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After nearly six months of using Blogger, screen-hooked.blogspot.com is moving to a wordpress site with the domain "screenhooked.com". After two months of waiting for this domain to be unlocked, I have exported this blog to the wordpress site. No real changes other than appearance will come other than the ease of the URL.

Thanks for sticking around this long, and choose movies wisely.

-Will from ScreenHooked

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A Million Ways to Die in the West

Edited Spoiler-Free Version

Spoiler-Filled Discussion

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X-Men: Days of Future Past

Bryan Singer returns to the X-Men franchise in full throttle with X-Men: Days of Future Past. In 1973, the murder of an anti-mutant Senator Trask (Peter Dinklage) by the shape-shifter Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) sets in motion the anti-mutant idealism that brought the sentinels into existence, causing the apocalyptic war between humans and mutants. Modern-day Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellan) send the claw-wielding Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back to 1973 to find their younger counterparts (James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender) end the war before it ever begins.

Other than some major continuity errors, this movie was practically flawless as far as X-Men movies go. Hugh Jackman and James McAvoy had excellent chemistry, like a franchise veteran teaming up with the rookie. Michael Fassbender brings a Loki-like suaveness to Magneto, making the character even more interesting as a villain.

I was intrigued with the decision to center the story around Mystique, as she was a fairly bland character in the original trilogy. Her backstory shown in X-Men: First Class and Days of Future Past, combined with the adequate performance by Jennifer Lawrence, gives the audience reason to care when she's on screen other than the fact that she's walking around naked all the time.

Time travel movies seem to have endless possibilities for plot holes, but this is pretty solid so long as you suspend some disbelief here and there. The only issues in the movie come from the other movies of the franchise. Here are the main four issues I noticed:

SPOILERS IN THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH

1. How the fuck is Charles Xavier alive?

Apparently a post-credits scene in X3: The Last Stand revealed Xavier sitting in a hospital bed, not completely disintegrated by Jean Grey. Is this ever explained? Not at all. And this is the one question everyone hoped would be answered.

2. Wolverine shouldn't have Adamantium claws in the future.

At the end of last year's The Wolverine, Logan's Adamantium claws were removed by the silver samurai. He still had the metallic skeleton and his regular bone claws, but this just stuck out to me. It's not the biggest of deals, because we don't see a lot of the future in Days of Future Past. 

3. How does Kitty Pryde send people back in time?

I mean, she sends Wolverine's consciousness back because no one else's can take that kind of stretch of the mind, or something like that. As cohesive as this movie is, this aspect of Kitty's powers came out of nowhere.

4. Didn't the mission basically fail?

Raven didn't kill Trask, sure. But did Magneto planting a baseball stadium around the White House not terrifying enough to immediately approve the sentinel program, not to mention what happened in Paris. The public was exposed to what these mutants were capable of, which should have been enough to scare them into security.

SPOILERS END HERE

Some quick final thoughts: Peter Dinklage is awesome, William Stryker didn't really have to be in the movie (but it was cool to see). We didn't get to see much of the dystopian future, granted there wasn't much to see. The movie was able to be funny without distracting from the high-stakes plot. The original cast is kind of just there, and their importance relies on previous films. It's good to see some depth added to characters other than Wolverine.

This might be my favorite X-Men movie now. I didn't care for Singer's first two installments or X3, or Origins: Wolverine. It's a franchise I'm interested in watching grow bigger and better, but until First Class, it wasn't really up to snuff. Even if you're not an X-Men fan, I'd recommend you watch First Class and then Days of Future Past, and you might become one.

X-Men: A

Average: A-

Million Dollar Arm

In 2008, Rinku Singh (Suraj Sharma) and Dinesh Patel (Madhur Mittal) were the first Indian athletes to be signed to a professional American sports team after being discovered through a reality show competition called "Million Dollar Arm", ran by sports agent JB Bernstein (Jon Hamm). But before they were signed, they had less than a year to learn how to play baseball, and now we have this movie.

It's pretty cut and dry, with the fish-out-of-water scenario and the unlikely bonding that comes with it. The sad part about this movie, is that Disney didn't seem to try with the marketing, because literally, the entire movie is shown in the trailers, except for the end. Not only is the movie as predictable as the Heat winning the NBA finals, it doesn't seem to do the players justice.

The characters aren't necessarily flat, but merely 2 dimensional. It's enough for someone to care about them, but not enough for anyone to become more interested in this story. The comic relief carries the movie, but everything else seems to be lacking significantly. It's fun to see Rinku and Dinesh, along with Amit Rohan (Pitobash), adapt to America. But their progress in terms of baseball and their relationship with JB feel underplayed.

Pacing is a bit of an issue, because these two players don't come to America until about halfway through the movie. It's like watching 42 if Harrison Ford had spent half the movie looking for Jackie Robinson. Alan Arkin is in this movie for like fifteen minutes, which is just sort of what he does nowadays. He's actually not his usual funny self in this outside of a few one-liners. He literally walks out of the film, having served his purpose for the time.

The obligatory romance between JB and his tenant Brenda (Lake Bell) isn't necessarily refreshing, but it's tolerable. Since Bell's character is actively involved with the other characters, it doesn't feel like the usual forced romance. She keeps the plot moving and JB a relatively interesting protagonist. Aasif Mandvi is entertaining, but could be completely removed from the movie and hardly anything would change.

