managed to blend successfully a world of magic and fantasy with a grounding and realistic story. It is also a love-letter to the artistic and passionate people who dare to follow their dreams.

Emma Stone plays Mia, the barista/actress who is trying to get her big break by going to auditions during every break she can obtain. She dropped out of university to follow her dream, which stems from her childhood memories. She is very passionate about the movie industry and Hollywood, although the people in it are treating her without respect.

Ryan Gosling is fantastic as fallen musician Sebastian. Just as Mia, he is incredibly passionate about jazz music but contrary to the young woman, his passion also fuels his anger for people’s misconception about jazz. He simply lives, and would probably give his life, for that genre, trying to save it and inform people about what that art of music really is about. He is also the tragic figure of this story, having nothing else to live for except his passion and dream until he meets Mia.

Once their relationship starts, you can see how both are filling out each other’s personality gaps, as if being puzzle pieces that click perfectly together. Seb tries to push Mia to become more independent and self-assured, while she gives him something more to live for, apart from his music. Both characters learn though that to become successful they will need to make sacrifices and that is the biggest praise I can give this musical, as it does not sugarcoat the outcome of their decisions.

Linus Sandgren was director of photography for this picture and he did a marvellous job. The musical was shot on actual 35mm film, which helped to capture the bright and vivid colours that looked as if they might pop off the screen at any minute. Shooting the movie on actual film stock also gave the musical a magical touch that contrasts with the grounded story, and the combination of old-school looks with the present time setting enhance the picture’s charm. The dancing choreographies are perfect and were captured each in one take while using two cameras during dialogue scenarios that gave the actors more room to react organically to what they were saying to each other.

I loved the music composed by Justin Hurwitz, it was melancholically yet upbeat at the same time. The singing by the two lead actors might not have been always in tune but that didn’t hurt the movie, on the contrary, it gave it a little taint that suited it perfectly. I was really impressed with Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling’s singing voices!

Verdict: This is one of the best movies I have seen this year and will make it into my top ten list of the year without a doubt. I could not find one single flaw in La La Land and I’m not even a fan of musicals. The story was crafted with a lot of thought and care, praising the dreamers that put themselves out there and try to be noticed. At the same time, it pays tribute to classic Hollywood and paints L.A. in a beautiful picture. Both characters are idealists, trying to get their feet in the music and movie industry but having a hard time at doing so until they bump into each other. The cinematography is beautiful, with lively colours and perfectly captured dancing sequences. This is a flawless film and deserves a 10out of 10.

Top Movies – Manchester by the Sea Movie Review (Spoiler Free) – Movie Reviews Sites

Good characters, real problems and solid affections. This January picture is more than I had expected and deserves all Oscar nominations.

Genre: Drama

Directors: Kenneth Lonergan

Cast: Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges, Kyle Chandler, C.J. Wilson, Ben O’Brien, Michelle Williams, Gretchen Mol, Tom Kemp, Tate Donovan, Anna Baryshnikov, Kara Hayward & Matthew Broderick.

Run Time: 137 min.

US Release: 16 December 2016

UK Release: 13 January 2017

German Release: 19 January 2017

While Manchester by the Sea was released mid-December in the US, it didn’t make it to theatres in Europe until January of this year. I am usually not the biggest fan of hardcore dramas, simply because the genre is not that appealing to me but if they are well made I will be invested from start to finish, opening up to the movie, and boy was Manchester by the Sea a tour de force! By the end of the film I was so emotionally taken, I simply wanted to see more. January this year was a huge surprise for me, with fantastic movies coming out left and right and Manchester by the Seas was definitely one of the best!

I don’t want to give away anything, so I will keep the plot synopsis as short as possible. The film focuses on Lee Chandler (Affleck), a handyman and janitor for several housing estates in Boston. His life gets interrupted by the sudden death of his brother (Chandler), forcing him to return to his hometown of Manchester. When he is told that his brother’s will names him guardian of his son Patrick (Hedges), it opens up a tragic past that Chandler can’t outrun.

Director Kenneth Lonergan also wrote the story, which was handled really unconventional but smart. The narrative keeps jumping from present to past every now and then, to flesh out the main character little by little but it is done in such a subtle way, that the audience doesn’t notice it happening the first couple of times unless they paying exact attention. I was constantly floored by all the little details and subtleties that are in into the story; one really needs to watch this movie more than once to see them all. Kenneth also understands how to build natural tension, until it explodes in an emotional tidal wave. I was simply blown away by its passionate strength.

This movie feels so real, it was as if I was sitting in front of a window and watching the lives of other people, and part of that was due to the outstanding dialogues. Contrary to the typical conversation in films, where everybody talks after another without conversations crossing over or being interrupted, Manchester by the Sea makes use of natural dialogue between persons. Lee Chandler is constantly interrupting someone or cutting right into the middle of a conversation. This makes it at times difficult to understand what he or somebody else said, but it sounds genuine.

The only issue I have with this drama was how it ends. When the credits rolled I thought “that is it?” because it felt so sudden, so unfinished that it simply discomforted me. I understand, though, why it was concluded that way. It would have been a complete betrayal to the rest of the picture if Lonergan had given it a solid ending.

