PeterLormeReviews

Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016) is worthwhile, charming, and visually-stunning. Personally, I have found the previous two entries in the series to be thoroughly entertaining. Yet again, this film proves to be tons of fun. It does not feel like a movie that is specifically pandering to kids, and in turn, will end up being enjoyable for the whole family. It also presents a genuinely positive message in an innocent-like manner. The action scenes are really fun and the quippy one-liners remain witty throughout. The voice cast does a decent job, with Jack Black once again being the driving factor. As for complaints, I would say that there are no shocks, twists, or anything that would implicate emotional investment. But hey, I really shouldn't be complaining about that kind of thing. It's Kung Fu Panda 3.

Mountain Men (2016) is unfunny and predictable to the point of boringness. This film is so insubstantial that it is hard to talk about. Nothing here is worthy of conversation really. The same exact plot line has been done countless times. There were no moments of suspense or doubt, as every single thing could be seen from a mile away. Both the acting and directing are passable, but the film suffers tremendously from being too cliché. The message that is trying to be portrayed is not only extremely obvious but it is repeatedly shoved down your throat. The consistently flat jokes never seem to get any funnier or even better. 'Mountian Men' is hardly entertaining and is not worth the time spent watching it.

Jane Got a Gun (2016) is an unremarkable yet somewhat entertaining Western. I usually will not mention the production processes behind movies, but this one has notoriously become an abysmal one. The original director dropped out, multiple stars came and went, and the entire release date was pushed back for two entire years. The whole situation would make it seem like this film is a hot mess, but it actually wasn't. It may not necessarily be a wholesome watch, but there are a surprising amount of redeemable qualities. The acting was really solid, the direction was firm, and some of the shots were breathtaking. Many parts felt flat, the action scenes were underwhelming and the plot was forgettable at best. I went in here expecting a strong female-based role, but even that fell flat. Though nothing here was truly terrible, there was nothing that drew me in. 'Jane Got a Gun' is truly run-of- the-mill, but the production disaster behind it should cement its place in cinema history.

Space Cop (2016) is the biggest piece of schlock I have ever seen. The hack-frauds who made this movie are just puppets of the industry. They couldn't even get Rich Evans to work. He was the key to everything. I will say that the shots were fascinating and dense, there was so much going on. All jokes aside, this movie was extremely disappointing for me. I am a huge fan of RedLetterMedia and I had high hopes for the level of garbage the film would present. It was extremely hard to get through and it became annoying really quickly. The type of humor present was expected, but dear God it was really painful. Some of the one-liners were witty, but most of them were really poorly executed. The whole thing was at least competently made, and I can give them credit for at least trying as hard as they could when it came to structuring their film. Other than that, 'Space Cop' is a poor attempt at a "so bad it's good" flick, to the point where it is just pure mediocrity.

The Finest Hours (2016) is absolutely average in every single way. Nothing in this movie was terrible, yet nothing exceeds the norm. The acting isn't really good, but it is certainly passable. The direction isn't memorable, but there is a distinctive mark left when it comes to the visual style. The special effects were very practical and convincing. The story is probably the most compelling part and is the only thing I found to be truly remarkable. Without that astounding real-life story, this would be nothing more than a run-of-the-mill rescue film. It was an entertaining watch and I wasn't bored throughout it. This is a story worth hearing about, but a movie worth watching when you've run out of movies to see on Netflix. Nothing more, nothing less.

Aferim! (2016) is sharply funny and uniquely crafted. Usually in a historical movie such as this one you would see a celebration of a certain culture. However, that is totally not the case here. Rather than being traditionally celebratory, the story presented shows how immoral the world used to be. I really loved how telling the story was, while at the same time being incredibly humorous. I also loved how confined yet vast the entire world felt. There were still several moments where I was absolutely bored. I can't say that I was entirely invested throughout the entire duration of the film. Yet there were still scenes which made this movie completely entertaining to watch. Going back to the story: I found that to be the overall best part of the film. Something about it felt completely distinctive and uncommon. The languages used are probably a key factor in helping to create that feeling. 'Aferim!' is charming as a whole, but boring in parts.

Lazer Team (2016) is nothing more than mindless entertainment. While I can't call myself a current fan of Rooster Teeth, I did quite enjoy them when I was younger. I'm sure people who are actively following them and have grown to appreciate their sense of humor will find this film enjoyable. Still, the major problems lay within the script. Everything is played out and predictable, the attempts at one-liners are flat, and the story isn't even compelling. The special-effects are shoddy, some are fine while some are horrendous. This is a low-budget sci-fi flick, so that's to be expected, but the film relies on those effects too heavily. The acting is fine and everybody at least seems to be making an effort. The action is also pretty solid, but it suffers from being too foreseeable. Clichés are also something to be found throughout to point to where it just blatantly copies from other source materials. 'Lazer Team' is kinda fun but is also kinda annoyingly unoriginal.

