Suicide Squad

DC is finally learning comic book movies can (and should) be fun! Through trial-and-error they are listening to the fans' complaints and addressing them and improving with each movie. "Man of Steel had too much action? We'll tone down the action a bit in Dawn of Justice. Dawn of Justice wasn't fun enough? We'll do reshoots on Suicide Squad to make it more lighthearted." It will still be a while before they catch up to Marvel, but for now I'm pleased with how they're trying. Although the characters look very different from the versions we are used to they still feel like the characters. There was never a point where I felt Jared Leto and Margot Robbie's portrayals of Joker and Harley were not those characters. (Unlike Jessie Eisenburg as Lex Luthor in "Dawn of Justice.") Even the characters I'm not as familiar with like Deadshot and Killer Croc were still fun to watch. Will Smith and Joel Kinnamen (Col. Rick Flag) were super fun to watch. Next to Robbie and Leto they were the most fun performances to watch. Even if you're not a comic fan, it's still fun just as a movie. The exposition/origins of the various characters don't take up too much time and gets those who may not be familiar with these characters up to speed. It's not even really a comic book movie, it's a human repentance story. Other than Joker and Harley the rest of the Squad aren't necessarily bad people. They've just made some bad decisions, but they're willing to repent. Deadshot doesn't want to kill for money anymore, Diablo feels he should not have his prison sentence shortened because he feels it would be the safest place for him since he doesn't know how to control his powers and doesn't want to accidentally kill people anymore. I felt sympathy for these characters and loved how they were willing to change and redeem themselves.  The one complaint I have was the villain in the third act was a bit weak and could have been improved with better writing. But considering WB/DC forced the writers to crank out the script in 6 weeks this was still better than it should have been. This has all the fun of a Marvel movie, (it's reminded me most of "Guardians of the Galaxy", especially the various songs played throughout the movie. It's the most fun soundtrack of the year.) and I'm excited to see what DC does with their future movies. 

Grade: A-   9/10.  4/5 stars

Star Trek Beyond

I could definetly tell that JJ Abrams did not direct this one. The style and tone are different than the previous 2, and that wasn't a bad thing, just different than what I was used to. I feel this would have worked better as a TV special instead of a full movie, because the plot doesn't really have much to offer. It's easily the weakest in the trilogy. I still liked it, but there was far too much untapped potential, and I think part of that came from the director choice. Some parts didn't really feel like Star Trek, they felt like a run-of-the-mill action flick, and I think that's because Justin Lin had been making the same type of movie for so long he's gotten himself into a rut. There were some great moments of humor throughout the film, particularly between Spock and Bones (of course), and there was some well-placed fanservice/tributes that made me almost tear up. Sometimes the action scenes dragged on for a bit too long but they were still fun. Idris Elba is great as the villian. Not as good as Benedict Cumberbatch in "Into Darkness", though. I still say the first one from 2009 is the best. I feel if maybe they had tweaked the script a bit, or waited for JJ Abrams to become available to direct, instead of merely producing, this could have been better. 

Grade: B.  8/10.  3.5/5 stars

Lights Out

This movie is crazy! From the first minute there are scares and action that doesn't slow down until the end credits roll. The great thing about this movie is everyone can relate to it. We've all had (or still have) a fear of the dark. It takes the psychological element of that and plays with it terrifically. Not only are the characters toyed with but so are we. You can tell the director had tons of fun with this. Being a "Doctor Who" fan, the ghost in the movie to me felt like a combination of Weeping Angels, Vashta Nerada, and the Silence. The movie is more psychological horror than just straight horror. I could never tell what was coming next. And there isn't a single character in the movie I hated. I cared what happened to every character and wasn't rooting for specific ones to be picked off. This movie is an intense thrill ride from beginning to end, and I highly recommend it. I'm definitely watching it again on Bluray this Halloween season. 