I'll admit, I laughed a few times, and I had a smile on my face for a lot of the movie. But as someone with a real soft spot for sports films, this felt unnecessary. Any knowledge of baseball isn't needed for this movie, and neither is an interest in India. The truth is, this movie is just Jerry Maguire, except this actually happened. The stakes don't even feel that high in the end, which is why most sports movies take place after the players are signed. There's not a lot to say about this movie, because everything is so middle of the road, there's not much to complain about.

Baseball movie: C+

Average: B

Godzilla

I'm not one of the many people who grew up loving the monster that is Godzilla, nor am I one to completely shit on the 1998 film. I say these things, because I don't want my perception of this movie to seem biased when I express my opinion over it. It's been 16 years since the universally-panned version starring Matthew Broderick hit theaters, and I've never witnessed a more resounding acceptance for a reboot.

Bryan Cranston plays a scientist at a nuclear research facility in 1999 Japan, yada yada yada, tremors aren't natural disasters, blah blah blah, Godzilla. Seriously, I won't even bother with the premise, that's how straight forward this is. Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass) plays Cranston's grown-up son who, in 2014, is a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy with a wife and son of his own. Ken Wantanabe plays the Japanese scientist who dramatically says "Gojira". There's really no one else worth caring about in the movie, so let's get further into it.

This movie was marketed extremely well in that it included some really cool shots, gave very few plot details, and greatly mislead everyone into believing Heisenberg would be the focus of this movie. He's not. He's fantastic when he's there, but he's only on screen for a good 30-40 minutes before he's tossed aside, which doesn't so much irritate me as it does disappoint me.

The movie tries to focus on the people instead of the monster, which is ideal, but not when the people are so incredibly boring. Taylor-Johnson's character is so bland, I just googled "so bland" to see if I could rip a joke off the internet, and I found another review for this movie. Call me lazy, but I'm admitting it to you anyway. I couldn't bring myself to care about any single character. There's nothing particularly special about any of them. It's like the writers put all of their hearts and souls into making Cranston awesome, and then said "that's it for character development". Godzilla had better character development than Kick-Ass, and it's only because Wantanabe's character seemingly made stuff up for his backstory.

There were too many serious moments that came off as jokes, specifically to the kid in the audience who was basically heckling the entire movie (though he made some good points). Godzilla drives itself into a rut that it doesn't feel the need to get out of. The same cycle of events keeps going until they decide to end it. The sad part is, the entire movie feels like you're waiting for something different to happen. It never really pays off. I found myself checking the clock about an hour into the movie, and then several more times before it ended.

That said, every time I was about to write off this movie, some jaw-dropping moments occurred. What the film lacks in writing, it tries to make up for in visual effects, cinematography, and Bryan Cranston. Godzilla has never looked better, bigger, or awesome-r than now. But even when the king of monsters is on screen, there's a general consensus in the audience of "too little, too late". Granted, there were two particular moments towards the end that literally had the audience cheering and applauding that make the film half-worth it.

I don't remember the last time I've walked out of a theater where the audience had applauded during the movie that I disliked as much as this one (if that's ever even happened). It felt so generic, even for a monster movie, that I walked out of saying "I am not ever going to sit through that again." It's a movie with characters so wooden, you may as well root for the monster that burns them (came up with that by myself, no need for Google).

Every year there are movies that fill certain roles. Last year's Pacific Rim was a movie I thought was going to suck Transformer balls, but ultimately surprised me. I was really hoping that would be Godzilla, which lands in Great Gatsby territory of amazing trailers but mediocre results. It could even be the most over-hyped movie since Man of Steel. However, I went in with no expectations, with the exception of Heisenberg. And if you're super amped for this movie, you're going to walk out with a sour taste in your mouth.

Giant Monster Thriller: B

Average: C-

Neighbors

There's always that one movie that comes out in the spring of each year that makes me say "I'm surprised this movie wasn't horrible." Neighbors takes the cake for 2014. Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne do battle with the young men of Delta Psi Beta, who are lead by Zac Efron and Dave Franco. As much as the "next door neighbor rivalry" theme has been done, this movie felt refreshing enough.

To start off, Seth Rogen does essentially play himself in this movie, as per usual. But have we ever seen Seth Rogen as a dad? Because, while he's a terrible parent, he's a hilarious one. As crude as the humor may be, it might be a step above his usual stuff. Byrne plays opposite Rogen very well, both as the caring mother and the out-of-touch Australian.

The main appeal to this movie is that there's a lot more heart than you'd expect. You think it's setting you up to hate Greek life or take shots at older new parents, but I ended up sympathizing with nearly every major character in this movie. What makes it, is there are no flat characters. You're able to see the faults and strengths of Efron, Rogen, Byrne, and Franco, which makes the movie a lot funnier when you can relate to it.

With that said, Efron and Franco had some career jump-starting performances. Franco has been building his the past few years, but Efron needed a boost. It's been nearly a decade since his High School Musical breakthrough, and Efron finally found a role that can show his abilities as an actor. I sincerely hope that he can grab more roles from this, because I was getting really tired of not liking the guy. Franco is no longer playing "just a douchebag" which is a good step in the right direction. I was done with seeing Cole from season 9 of Scrubs in movies.

