In a World... Review

The film industry is a very male dominated profession, that's a fact. Directors, producers, writers, and the highest paid actors are primarily men. It wasn't until 2009 that a woman won best director. Really there are only a few women who really stand out in the industry, which is a shame really. But of all the lines of work in the film industry that is almost completely dominated by men is voice-over work. Besides infomercials and feminine products, I really can't think of any other female voice-over work. Fortunately we have Lake Bell to challenge the industry with her directorial debut. "In a World" is written, directed, and stars actress Lake Bell, and is about a struggling 30 something voice coach named Carol who has always been in the shadow of her father who is one of the most well known voice-over workers in the business. She herself has always wanted to do voice-over work, but the industry as well as her father have expressed that there isn't any need for women in the industry. While at the recording studio to help out an actress with an English accent, she is asked to do the voice for a movie trailer after the original worker didn't show up. Turns out that the movie executives loved her and decides to use her recording. Not long after she gets a few more gigs for trailers and commercials. One day she hears that there's a new film in the works based off a huge book series, and the executive producer is looking at her for the trailer voice. If she can land this role it would be by far the biggest move of her career, but to get it she has to beat the best in the business. When I first saw the trailer I was very skeptical, I wasn't overly interested. But once the reviews started coming in, I decided to give it a chance. And I'll go ahead and admit it, I was wrong; this movie is great. Lake Bell's directorial debut is one of the best in recent memory. I've always loved these quirky comedies; it's very reminiscent of a movie that came out earlier this year "The Way, Way Back." Lake Bell does a fantastic job in every aspect of this movie; her directing, writing, and acting are great. While every actor does a good job, she really stands out and gives one of the best performances from a leading actress I've seen this year. One thing that is always nice to see in a comedy is actual comedy, fortunately In a World is one of the funniest movies of the year; it had me laughing throughout the entire run time. But above all else the thing I most like the most is that Lake Bell really gives a voice to women. It's very respectful and is one of the few movies that really endorse girl power that isn't annoying at the same time. My biggest problem with the movie is that the movie ends kind of suddenly and feels a scene or two short of being truly fulfilling. In A World has been one of my favorite movies of the year, plain and simple. It's funny and heartfelt and an all around good time. It's only playing in limited release so if it's available in your area I highly recommend it, and I promise you won't be disappointed. 

4/5 Stars

The World's End Review

A trilogy is a hard thing to make, because a truly great trilogy requires a certain level of consistency. You look at something like the Terminator trilogy, the first two movies are great but the third is terrible. Trilogies always seem to mess up on the final installment. Well all I can say The World's End is a fitting end to a pretty awesome trilogy. The World's End is the final installment in the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, with the two previous films being Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. The story is about a group of five childhood friends: Peter, Oliver, Simon, Andrew, and the leader Gary. Back in the day Gary was the man, he thought he could be young forever. On the last day of school the group decides to compete in the golden mile, a twelve bar pub crawl concluding with the World's End. The group got to the ninth bar but had to call it quiets. Years later everyone has moved on and become upstanding members of society, except Gary. One day Gary gets the idea that his destiny is to finish the golden mile, so he manages to get the gang back together and they go for it. The team heads out and starts the mile, but they quickly realize something is wrong; no one seems to recognize them, and everything seems whitewashed. At first they just think that it's just because they themselves have changed so much, but in fact the town has been invaded by aliens. So the crew has to get out of the town alive, figure out why this is all happening, and finally finish the golden mile. I'll say it right off the bat, this is the funniest movie of the year. The previous movies Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz have become cult classics in their own time, and this movie lives up to their high standards. The movie is fast paced; the writing, the camera, if you look away for one second you could miss something; it's never boring. I loved the characters and all the actors do a great job portraying them. My only criticism of the movie would be that I don't think the ending quite matches the tone of the rest of the movie. I loved The World's End; it's become one of my favorite movies of the year. I'd say it's a little better than Hot Fuzz but not quite as good as Shaun of the Dead. So if you're looking for a good comedy film to see with some, The World's End is your best option.

