Junreviews

The heist movie, "Entrapment", starts off cautiously with a thief snatching a million-dollar piece of art from the skyscraper by opening the window frame deftly with special tools and unlocking the alarm system like it was a daily routine in middle of the night.

As shown on the poster, there are two main characters: Mac, the veteran thief, whose life revolves around collecting world-class treasures and Gin, the seductive investigator at a large insurance farm who decides to go undercover as a Mac's apprentice in order to send him over to police.

What is interesting and suspenseful about the chemistry between the two is that they take time to mingle, plan, and rehearse till they are fully satisfied as a single mistake can jeopardize their life.

Each mission gets executed with rigorous and detailed actions that have to overcome tight securities, laser sensors, and time limits. Different emotions and conflicts are exposed along the way, which makes the story more intense.

Another great thing about this film is that there are not many characters to focus on other than Mac and Gin so it is easy to follow along with some minor characters play their part timely and accordingly. The dialogues are well written and spoken to boot without complex words.

The movie has tons of elements that are enough to entertain a wide range of audience, especially those who are into suspense and spy genres.

Every family goes through a struggle as it is quite rare to be able to maintain happiness all the time. Moreover, it is more unusual to witness what others go through as we tend to only show the good side. Even when we share our concerns in words in an open-minded environment such as counselling or court, we don't truly see what and how exactly happens in detail.

Watching "Anatomy of a Fall" enables us to see the undisclosed scenes of loud, painful, and stressful fight between family members. The story focuses on 3 characters -- mother, father, and son -- with father suddenly found dead in the beginning by their 11-year-old blind son who lost its vision in a car accident in the past. The arduous process of tracing the cause of death while the mother trying to exonerate herself from being the suspect of her husband's murder by having their lawyer, jury, and police involved is long, but worth watching as the spectacular acting makes the movie as if it is being played by the security footage.

The story is relatable and intriguing as the origin of the fight occurs while arguing over who has been a better parent by sacrificing their time to take care of their one and only blind son. The movie does a great job on showing the vulnerable sides of human being through drugs, cheating, and depression, which are becoming the modern obstacles in our society.

The movie uses a couple of different languages -- English and French -- as the place takes in France with the mother being German and the father being French, which does not affect on the performance as subtitles are well translated and moderately used by balancing the two.

Lastly, I would like to give an extra credit to the actor, Milo who played Daniel, the blind son. His facial expression along with emotional acting during the climax grants him the bright future as an actor. The surreal acting from everyone is a reason to watch this film.

The long-awaited "The Boy and the Heron" also known as "How Do You Live?" in the original translation has arrived internationally. What I really appreciate the most about this movie is it brings back several animations, styles, and characters from the majority of movies by Miyazaki, especially some of the references from "Spirited Away" and "The Wind Rises."

As it took about 7 years to create this movie, the amount of details, hidden messages, and hand-drawn animations can be seen for an enjoyable and complex 2-hour adventure. With the hand-drawn animation becoming rare as time goes by, it is indeed an honour to witness Studio Ghibli's consistent and pure work in this day and age.

I recommend to pay the full attention from the beginning to the end in order to grasp the plot of the movie as well as subtle nuances that connect the characters because it is one of the complex Studio Ghibli movies.

Honestly, this is a type of movie I am hesitated to give a score to it as it is so deep and can be interpreted in different ways depends on how you perceive it. It wasn't perfect, but it was a perfect way to put an end to what might be the last movie of the great Hayao Miyazaki.

Napoleon, the legendary general with many victories throughout a series of remarkable battles with only one loss under his belt, finally gets a chance to be screened in the cinema worldwide by another legendary figure, Ridley Scott.

Unfortunately, the movie ends up focusing what I did not expect to see and got a sliver of what I expected to see. Here is what I mean by that.

What I expected to see

• The development of Napoleon's victory in detail
• Napoleon's childhood to get to know him better as a person
• Napoleon's prowess and command in the battle field
• The contributions from close comrades of Napoleon
• Intense and action-packed battle scenes similar to Gladiator

What I saw instead

• Short summary of Napoleon's battles only in numbers and texts
• A huge chunk of Napoleon's romance with his wife, Josephine
• Glimpse of Napoleon's wielding a sword and gibberish command
• Insignificant characters who make a mockery of Napoleon
• Discontinuous and short battle scenes with a little action from Napoleon

The reason why it deserves 5 stars is because the movie depicts the 18th century environments and costumes along with atmosphere during the French revolution. Ridley Scott also does an excellent job on recreating the historic battles like the time machine by showing various tactics and formations from both France and England. Also the casting was great as everyone played their role well.

