Catch Up Post

Yes I have been busy, but not enough to stop going to the movies all together. Here just a catch up post of what I've seen:

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2/5)
Peculiarly Quirky but not Particularly Deep.

Queen of Katwee (3/5)
A feel good movie with great preformance and a lot of heart.

Deepwater Horizon (3/5)
Exactly what you expect and better than you thought it could be.

Birth of a Nation (3/5)
A strong drama with a terrific lead preformance that treads very familiar ground.

Middle School: The Worst Year of My Life (2/5)
It has a hidden, and very powerful, layer of depth that is ultimately suffocated under what this movie is marketed as.

The Accountant (3/5)
An unconventional narrative with a rich level of character depth if your willing to wait for a payoff.

Keeping up with the Jones (1/5)
Typical, unfunny, cinematic paste.

Inferno (1/5)
Directed without heart and falls apart under the logic it thinks holds it together.

Doctor Strange (4/5)
A well directed visual and thematic extravaganza, who's greatest sin is fitting into the marvel formula.

Trolls (2/5)
A bold concept that lacks originality.

Hacksaw Ridge (5/5)
A visually an emotionally powerful that stirs inspiration and hope out of horror and triumph.

Almost Christmas (1/5)
Few well directed scenes are undermined by a script whose purpose is to derive conflict at all cost.

Arrival (4/5)
A slow burning Science-Fiction story that both visually significant and thematically rich.

All The Movies I Didn't Review in Septemeber

Just a quick catch up post. Below are the movies I have seen in the last month and what I thought:

When the Bough Breaks (1/5)
Just a poor poor movie.

Snowden (3/5)
A pretty good story if you look past the politically charged visuals and fear mongering.

Storcks (1/5)
I saw what this movie was going for but I just kept repetitively murmuring how much I hated this movie under my breath.

The Magnificent Seven (4/5)
Just a blast to watch, this movie was more fun then all but several of the summer blockbusters this year.

More review will be coming soon. Also I might do a full review for Magnificent Seven.

The Wild Life

The Poor Man's Rio                                                            1/5





I've got nothing for this one guys. The Wild Life is that special type of bad movie that can make for a good time only because of how far from sanity it resides. The animation is actually ok unlike another feature I can think of this year) and the premise would work fine in a movie competently made. Please, unless you want to watch a tropical disaster movie, steer clear of this ship






Rotten Tomatoes 15%                                   Cinemascore: B-

Shorter Reviews

Expect shorter reviews for a majority of movies. Since school is picking up again I'm going to be busy but I'll try to comment on everything I see.

Sully

Sully Flies Low but Sticks the Landing                              2/5


Standout
     Tom Hanks as Sully, no surprise here folks.

True Story
     The Film recollects the events of the Hudson River landing in 2009, something I was actually alive for.

Crowd Pleaser
     An A on Cinemascore

Fresh
     Well Scored by Critics



Rotten Tomatoes 84%                                   Cinemascore: NA

Sully is a movie that even now I'm confused why I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. Tom Hanks is a scene stealer as always and the story depicts not just the heroic actions of the pilot he's playing, but that of humanity as a whole. Overall, I think it just has to do with how the story is packaged. Many scenes felt repetitive, emotionless, or just plain insignificant sometimes. Sully as a character while strongly portrayed didn't really lend himself so much as a protagonist for me. Sully works in a practical since, yet as an original work or as a story it doesn't really offer much more then what you already know from the media.

Hell or High Water and Light Between Oceans

Sorry no review for these two movies, since school is starting up again Im going to have less and less time. Hell or High Water I give a 3/5 for solid filmmaking and solid story. Light Between Oceans I give a 1/5 for the opposite reasons. Expect a review for Sully up tomorrow.

Ben-Hur

Ben-"Hurt"                                                                               2/5

Epic
    When is the Sword and Sandals genre ever not?

Thematic
     A contradiction of vengeance and forgiveness is tied together at the end of the movie, poorly, but its there.

Standout
     That chariot race is worth your price of admission

Original Song
    Only Way Out by Andra Day. Forced like the ending, yes, but still a good song.


Rotten Tomatoes 27%                                   Cinemascore: A-

Ben-Hur is a competent retelling of one of Hollywood's most prolific epics. What works in Ben-Hur justifies why this movie was remade for a third time. The action can be brutal sometimes and the story is both overarching and personal. Unfortunately this movie is poisoned by flaws that weaken the script from beneath the surface. The inclusion of Ponches Pilot made sense and reinforces the stakes and scope of the narrative, the inclusion of Jesus Christ was the opposite.

Ben-Hur suffers the same weakness's that many faith based movies are victims of, it's story is a catalyst for the message not the other way around. If you have followed my blog since last November you'll remember me writing a post "Why I Hate Woodlawn," and many of those sentiments are translated over here. Instead of a story that reflects and shows the cause and effect of a characters actions, the plot gets pushed aside in favor of showing that faith in Jesus rewards its own miracles. I'm a born and raised catholic, but there is a reason why this type of storytelling is both dangerous and unsatisfying. It awards only the blind, and shovels the storyteller to the side.

Ben-Hur is an otherwise good movie that is distorted by the effect of this cardinal sin. Scenes are interrupted by the inclusion of the messiah who flows in and out of the spotlight so that characters can acknowledge his existence. All this for a payoff in the last 10 minutes that muddles the message of the movie. Ben-Hur tries to redeem its themes of violence and vengeance with christ's ideals of mercy and forgiveness in the last scenes of the movie, and the result is clumsy and, honestly, dramatically insulting.

My rant aside there was too much good in Ben-Hur for me to hate, or outright dislike this movie. Both Huston and Kebbell fill their roles nicely, the movie is shot well and at times really great to look at, and two set pieces in particular stand out among the rest from the summer fair. As a remake I can't say this film failed because it makes me want to revisit the classic and that has to count for something. Ben-Hur makes several changes in this 2016 update, some clearly for the better and some else absolutely for the worst.

Hands of Stone

No Mas                                                                             1/5


Standout
    De Niro...for the most part

True Story
     The story of Roberto Duran is one worth telling








Rotten Tomatoes 45%                                 Cinemascore: N/A

I walked into Hands of Stone void of expectations. Before this film I hadn't even heard of Roberto Duran, which is what made my experience watching this movie all the more disappointing. The action isn't impactful, scenes are scarcely directed well, and the script is saturated with fat and fluff. All this is frustrating because there seems to be a great movie to be made behind this story, it just wasn't captured onto film. For what its worth De Niro steels almost every scene he's in, its good to see him not mailing in a preformance for a change. Ramirez, as Duran, was strong and Usher, as Sugar Ray Leonard, wasn't awful. Hands of Stone is a poor movie with several strong performances, maybe in a couple more years we can get a movie about Roberto Duran that does both.

Mechanic: Resurrection

Let it Stay Dead                                                                1/5


Action Packed
    People get punched, their are explosions

B Movie
     If nothing else this movie can be enjoyed as an action movie from yesteryear








Rotten Tomatoes 24%                                   Cinemascore: B+

Look, nobody thought Mechanic: Resurrection was going to be great on release. For nothing else this movie can be enjoyed as an action fix or as one of those classic B movies you watch because its so mediocre. However. when it comes to my experience, I found no enjoyment outside of laughing at how bad this movie was sometimes.

