I am continuing down the long list of films that I haven’t seen that I have always wanted to see or am curious about. The film that I chose for today is definitely one of those must see films for me in 2014’s Gone Girl. Ben Affleck (The Town) plays Nick Dunne, a struggling writer who seems to have it all with the perfect wife and such, but he doesn’t seem to be happy. If he isn’t, it’s because Nick’s wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) has just gone missing. As things start to develop in the case, it looks more and more like Nick is at the center of this case and that he may not be that innocent after all. Nick will have to get it together to prove that he isn’t his wife’s killer and that she may not be dead after all. The film also stars Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) as Desi Collings, Tyler Perry (Alex Cross) as Tanner Bolt, Carrie Coon (The Leftovers) as Margo Dunne, Kim Dickens (Hollow Man) as Det. Rhonda Boney, Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous) as Officer Gilpin, Emily Ratajkowski (We Are Your Friends) as Andie, Missi Pyle (The Artist) as Ellen Abbott, Scoot McNairy (Wonderland) as Tommy, Sela Ward (Sisters) as Sharon Schieber, and the film was directed by David Fincher (The Social Network).
Spoiler Alert: There may be information contained in this Article that could potentially spoil the plot of the film so continue with caution or do not read any further if you do not want to know. The one thing that I will say about this film is that this is one twisted and clever story. I will admit to all of you that I never read the book so I didn’t know what to expect out of it as opposed to those who did read it. I do have to say that Rosamund Pike put on one hell of a performance that just steals the show and makes you scared of the crazy girls. Ben Affleck also put on one heck of a performance that makes you kind of understand why they chose him for the role of Bruce Wayne. I do however want to get back to the story because that is where the gold is for this film. It’s a beautifully constructed story of fatal attraction and how men can be easily framed because of our nature. She creates the perfect plan, she executes it, and almost succeeds, but a monkey wrench is thrown in and she still recovers. It’s the true sign of a manipulative psycho path at her finest in this film. This is definitely one of those perfect crime, drama, mysteries that you watch and wonder if he’ll make it or will they find out that she is alive. If you have not seen Gone Girl then I would definitely stick this one on the list of films to watch. I am going to give Gone Girl an A- for a final grade.
Spoiler Alert: There may be information contained in this Article that could potentially spoil the plot of the film so continue with caution or do not read any further if you do not want to know. You have been warned!!!
You have no idea how bad I have been waiting for today’s film to be released. I have and still am a huge fan of Harley Quinn, The Joker, and the Suicide Squad that I have been salivating at the mouth for this. So, for today’s film, I am reviewing the latest DC Comics movie the Suicide Squad. After the death of Superman, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) has been trying to sell the government on the idea of project X. The idea of project x is to take the worst of the worst, give them an incentive, and have them do the missions no one else will do to protect the world. After Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) betrays Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) the government, the team now known as the Suicide Squad is commissioned and sent on a mission to save the world from the terror she brings. The Suicide Squad is made up of Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Deadshot (Will Smith), Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Diablo (Jay Hernandez), and Katana (Karen Fukuhara). The film also stars Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) as The Joker, Adam Beach (Flags Of Our Fathers) as Slipknot, Ben Affleck (The Town) as Batman, Scott Eastwood (Fury) as Lieutenant GQ Edwards, Alain Chanoine (Immortals) as Incubus, Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors) as Griggs, David Harbour (Black Mass) as Dexter Tolliver, and the film was directed by David Ayer (Fury).
I know what you’re thinking and you want to know how good the film was don’t you? As far as all the films in the current universe are concerned (which includes Man Of Steel and BVS) this is the best one of them all. This by far was the home run for DC Comics or at least the film that gets them back into the game and into the running with Marvel. Of course, there are a couple of spots that could have been better, but overall this film was very fun to watch and very enjoyable. Like all DC films so far, the casting is never the problem and this film’s cast was definitely solid. The way the film was being executed in the beginning with the flashback scenes with Deadshot and Harley Quinn looked a little questionable to me because of my fear of how it was going to turn out, but never fear. The film definitely gets back on track from that point and you never look back. Will Smith is amazing and witty, Margot Robbie is amazing and sexy, and Jared Leto is the new Joker. Jared Leto definitely took The Joker, made it his own, and needed more screen time then what was given to him because his performance blew me away. Every character in my opinion does an amazing job in the film and keeps you entertained for the most part.
