Upcoming Reviews:

                These movies are LONG overdue for reviews on my part and I need to catch up so I'm going to get working on them. They'll come out in no particular order. Also, if there's a movie that you want to know about please just ask. I'm always open to suggestions. 

                After that I'll do a better job of keeping things up to date.

Lego Batman

Directed By: Chris McKay

Screenplay By: Seth Grahame-Smith ,Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jared Stern & John Whittington

Story By: Seth Grahame-Smith

Batman Created By: Bob Kane & Bill Finger

Superman Created By: Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster

Starring the Voices of:  Will Arnett as Batman / Bruce Wayne 

Michael Cera as Robin / Dick Grayson 

Rosario Dawson as Batgirl / Barbara Gordon 

Ralph Fiennes as Alfred Pennyworth 

Siri as 'Puter 

Zach Galifianakis as The Joker

                Okay so this review is super late because I didn't get a chance to go see this until this weekend. I was busy and to be honest I'm not really one that RUNS out to go see Lego movies but, I saw a couple of previews before a few other movies that I saw and laughed a few times and though eh... what the heck. I was bored, my son wanted to see and so there... that's the long and short of how I ended up in a surprisingly close to full theater to go see this movie on a Friday night. 

               Needless to say I went into this with very few expectations and well, maybe that was a good thing. Maybe I should have had higher expectations. I wasn't let down. I was pleasantly surprised at some parts and YEAH I did manage to laugh a few times. There were some things that were kind of funny but, then again there were things that I just didn't get. It's a kids movie I guess. Maybe I wasn't meant to get it. 

                The story in a nutshell was a little strange. Okay the oddest part to me was the fact that Ralph Fiennes was the voice of Alfred in this movie and for some weird reason Voldemort was in this?? and the fact that it wasn't his voice and Eddie Izzard whom I cannot for the life of me stand did his voice... it was strange okay. No Alfred didn't sound like Voldy exactly. Not that I remember but, clearly he must have because I KNEW it was him and so it was just strange to me because I was like wait why are you trying to kill... yourself. Aside from that twist of my mind I didn't have many issues with the movie. I thought that Robin was a little campy but then again everyone was. Maybe that was the whole point. 

                 Would I see it again? Nah. Did my kids like it? Yes they both loved it. My daughter had seen it before and loved it so I think the movie did it's job.  

Beauty and The Beast

 

Directed By: Bill Condon
Screenplay By: Stephen Chbosky & Evan SpiliotopoulosOriginal Tale Written By: Jeanne-Marie Leprince de BeaumontStarring: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Josh Gad and Kevin Kline

               Thursday I watched a screening of Beauty and The Beast. I spent a few days thinking about it before I decided to write up a review. I hate to give my knee jerk opinions on movies because often they tend to be wrong. 

               Beauty and The Beast was a movie I was torn about. I didn't know whether to be excited for it or disappointed before I saw it. When the animated movie came out I was a tween. This movie was so great and Belle was so important to me. So, the prospect of a live action take on it was something that made me nervous beyond belief. 

              Now, from the moment Emma Watson came on screen I was captivated. She was Belle. Her singing voice impressed me, the set was surprising and within the first ten minutes I had chills. It was a pleasant surprise. 

              All of the backstory that was told beyond what had been told in the original story was great. It was something that I think at this day and age was much needed. It opened the story up to being real. The emotions anyways. 

              The moment the furniture was on screen anyone that loved this story had to truly be in awe. I know I wanted to cry. It wasn't until 'Be Our Guest' was performed that I actually did cry. It was truly amazing. Each and every casting was perfect. The sets were wonderful, the scenes were spectacular. 

              All in all I would and probably will see this again. How could I not? I highly recommend it to anyone that's interested yet not quiet sure whether to take the plunge. 

Lawless

Lawless

Directed by: John Hillcoat

Screenplay by: Nick Cave

Based on novel by: Matt Bondurant

Starring: Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf and Guy Pearce

        Going into Lawless having read “The Wettest County in the World” and hearing that it was based loosely on the book I was not sure what to think. The book was amazing. The deviations from the book were done well and stuck to through the whole movie so it was not blaringly obvious.

        Within the first five minutes of “Lawless” the story really started to get moving. Character development went along as the movie progressed which many times does not work, other times it does. In this instance it worked well. The Bondurant brothers stuck together through thick and thin. Even though in “Lawless” there were not a lot of issues with the each other. They were three brothers trying to make a better life for each other. Yeah, so it was a life of illegal booze but, it was their life. Lawless captured the bond between the brothers and showed how once they let you into the family you were as good as blood to them. You just have to ask Maggie and Cricket.

