Catching Fire Review

If you read my review of the first movie you would know that I am not the biggest fan, I thought the Hunger Games was riddled with faults that detracted from the overall experience.  I will say, Catching Fire takes what was good from the Hunger Games, improves it, and sets fire to the majority of the problems I had with the original.  Starting off where the last one left off, Catching Fire ignites and sets a new standard for the young adult genre. 

12 Years a Slave Review

There have been a good number of films based on slavery, or the era of it, however there has never been a definitive film made that captures slavery as it was, and with 12 Years a Slave, that has now changed.  The tale, based off the autobiography written by Solomon Northup, of this film rings utterly powerful and captures the heart and soul of the viewers through this Shakespearian-esque tragedy.

Ender's Game Review

Over all of the sci-fi and young adult films this year, the vast majority of them have been extremely disappointing, while I wouldn't qualify Ender's Game as a disappointment, there is certainly much more potential that could have been reached. Ender's Game, based off of Card's bestseller (a word of the controversy later, after the break), has some exciting visual scenes but ultimately feels to rushed and factory produced to be anything overly special.

An Analysis of Gravity's Imagery (Spoilers)

I have given my review of the film, but after seeing it twice (the first time in regular 3D, second time in IMAX 3D, definitely worth seeing it in IMAX) I really felt like I should write an in-depth analysis over my interpretation of the film, simply because I want to. 

Gravity is a simple film that boasts its message through vivid imagery, while also playing off the emotional fear/suspense of the audience itself. To put it plainly, Gravity is about rebirth, to rise up when life has you beaten and become something new, something stronger, you see this plainly all throughout the piece. There is also a constant struggle going on in Cuaron's film, so many times you will see an attempt to latch onto something that seems so close and you will continually see failure, there is never any immediate success. The film is an allegory of overcoming trials, when gravity pulls you down, you get back on your feet and keep moving. 

Captain Phillips Review

I'm not sure if it's because I already practically knew what would happen the entire movie from everything the trailers gave away (except the awesome last 20 minutes) or that it just got to hyped, I didn't fall in love with it like I thought I would. Now don't get me wrong, it is a very well made film (I have some issues with the pacing and other parts) but for me, I just didn't get that click that I was expecting, it was still very enjoyable though. 

Gravity Review

Thousands of miles above the Earth's surface, adrift through orbit, "Gravity" feeds on the oft' unthought of fear of the vast dangers of space. With many movies you'll see a trailer or hype that a film can't live up to, that's the exact opposite of this space epic. Not only does this film steal your breath in jaw-dropping visuals and suspenseful it captivates you to completely emotionally cheer on this woman you have barely known, and dwells subtly (but with complete focus and clarity) on... (Minor Spoiler Warning after the break) 

Rush Review

I'll be honest here, being the American I am, I didn't even know that Formula 1 racing existed before I heard about this movie, nevertheless the rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda, the most I knew about actual competitive racing was there was this thing called NASCAR and people drove around in circles and that Mario Kart was a fun game, however I never actually payed attention to it. After watching Rush I can now say I am entirely intrigued about Formula 1, especially the rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda that, from the looks of it (I am not an expert so don't take my word as gospel on this statement), was very accurate in the portrayal of the real people.