Dope - Review

Dope. 

Dope is a 2015 coming of age dramedy directed by Rick Famuyiwa (Brown Sugar) and stars Shameik Moore as Malcolm in his first leading role. The cast is rounded out by Zoe Kravitz (Mad Max: Fury Road), Kiersey Clemons, Tony Revolori (Grand Budapest Hotel) and rapper A$AP Rocky. 

In a nutshell, Dope is about a high schooler named Malcolm who is growing up in a bad neighborhood in LA yet is a straight-A student with ambitions of Harvard. He and his friends get tangled up in a drug situation leaving them with kilos of MDMA and a gun with the rest of the film showing how they deal with this situation. 

Firstly, the chemistry between the 3 friends played by Moore, Clemons and Revolori is phenomenal, you truly believe that they've grown up together and have been friends for years and you feel like you're a part of their group too. The movie is actually pretty funny too, mostly due to the interactions within these 3 friends. The drama in the film is handled pretty well and there's a few parts toward the end of the movie where things get really real really fast yet it doesn't seem out of place because throughout the movie the balance between drama and comedy was blended seamlessly. 

The most important thing in a coming of age movie is that the main character becomes a different person by the end of the film in a believable way and Dope succeeds in doing this. The movie takes place for the most part in what seems like a week, maybe a little shorter, but I think a lot of people can attest that in high school, a lot can change in 7 days, maybe not to the extent of the events of the movie but still. 

It is impossible to talk about this movie and not bring up the music because it is such a part of the movie that the film would be different without it. Malcolm and his friends are throwback 90s hip hop heads and actively pursue looking and acting like it's currently 1995. I personally love hip hop, especially this era so when the movie plays a song from the 90's like Nas's "The World is Yours", I feel right at home. I also haven't wanted to buy a soundtrack this badly since Django Unchained and I'm real close to actually buying it. 

Dope is not a movie for everybody, if you don't love hip hop you're experience will suffer a bit, not to say you can't enjoy it but you won't love it. Dope also tackles some pretty big topics such as stereotypes within race and racism itself; it's not as overt and in your face as American History X, it's subtle and seems to boil over a bit toward the end of the film in one of the best monologues in film that I've seen in a long time. You'll have a lot of fun with this movie and you'll be left thinking quite a bit after it's over about who you are and how people perceive you and a movie that can do that is pretty special. 

Rewatchability: 5/5, I can see myself throwing this in my Blu-Ray player pretty much at will and will definitely be buying when it comes out, possibly even seeing it again in theaters if a friend is interested. 

Rating: 4.5/5, almost got the perfect score but I just couldn't get it there. The acting was great except for Tyga but he's not in it enough to matter, the directing was good and even had some pretty cool slo-mo use and a couple parts that used a reverse-simulation really well. I tweeted this out earlier and I'll say it here as well, Dope is low key the movie of the summer, it's highly enjoyable and unlike most summer movies, it's smart. To be as lame as humanly possible and to put it in the best words possible, simply, Dope is dope.

P.S.: It doesn't have to be a sequel or anything but someone needs to get Shameik Moore, Kiersey Clemons and Tony Revolori in another movie together because they were seriously one of the best trios on camera in a long time and I need more. 

 

Jurassic World - Review

Jurassic World.

Jurassic World is the fourth installment in the Jurassic Park franchise and the first installment in 14 years. Directed by Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed) and starring Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Bryce Dallas Howard (50/50), Jurassic World is simply a movie that plays out the "what if" scenario that arose from the first film of: "what if Jurassic Park had actually opened and been operational?" In this film the park is open, operational and a pretty big hit and they come up with an idea to spike attendance by creating a new dinosaur. And because there'd be no movie without some conflict, Mrs. New Dino escapes and starts murdering anything with a pulse. 

Let's Get This Out of the Way. This is 100% a summer blockbuster eat so much popcorn you feel like throwing up afterward movie. This is not Jurassic Park. All of that being said, this film is massively enjoyable; admittedly it starts out a little slow but the way they show how the park works is interesting because they make you feel like it's as normal as going to DisneyWorld in this universe which is essential to the plot. 

Chris Pratt absolutely kills this role, this guy has so much charisma and acting chops that I really can't wait to see what he does next and he's quickly becoming an actor who gets me into the theater simply because he's in it. Bryce Dallas Howard is fine, she's a little wooden in some parts but she gets the job done. 

This is a Little Nit-Picky. I love dinosaurs, always have since I was a little kid so for me to believe that a world can exist in which we've brought them back to life and even created a hybrid is pretty easy. What I couldn't get passed in this movie (this isn't a spoiler) is that Bryce Dallas Howard's character spends the entire movie in high heels. She sprints from dinosaurs in heels and even runs through woods and jungles, I realize this is insignificant to the movie but it irked me. 

