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Hello, fellow moviegoers! January is already coming to a close. There has been a slew of movies to come out this month; I’ve heard a lot of them were pretty bad. I wouldn’t know however because I try to avoid seeing bad movies, and I’ve been working on seeing this year’s Oscar contenders. However, January isn’t done with us yet, as there are three new movies getting a wide release this weekend. The Finest Hours is one of these last films January has for us. The Finest Hours stars Chris Pine and Casey Affleck. It is the true story of one of the most daring Coast Guard rescues in American history. This film has been dividing critics. In fact, on Rotten Tomatoes, it is sitting right on the line between Fresh and Rotten. So which is it? Does The Finest Hours manage to stay afloat, or does it sink along with most films in January?  I was pleasantly surprised by The Finest Hours. I had almost no expectations going into this film. I don’t know what it was, but I simply could not get excited about it. I walked out of the theater having had an enjoyable experience. Chris Pine and Casey Affleck were both pretty great in this film. Both of their characters were simple down-to-earth people who don’t necessarily want to be in the leadership situations they’re thrown into. Both actors were able to portray that very well. Also, their accents were very believable. The rest of the cast was serviceable. They did what they were there to do, and they served their roles. But, nobody in the supporting cast was really worth noting. The biggest mistake this movie made was having a romance involving Chris Pine’s character be a central story. It seemed to be there simply because it could be. The romance didn’t add anything to the overall experience. If anything, it detracted from it. What should have been a minor subplot at most, was brought to the forefront and the film as a whole suffered because of it. All of the boat scenes were fantastic. Director Craig Gillespie did an awesome job creating an eerie atmosphere whenever they were at sea. If this film had almost solely been them at sea, then the film would have been leagues better than it was. All of these scenes were so intense, and they would keep you engaged in the film legitimately worried about these characters. I would also like to note the film's use of color. I noticed the film did a great job contrasting bright colors with the murky ones of the sea. It’s a minor detail, but it was one definitely worth noting. I would also like to mention the film’s title, The Finest Hours. It may not seem it at first, but it’s a terrible title. Never once in this film do they mention "fine hours", also it tells you virtually nothing about the film. I found myself completely forgetting the name of the film several times while I was watching it. I had to keep telling myself, “No, this isn’t In the Heart of the Sea”. Overall, The Finest Hours was a pretty good film. If you’re bored and have nothing to do this weekend, I would definitely recommend giving it a watch. It may have a forgettable title, but all of the ocean scenes are definitely worth the price of admission. The romance in the film was a little forced, and there was way too much of it. However, Chris Pine and Casey Affleck do great jobs in their leading roles. The Finest Hours was slightly more than fine. (Pardon the pun, I couldn’t resist) 7/10  So what did you think of The Finest Hours? Were you bothered by the forced romance? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this review, share it on Facebook and Twitter. It really helps! Don’t forget, I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so check back then for more movie reviews and other miscellaneous movie thoughts.
Thanks for stopping by! Hello, fellow moviegoers! With the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens being just over a month ago, a lot of people are really starting to ask the question “What’s next?”. With a little research, they find their answer in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. This film is the first in a slew of new Star Wars films under the banner of Anthology (Full explanation here), with a young Han Solo film being the second one (set to release in 2018). But what about all of the other Anthology films? What are they about? Well, as of now, we have no idea. So we’re left to pure speculation for the moment. So, here are my top four ideas for the upcoming Star Wars Anthology films.  The Old Republic When the prequels were announced, one of the things that most people were excited for was seeing the Jedi in their prime. While the Jedi Order was in better shape in those films than they were in the original trilogy, they definitely weren’t in their prime. Even Yoda himself says that they’ve become blind. That’s why an Old Republic Anthology film would be a great move for Disney to make. Imagine seeing the birth of the Jedi order, the rise of the Sith, and even a young Yoda in this kind of film. They made a video game about it back in 2003, and it is still one of the most popular Star Wars based video games ever made. The time period of The Old Republic is one rich with detail that could be mined to make an awesome Star Wars film.  Young Solo/Calrissian/Fett Yes, Disney is already in development on a young Han Solo film. They’ve reportedly narrowed their search for Harrison Ford’s replacement down to about twelve people. However, it would be foolish to think that they are looking to have this actor only play Solo once. They are without a doubt thinking long-term about this. So, provided the first one does well, I think we could get a second Han Solo film. Personally, I think that the currently announced Han Solo film will focus on how he and Chewbacca met. There is a really interesting story to tell there, and they could even draw influence from the extended universe if they wanted to. For the sequel, I would suggest we bring a young Lando Calrissian into the mix. We’d finally get to see Han and Lando do what they’re good at, illegal smuggling. Have Han, Chewy, and Lando, get into some trouble in the smuggling world, and you would have ample opportunity to bring back Boba Fett to be a lead antagonist. It’s a great way to bring back fan favorites while also tell a very compelling story.  