I would call this film "serviceable". It accomplishes what it sets out to, hits all the Sparks marks, but just didn't pull me in. I took issue with how it tried too hard to be too many things, never really satisfying all of them in the end. The dual storyline is handled well in the first half, but after a bit I found myself not caring at all about the current-day characters. The trailers may have promoted the film as the story of a bull rider and young woman finding love despite being from different worlds, but reality is it's a love story about a couple that meet in the early 1940's, as described to a young couple, with a few brief sequences of bull riding thrown in. It succeeds more in its historical fiction than it does as a modern romance or a sports film. The message of the story is clear by the end, as is the case with Nicholas Sparks films, but the movie is unfortunately dull and all over the place.

2.5 Stars (out of 5)

This is a fun entry into the series. I only wish it could be the final chapter because so many of the main storylines are wrapped up and the send-off for Paul Walker is done tastefully, leaving me with a feeling of conclusion. But we all know they'll be more of these films... Oh well.

I still liked Fast 5 the best. It was the first one to really figure out what the franchise is best for, fun, over-the-top stunts, with a self-aware attitude. Furious 7 is more like 5 than 6, which was boring and disappointing compared to the others. The new director, James Wan, brought in a fresh feeling to the film. I especially appreciated the locked camera shots that spun when characters were flipped, creating a fun sense of disorientation.

As with the other recent Fast films, its biggest problem is just having too many characters to pay service to. Dwayne Johnson and Jordana Brewster are essentially written out for most of the film to make way for other characters, but I missed them the entire time. The Rock definitely brings an energy to the film that it sorely needs and when he shows back up at the end things pick back up. That might be why Fast 5 is my favorite.

At the end of the day, the real star of these films are the stunts. Having so many real cars being crashed, blown up, and dropped out of the sky, and with little to no CGI, is impressive, and refreshing to see. So much these days is done with computers, so it's nice to see so many practical effects. The film truly is impressive, even though the script is so flat. Out of all the car-racing-heist-movie-spy thriller-series out there, this is still the best.

3 Stars (out of 5)

There is a definitely a creepy vibe throughout It Follows, and once you leave the theater you'll swear you're being followed, but the story and some of the decisions made in the film turned me off a bit. The visuals are incredible, well thought-out and perfectly executed. 360 degree shots and slow pans set a scary mood, and the color grade gives off an early 80's film vibe. Speaking of the 80s, the score is a brilliant mix of slasher style synthesized sound with a modern mix; very loud, very creepy.

The film felt slow, especially considering its rather short running time, dragging on like the creepy people following the main character in the film. The idea of death always following you, ever so slowly, yet still inevitably catching up with you, is always intriguing to me, whether in a zombie film or in this new take. Without much of anything else happening though, this film is just plain boring at times... But that's my take on it. It's still worth admiring for its creepy atmosphere and beautiful craftsmanship.

3 Stars (out of 5)

This live-action rendering of the classic story manages to pull off being true to its source material as well as to Disney's animated feature. I always felt the animated film from 65 years ago was a tad boring. It was dull, albeit whimsical, and it had a couple memorable moments. This film manages to flesh out the story, telling it in a manner more like historical fiction rather than fairy tale. But at the same time it has the look of something more colorful and striking than an even an animated film. There are plenty of playful nods to the animated version, including keeping characters' color schemes intact, some of the interactions between the cat, Lucifer, and the mice that inhabit the home, and the fairy godmother even says "bibbity bobbity boo" at least once for good measure.

The film opens with a fully fleshed out first act, telling us everything that led to Ella becoming Cinderella, something from the original tale that was sorely lacking in the animated one. And the visuals in this were often times so beautiful it took me out of the story, most notably the blue gown and the incredibly perfect incarnation of the live action glass slippers. I saw the film mainly for Cate Blanchett as the wicked stepmother and she did deliver, but so did everything else, and that was a nice surprise.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)

I like this film so very much, and it is unfortunate the amount of bad press it has received. I can see how folks may be turned off by the story, the underdeveloped characters, and the somewhat gory conclusion, but for me this is a great mixed genre sci-fi film that isn't afraid to be both R-rated and cute at the same time.

