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My Top 10 Films of 2016

1.) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 2.) Arrival 3.) La La Land 4.) 10 Cloverfield Lane 5.) Captain America: Civil War 6.) Star Trek Beyond 7.) Zootopia 8.) Nocturnal Animals 9.) A Monster Calls 10.) Deadpool Honorable Mentions: The Conjuring 2, Fences, The Magnificent Seven Movies I missed out on: Silence, Moonlight, Manchester by the Sea, The Witch, Moana As always, there are a ton of movies I didn't get the chance to see in theaters, and with a strong line-up planned for 2017, I hope to see all the greats!

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Suicide Squad - Review

Suicide Squad is an choppy, dodgy, shallow music video of a movie, and I enjoyed it! Downright corny at times and overly dramatic at others, the movie sometimes felt like it had difficulty finding its footing, but I believe it was totally self aware in its boundaries in creating the funny, popcorn flick feel it was trying to capture. Despite it's questionable editing choices, there aren't many other things I can complain about. It had a great cast, awesome soundtrack, and stand-out performances by Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, and Will Smith. Does this movie live up to Deadpool or Guardians of the Galaxy? Of course not, but I will say it was far more enjoyable than Batman v Superman and was a lot more lighthearted and self aware in its faults than what I believe a lot of critics were aware of. All in all, despite its spotty focus, Suicide Squad is an enjoyable popcorn flick that casual fans of Harley Quinn and the Suicide Squad comic series would enjoy. Suicide Squad = B! P.S. There are a few rumors out there that this movie was the victim of studio inference due to the negative criticisms that Batman v Superman received. I don't know how true this may be, but I can see how a lot of the pacing and editing faults could be the result of this. Jared Leto also stated in an interview that a lot of his scenes were cut from the film which is a shame since the Joker and Harley were by far the most interesting characters of the movie. Maybe we'll see another Ultimate Edition Blu-Ray release by the end of the year? We'll see. Let's just try to get it right the first time, DC! :P

[brianbsy]

The Conjuring 2

James Wan did it again! He managed to make a horror movie classic amidst the countless frustrating, typical, sub-par horror releases we get year after year. This film is not only acted, written, filmed, and scored brilliantly, but it is uniquely effective in avoiding typical gimmicks, gore, jump scares and instead focuses on creating an eerie atmosphere and feeling that’ll make you think twice about going home to a dark, empty apartment alone at night. Despite a few missteps in regards to special effects, The Conjuring 2 is a refreshing horror experience to be enjoyed by the casual horror fans and purists alike. It also sparked my interest into researching the true life events that inspired this film.

The Conjuring 2 = A-!

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Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Review

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is finally here, and those who know me well know that, aside from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, this has been my most anticipated film of the past 3 years. Being such a avid fan of Batman, and most particularly the “Hush” and “The Dark Knight Returns” graphic novels, I had high hopes for this film. Although, Zack Snyder’s and WB’s most recent film, Man of Steel, had it’s share of problems, I was confident that the planned follow-up featuring the epic battle between the two most iconic superheroes in history would be just what the fans needed to place DC right back in contention with its rivals and would hopefully take comic and action films to new heights. Did Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice live up to this task? Not quite in all aspects, but despite its flaws there are many feats this film executed beautifully. There are many things Batman v Superman did excellently. First off, this is easily one of the most visually beautiful comics films to date. Director Zack Snyder has been synonymous with his beautiful visuals and cinematography, and this film is exemplary, and like it’s predecessor, each scene is framed and lighted as beautifully as its comic book source material. Second, it’s was exceptionally cast. The most controversial casting of Ben Aflleck as Batman/Bruce Wayne panned out to be film’s shining note. All of the initial apprehensions I had were quickly eased with his great performance along with his co-stars Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and the returning Henry Cavill as Superman. Lastly, the film’s action sequences were well-choreographed and paced. Each sequence, and especially the film’s key battle, are most definitely worth the price of admission, and were enough for me to return for the subsequent solo and team-up films. Well, what kept this movie from being the flawless movie I was hoping for? I think the key aspect that this film could have improved on is the film’s structure and pacing. Although the movie’s first act started great and was successful at establishing the characters, world, and motivations, the story began to stagnate. I couldn’t pinpoint if it was the gloomy film score, overly metaphorical dialogue, or overuse of slow moving multi-angle shots, but at times it seemed that simple scenes with characters walking down a hallway felt like wasted minutes of ominous music and slow motion. The dream sequences scattered throughout, although visually stunning, put unnecessary halts on plot progression. The films second act was the film’s unintended highlight. This is where the film’s visual style, score, and action shine most which could have easily served as its climax, which lead to the film’s final act, which i feel was rushed and unnecessary. This act did have its shining moments, but it reintroduced many of the problems that plagued the first film regarding certain liberties with iconic characters that die-hard fans would consider unchangeable and key. Despite its shortcomings, overall I felt there were far more positives to this film, and I enjoyed it. These moments of greatness, combined with a great established cast of characters, with slight adjustments would make a great film series. I’ll definitely be back to watch the upcoming Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Justice League, and hopefully a Ben Affleck directed Batman solo film. Regardless of what all the critics had to say to try to convince me otherwise, the inner nerd in me is really glad I went and saw this film because I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t grinning ear to ear during some of the film’s great moments, and I’m confident that the inner nerd in you will too. FINAL SCORE: B-

