The Boy (2016)

Directed by: William Brent Bell

Written by: Stacey Menear

Starring: Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans, & James Russell







Oh my gosh guys, this film.  When it finished I was like "What just happened?"  I was pretty upset about the ending.  Ugh, I'm still kind of mad.

The Boy stars Cohan as Greta Evans, a nanny who just moved to England to get away from her abusive ex-boyfriend.  She finds a job taking care of a doll, whose parents think it is their dead son.  After the parents leave for holiday, Greta begins noticing weird things happening around the house and the doll.  She comes to the conclusion that the doll is actually alive.

Okay, ugh this film.  So the person I went with to see this film says that I'm upset that the film tricked me.  Maybe that's it.  But I don't think so.

It's hard to say what made me upset about the film without giving the ending away.  Let's just say it's not what Greta thinks it is.

The first half of the film was great.  I jumped twice and was really into the story.  I wanted to know more about Brahms, the boy, and what happened to him.  I was convinced that his spirit was haunting the doll, just like Greta did.

                               DON'T READ IF YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THE FILM!!!

SPOILER!!! SPOILER!!! SPOILER!!! SPOILER!!! SPOILER!!! SPOILER!!! 

DON'T READ IF YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THE FILM!!!

I'm a pretty spiritual person.  What made me upset about this film is that the writer portrayed this film like it was a spirit gone bad.  But really it's just some guy hiding in the walls pretending to be a spirit.  Like what?  Why would he live in the walls to begin with and pretend to be some creepy doll?  Just come out!  I don't understand.  And apparently he's always been living in the walls and the parents knew?!  Why didn't they take him out of the walls to live like a real person?  Sure, he killed some little girl, but be good parents and take him to the police.  Don't let him just live like that with an eight-year-old mind.  But then he wants a relationship with Greta.  Are you eight or twenty-eight? The film is just all over the place once the climax happens with Cole, the ex-boyfriend.  Gosh.  So many unanswered questions and then when there were times to actually explain what was going on, it was brushed over!  No!  No!  No!  I didn't just sit through half of this film to be led on that it's a bad spirit to actually come to find out that it's some lunatic living in the walls.  No!

SPOILER OVER!!! SPOILER OVER!!! YOU CAN KEEP READING!!!

So due to my spoiling rant, I'm going to give it 3 popcorns.  It was great, until the climax, then it just went all over the place in my opinion.  

Dirty Grandpa (2016)

Directed by: Dan Mazer

Written by: John Phillips

Starring: Robert De Niro & Zac Efron







This film was hilarious.  I haven't seen a film this funny since Bridesmaids.  Dirty Grandpa revolves around a grandfather and grandson adventure to Boca.  Dick Kelly (De Niro) lost his wife and as consolation convinces his grandson Jason (Efron) to drive him to Boca since he had his driver's license taken away.  Jason agrees, but little does he know that what Kelly really wants to do is sleep with a college girl.  Jason gets taken on this wild ride, while Dick is trying to keep himself and his grandson young at heart.

Robert De Niro, to me, was the one that made this film.  He seems to be doing films that are geared towards a younger audience these days, first with The Intern and now this.  He was the one that had the great one liners.  Efron pretty much was the consequence of well everything.  Things you would never expect to happen, happen and it's just hilarious.

I was initially going to give this 4 popcorns, but I decided it is really worth 5 since I did cry this last time I saw it.  It was that funny.  I've seen it twice and am planning to see it once more.

But I will say that there were a few shots that I felt should have been held a little longer. Also the first time I saw this film, these two elderly women walked out.  It's pretty dirty, hence the title.  So if you're not into, let's say Jackass films beware.

The Revenant (2015)

Directed by:  Alejandro González Iñárritu

Written by: Mark L. Smith, Alejandro González Iñárritu, & Michael Punke (part of the novel)

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio & Tom Hardy







(Before I begin my review, I apologize for not having this up sooner, and by sooner I mean before the Golden Globes.  Technically I saw this the day before the Globes and did not have a chance to put this review up.  But at least it is before the Oscars, right?)

Revenant: noun, A person who has returned, especially supposedly from the dead.

The Revenant stars DiCaprio and Hardy as part of a group of men that trade fur during the 1820s.  Their main goal is to avoid the Native Americans and try to get as many pelts as possible.  Unfortunately for Hugh Glass (DiCaprio), he encounters a bear that leaves him injured beyond belief.  So much so that it looks as if he might die.  Luckily, or unluckily, he survives!  But at the cost of losing his son.  In a quest for revenge, Glass tracks down the murderer who left him for dead and killed his son.

