keithlovesmovies Reviews

Sisters (III) (2015)

Sisters Review

[7/10 · 17 December 2015]

When their parents Buck and Deana Ellis (James Brolin and Diane Wiest) place the family home on the market, siblings Maura (Amy Poehler) and Kate (Tina Fey) learn that they have one weekend to clean out the junk from their old bedroom. Unhappy with the news, the recently divorced Maura and her hotheaded sister Kate make plans to throw one final bash to recapture their glory days with their former classmates. As the raging party begins to spiral out of control, the girls soon realize that there may not be a house left to sell once the dust settles.

This film definitely had a lot of promise considering the stars at the helm, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. They've had a lot comedic success individually and this the second time they've done a movie together (the first being a film called Baby Mama which I haven't seen). The story for this one is a little predictable considering the film's title but the film is about two sisters Maura and Kate (Poehler and Fey) who must come to terms with where they are in their lives during a weekend where they must clear their childhood bedroom so her parents can sell their house. They decide to throw a party in order to try to reclaim their glory days. So the underlying story is something you've probably seen before many times but you easily forget that here. The reason for that is the chemistry between Poehler and Fey. Poehler and Fey who are friends in real life (as far as I can see) and it shows here as it looks like they're having fun here. They get to play characters that were not used to seeing (I would have initially guessed the opposite). It was initially weird to see them in those positions but I got used to it. Poehler here is the "straight man" Maura to Fey's more crazy sister Kate but to try to subvert the initial predictability, it does not quite stay that way which was also predictable but I still liked. The whole family stuff, wasn't as great and came off as a little cliché but Brolin and Weist at least made it bearable. This film is, after all, a comedy and it did have its moments. The film had some jokes, most of them worked and some of them did not work. The jokes that I found did not work as much were when the film tried to be raunchy and crude. These jokes followed along these lines and I did not find them as funny because it just seemed weird to me coming from Poehler and Fey. The party scenes near the end are all about regaining past glory and featured mostly middle-aged people being crazy which worked for the most part except for an overused gag of a character named Alex (Bobby Moynihan). The film also tried to introduce a love interest to Poehler's Maura in the form of a man named James (Ike Barinholtz) which I guess gave Maura something to do but these scenes did not work for me since I didn't think they had any chemistry. I also enjoyed the addition of SNL cast members woven into the plot in supporting roles such as: Maya Rudolph, Moynihan, Rachel Dratch, Kate McKinnon, and Chris Parnell who each added to the film. Overall, this was a good comedy which was elevated by the actors involved.

Score: 7.5/10 keithlovesmovies.com

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Review

[8/10 · 22 November 2015]

After arriving safely home from their unprecedented victory in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) discover that they must do a quick turnaround and begin a Victors Tour. As she and Peeta travel throughout the districts, Katniss senses a rebellion is stirring. However, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) proves that he is still very much in control when word comes of a cruel change in the rules for the upcoming 75th Hunger Games.

So I didn't see any of the movies or read any of the books but I am still aware of the series and all of its three (and almost four) films so far. I think I must have been the only one who hasn't yet. It's human nature for things in the second film to not seem as climactic when you've previously known things about films past and future. This review will be based on this.

So this is the next one. Katniss and Peeta are now champions of the 74th Hunger Games and now they get to flaunt this around in a tour across all the other Districts. President Snow (Sutherland), however, is sensing a rebellion developing amongst the districts so he tasks them to try to ease the unrest or risk the death of each of their families. Once they fail, Snow devises a plan to put each of them back in the following year's version of the Hunger Games by altering eligibility rules by making former champions of each District the only ones who can compete (this is how they keep Katniss and Peeta involved, I guess). The familiar cast of supporting characters are back for this one, President Snow, Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), Katniss' mother (Paula Malcomson), Katniss' sister (Willow Shields), Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), and Cinna (Lenny Kravitz). They are all joined by two new additions, Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin) and Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman). I though the returning cast, as in the first film, were good here and the new additions were good as well, especially Claflin who had some good lines and some real scene presence. The stars, Lawrence and Hutcherson, were better here than the previous film because of more experience with the roles. I appreciated the fact that we got to spend more time with Katniss and Peeta during their own lives as the idea behind the whole "Hunger Games" thing just seemed and still seems silly to me. There was still a Hunger Games here but it was secondary to the District civil unrest storyline. The first film had some of this but this was expanded much more here. I was always much more interested in this storyline than the other. I also liked the suspenseful aspects revolving around this as found myself pleasantly entertained. Of course not all of my suspicions were answered (especially by the ending) but I didn't mind because there are two more films left. The actual Hunger Games themselves were better than the previous film because it was more exciting as there was more action, more special effects in the this one's landscape and the monsters which they had to face, and there was more camaraderie amongst the participants. Overall, this is definitely an improvement over the previous film as it started to stray away from its original story and heads towards what is hopefully a satisfying conclusion.

Score: 8/10 keithlovesmovies.com

Room (I) (2015)

Room Review

[9/10 · 22 November 2015]

Held captive for years in an enclosed space, Joy Newsome (Brie Larson) and her 5-year-old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay) finally gain their freedom from a man known only as Old Nick (Sean Bridgers), allowing the boy to experience the outside world for the first time alongside Joy's mother and father (Joan Allen, William H. Macy) and her mother's friend Doug (Matt Gordon).

So this is a big one. I was interested in this ever since I saw a trailer a few months ago. I thought it looked good enough but I never thought it was going to be this good. So the film, based on the novel of the same name, is about a mother and son, Joy and Jack, forced to live in what amounts to a single room. This room consists of a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room. Joy has been living in it for over seven years and the room, or "Room" as Jack calls it is all he has ever known since he is yet to experience the outside world. Room is what is normal to him and how he sees the world has been influenced by it. The world to him is only what is inside of the room and nothing more. Once he and Joy finally escape the room, they (mostly Jack) must readjust to their new lives outside the room. Jack must reshape his view of the world and also must relearn what is real and what isn't. The story may not seem as much but it really is a story of fear, hopelessness and hope and most importantly a film about redemption and family bond. The film definitely pulls you through the range of emotions: sadness, happiness, anger, nervousness, etc (I will admit to almost crying at a few moments). I will not give anything away here in order to not spoil these moments. The story which was told mostly from Jack's perspective, follows Jack's evolution and his changing view of the world. He uses his five-year-old imagination to make the best of out where he is and what he knows. There were plenty of moments in the film where Jack goes on some "imagination tangents" where he would come up with his own stories and they were infectious. You can tell that these were happening from the child-like music and the change in the camera. Besides all of that, the film is about the relationship between Joy and Jack and later with them and Joy's (nameless) mother. What sold me with all of this was the amazing acting from Larson and Tremblay (and to a lesser extent Allen). I thought they had great chemistry with one another and it showed (mostly in the beginning when it was just them in a room). The cinematography here was amazing here as it helped bring to life Jack's imagination which mostly served to advance the plot. What also helps by telling the story from the kid's perspective, it lightens up the rather dark subject matter in the film (and it is very dark). I was not a big fan of the ending but I can't give it the benefit of the doubt by not having read the film's source material. Overall, this is a great film driven by a great story and great acting and should not be missed as it surely likely to earn some awards.

Score: 9/10 keithlovesmovies.com

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014)

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 Review

[6/10 · 22 November 2015]

Following her rescue from the devastating Quarter Quell, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) awakes in the complex beneath the supposedly destroyed District 13. Her home, District 12, has been reduced to rubble, and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) is now the brainwashed captive of President Snow (Donald Sutherland). At the same time, Katniss also learns about a secret rebellion spreading throughout all of Panem, a rebellion that will place her at the center of a plot to turn the tables on Snow.

So I didn't see any of the movies or read any of the books but I am still aware of the series and all of its three (and almost four) films so far. I think I must have been the only one who hasn't yet. It's human nature for things in the second film to not seem as climactic when you've previously known things about films past and future. This review will be based on this.

