KristianZacc Reviews

The Girl on the Train (2016)

The Movie That Shocked No One

[6/10 · 27 October 2016]

Minor/Vague Spoilers

Another movie about another book about another murder mystery… sounds familiar… because it is!! If War Dogs was the wannabe Wolf of Wall Street, this was the wannabe Gone Girl.

I would like to point out that, yes I had the somewhat misfortune for having read the book prior to seeing this film. I say misfortune because the book wasn't the best read either, definitely an easy read just not compelling, or very difficult to figure out where it is going to end up.

Many people would compare this to Gone Girl as it is following that same path of taking an extremely popular novel and adapting that to film and, for me, that worked to perfection. Off the top of my head it was probably my favourite movie of 2014 and it was because of the hype from both that made me quite excited to see The Girl on the Train.

To be frank, it was quite underwhelming. The whole movie feels very melodramatic, as if I'm watching something on The CW and that I did not like. There are decisions that characters make that just make zero sense to me but what else should I expect from CW The Movie.

Emily Blunt knocks it out of the park which isn't unexpected because she is always perfect in every role she plays. She plays the main character who rides the train everyday and lives vicariously through the people she sees through the window. These fantasies, especially with one couple, become a big fixation for her. Until one day where she sees something that shocks her which kicks off the main storyline of this whodunit style movie. She was also the only thing that was British in this film. I say this because the book takes place in England and for the film they moved it to the U.S. why? I have no clue but I don't really care either. She was one of the few that felt like they had actually sunk themselves into the role and was playing a character and not just "acting".

Justin Theroux is someone who is one of my favourite actors currently working. Seeing him in The Leftovers which is a series I absolutely love made me very excited to see him have a role in this film. He was really the only other character in the film that I felt was taking their role very seriously.

For me, almost every other character felt like they could have been just reading their lines right off the script. Laura Prepon who I really liked in That 70s Show and Orange is the New Black felt very off, as if she didn't want to be there. This all falls down to the writing, which at times was very cringeworthy, and it wasn't up to any quality that Gone Girl was and it's an insult to think it is anything close. Obviously it was just used as a marketing device, as well as their "The Thriller That Shocked the World" tagline, to get people in seats in the theatre.

Every character has zero redeemable qualities and in the novel I quite enjoyed it because you got to read the insights of the three main characters, Rachel (Emily Blunt), Anna (Rebecca Ferguson), Megan (Haley Bennett), however, in the movie there is no real context for anything except for the beginning where you get Emily Blunt narrating events that happened on screen.

The narration as well was something that at times was very pointless and felt like the film was treating me like an absolute idiot. Specifically, there is a scene where a news report is playing and you get everything from just that but they also play Emily Blunt's character narrating the events that happened which is unnecessary because we are just getting the same information. This isn't the only time that happens either.

So, I would recommend just waiting and seeing the film later once it comes out on Blu-Ray or whatever cable TV channel. The movie was very vapid and lacked any kind of tension that it should've had.

Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016)

Holy Animated Feature!

[9/10 · 27 October 2016]

Minor/Vague Spoilers

Boy, oh boy did I have a smile on my face the entire time while watching this film. Only clocking in at around 75 minutes which seems to be the norm for DC animated movies was a nostalgia-fest treat. Based on the 60's Batman series starring Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin, they return to voice the characters that made them famous. They, along with Julie Newmar, who returns to voice Catwoman, are back with one of the best DC animated films in a while.

The four main villains, Catwoman, Penguin, The Riddler, and The Joker have all returned and it feels like it could be a direct sequel to the 1966 film that also had these four villains as the main antagonists to Batman and Robin.

The scope is much, much larger here in this animated film that could never be done in the live action series. One could say it is out of this world……

The animation is spot on. Every character very closely resembles their live action counterpart. The one tiny nitpick would be no moustache for Cesar Romero's Joker. Everything in the Batcave also seems to be flipped so it looks to be more of a mirrored version of what we saw in the TV series. They recreate the "BOOM" "KAPOW" pop up effects when someone gets punched as well as the original theme music. The animation style was interesting to me because it looked very different to other DC animated films. Everything other than the characters and vehicles seemed to be drawn extra large. I have no idea what the reasoning for this was but it was a great choice.

The storyline was very faithful to the series, the first 20-30 minutes play out almost exactly like an episode of Batman would. It's the following 15-25 minutes that are really wacky and even when the live action series involves a lot of "suspend your disbelief", this takes it to a whole new level. I won't spoil it for you because it wasn't even hinted at in any trailers I saw so I would want it to be a surprise for anyone watching for the first time. It pokes a lot of fun at itself and the campy-ness of the series… lots of throwbacks to the original. It was right before the final act that I felt the very quick pacing of the film come to a complete halt. Very happy to say that it rose back up again for the final act and came to a great conclusion.

The voice acting was done to perfection. The three returnees are of course great and it was very surprising to get such great, accurate performances from Jeff Bergman (The Joker), William Salyers (The Penguin), and The Riddler (Wally Wingert). While it did feel like they were doing an impression of the original actors it was all they needed to do. If they tried to make it their own it would've destroyed the movie (Wally Wingert has actually voiced The Riddler in the Batman Arkham videogames so it was great to see him do the same character that was separate from that universe so well). There are also a tonne of small cameos that are great to see from a huge fan of the 60's TV series.

A sequel has already been announced with William Shatner cast to voice Two-Face. I am immensely happy that there is going to be a sequel (I could see there being many sequels down the line) but have no idea how they are going to do Two-Face considering he was never in the original series.

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)

Tom Cruise Is Gonna Tom Cruise... Just Not In This Movie

[5/10 · 25 October 2016]

Minor/Vague Spoilers

Tom Cruise returning to this franchise was an interesting choice considering it plays as more of a Mission Impossible light. The sequel to the 2012 film Jack Reacher was a surprise to see for me since I didn't think the original was very successful to begin with, but I guess anything with Tom Cruise in it makes it a better product as a whole… or does it?

Just getting the negatives out of the way I thought some of the dialogue and writing in general was pretty bad. There were a few times I had to catch myself and think, "Did they really just say that?" Some of the lines just didn't feel like real people would be saying these things. There were also a lot of cheesy dialogue, specifically in a warehouse scene, and it just felt really out of place in this film. The whole "Major, ex-major" got old very fast.

They also decided to use Tom Cruise's keen ability to spot out people who are following him most of the time but decide he can't do it aptly when it suits to move the plot forward.

