The Captive Movie Review

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The Good: The story revolves around a very disturbing world that no one really wants to know or think about (especially if you're a parent). Despite the slow pace of the movie, there always seemed to be something interesting, or weird, that keeps your attention.

The Bad: One thing that seemed kind of confusing was the timing of some of the scenes. They try to do flash backs, and jump from scene to scene. However, the only way you're able to tell the dates is by seeing the age of the daughter. Outside of that, you may find yourself asking, "Wait when did this happen?" or "Is this 8 years back or a few months?". Usually in films you'll see things like a timestamp or year, or you would at least see the age difference in the characters.That's not really the case here. Also, the really slow pacing of this movie may discourage some viewers from finishing the movie. Seeing as though it's almost two hours long, that pace may have you doing a couple slow...heavy...blinks if you watch... (yawn)...late at night.

The Reason: So this is not a blockbuster film in any regard. You probably never heard of it either. This film is for the people out there who like to find random, unknown movies that show up on RedBox. It's just something to watch, when there's nothing else on to pass the time. If you're going to watch it, don't spend too much money on it.

The Rating: 6.5/10

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Get on Up Movie Review

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The Good: Chadwick Boseman does it again! I thought he was great in 42, but this film gave him the opportunity to really showcase his talent. From James Brown's southern drawl to the dance moves, it becomes really difficult to believe you weren't watching the actual James Brown on your TV. The entire supporting cast did a nice job and there honestly were just too many people to list. Overall, one of the best parts of this movie were the many classic James Brown songs and the dancing performances. I personally thought that they did a good job with the make up and costumes too. Chadwick really started looking more and more like James Brown the more you go into the movie.

The Bad: This sure was a long movie! (Or at least it felt that way) It's perfectly understandable that someone as iconic as James Brown would have a lot of story to tell, but don't be surprised if you have to watch this film in two sittings. (about 2 hrs 18mins)

The Reason: If you were like me and knew about James Brown, but didn't know his life story, then this film may be pretty interesting for you to watch. It's not really a traditional biopic because the film jumps back and forth through various highlights in Brown's life. How much of it was actually true or not, I'm not sure. Either way it was entertaining to watch. You may also appreciate director Tate Taylor's interpretations in various scenes. (They'll be pretty obvious especially with scenes of the young Brown) Overall, I definitely think that this is a perfect movie to rent, download, or add to your collection.

The Rating: 8.0/10

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Fury Movie Review

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The Good: The individual characters probably stand out the most for this film. Brad Pitt's character is, of course, the most intriguing. You didn't know whether to hate, respect, or feel sad for him in different parts of the movie. Shia LaBeouf, Jon Bernthal and Michael Peña had really good chemistry with one another. Logan Lerman's character almost steals the show, and you can't help but to feel some level of sympathy for his character. When the characters are together, they each find a way to show some interesting insights of the toll of war. Besides the characters, it was also interesting to see the tank warfare. Each conflict was uniquely intense; even with the Star Wars colored gunfire. The last scene was especially suspenseful and will have you tensing up until the very end.

The Bad: It was actually kind of difficult to find anything bad about the film with out being nit-picky.

The Reason: If I had to give you an idea of which films came to mind when watching this, I'd have to say this was like Inglourious Basterds + 300, except with a more serious tone. The deeper you get into the movie, the harder it is to pull away. There's just always something interesting, or strange, or curious that will keep you engaged. Kudos to director David Ayer (End of Watch, Training Day) for really doing a good job on that note. While I don't regret not seeing this in theaters when it came out, I think it would be a mistake not to see this movie. It's a really good movie that deserves to be rented, downloaded or bought. Either way just see it!

The Rating: 9.0/10

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Predestination Movie Review

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The Good: Without giving anything away, I think Sarah Snook did a nice job with her character's role. The film introduces a new twist in the time-travel genre. It's really interesting to see the complexity of time travel, without completely going over your head. The concept in itself is probably the most intriguing aspect because it'll have you still thinking about what really happened, or could have happened. (Chicken or the Egg?) There are some mild plot twists that will take the story down a very interesting path.

The Bad: Unfortunately, the mild plot twists weren't really concealed very well. You'll probably start to catch on sooner rather than later just what exactly is happening (or happened). Maybe it's the writing, but if you pay attention, there are so many clues dropped by the characters. However, this could be because I saw the trailer, and it may have given away a little too much information. I would advise NOT watching the trailer, but for those of you who like to go against the grain here it is.  Lastly, as with most time-travel movies, it can get rather confusing for many people. The film introduces a few different time-traveling theories, that the average person may not be really familiar with.

The Reason: This was actually based on the short story, "All you Zombies" by Robert A. Heinlein. (Do NOT read up on this short story or else it will ruin the movie!) The two movies that come to mind when I watched this were Looper and Splice. Yes, Splice. (You'll see the connection if you have the guts to watch Splice.) While Ethan Hawk has made some decent films (The Purge), this movie may not be for everyone. If you enjoyed Looper, or even another time-travel movie like Primer, then you may enjoy this. If you're like me, and haven't majored in quantum physics, then maybe reading this site about the plot may help.

