Tag Archives: movie review

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

Star Wars Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015) Movie Review

December 17, 2015 Alex Brannan

Note: I’ve tried to make this review as spoiler free as possible. That said, one person’s reaction is another person’s spoiler. I can’t make this 100% devoid of spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.

Star Wars – The Force Awakens is directed by J.J. Abrams, and it is the first new Star Wars film in 10 years. Easily the most anticipated movie of the year, The Force Awakens could have been the biggest disappointment since, well, The Phantom Menace. Thankfully, this is not the case.

This part is unavoidable, but it must be mentioned. Continue reading Star Wars Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015) Movie Review →

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

Creed (2015) Movie Review

December 4, 2015 Alex Brannan

Creed is essentially a re-boot of the Rocky franchise showcasing fresher, younger hands.

The film centers around the trials of son of legendary fighter Apollo Creed, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan). Creed grows up in a juvenile corrections facility and in and out of group homes until Apollo Creed’s wife (but not Adonis’ biological mother) Mary Ann (Phylicia Rashad) takes him in.

18 years later, Creed is following in his father’s footsteps as a pro boxer in Tijuana. By day, he is a desk jockey in Los Angeles, but he knows that it is not the life for him. We see him Continue reading Creed (2015) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Indie Films, Like It, Quickie Reviews (<400 Words)

Cold Deck (2015) Movie Review

December 4, 2015 Alex Brannan

Cold Deck opens with a jazzy soundtrack and a warmly-lit montage of poker tables being played. The film zooms in on one particular table, where the players engage in emasculating ball-busting, each jab met with the same uproarious laughter.

One player, Bobby (Stefano Gallo), loses out to the clubs owner, Chips (Paul Sorvino), who takes sympathy on him and lends him some cash.

Bobby works in a factory, but his conversations are all on gambling. It is his lifestyle. Strapped for cash, barely able to Continue reading Cold Deck (2015) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Horror, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Romance

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016) Movie Review

December 2, 2015 Alex Brannan

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is adapted from the book of the same name, and it is exactly what you think. Jane Austen’s famous characters return to the big screen, only now they aren’t combating class and gender barriers, they are samurai fighting zombies.

The film, understanding that the audience is likely already familiar with the Austen classic, begins with some heavy handed exposition revolving around the nature of the narrative’s zombie outbreak. This opening scene involves an interesting point of view shot that comes from a unique perspective, to say the least. Unfortunately, Continue reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Horror, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Goodnight Mommy (2015) Movie Review

November 25, 2015 Alex Brannan

The main diegesis of Goodnight Mommy begins with two twin brothers being children. They play tag in a corn field and frolic through the woods. They cautiously enter through a dark void of a passageway, referring back to the viewers themselves, who are choosing to do the same by watching this film.

The film opens with an immediate sense of stillness. But there is Continue reading Goodnight Mommy (2015) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Drama, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Love It

Room (2015) Movie Review

November 24, 2015 Alex Brannan

In Room, a mother (Brie Larson) and son Jack (Jacob Tremblay) are held captive in a tool shed that they call Room. The mother has been there for seven years. Jack is five years old, and he has never set foot outside of Room in his entire life.

Room is a story of resilience and undying familial love. It is about a woman coping with stress under extreme trauma while also having to successfully raise a child. It is also Continue reading Room (2015) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Love It, Quickie Reviews (<400 Words), Romance

People, Places, Things (2015) Movie Review

November 23, 2015 Alex Brannan

People, Places, Things opens on a birthday party for two twin girls. The father, Will (Jemaine Clement), searches for his wife Charlie (Stephanie Allynne), only to find her cheating on him with another man. After an awkwardly comical exchange, their relationship ends. A year later, the pair have split custody over the children.

Will is a graphic novelist, an occupation which is revealed through a wonderful panning shot over a series of comics frames depicting a man in Continue reading People, Places, Things (2015) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Quickie Reviews (<400 Words)

Hackers (1995) Movie Review

November 22, 2015 Alex Brannan

18 year old Dade (Jonny Lee Miller), aka “Crash Override,” aka “Zero-Cool,” is on parole for a cyber-crime he committed when he was a pre-teen child. On his 18th birthday, he is given access to a computer for the first time since he crashed 1,500 plus computers, resulting in a stock market dip.

Dade falls in with an underground subculture of computer hackers. This group is soon framed for creating a Continue reading Hackers (1995) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Quickie Reviews (<400 Words)

Teen Wolf (1985) Movie Review

November 22, 2015 Alex Brannan

Teen Wolf is a comedy starring Michael J. Fox as a teenage boy going through changes, but not the changes you would expect. His ears start to have a point. Hair stems with miraculous speed. His eyes glow red when he’s angry.

It’s hard to ignore the aspects of this film that don’t hold up. These moments have Continue reading Teen Wolf (1985) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Love It, Quickie Reviews (<400 Words)

[Quickie] See This Movie: Kung Fury (2015)

November 21, 2015 Alex Brannan

Kung Fury is a 30 minute, throwback spectacle of an action comedy. It is epic in its absurdity. A Miami cop (David Sandberg), after witnessing the death of his partner, who he claims is like a father to him, becomes a kung-fu master after he is struck by lightning and bitten by a cobra. He then must travel back in time to assassinate Hitler after the Fuhrer guns down the police chief.

Sandberg plays the cop gruff and merciless in the best over-the-top way. He is the ultimate lone wolf, speaking only in gruff whispers. It works perfectly with the parodical nature of the film.

Continue reading [Quickie] See This Movie: Kung Fury (2015) →

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