The storyline itself was pretty boring and felt really stretched out over the course of the two hours. Speaking of which after the first hour I found myself checking my watch quite a bit and couldn't believe there was so long left. If you feel like you've seen this story done before it's probably because you have. It's the same storyline in every generic action film; guy gets framed for something he didn't do, then guy tries to solve this problem and catch the villains. The only difference for this one is that he is doing all of this with Cobie Smulders's character.

This action film felt like they were trying to make it more of a drama with action elements involved. Which can definitely work and there are past examples to prove this but here it fell flat and the characters and writing weren't strong enough to carry through the two hours.

The inclusion of his probable daughter Sam, played by Danika Yarosh, gave Cruise someone else to play off of. She played an angst ridden teenager that basically just got in the way and was essentially a plot device to get to the final battle with the villains.

The main assassin hunting for Reacher was a total nothing in this movie. As well as Robert Knepper who wasn't given nearly enough to do. I loved him in Prison Break, had no idea he was in this film, and to see the movie play out with him barely in it hurt me.

I feel like the chemistry between the two of the three main characters was off most of the time but towards the end I did actually enjoy the relationship that Reacher and his daughter had because they tried to make him a real person with emotions. This, at first seemed great because they will actually give an action hero some character development but it just isn't done very well. This goes back to the films writing problems.

I realised after watching this film that this is actually the first Edward Zwick film I have seen and I would hope that when I do go back and watch his past films they don't let me down as much as this one has.

I haven't read the novel so maybe it plays better if you have, although knowing book adaptations they probably changed most of the plot.

The great Tom Cruise, the only positive thing in this film, deserves better.

Westworld (2016–2022)

Westworld Questions Humanity

[11 October 2016]

Minor/Vague Spoilers

Some people have been waiting for this show for a long time and it has finally made its way to our TV screens. The series was created by Jonathan Nolan (mostly known from Person of Interest and writing the Dark Knight trilogy with his brother Christopher Nolan) and his wife Lisa Joy. It is based off the film Westworld (1973) where the series takes place in fictional Westworld, a technologically advanced, Western-themed amusement park populated completely by synthetic androids dubbed "hosts". Westworld caters to high-paying visitors who can do whatever they wish within the park, without fear of retaliation from the hosts.

Right off the bat from the first trailer release I was really intrigued. It didn't give everything away and I actually had the wrong impression of what it was about. It was definitely a positive change and the premise is much more interesting than to what I thought.

HBO seems to love their long intro sequences and I always appreciate it because nowadays it seems that most shows are shying away from that and just having a title card instead of an actual sequence. I know it's a little thing but it adds so much to the feel of the show, for me.

The cast is perfect and they have excellent performances. Anthony Hopkins isn't playing a sadistic character in Hannibal Lecter that I'm so used to seeing. Instead, he is the leader of the park and the man behind the organisation. He doesn't come across as sick and twisted but he is definitely smart and calculating as Lecter was. He is given much more to do in episode two and we actually see him enter the world and as he does it expands on some of the rules of the world.

Ed Harris, of course, plays the villain and he really is set up to be absolutely hated from his first scene that has already come out with some controversy. He is very mysterious even down to his name, which isn't known, just The Man in Black. The show does a really good job of giving you enough so that you know on a very basic level of what he is trying to achieve but not what he would actually get out of it or why. It's also interesting to see that the outside people know what he's up to but

James Marsden's character, Teddy Flood, goes through a lot of crap in the first two episodes and it is really through his character that we are given the first "twist" and are introduced to some of the rules of the world; the hosts can't do any harm to the guests but the guests can do anything they want – including kill – the hosts. Poor James Marsden is what I've been saying both episodes so far.

Evan Rachel Wood's character, Dolores Abernathy, is the character that will take us on the journey of these hosts discovering for themselves that something is wrong with the world they're living in. It is through her eyes that we get to see the world through in most of episode one.

Episode two introduces a new character, William, played by Jimmi Simpson, and it is through his character that we get to see how the guests actually enter the world and

The cinematography is amazing it really sucks you into the world. There is a sequence in the first half of the first episode where it zooms out from Westworld and into the real world and it is probably my favourite sequence in the series so far. There are a few shots on the exterior of the train as we see it go along the countryside into the town and it really shows how big the world that has been created is.

The score is also just as great and it fits perfectly into the world and even furthers that sense of mystery that the show is trying to create as we, the viewers, try and figure out what exactly is going on.

The set design is incredible especially in Westworld they create the vast landscape to perfection and even in the real world in the building that Westworld was created. We see a cold storage type room where all these old, malfunctioned androids have been put away and it is really impressive to see how invested they were even in the tiny details to create all these different looking hosts when they aren't going to be used for much except for standing in a spot for a few shots.

The show poses a few interesting questions to the viewers about humanity and overall power, Hopkins tells a child (who I think is actually a younger version of him that he's created and put into Westworld) that this world isn't meant for him… who is it meant for? William, the nervous introvert or is it The Man in Black who is the total opposite. That is also an answer I don't think you can actually get a solid answer on because everyone has a different idea of what the world is for them. Who is real? And who isn't? There are a few times when we question who is actually real and who is just an android. Also, can you beat Westworld? Is it more than just an open world experience? This is what I think Ed Harris is trying to achieve.

I love this show so far, everything from the acting, storyline, writing, cinematography, and score is fantastic. The show takes itself very seriously, which I love almost as much as the slow burn. Can't wait to see the journey Westworld takes us on.

Sing Street (2016)

80s Music Nostalgia Mixed With Original Music Equals An Amazing Film

[10/10 · 21 September 2016]

Minor/Vague Spoilers

Originally, I was turned off watching this film because I had heard it was a musical and they don't really peak my interest. As time went on I kept hearing about Sing Street and how amazing it was so I decided to take the plunge and boy was I wrong!

First off, I didn't see it as a musical in the traditional sense where everyone just randomly burst out into a choreographed song and dance (even though it happens once but it still isn't done totally in that way). It was more just watching the band aptly named "Sing Street" perform their songs. It was closer to just being a coming of age movie with a great story filled with great performances.

This movie, in a nutshell, set in Ireland about one kid starting out in a new school and everyone there is picking on him. He meets this girl and convinces her he is a part of a band (that doesn't exist yet) and they want her to be in their music video. Once she says yes he groups some other kids together and they start their band.

