Movie Review: Risen

This weeks review is on the movie Risen, which is on the resurrection through a non-believers eyes. This means it's a religious movie, and the last one I reviewed, Woodlawn, didn't go too well. I was interested to see how this movie would go.

The movie starts out following a man as he walks through the desert. He enters an Inn where the Inn Keeper gets the man a drink. He starts asking questions and we learn that the mans name is Clavius (played by Joseph Finnes), who was a Tribune in Caesar's army. We then go into a long flashback sequence that explains why he is here.

Clavius is leading an army of centurions against some Jewish rebels. After a hard fought battle he won, he heads home to find that Pilate (played by Peter Firth) wants to see him right away. When he gets there, Pilate tells him he had to maintain the peace by having an innocent Nazarite crucified. He would like Clavius to check on it and spare the man by making the crucifixion go faster. Clavius gets a tribune in training assigned to accompany him named Lucius (played by Tom Felton). When Clavius and Lucius get to the crucifixion, the man on the middle cross, Yeshua (played by Cliff Curtis), is already dead, but a centurion goes to break his legs to make sure. Clavius tells him to grab a spear to stab through his side instead.

The movie was interesting take on the classic bible tale of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It plays out like a murder mystery in the first half and then a movie of self discovery in the second half. It doesn't follow exactly what happened, but I think it is close enough that most religious people will enjoy the story. I am not sure about some of the followers being portrayed as the hippy type, but I guess that is how the director and writers saw them. At least it didn't get preachy in the end.

The acting was not bad, a little dry in some parts, as proof by my mom falling asleep part way through. I will give her the benefit of the doubt due to a rough night beforehand though. I think there could have been a little more emotion brought in, but then again maybe that was how they interpreted how a Roman Tribune would behave.

Overall, the movie was kinda mostly good, with understandable plot and moderately decent acting. So the movie wasn't bad, but not great either, so I would rate this movie 6.2/10.

Movie Review: Deadpool

After almost a year of writing this blog I am sure it comes as no surprise that I enjoy the cinematic Marvel Universe. The stories and characters they have created usually have something for everyone. Their latest movie out is based on a comic I had heard of but not read. When I saw the trailers for Deadpool I did not think it would have a rating low enough to fall in my age group. Turns out Canada thinks it should only be rated 14A, so it became this weeks review. 

The movie starts with a sort of fly through in the middle of a frozen fighting sequence with Deadpool aka Wade Wilson (played by Ryan Reynolds) beating up some people working for a man named Francis aka AJax (played by Ed Skrein) with some very funny opening credits (probably written by Wade). It then goes back a little bit to Deadpool taking a taxi driven by a man named Dopinder (played by Karan Soni), bored sitting in the backseat, so he moves up front. He notices a picture of a lady Dopinder has and says how beautiful she is. Dopinder agrees, but then says how she was stolen away by his cousin. Deadpool says how them meeting was meant to be. He then is dropped off on a bridge where he sits drawing a picture. He addresses the audience for a couple of minutes about how he got his own movie until he sees a certain group of cars driving up to the bridge below him. He drops down and we get the full action for the frozen scene at the beginning, plus some extra fighting scenes.

The scene is then switched to Colossus (played by Stefan Kapicic) at Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters watching the news of Deadpool's attack on the bridge. He calls Negasonic Teenage Warhead (played by Brianna Hildebrand) to join him as they head to where Deadpool is fighting.

This was a very different Super person/Antihero (I won't say Hero because Deadpool hates that) movie from what Marvel usually puts out. Instead of some clean cut men who have some ego problems, we get an angry ex-special ops guy with a mouth, dirty mind, and quick wit who gruesomely kills the bad guys. He is probably more real than most other super hero characters because he shows a very rounded character with flaws, and he actually talks to the audience because he knows it's a movie. This actually made the flashback scenes work so much better than other movies because it really is him telling us his story in pieces. The plot makes for a great origin story and the quick pace keeps you on the edge of your seat. The other part that really worked was the love story that is hard to find in most superhero action movies. It was a true to life story with ups and downs. I give credit to the writers for making it a great movie to watch that way as well.

The acting was great, and really enjoyable. You could tell Ryan Reynolds was fully into this role. He made his character come to life in movement and speech. Considering he spent most of the movie under a mask, he had such small aspects down that you really didn't notice. Morena Baccarin, who plays Wade's love interest, is the perfect pairing to keep up with Ryan's personality. They really worked well together and the chemistry between them lit up the screen. Ed Skrein's character, Francis, was a little flat compared to the other lively characters in the movie. Even though he has super powers as well, he just didn't seem to pop. I am not sure if this is due to the writing or his character being his character, but I feel he may have missed the mark a little.

Overall, the movie was great, but I have a warning. It is very graphic and really should have had a higher rating in Canada than 14A. In the U.S. it is rated R, and I think that it should be the same here. It is a movie meant for adults and, as funny as it was, not something even us young teens or sensitive adults should watch yet. Deadpool sent out a letter over social media and I am going to share it here down below. Please do not take your young kids to see this movie and spoil any future sequels. With that said I would rate this movie 9.3/10 for being a great start to a new movie franchise with Marvel, but falling just a little in areas.

Also, Don't forget to keep posted about the huge announcement for my one year celebration next month. You are not going to want to miss this.

Movie Review: Pride & Prejudice & Zombies

 

There are some classic books out there that people say everyone should read at least once in their lifetime. I am told Jane Austin's "Pride and Prejudice" is one of those books. I am going to be honest and say I have no interest in reading this book any time soon. It could be my younger age, or that I think it will bore me. However, this weeks movie is based on a book that takes this book I find no interest in, and adds something I do find interesting to it, Zombies. Even though I don't plan on getting the book right now, I hope you enjoy my review on Pride & Prejudice & Zombies.

