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All I See is You (2017)
All I See is You (2017)
I did not expect much from this movie. I am not a big fan of Jason Clarke because I just feel that he is an overrated actor. Blake Lively is really sort of hit or miss. Marc Forster has proved to be decent director, so I thought I would give this movie a chance.
All I See is You is a story about a blind woman who gets an operation to regain her sight. Life as she knows it changes when she can see again. She and her husband begin to see negative changes in each other and it affects their marriage.
The movie was directed by Marc Forster and the noteworthy cast includes Blake Lively, Jason Clarke, Danny Huston, Ahna O’Reilly, Miquel Fernandez, Yvonne Strahovski, and Wes Chatham.
The first thing that I thought about this movie was that Blake Lively would definitely have to be blind to be married to a guy like Jason Clarke. That casting was just poor and unrealistic. Also, it seems like they dumb down Lively’s looks a bit for the movie. Maybe that was because they realized that there was a definite mismatch in that relationship on film. She is out of his league and they knew it.
Blake Lively was cast against type. Her part in the movie was just not fitting to everything else that she has done up until this point. It was just not believable. Or, maybe she did not make it believable. Either way, it just did not work.
There really is not much to this movie. It felt long and drawn out. It did not really seem to get entertaining until it was just about over. There was just no follow-through to what they were trying to achieve in this film.
There were a bunch of unnecessary scenes that were just not pertinent to the story. On top of that, there was some unnecessary nudity that was possibly trying to be artistic, but just came off as awkward.
Overall, All I See is You is a boring, and messed up movie. The acting is bad, and the casting was worse. It is not even worth a cheap rental. Do not waste your time, like I did mine.
I rate this movie a 2 on a scale of 1-10.
Here is a list of movies with a somewhat similar theme that are much better than this one:
Blink (1993)
The Eye (2008)
At First Sight (1999)
Blood Work (2002)
Tell Tale (2009)
Jennifer 8 (1992)
Stronger (2017)
Game Night (2018)
Game Night (2018)
If you are a fan of games like I am, then this movie probably looks like fun to you. The concept of diving into the unknown and stirring up your plain everyday life sounds great, doesn’t it? Of course it does. That is why I had to check this movie out. Because, it is about exactly that. It is about a game night filled with endless possibilities, mystery, and excitement. Also, the trailer for the film is pretty funny and I wanted to see more. The next best thing to playing a game is being a spectator.
This movie is a comedy about a group of friends that get together for a regular game night. Their most recent game night gets a huge upgrade when one of the friends surprises the others with a real life puzzle. One of them will be kidnapped and it is up to everyone else to find that person by following the clues left behind.
The film is written by Mark Perez and directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. The noteworthy cast includes Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler, Jesse Plemons, Billy Magnussen, Sharon Horgan, Lamorne Morris, Kylie Bunbury, Michael C. Hall, Jeffrey Wright, Danny Huston, and Chelsea Peretti.
There have been a lot of comedies in recent history that have fallen flat. The humor often is just not there or it is not consistent enough to warrant the genre of a Comedy. Game Night is not one of those movies. It is all kinds of funny. It takes a little while to get going, but then it does not stop.
This film feels like a fun game. The title is fitting, but for a couple of reasons. The obvious reason is that it is about a game night, but more importantly the movie itself actually feels like a game night. It is a great movie to see in the company of others (as comedies often are). See this movie on movie night and it will feel just like a game night. All the ingredients are there. The excitement, the fun, the laughs, and the good time are all a part of it. Buy some snacks at the concessions and you got yourself some good old-fashioned entertainment.
There is a comfortable assortment of humor in this movie; witty, dark, sarcastic, situational, and stupid. It is a tasteful variety that is sure to make anyone laugh.
The film had a bit of a The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997) feel to it. The characters think something is fake when it is actually real and hilarity ensues.
I felt like the cast all did a superb job in their roles. The casting department compiled an enjoyable bunch of characters.
