khalidabusamra Reviews

22 Jump Street (2014)

A wildly entertaining feel-good movie that not only rates as one of the best mainstream comedies of the year but also one of the finest sequels you are likely to see.

[9/10 · 5 June 2014]

There are only a few occasions where some of the jokes feel over-worked and the pace sags but even then Lord and Miller always seem to have something up their sleeve to put the film back on track. It's a wildly entertaining feel-good movie that not only rates as one of the best mainstream comedies of the year but also one of the finest sequels you're ever likely to see.

The only truly negative thing I have to say about "22 Jump Street" is that Chris Miller and Phil Lord are setting themselves up to eventually become a media punching bag. That's the inevitable ending when someone's on a winning streak, and right now, Miller and Lord are looking like the guys you call when you have a terrible idea but want to make a great film anyway. That's an amazing skill set, and I find myself deeply impressed by each new thing they release.

What made "21 Jump Street" so much fun was that it was completely self- aware. The movie openly made fun of what a terrible idea it is to turn old TV shows into new movies, and it also managed to run some very smart and fun riffs on high school movies and buddy cop films, constantly subverting expectations in a way that I think added up to something that felt very fresh.

That, of course, is the challenge when you then set out to make a sequel to something, because by its very nature, a sequel is going to be less fresh. Miller and Lord did not make the sequel to their animated hit "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs," and it appears that the sequel to their monster success "The LEGO Movie" will be directed by Chris McKay. So why would they risk making something that feels like a rehash by returning to direct "22 Jump Street"?

So they can make fun of sequels, obviously.

From the second it begins, "22 Jump Street" roasts the idea of sequels. There are so many targets within that larger target that I was sort of impressed at how well they managed to cover all of it. More expensive than the original? Check. Same story only slightly disguised? Check. Artificial tension created to undo whatever character growth there was in the original? Check.

As with the first film, they have more on their mind than just making the sequel joke. This time, they take on the conventions of the college movie, and it feels like both Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill are given room to play to their strengths here. They have a great chemistry as a team, but what I find really amazing watching these films is just how much Tatum has embraced this side of himself. I would have never guessed that there was such a big goofy clown heart driving this guy from the first few years of work he did on screen, but there are at least ten places in the sequel where I missed whatever came after one of Tatum's punchlines. He's got a way of approaching a joke that hits me out of left field almost every time. Jonah Hill is a very precise comic performer, and there are a ton of tiny grace notes to his performance here, small choices that punch the jokes up to another level. Miller and Lord know that these films work best when it's just these two guys pinballing off of each other, and there's plenty of that.

There's also an interesting take on sexual politics running throughout the film, and I honestly thought they were headed somewhere daring with Tatum's character. In the end, they don't quite commit to the idea, but it still feels like the script, written by Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel, and Rodney Rothman, is determined to push the characters into some surprising places. I loved the use of Ice Cube this time as Captain Dickson, and there is one long dinner sequence with Cube that left me sore from laughing. Amber Stevens and Wyatt Russell have to do a fair amount of heavy lifting as new characters who befriend Schmidt and Jenko at college, and that's always tough in a comedy like this. Stevens is a very appealing performer, but she's not given much to do. On the other hand, Jillian Bell (best known from the Comedy Central show "Workaholics") hits the ground running in this one, and she steals scene after scene after scene.

I'd hate to give away any of the ways the story builds here, because there are some very conscious decisions made to not only mirror the structure of the first film, but to also play against that first movie in ways that screw with expectations. Suffice it to say that it is a cannily-constructed film, and it does have a bigger "movie" feel than the first film. There are places where they swing for some big jokes that don't quite work, but the ambition is dizzying all the way through.

You need to stay through the closing credits, which are funnier than many full-length feature films, because there is even more at the very, very end of the film. Miller and Lord make it feel like they value every second you spend watching one of their films, and they do their best to pack the film so that you get something out of every minute you give them. I'm sure at some point, these guys will make a movie that doesn't quite work. It happens to everyone. But for now, it honestly feels like there is no more reliable filmmaking team right now if you want to go above and beyond with any idea.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)

How to Train Your Dragon 2 is flat-out great film, period.