Rabid Dogs, or Enragés, (2016) is a presentable but utterly inferior remake. While this remake, like most, turned out to be pretty pointless- there were still new elements brought to the table. The basic story, when stripped down to its very core, is the same as the original. They add a few different twists and turns throughout the ride. Still, the original remains superior: so simpler yet so much better. All of the newly added plot points really do nothing that would raise this film to be anything other than mediocre. At least the action is better in this one, but that doesn't effect the overall impact of the story. I'll give credit where credit is due: this film is not nearly as cheesy as the original. Nothing was laughably over-the-top. If I were to forget the original and call this an "original film", I would say that it's just another mediocre kidnap-based movie. It may not be as useless as other remakes, but it definitely does not elevate the source material.

Rabid Dogs, or Cani arrabbiati, (1974) is a cheesy but enthralling thriller. While it may not stand the test of time due to how unintentionally funny it can be, this film has some of the best pacing I have ever seen. There is not a single boring moment in the entirety of its runtime. Everything is consistently being pushed in one singular motion, with no signs of ever stopping. As goofy as this may sound, Italian is somehow the perfect language for this film to be set in. There's just something so entertaining about Italian men frustratingly yelling at each other. The acting is also quite believable, and after a while, it didn't even feel like they were even acting in the first place. Like I previously mentioned, the biggest flaw in this entire movie is how dated it feels. The tension is still high, but it is extremely over-the-top. Nevertheless, 'Rabid Dogs' is still an exhilarating watch.

Mojave (2016) is simply just a bland and boring movie. I wouldn't necessarily call it a snoozefest, but I definitely had a hard time paying attention. Everything here feels perfectly mediocre, nothing is overwhelmingly good, but nothing is overwhelmingly bad. The directing is pretty flat and lifeless. I wouldn't say that anything caught my eye or even peaked my interest. The writing is pretty decent, and there are some very good lines of dialogue. However, a lot of that dialogue is out of place. A character would say a very witty line, but it would really have no context for that particular scene. The acting is also decent, with Oscar Isaac being the highlight. Still, it was still pretty funny to hear him call literally every single living thing he meets "brother". With all that being said, 'Mojave' is extremely forgettable. I would personally not suggest it, on the basis that most who watch it will forget it within a week. A24 is honestly one of the best and most consistently good independent film companies working right now, so this was extremely disappointing coming from them.

Martyrs (2016) is yet another pointless remake that is completely inferior to the original. Have you ever heard one of those trashy Kidz Bop covers of a pretty good song? This remake is like a Kidz Bop version of a heavy-metal song. The entire movie just put a foul stench in my mouth. It is neutered down to its core. There isn't anything disturbing, horrifying, or shocking like there was in the original. Hell, there isn't even a lot of blood in this one. It's hard to just simply describe how horrible it is, so I'll just use another analogy. Let's say the class genius is taking a test, right? So the big class goofball decides to sit down next to him and cheat off his test. He copies most of the test, but then there's the essay section. The smart kid is moving along with it, writing in his own unique way. The catch is that he writes really fast. So the dumbo has to quickly copy down everything he's writing. After they finish, the smart kid has a pretty good essay but it's not his best work. The noodlehead kid has an incomprehensible copy of the smart kid's essay, so much so that sentences are out of order, and the essay prompt isn't even answered. Even if you take the original out of the equation and call this remake an original movie, it's still garbage. One of the saddest attempts at a remake I have ever seen.

Martyrs (2008) is honestly an extremely unsettling movie, albeit not a great one. I have to come clean and say this before I go into detail with my review: I am immensely conflicted about if I actually enjoyed this film or not. But there is one thing I cannot deny: how memorable it truly is. There are several scenes that have just been embedded into my brain for the past week. I just can't seem to shake off how jarring it was. To call it a hard watch is an understatement. I was legitimately freaked out to the point of where I had to pause the movie, leave, and then come back. The biggest problem I have has to do with the reason behind the final scene. I understand the way the plot was trying to go and what the director was trying to portray, but I still find it hardly justifiable. Overall, I think the ending is just over-the-top. As for the rest, the acting is solid, the directing is very reputable, but the writing is very shoddy. I would call 'Martyrs'a very well-made and haunting film that has some very questionable plot decisions.