4.5/5 Stars

Saints Row IV Review

I remember many years ago, video games were considered by a lot of people to be a fad and were meant for little kids. Now, video games make more money than any other form of media and have since been called an art form. I attribute this to the fact that games have matured a lot over the years. While there were several serious games back in the day we seem to have more now than we did then. For example two of the biggest games this year have been The Last of Us and Bioshock Infinite, very mature and very serious games that received acclaim and have been called modern day masterpieces. All I can say about Saints Row IV is that it's not a mature and serious game. No matter how I spin it, SR4 will sound stupid. You play the leader of the Third Street Saints, a once small time gang turned cultural icon. Somehow you end up becoming the president of the United States, and during the begging of your second term Earth gets invaded by aliens. You are then abducted and placed into a virtual reality simulator, after a while one of your closest friends who is a hacker helps you enter and leave the simulation at will. You plan on taking over the simulation to release everyone else trapped in it, and to help that you get super powers. This game is stupid, very stupid. There's no other way to put it. What the Naked Gun is to movies, Saints Row IV is to video games. It doesn't take its self serious in any way possible. The most obvious form of its stupidity would be the insane yet hilarious story. The whole virtual reality thing is just an excuse to give you super powers, which I will admit are really f*cking awesome. A problem that a lot of people have with open world games like Saints Row would be traversing around the map. Usually your only two options would be fast travel or driving/walking around the map. The problem is fast travel is that its quick but you miss everything in between where you’re traveling, and getting there by car takes too long. But your powers in Saints Row IV allow you run as fast as the game can render and jump over buildings with a single jump, traveling from point A to point B is fun and fast. One thing that disappointed me about the previous game Saints Row the Third was the weapon selection. There were a couple classes of weapons and each one had only like three choices and could only be upgraded three or four times. In Saints Row IV there are about the same number of weapons but they are much more customizable and can be upgraded in several categories. There are also more interesting weapons, for example there is a gun that shoots dubstep. I don't know how that's a thing but it's awesome, one of my gaming highlights of the year has been killing aliens with dubstep. Another fun aspect of the game are the number of cultural references there are. The whole virtual reality thing is a throwback to the Matrix. They even make fun of Mass Effect and its whole "romance" structure. And its stuff like that that made me laugh on more than one occasion. There's one real major problem with this game that has bothered and disappointed me since I started playing it, the graphics are terrible. To be honest, they're actually worse than the previous game that came out two years ago. It's 2013; graphics like this should be a thing of the past. The other problem I have with the game is that I don't actually think it's as fun as the previous game, Saints Row the Third was such a surprise and a complete overhaul of the series. The franchise turned from a GTA clone into an original and enjoyable game. Saints Row IV is still a great time but didn't have the same shock and awe like the last game. One of my biggest concerns about Saints Row IV was that it was going to be more of a glorified expansion than a whole new game. Originally it was based off of a DLC pack for Saints Row the Third. While the game is similar, I can assure you that it is a new game and not a rehashing of the last one. I loved Saints Row IV, it's the most fun I've had playing a game this year. While I love that video games have come so far and are considered a serious art form, it's still cool to see some ridiculous games every once in a while. While it doesn't quite live up to its predecessor, Saints Row IV is one of the most enjoyable games released this year. 

4/5 Stars 

Kick-Ass 2 Review

Every night I turn on my computer and see what's happening in the world, usually it's not good news. You see stories of murder, rape, kidnapping, and more; it makes you wonder what happened to make the world what it is. Honestly, sometimes I want to go fix the problems myself. Put on a mask and go fight crimes, just try and help make the world a better place. Unfortunately this isn't a comic book, in real life you try something like that and you're going to end up with a bullet in your head. But I always wondered what would happen if there were real life super heroes, well Kick-Ass explains what would happen. The story of Kick-Ass revolves around a high school kid named Dave, who in the previous movie was hit by a car which kill damaged a lot of his nerves giving him a high pain tolerance. Eventually he put on the costume and starting fighting crime alongside two other vigilantes, Hit Girl and Big Daddy. The events of this movie take place a while after the first, Kick-Ass (Dave) isn't sure what direction his life is heading and Hit Girl is starting high school and is struggling to live an average teenage life. Kick-Ass decides the best thing he can do would continue being a super hero, so with the help of Hit Girl he trains every day. While all this is going on, the first true super villain is hatching a plan. A young man named Chis decides to seek revenge on Kick-Ass for killing his father in a previous movie. Formerly known as Red Mist, Chris dawns a new cape and dubs himself the Mother F*cker (I'm not even joking, that's what he calls himself). He decides the only way to kill Kick-Ass is to get as much help as he can, so he decides to start an evil villain team. Not knowing he's in danger, Kick-Ass joins a team of his own made up of average people looking to be heroes. They mostly do community service and set out to help people, but they bust some skull occasionally. So Kick-Ass and his team gear up for the fight of their lives, because the Mother F*cker is coming from him and he wants revenge. I really liked the first Kick-Ass, it was a big surprise. I thought it was going to be terrible from watching the trailers but it turned out to be one of my favorite movies of the year. And I'll go ahead and say it; Kick-Ass 2 is not as good as the original. It didn't feel as original and didn't have the heart that the first one did; but I still really enjoyed this movie. Probably my favorite aspects of the movie would the characters and the actors portraying them, they did a great job. I felt every actor give it their all, no one phoned it in. But of everyone, Chloe Grace Moretz (Hit Girl) steals the show. She's awesome as Hit Girl, if there's a single reason to go see this movie it would be her. Like the previous movie Kick-Ass 2 is funny, it made me laugh on a couple occasions. I'd also like to mention that the movie does earn its R rating; there's a lot of violence, swearing, and sexual content. When I was at the theater they even carded me twice, once when I bought the ticket and another time when they rip the ticket and half and point you to the room. This is a fun movie; it's somewhat dark while not taking itself too seriously. While it doesn't quiet live up to the original, it's still a very enjoyable and fun superhero movie. 