[9/10 · 4 June 2014]

How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a textbook example of how to do a world- building sequel just right. It expands the world established in the first film, with new characters, new worlds to explore, and new mythological tidbits, but nonetheless concentrates on telling a complete story centered on its main characters. It reunites audiences with their favorite heroes but makes it very clear that these people have changed since the last film and will change by the time the credits roll. And most importantly, in terms of a successful sequel, it is a flat-out terrific motion picture. It is a visual dazzler and an emotional powerhouse, taking the established world in interesting new directions while remaining rooted in real character growth.

This sequel picks up five years after the first film, which means that the new status quo at that film's conclusion has settled into what amounts to the "new normal" for the people (and dragons) of Berk. The young heroes of the first picture are now young adults, and it's a bit of a shock to see an animated film featuring realistically aged protagonist, as most animated franchises tend to involve talking animals that don't necessarily undergo physical transformations in between installments. After two eye-popping airborne prologues, which reintroduces our old friends and reaffirms the peace that Hiccup brought about by ending the human/dragon conflict, we get down to business.

The plot is pretty straight forward, eventually dealing with a long- forgotten tyrant (Drago Bludvist, voiced by Djimon Hounsou) who believes dragons are monsters meant to be enslaved and used as weapons against those he might oppress. He isn't quite as complex an antagonist as those found in the Kung Fu Panda films, but his quest for power is merely a means to an end for Hiccup and friends to make other more interesting discoveries. Chief among those discoveries for the world of Berk is that there are many more dragons and dragon riders out there in the world. Chief among those discoveries for Hiccup is that there is a mysterious woman who has spent her life freeing captured dragons and caring for them in what amounts to a dragon sanctuary; a woman who is quickly revealed to his presumed-dead mother.

Cate Blanchett is unafraid to play this dragon caretaker as just a little unhinged, as befits someone who has cut themselves off from humanity for two decades, and it gives what could have been a standard family reunion a real edge. As Hiccup comes to terms with this revelation, he in turn realizes that he may share more in common with the mother he never knew than his proud and loving father. DreamWorks Animation sequels have all dealt with family revelations in one form or another. This one is no different. While Kung Fu Panda 2 for example dealt with Po coming to terms with being orphaned by violence, How to Train Your Dragon 2 deals with how much of Hiccup's personality quirks and beliefs came from his parents versus those he might claim as his own. The story allows Hiccup to make mistakes and allows every character to have a relevant point-of-view about the conflicts at hand.

While the focus is squarely on Hiccup, this is the kind of sequel that establishes what a wonderful ensemble the filmmakers have developed over two films (and the television series, natch). Hiccup and Toothless are separated from rest of the cast for much of the second act, which allows the other characters, especially Astrid, to have their own moments in the sun. Astrid and Hiccup have a wonderfully relaxed chemistry, as the fact that they are now lovers is handled with minimal fuss (their most romantic moment involves Astrid doing a killer impression of her boyfriend's agitated worrying). Like the also-superb Kung Fu Panda 2, this is a sequel that remembers that it is a sequel, so in place of comic antagonism is mutual respect and fondness among this core group of friends and family.

That makes the eventual escalation of conflict all the more powerful, and there is a second act story turn that is heartbreaking while remaining utterly logical. I wish the ramifications of said character/plot turn wasn't somewhat tidied up by the end, but that's the price to be paid for a film that leaves no hard loose ends for the third film. Nonetheless, the picture ends all of its major characters in a very different place from where they started, and I trust this film making team to pick at the emotional scabs two summers from now. Moreover, in terms of franchise building, this is a series that I can't wait to see the next installment for not because I know what's coming but rather because I have no idea what to expect.

