Everest (2015)

Directed by: Baltasar Kormákur

Written by: William Nicholson & Simon Beaufoy

Starring: Jason Clarke, Keira Knightley, & Josh Brolin






I loved this film.

Why?

Well in contrast to my previous post about The Scorch Trials, Everest actually followed the book!

What I'm talking about is the book Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer.  I read it in college for a creative writing course.

When I first heard about this movie, I was like "Oh, Mount Everest.  Is is a documentary or something?"  But it isn't.  It recounts the adventure taken on by a group of people who climbed this mountain, but unfortunately on their way back down, a storm hit and left some for dead and others in a panic.  It was very moving.

Now compared to the book, the film follows the guide Rob Hall who makes a living climbing up the mountain and insuring others that he can take them up and down safely.  Instead in the book it follows Krakauer and his experience.

I felt that the film was stronger than the book, which is saying something since that usually does not happen.  I believe the reason is that the audience gets to see the travelers' life outside the mountain.  Who are they married to?  Do they have kids?  Why are they doing this?  Etc...

There were a lot of things I liked about this film.  The acting was great.  The makeup was phenomenal.  You can actually feel their pain and them become frozen to death by the actors' performance and the makeup made them definitely look beyond Celsius.

Now I doubt that the filmmakers went to Mount Everest and got these shots of them actually going up the mountain.  Therefore the CGI was so realistic that I almost doubted them not not going.  Maybe they did, but I thought that only for a second.

If you go to the movies this week, or this month, put this as the front runner.  The IMAX 3D experience makes it moving, but seeing what these characters/real people (because it's a true story) go through makes it that much more.  Let's just say I was crying.  5 popcorns!

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)

Directed by: Wes Ball

Written by: T. S. Nowlin & James Dashner (novel)

Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, & Thomas Brodie-Sangster







I had a lot of hope for this movie.  But I ended up disappointed.

Let me explain.  I had watched The Maze Runner first and then read the books.  I'm on The Kill Order now.  So because of this, I, of course, want it to be exactly like the books.  Now if you've seen The Maze Runner and read the book, you know there are some differences.  Same goes for The Scorch Trials.  But this time there are major differences.

The thing that bugged me most about the film was that it did some sort of dance.  It would be just like the book and then BAM!  It would go back to being it's own thing and somehow circle it's way back around to the original story.  It was frustrating.

Before I saw this film, I was hyped up.  I re-watched The Maze Runner.  I watched interviews with the cast.  And the night before I could barely sleep.  I was that excited.  It felt like I was going to Disneyland.

But I'm not trying to say that the film was a huge disappointment.  Technically the film by itself was great.  There were no major plot holes and the cast was everything I hoped it would be.  But in comparison to the novel...there is no comparison.  The book is just better.

If you don't know, The Scorch Trials film picks up right where the first one left off.  The kids get rescued, but then find out that they were not really rescued at all.  They escape yadda yadda yadda and somehow end up in a whole new test, but instead of the maze, it's the scorch.  Relationships are tested, friends are lost, and a whole bunch of new information about WCKD comes to light.  So it follows the premise of the book, but it seemed to me that they combined the second and third one and decided to just make up a whole new third movie, if there is a third.  Does that make sense?

As for the film elements, there was a lot of great shots and the editing kept it up to speed for what the kids were going through.  The cranks were definitely something.  Great makeup and costume design. I was literally scared and thought that children should not see this.  The cranks' makeup made them look like zombies, but dysfunctional as if there was something more to them, which if you don't know is that they are not dead zombies, but living people who have developed the disease of the flare.

I did appreciate that even though much of the plot was different about the film, they mainly kept the character's true behaviors.  Teresa was Teresa and Thomas was still Thomas.  Their personalities were in sync with what was in the novel.

Overall what I'm trying to say is if you have only seen the movies, then this is 4 popcorns, because you aren't missing any of the information from the book because you don't know about it having not read it.  If you've read the books like me, this is 2 popcorns.  So I'll just aim for the middle and give it 3.