Mechanic: Resurrection desperately wants to be the thinking mans action splurge, but it consistently shoots itself in the foot. For example: the villain main plan to lure Arthur Bishop (Statham) out of hiding is to have him fall in love with an agent he's blackmailing (Alba) so that he can kidnap her and use him as leverage against him. Statham, being the badass this film says he is, catches on to this and exposes the whole plan before he can fall for her. And now what happens after this unexpected turn? Well what do you think, he falls for her anyway, she gets kidnapped and now you have your action set up. I'm not exaggerating it's that forced.

Mechanic: Resurrection is just plain silly. Its action is over the top, its characters are vomiting cliches and for a good many people this will be exactly what they want. I don't hate this movie but I'm not a person who likes shutting their brain off to enjoy something. I want to engage in a movie, buy into it's world or have a discussion along with it. I hope this movie makes its money back though, otherwise unless Statham finds another niche (comedy prehaps?), he may go the way of the action B movie with it.

War Dogs

Scorsese Lite                                                                    3/5


Political
    As Teller says, this movie is essentially a case study in Bush era administration arms dealing

Foreshadowing
     Small chapter titles foreshadow the upcoming section while also raising the tension and the stakes. 

True Story
     This is real, something like this actually happened.

Perfect Preformance
     Jonah Hill as Efriam gives a chilling preformance, one part brilliant and one part unhinged



Rotten Tomatoes 61%                                   Cinemascore: B

While not as funny as the trailers let on, War Dogs is still a well constructed story about two guys who get into the world of back door arms dealing and ultimately get in over their head. It's not an exceptionally deep film, most of it's commentary is placed out in the open for discussion, but it's strengths are aligned with its protagonist David (Teller) and Efriam (Hill). Over the course of the narrative their 'friendship' slowly evolves into something ugly, which parallels the nature of the world their exploiting. Each section of the film opens with a quote that one of the characters says later in that same section. While a little off putting at first, Phillips (the director) uses this as an effective means to building tension and subtle foreshadowing. It's a little Tarantino-like in design but ultimately just as effective. The script is one that I could easily see a director like Scorsese tackling with its gritty underbelly yet dramatic climb to sucess, Phillips does an admirable job where he can and the circumstance of the material is only a compliment. All in all, War Dogs is an effective political drama which frames the sins of yesterday into a quality character piece discussing exploitation and corruption.

Seven Memorable Summer Movies

Another summer down, another season of blockbuster movies behind us. To say the truth we had few blockbusters to be excited about this summer, and only several of those really delivered, but with my favorite time of year now directly behind us its time to honor what movies really stole the show. Just to be clear, the summer movie season tenacity begins in May considering thats when the biggest blockbusters begin rolling out on a weekly basis, any movie that came out in May or early June is eligible even though summer began on June 21st. Also Im only considering movies that I've seen and that got a wide release, I live in a small community in Massachusetts, I don't get to see everything let alone the movies that only get released on 100 screens. I also tried to vary the list as much as possible, keeping if fresh with a variety of action, comedy and family affair. With that in mind, let's see if your favorites were my favorites too:

Captain America: Civil War

Half a year gone and Captain America: Civil War is still my favorite movie of 2016. This movie delivered much of what I wanted and even some spoonfuls I wasn't expecting. In the year we got Deadpool, Civil War was a stronger story about revenge. In a year with Batman v Superman, the battle between Cap and Tony represented a greater collision of ideals. It's easily the best comic book movie of the year, by far the greatest action movie of the year and still a clear winner for my favorite of 2016 so far. But there are still six other films from this summer that will stick in my memory.

The Nice Guys

Too few people saw The Nice Guys, and its really a shame. It seems everybody wants to jump down Hollywoods throat when it comes to reboots, sequels and spinoffs but here is an original film that nobody seemed to care about. Not only was it completely original, it was terrifically acted, expertly directed, delightfully funny and absurdly compelling from beginning to end. Crow, Gosling and Black put a big smile on my face for two whole hours, its too bad it only stuck around for several weeks in May.


Popstar: Never Stop, Never Stopping

When I recommended this movie at the box office, I was usually laughed at. One person even called me gay because suggested it to him. Jokes on those guys because I wasn't lying Popstar is my favorite comedy of 2016 so far. It's a complete satire of other documentaries that stars like Justin Bieber (if you can even call them that) put out for their fans, and its spearheaded by the creative minds of Lonely Islands for SNL. I laughed really hard at this movie, and some of the songs are so good (in a comedic since) that I still listen to them for a gentle laugh.


The Secret Life of Pets

Ya, there is no Dory on this list, but I have to stick what was more memorable to me and after a month and a half that movie is The Secret Life of Pets. This movie is just plain harmless fun, nothing remarkable or distinctly compelling but just fun. It's the first movie from Illumination Entertainment that I actually enjoyed, and thats saying a lot considering Illumination has had some of the biggest animated hits since PIXAR. Now Pets holds the record for the biggest opening for an original movie, a record I don't anticipate going anywhere soon.

Star Trek: Beyond

Star Trek: Beyond was so good. I was nervous when Justin Lin replaced Orsi (not because I disliked Lin but I didn't want Paramount to turn Star Trek into a pure action franchise) and I was even more nervous when that first trailer dropped and the studio said they wanted Star Trek to be more like "Avengers". I'm really glad after all that drama this is the final result. Star Trek Beyond worked as a character piece, as a space opera, as a fun adventure film. More importantly Star Trek: Beyond was everything it needed to be to ensure the franchises legacy going forward. If you haven't seen it yet, go to the theatre, there is still time.

Sausage Party

I never assumed Sausage Party would stick with me like it had. Not only is it really funny, but its a surprisingly deep allegory for the nature of faith and organized religion.Well acted and hilariously realized, Sausage Party is worth checking out not only because you'll probably laugh yourself stupid (especially at the food orgy at the end) but you'll also have a bit a substance with the stupid.

Kubo and the Two Strings

Ah Kubo, the kids epic to release this year that really isn't for kids. Remarkably animated and passionately crafted, Kubo and the Two Strings is one of the best animations to come out in a year with plenty of competition. Please if you have not yet, I recomend seeing this film in theatres. Its one of the best 3D experiences I have had in a long time, one of the best original stories to come out this year, and one of the most ballsy movies in family animation since The Lion King. Kubo and the Two Strings isn't being forgotten anytime soon.


Well that's it. Thanks for reading as always, and if your favorite this movie wasn't on the list, don't worry, this is a list of my most memorable movies this summer so nobody is going to have the same seven (well maybe we will but you get where I'm coming from). Feel free to post any thoughts or your own list in the comments below, or check out my other reviews from this summer from the side bar. Summer is coming to a close, but, like every year, we have new tokens to remember it by. Bring on the fall!

Kubo and the Two Strings

An Emotional Epic for Everyone                                        4/5


Stunning
     This movie is beautiful and see it in 3D if you can

Thematic
     Themes of Family, Imagination, Trust and Legacy all are in play here

Epic
     An adventure thats larger then the characters themselves

Crowd Pleaser/ Ripe
     A 96 on Rotten Tomatoes and an A on Cinemascore!



Rotten Tomatoes 96%                                     Cinemascore: A

To really appreciate Kubo and the Two Strings you have to think about it for a little while, everything you saw has to sink in. Provided by the team at LAIKA, Kubo is another clay stop motion animated picture like their Coraline or Paranorman. It tells the tale of Kubo who must embark on a quest to find his fathers armor in the wake of a terrible danger, and like all great epics, the adventure is merely a devise to shepard the true story forward. Kubo is a story that deserves to be heard, and despite several flaws in its execution, I would implore anybody who has the slightest curiosity to go see it. It's is a beautiful film that will make you gaze at awe at one moment and shock you the next. See this one in 3D if you can, you can thank me after.

