Spectre

Why change what works? For the past three movies in the 007 franchise – all of which star Daniel Craig – tone has shifted and the stereotypical approach to the James Bond film has been ignored. Instead, directors like Martin Campbell of Casino Royale and Sam Mendes of Skyfall have helmed the mission to recreate Bond as a more human character and take a more modern and realistic approach to the agent’s adventures. Now comes Spectre, a movie that capitalizes on the efforts of character building demonstrated in its immediate predecessors but also returns the franchise to its glory of the formulaic James Bond film.

Kicking off with the most insane and intense Bond opener since Casino Royale, Spectre wastes no time assuring moviegoers they’re spending their time and money wisely. The opening scene starts with a long shot through the streets and buildings of Mexico City’s Day of the Dead parade before cutting to a chain of events involving an assassination, an exploding building, and a man-vs-man fight scene on a low-flying helicopter. Cue the Sam Smith song and seductive opening credits montage.

Bond’s reasoning for this altercation is explained through a video from the recently deceased M (Judi Dench). The video shows M’s dying wish being for James to hunt down and kill the man from Mexico, which Bond does without question – only to discover the man played a role in a much larger scheme. Upon discovering the villainous organization Spectre, Bond unwittingly opens a door to his traumatic past when he finds out the ghosts of his past are still alive to haunt him. He’s forced to confront Ernst Blofeld (Christoph Waltz, in a limited but chilling role), his former brother in practice who has been orchestrating all the catastrophic events of his past. But of course, we need a Bond girl before we go any further. In Spectre, it’s Léa Seydoux. Following a brief but cold-hearted appearance in 2011’s Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, Seydoux is paving her way to becoming a mainstream femme fatale that most male actors will surely be intimidated to go toe-to-toe with on the big screen.

The movie doesn’t make any efforts to redefine the franchise, something that understandably disappointed some critics and audiences. However, just because it didn’t take any noteworthy risks doesn’t make the film a failure. Spectre is an extremely fun, sleek, and entertaining crack at the Bond filmography. It takes the quality of filmmaking we’ve seen starting with Daniel Craig’s entrance into the series and perfectly capitalizes on the formulaic Bond structure audiences love. It’s got a kickass opening, crazy car chases, gripping hand-to-hand combat scenes, Bond bedding women, and a joyful abundance of bullets. With a hefty runtime of over two hours, the brisk editing and marvelous pacing kept things captivating until the last minute – by the end of the movie, I was wishing for more.

Some would argue that the film is riddled with Bond clichés. I disagree. I see Spectre as following an established structure that has brought the pre-Craig era Bond films continued success. Spectre follows this structure and heightens all of its elements to never before seen places. It may not be the best movie featuring James Bond in terms of pure filmmaking, but it’s arguably the best “James Bond film” in recent memore because it delivers comparative perfection within the structure. In that regard, Spectre is better than Skyfall, and I’d name it best movie of the year so far if it weren’t for a criminally underused Christoph Waltz and a bit-too-ridiculous plane crash that leaves Bond unbelievably unscathed. It also should be noted that just a few hours after leaving the theater the excitement I felt while watching the movie didn’t carry into my day the way I was expecting it would. But in the words of Roger Ebert, “there's something to be said for a movie you like well enough at the time.” Well, I think there’s even more to be said for a movie you loved at the time – and I loved Spectre.

Rating: 4.5/5

Sicario

For a good 40+ minutes of the movie my facial expression resembled that of Del Toro's (ComingSoon.net)

There's a way to make a good movie with the kind of story we see in Sicario. Director Denis Villeneuve (2013's Prisoners) and Screenwriter Taylor Sheridan prove they know this several times throughout the movie by building intense, dramatic, and character-focused scenes of action and suspense. But to get to these masterfully constructed scenes, we're forced to sit through tedious, uneventful, confusing, and unnecessarily elongated on-screen moments. We know it could have been so much better because many scenes in Sicario were nearly flawless - and this is what makes the movie frustrating and, overall, somewhat disappointing.