Monkey Up (2016) is one of the most horrendous films I have ever seen. That is not an exaggeration. I don't even know where to begin. The directing is some of the stalest I have ever seen. The entire production seems like an uninspired piece of product spat out by a studio. So much so that the studio and the director team up for an average of 2 movies per year. I'm not kidding either, Robert Vince has been making animal-based family comedies on a yearly basis since 2000. I can practically guarantee that most of them have the exact same structure every single time. The writing is absolutely pandering, trying to play off what kids these days "like to do". It seems like a 70-year-old man wrote this script up in an hour, with one purpose. That purpose being to write in as many "selfie" and "hashtag" jokes that could possibly be put into an 80-minute film. The acting was some of the worst I've ever seen put to film. I've seen better acting from students trying to reenact a play inside of their English class. But I would actually encourage people to watch this movie, especially film students. If you are ever feeling down on yourself, just watch this movie. Hopefully you will realize that you aren't making absolute trash like this. I feel bad for the sad saps who worked on this movie because they have created something hideous. Does God live in shame because of what he has created? If he ever watched this movie, he surely would.

Synchronicity (2016) is a forgettable science-fiction film that is not as thought-provoking as it wants to be. The amount of low-budget science-fiction films that have been coming out seems to be increasing at a rapid rate every year. With more and more being released, how many of them are actually quality films? How many of them are actually unique and memorable? To be frank, the answer is very few. There have been some pretty interesting ones, but most of them are unimpressive and lackluster. As for 'Synchronicity', it's not boring, but it's really nothing extraordinary. The plot is pretty interesting at first but slowly grows to be boring over time. The characters are solid, with some being more thought-out than others. The acting is decent, as it really didn't benefit or hurt the film as a whole. As for the direction, it's actually really good. The visual style really pops out, and the sets used help to create a very futuristic but believable environment. Also, I absolutely loved the score for the movie. I found it to be the thing I most enjoyed throughout the entirety of the movie. The problems lie in the script. I found myself struggling to pay attention after the 30-minute mark. This film is nothing I'll remember anytime soon, but it wasn't a terrible watch.

Ip Man 3 (2016) is a solid, but slightly underwhelming conclusion to a great series. We once again get amazing action with some great choreography, appreciable acting, and a solid plot. However, I found this film to be extremely over-the-top with its dramatic moments. The final fight scene wasn't as enthralling or as intriguing as the previous two. Let's talk about Mike Tyson in this film. It was really surprising to see him in this, but he is an absolutely terrible actor. Don't even get me started as his attempts to speak Chinese. I wasn't as invested in this movie as I was for 'Ip Man' and 'Ip Man 2', (especially 'Ip Man'). Not to take away from the fact that this film is still thoroughly entertaining. I was never truly bored, nor did I feel the need to stop watching. I just wasn't that impressed with the film as a whole. 'Ip Man 3' is a great martial arts movie, but it pales in comparison to the rest of the series.

Ip Man 2 (2011) is a worthy sequel that continues to bring the same charisma as the first. In a familiar fashion, this movie brings thrilling action while also having an emotional side to it. We also get to see more amazing fight choreography. While I did enjoy this movie a great deal, it felt a lot like the first one. The structure, the directing, the way dramatic events unfold, etc. It didn't feel unique, nor did it feel as enthralling as the first one was. Still, it was undeniably exciting, there was some great acting, the plot was pretty good, and I was never bored. I understand that this movie was "based on true events", but there are a striking number of similarities to the first one when it comes down to the narrative. As a whole, it isn't as good as the first one, but 'Ip Man 2" still brings charm, emotion, and excitement.

Ip Man (2010) is an exhilarating martial arts film that also has a great deal of emotional depth. Many martial arts movies are typically regarded as over-the-top and cheesy. Most of the acting is hilariously bad, the plot is stupid and the action is usually the only thing driving it. This is not the case with 'Ip Man'. While it can be over-the-top when it comes to some of the more dramatic scenes, everything else is remarkable. Great acting, an interesting plot, but above all else: extraordinary action. The choreography is unbelievably good. Not to mention how enthralling the fight scenes truly are. They kept me on the edge of my seat. I was amped up to say the least. Also, the action scenes had a purpose in relation to the plot. By the time the end credits were rolling, I had to pull myself out of the world I was locked into. This movie is completely investing, truly entertaining, and is the pinnacle of what a good martial arts movie should be. Go check it out if you consider yourself a fan of martial arts movies (or good action movies for that matter).

JeruZalem (2016) is a bland horror movie that is hard to sit through. While terrible as a whole, the movie did present some interesting concepts. It is shot in a found-footage style, with Google Glass. The film is also set in the city of Jerusalem. I have never seen a horror movie that takes place in that historic city. But alas, none of these concepts matter when compared to the horrendous acting, silly dialogue,and idiotic characters.Speaking of idiotic characters, I wanted every single one of them to die. There was nobody to root for. I didn't sympathize with a single character. The attempts at trying to scare the audience failed, everything was laid out and predictable. Even the attempts at humor were uninspired. I at least liked all the Dad jokes throughout the film. There is also supposed to be some sort of "social commentary" about the dangers of social media presented through the film. That message was completely muddled, and it wasn't pulled off efficiently. 'JeruZalem' had some unique aspects to it, but overall it's just terrible. Don't waste your time on this one.