I definitely didn’t leave the theater baffled at what I had just seen. I got it and understood what had just happened right from the get go. The thing that was great about this film is that it felt just like a Marvel movie with the character development and the comedy that is thrown in there with the drama. There are so many scenes I love in the film especially with Harley Quinn who just keeps you laughing the whole time, but there is a flashback with her and The Joker. She is still Harleen Quinzel in reality, but she basically turns into Harley in this particular sequence by diving into the vat of whatever it is that The Joker did as well. That was one of my favorites and the battle sequence was amazing as well because you just these very different individuals mold into a team right before your eyes. Another definitely has to be the scene between Will Smith’s Deadshot and Diablo where Will is trying to psych him up. When you see the full scene, it’s a lot better than what is in the trailer. Like I said before, I was definitely not disappointed in the film as it’s a serious contender for the Monster Entertainment Awards at the end of the year. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade. DC needs to take notes from this film heading into the future.
So, you have survived being on an island that was full of Dinosaurs like the T-Rex that could kill you. What is the one thing that you definitely do not want to see or hear about again? Well, I can guarantee that it’s not about another island full of Dinosaurs which is exactly the problem in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Mr. Hammond (
It is always tough to repeat the success or the magic of a first film when you are planning to do a sequel. There is the mentality that sequels are never better than the first films and I would say that is true with this one. While I actually really liked the film, I didn’t think that it was better than Jurassic Park. The film had it’s cool moments with the Velociraptors in the compound, but the sequence in Jurassic Park with them is better and scarier. The only thing I will give this film credit for is that they made the T-Rex’s a little more bad ass and they actually eat humans in this one. I just thought that this film was a little more cartoonish at times if that makes sense at all to anyone whereas the first film was very serious. Jeff Goldblum was well Jeff Goldblum so what more could you ask for from that. I have to say that I didn’t know that Vince Vaughn was in this film and I was very impressed with his performance because he just nailed it perfectly. The late Pete Postlethwaite was just absolutely amazing as the big game hunter excited about his new game that he is hunting who kind of has a change of heart as the film goes on or at least he reassess what he wants to do. This was a decent sequel for a great franchise and all I have to do is watch one more film and I am caught up. For a final grade, I am going to give this one an A-. Check it out on Netflix right now as we speak.
Jason Bourne comes out on July 29, 2016 and since I haven’t seen any of the Bourne films in the series, I figured I might as well start now. Also, since I do a weekly post called Ass Whoopin Wednesdays, I figured this would be the perfect place for it. So for almost every Wednesday, I will be reviewing every Bourne film in the series and I start with The Bourne Identity. Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting) plays government assassin Jason Bourne, but the only problem is that he doesn’t know that. You see Jason was shot and left for dead in the Mediterranean Sea and since he has come to he doesn’t know who he is or why all of a sudden people are after him. With the help of a girl he just met named Marie (Franka Potente), he’ll try to put the pieces together before he becomes extinct. The film also stars Chris Cooper (The Town) as Conklin, Clive Owen (Inside Man) as The Professor, Brian Cox (Troy) as Ward Abbott, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Thor: The Dark World) as Wombosi, Gabriel Mann (Revenge) as Zorn, Julia Stiles (10 Things I Hate About You) as Nicolette, Orso Maria Guerrini (The Conformist) as Giancarlo, and the film was directed by Doug Liman (Edge Of Tomorrow). To see the stats and read the rest of the review, please click 
There are times where I thank myself for starting this challenge because it gives me opportunities to see some amazing films and sometimes not so amazing of films. Ever since Marvel and Disney had announced that the third film for Captain America was going to be Captain America: Civil War, I couldn’t wait to see it. When The Avengers have to go in to a city and save the day, who has to answer to the people and the victims of the aftermath? Who is held responsible and who is to be held accountable? That is one of the many questions that Secretary Of State Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) have presented to the team after a mission in Nigeria has some terrible consequences. With Bucky Barnes still on the loose and now wanted for the murder of King T’Chaka (John Kani), Captain America (Chris Evans) looks to prove that Bucky (Sebastian Stan) is innocent even if it means he has to go rogue. The film also stars Paul Bettany (Priest) as Vision, Scarlet Johansson (Lucy) as Black Widow, Anthony Mackie (Pain & Gain) as Sam Wilson, Don Cheadle (Crash) as War Machine, Jeremy Renner (The Town) as Hawkeye, Chadwick Boseman (42) as Black Panther, Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla) as Scarlet Witch, Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) as Ant-Man, Tom Holland (Locke) as Spider-Man, Daniel Brühl (Rush) as Zemo, Frank Grillo (Warrior) as Crossbones, and the film was directed by Anthony and Joe Russo.