The best part of this movie is it's climax, without giving anything away, it's awesome, the most fun I've had in the theaters since Avengers 2. The acting was solid, directing was solid, CGI was pretty good and was just a blast to watch.  

Rewatchability: 4/5, I'd watch this again now if I could and I see myself buying it when it comes out on Blu-Ray. 

Rating: 4/5, supremely enjoyable and fun to watch, clearly not better than the original, not many movies are, but it's the best Jurassic Park sequel we've gotten and it's a hell of a lot of fun. 

P.S.: The whole raptor training thing was actually handled pretty well and didn't seem so silly in the context of the movie. 

Lost River - Review

Lost River. 

Lost River is a 2015 drama/fantasy film written and directed by actor Ryan Gosling (Drive, The Notebook). This is Gosling's first attempt at directing and it sees him telling a story of family, love and dark secrets. Lost River stars Christina Hendricks (Mad Men), Iain De Caestecker (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Matt Smith (Doctor Who) and tells the story of a mother trying to save her family  while her son attempts to discover a whole new world in the town of Lost River. 

First off, the acting in the film is really good, I liked how they casted actors known more for their TV work instead of film and all 3 main actors played characters way different than their famous TV roles. It's nice to see Christina Hendricks getting movie roles because she was great on Mad Men and I definitely wanna see more of her. Matt Smith really impressed me, I don't watch Doctor Who but I've seen clips of him from it and in Lost River he plays a maniacal character so well that I hope he takes more villainous roles in the future. 

Gosling's directorial style is complicated. Being his first film, Lost River is kind of all over the place. While it definitely has a unique visual style it obviously borrows elements from guys like David Lynch and Nicolas Winding Refn with a dash of older-Tim Burton in there for good measure. 

Lost River is weird, no other way to put it but, it's also ambitious. Gosling is in an interesting position as his star power is big enough to have people interested in a film he directs solely because of his name, hell that a why I checked Lost River out in the first place. What he can try to do is use his name to draw in an audience and at the same time create these artsy, indie-type movies that see crossover success. Gosling definitely has a directorial eye and there are many flashes of promise throughout this film that show that he has a bright future ahead of him behind the camera but those flashes alone aren't enough to hold Lost River up on its own. It's a solid film, not great, nor is it bad, it's just kind of there. I wouldn't recommend it to the average moviegoer but any movie buff or fan of indie and more artsy films will definitely find some enjoyment in this. 

Rewatchability: 2/5, if a friend really wanted to watch it I'd watch it with them but outside of that I don't see myself rewatching it. 

Rating: 3/5, as stated earlier, it's a decent film with flashes of promise, a weak plot but good acting. The film as a whole is okay but it gives you enough to interest you and intrigue you on what Ryan Gosling will direct next and hopefully begin to mold his own unique style of filmmaking.  

Furious 7 - Review

Furious 7.

Not entirely sure why they keep messing with the names of the movies but whatever.

NOTE: Since this is a Fast & Furious film and also considered a blockbuster, this review won't be reviewed the same way as an Oscar contender would. 

Furious 7 is the 7th installment of The Fast and Furious series whose humble beginnings started back in 2001. As an overall fan of the series (there are a few I don't like, namely Tokyo Drift and Fast 6) I was reasonably excited for this new one. 

Furious 7 sees horror heavyweight director James Wan of The Conjuring and Insidious films taking over duties from Justin Lin who had directed the past 4 films. The usual cast is back with the only real additions being Kurt Russell and Jason Statham, both of which are badass. Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, The Rock, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster all reprise their roles. 

So the first half hour-ish of this movie is just bad, I was so uninterested in it that I was praying it picked up. Luckily, it did. Once the action picks up in this movie it barely gives you time to breathe which is awesome and exactly what you want from a movie like this. 

Where the hell was The Rock in this movie? I swear he had 20 minutes of screen time in this 147 film, he's by far been the best part of the last 2 movies and you could argue a main reason these movies are still going. That was a big mistake on the films part. The film also relies on Vin Diesel quite a lot, I assume these scenes were originally supposed to have Paul Walker in them but I'll get to that later, and Diesel's acting really isn't enough to carry the more dialogue driven aspects of the movie. 

As I said earlier, once the movie picks up, it's awesome. Movies like these, you really need to turn your brain and try not to think "there's no way that could happen" which I only said to myself one time in this movie which isn't bad since I said it the entire 6th movie. The cast has unbelievably good chemistry which they should since they've had umpteen movies working together now and I think Ludacris and Tyrese Gibsons characters are my new favorites because their banter back and forth is hysterical. 

