Before Midnight

24th of 365.

This is the first movie I have seen in this trilogy. It was really, really gutsy film making. It was amazing how long the takes were in this movie. There was literally 4 or 5 scenes that went 10+ minutes without a single cut. It was absolutely stunning. The scene kind of just settles in and you realize after 10 minutes that the camera has not left the actors. You are seeing two actors put on a clinic.

Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy were utterly fantastic.  The discussions range from existential questions of love to the ability to be a good father from across the ocean. I sided with Ethan Hawke in almost every argument, but it's probably because I'm a guy.

Judgement: See it in the theater. It's movie that could use the money.

This is the End

23rd of 365.

This is the second of three rapture movies I have seen. This one is the better of the two I have seen so far. They both contained Craig Robinson, so that is neat.

It is a very funny movie. There are many jokes that miss, but because the movie is so packed full of jokes they are easily forgotten. I have tried for a long time to not read any reviews or know too much about any movie before entering the theater, but this movie provided too much hype to be ignored. Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to the hype that others had placed on it.

The action scenes were well done, but a touch out of place in tone.

Judgement: Send away for it.

Man of Steel

22nd of 365.

Another origin story of a superhero. I love Origin stories. They are great, they really are. I loved Casino Royale because of the origin story, Batman Begins is fantastic because we see what changed Bruce Wayne, but I may have had enough.

It may be the simple fact that not all origin stories are created equal. Superman is an alien that gets sent in a rocket ship to Kansas. He is raised by good old fashioned farmers as he tries to deal with his super powers.

The first 20 or so minutes take place on Krypton. His scientist father warns of the planets instability to a council, then a military leader decides to take Krypton himself. Zod, played by Michael Shannon, gets sent away in phallic shaped escape pods off of the planet. When the planet explodes he gets released out of his prison with his co-conspirators. 

The movie is too long. It could have been 90 minutes, there wasn't enough story to necessitate almost and 2 and a half hours. The action scenes were well done, if not overblown. The death count probably reaches 7 figures, but it's okay because Superman.

Judgement: Watch on Cable

Assaulted: Civil Rights Under Fire

21st of 365. 

This wasn't a great documentary. It doesn't make any of the arguments for the 2nd Amendment invalid, it just wasn't well made. The documentary wasn't consistently interesting and tried to sway you in a Michael Moore like fashion.

This movie will be unlikely to sway you from one side to other. Movies like this seem to be a fruitless endeavor. Those who are against the second amendment will probably not see it. It is preaching to the choir, who paid to get in. 

Learning about the "Battle of Athens" was a nice story. Although, I wish they included more of the first hand knowledge of the man who took part. The movie felt more like a history channel special, a lot of head-on interview shots , and it didn't really try to get the viewer invested more than "your rights are being infringed". That will work for gun owners, however, it won't really move the needle for myself.

Judgement: Skip, it won't change your mind and it is one-sided. Documentaries are best when they start with a question, not start with the answer. 

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

20th of 365. 

Well that was refreshing.

This enjoyable romantic comedy had everything you would expect from Bollywood. Hiking, drinking, weddings, 8 year flashbacks, and San Francisco. 

These were easily two movies. One was about 3 friends and a shy former classmate in a camping trip. They all grow a little and realize what they have to do with their life. The next movie is the sequel where they get back together when one is getting married.  

Luckily there were subtitles so I could follow along with the movie, until songs. For some reason songs don't get subtitles. Once anyone starts singing I get lost. It seems there were several times where the song and dance numbers represented several hours or even days. It would have been nice to know how it was moving the plot along, but I basically just guessed based on the dance moves. The dance moves were captivating.

Judgement: Send away for it. It'd be a fun date movie. 

The Internship

19th of 365.

The Internship is comedy aimed at a slightly older crowd then myself. It is about a generation that has trouble adjusting to the new technology driven world.  