The performances by the cast are great! Surprisingly none of them, except Affleck & Hedges, are that often in the movie, yet they all leave an impactful mark and some of the renditions have such an emotional blow, that they left me close to tears. This is Casey Affleck’s best rendition in his career so far -contrary to popular opinion I don’t consider him a bad actor at all. The turbulence and pain that Lee Chandler is living with can only be felt when reading between the lines; he is very silent, quirky and barely shows any feelings. It is difficult for the audience to connect with him at first, that is until one of the flashbacks explains the trauma he went through, which turned him into that quite, reclusive person.

Lucas Hedges really astonished me with his performance as Patrick Chandler, a confused teenager who suddenly finds himself in life without a parent and an emotionless uncle as his guardian. Michelle Williams plays one of the side characters, but she is vital at explaining the past and present of Lee Chandler. Williams was fantastic and moved me close to tears!

Director of photography Jody Lee Lipes did a wonderful work, really selling feeling of an icy winter by using a cold but vibrant colour palette that includes a lot of white. The wide shots on the boat and panoramic takes reflect the small town life perfectly, adding to the sense of realism and complement the written narration to near perfection. The soundtrack is very subtle, at time sombre but never overwhelming and includes a lot of choir singing and simple orchestral sounds.

Verdict: This is a very powerful motion picture that includes raw, bottled-up emotions on the verge of bursting and drowning its audience. The story is like nothing I have experienced before, adding a sense of ultra-realism to the movie, partially thanks to the tremendous dialogues between the personas. The conversations are strong and the characters true broken human beings, aware of their emotional status but unable to beat their demons. The cinematography is superb and the music quite and minute, to not interfere with the passionate force giving off by the actors, story and picture. I loved Manchester by the Sea coming out of the theatre and that sentiment did not change to date. I will give it a 9.5 out of 10.

What did you think of Casey Affleck’s performance and Kenneth Lonergan’s narrative style? Thank you for reading my review. Look out for my next one tomorrow!

Top Movies – The LEGO Ninjago Movie Review (Spoiler Free) – Movie Reviews Sites

LEGO’s second movie of the year is currently still out in theatres and one must start to ask himself: how many of these animations does Warner need to produce until we get fed up of them?

Genre: Action/Adventure/Animation/Comedy

Directors: Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher, Bob Logan

Cast: Dave Franco, Michael Peña, Abbi Jacobson, Fred Armisen, Kumail Nanjiani, Zach Woods, Justin Theroux, Olivia Munn, Ali Wong, Robin Roberts, Kaan Guldur & Jackie Chan.

Run Time: 101 min.

US Release: 22 September 2017

UK Release: 13 October 2017

German Release: 21 September 2017

This is it, I managed to write the last of my reviews for the LEGO animation series, for now, but compared to its two spin-offs The LEGO Ninjago Movie didn’t manage to impress me one bit. One reason might be that the Ninjago toy line is just a small niche from LEGO that appeared six years ago. Nobody, except young children, can identify with the Ninjago brand and all I know about it is that the figures were released parallel with a popular TV-series on Cartoon Network. So, since the prime audience is meant to be children, the producers and studio changed the atmosphere to a much lighter one.

The city of Ninjago is constantly attacked by the evil warlord Garmadon (Theroux), who wants to conquer the island. He has been beaten every time by six teenage ninjas with mechas. One of them, Lloyd (Franco), turns out to be Garmadon’s son and is bullied in school as well as harassed by the people of Ninjago. When Garmadon creates a new super-weapon that is able to defeat the teens’ mechs, Lloyd uses a secret weapon out of desperation but unveils an even worse monster.

The first notable change I saw, while watching the film, was the fact that the humour was dialled down to a much family friendlier tone. The provocative adult sarcasm and jokes are gone and replaced by slapstick scenarios, while the dialogues take on the much tamer theme of fatherhood and father-son relationships. In a nutshell, this animation retreats from the successful formula that was used in the prior spinoffs, which hurts the quality of the story but also makes for a passable family trip to the cinema.

The biggest issue this picture is suffering from is the fact that it has little to no substance and once the first thirty minutes are over, the story just drags. The plot feels as if it is stitched together from several ninja flicks, most prominently the Power Rangers whose stories also revert around teenage ninja-warriors, using mechas and saving the people from evil mystical forces. Even the colour of the ninjas’ wardrobe is similar to that of the Power Rangers.

Every actor involved with this film gave a fine performance and the voice work, was with all LEGO movies thus far, is good but the characters themselves aren’t really that interesting. Dave Franco plays Lloyd Garmadon, son of the evil warlord Garmadon, who is voiced by Justin Theroux. Lloyd is a clichéd high school outsider, who goes through the same troubles we saw so many times before in other teenage dramas. He is being bullied, his father left him when he was a baby and his mother doesn’t really understand what he is going through in high school, although she does love him.

Garmadon, on the other hand, is a stupid, incapable and very naive villain, who encounters the joy’s of fatherhood around the second act just to throw that character development over-board during the beginning of the third act and go through the exact same evolution again in the last 5 minutes. Then there are Lloyds so-called “friends” and ninja co-workers, voiced by Peña, Jacobson, Armisen, Nanjiani and Woods. These guys turn on their friendship with Lloyd, just because he made one mistake after saving the city countless of other times. They even have a debate about maybe following Garmadon, after the later manages to subdue them early in the film; how on earth are these likeable characters.

Jackie Chan is in this movie twice; once as the storyteller and then voicing Master Wu, the young ninjas’ sensei. He was fun and had good liners, but the character of Wu could really irritate at times as well.