Jack Reynor, plays the older brother and he is a standout. The film shows how brotherhood can impact ones life. This is even referenced in the films closing credits where it says, "For brothers everywhere." The film really pulls on the heartstrings through these two brothers and it is in the final sequence where we get a powerful moment from Reynor that really brings this sense of brotherhood together and brings a close to both the character's development.

Aidan Gillen, plays the father mostly known for portraying Littlefinger on Game of Thrones. Even though for most audiences he would be the one cast member that they would know prior to this film he doesn't take up any unnecessary screen time that would take away from the overall film.

The original music that was written for this film was fantastic, "Riddle of the Model" and "Drive it Like You Stole it" most likely being the big hits that would come from the film. 80s composer Gary Clark composed most of the music that is heard which I'm sure has already been released in a complete soundtrack. Adam Levine even has a song, "Go On" that he co-wrote and performs during the final sequence. We hear hit songs that were actually released during the 80s (so it's a well of nostalgia) and it influences the kids, especially the main character Conor (played by Ferdio Walsh-Peelo in his acting debut) who is shown to be changing his hairstyle and the music he wants to play no matter if it's Hall & Oates or The Cure. It's definitely realistic in that way where everyone wants to follow their idols and take from some of their music.

This film is grounded in realism and you feel for these kids. It wouldn't surprise me if some people were able to relate to these characters and be able to bring their own experiences, of trying to find out who you are and where you fit into this crazy world, into the viewing experience.

Overall, this film was fantastic and director John Carney deserves all the praises as he was able to get amazing performances from these kids that couldn't be a more charming film if it tried. I really don't have anything to say about it, even the ending, which I could see if some people thought was a bit too out there or possibly went against the films "realism". You get everything you want out of a movie from this film and more!!

War Dogs (2016)

The B-Grade Wolf of Wall Street

[7/10 · 20 September 2016]

Minor/Vague Spoilers

Based on a true story and directed by the guy most well known for the Hangover trilogy so how well this movie goes was up in the air for me as I did enjoy two out of the three even if only one of them was truly great.

The story is basically two guys, Miles Teller and Jonah Hill, who were friends in high school reconnect and Hill's character offers him a job with him selling guns to the army and Teller easily accepts because he's desperate for money especially since he has a kid on the way… and of course, things don't go as they planned.

Jonah Hill played his character perfectly. As soon as he comes on screen you know he's a jackass… but he's one that is fun to watch on screen. He has great scenes and moments where Hill just goes all in and he becomes this nutjob of a character. It's kind of easy to see where the film will end up going with his character which I think is a bit of a problem with the movie.

If this were a straight comedy than Miles Teller would be the straight guy with Jonah Hill as the idiot comic relief. Teller is amazing. In everything that I've seen him in (yes, including Fantastic 4) he has always been fantastic. In this film he has great chemistry with Hill and you believe that they did have this past relationship. His character just wants to be something more than just a simple masseuse doing anything he can to get his next pay check. Hill leads him to get in over his head which kicks off the premise of the movie. The two actors play extremely well off each other whether it's for comedic purposes or otherwise and it works! I was very impressed with the pairing and wouldn't oblige to seeing them together in another film in the future.

Bradley Cooper is fine, and doesn't really add anything to the movie in terms of the character being played by Cooper and he could've been played by anyone else. To be honest, I completely forgot he was in the movie until he showed up halfway through.

I'm always interested in these kinds of movies, the little guy making it big, basically The Wolf of Wall Street. That's how I would sum it up as just the B or even C grade Wolf of Wall Street. That really couldn't escape me at all throughout the movie and when they're doing crazy stuff all I was thinking was of Leonardo Di Caprio and, funnily enough, Jonah Hill.

The film does have absurdness with it; you could get that from just reading the synopsis or watching the trailers. So, if that's not your kind of movie then it would probably be best to skip this one. The one that stood out to me was when they go through "The Triangle of Death". The craziness was what made this film fun to watch, just anticipating what crazy thing they would do next.

The pacing of the movie could've been edited much better and there were some parts in the middle where I thought it dragged a little. So, I would understand if some people can feel the two hours of the movie.

While the film has problems with the predictability in its character direction and how the three act structure will play out you can still get a tonne of enjoyment from this movie just by watching the couple's zany adventures.

Don't Breathe (2016)

Surprise Hit of 2016!

[9/10 · 20 September 2016]

Don't Breathe

Minor/Vague Spoilers

Last year it was The Gift, this year it's Don't Breathe. A Film that has come, seemingly, out of nowhere in the thriller/horror category and to me at least completely taken by surprise by how excellently both were done.

The director, Fede Alvarez, is very impressive with some of the shot compositions that he comes up with. While I wasn't a fan of his Evil Dead remake a few years ago he returns with a big hit. When the movie turned and Stephen Lang's character switches from innocent looking blind man to bad ass blind man the tone was set for the rest of the run time. 90% of this movie takes place in his house and you feel everything from isolation to fear to sometimes even catching yourself holding your breath as the kids do while Stephen Lang walks around the house hunting them down. When the kids first enter the house there is a great tracking shot that lasts quite a few minutes and never seems to cut away and it was very effective in showing the layout of the house as the kids walked inside it.

The film has mostly an unknown cast barring Stephen Lang who plays a blind man who owns the house that the three kids are trying to rob. He is very intimidating and because of his little dialogue it is all about his physical performance and he brings that in spades. Seeing him charge around the house as he goes after the kids with a weapon. There are some other subtle moments where you see him feeling his way around his house and tapping the ceiling, or swinging a small fan to get his bearings on his house and instantly know where he is.

I felt that most, if not all, of the characters choices made were realistic. As they made their decisions I would quickly think to myself if that would be the right choice and this made the film be more believable even in this odd situation. Adding to this is also the lack of false jump scares where the direction of the camera or the music is leading up to a scare and then a cat jumps out of nowhere or a hand on a shoulder. They were all real scares and this is a huge plus for me as false jump scares always frustrate me and just come off as a cheap and unnecessary. Thankfully, this film takes the opposite approach and there are, obviously, a lot of silence which creates tension and adds to the tone that I was talking about before.

The way the first twist was delivered felt very convenient in the way it was delivered to the audience but I don't know how else they could've done it. The big twist felt very "icky" and really grossed me out but that doesn't mean it was a bad thing, actually, I think it succeeded in what Alvarez was trying to do. Even if it took away from the simple premise of the movie I still think it added to Lang's character as you find out his motivations for some of the things he does.