However, the cons outweighs the pros of the movie, especially for taking a risk to depict the life of Napoleon within 3 hours. The trailer contains 90% battle scenes, but the movie itself contains 10% battle scenes. Therefore, not only it does not meet the expectations, but it also tarnishes what could have been one of the greatest biographical movies.

Every movie, especially, horror movies must have a good exposition to keep the audience on the edge of their seats in order to capture the scariest moment of the film at the right timing.

However, "The Exorcist" overdoes it to the point where I get confused whether it is a horror movie or a religious documentary. It starts off by introducing the main characters in detail until it throws an obscure amount of information about christianity, exorcism, and rituals.

I understand the movie tries its best to explain the cause of two cursed girls, but it becomes dull due to too many insignificant characters taking over the 1/3 of the screen time with religious talks.

The two girls show a great performance through wicked body languages and distorted facial expressions along with added visual effects to fully demonize them, which gets overshadowed and delayed by the lack of visuals and slow tempo.

It gets 6 out of 10 because of the stellar acting from the young actresses and the decent, but short climax. Such a wasted opportunity to impress the horror-movie fans for a 2-hour film during the Halloween period.

In order to fully understand this movie, it requires a real-life experience in which you either immigrate or move to another country to view the story from two different perspectives. However, "Past Lives" does a decent job on depicting the storytelling of the Korean American immigrant who meets her childhood lover for the first time in 24 years.

What does it feel like to meet someone you have not seen for more than a couple of decades, especially if either of them went through a dramatic cultural change by growing up in the other side of earth? The director utilizes great cinema photography in various settings, camera angles, and well-thought-out scripts to keep the audience entertained.

What is unique about this film is both Korean and American are able to relate to emotions of the characters throughout time skips. There are meaningful messages the movie tries to send in terms of human instinct. We tend to think about the past love time to time even after getting married. This movie dose an excellent job on portraying that vulnerable side of the humans who try to hide their "What if" attitudes.

You will also get to see the differences in how relationship works between the western and the eastern culture. For example, most Asian couples won't be so open to letting their partner see their past lover whether it is from the childhood or adulthood. But in the western culture, they are more open by trusting their partners despite the fact that there is still a risk to it. The movie does not shy away from showing those sentimental moments.

There are various nuances in this movie along with great acting by using both Korean and English with and without the accent for different scenarios. I highly recommend for those who seek to gain some insights on why many of us still dwell in the past.

The title and the cover of the movie foreshadows a ghost or superficial creatures as a first impression. However, this movie cleverly utilizes a nifty twist and gives me two different perspectives that lead to a somewhat satisfying conclusion.

No matter what genre of the movie it is, an interesting exposition that captures the audience's attention within the first half hour is quite crucial. "I See You" did an excellent job at it as it started off with a simple setting where a family of 3 whose wife cheated on her husband creates a unpleasant atmosphere while the husband is busy trying to find the child kidnapper as a detective in a small town in Ohio.

The first half revolves around the family members as a number of mysterious incidents transpires without a hint of culprits as if there are ghosts inside the house such as TV turning on by itself, a closet getting shut, and silverwares disappearing out of nowhere. It turns out, a young couple snuck into the house through the parking garage door when it was closing after the car drove away. The movie does so well of hiding the human elements until they revealed the couple who was behind all the mischievous acts.

The second part of the movie is about the young couple secretly filming the nooks and crannies of the house. It is sort of repetitive by watching the same scenes twice, but it feels refreshing to see from young couple's view as home intruders.

Nothing major seemed exaggerated and staged as one incident leads to another smoothly until you get to find out who the bad truly guy is. There is a room for improvements and questions to be answered as far as the details of motive behind the characters. For example, why doesn't Alec just report to the police with a green knife, claiming it to be Greg's? Also, how did Greg manage to hide the van with kidnapped kids from the police in the same spot for so long after the entire village people and police spent days searching over the course of consecutive kidnappings?

Even though the ending lacked some explanations, the director pulled it off a series of intriguing scenes under 2 hours. It is a movie after all, so things do not have to be so realistic.

It has become extremely easier for us to compare each other's life than a decade ago when this movie was created. With our inseparable smartphones that enable us to approach numerous ways to compare and makes us think "What if I had a family like that celebrity who has a giant house with a beautiful wife and kids?" or "What if I had not got married too early and stayed single to enjoy what I had dreamt of doing for rest of my life?"

