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Kasım, 2016 tarihine ait yayınlar gösteriliyor

Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them

Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, & Colin Farrell Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 J.K. Rowling may have ended the Harry Potter series, but she isn't done writing about her magical world. Her latest series Fantastic Beasts has finally hit theaters, with the first of what will be a five film series, that starts off a hundred years before Harry Potter stepped into Hogwarts. The film is centered on Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), who has come to New York City as part of his quest to save the endangered species of the magical world. These creatures live in what appears to be a suitcase, but when some of them escape and a muggle is exposed to Scamander's attempts to retrieve them, he finds himself in a world of trouble. Scamander's only salvation is that with another unknown creature and a dark wizard on the loose, there are other things to worry about, so he is sent with an agent (Katherine Waterston), and the muggle, to collect his creatures and to try to help figure

Bad Santa 2

Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates, Tony Cox, & Brett Kelly Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars Despite advertising to the contrary, Bad Santa 2 is not bigger, badder, or funnier than the previous film. In fact, this time they went too far and broke the cardinal rule of comedy. The film goes too far to be as raunchy and funny as the first film, that unfortunately it goes from funny to stupid and by the end, it becomes a farce of itself. In the sequel to this classic comedy, Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) is just as broke and drunk as he ever was, and this time he's saddled with a twenty-one year old Thurman Merman (Brett Kelly), who just won't leave him alone. Just when he thinks things can't get any worse, his old pal Marcus (Tony Cox) is released from prison, and has a job that promises to make them all rich. A reluctant Willie agrees, only to find out the place they are going to hit, employs his worst nightmare, his mother. I was hoping this film would be even half as

Skyfall

Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, & Javier Bardem Rating: 4 out of 5 stars In a recent Ultimate Movie Review Twitter Poll, I asked you what your favorite James Bond movie starring Daniel Craig was and you chose Skyfall. For me this was a hard choice, because Daniel Craig seems as though he was born to play James Bond. All the films he's done have been fantastic, but I can see why Skyfall won. This film stands out for many reasons, most importantly it gives us a rare look into the childhood of James Bond and for the rarest of moments we see Bond scared and on the edge of possibly giving up, but you know how the story ends, he's James Bond. If you missed Skyfall, the film is like many other stories, where an old enemy reappears, but in this case, the enemy isn't looking for world domination, he's looking for revenge against his former employers, the British Government and in particular the Double 0 program. Bond films are often times so similar that we tend to rat

Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision

Starring: Jason Scott Lee & Thomas Ian Griffin Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars While I loved the idea behind Timecop, I hated the first movie. I thought it was really poorly done. With such a great idea, there were so many different directions the writers could have gone in, and the one they chose was just sloppy, however they made up for that in the second one. Too bad it was done in a low budget, direct-to-video film, that starred absolutly no one of any name recognition. In the second installment of Timecop, Anti-Government Terrorists want to change the United States to make it more like the way they want it to be, and the only thing stopping them is The Time Enforcement Commission. Led by former agent, Brandon Miller (Thomas Ian Griffin), the terrorist decide to go back and take out the agents before they are able to defend themselves, with them out of the way, they'll be able to do anything they want, but the only thing stopping them is Ryan Chan (Jason Scott Lee) The top T

Django Unchained

      Starring: Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, & Christoph Waltz Rating: 5 out of 5 stars Quentin Tarantino is one of the most unique and interesting writer/directors in all of Hollywood, a man who's style and wit seem to transcend time and history, but would he be able to apply this talent to slavery and the wild west, I had my doubts. Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) is not your typical bounty hunter, as he has a very unique and unorthodox way of getting his job done. Schultz thinks the best way to shock people is to free a slave, make him his partner, and let him ride into town and stay with him wherever he goes, which usually leads to shock, outrage, and more N words than your typical Jay-Z album. Eventually the successful duo goes in search of Django's wife, who is being held at the plantation of a truly evil man, Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). In order to get her back, the two attempt to con the southern "gentleman", but will everything go as planned

The Expendables 2

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, & Jean-Claude Van Damme Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars Sylvester Stallone had a brilliant idea that came to fruition in 2010, with an action movie that brought together all the big names in the action movie genre, but there was a problem. You just can't fit every big name into one movie and give them all significant screen time, so you had to have a sequel. The more things change, the more they stay the same, however, as this time, the story was a bit better, at least for an action movie, and the cast was a bit younger, but the basic genre was still the same. Barney Ross's (Sylvester Stallone) team is once again brought together to do a job, this time there are some new younger faces, to complete what seems like what should be an easy job, what they weren't expecting was to stumble right into the middle of a madman's master-plan. As I said, the story wasn't as basic this time, things were a little more complex, but on

Arrival (2016)

Starring: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, & Forest Whitaker Rating: 1 1/2 out of 5 stars Arrival is being called one of the best Science Fiction films in years. It is one of the best rated and reviewed films of 2016, and is drawing comparisons to Close Encounters of The Third Kind, but I have a question, did they watch the same film that I did? I wasn't crazy about Close Encounters, but that movie was leaps and bounds ahead of this one. Twelve alien crafts land in random places all across the planet, and the people are in a panic. Some countries react with hostility, but the U.S. Government decides to act cautiously (yeah right), and send Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams), the best linguist they have, to figure out a way to community with the aliens. The aliens, turn out to be giant octopus, whose language turns out to be ink that they squirt into the air. This movie features flashbacks and flash-forwards, that seemingly make no sense, until the end when you finally figure out what they