Obi-Wan Kenobi A film focused on Obi-Wan Kenobi is what I want the most from these new Anthology films. Currently, the Star Wars comic series is slowly addressing what “Old Ben” was up to in the years between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Yet, I think that this story could be a stroke of genius by Disney and Lucasfilm. One of the biggest disappointments about the prequels was the under-utilization of Darth Maul. However, if you watched the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars (which is on Netflix), then you know that Darth Maul actually is not dead. He survived the ending of The Phantom Menace and that series. So, from what we know he's still alive in the Star Wars universe at this point. What I suggest is a film about Obi-Wan on Tatooine protecting Luke from a distance, but then Darth Maul shows up. It would be a very intriguing seeing how an adult Obi-Wan handles the return of his master’s murderer. Plus, we’d get to see Ewan McGregor return as Obi-Wan so that’d be cool.  A Completely Original Story While any one of these Anthology stories I’ve mentioned would be great, they all have one thing in common. They all take place in the past. Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy has publicly stated that not all of the Anthology films would be prequels. So, there is a very big chance that we will see some Anthology movies that take place at the same time as the ongoing saga. Maybe we’ll see Resistance pilots lead by Poe Dameron go on some important mission, or we’ll get a more in-depth look at the politics behind The Resistance and The First Order. Regardless, Disney and Lucasfilm have an entire galaxy that they can build off and do whatever they want with. It’d be a shame if it wasn’t expanded out of the “Skywalker Story Bubble”.  So there are my favorite ideas for the upcoming Star Wars Anthology films. What would you like to see in these films? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this list, share it on Facebook and Twitter. It really helps! Don’t forget, I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so check back then for more movie reviews and my thoughts on other miscellaneous things.
Suicidal Antagonists, Sororities, Kittens, and more! The Latest Movie Trailers Should Check Out!1/22/2016 Hello, fellow moviegoers! 2016 is just starting to get into full swing, and we’re beginning to get more, and more movie trailers for the upcoming summer movie season. Some of them are great, some not so much. So here are my thoughts on the latest movie trailers you need to check out!   Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising The trailer for Neighbors 2 is exactly the kind of trailer you’d expect for a sequel to Seth Rogen’s Neighbors. If you enjoyed the first Neighbors, or are a fan of Seth Rogen, I’m sure you’re going to love this trailer. Personally, I haven’t seen the first Neighbors, and I’m not a huge fan of Seth Rogen. He’s funny, but I don’t think he’s as funny as a lot of people make him up to be. So I thought this trailer was good. I wasn’t blown away. Chloe Grace Moretz was one of the best parts of the trailer. This role is so different than anything else she’s done before. It’s very interesting to see her take her career in this different direction.  10 Cloverfield Lane This trailer for 10 Cloverfield Lane is already my favorite trailer of 2016. Granted, we haven’t had a lot of trailers so far this year, but it still has that number one spot. It’s a pretty short trailer, being less than two minutes, but it was able to change the tone so much in that little bit of time. It starts off feeling like a feel-good family film, then you start to realize something’s not right. That’s when everything goes downhill fast. You realize that everything is not as it seems and there is something going on that we don’t know about. By the end of the trailer your heart is pumping and that’s when they reveal the title. The title reveal was a nice finishing touch to the entire trailer, considering nobody knew this Cloverfield sequel/spin-off/whatever-it-is was coming. This trailer was the announcement of 10 Cloverfield Lane, and the film is less than two months away. Nice job to all of the people involved with this film! Keeping this film as a secret as definitely a fantastic idea. 10 Cloverfield Lane looks great, and I cannot wait to see this film!  Keanu Keanu is Key and Peele’s first full-length feature film. This trailer felt as if it were one of the skits you would see on their show, and it worked so well! I am ecstatic to see this film! Key and Peele are very amusing as it is, but seeing them work together in an entire film is so exciting! The plot for this movie is such a Key and Peele story too. It seems like such a big kidnapping/action film, but it’s centered completely on this kitten named Keanu. It’s such an absurd concept, and it looks to be completely hilarious. If there was anyone that could pull this type of movie off, it’s Key and Peele. This film is in the right hands.  Wonder Woman I would like to start by saying that this isn’t an actual trailer. I’m talking about the little bit of footage that was shown in the Dawn of the Justice League special on the CW a couple days ago. While they didn’t show much, what we did see looked amazing! Wonder Woman is one of the most recognizable comic book characters out there, yet nobody really knows much about her. This film looks like it’s going to make Wonder Woman’s origin as iconic as Batman and Superman’s! The cinematography of the footage that was shown was fantastic. It really portrays the toughness of Wonder Woman very well. You get the idea that this is a woman you don’t want to mess with. While, there isn’t much else to say since so little was shown, this Wonder Woman footage was everything we wanted it to be. I just got much more excited to see her in Batman v. Superman.  