Light, fluffy romance that has a core of real-life tragedy that’s never fully explored. But Clarke and Caflin are amazing together, and it’s beautiful to look at. Bring tissues, and your ability to sail past the idea that perhaps this romance never would have happened if he wasn’t blessed with the money to keep the all too real daily hardships deep under cover. Grade: B
5/31/2016 – Box Office Breakdown
Welcome back to the new (and hopefully back every week) “Box Office Breakdown” where I’ll give you the top five movies of the weekend as well some some tip-ins now and then.
- X-Men: Apocalypse (new) – First week out and took the top spot over the holiday weekend. FOX getting the win with their Marvel owned characters.
- Alice Through the Looking Glass (new) – First week out and considered a BUST by industry standards. First question is who asked for this sequel as Alice in Wonderland wasn’t universally received? Next is has no one noticed that Johnny Depp’s star is slowly sinking?
- The Angry Birds Movie – Dropped from first to third because let’s be honest, Rovio is milking this franchise for all its’ worth and the target audience went last week to see it. Count on this to keep sliding down the charts faster then Sony wants.
- Captain America: Civil War – Dropped from second to fourth but it is still making money.
- Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising – Dropped from third to fifth in it’s second week out. Neighbors was a funny movie but it was also a complete movie, there was no need for a sequel.
Honorable mentions: Zootopia has been out for 13 weeks and is still in the top 10. How’s that for some Disney longevity?
MOVIE SCREENING: Warcraft (TUE 06.07.16 @ 7:30PM, AMC Loews White Marsh)
The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders: Orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family, their people and their home. Sound exciting? Well along with tickets to the screening, we’ve got schwag bags for ya as well! Check the details below the banner for our ‘Geek On The Scene’ giveaway.
The PC game springs to life
MOVIE REVIEW: Captain America, Civil War (2016)
The short of it:
Cap is back but a young nerdy Spider-Man steals the show! Full of explosions, action and laughter; Cap hits on all cylinders. This is the Avenger’s movie you have always wanted to see.
The long of it:
Exactly that! Weighing in at over two and half hours, Captain and his Civil War bring us on a an almost nonstop thrill ride. Almost.
Cap and the Avengers are presented with a decision that will only end up tearing them apart, a very obvious undertone of most of the movies, creating fun for us all. Tony and Cap are on different sides throughout this film, all the while bring full on bromance to the big screen. Their relationship is torn apart and rebuilt from the ground up many times throughout leaving secrets, pains, and people in their wake.
The film continues to delve into the past of all of our beloved characters, from Clint (Hawkeye) deciding to retire, Tony being introduced to a part of his past only a few were privy to, and introductions of new and exciting characters to the team.
From the Blank Panther (who was honestly meh…) to Ant-Man (Paul Rudd is the same guy in every movie! Am I right!?!) the team is assembled. BUT not until the introduction of Aunt May and the amazing Spider-Man does the film ramp up. The humor, the action, the scene stealing by Spider-Man makes the entire movie come together, like glue (or a sticky web!). Cap still has his awesome muscles bulging for the ladies, the romantic undertones, the action packed throwing of his amazing shield and his undying bromance with Bucky, but Spider-Man makes this movie what it is.
A great film with a large number of Superheroes in it!
The culmination of events in the film leads us down a road that can’t really end well. Not the storyline but the pace at which the story is told. It’s up and down and up and down and super high, and that is only two thirds of the way through the film, leaving a large mountain to climb to win us back for the last third. The pacing of the film could have been fixed. 15 to 20 minutes could have been shaved off to allow for a better climax to the film, rather than meeting us half way.
Overall the film was a great introduction to Spider-Man and what he will become in the universe played out before us already. The action scenes, the acting, and even the humor was spot on! This is a must see film with it’s high points and even low points. Cap and the crew put on a wonderful show all the while struggling to understand more about themselves and each other!
4 out of 5 stars (Matt Snider/GeekForE) #civilwar, #captainamerica, #mcu, #geekfore
TwitView: “Mother’s Day”
A whole lot funnier – and, surprisingly, sweeter – than I anticipated. Then again, I anticipated sheer crap. Director Gary Marshall manages to take what could have been a hideous train wreck of sap and turns it into a light, fun piece that may not stick with you for very long, but won’t cause any lasting damage either. A full grade bump-down for an absolutely horrible, bouncy sap-fest end credits song. Grade: B-
TwitView: Sing Street
Director John Carney proves he can put lightning in a bottle anytime he likes. Sing Street echoes his earlier films Once and Begin Again, channeling the character’s emotions and times through the music that they make. And what sweet music it is.