The movie keeps on going as well and builds upon the previous scene. Just when you thought the movie was coming to its end another moment happens and that happens a few times. Thankfully, it doesn't feel dragged out but instead just made it more suspenseful.

In the end, Don't Breathe was a refreshing take on the horror film genre which wouldn't surprise me if it was in my top 10 of the year, as was The Gift. It flipped the home invasion trope on its head and the tension is always turned up to a ten. As a huge horror fan I really hope this film is successful so it can lead the horror genre outside of the conventional box it is in now.

Sausage Party (2016)

Seth Rogen Brings The Raunch

[8/10 · 31 August 2016]

Minor/Vague Spoilers

Sausage (but really Hot Dog) Party is a satirical, non-family friendly, animated comedy film directed by Greg Tiernan, his feature film debut. It was really interesting to note that Tiernan has swung in the completely opposite direction from his previous works on Thomas & Friends where he introduced CGI into the series. Tiernan and his wife founded Nitrogen Studios Canada, Inc. in 2003, and he used his studio for pre and post-production in this film.

Lead star and writer, Seth Rogen, has been working on this film for eight years and has said that studios were scared to pick it up because of its R rating. Eventually Sony Pictures and Annapurna Pictures would partner and co-finance the film and fast forward to August 2016 and here it is.

First thing's first, if you are not a fan of Seth Rogen's comedy then this might not be the movie for you. This is very low brow and way over the top and considering he called all his buddies (James Franco, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Danny McBride) for roles in the movie his style of comedy shines bright like the entrance to The Great Beyond.

On a basic level the film could be described as Toy Story with food, the same way The Secret Life of Pets could be described as Toy Story with pets. It clearly is going off past Disney/Pixar films that use this concept and posing the question, "what if our food had feelings?"

From the trailers I had thought there would be more involved with being at the woman's house and trying to escape The Great Beyond and get back to Shopwell's, the films supermarket where all the food resides. The Great Beyond is the world outside the supermarket and that is what the food items perceive to be a Heaven and the real life people are Gods.

What really took me by surprise, in a good way, was how the film used satire and social commentary to talk about real things such as religion, politics, and war all portrayed by stereotypical food items from their respective countries.

While, there were moments that showed it was self-aware (specifically one scene involving cheese) and smart, it did not shy away from being EXTREMELY raunchy. One of the final scenes was especially raunchy and while I was shocked to be watching what I was, I couldn't help myself but laugh my ass off. The scene just kept going and going but didn't get old, it just built upon itself and made it more hilarious.

The film also has many different elements to it (Horror, meta, raunchy) such as the scene where the food items find out that The Great Beyond isn't what they thought it would be and it turns into a horror comedy. Even though most of the scene is shown in the trailers it still plays out quite well, just not as hilarious as if I hadn't watched the trailers 10 times over.

There is a bit of a lull in the middle where they take the time to do some world building inside the shopping centre where each aisle is like another country. The jokes do come to a halt here but I see it as necessary for the film because it enables us to get introduced to a whole world instead of just the hot dog and a bun.

The ending to this film could open it up to a sequel if they choose to make one (heres hoping they do)! It gets very meta and for a moment I thought the movie wasn't over but instead the credits hit and Sausage Party Two is left as just a twinkle in our eyes. Hopefully, it doesn't take another eight years to get it into theatres.

Blood Father (2016)

Mel Gibson Mixes Mad Max With Taken To Great Success!

[7/10 · 31 August 2016]

Minor/Vague Spoilers

Mel Gibson's return to charismatic form in Blood Father is nothing short of a great success. His character is a recovering alcoholic which is interesting to watch considering how it parallels his current state in life. Although he has done some terrible things in the past I can look past it and when it comes to anyone in Hollywood I can separate their real life from the character they're portraying in the film. It has never been a factor and most likely never will so if this is something that gives you pause I would still recommend everyone see this film and judge Gibson based on the character he plays in the film and not the craziness that is Mel Gibson in real life.

The film reminded me of Taken just when it comes down to the basic plot of main character's daughter needs protecting and he will stop at nothing to do so. Lydia Link, portrayed by Erin Moriarty, is estranged from her father and finds herself in trouble with a gang of drug dealers so she goes to her father, Gibson, for help. The relationship between these two is nothing short of amazing. The film really captures how Gibson wants to be a better father and the journey that this 90 minute film takes them on; just from a character development standpoint is very impressive.

Gibson's character has great interactions with his neighbour/sponsor, played by William H. Macy, who isn't in the movie a lot but when he is he brings the comic relief for the other characters to play off.

Most people would call this an action movie and while I would kind of agree I would also say that it comes across as more of a drama with action elements throughout, to propel the characters and the plot forward.

Going into the third act Mel Gibson really digs his teeth into this role where he taps into his Mad Max past and shows that he still has it when it comes to an action based film. This is where the film picks up entirely from a little lull in the middle and makes this film even more fun. Which is a word I don't really like using because it makes it seem like it is a bit mediocre but that is not the case at all.

The way the film is shot and edited makes it seem like it is low budget but that doesn't take anything away from the film. Instead it feels much more isolated and gritty which also makes the intensity and tension of the film much higher. Sometimes I need more so it isn't just a simple paint-by-numbers big blockbuster summer action movie e.g. The Avengers or Batman V Superman. It is much more realistic which makes it even better that most superhero movies I have seen. Sure, it can be said that it has a pretty predictable plot but it is the characters takes this film above the other action movies.

All in all the film is extremely enjoyable and a surprise that sneaked up on me this year and I do hope this leads to more great movies from Mel Gibson.

Licence to Kill (1989)

A Dark & Underrated Bond Film

[28 October 2015]

Minor/Vague Spoilers

Licence to Kill, released in 1989, is the sixteenth film by EON Productions. It is also Timothy Dalton's second and final appearance as Bond as well as director John Glen's fifth and final consecutive Bond film. As I have gone through a re-watch of the franchise from "Dr. No" (1962) till now, it wasn't until I saw this film that I felt like I should write a review because it does seem like it is an underrated film among the James Bond franchise.

Something that separates this film from most of the others that had preceded it is that it definitely has a different tone that proves to be worthy of a top 5 Bond film. The storyline involves Bond being suspended from MI6 when he seeks vengeance on drug lord Franz Sanchez, played by Robert Davi, who tortured his best friend, CIA agent Felix Leiter, portrayed by David Hedison reprising his role, and murdered his wife after he helped captured him.