Now, to the Paul Walker situation. Walker died about halfway through filming and they used what he finished in the film and had a combination of stand ins and CGI used to finish his scenes which I respect as their decision. Some of the scenes are incredibly easy to tell that it's his stand in doing the scene which I can't really fault the film for because they did the best they could and if I didn't know that Walker had died midway through, I might not be able to tell. They also reference not wanting to go to anymore funerals in the beginning of the movie which is rather haunting to watch and hear. I thought the send off they gave Paul Walker and his character were the best they could've done and was done with great respect. 

Overall: It's a fun movie, it's one of the better ones in the series for me. The action was done well and the cast as always has great chemistry. The problems I have with the movie are pretty minor, minus the awful first 30 minutes of it. They've said already that they're making an 8th movie and I really hope it's the last because this one really wrapped up beautifully and I wish it was the last one. 

Rewatchability: 3/5, I'll probably watch it again but it's definitely not a go to, other movies in the franchise would beat out this one if I wanted to watch one of them. 

Rating: 3.5/5

Insurgent - Movie

DISCLAIMER: I didn't read the Divergent books so this review is based purely off of the film itself. 

Insurgent.

Insurgent is the sequel to 2014's Divergent being adapted from the Divergent Series written by Veronica Roth. As with every series it seems these days the third book is being split into two movies but we're not at those yet. Insurgent takes place directly following the events of Divergent and continues Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four's (Theo James) quest for revolution. 

I actually liked Divergent a lot more than I had expected going into it and thought the series would have some potential. That being said, Insurgent let me down a bit. 

But first, the good things of the movie. Shailene Woodley kills it in this role as Tris and really is the shining star in this series. Miles Teller is great in it too but gets too little of screen time but I'll fault that on the source material instead of the movie especially since he was cast before he became pretty famous. Theo James stars opposite Woodley and while he was a good casting choice for his role, I kinda don't like him. 

There are these scenes in the third act of the film in which Tris has to undergo tests in which she has to in an almost alternate world get through some sort of obstacle whether mental, physical, emotional or all three. These tests are the highlight of the film and the point where I was fully invested in the story. 

Now the bad. Insurgent suffers from an overly convoluted plot that is actually kinda hard to follow. There are many  points where you're not sure what's real and what's fake or who's who. For me, the first hour of the film was kind of all over the place, hard to follow and frankly, a bit boring. I'm not heartless, I understand the second installment in any trilogy is used a lot for character development and setting up for the final installments which can make for boring films but, this is when you rely on the strength of your characters and that's where Insurgent falls short. Tris is by far the strongest character in terms of development while mostly everyone else is a cardboard cut out of a character. This brings the movie down quite a bit but it is still pretty enjoyable to watch. 

This Part is a Bit of a Rant: Being that this is a rant, most of it is my opinion and doesn't really deal with the movie in a fair way, that being said, ranting time. Tris's boyfriend and really second in command for the revolution is a guy named Four. I know they explained it barely in the first film and maybe the book explained it more but the film explanation isn't good enough. There's a point where his mom calls him by his birth name: Tobias and he slams a table and yells "My name is Four!" This takes me out of the movie because I can't take it seriously how everyone seriously calls this dude Four. There were points in the movie where I would be laughing to myself because of how ridiculous it sounds when Woodley is crying out for her boyfriend and she's saying "Four", she almost sounded like a distressed golfer. All of this kind of pointless bitching aside, I enjoyed the movie. 

Replay Value: 2/5, I'd watch it again in preparation for Allegiant Part 1 or if one of my friends really wanted to watch it. I don't really think I'd watch it again for my own personal enjoyment. 

Rating: 2.5/5, rather disappointing considering how much I enjoyed Divergent but, Insurgent just didn't really do it for me. Enjoyable overall and a must see if you're a fan of the series, obviously, but if you're looking for just a sci-fi ish movie to escape in, this may not be for you. 

Birdman - Review

A man becomes a critic when he cannot be an artist. - Gustav Flaubert - Spoken by Edward Norton's character Mike

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance. 

Since the title is so long I will refer to the film solely as Birdman for the review. Birdman is a 2014 film that is up for many Oscars and is my prediction to take home the statue for Best Picture. 

Birdman is the story of Riggan played by Michael Keaton (Robocop, Batman) who is an aging actor who's played a major superhero in the past and is now trying his hand in a Broadway play. The cast is rounded out by Edward Norton (American History X), Emma Stone (The Amazing Spider-Man 2), Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover) and Naomi Watts (King Kong). Birdman is directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel). 

