Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Review

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy has been one of my most anticipated movies of not only the summer, but of the entire year for numerous reasons. For one, ever since they released Iron Man all the way back in 2008, Marvel Studios has been on quite the winning streak with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sure, they've certainly had their speed bumps along the way, but even with their lesser films I've always found to have some kind of enjoyment from them. But, what in particular got me intrigued about Guardians of the Galaxy is the fact that it's a relatively unknown and original property with unknown characters. This was considered as Marvel's biggest gamble to date for good reasons. And after two viewings, I can whole heartedly say it paid off as with Guardians, they've crafted their most unique, creative, funniest and one of their most entertaining films to date.

The plot of Guardians of the Galaxy follows Peter Quill aka Star Lord (Chris Pratt) who when we first meet him is found attempting to steal a sphere like artifact, but is interrupted by Korath (Djimon Hounsou) and his army of soliders. Quill manages to escape, but a bounty is soon placed on his head after Yondu (Michael Rooker) realizes Quill has stolen from him and his army of space pirates. Along Quill's runaway, he crosses paths with a female green alien, Gamora (Zoe Saldana), a wise-cracking talking raccoon, Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), and Rocket's right hand man who is also a talking tree, Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel). Soon the four of them are captured and sent to the Nova Corps, where they also meet Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautisa), a ruthless warrior clearly out for personal revenge. Eventually, this band of five misfits decide to team up and attempt to break out of the Nova Corps prison in order to stop Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) who let's just say has some not so good plans for the Galaxy.

One of the biggest strengths within Guardians of the Galaxy is without a doubt the fresh and energetic direction from director, James Gunn. I'll be the first to admit that this was actually the first feature film that I've seen from Mr. Gunn (unless you count the one segment he directed in the atrocity known as Movie 43) so I didn't know exactly what he would bring to the tables especially in terms of tone and I'd be lying if I said I didn't have any kind of skepticism being aware of the fact that this is the first film he's helmed with a budget this big. But, right from the opening sequence of this picture, any doubts or concerns I might've had were completely thrown out the window. Gunn along with his really terrific and witty script (which he co-wrote with Nicole Perlman) perfectly creates a consistent and very refreshing tone that comes off as very unique and very different from any other Marvel we've seen before which I think ends up working to this film's advantage. The film blends the sc-fi, and comedy genres together flawlessly, while also having this very classic 70s space opera feel to it which felt very much in the realm of the original Star Wars movies. I'd go as far as to say that this movie I think came the closest to capturing the magic, and feel of those original Star Wars movies more so than perhaps any other movie I've seen before (and yes more so than those prequels). The film is also just very beautifully shot, this is absolutely one of Marvel's best directed movies to date, and I think just from a visual technical standpoint, it is probably the most impressive feature the studio has delivered. There were countless times throughout this movie where my jaw practically dropped just due to how visually impressive and stunning so many sequences in this movie were. The action sequences are also very well done, very exhilarating and entertaining to watch.

Ultimately though as fantastic as Gunn's direction behind this movie is, the real reason why this movie works as well as it does lies in the performances as well as the genuine chemistry between the cast and in particular the characters. When you really look at this group of characters, this movie in the wrong hands of the wrong people could've gone so horribly wrong if they were not executed properly considering one of your main characters is a talking animal and another one is a talking tree. We've seen other movies in the past try to make similar characters (Rocket Raccoon) work, and most of the time it fails particularly talking animals. But, thankfully that was not the case with Guardians of the Galaxy, because Rocket Raccoon was not only probably my favorite character in the entire movie, but probably also one of my favorite characters from any movie I've seen this entire year. And what helps is not only is he a really hilarious and fun character to watch, but midway throughout this movie you actually really start to feel for him and actually care for this character especially once you start to learn more about him which was probably the biggest surprise that I took from this movie. It also doesn't hurt that Bradley Cooper could not have been more perfectly cast to voice this character, and he brings this amount of energy to the role where even with just hearing his voice you can clearly tell how much fun he was having voicing this character while also stealing the majority of his scenes. Vin Diesel, on the other hand had maybe the easiest line readings that any actor has ever had for a major role considering his character, Groot is limited to a certain line of dialogue that I won't give away, but the fact that I was able to care and sympathize as much as I did for a tree shows how good of a job Diesel as well as the screenwriters did in creating this rather fascinating character. Zoe Saldana is so terrific, sexy, feisty, and as usual a bad-ass screen presence here as Gamora, while also probably becoming now the first actress to play a blue colored alien and a green colored alien (and yet somehow manages to look perhaps even more attractive in doing so). Major props also to wrestler turned actor, Dave Bautisa who is a pleasant surprise in his funny and likable turn as Drax. But, really the true highlight here is Chris Pratt who is fantastic and wonderfully likable as our main protagonist, Peter Quill, while also bringing a huge amount of much needed charisma and screen presence for a role like this. Pratt has always been a underrated talent, delivering some great supporting performances in movies like Moneyball, Zero Dark Thirty, and even last year's Delivery Man, and in Guardians he really proves that he has the ability to become one of Hollywood's next big leading man. This is also easily the most I've ever laughed during a Marvel movie, because while Marvel has always had a nice use of comedy in their movies, it has never been to the extent it is used in this film to the point where the best genre to label this movie would probably be comedy as oppose to sc-fi. And thankfully the comedy in this movie really works at least 98% of the time, much thanks to the perfect comedic timing of its cast members and sharp script. There are many other actors that pop up throughout the movie in really fun supporting roles such as Michael Rooker, Benicio del Toro, Glenn Close, and John C. Reilly. If I had one real issue within the cast it would be that Lee Pace felt a bit wasted as the villain, Ronan the Accuser. I think Pace definitely does a more than serviceable job in the role, but I felt his character really lacked the proper development needed to make him a truly menacing screen presence.