3.5/5 Stars

The Act of Killing Review

"War crimes are defined by the winners," this statement is sad but true. Last year I was interviewed by my school's newspaper about my opinions on the 2012 presidential election. I talked about my thoughts on the youth vote, what I wish to see in the next four years, and what I thought of the candidates. I don't remember what I said but I do remember being critical on both sides, what more so than the rest was what I thought of the United States drone strikes in Pakistan. Personally, I think it's a travesty. That our government will sign off on attacks that will kill dozens of civilians in the hopes of killing one or two hostiles. There have been hundreds of these attacks resulting in the deaths of up to 1000 civilians. War crimes are defined as "An action carried out during the conduct of war that violates accepted international rules of war," such as killing unarmed civilians that are not members of the military. You know why America can do this? Because no one is going to challenge America and accuse us of war crimes. We "won" the war in the Middle East, now we get to make the rules; and that's what happened in The Act of Killing. In 1965, the Indonesian government was overthrown by the military. Anyone that opposed the military were labeled as communists. In less than a year with direct support from western governments, over one million "communists" were killed. The army used gangsters and paramilitary organizations to carry out the genocide. To this day, the people that overthrew the government and assisted in the killings still hold much of the power in the government. The film revolves around an old man named Anwar Congo, who lead one of the most notorious death squads during this time; Anwar himself killed approximately 1000 people. When you look at this man you see a happy go lucky grandfather. He likes to party, play golf, hang with friends, and is even treated like a national hero. You look at him, you don't think he's a mass murder. The worst part about it, he's proud of what he did and boasts about it. The documentarians following Anwar and some other gangsters give them a challenge, they want them to recreate their memories of these killings. They give them sets, props, make-up, and actors to play the victims. They even ask some of the gangsters to play the victims. This movie is something special, nothing like it has been released during my lifetime. The closest comparison I can think of would be the 1985 documentary Shoah, but the thing is The Act of Killing is the exact opposite of Shoah. While Shoah is about the victims that survived the holocaust, and the stories they tell of the horrors that were acted on them. The Act of Killing is about executioners as they tell their stories and the horrible ways they killed their victims. This is a disturbing movie, listening to these gangsters talk makes you feel sick to your stomach. They almost get a sick pleasure out of it, like they're reliving the glory days. Although there is a gangster who does a lot of cross dressing for some reason and he's pretty funny. You hear them tell stories in graphic detail on how they killed people, and the feeling is hard to explain. You hear stories of how people die in the holocaust and other events like that, but it's something different to hear them from the perpetrators. If I had to chose one word to describe this movie, it would be surreal. It's hard to describe unless you actually watch it. This movie is something else, it's a documentary that we get once a generation. The only criticism I have of it would be that it is unnecessarily long, they could have cut out about half an hour to forty minutes of footage. This is an important movie that everyone needs to see. This is one of those movies that makes you happy to have the life you have, because you realize how lucky you are. There hasn't been a movie like this released in my lifetime and I doubt another one will be.