Writer/director Dean DeBlois, with the aid of production designer Rebecca Huntley, has pulled off a real gem. This is a glorious adventure picture, a sterling sequel that expands the mythology while telling a mostly stand-alone tale that is unafraid to take real dramatic risks. It is an audio-visual wonderland, with wonderful vocals from all parties (Gerard Butler is terrific as the proud but not-entirely predictable patriarch), a fine score from John Powell, and a towering sense of visual wonderment. This is the kind of triumphant film making that ennobles so-called blockbusters. How to Train Your Dragon 2 isn't just a great sequel, a great animated spectacle, or a great example of successful franchise-expansion/world-building. How to Train Your Dragon 2 is flat-out great film, period.

The Fault in Our Stars (2014)

Teenage love story

[8/10 · 3 June 2014]

"The world is not a wish-granting factory."

Sound the distress signal! No pile is safe!

My advice to the tissues out there : slip from the top pocket, whisk yourself into the aisle, and cloak yourself behind a tossed popcorn bucket. The alternative? Slime – and lots of it. From the eyes to the nose to the wet debris of the cheeks… it will come, and there'll be nowhere to hide!

"The Fault in Our Stars" will single-handedly spike the Kleenex death toll.

Based on the similarly eye-flooding book of the same name, "Stars" is a very sweet but sad teen romance that educates and enriches as much it entertains. Unlike most other films that carry the 'youngsters in love' tag, it's set in our world – as opposed to that bl-inky-eyed, butterfly- buzzing haven beyond the screen where Michael Schoeffling and Molly Ringwald come together at a kitchen table for a 16th birthday kiss, and Freddie Prinze Jr manages to convince Rachel Leigh-Cook he's more than the weight of his jock jacket. This 'anti' teen-romance movie is grounded, devoid of fluff, does away with a 'happily ever after' ending, and mostly, skips on the OMD. And the pragmatism is what transports "The Fault in Our Stars" to a whole next galaxy, far beyond the juvenile romances of cinema yesteryear.

As our lead character says at the beginning of the film, "I believe we have a choice in this world about how to tell sad stories. On the one hand, you can sugarcoat it. Nothing is too messed up that can't be fixed with a Peter Gabriel Song. I like that version as much as the next girl does. It's just not the truth."

You've had plenty of fruit salad, now it's time to dig into the chicken breast – it's good for you.

Hazel (Shailene Woodley) describes herself as a ticking time bomb – but Cancer will do that. She seems to be just waiting around for the boom. And fair enough. Though not big on socializing, her mother's insistence leads her to a support group, there she immediately catches the eye of courteous Gus (Ansel Elgort), who lost a leg to the disease. He's only there supporting a friend. Hazel and Gus begin to grow closer – thanks to a mutual love of movies, music and literature – and things get serious just as Hazel's health takes a turn for the worse.

"I am in love with you Hazel Grace", responds Gus. "And I know that love is just a shout into the void and that oblivion is inevitable…and I am in love with you. All of your efforts to keep me away from you are going to fail."

A secondary subplot strings the main thread together. Hazel's found comfort in a book about a young girl, also with Cancer, who feels exactly the same about the disease as she does. The book leaves her hanging though – it doesn't give her the answers she's looking for, so she writes to the author who invites her to meet in Amsterdam. With the assistance of her ever-loving beau Gus, Hazel's able to convince her doctors that she should be allowed to take the trip and so sets off – with boyfriend and mother (Laura Dern) in tow – to Amsterdam to get the answers she so desires. The trip is a memorable one for a whole different set of reasons.

It's the realism of "Stars" that sees it effortlessly make out with the lump in your throat. From the credible and amazing performances of its two leads (Shailene Woodley has emerged as one of today's best young actresses – here, she embodies true leading-lady potential; Ansel Elgort is as equally as good, serving up a wide-ranging, eye-catching and likable performance) to the realistic but heartbreaking story being told (you know walking in, there's not going to be a happy ending for anyone here), there's nothing inauthentic about the film. I pinched the reel – and its reflex suggested it was the real deal. True. Not a false beat in director Josh Boone's orchestra.