So this is the last one before the next entry comes out. This one picks up right where the last film, Catching Fire, left off with Katniss (Lawrence) being saved from the last Hunger Games. She wakes up within the underground complex comprising the supposedly destroyed District 13. She soon learns of a rebellion developing amongst the other 11 districts. District 12, Katniss and Peeta's (Hutcherson) home, was destroyed by President Snow (Sutherland) and the Capitol. This rebellion, led by President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) and Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman), hopes to unite the people of the remaining districts against Snow and the Capitol. Seeing that Katniss has gained a following amongst the people of the Districts following her actions in the last few Hunger Games, Coin and Heavensbee aim to court her to be the face behind their rebellion. Initially skeptical of joining, she eventually decides to join. With interference from the Capitol and the brainwashed pleas to stop the war by Peeta who was kidnapped by the Capitol, Katniss must rally the people of Panem to their cause. So the film took a different direction from the previous two films in that it is less about the actual Hunger Games (which I've always found silly) and more about developing the backstory behind the world which I've enjoyed so far. I still don't know how their world came to be but seeing it as it is now was interesting enough. I just wish I had seen more since I didn't get a chance to see the results of their actions just yet which is why I hate it when they split stories into two films. Also because of that (I think), there wasn't as much action as I would have liked but I think they might (I hope) make up for that in the next part. The one thing that has been consistent with the series so far has been the quality of the acting and it is no different here. I found that Lawrence and Hutcherson did the best with what they had which was primarily set up for the next film. I think Hutcherson was good but I did not agree with the use of his character in this film as I found that it did not add much. I also thought the returning supporting characters, Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), and Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) (just to name a few), were good as well. Some may not like the pace of the film since it is a little slower than previous films and the purpose of the film serves as buildup for the next film but I mildly disagree as I thought it could have been better but I wasn't completely disappointed. Overall, this is another decent entry in the series, albeit a buildup to the next film. I'll just say that the next film better be great.

Score: 6.5/10 keithlovesmovies.com

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015)

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 Review

[7/10 · 22 November 2015]

Realizing the stakes are no longer just for survival, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) teams up with her closest friends, including Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), Gale (Liam Hemsworth) and Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin) for the ultimate mission. Together, they leave District 13 to liberate the citizens of war-torn Panem and assassinate President Snow, who's obsessed with destroying Katniss. What lies ahead are mortal traps, dangerous enemies and moral choices that will ultimately determine the future of millions.

So I didn't see any of the movies or read any of the books but I am still aware of the series and all of its three (and almost four) films so far. I think I must have been the only one who hasn't yet. It's human nature for things in the second film to not seem as climactic when you've previously known things about films past and future. This review will be based on this.

So this is the last film of the series and it picks up where the last film left off with Katniss (Lawrence) recovering from an attack by the brainwashed Peeta (Hutcherson). Katniss along with the leadership group from District 13 including President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) and Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman), begin to mount an offensive against the Capitol and President Snow (Donald Sutherland). With most of the people of the other 12 Districts (I made a mistake in the previous review by saying District 12 was gone but actually some people survived) united with their cause, Katniss leads a unit with Peeta and Finnick (Claflin) (just to name a few) towards Snow and the Capitol facing various traps and enemy soldiers along the way. What I didn't like as much about the previous installment, Mockingjay Part 1, was that it just seemed like filler and a just a buildup to the events of this film. I had hoped that after watching that film that it would have been worth it and that the next film would have had much more action and it kind of was and it kind of did. There was more of a payoff in this installment and it had much more action. I think the first half of this film had more action than all of the previous film. I found the plot here to be a little better and the pacing was also better since there seemed to be more progression as they did not spend as much time in one place as the film took us from District 13, to a few other districts, to the Capitol. The acting in this film, along with all of the previous films so far, has been great as Lawrence and Hutcherson were good (perhaps not as good as previous films but still good) despite the fact that I still disagree with the use of Hutcherson in this one. Woody Harrelson's Haymitch Abernathy in a larger role and to a lesser extent Elizabeth Banks' Effie Trinket were okay as well. Like I've said before, I haven't read the books and this may be because of it but I was not a fan of the ending. Overall, this film serves as a fitting end to the series despite not standing out above the previous three films.

Score: 7.5/10 keithlovesmovies.com

The Night Before (II) (2015)

The Night Before Review

[8/10 · 22 November 2015]

For the last 10 years, lifelong buddies Ethan (Joseph Gordon- Levitt), Isaac (Seth Rogen) and Chris (Anthony Mackie) have gathered on Christmas Eve to celebrate the holidays after Ethan's parents passed away in a car accident on Christmas. As Isaac prepares to be a father for the first time and Chris is becoming a famous football player, the friends realize that their annual tradition is coming to an end. To make their last year as memorable as possible, they plan a night of debauchery and hilarity by searching for the Holy Grail of Christmas parties in New York.

This film definitely had a lot of potential considering the people behind it were responsible for such films as This is The End, Neighbors, and The Interview (I haven't seen it). This film is definitely similar to those but doesn't quite reach their level. This film is a Christmas film (obviously) but that fact has little to do with the actual plot itself. Seeing that it is a story about three friends, the obvious message (I still won't say it if you still haven't gotten it) shows up so with that, the plot is pretty predictable but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. This message is also handled in a subtle way. The real reason you are watching this film is for the characters' journey, not the destination. The journey they took was pretty good for the most part. This was because of the interesting cast of characters they met along the way, most notably a weed dealer named Mr. Green (Micheal Shannon) who had some good lines in the film and serves another purpose later on. Seeing that this film is a comedy, there were some jokes but they did not all work with me. By that I mean anything that didn't involve Seth Rogen's Isaac as he was the primary source of the film's comedy (which shouldn't come as much of a surprise). He was just being stupid from being drunk and/or high all of the time. Sure this isn't new considering Rogen's past films but I still found it hilarious this time around. The few scenes that stood out (at least the ones I could mention since they were in the trailer) were the one in the church and the one in the limousine. This is because of great writing and great direction. By great writing, I mean mostly Rogen's stuff because I wasn't as much of a fan as everything else. Gordon-Levitt's Ethan and Mackie's Chris had backstories but Rogen's Isaac was the real star. Knowing what I knew about the people involved with the film, I just wished the film could have gone further with its comedy. Although infrequent, there are some melodramatic moments which I thought it weighed down the film a little. I've already mentioned Rogen and Shannon but I thought the other performances by the two other stars, Gordon-Levitt and Mackie, were great as well. The three had great chemistry with each other and it made everything work better. There were other people who showed up and were good as well including Jillian Bell as Isaac's wife Betsy (whose scenes with Isaac were hilarious) and Lizzy Caplan as Diana (just to name a few). Overall, this isn't quite the Christmas classic as other have claimed but it's still an excellent comedy.

Score: 8/10 keithlovesmovies.com

Turbo Kid (2015)

Turbo Kid Review

[9/10 · 22 November 2015]

In the post-apocalyptic future of 1997, a young man known only as The Kid (Munro Chambers), is a young solitary scavenger who is obsessed with comic books, primarily that of a superhero known as Turbo Rider, must face his fears and become a reluctant hero when he meets a mysterious girl named Apple (Laurence Leboeuf). Despite their efforts to keep to themselves, Zeus (Michael Ironside), the sadistic and self-proclaimed leader of the Wasteland, continues to plague The Kid and Apple. Armed with only his faith and an ancient turbocharged weapon, known as The Turbo Glove, The Kid learns about justice and friendship as he embarks on a journey to rid the Wasteland of evil and save the girl of his dreams.