Let me start off by saying that this movie really is for film lovers, from the way it's shot to the plot, this was made to be watched by people who really love movies. The film is directed in a series of long takes or long shots which were helped made famous by Martin Scorcese. According to IMDB there are only 16 visible cuts in the entire film with the majority of the film being following shots. What the film really has going for it is the acting, these actors seemed to have all brought their A+ game and they all, for me, deserved their Oscar nominations. I'd go out and say that this is Emma Stone's best performance of her still young career and Edward Norton was unbelievably good as well. Birdman was actually unexpectedly funny, mostly due to Norton's character, Mike, who had some great one liners. The performances that Iñárritu was able to get out of this cast were fantastic; it was great to see Galifianakis in a role that's against his type and his character was more on the serious side and he was great in this role, albeit a much smaller role.

This is a film where there really isn't much bad to say about it because there's really nothing wrong with it. I can see the casual movie fan not really enjoying the style of the film because of the frequent long takes and the unique way the film looks; not only this but the movie itself is a commentary of the film industry and those within it so it may not resonate too well with casual viewers. The directing in the film is amazing, the acting is second to none, the story is alright, it's really the performances in front of and behind the camera that makes this movie special. If it weren't for Boyhood I think Iñárritu would've taken home the Oscar for Best Director, technically he still can since the ceremony hasn't happened, that being said I still stick by my predictions of Birdman winning Best Picture and Michael Keaton winning Best Actor.

I really enjoyed this movie, it's not my favorite of 2014, it possibly wouldn't have cracked my top 10 since 2014 was a great year for movies. I did appreciate the look into the behind the scenes of actors and how they are, more and less, outside of Hollywood. This is a movie that I think all big movie fans really should see, especially for someone who wants to get into filmmaking in any way. It's almost Tarantino-like where the movie has things in it that only big movie fans will pick up and it's really for the better.

Replay Value: 3/5, it's a movie I'd definitely watch again, I wanna see it at least one more time and I wouldn't be opposed if a friend wanted to watch because I think it would be a pretty good movie to watch with some friends. All of that being said, I don't know that I'd buy this on blu-ray, it's not a movie you just throw on just because, it's a movie to sit down and watch.

Rating: 4/5

2015 Oscar Predictions

The Oscars also known as the one night a year that pisses film fans off more than The Phantom Menace. This year's award ceremony will be the 87th ceremony and will celebrate the film year of 2014. There were plenty of snubs and surprises but that's not what this post is about; this post is my predictions for who will win each category, not who I WANT to win because that would be a completely different list. The layout is going to be the category, then the nominations and I will put in bold my prediction to take home the statue.

Let's Get Started.

Best Picture:

American Sniper
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

Best Actor:

Steve Carell in Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper in American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything

Best Supporting Actor:

Robert Duvall in The Judge
Ethan Hawke in Boyhood
Edward Norton in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Mark Ruffalo in Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons in Whiplash

Best Actress:

Marion Cotillard in Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones in The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore in Still Alice
Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon in Wild

Best Supporting Actress:

Patricia Arquette in Boyhood
Laura Dern in Wild
Keira Knightley in The Imitation Game
Emma Stone in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Meryl Streep in Into the Woods

Animated Feature:

Big Hero 6 (I really want this to win but I don't think it will.)
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

Adapted Screenplay:

American Sniper
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

Original Screenplay:

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler

Cinematography:

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr. Turner
Unbroken

Costume Design:

The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner

Best Director:

Alejandro G. Iñárritu for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Richard Linklater for Boyhood
Bennett Miller for Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson for The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum for The Imitation Game

Documentary Feature:

CitizenFour
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga

Documentary Short:

Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
The Reaper (La Parka)
White Earth

Film Editing:

American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash

Foreign Language Film:

Ida from Poland
Leviathan from Russia
Tangerines from Estonia
Timbuktu from Mauritania
Wild Tales from Argentina

Makeup and Hairstyling:

Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy

Original Score:

The Grand Budapest Hotel by Alexandre Desplat
The Imitation Game by Alexandre Desplat
Interstellar by Hans Zimmer
Mr. Turner by Gary Yershon
The Theory of Everything by Jóhann Jóhannsson

Original Song:

“Everything Is Awesome” from The Lego Movie - Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson
“Glory” from Selma - Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn
“Grateful” from Beyond the Lights - Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me - Music and Lyric by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond
“Lost Stars” from Begin Again - Music and Lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois

Production Design:

The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr. Turner

Animated Short Film:

The Bigger Picture
The Dam Keeper
Feast
Me and My Moulton
A Single Life

Live Action Short Film:

Aya
Boogaloo and Graham
Butter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak)
Parvaneh
The Phone Call

Sound Editing:

American Sniper
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken

Sound Mixing:

American Sniper
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash

Visual Effects:

Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past