In its depiction of terminal illness, Boone's adaptation doesn't attempt to evoke sympathy from the audience, nor does it ask you to pity the lives the leads have been granted. The film almost offers a positive spin – not unlike Gus does every few minutes in the movie – on cancer, reminding audiences that until you've breathed your last breath, you're still alive and should embrace that. Inspiring. It also reminds that even a short but well-lived life is far from a waste — one can search forever for that special thing that makes their life complete or, like Hazel and Gus, they can find it in just a few months.

"You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I can't tell you how they cry out for a little infinity."

"The Fault in Our Stars" is a movie that will ultimately still stir sniffles and flip smiles (particularly knowing how it's going to turn out for the central characters), but it might also slap a few of the living dead out there into a new beginning, where they'll start to make the most of their being.

Everyone will get something out of this – but especially those who've been working themselves over for months to years on end because of something that was out of their hands. Find happiness where you can, push on even when you think you can't, and keep the tragic losses locked behind the padlock guarding your heart – after all, they're yours. "I will not tell you our love story, because—like all real love stories— it will die with us, as it should." Amen.

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Edge Of Tomorrow is pure genius! MUST WATCH!!

[10/10 · 3 June 2014]

Excellent action movie, probably one of the best I've seen in years.

Cage has never seen any action and with Earth under attack from an alien invasion his job is to market hope and put a positive spin on human fatalities. He's a sort of Alastair Campbell of the future you could say, though it's unlikely that even he could have conjured up poster girl Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), a tough-but-beautiful fighting legend.

Assuming his London trip to be just another PR go-see, Cage is horrified to discover he will be part of the first wave of troops on the beach (a timely nod to the D-Day landings) so he can report good news on the secret counter attack.

Refusing to accept dispatch orders from tough-talking General Brigham (Brendan Gleeson), Cage is arrested, demoted to private and sent to Heathrow for training, despite having the fighting aptitude of a BA flight attendant. Now things get really interesting for the ill-equipped soldier is sent off to France with other rejects as alien cannon fodder and he dies. Only he doesn't.

After ingesting the blood of the alpha alien he actually manages to kill, coward Cage is not only mentally connected to the invaders' "hub" but suddenly finds himself living the previous day all over again. And again... and again.

Think Groundhog Day with almost invincible angry seaweed aliens and you'll get the measure of this action-packed early summer blockbuster that puts Cruise back in poll position as the hero who can see off a heinous enemy while cracking jokes and smiling.

Just like Groundhog Day, a tight script and sharp editing allows us to see fresh versions of the same day in many ways as Cage turns into a highly-skilled soldier due to coaching from Rita, whom he meets on the battlefield.

Of course the day's repetition means he is always back where he started with the muscular miss in leaden combats, but Cruise and Blunt have good chemistry and the shtick never feels laboured.

On the contrary the whole film whizzes by and my only complaint is that forced into 3D glasses, the blasting alien shoot-outs left me feeling trapped in an Xbox game with pending nausea.

As this will be a recommendation for many, I advise fellow spec haters to seek out the 2D version in order not to miss this sharp, sassy, well- assembled piece of sci-fi that Tom stood in the rain to sell.

Maleficent (2014)

perfect example of why Jolie is one of the most in-demand actors on the planet

[8/10 · 2 June 2014]

This Disney production Maleficent, directed by Robert Stomberg, reimagines the Sleeping Beauty fairytale. The evil fairy queen (Angelina Jolie) is no longer the bad guy. She is instead the good fairy who is scorned and deceived by the man she loves (Sharlto Copley). THell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Well, the adage stands true for fairies too. Her mind turns to revenge and she curses the Princess – the daughter of the above mentioned man – and then sets about making her life miserable. But she is no longer the one-dimensional villain we knew, instead she is a fully grown woman who has loved and lost. Does she succeed in her professed intention? Therein lies the tale.