The biggest issue I had with the movie is how they displayed the workplace. They talk about how it's the best place to work in the United States, then they start there and seems like an incredibly terrible place to work. Sure there are plenty of fun things all over the walls, but apparently you are not supposed to have fun.

Judgement: Skip.

PS: It seems to insult people of my age like we don't know how to have fun. It was a touch condescending. 

Fast and Furious 6

18th of 365.

What is there to be said that hasn't been said? This is the greatest street racing franchise that has ever existed. It is so good, that there is nothing to do with street racing in the past 3 movies! 

This generations greatest over the top action franchise, Fast and Furious delivers over the top action like no other movie can. Dom Toretto believes in family first, living life a quarter-mile at a time, and diving headbutts.   Paul Walker is out of the game, he has a wife and child at home, oh wait Dom's dead wife from 3 movies ago which I sent to undercover work is alive. Well I'm back in, you know Family.

The best portion of the movie is that Paul Walker, while wanted in the US for several crimes, sneaks into a prison to talk to the mob boss he puts away. After he returns with information to London where the rest of crew are, Dom let's him know that the information was just for him. He just broke several international laws just cause, Vin?

Look, this movie is not going to change your mindset on anything from this series. These guys were drivers in the first movies. Now, they are Avengers. They are expect shooters, fighters, and tech support. They have connections everywhere to get anything done and know everyone who needs to be known. They have really evolved, I'm happy for them. 

Judgement: Go to the Theatre with friends enjoy the spectacle! 

Now You See Me

17th of 365.

The Prestige meets Catch Me If You Can, complete with Michael Caine. ​ In my review of Oblivion I talked about the power of a trailer to totally give away the plot devices a movie has in store. Now You See Me has a trailer that entices with a story that doesn't give everything away. ​ ​The magic done by The Four Horseman¹ in the movie is mostly practical, but they do not go out of their way in order to explain how each trick is done. Woody Harrelson's character requires a leap of faith in his ability to hypnotize people quickly and easily. The rest of the characters are just good at their trade and we simply do not see their secrets. Morgan Freeman is there to expose how the main characters are pulling off each of their tricks. The character has made a living on divulging how magicians do each illusion.​ He becomes a pseudo nemesis, but does not help the feds led by Mark Ruffalo. Ruffalo only believes in logical explanation and is balanced out by Interpol's Melanie Laurent's² faith and belief in more than the cold hard facts. She is not a damsel in distress rather someone who relies on history and research over crime scene investigation and suspect interrogation. The movie was entertaining all the way through and kept you guessing. It may have had one two many twists in the end, but the ending was satisfactory. ​

Judgement: Send away for it

---

^{1. The group consists of Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and Little Franco.↩} ​ ^{2. She was the female theater owner in Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds.↩} ​

The Purge

16th of 365.

You ever wonder what would happen if there was one day a year where you could commit any crime you would like?

Apparently the cast of School Ties will become psychopaths and want to murder you because you housed an injured person. While Ethan Hawke's character sells security systems to keep your house safe he does not sell Panic Room's. He sells cameras and metal shutters. Not exactly a fortress.

The movie has interesting points throughout, but no empathetic decisions or characters. You have interesting characters who are insane, an interesting homeless injured veteran, and an uninteresting family. We follow the family. 

Judgement: Skip, possible watch for DVD on TV. 

Vehicle 19

15th of 365. 

PAUL WALKER in driving a car, BUT NOT FAST AND THE FURIOUS. 

A man on parole tries to visit his ex-wife in SOUTH AFRICA! They drive on the wrong side of the road like kooks!  He receives the wrong car from the rental agency and ends up being chased based on a crooked cop scheme.

Paul Walker narrates us through every action in the movie and sometimes after some one else has explained the plot, just in case we could not hear through the non-existent South African accents. It's a bad action movie, that surprisingly has a moral core that really doesn't get explored. 

Judgement: Wait til it's on DVD on Movies, but only if there are no sports or other movies on. Or if there is a re-run of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives or South Park. Or Seinfeld. Or really anything you have seen before.