Straight Outta Compton (2015)

Directed by: F. Gary Gary

Written by: Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff, S. Leigh Savidge, & Alan Wenkus

Starring: O'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, & Jason Mitchell






Man guys, this film.  This film.

I wanted to see this film since I saw the trailer.  Mostly because I like Dr. Dre and Ice Cube and also because I'm from L.A.

I didn't expect it to be this good.  I mean, I heard it was good before I saw it, but man guys...this film!

Straight Outta Compton is based on Eazy-E and the N.W.A.  It goes through the history of how they first became a part of the music business as well as their hardships through life and with each other.

First, the film is deep...and accurate.  What I liked most about this film is that they used real footage of various events and music that was happening during this time period, the 80's, the 90's and so forth.  They showed footage of Rodney King, the L.A. Riots, interviews, and even the original music videos.  I always love when they do that.  It gives the film a sense of being more meaningful then it is and also it makes it feel more accurate.

The filmmaking was great.  The best shot of the film, in my opinion, was a hospital scene, where it was outside the room, but everything was still in frame.  You couldn't hear the patient, but you could see them through the window and it was heartbreaking.  But no spoilers!

As for the rest of the filmmaking, I pretty much liked everything, except for this one spot.  The whole scene bugged me because of this issue.  Dr. Dre, played by Hawkins, was listening to music on the floor.  Headphones on, record's spinning, it was set up perfectly, but there were sun flares, where there shouldn't be!  Okay, perhaps I'm being nit picky, but a few is fine, but they were all over the right side of the screen.  I'm pretty sure this was in post production and not during production because the way the camera was going (it was circling Hawkins slowly), there were some spots that should not have a sun flare.  It was not in the sun!

I suppose another issue was the actors.  I mean I loved them, and I thought they did great, but there were some spots where you could tell they filmed those scenes first because the acting was not up to par.  Now the three main characters, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Eazy-E, were casted greatly of course. But when you look at their film history on IMDB, not much going on.  Hopefully that will change now, but this is the reasoning behind some of their scenes.

Despite my pickiness, because I'm a L.A. girl, I love this film!  It was deep, had some backstabbing, had some love, it was beautiful all around.

Even though the L.A.P.D. doesn't love the film...I do.  Hence, the 5 popcorns.  Go learn some history and watch this film.

War Room (2015)

Directed by: Alex Kendrick

Written by: Alex Kendrick

Starring: Priscilla C. Shirer, T. C. Stallings, & Karen Abercrombie







Before I saw this film, I heard a variety of good things about it.  Apparently the filmmakers are not very experienced and the movie made double of what they thought it would make.  Both good signs right?  Right!

The film is about a family that has it all, well almost.  Once the husband's work success begins going to his head, he takes it out on his family as if they are a burden to him.  Elizabeth Jordan, played by Shirer, meets Miss Clara (Abercrombie) who teaches her the power of prayer.  Prayer proves to be much more powerful then first thought.

Overall I liked the movie, mostly due to the message that it was sending.  Pray.  Because of this, the film felt uplifting and I felt very religious after seeing it.  I wanted to go to church right then and there.  But there aren't any churches near by, so I write in a journal instead, just as the characters do. Pretty inspirational eh?

When it comes to the filmmaking, it was pretty basic.  Despite having not much prior experience, they did a great job.  The locations were great.  There weren't any jump cuts or bad camera shots.  It worked.

The only thing I probably had an issue with is the writing.  For example, there is a scene in the film where the husband is in Atlanta, Georgia, but that is not conveyed easily.  It is shown via text, but then it poses the question of where is his family located?  It made it a little bit confusing.  Also there were times, where the dialogue was too much.  The point the characters were trying to make occurred already during their monologue, but they kept going anyway.  The dialogue could have been shortened in a couple of spots.

But the powerful message of prayer and the basic filmmaking made me like this movie.  Therefore I give it 4 popcorns.  I'd see it again.