Bateman continues to prove his versatility between comedy and drama. Not a lot of actors are capable of drama and humor at the same level. Jason nails it!
McAdams, who is not known for her comedy, manages to pull it off because there is also just the right amount of drama in this film.
Chandler keeps up the trend of being always likable no matter what part he is playing in an acting role.
Michael C. Hall had a great cameo performance. I think it worked well in this film because of his excellent history as the phenomenal Dexter in the well-known Dexter (2006) TV series.
Plemons continues to prove himself as a solid actor every time that I see him in a movie (which has been a lot lately). In this one, he hysterically steals the show.
If you are looking for an exciting comedy, Game Night is totally worth it!
I rate this movie an 8.5 on a scale of 1-10.
If you liked this film then you might also enjoy:
The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997)
The Hangover (2009)
Horrible Bosses (2011)
Wedding Crashers (2005)
The Wolverine (2013)
The Wolverine (2013)
Recently I watched X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) for the first time and this made me more enthusiastic about seeing The Wolverine. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine has won my vote for best X-Men character.
In The Wolverine, Wolverine (Jackman) is summoned to Japan by an aging, old friend whom he saved during the war. The old man has become very rich and powerful and he wants to repay Wolverine for saving his life so long ago. However, he may have ulterior motives. When he reaches Japan, Wolverine becomes caught up in a war between his old friend’s empire and the Yakuza. Wolverine becomes weakened and for the first time faces mortality.
The film was directed by James Mangold and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Hal Yamanouchi, Ken Yamamura, Rila Fukushima, Tao Okamoto, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Hiroyuki Sanada, Brian Tee, Will Yun Lee, and Famke Janssen.
Some of what I especially liked about X-Men Origins: Wolverine is also what I liked about The Wolverine. The film was concentrated mostly on the life of just one X-Men character and therefore it was more enjoyable. You are able to feel more for Wolverine because you get to see his whole story. There is much more character development than the first 4 X-Men films and this allows the viewer to become more attached to the characters and the problems that they face. Also, not every single character in the movie was a mutant and that made the ones that were mutants more unique and therefore more likable.
In comparison to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I felt that The Wolverine was a slight step down. It was a little bit longer than it needed to be and it lacked the star power. The supporting cast does do a quality job, but there is not another actor in the film that can compete with Jackman. X-Men Origins: Wolverine had Liev Schreiber and Danny Huston. The bad guys in The Wolverine were not bad enough. They did not have as much of a screen presence. Jackman dealing with his own mortality was almost more intense than the enemies that he faced. Don’t get me wrong. The film was still very fun to watch, but bigger stars could have helped make it more powerful like X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Hugh Jackman kept reminding me of a young Clint Eastwood at times throughout the film. He was a fierce cold-blooded loaner ready to do whatever he felt was right and not caring who got in his way. Jackman is 2 inches shorter than Eastwood, who is 6’4’’, but maybe it was Jackman’s haircut, facial hair, and attitude that was reminiscent of a middle-aged Eastwood. The slight resemblance contributed in making Wolverine a helluva bad-ass to be reckoned with.
In my opinion, The Wolverine is the second best X-Men movie to date. X-Men and action movie fans alike should approve of the quality of the film. The special effects are sharp, the action is extreme, the characters are entertaining, and the movie as a whole is a blast.
I rate this movie an 8 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Buy.
Click on the link below to see a picture and read about the time when my wife and I and some friends got into a fight with Wolverine and Iron Man.
We Got Into a Fight with Wolverine and Iron Man
If you liked The Wolverine, then you should certainly enjoy X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009).