Dalton plays this role very seriously unlike the previous three Bonds before him, Sean Connery, George Lazenby, and Roger Moore. Everything that was campy about Bond that Moore brought to the role is completely gone. No more is he swinging from vines or sneaking into a woman only island disguised as a crocodile. While I'm sure, at the time, this would have been some kind of a shock because of the tone, even with Dalton's previous Bond film; The Living Daylights (1987), there were some elements from previous Bond's still leftover.

The main theme, sung by Gladys Knight, known as the "Empress of Soul" is a great fit to the theme songs that came before it. The only negative would be that it does not really fit with the tone of the actual film it is in.

The film is definitely much different to previous films and even most that came after it and the main reason for this is that it is a personal story. Connery's final Bond film "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971) is really the only one that comes close to a revenge film and that could be argued that it is only in the cold open for the majority of the movie.

This film doesn't have the main villain wanting to take over the world and instead is on a "smaller" scale relative to previous Bond villains. Davi plays the role of evil drug lord and seems to have a certain charm to him that separates him from other villains. A young Benicio Del Toro plays Dario, Sanchez's henchman, who brings a feeling of intimidation whenever he is on screen.

I think this may be my favourite Desmond Llewelyn performance as Q because he has much more to do than just give Bond his gadgets and send him on his way. He plays an important role in helping Bond in the field. I think because of this we get to know more about Q and his personality which usually takes a backseat. There is more room for banter with him and Bond that really shows their great chemistry together.

Carey Lowell is this films "Bond Girl" Pam Bouvier who I really enjoyed in this film as she, like Q, had a lot more to do when helping Bond in the film and was also a lot more useful than previous Bond Girls.

This film is more violent than some of the previous films, for example, there is a scene where one of the second in command gets their head exploded in a decompression chamber. While this is true it is because of this grittiness and violence that seems to make it more realistic which makes it a better film. I think this also changes the direction overall of the Bond films moving forward and making them darker and much less campy… notwithstanding Pierce Brosnan's later film "Die Another Day".

Overall, this film definitely improved upon my re-watch of the entire James Bond franchise and much like Lazenby's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" it should no longer be as underrated as it seems to be when 'what are the greatest Bond films' discussion takes place.

Scream Queens (2015–2016)

Ridiculously Entertaining

[28 October 2015]

A series of murders take place targeting the Kappa Kappa Tau sorority, at Wallace University, on the twentieth anniversary of a pledge which went wrong. This is the basic premise for a show that I really wasn't ever thinking of watching based off trailers that I had seen. However, after about a month I decided to binge watch the first six episodes and I really wasn't expecting what I saw.

I have to say; I really, really enjoyed the first six episodes. Ryan Murphy is back with another series on FOX after having success with Glee and American Horror Story. Straight away I could tell it was a "Ryan Murphy" show just by the way it is shot it reminded me of American Horror Story.

The sorority is led by Chanel Oberlin, played by Emma Roberts, who plays the "bitch" role and she really plays it well, no matter how over the top it may be, because it fits with the overall tone of the show. One of my favourite characters is private security guard, Denise Hemphill, portrayed by Niecy Nash, who plays the character perfectly. Other than the great "hashtag cahoots", it would seem that she is the "voice of the audience" when she points out the obvious that the clueless main characters are oblivious to. She also lays out what could be the rules of the season of how the girls are going to survive. In a scene that gets funnier as she sets each rule that if they follow she will come and protect them.

Murphy also brought his style of comedy, which is extremely dark, and satire from the very first scene and I loved every moment of it. The show really goes out and attacks everything from the stereotypes that come with horror films to society today including YouTube vloggers. It is also very offensive and it is offensive to everyone. Especially, using deaf actress, Whitney Meyer, to portray "Deaf Taylor Swift" who is a big fan of Taylor Swift and throughout her small tenure on the show she is the punchline of most of the jokes. In fact, the opening to the third episode is Emma Roberts' character having "Chanel-'o-Ween" a clear parody of Taylor Swifts "Swiftmas" which is hilarious and quite accurate when comparing it to the original. Almost every character is a terrible person and that is what makes the show that much fun to watch. Definitely, one of the main draws to the show is just waiting to see which one of the complete assholes gets murdered in a brutal way. The main character Grace Gardner, played by Skyler Samuels, may easily be the nicest character on the show but also the most boring but I totally understand the need to have the straight character like most comedy shows.

Jamie Lee Curtis, the original Hollywood scream queen, plays the Dean of Wallace University, Cathy Munsch who has a huge dislike of Kappa Kappa Tau. She is very cold in delivery which works perfectly, especially, in scenes with Emma Roberts. Her role seems to run on a similar track to Jane Lynch in Glee.

The murderer or quite possibly two murderers if the film series "Scream" taught us anything, which could definitely be a possible scenario considering this TV series definitely looks like a spin off of Wes Craven's film series. The killer which is dressed in a red devil costume, also the schools mascot, is going around killing these sorority members. While I have a few theories I am not quite sure there are many clues to watch out for and this isn't that type of show so instead I prefer to sit back, relax, and love what I am watching on TV.

While I'm not sure what they would do different for a season two, even though it is an anthology series, if this was to only last for one season it would definitely be a great show to go back and re- watch, purely, for the entertainment.

The Walk (II) (2015)

A True Love Letter To The Twin Towers

[7/10 · 27 October 2015]

Minor/Vague Spoilers

I've always been on the lookout for anything Joseph Gordon-Levitt (A.K.A. JGL) ever since "(500) Days of Summer (2009)" and his fantastic directorial debut "Don Jon (2013)". So, going into this movie I was anticipating him because his performances from his past films have always been a standout even going back to 10 Things I Hate About You (1999).

The Walk is a biographical drama film directed and written by Robert Zemeckis based on the story of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit's walk between the Twin Towers, before being fully constructed, on August 7, 1974.

Sadly, I wasn't able to get to a 3D version of the film as there weren't any showings at all and so I had to settle for standard 2D. Usually, I don't want to go and see a film in 3D but because of the climax of this film and that it wasn't converted from 2D to 3D it was actually filmed for the purpose of being 3D I was really excited to see one of my first 3D movies. So this review is solely from the perspective of a non-3D viewer.