5/5 Stars

Elysium Review

In 2009 the entire film world came to a stop and stood in awe with the release of the year’s biggest surprise, District 9. A unknown South African director named Neill Blomkamp, who up to that point was known more as a 3D animator and for making short films, burst onto the scene with a highly ambitious sci-fi thriller that had quite a bit of CGI and was filmed on only a 30 million dollar budget. CGI is expensive, especially good CGI. And the fact that he wanted to make a film that revolves around CGI for such a small amount of money was audacious to say the least. And to everyone's surprise the movie was great, it was generally considered one of the best of the year. Not just the story telling, but the incredible visuals and cinematography. It might have won both of those categories at the Oscar's if it wasn't for Avatar. With his follow up film Elysium, Blomkamp shows that he isn't just a one hit wonder; but one of the new faces of a revived sci-fi genre. The movie takes place about 140 years in the future where society is divided. 99% of the population lives in poverty on a decimated earth, where desertification has over taken much of the planet and most of the resources have been used up as well. A very small percent of the population consisting mostly of the extremely wealthy have decided to leave earth and live on a space station orbiting Earth called Elysium. Elysium is a paradise: plenty of food and water, big houses, and most importantly the access to advanced medicine. The story follows a troubled man named Max who has had several run-ins with the law and has recently been put on parole. He's just trying to live an average life; he's even working at a robotics factory. One day there's an accident at his work leaving him severely sick with only days left to live. Max becomes desperate and reaches to some old friends; one of which being a man named Spider. Spider runs an illegal smuggling operation dedicated to sending people up to Elysium in the hopes that they can receive medical treatment, for a price of course; a ticket isn't cheap by any stretch of the imagination. Max promises that he will do anything to get up to Elysium, so he agrees to do a job for Spider. In the future we've discovered a type of technology that acts as a USB for the brain. All Max has to do is find an Elysium big wig living on Earth and download whatever is in his head. The problem is Max can barely stand up due to his illness, so Spider gives him something to help. He fuses a military grade exoskeleton to max that acts as a brace and gives him incredible strength. So Max and his team pull the job and get the info from a big time CEO. But something goes wrong, almost immediately a specialized team of Elysium soldiers show up to try and take them out. When Max ultimately gets back to Spider and they take a look at what he got, and what he did makes him the most wanted man in the universe. This was one of my most anticipated movies of the year, I thought District 9 was great and had faith in the director; fortunately I was not disappointed. I loved this movie, probably one of my favorite of the year. The most impressive aspect of the film would be the visuals, they're gorgeous. The CGI and cinematography are beautiful; Neill Blomkamp just has a way with the camera and always seems to know where to place. And as someone who has worked as a 3D artist he just knows how to make the CGI look great. The acting in the movie is good; I felt that stars Matt Damon and Jodie Foster did a good job in their roles, but to be honest I could see other people playing their parts and do just as well. If anyone, co-star Sharlto Copley stole the show. He played the main antagonist, Kruger; he was awesome. Blomkamp has been known for putting political messages in his work; such as apartheid in District 9, and Elysium is no different. So viewers should be ready for that going into the movie. The only problem I really have the movie is that I felt there were some pacing issues. You'll have several moments of pure excitement then a while of filler. One thing I have to address would be the political messages; many have criticized the film for its liberal views as well being very critical of the 1% and how the health care system favors them over the poor. Personally the messages didn't bother me (mostly because I agree with them at least on some level), and I didn't feel like they were coming on to strong anyway. This is a great movie, I absolutely loved it. I know a lot have been people have been bashing on it and been giving it negative reviews, but I really believe that this is an incredibly well done and exciting movie. If you're a fan of sci-fi, it's definitely worth the watch. Neill Blomkamp puts a lot of passion into his work and it shows, and I honestly believe that in a few years he will be one of the biggest and most well known directors in the business. 

