Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation Movie Review

Article by Gabe Zia

Lazy Film Critic Movie Reviews

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

Normally, when a series has reached it's fifth film, it usually means it's bad (I'm looking at you, almost every horror franchise ever). However, that's not the case with Mission Impossible, and it's fifth film, Rogue Nation. Once again, Tom Cruise returns to the role of Ethan Hunt, and Rogue Nation also has some returning actors, such as Simon Pegg and Jeremy Renner. It also features a few newcomers, being Rebecca Ferguson, Alec Baldwin, and Sean Harris. The film follows Ethan Hunt as he is trying to taking down the syndicate, which is I guess Mission Impossibles version of the illuminati.

Now I haven't always been an especially huge fan of the Mission Impossible movies, least of all MI2, but with MI3 and Ghost Protocol I feel like the series found it's niche and ran with it. That niche being a nice blend of non-stop action and really cool spy gadget stuff, with absolutely impossible stunts. And the action is great, just as good as in Ghost Protocol. It's all really well co-ordinated, and is really well directed. There's one really fantastic opera scene fairly early on, one of the most memorable parts of the film.

As for the more stealthy spy, espionage stuff, it's also pretty cool. Although the film is a bit more focused on shootouts and action sequences, that's by no means a bad thing. If anything, it makes the scenes based on just gadgets all the more special. There's also a lot of scenes which aren't gadget based, but involve these really complex situations that Ethan has to think his way out of, which were all really cool.

Speaking of Ethan Hunt, Tom Cruise is about 53 now, and somehow he still totally kicks ass. Not just with action sequences, of which he still does all his stunts, but I still think he's a talented actor. As for the newcomers, Rebecca Ferguson really surprised me. I had no idea who she was prior to Rogue Nation, but as an action star this is a stellar first action role.  And Sean Harris plays a fantastic villain, between the way this character is acted, and the way he's written, absolutely fantastic.

Final Rating

After Ghost Protocol being an absolutely amazing film, I can't honestly say Rogue Nation is any bit of a surprise. It's still a great action movie, and a great spy movie. Don't wait too long to go check this one out, go see it as soon as you can. This is a great start for August and one of the best movies I've seen all year.

Ant-Man Movie Review

Article by Gabe Zia

Lazy Film Critic Movie Reviews: Ant-Man

Ant-Man is the latest Marvel movie, within the Avengers universe, set shortly after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. It stars Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Michael Pena, and Corey Stoll. Ant-Man follows a man named Scott Lang who, after recently being released from prison, is trying to support his daughter, and through a series of events, meets Hank Pym. Some stuff happens, I'd rather not get into the details, and Scott becomes the Ant-Man, a guy who can shrink and control ants.

When thinking of the actors who one would pick to play a superhero, rarely is someone like Paul Rudd the first that comes to mind. So, I went into this movie knowing Paul Rudd would commit a lot to this project, as Marvel's kind of a big deal. And, as I expected, he was fantastic in this movie. He was funny, he has great comedic timing, and he sold a lot of the action as well. As for Michael Douglas, going into this movie, I didn't expect much. But after seeing this movie, by god, I hope Michael Douglas was the most payed actor in this movie, because he completely nailed it as Hank Pym. 

Hands down the highlight of Ant-Man is it's absolutely brilliant action sequences. After Age of Ultron, and every Marvel movie between that and the first Avengers, essentially consisted of the entire world being at stake, so it's nice to see a Marvel movie with a much more toned down scale. Whatever effect they use for Ant-Man shrinking and growing back looks really good, and it works really well for a lot of the action here. As for the heist sequence, because despite Edgar Wright leaving the film, it's still a heist movie, it's a pretty great heist sequence, even if it's a bit unsatisfying.

Another highlight of Ant-Man is its sense of humor. Where Guardians of the Galaxy had a lot of humor in it, Ant-Man is essentially an action-comedy, with heavy emphasise on the comedy. What's great about the sense of humor in Ant-Man is that it has all the jokes you would want in a funny marvel movie. You get a lot of superpower related comedic moments, you get witty dialogue, Paul Rudd provides a lot of much needed dry wit to the Marvel Universe, and all this comes together in what is - even having seen Guardians of the Galaxy - Marvels funniest film yet.

