Pixar: The Movies

Hey guys this is a little something I'm doing to hold you, and myself over for Despicable Me 2. What I'm gonna do is rate each of Pixars movies and give a sentence or 2 on why. In chronological order:

1995: Toy Story - 5/5, what can I say? It's a classic.

1998: A Bug's Life - 4.5/5, great movie but isn't perfect.

1999: Toy Story 2 - 5/5, a perfect sequel to a perfect original.

2001: Monsters, Inc. - 5/5, a great concept executed amazingly.

2003: Finding Nemo - 5/5, also a classic, everyone loves it, but will everyone love the sequel?

2004: The Incredibles - 4/5, the one Pixar movie that could really use a sequel, but nope.

2006: Cars - 4/5, a concept we've seen before from Pixar, still done very well though, minor gripes.

2007: Ratatouille - 5/5, a great story that brought the magic of Toy Story and Nemo back.

2008: WALL-E - 3.5/5, probably the weirdest film Pixar has made, it's good, just not that good.

2009: Up - 5/5, this one is fantastic yet it starts with an incredibly depressing first 15 minutes yet turns to gold.

2010: Toy Story 3 - 5/5, the movie that crowned the Toy Story trilogy my favorite trilogy of all time, this movie is perfect.

2011: Cars 2 - 3/5, not bad at all but by Pixar standards it just wasn't up to par, plus why Cars?

2012: Brave - 3/5, Pixar's first original in 3 years also failed to live up to the bar set so high by previous films.

2013: Monsters University - 5/5, for me, Pixar's return to form with a great prequel to one of Pixar's finest films.

Average: 4.07/5. That's probably the highest average out of any studio, no I'm not doing this for every studio, I do do things.

Overall, I just want to thank Pixar for the fantastic movies they've given us, they are the fabric of my childhood and like a fine wine have only gotten better with age. Here's to next years Pixar film: The Good Dinosaur!

The Hangover III

NOTE: This one's gonna be short cause I saw it a few weeks ago but wanted to get another review up between now and Despicable Me 2.

The Hangover III is the third and supposedly final installment in the wildly popular Hangover series. The original came out in 2009 was a surprise hit which jump started the careers of the 3 main actors(Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianikis) and spawned a lesser loved sequel. I personally loved the first, I liked the second, more than most people did. For this film almost everyone returns, Mike Epps (Black Doug) and Heather Graham (Jade, the stripper ex-wife) return to their roles. There's also some new cast members who bring a few fresh faces to the series, Melissa McCarthy of Bridesmaids fame and John Goodman of a lot of movies bring some hysterical scenes.

The Positive: The new and returning cast members really help the usuals feel fresh and new. The different story and plotline really help as well. It seems that the same people that complained that Hangover II was a carbon copy of the first are the ones complaining that this one isn't a copy of the first. It's a comedy so what is there to evaluate, if it's funny or not. For me, it was, I saw it twice and both times laughed for quite a long time.

The Negative: Ed Helms and Bradley Cooper kinda look bored and uninterested. Cooper is Oscar-nominated and Helms has been in some critically-acclaimed films, not to mention The Office. As I said, it is funny but there are some things that just fall flat. Alan(Galifianikis) was always a lovable ass but in this installment there's much more emphasis on the 'ass' part of the phrase and it drags the movie down a little bit.

Overall: It's not great, but it is a good fun, funny movie. Yes fun and funny are 2 different things when it comes to movies. It's between I and II for me, I liked it a lot for being different but in some spots being different in a bad way bring the movie down a peg for me.

Rating: 3.5/5 I'll probably pick it up on DVD to complete the collection.

Normally I don't do decimals but I truly thought 3 was too low but 4 was a little too high, therefore, 3.5.

Upcoming Movies

Hey y'all, just wanted to give you a quick list of upcoming movies that Im excited for and you can expect reviews of!

Despicable Me 2

Grown Ups 2

Turbo

2 Guns

Elysium

Kick-Ass 2

The Butler

The Worlds End

The Family

Insidious 2

Rush

Don Jon

Runner Runner

Carrie

Thor 2

The Wolf of Wall Street

Hunger Games 2

The Hobbit 2

Anchorman 2

The Movies I Like

This is just gonna be a quick post about the movie genres I typically enjoy. 

