( Animated movie # 8) Lego Movie 2014 5 out of 10 (Everything is So-So)

The Lego Movie  2014   5 out of 10

“Everything is so-so….Everything is completely average and underwhelming”     That is pretty much how I felt about the blockbuster success that was The Lego Movie.

It was an extremely average and overrated animated movie.   

I think it was the perfect example of a movie that everyone tells you is great –that definitely didn’t live up to the hype.  I’ve seen better Lego shorts.  The mini Star Wars Lego specials were funnier and more entertaining.  

Visually -   it looked exactly like you would expect it to....Like someone was making a really good stop motion Lego movie for you tube.

The story was clever and yet I found the movie itself kind of boring.

The Ending

SPOILER WARNING:  The ending was clever and yet I didn’t emotionally buy into it, because anyone that put together such an epic Lego set wouldn’t want it messed up either.  The kid could just play with own stuff so the premise that the dad was bad because he wouldn't let his son play with his creation is faulty to me.  Once the ending is revealed that the whole story was just some kid’s imagination while playing in his dad’s epic and structured Lego creation –the plot of this so-so adventure made sense.  The problem is the whole film felt like a random story from some kid’s playtime.  This concept may be brilliant, but the adventure itself wasn’t that fun.   The good jokes were few and far between and I probably wouldn’t watch this animated adventure again.

On that noteThe kids loved it and it absolutely cleaned up at the box office….So I’m sure there will be more Lego movies to come. 

 I hope the next one is better and more entertaining.

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Maleficent 2014 8 out of 10

Maleficent 2014  8 out of 10

Brief thoughts 

The Acting

Angelina Jolie was perfect as Maleficent.   I’ve never been a big fan of her in general –but her look and acting in this movie were spot on.  She was meant to play this part and I think this role will probably be my favorite performance of the year.  She was able to play all aspects of her character well.  She was menacing one second and thoughtful or curious the next.   King Stephen however didn’t seem up to the task and was not a good match for Jolie’s performance.  They really needed someone stronger in that role.

The Visuals

The look of the movie was stunning.  Maleficent’s world was truly a magical one and the scenery was gorgeous on the screen.  From the Castle scenes to the Magical Moors –what was put on the screen was dazzling as the magical creatures came to life on screen.

The Story

The story itself was good, but not great.  I knew going in that the story was going to depart from the classic animated movie and that Maleficent wasn’t going to be purely evil.   I wonder if maybe a more classic look at the original story may not have been a better approach however.   Angelina Jolie did such a great job with character that I would like to see more of her darker side.  Don’t get me wrong the story as told in the movie was done well—I guess I just brought my own expectations and ideas of what I would like to see into the movie with me.   Going in...... it was probably my most anticipated movies to see this year after catching the 4-D preview at DCA that I just think it couldn’t live up to my lofty expectations,  still a solid 8 out of 10

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Taken 2 2012 8 out of 10

Taken 2   2012  8  out of 10

Taken 2 was an extremely simplistic sequel to the superior original which featured Liam Nesson channeling his inner Mel Gibson and rescuing his daughter from sex slave traders,  after she is kidnapped in Paris.   Simple isn't necessarily bad in this case.  In the sequel he and his wife are taken by the man whose son he killed in the original while they are visiting him in Istanbul.  Once again they are messing with the wrong guy.  Liam escapes with the help of his daughter, after she eludes the bad guys back at the hotel.  There are a lot of tense and exciting action sequences and car chases and Liam once again proves that he can play a kick ass action star.  The original Taken is a better film with a more fully fleshed out script, but Taken 2 delivers as a great companion piece.  I hope if they do a planned Taken 3 that they don't put his family in jeopardy in the third adventure and just give him a great adventure/spy/assassin story to go along with the top notch action.

This is my type of action movie....I love when the good guy is willing to do whatever it takes to save the people that he cares about,  even if that means getting ruthless.

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Veronica Mars 2014 7+ out of 10

Veronica Mars 2014   7+  out of 10

The Veronica Mars movie was basically a love letter or thank you note to the fans of the TV show.

Funded by a kickstarter program it delivered pretty much exactly what you would hope for as a fan of the show.  It featured tons of characters from the show and it centered on bad boy Logan Echolls getting in trouble again and calling Veronica .  Veronica  has moved on with her life back and is a big city lawyer, but gets sucked back into everything she left behind again.   Veronica  returns to her hometown of Neptune during her reunion weekend to try and solve a murder that Logan is being blamed for.   The plot works excellently for fans of the show as it brings everyone back into familiar territory.   The mystery is decent,  although not as good as some from the show itself .  Those mysteries could last for an entire season and with a movie you have to solve it a lot quicker than that.    I enjoyed the movie being a fan of the show, but  could see how someone that didn’t know the entire history of the show would be totally lost.  It caters to its fans and not a wide audience, since it relays on knowledge of the shows history throughout the movie.   I’m glad I got to take this journey down memory lane with Veronica and the gang---but it probably would have been more suited as a TV movie reunion than trying to put it out in theaters.  It definitely made me miss the TV show and wish there were more episodes.