The CGI in the film was perfect and because it was made for 3D there were certainly parts where you could tell that would've been a great moment in 3D, not even including the finale, so it was almost heartbreaking to know that I was missing out on an even more impressive visual experience.

Something I wasn't anticipating was the way the film would be narrated, which was by Gordon-Levitt as Philippe Petit on top of the Statue of Liberty with the Twin Towers in the background. At first I thought it was out of place and that it was a little jarring but as the film went on I found that it did fit the tone of the film so I ended up really enjoying the narration part of the film.

Something around the first 90 minutes is an entire build up to the sequence that everyone wants to see. I really enjoyed the entire sequence of them setting up the wires on the Twin Towers and how they were able to set everything up. It actually reminded me, almost, of a heist film even though they weren't actually stealing anything. It was odd as well because the first, maybe, third of the film has a different storyline happening that is more of a love story where Petit and Annie, portrayed by Charlotte Le Bon, are living their lives and trying to get to New York.

The performances, overall, were great and Gordon-Levitt's French accent never let up and I don't recall ever hearing even the slightest bit of an American accent. You see Petit's life as he started out as a street performer and the chemistry he and Le Bon had was great and you could tell this relationship was realistic. Other supporting cast members include Ben Schwartz, Ben Kingsley, James Badge Dale, and Steve Valentine and they all add to the humour of the film and carrying out… The walk…

I, actually, had no idea of how this story played out other than that a man was on a wire and walked from one tower to the other. I haven't seen the documentary, Man on a Wire, so I was on the edge of my seat really anticipating that there was a possibility that he may fall off. It also seems to play like a love letter to the Twin Towers especially the final shot of the film and the way Petit speaks about the towers once he first sees them in a news photo.

Finally, the climax of the film is spectacular. Some of the first person shots really put you on the edge of your seat. There are some shots that happen as you hear Gordon-Levitt's voice-over and he only sees the wire and then the scene transforms to us seeing what he is telling us. It adds to the film that we can get into his head and see what he sees, in a way. There was a moment where Petit did something on the wire and it made, not only me, but other people in the theatre let out a small yell of shock that we thought that what he did wasn't going to turn out so well. The finale was extremely well done and just that sequence was worth the price of admission into the cinema.

Overall, it was a film that had many different elements to it and an epic finale where it all payed off to create a very visually impressive film that I would say is definitely needed to be seen on the big screen and in 3D.

The Martian (2015)

A return to form for Ridley Scott?

[8/10 · 20 October 2015]

Minor/Vague Spoilers

Ever since Sir Ridley Scott broke through with his feature film debut, Alien (1979) he has been a force in the film industry with other major successes in Blade Runner (1982), Thelma & Louise (1991), and Black Hawk Down (2001) just to name a few. Most people, myself included, would say that he has been in a bit of a slump with a few of his previous movies including, Prometheus (2012), The Counselor (2013), and Exodus: Gods & Kings (2014). So, because of that I was really hoping that his latest film, The Martian, would be a return to form for Ridley Scott.

The advertising for this movie was everywhere; anytime I went to the cinemas a trailer for this film would play which was preceded by Matt Damon introducing it. When I saw the trailers the first thought that came to my head was that it could be "Cast Away on Mars" mixed with Apollo 13. There was also a tiny bit of similarities to Interstellar 2 for obvious reasons when looking at Matt Damon's character as well as Jessica Chastain also starring in the film. While the small parallels were there, they disappeared quickly once I got over that novelty.

The film, which is based on Andy Weir's novel, The Martian, is about astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) who is mistakenly presumed dead and left behind on Mars after a storm, who then has to try and fight to survive and signal Earth to come and rescue him.

This movie brings a lot of comedic moments that I wasn't really expecting just based on the premise of the film. It was very well done, mostly by Damon and even Donald Glover in a smaller role. Damon's character is very much an optimist when the situation would probably call for anything but that emotion. Damon takes what the writers of the film created and plays the character extremely well and had me laughing much more than I thought.

All of the supporting cast, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sean Bean, Sebastian Stan, and Chiwetel Ejiofor really make, what could have otherwise been just pointless secondary characters, necessary and they add to the overall story that make the stakes even higher because of how well they all play to the situation that is presented in the film.

Halfway through this film I came to the conclusion that the trailer didn't give away as much as I thought when going into this movie as I was a little afraid that I might have already seen half of what the story had to tell.

The way the film is shot could only be described as beautiful and breathtaking. It really captures the landscape and there are no flaws that I could see in anything that we saw on Mars. Scott made what could have been just a simple, desolate landscape come to life. This also adds to the fact that it could be somewhat believable that this may have been a real story, even though it isn't.

Something that my friend said to me as we were walking out of the theatre was that there wasn't a real bad guy that a traditional Hollywood movie would have. I really didn't notice this as I was watching and couldn't have agreed with him more once I thought back on the story. This makes the film much more impressive because it didn't have to rely on the use one of the biggest Hollywood tropes and make it extremely suspenseful and enjoyable.

The only problem that I had with the film was that sometimes when they were explaining the science behind what they were about to implement they did it a few too many times. They had the people on Earth explain and discuss how they would pick Watney up on their way past Mars and then it would immediately switch over to Watney and he would once again explain the scene we just saw.

Overall, this was a very strong return to form for Ridley Scott where everything, acting, writing, and cinematography comes together and is wrapped up in a neat little package that is meant for the big screen.

Sicario (2015)

Extremely well made crime thriller by Villeneuve

[9/10 · 2 October 2015]

Minor/Vague Spoilers

Sicario is an American crime thriller directed by Denis Villeneuve about an idealistic FBI agent, Kate Macer, played by Emily Blunt, who is enlisted by a government official to help a joint task force to take down a Mexican drug cartel. I was intrigued by the premise and after the buzz it was getting from the 2015 Cannes Film Festival I was excited to see this after it was finally released in Australia.

When I was aware that Villeneuve was the director of this film I was excited just from looking at his track record, his previous two films "Prisoner" and "Enemy" both being top 10 movies of their respective year, for me.

The cinematography in this film is amazing and effectively shows you the scope and brings you into the world that Villeneuve is trying to portray. Some of the shots would stay still for a few moments and I was on the edge of my seat even when close to nothing was happening I still felt like something might any second. The colours, yellow and orange, are very prominent which gives you the feel of the landscape being in a desert area.