Comedy

Drama

Horror/Thriller

Family/Kids/Animated

I'm open to most movies, I don't enjoy action movies as much as I used to because many lack the story element that I love. 

As of right now, if I had to pick, I'd say my favorite movie is "Goodfellas". It's a classic Scorsese flick with De Niro, Liotta and Pesci absolutely killing it as their characters. 

Monsters University

Monsters University.

Monsters University is the prequel to 2001's Monsters Inc which was also made by Pixar Studios. Since its release Monsters Inc has been heralded as a classic among Pixar's outstanding repertoire. This prequel chronicles how Mike and Sully met at college and went from enemies to best friends and working at Monsters Inc on the Scare Floor. John Goodman and Billy Crystal reprise their roles as Sully and Mike, respectively. We also get a glimpse of bad guy Randall in his college years who is voiced again by Steve Buscemi. Outside of those 3 guys, most of the voice cast is all new, because there are so many all new characters.

The Positive: The voice cast is phenomenal, the new additions fit in perfectly as do their characters. As per usual, Pixars animation is absolutely amazing, that's never a let down. The story is great, while predictable it's told in a great way that doesn't feel overused. The movie is fun, loaded with humor and and the heart that Pixar has come to be known for. Cars 2 and Brave were mildly disappointing, but Monsters University is a great step in the right direction, it feels like they're back in their comfort zone and are just killing it.

The Negative: Honestly, not much. The pacing is pretty good, the movie is just under 2 hours which is a bit longer for Pixar but it doesn't feel long at all. The animation is above par. The only gripe I really have (MILD SPOILER ALERT) is that I was hoping for some kind of nod/Easter egg about Boo and I looked pretty hard throughout the movie and never found one. But besides that there are Easter eggs everywhere for fans of the first movie and Pixar really seems to reward their longtime fans.

Overall: Monsters University is not only a great family film but a great film in general. With an arsenal as impressive as Pixars it's hard to place where this movie belongs among the rest of them, time will tell if this installment will be remembered as a great one. There's really no reason not to see this movie, even if you haven't seen the first, this movie is good enough on its own. While not as good as its predecessor it fits in perfectly and is a great companion movie to Monsters Inc.

Rating: 5/5: Pretty Damn Awesome, go see this movie.

The Purge

The Purge is a horror/thriller film directed by James DeMonaco; this is he second film he's directed. The only real notable name in this movie is lead actor Ethan Hawke who, as per usual, brings his A-game and knocks it out of the park.

The Purge is set 9 years in the future in a time where for 12 hours starting at 7pm March 21st and ending 7am March 22 all crime is legal. Crime, outside of those 12 hours is at an all time low, unemployment is at an all time low as well and many believe that this purge has saved the country. Now most horror movies have the one sensible person in the group and everyone else can't seem to tie their shoes without dying, in this film Ethan Hawke is sensible and his family are idiots. His son lets a stranger into their fortified house and never redeems himself, throughout the movie I was hoping that he would get killed.

Rhys Wakefield plays the main villain, who's name is never revealed. Wakefield does a fantastic job at being menacing, clever, creepy and overall is a great villain. I hope this role lands him more villainous roles because truth be told he could knock them out of the park.

The movie, as a horror movie, kind of failed, it wasn't very creepy or scary, only once was I scared. What scared me more was when my girlfriend would scream because she was scared. Once the strangers enter the house the movie turns into a cat and mouse game since both parties have guns it becomes fun to watch. Had they gone completely cat and mouse movie with some horror elements instead of the other way around this movie could've been a lot better. Instead we get a standard home invasion horror movie that fails to scare or live up to the fantastic set up which had a ton of potential.

Negative: It doesn't fail as a film, it does however fail to live up to the hype and deliver on the promise the set up gave us. It's not as bad as some have said but it's certainly not as good as some have said.