I still have to say something negative.Ike Barinholtz fits really well into the movie, but Carla Gallo doesn't seem to have a purpose except to look crazy and flesh out Ike's character. Their sub-plot of a sub-plot doesn't really play out like the film wants it to, but the audience doesn't really care, because it doesn't take them out of the movie.

As played out as the concept of neighbors fighting sounds, this movie just felt more original than your usual summer comedy. There are a few familiar scenes (i.e. trying to catch someone doing something illegal with a hidden camera), but there were so many things that I can say I've never seen before, even some of the most basic jokes came off as genius.

As predictable as this movie seems, it takes some different roads that gave it a different tone. These weren't douchey college kids just not caring about their neighbors; they were a friendly group of people who were misunderstood by the equally misunderstood older couple. All of the interactions just hit on a deeper level to where the audience can understand the inner thoughts of each character, while still being absolutely hysterical.

Overall, Neighbors might end up being the best comedy I'll see this summer (we'll see how A Million Ways to Die in the West turns out). After my Amazing Spider-Man 2 review, I've decided to stick with the double rating system. The first rating will represent the niche or genre, while the second will represent the film in comparison to other films. If you like the potty humor, you'll like Neighbors.

Summer Comedy About Feuding Neighbors: A

Average: B

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Zach joins me once again in reviewing "The Amazing Spider-Man 2". One of these reviews is edited down to remove spoilers. If you've seen the movie, the other one might make you laugh.

Watch if  you haven't seen it.

Spoiler discussion

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Draft Day

Kevin Costner fights to save Cleveland's future while balancing his personal life in the most expensive NFL commercial ever. Phillip joins Will in reviewing "Draft Day".

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Captain America: The Winter Soldier

My friend Zach Stamps joins me in reviewing Captain America: The Winter Soldier 
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How I Met Your Mother Finale

Last night's finale for How I Met Your Mother has left a lot of people feeling bitter and/or conflicted. I spent over an hour last night arguing in the show's defense, so I'm going to take this opportunity to explain why the finale went the way it did, and why it's the proper ending to a series that has tugged on our heartstrings for the better part of a decade. There will be spoilers throughout this post, so click away if you care.

My biggest complaint about this season was making it take place over a few days. As ambitious as it was, nobody wanted to spend this much time on Barney and Robin's wedding. Not to mention there were several filler episodes that could have been used to make a better finale. That being said, the rest of the complaints I've heard were not thought through enough to convince me.

The worst reaction my fellow viewers had was to the mother, Tracy McConnell, has been dead for six years as Ted tells his kids the story of how he met the mother, and his kids convince him to go after Robin since it's been so long since her death and Robin's divorce with Barney. I'll have to list why this makes sense and respond to other complaints:

1. Robin and Barney as a married couple does not make sense. Period.

You can argue that the character development of Barney was just flushed down the toilet when he goes back to hitting on women half his age. But a wife was never going to help Barney. A daughter would, which is why baby Ellie is so important to this story. But seriously, how the hell has Barney never had a bastard child over the years? All I am saying here, is that it makes complete sense that a divorce would happen between two characters such as these. Something season nine did right, in terms of Robin, was emphasize her relationship to Ted and her slow realization that she belongs with him. I sure believed that. But they've come too far. Ted won't be a part of another runaway bride situation, and it would ruin all of the relationships these characters have with their friends. She is marrying Barney because everyone says she has to, because they think she's just having cold feet. Those two don't love each other the way they thought they did.

2. Ted and Robin belong together.

People argue that Robin didn't appreciate Ted when they were together, but as the show reiterates time and time again, love doesn't make sense. It took her eight years to realize she belongs with him, and another fifteen for him to get her back. The show is titled "How I Met Your Mother" not "How I Met the Love of My Life". He met Tracy, and he loved her, and her him. And while the twist of the mother being dead and Ted going after Robin is almost unnecessary, it makes complete sense that Ted would end up with her. They would not have shoved Ted and Robin down our throats for this long if they didn't want to end the show the way they did. It just felt right seeing Ted hold up a blue french horn outside her apartment. 

3. Ted is not in the wrong for going after Robin in his fifties.

Tracy was dead for six years before Ted's kids encouraged him to try again with Robin. And he was still married when Robin was divorced. He's not dumping his dead wife immediately. He spent time with Robin and his kids without confessing love to her (I assume), and he had to be convinced by his children to ask her out again. 

4. The writers are clever, but they're cruel.

The shock factor of the finale comes from the flash forwards used, because you can't wrap up a series in a one day setting. It was very ambitious to try and cover such a long time span with such little time, and they nearly pulled it off, but they were making the audience like Robin less throughout the finale. We understand why she's not there for all the "big moments" but it doesn't change the fact that she wasn't there. Also, Marshall and Lily are kind of underplayed in the finale. They're more used as catalysts for "big moments" that Robin won't be there for. They are really just joke and drama dispensers in the finale. Nobody really cares where Marshall ends up in his career. We wanted to be told what we already knew, he and Lilly would be together forever.

Tracy dying didn't feel necessary given the small amount of time we were given to bond with her. I would have appreciated Ted meeting Tracy at the end of season eight, and allow us to get to know her in real time during season nine instead of these crazy flash forwards after a ridiculous wedding season. It's unfair to build everything up for Ted and Tracy and kill her off. It is. But we weren't going to get the happy sitcom ending er wanted, because that's not what HIMYM is about. 