4/5 Stars

Orange Is the New Black Season One Review

Orange is the New Black is a new original series from Netflix; it was released a couple weeks back and I heard good things about it, but I ended up missing it. Now I kind of wish I saw earlier. OITNB is a comedic drama on the borderline of satire about a 30 something year old woman, named Piper, who is serving a 15 month sentence in a federal penitentiary for something that happened in her early twenties. A few years out of college in an "exploratory" stage, she starts to date another young woman named Alex. They go out for a while before Piper learns that Alex is actually at the center of a drug smuggling ring (Alex actually told her the first time they met but Piper thought she was joking). While worried at first she ultimately comes to accept it, after a while Alex even convinces her to help out. Piper ends up smuggling a suitcase filled with money through customs at an airport. Eventually Piper and Alex break up and they move on. Years later Piper has it all together: she gets engaged, she opens up a business with her best friend, everything she could want. But one day a the drug ring she smuggled for gets busted, and someone drops her named. Two years from the statute of limitations runs out, she gets convicted of criminal conspiracy. Piper lived a sheltered life; she doesn't seem to be cut out for prison. Obviously she doesn't have a choice in the situation so she tries to make do. When she gets in she doesn't really know how to cope, on top of that she doesn't have many friends and is about an inch away from a total mental breakdown. Slowly but surely she does start to manage, she learns the best thing to do is to try and keep her head down and not piss anyone off. Although she comes close to losing it once she finds out Alex is locked up in the same prison. 15 months from freedom, all she has to do is survive. When I first saw the trailer for the show I was unimpressed, it looked boring honestly. But I'll admit it, I was wrong; this is a really good show. Netflix has impressed me so far with their exclusives. While shows like Hemlock Grove might not be overly impressive, there are shows like Arrested Development that made a great comeback and House of Cards which I currently rank as the third best show of 2013. Now Orange is the New Black, Netflix is becoming a powerhouse in original programming. The show is original to say the least; we've seen prison shows before but never through the eyes of a woman. The writing in the show is great; it's a strange mix of comedic uplift and depressing reality. There's a wide array of characters in the show: long time inmates that run the show, meth head Jesus lovers, passive aggressive lesbians, and many more. This may have become my new favorite show; it's a very pleasant surprise with a lot of passion put into it. If you're considering watching it I should warn you it's not PG by any standards. There's a lot of swearing, sexual content, and nudity. If you can get past that, this is a fantastic show. It shows that Netflix is really putting stock into original programming. And it's already been confirmed, Orange is the New Black has been renewed for a second season. I have no doubt in my mind that this will become one of Netflix's most popular series and will be very successful.

2 Guns Review

It's weird but you can always tell the difference between an August movie and a July movie. July movies are big and over the top since it's the middle of summer, studios always like to put out a movie that is meant to get your blood pumping. August movies are usually of a smaller scale, they still want action but they don't want a 100 million dollar budget. I usually prefer the July movies because if they're gonna go for it I want to see them go all the way. It doesn't always work, but I felt that 2 Guns could have been a little bit more over the top. 2 Guns follows the story of Bobby Trench and Marcus Stigman, two guys who are deep in it with a Mexican drug cartel. After getting screwed over by a king pen, Marcus has the idea to rob a bank that they know the cartel uses. So the two pull the job and everything goes off without a hitch, the problem is that they were originally expecting to only get a few million; what they ended up doing was stealing about 40 million. After they get away and drive into the desert to admire their work, it's discovered that Bobby is actually undercover DEA. When Marcus finds out he shoots him in the arm, takes the money, and leaves Bobby there. Shortly after we find out Marcus was working with NCIS in an attempt to steal the money from the cartel. Nothing can be traced back the Navy, so Marcus was supposed to kill Bobby. When his commanding officer finds out that Marcus didn't kill him, they attempt to arrest Marcus and take him out; Marcus escapes and plans on getting his name cleared. Marcus and Bobby meet up later (not exactly trusting each other) and learn that not only is the Navy and the Cartel are after them, but some third party as well. And all that money they stole actually belongs to them. Now that the two of them are wanted men, their only option is to get the money and give it to the people who are least likely to kill them; unfortunately the money has been moved and they have no idea where to. So Bobby and Marcus set out to find the money, who it belongs, and how they're going to get out alive. Before I start to criticize the movie I want to say what it did right, the actors did a great job. Stars Denzel Washington (Bobby) and Mark Wahlberg (Marcus) along with co-star Bill Paxton are perfect in their roles. Just the chemistry between Denzel and Mark is great. The characters are likable as well, especially Marcus; he acts as the comic relief and is a badass as well. Now that I've said what I liked, I will now go on to say what I thought was wrong with it; 2 Guns is just so unremarkably average. This would be a really good made for TV movie, but I can't justify spending ten bucks to see it in the theater. The writing isn't overly good, other than a couple funny lines it's not special. For some reason there they put in an unnecessary amount of plot twists, I feel like they the writers wanted to try and keep our attention but really it was just kind of annoying after a while. By the end the whole thing just feels convoluted. And at times the movie just felt boring, I was tired going into the movie and I had to force myself to stay awake. They also put in a love story that had no heat and felt tacked on. 2 Guns isn't special, it feels like a movie that should have come out in February and not at the end of summer. If you're going to see a movie this weekend I can't recommend this one. If you want something worth action, go see the Wolverine; if you want something really good, go see Fruitvale Station. I would like to say that there seems to be a lot of people that liked this movie, if you were interested in seeing it go ahead. But for me, I'm not going to remember it in a week. The only thing that made watching this worth wild was getting to see the trailer for David O. Russell's new movie American Hustler, which looks awesome (go find it on YouTube).

2/5 Stars