The biggest praise I can give this small-scale picture is its animation. Once again, the art direction and production design team proved their worth, by creating beautiful looking stop-motion movements on computers, giving the film a feeling as if it were shot with real LEGO blocks and figures. It drops the ball, though, once a real live cat is brought into the world of Ninjago, contrasting both worlds and giving it an unreal and cheap look. The colours and the lighting are much brighter and vivid, compared to the LEGO and the LEGO Batman Movie. The soundtrack made use of a lot of pop song and covers and then there was a specific scene that poked fun at the Wilhelm Scream.

Verdict: In a nutshell, the third film by Warner Bros. and LEGO is nowhere as good as the prior two movies, due to the contained demographic and lack of richness this brand of toy line has. The humour is silly; aimed at families and kids while the plot lacks an interesting story, which starts dragging after the first third of the movie, making it feel longer than it was. I was constantly looking at my watch and hoping for it to be over soon. The voice work was good, but the characters are also uninteresting. The best thing about this movie is its effects and cinematography, which are beautiful to look at. So, in the end, The LEGO Ninjago Movie is a mediocre but entertaining flick for families, yet nothing more. I’ll give it a 5.5 out of 10.

Thank you for reading this review. What did you think of The LEGO Ninjago Movie? If you want to read my other reviews of the LEGO motion pictures, click on the links below:

– The LEGO Movie Review
– The LEGO Batman Movie Review

Top Movies – Kingsman: The Golden Circle Movie Review (Spoiler Free) – Movie Reviews Sites

Eggsy returns to save the world again, in this explosive second part of the Kingsman franchise. But is The Golden Circle a worthy sequel?

Genre: Action/Adventure/Comedy

Directors: Matthew Vaughn,

Cast: Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Mark Strong, Pedro Pascal, Edward Holcroft, Halle Berry, Jeff Bridges, Hanna Alström, Poppy Delevingne, Channing Tatum, Sophie Cookson, Bruce Greenwood, Emily Watson, Elton John.

Run Time: 141 min.

US Release: 20 September 2017

UK Release: 21 September 2017

German Release: 22 September 2017

The first Kingsman film was a welcome refreshment to the spy genre. It paid homage to the old Bond series, included over-the-top action and spy tech, but never once lost an eye on what type of movie it was. If you are interested, click the following link and read my review: Kingsman: The Secret Service.

So, with all that in mind, I was naturally looking forward to seeing the sequel. Going into the theatre I was hoping for the exact same amount of over-the-top action, with a story that builds on the first film and a good villain to succeed Jackson’s Valentine. While I partially obtained some of it, Kingsman 2 managed to leave a disappointed feeling in my gut once the credits rolled. Not that the movie was bad, it still managed to entertain but this sequel tries to top the first one so desperately, that it simply fell short compared to it.

Eggsy (Egerton) has successfully integrated himself within the Kingsman agency, working closely together with Roxy (Cookson) and Merlin (Strong). When their headquarters is destroyed and fellow agents killed by drug lord Poppy (Moore), the British spies fly to the States to ask their “cousin” agency Statesman for help. While mean, Poppy reveals her evil plan, putting the US President (Greenwood) under public scrutiny and Eggsy under the time pressure.

As I explained in the first few paragraphs, The Golden Circle suffers from a deficiency that a lot of sequels are known to have by trying to be bigger and better than their predecessor. The plot is completely bloated, adding to an already complex – and at times confusing – narrative too many side stories, and thus making it too convoluted for its own good. I also found the background story of the villain, as well as her actual plan to hold the world hostage by doing something to her drugs, underwhelming and silly; something that never once crossed my mind while watching the first Kingsman.

On the other side, it also managed to surprise me, by constructing the story where Kingsman: the Secret Service had ended. It felt natural seeing where the characters are now with their lives, and although I didn’t like the execution of drug trade story, I found the idea behind it intriguing, since there aren’t a lot of secret agent movies that tackle that issue. I also liked the idea of a secluded villain, giving it a touch of realism.

What is best about the Golden Circle, apart from the fantastic visuals, is the character development and the relationships. Just as with the plot, the characters start off from where we saw them last, with a fully developed arc and don’t relapse in the development they went through, as it usually happens in a lot of sequels. This gives the personas the opportunity to tackle new problems, personal as well as professional, and add these resolutions to their experience. I was also surprised to see a small side character from the first flick, return in a more important role in this one; playing the love interest for one of the other characters, thus making the relationship feel very organic and natural.

Eggsy, played by Egerton, is now a full-fledged spy and gentleman. He has grown a lot since his recruitment while never forgetting where he is from and keeping close contacts with his friends from the London slums. He also feels very protective of his co-workers, seeing them more as an adoptive family. Egerton did a great job again and is very charismatic. Mark Strong gave a fantastic emotional portrayal of Merlin and then there is Colin Firth, who is returning as Harry, in one of the craziest comebacks from the dead but was tremendous nevertheless. Harry’s relationship with Eggsy is once again a touching focus of the story.

Julianne Moore was great as Poppy, a powerful drug lord hiding out in the jungle. She makes good points regarding the trade of drugs (legal and illegal) and I was able to understand her point, yet her character was too weak and uninteresting to be the main villain. I was most disappointed, though, with Channing Tatum’s character who, contrary to what the trailer suggested, was in the movie for a maximum of five minutes.

