The Maze Runner: The Death Cure

I read the books, so I knew what to expect with this one. To be honest, I thought the book was lazy, so I expected the movie to be about the same. It wasn't. It was great! The opening scene alone was one of the best parts of this movie. It really does not slow down. It's intense action, and thrills! There were times where I was on the edge of my seat and felt my stomach drop. (I saw this in my local equivalent of an IMAX, so the screen was bigger than normal, so that may have had something to do with it.) Certain scenes drag out the inevitable "boo!" quite effectively. I very rarely jump at jumpscares anymore because they've become cliche, but there was one that actually made me jump. Sometimes the plot was a little too convenient and a little redundant. It seems like the goal has been met, but then the characters need to reach that same goal again. They end up in danger, get deus ex machina-ed,  end up in danger again, get deus ex machina-ed, repeat for whole movie. It could have used more variety in the plot, but that's more-or-less how the book was, so I can't blame that too hard. Aidan Gillen does a great job as the villain. He's chilling, yet you like him for his charisma.  There were twists and emotional moments that actually made me cry. Bring tissues, because you will cry at the end. (If you read the book, you know what I'm talking about). I'm sad to see this series end, but have enjoyed the journey since the very first one. It's a bittersweet ending, that's still very satisfying. It's the finale this trilogy deserves.
Grade: A-   9/10   4/5 stars

Tomb Raider (2001)

I know nothing about the games. Going in, I was expecting this to be a fun, silly, stupid but fun stupid movie and that's exactly what I got so I can't really complain. It does have a lot of problems, particularly from the story. It doesn't make a lot of sense, there are subplots that are never resolved, and it's just lazily written, and it was really just an excuse for action scenes and slow-mo shots (which are awesome, by the way). The acting isn't really all that great, particularly from Daniel Craig, but this was one of his first big movies, so I'll be more forgiving of his performance. I just wish they hadn't cast a Brit to do an American accent and an American to do a British accent. It feels like Jolie and Craig had a contest between takes where they would try to one-up the other's true accent, and it's just distracting and silly. Would I recommend it? Not really, but if you want to get some feel for what Tomb Raider is (which doesn't even really do that, since they don't really raid tombs in this movie. False advertising) before you see the remake in March, it's ok. It was pretty much exactly what I expected, so I can't complain a lot, but I'm hoping the remake tries a little harder.
Grade: C    7/10    3.5/5 stars

Before I Wake

I applaud the screenwriter for making this a horror film without any of the traditional horror tropes. Yes, there are a few jumpscares, but it doesn't rely too heavily on them. The story took a direction during the last 20 minutes that I didn't see coming. It didn't end the way I thought it would and the way it did end, ended up being very creative, and somewhat bittersweet. Some of the acting can be a bit wooden at times, but that's only from the adults. The child actor was the only one who ended up sounding genuine the whole time (go figure). The effects could have been a bit better, and until the end I thought the monsters looked silly, and not scary but by the end I forgave that because there's actually a reason for it, which I won't dare spoil. This film hearkens back to the old days of M. Night Shamalayn (specifically 'The Sixth Sense') and at times reminded me a bit of the 'Doctor Who' episode "Night Terrors" which is one of my favorites. Definitely worth checking out on Netflix.
Grade: B    8/10    4/5 stars

Paddington 2

2018 is off to a great start. This movie was great! I wouldn't say it's better than the first one, but I still enjoyed it. The acting was great. Brendan Gleeson as a prison chef is particularly delightful. The CGI is some of the best I've seen. The plot jumped around at points, and made it hard to keep track of what was going on, but the payoff in the end was satisfying. At first, I thought this would be just a cute kids' film, nothing more, but there was actually some substance to it. Even a lot of the adults in my screening were laughing, and laughing hard. The slapstick humor was a bit over the top at points and slowed the film down as filler, and was unneeded, but when it did shift focus back to the story, it was good. I enjoyed Hugh Grant's performance as the villain. He wasn't as good as Nicole Kidman's portrayal of the villain, (she was far more evil and her intents were actually sinister. Grant's character is a bit sillier.) but he was still enjoyable. (There was one scene in particular during the end credits that had me laughing pretty hard.) Considering this is 1. a sequel and 2. a sequel to a kids film, this had more effort put into it then there needed to be. It deserves its (surprising) 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. It's a delightful film, and a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.
Grade: B   8/10   4/5 stars