5. Luke and Penny are right.

Using Robin as a catalyst for the entire story was unnecessary if they weren't going to end it this way. Ted could have just talked about Barney wanting to play "Haaave you met Ted?" one last time, or the woman at the bus stop telling him to talk to Tracy. But he told them countless stories of him falling in and out of love with Robin. The kids are right to tell him to go after Robin after hearing everything they have. 

6. The timeline is correct, but the flash forwards are sloppy.

The audience doesn't have a chance to mourn the mother. That's the biggest problem. They didn't come out and tell us until literally seconds before he goes to see Robin. We didn't feel the years go by as we were supposed to. Ted and Robin should have ended up together, but the complexities of life just got in the way. That's what this show is about. That's why this isn't satisfying to everyone. The audience doesn't believe Robin deserves Ted, which she doesn't. But Ted deserves her more than anyone. Robin respects Ted's marriage after her divorce, and Ted respects Tracy and the kids after her death. If you rewatch some moments from season nine, there are multiple hints towards her death, and, while shocking, it was necessary to make sure Ted and Robin ended up happy, while still maintaining Ted's love for Tracy. In the end everyone was happy, it was just a very long and sad road to get there. Barney respects women now, Ted's trying again with Robin, and Marshall and Lily blah blah blah. It was a clunky way of telling us how the next seventeen years would go, because you can't expect all of this stuff to happen in their thirties. It was like packing an outline of another sixteen seasons into an hour of television, which they didn't pull off perfectly (like I said earlier about making better use of those filler episodes). The point is, everything that happens is completely justified.

Overall, this show ended a legendary run in a shocking, bittersweet fashion. This will be remembered for years to come as a better finale as people think it out. A show like HIMYM that challenges the sitcom format like it did rarely comes along and plays on our emotions like it did, but we'll move on to create memories of our own.

Noah

My friend Chris from Radiak Gaming joined me in seeing "Noah" and we made this. I promise these will get better.

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Bad Words

In his film directorial debut, Jason Bateman stars in Bad Words. Guy Trilby (Bateman), a 40 year old degenerate, competes in spelling bees (as he never passed the 8th grade) for reasons undisclosed to anyone but himself. He and online reporter Jenny Widgeon (Kathryn Hahn) continue through all levels of spelling bees exploiting the loophole until they arrive at the national spelling bee.

Guy meets a young Indian boy named Chaitanya (Rohan Chand) on the way to the bee. While this is one of the most unlikely friendships you can have, it seriously worked. Andrew Dodge has written fantastic dialogue for someone of Bateman's timing and style, and kept the audience filled with shock laughter. Anyone can write offensive jokes, but it's rare you see a comedy as well timed as this.

Bateman is lovably, hilariously despicable in this film. We understand from the start that he's a complete asshole, but at least he's a funny asshole. It should also be understood that this man is a genius, whether it's a raunchy quip or a malicious prank. He and Chand have a rare chemistry for a pair of such different ages. Hahn, however, I felt never got closer to Bateman over time as we're supposed to see.

The two contestants bond so naturally through the loss of Chai's innocence, and the entire process is so hysterical that the audience is immediately settled in for the ride. Bateman's first lines set the tone for the film, which is emphasized extra by Guy's behavior towards Chai. The film feels so well paced for something under 90 minutes, I can't say it should have been longer or shorter.

The film's moral, if it has one, is left kind of blurry and weak in the eyes of the audience. The ending scenario may be a tad predictable, but it's played out like a spelling bee episode of Arrested Development or Community. While cleverly written, it didn't feel like the proper climax to a black comedy such as this. Also the arc focusing on Guy's motive felt underwhelming in the end, though that was one of the more drawing aspects to me. 

The montages in this film are wonderfully shot with Ken Seng at the head of cinematography. Seng does an excellent job of shooting scenes involving inebriation, and the use of a live broadcast format was played off well in terms of comedy. All of this combined with one of Bateman's best performances makes for a very enjoyable movie.

The problem with black comedies, is that sometimes it forces a conflict within the audience between their empathy for the characters and their nature to laugh. Some scenes were absurdly funny, but were a missed opportunity in terms of increasing the tension between two competitors. Sometimes, it just comes down to the shot they use, and Bateman went for the throat of the comedy gazelle.

Spoilers:

The fact that Chaitanya's father organized the entire friendship in order to force Guy to let Chai win forces a split between the audience. Those who still sympathize with the innocent child and those who want to see Guy exact revenge on his father will butt heads, but that conflict plays well into the climax. But this plot twist made it really hard for me to empathize with the child, as the film's primary focus is Guy. The whole "daddy issues" message feels completely half baked.

Bateman has a strong directorial debut, as he once said he's been acting for the last 20 years in order to start directing. I definitely look forward to his future projects, as he reverse typecasts himself. Bad Words is fairly original as far as spelling bee stories go. It's a whimsical indie film that may be remembered as a classic if Bateman sees more success. I'd recommend it to you as long as you know what you're getting into.

Rating: B+

Divergent

In the future, Chicago will be governed as a society divided by factions based on personality and virtues. Divergent follows Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley), a member of Abnegation (the "selfless" faction), as she attempts to join the Dauntless faction (bravery, security, etc.) and keep hidden the fact that she is divergent (can't really be placed into any of the five factions) from the Erudites (intelligence), specifically Kate Winslet.

