The Way, Way Back Review

I've noticed over the last couple of years that the heartfelt yet quirky coming of age comedies have become their own genre. The first time we saw one of these movies truly flourish was with the box office surprise "Little Miss Sunshine." It made a hell of a lot of money as well as praise from critics, it even won the Oscar for best original screenplay as well as best supporting actor for Alan Arkin. The next year we saw "Juno" which also made an unexpected amount of money as well as appearing on dozens of top ten lists. Famed film critic Roger Ebert even picked it as his top movie of the year, beating out best picture winner "No Country for Old Men." And like Little Miss Sunshine, Juno also won best original screenplay. And it’s movies like those that give studios the confidence in funding these small independent films. And from the study that brought us Little Miss Sunshine and Juno, we get "The Way, Way Back." The movie stars an awkward and shy kid named Duncan who is going on vacation with his mother to her boyfriend’s beach house. Now his mom's boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell) is nothing short of an asshole. He's just kind of a jerk to Duncan for no reason. When they all arrive they all meet Duncan's friends. One of which he has had a couple of flings with. Duncan is miserable, he wanted to spend the summer with his dad but he is getting situated at his new home in San Francisco. Duncan doesn't know anyone and has nothing to do, so he spends most of his time biking around the town. While at a pizzeria he comes upon Owen, the manager at a nearby water park. He's a little weird but is a good guy and takes Duncan under his wing. He decides to give Duncan a part time job at the water park which makes him happier than anything else in the town. From there he starts to build confidence, and even makes friends with a local girl. Duncan feels like no one ever cares about what he wants, and he's right. But the job at the water park gives him a little control, now all he has to do is ride out the summer until he can make it back home. But by the end of his trip, he's not sure if he even wants to leave. The best word I can use to describe this movie is touching, you can't help but feel bad for this kid who's been thrown into this really sh*tty situation. Ever actor gives a great performance, there is no weak link. I would especially like to commend Steve Carell, for the longest time he's been type cast as the lovable idiot but he does a fantastic job as a jerk. He might be looking at a best supporting actor nomination for this. The screenplay for the movie is quite good; like Juno and Little Miss Sunshine this has a chance at an Oscar nomination, maybe even a win. This is a really good movie; it's just shy of greatness. I don't believe it's as good as Juno or LMS but it gives a valiant effort to match them. If you like quirky movies like this, The Way, Way Back is right down your alley. It's certainly one of the most enjoyable movies of the year.   

4/5 Stars

Pacific Rim Review

I'm a simple man: I like movies, TV, video games, and looking for funny pictures of cats online. I don't need every movie to be a masterpiece or a tour de force, I just want to see a giant robot hit a giant monster in the face with an oil tanker. Fortunately Pacific Rim delivers on that and then some. Pacific Rim takes place several years in the future where a war has broken out between man and monsters. Some sort of multi-dimensional rift has opened up at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean where giant creatures called Kaiju's (Japanese for monster) are passing through and destroying coastline cities. They were unstoppable, so all the world governments come together and developed weapons called Jaeger's (German for hunter). They are our only defense and work for a while, but things kept getting worse. More and bigger Kaiju start coming through the rift and the Jaeger's are no longer enough. After several years and losing most of the Jaeger's, the officials in charge decommission the program leaving only four of the robots active. The leader of the program, Stacker, has come up with a plan to end this once and for all. He calls in an ex Jaeger pilot for support on the mission. Mankind is losing this fight, and this plan really is their last hope. If it doesn't work, the Kaiju’s will tear the planet apart piece by piece. Let me start off with the problems I had with Pacific Rim. We've seen the story a hundred times, the world is ending and mankind puts forth one last effort to survive. The writing isn't great either, I've seen worse but wasn't impressed. In the movie two important roles in the movie involve some scientists, they were kind of cartoony and over the top. I also found the main character kind of flat, I don't think the actors did a bad job it's just his character wasn't very interesting. Now let's talk about what this movie did right, which is just about everything else. Visually, Pacific Rim is one of the most impressive looking movies I've ever seen. I'd put it on the level of Avatar and Life of Pi. The 3D is looks outstanding, probably some of the best ever put into a movie. It's one of the few instances where 3D actually adds to the movie. Now the reason that every single person will pay money to see this movie is for the fights, and they are like nothing you've ever seen in a movie. The scale of these fights is astonishing. A lot have people have compared Pacific Rim to Transformers, that's like comparing The Dark Knight to Batman and Robin. In Transformers the fights are super fast where the robots are doing flips and you have no idea what's going on and it's all in your face. In Pacific Rim the robots are big and powerful, but slow. They move how you'd imagine a robot the size of a skyscraper would move. And every time a punch lands it's like you can feel the impact. One of the most incredible aspects of the movie is the unimaginable scale. It's hard to get a since of just how big it is without seeing it for yourself. The most accurate thing I could compare it to would be the video game "Shadow of the Colossus." Everything is of unparalleled size, move with relative speed, and hits like a freight train moving at 1000 miles an hour. Watching this movie made me feel like a ten year old again, this is what I wanted Mobile Gundam to be like. You have to take Pacific Rim with a grain of salt. The movie is less serious than some of the directors other works and is kind of silly, but it's a hell of a lot of fun. Pacific Rim is the definition of a summer popcorn blockbuster; and this is the most fun you will have at the theater this summer. So go grabs some friends and go see it in imax (it's worth the extra couple bucks).