Very few nit-picks aside though, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is a real delightful treat not just to Marvel films fans, but just regular movie going audience and film fans in general. It delivers pretty much everything a fan would want from the memorable characters, the witty humor, spectacular action sequences as well as stunning special effects, and just all around great performances, while also just being a really great time at the movies, because I'd go as far as to while this isn't really my favorite movie of the year, it might very well be the most fun I've had watching a movie so far this year. I've already seen it twice which probably says enough. I also can not forget to mention how amazing the soundtrack and choice of music in this film is which actually fits flawlessly within the tone this movie is going for. Right after this movie finished, I already wanted to run out, buy the soundtrack, and just sit in my bedroom listening to it all day which is not something I thought I'd ever say from a Marvel production. Anyway, simply put this is one of Marvel's best efforts to date that not only leaves me excited for their next installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (which will be The Avengers 2 on May 1st, 2015), but also more importantly more from the Guardians of the Galaxy who are already set to return in the summer of 2017.

Final Rating: A

The Best Movies of 2014 so far.

2014 has been a very interesting year of film so far. The first couple months of the year were pretty rough, as with the exception of a few films, I was pretty unsatisfied with a lot of the movies I had seen in January, February, and March. But then comes April, and ever since 2014 has turned into quite a strong year for film. A lot of that has to do with the fact that we've had a really great year of summer movies, probably the best in a very long time, as there haven't really been very many movies I'd consider a disappointment. So with that being said, since we're half way through the year already, I thought I might as well show off my Top 10 favorite films of 2014 so far along with some honorable mentions. Now keep in mind, I am making this list without still having seen some critically acclaimed movies like The Raid 2, Enemy, and Under the Skin, extc, so this list could very well change even in the next few days (afterall Guardians of the Galaxy does come out on Friday), but here is the list as of now. 

Honorable Mentions (in no exact order)

How to Train Your Dragon 2-A rare sequel that I think might even surpass the original. It's darker, it's funnier, it's got even more fabulous action sequences, the emotional core is deeper this time around, and the film even goes in dark places I didn't even expect. A terrific adventure all around.

Neighbors-Easily one of the funniest films I've seen in a long time. A laugh riot and a total blast from start to finish, while the simple story is surprisingly even relatable and strangely heartfelt. The entire cast is wonderful, the sexy Rose Byrne, Dave Franco, and yes Zac Efron (I'm not kidding when I tell you this) steal the show.

Godzilla-Okay yes yes this movie was definitely lacking a bit in the story and character department, more than I was hoping it would sadly, but I won't lie I still had a really good time with this movie. The cast is solid, it's beautifully shot, the build up works because there is a lot of good suspense, and the last 30 minutes couldn't have been more fulfilling. 

#10-Chef

This is honestly one of those films where the more I think about it the more I like it. One perfect way to sum up this movie would be: charming. There is just so much charm to it, a lot of which is thanks to its really charming cast all of whom deliver great performances in this film (John Leguizamo in particular really surprised me, nearly stealing the show). It also features one of the most genuine father and son relationships I've seen in a movie in a long time. Jon Favreau really nailed it with this one, and I think also delivers probably his best performance to date as an actor. 

#9-Edge of Tomorrow 

What a pleasant surprise! When the first trailers for "Edge of Tomrrow" were released I was one of the many people who wrote it off as just another Oblivion (which also starred Tom Cruise), but to my surprise this is one of the most thrilling, entertaining, well constructed, and best sc-fi films in a long time. Cruise is fantastic, and Emily Blunt shows off some surprising great action chops in her sexy and bad-ass turn as his partner in crime. Together they make a terrific duo. Job well done, Doug Liman. 

#8-The Grand Budapest Hotel

Hysterical, thrilling, extremely well written, and even a bit heartfelt, Wes Anderson hits another home run. This really has everything a Wes Anderson fan would want from his quirky characters, wonderful visual style, off-beat comedy, his fabulous frequent cast members, and clever dialogue. Ralph Fienees is absolutely brilliant and in my opinion oscar worthy as the memorable character M. Gustave. 

   

 #7-Begin Again

Much like Chef, charming would be the perfect word to describe Begin Again. There's just so much charm to it, it's impossible to resist. It's one of the most soulful, and genuine films I've seen in quite some time. It's also pretty relatable, features the best music I've seen from any 2014 movie so far (one song in particular, "Lost Stars" I listen to like every day), touching, and has such a likeable and charming cast. Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightly (not only is she beautiful, but she can actually sing quite well too, true talent there) are fantastic. Heck even Adam Levine and Cee Lo Green are pretty good here.  

#6-22 Jump Street

Sequels are usually a hard thing to pull off, especially comedy sequels which usually tend to be a disaster (*cough*,The Hangover 2, Evan Almighty). Thankfully, not only is 22 Jump Street a respectable sequel, I'd argue it might be even better than the original. Retaining the same self-aware humor that made 21 so good and funny, this was just an absolute laugh riot from the star. Even bigger laughs, more action, more gags, more Ice Cube, and an equal amount of quotable lines, this is that extremely rare comedy sequel that isn't just good, but GREAT. Chris Miller and Phil Lord just continue to hit home runs, and might very well be the best comedic duo we have working today, while Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill are giving Seth Rogen and James Franco a run for their money as the current best on-screen comedic pairing working today.