The plot was intriguing as Dave, a father of 3 children -- two of them being newborn twins -- with a wife whose is being overlooked by a workaholic husband, gets his body switched with his best friend, Mitch, who enjoys a single life by working once a week as a light-porn actor after inadvertently wishing their life getting switched, which ended up happening in real life.

The movie did a great job at showing various aspects in which we can relate to, but not want to openly admit them. For example, not every married couple fully stays dedicated to a single person without romanticizing their secret crush by human instinct. Another one was being a father/mother does not always exude happy vibes around people because taking care of children requires dedication, hard works and sleepless hours with almost zero privacy, especially during the early childhood stage.

The cast and acting were well executed as it required two actors to play two different roles interchangeably without using the same tone and wording. The only critique was this movie being quite explicit with a porn-level nudity that it should have been 18+ instead of 14+.

"The Change-Up" was a type of movie that should be watched by people who tend to put themselves into someone's shoes by envying others. One of the important lessons you could learn from it was the true happiness comes from being yourself.

Growing up as a 90's kid, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles also known as TMNT gave me various memories through cartoons, toys, and stationery. Watching a fast-paced and colourful movie that delivered an inspirational message has added another memory to me as an adult.

What I really loved about this film was that it spent a good chunk of time and efforts to explain how the turtles became what is now the mutant -- animals who gained the ability to behave like a human -- in a comical way. I myself did not know the origin of the turtles until I saw this movie so I felt grateful to discover its background.

The animation was well executed with eye-popping actions through a mix of clay-like technique and 3D environment. I highly recommend to watch it in 3D as it will give you an immersive experience. I noticed that the movie tried to include humour in a number of scenes, which worked out most of the time despite the fact that some of them were repetitive.

As much as I enjoyed both a plot and an action, there is a couple of areas that can be improved to make each of the turtles stand out more. I am not sure because the animation was quite fast, but I could not see them utilizing each of their weapon other than dodging, kicking, and punching. I wish they had given them more screen time to show off their weapon in detail, which was the reason why I couldn't feel their unique personality other than their bandanas. The voice actors were fantastic so that made it up.

In the end, the movie successfully captured a plenty of entertaining elements that are easy to comprehend to bring back the nostalgic memories and to introduce it to the children who did not grow up with Ninja Turtles in an ideal length.

The year the last TV episode of Slam Dunk aired in Japan was 1996, which dates back to almost 30 years ago. That is also the year Slam Dunk ended in Weekly Shonen Jump, but we did not get to see the last match against Sannoh high school -- the defending champion of Japanese high school basketball -- due to the unfortunate conflict with the production.

I was already aware of the hype of the movie as it aired in Asia months before North America. Today, I finally witnessed the possibly the best sports manga turning into a masterpiece without disappointing dedicated fans from different backgrounds and generations. There was a series of applauses and shouts towards scenes in which it took nearly 30 years to be animated.

First of all, there was an apparent risk involved as it was fully animated in 3D using the current technologies such as motion captures, visual effects, and cartoon shades to maintain the 2D feels from the 90's animation.

However, they nailed it by delivering the impeccable angles from the manga, smooth in-between keyframes, and digitally painted environments to depict the atmosphere of its own without trying to do too much. The sound was amazing to boot as it made me feel like I was actually in the basketball court.

Another challenge was turning a highly anticipated 40 minutes -- 6 volumes of mangas -- of match into a 2-hour movie while including all the must-see scenes that every SlamDunk fan yarned for. Not only did they execute it perfectly, but they also added additional stories that were not told in the manga which is another reason to watch this movie.

No words can describe how satisfying this movie was as I highly recommend to watch it in person while they are in theatres where yo can experience covered with nostalgia and excitement.

The cover of the movie -- charismatic protagonist surrounded by atomic bomb effects -- looks intriguing and powerful enough to attract a wide range of audience from fans of Nolan to people who are interested in finding out about Oppenheimer and his biography.

However, the majority of elements the movie provides are sadly yawn-inducing dialogues, constant time skips, and a huge chunk of political and nudity when it had so much potential to show off the invention of atomic bomb in details within 3 hours, especially the talented cast they had.

The Nolan movies tend to start slow and take off dramatically with an amazing sound and cinematic scenes at the climax, but that was overshadowed by rushed exposition and unclear character developments along with a number of scenes thrown in a complete shambles.

I do not recommend this movie to audiences who do not have patience to listen to fast-paced dialogue because if you don't enjoy such a type of movie, your expectation will not be met even at the climax.