Sausage Party

Filling in the Comedy Hole this Summer                            3/5


Funny as Hell
     Of course I laughed! Have you seen this movies trailer?

Thematic
     I shit you not this movie has one of the more profound theme/message this year.

Dat Cast!
     I mean look at that cast! It beautiful! They even pulled Norton into this madness






Rotten Tomatoes 82%                                     Cinemascore: B

Is Sausage Party the best comedy I've seen this year? No (Though its close). Is it the best animation I've seen this year? No. However, Sausage Party may the most perplexing movie Ive seen this year though, it's not as funny as I thought it would be but it makes up for it with a bulk of commentary on organized religion and the nature of theocracy. Sausage Party is essentially a metaphor for our own world populated with various ethnicities believing multiple interpretations of the same thing. You see, in the grocery store Shopwells, all the food their believes that when a person buys them they are chosen to be taken to the great beyond where eternal happiness awaits them. The correlation continues when food sees that different foods are treated differently considering when they expire or if their damaged, resulting in each type of food forming their own exclamation as to why this is and how to maintain their "purity" in order to gain favor of their gods. Now, I'm no philosopher but I really didn't expect this level of depth in a movie that is animated and featuring food just to get away with torture porn and sexual innuendos all in the name of comedy. The humor dries in Sausage Party dries up pretty fast(at least until the last 15 minutes) considering they tend to recycle the same jokes for shock value, but this is much more then just a superficial R-rated comedy that happens to be animated. Believe it or not if you like a little allegory with your cinema, then a perfect helping debuted this weekend.

Pete's Dragon

 A Boy and his Dragon                                                     3/5


Full of Heart
     Though the movie pulls on the heart stings as much as it can, sometimes it works

Perfect Tone
     Pete's Dragon feels like a folklore being retold considering its setting

Original Song
     Something Wild by Lindsey Stirling and The Dragon Song are both standouts

Cinemascore Win!
   As shown below, Pete's Dragon scored a convented A on Cinemascore



Rotten Tomatoes 86%                                   Cinemascore: A

Pete's Dragon is the third live action adaptation of a classic disney story this year, the first of which was the fantastic Jungle Book and the second being the not so fantastic Alice Through the Looking Glass, but whereas The Jungle Book is more or less a direct translation of the classic animated movie (plus or minus a few changes) Pete's Dragon takes a more drastic approach. The plot, the characters, even the setting is changed this time around to adapt the lesser revered Pete's Dragon from 1977, and it works, it works really well. Making Elliot (the dragon) a physical entity gives the whole film a since of magic and wonderment, but unlike many other films, Pete's Dragon allows itself to breath throughout the movie leading to some heartfelt moments. All credit goes to David Lowery for this, you can tell that a lot of care and heart was put into this project, and this summer that's something really refreshing.

Pete's Dragon is a very good film, but their are a few nitpicks here and their I should point out that held the film back from being as great as I think it could have been. For one, the protagonist, Pete isn't all that interesting. We're told throughout the story that Pete is brave, but his actions are more dictated by fear and uncertainty then bravery. Also the rest of the cast outside of Elliot is relatively simple, and can be describe via a few adjectives. It's all not a big deal just holds the film back from being to deep or compelling. Finally like many movies this one also has a weak third act, sure its exciting but considering the tone the film struck with me I would have liked a more subdued climax.

All in all though I really liked Pete's Dragon, more I thought I would when I first heard about this movie. It strikes a near perfect tone, the relationship between Pete and Elliot is handled really well, and the movie can strum up a few feels. If your curious check this one out, if your like me you might be surprised by what you find.

Notice, August 11

Just another quick update. Since I have to work each day this weekend, Im going to be a little behind on the movies coming out, including Pete's Dragon, Sausage Party and Florence Foster Jenkins. I want to see all of these movies so I will have quick reviews and thoughts up in time.

Suicide Squad

Just a little bit Insane                                                      3/5



Soundtrack
    You herd them in the trailers, and their all in the film

Standout!
     Will Smith as Deadshot is his best blockbuster role in years

Original Song
    Its called Heathens by Twenty One Pilots and its awsome. 

Thematic
    Themes of Redemption and Sacrifice are highlighted throughout 


Rotten Tomatos 26%                                    Cinemascore: B+

The only reason I give Suicide Squad a passing score is because their are sparks of brilliance in this film, and ultimately despite the films various flaws they shine through and delivered me a fun time. However buyer beware, Suicide Squad's plot and pacing is just as zany as some of its titled characters: plotholes, awkward cuts and editing decision, all this and more exist in spades in this DCEU sequel. Even some of the character motivations and origins are poorly explained and executed. Check your mind at the door ladies and gentlemen, this film will defy your understanding otherwise.

First let me address the positives. Positive number one: the performances. Everybody here has a character to fill and for the most part they all do it well, particularly Will Smith as Deadshot, who embodies the heart and soul of the Suicide Squad while also caring most of the action on his shoulders. Positive number two: the message. This is a film about redemption; Director David Ayer in an interview said that the difference between being just a bad guy and being evil is that even a bad guy can be redeemed. This movie emphasizes this message very well; I site a remember a particular scene featuring The Squad at a bar that won me over. Lastly this movie caries a particular swagger to it and its just plain fun. The same swagger and fun may have been lost somewhere in the second act, but its still worth acknowledging it effectiveness in introducing the cast.

Now for the negatives, and dare I say there are many so I'll try to summarize. The biggest flaw by far in Suicide Squad are the various plotholes, the biggest of which are Jared Leto's Joker and star Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn. The two characters are played very well, but simply put there was no need for either character to be in this movie. Its a shame too because these characters are iconic, yet while watching the movie it became apparent quickly that Harley Quinn serves as a detriment to her team. If Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) is so tactical, why did she enlist Harley who would ultimately bring out the joker risking her entire operation? It's just poor script writing and feels more forced then anything. This is just one of the many plotholes that plague the production, but the muck doesn't stop there. A lot of the action is poorly edited and just uninteresting, characters leave and show up with barely any warning, and the last ten minutes is a complete clusterf**k.

This year the DCEU released two movies. Batman v. Superman tried to be grand and philosophical but fell on its head and dropped the goods. Suicide Squad doesn't make the mistake of being bigger then it should be, and instead when it fails (and it fails a lot) it doesn't feel as disappointing. Perhaps thats secret strategy of Suicide Squad, shrinking the scope so that when it fumbles its not out of it's league. Maybe it's just a bad movie and I'm only going soft on it because I love comic book adaptations? But despite all this I genially believe their are nuggets of greatness in this movie that deserve greater thought and discussion to them, the irony is you have to check your brain at the door to ignore everything else.

Should Ghostbusters get a Sequel?

As of today, August 3rd, the new Ghostbusters has made just over 160 million worldwide. To put that in perspective the movie cost 144mil to make and the movie likely had a marketing budget around 50-70million dollars (we'll just stay with 50 to be safe) so Ghostbusters is still in the red. If the movie keeps going strong on the domestic front Sony might make just enough to break even (especialally considering theaters keep a chunk of the profits) and that's not what this movie was meant to do. Ghostbusters is a family friendly, multigenerational property that has been ripe for a reboot for years. The movie wasn't awful either, I mentioned in my review that I though it was pretty funny only held back by its generic tendencies.