The performances across the board were as close to perfect as you could get. The main protagonist Kate, is who we see the film through their eyes, so to speak, and when she first arrives and is being driven through Mexico we see the world and how shocking it is and we feel the same way she does. Emily Blunt is amazing, playing another heroine after her role in Edge of Tomorrow, she brings a lot of different sides to her character, both having just enough vulnerability and strength to make her relatable as a main character that the audience can root for. Josh Brolin, in my opinion, had his best performance since No Country for Old Men, playing Matt Graver, one of the people who recruit Kate. Alejandro, portrayed by Benicio Del Toro, is the star of this movie. Even though his character has a lot of blank stares and seems to remain extremely calm throughout the entire movie, his true emotions may be suppressed because of something that happened before the film. The three main stars mix well together and no one stands out for the wrong reasons.

Even some of the smaller side characters Victor Garber, Jon Bernthal, and Jeffrey Donovan bring something to the film and have great performances. Villeneuve certainly brings out the best in these smaller characters that certainly have an impact on the three main characters that create a nice through line throughout the movie.

Tonally, this is a very dark film and there isn't very many light moments, almost ever, even when it may look like there could be, it switches and goes straight back to the dark world we have become so used to. You are set up from the opening scene to know what kind of movie this will be. Maybe it speaks to some twisted person deep within me but I really enjoyed this aspect and how they never let up because that just made it seem even more real. Some of my favourite moments were when there were these tense, suspenseful moments that had no music behind them to try and enhance those scenes because it wasn't needed at all. These made me more invested in the film and made me highly anticipate what was going to happen next.

When the movie ended I was in awe and absolutely loved what I had just seen. Everything was strung together to create an almost perfect film and I really hope this gets a nomination because it definitely deserves it and I'm really looking forward to the next movie Villeneuve directs.

The Visit (I) (2015)

M. Night Back To Form?

[6/10 · 30 September 2015]

Minor/Vague Spoilers

After a long string of "failures", both in the eyes of critics and audiences, M. Night Shyamalan is back with found footage horror comedy "The Visit". Found footage has usually turned me off wanting to watch a film but this time it was bearable even though it had me questioning whether a little girl can create better film angles than a child Hitchcock probably could've, I just dismissed it.

Essentially, the film is about two siblings, Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and Tyler Jamison (Ed Oxenbould), visiting their grandparents who they have never met before due to their mother, played by Kathryn Hahn, being estranged from her parents and her daughter, Becca, is creating a documentary about this first encounter.

Going into this movie I had heard people loving, hating it, and everything in between so I went and saw it to decide for myself. After it finished I would say that I would be somewhere in the middle leaning slightly more towards liking it.

The comedy aspect in this film is something I wasn't expecting at all. Oxenbould, probably most famous in Australia for his role in Puberty Blues, was the star and it was due to him bringing the comedic aspect of this movie. Knowing he was an Australian made it even more impressive because he never let up on his American accent. I can see him going far in the industry in the future especially when comparing him to other child stars today.

Olivia, also Australian, put in a great performance as well, she brings the drama side of this movie, especially, in one scene where it was her moment and she made it very real, adding depth to her character as well as the overall story in the small world they were in. Both kids carry this film and if they weren't as great as they were then this movie definitely would've suffered because of it.

The two grandparents, Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie), were fine in their roles. Dunagan definitely tried her best to be strange/creepy/scary even before the clock ticked past 9:30. Sometimes it came off as forced and there were a few moments where I almost cringed at how obvious they were.

Now to speak on the twist that Shyamalan is so famous for putting in his films, I saw it coming from one of the first sentences said in the movie and became more and more obvious and subsequent events happened. Even though I did see it coming I still was able to enjoy some of the other elements in the film.

It wasn't a traditional horror film in that there weren't many scenes that actually scared me. Of course there were a few jump scares, which is to be expected with horror films nowadays. Some of them you could see coming but they were still annoying because it just seemed like it was a cheap way to get scares which of course they got from people in the cinema. Not that I was looking for a Halloween type of horror but the scene that I had heard most people talking about from the trailer was the "clean the oven" scene and this almost failed and almost took me out of the movie. Some of the scenes that were well done was when the children would hear sounds outside of their room. This was great as it made us, the audience, has to imagine what the grandmother could possibly be doing and that is the best kind of scare, in my opinion. As soon as the kids opened the door and we saw what was occurring it took away from that feeling and made it almost comical.

Of course there were a few jump scares, which is to be expected with horror films nowadays. Some of them you could see coming but they were still annoying because it just seemed like it was a cheap way to get scares which of course they got from people in the cinema. Not that I was looking for a Halloween type of horror but the scene that I had heard most people talking about from the trailer was the "clean the oven" scene and this almost failed and almost took me out of the movie. Some of the scenes that were well done was when the children would hear sounds outside of their room. This was great as it made us, the audience, has to imagine what the grandmother could possibly be doing and that is the best kind of scare, in my opinion. As soon as the kids opened the door and we saw what was occurring it took away from that feeling and made it almost comical. There was also a scene under the house which was very, very creepy that caught me totally by surprise.

In the end, I wouldn't say this is Shyamalan back to his "Sixth Sense", "Unbreakable", & "Signs" form but it was a nice place to slot in the middle to show the audience that he still has something to show that he has talent as a director.

Heroes Reborn (2015–2016)

Yatta! It's Back!

[27 September 2015]

Vague/Minor Spoilers

The original season has been a show that I can remember so clearly it must have had some kind of effect on me as a child. The pilot episode, especially, remembering Claire Bennet jumping off a refinery platform, "attempt number 6", trying to purposely hurt herself. It really set the tone for, at least, the first season that the show was going to be somewhat realistic whenever showing when physical harm would befall one of the main characters.

As the seasons went on the show deteriorated in quality and was soon cancelled after four seasons. What came as a huge surprise to me was five years later it would be returning and the hype I had for it begun instantly.

Finally, after a long wait of almost a year the first two episodes aired in a 2 hour block and I was hooked for almost all of it. The returning series takes place one year after a terrorist attack at the Evo Summit on June 13th in Odessa, Texas. The attack demolished the city and the 'Heroes' or 'Evos' (evolved humans) as they are known in the show, are blamed for it. One nice detail that I really like that came directly from the Series creator Tim Kring is the show made it as if the series had carried on off screen and it takes place 5 years after Claire Bennet jumped off the Ferris wheel and told the world that there were people out there with special abilities.