"Do not judge a book by its cover." is often the common idiom that suits to possibly many underrated films out there, including "Kingsman: The Secret Service." There has not been any sacrament of myself planning to watch this movie because of a dull and cliché trailer that gives off an impression of the cheesy action movie with a ghost of hidden excitement. It definitely resembles to an obscure and mediocre Hollywood goof, solely based on the trailer.

However, I ended up watching it after coincidentally getting involved into the plethora of great reviews and positive opinions about this film that have littered the media and my surrounding. And I am glad I did. Almost everything about this film stands out among a lot of its counterpart. The introductory starts strong off by unleashing bits and pieces of prowess and personality of the private organization, Kingsman in the most entertaining way. And as it carries on, things get more intense with more character development and a series of predicament that leads to the breathtaking climax after a great amount of well-written shenanigans that transpire in different places which makes the cast twice look cool and bona fide. Although, I wish the director had them articulate little slower or clearer to neutralize the accent to make it easier for others to comprehend.

By watching a whole movie, each cut scene that I think of it as an underwhelming performance or over-the-top in the trailer surprisingly turns into an awesome sequence. It does not squander a minute to fully describe the protagonist who puts all of its energy into improving himself while fervently vying for the one and only Kingsman title with several others under the Kingman's unerring guidance as well as using all the skills he has obtained during the span to fight against the ominous and wicked pair that tries to get a grip on everyone in the world with manipulative SIN cards that can be inserted to mankind.

There is no such thing as "Too much" or "Too little" in the name of Kingsman. The moderate amount of characters, dialogues, and battle scenes are timely introduced and shortly edited. And what every character says is critical and relevant to the plot and those words speaks for its identity. The same thing goes to the battle scene. It effectively capitalizes on a shaky and fast-paced camera technique as well as focusing on significant parts where nifty artifice and brutality are vividly depicted. The massive scrum of entire nation beating each other up has more depth to it because as the outset gradually builds up, the origin of the outbreak gets disclosed, thus gives you another reason to watch it.

In a nutshell, the atmosphere of this film reminds me of the mitigated, but funnier version of "Kill Bill" sequel where the meaning of death is quite redundant. Obviously, the level of blood spattering and cruelty is different, but sharing one similarity would be the main character focusing on its nemesis as the deadly number of enemies and unexpected twists ensue. What truly differentiates the "Kingsman" in a good way from the "Kill Bill" would be types of weapons with a variety of uncanny attributes and the level of humor in which most action genre can rarely utilize.

As an avid fan of Sci-Fi and as someone who was elated by Wachowski's last film, "Cloud Atlas" that managed to beautifully depict both originality from the book and an intertwining connection between notable cast who played several roles to the hilt, I am so stunned and disappointed by how contrary "Jupiter Ascending" is to their previous successors.

The trailer sure looks amazing enough to pull the wool over my eyes as it showcases spectacular visuals of futuristic environment and costumes along with an attractive heroine and a warrior with Spock ears in scintillating gears who pit villainous monsters. There is no doubt that the Wachowskis are capable of leading the crews to visualize the most realistic and yet imaginative images of how the future should look like.

So who to blame when the movie with such a visual and tons of potential gets wasted by sloppy, incomplete, and intricate plot and editing? Sadly, it all goes to the directors. Because the acting isn't that much of an issue despite the roles for Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Eddie Redmayne and Sean Bean do not give as much impact as their reputation. Especially, Eddie Redmayne's character is awkwardly degraded due to his obscure personality with no special abilities. Refreshed Doona Bae from "Cloud Atlas" appearing as Razo, the impassive rider with blue dreadlocks also lacks its presence by being dully impassive and inertial. This is why plot and directing should sometimes go extreme to unleash all the potential of each character so that they conform to the flow of context.

And if there are several races vying for the reign, heir or whatever it makes them greatest, why wouldn't they adorn some magical prowess or unique characteristics to the spearheads. Although, the flying shoes and the transparent shield looks well-designed and impressive, but a lack of details and elements of each race needs to be more specified and explained in a clear manner. Aforementioned, the concept of the setting is indeed remarkable and splendid. Too bad they couldn't capitalize them to take it to the next level.

The same thing goes to the battle sequence. When an ambush from a horde of enemy spacecrafts in the middle of Downtown Chicago that leads to a fast-paced fray transpires, none of cars and citizens in periphery is nowhere to be seen as if it is staged just for the fighters. There is no excitement or nerves involved because it literally makes you feel like no matter how much of a barrage of attacks or threats they face, it makes you think that an invincible hero will eventually fall in love with the heroine by overcoming the forbidden boundary pronto at the end, thus there are numerous stuffs that remain unfinished, which flummoxes the audience in many ways.