I think I speak on behalf of moviegoers everywhere when I say I have better things to do with my time than stare at a screen and watch countless repetitive shots of the faces of Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, and Emily Blunt as they look out to western landscapes from a car/plane/truck window. My idea of a good movie is not 45 minutes of confusing narratives and little dialogue sandwiched together by breathtaking opening and concluding scenes which show nothing but promise from the filmmakers. These ending and beginning scenes may explain some of the lulls heavily felt in the middle of Sicaio, but they do not excuse them.

I guess you could say I went into this film the same way Emily Blunt's character went into the events of Sicario. Her character, FBI Agent Kate Macer, is eager for a good outcome but doesn't exactly get what she had signed up for. After witnessing her comrades brutally killed at a Mexican cartel bust gone wrong, Kate volunteers to work with a task force assigned to take down the men responsible for the massacre. The team, led by Matt (Josh Brolin) and Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro), consistently misleads Kate - changing destinations last minute and even putting her in deadly situations. All the while, she fears those to blame are going unpunished as she is used as a puppet for the men's ulterior motives, but refuses to turn her back on the situation.

One thing I must say the movie did flawlessly is how well the movie's actors did bringing their superbly-written characters to life. Emily Blunt, donned as an action heroine since 2012's Looper, finally sold me as a believable genre heroine. After playing relatively one-dimensional characters in Looper and Edge of Tomorrow, she has the chance to play a believable and vulnerable human character who still knows how to show brutality. Her facial expressions and body language display a complete character immersion - one scene sticking out being where she's visibly but subtly trembling as she tries to recover from the events of the opening scene.

Del Toro and Brolin also deliver performances that will be sure be considered career highlights - Del Toro establishing a grim and ruthless presence with Brolin supporting his movies with comedy, charisma, and indifference toward the consideration of others.  As Alejandro, Del Toro takes over the latter half of the movie with a commanding and astounding presence, showing his true colors as a man you would have no desire to cross paths with.

Additionally, Sicario provides many moments for these characters to prove how strongly-established they are. There are nearly a dozen scenes in the movie where the tension is so high I was genuinely concerned for the players and unsure of the outcome. When the movie (finally) gets to these scenes, it holds nothing back, and isn't afraid to shake you in your seat with the sudden bloody death of those in front of you.

With that said, it is a shame that these scenes were preceded by the first half of this movie. While not without its moments, this hour or so of the movie took away from the build-up the film could have had going throughout, especially if it were 20 minutes shorter. There were many ideas, themes, characters, and motives that could have been explored better if they did things better. Honestly, Sicario would have made a great second season of "True Detective," but as a result of its cinematic nature, time was mismanaged, pace was lost, and characters and scenes that deserved a better overall production didn't get one. Sicario's moments of sheer brilliance shouldn't be overlooked. Having said that, that terrible chunk in the middle shouldn't either.

Rating: 3/5

The Martian

Mashable

The Martian is a movie like nothing we have ever seen. Its approach to the survivor-man movie is astoundingly unique, and does things we haven't seen in similar attempts in movies like Gravity, Cast Away, and Apollo 13. The stellar cast's presence on the screen is matched only by the aesthetics and wonder of the mise-en-scene. The music is wonderfully hypnotic, and the screenplay is an accomplished balance act of comedy, drama, tragedy, and exposition. It has all the necessities of a perfect movie - and it would be if it weren't a little boring sometimes.

The Martian is the first movie Ridley Scott fans can get behind since 2012's Prometheus (or 2007's American Gangster if you're on the "I hate Prometheus" bandwagon). The movie stars Matt Damon as Frank Watney, a NASA botanist left behind on Mars after seemingly killed during a storm. Much to Earth's surprise, Watney is revealed to have survived. He deduces he must keep himself alive for nearly four years before being rescued during NASA's next mission but realizes he only has enough supplies for one.

When NASA discovers Watney isn't dead after all, a team of officials (comprised of Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean, and Kristen Wiig) work to solve the problem of bringing him home. In the meantime, they're forced to deal with the press, the team that left Watney behind, and the ticking clock counting down the days until Watney runs out of resources.