To start off with the positives, as soon as the main theme hit I had goosebumps and it immediately brought me back to the pilot. It fit the tone of the original series perfectly and even though "Reborn" has a slightly different feel to it, it still holds up extremely well.

Another positive was with most of the new cast. Zachary Levi portraying Luke Collins was, in my opinion, the best of the newcomers. Ever since I had seen him in "Chuck" he brings something different to this series as he is no longer playing the awkward nerd. Him and his wife Joanne, portrayed by Judith Shekoni, were at the Evo Summit and had to witness their son die in the explosion and now they want revenge against people with powers because they believe they took their son away from them.

Gatlin Green plays Emily Duval who is a secret keeper and ally/love interest of sorts to Robbie A. Kay's character Tommy Clarke who has the ability to teleport both objects and people. These two I thought were serviceable enough, however, were not as good as Levi. Their "high school storyline", one nerdy guy who has a crush on a girl going out with the popular bully, starts off pretty much like you would expect it and seems to be a predictable, paint-by-numbers storyline. Something happens in the back half of the episode that tweaks it just a little bit which at least gives it some kind of life and interest that otherwise wouldn't be there. Otherwise, if it weren't for the involvement of Levi and Shekoni then it could potentially be some tough scenes to get through. Another character that gives this storyline some intrigue is a mysterious unnamed man, portrayed by Pruitt Taylor Vince who is watching Tommy and seems to be protecting him through the use of his ability to seemingly erase people's memory, but for what reason we do not know… yet.

There are many moving parts in the first two episodes and it would be interesting to see how they all intersect, especially, Miko Otomo, played by Kiki Sukezane and Ren Shimosawa, played by Toru Uchikado. As their storyline so far takes place in Japan and of course it is extremely likely that they'll somehow find their way to the U.S., either through teleportation or space-time travel, like Hiro Nakamura in the original series. I did think this storyline was quite odd and so far out there, even in the world of Heroes that it felt out of place whenever they jumped into the video game it really took me out of the show. Although I do like the concept, the execution felt like it missed the mark but I am still intrigued as to where it could be going.

The next storyline that we are shown involves Carlos Gutierrez, portrayed by Ryan Guzman, returning home from war and finds his little brother Jose, played by Lucius Hoyos, looks up to a vigilante who is known as El Vengador. This storyline was mildly entertaining

The storyline that we saw most of involving Jack Coleman who returns from the original series as Noah Bennet A.K.A "HRG" who was in the middle of the explosion in Odessa and he believes his daughter, Claire, was killed in the incident. He teams up with Quentin, portrayed by Henry Zebrowski, who is convinced that there is more to the story with what happened on June 13th. Their storyline is very intriguing and is no doubt driving the series. It does however not feel entirely different from what we have seen before.

All in all, I felt like this was a nice starting point for "Heroes Reborn" and it was definitely better than anything seasons 3 and 4 could throw at us. I think there is still a lot of room for improvement over its 13 episode run while at the same time it brought me back into the series and reminded me of why I loved the first season so much.

The Gift (VI) (2015)

An Underrated Mystery Thriller

[8/10 · 22 September 2015]

Vague/minor spoilers

A few months before this film came out I was on a Jason Bateman 'high' watching some of his past movies that I had not seen, "This Is Where I Leave You", "The Switch", and "Bad Words" for example. I was curious to see his upcoming filmography and found that it was a mystery/psychological thriller, "The Gift" directed by Joel Edgerton.

Even though I usually have a hesitation to watch any trailers out of fear of any spoilers, I wanted to get a feel of what the tone for this film was as no one I knew had even heard of this movie. After about a minute of the trailer I was sold.

"The Gift" is about husband and wife couple, Simon (Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) moving into their new house in the suburbs of Los Angeles after finding a new job. While they are out buying supplies for their home, an old high school classmate, Gordon "Gordo" Moseley (Joel Edgerton) runs into them, and as the days go by he drops by their house unannounced, usually when Robyn is home alone, as well as sending many gifts to them.

As I was walking into the cinema, popcorn and drink in hand, I was eagerly awaiting the next 120 minutes to see how the mystery would unravel itself on the screen. From the first scene I was very much engaged with the three main characters and how each of them interacted with each other, especially when they were between Gordo and Robyn.

Edgerton turned out to be the true star of this film in his duel role of acting and directing. Many actors in Hollywood have turned to trying their hand in directing films. Ben Affleck and Clint Eastwood are some of the first ones that come to mind, and Edgerton definitely has a great future ahead of him in the field of a director.

Throughout the movie, every time a hint was given that led to the potential reveal, I would break my own rule of never talking in a movie, and my friend and I would give our quick theories of how we thought it was going to play out. Some of them proved to be true and some were not even close.

There was a point around 20-30 minutes into the film where something happened in Gordo's "house" that turned the movie from an interesting, slow moving film to an eerie, creepy, stalker-ish flick. It reminded me of Jonathan Kaplan's 1992 film "Unlawful Entry" in which we see Ray Liotta's character's true motivations come to fruition, just done better. Even though these elements were there before, it was cranked up to a much higher level after this moment and it made the film that much better. It also made it much more suspenseful, and at times there were a lot of "on the edge of my seat" intense moments that made my heart beat a little quicker, and it sucked me in and hooked me for the rest of the film.

As the movie went on I figured that the trailer made it feel, tonally, like a completely different movie and I preferred what was taking place on screen much more than my only initial worry, which was that it could turn into a jump scare fest. This did not prove to be the case at all and I was very pleased to see it.

Bateman, Hall, and Edgerton prove to be excellent in their performances and while you, hopefully, wont be able to relate to some of the character choices that happen, it feels very real and this definitely comes down to the three main stars putting on such a great performance. The writing also adds to this. It never feels like these situations couldn't happen in real life or that it is forced just for the sake of moving the plot along.

Once the final shot faded to black my friend and I did something we usually never do. We had to sit in our seats for a few moments and collect ourselves before getting up and leaving the theatre. While the ending left many questions, it created a conversation that I had with said friend about what was the true answer to what happened.

The story, the acting, and the writing all blended together to create an excellent film that resulted in me having a strong emotional response once the credits were rolling, which usually doesn't happen.

"The Gift" definitely lived up to the hype that I had created for myself, which is rare, and I will be sure to look out for anything that Edgerton is directing in the future because of his potential as a future director.