A blog on the world of entertainment. Blunt opinions abound with a healthy dose of geekdom every so often. I hope to help people find the right entertainment for themselves. Prospective writer, filmmaker, producer, whatever helps me to entertain my peers. Thanks for reading!
Trainwreck is the new film from up and coming star Amy Schumer, who has become incredibly popular in the past year or so. It stars Schumer, Bill Hader, and a host of celebrities, including the surprisingly funny Lebron James and John Cena. It is also directed by Judd Apatow, making his first movie since 2012's This Is 40. In the film, the main character Amy, played by Schumer, is a pot smoking, heavy drinking magazine writer who was raised to believe that monogamy isn't realistic. This lifestyle is put to the test when she meets Aaron Conners, played by Hader, whom she falls for. This relationship challenges all that she has ever known, and it remains to be seen whether she can make it work. The film is totally the Amy Schumer show, as she wrote the film and her style is felt throughout the entire runtime. Sadly, I didn't find myself laughing as much as I wanted to. I haven't really seen much of her stuff outside of the film, but the material I had viewed didn't really do it for me. The movie didn't make me eager to seek out any more of her material either, which could be seen as a bad thing. Even though she isn't really my cup of tea, that didn't ruin the movie. Luckily, the supporting cast Schumer surrounded herself with are very funny people. Lebron, John Cena, and Bill Hader were all hilarious, and really injected the film with great timing and perfect delivery of their lines. However, since this is a Judd Apatow feature, the comedy co-exists with an emotional angle that is just as important. The problem with this, however, is that the movie feels very overstuffed and unfocused. The story was all over the place, with the focus being the story Amy is writing on Aaron one moment, and then abruptly shifting to Aaron's ability to perform at his job. If the script had been trimmed down and the focus redirected, I believe the film would be a lot stronger. Besides Schumer not really doing it for me, my biggest complaint is that the film is far too long. Clocking in at over two hours long, there were definitely useless scenes of banter between characters that could have been cut out. Overall, this movie wasn't horrible, but it wasn't as good as some of Apatow's other work and it didn't turn me onto to Schumer's style of comedy. It's worth the matinee price of a ticket. If you are a big fan of Schumer, I recommend that you see the movie, as she is the star of the show. If not, I would suggest seeing something else, like the surprisingly fantastic Magic Mike XXL.
Well, here I am, eating my words. I posted a piece a few months back about how I was not excited for the new film Ant-Man because I was unhappy with all the creative decisions that were being made behind the scenes of the movie. Not only did the movie succeed in being a fun time, it succeed on standing out amongst the onslaught of superhero films that we have been subjected to in the cinema in the past few years. Not only is Ant-Man arguably better than Avengers: Age Of Ultron, it rivals some of the best that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had to offer in recent years. The film stars Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, and Evangeline Lily and is an introduction to the characters of Scott Lang and Hank Pym. Pym is the creator of the Ant-Man suit, which can shrink a man down to the size of the insect while increasing his strength. Lang, an ex-con trying to go straight, is recruited by Pym and his daughter Hope to pull off a heist that could have major implications for the world we live in. One of the reasons why I wasn't excited for this movie was because the original director Edgar Wright, director of such films as Hot Fuzz and Shaun Of The Dead, left the project, which had been a passion project of his. Wright is one of the more unique comedic directors working in the industry today and his direction and oddball script would have done wonders in terms of making the Cinematic Universe feel fresh and exciting again. Instead, he left the project and Peyton Reed, director of Bring It On, was brought on to helm the movie and Adam McKay, director/writer of The Other Guys, rewrote parts of Wright's script with star Paul Rudd. I am very happy that most of Wright's script remained in the final product, as there were sequences that could have very easily been featured in any of his other films. His mark on the film is undeniable. What sets the movie apart, however, is just how likable and relatable Paul Rudd is. He is very reminiscent of Chris Pratt in Guardians Of The Galaxy as the guy that you just want to root for. He has great comedic timing and fantastic chemistry with all the characters he interacts with on the screen. Michael Douglas is great as Lang's mentor Pym, Evangeline Lily is good as Pym's daughter, and, surprisingly, Michael Peña almost steals the show with his hilarious performance as one of Pym's thieving buddies. Another very notable aspect of the movie is the effects work of industry giants Industrial Light and Magic. The effects in the movie are flat out fantastic, as I continually was buying into the sequences where Lang shrinks down and interacts with the various ants that Pym has command of. The action sequences were genuinely fun and entertaining, with the camera constantly switching between Lang's shrunken point of view and the point of view of his various normal sized opponents. It was made even more fun by the fact that Lang is constantly shrinking and growing in size during these sequences, making for an unpredictable turn of events. One weak spot in the movie, sadly, lies in Corey Stoll's villain. It's not his performance that is the problem, it's that his character doesn't have unique motivations that we haven't seen in the Marvel movies yet. He exists purely to give Lang an adversary and is written fairly blandly. Stoll is a great actor and his presence elevated what could have easily been a worse villain played by another actor. I am very happy to admit that my initial impressions about the film were wrong. I had a blast watching Ant-Man and I think it is very much worth the price of admission, matinee if possible! It makes up for the disappointing Avengers: Age Of Ultron and introduces a great new hero into the Marvel canon. It's very easy to look at this hero and say "Wow, this is freaking stupid!" I know, the concept is inherently dumb, but so is a boy scout called Captain America. This is a superhero movie that is fun as hell, which is just about all we can ask for as cinema-goers. While the market is becoming over saturated with the superhero movies, it's the oddball ones like Ant-Man that keeps them feeling fresh and exciting. It's a great surprise and sure to be fun for the whole family!
Hey, folks! Hope you are all doing well. This is my admittedly late review of the new Terminator film. Terminator Genisys, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, and Jason Clarke is the fifth film in the Terminator franchise. It also serves as a sequel/reboot to the earlier films. Quite frankly, I really don't have much to say about this. My initial reaction to the trailer was somewhat mixed, as it literally gave away the biggest plot twist of the entire film. It looked like just another boring reboot that Hollywood was churning out to make some quick money. Much to my surprise, this movie was not a complete mess! The action was fairly well directed, the performances weren't horrible, and the effects were very well done. Frankly, this is just one of those movies where you turn your brain off and just ride along with the proceedings. It is nowhere near as good as the first two movies, even shamelessly re-shooting sequences shot for shot from the first one. However, it isn't a complete train wreck, which is kind of saying something for a reboot of a series that has two films that stand among the greatest action movies ever made. If you are in the mood for something entertaining or love the Terminator series, this is definitely worth the price of a matinee ticket. I just got back from summer camp so it will be a little bit until I can get back in the groove and review more recent films. I am very much looking forward to Minions and the new Amy Winehouse documentary.