The film is reliant on the talents of Damon, who carries the movie without effort. The writing is smart and calls upon Damon to rattle-off complex space/science stuff in layman's terms that I couldn't begin to explain. And as sort of a thank you to viewers for following along, the character says sarcastic quips which are legitimately funny due to Damon's wry style of delivery. In the many days (or, in the movie, "sols") where Damon is on Mars alone for extended periods, it helps keep the movie afloat.

Unfortunately, the film is not reliant enough on the talents of other cast members. It takes nearly to the halfway point before we see Watney's original crew return to the screen, even though Kate Mara, Jessica Chastain, and Michael Pena compose that team. Storywise, it made sense for their temporary absence, and the story was sure to bring them back in fully by the end. However, seeing so much time go by without proven talents like those of Jessica Chastain during the movie's more redundant parts was a hindrance on being able to fully love this movie. For several minutes at a time, The Martian is simply Matt Damon talking to a camera about how he plans to stay alive on Mars. This is where I found the film to be uneventful, and even with the comedy, utilizing the talents of the rest of the cast would have kept the film afloat even better.

What The Martian did well was realize one character probably couldn't carry the entire movie given the story it wanted to tell. What it didn't do too well was balance the stories of Watney, the NASA team, and the space crew as well as it could have. By the end, everything come together wonderfully. It was an emotionally satisfying ending that utilized time and characters flawlessly. However, the road to get to that point was drawn by filmmakers who didn't execute the story the best they could. With a better balance of these three separate stories, The Martian would have reached the heights to make it the perfect film it could have been. Watching the movie was like putting together a puzzle - all the right pieces were there, and you knew it, but sometimes the wrong piece ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. When it's complete, though, that's when you can look past the faults and recognize the accomplishment.

The good news is that after a few lackluster efforts, The Martian satisfies those anxiously waiting for both Scott and Damon to prove they've still got what it takes to be highly regarded Hollywood names. It's also incredibly pleasing to the ears and eyes with its music, effects, cinematography, imagery, and truly impeccable casting. While a better balance of characters and interrelated stories could have made The Martian more effectively paced and completely spectacular, it was missing that element. Instead, we'll have to settle for pretty spectacular, and to be honest, I'm not too upset about that.

Rating: 4/5

Black Mass

ew.com

Black Mass opens with "Breaking Bad's" Jesse Plemons (who I momentarily thought was Matt Damon) wielding a Boston accent, telling investigators he's not a rat. For a second there, I thought I was watching The Departed. Then the story unfolded, and director Scott Cooper wove us through a portion of mob boss Whitey Bulger's life alongside the FBI agent reluctant to take him down. During this time, I felt like I was watching Heat. While Black Mass has a gritty feel, incredible performances, and certain a cinematic quality, it can't seem to match the excellence of the gangster genre greats, all of which I'd gladly watch again before this.

The film recounts the rise and fall of James "Whitey" Bulger, real-life Boston crime kingpin rom his prominence in the 70s to his fugitive status in the 90s. To reduce their sentences, everyone who worked with Bulger recount their experiences with the mobster. Told through flashbacks, the film covers 20 years of Whitey pulling off countless crimes under the governmental protection of his Senator brother Billy (Benedict Cumberbatch) and FBI Agent John Connolly (The Gift's Joel Edgerton).

There were countless approaches this film could've taken (thought to be fair though, it's heavily based on the historical book of the same name) in regards to its main character. We didn't see enough of Bulger the pusher, Bulger the family man, Bulger the adulterer, Bulger the businessman, or any pre-1975 Bulger. Instead, we get murderous Bulger. Now, there is no lack of authenticity in that aspect of his life, but turning Bulger into a well-rounded character for the screen would have given the film the boost it occasionally needed.

And even though the script doesn't always give him the most to work with, Depp manages to take the film to a level that I can't imagine being matched without his presence. He's impulsive, psychotic, decisive, and quite creepy all at once. It's the kind of glorious portrayal that will get film students talking about Depp's talents again without being shunned by their peers and professors - even if his makeup artists did make him look like an extraterrestrial.