So all this got me thinking, Does Ghostbusters deserve a sequel? Sony has been promising a sequel despite the mediocre preformance so we still might get one. If it were up to me I would say sure; there is just enough good in Ghostbusters to warrant seeing these characters again. A sequel is also a great chance to fix what was wrong the first time around, next time we may get more laughs and less forced cameos.

Unfortunately I don't really think a sequel is worth it for Sony. The marketing for this movie turned into a war zone of tragic misrepresentations. The trailers were awful and the fan reception was even uglier. If you hated this movie you were sexist, if you were looking forward to this movie then you were betraying the original classic. There really is no middle ground on the internet sometimes, and Ghostbusters brought that polarization to light.

Ultimately I think this issue resolves into two camps with vastly different answers. Does Ghostbusters deserve a sequel? I would say yes because I think this is a franchise with plenty of potential to go up (especially now that the internet shit storm that it stirred is behind us). But is Ghostbusters worth a sequel? To that and to Sony as well I think it's a no. When all is said and done this movie will preform marginally over minimum sucess. The hell that Sony suffered in large part to their marketing and the nature of the property was adapting is reason enough to call a shut down. Who really knows though, maybe Ghostbusters 2 is still in the cards. Maybe Sony has a plan to make the sequel twice as good, maybe they'll really nail the marketing next time around. Only time will tell but I think we can all safely, and promptly, lay this Ghostbusters to a well earned rest.

Bad Moms

Good Girls Gone Bad                                                         2/5


Its funny
     I had several belly laughs over the hour

Crowd Pleaser
     An A on Cinemasore and an applause after the credits in my theatre









Rotten Tomatos 63%                                       Cinemascore: A

My biggest concern going into Bad Moms was with Mila Kunis (as Amy Mitchell) both as a mom and a comedic lead, truth be told though she's the best part about this movie. Bad Moms is funny and is defiantly going to be a favorite for any "Moms" on a girls night out (which seems to be the main audience from my experience). Bad Moms deserves the praise its getting but what holds it back for me is just some standard script problems. For a movie about a woman trying to become her best self, and seperate from societies expectations, the script really doesn't try too. Did this movie really need a villian to victimize Amy? Was a romance between Amy and the hot dad (in the midst of a divorce) essential to the plot? No, not at all. These elements were constructed simply to justify Amy's actions and to give the audience someone to root for and against. Funny? Yes. But a compelling story is absent under the promise of girl power the movie boast proudly of.

Jason Bourne

Bourne into Action                                                              3/5


World Adventure
     Athens, Greece; Berlin, Germany and Vegas are all featured locals

Action Packed
     Its a Bourne film with Greengrass, What did you expect?
   







Rotten Tomatos 57%                                         Cinemascore: A-

Jason Bourne is a great action movie trapped within a generic film. The plot of most action movies are rarely exceptional, but the spy genre has had its bar raised with recent movies such as 2012s Skyfall, 2014s Winter Solider and last years Mission Impossible: Rouge Nation. Jason Bourne works best in one of it's several action set pieces or fantastic chase scenes, and begins to drag when the plot needs to kick in to recycle the same "global surveillance" plot (featured in most the movies listed above) and to remind us how bad Tommy Lee Jones is as a corrupt government director. Despite its clear flaws Jason Bourne is still a great reminder as to why the original trilogy is still beloved, Greengrass knows how to direct action and thats absolutely the case here.

Ice Age: Collision Course

Collision Course to the Head                                              1/5


Animated
    It's and animated movie (Thats really the best I can say)











Rotten Tomatos 11%                                       Cinemascore: A-

No surprises here. I enjoy going to see most movies, but the Ice Age movies are basically the movie equivalent of homework for me, I do it to give it a fair shot but expect little in return. Movies like Ice Age: Collision Course are forgivable only because they let me appreciate good movies even more; I'll let my thoughts out quick. Pretty much everything outside the animation is mentally disgusting. The only time I chuckled was from Simon Pegg's character, a weasel named Buck, but even that deminshed as the film went on. Is there anything that surprised me? Actually yes, the film was a little racist so that wasn't expected. Outside that and a couple chuckles Ice Age: Collision Course only delivers butt jokes and a throbbing headache.

Thursday July 28, 2016 Update

Coming out this weekend is the new Bourne Movie Jason Bourne and the R rated comedy Bad Moms. I wanted to use this post as an opertunity to say that I won't be able to write full reviews on either movie coming out considering that I usually go to see movies on Thursday nights and this particular night I am going to be out with friends of mine to celebrate a birthday. I may post some quick thoughts later in the week but first I need the chance to see the movies and I'll be working all weekend.

Next week however is Suicide Squad, the much anticipated DC movie featuring a gathering of Villains including Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Will Smith as Deadshot, and Jared Leto as the Joker. This is one of my most anticipated movies of the year and I have already made arrangements to see it as soon as it comes out. Hopefully it lives up to the hype.

Thats about it for now, I keep my posts updated and hopefully will get the chance to give my thoughts on Bourne and Bad Moms.

Star Trek: Beyond

A Tribute to It's Stars and Legacy                                      4/5


Epic!
     JJ may have left but the gravitas has stayed

Thematic
     Identity and unity are discussed and dissected at a narrative level

Action Packed
     Director Justin Lin brings excitement and a level of grit

Original Song
     Sledgehammer by Rihanna might garner attention come oscar season   



Rotten Tomatos 85%                                      Cinemascore: A-

The rebooted Star Trek film from 2009 is one of my favorite films of all time, not just because its a great sci-fi epic, but because it's an amazing character piece that discusses the balance between fate and free will. 2013's Into Darkness was divisive and outraged many hardcore fans (which I can't really consider myself apart of), but as a movie I thought again it was outstanding, integrating a deep conversation about the nature of mortality with the thrills of a summer popcorn flick. Star Trek: Beyond has a huge quota to fill. It's marked not only by director JJ. Abrams departure from the franchise (since he left Star Trek to do Star Wars and I have no regrets there), but has to stand for and celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the franchise.  I'm happy to say that Beyond works on all the levels it needs to and is a worthy model to the franchises history as well as it's future forward.

The story this time around is classic tv Sci-fi (which Star Trek has it's roots in). The Enterprise is attacked by an unknown enemy and it's crew is separated and marooned on a unexplored planet. The various members of the crew lead by Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) must find a way to reunite and stop their mysterious attacker, Krall (Idris Elba), from enacting revenge on the federation. Beyond takes its simple premise and makes it feel timeless. It fits right in with it's competing blockbusters and I believe it should satisfy any common movie goer just from an entertainment aspect.

But this is Star Trek, and like any great Sci-fi film it deserves substance, to be examined and to discover layers under the surface and fortunately Star Trek delivers yet again. This is a story about identity and discovering purpose through unity; Kirk and Spock are both at a crossroads in their five year journey and they begin to reconsider why they are traveling in the first place. As they story develops, and the crew is marooned, it's only by working together, and for each other, that they find purpose and the will to carry out their mission even though it could mean certain death. The theme is continued further with the villain, though it only developers late into the third act so I'll skip out on the details. We are warned in the trailer that "It's easy to get lost in the vastness of space" and that just the kind of crisis we see Kirk and Spock (and by extension their crew) struggle with in this movie.