  #5-Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Just when I thought the Marvel Cinematic Universe might be running a little bit out of steam, they deliver us what I think is their most exhilarating, suspenseful, and complex MCU solo film to date as well as among the best comic book movies we've had since 2008's The Dark Knight. To say this film is better than the first Captain America is a ridiculous understatement. The story is perhaps the most complex we've had from a Marvel film to date and surprisingly emotionally investing, the action sequences are mind blowing, Winter Soldier is one of MCU's best villains, and it's just an all around impressively well crafted film. Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, and Samuel L. Jackson have never been better in their respective roles. Among the most fun I've had at the movies in recent years.

#4-The LEGO Movie

If you'd told me before I saw any trailers, that a movie about just a whole bunch of Legos would not only turn out to be actually good, but also have a great chance in making my Top 10 by the end of the year, I might've thought you had mental problems. Well somehow Chris Miller and Phil Lord, being the geniuses that they are manage to do just that because with The Lego Movie they've crafted one of the smartest. quotable, hysterical, charming, and entertaining animated films I've seen in years. This movie had me grinning during its entire running time, and I'd be amazed if there's a better animated film released this year. Heck, I don't think we've had an animated movie this good since Toy Story 3 (and of course that movie is still the better movie). 

#3-Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

My most anticipated movie of probably not only of the summer, but of the entire year did not disappoint in any shape or form. I loved the 2011 reboot Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Dawn manage to surpass it in pretty much every way possible. Dawn is epic, thrilling, extremely well crafted, unpredictable, emotional, and strangely heart warming as well as touching. Andy Serkis the motion capture legend just continues to give one incredible performance after another, and in Dawn he gives perhaps his most humanize and best performance to date. Matt Reeves nailed it with this one! 

#2-X-Men: Days of Future Past

Yet another movie I had such high expectations for, and it not only managed to meet them, but somehow surpass them. So many things could've easily gone wrong with X-Men: DOFP, but thankfully Bryan Singer and co-team manage to create one heck of a really satisfying superhero flick. Both the time travel and future aspects were constructed and balanced beautifully, while the story makes for the most complex, exhilarating and emotionally involving X-Men film to date. And unlike some of the previous X-Men movies, this actually feels like a true X-Men team up movie, rather than another Wolverine center focus film. The entire cast is brilliant. 

 #1-Boyhood 

I saw this movie just two days ago, and yet I'm still just constantly thinking about it. This movie is truly unlike any other film I've seen before, and is just breathtaking filmmaking. Richard Linklater just does such a incredible job at creating characters and dialogue that feel so relatable, realistic and so authentic which is something that not many directors (or screenwriters) can pull off. Not only was I able to really connect with this main character, at times I really felt like I was watching my own childhood come to life on the big screen. It's a nearly 3 hour long movie, and I honestly did not want it to end, I could've watch these characters for hours. Just such a brilliant film, far and away the best film I've seen this year so far, and I won't be surprised at all if this is still my #1 by the time the end of the year comes. Do yourself a favor, and see Boyhood like right now. 

The Worst Movies of 2014 so far (in no exact order)

Transformers: Age of Extinction-nearly 3 hours (which actually felt more like 6) of explosions, horrible dialogue, horrible acting, juvenile humor, and a 49 year old pervert director placing his camera practically on the butt of a young girl who was only 18 during filming of this (sure it was a nice shot from a male's perspective, but I am 17 not 49 so I have an excuse). Yawn, yawn yawn. At this point, Michael Bay is clearly not even trying.

 The Legend of Hercules-Was this even a film? If so where was the story? Why was the acting and line delivery so bad that I've seen more convincing performances in a elementary school play? What an embarrassing project for everyone involved.

I Frankenstein-My friend who I saw this with fell asleep a bit during this. I really wanted to do the same thing, what a horrible waste of talent this movie was.

The Monuments Men-George Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, Bill Murray, Jean Dujardin, and DIRECTED by George Clooney (who also directed the very underrated Ides of March) all in the same movie? What could possibly wrong? Well everything I guess considering this is one of the most boring, most dull, and lifeless historical films I've seen in recent memory. As many people have already pointed out, it's like a boring history lesson that half of the students will end up falling asleep in. What a disappointment considering all of that talent involved.     

Well there you have it basically my half-time report for the 2014 movie year so far. Still have lots of great looking movies to look forward to, including the Guardians of the Galaxy this weekend, then Interstellar, Gone Girl, Inherent Vice, and many more in the fall. Hopefully the second half will be just as good if not better.

Game of Thrones Season 4 Review

 Before last year, I had never seen an episode of HBO's Game of Thrones. In fact, I knew hardly anything about it other than some of the cast members. After hearing so many excellent things regarding it though, I finally got around to watching it sometime last year, and it's safe to say it has become the most addictive show on Television for me. It's every bit as fantastic as people make it out to be, and after cruising past season 3 in less than a week just before season 4 started, I was beyond excited to finally be able to catch the show on its actual television run. And I'm really glad to say season 4 did not disappoint at all as it is perhaps the most enthralling, exciting, and intense season of GOT to date. And just to note this review will be spoiler free as I will mostly be reviewing season 4, but without giving away the big things that happened this season. 