Even though I wanted to see this film after seeing a trailer one night and I kind of knew what I was expecting, I was still pleasantly surprised by it. I found the style of the film to be very distinctive. I thought it reminded me of another film which I liked, Hobo With a Shotgun. The film is a sci-fi film (obviously) but it's not just any sci-fi film, it's like an homage to 80's sci-fi/action films. From the style, to the soundtrack, to the story, it just screams 80's which I liked (Yes, I was born in the 90's but I can still like it). Hobo With a Shotgun, a Canadian film like Turbo Kid (Canada shout-out), also had an 80's style but I think this one did it better. Sure, the story makes little sense and was very campy but that's not why you're watching this. The film is very aware of this and thus, doesn't take itself to seriously. You're watching this for the experience. This a funky, cheesy (not the bad kind), post- apocalyptic sci-fi experience. It doesn't really explain how the world came to be but instead chooses to focus on The Kid himself. The film's world is similar to that of the Mad Max series but instead of vehicles, the characters use BMX-style bicycles. I liked all of these things but the main selling point of this film is the violence. My goodness is it ever violent so it may not quite be for everyone. There's real-looking blood (perhaps too much), there's gore, and pretty much if you can think of anything bad then it's probably here too. I enjoyed how creative they were with how they utilized the violence but I won't elaborate on that to not give anything away (I don't know what that says about me but sometimes I like myself some tasteful violence). In a film that tries to be a B- movie type film, you would think that the acting would be bad but this was not the case here. Sure some of the acting was cheesy and some may not like the film for it but that was just because of the style of the film. Chambers and Leboeuf as The Kid and Apple were very likable and relatable and fit the world admirably. Apple's happy, go-lucky personality definitely stole the show. Ironside's villain Zeus was also great as well. Overall, if you're a squeamish person than you may not enjoy this but if you're looking for a fun time then you should give this one a try.

Score: 9/10 keithlovesmovies.com

Secret in Their Eyes (2015)

Secret in Their Eyes Review

[6/10 · 22 November 2015]

FBI investigators Ray (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Jess (Julia Roberts), along with District Attorney Claire (Nicole Kidman) are suddenly torn apart when Jess' teenage daughter Carolyn (Zoe Graham) is brutally murdered. Thirteen years later, after searching for Carolyn's elusive killer, Ray uncovers a lead that may permanently resolve the case and bring closure to Jess and the team. But no one is prepared for the shocking and unspeakable secret that follows.

So this film is a remake of an Argentinian film of the same name which won the Oscar in 2010 for Best Foreign Language Film (I was not aware of this until I did a google search for the trailer) so this film has some big shoes to fill. I haven't seen this film so I can't speak to how they compare. The idea behind the plot isn't too overly complex as it involves Ray (Ejiofor) and Claire (Kidman) trying to find Jess' (Roberts) daughter's killer and bringing them to justice. We get to follow this investigation over two timelines, in 2002, the year in which the crime occurred, and in 2015, when Ray and Claire investigate Ray's new lead. For both of those investigations, Ray and Claire are joined by another investigator named Bumpy (Dean Norris) who provided some comic relief and helped to balance out the film's dark subject matter. It was interesting for me to see both investigations and how they evolved with the passing of time but what I didn't like is that it was sometimes hard to tell which time it was since the film often jumped between the two. I could not find anything discernible difference between each time as very little changed. The look stayed the same and the characters did not act too differently. One of the few benefits of the time jumping is we got to see the evolution of Roberts' Jess as her grief seems evident over the course of the thirteen years and has manifested itself as some sort of a disease. But Ray and Claire's grief has also manifested as a disease which has affected them as well and this guides them (but mostly Ray) to try and solve Carolyn's murder. There is also a romantic subplot implied between the two but it was barely covered despite feeling a little out of place with the film's darker subject matter. There was also a subplot about the person they suspected of the crime, a man named Marzin (Joe Cole), being an informant for Ray and Jess' anti- terrorism investigation of a mosque and the government was covering his involvement with the crime in order to continue using him to take down terrorists but that wasn't covered too much either. I was just a little disappointed with the film since I had my expectation set perhaps too high with the quality of actors involved but I was just let down by the story. Yes, there is a twist but it won't exactly come out of nowhere and it probably won't make any sense to you (as it did for me). The story may have let me down but the acting did not. Ejiofor's Ray was okay to me, playing the role serviceably while sometimes being a little over-the-top. Kidman was also okay despite being miscast. This was really Roberts' film despite being more of a supporting character while being advertised as more. Roberts' Jess' range of emotions and her raw, makeup-less performance is to be admired. Overall, this is an okay film which could have been much more. If you are a fan of the actors, than you should give this one a chance.

Score: 6/10 keithlovesmovies.com

The Hunger Games (2012)

The Hunger Games Review

[7/10 · 22 November 2015]

In what was once North America, the Capitol of Panem maintains its hold on its 12 districts by forcing them each to select a boy and a girl, called Tributes, to compete in a nationally televised event called the Hunger Games. Every citizen must watch as the youths fight to the death until only one remains. District 12 Tribute Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) has little to rely on, other than her hunting skills and sharp instincts, in an arena where she must weigh survival against love.

So I didn't see any of the movies or read any of the books but I am still aware of the series and all of its three (and almost four) films so far. I think I must have been the only one who hasn't yet. It's human nature for things in this first film to not seem as climactic when you've previously known things about films past and future. This review will be based on this.

This film took place in what seems like some dystopian future but we never really got an explanation about how this world came to be. We start off by seeing Katniss (Lawrence) trying to hunt for food for her family including her mother (Paula Malcomson) and her sister (Willow Shields) (they mentioned a father but I'm not sure how he died). Her family appears to be poor and the residents of each District appear to be poor as well. She lives in District 12 with her friends Gale (Liam Hemsworth) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson). Her life soon gets interrupted when her sister gets selected as a tribute (participant) in this year's annual Hunger Games, a televised event where male and female youth from each district are selected at random to fight to the death (that's why these are YA novels). They don't really explain why this is the case but the explanation we do get just seemed silly to me. When her sister gets selected as a tribute, Katniss volunteers to compete in her place. Her friend Peeta gets selected as well. So the majority of the film after that is just her and Peeta being introduced to this world and preparing themselves to compete in these Hunger Games. These two get assistance with this from Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), and Cinna (Lenny Kravitz). Once they finally do get to compete (it took a while to get to this point), they must face the elements, the landscape, and the other participants. The actual Hunger Games itself was quite a letdown when it was something that had to potential to be exciting (the subject matter as far as I've heard had "R" level violence but was watered down to cater to a wider PG-13 audience). I found the violence to be quite muted and infrequent as most of the killing was offscreen and implied. But a film/book called "The Hunger Games" isn't necessarily about the games itself but it was about Katniss and Peeta having to stick together and survive the games. The second half of the film serves to further develop the friendship/relationship between the two teens. This worked as the acting of Lawrence and Hutcherson were good here as well as Harrelson, Banks, and Kravitz (surprisingly). Despite finding the story to be very silly, I found the film was shot very beautifully. I cannot speak to its authenticity but it did a good job depicting a dystopian world. Overall. this is a decent, big-world film but I just couldn't get into it as I probably should because I did not like the story. I can, however, understand why people just ate this up.

Score: 7/10 keithlovesmovies.com

The Last Witch Hunter (2015)

The Last Witch Hunter Review

[6/10 · 22 November 2015]

The world as we know it holds many secrets. Most importantly, witches still live among us. Centuries ago, Kaulder (Vin Diesel) managed to kill the almighty Witch Queen (Julie Engelbrecht), eliminating her followers in the process. Before her death, she cursed the valiant warrior with her own immortality, separating him from his wife and daughter from the afterlife. Her resurrection now threatens the survival of the human race as Kaulder, the last of his kind, and his allies Chloe (Rose Leslie) and Dolan 36th and 37th (Michael Caine and Elijah Wood), face her vengeful wrath.