4/5 Stars

Despicable Me 2 Review

Animated movies are a funny thing, for so long Pixar ruled the game and set such a high standard after Disney started to lose their touch. But over the last couple years other studios stepped up and made some very good movies. One of the most commercially successful stand outs was the 2010 movie Despicable Me. The film was met with positive reviews from critics and has grown a following from many audiences (even my sister has told me it is her favorite animated movie). With such success a sequel was quickly asked for. It finally arrived and in my opinion is even better than the original. The movie follows an ex super villain named Gru, who in the previous movie adopted three girls for one of his plot's but has since retired and become a devoted family man. One day he is abducted by the Anti Villain League, who spends their time fighting crime on a global scale. They need his help to catch someone who stole a chemical formula that causes who ever  is injected with it to become aggressive and unstoppable. So they partner him up with an agent named Lucy and send them out to save the world. And in the process Gru and Lucy even start to develop feelings for each other. I loved this movie; it made me laugh on multiple occasions. I liked the characters, the movies sense of humor, and I loved the minions. The minions are probably the best part of the movie, they are hilarious. And I love the fact that they are actually making a movie revolving around the minions. One thing I always liked about Despicable Me was the family element, and this movie does a good job illustrating that that family is the number one thing for Gru. The movie had a lot of adult humor (stuff parents will get but the kids won't) which is always appreciated. A lot of times animated movies will pander to kids and leave the parents who brought them in pain. But this movie will have the parents laughing as well as the kids. Despicable Me 2 is a good movie, in my opinion the best animated movie to come out this year. If you liked the original you'll like this, and even if you didn't I'd still say give this one a shot. While it certainly isn't the greatest animated movie of all time it is a movie that kids and parents will enjoy and definitely worth the watch. 

4/5 Stars

Best Movies of the Half Year and Awards

Note: All of this is based on my personal opinion, and remember I haven't seen everything that has been released this year.

5. This is the End
I'll be the first to say I thought this movie was going to be terrible, when I first saw the trailer I said to myself "this looks dumb." And I held onto that thought as long as I could, but then the reviews starting coming in. I heard from many people that it was actually funny, I was in disbelief. So when a friend invited me to go see it I was on board. And leaving the theater, I thought it was one of the funniest movies I had seen in a while. It's dumb, it's crude, but it really is funny. What I like most about it is that it is obvious that everyone had fun making it. The guys were sitting around drinking and someone threw the idea on the table and they rolled with it. The movie won't be remembered as a classic but it's fun to go see with some friends.

4. Much Ado About Nothing
I have never been a huge fan of Shakespeare, there's probably only one or two plays by him I really like. But when I heard Avengers director Joss Whedon was doing a modern day representation of what many consider to be his best comedy, I decided to give it a chance. Mainly to see how good of a director he really it, and what we got was one of the most delightful movies of the year. The movie is funny, touching, and downright enjoyable. Most of Shakespeare's plays put me right to sleep, but I was fully invested in this one. I cared about the characters and was really interested in seeing what happened to them. I'm not sure how true it is to the actual play but I couldn't care less, I loved it beginning to end.

3. Star Trek: Into Darkness
Going into 2013, Star Trek: Into Darkness was my most anticipated movie of the year. The long awaited sequel to the 2009 Star Trek movie had more pressure on it than almost any other movie this year. With the previous film widely considered one of the best movies of the year, and the fact that it was announced that director J.J. Abrams would be making the next Star Wars movie means that all the pressure was on him. And he did better than we could have imagined, in my opinion Into Darkness was even better than the previous. Pulse pounding action, astonishing visuals, and superb acting (especially from supporting actor Benedict Cumberbatch) doesn't just make this one of the best movies of the year; but my favorite as well.

2. The Place Beyond the Pines
This movie got a lot of bad press, many saying it was pretentious and overrated. They must have watched something else because what I saw was one of the most unique and ambitious films released in the past decade. This is a story of consequences, and how the decisions we make can build up or destroy those around us as. I saw this months ago and it has stayed with me ever since, it is a deeply emotional and impacting movie that won't soon be forgotten. While not everyone loves it know, I am sure that a couple years down the line people will look back at this movie and call it a misunderstood masterpiece, but I'll look back and see a movie that is just as great as when I first saw it.