Grade: A+  10/10   5/5 stars 

Happy 3-year Anniversary

Happy 3-year anniversary to this blog!!! In 3 years I've had over 5,000 views!!! Wow!!!! Thank you to everyone that continues to visit this blog, even if I sometimes go weeks without posting. Thank you to everyone who continues to interact on the Movie Madness Facebook page. This means a lot to me. I didn't think I'd get this far. Honestly, I starte this as just sort of a thing for me and if it got big, that's cool, but I didn't expect it to. You all proved me wrong. I never expected over 5,000 hits. Nowhere close. I thought by this point it would be 600 at most. Crazy! Thank you all for your support!

Finding Dory

My expectations for this were it would be ok at best. From the trailers it looked like a straight rehash of the first movie. Main character gets kidnapped and put in aquarium and other main character(s) go to look for them. It's not like that at all. It's actually pretty original. Baby Dory is a-Dory-ble. The cutest Pixar baby since Baby Mike Wazowski in "Monsters University." The way they showed Dory's backstory leading up to "Finding Nemo" was done very well. Sometimes too many  flashbacks can kill a movie, but these didn't feel forced or excessive. One problem I do have is the writers/director seemed to have forgotten that Marlin learned not to be overprotective at the end of "Nemo." He still has some overprotective tendencies. I still say the original is better, but Pixar has made worse. "Good Dinosaur" wasn't near the big spectacle it promised to be. "Dory" however, has enough familiarity for those of us who grew up with the original while at the same time bringing something new to the table. The film is also preceded by a short about a sandpiper that is absolutely charming and adorable. 

Grade: B.  8/10. 3.5/5 stars

The Jungle Book (2016)

I was really skeptical when this was announced because I didn't want to support unnecessary live-action remakes of Disney movies. (We're getting TONS of them. Really? Think of original stuff. Movies like "Zootopia" and "Wreck-it Ralph" prove you can if you just try hard enough.) However, it was the cast list that sold me on the movie. Everyone is perfectly cast. Bill Murray sounds just like Baloo when he speaks. (But not so much when he sings. When he sang it sounded too much like Louis Armstrong. It was way too throaty, and felt forced and out of place.) Idris Elba as Shere Khan was an absolutely perfect choice! Every time he spoke it was terrifying and sent shivers down my spine. The CGI blends with the live-action perfectly! Not once did it look fake. I forgot it was CGI. It's the most realistic CGI I've ever seen! I'm glad this wasn't just a retelling of the animated version. It's actually original. The only times I was reminded it was a remake of the Disney version was during the songs, and even then, the remakes of the songs were fantastic! It is a bit darker than the Disney version, so I would advise not to take a little kid to this. It really earns the PG rating. My one complaint plot-wise was the idea that "man is bad." I'm so sick of Hollywood pushing this agenda with films like "Avatar," "The Lorax", and "Rio 2." It's absolutely stupid and was certainly not needed here. I agree with the message that it's important to respect nature, but stop beating us over the head with it. 

Grade: A-   9/10  4/5 stars

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I wasn't expecting much from this movie. When you read the title "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," you think "how silly." I was expecting this to be "meh" at best and downright awful at worst. I was wrong. Having been forced to read the "Pride and Prejudice" book in high school, I'm glad they finally made a version where I could understand what was going on and didn't bore me to death. It's the same classic story, but with zombie attacks thrown in. And as bizarre as that sounds and as different as these genres are, they synergize really well. The zombie elements affect the original plot and vice versa. I do have one complaint and that is Matt Smith's performance. As much as I love Matt Smith on "Doctor Who", that's just the problem. Whenever he's on screen I feel like I'm watching "Doctor Who." He is the comedic relief and he is really good at it but it feels like watching an exact copy of the 11th Doctor, right down to the personality. The zombie elements work really well. The action is over-the-top, without being too over-the-top, and while some parts of the movie look fake at times (blood), it actually works in the movie's favor because it emphasizes that it's supposed to be silly. It's just a parody of "Pride and Prejudice" and is in no way supposed to be taken seriously. 

Grade: A-   9/10. 4/5 stars