I am seriously trying my best not to spoil anything for anyone who has not yet seen this film. I am seriously going to try my best, but just in case spoiler alert: do not continue to read in case of any details slipping through. I am going to start this off right away by saying that I truly loved the film and was totally not disappointed by it at all. All I can really say is that there are some small questions that are answered in this film that play a big role overall in the film. Not to mention, there is some bad ass action sequences in the film and some really cool appearances by certain characters like one Spider-Man and Ant-Man. I really loved Spider-Man’s interactions with Tony Stark and the Avengers team in general. The film really does a terrific job with character development and if you are looking for a character driven film, then this is it. All of the action sequences are amazing and all of the fight scenes are worth the price of admission. Chadwick Boseman making his debut as Black Panther was absolutely awesome and the drama was well written. The conflicts hit you really close especially if you are a fan of a certain character. This is definitely one of my favorite films of the year besides Deadpool so I am going to have a hard time with ranking these films. Check out the film, choose a side, and see if you made the right choice for yourself. I am going to give the film an A+ for a final grade because it had the right amount of drama and it sneaked the comedy in at the right times plus everything I mentioned above.
It is a rarity to see me go to the cinema to see an animated film unless its one that I want to see. The honest truth about today’s film that I selected is that I didn’t have the chance to see it in the theaters. So, I took the chance to see Minions when I saw that Netflix was streaming it. Minions is the prequel movie to the Despicable Me films, but much more in the sense of telling you how and where the minions came from. The Minions have always been in search of the biggest and baddest villain on the planet to serve, but something keeps messing up opportunities for them. After feeling like life was meaningless, three particular Minions in Kevin, Stuart, and Bob (all voiced by Pierre Coffin) will go on a mission to find a new boss and she goes by the name of Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock), but will things work out for them? The film also stars Jon Hamm (The Town) as Herb Overkill, Michael Keaton (Batman 1989) as Walter Nelson, Allison Janney (The Duff) as Madge Nelson, Steve Coogan (Despicable Me 2) as Professor Flux, Jennifer Saunders (Absolutely Fabulous) as The Queen, Geoffrey Rush (Mystery Men) as the narrator, Katy Mixon (Drive Angry) as Tina, and the film was directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda.
I loved the first two films in the Despicable Me series because they were new and different than anything we had before. The Minions were the comedic relief for Steve Carell and his character Gru. I have to say that while I enjoyed watching this one, I don’t think it’s the best in the series because it loses a little bit of the magic that it had in the other films. I bet that there are a crap ton of children out there that probably disagree with me on this one, but as a film fan it would rank third in the series. There were some scenes where a chuckle or a laugh will sneak out because they are the cutest characters ever, but there isn’t a lot of them. One of the best characters in the film and the cutest Minion is Bob with his teddy bear and eventual pet rat. He was actually the comedic relief for the rest of the minions characters in the film and he had that cute factor to him as well. I like how this film connects with the other films when everyone’s favorite villain Gru shows up to inspire the minions. The animation was as good as any of the other films and the voice work was good too. Again for the record, I will state that I liked the movie, but I didn’t love the movie like I did with the first two Despicable Me films. The film like I said is available to stream on Netflix, so check it out if you would like. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.