[brianbsy]

My Top 10 Films of 2015!

1.) Creed 2.) Star Wars: The Force Awakens 3.) Mad Max: Fury Road 4.) The Martian 5.) The Hateful Eight 6.) Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation 7.) Sicario 8.) Ex Machina 9.) Predestination 10.) Kingsman: The Secret Service

Honorable Mentions: Beasts of No Nation, What We Do in the Shadows

Movies I Haven't Seen Yet and Regret: The Revenant, Straight Outta Compton, Dope!, Inside Out, Bridge of Spies

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Dracula Untold - Review

Dracula Untold = C! I love monster movies. More specifically, I love the Universal Monster films and the Hammer House of Horrors iterations. When I heard Universal Pictures was going to make a new Dracula film, honestly, I wasn't really looking forward to it. The vampire genre has been done to death recently, and the "Twilight" films aren't exactly doing the genre any favors. When that it was going to be a reboot of the story, it made me even less interested because I knew that when someone mentions reboot nowadays, it's synonymous with "dark and gritty." Not to say that dark and gritty aren't signature characteristics of a Dracula film, but film studios today tend go overboard to trying to achieve that effect, and "Dracula Untold" is a great example. I think what finally convinced me to see this movie was its trailer. It had amazing special effects/costume design and appeared to explore Dracula's Vlad the Impaler origin story in a new and innovative way. I saw great potential in this film being a great highly-stylized, action film to provide great popcorn entertainment, and this movie had all necessary elements to achieve that, but fell distractingly short in its efforts to achieve something more. The film simply took itself too seriously. I think the film's pacing is the film's major downfall. The film peaked too early. The epic battles and visual effect heavy scenes happened too soon in the film to where the poorly scripted following acts to establish Dracula's struggle with humanity became null and void because the audience already experienced the vastness of his new found power and are impatiently waiting for the next battle scene that ultimately fails to top the last. "Dracula Untold" has all the visual elements for a summer popcorn, action movie and has a few stand-out scenes too boot but ultimately this film is poorly paced and forgettable, but with "The Mummy" and numerous other Universal Monster projects in the works, this probably won't be the last we see of him.

[brianbsy]

The Equalizer - Review

The Equalizer = B+! The Equalizer is the modern film adaptation of the 80s crime drama of the same name. To be honest, all I remember of the TV show was the main character's sleek car (an 80s Jaguar XJ) and the awesome electro-synth theme song. It's no wonder that Drive director Nicholas Winding Refn was originally contacted to direct this film, and it's easy to see how Antoine Fuqua was greatly inspired by numerous great films such as Taxi Driver, Shane, and Drive. Is this movie as good as the films it's inspired by? Not by a long shot, but it still provides plenty of entertainment along with a few brilliantly filmed scenes and performances by Denzel Washington, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Martin Csokas. A common criticism of this film is its "cliche" premise. I'd have to agree with this critique, but I don't see it as a bad thing. How many times have we seen "the cowboy laying down his gun to live a peaceful life only to return to his life as a gunfighter to stand up for what's right?" Probably hundreds of times, they still make up some of the most entertaining movies, and The Equalizer is no exception. Although pacing, character development, and artsy storytelling might lose some casual viewers, it's still done in a more accessible fashion than the often misunderstood Drive. In conclusion, The Equalizer offers nothing new to the genre but delivers all that thrills, action sequences, developed characters, and story all action/suspense/thriller fans have grown to love.

