Movie Reviews #100%!

A Cure For Wellness (2017) Review Hello guys and welcome back to Movie Reviews! Today I'm reviewing a movie that was not on my radar for this week but I was aware of it and I saw it. It is any good? Let me tell you. First of all, the movie is visually stunning, with some very haunting and weird imagery, it has nice tension and good atmosphere but the good things come to a halt here. Why? Because the main story is derivative and has been executed by far superior movies in the past, one example being "Shutter Island". Hence the predictability. With a main plot that is not original, basically you can see everything coming, leaving the movie to offer no surprise of any kind. And the run time is exaggerated but being a Gore Verbinski movie I'm not surprised. Just look at the first three "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies. The movie has twists and frights but, like I said, you can see them from a mile away. I did not have any problems with the performances, Da...

Free Fire (2017) Review Hello guys and welcome back to Movie Reviews! After all of those pirate movies, it was due to make a slight genre change with chaotic shootout that is "Free Fire". First of all, it's a Martin Scorsese picture, in a way. He is only an executive producer but you can still see the style and violence of a Scorsese movie. I liked the concept, with a group of people meeting and starting shooting each other in an enclosed space. The humor is there, the action and violence is there, although a bit ungracefully and the performances are top notch, all of them. The mayhem that ensues is awesome and funny, with some slow moments throughout. It has what you'd expect from an action thriller but, not like other movies in this genre, the action is given to you in small and more concentrated dozes. And good thing that the movie is short because if it was longer, it would not have the same positive impact. If you like blood, gore and hearing people swear a ...

Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge/Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) Review Hello guys and welcome back to Movie Reviews! Like I said, today is the 5th and, possibly, the last entry in the "Pirates..." franchise. Well, I don't want to say that this movie is excellent but it's the best one since the first one. And there is one particular reason why. Because it looks almost exactly like the first, with minor differences. The story is almost linear as in the first movie, the action is good, very adventurous with a humor that is not silly but it's not far from it. Mostly is good quality humor. Some say that the humor is less than in the others but I think it's in the same amount. I mean, I laughed at this movie. All in all, the performances were good, Javier Bardem makes for a deadly villain, pun intended. The connections with the other movies are, sadly, overlooked and ignored, most of them and we are "treated" with a cameo that, in my opi...

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) Review Hello guys and welcome back to Movie Reviews! Today is the 4th "Pirates" movie. You remembered how I said that the second one was not the worst, right? Well this one is. It's much shorter and less exhausting than the previous installments, I give them that. But it falls flat in every other department. The plot is disjointed and full of inconsistencies, the action is loud and kinda disappointing, the humor is campy and silly, even stupid at times and the performances are more forced than impeccable. Again, we are introduced to new characters and again, no exposition or even a hint of a backstory. Penelope Cruz's characters is not even mentioned in the first three movies. And the romantic story is useless, pointless and forced. Not to mention that only three characters from the previous movies are present here. Some of the action, although unsatisfied, like I said, is, in some parts, mainly entertaining. The...

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) Review Well, for me, this was a slight return to form for the series. It has that adventure feel again, the humor is still silly and cartoonish but less and Jack Sparrow is not a caricature of himself, most of the time. The movie delivers in terms of thrilling and impressive action sequences but fails in other departments. The script, again, has some plot holes with too many stories and plot threads that are unnecessary plus, it has too many characters that is difficult to keep track of everyone and everything. The movie is, again, longer than its predecessor, with too many scenes that could have easily been erased and still have some sort of plot thread that wasn't so entangled. Another thing, we have to seat for a half an hour until we see Jack Sparrow, which is not good. The effects are still good, performances are good and, overall, the movie is the most exhausting of the series but it's still has it's charm. 7.3/...

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) Review Hello guys and welcome back to Movie Reviews! Thru unseen circumstances, I could not post the review for this one yesterday but, today, it's Bonus Day. 2 reviews in one strike. Let's talk about the second movie. With this one, the series took a serious nose dive into bad film making. I mean, I'm not saying the movie is bad but the whole sense of adventure, the good humor and Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow from the first one are all gone in this mess of a movie. It's longer than the first one, which is a big problem. Because even the first should not have been almost 2 and a half hours. The good humor is replaced with silly humor, almost cartoonish, the action is bogged down and the impersonation of Jack Sparrow by Johnny Depp is less of a pirate and more of a caricature of himself. The effects are slightly better, with the CGI of Davy Jones and his crew. The script has a lot of plot holes, we are introduc...