If you were a fan of the show---you will like it.

If you aren’t a fan of the show---rent the show on Netflix to see if you like it first –because otherwise you will be lost trying to watch or care about the movie.

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Chronicle 2012 9 out of 10 (Directed by Josh Trank - Star Wars Spin-off director)

Chronicle 2012   9 out of 10

Star Wars news has been coming fast and furious lately.  It is hard to keep track of all the breaking news.  When it was announced that Josh Trank would be directing one of the new Star Wars Spin offs ----all I could think was " Who the hell is Josh Trank?"   I wanted to to hear names like Joss Whedon  or Spielberg...not Josh Trank.    I immediately looked him up and noticed that he had directed Chronicle a sci-fi movie in the lost footage genre that focused on a story about three high school students that make a discovery in an underground cave while attending a barn party.  The three kids end up with mysterious super hero like powers.  I had put this 2012 movie in my Netflix queue awhile back, but hadn't gotten around to watching it yet so the Star Wars connection moved it to the top of my queue.

The lost footage style of the film seemed forced as usually, but the story of these three friends discovering and learning how to use their new found powers was excellent.  I had thought several years ago that if I ever wrote an invisible man story it would be based on how having these powers could break down a persons o mortality and this film did exactly that with super powers.  We get to see the main characters at first having fun with their new powers in childish ways that most teenagers in reality probably would. They test their powers in the backyard and then play pranks on people at the grocery store as their powers grow.   Of course their goofing off leads to someone getting hurt and they then must discuss that they need to establish rules for how they can use their powers.  It was a strange film that really got into how having these powers would effect someone in the real world.  I absolutely loved the story and how it went down.  Definitely one of the better lost footage films I've seen so far.

The Star Wars Spin off connection:

I now know who Josh Trank is and if his handling of the Jedi like abilities of the characters in this film are any indication of what he may be capable of with a Star Wars spin-off then I'm all in.  The movie was excellent and really got into how a person could become in touch with his darker side with just a little nudge here and there.   A normal person could keep his morality --but someone with super powers may have a harder time walking in the light side of the force.   I would have liked to see Josh Trank's take on the fall of Anakin after seeing this film.    So well I still hold out hope that Whedon will one day get his hands on a Star Wars film.....for now ..I'm excited to see what Trank brings to the table

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The Lockout 2012 7 out of 10

The Lockout  2012   7 out of 10

Lockout is basically Escape from New York on a space station.  The story is pretty much a rip-off of the famous John Carpenter movie with Guy Pearce in the lead role previously played so well by Kurt Russell.    The movie is an effective and interesting attempt at remaking Escape to New York and Guy Pearce does an excellent job as the guy sent into the prison to rescue the President's daughter.   Maggie Grace does a good job in the role of the daughter as well.   The film has some good action sequences and was a fun ride and only suffers when compared to John Carpenter's film,  which had such a great soundtrack.    This film is missing that quality soundtrack.  If you are up to a fun new look on the themes from Escape From New York ---check this out,  or skip it and just watch John Carpenter's superior version.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2012 5 out of 10 (The Less than Amazing Spider-Man)

The Less Than Amazing Spider-Man  2012   5 out of 10

    I don't mind sequels in fact there are many sequels that I'm exited for inculding the upcoming Jurassic World and Star Wars films. What I can't stand are unnecessary Reboots.   Reboot to me is like a bad word and is probably the reason I skipped this movie in the theaters.    Spider- Man starring the underwhelming Tobey Maguire came out in 2002 and had sequels in 2004 and 2007.    Then in 2012 they decide to reboot the series?    We already know how Spider-Man became Spider- Man,  just like we already know how Superman became Superman.   Rebooting a franchise that was only 5 years ago is a stupid waste of time.  Just tell a new and interesting story without rehashing things we already know.  

    The Amazing Spider-Man failed to entertain me because the first half of the movie is just a retelling of how Peter Parker became Spider-Man  (been there and done that already).  Seeing his origin story again left me disengaged and uninterested in the rest of the movie.   If the previous Spider Man hadn't existed I may have felt differently, but it was just too much of the same thing all over again, like watching the Psycho remake.

     My favorite movie of all-time  Raiders of the Lost Ark never even bother to establish an origin for the character.  We just joined Indiana Jones in the middle of one of his adventures and that alone set up who the character was.  James Bond is another great example of this--- in fact they can even change the lead actor and just jump right into an adventure.    I just can't understand why some of these well known and already established franchises feel the need to reboot and tell the same origins story all over again.   Ok....we get it.... (non spoiler)  he was bite by a Spider and got powers and  his uncle dies and he is wants justice for him ....move along.   Stop wasting my time telling me how Superman came to Earth or Spider-man got bite and just tell me a good story already.

   The movie itself was alright --I've just seen it already.

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