Guest Movie Reviews || Exodus, Big Hero 6, and More! By Jamie

Hello all! I'm Jamie from Through Two Blue Eyes and Jamie Talks Anime. James asked me if I'd share one of my classic Movies of Interest posts over here from my own blog. Every once and awhile I do a cluster of short reviews for movies I've watched from Netflix or at the theater. I express whatever the film left impressed on me and I have lots of fun! Hope you enjoy! :D

Unbroken | 2.5/5

Disappointed. Everyone was raving over this when it came out this past Christmas, and I’m sure the book is a lot better than the movie, but my mother and I were under the impression that it was supposed to be an inspiring film. We were not that inspired once we hit the end. We followed this young man through trauma and torture for two long hours, waiting and waiting and waiting for that triumphant ending. Instead, it just…ended. Flatly. There was no triumph. There was no emotional punch at the end, like “Wow! He survived! He made it! We’re so touched!” The film completely failed to communicate any positive emotion at the end other than exhaustion... which is how we felt when it FINALLY ended. No disrespect to the real man himself, please understand, I just think Angelina Jolie’s movie failed miserably at what it was trying to do. I’m rather glad I didn’t go see this on Christmas day.

Exodus: Gods and Kings | 3.5/5

I was nervous this might turn out to be a terrible adaption like Noah had. But I kept my fingers crossed, and was pleasantly surprised by the film that I got. Don't get me wrong, though, I don’t go into Hollywood adaptions of biblical tales and expect good adaptions anyway–but even from that perspective you can be pretty disappointed. *Stares at Noah*. Anywho, Exodus was a decent film! The cinematography and effects were gorgeous! I’ve been waiting for a movie to show the plagues and it be realistic, so that was definitely a home run. The overall technical parts of the film were simply fantastic. The only thing that really failed for me was the characters themselves. They were pretty flat and didn’t affect me as a viewer. To me, that’s marks the film down a peg. On an overall scale, it was an enjoyable movie for what it was.

Big Hero 6 | 3/5

I have A LOT of problems with Big Hero 6, I’m afraid, and I even went in with lowered expectations to see if Disney would surprise me. I guessed the villain immediately because of the shape of his nose--I blame Disney's animators for this.The side-characters were gross one-dimensional tropes--nobody felt like superheroes at the end, just glorified “LOOK AT US WE’RE COOL NERDS” with science-y things they’d made...and I thought I was getting a superhero film. Honey Lemon was a near carbon copy of Rapunzel except she dabbled in science instead of art (her personality, hair, and face looked so similar…) Disney, stop delivering such poor character quality already. One Big Pro: Baymax was cute. He was adorable. I want a Baymax. I need more Baymax. I need a stand-alone Baymax movie right now.

The Maze Runner | 4/5 

I’ve been curious about these other YA dystopian films the people always end up comparing against The Hunger Games. Well, I ended up enjoying The Maze Runner quite a bit! The lack of romance was very refreshing, the pacing was good, the maze setting was really cool (I admit I expected more than I got when it came to the maze, but what I did get was okay,) and the end reveal surprised me. I also enjoyed the characters--Runner and Hunger have an advantage against Divergent in that I can actually like the characters. The Maze Runner did leave me with more questions than when I started, so I’m fidgeting for the sequel with anticipation, especially after seeing the trailer for it! I hope the next movie answers my questions!

Jamie enjoys movies and writing about them in her spare time on her personal blog Through Two Blue Eyes, where anything under the sun is a viable topic for a blog post! She also writes reflections and reviews for anime on her second blog Jamie Talks Anime. She is currently working on the second draft of her science-fiction/high fantasy novel and trying not to dry out from the Arizona heat.

Big Hero 6 Review

From Disney Animation, the studio that brought us Frozen and Wreck-It Ralph, comes Big Hero 6, the Oscar Winning film that is an adaptation of a Marvel comic book.

Big Hero 6 follows 14-year-old robotics genius Hiro Hamada, who, after certain events, which are inexplicably spoiled in the trailer, forms a team and uses their intellect to build super powered suits to battle the antagonist. 

Note: If you have no interest in the comic book differences and Japanese influences, skip to the next part of the review. 

Despite having not read a Big Hero 6 comic, I read a lot about the comic and how the film changes many aspects. Obviously, the comic is not a kid's comic; therefore, the film changed virtually everything to make it family friendly film. Knowing that the film would be entirely different, the alternation of the source material is not an issue for me, aside from the general flaws with the film. 