[brianbsy]

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For - Review

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For = B-! People who knew me back in the summer of 2005, know how completely blown away by the ultra-stylized, film noir epic "Sin City." The amazing cinematography, complex/inter-entangling story, and over-the-top, clever dialogue encompassed a film experience I've never seen before. I remember immediately driving over with my friends to the nearest Barnes & Noble's to pick up the Frank Miller graphic novel series it was based on only to be further impressed how the film was successfully able to translate the beautiful panels of drawn by Miller and as well as improve on the original story by cohesively pacing multiple story arcs to comprise a truly immersive film experience. I impatiently waited for the sequel. I even sat through the disappointments of "The Spirit" and "Gangster Squad" with the hopes of recapturing that same experience to little success. After 9 long years, the sequel is now here. Did it live up to my high expectations? Not quite. Was I disappointed? No. "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For" is the flawed but entertaining successor to the 2005 cult classic. When I heard that Frank Miller was writing original stories for this film, I was a bit apprehensive. When his previous script contributions consisted of "Robocop 3" and "The Spirit," I knew I wasn't alone in my doubts. To my surprise, the new stories were the most interesting story arcs in this film (most notably the Joseph Gordon Levitt featuring "A Long Bad Night"). These original stories, combined with the signature film-noir style and cinematography, brought glimmers of excellence reminiscent of the original film. The one element missing from the original was the script's pacing that sadly occurs in the film's titular story arc. It just didn't contain the excitement of the other three acts despite great performances by Josh Brolin and the perfectly cast Eva Green. Despite the hiccups in pacing, I was highly entertained by this film, and I'd highly recommend this to fans of the original, but those offended by its explicit, unforgiving, R-rated themes should definitely steer clear of "Old Town." This most certainly isn't your scene.

[brianbsy]

The Expendables 3 - Review

The Expendables 3 = B! All of your favorite muscled heroes from your favorite 80s and 90s action movies are back again for a predictable, over-the-top reunion. We've seen this twice before, and a few of the notable additions are Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey, and Mel Gibson. This movie offers no groundbreaking, innovations to the franchise, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Fans of the first two films should be well aware of what to expect from an Expendables movie, and this film once again delivers them in spades. One recent change that spurred some controversy to some fans was the decision to make this film PG-13 as opposed the the "Hard R" rating the previous films had, but honestly, this isn't something I noticed while watching the film. The excessive gore might be an element that the intended "mature" audience might be accustomed to, but in my opinion, it was never the main selling point of the movie. In the end, it was the chance to see your favorite action stars finally come together, relive their glory days, and fight an army is why fans around the world pack the theaters every other year. Is this film a must-see? I'd say die-hard fans of the series that were eagerly waiting this summer for this film would be plenty pleased at matinee price. Fans who were on the fence about the previous films could definitely wait for the DVD/Blu-Ray release.

[brianbsy]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Review

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles = C+! The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were my absolute favorites growing up. Whether it was the cartoon, toys, movie, or love for pizza, I could not get enough of the turtles. Shortly after the disappointing third movie, the turtle fever slowly faded away for me and was replaced with other things like The X-Men and Batman, but hurrying home after school to see the cartoon and going to the theater with my big sister will always remain a fond memory of mine. With my favorite childhood heroes like Batman, X-Men, Spider-Man, and the Avengers all brilliantly brought the screen, I always hoped that someone like Singer, Raimi, or Whedon would take helm of this franchise and bring it to the next level and for a new generation of fans. Instead, we ended up with Michael Bay of the over bloated, train wreck of The Transformers film franchise. Also, in typical Michael Bay fashion, we heard plenty of childhood memory ruining rumors involving an early-draft, leaked script that the turtles are now aliens, The Shredder is now an old guy from New York named Eric, and Megan Fox is April O'Neil. Luckily, aside from the Megan Fox casting, not all the rumors were true, and this movie turned out to be quite an entertaining nostalgic trip where both fans of the original series and kids could find standout moments of entertainment. This movie, however has its abundant share of faults, plot holes, cheesy jokes, and logic errors, but what Turtles film doesn't? Of all of the changes that the studios felt was necessary in a modern reboot, I think they remained reverent to the most important element of the series which are the personalities of our favorite turtles. Sure, they might now be bigger, taller, and they might've had a slight facelift, they act and fight exactly like you remember them. Yes, this does feel like a Michael Bay Transformers film, but to our benefit, Bay was only a producer on this project, and it seems like a lot of the "Bayisms" have been turned back a notch to the likes of the original Transformers (2007). So where would I rate it among the Turtles films? I'd say it isn't as good as the first two, but it's slightly better than the CG-animated TMNT, and it's far better than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III. All-in-all, I'd say Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) is a flawed but entertaining nostalgia trip that old fans and kids could enjoy at the matinee, Redbox price. I already know that some of my die-hard turtle fan friends will strongly disagree with me on this one, but I had a lot of fun with this film. I'd be open to watching a sequel if the script, director, and release date were right.