Positive: What the film gives us is a villain who is great at what he does, and an intriguing cat and mouse type movie which creates for a fun time at the movies.

Rating: 3/5: Not Terrible, Not Great. Worth a matinee priced ticket or a video on demand watch.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This review is coming from someone who saw the film but did not read the book, so my only impressions of the story as a whole come from the movie. I had high hopes for this knowing that it was getting a lot of praise and also finding out that the author of the book wrote the screenplay and directed the film.

The story revolves around Charlie, played by Logan Lerman in his first major lead role and he does a great job. You latch onto his character and you really connect and feel for him throughout it. Charlie is an outcast who befriends his English teacher(Paul Rudd) and a senior named Patrick(Ezra Miller). Patrick is the standout character, he's likable, he's funny, he's an ass but in the best way possible. Emma Watson plays a senior girl who becomes Charlie's love interest, Sam. Like Charlie, Patrick and Sam have their fair sure of rather dark secrets. The movie chronicles Charlie's freshman year and his friends' senior year. Through Patrick and Sam he meets a few other friends and one who he dates and breaks up with in one of the funniest moments of the movie.

Seeing Emma Watson outside of the Hermione Granger character was rather refreshing as she played a high school senior all too well. Ezra Miller did a great job with the character of Patrick who needed a strong actor to play him and he knocked out of the park. Paul Rudd took a backseat role in this film as he helped Charlie and gave him books outside of class to read and was Charlie's first friend. Rudd also delivers one of the most well-known lines from the book that was definitely made for teenage girls' Facebook statuses. Rudd does a great job shifting from his normal every day funny guy to being a mentor of a character. The supporting cast does a great job too, whether they're bullying, or getting Charlie high when he doesn't know it they become a lovable group of characters.

The ending is a little odd, it seems to wrap up too fast and really makes you want more, even just an epilogue, maybe 15 more minutes of movie which would set the movie at a solid 2 hours, which isn't long, especially when you're immersed in the story. The great thing about this movie is that it makes you think of your high school days and think: "Did I have a mentor-like teacher?", or that one person that you fell in love with the moment you saw them, or that one friend that may have saved your life, and hopefully these are all good memories.


This was a very enjoyable movie, it went in directions that I didn't expect and had much darker tones than I had expected. While it was good there are definitely some flaws. The thing that irked me throughout the entire movie was Emma Watson, she's a good actress don't get me wrong, but her American accent was just not good, I could hear British accents coming out. What's worse is that there was a clear way to let her use her accent, there's a point where they're talking and one of the characters talks about her moving, all they had to say was "She moved here from England" and she can use her natural accent. Secondly the movie (Mild Spoiler Alert) has a relatively happy ending yet it leaves a sad feeling with you and for me at least, this feeling did not go away for a while. Thirdly, the high school bullies are so incredibly cookie-cutter and unreal. This is one of those films where you look back at your high school years and think "Yeah, that never happened, ever." but they usual staples are there, you know the tripping in the cafeteria, things like that. Besides those 3 things, the movie is pretty solid.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by Perks, it has depth, a lovable core group of characters, good actors to portray them and an intriguing story. While there are some flaws within the film it doesn't detract too much from the film or the story.

Rating: 4/5: A Pretty Solid Movie, Worth a Full Price Ticket

My Top 10(11) Movies of 2012!

Now, I'm a pretty big movie buff but I haven't seen every movie from 2012 nor have I seen most of them, I hear Silver Linings Playbook and Perks of Being a Wallflower are great movies but I didn't get around to seeing them. All in all I count 39 that I've seen, while that seems low take into account the fact that I only really see movies that I want to see, being as movies are pretty expensive to go to now, especially as a college kid. So here are my top 10. Actually, this is going to be my top 11 because I really can't get it to 10, I'm stuck at 11.

11. Rise of the Guardians - I was between this and Wreck-It Ralph for the best animated film this year and I picked this because it truly pleasantly surprised me. I went into it not expecting much and I left loving the characters and for once, hoping there would be at least one sequel for it.