One difference is that the comic is set in Japan with mostly Japanese characters. The film is set in a hybrid of San Francisco and Tokyo, San Fransokyo that blends a few stylistic elements of Japan into the visuals, specifically the architecture. Unfortunately, the similarities to Japanese culture end there with only an occasional reference to Japan. If you somehow do not already know, I am a Japanese anime enthusiast, and I have a layman's knowledge of the culture from various sources, so I would say that about 10% of the film's visual aesthetic is influenced by Japan with the rest being the typical Disney flick. The character designs are do have a slight anime style, although, so did Frozen, which makes sense since Disney's early animation is the reason for anime's visual style.

Directed by: Don Hall, Chris Williams
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Adventure, Comic Book, Sci-Fi,
Release Date: November 7, 2014
Running Time: 102 minutes
MMPA rating: PG

The Good: Expectedly high quality animation, Brother relationship, Baymax is genuinely likable and hilarious,

The Bad: Cop-out ending, Predictable, Clichéd 3rd Act,

Plot: 4.4/10- The overall plot follows a familiar family film narrative structure with certain events that set the main character on their journey and a resolution that completely cops-out on the point of the film (more on that later). You could say that I am being too hard on it since it is, after all, a film intended for children and families. My rebuttable is that I am tired of giving a film a pass for being a family flick; however, if you are only interested in entertaining your kids, then yes, this is a great pick. With that out of the way, let's actually critique the film.

The first hour or so is where the film is at its best with it focusing more on the events that lead Hiro to form his team. The plot of those sections might not be anything special, but it is well paced and entertaining. During this first hour, I was enjoying it, and hoped that it would continue this above average story to the end...

Unfortunately, as with most family flicks, the plot goes for the predictable route in the final act. We have seen this final act in nearly every family film: the characters come together and confront the antagonist. *Possible Spoiler* The ending itself starts as something unexpected, but of course, it takes the happy ending route after trying to fake you out. It is far from a bad ending, but rather an issue with family films in general. *End Spoiler*

Old comic books are generally "family friendly" by today's standards, at least Marvel’s, so why couldn't the writers draw from those comics, not necessarily Big Hero 6, to create a story that is different? I only watch the best and most popular new family films, and it is the exact same thing that I have seen so many times.

Characterization: 7.3/10- Hiro Hamada is a typical, albeit likable, boy genius archetype. The only standout aspect of the characters is his relationship with his brother Tadashi. The bond, which is only featured briefly in the 1st Act, is the best aspect of the film. Unfortunately, there is not nearly enough of it.

Baymax is the star of the film; no question. He is a ton of fun to watch, and the character's antics are genuinely funny.
The rest of the team are all generic and forgettable. None of the characters stand out for being anything other than goofy. The antagonist is typical and his motives are nothing original.

Acting: 7.0/10- The entire cast is as good as to be expected with no standout performances.

Animation: 8.5/10- Disney Animation continues to deliver high quality work with their 3D animation. The visuals for the powers are the most impressive in the film, and the slight eastern aesthetic is always welcome, albeit underused.

Soundtrack: 7.5/10- Henry Jackman's score is fittingly heroic with many fun tracks.

Humor: 7.8/10- For an animated family flick, the humor is above-average. However, aside from Baymax's scenes, the jokes do not really work.

Entertainment Value: 7.7/10- Big Hero 6 is an overall enjoyable experience, although not one that I am interested to see again for a long time.

Overall: 6.7/10- With its exciting visuals and just enough heart to be worthwhile, Big Hero 6 is a fun film for the whole family, despite falling into the same clichés that we have seen so many times in the past.

Closing comments: Good job to the guys who chose Big Hero 6 over the Lego Movie for the Academy Awards; you really screwed it up!

Click here to check out more of my movie reviews.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Coming Soon: November 2014

Hello readers of J&J Productions blog! Welcome to another installment of Coming Soon where I will recap the movies that came out in October (which turned out to be an incredibly strong month) as well as previewing the new movies coming out in an absolutely BLOCKBUSTER month of November. October was definitely a strong month, at least for the movies I chose to see, with the final average score being 8.5, which was a whopping 10.9% more than the average. I'd call that a good month!

Here's a look at what audiences received in October:

Annabelle: I didn't see this film and it sounds like it was a good decision. I predicted that it would be a cash grab with no where near the attention to quality detail as The Conjuring received and it seems that was the case. Audiences and critics alike just seemed to not find it all that scary or essential for viewing. 

Gone Girl: A fantastic achievement and one of Fincher's best in a few years (at least in my opinion). I was a big fan of the book and I loved this movie even more mainly due to some stellar performances, a well orchestrated adaptation of the original material, and a haunting original score, among other things. (Rath's Review Score: 9/10)

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day: Despite my hatred for the long name and decision to skip it in theaters, reviews and audiences indicate that it was a decent family film that was fun for its short duration and tried to get across a good message. Probably best for readers looking to take a family trip to the theaters.