I walked into Divergent expecting another teen action romance film trying to replace Harry Potter (which will never happen). I had lower than usual expectations for this film, but it surprised me. I understand why critics haven't been responding well to it, so I'm going to do my best to explain.

I really enjoyed the first hour of this movie. From Beatrice discovering her divergence, through her decisions, and her training in Dauntless, it was cool to see her character change and react to the stressful situations she's put into. It's not often a film does that without glossing over it in a montage. Woodley gives a much stronger performance than I anticipated, but the rest of the cast seems to fall flat thanks to some clunky dialogue and cheesy deliveries.

Dream and hallucination sequences were somewhat cool to watch. They weren't too trippy, and they played a part in the actual story. It's usually very difficult for me to sit through something similar to these mental tests and easy to lose interest, but the film managed to keep me engaged.

During most of the first hour, the film really ignores the overall conflict being divergence. Watching her transition into a Dauntless member was uplifting, but once the film regains focus on its subject matter, it turns right back into what I expected walking into the theater. A boring, predictable mess. As soon as the forced teen romance that you definitely saw coming hits the screen, everything just falls apart.

I may not be familiar with the source material, but it feels like someone was just bored writing the third act and just gave up. I enjoyed the first half of this film for the same reason I enjoyed Ender's Game. Showing a protagonist struggle is good, but watching bad stuff happen to them because their loved ones are selfless or stupid is not. The genocidal story arc was less intense than the training, making for an underwhelming third act.

The supporting cast is weak to say the least, because the studio probably spent their budget on Kate Winslet. After seeing the trailer, I now refer to the actor who played "Four" as "discount James Franco". Kate Winslet plays her part well, but just watching her, I just thought to myself "Anybody can do what she's doing right now." Zoe Kravitz delivered her lines as they were written, poorly, but it didn't take away from the friendship her character had with Woodley's.

Not since Sunshine have I been so disappointed in the second half of a film. It's almost a cruel trick pulled by the studio making us think we didn't have to watch the same basic story again. But no, we got our Phantom Menace ending with our forced Twilight romance in our Hunger Games dystopian society. So I'm going to break the tie. I was ready to give this movie a B+ half way through, and the second half feels like a C. If you're a fan of the books, you're going to see it anyway. If not, just wait for Mockingjay.

Rating: B-

Muppets Most Wanted

Muppets Most Wanted  is the latest installment in the now rebooted Muppets franchise. As someone who never saw a Muppets movie until the 2011 reboot, I'll say that film turned me into a Muppets fan. Most Wanted makes for a nice continuation of their story. The Muppets go on a world tour with Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais), who plots a series of burglaries with Constantine, the world's most dangerous frog. Constantine sets Kermit as his replacement in a Siberian prison under the guard of Nadya (Tina Fey).

You may find me comparing it a lot to the previous movie, because it really set the standard for me, but here goes. Most Wanted has a very strong first act. I enjoyed the opening sequence, as it picks up literally right where the last movie left off, and it goes straight into a musical number about sequels.The first 30-40 minutes are filled with fantastic jokes for both kids and parents, but about halfway through the movie, the older audience members might start to get a little bored. The movie plays off its predictable nature and makes it fun for everyone, but it's hard to maintain the steady stream of jokes in the first half hour for the entire 106 minutes.

The Muppets should definitely consider putting more spotlight on some of its smaller characters. Kermit seems to be the primary focus, which makes sense with him being the leader and all. Walter and Fozzie have their moments, and Ms. Piggy is practically a step below Kermit. But there needs to be more involvement, because they just feel like minor characters, when they're supposed to all be equals in the same group. Gonzo's lines mostly consist of suggesting dangerous ideas, and I'm not even sure if most of the others have names.

Ty Burrell and Sam Eagle have a fun relationship to watch as CIA and Interpol agents working together, if only their best jokes weren't shown in the trailer. Nothing entertains American audiences like jokes about Europe, and nothing entertains European audiences like a stereotypical American in Europe in the form of an eagle puppet.

While I did enjoy Ricky Gervais, he just seemed uncomfortable during a lot of this film, but not enough for him to hate making it. Jason Segel and Amy Adams were a big part of what made the last movie great, and I was left with a bit of disappointment when neither made an appearance. Tina Fey, however, almost steals the show. I'm not a huge Fey fan, but her Russian accent was amusing to say the least.

As far as the musical aspect of it goes, I enjoyed the first few songs, and then it seemed like they were just having musical numbers for the sake of having musical numbers. One by Ms. Piggy really forced an appearance by Celine Dion on to the audience. By the end of it, I was a little tired out. Some were there to progress the plot, while others were there to simply extend the runtime.

The prison story arc was just okay. I expected more to happen. Plenty of things I expected to happen do, but what surprised me didn't entertain much. I found myself wanting to just move the plot along on both sides of the story, but the jokes along the way were enough to keep me interested. I find it hilarious that no matter where you get arrested in Europe, you're going to Siberia no matter what. An abundance of celebrity cameos made this part of the story work.

As much as I love ripping on movies for having massive plot holes, I can't do it to a family film like this. Muppets Most Wanted is well aware of its shortcomings, and it succeeds in covering for them with self-referential humor. It's trying to keep its younger audience's attention while still making things fun for the whole family, which is incredibly hard to do in an age where the humor is becoming increasingly crude. I'll say Muppets Most Wanted isn't necessarily as entertaining as its predecessor, but it makes for an enjoyable time.