Though the movie makes marks of greatness it arguably the most flawed of the recent trilogy. For one Krall, the villain, remains fairly undeveloped for a majority of the movie and even when more is revealed several inconsistencies remain. The CGI is a little lacking toward the end but not nearly enough to distract from the action. Lastly there is the script co-written by Simon Pegg (Who I'm a huge fan of); though the characters he pair together are near brilliant decisions, every now and then the film will hit a scene that seems a little too 'scripted'. I know that sounds stupid since the whole film is suppose to be scripted but it was just something I started to pick up on, either the scenes were stale or the dialogue was too 'one-liney.' I'm not too sure but it only happened two or three times and It never halted or shorted the smile on my face.

I loved Star Trek Beyond and would recomend it to any Sci-fi fan, any action fan, or anybody just curious as to what Star Trek is all about. I can't consider myself a Treky but I love good science fiction and Star Trek has a knack for delivering great stories with insightful commentaries. Going forward, Star Trek: Beyond is a standout this summer and will stick in my memory for some time to come.


Side note...
Beyond pays as much homage to it's fallen star's as it does the legacy of the franchise (hence the title). If your a fan of Leonard Nimoy or wanted to pay respects to the young Anton Yelchin, Beyond will thank you, and will satisfy as a worthy tribute.

The Infiltrator

Follow the Money Up                    3/5


Preformance
     It's Bryan Cranston, need I say more.

Nail Biter
     Tense at parts.

     

Rotten Tomatos 68%          Cinemascore:A-


It's not often I go into a movie with few expectations. By the time any movie releases I'm usually over saturated with the summary, maybe a few trailers, and dozens of reviews, however I had the fortune of going into The Infiltrator without the foresight of what I would be seeing. The premise is all to familiar while being rooted in reality; Bryan Cranston plays real life undercover agent Robert Mazur and comes up with a scheme to launder the money behind Escobar's drug trade freezing their assets in the process. As expected Cranston plays his role fantastically, its not really an oscar caliber preformance considering the character (as he was written) in the script wasn't anything exceptional, but it would still be a sin to ignore the impact on a technical level. Cranston's portrayal of Mazur makes the story fun when it's too serious, and makes some moments tense though we know he will be fine. The story is flawed, several plot lines just straight up dissapear or don't make since at all, and the direction is only just ok. Despite these objections, they didn't subtract too much from the movie as the plot unfolded. As non fiction thrillers go, I was glued to my seat and invested. Chasing the money along with Robert Mazur is one chase worth checking out.

Ghostbusters

Scaring up Laughs and Nonsense         2/5


Funny as Hell
     Paul Feig and his girls bring the laughs but Hemsworth gets the gold

Origin Story
     It's no comic book but a superhero story this is

Nostalgia Bomb
     Cameos, Callbacks and more even though it's not a strength

Standout!
     Seriously Hemsworth makes this movie



Rotten Tomatos 73%        Cinemascore: B+

It's here...man it feels dead on arrival. The internet has been butchering this movie for months now (no thanks to those horrible trailers). Despite my doubts though I remained faithful to this movie: "It's going to be great" I thought, "The cast and crew they got are great, Paul Feig is a perfect fit" I thought. Now that it out, its hard not to reflect on the roller coster it has been. This went from one of my most anticipated of 2016, to one of my greatest concerns, to a critically acclaimed movie, to finally just ok. Disappointment, that's what I fell coming out of Ghostbusters. After all the will it won't it suck, could it be great talk ect. its just ok. Here's why:

Ghostbusters hit notes on two spectrums, being really enjoyable and being really dumb. When this movie works it works big time. The leads are funny, I ended up enjoying Leslie Jones the most out of the four (surprising considering I hated her from the trailers). Feig's direction can be found in the movies more subtle moments, like the Ghostbusters interviewing their secretary, Kevin (Hemsworth). Best of all the humor delivers (...most of the time). The standout in this department is Hemsworth who gave me several belly laughs (you know the laughs that make you burst out really hard). Ghostbusters was certainly worth the price of admission and kept a smile on my face for minutes at a time.

Sadly this movie has three big problems, first is the comedy. I know I just said that I laughed and the main cast is funny but there were plenty of times the script pushed a little too hard for a laugh. The result was more of an uncomfortable pause as the actresses tried to stick a rough landing. Second were the cameos. Cameos in a movie should never be a bad thing, but here we had to stop the action just so the secretary from the first ghostbusters could pop up. The amount of cameos is disturbing but most importantly nobody seems to care when they show up. What's the point of seeing Bill Murray in a Ghostbusters movie if he has no bearing on the plot and delivers his lines as enthusiastically a domesticated sloth.

But worst of all, worst then both of those issues combined, is the villain. The Villian in this movie is soooooooooo bad, soooooooo obnoxious, soooooooo stupidly forced,  soooooooo blatantly written , that it makes me question how smart studios think we are (not so smart, not smart at all it would appear). When he introduces himself to Leslie's character I was on board, but by the fourth time he talks to himself or the audience about how much he hates humanity and how unfair the world is I was done. I really don't think Sony cares anymore, I know he is just a plot devise but he basically rips all the fun away whenever he's on screen (well until the second half when he just starts body hopping but the trailers already spoiled that didn't they).

In the end Ghostbusters is fine, it's just fine. Sure Sony, bring on the sequel. Sure Internet, tare this movie apart. Sure hyper feminist hate anybody who hates this movie because they must hate woman. In the end though, the irony to all of this is that Ghostbusters really isn't really deserving of any of it (the hate, the drama, the possible sequel) at all.

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

Party With Efron and DeVine            3/5


Funny as Hell
     I laughed...a lot

Vacation!
     I'm a sucker for vacation movie plots, add to the escapism I guess

     

Rotten Tomatos 39%        Cinemascore: B


Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates was the adult comedy to debut this weekend alongside The Secret Life of Pets and it does exactly what its suppose to (provided your into this sort of comedy). This movie is a cluster of sex jokes, some of them really funny and some barely worth a chuckle, still if your firing 100 shells a minute a couple are going to be bullseyes. The writing in this movie is actually sharper then it lets on at first and provides several great sandboxes for its characters to let loose in. Mike and Dave has plenty of moments that struck me just right but its greatest weakness is its four main leads (Efron, Kendrick, DeVine and Plaza). Many of the movies scenarios call for over the top reactions but these guys just have no off switch. DeVine in particular started to feel less human as the movie went on because his delivery was just so overpowering. That being said the point of the movie is that the main four characters are a little out of touch so it didn't crash and burn the plot like it may in other movies. This movie wont be for everyone, but considering how much I laugh I have to say I would recomend it and watch it again in the future.

The Secret Life of Pets

A Pet Story                             3/5


Animated
    Another solid animated movie this year

Standout!
     Jenny Slate as Gidget and Kevin Hart as Snowball

Trailer Sold
     This movie opened huge with the aid of a great marketing campaign

     
     

Rotten Tomatos 74%       Cinemascore: A-

The Secret Life of Pets is another solid addition to a year that has been dominated by animated films. It's premise is simple: What do our pets do when we're not around? While that question is answered in on a variety of occasions, but the true story is about Max (Louis C.K.) who is his owner, Kate's, favorite pet until she adopts another dog named Duke (Eric Stonestreet). After trying to get rid of one another, Max and Duke end up on the street trying to find their way home while the pets Max used to live with organize a search party, lead by Max's secret admirer Gidget (Jenny Slate), to find them.