I was interested in this one because I haven't seen a Vin Diesel movie that was neither fast nor furious (Yes, I know he was in Guardians of the Galaxy but he only voiced a character and didn't appear in person). It will say that it was weird at first for me watching this since I have always imagined him as his character from the Fast and the Furious series but that went away quickly. I also wasn't sure what the film was trying to be, a fantasy film or an action film. They set up the fantasy angle early on but I did not like the time jump after we see him kill the Witch Queen because that it is the only time Kaulder was actually a witch hunter. From then on that fact is only implied because they already established his history of being a witch hunter off screen during that time. So it was a little disappointing that a film called The Last Witch Hunter did not include any actual witch hunting. I did not like the pacing of the film either as it felt like most of its time was spent trying to stop the curse that was cast on Dolan 36th instead of advancing the plot by trying to figure out who was responsible for what was happening and we they did, try to stop them. The fact that Diesel's Kaulder was immortal was unnecessary to the plot as I felt it bogged the film down with his immortality making him feel alone, also you never really felt a sense of danger since his character can't die (and introduces the possibility of further films, of course), and it just doesn't feel right when Michael Caine's character is technically younger than Vin Diesel's character. Despite all of that, the story isn't overly original either so you can probably predict what's going to happen, except for maybe a twist at the end which was just stupid and felt forced. The action was decent in this one but you just can't ignore the excessive use of CGI here. When it's good, it's good but when it's bad, it's bad. I probably would have cared a little more about the characters if they weren't so one-dimensional. Some of the characters, especially Dolan 36th and 37th, were mostly in the background not really adding much to the plot. It was a shame because I am a big Michael Caine fan. Overall, The Last Witch Hunter is just your run-of-the-mill generic action movie that doesn't really bring anything new or original to the table but it is just a under two hour sequence of mindless fun.

Score: 6/10 keithlovesmovies.com

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Bridge of Spies Review

[8/10 · 22 November 2015]

During the Cold War, U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell) is captured by the Soviet Union after his U-2 spy plane gets shot down. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, Powers' only hope is New York lawyer James Donovan (Tom Hanks) who is recruited by the CIA to negotiate his release. Donovan then boards a plane to Berlin to try to secure Powers' freedom through a prisoner exchange. If all went according to plan, the Soviets would get Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance), the convicted spy who Donovan defended earlier in court.

I will say that the film is not as exciting as the trailer but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. There isn't too much action or suspense as the core of this film is based on conversations between characters. The suspense comes from whether or not the people on the other side will follow through with what they say and whether or not the situation in which the characters are in the middle of, The Cold War, will have an impact on the proceedings. But what had the potential to be quite dull was not thanks to the performances of Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance, the direction by Steven Spielberg, the score, and the cinematography that really captured the paranoia in that corner of the world during the Cold War. Hanks is great here as he was the only reason I saw this film. In his best role since Captain Phillips (I still think he should have been nominated for an Oscar for that one instead of Christian Bale for American Hustle). I liked him in this one because I found his character to be very endearing and very human. I also found that this went well when juxtaposed against the world he was in. Rylance, who I have never heard of before this, stole scenes as the Soviet spy Abel. He was very witty with a calm demeanour and who never let the situation get to him. He and Hanks had great chemistry which made their scenes together very entertaining. I just wish they could have had more scenes together as their storyline was only for the first quarter when Donovan defended Abel in court and a little near the end of the film during the exchange. The reason I say this is because the middle of the film was not as exciting to me since it dealt with Hanks being in Berlin during the Cold War and having his character negotiating for the release of Powers and also another prisoner Frederic Pryor (Will Rogers). These scenes were still good because of the great script by the Coen brothers and the acting by Hanks and others. They just just didn't have the same weight for me since the film chose to focus on Hanks's character Donovan instead of the characters he was trying to rescue so they came off as one- dimensional. I guess they just wanted Powers for what he knew but they still could have fleshed him out more than just in the one scene. Also it is evident that this is taking place during the Cold War but I wished I had more of a sense of that. In other words, they could have gone further with that idea as we never got to see "how bad" the Soviets and the Germans, who captured Pryor, were as nothing really happened to them (onscreen at least). Overall, this is just a great movie and one of Spielberg's best.

Score: 8/10 keithlovesmovies.com

Crimson Peak (2015)

Crimson Peak Review

[6/10 · 22 November 2015]

After marrying the charming Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), young Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) finds herself swept away to his remote mansion in the English hills. Living with them is Lady Lucille (Jessica Chastain), Thomas's sister and protector of her family's dark secrets. Edith who can communicate with the dead. tries to uncover the mysteries behind her ghostly visions which have been haunting her in her new home. As she approaches the truth, she may learn that true monsters can be made of flesh and blood.

I would like to warn you right away that there are a lot of things going on in this film. It tries to be a horror film, a romance film, and a suspenseful/thriller film while attempting a Gothic style. I might need a refresher on the definition of the word Gothic but being a period piece which occurs in an old house does not scream Gothic to me. I also found the story in this one to be very confusing and contained holes. For example, the synopsis says that Thomas and Edith get married but it just felt weird to me that they barely spent any time together at the beginning and suddenly they are married offscreen. For a story that depends so much on the supposed romance, you can't help but to not believe it because I thought that Hiddleston and Wasikowska had absolutely no chemistry whatsoever. Without giving too much of the story away, there were a few subplots in the film that they tried to introduce without really exploring or explaining any of them. All of these made the story hard to follow since it just kept moving from one thing to another haphazardly. I kept finding it annoying when something new started happening for no reason. I guess the whole Gothic theme was used just as an excuse. Sure there were a few ghosts for no reason and there were various creaking and other weird noises but I did not find that very scary and most probably won't either. The acting in this one wasn't too great either. Tom Hiddleston seemed boring, uninterested, and slightly out of place. Mia Wasikowska's character was stupid and naive and just wandering around triggering all of the film's scares. Jessica Chastain was sleeping through most of the film until near the end where I think she stole the show. Charlie Hunnam was okay as Dr. McMichael despite being underwritten. I was trying to be patient with the film because of the promise of the subject matter but it was hard since the dialogue was so bad. The acting was not the worst part because the story, which started off with promise just fell apart from the middle-on where predictable twist after predictable twist kept occurring and the end had to be one of the silliest things I've ever seen. The only thing I liked about the film were the special effects as I found the film to be very beautiful to look and the CGI on the ghosts/monsters were well done. Also the sound effects and the soundtrack managed to heightened the tension and general spookiness. Overall, this was a beautiful film to watch but the story was unfortunately not at the same level.

Score: 6/10 keithlovesmovies.com

Goosebumps (2015)

Goosebumps Review

[8/10 · 22 November 2015]

Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette), distraught after moving from the big city of New York to a small town with his mother Gale (Amy Ryan), finds a silver lining when he meets his neighbor Hannah (Odeya Rush). The teen is then surprised to learn that her mysterious, recluse, father is R.L. Stine (Jack Black), the famous best-selling author of the "Goosebumps" series. When Zach accidentally summons the monsters from Stine's tales, it's up to Stine, his daughter, Zach, and his friend Champ (Ryan Lee) to return the monsters to the books from which they came.

I will just start off by saying I saw the film in 3D and I found that it did not add much to the story and the experience and was just another excuse to charge more money. Based on subject matter alone, this will probably make a lot of money anyway. I've been a big fan of the Goosebumps series ever since I was a kid. I don't think I've read all of the books but I enjoyed the ones I did so I was curious to see how they would make it into a film. I thought the story started off as a little cliché and original based on the circumstances in which Zach and his mom moved to where they did but I'm glad the film did not dwell on it too much. I was also surprised by how funny the film was as I thought the filmmakers did a great job at using comedy to break up the film's more serious and scary moments. They were able to succeed at this thanks to smart dialogue for the most part and jokes and one-liners which rarely missed. The primary sources of the comedy were from Ryan Lee's Champ who was serviceable despite bombing a few times and Jillian Bell as Zach's aunt Lorraine who I found a little cringy at times. There were also a pair of inept cops (Timothy Simons and Amanda Lund) that I thought were underused. I thought the acting all around in this to be very good, especially Minnette and Black. Minette's Zach, despite not being very deep as a character development-wise, kept my interest and led the film well enough. Black's Stine was great here as a character similar to other characters he has played. He had some great moments and funny exchanges with the other actors. His character progression was rather predictable but this is a kids film. What made it entertaining was the chemistry the four actors had as I found they played well off of each other. Some may not like the pace of the film but I didn't mind. I thought the special effects were good but not great as the film depicted a series of Stein's monsters from the Abominable Snowman, to a giant Premantis, evil gnomes, etc using CGI (perhaps too much). The most prominent of these monsters is Slappy the dummy (voiced by Black). He is the main villain of the film but I thought he brought the film down with his bad dialogue. I much rather preferred the scenes with the four actors against the monsters. The other thing I didn't like were a few twists in the story which I thought did not add anything. Overall, this a great kids film that shouldn't be too scary for kids and one that they and adults should enjoy.