With that, it's sad that Bulger oftentimes became a supporting character in his own movie. The focus all to frequently turned to Edgerton's John Connolly - the FBI agent who grew up on the same streets as the Bulger family. Hoping to keep his good friend out of jail, Connolly enlists Bulger as an informant to surpress the North End crime family and put him on the bureau's good side. When Connolly's wife and colleagues start doubting his intentions, the result is more screentime for Edgerton. I normally don't complain when I see Joel Edgerton onscreen, but what's disappointing is knowing his moments could have been given to Depp's character, or anyone else in Bulger's crew for that matter. Nearly all of them feel like complete strangers by the end of the movie, despite top billings and laudable performances.

Years from now, Black Mass will be remembered less as a film about Whitey Bulger's crime saga and moreso a film in the Johnny Depp filmography (and deservedly so on that last point). It's a gritty and blood-soaked crime film I'm not disinclined to watch again. Just sign me up to watch The Departed, Heat, GoodFellas, Donnie Brasco, and a slew of others beforehand.

Rating: 3/5

AJ's Entertainment Show

Nice of you to stop by.

I'm excited to announce I've started a brand new show here at school, which I've dubbed "AJ's Entertainment Show" (I'm open to other suggestions).

Every week, I'll be talking about entertainment news. That includes Hollywood breaking stories, TV show updates, and movie ranting, all of which will have my opinion. Since we're currently trying to find a place to put the final product, I made a YouTube channel so that you can watch it for now. The pilot is visible here. Mind you, it's not perfect - but it's a start!

Got an idea to make the show better? Let me know! I want to hear from you.

Make sure you subscribe to my channel so you don't miss an episode!

Thanks again for reading (and now, watching!),

-AJ

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

FoxMovies

Let's take a second and talk about what a good sequel does. First off, a worthy sequel should only follow a good, original story that made the audience want more. Second, the sequel should continue to build on that originality as opposed to retreading or borrowing too heavily from other sources. This sequel to meets the first criteria - 2013's The Maze Runner was a good movie, and its original and suspenseful mystery approach to the YA universe made me excited for a sequel. But looking at the second identifier, it's clear that The Scorch Trials doesn't qualify as a good sequel - at all.

Following his escape from The Glade, Thomas finds himself transported to a safe haven with allies Newt, Minho, Teresa, and the rest of his friends. It's assumed to be a sanctuary protecting them from those who orchestrated the maze trials, WCKD. Thomas is greeted by the man running the facility, Jensen ("Game of Thrones'" Aidan Gillen), who assures them their troubles are over and a new life is ahead of them. But when familiar faces start disappearing, Thomas is warned by maze survivor Aris (Mud's Jacob Lofland) that Jensen can't be trusted. They discover that they're actually in a WCKD run containment center exploiting those immune to the virus that wiped out humanity. Confused yet? Yeah, me too.

After an exciting and impressively-filmed escape, the group treks across a barren cityscape (the "Scorch") looking for survivors to help them fight WCKD. They team up with rebels Brenda and Jorge (Giancarlo Esposito, who milks his "Breaking Bad" fame by saying hermano in almost all his conversations), two survivors who are also looking to take down WCKD. They spend the rest of the movie looking for weapons and recruits and trying to avoid contact with those infected with the Flare virus, which turns its victims into mindless zombie-like attackers.

As I mentioned earlier, a good sequel elevates the originality of its predecessor instead of falling back on recycled storylines and clichés of sequels past. At times, I felt like I was watching I Am Legend (running zombies), 28 Weeks Later (running zombies in dark underground areas), each of The Hunger Games movies (waking up after escaping a government-controlled arena, hiding from a hovercraft, kids fighting against the government), both Divergent (zip lining over dystopia) and Insurgent (poorly-dressed rebels hosting escapees from those in power), Face/Off (that prison break), Cloverfield (climbing up a tilted city building) and more. And these weren't subtle nods to cinematic classics, these were blatant rip-offs from better movies of a similar or the same genre. Couple that with the overload of unnecessary characters and a muddled screenplay with too much violence and language and not enough character development, The Scorch Trials makes it too easy to get lost along the way.