First let me address the elephant in the room, if this plot and premise sounds a lot like Toy Story don't worry your right. This movie takes as much from Toy Story as the Force Awakens did from A New Hope, but as I mentioned in that review (and as I will mention here) a movie can borrow plots and ideas from each other as long as there is something new it brings to the table; I believe this aspect of Pets is redeemed with the characters. Snowball (Kevin Hart) and Gidget easily delivered the most laughs but I found myself behind most of the characters in this movie and loved watching them bounce off each other. The movie has a grasp on its boundaries and when to hit the right notes.

For the first half of Pets I found myself enjoying the movie more so then Dory, however a better movie this is not. Many of the character arcs in this movie are a little underdeveloped making for some convenient second act character changes. For example Duke in the beginning of the movie is a complete jerk to Max, even though Max hasn't really welcomed him, but by the second act it seems this mean spirited identity of his in completely dropped so the two can work together.

The Secret Life of Pets is everything the trailers promised, a fun adventure through the big apple starring our favorite animals at home. I was with this movie from opening credits and had a couple good laughs along the way. If your curious, it won't bite to check it out.

The BFG

First its Sweet, Then it's Silly     2/5


Visual Treat
     The CGI and world here felt right at home with the tone.



     

Rotten Tomatos 73%       Cinemascore: A-



So here is a surprise, I actually enjoyed Tarzan more than the BFG. The BFG is so sweet sometimes you can't help smiling, but that third act...wow, this movie gets really silly. There is an appeal to it and it still maintains its charm but I have to admit a movie that would have sold me on its premise and tone lost me as soon as the Queen of England came into the picture (If you've seen the movie then you know I mean that literally).

Mark Rylance is charming as the BFG, and the motion capture work is great too. The little girl in this movie Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) is really cute, even though she comes across as a little too self aware for her age sometimes. The BFG is a movie that was always entended to be for kids and families so it will please them fine, I guess I shouldn't have expected to much more then that.

The Free State of Jones

Unfocused and Uninteresting          2/5


Set Design
     The South never looked so good


Great Performance
     "'He Died with Honor' 'No. He just Died'"

Rotten Tomatos: 43%         Cinemascore A-


You know, movies are meant to be a form of escapism but its not a good thing if you can't tell when a movie is going to end, hence my experience with The Free State of Jones. This movie is looooooooong, unforgivably long. And I'm not just talking about the run time (which is already nearly two and a half hours) but every shot, every interaction, it all seems to take an eternity in this movie. Worst of all the movie moves past its subject matter to continue the story of its main character Newton Knight (Mcconaughey) and present a larger commentary on Slavery and the sins of reconstruction era USA. It's not that reconstruction isn't interesting but when the title of the movie is "The Free State of Jones" and that only ends up being about 33% of your movie you might need to adjust your focus. It's a shame too because this movie is expertly acted, it looks beautiful, but by the hour and a half mark I was bored out of my mind and wondering desperately when it would all end.

The Legend of Tarzan

King of the Jungle, Lord of the Apes   2/5


ADVENTURE!
     Sam Jackson and Tarzan Traveling through the jungle is as fun as it sounds

Well Cast
     Skarsgård, Jackson, and Waltz all work and add to the movie

Original Song
     Better Love by Hozier...I really liked it 





Rotten Tomatos: 36%      Cinemascore A-



Damn I had a fun with The Legend of Tarzan! The plot is refreshing considering most adaptations would have sticked with the tried and true "origin story" sticking too a more conventional lord of the apes story. This one adapts its character in the context of the Belgian Genocide and sees Tarzan trying to reconnect with his roots. So how does it all come together? Well not as great as you think. Unfortunately for everything refreshing and fun there comes a boring flashback, or a sloppy action scene.

The films strongest moments are between the lead, Skarsgard, and the nearly always welcome Samuel Jackson. Jackson's character, Dr. Willson, and Tarzan each are experienced men in their own ways, but where as Tarzan is more in his element in the Jungle and Willson is not. The two are quick to work with one another making for a duo that's easily to root for. There is also Christoph Waltz, another favorite of mine, who makes an otherwise bland villain more enjoyable and sinister even if he doesn't end up amounting to much. The film at its best is a solid adventure film with the backdrop of the African Congo, and there is to plenty enjoy in that regard.

Where the adventure was enough to sell me the set pieces were enough to turn me off. They're really not that good; the action is either poorly cut or just a cluster of slow-mo shots. The CGI is barely passable, with many of the apes coming across as plastic in some shots. There are several plot inconstancies too, in some scene Tarzan's apes seem only to grasp absolutes making them difficult to communicate to, but by the end of the film Tarzan's adopted brother comes across just as intelligent as him. Finally the cinematography flipped between exceptional too piss pour frequently, making the film look as inconsistent as the plot sometimes.

The Legend of Tarzan is not a bad film it's just a poorly edited one. All the problems I had with the film seem to be choices that were made in post production which I guess excuses the Director, David Yates, since he began filming Fantastic Beasts before this movie was finished. I really enjoyed Tarzan, just not enough to recomend it in the future.

Independence Day: Resurgence

Their Back...               (2/5)

Accolades Incude

Nostalgia Bomb!
(Get ready to see some familiar faces)

Destruction Porn
"They Love To Hit the Landmarks"

I would be lying if I said I didn't have fun watching Indepencene Day: Resurgence, the followup to Emmerich's flawed yet beloved disaster movie of the mid 90s, but pull back the shiny first layer and the film is hiding some big problems. The characters are bland (I don't think I remember anybody's name), the plot is exactly what you think (and when they try to do something new they telegraph exactly whats going to happen), and plotholes...don't even get me started on the plotholes. Couple that with some bad acting and a dead script and this movie starts to fall apart. By the end of the film I got my Humans vs Aliens fix but thats all this movie seems to offer and the studio is already set to shove a sequel down our throats.

This movie I think is doomed to live in the shadow of the original and will probably go the way of Terminator Genysis before it: a Sci-fi sequel trying to capture the original's magic but leaving all of the first's genius and commentary behind (except Independence Day: Resurgence lacks the charisma and heart). Independence Day"Resurgence won't let you down if you want to see earths second war against the locus but don't be begging for any more than that.

New Rating System, And Why Im Using It

This post is a bit of a long one but I wanted to covey how I want to review movies going forward.
Ok Let's Start:

Indulge Me for a moment if you will:
You go to the movie with two of your friends. The opening credits start and already your friends are digging it. As the movie goes on it seems your enjoying the experience less and less but your friends are experiencing the opposite. They're laughing and getting wrapped up into the action but your just getting bored. When the film wraps up you ask your friends what they though and unsurprisingly they say they liked it, in some cases you can sympathize why. However when you convey your feelings of the movie your friends they stare at you perplexed and confused, you just saw the same film they did yet they had a completely different experience.

This scenario is in no way suppose to reflect any particular experience I had, nor is it meant to stir me into a rant, but I did want it to mirror how we experience movies as a community. Movies are never unanimously loved, and you can always find somebody with a different opinion then yours, yet, if there is one thing I have learned over the last year from seeing more and more movies, its that movies in design are made to be loved. No studio sets out to make a bad movie, yet a majority of flicks that come out in a given year tend to score unfavorably on critics sites like Rotten Tomatoes (If you talked to me in person then you know how much I bring up RT). Ultimately though these movies are seen by tons of people and working as the guy who sells the tickets I can tell you its rare to here somebody doesn't like a movie.