Her silken smooth performance is the highlight of the film. In fact, there is nothing much in the film once we discount Jolie's inspired take on the woman who loses love and gradually finds it again. She makes the transformation believable. And don't we all love the wicked Jolie who goes bad with a twinkle in her eye. Her black-clad and horned form makes everyone else, include Elle Fanning as Aurora, pale into insignificance. And when she has her wings, the film soars!

I thought it was awesome! Great visual effects and a new twist on a classic favorite. Both versions work and it gives you a look at both sides. Jolie was a prefect choice and her mannerisms and cold stare really worked well. The only negatives I can say are, I wish the 3 fairies had more screen time as they were a good comedy break from the overall dark tone of the film. Other than that it was a great film.

A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)

Forget the Critics! Go watch it..

[6/10 · 29 May 2014]

It never quite hits the advertised number, but as "A Million Ways to Die in the West" goes on, it keeps a pretty good running total: Cholera, gun battle, rattlesnake, knifefight, hanging.

But as creator Seth MacFarlane could tell you, for a comedian there's only one way to die: Be unfunny.

He had a taste of mortality hosting the Oscars two years ago, when some of his jokes didn't just offend, but — worse — fell flat. And he certainly knew he was risking a lot with this new movie, a comedy western.

Well -dodged a bullet.

Because "A Million Ways to Die in the West" is, yes, often offensive and juvenile. (It's Seth MacFarlane, after all.) But it's also often funny and even occasionally pretty clever.

Starring in his own script, MacFarlane plays Albert, an intelligent and smartly cautious man who's somehow ended up as a sheepherder in the Wild West. Which he hates with almost as much passion as he loves his schoolmarm girlfriend, Louise.

But she leaves him for a rich man, and it seems as if things couldn't get much worse. Except then the territory's worst gunslinger passes through, and his wife begins to take a shine to this shy shepherd. And suddenly things do, indeed, get a whole lot worse, MacFarlane, who directs as well, isn't the most obvious movie star. With his pleasant but inexpressive face and shoe-button eyes, he looks a little like "Ted," the dirty teddy bear he created (he talks like him, too) — cuddly but unengaged.

The movie also misses out on a nice joke by having everyone sound alike — which is to say, like the same, foul-mouthed, 21st-century cynic. It keeps Albert from standing out; it'd be funnier if everyone but he spoke with florid 19th-century style.

But MacFarlane is game for pratfalls, and he has a good supporting cast around him, including Neil Patrick Harris as a romantic rival, Sarah Silverman as a perpetually upbeat hooker, Liam Neeson as that dreaded gunslinger and a few surprise guest stars — including one post-credits one — whose identities I'll keep secret here.

He also has a secret weapon in Charlize Theron who showed her taste for rude comedy in "Young Adult" but hasn't gotten much of a chance since. Here, as the gunman's wife, she cuts a confident, eye-catching figure (and occasionally uncorks a terrific dirty laugh) while still rooting her character in reality. As a comedian, MacFarlane often can't help going for the gross-out joke. There barely a bodily fluid that not only gets its own gag, but gag-worthy closeup, too; his slightly self- conscious, I'm-a-bad-boy act also includes the usual non-PC tweaks at race and religion.

But as a filmmaker, he shows a real appreciation for genre (the movie starts with shots of John Ford's beloved desert landscapes, and a rolling Elmer Bernstein-style score). Some flashes of style, too, particularly in a psychedelic dream out of Dali, and some clever in- jokes.

Admitted, for all its wild satire and crude humor, "A Million Ways to Die in the West" is no "Blazing Saddles" (although it does share a fondness for jokes about passing gas); only briefly does it risk going as fearlessly over the comedy cliff as Mel Brooks did regularly.

But it's well-made, often (and outrageously) funny, and manages to keep up the pace and interest for nearly two hours. Clearly there's more to MacFarlane than a bad Oscar show, "Ted" and some Fox-TV toons. It'll be fun to see what he finds funny next.

i'll give it 6 out of 10.

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Now *this* is how you make a summer movie...