What I really like about this movie is how much of a bold move it is. Sure, not many people knew about Guardians of the Galaxy, but it was still a space movie, which people were familiar with. Ant-Man is a movie about a guy who can shrink to the size of an ant, control other ants, and has the strength of a 200 ton man while the size of an ant. That's a completely absurd premise, and it's probably why it took this long for an Ant-Man movie to come out. Like I said though, it completely pays off in what is one of Marvels best films to date.

Final Rating
Ant-Man is a huge surprise, I didn't expect much of anything going into this movie, but it's one of my favorite current Marvel films, right up there with Winter Soldier. The film has a few minor gripes, but at the end of the day, they are minor gripes, and don't do much to this movie. I loved Ant-Man, I would totally see it again, and I highly recommend that you go see Ant-Man right away, especially if you're a fan of Marvel.

Ant-Man

4.5/5

Big Game Movie Review

Article by Gabe Zia

Lazy Film Critic Movie Reviews

Big Game is an action film starring Samuel L. Jackson and Onni Tommila, and it's the directorial debut of Jalmari Helander. The film more or less follows two different stories. One of them follows the President, as he struggles to survive a terrorist attack that crashed Air Force One in the middle of the woods in Finland. The other follows a Finnish kid named Oskari, as he goes through a right of passage of sorts, and has to survive in the woods for one day and one night, while hunting. The two of these characters meet, and we have what is essentially Air Force One meets Cliffhanger.

Before I get to the action,  I've gotta talk about Samuel L. Jackson and Onni Tommila. First off, Jackson is pretty decent as what is arguably the lead role of this movie. Really, at this point in time, that shouldn't come off as much of a surprise, I mean he's Samuel L. Jackson, he's rarely a forgettable part of a movie. However, the real standout of Big Game was Onni Tommila. It's especially surprising that this is one of his first films, because he's a surprisingly good actor for his age. When it comes to kid actors, they're either terrible or amazing, and Onni Tommila is fantastic in this movie.

However, acting aside, Big Game is a movie that exists for one reason, and that reason is the action. A recent sub-genre that's been becoming increasingly popular is the modern day 80s action movie, which essentially amounts to cheesy one-liners, over the top action, and ridiculous set-pieces. While movies like Kung Fury tend to go way over the top with this, Big Game is one of the few films in this genre that I think has successfully recreated the overall tone and feel of an 80s action movie. It's got the one-liners, it's goes over the top, and it works.

However, while I really enjoy Big Game as an action movie, it has one issue that, as a critic, It'd be weird if I ignored it. Yes, Big Game is a fun movie, but even though it was intentionally made this way, the film lacks in most critical lines of thinking. The cinematography is passable, the soundtrack is forgettable, the special effects look fairly fake, and the writing was a little too serious for a film which is mostly cheesy action. Big Game doesn't take itself too seriously though, so it's easy for me to look past these and enjoy a fun movie. I still have to talk about them though, or else I'd just be "Lazy Guy Who Watches Films Then Talks About Them A Bit", which doesn't really have the same ring to it.

Final Rating
Big Game, from any critical standpoint, is far from a perfect movie. Hell, to anybody who has seen this movie can agree, this isn't the kind of movie that'll win any oscars. However, from a strictly entertainment standpoint, Big Game is some of the most fun you'll have all year, which is why despite any negatives the movie has, I'd absolutely recommend that if it's playing near you, go check it out. I guarantee that at the very least, you'll have a good time.

Big Game

3.8/5

Terminator Genisys movie review

Article by Gabe Zia

Lazy Film Critic reviews....