We Are Your Friends (2015)

Directed by: Max Joseph

Written by: Max Joseph, Meaghan Oppenheimer, & Richard Silverman

Starring: Zac Efron, Wes Bently, & Emily Ratajkowski






We Are Your Friends is a cross between Skins and Catfish.  What I mean is, the plot is similar to the British television show, while the camera shots and directing style is clearly documentary like Catfish, the show that Max Joseph is a huge part of.

We Are Your Friends stars Zac Efron playing Cole who just wants to make it big in the DJ world.  He meets James (Wes Bently), an established artist, who helps him make his music unique, but in the process Cole sees the dark side of what fame and money can do to a person.  His friends become a mess.  His love life is complicated.  And in the end, he falls back down to the bottom of the food chain.  Can he make back on top or will he stay where he is at the bottom?  Dum dum dummm.

Anyway, there were things that I loved about this movie, and then there were things that I just didn't.  For instance, this movie greatly reminded me of Skins.  (If you haven't seen the show, watch the UK version.  5 POPCORNS!!!)  There was drugs, partying, drinking, relationship triangles, etc...all like Skins, and even some of the characters were like the ones from Series 3.  Now I love Skins, but this film is way past the deadline.  It's late to the game.  It seems misplaced in the current movie stream, which kind of makes sense since originally it was supposed to be an independent film.

On the plus side, the music was amazing! And the directorial style represented documentary, which I kind of liked.  We were there with the characters and I appreciated how Joseph showed the non-glamorours side of L.A. along with the spectacular things of the city.  It gives people a sense that it isn't all sunshine and rainbows.

Other than that, not much else to say.  It was enjoyable and the whole time I was watching the film, I was wondering why Kendall Jenner is not an actress yet?  Ratajkowski looks a lot like her, just shorter and with fuller lips.  Efron was a good casting choice since he seemed out of place with his friends and the DJ world.  This made his character stand out.

Nevertheless, I thought this movie should have come out earlier when people were into these types of films, but hey, it was okay.  Not bad, but not that good either.  Hence the 3 popcorns.

The Gift (2015)

Directed by: Joel Edgerton

Written by: Joel Edgerton

Starring: Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, & Joel Edgerton






For Joel Edgerton's first directorial of a feature film, I applaud him.  It's exciting, able to make you jump, and definitely a mystery.  The ending guys...that ending.
Anyway, no spoilers here.  The film revolves around Bateman's character Simon, his wife Robyn, played by Ms. Hall and their new move to California.  While shopping they encounter Edgerton's character Gordo, Simon's high school classmate.  After that encounter several gifts arrive at Simon and Robyn's home, making them paranoid about their boundaries and the intentions of Gordo.  As the plot goes on, they need to figure out if Gordo is out to hurt them or is just a generous gift giver.

Of course there is more to the story then told in the summary, but like I said no spoilers.  All the characters were well casted and the story was very creative.  The location was great.  The camerawork was great.  I didn't really see any problems.  I was suprised that people actually jumped in the movie.  One woman screamed and apparently hurt her spine by doing so.  I will admit I also jumped twice.  It was that good.

But there were some parts that dragged and I could see how one particular point in the plot was confusing to some people in the audience.  If you have questions about the film, feel free to leave a comment and I can explain it to you.  The parts that dragged though were necessary to show the passing of time.  True film trick.  Nevertheless, the film deserves 4 popcorns.  Once again, congratulations to Mr. Edgerton.

Pixels (2015)

Directed by: Chris Columbus

Written by: Tim Herlihy & Timothy Dowling

Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan, Josh Gad, & Peter Dinklage







Nom nom nom.  That's the sound for Pac-Man.

So I was really intrigued when I first saw this trailer because I love video games.  The challenge of beating something is my kind of game, which is pretty much every game.

The film opens up establishing the characters involved in the saving of the world when they are younger.  You see the history behind their competitiveness and what games they are good at.  The plot continues with showing us what each kid grew up to be and I thought it was interesting that Kevin James became president.  But that makes sense since otherwise how would these gamers be found to defend the world?

