Movie Reviews

The Matrix (1999)

The Matrix

The Matrix (1999)

Director:

Andy Wachowski & Lana Wachowski

Starring:

Keanu Reeves

Laurence Fishburne

Carrie-Anne Moss

Plot:

A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers.

Review:

This is one of my happy movies. I watch it and can’t help but grin. So many scenes that I love, a great world, great editing, and a great story.

I really shouldn’t review movies and books I love because I get so caught up in them that I can barely think past OMG I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!!!!

The movie opens great, I love that you get to see Trinity kicking so much ass. The cool little slide phone. Her flight through the window looks a little bad, but the movie is from ’99 it gets a pass.

This was the first rated R movie I ever owned; it might have even been on VHS I’m not sure. I remember letting my little brother watch it, without my parents’ consent, and getting so angry that the coolest part for him was when Neo flips of Agent Smith. How could he not see how cool the action scenes were or how amazing the world was? Kids.

The scene where they walk through the metal detectors makes me grin like an idiot. From there until the end it’s just nonstop, everything is so spectacular and eye opening. The world becomes so much bigger.

5/5

 

“I know Kung Fu.”

Skin Trade (2014)

Skin Trade

Skin Trade (2014)

Director:

Ekachai Uekrongtham

Starring:

Dolph Lundgren

Tony Jaa

Ron Perlman

Michael Jai White

Plot:

After his family is killed by a Serbian gangster with international interests, NYC detective Nick goes to S.E. Asia and teams up with a Thai detective to get revenge and destroy the syndicates human trafficking network.

Review:

Lot of action names in this movie. The story was fairly mindless, I called everything that happened, there were several good fights, and the ending was weak.

Dolph Lundgren, Tony Jaa, and Michael Jai White all had good fight scenes. There wasn’t much shaky cam, though, there were more quick edits than I wanted. Still I was surprised at how good the fights looked, considering the budget for the film.

Something that annoyed me were the edits through the movie. My husband said that some people said it was the directors style. I don’t know if that’s true, but it felt more unprofessional than a style choice. At one point Michael Jai White was talking with Dolph Lundgren while walking down a hall and then all of a sudden Robocop (Peter Weller) was talking in front of a large group of cops with DL and MJW in the room. It was not seamless and didn’t work with the story and stuff like that happened a few times.

The ending was a set up for a sequel, which is pretty ambitious for this type of movie, but it also took away from the impact of the ending. A helicopter has exploded, which is great, but instead of some cheesy line and riding off into the sunset, Lundgren’s character finds out his daughter is still alive. Which sets up a sequel and gives no real closer for the first movie.

3.5/5

Easter Parade (1948)
I wish the Blu Ray had this cover

I wish the Blu Ray had this cover

Easter Parade (1948)

Director:

Charles Walters

Starring:

Judy Garland

Fred Astaire

Peter Lawford

Plot:

A nightclub performer hires a naive chorus girl to become his new dance partner to make his former partner jealous and to prove he can make any partner a star.

Review:

This is basically a dancing My Fair Lady, well more focused on dancing. Love Fred Astaire and Judy Garland and this is one of my favorite musicals.

Judy Garland’s character naturally falls in love with Fred Astaire, though, I’ll be honest I was always more into Peter Lawford.

Watching it again for the first time in years I was actually a little disappointed in Garland’s character. I wish she hadn’t fallen in love with him so quickly. That’s just my modern femaleness getting in the way. Just have to turn off my brain and absorb the romance, pretty music, and awesome hats. Love the clothes in this movie.

I liked how fiery she was at the end. I like my women with a temper. She also goes after him and doesn’t let him get away, so she wasn’t a damsel in distress, she got her man.

5/5

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015)

hot-tub-time-machine-2-trailer

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015)

Director:

Steve Pink

Starring:

Rob Corddry

Craig Robinson

Clark Duke

Plot:

When Lou finds himself in trouble, Nick and Jacob fire up the hot tub time machine in an attempt to get back to the past. But they inadvertently land in the future with Adam Jr. Now they have to alter the future in order to save the past – which is really the present.

Review:

Stupid.

 

I guess I should say more than that?

 

I laughed a couple times. Maybe once every forty-five minutes.

I hate Rob Corddry’s character, but then I hated his character in the first one. I dislike the endings in both of these movies and I hate that randomly the ending from the first one will pop in my mind and I find myself trying to figure out a legitimate way for an idiot to create google. He had money and a basic idea but absolutely no idea how to execute, I guess that could be all you would need. Ahhhhh!!! I’m doing it again. That has taken up too much brain power because I disappear down a rabbit hole of little things that would get in the way.

Anyway, I liked that the future was impacted by how horrible Lou’s character was. It was a pretty awful future. I hate that these guys rarely learn anything and that at the end of the movie they just continue doing what they were doing, except Craig Robinson’s character. I dislike it when stupid characters don’t learn, I guess it’s too true to life for me.

The trailer made this movie seem more interesting than it was. I didn’t hate the movie but it was not worth wasting your time on.

2/5

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

The-Avengers-2

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Director:

Joss Whedon

Starring:

Robert Downey Jr.

Chris Evans

Chris Hemsworth

Mark Ruffalo

Scarlett Johansson

Jeremy Renner

Plot:

When Tony Stark and Bruce Banner try to jump-start a dormant peacekeeping program called Ultron, things go horribly wrong and it’s up to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plans.

Review:

Am I getting too old for Marvel movies? Please god noooooooo!!!!! The very idea is horrible and makes me sad, but apart from Guardians of the Galaxy the last 3 Marvel movies I haven’t loved, honestly I don’t even like Iron Man 3.

With Avengers I feel like Whedon was given this list of things that had to be done in this movie to set up the next ones and didn’t get to tell a full story. This movie felt like filler more than a true addition to the series.

I didn’t like the beginning, you were thrown into the middle of a battle, which is fine, but the explanation as to why wasn’t very satisfying. The action was hardly perceivable with all the quick cuts and I wonder if they were trying to cut time by doing that.

The middle and end were much better but still not as satisfying as I was hoping for. Ultron was a some what interesting villain in that you got to see what would happen if you gave a smart teenager with daddy issues lots of power.

The Prophet was cool, though Thor’s explanation as to why he must be created was hardly more than him saying, “Because.”

I thought they did a poor job showing the Avengers as a team and friends. I think the Captain America language ribbing was supposed to help with that, but it wasn’t enough to convey teamwork and one comment too much and reached annoying.

All in all, I was disappointed. It was an alright movie but not close to the best Marvel movie.

3/5