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) Review Hello guys and welcome back to Movie Reviews! So, there is a new "Pirates...." movie coming out this week and I've decided to re-watch the previous 4 installments, beginning, of course, with the first one. Being based on a Disney theme park ride, this movie feels exactly like a theme park ride. It feels exhausting throughout but, at the end, you will feel like you had a very good time. Getting past the feeling of exhaust, you can enjoy this movie for what it is: a thrilling, swashbuckling and funny adventure time. Johnny Depp has some fun time playing this character, the witty, charming Captain Jack Sparrow and, mainly, creating it from his own imagination, making it his own. All of the performances were good, Geoffrey Rush is excellent in the role of Barbossa and, also, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley make for a lovely romantic duo but the stand out is definitely Johnny Depp. The CGI is good, a b...

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) Review Hello guys and welcome back to Movie Reviews! So, I just saw this movie in the theater and it's not a bad movie but is definitely not a good one either. After Guy Ritchie modernized and reinvented Sherlock Holmes he did the same with a more legendary figure, King Arthur. I love Guy Ritchie's style but his approach in this movie is a bit flawed. He kept the essential parts of the story but with the rest of it he gave it another twist. I'm all in for a more modern and a new take on a classic story but, at least, make some sense of it. The fight and action sequences, however visually great there are, are filled with many fast cuts, shaky cam that you can't tell what the hell is happening. Like I said, visually the movie is awesome, the 3-D is well used, you definitely need to see it in 3-D and the cast is great. Jude Law is very good and Charlie Hunnam surprised me what a good choice he was for this role. You can feel, or...

Beauty and the Beast (2017) Review Hello guys and welcome back to Movie Reviews! Today is time for the "tale as old as time". Not the original, which I will see, but the live-action remake. This remake surprised me in a very positive way. Just like "Frozen" and "Moana" did. I knew that the movie was good but a wonderful experience I had watching this. The director, Bill Condon, has a great eye for detail. The visuals in this movie are astonishing. Full of color, joy and superb cinematography. The music is excellent, the songs are beautiful and the cast is great. Emma Watson was born to play this role and Dan Stevens was great as the Beast. Minus the CGI. It wasn't that good, the Beast looked kinda out of place. The movie has some comedic moments as well, mainly from Luke Evans and Josh Gad's characters. And what a role Luke Evans did. Excellent. Plus the vocal talent is great. I did not know, until I saw the end credits, that Ewan McGregor and...

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) Review So, giving that this year marks the 50th anniversary of "Star Wars" and Star Wars Celebration had so many good things to offer and "Star Wars Rebels" is going to end with the 4th season that comes out this fall and the fact that I just begun to watch "The Clone Wars" animated series, besides "Rebels", I said that I should check out the only animated "Star Wars" movie. Was I disappointed? Yes. Is the movie really bad? Yes and no. Do I regret watching it? No, because I am a true "Star Wars" fan and I suffered thru the prequels. I am wondering why do they made this movie and the only reason I can think of is to introduce to us a new character that will appear in "Rebels". So that, if you watch "Rebels" after "The Clone Wars" series, you can understand the story better. Unfortunately, the movie suffers from it's own animation. It's not that great, i...

Fist Fight (2017) Review Hello guys and welcome back to Movie Reviews! Today we have on the movie menu, a low quality comedy and a digital animation of a movie from a galaxy far away. Let's talk about the comedy first. What I want from a comedy, and I think any sane person wants it, is to make me laugh with quality humor and good jokes. This movie fails in doing so, most of the time. The comedic talent is present, no doubt about that, with Charlie Day and Ice Cube plus the whole supporting cast but the jokes, that are mainly dick jokes, have no originality and ultimately, fall flat. No pun intended. The characters are loosely introduced, without any warning or some sort of a backstory. We get a bit of exposition, but it's not enough to care about the characters. The plot is so simple, that, virtually, does not exist. There are some nice comedic moments that can give you a couple of laughs but not enough to appreciate the movie. The movie tries a dramatic/comedic build up t...

Alien: Covenant (2017) Review  Hello guys and welcome back to Movie Reviews! Man, I am so tired from that film festival that I just participated but I managed, throughout the mayhem, to squeeze a visit to the "Prometheus" sequel. This movie is definitely above "Prometheus" but it's still has it's flaws. Let's talk about the good stuff. The movie is a blend between the first two "Alien" movies. In the first half you have the tense and suspenseful feeling of the horror that unfolds from "Alien" and in the second half we are greeted with the action part of "Aliens". And I liked that because it reminded me of the good that came out from those movies. The visuals are still stunning, the score is still hauntingly great and the connections with "Prometheus" are present. The performances are great, Michael Fassbender stoled the spotlight again but Danny MacBride did a good job to. Katherine Waterston makes for a great...