Score: 8.5/10 keithlovesmovies.com

The Walk (II) (2015)

The Walk Review

[7/10 · 22 November 2015]

As a boy, Philippe Petit aspired to perform bold feats for amazed crowds. As an adult (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), his life's dream comes true when he becomes a high-wire walker who faces sudden death with every step. While under the guidance of his mentor known as Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), the French daredevil hashes out a plan to walk across a tightrope attached between the north and south towers of the World Trade Center. With the help of his team of accomplices and against all odds, he attempts the seemingly insurmountable challenge back on Aug, 7, 1974.

My original intention was to skip this one after seeing the trailer because I thought it was going to be bad. First, I thought Joseph Gordon-Levitt's french accent was bad and he just seemed out of place in the film. Second, I thought the whole 3D/IMAX thing was just going to be a gimmick and it was going to be nothing more than an excuse to charge more money for 3D/IMAX tickets and not add anything to the story. Luckily, I was only wrong about one of those thoughts. Now with the story, the majority does serve as a buildup to the aforementioned walk which is what the film is named after. For me, I found it did go a little too slowly during these moments, especially the moments where he was a kid and then a teen. Also I quite enjoyed the scenes between Philippe's younger self (also played by Gordon-Levitt) and Papa Rudy as the chemistry between the two made them entertaining. It was a shame that we didn't get to see too many of them as it is implied that most of his training happened offscreen or he learnt a lot of it on his own. From what I saw, either of those seem likely. They also tried to give Philippe a love interest in the film by introducing a beautiful singer named Annie (Charlotte Le Bon). I found she served no purpose in the film other than slightly advancing the plot at the beginning. Their scenes were not as good because they had little chemistry. I did not care so much for the other characters as the film did not bother to develop them. I thought the story started to get remotely interesting once all of the characters finally reached New York City. Despite being silly and a little cliché at times, the part of the story involving him and his team getting the walk together and ready was engaging. When we finally got to the infamous walk, it started off promising. This sequence, as shown in the trailers, really took advantage of the 3D/IMAX technology as you could feel how high up he was and how far he had to walk. Of course this happened a few times before as we saw him attempt the same feats as practice but never at the scale of this last walk. It is also a shame that it went on for around 15-20 minutes too long as the story started to get silly in order to justify this extra time. What happened afterwards was just as if not more silly. Now I probably would have gotten into the film a lot more if Joseph Gordon-Levitt's french accent wasn't bad and if he just seemed less out of place in the film. What I hated about the film were the shots of Philippe telling his story on screen and the narration because I did not find it necessary to the film as it kept saying things that were blatantly obvious or not important. Overall, the destination was pretty good but I just wished it matched the journey.

Score: 7.5/10 keithlovesmovies.com

Hyena Road (2015)

Hyena Road Review

[6/10 · 22 November 2015]

Ryan (Rossif Sutherland) is a Canadian sniper who tries not to think of his targets as human. He's also in love with his colleague, Jennifer (Christine Horne) who together try to lessen the constant danger that comes with their jobs. When Ryan and his team Travis, Hickie, and Tank (Allan Hawco, David Richmond-Peck, and Karl Campbell) are surrounded by the enemy, they take refuge in a small village. In this village, they meet a legendary former mujahid known as the Ghost (Neamat Arghandabi), who saves their lives. When Ryan tells intelligence officer Pete (Paul Gross) about him, Pete insists on meeting him. He agrees to help them but the kidnapping of two girls from his village threatens to complicate their mission.

If you didn't know already, I am a Canadian. This film depicts (more or less) our army. Maybe it exaggerates the level of our involvement in Afghanistan but it probably would have been a very boring film otherwise. I have seen a lot of war films but I don't think that I have seen any Canadian war films (because all of the others are predominately American) so this would be a first for me. It ultimately makes no difference what country the film comes from. For a war film, the story isn't too original here so don't expect any surprises in this one. I found the pacing in this one to be a little weird where character seemed to alternate between being out of their base and engaging Taliban and being within the base and just talking to each other about things. I was hoping for a little more fighting because the moments when the characters were within the base to be quite boring because I did not particularly care about the characters besides the character of Pete played by Paul Gross since I thought he had the most depth when compared to all of the other characters who had little to no depth and I enjoyed his interactions with his Afghani friend Abdul (Hekmat Bavari). It's funny that this is the case seeing that Paul Gross wrote and directed the film. I thought the war scenes were well done in that they were well shot and I liked the sound design involved. They also did a good job capturing the tension involved with being a sniper and the uncertainty after things went wrong (and they sometimes did). Despite the base scenes being boring and not caring about most of the characters, I still thought Rossif Sutherland was okay as Ryan, albeit being cliché almost the entire time. Christine Horne as Jennifer was okay but I didn't think her character was necessary to the story (except for something I will not spoil) as it did not add anything to it and her relationship with Ryan did not work seeing that they had no chemistry together. What annoyed me was during certain scenes involving conversations between Afghani characters, there were no subtitles so I had no idea what they were saying. The only time I did was when there was a translator in the scene. I found the tone of the film drastically changed near the end which did not make sense to me. Overall. this comes nowhere near the great war films but it should moderately entertain.

Score: 6.5/10 keithlovesmovies.com

Pan (2015)

Pan Review

[5/10 · 22 November 2015]

Living a desolate life at a London orphanage, 12-year-old Peter (Levi Miller) finds himself taken to the fantastical world of Neverland. Adventure awaits him as he meets a new friend James Hook (Garrett Hedlund) and the tribal warrior Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara). This group must now band together to save Neverland from the evil pirate Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman). Along the way, the orphan must uncover his own true destiny, becoming the legendary hero forever known as Peter Pan.

The film starts off with a voice saying that you may have heard this story plenty of times (which I believe most of you have) but not this one. I am very skeptical of that. I assume everyone has heard of the characters. You got your Peter Pan and your Hook, not quite a captain just yet. There are other characters that I haven't (but probably others) quite heard of like Tiger Lily and Blackbeard (in the context of Peter Pan). I found this direction to be interesting but I found they didn't add much to the story other than being a cliché source of encouragement (Tiger Lily) and being a transvestite (Blackbeard). I found there to be many WTF moments while watching this film but the worst WTF moment has to be Hugh Jackman's performance as Blackbeard. I had a hard time ever taking him seriously as a character when the way his character was designed (makeup, clothes, facial hair, etc) makes him look like a transvestite. Not only does he have the misfortune of looking like a transvestite, his performance (or over-performance), to me, was the worst of the film. What made it so bad was not only the way he looked like a transvestite, his dialogue was just cringe-worthy. He is not the only one to get my scorn, however. Garrett Hedlund's performance as Hook seemed very out-of-place to me. His dialogue was bad but not as bad as Jackman's Blackbeard and the baffling decision to give him a southern accent (I don't know whether or not he ever was supposed to have one) just felt a little off when juxtaposed to the world the filmmakers were trying to create. I thought Levi Miller was okay as Peter Pan. I thought I was going to find him super annoying going in and I was pleasantly surprised when he wasn't annoying as I thought he was going to be. He still was but not as much. I thought the underlying story here was kind of cheesy here with silly WTF moments throughout such as the appearance of Nirvana and The Ramones for some reason. I thought the beginning of the film was the worst culprit and I found it just torture. Despite the quality of the story you get to see, it sometimes gets drowned out by the special effects which appear a little too often. Overall, if there was a little more substance to go with the style, then this could have ended up a better film.

