Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

If you like Harry Potter and/or X-Men, you will love this as well, because it's a combination of the two. Tim Burton was the perfect choice to direct this movie, because the creepy tone and style match the book perfectly. Some elements of the plot don't make very much sense, but that's ok, because despite it being somewhat convoluted at times, it's still very enjoyable. The only people in the cast that I think could have done better are Asa Butterfield and Samuel L. Jackson. I liked Asa Butterfield in "Ender's Game," but here, he delivers almost every line in a flat and wooden way. He couldn't sound more uninterested if he tried. (If he was even trying at all, that is.) As for Samuel L. Jackson, his role is a little too over the top. I like when actors have fun, but they can overact, and Jackson's performance in this movie is an example of that. I enjoyed the story, and especially the cinematography. Every shot is so perfectly, that it's hard not to get immerresed in this movie's world. I know that's an odd thing to praise, but it's just so well done. The plot twists are unexpected and well concealed, and overall, this movie was just fantastic.
Grade: A-   9/10.  4/5 stars

Ghostbusters (2016)

This wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but it wasn't amazing. I could tell they were at least trying to make something good. Having the film open with the classic "Ghostbusters" theme music was a strong choice that worked in the film's favor. It took me a while to warm up to Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy's characters, because for the first half, they were just loudmouthed and annoying. But after a while, that stopped and I actually enjoyed their performances. That is one of the weaknesses of the film is the first half isn't very strong. There was a funny joke, and then they would immediately follow it up with an unfunny joke. Also the CGI in the movie made this year somehow looks worse than the effects of the 1984 version. How?! One thing I will say about the film was it at least had a sense of irony and meta. There's a part in the movie after they catch their first ghost and upload the video of it where they read comments and one says "Ain't no women going to hunt no ghosts.", an obvious jab at the mysogonistic backlash some people gave this film after the first trailer was released. At least Sony was cool about it. There's a running joke throughout the film where McCarthy's character orders Chinese food but there's always something wrong with it. This was unfunny and slowed the film down, and overall just wasted time. It's not painfully unfunny, it just falls flat. I said the first half was filled with unfunny jokes, but when Chris Hemsworth enters the picture, his performance makes up for it. He's one of the best parts of the film. He totally hams it up and I could tell he was having fun with it.  Some of the original cast members make cameos and while they are funny, they just distract. I was worried how this movie would be, because of how horrible the advertisements were, but surprisingly, it's very respectful of the original. Even the new versions of the theme music, both in score form, and the one by Fall Out Boy still feel like the orginal. Even though this won't be an iconic film like the original, they were at least trying. Overall, the film is like food from Jack-in-the-Box. Not horrible, but still pretty good.

Grade: B    8/10   3.5/5 stars