It has been a while since I've written my review this much and I think that is because I truly care about the possibilities of this long-awaited Wachowskis' work. The attempt for "Jupiter Ascending 2" does not look risky and improbable, if they want to make it up for all the bad reviews and critiques. Regardless, I will be looking forward to what they have in store no matter what they are. Arrivederci!

A lot of times, a well-edited trailer with a bit of cliffhanger at the end entices you to watch the movie out of curiosity and often get the wool pulled over your eyes. Gladly, it has been a while since I have encountered a powerful war film that is based on a true story about the most lethal sniper who had over 160 kills under his belt in the Iraq War.

The title really lives up to the hype and breaks down the cliché of standard war movies that are known to be showy and frantic as there are valuable perspectives and immense emotions you are able to embrace, sympathize, and get the most out of this film. Although, it does not deliberately cover the true color of the deceased sniper, Chris Kyle as well as the relentless and aggressive sides of American soldiers against innocent citizens, I believe the director's focus is on America's point of view, especially the context of military family.

Despite "American Sniper" not being impartial, this is a type of movie in which everyone from various countries with different cultural backgrounds can witness disparities in poverty, lifestyle, and humanity. If you are a peacenik, you will discover the necessities of war. If you are the member of military, you ought to experience the intensity and agony of your brethren whose devotion and patriotism are realistically depicted. And for a family member of the military, the priority conflicts between your family and the country will move you because it is a well-directed, well-staged, and well-acted film.

I would not be writing this review if I had not watched the first "Taken" movie which was recommended by my former co-worker 7 years ago. That is how I am here to write a biased and subjective review of the third installment of the action movie trilogy in which I never thought it was going to be the trilogy seeing how the initial one ended so well.

If you have been brought to this page to decide whether you should watch "Taken 3" or not, I posit you happen to be one of these two types. The first type would be those who watched both original "Taken" and "Taken 2" which are done by two different directors that led to a major discrepancy in scores and reviews with great expectations. And the second type would be the reluctant and risky action-movie junkies whose hobby or knack is criticizing films and comparing how bad or good it has gotten from the previous sequel.

Well, am I not only writing this review in the first person point of view but I also want you all to realize that if you are one of the aforementioned types, your precious time and wherewithal will be measurably TAKEN by getting reeled in by the well-edited trailer that foreshadows a group of formidable forces, comprised of CIA, FBI, and Liam Neeson that makes you want to watch it with a risk. Sadly, it does not pan out and crumble like a grain of salt.

The problem is there is no chemistry between actors and its title as the climax gets subliminally evaporated by a sloppy, uncanny, and cliché setting for the following reasons. First, Liam Neeson's prowess and aptitude for fighting for the one that is TAKEN is overly depicted and making him look immortal. Forest Whitaker's presence as a LAPD detective looks irrelevant and redundant despite his role fitting him well. And the last but not least, both villains and the police who confront Liam Neeson get intentionally bowled over by being either too generous or careless. There is just not enough exposition to make it up for a series of kinks.

However, I would like to give all the crew of this film some credit for making an attempt to embellish what seems to be the first highly anticipated movie of 2015 as there are some potential moments where it can be enhanced with deliberate editing and directing. When it comes to the trilogy or sequels, I think it is best to leave it to the same director who can keep up the same level of quality and consistency.

As an avid fan of fantasy genre, I am fond of a fierce one-on-one combat, fighting neck and neck to the hilt. Not to mention the massive and fast-paced brawl that consists of jumbled armies scuffling with their spearheads leading the way. Thus I give this final film of the "Hobbit" trilogy, seven out of ten for captivating and scrambling sequences. However, the score might get reversed by those who are very passionate and keen about Tolkien's LOTR and Hobbit because even I could tell that this movie seems rushed by subliminally negating and compressing all the important events and elements that could have emblazoned the wonderful trilogy that has potential to lure people to buy the Blu-ray of LOTR series in order to complete the whole adventure.

It is truly a no-brainer since almost most contexts happen within a specific vicinity along with the duplicated CG armies in the widespread field. The highlight of the movie is surprisingly the emotional love tale between an elf and a dwarf which has its moment to make a lot of female audiences move. Sadly, the number of the characters seem redundant as only a few of them get a spotlight through ample cut scenes, which make them look somewhat underperformed.