Rating: B

Need for Speed

When I saw the advertisements for Need for Speed while watching the final episodes of Breaking Bad, I thought "That movie is going to suck so hard, but we're all going to see it, because Aaron Paul is in it." And I should get this out of the way early; he doesn't ever yell his Jesse Pinkman catchphrase, so that's probably the biggest disappointment, because you shouldn't have any other expectations for this movie.

Paul plays Tobey Marshall, a "famous" street racer with a rivalry Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper) and a backstory with him that goes completely unexplained. I could really tell that Paul didn't really care about this role, because he was really just trying not to be Jesse. There's nothing in this terrible script that Paul could have brought to life on screen. He did what he could, though.

If you care about this movie, you probably don't care about the lack of logic or the defying of physics. Between that, the fact that you can guess everything that's going to happen for the entire movie, and the horrible dialogue, that leaves one thing. Awesome cars. Yes, the movie is full of them. They're loud, they're fast, and they make everyone driving them look cooler. And if you didn't understand when 4 holographic mustangs unveil a silver car, it's a 2 hour 13 minute Mustang commercial.

Imogen Poots plays Aaron Paul's cliche love interest. Looking back, I can't think of anything she did to progress the plot by herself other than getting the best driver in the world the world's fastest car. I can't even understand why that happened. But there's no point in questioning this in the same movie where an amateur pilot has access to an Apache helicopter.

Michael Keaton plays some kind of underground racing commentator/organizer who basically reads out the plot to people in the audience who weren't following the movie's poorly written conversations. He doesn't seem to serve any purpose other than to provide exposition and give really bad commentating on the race he organizes. And how has he not been arrested yet? Who cares?

You probably won't remember this movie a few days after you watch it, and you may just sit through it saying "this movie is bullshit", because it is. While I usually appreciate practical effects, nothing else in the movie was intriguing enough to make me appreciate their use. This could be a great film if you're just trying to kill time, or if you're trying to get some substances out of the film, but not if you want to hear Aaron Paul yell "Yeah bitch!"

Rating: D

RoboCop

If there's one thing the internet has turned to hating besides the Star Wars prequels and Twilight, it's remakes. No one wanted RoboCop to be remade as it is considered a classic action sci-fi that wasn't afraid to add some raunchiness. But there is more that meets the eye to this particular remake.

In the original film, Detective Murphy was never allowed any "humanity". The remake has more of a focus on the side of Murphy's family. It's practically a different situation. In this RoboCop world, the ED-209s and other machines have already been distributed to other countries, but are banned in the US. And countries like Iraq are sending out suicide bombers to tell the world how bad it is, only to be covered up with what must be Samuel L. Jackson's parody of Bill O'Reilly.

Acting in this film is pretty much summed up with Gary Oldman as Dr. Dennett Norton and Samuel L. Jackson as the heavily biased Pat Novak. They had solid performances, and the rest of the cast was okay. Nothing to brag about. Joel Kinnaman plays a good RoboCop, not so much Murphy. Abbie Cornish, who plays Murphy's wife Carla, has proven her ability to cry on command, as she does throughout the movie. Michael Keaton always made a great bad guy to me, he and Jay Baruchel make the meeting scenes interesting

The plot is significantly altered from it's original, as it involves the family of Murphy, and it has more substance to it. There's more to it than just revenge. Murphy isn't a mannequin put into a robotic suit, he's a head with organs, and one hand. He's struggling emotionally and physically, and I will say I cared more about this protagonist than the one from the original film. Also, Michael K. Williams plays a charismatic partner while the original Nancy Allen seems less likable.

Even the motives for creating RoboCop are different, besides the common factor of money. The aspect of American politics added in makes it more interesting, and the question of free will is a refreshingly deeper question for the audience.

Action was a bit less impressive than you'd expect. You get to see RoboCop arrest or shoot a lot of people, but it is fairly repetitive in how he does it. Nothing will ever compare to the 1987 RoboCop bold choices in both blood spurts and dark scenarios. As far as PG-13 goes, it's perfectly acceptable, but we all wanted a rated R RoboCop.

Besides the redesigning of the costume, the added plotlines, and some and a disappoint amount of blood, the remake isn't too far off from the original for me to give this a bad rating. Williams and Jackson give some of the best lines, while Kinnaman is stuck with the old catchphrases. It's a well paced, easily followed action film, that will definitely let you kill two hours.

Rating: B-

Non-Stop

In the few years I've reviewed movies, I have never used the term "thrill-ride". But that's exactly what Non-Stop is. Liam Neeson may be a bit too seasoned for an action hero career, but it's almost as if he gets more powerful with every movie he makes. Jaume Collet-Serra directed this thriller after 2011's Unknown (another Liam Neeson thriller).

Bill Marks (Neeson) is a federal air marshal who investigates the passengers of a flight to London as a stranger sends messages to his phone, threatening to kill someone every 20 minutes. On paper, and even in the trailers, this looks and sounds like a ridiculously dumb movie. It's not incredibly ludicrous, but there are moments where you have to suspend your disbelief if you have any. Planning to kill someone on an airplane every 20 minutes can't go without meticulous planning and a few speed bumps. 