So here's the dilemma, is there really such a thing as a bad movie? Well no, just as there such thing as a perfect movie either; this ideology is consistent though all mediums of art: novels, paintings, video games, anything that is created to elicit and emotional response. There are plenty of movies I dislike but I still want to give them their due if they made me laugh or I enjoyed my self. I want to be able to say that I didn't like a movie but here is where it stood out to me; comedies for examples never seem to make a good movie for me but if it made me laugh it should get some credit, it is a comedy after all.

Long Overdue Update

Wow its been a long time since I posted anything, I still have been watching movies but I kinda fell off the map for taking care of the blog. Im going to see Independence Day: Resurgence later tonight but here's everything I've seen so far scored:

Zootopia (3/5)
Allegiant (2/5)
Batman v Superman (2/5)
My Big Fat Greek Weeding 2 (2/5)
The Jungle Book (4/5)
Keanu (3/5)
Captain America Civil War (5/5) *Probably My Favorite so Far this Year
The Angry Birds Movie (2/5)
Neighbors 2 (2/5)
Nice Guys (4/5)
Alice Through The Looking Glass (1/5)
X-Men Apocalypse (4/5)
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (4/5)
TMNT: Out of the Shadows (2/5)
Warcraft (2/5)
Central Intelligence (2/5)
Finding Dory (3/5)

Anyway those are the movies I have seen since my last post and my rough scores of them. I think I'm going to forgo my "out of five" rating system. I might keep it around but I have been thinking about changing up my rating system a little bit where I can award movies accolades based on certain areas (I put up another post about that later today). Thanks for checking in and I'll try to keep the post coming.

Captain America: The Winter Solider Review

So this Review is one I did for a film class this semester at school and I felt appropriate to post now considering Captain America: Civil War comes out this week. Its fairly long but I hope it conveys why I love this movie so much well.

Captain America: The Winter Solider

A movie critique by Matt Caswell

In the current age of modern cinema, large scale summer blockbuster dominate the box office year after year and no studio has had more repeat success then that of Marvel Studios. By producing several big budget comic book adaptions many have criticized the studios lack of innovation in storytelling, claiming they rater stick to a proven formula rater than reinventing the tired wheel. Marvels’ solution to this criticism is simple, each new film the studio puts out falls within the comic book movie genre but also a genre of its own, as is the case for a favorite film of mine, not just by the studio but maybe of all time, Captain America: The Winter Solider, an edgy conspiracy thriller disguised as a superhero flick.

The Story is one is misdirection and espionage and it all centers around the titel character, Captain America aka Steve Rogers (Chris Evens). Steve is a man out of time, unfrozen in the early 2010s and forced into a future that has surpassed him, the story is one that has him trying to re-find his place in the world. He is an expert tactician and a proven physical force which makes a prime candidate for the intelligent agency SHIELD; they take Rogers in and quickly he becomes one of there best operatives. But black ops has a dark side as Steve realizes, after he learns that agents under his command have had parallel objectives that put protecting people as a secondary objectives, such as the lethal but loyal Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson). Things unravel fast but soon Steve founds out that he has been part of a conspiracy that involves all of SHIELD, which as it turns out has nurtured Hydra, a terrorist organization thought to have been eliminated after WWII. Push comes to shove and eventually Steve and only a handful of others are all that stands in the way of the world and those who seek to control it.

Superficially this movie seems like the expected Marvel fare, yet the film is built upon the foundation of a political thriller giving it more depth after multiple viewings. It has some of the finest action from any movie in 2014, diversity in action including car chases, dogfights, and quick hand-to-hand combat keep every encounter fresh and exciting. The sound editing is sharp and impactful, The writing is crisp and provoking. This movie was celebrated upon release and prospered both as a critical and box office hit. Rotten Tomato’s settled on a 89% where as the audience rating placed it a 92% and a A on Cinemascore [1,2]. Credible sources such as Roger Ebert.com count it among the most fun of the many Marvel movies to come out over the years where as Rolling Stones adds that it’s the depth of the movie that makes its punch [3,4]. An article published from Vulture.com by David Edelstein paints the movie as one part CGI noise fest but other part intelligent conspiracy thriller such as Three Days of the Candor before it. In my opinion Captain America: The Winter Solider is one of the best, if not the best, genre film to be release over the last three years; the significance in its message is one about truth and its skill in delivering a narrative is among best of the many films I have seen nominated for best picture these last several years. While not without its flaws, it’s the remarkable strengths of The Winter Solider that paints it as both an exciting action adventure and a compelling political thriller.

While there are many players at work, it all comes back to the title character, Steve Rogers, so lets begin there. As mentioned in the summery Steve is a man without purpose in the modern times. When he was made to be a super solider there was a war to fight and bonds to sell, so despite his existence as a particular anomaly there was always work to be found. In 2014 this is a different story, especially in the universe Steve inhibits. The world has changed, Steve Rogers isn’t the only superhero anymore, and those who once remember him as such are slowly fading away. As his now 80 year old plus lover Peggy Carter puts it “[Steve] saved the world. We rather mucked it up” [6].

However, as the movie slowly begins to unravel, it isn’t Steve’s status as a super solider but his confidence in his ideals that make up his strongest attributes. Natasha risks the lives of hostages to recover classified Intel and Steve takes the issue all the way the way to SHIELD’s director, Nick Fury [6], showing that one of Steve’s most important values is a sense of trust. Then after seeing that Nick’s master plan involves the construction of a constant “quantum surge and threat ” analysis Steve quits SHIELD all together. Steve is constantly told to adapt to the times that people can’t be trusted, but he rejects them and remains resolute.

If it hasn’t become overwhelmingly obvious by this point, Captain America is a metaphor for America (crazy I know). At one point he was the pinnacle of human potential and now, while still formidable in his own right, he seems to have been matched by other forces of “good.” In this sense SHIELD can be interpreted as what America, or rather the world has become and they insist old-fashioned Steve to get with the times, to which he just can’t do. Based on this initial set up it would seem that were in for a story about America’s place in the world, or perhaps the death of the American dream, but this is a superhero film so perhaps that would be a little to dramatic. No instead this is a film about freedom and the toll and responsibility we have to persevere it; Steve Rogers is an embodiment of this idealism so the story is figured around him as its anchor.

Steve comes back into the story shortly after Nick is attacked for having the classified information he recovered from the Lemurian Star. All of the sudden he is sure that SHIELD is compromised, there is nobody he trusts, and nowhere sure to turn to except to the perhaps the worlds biggest boy scout for help. As the plot moves forward more and more characters begin to doubt there place in the world, and characters like Natasha Romanoff find themselves drawn to Steve to complement there disillusionment. Natasha has worked as an assassin for SHIELD as a means of her own redemption from the KGB, but after leaning that those she served could have darker intentions she is uncertain of herself, and begins to doubt the good she thinks she’s done. But to Steve it doesn’t matter as he assumes the good in her regardless, and in return he earns her loyalty [6]. Again we see that Steve’s greatest “superpower” isn’t his formidable stature but his ability to inspire others even when they most doubt themselves. Connecting this to the larger symbolism, its not America’s status as a superpower that makes us strong but what we can represent at out best.

American symbolism aside, the larger conversation at play in the film is one of freedom vs. security and the price we need to pay for each. Nick Fury sees three airships that can take out any potential threat without warning as a necessary precaution that needs to be taken with today’s world, but to Steve he refers to it as “holding a gun to the world and calling it peace” [6]. Already the movie engages its audience in its larger themes but it goes one step further. As SHILED is later revealed to be Hydra, we see that their leader Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford)  believes humanity to be a threat to itself and intends to use the technology Nick invented to protect people to usher in a new world order. Clearly the message here is pro freedom and that relinquishing our freedoms for security comes at the risk of losing that freedom all together, but there is more at play here. Surprisingly we have to dig even deeper to grasp the full scope of the message in this film.