[10/10 · 22 May 2014]

Another highlight is simply the tone and structure of the film as a whole. Singer injects quite a bit of humor, but not so much as to detract from the drama, and at the same time he never allows things to get too bleak either. There's some dark stuff (particularly in the future scenes) but ultimately this is a hopeful tale, with themes and a message that resonate without ever seeming forced upon us.

One of the most surprising things about DOFP is how simple the story actually is. Once you wrap your head around the time travel stuff (holes can be poked if you think about it too much..like ANY movie using that plot device) it basically boils down to a battle for the soul of Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), with Xavier (James McCavoy) as the angel on one shoulder, and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) as the devil on the other. See, it was actually something Mystique did in in 1973 which led to the hellish future we find ourselves in at the start of the movie, so Professor X (Patrick Stewart) thinks that if Logan (Hugh Jackman) can prevent her from carrying out the deed, that the unstoppable Sentinels won't be created and that future will be averted. Logan enlists the help of the younger versions of Xavier, Beast (Nicholas Hoult), and Magneto - - but unfortunately for all concerned, the ever devious Mr. Lensherr has his own agenda.

The X-Men have endured for so long for good reason. I love most of the Marvel flicks (not trying to start a flame war, just using them as an example) but they're not really known for dealing in shades of grey when it comes to their characters, and they're simply less interesting as a result. Here our main protagonists are a noble, but ruthless killing machine and (at least in this movie) a snarky, apathetic junky. Then there's Mystique, who still clings on to her humanity but is willing to let it slip away in her pursuit of justice. And Magneto; not an inherently evil man, but a man prepared to commit evil acts to ensure the survival of his race. Not exactly The Avengers.

Over all it's a "AMAZING" summer movie! 9.5/10 & Wait for the credit scene at the end of the movie, If you haven't seen the movie or didn't stick around, here's what it shows. The camera starts in a desert and closes in on a hooded figure standing on a giant sand dune, facing away from us. Crowds of hundreds bow to him below, chanting "En Sabah Nur." As he raises his hands a giant pyramid begins to assemble in the air overhead. The camera pans around the figure to reveal his pale face and blue lips, as well as four horsemen standing on a hill in the distance. (I couldn't quite make out the actor during his brief appearance, but he strongly resembles Aaron Taylor-Johnson, which could be a little confusing: Taylor-Johnson already appeared playing Quicksilver in Captain America: Winter Soldier's post-credits teaser for the next Avengers.) Here's what it means. "En Sabah Nur" is the Egyptian name of one of X-Men fans' favorite villains, Apocalypse. In the comics, Apocalypse grew up in ancient Egypt and has grey skin and blue lips. Typically, he is accompanied by four horsemen, loosely modeled after the Biblical Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. Once you know that the sequel to Days of Future Past is titled X-Men: Apocalypse, it doesn't seem hard to put two and two together.

Godzilla (2014)

Where is ''GODZILLA''' in the movie?

[7/10 · 16 May 2014]

The fight scenes between Godzilla and the two MUTO's are brilliant and totally breathtaking and the CGI was amazing,there is nothing cheesy about these monsters, the MUYO's reminded me of the "cloverfield monster" & Bryan Cranston chews more scenery than the lizard..my biggest problem is that we didn't get to see nearly enough of him. The bulk of the 2-plus hour running time is leading up to a final showdown, and most of the shots we get are mere teases of the hulking lizard strutting around cities as he battles other monsters. Until the climax, "Godzilla" is an average movie that under-utilizes Bryan Cranston and Elizabeth Olsen, and stars a surprisingly wooden Aaron Taylor-Johnson. His character just doesn't show much emotion at all, and it echoes the slow pace of the film. The main thing keeping is interested is the hope that we'll eventually get to see Godzilla be himself, and when that does finally happen…wow. WOW. It's an epic display of amazing effects and inventive fight staging that will no doubt have fans cheering in the theatre wanting more. And that's just it…as great as the ending of "Godzilla" is, I just can't help but think that I wanted more.

Over all it's "A good movie, just not the great one that fans of the mutant monster were hoping for" I'll give it 7.5/10..