Non-Stop Review

Fun fact, I've never been on an airplane. Whenever I tell someone that, they act like I've never tied my own shoes or something. I've just never had to go on a flight before; I have been in airports though, and I despise them with all my heart and soul. If there is a hell, it looks like an airport. One thing I've noticed about the few times I've been in an airport is that they don't seem as safe as they say they are. The only real security is getting groped by the TSA before you board, other than that you're pretty free. If you really want to, I imagine it wouldn't be so difficult to sneak any sort of contraband onto a plane. This has been a hot topic over the past couple years, with the government desperately looking for a solution. But in case something does get onto the plane, the last true line of defense is the on board air marshal. So if any future criminals really want to try something, just hope Liam Neeson isn't on the same flight. 

"Non-Stop" follows an alcoholic, washed up air marshal named Bill Marks. It's just like any day; Bill is to board a flight from the States to England. A couple hours into the flight, Bill starts to receive some very troubling text messages. Someone claims that they will kill a passenger on the flight every twenty minutes unless 150 million dollars are transferred into a bank account. At first Bill doesn't know what to make of it, is this a real threat or is someone just messing with him. He alerts a few members of the crew as well as the TSA. The clock starts counting down and Bill gets rather intense, and quickly tries to figure out who is behind this. But as soon as the twenty minutes are up, someone does die; and Bill realizes how serious this threat is. He now has to figure out who is behind this plot, while at the same time trying to save as many lives as possible.

If you decide to see this movie, here is what I want you to do; go in with the lowest expectations possible. Realize you aren't seeing an Oscar winner or even an action movie alongside movies like "Taken" or "The Raid: Redemption." Now I'm not calling "Non-Stop" a bad movie but the lower your expectations are, the more you will like it; you also need to know that it's probably not what you're expecting it to be. This was advertised as an action film, while there are a few action sequences I would actually consider it more along the lines of a mystery movie. The main tension and conflict come from not knowing who the bad guy is, which I will admit keeps you interested throughout. The plot gets rather implausible at times, in a way where everything would have had to have been absolutely perfect for it to happen the way it did. I think that will be a lot of people's biggest problem with the movie, it's too unbelievable at times; but if you can manage to put your disbelief aside, you might be able to walk out of the theater satisfied. The film stars Liam Neeson, who is an extremely talented dramatic actor but over the past couple years has been known more as an action star. He's the only actor that gave a worth wild performance, the acting from the cast wasn't bad but was mediocre at best. Probably my biggest problem with the movie would be some of the pacing issues. There are a couple intense, action packed scenes; but in between them is a lot of off time that goes by very slowly. You really want to see who the bad guy is, but it's a drag to get to that point. Also, the movie gets a little preachy towards the end when talking about national security; it really breaks the flow of the movie. "Non-Stop" isn't a bad movie, I actually enjoyed it to a certain extent; but at the end of the day, I walked out of it thinking it was nothing special. It's nothing more than a popcorn flick to be honest, and that's all right. It's a fun movie to see if you go with a couple of friends and don't take it too seriously. While there are still movies in the theater that I would recommend above this one, you can certainly do worse than "Non-Stop." 

Pros: Good performance by Liam Neeson, some cool action sequences, several intense moments, always keeps you guessing who the bad guy is. 

Cons: Rather implausible plot, mediocre acting from most of the cast, gets boring between action scenes, a little preachy towards the end. 

2.5/5 Stars

House of Cards Season 2 Review

Warning: This review contains major spoilers from season one.