As the outset kicks off strong with pep and whooshes to the nicely crafted battle scenes that are capable of keeping the audience entertained from various immersive angles and feisty actions that happen on thin ice as both actors and CG creatures are in unison, everyone will find out why the title of this movie is indeed "The Battle of the Five Armies," Although, it is kind of hard to see how every soldier gets knocked out due to a constant camera moving left and right without enough close-ups. Other than that, it is worth watching in 3D and heed when it gets down to the wire.

What makes a great action film? Showcasing a charismatic protagonist that bustles all sorts of powerful moves? Or would it be the thrilling plot that revolves around intriguing motives and cynical enemies? The Equalizer possesses both elements while featuring a veteran, Denzel Washington who plays Robert McCall still has what it takes to waltz through a plethora of wrongdoing by helping others and equalizing the corrupted society.

The movie gets intense as the days of McCall ensue. It begins with an ordinary routine by showing McCall commuting via public transit and gradually foreshadows unique aura that differentiate him from his coworkers in the warehouse center. Then he spends his night reading in the café where he often chats with an indecent and polite girl, Teri played by Chole grace moretz. She manages to handle such a promiscuous role pretty well. It will take anyone by surprise when you find out her age.

The prowess of Washington really makes this movie worth watching as his indomitable strength nonchalantly gets unleashed in order to take out the mafia. Nifty, swift, and impeccable, every movement he makes is a sight for sore eyes. Thus the editing seems well-done in terms of cutting and panning the scenes. The Russian mob and their dastardly stooges fit in well as they go head to head with Washington verbally and physically.

However, there is a number of improbable moments that put you into thinking that perhaps McCall is invincible. Despite his strength of being such a skilled combatant, it is unrealistic for one guy to catch his counterparts red-handed in a jiffy as well as thwarting the armed group of mob. Although, that might get resolved by the scene where he heads to the majestic dwelling to debrief his enemies from a lofty couple who seem to be related to the president. It is safe to posit that McCall used to work for the United States Secret Service which explains why he is so formidable.

In a nutshell, the equalizer is packed with breathtaking fights in which Washington acts like the present version of cavalier. It is also a no-brainer because there is neither conundrum nor mystery thus you don't need to heed the plot but let your emotion and time to be enraptured by a series of exciting and stimulating scenes that do not feel redundant.

If someone recommends you to watch a two-hour and a half thriller movie about an ordinary guy seeking his missing wife in a suburb neighborhood, would you be interested in watching? Most audiences may question about greatness of the story, wife's motives or most likely, the level of acting. Yes, the acting goes through the roof as the entire audience were really into it throughout that length to find out whereabouts of the "Gone Girl", Rosamund Pike who plays Amy, a famous author whose husband is Nick, played by Ben Affleck.

As impressive as the guise of cast, the plot development also lives up to the hype by introducing main characters from the outset with deliberate flashbacks of how the relationship between Amy and Nick builds up. This is where a special aptitude of Rosamund for her acting is fully discovered as Amy begins to disclose Nick's wrongdoing from the past, which turns him into an audacious liar and cheater.

A huge shutout to the director, David Finch who led the amazing cast and the talented film crew, especially the editing department for nailing on Amy's conniving scenes where she sets up all the uncanny incidents, such as the basement with full of shards of glass in order to frame his husband as well as a pretense of friendship with a nosy neighbor to retain sympathy from surrounding. The calm narrations of Rosamund Pike based on her inner emotions and diary effectively adds potent depth to several critical moments.

To talk about other cast, Carrie Coon, who plays Nick's younger sister manages to be very natural at her role as she is in the limelight whenever she chastises her cheeky brother. Neil Patrick Harris shows off his elegance and professionalism, which proves why he is capable of playing all kinds of characters in various genres.

There are a few goofs and overly-done sequences that can be spotted. However, they subliminally get overshadowed by Rosamund Pike's presence which unleashes an all-out prowess to pull the wool over everyone's eyes to keep her reputation as a famous author and the marital status. Ben Affleck also does his part by being a nifty two-faced man who is forced to feint his love to live off Amy's fame and fortune. What they do in the movie evidently make them either a psychopath or sociopath.

And now, last but not least, I think this contains important lessons that a lot of couples can take cue from. When it comes to moving to a new place, it requires careful thoughts and researches in order not to regret because there is always a chance that it may exacerbate the relationship while making adjustments to changes. It would be essential to consider each other's situation and come to an agreement instead of solely sticking to one's advantage.

The cover of the movie, displayed with well-known group of cast along with the mighty artillery and the name of Brad Pitt above the title definitely makes me want to consider watching it. However, it also creates a deliberate debate about whether the content actually lives up to billing or not. And, it turns out to be a well-acted and well-directed war film that dramatically depicts explosive and scenes of World War II.