The movie starts in a 19th century, semi-apocalyptic England with Colonel Darcy (played by Sam Riley) riding through the country side to a heavily guarded bridge. He comes upon a wealthy family's house and enters it through an underground passage. In the house we find a bunch of aristocrat people sitting and playing cards and/or enjoying tea. Everything seems fine as Darcy enters the room until he quietly declares there have been rumors that someone in that room was reported as bitten and turning into a zombie. He sits down to supposedly play cards with some of them. He then releases flies into the air that are attracted to dead flesh, which land on the gentleman across from him. Darcy smashes a glass and stabs the man in the throat, then decapitates him, as a girl runs out of the room. He asks if the guy came with anyone, but the lady of the house says no. We soon find out she is lying and he had in fact come with his niece, who ran out of the room and is also infected.

It cuts to black when we hear the voice of Mr. Bennet (Charles Dance) describe the origin of the zombie outbreak while we watch pop-up book pictures on the screen of what he's saying. The Black Plague hit London and began to create zombies. A wall was built to separate London from the zombies, and then a great trench was dug with only one remaining bridge to cross it. The hope was this would quarantine the Zombies in an area called  the In-Between. People trained in the oriental arts to defend themselves with the rich learning Japanese style fighting, and the poor learning Chinese style fighting.

The Bennet sisters, Elizabeth (Lily James), Jane (Bella Heathcoate), Kitty (Suki Waterhouse), Lydia (Ellie Bamber), and Mary (Millie Brady), who have all been trained in the Chinese style of fighting, are sitting in their living room polishing their weapons. However, their training is upsetting to their mother, Mrs. Bennet (Sally Phillips), who wants her daughters to be married off to wealthy suitors. As it turns out, the Bingley family has moved in nearby and are throwing a ball where Mrs. Bennet hopes that the young and handsome Mr. Bingley (Douglas Booth) will fall for one of her daughters. Elizabeth, however, doesn't want to seek out a husband. Lydia makes a comment about Elizabeth not being able to attract men, and Elizabeth chases Lydia out of the room.

This was a surprising movie. I was prepared for some cheesy comedy horror movie and instead I found it really enjoyable. I do not know how well it stuck to the original story line but I am a little curious to find out now. The plot was nice and full of everything most people would enjoy. A love story that is full of twists and surprises, mixed in with action and a good amount of gore. I actually jumped a couple of times along with others in the theater. There was also a good amount of laughter as well. The only thing a little unbelievable to me was the zombies thinking for themselves, but this is not the first movie to put this idea forward.

The acting was fun to watch. Lily James was in the first movie I reviewed for this blog, Cinderella, and she stole the scenes in this movie as well. Sam Riley was the perfect bruiting man with a negative attitude, exactly what you would expect in a hardened war colonel. The comic relief supplied by Matt Smith, who played Parson Collins, was spot on. I know that my Aunt who loves Dr. Who would enjoy him in this and I hope to be able to watch this with her.

Overall, the movie was a pleasant surprise and enjoyable to watch. This would be the perfect movie for the horror fanatics out there to watch for Valentines day, unless they have a better movie in mind. Do not leave as soon as the credits come, because they give us a hint that there might be a sequel. For these reasons I would rate this movie 8.9/10

It was nice to watch Lily James in this movie as we come up to my first year celebration of this blog. Watch for some big announcements about a give away for the month of March, because you are not going to want to miss this one.

 

Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 3

This weeks movie is one that I was really looking forward to after watching two bad movies in a row. I had the bar set high for Kung Fu Panda 3 after the other two movies in the series.

The movie starts in the spirit realm, where Master Oogway (voiced by Randall Duk Kim) is enjoying his peace. Suddenly, he is confronted by Kai (voiced by J.K. Simmons), an old enemy he defeated 500 years ago. The two battle it out, but Oogway eventually gets defeated. Kai begins turning Oogway into a jade statue, and Oogway tells Kai that he will be defeated by a master of chi. Oogway and his chi turn into jade, which Kai has been collecting from all the masters. Kai is now able to return to the mortal realm with all the chi he has collected, and is determined to defeat this "master of chi".

In the mortal realm, we find Po (voiced by Jack Black), Tigress (voiced by Angelina Jolie), Crane (voiced by David Cross), Monkey (voiced by Jackie Chan), Mantis (voiced by Seth Rogan), and Viper (voiced by Lucy Liu) running and jumping across roof tops in a dramatic fashion. They land in front of Mr. Ping's (voiced by James Hong) noodle shop in dramatic poses just to order lunch. The locals cheer as Po runs past, giving high fives to each of them, accidentally setting one pigs hand on fire. They head back to the jade palace where Po lands in a dramatic pose again, but realizes the others did not. He tells them not to underestimate the value of a dramatic entrance, and to watch as he goes to kick the door of the Jade Palace open. He stops when Master Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) opens the door just enough for them to see him. Master Shifu reinforces what Po is saying by giving a great example of it. He then tells them that this will be the last time he teaches them, which Po takes as Shifu dying, but Shifu quickly denies, saying that Po must become the teacher instead.

The voice acting was excellent, and with such a great cast of actors, you would expect nothing less. I also have to give credit to the writers too, the running gags and the other jokes were all very funny, and even more so with the voice actors. The interaction between everyone almost makes you forget it's an animation.

The story plot and the scenes tied together really well with the other movies. Alongside the great animation, this was the best Kung Fu Panda movie they've made. It is nice how they have a familiar feel to it, with Po learning something new about himself, but has a fresh story line at the same time. They always improve with every installment, and I don't know where they could go from here.

Overall, the movie had a great story line and voice actors, alongside some funny jokes and great animation. For these reasons above I would rate this movie 9.6/10.