The Hangover : Part III

14th of 365. 

Do not see this movie. 

There are no laughs. 

There is nothing to be redeemed.  

Please, save yourself. DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE. 

Judgement: Burn in a Fire. 

PS: It is very difficult to make movies. It is near impossible to make one almost universally loved as the first Hangover. When not everyone wants to buy in to make a movie centered around the 10th largest character in the first one, maybe you shouldn't try to cash the checks. 

Rapture-Palooza

13th of 365.

This is the first of ​three apocalypse comedies coming out in the summer/fall. This one is probably the lowest budget of the trilogy of apoclolypses. There are two that feature Craig Robinson¹ and in this picture he is the anti-christ.

This a spoof of the Book of Revelations. There is blood raining down, Crows calling out insults, screaming locusts, and people being brought up to heaven. Of course, some one got sent back down after complaining about line butters². It is a story of how people who are not especially religious try to continue living life during the Anti-Christ's reign. They try to create their own business, but the meteors that fall to earth crush the beginnings of their sandwich carts.

The movie plays out like a well done sketch show and contains plenty of laughs. Unfortunately, it is not a continuous stream of laughter but it hits enough to keep you entertained.

​ Judgement: Watch on Cable.​

---

^{1. ILLINOIS STATE!↩ 2. I say line cutters, but I am just following the movies, nomenclature.↩}

After Earth

12th of 365

Now this is the story all about how 
My plane got flipped, turned upside down 
And I'd like to take a minute just sit right there 
I'll tell you how I became the general from planet Nova Prime air.

This is not a good movie. It takes away all the charisma from Will Smith and decides to make him as emotionless as possible. Jaden is allowed to act with green screen animals or nothing at all. It was not a recipe for success.

I wouldn't lay the full problem of the movie at director M. Night Shamamalalmalann, TWIST,  but he didn't help.  He probably gets hit harder based on the fact he has failed so much in the past. It was a well made movie, but there is no emotional tie to anything in the movie.

Although, it is not nearly as bad as it's Rotten Tomatoes score. It really is a bad movie. Go ahead and listen to How Did This Get Made? featuring Paul Scheer (The League), June Diane Raphael (Burning Love), Jason Manzoukas (The League), and Paul F. Tompkins (Comedian, Dapper Dresser). It is far more entertaining than the movie itself.

Epic

9th of 365

It's a kid's movie. It's not bad. It's not Pixar.

There is a belief in magic that kind of takes the adult viewer out of the movie. There is no science involved, which is kind of a bummer for me. I wish that in the movie they had the eternal battle between growth and decay. Instead, Beyonce ¹ saves the world with magically powers and Cristoph Waltz is the NAZI of the forest.

Judgement: Skip, unless you have kids, then you are going to see this regardless.

---

^{1. As Pete Holmes would say, You must Be Yonce.↩}

42

7th of 365

This movie is dull. This movie is slow. This movie is skippable. 

From the in-game scenes, Jackie Robinson would appear to hit about 30-40 Home Runs a year and 30 SBs. They show as many base hits as home runs and after his base hits he is stealing bases.   

Not only is Jackie prominently featured as a legend, but so are Branch Rickey and his wife. Harrison Ford plays Branch and you could understand every third bible verse that came out of his mouth. Rickey threatens other managers to play against his black ball player otherwise HELLFIRE will rain down upon them and face their ultimate destination at the gates of heaven.

Judgement: Skip

What Maisie Knew

6th of 365

There has been a recent string of movies that have relied on young protagonists. Mud, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Super 8, and now What Maisie Knew.

Every scene in the movie contains Maisie. The custody hearing is just the parents coming out of a court room. The parents fighting is only around the corner. The information given is only what Maisie can know. For the first third of the movie, Maisie is the most adult person in the movie. She makes her own sandwich and tries to make everyone feel better. Her parents are more interested in winning than they are caring for their daughter.