10. Sinister - I was hesitant to put this on the list being that it's a horror film but this one was a really something else, sure it had the usual pop out scares but it was genuinely creepy and burnt images in your head that stayed with you for a few days. Most importantly it had a pretty great story as well.

9. 21 Jump Street - If you know me, you know I love comedies and this one outshined them all in 2012, it's only real competition came from Ted which was funny but somehow this movie had more heart and more genuine laughs. It's a great movie to watch with a group of friends that's not too serious but no so stupid as well

8. Flight - Put Denzel in a movie, I'll see it, put Denzel in a movie and have it be gripping, well acted and hauntingly real and it'll be on my top 10. I thought I'd hear more of this movie during awards season but besides a few I haven't heard much. Despite that it's a very good movie that isn't exactly what you'd expect, the trailer depicts the aftermath of a plane crash while the overall theme of the movie dives into serious alcoholism. It's a riveting film.

7. The Avengers - It's probably the most fun you'll have at the movies in 2012, it's a superhero movie that's been built up for years now and it doesn't disappoint one bit. It's entertaining and it's just an all around good movie.

6. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - What a return to Middle Earth this turned out to be, Peter Jackson had the difficult task of making a trilogy out of one book, which in my mind is difficult in trying to make each film seem satisfying in it's ending even though it's not the true ending. I'm looking so forward to the sequel and I hope it's just as good as the first. While it's true it was more light-hearted than the Lord of the Rings trilogy it doesn't mean it's not worthy of existing.

5. Les Miserables - This was the surprise of the year for me, I enjoy a musical but this film takes it a step further with around 97% of the dialogue coming through song. At first I wasn't crazy about the movie but after I let it sit and digested it I really loved it, so much so that I bought the soundtrack to it. It's definitely not for everybody but it's something everyone should at least see.

4. Django Unchained - This movie may be my favorite Tarantino movie, behind Pulp Fiction of course. It was seriously perfect, Foxx, DiCaprio, Waltz, Jackson, were all perfect in their roles. It was a damn good time.

3. Argo - This movie was phenomenal, it was intense, suspenseful and well directed. After he directed The Town I had a new found respect for him and he knocks this one out of the park. I can't wait to watch this again and I will buy it on DVD.

2. Lincoln - Talk about well directed movies, my god. If Daniel Day-Lewis doesn't win an Oscar for this performance then I'll be very upset. This movie should've been rather boring, an 2 hour and 40 minute movie about trying to pass an amendment doesn't sound excited but Spielberg kills it and makes a movie that will last for a long time and will definitely be a part of my DVD collection.

1. The Dark Knight Rises - Like you expected anything else. Need I say anything about it? Amazing director, all star cast, a script to die for and the best ending to a trilogy since Return of the Jedi, wait actually since Toy Story 3. Bane was a hell of a follow up to The Joker and Tom Hardy stole the spotlight away from Bale in scenes, which isn't an easy task. An excellent villain, a hero for the ages and a supporting crew makes this movie the best of 2012 and quite possibly the decade, though we have 7 full years of cinema to go through. Here's to 2013!

A Quick Hello and an Intro to My Rating System

Hi guys! This is Dom here to tell you that I'm now going to be doing film reviews as well. Now please know, I can't see everything, I try to see movies that peak my interest, others that I'm not interested in, I usually don't see. I'll be doing mostly current releases, if there's a dry spell I'll look into doing either a classic/favorite of mine or I'll browse around on Netflix and see what they've got. As always, requests are always welcome and I'll do my best to see everything that I can. Welcome! My rating system if different from my music blog which is scored out of ten, these reviews will be scored out of 5. 1/5: Complete Waste of Time 2/5: Seen Worse, But This Still Sucked 3/5: Not Terrible, Not Great Either 4/5: A Solid Movie, Worth a Full Price Ticket 5/5: Pretty Damn Awesome Now those are general statements just so you get a layout of what each number will entail. I'll elaborate more on a movie by movie basis. Also a 5/5 doesn't necessarily mean that it's a perfect movie, just one that I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish with minimal complaints. For starters I'll upload the reviews I've done on my other blog plus I'll be putting up my review of Monsters University! Thank you so much!