Score: 5/10 keithlovesmovies.com

Steve Jobs (2015)

Steve Jobs Review

[9/10 · 22 November 2015]

With public anticipation running at an all-time high, Apple Inc. co- founders Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender) and Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen) along with Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet) and Andy Hertzfeld (Michael Stuhlbarg) get ready to unveil the first Macintosh in 1984. Meanwhile Jobs must deal with personal issues involving his ex- girlfriend Chrisann Brennan (Katherine Waterston) and their young daughter Lisa. Eventually fired by then Apple CEO John Sculley (Jeff Daniels), Jobs launches NeXT Inc. and prepares to unveil a new computer in 1988. Ten years later, Jobs returns to Apple and is again about to revolutionize the computer industry by unveiling the iMac.

I'll just say right now that I did not see the Ashton Kutcher led film Jobs from two years ago which was also based on the life of Steve Jobs. I chose not to see it because I didn't think Kutcher looked like Jobs at all and I do not take him seriously in dramatic roles. I didn't read the book the book in which the film is based, Walter Isaacson's biography also called "Steve Jobs". I chose to watch it because I trust the people who were behind the film (I assume you know who they all are). Now Fassbender doesn't look like Jobs either but that's not the point here as the progression in his appearance matches his progression as a character since he grew into the person he was based on his past experience. At least that was the impression I got. This experience comes from the events leading up to the those three unveilings which make up the entire plot of the film. In theory this doesn't sound like much, but there is actually a lot to be had. The majority of the film consists mostly of backstage conversations and a few flashbacks but you don't mind since they were done so well. You can count on Aaron Sorkin films to have good, smart, quick dialogue usually while characters are walking down hallways. We definitely got plenty of that here. Like I said, the dialogue is good but the dialogue can only be as good as the actors who are delivering it. The actors in this one definitely don't disappoint. Fassbender who is amazing here and will definitely at least get an Oscar nomination for Best Actor competing with Johnny Depp in Black Mass. As Jobs, Fassbender manages to be cold, smart, manipulative, calculating narcissist. He goes about it with a calm demeanour and can turn into a diabolical on a turn of a dime. The few scenes involving Jobs' family issues had the potential to bring the film down did not come off as cheesy or boring thanks to the performances of Fassbender and Katherine Waterston as Jobs' girlfriend Chrisann. Kate Winslet was just as good and nomination worthy as Johanna Hoffman who can keep up with and stand up to Jobs acting as a counterbalance to his personality. Their exchanges were nothing short of amazing and they were able to show off their acting ability. They weren't the only ones privy to this. Seth Rogen in his best performance as Steve Wozniak held his own in big moments and had great chemistry with Fassbender. I just wish I could have seen more of him. Jeff Daniels as Sculley is also nomination-worthy based on one scene with Fassbender later on. The only thing I didn't like about the film was that since the film is about those three unveilings, we never got too see any of them. I also liked the end of the film as it connected everything nicely. Overall, the film doesn't seem like much in theory but the performances alone should make this worth seeing.

Score: 9.5/10 keithlovesmovies.com

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015)

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension Review

[6/10 · 22 November 2015]

Married couple Ryan and Emily (Chris J. Murray and Brit Shaw) along with their young daughter Leila (Ivy George) and Ryan's little brother Mike (Dan Gill) suddenly find a box of old VHS tapes and an old video camera that can allow them to see paranormal occurrences that the human eye can't detect in their house. When Ryan and Mike decide to watch the tapes, they soon see that they film Katie and Kristi (Chloe Csengery and Jessica Tyler Brown), from previous Paranormal Activity films, being taught supernatural abilities by their grandmother (Hallie Foote). However in the video, Katie begins to notice the brother's presence despite the video being filmed 20 years earlier. When Leila becomes a victim of supernatural attacks, Ryan and Emily must find a way to save their daughter.

I will say that I haven't seen all of the Paranormal Activity films so my opinions will be based on this. I chose to see this film because I was curious as to how they would utilize 3D. I did not think it added anything to the experience other than in one scene. I think they used 3D as an excuse to show things with the paranormal camera in which the characters find near the beginning of the film. Other times some of the 3D moments just felt weird when contrasted with the film's found footage format. The main problem that I've had with the few films of the series that I have seen was that they were too slow. In other words, not too much would happen on screen until later on in the film so it was very easy to get bored or disinterested. I'm happy to say that this is not the case here as on screen stuff happens rather quickly. Unfortunately based on the found footage format, the only things that seemed to happen were just weird sounds, stuff moving, and just different ghosts moving across and into the screen. This isn't too much of an original way to scare people but I will admit to having jumped a few times and I don't do that very often. Without giving too much away, the plot in this films makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Sure there's something wrong with the daughter but the reason why doesn't make sense and just about everything else does not either. Watching this film which was quite short at around an hour and a half, I found myself often asking why or how. Maybe with more time, they could have explained a few more things. My understanding could have come from because I haven't seen too many other films in the series or maybe it simply doesn't make sense. This film was advertised as the end of the series and providing an explanation to the previous films of the series (I assume not the spinoffs) but I don't think it did that. Again without giving anything away, the only reference to the previous films I recognized were the characters of Katie and Kristi from Paranormal Activity 3. I found the acting in this one to be consistent for the most part. It was all OK but not exceptional as most of the acting consisted of reacting to different things. I did not like the daughter, however, because her moodiness felt odd. As with most horror films, the plot consists of characters not knowing what was happening, then they figure it out, and then they try to stop it. I'm not exactly sure all three of those happened. I was not a big fan of the end either as it just left us with more questions than answers. Overall, based on the action, this film for me is the best Paranormal Activity I've seen (limited experience) and the best found footage movie I've seen.

Score: 6/10 keithlovesmovies.com

Rock the Kasbah (2015)

Rock the Kasbah Review

[5/10 · 22 November 2015]

While visiting Kabul, Afghanistan, washed-up music manager Richie Lanz (Bill Murray) gets dumped by his latest client Ronnie (Zooey Deschanel). His luck soon changes once he meets Salima Khan (Leem Lubany), a Pashtun teenager with a beautiful voice who dreams of becoming the first female to compete on the television show "Afghan Star." With the help of an industrious hooker (Kate Hudson), two war profiteers (Danny McBride and Scott Caan) and a mercenary (Bruce Willis), Richie must embark on a mission to get his new protégée discovered.

I've always been a fan of Bill Murray ever since I saw Ghostbusters. Since I haven't seen too many of his films this current millennium, so as soon as I heard about this one, I had to see it. So this is exactly what you would expect, Bill Murray spewing one-liner after one-liner as he has often done in films. The problem was that this time, I didn't think it worked because I did not find any of it to be funny. I guess the big draw about this film was supposed to be just Bill Murray being Bill Murray in Afghanistan. I guess the comedy in this one was supposed to be the contrast between his sleazy, Hollywood-type with the Middle East. I also found it odd that his character had a young daughter considering how old Murray is. Despite not finding any of it funny, I still thought Bill Murray way okay at depicting this. There were other characters in the film but other than Salima and Richie, you never really got to know anything about them since the film had no character development whatsoever what didn't help was that they were barely on screen to begin with. Because of this, I found myself not caring about them and because of that, I also found myself bored. It wasn't because I found any of the acting bad, it was just that since all of the other characters are so poorly written. Speaking of not caring about things, I did not care about the story either. It just seemed like it tried to go in many directions and then just kept dropping subplots as it went on. This is partly the cause of the lack of character development. I also found myself to be bored with certain subplots because of the several instances of not caring I mentioned previously. I understand that they were only meant to lead us to the main part of the plot but I thought that they could have done a better job taking us there. The only part I liked was the part about Richie discovering Salima and trying to get her discovered. These scenes were the most exciting to me as I was interested in the cultural issues and I thought Salima was actually a good singer which made it entertaining. It's just a little disappointing when you think of what this film could have been considering the story which had the potential of being good and the actors involved but all of it just fell victim to bad writing. Bill Murray was still able to do his best considering what he had and it made this still watchable.