The Rating: 6.5/10

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No Good Deed Movie Review

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The Good: Well the anticipation for this film was whether Idris Elba could play the villain or not. He does, and he does so very convincingly. There's an okay level of suspense when the movie picks up the pace about 20 mins in, and there's also an interesting plot twist towards the end. Lastly, the movie didn't take very much time to get to the point. (Total run time of only 1 hr 24mins)

The Bad: Don't be surprised if you're able to predict about 85% of the movie. Outside of the mild plot twist towards the end, everything else you'll see coming from a mile away. While I do believe that both Idris and Taraji P. Henson are respectable actors, I do believe that they were both the victims of really poor writing. The fact that Taraji's character was sooooo dumb is almost nerve wrecking. She did so many unrealistic things in the movie that you'll probably be too busy yelling at her or pulling your own hair out at her character's stupidity. Whether it's how she deals with strangers, or how she simply doesn't understand that hitting someone one time doesn't keep them down, you'll be frustrated with her character for the most part.

The Reason: So here's the deal. The only reason this film is being reviewed is because there have been a number of female fans of Idris requesting a quick review of this. (I do serve the people after all) Is this worth the time for the average viewer? No. Does it make for a good watch if you're interested in having an excuse to see Idris take his shirt off and be very aggressive? Sure. Watch at your own discretion.

The Rating: 6.0/10

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[Article] Eman's Top 10 Movies of 2014

Here are my 10 movies of 2014 that I think are more than worth the watch. I'm pretty much basing this on which movies had good story-lines, general audience appeal, and replay-ability. Well let's get to it. Most of these are available on DVD/Blu-Ray and iTunes for download. I'll provide some links below to make it a little easier for you to check them out.

10.) Maze Runner

This was simply an interesting movie that was surprisingly not predictable. I enjoyed the fact that it didn't fall into the trap of being another stereotypical "teen flick" and left the door open for an interesting potential series. I hear the books are pretty good too. Check it out below:

9.) Annabelle

Probably one of the better horror films that came out this year. As always, producer James Wan (The Conjuring, Insidious) creates the perfect atmosphere of real horror and suspense. Check it out below:

8.) Equalizer

Remember that time in the 90's when action movies were cool? Well this brings you back down memory lane while keeping it modern. Denzel is as cool as the other side of the pillow while kicking butt and taking names. If you're an action junkie, you'll appreciate this film. Check it out below:

7.) Lone Survivor

Based on a true story and a best selling book, Lone Survivor was very interesting story of four Navy SEALS who find themselves in a very tough predicament while investigating the Taliban. There's plenty of action and suspense. It also gives an interesting perspective of those who serve our country on a daily basis and the horrors they have to face on our behalf. Definitely worth the watch. Check it out below:

6.) X-Men: Days of the Future Past

Have you been a fan of the X-Men Series ?  If you have then you've probably dealt with a lot of disappointment with the confusing storylines and the inconsistencies that followed. Well this movie sought out to correct that and do a lot of damage control. Whether it was successful or not is still debated, but nevertheless it still created a new foundation, and maybe a new hope for the franchise as well. If you're looking forward to the future X-Men movies, then this is the one that you need to watch to help you get on track.

5.) Interstellar

With director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception) at the helm, this was undoubtedly going to be a solid movie. This movie probably was the best sci-fi of this year, and arguably will be for quite some time. It attempts to focus much more on the actual scientific theories rather than on the "science fiction" that typically gets pushed in other sci-fi genres. It's worth the watch, maybe a few times, because some of the concepts are a bit "out there" so to speak. Watch it here:

Get Your Tickets to Interstellar Here

4.) The Raid 2: Retaliation

If you've never heard of The Raid, then you should stop what you're doing now, and go pick it up. Once you watch it, come back and watch The Raid 2. The two movies are simply some of the best action films you've never heard about. While Raid 1 takes place on a more confined level, Raid 2 takes it up a notch and a half with more unique characters and much more fighting. You've probably never seen action or martial arts fighting like this and once you do, you'll never look at action films the same again. WATCH THIS. The story line may be blah, but you'll forget about that when you see the fight scenes. Check it out here!:

3.) Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier

This was a very close call because many people, especially those who love the Marvel movies (Iron Man, Marvel's The Avengers), will tote this film as the best one out to date. This was one of the first comic-based films that really didn't feel like a comic film. It was more of an espionage, suspense thriller that just so happened to have some comic related characters in it. That opened up the door to audiences who didn't even have to know anything about the comics at all. With that feather in their hat, Cap 2 is a solid movie to watch, even if you haven't watch the previous film or read the comics. Great watch and worth the buy too if you want to see a lot of the behind the scenes footage on the blu-ray. Check them out here:

2.) Gone Girl

Talk about a rollercoaster ride of emotions! This movie didn't appeal to many at first, until you either read the book, or heard about it via word of mouth. I actually went back to watch it 2x because it was that crazy! The twists and turns in this film make it very difficult to predict, and with the tons of comic based movies that released in 2014, this seemed to stand it's ground. I'm not going to give away anything about the movie, but I will just say, once you watch it, you'll probably know why I snuck it up to the #2 spot. You can watch it here:

1.) Guardians of the Galaxy

Well unless you've been living under a rock, this was probably not much of a surprise. Had you seen this in theaters, then you were given a visual treat with the 3D/Imax special effects. This was just a fun movie over-all. You got action, comedy and adventure all into one. Despite the fact that this movie is the same formula that made The Avengers popular, it still was very successful in bringing all types of audiences together to enjoy. You don't have to be a comic fan to love this, especially since many casual comic fans probably never heard of the Guardians of the Galaxy in the first place anyway prior to this movie.  By all means, add this to your collection: 

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