Each parent gets remarried to a person who is far more attentive to Maisie's needs. This movie was able to tug at the heart strings even for detestable characters. 

Judgement: Prime/Instant

Oblivion

5th of 365

This movie was not very good. I guessed the twist in the first five minutes, it was the first note I made.

Now,

SPOILERS 

The movie not being good may not totally be it's fault. It wasn't good enough to overcome a trailer that shows too much. Look, there is no reason Morgan Freeman needs to be shown in the trailer.  The beginning third of the movie we are told that the enemy are "Scavengers" and an alien species. They go through the trouble of masking the voices and being heavily disguised. They take extra time to describe why they would have all the extra gear and decoration. It is completely ridiculous that the writer and director thought it was important to explain how they are human, when the trailer gives away the fact there are humans on Earth. It is terrible.

Also, I can't imagine Tom Cruise listening to music is totally perplexing.  What music would Tom Cruise listen to? There is no genre that is a satisfactory answer.

Judgement: Watch on HBO

Frances Ha

4th of 365

A coming of age tale, but she's 27. Frances Ha is about a woman who can't accomplish her dreams. She wants to be a dancer, but she won't make it as a professional dancer. 

The story really comes down as a love story between college best friends. One has a more conventional job with consistent money. The other has a love and passion for art which doesn't pay much when they are successful and nothing when they can't make it. 

Frances isn't a lovable character. She doesn't want to grow up, but she also doesn't get along with others very well. She tries to 'fake' fight with someone taking her in for free. She can't hang in a conversation with people who have successful careers. 

Judgement: Watch on Instant

Kon-Tiki

3rd of 365

What are lengths people go to just to say they were right? That would be the correct Jeopardy question to Kon-Tiki. Based on a true story¹ the movie starts with Thor in Polynesia with his wife. While they are fishing in the ocean his wife comments that it must of been difficult for someone to row against the current from Asia to Polynesia.

This piques his interest and ​asks the locals where they believe their people originated. The wise man informs him that Tiki came from the east and he followed the sunset. Everything came from the east, the current, the sun, and Tiki.

Thor Heyerdale was unable to publish his theory that the Peruvians traveled to Polynesia to settle. No publisher believed his theory because the Peruvians did not have any boats. They did have rafts, so his decision was to take a basalt wood raft and sail across the Pacific ocean with 6 men. ²

The movie picks up and is a thrilling adventure. There are some beautiful shots that would be even more impressive if The Life of Pi hadn't already taken the most beautiful ocean shots in 2012. Kon-Tiki was a 2012 movie that was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film even though they speak English throughout. ³

Each crew member makes there own mistakes, but Thor is a psychopath. He will not listen to reason and has a blind faith in ​his theory. He is painted as a hero, but really he is a crazy guy who happens to be right.

Judgement: See it in the Theater.

---

​ ^{1. [See the Full Documentary if you have Amazon Prime]↩} ​^{2. [Only one had sailing experience and Thor couldn't swim.]↩} ​^{3. [My biggest issue with the movie was that it was in English. I'm not sure why a Norwegian with a bunch of Scandinavians on his crew would speak English. It was distracting.]↩}​

Mud

2nd of 365

 Matthew McConaughey stars as the titular character in Mud. The movie takes place in Southeast Arkansas around the intersection of the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers. There is a wonderful feel of the movie. There is not quite a small town big city feel, but there is a definite division between the shots right on the river where our protagonist, Ellis, lives and the town in which they sell the day's catch.  

The town is not glitz and glamour, it is teenagers hanging out in parking lots of the piggly wiggly next to worn down hotels. This is the type of small town living that still has a separation. At one point Ellis bemoans the fact he could never be a townie. He only knows life down on the river even though he is in town often throughout the movie.

Love takes center stage in this movie. It is the driving force for the plot and the reason for any actions taken by the characters. However, it displays that Love may not conquer all. 

Judgement: Watch in Theaters