Score: 5.5/10 keithlovesmovies.com

The 33 (2015)

The 33 Review

[6/10 · 22 November 2015]

Disaster strikes on Aug. 5, 2010, as a copper and gold mine collapses in Chile, trapping 33 men underground. With more than 2,000 feet of rock in their way, members of a rescue team work tirelessly for 69 days to save the seemingly doomed crew. Beneath the rubble, the miners begin an epic quest to survive, contending with suffocating heat and the need for food and water. With family, friends and the rest of the world watching, it becomes a race against time and a true test of the human spirit.

So you may or may not be aware of the story of the Chilean miners. I wasn't completely aware so I thought I'd give this film a look. What helped was that it had Antonio Banderas and Lou Diamond Philips in it. Of course they played some of the miners Mario Sepúlveda and Don Lucho respectively. Since the film is called "The 33" and is about 33 miners, there are 33 miners and since it would be hard to focus on all of them, they only focused on a few of them (I don't remember any of the other characters' names because I was focused on Antonio Banderas and Lou Diamond Philips). This was probably for the best as I didn't really care about the other miners' stories. To be fair, these stories include: one about to retire, one who is an Elvis impersonator, one who has a drinking problem, one who is a Bolivian and has a hard time fitting in, one who is having an affair, and one who is having problems with their sister (at least those are the ones I can remember). The film is not just about the people down below, however, as it follows the drama involved in the rescue above and the miners' families patiently (mostly) waiting for their safe return. This contingent consisted mostly of Laurence Golborne (Rodrigo Santoro), a government official, and Andre Sougarret (Gabriel Byrne), a mining expert called in to assist with the rescue. I found that the miners' families were not well represented here with the most vocal of them being one of the miners' sister Maria Segovia (Juliette Binoche). I thought Binoche was good here with what little she had. I found that pretty much everyone we got to see up above was okay in their respective roles despite me not caring as much about the whole government angle which also included Chilean President Piñera (Bob Gunton). The acting from the miners down below was okay for the most part but I found Banderas' performance to be a little over-the-top. Sure this is supposed to be an inspirational story but I found his cheesy inspirational/motivational lines to be a little off-putting. The special effects involved were well done as the initial cave collapse looked realistic and created the only real emotional moment in a film that is supposed to be an emotional film. The look on the miners' faces when the cave collapsed was real and you could see them feel trapped. This was emotional and I don't think anything else after that was as the film is just a bunch of guys stuck in a cave with nothing to do. I will say that this film does take a little getting used to because the scenes within the cave are very dark and it is sometimes hard to tell the miners apart. Also the story just seemed a little lazy to me as it never really explained how the miners were saved, the story took a few convenient turns, and it used a little too much news footage to explain what was happening. Overall, this is just an average drama with a little emotion and inspiration.

Score: 6/10 keithlovesmovies.com

Love the Coopers (2015)

Love the Coopers Review

[5/10 · 22 November 2015]

When four generations of the Cooper clan (Alan Arkin, Diane Keaton, John Goodman, June Squibb, Ed Helms, Marisa Tomei, and Olivia Wilde) come together for their annual Christmas Eve celebration, a series of unexpected visitors (Alex Borstein, Amanda Seyfried, and Jake Lacy) and unlikely events turn the night upside down, leading them all toward a surprising rediscovery of family bonds and the spirit of the holiday.

Now stop me if you've never heard of and/or seen any of this before. So it's almost winter so that means it's almost Christmas. With that means Christmas films and this one is the first of this season (seems like they're coming out earlier every year). This film is about a dysfunctional family (as most Christmas films are) trying to get together for Christmas (as most do) and things don't quite go according to plan (as most go). What's different about this one is that Charlotte and Sam Cooper's (Keaton and Goodman) son Hank (Ed Helms) has a dysfunctional family of his own (Borstein, Timothée Chalamet, Maxwell Simkins, and Blake Baumgartner). Of course Charlotte and Sam are having marital problems and Hank and his wife Angie (Borstein) are divorced so there is a slight parallel here. So the main plot of the film consists of Charlotte and Sam getting ready for their Christmas Eve celebration while also following each Cooper family member as they make their way to the celebration. I will admit that it was kind of interesting following each of them around as we got to learn about each character. I will admit that some family members were more interesting than others but that opinion could have changed if they were followed a little more equally. The film chose to follow mostly Charlotte and Sam and their daughter Eleanor (Wilde). I found that I did not care as much about Sam and Charlotte's story as I did about Eleanor (and that's not saying much). It was really sad that considering the cast the had for this one that they wasted the remaining family members. I barely got to hear about Helm's Hank and Charlotte's sister Emma's (Marisa Tomei) (which is weird since she is 19 years younger in real life and their characters are supposed to be 3 years apart) arc was not interesting at all since we never got to learn anything about her character. I also need to mention Anthony Mackie in a minor role where he did not get to do to much either. The only thing I found really funny was a running gag throughout the film about the fact that Nick's teenage son Charlie (Chalamet) not knowing how to properly kiss. Like I said, it was funny despite being overdone. And despite even all of that, none of this stuff matters as much when the plot is full of holes yet predictable and drowning in cheese and cliché. I will however say that the acting wasn't necessarily bad per se but I just don't think the writing was very good. Overall, if you like the cast than this one might be worth a look but otherwise it's just another predictable Christmas film.

Score: 5.5/10

Spectre (I) (2015)

Spectre Review

[8/10 · 22 November 2015]

A message from the past leads Agent 007, James Bond (Daniel Craig) to Mexico City then Rome, where he meets a beautiful widow, Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci) of an infamous criminal. After infiltrating a secret meeting, Bond uncovers the existence of an evil organization known as SPECTRE. Needing the help of Madeline Swan (Léa Seydoux), the daughter of an old nemesis Mr. White (Jesper Christensen), he embarks on a mission to protect her. As Bond ventures through the heart of SPECTRE, he discovers a chilling connection between himself and the enemy, Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz) he seeks.

So the time to look back is now over and it's time to look forward and after seeing Skyfall (the first time being early last year), I've really been looking forward to this one. It seemed to me that Daniel Craig's Bond films so far have served as more of a reboot of the Bond series (except for Quantum of Solace as far as I know) and this one is no different. More characters are introduced and also hinted at here as well. These may or may not have been spoiled elsewhere but I will not do that here. The one thing that I've liked so far in the current Daniel Craig Bond series (again with the exception of Quantum of Solace) is the more realistic tone and this entry mostly continues along those lines. The pre-credits scene basically consists of Bond chasing leads in an over-the-top fashion. This leads into a pretty good credit sequence featuring a decent theme, called "Writing's on The Wall" by Sam Smith. The plot in this one is about Bond (spoiler alert) completing one of the last wishes of Judi Dench's M who died at the end of the previous film, Skyfall. this quest eventually leads him to SPECTRE, the evil organization responsible for almost all the evil things that have happened in almost every Bond film so far (since this is a reboot, all of those things don't count) and their leader Franz Oberhauser played by Waltz. I thought the plot was pretty interesting seeing how the new generation would depict the evil organization that I've known so well over time (the reasons behind this are beyond the scope of this review). While it did suffer from some logic issues and some bad character choices (biased from my knowledge of previous films), these were minor complaints. There was also a minor subplot about government surveillance but this wasn't explored as much as I would have liked. Keeping with the other films of the series so far, the action in this was very good and exciting. What made it so exciting is that it was well shot as they take it to familiar and unfamiliar places. It does however start to veer towards the over-the-top the further the film goes. I thought the acting in this was excellent, especially by Craig and Waltz whose few scenes together redeemed the film for most of its problems. Craig is always reliable as he brings realism to the role and it doesn't hurt that he can handle himself with all of the action and often wins with his charm. Waltz (as he did in Inglorious Basterds) manages to steal the few scenes he is in and really does a good job with the cunning, evil guy role. I also thought Ben Whishaw as Q in a more expanded role, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, and Ralph Fiennes as M were also good in minor roles and I was also nice to see the three of them work together with Bond for the first time in a Bond film. Overall, this is another great entry in the Bond series which starts to stray away from the kind of storytelling which made the first films in the Craig Bond series so great but Craig and Waltz make this worth a look.