        Forrest who was played by Tom Hardy was the silent leader of the family. Although, from seeing interviews with Hardy I can readily admit that he does talk more than I thought he would. Sure he had his grunts and so forth but, very true to the way men were back then he was a man of few words. Forrest was intimidating. The character that you never really could tell what he was thinking. One moment he would appear to be as serene as anyone could be and then in a flash someone was being punched with his brass knuckles. Forrest was a legend in town, a man that no one wanted to trifle with. Tom got the privilege of delivering the most memorable lines of Lawless.

        Shia LaBeouf who played Jack Bondurant did a decent job. Being slightly apprehensive of him playing the character I was surprised. Although there were some parts of Lawless where he did seem more forced that anything else. For instance when Cricket died his reaction to his best friend dying was underwhelming to say the least. All in all Jack was played okay. One thing that was captured very well was how different he was from his brothers Forrest and Howard even if that was not what he wanted. The movie was told from Jack’s point of view so narration was also done by Shia.

        Guy Pearce, as Charlie Rakes was brilliant. He walked on screen and within a minute you detested him. He was the detective that was brought in to clean up Franklin County. The county ended up being more of a mess than it was before he came in but, every movie needs the bad guy right? Really truly it was completely believable that he was this despicable human.

        I hate to refer to the supporting cast as supporting because they were just as important to the movie and the top billed three. Jessica Chastain as Maggie was wonderful. She seemed cold and you did not learn much about her but, that was the way that character was. Jason Clarke as Howard was great. He played the loose cannon, bull in a china shop character so well it was completely believable. Mia Wasikowska as Bertha was remarkable. She was excellent as that shy innocent girl. I thought that maybe some more could have been done with her character than was actually done. Movies can only be so long though.

        My biggest complaint about Lawless really was just accents. This is Virginia we are talking about after all. The accent is very distinctive if you are not from that area just as distinctive as a British accent. Tom and Shia to me had very odd accents. It was a cross between southern and I do not even know what else. Yes, there was violence. Lawless is after all about bootlegging during prohibition and the law enforcement and government coming in and trying to take a cut. Was some of it pretty hard to watch? Yes, though excessive was not the word for it. Well, maybe the tar was excessive.

        All in all Lawless was a good movie. Each person played their character well. The ending was rushed, but after the big gunfight I guess they wanted to send everyone on their way. This was where a big deviation comes in. There were two love stories in this movie. There was Forrest and Maggie who had a very nontraditional love story. Then Jack and Bertha’s love story which seemed so storybook. You got to watch Jack trying to court Bertha although; this was where Lawless fell short for me. Their story was a very punctuated love story. Forrest and Maggie, well you could tell they cared for each other. The way them being married was thrust on you was, well, very similar I would guess to how the Bondurant family found out they were married. 

The Dark Knight Rises

The idea of a good movie is different for many people. The Dark Knight Rises was beyond good to me. As per my usual style I will not give spoilers. I will just give my initial reaction and thoughts to the movie.

First, GO SEE IT! I have been out of The Dark Knight Rises for about 25 minutes at this point and I can honestly say that my mind is still flooded and at a loss for the best way to convey what this movie was.

Initially what I want to convey is that without a doubt Tom Hardy scared me. I mean literally and figuratively. I sat with my hands clasped in front of my face for the majority of the movie. He played Bane amazingly well. Though it may not be the popular opinion I was more scared of him then I ever was the Joker. Bane was just everything physically intimidating and psychologically cruel. I mean it was a very very impressive role for Tom Hardy to play.

Christian Bale of course did not disappoint. Who would ever expect that to happen? He may be a lot of things that people do not like but when it comes to his acting ability he is just marvelous. Christian Bale is the Dark Knight. When people look back on the men that portrayed Batman/Bruce Wayne I really think that his is by far the best. Hands down no questions asked he will be my Dark Knight forever.

The suspense in the Dark Knight Rises is something that I was not expecting to experience. I figured that there would be some but to literally feel on the verge of panic attack most of the time was something that I most certainly did not expect. Welcomed it was but, it was a welcomed pleasant surprise.

The cast of The Dark Knight Rises in all was amazing. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway, Micheal Cain, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and the list could go on was very spectacular. I will be the first to admit that I was rather surprised at the thought of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. Actually I was to be completely honest rather disappointed. I was wrong very very wrong in this case. Even though I feel that she was the least believable in the role I think that it was fairly well played on her part.

I was once told that I should talk more about audio, video, screenplay, and plot story. I have so much that I could say about all of these things but I just do not want to be the spoiler for anyone. I avoided as is my usual routine for these kinds of movies all trailers prior. I wanted to go in with a clean slate so to speak. I can not as a movie lover type something that could ruin it for someone else. That being said, The Dark Knight Rises was phenomenal. I laughed, I cried, I actually cried more than I thought I would. I can not give a grade but I will say this for sure I will definitely be going to see The Dark Knight Rises again at the theater very soon. Yes it was that good.