It was a struggle to watch Dylan O'Brien as Thomas, because you could see he was giving the movie his all while virtually every other cast and crew member seemed to assume their Hollywood faces would carry them to box office success. It's even more painful to see a talented actor like Aiden Gillen waste a good chunk of his screen time sitting on a helicopter in terribly lit scenes.

So on behalf of the filmmakers, sorry fans of The Maze Runner. If you're looking for the excitement, fun, and compelling mystery the first Maze Runner movie brought, you won't find it here. Instead, you'll find boredom, confusion, an overlong production, and another cliffhanger that will lead us into what will likely be another letdown. The Scorch Trials is a disappointment that I can only imagine diehard fans of the original could appreciate. And even then, still probably not.

Rating: 2/5

Jurassic World

http://media.melty.com/article-2300-ajust_930-f1432805959/claire-s-nephews-gray-and-zach.jpg

Following up Steven Speilberg's original Jurassic Park movie is so difficult that even in the director's chair Spielberg himself wasn't able to do it too fantastically. Four years after that attempt, Jumanji's Joe Johnston gave it a try, and while he was able to bring some fun back to the franchise, his entry too lacked the awe of the first Jurassic Park movie. Now, we welcome in Colin Trevorrow, who brings to the franchise no previous experience with big-budget pictures. Instead, he brings an approach.

Immediately when Jurassic Park was released, people were enthralled, leading nostalgia to be a obvious presence in the sequels. By bringing back and focusing on familiar characters like Sam Neill's Alan Grant and Jeff Goldblum's Ian Malcolm, Speilberg and Johnson brought superficial nostaliga to their respective follow-ups - hoping to inspire memories and wonder just because of some familiar faces on an island with dinosaurs. Trevorrow, on the other hand, incorporates into his film a more effective form of nostalgia - an emotional type, a true type. Aside from one doctor with a minor role in the first film, Jurassic World gives us a completely new set of players. A risky move, but one that pays off, because Jurassic World is the sequel we can whole-heartedly admit we have been waiting for. Not because it shows the same characters, but because it invokes feelings audiences have not felt in a dinosaur movie for 22 years.

So, like most of you, my hopes were extremely high for this film. The park is open, we're back to the original island, and speaking frankly, the trailers looked pretty awesome. Still, one in my position can't help being hesitant. Unfortunately, those working at Jurassic World aren't too hesitant, especially when the park's operation's manager Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) okays the genetic construction of a new super dinosaur, bred to evade any threat manmade or in nature. When things inevitably go wrong, the entire island of animals and visitors - including Claire's two nephews (Ty Simpkins & Nick Robinson) - loses the illusion of safety and control. So, out comes dino trainer Owen (Chris Pratt) on his motorcycle with his entourage of trained raptors to save the day.

Trevorrow, who also co-wrote the script, knew where to take the audience to bring us back to our happy place in this franchise. With some subtle and other not-so-subtle nods to the original Jurassic movie, he manipulated my emotional attachment to the story so well that I was able to overlook the film's occasional flaws effortlessly. When Simpkins' character runs to his hotel room and opens up his balcony to see the fully active theme park, I was wide-eyed and grinning like an 8-year-old. That's talent that can't be ignored, and I'm glad that talent was brought to this franchise.

Sadly, the movie was not without its eye-rolling moments, namely the unnecessary subplots and characters. For example - Claire and Owen had/have a thing for some reason? Sure. Why not? Zach and Gray's parents are getting divorced, even though this moment is only brought up once and never shown to be evident in the parents' behaviors? Sure. Why not. InGen is once again trying to undermine the people who actually know what they're doing on the island and sends out a cocky and annoying character to stir up even more trouble as if there isn't enough already? Sure. Why the heck not. But let's face it - I was having way too much fun watching this movie that most of the time I told my critic mind to shut up and enjoy the ride.

So, please, do yourself a favor and allow yourself to go back to Isla Nublar. See what's new for you and what shining moments from the past it has to offer. Pratt will charm you, Simpkins and Robinson will relate to you, and the movie will inspire you. Because if you thought the times where you could have a complete blast at the movies were over, you'd be wrong.

Rating: 4/5