CHAPiE Review

Artificial Intelligence 

Had fairly high hopes for this movie, I have been a fan of Neil Blomkamps work, I loved District 9 and Elysium was pretty good as well. So I was very interested to see how CHAPiE would turn out,

I didn't choose the Thug Life...

The cast was kind of a mixed bag, Dev Patel as Deon was decent and Hugh Jackman while kind of inconsistent was serviceable he is an asshole for whatever they need him to be, he's supposed to be a military person but sometimes it's his faith that’s driving him and yeah its inconsistent. Sigourney Weaver is in it and its always good seeing her in sci fi though her character is not very major. And after coming off as a fairly reasonable strong character she is turned by Hugh Jackman very quickly. There is also Die Antwood the South African rap group in the movie and I thought they were a bit hit or miss, when they were raising chappie they were good but the stuff outside that was a bit to silly also Yolandi just seems a bit too nice to be in a criminal gang. On to Chappie I quite liked the robot he takes on the characteristics  of those around him and its funny seeing the way he acts as he learns. His movement/body structure is kind of similar to the prawns of district 9 but he is different enough/becomes different enough that he is pretty memorable.

Someone really needs to talk to HR about this...

On to the movie itself, the story was decent though some Hugh Jackman's antics are really stupid. There is a scene with some pretty terrible workplace harassment right in the middle of an office and its a wonder Hugh Jackmans character does not get fired, or that nobody seems to mention it. As this is a Sony Movie there was plenty of Sony Product Placement, lots of Vaio Laptops which is funny because Sony just spun Vaio off. PlayStation 4s are featured and its funny how they end up being used, strangely enough I don't remember seeing any Xperia Phones. The Action was good, most is at the end similar to D9. Actually a lot of the movie was similar to District 9 probably to CHAPiEs detriment though as most of it was better in D9.

I tried to temper my expectations after seeing the reception and for the most part I enjoyed the movie, it definitely had its issues but was not really that bad or anything until the ending. The movie comes off as reasonable even with how crazy Die Antwood are you can suspend your disbelief because it’s a movie but the ending is just so jarring that it brings the rest of the movie down. I get what the messaging is and what the intention was for the ending but it comes in so abruptly and is not executed very well.

Overall I enjoyed the movie for the most part though it certainly had its issues. You could do a lot worse movie wise but Neil Blomkamp could do better.

6/10

Focus Review

Made for TV

This is a pretty strange movie on the surface, dark comedy with romantic and heist elements starting Will Smith and Margot Robbie, Turns out it is a bit of a strange movie. Will Smith was alright some of the movie he is quite good and the whole con man thing works well other parts not so much and in the later half he is pretty mopey. Margot Robbie is fine though her characters motivations seem al over the place. Supporting cast is ok some are better than others. Story wise it’s a bit of an odd movie in that does not really feel like a movie rather 2 or 3 episodes of a basic cable drama, something a kin to white collar or burn notice with a few episodes missing. I quite liked the heisty elements of the movie and when Will and Margot are doing that stuff it works decently. Other parts of the movie did not work as well, the humour is pretty hit or miss, mostly a miss for me and some of the details were a bit inconsistent. They make the con business out to be more of a volume thing but the bigger heist type things happen anyway.

I would say where the movie falls apart is the 2nd half without spoiler too much it happens a period of time after the first act and is kind of all over the place, the ending especially was very jarring. They tried to do some foreshadowing and I guess there was supposed to be a bit of a gotcha moment at the end but I don’t think the foreshadowing was done that well and it felt kind of random and abrupt. One other very minor thing but I saw this movie in 16:9 which did not help the whole feels like TV thing.

Overall while it had some good elements I did not find Focus to be a good movie, some people will enjoy it but there are much better things to watch. 

6/10

Gotta do something before Suicide Squad filming starts

Kingsman: The Secret Service Review

Kickass Spy movie

Thug Life

Initially had pretty low expectations, had seen the trailers and it looked pretty average.  After learning it was directed by Mathew Vaughn(Kick-Ass, Xmen First Class) and had an R Rating my interest was piqued though the trailers still gave my doubts. Anyway after seeing it I have to say it was pretty tremendous, it really was a Kickass Spy Movie.

Stand out of the cast was defiantly Colin Firth, being known for his dramas and romantic comedies you don’t really know what to expect but wow he was really good and had some great action scenes especially a certain one he as in a church. Rest of the cast was fine, Sam Jackson's(Richmond Valentine) accent was kind of strange but overall good villain, the protagonist "Eggsy"(Taron Egerton) was good, "Roxy"(Sophie Cookson) was decent though I wish she did more and Sofia Boutella as Gazelle, (Richmond Valentine 2IC) was really good and had some great fight scenes. Mark Hamill is also in sounding like a less crazy British version of the Joker.

Story was fairly interesting, it’s a spy movie so a few twists and turns which is to be expected but its not your usual spy movie. It brings some original stuff and is overall also solidly executed. The action was really where it was at, the action is in the same vein as Kick-Ass very violent but really really good and very creative. There isn't too much blood but its definitely there and the damage inflicted is definitely above and beyond what you will see from your usual PG13 action movie.

♫Take me to Church♫

Overall really good movie, did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. If an action movie a notch above the usual or a spy movie that will probably be way more violent than the next Bond movie sounds good to you than go see this movie you're in for a treat.

9/10

Quick Fire Oscar Movie Reviews

Boyhood

Really liked this movie, really interesting to see everyone age and I think that ads to the character growth you see in the movie. There is some kind of dark stuff in the movie especially in the middle, it's also quite long.  If you looking for a good coming of age movie than this fits that bill.

8/10

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Birdman

Quite interested to see this, did not really know what to expect and it was a lot different than I thought it would be. Its shot to look like one big take and between the music, the camera movements and everything everyone is doing it feels a bit trippy. About 1/2 way through the movie I was on board but yeah it did take a awhile. Decent movie, very different probably not everyone's cup of tea.

7/10

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Selma

This was a pretty good movie, David Oyelowo as MLK is really spot on. Everyone else is pretty good, Oprah is in it because I guess that’s what she does(to be fair she isn't bad). There are some scenes that are a bit unsettling but I guess that’s what it was like and people definitely had and some still do have these terrible views. It was good seeing a side of MLK that you don’t really see when you hear his speeches.

9/10

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Big Hero 6

Pretty decent movie, the design of Baymax is amazing and the themes were handled well in what is ostensibly a kid's film. San Fran Tokyo is a really weird setting though, kind of cool a bit silly but I guess it was interesting at least. Quite a few questions brought up such as how on earth it came to be a thing. Anyway decent movie not as good a Disney's Animations last movie Frozen and not as good as the Lego movie but solid nonetheless

7/10