The cinematography by George Richmond was aesthetically pleasing and beautiful to look at. The picture was glossy and including vibrant colours that enhanced the visual experience, while the action sequences were handled once again skillful. This is a visual masterpiece that has just one deficit, which are the effects. Don’t get me wrong they are handled well but Vaughn and Richmond try to surpass themselves by topping the action sequences for the first one, which was pieced together to look like one-shot takes. They included so many in this spy flick that the audience started to be aware of the CGI in those scenes, and then there are the mechanical dogs that simply don’t look real.

Verdict: Kingsman: the Secret Service was a great spy film that embraced its silliness and over-the-top story. It’s follower, sadly, wants to be more than that and stumbled at trying to do so. It is not a bad movie and has quite a few good parts, such as the natural development of the story that builds from the previous movie and the writers not stripping the main characters from their evolution but instead adding new experiences to those already made. It had, though, quite a few disappointing moments as well! The cinematography was breathtaking but too exaggerated and there were way too many side-plots that distracted from the main mission, as well as the villain, although played very well by Julianne Moore, was boring and uninteresting. So in the end, Kingsman: The Golden Circle was good but disappointing and not better than a 7 out of 10.

Thank you very much for reading my review of Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Leave a comment below if you want. My next review will follow tomorrow for The LEGO Ninjago Movie.

Top Movies – The LEGO Batman Movie Review (Spoiler Free) – Movie Reviews Sites

LEGO Batman is back, in a much grittier comedic-animation, filled with dark guitar riffs and puns of its former silver screen adaptations.

Genre: Action/Adventure/Animation/Comedy

Directors: Chris McKay

Cast: Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes, Channing Tatum, Jenny Slate, Doug Benson, Hector Elizondo, Eddie Izzard, Jemaine Clement, Seth Green, Jonah Hill, Adam Devine & Susan Bennett.

Run Time: 104 min.

US Release: 10 February 2017

UK Release: 10 February 2017

German Release: 09 February 2017

After the success of The LEGO Movie, I was looking forward to seeing this original take on the caped crusader and had big expectations. I only watched the “black & yellow” trailer, managing to stay away from others that might have spoiled the film, and what I saw had put a smile on my face. Yet, I still went into the theatre with mixed feelings, as experience told me that sequels, or in this case spin-offs, manage to impress seldom. Well, I am happy to report that, even though it is a little bit weaker than The LEGO Movie, this Batman version manages to entertain from start to finish.

So what is this flick about? Well, it all starts with the Joker (Galifianakis), plotting his newest crime against Gotham. By now the public has gotten so used to the Joker’s escapades and aware that in the end he is always stopped by the Batman (Arnett). When Barbara Gordon (Dawson) takes the position as the new Police Commissioner at her father’s (Elizondo) retirement party, she states the fact that although Batman stopped the Joker and other villains several times, he never arrested any of them. This starts a rivalry between Batman and Barbara, while Joker plans a new scheme that will destroy Gotham once and for all.

The story and plot for this comedic animation don’t sway too far from the 2014th LEGO film, staying true to the humorous formula that proved to be so successful. Of course, the focus of puns this time is limited mostly to Batman and DC mediums, which includes primarily the Nolan and Zack Snyder movies but also borrow a lot from other DC heroes such as Superman, Green Lantern and the Flash, as well as taking its liberty to include a small percentage of characters from other Warner films.

What impressed me most is how this action-comedy, despite being a parody of the Hero, manages to nail the essence of what Batman is like no other previous film. Nolan came extremely close and his blockbuster series is my favourite portrayal of the character, yet McKay and his writing team triumphed at understanding Bruce Wayne’s psyche. Still, when it comes to handling the sarcastic humour and jokey dialogues, I found that The LEGO Movie had done a much better job at it. Not that it this animation handles it badly, but to me, it felt as if the writers made too big of an effort to get a laughter out of the audience.

As with the previous LEGO film, the voice work for this one is once again top-notch. Will Arnett returned to voice Batman/Bruce Wayne and did a beautiful comedic job while

enhancing the characters pain and loneliness, taken from the Nolan and Snyder flicks. This Batman is bad at working with others, even unwilling to work in a team or let anyone else in his life, out of fear to lose somebody. His relationship with the Joker is partially the main focus in this movie and Galifianakis gives a great rendition of the character, reminding a little bit of Hamill’s performance in the animated series.

Robin/Dick Grayson’s character serves as a contrast to Batman’s personality. Michael Cera voiced Robin and his portrayal is partially inspired by Burt Ward, who played Robin in the 1960’s television series, next to Adam West. Contrary to Bruce Wayne, the orphaned Dick Grayson is always happy and full of hope, causing friction between him and Batman, which is used as a comedic tool for the story.

The effects and design for this animation look amazing, and like its predecessor, this is thanks to a mix of actual LEGO blocks and computer animated characters. Compared to the The LEGO Movie, though, this spin-off contains a lot more action and battle scenes. The colour palette and lighting is also much darker, setting a good atmosphere for the world of Batman, which comes into contrast with the much lighter scenes that include Superman and other Justice League members. The music also sounds much harsher and edgier, including quite a few rock songs composed by the Dark Knight himself, but also include a few cheesy pop classics to underline the character of Robin.