Strangerland

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Joseph Fiennes, & Hugo Weaving Rating: 3 out of 5 stars Set in the Australian outback, Strangerland tells the story of a family that has recently relocated to a small town that is literally in the middle of nowhere. The move seemed like an odd choice, but as you will later find out, it was a necessary one, but needless to say no one is particularly happy about it, especially the families two kids. One day there is a report of a large dust storm headed towards town and the parents go to get their children to safety, only to discover they are nowhere to be found. The local sheriff is called in, but he's not moving fast enough for the father, so he takes things into his own hands, further complicating things. Aside from the unusual setting and circumstances of the disappearance, this film isn't all that original, in fact, except for the ending and the location, it was really very similar to the film, Prisoners. The investigation was fairly interestin

54

Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek, Neve Campbell, & Mike Myers Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars Okay, most people wouldn't admit it, but I will. I only watched this movie for the graphic sex and nudity. Based on the trailer, I was expecting a giant orgy, filled with drugs and dance music, but to my surprise, 54 actually turned out to be a docudrama about Club 54, as seen through the eyes of a young waiter/bar tender/dancer. The film features the shady practices of the owner, the drug trade inside, the celebrity guests, and of course the eccentric regulars, in what turns out to be one hell of an entertaining film (...and the sex and nudity don't hurt either). Ryan Phillippe stars in a role that today I could never see him taking, but back in his younger days, he really excelled in. The way he was able to demonstrate how the exposure to a place like that can change a person, was truly remarkable. He literally went from nothing to a face that was known all over the city, sim

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

Starring: Dylan O'Brian, Kaya Scodelario, & Thomas Sangster Rating: 4 out of 5 stars The Maze Runner trilogy was one of the best book series I've read since the Hunger Games, but unlike the Hunger games, the transition to the big screen has not been an easy one. The first film in the series, was nothing like the book, as it completely failed to demonstrate the comradery among the boys, as well as eliminating key elements from the story. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who noticed this, as The Scorch Trials made sure the same mistakes didn't happen twice. Of course the same elements that were ignored in the first film had to still be excluded for the sake of continuity, but the rest of the film was dead on. In the second film, the boys learn that their rescue was only short lived, as they are still under the control of Wicked, and are about to face their second test. The group is to be dropped into the most unforgiving part of the earth, a place where the disease

Doctor Strange (2016)

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Mads Mikkelsen, & Rachel McAdams Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars At this point anything with the name Marvel attached to it, is box office gold, as is evident by their latest film, Doctor Strange. The Doctor is perhaps one of the least known out of all of their characters, yet he is still pulling in huge numbers. The big question is whether or not the film lives up to the hype, and I can honestly say, I'm not really sure. Dr. Steven Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a world renowned surgeon, who is badly injured in a car accident. When modern medicine fails him, Strange starts looking for alternative treatments and finds a bizarre ancient group, that claims they can teach him how to heal himself, and do a whole lot more. The big appeal of this movie, at least for me was the special effects. I knew the effects would be good, but Marvel really out did themselves this time. I watch close to three hundred films a year, and I'm not often impressed

We Need To Talk About Kevin

Starring: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, & Ezra Miller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Americans are fascinated with criminals, and most films about them either focus on the criminal or on the people who are trying to catch them. With the recent uptake in school shootings, the one element that is often overlooked is the parents and what, if any, their role is in all of this. That is the focus of award winning film, We Need To Talk About Kevin. Kevin (Ezra Miller) has always been an angry, troubled kid, brought up by an upper middle class family. Kevin had a loving family, everything he could ever want, but still orchestrated a horrific mass shooting at his school. Despite all evidence to the contrary, his mother (Tilda Swinton) can't help but think that somehow everything is her fault, and by and large the community agrees. This is far and away one of the strongest performances I've ever seen Tilda Swinton give, and that's saying a lot, because she has always been terrific.

The Ledge

Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Terrance Howard, & Liv Tyler Rating: 1 1/2 out of 5 stars An all-star cast isn't everything, as proven by the independent drama, The Ledge. The film features, (big surprise) a man on the ledge of a building, threatening to jump, and when the police negotiator shows up, the man (Charlie Hunnam), through flashbacks, tells a twisted tale of love, adultery, and murder that led him to his current predicament. One of the biggest problems I have with this films is Charlie Hunnam, he was so good as outlaw biker, Jax Teller, on seven seasons of Sons of Anarchy, that I don't really buy him as this sweet, emotional guy. Not to mention the fact that he had better chemistry with Terrance Howard, who played the police negotiator, than he did with Liv Tyler, the woman he was supposedly willing to risk everything for. Together, Hunnam and Tyler seem almost uncomfortable and it wasn't just while they were talking. All of their interactions are awkward, clumsy

Jimmy Hollywood

Starring: Joe Pesci, Christian Slater, & Victoria Abril Rating: 2 out of 5 stars Joe Pesci is one of the most underrated comedic actors in all of Hollywood. The reason is simple, Cousin Vinny aside, he's never really been able to have success on his own. Pesci is usually in huge movies, paired with other big stars, and his rave reviews fall under the supporting actor tag. Jimmy Hollywood is yet another example of Joe Pesci going out on his own and striking out big time, which is quite surprising, when you consider who the Director of the film was. Jimmy Alto (Pesci) is a failing actor in Hollywood, he's done everything he can to make a name for himself, but he never has. One night a down and depressed Jimmy finds that his car has been broken into and it's the last straw. Along with him best friend, William (Christian Slater), Jimmy decides he's going to make a name for himself by cleaning up the streets of L.A., but that doesn't go exactly as planned either. T