I don't think there was a single show last year that impressed me as much as "House of Cards" did. "House of Cards" is the third original program made by Netflix and premiered last year to critical acclaim; it even became the first online web television series to receive an Emmy nomination for outstanding drama series. But what it really did along with "Orange is the New Black" and "Arrested Development" was solidifying Netflix's place as one of the best original programming distributors in the business. "House of Cards" is a political drama, and possibly the best political drama since "The West Wing." The series follows Frank Underwood, a brilliant and vindictive politician. Frank backed the democratic candidate in the 2012 presidential election, and played a serious part in his win. For his part in the election, Frank was promised the secretary of state position but was cheated by the president elect at the last moment. As you could imagine Frank was not so happy, so he uses his position as house majority whip to put his game plan into play. After scheming for months his plan has come to fruition, he is offered the vice presidential position. Season 2 picks up directly after the end of season 1. Frank is about to be sworn in as VP and become one of the most powerful men in the US government; unfortunately Frank has made a dangerous enemy, a multi-billionaire named Raymond Tusk who acts as a private adviser for the president. Frank is a power hungry man; his only real concern is maintaining or improving his position. Tusk is a business man with ties to China; his only real concern is making more money. He uses back channels to do shady dealings with Chinese businesses and his connections to the president to further his status. Now the problem is that Tusk is not a big fan of Frank, and is more than willing to bury him. So not only does Frank have to deal with scandals and the usual bureaucratic bullsh*t, he now has to deal with Tusk. "House of Cards" was one of my favorite shows of last year, and I actually named it as the third best movie of the year; it was a show that just caught me off guard. Going into season two, I wasn't sure what to expect. Depending on how you've liked the show thus far, you will either love or hate season two; because at the end of the day, it's more or less the same as season one. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, I loved season one and I loved this one as well. Everything that was great stays great, and they even managed to add some more drama and always keeps you guessing what's going to happen next. My main problem with this season along with the last one is that so much stuff happens, and each episode has its own individual story, the underlying plot of the season can get lost. At times, it can even be difficult to remember what is happening. Everything else about the show is great; the acting, cinematography, writing, characters, and the shows ambition are matched by very shows right now. I wouldn't say season two is quite as good as the first, but it still manages to be one of the best series you can put your time into. 

RoboCop Review

The remake is one of the most controversial aspects of the film industry. Certain movies are sacred to certain people, and some movies aren't to be remade. In 1987 the world was greeted with what would become an 80's icon, "RoboCop." The movie quickly became one of the most beloved action movies ever due to its over the top action and awesome sci-fi elements. So a couple years ago when it was announced that a remake was in the works, many viewed it as sacrilegious. The reason so many were outraged was because this was a movie people grew up on, kids and teens watched it on bootleg VHS tapes without their parents’ permission. This was a movie that defined their childhood and remaking is a crime against humanity. I didn't see the movie until about three years ago so it never really bothered me and was open to the idea. Well after watching the remake I can say with complete certainty; while it doesn't match the original, it does manage to stand on its own as an action movie. "RoboCop" takes place several years in the future, where robots and drones have all but replaced the use of soldiers around the world. Omnicorp has monopolized this industry, but due to a law they can't have the machines on US soil; so Omnicorp has come up with the idea to put a man inside of a machine to side step the law. At this same time, a cop named Alex Murphy and his partner are on the trail of the biggest illegal arms dealer in the city. They attempt to trick him in to selling them guns but they get ambushed and Alex's partner gets shot. Not long afterwards, Alex is a victim of a car bomb from the dealer’s organization. Alex's wife reluctantly agrees to let Omnicorp save him by putting him in a mechanical suit. Months later, Alex wakes up from his incident only to see what damage was done to him. While it's hard to accept at first, Alex embraces his situation and learns to use his new abilities (given to him by the suit) to his advantage. He soon makes it back to Detroit to fulfill his new role as the city defender, and he truly becomes RoboCop. I'll admit I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. By no means is it the best movie ever (or even this year), but it's decent. As an action movie, it works very well. There are several very cool action sequences throughout the film that are quite a lot of fun. The original film gained a lot of attention for being so over the top and violent, there was quite a bit of blood and guts. This movie is pg-13, which may upset some people. If it's any consolation, I would say it's a strong pg-13. The way the action sequences are shot could have been made into an R movie; they just took out the blood. One of my biggest concerns with the movie was the special effects since the original is known for its amazing practical effects. I knew this one was going to be very CGI heavy, so it needed to be good or the whole thing would be ruined. Fortunately the CGI is pretty good for a most part, but there are a few times though where it's not up to snuff. The acting in the movie is decent for the most part; no one does a bad job so I can't complain. While the actors do a fine job, some of the characters (especially the villains) are somewhat cookie-cutter. They also try and make some of the characters more dramatic and emotional than need be. The original is one of the definitive 80's action movies, not a soap opera. I will say Samuel L. Jackson, who plays the host on a news show, does a great job and is easily the best character in the movie. There were two major problems I had with the movie, the first being that it takes too long to pick up speed. The movie starts out pretty quickly with an action scene, but loses steam for a while. The other problem that really plagued this movie was that it just lacked the charm of the original. The original is something special, it has become an icon of 80's pop culture; while it tries, this one just doesn't have the same soul. I didn't hate this movie; I actually like it more than I thought I would. On its own it works as a fun action movie, the problem is that it can’t get out of the shadow of the original. If you haven't seen the original, I'm sure you will enjoy this movie; but if you are a hardcore fan of the original, you might not like it and can see better movie in the box office right now. At the end of the day I didn't hate it so I can't say it's bad, what I can say is that the new "RoboCop" is only alright. 

