Movie Review: Mad Max: Fury Road

What a lovely day indeed

John Wick, Dredd and Mad Max: Fury Road all have one thing in common, and it's that these three movies have managed to bring about a renaissance of what I like to call the 'one sequence' action flick. Going into Mad Max, I wasn't expecting to be as blown as away as I was. I was looking forward to seeing a balls to the wall crazy action flick about a bunch of crazy people fighting with frankenstein cars. Well, I basically got that, but with 100 times more insanity and I loved it.

Movie Review: Ex Machina

Recently I've had a fantastic streak of good movies and it actually feels refreshing.

Usually after watching something amazing, I'm left with a feeling of mediocrity or disappointment with the next movie I decide to watch, whether it's at home or in the theatre.
Luckily, Ex Machina continued my little streak of films and does so in a fantastic fashion.

Ex Machina is an indie film that focuses on the social consequences of Artificial Intelligence. It features a small cast with a very (for the lack of a better term) 'real' scenario. On top of that, Ex Machina wasn't released world wide simultaneously, slowly coming out to select areas over the course of two months. Movies like this don't tend to do well in the box office, at least initially, but word of mouth will carry it to success. But you know what, that's ok. Unlike big box office smash hits like Avengers, Ex Machina isn't looking to simply entertain or make the big bucks, it's offering a very in depth look at an important  issue. In a sense, Ex Machina is attempting to be art and provoke conversation.

Movie Review: Avengers: Age of Ultron

I finally got to watch Age of Ultron and man was it ever worth the wait.

Over a year of hype later and it was all worth it. But that's not saying that the movie is without it's flaws of course and we'll go through them soon. Don't fret though, this movie continues to show just how on point Marvel Studios has been with their productions as of late, with no sign of stopping anytime soon.

Age of Ultron is the second ensemble film from Marvel Studios that continues the adventures of our beloved Avengers. We have Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye all on the big screen once again to kick ass and save the world. Only this time, instead of fending off invading alien forces in New York City, the team is trying to stop a psychotic, sentient A.I. named Ultron from wiping humanity off the face of the Earth.

Taken from the comic book story of the same name, Age of Ultron promised to bring over the top action, comic book humor and good old fashioned fan service for long time comic fans and newcomers alike.

You could put this on a two-page spread in a comic book and it would work flawlessly

Movie Review: Furious 7

Not as Fast, but god damn is it Furious

I was never a follower of the Fast and Furious movies. I always saw them as dumb, testosterone filled, adrenaline pumping action movies that was all flash and no substance.

I was right to an extent of course, the first couple of films was just that. Fast cars, high speed action, scantly clad women, big muscly men, etc. It wasn't recently that I decided to hunker down with some friends and do a Fast and Furious marathon that would stretch from Fast Five up to the newly released Furious 7. I gotta say, Furious 7 is definitely a movie worth watching.

Fast Five and Furious 6 were pretty solid movies that actually had an enjoyable cast, solid story and high octane action. I applaud the ability to retroactively insert plot points into these movies that would link the entire franchise together, like how Han goes to Tokyo for the events of Tokyo Drift. It was really impressive and cleverly done. Furious 7 is like the third movie in this supposed trilogy. Everything eventually comes full circle and you’ll find yourself enjoying the continuing adventures of Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) and Dominic Torreto (Vin Diesel).

Movie Review: Chappie

The topic of Artificial Intelligence seems to be a major selling point in movies nowadays. Before, we had the excellent Her which explored the possibilities of a computer becoming very much like a human, so much so that a human could actually fall in love with it. Soon we'll have Ex Machina and Avengers: Age of Ultron that will continue to explore the possibilities and consequences of having AI. 

From Neil Blomkamp, the director of District 9 and (unfortunately) Elysium comes Chappie. Chappie is a film about a robot who is given consciousness equivalent to a a humans. Chappie (Sharlto Copley), the titular AI, is able to learn, love, and live. In some cases, it's almost like a futuristic version of Pinocchio in that Chappie is just trying to be a regular human. As with all of Blomkamp's films, Chappie takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa and explores the idea of having a robotic police force being used to combat the rampant crime in the city. This robotic police force, also known as the SCOUTS, are incredibly efficient and effective at apprehending criminals, whether it be through force or not. 

Movie Review: The Babadook

When it comes to horror movies, I tend to be very particular about the genre. I can understand how something like the Saw movies are, in fact, horror, just a different kind of horror when compared to something like The Grudge or Friday the 13th. Horror movies comes in all sorts of flavors and it's important to take this into account when you watch them. Perhaps what isn't horrifying to you may be horrifying to others. In the end, it's always going to be about the terror that the film invokes on it's viewers, for better or for worse.

So what does this mean for the Indie horror film The Babadook? Well for one, it's not a traditional kind of horror movie in that the titular creature is the main focus of the movie. The Babadook does something that I haven't seen in a horror movie in a while, and that's tackling the concept of stress, insomnia, and built up tension within an individual. The results of these negative traits is the Babadook itself, but that can be explained later.

Like the movie, this image gives a sense of constant dread

Movie Review: Dracula Untold

Long before Twilight became a thing, Vampires were some of the coolest monsters that entertainment media could work with. What's not to like about a noble, bloodthirsty, undead creature of the night? On top of that, aren't their powers and abilities cool? Turning into bats at will, having super reflexes and senses, super strength, etc etc. Vampires were cool. Without a doubt though, the greatest vampire of them all is Dracula himself.

What makes Dracula so enduring is that he's appeared in tons and tons of different kinds of vampire related media. From Brahm Stokers Dracula, to Castlevania, to the Underworld series, Dracula has managed to best the test of time and remained a relevant character in entertainment. So with that in mind, what could you possibly add to a character that's been around for so many years? Universal Studios and Legendary Pictures believe that it's time to tell the origins story of this famed vampire with, of course, some creative twists.

For those not in the know, Dracula was inspired by the real life historical figure Vlad the Impaler, an actual prince of Transylvania who gained notoriety for using extremely vicious methods of torture on his enemies. Most famous of his methods, as his name implies, is impaling them on spikes around his territory. Of course, all of this was meant to be used as a brutal method of keeping invaders and foreigners out of his country. As such, Vlad the Impaler went down in history (to the Romanian people) as a hero and a beloved figure. To the others, he became a monster of the cruelest intentions. Perhaps that's why Dracula was birthed, to reflect the outside look of Vlad the Impaler, from the foreigners perspective.

Well, enough history for now, how did the film fare?