AMBER PATTON

Now You See Me 2: Morgan Freeman Gets more screentime

8/24/2016

 

Now You see me, unless You're dylan rhodes.

​So, I don't generally like sequels. Godfather Part II is an exception because it's amazing and could stand on it's own as a bad ass piece of cinema.

But, for the most part, sequels are... eh.

However, Now You See Me 2 was a fun and exciting addition to peaking behind the magical curtain so to speak.

This one digs more into Rhodes and his past as well as the consequences to what happened from the events in the first film.

Apparently, if you screw over rich white people, they will come for you.

The Eye plays a much bigger role in this one as well giving you more magic tricks, more action, bigger sets, and more Mark Ruffalo, which may only be a bonus for me, but I like him. And even though we lost Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan is much funnier, and she's not just adorable, she owns her quirk. It makes watching her incredibly entertaining.

Also, because of the success of the first, there were more famous faces to include Daniel Radcliffe, Sanaa Lathan, and Tsai Chin, who, if you don't know who she is, then you're going to need to do some research. 

It's the same formula with the riddles and the questions, but everything's bigger and put on an even larger scale which is what a sequel is supposed to do right?

I purposely haven't spoiled this one for you because I recommend you experience the magic on your own.  I give it two gold stars. Watch it and enjoy the show!

Suicide squad... give me the damn cyanide pill

Alright, so I saw this, and there are so many issues I don't even know where to begin.

So let's start from the beginning shall we?

DISCLAIMER:

I'm going to be giving away a LOT of spoilers, so if you haven't seen the movie, do NOT read on any further. I've given you fair warning. Don't do that to yourself.

OKAY...

I really wanted to enjoy this. I came in with an open mind because I actually want DC to do some kick ass films.

But again, I was highly disappointed.

The beginning of the film was interesting going in. Great music. Amanda Waller getting her way, intro to the bad guys...

And then it all goes wrong.

We're introduced to the Enchantress, who is played by Cara Delevingne who started as a model. (cue eye roll.) I really don't have anything against models, but I prefer ones who can actually act.

Once we're told of her and whiney Rick's relationship, we're then introduced to the rest of the fun loving characters of this charade.

It's all well and good until you get to Harley Quinn. I actually enjoyed Margo Robbie's version of the character. She did a great job. What I didn't like is that her story never seemed to come into it's own. Her intro was all about how dangerous the joker was, not how dangerous she was. And she's pretty damn dangerous.

Then, after you believe you've met all the characters, you're subjected to an additional two:

Killer Croc and Slipknot.

If you're not sure Slipknot was the guy who was in the movie for two seconds before he was murdered. for failing at what he was supposed to be the master at.

A Native American guy was coerced into his premature death by a white guy. (Australian.)

Cool story bro.

Then we're subjected to a lot of erratic action, uninteresting back story (None of which was about Katana who seemed to be Rick Flag's perch,) and Cara doing some weird freaky pseudo ethnic dance while she built her all powerful weapon which, for all it's power, was unimpressive.

The final fight seemed over the moment Diablo died as you'd taken your biggest weapon and blew it up.

Killer Croc seemed there to fill some other... ethnic quota and have the worst lines known to man. Why have him speak at all? Seriously? Did David Ayer (writer/director) actually hate Croc? Is that why he made him say the dumbest things ever?

And then there's the story of the Joker and Harley, which truly wasn't needed. That's not a diss on either actor. It's just that it really didn't fit into the story. It made no sense especially when you build up this moment for them only to literally shoot it down the moment it happens.

He's then reprised for.... I don't know because the movie is over and I still don't understand why he was in it in the first place.

Overall, the movie was disappointing. It was colorful and flashy, but there were many plot holes, misuse of characters, and at times, it was boring. The best thing about this film was Viola Davis. Amanda Waller is no joke in the comics, and Viola made sure we knew that.

She killed people for not having the right clearance!!!

Honestly, I feel like Ayer could've taken the same time he took making Deadshot and Harley Quinn awesome to his other characters, because though there's the comic book following who know these characters, you're making these films for new fans as well, and if you want them interested, you have to make interesting characters.

I give this movie one Joker laugh.