Pros: Several cool action sequences, good CGI for the most part, decent acting from the cast, great performance by Samuel L. Jackson, overall fun action movie.

Cons: Takes a little too long to pick up speed, cookie-cutter villains, some CGI isn't up to snuff, tries too hard to be emotional, some might be upset by the movie being pg-13, lacks charm of the original.

3/5 Stars

The Lego Movie Review

Whenever I see a trailer for an upcoming movie, I always predict what it will be like in my head; whether it be good or bad. For the most part, I'm often right. I know I shouldn't make a judgement call about a movie based solely off a trailer but it just happens. When I saw the trailer for "The Lego Movie" for the first time, I didn't give it a second thought. It looked like a half assed animated movie meant only to put kids in the seat who would drag their parents to the cinema with them, it looked like a cash grab. So going into the movie I wasn't sure what to expect, and I'll say I didn't expect what I got. "The Lego Movie" revolves around a construction worker named Emmet, who is the most plain and uninteresting individual ever. One day while working on a job he comes upon something he's never seen before, a piece like no other Lego he's ever seen. After coming into contact with he has some sort of vision and then blacks out, he wakes up inside a police station be interrogated by someone named bad cop with the piece stuck to his back; soon after he is saved by a young woman named Wild Style. She explains that what he found was the piece de resistance, a legendary piece and the only known weakness for a super weapon known as the kragel. It turns out Emmit is part of a prophecy and is known as the special, so it is up to him and a group of master builders to stop the kragel and save the world. I'm a big enough man to admit when I'm wrong; I thought this was going to be a mediocre animated film, turns out the "The Lego Movie" is absolutely fantastic. This is one of the most original and unique movies I've seen in quite a while. Like I said earlier, I thought this would be a fairly half assed movie. In reality this is brilliantly written film with nonstop jokes and some surprisingly sincere moments. The animation style is beautiful and one of a kind, the animation is made up of CGI but is made up to look like stop motion. It's very cool and suits the movie, but I found it to be jarring to watch for a while and took some time to get used to. In a movie like this you would expect to just have any average voice actors, but what they did was get an all star cast filled with some A-list actors to do the voices and they are great. The movie is filled with tons of references from a number of other films and brings forth this sort of nostalgic feeling. This is a movie very much made for kids, but it's also a movie that the whole family will enjoy; so when the kids drag their parents to this movie, at least everyone will have a good time. Unfortunately as much as the movie does right, it does have its short comings. While it's a very funny movie, some of the jokes (especially early on) do fall flat. Probably my biggest complaints would involve the ending; at only an hour and 40 minutes the movie isn't very long, but by the end it does drag on some. Also the movie ends rather suddenly, it has what seems like an appropriate ending then drops one last joke in you lap that doesn't seem to fit. Those small complaints aside, this movie surprised me. "The Lego Movie" is fantastic and I loved it from start to finish, if you're going to the theater anytime soon this is the movie to see. I'd rank it among some of the best animated films of the past couple years, and I would be shocked if it didn't get a nomination for best animated feature at next year's Oscars.

Pros: Beautiful and unique animation, great voice acting, laugh a minute comedy, brilliant screenplay, tons of awesome references, surprisingly touching, nostalgic feeling, great family fun.
Cons: Some jokes fall flat, animation takes some time to get used to, drags on a little bit, ends somewhat suddenly.

4/5 Stars