There are so many things to love about this film.  Here's a list:

1. The metaphors
2. Leo obviously
3. Will Pouter, a.k.a. eyebrow guy
4. The survival and just the roughness of the film
5. Cinematography beauty
6. And more that I can't list, because it might give the ending away.

So first the metaphors.  I love any movie that has metaphors, being an English major.  But many people seem to miss the metaphors in, well, pretty much any type of film.  The metaphors occur mostly with the Native American aspect of the film and the actors that portray the meaning of karma.

Leo.  Who doesn't love Leo?  I really think with all the effort that was put into this film by his acting and the weather conditions that he will finally win the Academy Award for Best Actor.  He did not talk a lot in the film, which made him an even greater actor because he had to rely on his facial expressions and body language to portray his agony with what was occurring right before his eyes.  Now that's acting.

Will Pouter, if you don't know, he is from one of the Chronicles of Narnia films, the third one.  When I first saw that film, all I thought was who is this kid with the funny eyebrows?  But since then he has appeared in Meet the Millers as well as The Maze Runner films.  Comparing those films to this one, you can see how he's grown as an actor.  He's has had a variety of roles from being the brainy know-it-all to the awkward teen to the bully of the Glade and now as the guilty young man trying to do what's right.  I think he's a great actor and I hope to see more of his funny awesome eyebrows in the future.

The survival and roughness of the film is something I haven't seen, especially the horse scene if you know what I mean.  You can tell it's cold, hard to walk through the snow (imagine the equipment!), and having to deal with mother nature as a whole while in the woods; now that's just crazy.  I'd die.  But that's filmmaking.

The benefit of filming in crazy weather conditions is the beauty.  I admired how between the scenes there were short clips of the scenery to give the audience a view of where they were.  It's beautiful, but also dangerous as we see with what the characters go through.

Iñárritu did a fantastic job with this film and I hope to see more Leo/Alejándro collaborations further on.  I can see why it won for the Golden Globes and I'm sure it will win again for the Oscars, especially with its 12 nominations.  It's a must see.  5 popcorns!

The Hateful Eight (2015)

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

Written by: Quentin Tarantino

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, & Jennifer Jason Leigh







Well this is definitely a Tarantino film.  It has all the aspects: gore, language, odd storyline...

The Hateful Eight takes place in Wyoming in the middle of a blizzard.  An unintended blizzard for that matter.  Major Marquis Warren (Jackson), a bounty hunter and veteran, happens upon a carriage filled with John Ruth (Russell), also a bounty hunter, and his catch, Daisy Domergue (Leigh).  Russell decides to let him ride in his carriage as they make their way towards Rockville to cash in their findings.  Unfortunately, a blizzard starts and they get stuck with five others in a cabin.  Let's just say the rest of the film doesn't go well for our characters.

The film was shot beautifully, but for the first hour and a half, I was bored.  Now let me remind you that this film is almost three hours long.  I think the reason I was bored was because there was not enough action at the beginning.  Tarantino was creating the backstory and there was a lot of talking.  But once they get to the cabin, it starts to pick up and then becomes a great film!  I mean, Tarantino does make great films.

It was everything I expected, other than the boring first hour and a half.  But I don't think I can watch it again without some time in between.  I mean I was fidgeting and it's a lot to take in.  As the person I went with said when I asked if they liked it, "It's different."  So I'll leave you with that.  It's different.  4 popcorns.

Concussion (2015)

Directed by: Peter Landesman

Written by:  Peter Landesman & Jeanne Marie Laskas (article)

Starring: Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, & Albert Brooks






Concussion shows how one man can impact the world.  Smith's character Dr. Bennet Omalu has a very impressive resume with lists of educational degrees and careers.  Based on a true story, Omalu has discovered a shocking epidemic in the field of football.  Get it?  Field... Anyway, Omalu brings his finding to the NFL, who, unfortunately for Omalu, wants nothing to do with it, since it jeopardizes their billion dollar operation.  Will Omalu be able to inform the world of this tragedy within the fan filled game or will it just disappear into the crowd?

The best thing about this film is Smith's acting of Omalu.  Before watching this film, I knew football caused concussions, but this goes beyond that.  (If you watch this film, Omalu gives a better explanation as to what than I can.)

Despite being mostly about the medical and business side of Omalu's life, it also goes into his personal life with how he met his wife and what struggles they endured together.

Landesman made great directorial choices, such as integrating actual football footage into the film from NFL games to college, high school, and even child playing this sport.  It made the film that much more impactful and without it, I'm sure this film may have not been nominated.

Even though this film is great, it is missing something.  I cannot put my finger on it, but it didn't reach the height of 5 popcorns.  Maybe 4.5, but I don't rate halves, so 4 it is.