There were some things that the film did very well. Cinematography (minus a bit of shaky cam) was excellent, whether it was a blurring effect, or a long take. That and a rather large cast helps emphasize the impossibility of finding someone who's just using a cell phone to text. I can guarantee, you will have no idea who is behind it all throughout the entire movie.

Julianne Moore, who appears to be in everything nowadays, plays Jen Summers, who quickly gains the trust of Marks as he searches for the terrorist. It's no different than anything she usually does. She's likable in that outgoing older woman kind of way. Corey Stoll plays a disgruntled, less than politically correct passenger who becomes more and more frustrated with the lack of information as the flight goes on. Stoll, if you don't know him from House of Cards, gives a strong performance as well as the rest of the cast.

Liam Neeson seemed to half-ass his way through this movie. I don't know if he wants to be put into these roles, or if he keeps taking them because they're being offered. He's making a name for himself as an action hero, so he may as well look like he wants to be there. We don't need another Bruce Willis.

Despite logical fallacies here and there, the film has a gripping, fast-paced story line that is clearly laid out for the audience. There's never a dull moment on a plane to London. If there's one thing in this movie I can't deal with, it's that Marks is an air marshal. Air marshals should not be air marshals if they hate flying.

Character development isn't a strong suit of Collet-Serra, as Neeson's characters in both Non-Stop and Unknown tend to be focused on blatantly throwing a few key details of their lives on screen and hoping the audience cares. I don't really care if he's an alcoholic, I just want to see him catch a bad guy. 

Non-Stop provides the audience with a mystery they can try to solve while enjoying the film itself. It has its action, an easily followed plot, and a few laughs along the way. If you enjoy planes, Liam Neeson, and some creative texting animations, and you're willing to ignore a few preposterous events, then you will enjoy Non-Stop.

Rating: B

The Lego Movie

Many lifelong dreams are being realized through The Lego Movie. When I saw the trailer for this, I was more than excited. Combining stop motion animation, mulitple universes and the imagination of a child make this a movie that could never be mimicked. The cast list is long and impressive, and animation hasn't been tried like this in years.

Emmett (Chris Pratt) is your normal generic Lego construction worker. He has no defining features other than the fact that there is no one else as ordinary as him. He meets Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) after stumbling upon “the resistance piece” which can be used to stop the secret weapon of Lord Business (Will Ferrell), the Kragle. Emmett is mistaken for “the special” who is prophesied to stop the end of the world, and Bad Cop (Liam Neeson) is determined to bring him down.

I have to start with the animation. Stop motion animation hasn’t been widely used lately, but this film brings it back like it was never gone. This is the best stop-motion animation I have ever seen. The level of difficulty the animators had would have Trey Parker and Matt Stone eating each other alive. Explosions, fires, floods, oceans, even smoke all made out of your ordinary Lego bricks. And if you’re not thinking about how cool everything looks, you’re deeply invested in this heartwarming story.

I’ve been kind of disappointed with Legos when I walk down toy aisles. I see all these kits specified to the things kids see on television or in movies, and I just think about how they can’t create anything of their own if their mimicking someone else’s designs. But this movie hit the nail right on the head as if it was written specifically for me. The message should get through to everyone that following the instructions isn’t completely necessary, because it’s about making your own creations out of someone else’s.

There are even some dark tones within the story as the Lego world is kind of a surveillance state with one song that promotes optimism (called “Everything is Awesome”). While creeping fascism is a reference we can all relate to nowadays, the film is also packed with pop culture references, meta jokes, and things that kids won’t understand that don’t even have to be dirty to enjoy. It's one of the most fun family films I have ever seen.

The story is kind of a quick tell. Most of what you want to see is in the last half hour. You really think you know where the story goes, some unexpected turns make the movie exactly what you want it to be. We haven’t seen an original family film like this in a very long time, and it's basically "review proof." Because every male who ever played with Legos will know that this is more than just the story.

I really want to talk about the cast; because I recognized so many voices it was hilarious. Will Arnett as Batman, Alison Brie as Unikitty, Anthony Daniels returns as C-3PO for a moment, Charlie Day as an overexcited 80s’ astronaut, Will Forte as Abe Lincoln? I loved Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as The Green Lantern and Superman, but nothing takes the cake like Morgan Freeman as Vitruvius. I mean, damn. Freeman is hilarious without context. Chris Pratt has done no wrong in his film career (save for Movie 43), and I will keep my eye on him, because he’s really breaking into the game.

The movie takes itself just seriously enough to get its message across, while still promoting and displaying imagination and creativity. I was surprised at the amount of effort that was put into making this film great, because Lego could have done this with CGI for half the price, and they could have just had two hours of mindless action, but they chose to do it right, and oh, did they do it right. When you have a speech or sequence at the end of any movie that moves you in any way, then you have truly empathized with those characters, and you know that they did something right. Lego Movie has heart, imagination, action, romance, and plenty of laugh-out-loud comedy for you to stop reading this and head to the theater.

Rating: A

The Monuments Men

In the last year or so of the Second World War, a group of architects, art restorers, and collectors were sent into Europe to protect and recover pieces of art and buildings stolen by the Nazis or to be blown up by the Allies. George Clooney stars and directs The Monuments Men with this all-star cast of Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Bob Balaban and Jean Dujardin, respectively.