1. Mud
If there was one movie that I knew was going to be good, one movie I would have put money on to be one of the best of the year, it would have been Mud. The film is written and directed by Jeff Nichols who made movies like Shotgun Stories (one of my top 10 of 2008) and Take Shelter (my pick for best movie of 2011). Mud has everything you could ask for comedy, drama, love, action, adventure, ect. Bolstered by Matthew McConaughey's Oscar worthy performance, Mud is a movie that captures American hopes and values; the ability to follow your dreams and be happy. Mud is one of the best movies I've seen in years, and a front runner for best Picture. If I had to suggest a single movie from this year you need to watch, it would be Mud.

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Matthew McConaughey (Mud)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek: Into Darkness)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Amy Acker (Much Ado About Nothing)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Eva Mendez (The Place Beyond the Pines)
Best Animated Feature: Monsters University
Best Animated Short Film: The Blue Umbrella
Best Cinematography: The Place Beyond the Pines
Best Costume Design: Star Trek: Into Darkness
Best Director: Jeff Nichols (Mud)
Best Documentary Feature: Sound City
Best Film Editing: Star Trek: Into Darkness
Best Foreign Language Film: A Hijacking (Denmark)
Best Live Action Short Film: The Runaway
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Star Trek: Into Darkness
Best Original Score: The Place Beyond the Pines
Best Original Song: Snow Angel (The Place Beyond the Pines)
Best Picture: Mud
Best Production Design: Star Trek: Into Darkness
Best Sound Editing: Star Trek: Into Darkness
Best Sound Mixing: Star Trek: Into Darkness
Best Visual Effects: Star Trek: Into Darkness
Best Adapted Screenplay: Much Ado About Nothing
Best Original Screenplay: Mud 

Monsters University Review

Pixar is consistently called the best animation study out there. They brought us the Toy Story trilogy, Up, Wall-E, the Incredibles, and one of the first animated movies nominated for best animated picture, Monsters Inc. After 12 years we finally get a follow up to Monsters Inc in the form of a prequel. Monsters University is the origins story of Mike and Sully. The last couple Pixar movies haven't been up to the high standards they once had, Brave being alright and Cars 2 just not being good. So maybe revitalizing one of there classics will get them back on track. Monsters U takes place many years before the original with the characters we love attending scare school. Ever since Mike was a little kid he wanted to be a scarer. After making it into college he realizes it's a lot harder than he imagined. Mike is smart, he knows every tactic and trick in the book. The problem is that he just isn't scary. All of a sudden another monster comes on campus, Mike's future friend Sully. Sully is a legacy, and has more raw talent than just about anyone at the school. After Mike and Sully get in a little argument they become enemies, with Mike promising to out scare Sully. Before their big exam they start to have a scare off and accidentally destroy something very important to the Dean; as punishment she kicks them out of scare school and crushes their dreams. Suddenly Mike gets an idea, every year the college has a competition called the scare games where the fraternities and sororities compete in a scaring competition. Mike makes a deal with the Dean, if he wins he gets back in scaring school. She reluctantly agrees but promises to expel him if he loses. Seeing the opportunity Sully joins in, so Mike and Sully need to put their problems aside and work together in the hopes of salvaging their dreams. A couple years ago when it was released, Cars 2 really pissed me off. It was one of the most shameful cash grabs I had ever seen. Some guys from Pixar were at a meeting and one of them said, "let's make a sequel to our worst movie." And everyone just shook their heads yes. So that's what scared me going into Monsters U, fortunately this is actually a pretty good movie. Unlike Cars 2, it's obvious some real time and effort went into making this movie. But it's not without its problems. The plot is played out, the two enemies who have to come together to overcome an obstacle; we've seen that a million times. The movie also seems to be aimed more at kids than the original was. Pixar has the ability to make a kids movie that appeals to adults, Monsters U is clearly for kids. But there is one overwhelming problem with the movie that many have pointed out, it's not that funny. There are a couple scenes that will make you chuckle but nothing outstanding. Not all of Pixar's movies are hilarious, but they are a lot more touching than this one is. All in all Monsters U is good, not great. It is the best movie Pixar has done since Toy Story 3. It's a fun movie worth the watch if you're interested.

3.5/5 Stars

Bonus: The short at the begging of the movie entitled "The Blue Umbrella" is fantastic. I enjoyed it more than Monsters U, it's worth the price of admission on its own. It's easily a contender for best animated short at the Oscars. I'd tell you more but it will be more enjoyable if you go in not knowing what it will be about; but trust me, it's worth it.

4.5/5 Stars