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The killing joke. a real knee slapper

8/11/2016

 
First off, I just want to say, anyone who is a fan of the comic needs to watch this film. Regardless of what bothered me, the parts that worked were fantastic, and there were many of them. So before I even go into detail, I'm saying, go rent it, go buy it. Enjoy it. Get the comic, watch it with the comic. Do all those things. 

Now, on to the spoilers

Seriously, don't read past this if you haven't seen the movie yet, because there are spoilers. Loads of them.

You've been warned!

3...

2..

1.

Alright, as I said before, I loved this film overall, but there were a few points that really bothered me.

As you may or may not have read, Bruce Timm, the executive producer mentioned there would be a 15 minute prologue added to the story to make it long enough for a feature length film. That's perfectly fine as they had plenty of material to choose from when setting it up.

Disappointingly, they went with an awkward romantic tryst between Batman and Batgirl.

WTF???

Of all the things you could have done to push Batman over the edge, they had to make a sloppy hook up that ended abysmally for him to want to save the two people he had left?

No thank you.

It takes Batgirl's character and cheapens her, and it makes it seem that she's only worth saving when she decides to open her legs to him.

She was important anyway. He was plenty aware of her importance when she was running after Paris Franz all half cocked and nearly got herself killed.

She didn't need to be in love with Batman. Maybe she could've been trying to avenge Robin's death. And then it would've been more of a family member, not some uncomfortable bang on a rooftop followed by cliche crazy girl actions. Not necessary at all.

ANYWAY...

The rest of the film was fantastic. The Joker was brilliant as always,  and no one could've have done the voice better than Mark Hamill. If that's his last time doing the voice for Joker, he went out with a bang.

I actually had the comic book at the same time, and it was verbatim. The artwork was fantastic and they made the best choice by going simpler with it and not trying to conform to the more realistic style. Side note, the creative team felt the same way as it was difficult to animate in the more realistic style as well. Regardless, it worked out for the best. I'm also happy they decided to do the film as an R rating. I'm sure they could've gotten away with PG-13, but it would have surely lessened it somehow, and the die-hard fans would've noticed.

One other thing I wished they would've done, and it's more just something I wanted to see and not a diss on the film at all, I wished they would've shown Batman choking the life out of the Joker. Not directly though, but in their shadows on the ground. While the rain was going, you see Batman's shadow as his hands tighten around the Joker's neck, and you see the Joker going down slowly while Batman continues to laugh.

Ugh, that would've been a very satisfying ending for me.

Although, from a comic book standpoint, I think the reincarnation to screen was brilliantly done. They did well by the fans, and they did exactly what they promised.

I know I'll be getting my own copy of the film.

The Killing Joke is now available on Blu-Ray and DVD in a retail store near you.
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jason bourne... kinda boring.

8/3/2016

 
Went and saw Jason Bourne today.
It's the 5th installment in the Bourne series. 4th in my opinion (no offense Jeremy Renner,) and I must say, I left the theater not giving a crap one way or the other.

This one goes deeper into his past explaining any and all lingering questions you could've ever possibly had about Jason Bourne's true identity. One final fight taking on the agency before he's either granted his freedom, killed or brought back in.

Unfortunately, after watching the movie, you realize you've seen it all before. They used the same camera tricks, the same music, the same... everything. It took a while for it to get off the ground, and once it finally did, you were left with a somewhat ridiculous but entertaining car chase, and then a fight scene shot with a million close up cuts to leave you wondering what you saw until it was all finally over with an anti-climactic death.

The performances were stiff. Julia Styles phoned it in, Matt Damon looked tired, a lot while he phoned it in. Tommy Lee Jones, Vincent Cassel, Riz Ahmed.... there was just nothing going on there behind the eyes.

The only two that were interesting to watch were Alicia Vikander do a kind of British, oddly American accent, (totally forgivable because she's adorable.) And Ato Essandoh run awkwardly down a hallway.

Unfortunately, they weren't enough to save this film.

I'm not saying you should skip it, but I'd wait for Redbox. Then I'd watch the entire series.

Make a marathon of it, minus the one with Jeremy Renner. 
​Sorry Jeremy.
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    Amber Patton

    Reviewing movies. I tried to go to once a week, but I think it's best if I post whenever. Right?

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