[brianbsy]

Guardians of the Galaxy - Review

Guardians of the Galaxy = A! I have a confession. As big of a comic nerd as I am, I've never read a single issue of Guardians of the Galaxy in my life. Other than Rocket Raccoon, I was completely unfamiliar with any of the characters. To me, I just looked at the covers an thought band of space animals and aliens traveling in a spaceship together and fighting celestial god-like beings was too far of a stretch for me. When Marvel announced Guardians as part of their "Avengers: Phase Two" cinematic line-up, I had similar reservations, but it also gave me a rare opportunity to see a comic book movie without prior knowledge or expectations beforehand. Marvel once again took me by surprise and not only introduced me to one funny, lovable, and heroic character but five of them in a single film. With these five new heroes, they crafted an epic space opera that felt very much like a combination of all the best elements of 70s/80s film classics like Flight of the Navigator, Masters of the Universe, Star Wars, and Flash Gordon with a matching soundtrack which is one of the best I've heard in recent years. Guardians of the Galaxy is truly the breakout hit of the summer that opens the door to new possibles for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is definitely the funniest Marvel film and is a must see for all comic, science fiction fans and 80s film fans alike. I definitely can't wait for Guardians of the Galaxy 2, and I'm definitely adding Guardians of my monthly reading list at my favorite comic shop.

[brianbsy]

Hercules - Review

Hercules = B-! When I first heard about a Hercules movie directed by Brett Ratner, it was difficult for me to forget about X3, Rush Hour 3, and the other Hercules movie that came out earlier this year, but the fact that The Rock was cast as the leading role gained my interest. The cliche, CG heavy, and slow-motion filled trailer certainly wasn't helping its case, but surprisingly, this movie defied all odds, took all of those cheesy over the top scenes, and cleverly made it all work. I went into this movie expecting to have a few laughs, learn a few one liners, and maybe see a couple of cool battle scenes, and to my surprise, this movie not only delivered, but it exceeded those expectations and turned out to be quite an entertaining film. What I added to its charm was how self-aware this film was and its willingness to poke fun at itself and how cliche the Greek mythology genre has become in recent years. It never took itself too seriously and laughed along with its audience as the story unfolded. Is this movie cheesy? Very. Is it predictable? Highly. Is Hercules entertaining? Yes. In the end, Hercules is a flawed, predictable but entertaining summer action movie that fans of the genre The Rock will enjoy, and if they decide to make a sequel, I'd gladly catch a matinee of it.

[brianbsy]

Lucy - Review

Lucy = C-! What is the human mind's full potential? This clever premise, packaged as a Luc Besson directed cerebral action thriller starring Scarlett Johannson and Morgan Freeman, showed plenty of promise to be a film to expand and innovate new cinematic possibilities in the science fiction, cerebral genre, but sadly, the poorly structured plot reduced this film to a mindless action film and a sub-par one at that. As much as Luc Besson's visuals and Scarlett Johansson's performance tried to save this film, it wasn't enough to make up for film's underdeveloped script. Instead of escalating the suspense and excitement as the protagonist discovers her new-found powers, the plot instead became increasingly simple, predictable, and childish with enough plot-holes to deconstruct itself completely. I understand that writing a film based on the endless possibilities of the human mind may be a difficult and highly ambitious undertaking, but it's hard for me to cut this film any slack when there were plenty of other films in recent years to execute this task so beautifully such as Inception, Akira, and more recently the very underrated Chronicle. All-in-all, Lucy is a popcorn action film that provides little more than a few interesting visuals, stand-out scenes, and action sequences. I'd only recommend this film to the most die-hard Luc Besson and Scarlett Johansson fans but only at the matinee or RedBox price.

[brianbsy]

Transformers: Age of Extinction - Review

Transformers: Age of Extinction = D+! The summer of 2014 has been off to a great start with films like Captain America: The Winter Solder, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Edge of Tomorrow, and How to Train your Dragon 2. I was hoping this hot streak of innovative, bar-raising film releases would continue a little longer, but then Transformers: Age of Extinction brought that dream to an abrupt end. I understand that people might say that I was expecting too much from this film, but all I was hoping for was a fun, popcorn action film much like the first film in the series. I'm not afraid to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed Transformers (2007). Sure, I may have some minor complaints about it, but all-in-all, I was glad to finally see one of my favorite cartoons from my childhood come to life on the big screen, and I couldn't wait to see where the Autobot/Decepticon's war was going to take us next. Sadly, since that first film the Transformers have continued to play second fiddle to the teen drama and human characters we care little about, and Transformers 4 is no exception. I was really hoping that with a new, older cast of characters they would use it as an opportunity to eliminate the cheezy jokes, campy characters, and teen drama from the series, but it instead took the opposite effect. The "more is better" mentality to film direction is also in full effect with this iteration. I can almost imagine the studio higher-ups sitting in a board room saying, "The last movie wasn't funny enough? Let's add more jokes. Our action scenes are shallow and meaningless? Let's add a few more explosions to this scene." It's hard to imagine a movie with robot battles and countless explosions would be boring and uninteresting, but somehow this movie accomplishes this for over 2 hours and 45 minutes. I know this movie will inevitably find its audience and make millions of dollars worldwide and continue to spawn an endless amount of sequels, but I've come to realize that after 3 failed attempts to win me back as a fan, it's about time for me to "roll out." 