Verdict: In the end, The LEGO Batman Movie is another great, animated film by Warner Bros. It understands exactly how the psyche of Batman works and uses it as a comedic factor; showing how in Batman lore the character changed from a campy, karate kicking, costumed crime-fighter, to one of the most tragic heroes of the DC world. The story is well written, but it is a little weaker compared to The LEGO Movie, nevertheless, Will Arnett and Zach Galifianakis were fantastic as Batman and Joker and the rest of the cast gave great vocal performances. The animation still looks impeccable making it look as if actual LEGOs were used, by adding the virtual stop-motion effects. I will give this spin-off a 7.5 out of 10.

What did you think of The LEGO Batman Movie? Did you enjoy it more than The LEGO Movie? Leave a comment below if you want and thank you for reading!

Top Movies – The LEGO Movie Review – Movie Reviews Sites

The first march for these yellow happy faces on too the silver screen ended in a big success! LEGO hasn’t been this much fun since I was a child and yes, “everything IS awesome!”

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Comedy

Directors: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller

Cast: Will Ferrell, Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, David Burrows, Billy Dee Williams, Channing Tatum, Cobie Smulders, Jonah Hill & Dave Franco.

Run Time: 100 min.

US Release: 07 February 2014

UK Release: 14 February 2014

German Release: 10 April 2014

Since 2017 seems to be the year that LEGO and Warner Brothers decided to create an animation franchise, I decided to start my review of the LEGO movies with 2014th The LEGO Movie. Like everyone I know, I grew up with the building bricks and yellow faces. One of my closest friends is still a huge LEGO fan and collector, going as far as buying their advent calendar each year. He and I even made a three-second short film with some of the figures a few years back. Compared to him, though, I pretty much gave up on LEGO once I turned 14, but found my love for them again later on in form of video games!

That being said, I did not have big hopes for this movie back then, even after watching all the trailers. For me, and pretty much everyone else I talked too, it sounded as if LEGO and Warner Bros. were simply trying to make a few quick bucks with a couple of mediocre animations aimed at kids. Well, guess what… utterly surprised and with a warm happy feeling in my heart, because this little flick not only managed to impress me but actually is genuinely good.

—– BEWARE OF SPOILERS —–

When Lord Business (Ferrell) breaks into a LEGO temple and steals an artefact known as the ‘Kragle’ and robbing the artefacts safe-keeper Vitruvius (Freeman) of his eyesight, a prophecy is foretold by the blinded wizard, where a person called “The Special” will find the Piece of Resistance to stop Lord Business.

Eight-and-a-half years later, Emmet Brickowski (Pratt), who is an ordinary construction worker with no special skills, accidentally finds the Piece of Resistance, while following Wildstyle (Banks). He is immediately taken into custody by Lord Business’ henchman Bad Cop (Neeson). Wildstyle breaks him out but is extremely disappointed when she finds out that Emmet is no master-builder but a simple-minded fellow, who follows Lord Business’ everyday rules. Nevertheless, she takes him to Vitruvius, who sees more in Emmet than a simple LEGO figurine.

While mean, Lord Business moves on with his plans to glue everybody and every brick in the different LEGO realms, on Taco Tuesday. When Vitruvius, Emmet, Wildstyle and Batman (Arnett) break into Business Tower to terminate the ‘Kragle’, Emmet is thrown into the big abyss of nothingness where he learns that their lives are being controlled by a young boys imagination, as well that his father (also Ferrell) is the physical manifestation of Lord Business.

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who not only directed but also co-wrote the script for this animation, managed to intertwine quite a few story elements from other films and created a parody of the movie business, and to some point corporate life itself. It predominantly borrows plot aspects from The Matrix, including bits of Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars and a few DC comic book stories, thus creating an effective but highly entertaining one-and-a-half hour long advertisement. The humour is great, containing a variety of different types, from sarcasm to slapstick and plain silly jokes. The story is very well written and can be enjoyed by both, children as well as adults.

At the core of this immense product placement, though, is a sweet message about how it is important to not grow up too fast, or let go completely of one’s inner child since it is exactly that part of us that sparks our fantasy and creativity. After all, LEGO is a product for both adults and children that thrive on the creativity of its consumers, offering the possibility to let the imagination run wild.

The voice work for this movie is simply fantastic and contains rich and interesting characters. Emmet is a spoof version of Matrix’s Neo. He is a subpar regular guy who simply wants to be viewed by his neighbours and co-workers as a special guy. It hurts him once he finds out that nobody really knows who he is, nor care for him. When he becomes that “special one” the prophecy talked about he finally feels needed, even though unsure of his potential. It takes a growing relationship with Wildstyle, who goes through some trust and self-doubt issues herself, to finally find his true potential and become the hero he was meant to be.

Lord Business is actually a LEGO reflection of the “Man Upstairs”, played as well by Will Ferrell. He is not doing evil things for fun, he is doing them because he did let go of his imagination and is confused and enraged when the bricks aren’t connected as shown in the instruction manuals. So he sets off to glue the different worlds permanently, to prevent from master-builders from taking bricks apart again. It takes Emmett and the son of the “Man Upstairs”, to open up their eyes and let their fantasy back in.

As I said, every actor that voiced a character did an amazing job! But it was the voice work of Liam Neeson, who surprised the hell out of me as Bad Cop, and Morgan Freeman that I loved the most. Both were incredibly funny and had some of the best lines.