For today’s challenge film, I wanted to watch a certain film from Emily Browning that I have been waiting to see for five years now. The name of the film is Sucker Punch which was directed by Zack Snyder (300, Man Of Steel) and it stars Emily Browning as the distraught and recently institutionalized Babydoll. Due to the fact that she bi-accidentally killed her little sister, her step father has her locked away in a mental institution where she is to get a lobotomy in five days. In order to cope with the fact that she is institutionalized, she creates a fantasy world that she can completely roam free in and do as she pleases, but she wants to escape. So, she enlists the help of four other girls at the institution in Sweat Pea (Abbie Cornish), Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), and Amber (Jamie Chung) as they try to collect some key items to help them escape. The film also stars Oscar Issac (X-Men: Apocalypse) as Blue, Carla Gugino (Watchmen) as Dr. Gorski, Jon Hamm (The Town) as High Roller/Doctor, Scott Glenn (Urban Cowboy) as wise man, Richard Cetrone (Iron Man) as CJ, Malcolm Scott (Man Of Steel) as the Cook, and A.C. Peterson (Narc) as The Mayor.
Even if you didn’t know that this was a Zack Snyder film, you would instantly recognize that it was his just by the style and look of the film. It has the look and feel of 300 as far as bad ass looking landscapes, imagery, and characters. One of my favorite segments of the film when Babydoll goes into dancing mode is her battle with the Samurai in the beginning of the film. While I don’t agree with some of their weapon choices, you can’t deny how amazing it looked on screen. It also helps that you ave five incredibly sexy women as your heroins in the film and that Snyder makes them just as bad ass as any character in any film he has ever made. I truly loved the story and how they bounced right from reality to fantasy to even more of a fantasy world and then back to the start. It was clever and very well done by the writers and everyone involved. One of the other things about this film that I enjoyed was the soundtrack to the film. The film features an incredible cover of Sweet Dreams by actress Emily Browning as well as some other cool tracks. When it came to the imagery and the fantasy scenes, Snyder talked about them saying, “On the other hand, though it’s fetishistic and personal, I like to think that my fetishes aren’t that obscure. Who doesn’t want to see girls running down the trenches of World War One wreaking havoc? I’d always had an interest in those worlds – comic books, fantasy art, animated films. I’d like to see this, that’s how I approach everything, and then keep pushing it from there.” I completely agree with him and thought it was awesome as well. A film any Snyder fan should check out if they haven’t yet. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.
There are films out there that just grab you the minute you see a movie poster or a trailer. There are films out there that just strike a certain chord in your brain the right way that makes you interested like The Town and other films that have to do with bank heists. Today’s film, Triple 9 was definitely one of those that mad me want to see it. Triple 9 is about a gang that has former cops and dirty cops on its team that perform heists. After a heist is successful, these gang which is made up of the ringleader Michael Atwood (Chiwetel Ejiofor), ex-cop Gabe Welch (Aaron Paul), dirty cops Marcus Belmont (Anthony Mackie) and Franco Rodriguez (Clifton Collins Jr.) are put to the test one more time. They have to plan the murder of a cop in order to pull off the biggest heist they have ever performed. The film also stars Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone) as Chris Allen, Woody Harrelson (Rampart) as Jeffrey Allen, Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead) as Russel Welch, Gal Gadot (Superman Vs Batman: Dawn Of Justice) as Elena Vlaslov, Kate Winslet (Labor Day) as Irina Vlaslov, Teresa Palmer (Take Me Home Tonight) as Michelle Allen, Michael Kenneth Williams (Boardwalk Empire) as Sweat Pea, and the film was directed by John Hillcoat (Lawless).
Now I know you are wondering if the film lived up to the trailer or the movie poster? My simple answer to that question is an obvious yes, but how did it live up to it? First off, hats off to all the actors in the film because they did an amazing job as far as that department is concerned. It’s hard for me to choose one person as the MVP especially out of the four guys on the team plus Affleck and Harrelson. Although, I had a hard time buying Kate Winslet as a Russian Jewish Mobster especially with the accent, I am willing to look past it because the film was gritty and it was exactly what I wanted. They inserted the twists in the film just at the right spots so that you didn’t get bored with the film and they were plenty of scenes where you don’t see the particular action coming. If I had to compare this film with any other film out there, I would choose The Town just not as amazing as that one, but it’s up there. It’s basically The Town without bank robbers and with cops instead. The heists sequences are actually where the fun lays in this film because it’s an adrenaline rush as you sit wondering whether they can pull it off or not. One piece of criticism that I do have for the film is that it could have explained their relationships a little more and there are some scenes that could have been cut out. The only spoiler I can give you is that Norman Reedus (his character is bad ass) fans will leave disappointed. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade. Check it out in theaters all across America now.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 