One of the best words to describe Game of Thrones is epic. I know that word is a bit of a cliche, and I don't like to use the word very much myself, but it's pretty hard to avoid when talking about Game of Thrones. On just a pure scope level, I've never seen anything more impressive and awe-inspiring on TV than this show as well as just on a technical level. The production designs, costume designs, the CGI, the direction, and the score on this show are always just done in such perfection in my opinion. It's all done so well that it really makes you feel like you are in this medieval era because it also just manages to feel very realistic even with all of the fantasy like elements within this show. And this remains to be the case with season 4 as there were lots of impressive technical elements during this season including probably some of the best use of CGI I've ever seen. In particular episode 9 of season 4, "The Watchers on the Wall" was some of the best hour I've ever seen on television just on a pure technical level. While watching that episode, I really felt like I was watching one epic fantasy movie on the big screen. This is really one of the few shows on television that I feel really deserves the chance to be made into a movie on the big screen, and I do think that will probably eventually happen as it seems like the creators as well as George RR Martin, the author of the "A Song of Ice and Fire" book series that this show is adapted from seem to be open to the idea. A certain someone just needs to actually finish writing the book series.

Now describing the plot for Game of Thrones is really quite complicated for any of the seasons because there are always multiple story lines and lots of characters spread throughout each episode so for someone who hasn't watched this show, but plans to eventually should be warned that this is definitely a show you really have to keep up with and really pay attention to what's going on. And for so many TV shows and movies having so many different story lines could usually be a big problem, but this show really knows how to balance all of these different story lines so well, and it does again in season 4. For one, the writing especially for a epic fantasy is just so sharp and compelling. You would think the best thing about a fantasy epic like this show would be the action sequences, but while the action is great when it's there, it's really a lot of the writing and conversations between characters that actually have a great amount of depth that really drives this show. And season 4 had so many memorable and compelling character interactions that were really quite riveting and just so fascinating to watch. Even very little conversations where the dialogue would seem so meaningless actually ends up having some kind of meaning or even foreshadowing to it. And I'm going to go ahead and say, Game of Thrones is not only the most intense show on TV right now, but for me it's the most intense and unpredictable show I've ever seen. No I'm not exaggerating. There were so many moments in season 4 where I would literally just be standing up because of the intensity of a certain sequence. And a lot of that is due to the pure fact that this show is really not your traditional fantasy story where the good guys in the end are always going to come out on top. It will go in directions you would not expect as it did for me many times in season 4, and it shows no shame in occasionally breaking its viewers heart. It also doesn't hurt that the fact that you are so engaged, and compelled by so many of these characters as well as care about a lot of them just adds to the intensity and brutality of this show. These are very rich characters in a really rich universe, and even the characters you do not like because they're either so evil or just unlikeable they are still very compelling as well as so well written. And Game of Thrones has created some of the most evil and just purely cunning characters. Won't give anything away, but there is a scene in one of the episodes of season 4 that will probably haunt and scar me for the rest of my life. It was hard to watch, but so well executed. 

But, as incredible as this show is on all of its technical and visual level as well as the strength in its story, the real strength of this show lies in its phenomenal ensemble cast. I won't get into every cast member because there's so many of them, but I'll just say that the cast on this show is so good and sharp that it's so hard for me to find a true weakness in this cast. Obviously, when talking about this show, it would be criminal not to bring up the brilliant Peter Dinklage. Calling Dinklage "good" in the role of Tyrion Lannister would be such an understatement. He is absolutely fantastic in the role, always has been, and in season 4 he is perhaps even better than he was in the first three seasons. He just brings so much charm, and likeability to a character who is not really the best person in the world as he's very flawed, but Dinklage makes it so hard not to like and root for him. But, Dinklage can also just be so intense, very menacing, and actually really funny when he needs to be. After watching his performance in season 4, I can say I will be completely pissed off if this man does not AT LEAST get another Emmy nomination for season 4. Without giving too much away, the final 5 minutes in episode 6 of S4 "The Laws of Gods and Man" are simply enough to hand him the Emmy. There were so many great performances this season, Lena Heady who has always been fantastic as Cersei, was really excellent once again in this role, and I think like Dinklage had perhaps her most impressive season to date as this character. It's just really impressive that despite the fact that she is playing one of the most unlikeable and cunning female characters imaginable, she is so good that she is able to still bring this level of sympathy to her performance that it almost makes you forget how unlikeable this character is. After watching her perform this season, I can definitely say I think it's about time she finally gets an Emmy nomination herself. I also really loved Kit Harrington as brooding, but also badass and likable Jon Snow this season, as he's one of my favorite characters, and when it comes to the action sequences I think he probably does it better than anyone else on this show especially since he actually does his own stunts.   He gets a lot more to do this season, and shines quite a bit. One more actor I have to mention is Pedro Pascal as the new character Prince Oberyn Martell. Wow was this guy fantastic! I hadn't really ever seen this actor before, but he really blew me away in his performance, and from the first moment he shows up on screen I was completely captivated by this character. And I'll just say the way they introduce his character, reminded me a lot of the way The Joker was introduced in The Dark Knight, and I'd even go as far as to say it was just about as memorable of a scene. I definitely look forward to hopefully seeing more from this guy in the future. 

