Unfinished Business (2015) - Movie Review

I’ve seen my fair share of vacant cinemas before; back when I first started this compulsion, and had a lot more time on my hands, I’d be watching films whenever I could… even when other people weren’t. This would usually mean that I’d get maybe a couple of others in the cinema with me on occasion. This time, however, was a first: I was literally the only person in that theatre. Now, normally this would be ideal, because it means that if the film is particularly rancid than I could just do my own RiffTrax to keep my sanity in check… what little of it there is left. Unfortunately, this tactic doesn’t work so well when you’re going to see a comedy, the only steadfastly riff-proof genre out there (not even World War II documentaries fall into this category). Take this into consideration along with the fact that today’s film is starring the still-present Vince Vaughn for reasons that entirely escape me, and the bar for this is already set pretty low. Time to see if this can spring past it or somehow dig itself even deeper.

Project Almanac (2015) - Movie Review

I try and make an effort when it comes to not letting production companies’ involvement with a movie deter me from seeing it. This is a big exception, though, as we have a triumvirate of worrisome entries here: Insurge Pictures and MTV Films’ only features of note together in recent years are two pop star documentaries, and Platinum Dunes is the place where horror remakes go to die a slow and ugly death, while dragging stillborn original concepts down with them. When you include this with the fact that this is yet another entry in the now-largely-boring found footage genre, it starts to look something that belongs in the ‘must-avoid’ pile. But, given how much Michael Bay has managed to seriously surprise me in the last couple of years, I am willing to at least give this a try. That and I am kind of a sucker for time travel.

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015) - Movie Review

Well, after our last cinematic outing, something so dull that I just had to post a review for another movie mere minutes after out of shame, to say that I was not looking forward to this is a major understatement. I’m cautious of any film’s sequel, which given the current cinematic climate means that I’m cautious about pretty much every film released these days, because of Rule of Sequels #19: The follow-up(s) is almost never as good. Sure, there are some films that break this rule like Toy Story 3, The Dark Knight, or even some that I’ve discussed before like How To Train Your Dragon 2 and the entire Hunger Games series so far. However, these don’t come around every day and these are usually a result of the original being a good movie in the first place. No such luck here, although I guess that means that there’s no chance of disappointment with this one. Yay? Anyway, this is The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel… is it just me or is it called that so that the filmmakers can admit that they know full well that this isn’t going to be as good as the first?

Jupiter Ascending (2015) - Movie Review

As a child of the Internet, I have a tendency to get on the fan-boy defensive when it comes to what I enjoy and as my film-watching has evolved over time, I have started doing the same with some of my favourite filmmakers (albeit, slightly tempered compared to how it used to be). One of the more peculiar examples of this with me is the Wachowskis, a creative duo that hold a very dear place with me mostly because of the Matrix, a franchise that contains some of my earliest experiences with films, anime and video gaming. Don’t get me wrong, I still think that Matrix Revolutions is a confusing and jumbled mess but the first two films and The Animatrix are on very good standings with me. Not only that, their 2013 effort Cloud Atlas is one of the best films I’ve seen in the last 4-5 years. You’d be right in assuming I had rather lofty expectations of this film considering all that, but did they pay off?

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012) - Movie Review

With how many films I see every month, it’s inevitable that I’ll come across films where I am not the intended demographic for various reasons. Whether it’s films aimed at very young audiences like Maya The Bee Movie or Tinker Bell And The Pirate Fairy, or films aimed primarily at the opposite gender like 50 Shades Of Grey or The Best Of Me, although I would argue that both of the latter aren't aimed at anyone except for inmates on death row just so the electric chair will feel like a pleasant reprieve. This film, and its currently-released sequel, was once aptly described to me as being for the elderly what Kingsman is for my generation; add to that that this is billed as a feel-good film, and I find myself just as hesitant to watch it as I was three years ago when it first came out. Nevertheless, I pride myself on doing the necessary research when it’s required, and this definitely applies, so before I get to the sequel I’m going to take a look at the first film.

Rosewater (2015) - Movie Review

As Australia’s Oscar season inches closer to its end, I find myself a lot more pleased at the prospect than I should be. While the offerings over the past two months have been of relatively consistent quality, I am getting a mild case of burnout from seeing so many overly serious dramatic works in such a short time span; even if all of these films haven’t been nominated for awards, they are starting to run together regardless. Because of this, I get the feeling that the main reason why I have been so favourable to films like Kingsman: The Secret Service and Wyrmwood: Road Of The Dead is because they stand out so much against everything else on offer. However, something tells me that I should be a lot more grateful for the higher quality that’s out right now, especially considering how many films are coming up this year that I am seriously dreading going out to see like Get Hard, The Longest Ride and Insurgent. Nevertheless, here I am with yet another drama to look at.

Citizenfour (2015) - Movie Review

Given my relative infancy when it comes to talking films, I find myself once again stepping into new territory with today’s review. As a rule, I don’t usually actively go after documentaries unless they stand out in some special way. And when I say "special", I mean the kind of special that results in the literal one-joke film The Aristocrats or the rather bluntly-titled Fuck. Then again, considering how my favourite film of last year turned out to be a documentary, I have since grown a bit warmer to the idea. So, with the announcement that this film won the Oscar for Best Documentary hitting literally minutes before seeing it for myself, this has a certain amount of hype to it. Or at least it would, if the Oscars had any kind of significance, but that’s neither here nor there. Time to crack into today’s film already.