Terminator Genisys is the fifth film in the Terminator series, and finally brings Arnold back into this series after Salvation thought It'd be fine without him. Along with Arnold Schwarzenegger, this reboot/prequel/sequel (I don't even know) also stars Jai Courtney, Emelia Clarke, Jason Clarke, J.K. Simmons, Byung Hun-Lee, and Matt Smith. This film is more or less set during the events of the first Terminator film, only this time everything has changed, leading to a completely new story for this series.

Overall, most of the cast in this movie do a pretty good job, especially with taking on really iconic roles. While Jai Courtney is about exactly what you'd expect he'd be in this movie (this could be good or bad depending on whether or not you like him as an actor), but one of the bigger surprises in this movie was Emilia Clarke. Linda Hamilton is so iconic and fantastic as Sarah Conner, so no matter how good she is, this is a difficult role to tackle. To my surprise, she actually did a pretty good job, and managed to stand on her own with a daunting role like this. Another big surprise, and the one I was worried the most about, was Arnold Schwarzenegger returning to the role of the Terminator, and he did a really good job. He's aged, sure, but he still totally works as the terminator.

As for the rest of the movie, it certainly has its ups and downs. The good part of this movie is mostly in the action, which is pretty well made and well filmed. The action sequences in this movie do a really good job of keeping the tension high, and really putting you in the scene, making them more intense and engaging. However, Terminator Genisys also suffers from some flaws. For one, the story of this movie isn't all that well-written, and becomes needlessly convoluted around halfway through.

However, that isn't the biggest flaw, and doesn't really damage that movie to a certain degree. Which brings to question why this movie is so badly received. In my opinion Terminator Genisys, on it's own, is a decent enough movie. However, this film suffers from a major issue, which is it's unfortunately godawful marketing campaign. Everything, from the trailers, to commercials on tv, to interviews about the film, even the posters have a ton of spoilers about the film. While this usually wouldn't change the quality of the film itself, it hurt my overall enjoyment of the movie, and presumably anyone else who has seen any advertising for this movie.

Final Rating
Even with its spoiler heavy marketing campaign, and despite what seemingly everyone else says about Genisys, I had a good time with this movie, it was a decent film. Nothing too impressive, and I can certainly tell why most critics don't like this movie, it's fun if that's the sort of thing you're looking for. Again, nothing to get too excited about, or rush to the theatre to see, but if you want to see this movie, I really don't see why not.

Terminator Genisys

3.5/5

July 2015 Watchlist

Article by Gabe Zia
So with June over tomorrow, I'm going to take a look at some movies coming out this month. Some movies from June I didn't post any reviews of. I saw Slow West, but haven't found the time to write my review, and Dope never came out where I live, so that was an obstacle for obvious reasons. However, I'll try to see Dope sometime this month. In the meantime, here are some new releases to look forward to.

July 3rd

Terminator Genisys

This was the movie that, for the longest time, I had given the benefit of the doubt. But in more recent days, I have all but entirely given up on this movie. Especially with this whole thing where John Conner has been somehow transformed into some kind of human/terminator hybrid (which is really weird and not at all needed), I've pretty much lost hope in this movie. I have a few reasons for keeping this on the list, the only big one being that the T-1000 is in the movie, which is pretty awesome.

The Overnight

This is another film I heard of from Sundance, and I've heard nothing but good things about it. First off, it's got a fantastic cast, with Taylor Schilling from Orange is the New Black, Adam Scott, and Jason Schwartzman, all usually hilarious actors in whatever they're in. Based on the trailer, this movie looks really funny as well, featuring a sense of realistic humor, which is something I always love to see in films. It's one of the more underground films of the month, but one I'm certainly looking forward to.

July 10th

Big Game

I've been waiting for this movie for so long, it looks like a total cheesy 80s action movie, which is never a bad thing. In case you haven't heard of it before, the plot here is that Air Force One has been attacked, the president escaped, and landed in the middle of Finland. This Finnish teenage hunter meets him, and the two of them have to survive against the terrorists trying to kill the president. Oh, did I mention the president is played by Samuel L. Jackson? Because the president is played by Samuel L. Jackson.

