Jurassic World - 7.5/10 Pretty enjoyable movie. Chris Pratt was fucking fantastic in the movie. The action with the dinosaurs, especially near the end, was very exciting and awesome to watch. The comedy was mostly hilarious and hit hard at the right moments, with only a few jokes falling flat and some at the wrong times. My only complaints would be the subplot for the first half of the movie, and that some characters felt very cartoonish.
Mad Max: Fury Road - 7/10 From a technical aspect it was probably the most impressive movie I've ever seen. Beautiful color grading as well. The action just seemed a little too repetitive for me to fall in love with it. Also having no strong female or male lead hurt the movie I think. It was never boring or a chore to watch, but I don't feel like it has any replay value.
Okay, let's try to remember all of it... Mad Max: Fury Road - 4.5/5 - I loved it. Terminator: Genesys - 2.5/5 - I moderately enjoyed it. The Spy - 2/5 - If it was half an hour shorter and less ridiculously overblown it might've been cool. Avengers: Age of Ultron - 4/5 - I enjoyed it in a dumb way just like the first. San Andreas - 3/5 - Again, ridiculously overblown but kinda enjoyable.
Dragon Ball Z - Battle Of Gods 4/5 Silly, but pretty, preety enjoyable. I like te jokes and the fight scenes pretty much
American Sniper - 8/10 I didn't like as much as I thought I would, but I still loved it. What can I say, I'm a sucker for military movies like this.
Fight Club - 9/10 I really liked it but man, that was something. American History X - 9/10 The movie was incredible, way better than I expected.
Unfinished Business - 7/10 Watched this on the plane. Dave Franco is too much. Focus - 4/10 Had all the elements intact for what could have been an instant classic. Shame. Jurassic World - 6/10 Good popcorn fun. Other than that, doesn't even come close to the thrills the first two flicks provided. However, big kudos on staying away from the whole reboot with the franchise. The Drop - 7/10 Tried and true genre exercise. Nothing really new happens here save for Tom Hardy's immensely stoic and brooding performance. Mad Max: Fury Road - 8/10 Absolute beast of a film. From the set design, costume, makeup, and action choreography; this flick has it all. Probably the most insane on-screen action presentation since The Raid: Redemption.
[thumb]http://www.flickeringmyth.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Melissa_McCarthy-SPY-040115.jpg[/thumb] Spy (2015) - 1.5/5 Wow this is what's considered funny mainstream comedy these days? How this has 95% on RT is beyond me. I barely even cracked a smile at these 'jokes'. Most, if not all, of these 'jokes' felt so forced and corny. There were no set up and pay-offs... just random ridiculous moments that they tried to pass off as being funny.
Collision (2009) – Well done. Posed some interesting questions while not clinging to either side of the argument. Should have watched these movies before I became an atheist. 7/10
Ant-Man - 4.5 out of 5 Ant-Man moves at such a pace and somehow swaps between comedy and serious action/drama, sometimes even blending the two, that it feels it ends too soon - it's that fun. Paul Rudd cleanses his comedy palette and does more serious heroic material successfully, aided along by Michael Douglas doing an apt interpretation of Hank Pym on the serious front, and Michael Pena on the comedic front. Ant-Man connects well to the rest of the Marvel universe without relying on it to succeed as a film among the greats; that being said, a subplot of the film and the post-credits scene implicate Ant-Man's inclusion in the rest of the universe and it's awesome. Despite all the drama behind the production of this film, Peyton Reed takes the underdog and leaves you wanting more of it.
The Death of Superman Lives (2015) (Documentary) - 3.5/5 Great watch only for the subject matter. Production value and sound quality was horrible.
[thumb]http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/308/files/2015/07/Ant-Man_Scott_Breaking_In.jpg[/thumb] Ant-Man (2015) - 7,5/10 I had mixed feelings during the first 15 minutes or so. I liked it, but something felt off. However, this was because I was expecting "another Marvel movie" and actually getting something different. It's not as different as "Guardians of the Galaxy" but it's definitely different from the other Marvel movies. It's more low-key and not as "connected", just like "Guardians". But above all: the movie has heart and feels genuine, which isn't something you can say for most of the other Marvel movies. This is something both Peyton Reed and Edgar Wright are excellent at. The movie alternates between comedy and drama almost effortlessly. The same comedy/drama combo is also present in the action scenes, which are unique, creative and fun. The villain however is, like in most Marvel movies, the weak part. Unlike the protagonists, his motivation doesn't have depth or heart, which it could've had if he was written a bit differently. The CGI also looked a bit sketchy during certain parts, which took me out of the movie here and there, but I guess that was to be expected in a CGI-heavy movie like this. Still, it's a very good, unique and well-paced entry in the MCU and certified "fresh" with good reason. I just wish it had a compelling villain to match the very compelling protagonists.
Jurassic World - 6/10 Burt Macklin was the best part of this movie. Some really dumb plot devices and characters that make the movie hard to swallow. Hard to believe this was the movie that set the new box office record.
Agreed with everything you said. I do feel that the story still unfolded in a very stereotypical done before manner where the hero is found, trained, and then finally tested where SPOILERS he eventually defeats the villain, saves his family and gets the girl kinda thing. Also, I find that the trailers gave away most of the story.
Ant-Man - 7/10 - Probably the most generic Marvel movie out there, from the plot devices to the villain. Despite this, the comedy and acting still holds, and the action sequences are stellar. The movie is refreshingly low-key. The finale is classic Edgar Wright though. Peyton Reed more than impressed me as a successor though. I think the general consensus among critics and some friends of mine is that it's entertaining but kinda stupid and filled with plot holes. I was surprised it reached the box office record tbh.
The Kids Are All Right (2010) – This might be the best dramedy I've ever seen. Incredibly solid start to finish. 9/10
Ant Man - 6/10 While a decent watch, I found this to be an exercise in utterly run-of-the-mill story telling. The pace dragged ass through most of the film, like there seemed to be long stretches where nothing was happening, often interactions between characters just felt like the actors going through the motions, like they didn't have a full grasp on the dialogue they were speaking or what the scene was supposed to be. It has it's funny and/or charming moments, and a likeable cast, and the action is very good. On the cast, as I said, likeable, but I felt they didn't really have much to grab onto character-arc wise, very barebones and/or clichéd stuff. Especially Hope & Cross, both really underdeveloped. Langs ex-wife and her new husband were also one dimensional. But again, a very standard story, presented in a very standard fashion with very little to set it apart [that being the concept of a shrinking hero]. I'm honesly kind of baffled that it's getting such a good response critically. Hopefuly Reed doesn't touch another Marvel film, he isn't a good film maker. And you might say, "well, he came on board at short notice!", which is true, but his other films are worse. Yes Man? Bring It On? Down With Love? The Break Up? All mediocre to the nth degree. Oh and that cameo? SPOILER: Utterly unnecessary & blatant, stuck out like a sore thumb, shoehorned in to say "HEY THIS IS IN THE MCU!". Poorly written in and of tself, too. Last time we saw that place it was packed with cadets in training and a full New Avengers team, but now Falcon is home alone? An AVENGERS facility is broken into, an Avenger is attacked, equipment damaged, and no one is scrambled to intervene and follow/capture the attacker? It's just brushed off like "oops, don't tell Cap". Awful writing END SPOILER