Simply put, I can not only give season 4 of Game of Thrones enough praise, but this expectational and brilliant tv show as a whole. Each season just gets progressively more intense, compelling, and riveting. And season 4 was absolutely no exception as it was the most thrilling, and exciting season to date. Once the season finale which was titled "The Children" finished I was just literally speechless not just because of how fantastic of a season finale it was (which was also by far the most satisfying and exciting season finale this show has had to offer), but just how awe-inspiried I was by season 4 as a whole. Show creators David Benioff, and D.B. Weiss have created one of the most enthralling, and exciting television shows I've ever seen as well as one I'm not too shame to admit I've gotten quite addicted to. Of course much of that also needs to go to, George RR Martin because without his books and source material, this show wouldn't be around right now. And now I don't know what I'm going to do for every sunday for the next 10 MONTHS waiting for season 5 to arrive. Here's how I would rank each episode from season 4 (all of which were quite excellent): The Children (Episode 10), The Watchers on the Wall (Episode 9), Mockingbird (Episode 7), The Laws of Gods & Man (Episode 6), The Mountain vs. The Viper (Episode 8), The Purple Wedding (Episode 2), The First of His Name (Episode 5), Two Swords (Episode 1), Breaker of Chains (Episode 3), and Oathkeeper (Episode 4).

Final Rating for Season 4: A+
Final Rating for entire series so far: A+    

 

Every Movie I've Seen in 2014 so far.

3 Days to Kill-C-
300 Rise of an Empire-B-
Captain America: The Winter Soldier-A
Chef-B+
Divergent-B-
Draft Day-B
Edge of Tomorrow-A-
God's Not Dead-C-
Godzilla-B+
How to Train Your Dragon 2-A-
I, Frankenstein-D-
Jack Ryan: Shaodw Recruit-B
Mr. Peabody & Sherman-B
Muppets Most Wanted-B
Need for Speed-B
Noah-B
Non-Stop-B
Ride Along-D+
Rio 2-C
Sabotage-C-
Son of God-C
That Awkward Moment-B-
The Amazing Spider-Man 2-B-
The Fault in Our Stars-B+
The Grand Budapest Hotel-A-
The Legend of Hercules-F
The Lego Movie-A
The Monuments Men-C-
Transformers: Age of Extinction-D-

The Place Beyond the Pines Movie Review (2013)

The Place Beyond the Pines Movie Review

Ever since I first saw the trailers for Director's Derek Cianfrance The Place Beyond the Pines back in the beginning of the year, it has been at the top of my most anticipated of 2013 list. Granted I still have yet to see Cianfrance's 2010 critically acclaimed film, Blue Valentine all the way through (I did really like the parts of it I did see though), but with a cast like this nothing could really go wrong, and I always love me some deep dramas. And the many rave reviews this movie received after its premire at the Toronto Film Festival surely helped my excitement. But, obviously I never want to get my expectations too high, especially with many reviews claiming the film to be too ambitious, or too artsy for its own good. And while I can understand those complaints, I'm glad to say that, The Place Beyond the Pines surely did not let me down. But, as I'm sure you've heard from most critics, this is a film that is very hard review due to many of the surprises in the film, but I promise there won't be any spoilers here.


The Place Beyond the Pines centers around a few different storylines involving different characters. The first story centers around, a motorcyclist named, Luke Glanton (played by Ryan Gossling), who soon meets up with an former lover, Romina (played Eva Mendes), and finds out he has a son that she never told him about. In respond to this, Luke quites his job, as he wants to provide and be there for his son, even though Romina doesn't want him too. Luke, soon goes to a repair shop owner named, Robin (played by Ben Mendelsohn) for help in earning money, and in return, Robin (once a bank robber), offers him a partnership in hitting a few banks. Soon, we follow another story and center character in, Avery Cross (played by Bradley Cooper), who is a low rank, New York police officer, and married to, Jennifer (played by Rose Byrne) with an infant son. Avery is a cop filled with much remorse and guilt, and is facing a case that involves corrupted cops all who are within his department. From there on, there's nothing I can really say about the plot without really giving any spoilers.

The performances in this film from the entire cast are absoutely fantastic with Ryan Gossling, Bradley Cooper, and Dane DeHaan being the biggest standouts for me. Gossling is absoutely memorising as Luke Glanton, and completely becomes this character. Much like his performance in Drive, it's a very subtle and gritty performance, that is surely one of his finest to date. Bradley Cooper continues to shine in a compelling, and dramatic turn as Avery Cross. He gives this character that right amount of depth and likeabilty he needs. With Silver Linings Playbook, and now this, the guy has proven to be a great actor, and hopefully after The Hangover: Part 3, he'll continue to do more roles like this. But, without giving his role away, the actor that nearly steals the show here is, Dane DeHaan, who is surely one of my favorite up and coming actors. It's a very powerful, and memorable performance that surely might be compared to his performance in last year's Chronicle, but it's also a very different performance. This guy is for sure a young actor to look out for in the future.

The rest of the cast that includes, Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta, Rose Byrne, Ben Mendelsohn, Bruce Greenwood, and Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, are all terrific as well, Mendes in particular. Mendes delivers her without a doubt her most dramatic, and most impressive performance of her career, and with no surprise considering they're a couple in real life, her chemistry with Gossling is real sharp. Ray Liotta as usual, plays a complete jerk, but I have no complaints because he does a great job with the role, and it was great to see him again (despite the short amount of screentime). And, Ben Mendelsohn continues to impress, and hopefully he'll continue to get more roles in the future, and Rose Byrne is probably one of the most underrated actresses right now in Hollywood, she really shines in her short amount of screentime as Cooper's wife.

