Interstellar (2014) Review

Avid readers of my blog have probably already picked up on my little obsession with directors. Yes, I am a mostly devoted follower of the auteur theory, the idea that a film just like a book can be traced back to a single driving force, its author for books, and, normally, its director for movies. And yes, I am also aware that making movies is a collaborative process that involves dozens if not hundreds of people, covering everything from writers, producers, actors, cinematographers, gaffers, everything. Nonetheless, you cannot watch a movie by, say, Wes Anderson or David Lynch and not agree that there are plenty of common visual and stylistic elements that are consistent across their bodies of work. Now you're probably asking yourself, where the heck am I going with this lengthy intro? I am not trying to write an outline for a critical analysis of the auteur theory, instead am I trying to make it clear from the beginning that I am blaming the ultimate failure of Interstellar on its director, Cristopher Nolan.

Robocop Trailer? More like Roboflop Failer (AMIRIGHT?!)

Yes, I made that pun and I am not ashamed of it (at least not too much...)

The World's End (2013) Review

No, not the Seth Rogen/James Franco vehicle This is the End but the long-awaited finale of Edgar Wright's Cornetto trilogy. Is it a worthy conclusion after Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz?

Elysium (2013) Review

I hate falling into the hype trap. You know what I mean, a movie looks and sounds really, really good in trailers and promotions, has a ton of talented people attached to it, has sky-high ambitions and ultimately falls short of our expectations. Wait a moment, haven't I been here before? I'm sensing a deja vu...

Give me... 5 reasons to love Back To The Future

There are movies that are appealing to anyone, at any given time, no matter what circumstances. Back To The Future is definitely one of those films. As long as I can remember I loved that film. How could you not immediately fall in love with? Or so I thought until a couple of days ago I watched it with my girlfriend who had never seen it before. To make a long story short, she didn't love it. Hell, she didn't even seem to like it very much.

That made me think, what is it exactly that makes this film so great in my eyes (and the eyes of pretty much every other movie geek out there). That's why I came up with a list of 5 things that make Back To The Future awesome.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) Review

Let's get one thing right out of the way: I'm not a Trekkie. I've never seen the original show or any of the spin-offs and when it comes to the movies then I'd always felt somewhat underwhelmed (with the exception of Wrath of Khan, that film kicks ass). Now the first time that I'd actually found myself being quite blown away by Star Trek was with J.J. Abrams' 2009 Star Trek. Dumping all the heavihandedness of the source material and putting everything into overdrive was probably the best thing that could have ever happened to the franchise. I'm certainly aware that many devoted fans have complained about it not being true to the source material and dumbing it down for the mass audience but these people are forgetting one simple thing: IT'S A MOVIE, GET OVER IT! But honestly, Star Trek of the 2009 variety was a fast-paced, entertaining and completely satisfying sci-fi romp.

Ender's Game looks .... meh

Check out the trailer for Ender's Game right here:

Do you remember.... Twelve Monkeys?

It's a long time coming but you've probably seen Looper, last year's surprisingly smart and entertaining time-travel thriller. But I'm not here to tell you how good of a movie that was, I'm here to remind you that there was another time travel movie starring Bruce Willis.

Prometheus (2012) Review

This is the movie that I personally anticipated more than any other release so far this summer. While I was genuinely excited for "The Dark Knight Rises", "Marvel's The Avengers" and a handful other productions, none of them matched my eagerness for "Prometheus". But does it deliver?

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (2011) Review

Listen to this one: There's a long running film series, getting gradually worse with every entry and suddenly this year there's the big surprise, a sequel that doesn't suck! If you thought I was talking about Fast Five, think again (although I have to admit it was a shitload of fun). I am of course referring to Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

After the original by Franklin J. Schaffner in 1968 there was a flood of four sequels, a regular TV series and an animated TV series during the 70s. Then Hollywood had had enough of the ape craze and didn't rediscover the series until 2001 with a remake by Tim Burton. Unfortunately this film was so crappy that it sent the whole franchise back into limbo. And here we are now, 10 years later, with a new entry. So is Rise of the Planet of the Apes worth anything?

Luckily, it is a great summer blockbuster. The story is a prequel to the original Planet of the Apes and fits surprisingly well into the whole universe of the franchise. Our (human) main character is a scientist played by James Franco who is the foster father to hyper intelligent chimpanzee Caesar. After a nasty incident Caesar has to be put into an ape shelter where he becomes the leader of the primate revolution.

Sounds cheesy? Of course it is, honestly, what else was the original than a better B-movie with some social commentary? That's why it is astounding that this movie works so well. On the one hand there is so much to criticize, starting with the characters who are either entirely pointless (enter eye candy Freida Pinto and old grumpy Brian Cox) or completely one-dimensional (come on Tom Felton, another evil bastard after Draco Malfoy?). Then we also have the very clumsily handled social criticism in the form of Franco's corporate boss David Oyelowo (favorite line to Franco: "You make history and I make the money!").

So why do I still consider it to be a good movie? Because of Andy Serkis, the real actor behind Caesar's motion captured face. Serkis who already brought Gollum to life is great as Caesar, just working with his facial expressions and gestures he is more charismatic than lead Franco. Thanks to him we never lose interest in the story although watchers of the original probably have an idea what it all leads to in the end. So if you want to see a good blockbuster then go and check this one out, you won't be disappointed.