Well, it’s here….

Blockbuster season! It is in full swing as we are about a month in and I have been spending some quality time at the theatre. I have also been spending some time in front of the TV watching some new-ish new-to-me flicks so I have quite a bit to go over today.

This weekend I was among the droves of people who headed to the theatre to see this movie. It is apparently breaking records, it seems to be the year for that.

The movie starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and Vincent D’Onofrio needs no synopsis; dinosaur zoo/theme park, things go wrong. That really is all you need to know. I will say it seemed like a long ad for itself at times that featured a substantial amount of unsubtle product placements but it was a ton of fun. There was a lot of cool stuff in there. They toured the new park, payed homage to the first Jurassic Park film and its characters, had a lot of different dinosaurs, a lot of running, jumpy moments, and, of course, humour.

Before I saw the movie I was given 2 very different impressions of what to expect. One that is was a jumble of ridiculousness and two it was a fun thrill ride. As you can see I am on the thrill ride bandwagon but I can understand the ridiculousness aspect of it. The thing is, this isn’t a movie you go into to analyze and nit pick at. I agree the story isn’t the best (I could easily pick out 20 things wrong with the movie some small, some big problems) but it gives you enough to suspend your disbelief and just enjoy the show.

I do recommend watching Jurassic World. As I said it is entertaining kids and adults alike will enjoy it. But if your kid is a bit sensitive there are some scary/bloody scenes in there so beware.

Ok, so, I may get some flack for what I think of this movie. I have been given looks of bewilderment, words of disbelief, and lectures on why this is a good movie, but I gotta say, it just didn’t do it for me. I got bored.

Before you say, “HOW COULD YOU GET BORED!” I do believe you are screaming this because you are thinking about all the explosions, and fighting, and car flipping, and that dude with the flame-throwing guitar, just hear me out. For action in a movie to have a proper impact there needs to be quiet moments in between so the juxtaposition between the calm and the frantic is poignant. Yes this movie is filled with action but it is ALL action. So when the movie started I was into it, then it just kept going, and about half-hour in that became the norm and the frenzy became bland. Essentially the movie is one long car chase sequence that went on WAY too long.

Look I am not saying this is a bad movie, what ever you are yelling at my static words on the screen I have probably already heard and I can see no fault in your argument. Yes I did see the thing when the guy did that thing, and I did see that part too, and yes Charlize Theron was a badass in it, and so on and so forth. I am just saying I didn’t get as hyped up as I was expected to.

Yes, I did see Pitch Perfect 2. This is what happens when I let one of my girl friends pick the movie. I had been forced to watch the first movie only a month or 2 ago when I had people over at my place and people were going on about how they couldn’t wait to see the second movie and I foolishly confessed to not having seen first one. It wasn’t bad, there are some very funny moments and the music is good but I have seen this movie before with varying budgets and goals.

Pitch Perfect 2 is a typical sequel in this genre. A lot of talking about what happened in the previous movie and why everything has fallen apart since then. With that said I still enjoyed it. It is an up beat film and how could it not be with all the music? There are some great cameos, hi-jinks, and a few good laughs. What more could you want in your entertainment?

If you are looking for existentialism and finding meaning in life, this is not the movie for you. If you are looking for a break and something to put you in a good mood, this is the movie for you.

This is the 11th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far, we will be at 12 next month. This is a deeply intertwined universe where you don’t have to see all the other movies but you miss out on so much if you don’t. Here is a breakdown to catch you up. Should I warn you there are spoilers? Well there are….

This is another great addition to the franchise. One thing with these Marvel movies is that it is clear that the people making them know the characters, the environment, and really want to make something great and because of that they are making a shit-ton of money. By now 90% of the movie going populous has seen this film and probably read all the reviews, and I just want to say

• Hella enjoyable movie
• No I don’t think it is better than the first one it is on the same level
• Yes I was impressed when they took the time to show the heroes actually saving people
• No I don’t think that death was necessary but I think it had to do more with legalities in the real world than anything else
• Yes I am still on the Marvel movie bandwagon

There you go.

Ok, full disclosure, I only saw about 85-90% of this movie. I didn’t see the end or the touching tribute to Paul Walker. I was watching it at my brother’s place and he was leaving so I had to go and usually I would have had a problem with that but with this movie it was no problem at all. I have no need or want to finish that movie, it isn’t very good.

I know I have already told you to go watch movies with dinosaurs and super heroes but this movie franchise was one I always found the most ludicrous (HA! See what I did there?). The action sequences are just stupid, the reason for them being in the situations are even dumber, and it just comes across as ridiculous to me. The stuff in the movies are so blatantly bad that I can’t suspend my disbelief and just go with it, it annoys me. I will say though the chick fight was great and they destroyed some really pretty cars.

I can’t recommend this movie or any of them in the franchise.

Those who know know that I loved the first Spongebob Squarepants movie. It was ridiculous in all the best ways making it hella fun to watch. With this second movie it didn’t quite hit the mark. It was still kinda silly and outlandish but some of the spark was missing.

Don’t get me wrong, it was still fun and kids will love it but for me it didn’t have the same oomph. That just may be from residual hype from the first film. Also based on all the advertising you would think the whole movie was 3D animated and you would be very wrong. Its only the last 15 minutes or so. It is a very abrupt tonal change that I found a bit jarring.

Sure give it watch.

Like most sci-fi movies this one started with a great idea introducing the audience into an intriguing future world. Sadly it quickly devolved into a pile of crap.

Since District 9 Neill Blomkamp has been given a free pass to make what he wants. The problem with that he is either being rushed or he is out of ideas. With District 9 he had years and years to get the story together, make tweaks, and really put something great together. His other films have been on a much shorter deadline and you can see he has at least partial ideas but they are not thought through and then badly executed. With Elysium he had the same problem. He had about 3/4 of that story thought through but by the end it had all just fallen apart. Sadly with this one it was about 1/4.

One of the biggest problems with the movie was that Blomkamp had the members of Die Antwoord as the film’s stars. They were distractingly bad in their roles. Not only that it looked like they had some control on the set decoration as their album art, photo spreads, and merch were all over everything. There is even a scene in the movie where Yolani is wearing a Chappie t-shirt while helping Chappie.

By the time the climax of the movie is reached you can’t take the movie seriously anymore and the conclusion was supposed to be poignant but it came across as laughable. I will say though Hugh Jackman gave it all. He was into that role and friggin’ killed it. If he had done that in a better executed film it would have been awesome.

I can’t recommend Chappie 20 minutes in it starts to fall apart and never recovers.

I am not 100% sure I should do a review on this movie as I only kinda half watched it. I was doing work while it was on and tuned in and out of it. The thing is I can’t see when I will sit and watch this movie again.

When I was paying attention to the movie it was very moody, atmospheric, and intriguing. Visually it was stunning. Even though many of the sets were minimalist the use of lighting, placement, and colour made it captivating. The acting was great from what I saw. A lot of it was based in subtle facial cues and tone of voice that the actors pulled off, nothing seemed over or under performed. It is a very quiet film so when something does happen it really rings through bringing shock and awe.

From what I saw I would recommend Ex Machina. It is quiet and a bit heavy so if you are looking for something with a message and some brevity then this is a movie you would get right into.

Tra