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Fast & Furious (2009) Movie Review

March 23, 2017 Alex Brannan

In this fourth installment of the Fast & Furious franchise, quite confusingly entitled Fast & Furious, the old crew is up to the same old tricks. Dom (Vin Diesel), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), and Han (Sung Kang) rob a moving fuel truck in the Dominican Republic. They take their cut and split ways to lay low.

When Letty is murdered, the crew reunites to avenge her death. Wrapped up in this via FBI investigation is Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker), who now works for the bureau.

With this premise comes the narrative intrigue of Continue reading Fast & Furious (2009) Movie Review →

Box Office Predictions, Movie News

Weekend Box Office Predictions: 3/24-3/26

March 22, 2017 Alex Brannan

Last weekend saw the record-breaking opening of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, which raked in a phenomenal $174 million. The film broke the record for best March opening weekend and the best opening for a PG-rated film, beating out last year’s Finding Dory by almost $40 million.

Beast‘s lack of competition guaranteed it this large opening. This weekend, we see the release of four wide release films, according to Box Office Mojo. The biggest of these four is Saban and Lionsgate’s Power Rangers, which has received a sizable marketing campaign to rival Disney’s.

Other releases include the sports pic Slamma Jamma, the comedy ChiPs, and the space thriller Life, all three of which are opening in less theaters than Power Rangers and Beauty and the Beast.

With the large quantity of competition, how far will Beauty and the Beast drop?

Box Office Predictions: Weekend of 3/24

Continue reading Weekend Box Office Predictions: 3/24-3/26 →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) Movie Review

March 21, 2017 Alex Brannan

In anticipation of April’s release of The Fate of the Furious, the eighth installment in the The Fast and the Furious franchise, CineFiles is taking a retrospective look back on all of the series’ films. In this edition, we look at the third entry into the series (but the sixth film chronologically?), The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is widely considered the black sheep of the now incredibly successful Fast & Furious franchise. This is due mainly to the film’s tangential narrative from what has essentially become a testosterone-infused soap opera.

But let’s not judge a book by its preconceived notions.

Tokyo Drift opens on a car race over the ownership of a woman. So…it’s not looking good so far. Unlike the previous two Fast & Furious films, however, this opening race Continue reading The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) Movie Review →

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Lights Out (2016) Movie Review

March 20, 2017 Alex Brannan

At CineFiles, we like to stay current. We try our very best to see the big new releases right as they come out, so that we can get reviews out to you lovely readers in a timely manner. This task is not always easy, especially given that our choice of pronoun can be deceiving in terms of number agreement.

So, yeah, we didn’t see Lights Out last Summer. What’s it to you?

All joking aside, Lights Out is the number one genre movie that I regret not seeing last year. As such, I’m back almost a year later to pick up the slack. I watched Lights Out (thanks, Cinemax), so let’s talk about it.

Lights Out is the feature length film from David F. Sandberg adapted from the short film by David F. Sandberg. The short film is an intriguing game of Continue reading Lights Out (2016) Movie Review →

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Beauty and the Beast (2017) Movie Review

March 19, 2017 Alex Brannan

Beauty and the Beast is the Disney live action remake of the 1991 animated hit. The tale as old as time is one of ostracism and romance. A sorceress condemns the arrogant Prince (Dan Stevens) to the realm of beast until he learns to love, and it will take the only other literate person in miles (Emma Watson) to break this spell (because, really, the only thing Belle and the Beast really connect on is their shared ability to read).

The 2017 Beast is a faithful adaptation, its added flourishes coming in the form of Continue reading Beauty and the Beast (2017) Movie Review →

Box Office Predictions, Movie News

Weekend Box Office Predictions: 3/17-3/19

March 17, 2017 Alex Brannan

This weekend sees the release of yet another Disney juggernaut, Beauty and the Beast. Next to that is a much smaller new release in Blumhouse Tilt’s The Belko Experiment.

Vying for attention outside of the new kids on the block are a number of healthy box office contenders. Kong: Skull Island and Logan are two big box office draws still looking good in their second and third weekends. And Get Out remains strong as the genre engine that could.

How will the two newcomers fare in this market? Well…let’s just plop of photo here to break up the text before we get to the answer to that question…

Box Office Predictions: Weekend of 3/17

Continue reading Weekend Box Office Predictions: 3/17-3/19 →

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The Belko Experiment (2017) Movie Review

March 16, 2017 Alex Brannan

In Bogota, Colombia, a white collar NPO that helps Americans get hired in South America is up to the normal day. Save for the heightened, armed gate security.

Midway through the morning, the office is interrupted by an intercom voice informing them that every employee needs to kill two of their coworkers to prevent further ramifications. The building is subsequently locked down with a seemingly impenetrable metal wall. When no one responds to the request of the mysterious voice of god: people’s heads start exploding.

And…begin a psychological mind games thriller a la Circle, 13 Sins, Cube, Cube 2: Hypercube, Cube Zero, Exam, Buried, Brake, Compliance, 9 Dead, Saw 1, Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV, Saw V, Saw VI, Saw VII, Cheap Thrills, The Perfect Host, The Invitation, Shutter Island, The Cure for Wellness, etc. etc.

James Gunn’s script is the ethical dilemma of the man on the trolley tracks—do you Continue reading The Belko Experiment (2017) Movie Review →

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2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) Movie Review

March 13, 2017 Alex Brannan

In anticipation of the April release of The Fate of the Furious, CineFiles is taking a retrospective look back on the franchise as a whole. In this installment, we look at the second film in the series, 2 Fast 2 Furious.

2 Fast 2 Furious begins by essentially recreating the opening race of its predecessor. The only difference is that the intrigue of two dual protagonists facing off is replaced by the correct assumption that Brian (Paul Walker), the now ex-LAPD street racer, is going to win. The scene is also shot with more intensity, even if some shots are directly lifted from the first film.

Following this race, Brian is brought in by Miami police and roped into an undercover operation against Carter Verone (Cole Hauser), an importer-exporter cartel connection. Brian enlists the aide of childhood friend Roman Pierce (Tyrese Gibson) to infiltrate Verone’s inner circle.

There is a noticeable Continue reading 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Horror, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Love It, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Aliens (1986) Movie Review

March 12, 2017 Alex Brannan

In anticipation of the release of Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant, CineFiles is looking back on the Alien franchise as a whole. Today, we look at James Cameron’s sequel film Aliens, a film that takes the formula of the 1979 original film and spins it in a new direction.

57 years after the events of Ridley Scott’s Alien, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) wakes up from stasis. The only survivor of the Nostromo incident, Ripley accompanies a crew of military to LV-426, the planet where the Nostromo first encountered the eponymous creature.

Like the 1979 original, Aliens begins with characterization by way of politics. The heads of the mission, both military and civilian, sit at a different table at the mess hall while the army grunts act amateurish nearby. The characters adhere more to Continue reading Aliens (1986) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Kong: Skull Island (2017) Movie Review

March 9, 2017 Alex Brannan

Big Ape. Island. 1970s Vietnam backdrop. Movie. Synopsis over.

Kong: Skull Island is a Vietnam era period piece, something that acts as an important backdrop in the film. The stereotypes of U.S. in 1970s wartime dictate exposition and characterization.

The setup of Kong is messy in its expediency. A constant underscore of period relevant soundtrack keep conversations short and lacking in anything more than political platitudes.

Characters, as a result of this expediency and poor scripting, are Continue reading Kong: Skull Island (2017) Movie Review →

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