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Coming 2 America (2021)
Raw, but not Eddie Murphy Raw.
This movie isn't cooked yet. None of the heart and humour of the original. It even tried being meta about bad sequels, it was funny cause it's true. This movie has no identity, part montage of the original, part musical and part Adam Sandler movie-wannabe. At least Sandler's comedies knows they're bad and completely owns it so you have to laugh, here it's like they know what they're trying to be but too ashamed to admit it. 2 stars for the call back of the token characters from the original - Preach, Randy Watson and the barbershop boys were the few highlights. Peaches twins cameo were meh and unnecessary, really wish Kevin Hart played the role of the son.
Kevin Hart: Irresponsible (2019)
Just irresponsible.
Kevin Hart is a funny man. But not in this or his last special. I find stand up comics, specifically those whose materials are based on negative life experiences or situations, are at their best when they're in those moments and haven't recovered per se. Humour is raw and genuine when the experience their material is based on is raw and genuine. "Laugh at my pain" was funnier and more authentic because he was coming from a genuinely dark moment in his life I believe. Things in life are seemingly going great for Kevin, and that's great. Unfortunately his material still wants the audience to believe they're not. This is where the disconnect is in my opinion. Another example is Tig Notaro, she beat cancer, married her soulmate and started a family. All things going great, and deservedly so. They're just not "as funny" anymore. Kevin is a great comic, I hope he truly knows this so he can evolve his style to his new life situation.
Chef (2014)
Wasn't what I expected
Was expecting to watch a glorified and overly dramatized version of a reality cooking show before seeing this but I was gladly mistaken. Movie focused on the Chef, the emotions, the challenges and the insecurities he goes through and not the food. It showed a very humanized version of a celebrity chef and the storyline was feel-good and sometimes touching. Jon Favreau is a great actor and director, I like that he can explore different genres and do a great job at it.
Dialogue is great with just the right amount of funny to not degrade the more serious emotional tones of the script. Was also refreshing a more toned-down Sofia Vergara (comparing to her Modern Family character), Downey's brief scene was quite funny though I thought there wasn't enough in ScarJo's character's background to establish a real connection with the Chef.
Overall I'd recommend it even if you don't like cooking or cooking shows.
47 Ronin (2013)
Great movie, very entertaining.
I don't quite understand the bad rap this movie is getting from some for not being accurate with history or whatever. It's an action/fantasy (with an emphasis on fantasy) flick, not historical or biography. I thought the storyline was good, action sequences wasn't over done and there's rarely any scenes where too much is happening at one time that would lose the audience. I would have loved to see more of a back-story from Kai's upbringing (perhaps on the extended DVD/bluray release?) but I have no real complaints. Acting was good and so were special effects, just a personal perspective but it would have also been cool if portions of the script were spoken in Japanese. All in all I recommend it to anyone looking to enjoy a good action flick.
We're the Millers (2013)
Funny, funny movie.
Too often you see a hilarious trailer of a movie only for the film to not meet the expectations it sets. We're The MIllers isn't one of them. When I first saw the trailer I thought it would be pretty funny, but after seeing it I'd have to say its a crack up. The characters were properly cast, really makes a huge difference when they have on screen chemistry. How could a family so wrong seems so right?? Kenny, man I hope this guy appears in more films in similar roles. Don't want him to be typecast but he just has the features for comedy. I read somewhere Jason Bateman was supposed to play the lead male role, while I enjoy his work I think they were right in casting Jason Sudekis instead. This guy has that likable douche thing going on for him, and hey he's shagging Olivia Wilde so he's definitely doing something right. Jen Anniston, who I'm not a big fan of was really good in this and so too was Emma Roberts. Highly recommend this for fans of the crude, there are some scenes that you just really have to see. So go see it!
Pacific Rim (2013)
Absolute work of art
Saw this recently and I'm now wondering to myself why I was hesitant to see it when it first came out. In my opinion this blows the Transformers franchise out of the water (slight pun not intended). The story, though a little fast-paced is well laid out but understandable given Del Toro really only had two hours to play with and plenty of characters to develop. I do think the jumps in timeline were used well and helped keep the story intact. The effects was one of the best I've ever seen in a movie, and the impact of the destruction and fight scenes were very believable. For example, when the Jaegers crash on hard surface the thud of heavy steel sounds so accurate but I can't say the same for the scenes in Transformers. My favorite characters would have to be those played by Idris Elba and Charlie Day. Their respective characters brought perfect balance to serious and humorous tones in the film. I did think the final battle scenes were a bit of an anticlimax, I was expecting more damage from a category 5 Kaiju but then again I understand they needed to keep the action close to the destination point. I really wouldn't have mind at all if this film went on for three hours, it was that engaging. Fantastic acting from most of the actors (the supposed Aussie characters wasn't too passable but they will do), fantastic action and just the right amount of humor really makes it hard to not recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a great sci-fi.