The first glance of the scene is quiet gloomy and cruel as it takes place to a smoky land, fraught with crummy tanks and corpses scattered around. It gives you the surreal feeling of you being in the movie to sense a long-standing animosity against Nazi. From there, a series of emotions and battles build up till the final stage where a five U.S. armed contingent tries to execute a very reckless ambush while getting outnumbered by an advanced and a plethora of German legion.

Things that differentiate this film from other counterparts are strong sympathies towards hand-to-mouth citizens whose lifespan being on thin ice every moment by relentless barrage of bombs falling from the skies and mass shootings. When you realize that the death is approaching, anything can happen in such a short period of time from falling in love with someone you just met to killing anyone regardless of age or gender.

The last but not least, we all shall remember that any of us would not be able to watch this film or possibly, this movie might not have been made without the sacrifices of those who fought through their precious youth to provide us the rosy future that we are experiencing right now in some extent. I hope all the autocrats or leaders manifest themselves that declaring the war does not solve anything but leaves needless casualties and morose memories.

The trailer of Edge of Tomorrow, starring the well-known actor and the actress whose career is quite remote from a combat movie fiercely facing uncanny-looking enemies on muddy soil under a barrage of explosions looks indeed cliché and unoriginal to me. However, the fact is this screenplay is actually based on the military science fiction light novel, written by a Japanese author, Hiroshi Sakurazaka. And the movie takes me by surprise with a unique sense of humor and stunning visuals.

Having said that, adapting a successful novel into a screenplay does not always guarantee the efficacy either. A careful observation and nifty editing skill to keep the originality is a must. Also, when it comes to foreign novels, compulsory changes need to be made so that a wide range of audiences can embrace the contents without misunderstanding.

Surprisingly, the crew is able to not only westernize it well but also make the film effectively succinct. Emily Blunt's role as Rita Vrataski, the chief of the Special Forces pans out as her usual toughness and charismatic demeanor is shown professionally despite this being her first heroine as a warrior. Watching her wielding the gigantic Tomahawk is quite impressive. Tom Cruise as usual, stands out by playing the protagonist with various emotions. And the stage of becoming from a coward major with no battling experiences to a reckless and competent solider is neither over-the-top nor under-performed.

One thing that disappoints me is not being able to see the details of the mimics, the robotic creatures that resemble octopus-looking aliens with a chain of metallic arms that slice or throw human forces out. It is hard to identify what they are really capable of due to the fast- paced battle scenes. But that really does not matter because the story keeps getting interesting as it moves forward.

As this film contains a series of iteration, it may look confusing for some people. However, I can't not think of any other counterparts that explain the theory of the time loop better than this one. I also highly recommend everyone to check out the manga/comic book version of "Edge of Tomorrow", which is called "All You Need Is Kill." There are no spoilers but fresh looks with a different style to enjoy.

As a former animator who once used to be quite familiar with principles of animation, complex technical tools in 3D software, and the determination for what it takes to be a great digital artist just got awestruck by an awesome sequel, "How to Train Your Dragon 2" that was thoroughly created over the last 4 years.

The Hiccup and Toothless aren't the only ones that grew up dramatically as the first sight of dazzling island of Berk amazes me in a neck-breaking pace. The pristine stream that rolls beneath the ragged hills filled with authentic houses where vikings and dragons frolic together look so real that I can not visualize the strenuous process of creating a beautiful scenery within a boundary of the computer animation. Every element is packed with details, such as wild environments, costumes, and uncanny textures on various shaped dragons. Not to mention the frosty dragon aka Alpha, that feels much gigantic and overwhelming than the Godzilla will never be forgotten.

Moving on to the animation part. The grown-up hiccup and his gang showcases what they are capable of by maneuvering their dragons swiftly and sometimes, botching mischievously. The humorous part comes from Astrid, voiced by America Ferrera (Known for Ugly Betty) where she impersonates Hiccup's habits and articulation. It goes without saying that the amount of time and efforts spent for animators on acting in front of the mirror to scrutinize facial expressions is presented through my eyes. That applies to other scenes where Hiccup tries to persuade Drago and his dad, Stoick to steer clear of the war as well as the most emotional scene where an absent- minded Toothless awakening and getting reunited with Hiccup who almost turns his back on his partner because of an unintended attack of Toothless that ends Stoick's life.