Lets discuss the other title character now, Steve’s old best bud from 1945, Bucky Barns, otherwise known as the Winter Solider. Bucky seems to be a bit of an enigma in this story as he appears toward the third act of the narrative to oppose Steve as both a physical and emotional foil, he seems just there to add stakes to the story and set the franchise up for the sequel to final. He seemed out of place in this political thriller upon a first viewing, an interesting character yet inconsequential to the larger themes at play. However after subsequent viewings Bucky’s connection to the theme began to make more and more sense, his placement and situation is critical to understanding the larger message at play.

The Winter Solider is the embodiment of Hydra’s vision for humanity both in body and in will. Bucky is experimented on and augmented just as Steve was until he became the perfect killing machine. Unfrozen until his next mission, he carry’s out his objectives relentlessly (as we learn from Natasha) until his target is eliminated at which point Bucky’s mind is wiped and he is frozen until his next assignment. Already a parallel can be drawn between Bucky in this movie and Shaw from The Manchurian Candidate, as both are brainwashed soldiers who are used to forward a darker political agenda, whether this was creator Ed Brubaker’s attention or nor [7]. What is clear is that the Winter Solider is a killing machine devoid of will and choice, trained to be the worlds most effective assassin and neutralized until the next target arises. Heartless? Yes. Efficient? Absolutely! Pierce’s goals main seem inhumane and cruel, but just as Plato’s allegory of the cave laid out the enlightenment of men who ventured to the forbidden light, it would seem he has seen a future for humanity that may hold some credibility. He is not a villain who twirls his mustache and constantly plots the hero’s demise, but a complicated human being who is willing to sacrifice his humanity to shape the world into something better then himself. The direct foil to Pierce in this respect is Nick Fury who when asked if he has the courage to take the next step into the future by Pierce replies “..[he has] the courage not too” [6]. Nick Fury is willing to make sacrifices but refuses to sacrifice his humanity to do so, he keeps his eyes on the greater good even if he sometimes loses his faith in everyone else.

Now if Fury is the direct foil to Pierce then who else could the direct foil to Bucky be other then Steve. Though they may seem to represent two very separate ideals, Steve’s relationship with SHIELD and Bucky’s enslavement to Hydra share some eerie similarities. While SHIELD isn’t brainwashing Steve they were manipulating him by withholding information. Nick calls it compartilization and “nobody spills the secrets because nobody knows them all” [6]. Once Steve learns about project insight he resigns and refuses to apart of a corrupt ideal, but imagine how many missions he completed for SHIELD before then. Within this system Captain America is to SHIELD as The Winter Solider is to Hydra. It’s a complicated parallel but the answer to this struggle of freedom vs. security ends up being one of truth and in this case the truth is being withheld.

Within the narrative as decade long secrets come to the surface uncovering truth seems to be the definitive solution to the crisis Steve and SHIELD faces. Toward the climax of the film Nick wants to salvage what’s left of SHIELD but Steve says that it all has to go, that everything needs to come on the table and SHIELD would have to die in order to take hydra down with it. It doesn’t just stop there, when confronted with the possibility of having to kill his best friend in order to complete his mission Steve rejects this and decides to appeal to Bucky’s humanity in order to save him; through the truth he saves Bucky from himself and recovers what too many believed to be lost.

It would seem in this world of intrigue, espionage and danger the shinning beacons that once stood for freedom have been dirtied and forgotten. “Cap” is a relic of the past and he tries to adapt to a changing world, but the more he learns what the world has lost the more he clings onto the ideals of the past, and by extension of that the hope that he may save his friend. Now we can see the big picture. Not so subtly the film is discussion about freedom and security but underneath that is a greater narrative about the freedoms we have to lose within the political landscape, plus the rise of surveillance, and the responsibility we have to remain a hold of them. Steve, disillusioned by his place in the world, put his faith in SHIELD whose ideals seemed to correlate with his own until he learned that they don’t. In order to retain what’s precious to him he embarks on a hunt for the truth in order to preserve whatever freedom he, and the world, have to lose. As the Captain himself puts it “The price of freedom is high, but it’s a price [he’s] willing to pay” [6]. Sacrifices may always have to be made the truth can maintain that bit of hope and regain what may have been corrupted.

And as the climax of Captain America: The Winter Solider comes to an end, and Steve has practically sacrificed himself to save the life of his friend, we are presented with an image of this hope. Bucky Barns, the tormented and broken sole dragging the body of man dressed in the colors of the American, flag through the mud to safety. Alone and uncertain of the world he ventures forward into the unknown by himself to recover whatever he thinks he may have lost leaving the hero who it seems gave his life to save his own (except not really because there’s got to be a sequel so ya caps fine, but that’s not the point). Its powerful stuff as it shows just how ready we are to get our hands dirty without thinking of the consequences. Potentially the film may be pointing out how dirty we all ready are, but there is always hope through truth to preserve whatever freedom we may think we have lost.

Truth seems to be the definitive weapon agains many of the sinister personalities we have seen in political film throughout this semester such as Jim Talor in Mr. Smith Goes to Washinton, and Diana Christensen in Network, to even Roger Smith in Roger and Me. The truth often gets lost when things get complicated and that is when our freedoms become the most vulnerable. We seek securities to recover from this lost but even sometimes this can be a half measure or in the case of Captain America: The Winter Solider a dangerous one. As an action, adventure extravaganza Captain America: The Winter Solider delivers the goods but as a political thriller it takes it one step further, discussing a potentially dangerous trend in military and personal escalation in the modern world addressing themes of surveillance, compartilization and the sacrifice of basic freedoms. I haven’t even had the chance to discuss the opening panning across national monuments or some of the more complex character dynamics. It’s a movie not without flaws, there are plenty of things that could make this movie stronger and solidify it even further but to me its pretty damn close to a masterpiece as it extends itself accessible to all ages and with the depth of some of the savviest political thrillers. To say I love this film is an understatement. It is quite simply one of my favorite films of all time and I to this day I ponder new parallels and character motivations. The sign of a great movie is that it sticks with you after the screen is dim and this is one that will stick with me for the rest of my life.

Citations

1.     Captain America: The Winter Soilder. (2014). Retrieved April 25, 2016, from http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/captain_america_the_winter_soldier_2014/.

2.     Cinemascore (2014). Retrived April 25, 2016, from https://www.cinemascore.com/

3.     Travers, P. (2014, April 3). Captain America The Winter Solider.  Retrieved April 25, 2016, from http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/captain-america-the-winter-soldier-20140403

4.     Henderson, O. (2014, April 3). Captain America: The Winter Solider Movie Review (2014) I Roger Evert. Retrieved April 25, 2016, from http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/captain-america-the-winter-soldier-2014

5.     Edelstein, D. (2014). Edelstein on Captain America: The Winter Solider. Beneath the CGI, an Old-School Conspiracy Thriller. Retrieved April 25, 2016 from http://www.vulture.com/2014/04/review-captain-america-the-winter-soldier.html

6.     Feige, K., Russo A., Russo J. (April 4, 2014). Captain America: The Winter Soilder [Motion Picture]. United States: Marvel Studios.

7.     Axelrod, G., Frankenheimer, J. (October 24, 1962). The Manchurian Candidate [Motion Picture]. United States: MGM.