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Hate movie spoilers? Good! You'll get straight to the point, quick, and spoiler-free movie reviews to help you spend your time and money wisely on movies. I'll give you the Good, the Bad, the Reason, and the Rating about each movie. ***Please disable any popup blockers***

Friday, May 23, 2014

X-Men Days of Future Past Movie Review (2014)


The Good: From the very beginning, you're smacked with some suspenseful action. Director Brian Singer does a great job at developing the main characters in meaningful way and successfully balances out the large number of characters on screen as well. There was much more humor and comic relief than the previous films with plenty of inside comic jokes, and many references to the previous movies. (Probably to help make you feel less bad about watching them.) There's a chance Quicksilver (comics) may become a fan favorite for a few minutes the same way Nightcrawler did in X-Men 2, or how The Incredible Hulk did in Avengers. Beyond that, the [future] Sentinels were very intense and great to finally see on the big screen. Lastly, the powers displayed by many of the new mutants will surely not disappoint.

The Bad: Any time you're dealing with Time Travel in movies, it can get very messy. Even though they do make an effort to explain a lot of inconsistencies from the previous films, there's a good chance some people may get lost. There were a few times during the movie when some things just didn't add up, or that you may miss, and would probably require a 2nd or 3rd viewing to fully comprehend. The 3D aspect was minimal and was only apparent in a few scenes, and are probably forgettable.

The Reason: This film did exactly what it set out to do; Fix the problems of the previous films. (due to change of directors and such) Fans will be pleased that a lot of issues are fixed, and whether they make another sequel or not, this film can stand firmly on it's own. Caution for parents, even though this is rated PG-13 there is a partial nudity scene, and adult language to consider. (1 F-Bomb, and about 3 S-bombs) If money is tight, then don't worry about the 3D. You can enjoy this film perfectly fine without it. If you want to see it in 3D, try going to a matinee show to save a few bucks. Many will try to compare this film with other Marvel films like Captain America: The Winter Soldier...The best way I could compare them would be to use a sports analogy: Captain America was like a team that took a 30 point lead, while X-Men:Days of Future Past is like a team that fought back from a 30 point deficit. While this very well may be the best X-Men movie to date, that's still not saying much. But it definitely will give hope to the franchise moving forward. Go watch this film, and enjoy. Watching the previous films may not hurt either since this film will make heavy references to all of the previous films in some capacity, but it's not necessary to do so. ( FX Movie Channel has been known to run marathons of X-Men Movies so check your local listings) Oh and stay for the ending credit scene all the way after the credits.

The Rating: 8.5/10

Friday, May 16, 2014

Godzilla Movie Review (2014)




The Good: Godzilla is a BEAST! (Literally and figuratively) You can tell that the producers and directors really went out of their way to pay homage to the old school sentiment that the monster used to portray back in Japan, while still relating it to a more modern, Western audience. Everything from his classic roar to his fiery arsenal is done right! The best part of his portrayal was that he's not a monster or a hero, he's just a force of nature, but the audience can draw their own conclusions.

The Bad: The humans. No one really cares about the humans and their puny guns that do nothing, or their bombs that just tickle giant monsters. The love stories just seem to pale in comparison to a giant monster destroying a city. Not to say that they're not important, it's just that this film, in my opinion, seemed to focus too heavily on the human element compared to the monster element.

Also, it takes FOREVER for them to finally show you Godzilla, or just to get to the good parts in general. Worst of all, when we finally do get to see the fight scenes, they're only teased the same way they are in the trailer. It just gets kind of annoying after the 3rd or 4th Godzilla appearance on screen and then immediately the camera cuts away to something else. Kind of like in Cloverfield if you ever saw that. (Luckily the final 20 mins of the movie kind of makes up for that)

The Reason: If you were feeling uneasy about this movie due to the previous Godzilla film back in 1998, have no fear, this movie has successfully made up for it. This movie is available in both 3D and in IMAX 3D. Save your money on the 3D and the only benefit you're gonna get from the IMAX is the impact of the iconic Godzilla roar. If you don't think paying an extra $8 to hear a roar is worth it, by all means, just be sure to see it in a theater with good sound quality. I'd say it's worth the watch on the big screen because you're dealing with a big scale movie. So go see it, but don't feel pressured to pay more than the minimum for it. Oh, and there are no scenes after the credits so feel free to get up and leave.

The Rating: 8/10

Friday, May 2, 2014

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Movie Review (2014)



The Good: The visuals and camera work were simply amazing. This film managed to take the web slinging experience up a notch to the point where you really feel like you're attached to Spider-man as he slings through the city or free falls from tall buildings. Audiences will also appreciate the emphasis of SpiderMan's quick, matrix-like, reaction time and thinking under pressure during some pretty suspenseful action scenes. I believe this sequel learned from the mistakes of Spider-Man 3 by not overloading a bunch of enemies all at once. Enemies are handled in a timely manner, which doesn't make the film feel less authentic. Probably one of the most refreshing elements of this movie is how Andrew Garfield highlights the witty, comedic, sarcastic personality of Spiderman. The character brings much more comic relief compared to the previous movie. Lastly, Jamie Foxx did a good job at making his character a formidable enemy to push the film's great fight scenes beyond expectations.

The Bad: Most may agree that the film was a tad bit longer than it probably needed to be. The film tried to development the loving relationship of Peter and Gwen throughout the film (which is important), but in my estimation a few scenes could have been deleted. With so many characters to develop, ironically, there just wasn't enough time to really explore them all. This may be because this film is purely a set up for future films ( Sinister Six ?), but either way, it felt like the "bad guys" just turned bad real fast and in a hurry. (But that's the comic-book world for you)

The Reason: While this film is a definite step up from the previous film, it's just a tiny step below "epic status". I think the greatest appeal to this is movie is that almost anyone can step in and enjoy it without even really knowing the comic lore behind it. For the comic heads, there are plenty of hints for the future films so keep your eyes open. For the non-comic fans, prepare to be visually amazed and entertained with Spiderman's comedic highs and his real life struggling lows. This movie was DEFINITELY worth watching in 3D and/or IMAX 3D. I think that if you end up watching it at home on a regular tv, or on your computer, you'll simply regret it. Go watch it, and enjoy. Also, there's an after credit trailer scene for X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) and that's it.

The Rating: 8.5/10