Self/Less

This movie is a bit of a difficult situation for me, because I honestly have no idea of what to think of it. On the one hand, I really like the premise, and Tarsem Singh has shown us that he can deliver a film with a unique visual style (for example, The Cell). However, this film also looks a little confusing, and Singh has also been known to be a little pretentious and confusing (for example... also The Cell). The trailer it intriguing enough, but I'm still reasonably skeptical.

Minions

When I heard there was a Minions movie being made, I was really conflicted at first. Because it could be hilarious slapstick, but it could also be really stupid, with the main characters never really speaking any comprehensible language. The trailers have surprised me though, and the more trailers come out, the more surprised I am by this movie. Normally, the idea of a bunch of characters who speak gibberish getting their own spinoff would seem really dumb, but I keep finding myself wanting to see this movie.

July 17th

Ant-Man

Ant-Man is one of those movies that, the closer we get to release, the more excited I am for it. I started out really skeptical about this movie, especially with Edgar Wright no longer being attatched to the project. However, with more trailers and a better look at the film overall, I gotta say, Ant-Man looks fairly impressive to me. I still have a bit of cautious optimism, but as of right now, I think it looks really good.

Trainwreck

Judd Apatow movies can go one way or the other for me. They can either be really good and really funny, or they can get way too serious in the final act of the film and drag on for 30 minutes way too long. Hopefully, Trainwreck is the former. I like Bill Hader, I like Amy Schumer, and from the trailer it looks like they have good chemistry. This is another movie I'm hoping is good, despite fairly mediocre expectations.

The Stanford Prison Experiment

This movie caught my attention a while back. Not just due to what I've heard from Sundance, but the fact that it's about an interesting story. The Stanford prison experiment is one of the most controversial and one of the darker experiments at Stanford, the results of said experiment being fairly terrible. So, it's fair to say that I'm interested to see this story and this experiment brought to life on film.

July 22nd

Sharknado 3

I feel as though I should feel ashamed about myself when I talk about the Sharknado movies. They're, in my opinion, the ultimate guilty pleasure. They're so stupid, and so over the top ridiculous. The first movie was the average, run of the mill, B movie, which was fun enough. Sharknado 2 was straight up Army of Darkness territory, with ridiculous action and hilarious cameos. Sharknado 3 just looks off the rails bonkers, and I can't wait to watch it.

July 24th

Paper Towns

I'm usually not in any way a fan of the "teen drama" sort of thing, however having recently finally watched and surprisingly enjoyed The Fault in our Stars on Netflix, I'm pretty interested to see some of John Greens other work put to film. Keep in mind, I haven't read the book for either Fault in Our Stars or Paper Towns, but nonetheless I'm interested.

July 31st

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

The Mission Impossible series has been slowly getting better and better over time, with the last film, Ghost Protocol, being easily the best in the series. So, with that, Rogue Nation has a lot to live up to. I was fairly surprised when I found out Brad Bird wouldn't be returning to make this movie, seeing as how he did such a good job with the fourth film. However, I trust that they won't mess this up, and I trust that Rogue Nation will live up to the hype.



Vacation

I love the original Vacation, hands down one of my favorite comedies. So when I found out there was a remake, at first I was really worried, because comedy remakes can be either really good or really bad, usually the latter. However, having recently seen the trailer, my thoughts on this movie have completely changed, and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm not sure how Ed Helms will do if being compared to Chevy Chase - which he will, it's inevitable, he'll be compared to Chevy Chase - but I have high hopes for this movie.

Best of June 2015: Me & Earl & the Dying Girl

At first, I absolutely thought this movie would end up as just another Fault in Our Stars teen drama. However, I was delightfully surprised with Me & Earl & the Dying Girl. It was one of those movies that had a near-perfect balance of comedy and drama, with some of the most hilarious bits of narration I've seen in a while, and later some of the real somber and unexpected moments where you feel absolutely broken inside. It's entertaining, it's memorable, and it makes you feel all sorts of emotions. It's one of the pleasant surprises of 2015, and it was my favorite film of last month.