The Judge: Yet another one that I skipped, mainly because its reviews were poor to mediocre and it's nearly two and a half hours long. Aint nobody got time for that! One common complaint that I've heard about it is that it constantly hits you over the head with its screenplay, assuming the audience that it is catering to isn't all that intelligent. Probably a movie best to save for a rental from the comfort of your own home. 

The Book of Life: You guessed it! I skipped this one too. It's been a stellar year for animation so far and many critics cited The Book of Life kudos for its style, plethora of colors, and humor. Although the consensus seemed to indicate that it wasn't the best animated film of the year, but then again, it's been an unusually strong year for that art. 

Dracula Untold: I didn't have any desire to see it, nor did I. I'd probably seen almost half of it from the constant barrage of trailers that have been released and even those didn't interest me. The film itself seemed to be generic, with a distinct lack of horror. Many related it back to a superhero's origin story. Like many of Universal's monster universe (with the exception sometimes being the Underworld series), this seemed like glorified trash. 

Fury: Finally a movie I saw! And I'm glad I did because it was far more impressive than I was anticipating. The cast gives strong performances all around and Ayer's direction is intense and really captures some true horrors of war. A powerful, but very cliched, World War II movie. (RRS: 8.5/10)

Birdman: Probably the most overrated film of the month unfortunately. It had some great humor, performances, and camera work, but was a bit to weird and slightly pretentious for me to really love it. (RRS: 7.5/10)

Whiplash: An incredible film about the pain of dedicating yourself to becoming great at something. Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons play off each other fantastically and the drum sequences are intense and impressive. Pretty amazing all around (RRS: 9/10)

Ouija: A crappy PG-13 horror film that seems to be making decent money simply because its near Halloween. The scares don't seem to be there and the premise is something that has been retreaded countless times. Or at least that's what unfortunate critics who actually saw it are saying...

John Wick: A mightily impressive action film with some VERY well shot action scenes and a true return to form for Keanu Reeves. Best way to describe its action? "Flow-motion". Patent pending. (RRS: 8.5/10)

Nightcrawler: Nightcrawler comes out on the 31st of October, so unfortunately my review is not complete by the time this posts. But feel free to check back with Rath's Reviews soon and see my thoughts. I'm guessing I will enjoy the film as early reviews are strong and indicate that it's a dark thriller with a fantastic performance.

Most Surprising: Fury/John Wick (tie)

Most Disappointing: Birdman

Worst Film: Birdman by way of default (although it's still pretty good)

Best Film: Gone Girl/Whiplash (another tie!) 

There you have it! There were a few stinkers in October, but I avoided all of them. Now get ready for a preview of what could be a record box office for November. Remember to click the titles for the film's trailer. interstellar

Interstellar -- Nov 5

Why It's Worth Seeing: The last time that Christopher Nolan directed an original film we got Inception. Do I really need to give any more reason than that? 

What Could Go Wrong: The length is the only thing that worries me (slightly longer than The Dark Knight Rises) but I trust Nolan to know what he is doing. It's not often that we get a "sure thing" at the theater but I think Interstellar is probably your best bet. 

Big Hero 6 -- Nov 7

Why It's Worth Seeing: To start, the trailers have been hilarious. Additional reasons would include that it's made by the same animation studio that gave us Wreck-it Ralph (classic) and Frozen (near-classic), and it's a Marvel movie, although not part of the larger MCU.

What Could Go Wrong: At this point in the year, we have had several amazing animated movies (The LEGO Movie and How to Train Your Dragon 2, among others) and we have all seen countless "origin stories" for comic book heroes. Big Hero 6 is both of these things so it will need to be special in order to stand out. 

Dumb and Dumber To -- Nov 14

Why It's Worth Seeing: The original Dumb and Dumber is considered a classic by many, including myself, and it stands the test of time as it's still uproariously hilarious today. This sequel looks to continue the adventures of Harry and Lloyd with the original cast and crew back (something the atrocious prequel lacked). The early previews have been a blast and I'm betting that this is nothing short of a good time at the theaters.

What Could Go Wrong: Has it been too long? Will audiences still care? Will the jokes still be there or will they feel forced? Will they recycle too many jokes? (It's that last one that I'm most concerned about). These are all questions where a negative answer could result in a very disappointing film for fans that have waited a long time. Fingers crossed that doesn't happen. 

Foxcatcher -- Nov 14 (Limited)

Why It's Worth Seeing: It's been getting fantastic buzz, mainly for the incredible performances by Carell (yes that's Steve Carell in the photo!) and Tatum, and that trailer is certainly a doozy. Well directed, well acted, and a good story? Sounds like a winner to me. 