[brianbsy]

Jersey Boys - Review

Jersey Boys = B-! People who know me well know how much I love music and how in tune I am with the "oldies." People who've known me my whole life also know that's largely due to my dad's excellent taste in music. Only the classics of the 50s and 60s by bands like The Platters, The Lettermen, Johnny Mathis, and of course the Beatles were played in the car on our long trips to the mall each weekend. I'm not sure if it was his intention, but this made these classic songs a huge part of my childhood almost as much as it was part of his. What resulted is my eclectic musical taste and a few jokes from my friends when I pick an oldie on the karaoke machine or when I mention how much I wanted to see this movie, but hey, it's another one of those quirky things about me. Regretfully, I haven't seen the original broadway production that this film's based on yet, but after seeing this film, it's definitely been bumped up a few places on my list. The soundtrack would've been enough to gain my interest in seeing this film, but the fact that Clint Eastwood was directing it made it a must-see for me. As expected, the musical performances are the true stars of the show, and John Lloyd Young again gives a Tony Award winning performance along with a few standout performances by Erich Bergen and Vincent Piazza. Although each scene was well-directed and acted, pacing is this movie's downfall. It would be difficult to see how, with all of the films high points, but I feel that this film could've been trimmed down a little. There were points in the film where I appreciated performances of the actors but the progression of the story wasn't consistent with the pace established in the opening acts of the movie, and I was waiting on the next musical number to jump start the story again. The same could be said about the closing acts where I felt there were a few possible closing points but instead progressed to stay true to the film's source material. All-in-all, I really enjoyed this film despite its flaws, and I'd recommend this film to fans of the Broadway show, songs of the era, and of previous Broadway film adaptations, but I don't believe that this is the film to break the barrier by gaining new fans to the Broadway musical genre.

[brianbsy]

Edge of Tomorrow - Review

Edge of Tomorrow = A! You have not seen this movie before! Sure, you might see in the trailer that it's a movie staring Tom Cruise set in a futuristic world in peril, and you might be able to list a handful of recent Tom Cruise movies that this describes, but trust me when I say that although this movie has a familiar premise, it has never been executed with the level of intensity that "Edge of Tomorrow" does so cleverly. The familiar "Groundhog Day" element of the story never felt tired or monotonous which is surprising, but the complexity of this story's characters and world allow for new possibilities that increase the suspense and interest in the viewer as they see the story start to take shape. I'd really hate to sound cliche in saying this, but watching this movie is a lot like watching a friend play through an amazing, action packed video game. You might not have have the control in your hands, but it's a lot of fun critiquing, laughing at, and cheering on your friend as they struggle though a difficult but highly entertaining game. Despite the reservations I know a lot of people might have about seeing another Tom Cruise action movie, I highly recommend this film. It's a film experience like no other.

[brianbsy]

X-Men: Days of Future Past - Review

X-Men: Days of Future Past = A! Years ago, Fox's X-Men film franchise once served as the gold standard in comic book films, but haven't times changed? One of the contributing major factors to the hit-or-miss nature of the X-Men films in recent years was due to the absence of the original director Bryan Singer. With Singer back at the helm, he not only brought back the feel and excitement of the first two films, but he also seamlessly integrated the best elements of the X-Men films made in his absence. As an vocal critic of the films, if I was asked make an honest list of the strongest elements of the series, I would mention the character development and musical score of the first film, the team dynamic of X2: X-Men United, the amazing performances and cast of X-Men: First Class, and the action sequences and special effects of The Wolverine. X-Men: Days of Future Past not only delivers each of these elements, but the well-scripted, all encompassing story brings franchise to new heights. If you were a fan of any of the other X-Men films, this is a definite must-see since this is clearly the best in the series. This film not only places the series back on the right track but also reestablishes itself as a contender among the comic movie greats. Great things are planned for this series, and I can't wait see where they'll take us next.