Of course the plot is ridiculous and it is very unlikely that this could ever happen in real life, but it is pure entertainment.  It answers the question of what alien life forms would consider our society and the playing of these classic games.

I liked that they stayed true to the classics and did not include any new video games.  The characters were funny and it worked well all together.  But like usual the best parts were in the trailer.  There were maybe only one or two other parts of humor that were not included in the trailer.  Are these worth paying for?  Perhaps in the morning when there are cheaper tickets.  Therefore I give the film 3 popcorns.

Vacation (2015)

Directed by: John Francis Daley & Jonathan M. Goldstein

Written by: John Francis Daley & Jonathan M. Goldstein

Starring: Ed Helms & Christina Applegate






I love the Griswolds.  They are quirky, funny, and original.  My favorite film with them is Vegas Vacation.  I just can't get enough of it.

When it comes to this film though, the plot and the characters were true to their origins.  Ed Helms was definitely Rusty and Leslie Mann was definitely Audrey.  I really appreciated how they kept to their characters original personalities.

As for the new characters, they definitely added to the story and expanded the adventures such as new romance, the struggle of siblings, and just all around realistic problems that married couples go through.  But, at the same time, there are also problems that would probably never happen to me or you.  Not that I'm saying they couldn't happen.

To cut things short, I liked this film, but I still love Vegas Vacation more.  Therefore it gets 3 popcorns.  Mostly because the funny parts of the film can be seen in the trailer.  There are a couple additional ones, but just watch the trailer and you pretty much watched the film.

Ricki and the Flash (2015)

Directed by: Jonathan Demme

Written by: Diablo Cody

Starring Meryl Streep







Meryl Streep's performance is always great, and it is in this film.  She has a few great lines and everything.  It's just the writing of the story that made it go off course.

Ricki and the Flash stars Streep's character Ricki Randazzo a.k.a. Linda Brummell who is trying to make it in the world doing what she loves most, performing with her band.  When her daughter Julie, played by Streep's own daughter Mammie Gummer, goes through a divorce, Ricki flies back to try to get her daughter back on her feet.  Stuff happens, yadda, yadda, yadda, and she realizes that she may have made a mistake of going after a music career instead of being with her family.

It was a nice film.  But the trailers mislead what the story was about in my opinion.  I thought there would be much more bonding of Gummer with Streep and there was barely any...just at the beginning.  It mostly involved Ricki's reflection of her life and how she deals with the choices she's made.

The other characters were great though.  My favorite was Gummer since I'm a huge fan of hers since her days on Emily Ownes M.D.  But like I said, the plot was boring.  Thanks a lot Cody.

I would give this film 3.5 popcorns, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and say 4.  A low 4, only for Ms. Streep and Ms. Gummer.

Rock on Ricki.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie

Written by: Christopher McQuarrie

Starring: Tom Cruise







I don't know about this film.  I haven't seen all the other Mission: Impossible ones.  I've only seen this one and the previous one so maybe that is why the film was a little confusing.

If you haven't seen it, this film revolves around rogue agents, hence the name Rogue Nation.  The premise is to figure out who is rogue and who is still loyal.  Tom Cruise's character Ethan Hunt is on a mission to destroy the Syndicate, who is out to destroy the organization that he works for: the IMF.

The film definitely had action and some humor provided by Simon Pegg, but there were parts that dragged.  I also didn't like how the beginning of the film just sprang into this issue of the Syndicate.  Maybe I needed more explanation of the group in the beginning of the film.  Or maybe I was supposed to watch the other films beforehand.  Either way, it was not my cup of tea.

As for the camera shots, most of them were good.  My favorite was the ones attached to the motorcycles during the car chases.  Least favorite was a huge close up on Alec Baldwin's face.  Too close if you ask me.  No offense Mr. Baldwin.

Overall, if was an okay film.  I wouldn't see it again.  Therefore I give it, 3 popcorns.  In other words, go in the morning when there are cheaper tickets.