Besides the performances, there are many other elements that really drive, The Place Beyond the Pines home. The emotional core behind this film is excellent, and really powerful as there are multiple times in the movie where it hit me pretty hard. Much of that includes many of the relationships between father and son throughout the movie, which obviously as a son I can releate to. Also, the score done by composer, Mike Patton is very powerful, and to me was addicting. I can see the score almost being a turnoff to some people, but I loved it. The drama thanks to screenwriters, Derek Cianfrance, Ben Coccio, and Darius Marder, never once felt too melodramatic, or sappy. The screenplay also throws some really strong themes throughout the film, and lots of engaging intereactions between the characters. And, while again I still haven't seen director's Cianfrance previous film, he is most certainly a director with a bright future ahead of him. During some of the intense sequences in the film, most notably a chase sequence, Cianfrance uses a bit of shaky cam, and usually I'm never a fan of shaky cam, but he really managed to make it work, and add to the scenes he uses it in. And, Cianfrance's brillant screenplay throws in a good amount of twist and turns along the way that very much threw me off, one in particular.

If, I had any complaints about this film, there's very little. The film certainly drags a little bit in spots, and there's at least one scene in the film that I felt could have been almost completely cut out as other than one turning point, it didn't add a whole lot. And, throughout there are some character motivations that really had me shaking my head, but overall those are really minor nit-picks at best.

But, even with those very few complaints, The Place Beyond the Pines is without a doubt the most complex, compelling, engaging, most well acted, and overall easily the best film I've seen yet all year. Certainly a film that could get even better on a rewatch, or just thinking about it more. And without giving it away, the way the film concludes was wholly satisfying for me, and it's tough to not be at least a little moved by it. Is it a film for everybody? No it's not, but it was for me. The Place Beyond the Pines is a brillant crime drama that will surely not be leaving my mind anytime soon, and is one of those few dramas that actually felt like a true movie experience, which is what I want when I go to the movies. I can very well see this get completely sholved come oscar season, but I pray that will not be the case, and this at least gets some recognition particuarly in directing, and the performances. A must see for film fans at least. My grade could very likely get bumped up in the future.

FINAL GRADE: A-, 9.5/10 

My Thoughts on the Nolan/Bale Justice League Rumor

Prons and Cons/My Take of the Nolan/Bale Justice League rumors

As I'm sure many of you already know that over a week ago, El Mayimbe from the website Latino Review, reported a scoop that Christopher Nolan is now in charge of the entire DC Universe, and will now be producing the Justice League movie. But, of course that's not really the shocking aspect of it, it's that Christian Bale afterall will be coming back and reprise his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Justice League, meaning Nolan's Dark Knight universe may continue after all. Now I am very aware that none of this is official yet, as nobody from Warner Brothers or Nolan and Bale themselves, have confirmed any of this. And in all honest, none of this will probably be confirmed until Man of Steel is finally out (which will be on June 14), and the studios are able to see how it does at the B.O. However, after giving it much thought and watching El Mayimbe's video on the report, it makes a lot of since on why Warner Brothers would really aim at doing this and have Christian Bale's Batman team-up with Henry Cavill's Superman, considering the mess them and DC are in right now with this film being in development hell for years now, and it's been reported that Will Beall's script for the film was scrapped because it was so bad. But, as a die-hard fan of Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, all three films, I have very mix feelings about this, and I'll list what the pros and cons are for me.

Pros

1. It's Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale
As a big fan of Nolan, say what you want about TDKR, the guy hasn't let me down yet. With The Dark Knight Trilogy, Nolan created not only the best superhero trilogy of all-time (I mean come on, is it really debatable?), but IMHO the three best superhero movies of all-time yet. He made each movie compelling basically in their own way, and made me get invested into the main hero, as well as the other characters, in a way I've never been able to before in a superhero movie even other ones that I love. So of course I would be thrilled to see Nolan take over the DC Universe as an overseer, and I can't imagine what he could do with a JL movie. And considering the mess the studio seems to be in, and they don't seem to know what they exactly want to do with this movie, they NEED someone like Nolan, if they still plan on getting this huge movie out by summer, 2015 especially with Avengers 2 and Star Wars 7 coming out at the same time.

As for Christian Bale, it's the same extact thing. For me, at least in live-action so far, no other actor that has played Bruce and Batman before, compares to what Bale did for me in the role. And that's actually get me to care not only about Batman himself, but the actual human being behind the mask, Bruce Wayne himself. Now some people would probably say that was just because of the strong writing of the character and not the actor, but I beg to disagree as I think he give both a charismatic and likeabilty side to Bruce Wayne, this is especially notable in Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight Rises (where I think he gave his best performance in the trilogy). And as Batman, he was meancing, and bad-ass. And you know what, I like that Batman gowl he had, it totally fit with the series. So to be clear, he was not only a great Batman, but an excellent Bruce Wayne, which to me is even more important if you actually want to care about what's going on. Can I see other actors in the role? Sure, I think such actors like Michael Fassbender, Karl Urban, could be great choices, but that doesn't mean I'll like them as much, or that I'll be ready for a new Batman by 2015, considering the trilogy just ended.

2. More time to spend with excellent characters.

As perfect as I felt the ending of The Dark Knight Rises concluded the trilogy, I still can't help, but be happy at the idea that TDKR might not have been the last we see of not only Bale's Bruce Wayne, but Michael Caine's Alfred and other great characters that were still alive after TDKR. One of the my favorite things about Christohper Nolan as a director, and as a screenwriter as well, is the amount of depth he gives to the majority of his characters making them so memorable in all of his movies, and how I can spend time watching the movie they're are in for hours (as long as the movie lives up the characters). So if keeping this Dark Knight universe going in a JL movie means more of Bale's Bruce Wayne, Caine's Alfred, extc, then sign me up.