Bullet to the Head (2012)
Stallone is still a bad-ass
Enjoyable flick, simple plot but good amount of action made it a fun hour and a half. Stallone can still appear to kick ass in his twilight years and he's certainly enjoying a moderate revival of his career. Rest of the cast were OK, Sung Kang's character should have been given a bit more grit rather than seem like a push-over cop. His action scenes were pretty good so his character is clearly not soft. Overall I recommend it, always been a Stallone fan so I don't know if I'm being biased but I know an enjoyable no-brainer action movie when I see one and this is definitely fits the bill, what's great is it doesn't pretend to be anything else.
Man of Steel (2013)
Simply awesome
*** SPOILER ALERT ***
Great casting, great action, great reboot. I watched the 1978 Superman movie prior to watching Man of Steel and glad that I did, Man of Steel provided good explanations/perspectives to some questions I've asked myself for a while that the original didn't quite cover i.e. why his suit is that way, clearer take on why Jor-El chose Earth etc. Henry Cavill really owned the part but hopefully he doesn't get stereotyped after this. Even as a 2.5 hours movie I still feel it was a bit compressed, would have been great if they announced this as a trilogy upfront, start out a bit more mellow, focus on more character development then really up the ante in the second and third parts. Nevertheless, I thought the flashbacks were sufficient to provide 'origin' elements so I'm not really complaining.
As for other reviews/articles I've read where they talk about the damage caused by the battles being too extreme (even some mentioning something like "well in the Avengers it wasn't like this...") I say boo-hoo. Snyder mentioned in an interview they wanted to portray Superman's story in real-world situations, well folks you can't get any more real than what they did here. Imagine alien life forms invading Earth (i.e. Independence Day) with hostile intentions and firepower to match. One would be naive to think that with ample destruction there should little to no loss of life because the hero/heroes were there to save the day. I like that in this story Superman tries to save all he can rather than save each and everyone in every situation...it shows that even with his seemingly infinite super powers he's not omnipotent, actually I thought it showed more of his human traits than anything which helped emphasize his choice to be a citizen of Earth rather than the last son of Krypton.
Would have given this a 10 but there was one scene near the end that I thought wasn't necessary, I'll just say it has something to do with a flirtatious Captain who really seemed more like a school girl. Really found this annoying so minus 1 from me.
Having said the above, I highly recommend Man of Steel to everyone. Watch it with an open mind and hopefully you find some sensible answers to Superman questions you may have asked yourself. Hardcore Superman fans please don't get too anal if some elements of the story doesn't seem consistent with whatever Superman origin story you've grown up with, appreciate Man of Steel for what it is - a reboot that really does the Supes movie legacy justice. Can't wait for the sequel.
World War Z (2013)
Great movie
Reminded of a simple lesson, and that's to appreciate movie reviews but not necessarily allow them to dictate your decision whether to watch or not. I would have missed out on a great movie if I allowed the negative reviews to influence my choice to watch. Very little gore but lots of action and very high-paced. To me it seemed like a bunch of other movies from different genres meshed into one. Plot is pretty cool, acting was good, effects were great. Couple of scenes/elements cost the movie a couple of stars for me but would still highly recommend this. For those who whines about it being nothing like the book just keep in mind not all movies *based* on novels aren't always *adaptations* but can still be appreciated in its own right.
Fast Five (2011)
Fast Five stars out of 5
Saw this movie last night and left the cinema NOT disappointed. I'm not a big fan of the FF franchise and wasn't too excited to see this one, but thankfully this was different (and got treated to free tickets). I enjoyed the story a lot, thought the acting from every character was decent and the comedy were used at the right moments.
Don't know about anyone else but the film reminded me a lot of Ocean's 11 in terms of the plot with the objective of pulling off "one last" job/heist. The elaborate planning to pull it off wasn't over the top, matter of fact I don't think it even went down the way they originally planned it due to unforeseen circumstances but nothing seemed "off" with how the film progressed.
Only gripe I have, if any, is the cliché rich villain who seemingly has the entire police force in his payroll.
A lot of viewers started walking out when the credits start rolling but I recommend you stay (ala Iron Man). No, Samuel L. Jackson/Nick Fury won't appear trying to recruit Dom into the Avengers, but it does have an interesting twist that suggest there could be a 6th film. If they execute the potential 6th installment the way they did this then I'd definitely watch it.