Suicide Squad This new Suicide Squad trailer is definitely the talk of the town. I’ve had so many people ask me about it the past few days, that I’m beginning to think that this film is going to be a much bigger hit than initially anticipated. The first Suicide Squad trailer was awesome. In fact, since the first one was so great, I did not think this trailer was going to be nearly as good. Now? I actually think this trailer is better than the original one. The choice of using "Bohemian Rhapsody" in this trailer was brilliant. That song is so chaotic and it reflected the Suicide Squad very well. All of the characters look to be bringing their own individuality to this movie, particularly Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Will Smith’s Deadshot, and Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang. Jared Leto’s Joker was in this trailer more than expected, but surprisingly enough he wasn’t what I was thinking about after seeing it. I was thinking about the actual Suicide Squad. Although, that shot of him lying on the ground encircled by the knives was great. I loved this trailer and cannot wait until August.  So what did you think of all these trailers? Which one are you most excited for? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this article, share it on Facebook and Twitter. It really helps! Don’t forget, I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so check back then for more movie news and reviews! Thanks for stopping by! Hello, fellow moviegoers! Movies about banking and the economy seem to be few and far between. This is mainly due to the fact that they often struggle to make it understandable to the mainstream audience. Dialogue consisting largely of numbers, and words nobody’s ever heard tends to do that. However, every once in a while, we get a truly fantastic movie set in that area. This latest attempt has received quite a lot of buzz and even picked up a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars. The Big Short stars Christian Bale, Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt. That all-star cast alone would be cause for you to go see this film. Then throw in there that this is director Adam McKay’s first really big take on a dramatic subject. McKay, who is famous for directing films such as Anchorman, Talladega Knights, and Step-Brothers, is usually a comedic director. Although, his newest film The Big Short takes on a story that is no joke. The collapse of the U.S. Housing Market in the mid-2000s. So does McKay work for this film? Does it deserve all the attention it’s getting?  Any film with a complicated plot has one huge obstacle to overcome, making it comprehensible to the audience. It’s a difficult thing to pull off. You want to dumb it down enough to make it understandable, but you don’t want to make it too obvious that you are dumbing it down. In my opinion, The Big Short failed at that. It tries it’s hardest not to be too complex with its numbers and terms. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to pull it off as well their predecessors. While I did enjoy The Big Short, I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. The overall story was a little too convoluted and busy. Contrary to what the marketing would have you believe. It’s not about Bale, Carrell, Gosling, and Pitt, working together for financial reasons. No, this movie is composed of three (sometimes four) separate story-lines revolving around one singular event. It was disappointing having this immense talent in a film like this, and then not have them interact with each other. This storytelling technique was an ambitious way to go about it, but I believe it was the wrong choice in the long run. There seemed to be too much going on. You couldn’t really get connected to these characters, because whenever that connection would start to form they’d jump away to a different character. Each story had very interesting details, but they weren’t able to explore them as much as you’d like because they were trying to focus on too much. The direction by Adam McKay was worth noting, mainly because it is a very different genre than he is used to. However, it pales in comparison to most other films of this type. While McKay did a good job, he did not deserve a Best Direction nomination at the Oscars. The performances that the entire lead cast gave were fantastic. It’s sad because they could have been even better had they been given scenes to play off of each other. Moving on from that, the whole cast did great in their respective roles. Brad Pitt was very believable as someone who used to work on Wall Street. Pitt was able to convey his character’s standpoint on the issues at hand very well. Steve Carrell proved in this film that Foxcatcher wasn’t a one-off for him. Carrell showed again that he is very successful as a dramatic actor. Expect to see more roles like this for him in the future. Ryan Gosling was the weakest of the bunch, but he still gave a noteworthy performance. Christian Bale was by far the best of all the actors in this film. His character was this guy that doesn’t have very good social skills. He keeps to himself and just knows the numbers. What could have been a very boring character was turned into an enthralling one simply because of all the little mannerisms and emotions that Bale was able to convey. Overall, The Big Short is a pretty decent film. A majority of that enjoyment comes from the performances that were given, particularly Christian Bale. It is a bit overrated, and it bites off a little more than it can chew. The storytelling was way too crowded, and it was very difficult to follow at times. While I still enjoyed the film and would recommend it if you like movies like this, I found myself wondering when it was going to be over. Immediately after seeing the film I liked it quite a bit, but my opinion on that has gradually changed in the days following. I don’t think this film deserves a Best Picture nominee, that slot should have gone to better films such as The Hateful Eight, or Inside Out. 6.5/10  What did you think of The Big Short? Do you think it should have been nominated for Best Picture? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this review, share it on Facebook and Twitter. It really helps! Don’t forget, I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so check back then for more movie news and reviews!
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Kyle Kruse
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