I thought I would start off this month with probably the funniest video I've seen in a while. Enjoy a darn good laugh with Banecat:
As usual in the Coming Soon series, lets recap the previous month. March continued the ever-so-slight upward trend of improved movies (or I'm just going to see less "bad movies" this year) with an average score of 7.9, up 4.3% from the average of the past couple years. Here are the movies that came out and how they fared. Let's just say that I wasn't as successful predicting this month as I was in February...(as always you can click the title for the link to my review!)
300: Rise of an Empire: It was ever so slightly disappointing which I guess I should have known would happen. But I was really hoping that magic would strike twice and we would get another near-classic. Eva Green certainly helped with her ferocious lead, but all other characters fell flat and despite its beauty, the action wasn't as awesome or inventive as the first time around. (Rath's Review Score: 7.5/10)
The Grand Budapest Hotel: I had never seen a Wes Anderson film before this one so to say that this was a special and memorable trip to the theaters is an understatement. An absolutely delightful film that is funny, gorgeous, and exquisitely edited to a brief 90 minute run time. It's going to be one of the best films of the year, hands down. (RRS: 9.5/10)
Need for Speed: Unnecessarily harassed by the critics. It was never going to win any Oscars or blow any minds and for some reason that's what most critics went in expecting it to do. I went in with mediocre expectations and was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. Aaron Paul does a strong job leading a film and the cars (ohhhhh those sexy cars) have some spectacular chases and crashes. Nowhere near as bad as "professional" critics may lead you to believe. (RRS: 7.5/10)
Divergent: As the days got closer to this film's release I just could not get myself to pony up the time or money to go see it (probably had to do with the fact that I got a new PS4 game that weekend). It was rather destroyed by the critics but fans seemed to love it. Having read the books I know the love story certainly takes more of a back seat so there is definitely potential here. I'm sure I'll be seeing this one in the near future.
Muppets Most Wanted: A fun and funny, but overly long adventure for the Muppets that really cant recapture the magic of the last film. You'll enjoy your time with it like I did, but as soon as you leave the theater doors you probably wont remember a thing. (RRS: 7/10)
Noah: Pretty impressive all things considered and a movie that despite your thoughts on it, you have to admit it was made well. I couldn't get as into it as I would have liked but that can't change the fact that its scale and message are well done all the same (RRS: 8/10)
Sabotage: I would have liked to see Sabotage (and I might by the week's end) because it seemed like another film that got unfairly attacked. I would be expecting a gory action flick and it seems like thats exactly what you get.
Most Disappointing: Muppets Most Wanted
Biggest Surprise: Noah (I was expecting a train wreck)
Worst Film: None, at least none that I saw
Best Film: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Now let's get to April! Click the titles for their trailers!
Why It's Worth Seeing: 1) It's more Marvel. 2) The Winter Soldier storyline is regarded as one of the best storylines not just in the Captain America comics, but comics as a whole. 3) Early reviews indicate that it might be Marvel's best movie yet and that's a VERY exciting thought.
What Could Go Wrong: With these films I really applaud Marvel for being able to balance the overall Phase 2 story as well as make a standalone film. I don't think this will be an issue for this sequel but if it is it can really affect it negatively.
Why It's Worth Seeing: Ummmmm.....I.....I...don't really have anything for ya. It's a movie about the NFL's draft day. A sports business movie I suppose. About the Cleveland Browns. Just sounds like an odd thing to make a movie about but I do always love Kevin Costner so there's that!
What Could Go Wrong: I'm not entirely sure how they are going to keep it motivating. Especially when its about drafting rookies and the Cleveland Browns; a team that hasn't been relevant in the NFL for decades. With the lack of marketing as well I'm pretty uncompelled to see this one.
Why It's Worth Seeing: I never saw the first film but I know that it takes quite a special movie to stand out in the crowded animation market. The original Rio seemed to accomplish that with a strong cast and the always-great location of Rio de Janeiro. If the sequel can capture the spirit of the first it should do great.
