Movie Review: "Gravity" Will Grab Hold Of You And Not Let Go.

Gravity

Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Cast: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, and Ed Harris.
Rated PG-13 for intense perilous sequences, some disturbing images and brief strong language.

I'll just get right into it: Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity is a milestone in cinematic achievement. Star Wars dazzled audiences in 1977 with its break through in special effects. Jurassic Park brought dinosaurs to life in 1993 with the perfect blend of animatronics and CGI. In 1999, The Matrix changed how action films are made. In 2013, Gravity has taken all these milestones that have come before it and has greatly expanded into unknown territory.

Movie Review: "Prisoners" Is A Gripping Thriller In The Tradition Of "Mystic River", "Zodiac", and "Gone Baby Gone".

Prisoners

Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Terrence Howard, Viola Davis, Paul Dano, Maria Bello, and
         Melissa Leo.
Rated R for disturbing violent content including torture, and language throughout.

The summer movie season is meant for kids and/or the kids in all of us. The fall movie season is strictly for adults, and it usually produces many award contenders. Well, this "award" season kicks off with a thunderous bang with the release of Prisoners. This chilling thriller should be recognized as one of the best pictures of the year with fantastic performances from its ensemble cast.

Rating System Change

 Rating System Change

 

 

 

 

 

I have struggled for some time now on how to rate the films I review. I chose to use the 4-star system that many major film critics use, but I feel there is some confusion on how those ratings are interpreted by my audience. For example, I've always intended for any good film to receive a rating of no less than three stars, but when you do the math, three out of four stars is 75% which in school would equal a C or C+, and that's not very good. So, from here on out I have decided to give the films I review a letter grade rating.

 

Film Critic Richard Roeper uses the letter grade system, and I believe it makes it easier for audiences to see what is amazing, great, good, fair, mediocre, poor, and horrible. I will also try and take the time to update all my previous reviews to reflect this new system. I hope this will help my readers to know how I truly felt about the films I review. Needless to say, any film that receives a "B" grade or better will be considered as a recommendation.  

Movie Review: "The Spectacular Now" Showcases The Talent Of Its Young Stars.

The Spectacular Now

Director: James Ponsoldt
Cast: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Kyle Chandler.
Rated R for alcohol use, language, and some sexuality - all involving teens.

The writers of the wildly original (500) Days of Summer are back again to tell a younger and more serious love story in The Spectacular Now. Though the originality of (500) Days is lacking in this script, what sets this coming-of-age love story apart from the hordes of others is the honesty that these fully realized characters bring to the screen.

Movie Review: "Elysium" Is A Solid Sophomore Effort From Director Neill Blomkamp.

Elysium

Director: Neill Blomkamp
Cast: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, and William Fichtner.
Rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout.

In 2009, South African filmmaker Neill Blomkamp put himself on the map with his wildly original take on the sci-fi genre with District 9. Now, his highly anticipated follow-up to his Oscar nominated debut comes to theaters this weekend. Elysium may be more mainstream than District 9, but nevertheless Blomkamp continues to show his strengths with tremendous visual effects, wholly imagined settings, and great action spectacle.

Movie Review: Logan's Claws Are Sharper Than Ever In "The Wolverine".

The Wolverine

Director: James Mangold
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rila Fukushima, Tao Okamoto, and Will Yun Lee.
Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, some sexuality and language.

This is Hugh Jackman's sixth time (including his cameo in X-Men: First Class) portraying the clawed rage machine from the X-Men universe, and he has never been better. Fans, including myself, were beyond excited to see Wolverine get his own movie when X-Men Origins: Wolverine was released, but that proved to be the weakest of the X-Men films and not worthy of its character nor the actor portraying him. I am happy to say that Wolverine gets a stand-alone film that redeems this awesome character in James Mangold's The Wolverine.

Movie Review: "Monsters University" Is Charming, But Really Misses Boo.

Monsters University

Director: Dan Scanlon
Cast: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Alfred Molina, Charlie Day, and Helen Mirren.
Rated G.

It has been over a decade since audiences were first introduced to the alternate universe displayed in Monsters Inc. Now, Disney/Pixar have decided to deliver a prequel to that story instead of a traditional sequel. Prequels can be sometimes really add upon the established story, but often times prequels destroy some of the mystery and intrigue of those original stories. Fortunately, Monsters University tells a different enough story to keep it fresh without destroying anything established in its predecessor.