I had a good time watching this movie. It's nice to see a movie not afraid to be fun. The opening sequence felt like a space version of Raiders of the Lost Ark and really hooked me out of the gate. The prison break scene was clever and extremely compelling. After that the film's action scenes got more and more droning and I found myself bored now and again, that is until the next joke or Groot did something funny or cute. It's a fun superhero movie with some funny moments and a great soundtrack, but it's no masterpiece. It is an origin story and they did a great job of explaining everyone's motivation and back-story, so hopefully next time we can just jump in guns blazing.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)

I'm a big fan of Zach Braff's first film Garden State, but this one just didn't do enough to really grab me. The story is written well enough and the characters are acted well, especially Kate Hudson and Braff himself, but this film lacks the clever visuals that his first film had. Gone are the intricate camera rigs or well-thought out shot lists and in their place are locked cameras and stiff special effects shots meant to be endearing but end up being easily forgettable. The film often plays out as a melodramatic television show and not the heartfelt movie it's trying to be. I enjoyed it, but it was not great.

3 Stars (out of 5)

While I enjoyed Rise a little more, this was a competent and impressive film filled with big ideas and incredible acting, both in the flesh, and behind the "digital makeup". Once again Andy Serkis' Caesar steals the show, showing us what it really means to be human, through the eyes of an ape. The movie delicately threads the needle of how a war can start between two very different groups, who aren't really that different after all. Technically this film showcases the best special effects in film history, pushing motion-capture to a new limit and showing what a force it has become. At the end, as with many summer blockbusters, the intelligent story-driven film starts to devolve into a CG clusterfuck of action. It never gets too bad, and even has some interesting action set-pieces (the 360 degree tank shot comes to mind) but the last fifteen minutes of action come off as a little stiff.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)

A little film that dares to tackle the big issue of abortion... And from a down-to-earth realistic approach. It does a good job of navigating this cinematic uncharted territory without sounding preachy, without going overboard, and without being cheesy. Jenny Slate carries the film as a likable and relatable young screw-up, but her talents alone are not enough to carry this thin story along as it meanders from one set-up to the next. Even with its short running time it still manages to drag on and feel long. Even though it's about a comedian, and filled with jokes, it's never really very funny. It has heart and it has true romance, but it didn't completely win me over overall.

2.5 Stars (out of 5)

I went in having not seen any of the earlier films, and trust me I was not expecting much. I was actually surprised by how much sense the film actually did make, at least for the first hour that is. After that it devolved into complete disarray, making less and less sense while knocking the sense out of you. I did enjoy the first third of this bloated film, (and I use the term "film" lightly.) The plot started out interesting enough, with a tech company backwards engineering their own Transformers, but just when I think the story might get interesting, it completely takes a backseat to two solid hours of unintelligible nonsensical action sequences strung together by comedic one-liners. Ho-hum.

1.5 Stars (out of 5)