Wobbly bits of characterization and plot can’t stop this beautiful music from making an impact. Expect original songs “Drive It Like You Stole It” and “To Find You” to hit radio stations in 3…2… Grade: A-
Twitview – The Huntsman: Winter’s War
Excellent performances by Blunt and Theron dwarf the thin storyline of the film itself. Hemsworth and Chastain provide a believable Twu Wuv couple, but even the gorgeous art direction and cinematography can’t hide patchy editing and a plot that can’t decide what to do with itself. Grade: C
Movie Review: “Everybody Wants Some!!”
“I know what we’re doing here. We’re playing baseball. What are all these other people doing here?”
Liked Dazed and Confused, with it’s ensemble cast and “day in the life of” vibe? Well then, Everybody Wants Some!! will be more of the same, straight from D&C‘s Richard Linklater. Everybody is a cool-ass trip for those of us who grew up in the 80s, but could scare a lot of kids who don’t really wanna know what their parents were up to when they were young.
Everybody starts off at fictional Southern Texas University in August, 1980, with baseball-scholarship frosh Jake getting to his digs for the year. The baseball team has been given two houses just off campus, to help with the overcrowding at the dorms. Jake meets his teammates, bon-vivant Finn (Glen Powell, Scream Queens), stoner Willoughby (Wyatt Russell), laid-back Dale (J. Quinton Johnson), badass Mac (Tyler Hoechlin, Teen Wolf) and many more. He’s one of four freshmen added to the roster that year, so in the days before school officially starts, he’s got to navigate the new world of college as well as the bro-culture bonding of his House. Not to mention finding the time to figure out who that cute girl is he saw when he first arrived. (That’d be Beverly, played by Ringer‘s Zoey Deutch…) No problem. Bring on the keg stands! [Read more…]
10 Cloverfield Lane
Nutshell: 10 Cloverfield Lane is a worthy successor to the original Cloverfield, actually beating the sophomore slump and rising above the first film. Not in the handheld/found-footage genre (there’s nary a shakey-cam moment to be found) , but in the sense of dread, terror of the unknown, and a screenplay that manages to keep the adrenaline pumping. The climax is well-executed crazy, thanks to this film’s game ensemble cast. But are there monsters, you ask? Depends on your definition of monster… Grade: A-
“I focused on being prepared. And I was…. And here we are.”
If you’re a kaiju nerd like I am, you were stoked for Cloverfield. And while it wasn’t exactly the huge monster throwdown many of us were hoping for – that’d be Pacific Rim, a movie that actually grew on me on repeat viewings – Cloverfield‘s hints at a strange, unsettling mythology had me hooked. Not exactly fully invested in its teasingly vague story, but willing to sit for more. So? More! Well, kinda. J.J. Abrams still sticks with the producer role, and with Cloverfield director Matt Reeves also going the producer route in this sequel-ish film, Dan Trachtenberg gets his first feature-film directorial shot. With a smaller ensemble cast – a mere three actors – this film is a sequel to Cloverfield in its ability to unsettle, play with your expectations, and leave you wanting more.
“Gods of Egypt” is a godawful, glorious mess
Nutshell: Can something be awful and amazing at the same time? Well, Gods of Egypt is certainly giving it its best shot. With crazy action scenes, a nutso plot, and CGI that feels like the SyFy channel and 1999’s The Mummy had a lovechild of doom, this film tries for Glorious Epic and comes off 50s Throwback. And I haven’t even started on my #GodsSoWhite rant yet. Bumping this up half a grade for its sheer balls, and for Geoffrey Rush’s weird fishtail braid. Grade: C-
“Oh, bother.”
Nope, that quote above isn’t from Winnie the Pooh. Well okay, it is. But it’s also here in Gods of Egypt. And not only is it spoken by one of the “Gods”, it’s probably what every member of the cast and crew thought to themselves once the reality of this movie really set in. But hey, everyone’s got a mortgage that needs to be paid, amirite?
Director Alex Proyas seems determined to complete the downward spiral he’s started after his work on 1994’s brilliant Brandon Lee superhero flick The Crow. I, Robot, Knowing, and now this…movie. Gods of Egypt is like the world’s craziest D&D campaign run amok, where the DM has taken the rule book, the mythos for the world, and any semblance of coherence, and chucked ’em all out the window. But if you’re ready to settle in — after a few beers or better yet, several shots of the strongest liquor in your cabinet (something white, to set the mood) — I’ll dig a bit deeper so you know what you’ll be getting yourself into.