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
With the release of The Wolverine (2013) this weekend, I thought that it was about time that I watched X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I have seen all of the other X-Men movies and I used to watch the cartoon as a kid, so I’m not sure why I waited so long to watch this movie.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine tells the story of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) as a child and his earlier life prior to the other X-Men films. Wolverine and his brother Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber), both mutants, are forced to leave home together at a young age. They fight through a number of wars together until they are recruited by Colonel Stryker (Danny Huston) to become part of an elite unit made up of all mutants. Eventually Wolverine disagrees with what the unit stands for and decides to leave. He moves away, falls in love with a woman, and leads a simple life. Time passes and Wolverine’s life gets turned upside down when his old unit wants him back.
The film was directed by Gavin Hood and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Durand, Will.i.am, Taylor Kitsch, Daniel Henney, and Dominic Monaghan.
After watching this film, I am sort of kicking myself for not watching it sooner. It does an excellent job of showing where Wolverine came from and why he is the way that he is in the other films. After the movie, I gained a greater respect for Jackman and his Wolverine character.
This is my favorite X-Men movie so far. What I especially liked about the film is that it concentrated on the life of one of the X-Men instead of overflowing the movie with tons of mutant characters with too many stories to go around. This made it possible for greater character development and helped to create a more meaningful story. Of course, there are a number of X-Men characters in the film, but they didn’t try to tell the story of each one of them.
Gambit/Remy LeBeau was one of my favorite X-Men characters when I was a kid, and it was fun to finally see his character in a live action film.
Jackman and Schreiber both brought a level of fierce intensity to their characters that were very exciting to watch. This, in conjunction with the solid supporting performance by Huston and the film’s awesome special effects helped to make X-Men Origins: Wolverine the sharpest X-Men movie in the box.
I rate this movie an 8.5 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Buy.
Click on the link below to see a picture and read about the time when my wife and I and some friends got into a fight with Wolverine and Iron Man.
We Got Into a Fight with Wolverine and Iron Man
Note: Jackman and Schreiber were both in Kate & Leopold (2001) together.
If you enjoyed X-Men Origins: Wolverine, then you will probably like The Wolverine (2013).
Hitchcock (2012)
Hitchcock (2012)
In Hitchcock Anthony Hopkins steps into the shoes of the Master of Suspense and they fit him quite well. In fact, he seemed so much like Alfred Hitchcock that at times I forgot it was actually Anthony Hopkins. They even have the same monogrammed towels, although, that’s merely a coincidence. Or is it?
Hitchcock is based off of Stephen Rebello’s non-fiction book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho. The film gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the relationship that Alfred Hitchcock had with his wife and the struggle he went through to create his most popular beloved masterpiece, Psycho (1960).
I am a huge Hitchcock fan, and I was not familiar with a lot of the events that occurred in this story. The movie was a sort of tribute to the legendary genius film director. It was enlightening and very entertaining.
Just as Hitchcock was able to get tons of popular actors to act in his films, Hitchcock the movie is overrun with a number of great actors: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Danny Huston, Jessica Biel, Toni Collette, Michael Stuhlbarg, Michael Wincott, James D’Arcy, Richard Portnow, Kurtwood Smith, Ralph Macchio, Wallace Langham, Currie Graham, Spencer Garrett, and Frank Collison. Sacha Gervasi directs the movie.
Helen Mirren is superb as Hitchcock’s wife Alma. The chemistry between Mirren and Hopkins on screen is perfect.
The filming of Psycho was very tastefully recreated in Hitchcock. Scarlett Johansson does an excellent job playing Janet Leigh. Jessica Biel is a great Vera Miles. I thought James D’Arcy was a pretty believable Anthony Perkins.
Anthony Hopkins did for Hitchcock what Daniel Day-Lewis did for Lincoln (2012). They didn’t just act the part. They became the part.
If you are an Alfred Hitchcock fan like I am, than you will most certainly enjoy Hitchcock.
I rate this movie a 9 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Buy.
Note: You might be wondering why the name Ralph Macchio sounds so familiar. He was the original Karate Kid (Daniel Larusso) in The Karate Kid (1984). Can you believe he is already 51 years old?
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