What Could Go Wrong: Animation sequels are one of the hardest things to pull off. Often the magic isn't there and you can tell the creators are trying too hard. Other than a handful of films (Toy Story, Despicable Me, Shrek) it's usually a pretty big departure in quality. Rio 2 certainly isn't immune from this possibility.
Why It's Worth Seeing: Wally Pfister, longtime cinematographer for Christopher Nolan, is the director and the plot looks to be wholly original. Nolan also serves as an Executive Producer and anytime that original material comes from Nolan it's often gold.
What Could Go Wrong: The plot looks awfully muddled from the trailers and it looks like it might delve into the "ridiculous" territory. Fingers crossed that this isn't the case and instead this becomes this year's "Looper" (a good thing).
Why It's Worth Seeing: Other than Kate Upton? You still need a reason? I kid, I kid. But to be honest this looks like a chick flick that might actually be funny. I know that those are few and far between...hell they are practically legend at this point. But I like Leslie Mann and Cameron Diaz, and Kate Upton aint too sore on the eyes either.
What Could Go Wrong: Where to start? Unfunny, stupid plot, overly feministic, clichéd love story, etc, etc, etc. Basically anything that has ever gone wrong with a chick flick before could still go wrong here. I had to include it since it was the biggest release of the last weekend in April.
Why It's Worth Seeing: Other than it being one of the last films Paul Walker made after his tragic death, it looks pretty darn awesome. The action appears unique and infused with several fighting styles and a healthy dose of parkour. Other than Walker's immense star power right now this could be a gritty action epic.
What Could Go Wrong: The RZA is the villain and I've never thought he was as good at acting as he was at rapping. Not to mention the plot is probably an afterthought.
APRIL OVERVIEW:
Must See (in order): Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Transcendence
On My Radar: Rio 2, Brick Mansions
Predicted Duds: Draft Day, The Other Woman
See you next month for an OBNOXIOUSLY HUGE month of May, including some of my personal most anticipated movies of the year with X-Men Days of Future Past and Godzilla (seriously have you seen those awesome trailers though?!)! As always, be sure to come on over and follow me through Blogger at RATH'S REVIEWS and like me on Facebook HERE! I follow-for-follow 100%. Thanks again!
If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.
That Banecat is hilarious!
ReplyDeleteOur top two movies of the month are same. After hearing all of the amazingly high reviews, I am even more pumped for The Winter Soldier!
Transcendence also looks great, especially since Nolan's is somewhat involved in the film. I love technology movies and this is giving a Ghost in the Shell crossed with Serial Experiments Lain crossed with the Matrix kind of vibe from the trailer.
-James
Glad you liked it!
DeleteI am beyond pumped for The Winter Soldier. Ready to see what Marvel has up their sleeve this time!
Transcendence should be good. It looks like it has a lot of originality and hopefully it takes full advantage of that.
Thanks, James!
I want to see Draft Day simply because I really like Jennifer Garner and Kevin Costner.
ReplyDeleteI agree about all the others.
Also, I really really liked Divergent. I'm a fan of the books and I think that though they didn't do as well as I hoped, they did a good job making the movie.
DeleteI might have to check it out. It might just be one of those films that fans of the books enjoyed far more than critics.
DeleteI do like Kevin Costner a lot, but idk if his charisma will be able to save this one. We shall see!
Thanks Alana!
I liked Divergent so much I've seen it in theaters three times... haha.
DeleteYeah, I agree. I'll probably end up seeing it, simply because my dad and I go to the movies most weekends.
The Winter Soldier is a definite must-see for me too, and I'm hoping Transcendence will also turn out to be one. I was thinking of it as this year's "Inception" though. :D
ReplyDeleteHaha I haven't gotten THAT good of vibes from it that it could rival "Inception" but one can hope! I think it will either be really forgettable or one of the bigger surprises of the year. Fingers crossed for the latter.
DeleteOh, yeah, "Inception" is too high to really dare hope for, I was mostly thinking in terms of style, (probably not the best idea to think of comparing them at all!) but if it did turn out that good, I wouldn't complain. :P
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