Thor 2 and Captain America 2

Thor: The Dark World Release date Nov. 18, 2013

This installment of the Thor series brings on a new director in Alan Taylor. Many will know him from the Game of Thrones series. Being the director of that series will probably help him a lot in directing The Dark World because of the changing settings. The vision from Alan according to Chris Hemsworth is “Big waterfalls, mountains and a Viking influence… Having that in Asgard is going to make it all that more special and that’s what Alan wants to bring to it.” Which makes sense since this is a movie about Norse gods.  

As for the plot of the film. We all know Loki will have to pay for his misbehavior in The Avengers.  Many hope that this will be a film in which he tries for redemption but knowing Loki that could be the case for part of the movie. Then the rest of it could be him up to his mischievous ways.

There is no word that I have found yet about the villain. Thanos could have something to do with the movie but from the other announcements at SDCC it makes that possibility a little less likely. Who really knows though besides Marvel and those involved in the movie. Speculation for this aspect of the movie has been varied and interesting to say the least. Could this be the movie with a woman super villain? If the comics are any indication that is a very distinct possibility.

Marvel has been rather quiet about the whole plot scenario.

Casting for the movie has had its shakeups. They have added and then had to subtract people. There are still rumored returns and questionable returns. Kat Dennings was questionable due to TV show obligations. Mads Mikkelson has left the film for Hannibal a TV show in which he will be playing Dr. Hannibal Lector. The other casting change is that Zachary Levi is replacing Josh Dallas a Fandral.

 Filming is scheduled to begin sometime in August in London, England.

Captain America: Winter Soldier release date April 4, 2014

This movie is going to deal with the direct aftermath of the Avengers movie on Earth as opposed to Thor 2 which will take place post Avengers on Asgard.

Chris Evans will of course return as Captain America. Samuel L. Jackson will continue as Nick Fury. Anthony Mackie was just announced as playing Falcon, Captain Americas side kick. This is just breaking as I type this so information is sparse to say the least. But, Falcon as anyone who follows the comics knows was the first African American superhero in mainstream comic books. He ultimately became an Avenger working with S.H.I.E.L.D.

The Russo Brothers will be directing this movie. There really is not a lot of information on this movie yet. It is rumored to be ready to begin filming around the time that Thor 2 is complete.

Horrible Comedy Oversights.... BAD ME

Okay first things first. I recently posted my favorite comedies. While thinking about it post publish I realized that I forgot some great funny movies. Seriously, I do not know how I forgot them but, I came to the conclusion that you simply can not whittle that list down to five movies. I am almost embarrassed about the movies that I over looked. Honestly I have zero clue how that happened. Truly they are some of my favorite funny movies.

Forgot to mention but it does not mean they do not count.

The Big Lebowski.. I do not know what happened here. I completely and totally dropped the ball on this one. I mean this is probably one of my favorite movies of all time. The three pictured above and John Tuturro just made the movie for me. Maybe it was the bowling, Walt's Vietnam rants, Donny and his innocence and sweetness, The Dude's relaxed ways, I do not know. All I know is that  "Nobody fucks with the Jesus!"

 Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy
The cameos in this movie are great. The one liners I mean it is just awesome. Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Will Ferrell, and  David Koechner are just hilarious as a cast. They play off each other so well. Their rendition of Afternoon Delight makes me laugh every time. It may or may not be the ringtone on my phone.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
If the title alone does not make you smirk I am not sure what to say. This movie was a sleeper for me. The first time I saw it I was not sure what to think. The second time I knew what to think and what I missed. It was so funny. It is one of those movies that I have to stop and watch whenever it is on. I just love Will Ferrell though. He is just so very funny. I could quote this movie all day long but if you have not seen it you really need to. The delivery of the lines is just so funny. John C. Reilly and Sasha Baron Cohen are just amazingly hilarious in this movie.

Like I said these are not honorable mentions but horrible over sights on my part. I could make this longer because I know as soon as this posts I will have remembered another movie that I should have put on there. But, for right now I am content in knowing that I am honest about my mistake in trying to make a list of five best comedies. Point learned never do that again.

OH before I forget you can not forget Spaceballs. Mel Brooks is just a comedic genius.

Maybe I am partial to this movie because it is a Star Wars spoof but, I just think it is the best. John Candy at the top of his game. Pizza the Hut, Yogurt, and so forth. Just great puns as per usual. The only thing missing for me was Gene Wilder. Yep I do have an odd crush I know.