Prometheus (2012) Review Hello guys and welcome back to Movie Reviews! Today, I'm reviewing the "Alien" prequel that is "Prometheus". So, this movie had split opinions within the movie critics. I liked the movie but it kinda disappointed with the story. First, the good things. The movie looks incredible, it has stunning visuals and excellent camera work, a haunting and beautiful musical score and some very good performances, especially Michael Fassbender as the android. The suspense and tension of the "Alien" movies is present plus it has, also, the horror element. We get some nods to the original movie but not enough to tie in to the lore of the first movie. And that is the drawback of this movie. It raises so many questions but it answers almost none of them. We don't get the explanations that we hoped we would. The script is nonsensical, the story sufferers from the underdevelopment of the characters and the main plot. The movie is a visual...

Alien Resurrection (1997) Review Well, I always liked to compare the "Terminator" franchise with the "Alien" franchise. There are kinda similar. The first two movies are great, with the second one surpassing the original and another two sequels that are lower in quality. With "Salvation" being the worst in the "Terminator" franchise, this one is the worst of the "Alien" franchise. I don't know who said that "Resurrection rocks" but I'm glad he did. So I could change it into "Resurrection sucks". I mean, you don't put a french director, who's resume is chock full of romantic and soft french movies, and combined that style with a script written by Joss Whedon. They don't blend very well. Like the third one, this one tries also to recapture the style of the previous two movies and they succeed on a much lower level. Yeah, the suspense is still there, there are some scenes that are tense but the ...

Alien 3 (1992) Review Hello guys and welcome back to Movie Reviews! Last night I had to sacrifice my evening watching the third and fourth movie in the "Alien" franchise. Why am I using the term "sacrifice"? Because these movies are bad and I could have done anything else. But that's me. Well, let's talk about the third one. With this movie started the downfall for this franchise. Instead of getting a new approach we are "treated", instead, with kinda the same things. The story is thin, the action is almost nowhere to be found and the special effects are poorer that in the previous installments. David Fincher tried to keep the suspense and tension of the first movie and, in some parts, that feel of dread and horror is present but, ultimately, it falls flat. The movie is still entertaining, in some aspects but it's slow pace and the final confrontation, which is not half bad, kinda disappoints. The acting is still good, Sigourney Weaver tri...

Aliens (1986) Review Hello guys and welcome back to Movie Reviews! Today is the second "Alien" movie. The one problem that I had with the first movie, although brilliant, was the lack of action. Being a sci-fi horror movie rather than a action movie, of course it will have a slow pace build up combined with an atmospheric tension. And that made the movie great but I liked the second one better. Because it has action, very good action sequences. The dark tone still remains and the sense of dread and horror is still present. Mainly in the beginning of the movie, with the first half being sort of a recognizance mission. And from the second act it transforms into this action packed thrill ride. Sigourney Weaver's performance is more powerful and emotional in this movie. Her character kinda resemblance the alien queen, because she would do everything to protect her people. Ripley is kinda a mother figure to the soldiers and the little girl. And that little girl gives Ripl...

Alien (1979) Review So, with "Alien Covenant" arriving next Friday I decided to revisit the whole quadrilogy and the "Prometheus" movie. No "Alien vs. Predator" because those movies are really bad. So we start off with the first "Alien", which, from my part, it's a horror sci-fi masterpiece. It blends very well these two genres and the end result is frightening. It has a very dark tone, with great suspense and tension and gives you a claustrophobic feel because most of the movie, the characters are in confined spaces. And that sense heightens the tension and horror. Sigourney Weaver, in her famous role, demonstrates that a female lead role could be strong or stronger than a male one. The movie starts off very light, with the crew joking and laughing but with the famous chest burst scene, the tone shifts to a darker tone. A classic movie, excellent and well filmed that's still holds up even today. 8.7/10 OK guys, these are the rev...

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 (2017) Review Hello guys and welcome back to Movie Reviews! Today is "Guardians Vol.2" and the first "Alien" movie. Listen, I had a blast with the first "Guardians of the Galaxy" movie. Just read my review. I'm still having a blast because I just saw it again on Friday night. The second volume is not bad at all but it does not surpasses it's predecessor. But I still had fun with this movie because the humor is present in the whole movie. I don't wanna say it's over exaggerated but it's used in almost every scene. In the first one the humor was funny but in this it kinda went from funny to downright silly. It's not bad quality humor but it's still a very huge amount. I mean, if you take out all of the action, special effects, visuals and other things leaving only the characters you have a sitcom on your hands, like "Seinfeld" in space. They argue all the time, like some 4th graders and...

Reviews Announcement Hello guys and welcome back to Movie Reviews! This will be a quick one and it's not a movie review. In my last post I said that I will review the "Percy Jackson" movies but I put that on hold because I was a bit busy. Instead, I will see "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2" tonight and that review will be up tomorrow. And, since next week-end "Alien Covenant" is coming, I will review the "Alien" quadrilogy plus the "Prometheus" movie ending with the "Alien Covenant" review next Sunday, I hope. Next week I will be at the "Romanian Movie Evenings" festival so I will try my best to post these reviews. Until then, take care and keep on reviewing!