Brigsby Bear

I have to give credit to the filmmakers. It's nice to see a film with an original story. It's very refreshing. The story was unique, and there was this kind of sweetness to it. The main character had a genuine innocence to him, and his personality was so great! I enjoyed Mark Hamill's (albeit brief) performance as the villain, although I wish he would experiment with different voices when he plays villains, because no matter what, I always hear Joker. He did have an entertaining performance, though, despite being in the film for 10 minutes at the most. This film was inspiring to me as a hopeful filmmaker. This film shows that you don't need fancy effects or lots of money, or even big stars. You just need a good story, and a passion for what you are doing. Just like the film itself. I enjoyed the main character's passion for his "fandom." I related to being the only person who watches something, and people looking at me like I have two heads when I talk to them about it, and also eventually getting them into the fandom as well. This happens to a lot of people, and I think almost anybody could relate to this story. I really hope this is eligible for Academy Award nominations or at the very least some film festival nominations. It certainly deserves them. It was a weird movie, but it was endearingly weird, and I finished it with a big smile on my face! This is the perfect film for budding filmmakers, or anybody passionate about fandom.
Grade: A-   9/10   4/5 stars

Mars Attacks!

For people who don't like this film because it's "too corny", they are missing the point. It's supposed to be corny. There's movies that are bad in the sense that there was no thought or effort into them, and there are movies that are intentionally bad, meaning the style is supposed to be all in good fun. This is the latter. Even for a movie that's "intentionally bad", it's still pretty good. I was laughing the whole time. There were a few plot holes here and there, and things that seemed like they were setting up for a payoff, but never did. Despite these problems, I still enjoyed myself. The Martians' design and language were unique, the story was enjoyable, and the actors seemed like they enjoyed themselves. The score was also really good. I may go back and listen to the soundtrack with how epic the score was. Honestly, the score had more effort put into it than there needed to be. The ending was a bit silly and just felt like "We need to end this, so let's end it as soon as possible" and was honestly a bit of a cop out. There are some questions I still have about things left unexplained. Even with these factors, it's still worth a watch just for a fun time. See it and enjoy yourself.
Grade: B    8/10     3.5/5 stars

A New Direction for 2018

I don't want to wait until late January/early Febuary to do reviews of Maze Runner 3 and Black Panther, because they are weeks away and I don't want interest in my blog to fade due to lack of activity. So, I'm going against the norm. I'm going to start reviewing older films that I haven't seen. I will take inspiration from Doug Walker aka Nostalgia Critic on Youtube and try to review whatever movie he's reviewing. He's putting out his review of Mars Attacks today, but I'm going to have to hold off until I've seen/reviewed it for myself. The website says that next week he'll be reviewing the old Tomb Raider movie next week in preperation for the remake coming out in March. I have placed these films in my Netflix queue and they should be here this weekend. Keep an eye out for those reviews sometime this weekend/early next week. Hopefully, this will keep my blog alive in the "slow months" until March when almost every week has a big release. I may not review every movie Doug reviews, but I will try to cover as many as possible. This will be a fun, new experience reviewing older films I haven't seen. I did this once or twice back in 2013 when I started the blog, but those posts didn't generate as much activity,so I stopped. I'm going to get back at it and start reviewing more "retro/vintage/classic" films.
My guidelines for this are as follows:
I can not have already seen the movie (meaning I have to review movies I've never seen. I can't review films I own.)
With very few exceptions, my reviews will not be of R rated films. 
Other than that, anything goes. Feel free to share your recommendations and I'll take a look at them if I haven't already seen it.
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