As subject matter for World War II films has become scarce, this seemed like a refreshing change and a story that should be told. Art being part of history, and that when you destroy it you erase history, should be enough for this film to go on. But where Monuments Men stumbles is the center. It brings focus to a couple key pieces of art that most of its audience will not understand, but an inconsistent tone suggests the whole operation to be a joke.

When I say inconsistent tone, I mean they switch between comedy and historical war drama like a routine light switch check. They give several jokes, but most won't be that funny given the dramatic tone between them. Each Monument Man gets his moment, but the whole movie feels like dramatic sketch comedy with a clip of George Clooney driving a Jeep woven between each bit. And I understand that these were based on true events, but they could have done a better job of writing some of the scenes. Each situation was unaffected by the others, because the group was spread across the continent for a lot of the movie. There were even some scenes that felt like they only existed for one joke, and there's not enough payoff for me not to ask "Why was that scene in the movie?".

I'll give it this, I cared for a couple of these characters thanks to some fantastic performances, particularly Goodman. But character development is rushed through a montage and then each character gets a scene or two. Bill Murray steals the show when he opens his mouth, but the script didn't give him a whole lot to do. And that's kind of what happens with most of them, there are a few things about them that are told to the audience, and then those rich back stories are never brought up again. 

Matt Damon spends nearly the entire movie trying to convince Cate Blanchett to trust him with the locations of the art, and then they try to force an almost romance that no one could care less about. Clooney doesn't seem to do anything in this movie except point at maps. Goodman and Dujardin have some great moments, same with Murray and Balaban, but the film really didn't show them growing together, or even spending much time together as a team. It just felt like a historical drama filled with poorly timed jokes.

There's also some strange editing in this film. It's not like there's weird after-effects or anything, and this just might be nit-picky, but the transitions seemed to be chosen randomly. They basically only used a cut or a dissolve, but they'd dissolve mid conversation, and cut between scenes after a soft dramatic scene. It was just something that took me out of the movie is all. 

The movie was paced very well. For a two hour movie, it felt like an hour and a half, maybe. That was a benefit of the quick changes in scenery. But part of the ending is so anti climactic (not spoilery), given there's so much tension, that I thought to myself "But what about the- aw nevermind" right as the film begins to wrap itself up. 

SPOILER: It's a giant middle finger to the audience when you show the men rushing out of a mine full of art to escape the Russians, you don't think they're going to make it, and then it dissolves to them driving away smiling, and a Russian officer smiling at an American flag. None of that makes sense.

The film fails to make its audience care about art and its place in our society. While yes, there's many scenes involving pieces being rescued or destroyed, they kind of glaze over why they're doing it. Yes, they want it to get it back to its rightful owners, that's understandable. But if Clooney, who also co-wrote the screenplay, had thrown in a lengthy monologue instead of the ten second one he gave at the beginning, he might have gotten the point across better.

This really was not a bad film, simply mediocre. Performances aren't really an issue, thought it feels a little phoned in given the little screen time of each actor. It seems like it was a lot more fun to make than to watch. Had they taken their time with the characters, it might have been worth the wait, but all we got was an artistic remake of "Saving Private Ryan" with a ton of "we're too old and smart to be in the army" humor that you will definitely not remember a week from now.

Rating: C

Her

Spike Jonze brings us Her, a sci-fi romance drama between newly divorced Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) and his new artificially intelligent operating system Samantha (Scarlett Johansson). As Theodore becomes more depressed and lonely after his wife (Rooney Mara) leaves him, Samantha slowly learns what learning and experiencing existence is like, even without a body.

The screenplay, which literally just won the golden globe, is fantastically, refreshingly original. The idea is so simple but the relationship still reaches its complexities that seem as accurate as they could for the near future. This concept will definitely become real at some point in our lives, but it amazes me that there hasn't been a movie just like this before.

Joaquin Phoenix gives a strong performance, but not one to pass up other Oscar contenders (he still deserves a nomination). His interaction with an OS as a love interest is believable, entertaining and accessible. Amy Adams also gives her usual solid performance.

The best part about Scarlett Johansson in Her is that men can see this film with their women without worrying about getting distracted by Johansson's body. She gives a strong performance without being on screen, without having a character on screen. She plays a computer learning to be a part of a human world, but all centered around Theodore, and she makes that character very engaging.

It's unclear what city Theodore lives in, but Jonze gives us beautiful shots of post modern skylines that seem similar to what we have today with their own futuristic tweaks. The colorful sights will keep the audience dazzled when things slow down.

Parts of the movie feel pretty predictable, because every romantic drama has to have a moment or two where the protagonist's love interest goes away for about 3-4 minutes after a fight before they make up. What makes Her special, is the way the relationship develops and how it continues to grow.

Chris Pratt serves as a form of comic relief, and I think that's about it. I feel like Jonze could have taken Pratt's character and his wife out of this movie entirely and the plot wouldn't change. Theodore doesn't seem to talk to him about anything important other than the fact that he's dating an OS. He still gets laughs, so it's not like he brought down the ship.

Overall the film was insightful and charismatic, and it will set the standard for AI dating when introverts being looking for it. It might be a bit over-hyped, because it's not the love story to end all love stories because it involves a computer. The story was original and the acting is strong. I would only expect this to win for its screenplay, but Her is definitely worth the watch.

Overall: B+