Chappie the character is amazing. He's likable, well acted, and beautifully visualized with seamless special effects. The film around him, unfortunately, isn't as well developed. The movie takes cinematic shortcuts, skipping past important exposition to instead indulge in a fun montage. It gives Hugh Jackman's generic badguy character a couple of cheesy one-liners rather than a proper backstory.

Despite its flaws, I found myself caring about the main characters and sitting on the edge of my seat to see how it all was going to end. And as a futurist science-fiction nerd myself, I was pleasantly surprised by the ending, (an ending that has turned off most viewers for coming out of seemingly nowhere). This film is miles ahead of Elysium, and I suspect that if it was shot in the same documentary style as District 9, people might have been more responsive to it. In any case, I love Chappie, no matter how bad his move might be.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)

It's great to see a spy film that's not afraid to be fun! With all the seriousness of the newer Bond films and the darkness or realism of other new spy thrillers, it's nice to see something more akin to the earlier days: campy, fun, and a bit over the top. Of course, as with Kickass, another one of the director's recent works, this film does feature quite a bit of violent, gory, action. But a gory, campy, fun spy thriller is just what I wanted and just what I got out of this one. Super fun. Would watch again.

4.0 Stars (out of 5)

This film constantly straddles the line between comedy and horrific drama. Long sequences of dark humor are always interrupted by the shock of dark reality, usually seen through the eyes of another character. While I thought it was an interesting take on the subject matter, I can see how it could turn off general audiences just looking for a straight comedy or horror film. Ryan Reynolds gives one of, if not the best, performances of his career. It's incredible that he actually plays both of the animals' voices as well as the main character. It's definitely an interesting film, seen from the point of view of someone who may be crazy, knows he is, but really wishes he wasn't.

3.0 Stars (out of 5)

Despite all of the bad reviews I have seen I still had to see it. I'm a fan of the Wachowskis' works, even though they've all been somewhat terrible since the first Matrix film, (which I now assume was just a fluke). Even though their films tend to do terribly at the box office and are panned by critics, I still find them fascinating, in one way or another. Jupiter Ascending is no exception. Like Cloud Atlas before it, this film tries so very hard to tell a simple enough story in a most complicated way. As many critics have pointed out, the visuals are done quite well, and this film had some of the best action sequences they've pulled off since the highway chase in the second Matrix film. It wasn't the visual spectacles or action that interested me this time, but more the way they used science-fiction to tell a story of people in power and their greed winning over compassion for others. Beneath the strange face of the film, under the facade of silly looking genetic hybrid people, lies a story of a few families so wealthy and so well-connected that they feel they can do whatever they choose, and that rules, or ethics do not apply to them. Under the guise of a space opera may be the film's main ideas and concepts, that are more akin to our current world than meets the eye.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)

I haven't met a time travel movie I didn't like, and while this one tries its hardest to make me not like it at times, I couldn't help but still enjoy it. Like the first half of Chronicle showed what teenagers would do with superpowers, this film perfectly illustrates what they would do with a time machine. Much of it is enjoyable enough: watching them build a time machine, then use it for fun, win the lottery, etc., but the third act is thin, not really delving into the consequences of their actions. And I wasn't that impressed with the way it's wrapped up in the end. Still, I liked it. Didn't realize going in that it was in found footage style, which may have run its course, but wasn't too distracting for me.

3.0 Stars (out of 5)

While this might not be the most well constructed film, with its story taking clichés and bits and pieces from every other bromance, outrageous, and gross-out comedy that has come before it, there's enough laughs and heart to make this one worth watching. The chemistry between Josh Gad and Kevin Hart is perfect. Hart is playing something different from his usual high energy annoying sidekick character, instead playing a suave, seemingly confident, and calm character, and it works. The plot is predictable but the events that happen along the way aren't at all, sometimes feeling like they belong in a different film altogether, but that keeps it from getting boring. Here's hoping we see Josh Gad in more leading roles in the future.

3.0 Stars (out of 5)