Score: 8.5/10 keithlovesmovies.com

The Peanuts Movie (2015)

The Peanuts Movie Review

[7/10 · 22 November 2015]

Life has always been complicated for Charlie Brown (Noah Schnapp), the boy who always tried his hardest despite seemingly insurmountable odds. When a little red-haired Girl (Francesca Capaldi) moves in across the street from him, Charlie Brown finds himself completely smitten with her. Meanwhile, his best friend Snoopy (Bill Melendez) embarks on an epic adventure in a fantasy world. As a World War I flying ace, the lovable beagle pursues his nemesis, the Red Baron, while also trying to win the heart of a beautiful pilot named Fifi (Kristin Chenoweth).

I have always been a fan of the whole Peanuts series since I've been a kid. I've seen some of the old cartoons and read some of the comic strips. I haven't seen much of the cartoons in a while since they now seem a little outdated to me but I was willing to give this one a try since it had a new story and the animation looks much different. I chose to see this film in 3D but I don't believe that it is necessary in order to have a good experience. As with most animated films, another short film proceeded this one. It involved Scrat (Chris Wedge), the squirrel from the Ice Age films. He was in a spaceship, then in space for some reason (don't ask me why). I didn't find it funny but the people (mostly kids) in the theater seemed to like it. The plot of the main film consisted mostly of Charlie's pitiful attempts at getting with the nameless, faceless (at least until the end) little red- haired girl who just happens to move in across the street. All of it was very Charlie Brown-like as he tried many different things in order to become the kind of person that he thought the red-haired girl would have wanted and failed but was cute while doing it. To do these things, he had the help of his dog Snoopy. He had his moments during this and laughs were to be had. He did some funny things on screen and had some funny interactions with Charlie Brown, Woodstock (also Melendez), and the other kids (too many to name here) in the film. These all worked for the most part. During all of this Snoopy finds a typewriter (for some reason) and starts creating his own story in a fantasy world where he was a flying ace and along with Woodstock was just flying around during some sort of war and when a beautiful pilot Fifi (Chenoweth) (and also a dog) gets taken by the Red Baron (who we never see). These scenes were entertaining on their own but I felt like they took away momentum from the main plot. I preferred the scenes with just the kids as I thought the voice acting was very good. I did say the voice acting was good but I felt like it was a little sleepy. I don't know if it was because of the script or just the style of the film but it just wasn't exciting. Maybe that's what the show really was but I just don't remember it that way. Of course being a kid's film it has a moral, "if you see yourself as a winner or a loser in life, you are probably going to act like one. If you think you are a winner, act like one and others might think so too." It's a good message but a rather predictable one. It doesn't happen very often to me but this is the second film I've seen this year that has gotten a round of applause at the end, the first being War Room. Overall, this is a decent animated film with a decent story that kids and adults should enjoy (probably as long they are Peanuts fans).

Score: 7/10 keithlovesmovies.com

Our Brand Is Crisis (2015)

Our Brand Is Crisis Review

[7/10 · 22 November 2015]

Falling badly in the polls. Bolivian presidential candidate Pedro Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida) enlists the help of an American management team for help. The main start of the team is "Calamity" Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock), a brilliant strategist who must come out of a self-imposed retirement for a chance to beat her professional nemesis, the loathsome Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton). Since Candy is working for her competition, this election becomes a dirty, all-out battle between the two political consultants, where nothing is held sacred and winning is the only option.

Ever since I saw her in Gravity, I've been a big Sandra Bullock fan. I think she's a great actress and I was willing to take a chance on this film because of that. I was interested in this because the film's trailers made it look like a fun political satire. The film started off with Jane being plucked from obscurity and starts off slow from there as she just seems disinterested in the proceedings. I found this a little annoying because I felt, as the other characters did, that my time was being wasted. They made her have altitude sickness but that wasn't necessary. Once she got over that, I felt the film started to get better. It was interesting for me to see their interpretation of the political process and the fact that it was taking place in Bolivia didn't seem to have any relevance. The campaigning and the strategizing was fun but I feel like the film was playing it safe with everything. It never really explored anything with any depth and again, it never really talked about what was happening in Bolivia. Because of this, the film's sudden change of tone near the end did not work. I just found it odd as the film started off as one thing and then tried to be something else and the transition just didn't work either. I found the plot in this one to also to not be original and rather predictable. The film also had a message but just like the tone change, it also did not work or feel earned. Despite the plot's shortcomings, they did not matter as much to me because of the acting. specifically by Bullock and Thornton. I found Bullock here to be very entertaining and she had a great command of the screen. Thornton was great as well as his scenes with Bullock's Jane were just amazing because of the writing and the chemistry between the two actors who are actually friends in real life. The other actors in the film (Anthony Mackie as Ben, de Almeida as Castillo, Ann Dowd as Nell, Scoot McNairy as Buckley, Zoe Kazan as LeBlanc, and Reynaldo Pacheco as Eddie) were good too and the chemistry was there but there was no character development whatsoever as we never really got to learn anything about any of these characters. The closest character to get some development was Pacheco's Eddie as his character served primarily as a view into Bolivia itself but barely. This film set out to be a satire and a drama and I think it got the satire but some of the drama just didn't work for me. Overall, this film had good intentions but was a little messy but Bullock and Thornton alone make this worth a look.

Score: 7/10 keithlovesmovies.com

Jem and the Holograms (2015)

Jem and the Holograms Review

[6/10 · 22 November 2015]

Teenager Jerrica (Aubrey Peeples) is an extremely shy but talented singer-songwriter whose dreams of stardom come true when she forms the group Jem and the Holograms. Other members include her younger sister Kimber (Stefanie Scott) on keyboards, drummer Shana (Aurora Perrineau) and bassist Aja (Hayley Kiyoko). With help from Rio (Ryan Guzman), the son of the CEO, Erica Raymond (Juliette Lewis) of Starlight Music, the four young band members find their own voice while taking the world by storm.

On paper this seems like an odd choice for me but I was just trying to be thorough. I've heard of the television series which this is based on but I have never seen an episode. I can't personally speak to the differences between this film and the TV show but this can. So this should not come as much of a surprise that this film is drowning in girliness so if you're not comfortable with that, then you probably won't enjoy this. There are a lot of things going on in this film but the main thing to take away is the message of being yourself, some girl power stuff, and some general empowerment in there (stop me if you haven't heard any of this before). Based on that, this film definitely does not bring anything new or original to the table. The way it goes about doing this definitely isn't new or original either. They're all together, one of them starts to lose their way, and then they find their way back (stop me if you haven't heard any of this before). So that is pretty much is how the main plot functioned more or less but there was more going on than just that. I guess that was the only way they could have justified the two hour running time (which is probably 15-20 minutes too long in my opinion). I thought the film could have gone without maybe a few of those subplots but I am not in a position to judge their importance because of my unfamiliarity with the series but I was still a little bored and disinterested in them nonetheless. I am also not a big fan of films where the main character narrates the story because I often found this to be unnecessary and redundant as they always just seem to repeat what we are already seeing which I found happened a few times here. I think they could have either toned it down or just gotten rid of it altogether. I was not a big fan of the soundtrack either as I found it to be a little overbearing at times. A thing that annoyed me about this was the use of video throughout the film. During certain dramatic moments, they would cut to what looks to be YouTube videos and the sound from them was used to try to elevate the tension which was just weird to me. Also the film kept showing what looked like fan made videos where they would talk about how Jem helped their lives which just seemed unnecessary to me. The film's pacing felt odd to me as it was unclear as to how much time had passed. I thought the acting was decent throughout despite the cheesy dialogue. The only exception to this has to Lewis' Erica Raymond who just felt wrong to me. The musical performances were well done as I thought they looked good and sounded good despite me trying to figure out whether or not they were lip syncing the whole time (I think they were). Overall, this is a decent teen film with some good plot elements with catchy music that is still in my head as I am writing this.

Score: 6/10