The animation for this film is astonishing. While it made use of actual LEGO brick sets, most of the film was created using computer effects and adding those beautiful and realistic looking stop-motion effects virtually. The computer animation was taken with such loving care, to ensure that what we see on screen actually looks and feels like the products we cherished so much as children. The soundtrack of the movie included a lot of original pop songs that were created only for this movie and also included some darker, hardcore guitar riffs for the Batman scenes.

Verdict: This film surprised the heck out of me back in 2014. I didn’t expect much from it but it is now one of my favourite animation movies. It poked fun at several movie clichés and at Hollywood as a corporate business, it spoofed some of Warner’s movies and DC’s heroes but it also had a heart-warming message about containing one’s inner child. The characters were likeable and you could understand their dreams and motivations, and the effects were gorgeous. The LEGO Movie was more than just a simple cash-grab, people actually sat down and thought this through in detail, which is why it is so beautiful to look at. I will, therefore, give this yellow-tastic flick an 8.0 out of 10.

Thank you for reading this review. You can leave a comment below and give your opinion about The LEGO Movie. My next review will discuss this year’s Lego Batman Movie.

Top Movies – Blade Runner 2049 Movie Review – Movie Reviews Sites

Denis Villeneuve’s newest movie is the sequel to the much acclaimed Ridley Scott sci-fi blockbuster of 1982 and an amazing visual experience with fantastic acting and an impactful soundtrack.

Genre: Sci-Fi/Thriller

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Jared Leto, Mackenzie Davis, Lennie James, Dave Bautista, Hiam Abbass, Harrison Ford & Edwards James Olmos.
Run Time: 164 min.

US Release: 06 October 2017

UK Release: 05 October 2017

German Release: 05 October 2017

If interested, click on the link and read my review for the first Blade Runner Movie.

Blade Runner 2049 is finally here! I might not have been waiting as long as others for a sequel to the epic masterpiece of 1982, basically, because I was too young to understand what Blade Runner was all about, but ever since I bought the Final Cut on Blu-ray in 2011, I was looking forward to this day! Even better that Denis Villeneuve took over as the director because the man proved to be one of the best artists of this generation, no matter the genre of movie. While mean, Ridley Scott himself seems to have lost his touch, even though The Martian is quite the film.

After having watched the movie twice now, I can honestly say that Blade Runner 2049 is one of the best movies of 2017. That is not to say that this sci-fi flick is for everyone! This is a very artistic movie, that takes its time in telling the story and lets the audience be absorbed by the fantastic looking cinematography.

30 years after the events of the first film, Rick Deckard (Ford) and Rachael (Sean Young) disappeared from the face of the Earth. K (Gosling), a Blade Runner working for the Los Angeles Police Department, gets involved in a mystery concerning old model replicants. While mean, Niander Wallace (Leto), an industrialist who took over the Tyrell Corporation, sends his assistant Luv (Hoeks) to follow K, who in turn is searching for Deckard to help him solve his case.

That’s all I’ll write, as the story is much richer and contains quite a few surprises I don’t want to spoil! I recommend that anyone who is interested in the movie should enjoy it without knowing too much!

Hempton Fetcher, who co-wrote the screenplay for the first movie, and Michael Green made sure to keep the tone of the original blockbuster and succeeded in doing so. Fetcher, Green and Villeneuve not only managed to capture the atmosphere but also managed to improve on the storytelling. The first film had a thought-provoking philosophical message, about what it means to be human. It also focused on the replicants rebellion for individuality, but swerved away from that topic every now and then by focusing too much on side characters that weren’t interesting or important.

The sequel, on the other hand, focuses most of the time on K and his case. It also doesn’t include one dull character, as all of them are intriguing. I also thought that the dialogues are incredibly strong; they include a lot of religious and philosophical topics. My favourite piece of the puzzling story, though, is how it picks up on the theme of individuality and evolves into deeper sociological thoughts.

Now I can’t talk about all the different characters in the movie without spoiling the story, so just let me be brief about it. Everyone in this beautiful sci-fi blockbuster is tremendous, especially Ryan Gosling, who gives the best performance of his career! But it is also Harrison Ford, Jared Letto, Sylvia Hoeks that kept surprising me with their powerful renditions, and Ana de Armas is simply terrific! Her character is so multilayered while being simplistic at the same time; she really impressed me – and distracted me with her incredible beauty – if I am to be honest.

As with Scott’s flick of 1982, the cinematography of the sequel is simply jaw-dropping. Roger Deakins, who co-worked with Villeneuve before in Sicario and Prisoners, really outdid himself this time and created a realistic dystopian future, with pop-cultural references to the 1980’s that stay true to the style of the first Blade Runner. The lighting and the vibrant colour palette is a true feast for the eyes and the use of practical and computer-generated effects enhance that beauty. As with Sicario, Deakins used a mix of panoramic longshots and aerial takes, to give the viewer a feeling for the world that surrounded the characters.

Just as with the cinematography, the sound effects and music in this flick are excellent. The complete cinema was shaking and moving to the impressive bass during dramatic or thrilling scenes and the soundtrack is a beautiful extension to the original melody used in Scott’s sci-fi flick.