What Could Go Wrong: If you had asked me before that trailer I would have said it could be just like any other sports film and it has the possibility to be generic. But there is a layer past just the wrestling here as it gives a vibe like a Fincher film...a Gone Girl for the wrestling scene, if you will. I don't foresee too much going wrong for this one to be honest.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

Why It's Worth Seeing: Catching Fire catapulted itself to near the top of the YA-novel-to-movie quality list and for good reason. It was well directed, the adaptation of the material was solid, and it had better performances than this genre is used to. Mockingjay Part 1 looks to be more of the same, and that's a good thing. 

What Could Go Wrong: My main concern is with the splitting of the third book. A lot happens in it, yes. But I'm not sure if it's enough to justify two films rather than a longer single one. My concern also lies with where they will decide to split the third book and what additions they will make to the material. These types of caverns can always sink a film like this in the fans' eyes. 

Horrible Bosses 2 -- Nov 26

Why It's Worth Seeing: I for one loved the first Horrible Bosses. I found the premise to be unique and the movie itself was actually quite funny. Horrible Bosses 2 doesn't seem like an exact copy cat and the original cast is mostly back with some key new additions (Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz for example). The initial trailer is pretty funny as well.

What Could Go Wrong: It could tread too common of ground or recycle too many jokes. Additionally, since it has been so long since the last one, the writing and chemistry just may not be there anymore, which was the main strength of the original. Lastly, the supporting cast needs to be as awesome as they were in the first film, which is easier said than done. 

The Penguins of Madagascar -- Nov 26

Why It's Worth Seeing: That trailer is pretty darn funny if I do say so myself. I'm not familiar with the Madagascar animated series, but I do know that the Penguins are one of the funnier aspects of it so, much like the Minions will have next year, Dreamworks decided to give them their own film. If the entire movie is as consistent as the trailer, it could be hilarious.

What Could Go Wrong: Honestly, it just comes down to the stellar other competition that the film is going up against. How does a animated film stand out in 2014? It either has to be REALLY funny, REALLY cool, REALLY well done, or all three to garnish attention. I'm not sure that the second-rate characters from Madagascar are enough to accomplish that. 

Must See (in order): Interstellar, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - Part 1, Foxcatcher, Dumb and Dumber To, Big Hero 6, Horrible Bosses 2

On My Radar: Penguins of Madagascar

Predicted Duds: None! :-)

As you can see, it's going to be an AWESOME, but BUSY month of November. Enjoy it folks. It's not often that we get a month this incredible in the theaters. Thanks everyone and I hope that you enjoyed the overview! As always, I'd be really appreciative if you came and followed me through Blogger at RATH'S REVIEWS and like me on Facebook HERE! I follow-for-follow 100%. Thanks again! 

Hey everyone James the Movie Reviewer here. Please do not forget to check back tomorrow for my Top 10 Horror movies on Halloween. 

Big Hero 6 Official Trailer

From the creators of Frozen and Wreck-It Ralph, comes Disney Animation's next feature film, Big Hero 6. It is based on the Marvel comic of the same name that is set in Japan, although the movie is set in an amalgam of San Francisco and Tokyo. Despite the massive changes to the source material, this trailer is actually kind of hilarious! What do you think, please comment below and let me know. Also check out these newly released pictures of the cast.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Marvel's Big Hero 6 Trailer Review

From Marvel studios and the people who brought you Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph, and Tangled comes Big Hero 6, an animated film based on the Marvel comic of the same name. Considering that Disney animation is probably the best animation studio in America right now and that this is based on a Marvel comic, I had relatively high hopes for the movie and this trailer does not help much. This actually reminds me of the teaser for Frozen with the snowman rather than an actual trailer, because nothing of the plot is shown. According to the plot synopsis, it is about a young super-genius, Hiro Hamada, who builds a suit of armor for a health care robot, which you can see in the trailer, to save the fictional city of San Fransokyo, a combination of San Francisco and Tokyo. Taking into account that the original team from the comics was set in Japan, I was hoping the animation style would be influenced more by eastern animation, particularly Japanese anime. Unfortunately, from the trailer at least, this is not going to be the case. While the character Hiro looks maybe half Asian, which is what the rumors suggested, the animation style and the character does not look nearly Asian enough for me to consider it inspired by the Japanese style. It looks, more or less, about the same as Disney's other animated works. 

Another odd thing is that the release date outside of the US is said to be February 2015, whereas the Americas will be getting to see it in November 2014. Such a large discrepancy in time is odd. So, what do you think of the trailer? And if you are an anime fan, please let me know what you think of the art style. Also, please check back tomorrow for my review of Baccano!

Below is a review of the trailer by one of my favorite YouTubers and movie critics, Grace Randolph. I am on her side that the trailer was a little disappointing because it is not what we were promised. To watch her review, click on the annotation at the top of the video or skip to around 1:23 in the video if you have already seen the trailer. Also do not forget to read my other post today about the new Doctor Who season eight trailer, which you can read by clicking here.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.