There are more to praise about in terms of the cast, character developments, and most importantly, the touching plot that moves so many audiences to tears. The newly developed animation and lighting softwares by DreamWorks that make this distinguished along with a lot of talented artists is what I am so proud of. This film has motivated me to re-challenge to join the team that produces spectacular and feisty animation like this one someday.

Went to the theater, expecting to experience the dark side of Angelina Jolie who plays a vengeful fairy with lofty wings and left the theater feeling astonished by how beautifully the movie has changed my perspective towards the antagonist.

The remake of the classic Disney movie, "Sleeping Beauty" timely and soundly pans out by wonderfully depicting both beautiful and gloomy sides of fairy land of Maleficent that feud with selfish humans. The Visual effects and acting are so magnificent that mysterious creatures and the cast look totally in sync. The plot naturally goes along with coherent and succinct narrations that add an in-depth storytelling. Not to mention a good composition that captures significant moments without boredom.

There are a lot more to feel, enjoy, and learn from what I would call, "One of the most underrated movies of the year" based on how the score is given. Not a Disney movie fan? Doesn't like a female protagonist? I don't think it will matter because once you start watching, you will be mesmerized by the imposing world and the ambivalent emotion of Maleficent.

I am impressed with every aspect of this film. The plot is interesting and easy to comprehend because of the well-crafted exposition along with fabulous visuals.

What blows me away is the way the future and the past timely move back and forth without making me perplexed, which successfully emphasizes the title, "Days of Future Past." The circumstances and different styles of environments from the future and the past are well-connected. The endeavored efforts of mutants trying to turn over a new leaf to stave off sacrifices for the bright future is a sight to behold.

You won't definitely regret watching it even if you are a die-hard fan of X-Men series. The intensifying story and feisty characters will raise your interest and spirit about the X-Men film series.

Writing a negative review requires a wide range of perspectives and careful observations in order to avoid misunderstandings of an individual opinion as well as biases. This time, I have come straight here without going through a rough draft to let all of you know that one of the highly anticipated monster movies of the year has bummed me out.

1. The scientific explanations of reactors and the military strategies that include undersized troops towards Godzilla and winged creatures are all over the place as they are poorly edited and scripted along with repetitive helicopter scenes. The music is not in sync too.

2. There are hardly any connections in terms of emotions and character developments other than the Joe and Sandra's separation scene. Due to the disheveled editing and the mediocre acting, not only is it hard to feel sympathies from main characters, but roles of a few characters also seem redundant. That is the main reason why Godzilla get constantly overshadowed for the first half of the film.

3. The last but not least, the battle scenes. Despite experiencing a few dynamic shots of the well-modeled Godzilla with detailed textures that is vividly and realistically crafted by high-end software, it is still disappointing as I am not able to fully enjoy its gigantic presence. The fighting scenes aren't continuous, intense, and long enough due to the poor editing and excessive narration as well as bad camera angles that fail to capture everything that Godzilla has to show.

Obviously, the movie is supposed to be about the origin of Godzilla so I should not expect an array of intense actions and explosions, but other than Godzilla's breathtaking flamethrower, the trailer gives you everything you need to see without making you bored. I was really expecting to be in awe and hear some applause from the audience, but instead I am flustered by woe after hearing yawning and cackling.

Whether you have watched previous Spider-Man movies or not, there are tons of potential and spectacular elements where you won't be able to see in Marvel counterparts in this film.

What easily makes me say such a bias statement? The director and the team know how to deliver fantastic and thrilling camera angles to showcase flexible, fast-paced, and detailed web techniques that Spider- Man used when going through oodles of hazardous obstacles to protect citizens in New York while naturally executing chores and roles as an ordinary guy. If that does not live up to your expectations, get ready to giggle at some of the jokes along with mischievous antics.

The super-villain, the blue-neon bodied nerd, Electro, is an electrifying and unique character to be seen. Jamie Foxx does his part as an actor and villain for the first time. The one-on-one battle that involves elemental moves and scientific tactics is the highlight of the movie. Although the plot get vaguely wrapped around between Electro and the Oscorp, it is still interesting to watch the character development.

So what takes 2 stars away from me? It would be the complicated bonds between a young couple, Peter and Gwen, who just can't make up their mind by being hesitant, especially in the middle of the movie. I mean, it is normal for any couples to experience erratic emotions, but the whole romance definitely can be succinct to intensify other aspects.

Despite a number of downsides, I would still strongly recommend this to anyone who is itching to watch a different type of feisty film. Because no movies can offer such a sticky, nifty, and vigorous action like "The Amazing Spider-Man 2." Yes, it is as good as the first one, or like others say, it is better.