Dawn of the Planet of the Apes movie review.

In 2011, Rise of the Planet of the Apes became the biggest pleasant surprise of the summer. It was a fantastic new take on the worn out mold of the previous films, and breathed new energy with new concepts behind it. Naturally, with its sequel, we all became ecstatic for how it would continue the new story, and for a summer movie season that has finally started to show some great life as of recent, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is by far one of the best films not just of the summer, but of the year in general.

Ten years after the events of the first film, mankind is all but extinct, with a select few humans in hiding, while the apes take conquest of the surrounding forests. Eventually, desperation forces some of the humans to rely on the help of the apes in order to preserve their colony, and provide electricity through a dam in the apes’ territory. However, treachery begins to arise in so-called friends, and with tensions bubbling to their boiling point, it could lead both humans and primates into all out war.

Double summer review - Snowpiercer and Transformers: Age of Extinction.

I finally got around to a couple more summer releases this year, both films of which being complete opposites catering to two different audiences. One a character driven journey with brutal thematic allegories, and the other a bombastic sights and sounds extravaganza. So here are my thoughts on both of them…

Life Itself movie review.

On April 6^th, 2013, just two days after his passing, Roger Ebert’s final review was published, that being for Terrence Malick’s To the Wonder. Oddly enough, the title of Malick’s film is the perfect way to bring the legacy of Ebert’s career full circle. A man full of wonder and energy beyond description, Ebert’s passion for cinema, as well as his eloquent writings and collaborations with Gene Siskel, have justly cemented him as the greatest film critic of all time.

Almost a year and a half has passed since his death, and the sting isn’t even close to receding. Ebert kept us coming back, time and time again, but it was his passion for life itself that made him such a fascinating individual. Taken from the title of Ebert’s memoirs, and directed by Steve James of Hoop Dreams (one of his favorite films), Life Itself is a film that shows us in unflinching detail the struggles, triumphs, and bumpy circumstances of Ebert’s long, celebrated career. Simply put, the film is fantastic.

Double summer review - Maleficent and Edge of Tomorrow.

The summer movie season, aside from being a slow one for me, has also been very weak. Unlike most years, I have trouble thinking of any movies that I’ve liked, aside from How to Train Your Dragon 2 that is. So, it’s been about a month since the official releases of both films I’m reviewing today, Maleficent and Edge of Tomorrow. I decided to give both movies a go to see if they would make any impact on my thoughts on the summer, and here are my thoughts on them.

The Grand Budapest Hotel movie review.

“There are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity.” So says M. Gustave, as played by Ralph Fiennes in Wes Anderson’s latest film, The Grand Budapest Hotel. Told as a story-within-a-story-within-a-story, this film looks into the golden age of its titular hotel, in the madcap events surrounding its concierge and his faithful lobby boy in training, as the two of them become tangled in a convoluted case of treachery, murder, and deception, all of which are so beyond description that I dare not spoil the surprises. As anyone who follows my blog knows, The Grand Budapest Hotel was my most anticipated release of the year. So, with it finally having come out on DVD, I turned my attention towards it. My final verdict…. I would be so bold as to call this Wes Anderson’s best film to date.

An analysis of How to Train Your Dragon 2 in 3D.

About a week ago, I gave a very enthusiastic review of the latest Dreamworks Animation release, How to Train Your Dragon 2. Having great adoration for the first film, it’s no faint praise that I found this film to be an improvement in EVERY aspect possible. That point of view still stands, but if there was any one detriment to my overall experience, it wasn’t with the actual movie. It was with my theater’s scheduling.

It’s no secret that I considered the first How to Train Your Dragon the best use of 3D I’d ever seen in a movie, so suffice it to say that the sequel was one of the VERY FEW movies I actively sought out seeing in 3D. Well, as it goes, my local theater had a wonky schedule. My local AMC houses ETX screenings, and while it’s basically just a form of IMAX-lite (and not a cheap one, at that), it still makes for a stellar piece of quality viewing. However, my theater decided to relegate Dragon to its smaller 3D theaters, reserving its biggest screen to the decidedly non-3D, non-IMAX 22 Jump Street. Needless to say, I was furious with this ridiculous move, cashing in on 22’s popularity, when it really doesn’t justify it like this movie does. However, logic must’ve struck them, as they added screenings for this movie in ETX the next weekend. Having wanted to see it this way from the beginning, and simply wanting an excuse to see the movie again, I immediately pounced upon the opportunity. The movie itself is even more rewarding a second time (and I hope it will continue to be on subsequent viewings), but as for my thoughts on the 3D, at the VERY LEAST, the film is every bit on par as its predecessor, and in some areas, is even an improvement.

Brief thoughts on A Million Ways to Die in the West.

So, after finally seeing the spectacular How to Train Your Dragon 2, I decided to lend my attention to another one of my most anticipated films of the year, Seth MacFarlane’s wild west parody A Million Ways to Die in the West. After being tickled quite thoroughly by his directorial debut, Ted, I found myself eagerly awaiting his follow up, and yet, I find that in spite of all the potential this project had, it’s hard not to consider myself underwhelmed by the final product.