Verdict: Blade Runner 2049 is a true masterpiece and Denis Villeneuve’s best film to date! Everything about this movie left me in utter awe; from the very emotional characters, portrayed by an extraordinary cast and the stunning futuristic world of 2049 that is depicted by Roger Deakins, to the ear deafening but hauntingly gorgeous soundtrack and sound effects. Every piece of this film is as close to perfect as it can get and I can say, without a doubt, that this may even be the best film I have seen this year, and it definitely is one of the better sequels of a movie ever made! I will give Blade Runner 2049 a well deserved 10 out of 10 recommend it to anyone who enjoys a well-made movie.

Do me a favour, if you are a fan of the first film, go and see it in theatres. It looks amazing even in 3D! If you didn’t like Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-fi movie then you will probably not like this one and I would advise you to stay away from it.

Top Movies – Monster Trucks Movie Review (Spoiler Free) – Movie Reviews Sites

A coming of age story paired with a sci-fi monster flick and lots of tentacles. But how good can a movie with the title Monster Trucks really be?

Genre: Action/Comedy/Sci-Fi

Director: Chris Wedge

Cast: Lucas Till, Jane Levy, Rob Lowe, Thomas Lennon, Barry Pepper, Holt McCallany, Frank Whaley, Tucker Albrizzi, Jedidiah Goodacre, Samara Weaving, Amy Ryan & Danny Glover.

Run Time: 105 min.

US Release: 13 January 2017

UK Release: 26 December 2016

German Release: 26 January 2017

Info: So, I haven’t written anything for a long while, and I apologise to anyone who followed my posts. I needed to take some time off from writing reviews. I am currently trying to catch up on all the movies I saw this year, beginning with this one as I already had the review finished.

Well here is a big surprise, this teenie-monster flick is actually better than xXx 3! Who on Earth would have thought that? I mean with a title like Monster Trucks, that stars tentacled squid-like monsters, who feed on oil and power trucks driven by teenagers, I surely thought that the worst movie of the year had arrived early this year… well, the joke is on me. Don’t get me wrong, this ain’t a good picture at all but it is better than I expected when I entered the theatre and I need to give it credit for that.

Monster Trucks revolves around high school senior Trip Coley (Till), a divorcee child and troublemaker, who works in a junkyard to be able to afford a car and leave the small town he is living in. The town is funded by the evil oil corporation Terravex, who accidentally drill into an underground ecosystem to get to the oil, setting free a couple of squid-like monsters. Hunted by the corporation’s main henchman (McCallany) Trip and the monster, who he names Creech, become unlike comrades, with the creature acting as the engine for his rusty old truck. Both are being helped by Trip’s classmate and tutor Meredith (Levy), who has a secret crush on him.

The script was written by Derek Connolly and it is the first live action movie directed by Chris Wedge, regisseur of animations such as Ice Age and Robots. The plot is nothing out of the ordinary, it as a coming of age tale aimed at children and young adults rather than grown-ups, but it was fairly capably written and made for a good disposable flick. It contains the clichéd plot points every coming of age movie has: A rebellious teenager who feels misunderstood by the world but has a heart of gold, his secret admirer who tries to hide her crush on him, a goofy kid trying to be his best friend and a villain the rebel teen needs to defeat, to finally unlock his true potential and realise what he truly wants in life.

All of this is wrapped in a silly monster-comedy, and while it is competently written, there are movies out there that definitely did it a better job at it and added more heart and effort into the story. The comedy is silly and rather childish, meaning that at least for grown-ups won’t find it that funny, although, I don’t believe that teenagers or older kids will find it that humorous either.

Lucas Till plays Trip Coley who, as I just mentioned, is a troubled teenager who doesn’t seem to find his place in town. His parents are divorced and he is living with his mom, portrayed by Ryan and his stepdad Rick (Barry Pepper), who is the sheriff in town. There isn’t given a lot of screen time to his relationship with his mother, but he is very disrespectful to his stepdad for no reason. Rick seems like a good guy, if not a little weird and inane. Then there is Meredith, played by Jane Levy. She is obviously crazy in love with Trip for no good reason, because he treats her like garbage over half of the films runtime, thus giving the whole romance an unhealthy feeling.

Rob Lowe portrays the evil owner of the corporate oil company, his character doesn’t offer much else other than being a despicable person for evil’s sake. Holt McCallany depicts the head of some sort of mercenary group working for the corporation. This guy just maws people down front, left and right (or at least it looks like he does), simply for the fun. And finally, there is Thomas Lennon as the “evil” scientist, who works for Terravex.

Honestly said, all portrayals are all right and there isn’t really one I would call absolutely terrible, but there also isn’t true character development and all actors just seem to give their minimum best.

As far as the effects go, they are moderate at best. The creatures looked OK but were also very cartoonish and some of the action scenes with the trucks didn’t convince and simply looked fake. The filmmakers also overused the slow-mo effects to a point where it simply became annoying. The music made use of the pop songs that were popular with teenagers and younger kids during the time of shooting.

Verdict: All in all, Monster Trucks was all right but nothing special. The story was handled and developed somewhat efficiently, but it drops the ball when it comes to the characters, their development and their relationships. Most of the cast gave moderate performances, if not a little silly from time to time. It seemed as if the actors knew that they were signing up for a disposable popcorn flick and therefore didn’t give their best. The effects are tolerable but do not impress and the music is very clichéd for this type of film. In the end, this flick is just below average and I will give it a 4 out of 10.

Thank you for reading my review, and be aware that I will be catching up with all movies I watched in 2017.

