Movie Review: McFarland, USA (2015)

Boy oh boy did I enjoy this movie and trust me, I am not normally a fan of sports movies. I ran Cross Country for six years. Coaches love to show movies about runners. Did you know that there is more than one movie about Steve Prefontaine? Or that there are other successful long distance runners with movies about them besides Steve Prefontaine? Yeah. And I’ve seem more than my fair share because nothing says team bonding like being forced to watch a running movie. But y’all, if this had been the movie I was forced to watch I would not be so jaded.

Let me tell you what makes this movie different from other sports movies. First, Continue reading

Movie Review: Jupiter Ascending (2015)

This movie was released on the day that Jupiter ascended in the night sky (or something) which was about the coolest thing this movie did. Don’t get me wrong, it was not a bad movie but it was in no way worth going out of my way to see, especially since it cost me money. I heard people explaining its poor box office numbers as the result of releasing a summer blockbuster in the winter. But that was not the case. Those critics are way too nice. It got the numbers it deserved.

Now that is not to say that the movie had no merit. So here is what I liked about the movie. Continue reading

Movie Review: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

I will start with my conclusion because I want to be up front with my feelings about this movie. I loved this movie. I’m going to pay to see it again. That’s right folks, I am willing to put on an actual outfit, do my makeup, drive, pay cash I slaved at a desk to earn, turn off my phones, and sit still doing nothing but staring at a screen AGAIN just to get to see this movie a second time.

Spoilers below, darlings.

This movie is fresh. I assume the script was written by a group of immature, irreverent, intelligent people who long to escape from the demons of reality through outrageous violence and humor. Honestly, the worst parts of this movie for me were the violence and sexual humor. I know this was set up to be the other movie you could see on Valentine’s Day if you didn’t want to see Fifty Shades but they maybe could have been a little less male toned. The last 15ish minutes have a few fairly shocking sex jokes. But this is a kind of re-imagined, modern James Bond concept so I guess the frank approach to the sex aspect fits.

The fighting scenes are pretty hard to watch. They are hard to watch not just because of the amount of bodies and blatant mutilation but also because it was filmed in a less than pleasing manner. Have you noticed a trend in action films recently where the filming style sometimes leaves the impression that the camera is doing more combat moves than the actor? That was the style they used.

The saving grace for the violence was its distance. Continue reading

Movie Review: The Wedding Ringer (2015)

I saw this movie a week ago actually and feel so little about it that I actually considered not reviewing it. But I want the site traffic so here ya go.

The acting was okay but I feel like the main two character had to act down to their scripted roles. This could have been a movie with a meaning. They alluded to that potential a few times when Kevin Hart questioned his choices to be a friend for pay but a true friend to nobody. It could have been a comedy with depth. Unfortunately, that potential wasn’t realized because they were too busy making awful jokes about bestiality.

There were a few good moments. Continue reading

Pilot Review: Backstrom

Holy failure. This show is interesting but has no hope. Let me tell you why.

The good:

Some of the character (Valentine in particular) have amazing potential. If this show was called Stealing Pretty Things and Hitting On Hot Men with Valentine then maybe it could survive.

Sometimes the dark material is strikingly honest.

The bad:

Unfortunately, when I’m not bored by the stereotype of the breaking stereotypes female cop and distracted by the Allstate guy pretending he isn’t selling me car insurance I have to deal with a funny actor proving that just because a character is dynamic and controversial does not mean that that character should have an entire TV show.

With all the character potential the show is still pretty boring and doesn’t create plots that allow the audience to engage with them.

Verdict: Meh, don’t bother. It will be dead soon enough.

Score: 2/5, Valentine 5/5