Monthly Archives: September 2016

‘The Magnificent 7’ (2016) Review:

‘The Magnificent 7’ (2016) Review:

The Magnificent 7 (2016) Review: Baddest Quips In The West. After a more than disappointing summer movie season, I can't help but feel a little bit cheated. While bright spots like 'Captain America: Civil War' and 'Star Trek Beyond' both had moments that were joy inducing, but on the whole, my appetite for adventure has not been satiated. In a year where I was promised a movie starring villains who end up saving the world, all while cracking wise with Bohemian Rhapsody in the background, can you blame me for being mad I was stuck with what I got?Enter, 'The Magnificent 7'. A movie that is the perfect summer blockbuster, being released in the fall. Based on the 1960 original, which in turn was based on 1954s Seven Samurai, 'The Magnificent 7' tells the tale of a town brought to its knees by a greedy mining company. Haley Bennett's Emma Cullen sees her town so defenseless and is left with no choice but to seek out as many hardcore, death defying, gunslingers she can to save her home.Those gunslingers make up the titular 7. Leading the pack is Denzel Washington's 'Sam Chisolm'. He recruits the likes of Chris Pratt's 'Faraday' and the others. The actual assembly of the gang isn't the chore it usually is for ensemble films such as this one. That's because there's a sense of character for each of the 7. You enjoy getting to know what they're about before…

Continue Reading
‘When The Bough Breaks’ (2016) Review

‘When The Bough Breaks’ (2016) Review

When The Bough Breaks (2016) Review: Mild Suburban Nightmare. Sometimes, when reviewing a movie, you have to take into account its quality, versus how much it entertained you. Several times I'm sitting in the cinema and a movie that I know has paper thin characters, exposition a mile long, obvious motivations and a distinct lack of subtlety, and I'm enjoying every minute of it. So, even if a movie is technically bad, does it still deserve a good review if I enjoyed myself? I'm inclined to say yes. A review does judge a movie, but it does so for the purpose of relating the experience of watching it for the potential audience member.John and Laura Taylor, played by Morris Chestnut and Regina Hall, have reached a point where most people would be satisfied. They have a big house, nice car, and the type of ‘ride or die’ relationship that makes most people say “goals”. Unfortunately, Laura can’t get pregnant, so the one thing they want is what they can’t have. But, whoever said money wasn’t the key to happiness, clearly had the wrong attitude, since the Taylors try and buy their paradise through a surrogate mother.Too bad that surrogate mother turns out to be a violent psychopath with tremendous boundaries issues.Basically, ‘When The Bough Breaks’ is like a lifetime movie that starts out with the perfect life, only for something to go horribly wrong, bringing the idea of suburban paradise crashing down.…

Continue Reading
‘Kubo And The Two Strings’ (2016) Review

‘Kubo And The Two Strings’ (2016) Review

Kubo And The Two Strings (2016) Review: Music To My Eyes Sometimes, especially in the summer, film’s status as an art form tends to be forgotten. I guess it’s because when we think of art, we think of it as something that you have to “get” before you can relate to it. Movies though draw huge crowds of all ages, so no such threshold exists. Sure some movies need a little bit of analysis to get into, but by and large, it’s not difficult for John and Jane Q. Popcorn.What stands out in 'Kubo and the Two Strings' is that for as much as it might throw at you at the beginning of the movie, you’ll never feel overwhelmed. Nothing is completely explained, but at the same time, it never feels like it has to be. You pick up the rules as the movie goes along, and as a result, it feels like a tighter film. There’s no time wasted with long winded exposition, and you get to have a feel for the characters instead of being bored. Last time I saw a movie take this approach, leaving you at the mercy of your own deductions, was 'Mad Max: Fury Road'Every now and then a movie comes along to remind me that movies are indeed, art, just the kind of art that doesn’t condescend. ‘Kubo And The Two Strings’ is one such movie. It follows the story of a young boy, Kubo. A musician/storyteller…

Continue Reading
‘Hell Or High Water’ (2016) Review

‘Hell Or High Water’ (2016) Review

Hell Or High Water (2016) Review: Old Fashioned Modern Western The Western genre is classic in every sense of the word. Inherently their movies are love letters to a bygone era, not just in filmmaking, but life itself. They're designed to be extremely simple stories, that instantly resonate with audiences. The villain is usually dressed in black, and the hero wears a white hat. Sometimes though, the villains are the good guys. Cops and sheriffs trying to take down the hero outlaw, who we can't help but root for. Not to mention the dialogue is usually sharp, bordering on poetic. A really good western is probably one of my favourite things to watch.That's what I found in 'Hell Or High Water', a movie that's being called the first major best picture contender of 2016. The story follows two brothers, Tanner and Toby Howard. Bank robbers with hearts of gold. Mostly. Instead of a life of crime for the hell of it, the Howard brothers are in it so their family can live without the crippling mortgage debt set upon them by the very soulless banks they seek to rob. It's like Breaking Bad except instead of Meth, it's bank robberies.On the other side of things you have Jeff Bridges as Marcus Hamilton. The humble lawman, two days from retirement, looking to go out in a blaze of glory, in one last case. His character is a cliche in a cowboy hat and…

Continue Reading

End of content

No more pages to load

Close Menu