Top Movies – Split Movie Review (Spoiler Free) – Movie Reviews Sites

An M. Night Shyamalan movie on January? Usually not a good sign but Split tells an interesting story of a man suffering from dissociative identity disorder.

Genre: Horror/Thriller

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Cast: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula, Brad William Henke, Izzie Coffey, Sebastian Arcelus, Neal Huff & Rosemary Howard.

Run Time: 117 min.

US Release: 20 January 2017

UK Release: 20 January 2017

German Release: 26 January 2017

I’ll be totally honest, this movie flew under my radar and I just heard of it late last year when the trailer premiered at the Arrival screening. The premise seemed interesting and James McAvoy looked great in the few shots I saw, so I stayed away from further information about the movie; wanting to experience it with no spoilers. I left the theatre rather disappointed after watching it, though. Once back home I read through some reviews and background info but couldn’t understand the positive critiques, so I watched it a second time last Friday, knowing the outcome of the story. I enjoyed it a little more but was still not blown away.

I am a big fan of the first movies of M. Night Shyamalan, like The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs. The Village was an OK but from there on he lost his touch and started directing less pleasing movies, my least favourite one being After Earth. However, since The Visit it seems that Shyamalan found his groove again and served us with a thrilling horror indie-flick. So I was naturally looking forward to seeing this psychological thriller.

Split revolves around Kevin (McAvoy), a person suffering from DID; in long term also known as dissociative identity disorder, and he has 23 personalities that are aware of each other. During the birthday party of teenager Claire (Richardson), one of his personalities living inside Kevin strikes her father down and kidnaps her and two friends (Taylor-Joy and Sula). When they awaken in a locked room without windows, the girls realise the predicament they are in and a race for time ensues, as a dangerous 24th personality is about to emerge from Kevin.

The story has a good sense of suspense, with an extremely tense climax and the horror aspect of the film plays out very well, with last act having me constantly on the edge of my seat. I thought that the topic of the plot was interesting, as it builds a psychological thriller around a mental disorder with the belief that these conditions don’t specifically need to break a human but rather add something to the psychic strength, and at times bodily toughness. Sadly it doesn’t delve all too deep into the matter, which was very disappointing to see. There is a short exposition scene where Betty Buckley explains to an audience what DID is and what she believes it can physically cause but that’s it, after that scene Shyamalan solely concentrates on building suspense and terror again.

The movie also focuses at times a little too much on two subplots that have a direct outcome to the end of the narrative. While I appreciated these side stories, I thought that they could have been cut down to a minimum because it does slow the film down. The twist at the very end felt like Shyamalan was trying to shoehorn in a different story that did not really fit the rest of the movie. That said, knowing the end does help to accept that scene. What I liked most about Split, though, is that it felt like one of the early M. Night Shyamalan thrillers.

James McAvoy was mind blowing as Kevin. It takes a lot for an actor to play two different characters in one picture let alone 23. McAvoy managed to display up to 7 different personalities of the 23 that inhabit Kevin’s body, with four of them making prominent appearances on screen and behaving differently. He was fully committed to the role he was given and the result was simply astonishing. Betty Buckley portrayed Psychologist Dr. Fletcher, who gave an alright performance but she did not always manage to convince me, as her character felt a little too cartoonish at times. Her chemistry with McAvoy is good; she is distant yet it feels like her persona cares for her patients and that made it really believable.

Anya Taylor-Joy played Casey and was once again phenomenal. She showed the world her talent when she performed in last year’s The Witch, but proves here that she really is an outstanding young actress. I am not going to say too much but her character is that of a troubled teen that went through a hard past. This gives her the ability to accept the situation she is in and perceiving it differently to her two friends. The worst characters were those represented by Haley Lu Richardson who depicts Claire and Jessica Sula as Marcia.

Mike Gioulakis was hired as director of photography and it paid off because the camera work is definitely the strongest part of Split. Shyamalan and Gioulakis used a technique that gave a very claustrophobic feel to the picture. The close-up shots inside the kidnappers place contrasted the wide angled sequences at Kevin’s therapy sessions and added to the feeling of claustrophobia. There are also shots from unique angles that looked fantastic and felt very experimental, while the superb lighting added to the sentiment of being trapped. The effects used were minimalistic but good and made for a more beautiful looking film.

The music was composed by West Dylan Thordson and reminded me as well of some of the old-school movies from Shyamalan. It wasn’t dominating but did add to the tension and mystery of the Kevin. I really appreciated Thordson’s soundtrack.

Verdict: On the first screening I left the cinema extremely disappointed, ready to give this film a six out of ten. After listening to the opinion of friends and reading through some of the reviews, I decided to give it a second try and was surprised that going in with a little more knowledge, somewhat elevated the quality of this thriller. It still has issues, especially story wise, and the ending twist felt somewhat forced yet it is easier to digest once you know what to expect. James McAvoy was phenomenal in his role and I believe him to be one of the most underrated actors of this generation. Anya Taylor-Joy was great as well; the combination of both actors turned this film into an enjoyable experience. The element that really stuck out, though, was the cinematography, which is fantastic! I was trying to absorb every little detail I saw on screen. In the end, I am going to give Split a 7 out of 10.

Leave a comment below and let me know what you thought of Split. It looks like Shyamalan is starting to get back into shape and I surely can’t wait for what he brings next to the big screen.