3. Bale and Cavill look like the perfect duo.

Regardless of the realism of TDK trilogy, I can easily see Christian Bale and Henry Cavill fitting well together on screen. Now, regardless I haven't really seen much of Cavill's past work, expect for Immortals (I hardly remember his performance in the movie), but visually both their Batman and Superman look very similar (as you can see in the picture above) mainly the way their costumes are, and the tone for Man of Steel so far looks very dark and as realistic as a superhero like Superman can get, so I could see at least these two universes (DK & MOS) being connected with each other. And, Bale and Cavil other than the fact they're both british, seem like two actors that could really connect on screen together, which is important especially if it's a World's Finest movie. And would be interesting to see an older Bruce Wayne paired up with a younger Clark Kent.

Cons

1. How do you fit unrealistic characters like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, The Flash extc?

This is without a doubt my concern. Nolan's Dark Knight we all know was very grounded in reality in many ways, that's a huge element I loved about those movies, and how they really felt like the world we live in today. Sure, you can definitely say TDKR had its unrealistic moments (and so did the first two), but everything else surrounding the plot still had a realistic feel to me. It was easy to connect with Bruce Wayne as a character, because he actually felt like a real human being. But, if you throw in characters like an amazon princess, a guy that can talk to fish, a hero that got a ring from an alien, and a superhero that can run basically a mile within five seconds, I'm very afraid I'll lose that feeling to these movies while rewatching them knowing there's these kind of characters out there somewhere. But, obviously I still haven't seen Man of Steel yet, so hopefully if this rumor does hold out true, that will answer this question. I pray that Christopher Nolan, David S. Goyer, and Jonathon Nolan will be behind the screenplay for this potential movie as I don't think I'll be able to trust anyone else.

2. Where do you continue after TDKR?

Considering the fact that at the end of TDKR, we saw that both Bruce Wayne and Batman were declared dead and Bruce had retired leaving everything to Robin John Blake who we assume is basically his heir. Do you bring Bruce back from the dead AGAIN? Will Gotham ever realize that Bruce and Batman are the same considering they always come back at the same time? What happens to Blake? Kill him off, keep him as Batman of Gotham, but Bruce Batman of the whole world, or make a swift transformation into the superhero Nightwing? The latter would be my vote as it seems the most logical to me as long as they can fit it in without being too much. And also where does Selina Kyle aka Catwoman come into this? Do you just drop the character and the relationship she had started to form with Bruce at the end of Rises or do you continue that element and have Bruce return with her as well? I would again vote for the latter as I would love to see more of the character, and it seems like Hathaway is dying to reprise her role again, and if you bring back characters like Blake and Kyle, that at least gives you two established characters already to work with especially for a WF's movie. Obviously, I have tons of questions, and I know they could just treat it like a normal comic book where everything is basically forgotten about, but I would hate to see the series handle like that.

And while I love Bale's Bruce Wayne and Batman as a character, considering the fact that he had much trouble defeating Bane in TDKR, because he went on a 8 years hitaus, wouldn't he kind of stick out as a weak link compare to other superheros with super powers. I mean granted they could have him calling the shots, or being the strategist of the group, but I personally want to see Batman in all of the action. So because of this, I think JL movie would have to take place not too long or any longer than like three years after Rises, unless they somehow make him an even powerful Batman.

My Final Thoughts: As you can obviously tell from this long article, I'm very in the middle on this rumor. In many ways, it's the best thing that could possibly happen to the DC and Warner Brothers studios right now, but at the same time it could really change The Dark Knight trilogy and whether that would be in a good or really bad way obviously remains to be seen especially since this is still a rumor, something that needs to be taken with a grain of salt. But, this is Christopher Nolan, and if he really has an idea of how to make it work, than I have complete faifth in him, and I really hope no one, but him, Goyer, or his brother John would be in charge of writting this movie.

But, I want to see a World Finest movie before a Justice League movie. This way we could have a movie where the main focus is on the core relationship between Batman and Superman, where there are lots of arugments and fights between them, but throughout the movie they build an obvious mutual respect and partnership with each other. And obviously throw like one or two villains into the movie. And then at the end of the movie I would have them the two of them basically recruiting members for the JL team, that includes Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, but I would wait to use for heroes like Aquaman and Martian Manhunter for a potential sequel, and instead use Anne Hathaway's Catwoman, and like I already said make JGL become Nightwing, I personally think that would be really cool to see, although 7 members might be pushing it a little bit for one JL movie, but it's an idea. With that being said, we really need to see how good Man of Steel is, because if that movie doesn't live up to the majority of peoples expectations, it will likely kill a chance for a JL movie for the next 10 years. But, I have faifth Zack Synder will hit it out of the park with MOS. I'm really excited for MOS.

If they do recast Batman though and reboot instead, my personal pick would be Michael Fassbender, as I think he's physically fit enough for Batman, definitely has the look of a Bruce Wayne, and certainly has all the acting chops required for the role.

And the Average Movies Continue

Stand Up Guys Movie Review

Now, I was personally really impressed with the trailers for Stand Up Guys. Not only did it have an interesting premise, it had three amazing actors in Al Pacino, Christohper Walkan, and Alan Arkin, which to me you really can't go wrong with. Expect for maybe Al Pacino because let's us face it he really hasn't had a good movie in over a decade, starring in films like Jack & Jill probably one of the worst films I've ever seen, and a disappointing film in Righteous Kill. So I thought this film could definitely be a step in the right direction for him, I liked the style trailers had to it, and overall I thought it could be a great blend of the Comedy and Crime genres. So it's definitely safe to say, I was really looking forward to the movie even with some of the really early negative reviews it received. But, unfortunately while Stand Up Guys certainly has its moments and some really strong performances, it's just another really forgettable sometimes dull movie that just doesn't live up to its full potential.

Stand Up Guys follows former gang member, Valentine (Al Pacino) who at the beginning of the movie is released from prison after 28 years. His friend/former gang member, Doc (Christopher Walkan) has been hired or assigned to by mob leader, Claphands (Mark Margolis) to kill Valentine by 10:00 AM the following day Valentine is released. So Doc and Valentine reunite after Doc picks him up from prison, but for a while Valentine is aware of what Doc has been assigned to do. They soon meet up with another former gang member, Richard (Alan Arkin), and from there on they try to spend the whole entire doing a bunch of crazy things before Doc has to kill Valentine the following morning. I know that was probably a confusing way to sum this film's plot, it's just the best way I can come up with.

The best thing about Stand Up Guys is without a doubt the performances unsurprisingly. Without the performances in this movie you basically have nothing here. Al Pacino has always been one of my favorite actors, but like I wrote earlier he really hasn't had anything good in the last many years, but I'm glad to say that he delivers a really good performance in this movie and even with the weak material he's given, he's definitely fun to watch and still proves that he definitely still has some charisma and screen presence. Christopher Walkan is Christohper Walkan, and I definitely have no problems with that, he still has all the charisma that he always does, and just the way he delivers all his dialogue in any movie he's in still kills me. And Al Pacino and Christohper Walkan have some really sharp chemistry, and definitely play off each other well. Alan Arkin however was extremely underused in this film which really disappointed me because I love Alan Arkin, and when he's there he's really good, and probably steals the scenes he does have, but he's really in the movie for like ten minutes and that's it. So if you want to see this movie just for Alan Arkin, my suggestion is don't bother, because you'll be disappointed. Now are these performances oscar worthy and will be known as some of these actors best performances in their careers? Definitely not, but it works for the movie. And everyone else in the cast is fine, but really the movie is just about Pacino, Walkan, and Arkin for when he's actually on screen. 

Another thing I did really like about this movie was the score by composer Lyle Workman, I actually thought it was pretty awesome, sounded nice, and really fit well with the movie. And like I already wrote, the chemistry between the actors is sharp and they all play off each other well. And there's also a pretty cool shootout scene at the end that sadly only lasts for like 30 seconds which kind of pissed me off to be honest. But, unfortunately that's kind of it for the positives. 

The biggest problem with this movie is pretty much the same extact problem that any movie I've seen this year so far have had: the script. The script for this movie just feels so dull, at times forced, and just doesn't put these three amazing actors into great use. Other than a few chuckles here and there, the comedy in this movie falls completely flat, and unlike the audience I saw it with, I hardly ever laughed. The jokes just felt forced, and cheap espeically when you're dealing with three of probably some of the best actors of all-time and you can't even give them some solid comedy to work with. The attempt at comedy in this movie is so dull that I got way more laughs out of much gritter mobster movies like Goodfellas and The Departed. And that's another problem with this movie, it's a very dialogue filled movie, which I'm find with, but the problem is the dialogue isn't all that interesting, and not even very sharp. And at times the script just feels really repetitive, with the characters just repeating the same extact thing the entire night, and doing the same thing over and over again. I know that's probably the joke of the movie, and it's not a huge nit-pick, it just got on my nerves a few times. There are some attempts at character moments thankfully, but again they feel pretty forced, and while I did like these three characters, due to the weak material I just didn't care about what was going on. And a lot of that is just due to the fact that this story just isn't all that interesting, and it just feels very dull and at times almost lifeless. 

The director of the movie is Fisher Stevens, and this is basically I think like the first feature film he's directed. And overall, I definitely don't think he did a bad job directing the movie, I just thought the direction was pretty standard and nothing much to it. But, if I had to really complain there is one particular scene that involves Pacino, Walkan, and Arkin in one single car, and that scene drove me nuts because the camera was basically shaking the entire time for no reason really. And I thought the pacing for this movie was just sloppy, and even with a length of 94 minutes, it felt like about two hours. And most of that is due to the movie having its share of entertaining moments, but then many moments that were just downright boring, and I even doze off for a few mintues in one scene. And finally, right when the film was about to set itself for a potentially solid ending after a cool setup to it, the film just ends really abruptly, and I just asked myself "what was the point of that?".

Overall, I know it sounds like I'm really hating on this movie, but I really don't hate it at all, I just thought it was a bit of a letdown, and could have been so much better than it actually was. It definitely has it's good moments and the performances by the three lead performances are nothing short of solid, but the film itself is letdown by a dull script, comedy that just falls flat most of the time, lack of character development, poor pacing, an interesting plot that is poorly executed, and some really boring moments. It's definitely not a BAD movie, but it's not really a good one either even with some really good moments. Unfortunately all of those flaws leave me to just giving this movie a recommendation of a solid rental. It's somewhat enjoyable while watching it, but by the next day you'll just forget about the movie. Really not a great start to the year of 2013 movies, luckily we still have many months to go. I'll give this 2.5/5!

FINAL LETTER GRADE: C+ (and the more I think about this film the grade can very well change)