Exposed (2016) is a muddled mess of a film that had potential. Studio interference can absolutely ruin a movie. The writer and director of 'Exposed',Gee Malik Linton, removed his directorial credit after the studio re-edited his movie. The film wasn't even supposed to be called 'Exposed', the original title was 'Daughter of God'.The "director" of this film is listed as Declan Dale, who is not even a real person. You know a film must be bad when the director publicly disowns it. But I personally think that the film still would have been bad without studio interference. The director had complete creative control while filming, it was just out of his control when it came to how the film was edited. The story wasn't interesting, the acting wasn't consistent, and there were just some laughably bad moments throughout the film. Without spoiling anything, the plot line with the "mysterious figure" was astonishingly bad. Every time the "mysterious figure" showed up, I found myself shaking my head. Just the design of the figure is cringe-worthy enough. Also, the film just ends abruptly, without any resolution. 'Exposed' is an absolute mess, and I blame both the director and the studio.

Terminus (2016) is a mediocre low-budget sci-fi film. When judging a film, I will always take the budget into consideration. I will also consider how difficult it is to make a movie with an extremely low- budget. Now taking that into consideration, 'Terminus' still isn't that good of a movie. The plot was fine, but it was very jumbled at times. The ending was very abrupt and it felt like it could have been built up more. The acting was bad, and the lead actress was absolutely horrendous. The direction wasn't poor, and there were many great looking shots. What I liked the most was the practical effects. While they did not look realistic, I absolutely love it when filmmakers choose to use practical effects over digital effects. There were some CGI shots in the film, and they looked jarringly fake. While it was refreshing to see the practical effects, the CGI stood out like a sore thumb. 'Terminus' isn't a good movie, but it isn't the worst sci-fi film of the year.

The 5th Wave (2016) is another blatantly unoriginal young adult film based upon a novel. While watching this film, I began to notice obvious similarities to other movies. While the film progressed, I realized that the film was just shamelessly ripping off other films in the 'YA' genre. Not to mention that this over-dramatic film is filled with exhausted stereotypes, idiotic plot lines, and foolish characters. The special effects were decent and the acting was sub-par, but the plot was unbearable for me. The script seemed like it was written by a group of 50-year-olds trying to connect with today's youth (which is actually true, all of the writers of this screenplay are over 50). Of course, the ending of this movie leans towards the possibility of a sequel. The novel has 2 sequels, and I honestly hope those won't be adapted. 'The 5th Wave' is bland, derivative, and tiresome.

Dirty Grandpa (2016) is a raunchy comedy film that tries too hard. I went into this movie expecting it to be utter garbage. While it wasn't completely horrible, the film was very frustrating. The best part of the movie was definitely Robert De Niro. Zac Efron was remarkably unfunny and I found him to be extremely annoying. Aubrey Plaza was also very disappointing and she didn't bring much to the film. But for me personally, I found the character played by Jason Mantzoukas to be the most irritating person throughout the movie. His character was stale,repetitive, and every line of dialogue he said fell flat. The plot was nothing special, and it was fairly standard. The same story structure has been done before, and this film did nothing to improve upon it. The biggest detriment to this film is that it goes out of the way to make dirty jokes. I have no problem with dirty jokes, it's just that film is making these dirty jokes just to be raunchy. The jokes have no real set up, and they are essentially vulgar for the sake of being vulgar. Many of the jokes will be forgotten within a few hours.'Dirty Grandpa' isn't the worst comedy of the year, it is just very underwhelming.

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016) is a solid war film from infamous director Michael Bay. I don't love or hate Micheal Bay. I dislike a majority of the movies he puts out. His movies are loud, dumb and overblown, but at least they entertain. Going into this movie, I was very intrigued to see how Michael Bay would handle the subject matter. The 2012 attack that killed a U.S. ambassador in Libya has become a very controversial and politically driven subject matter. Does Michael Bay create a very thought provoking political war film? No. Does Michael Bay create an entertaining war film with some great action? Yes. '13 Hours' has great action grounded in realism. Every action sequence is believable and exhilarating. The actors in the movie do a solid job, and there is certainly chemistry between them. My biggest problem with the movie is that it just oozes with all the stereotypes found in every Michael Bay movie. Unnecessary slow motion, out of place humor,etc. While this is certainly one of Michael Bay's best films, it still suffers from the same problems as his other movies do.'13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi' is entertaining, but it has more things going against it than for it.

The Boy (2016) is a horror movie filled with wasted potential. I went into 'The Boy' expecting a cliché, jump-scare ridden, pile of garbage horror movie. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this movie actually created some tension. The acting was nothing amazing, but it wasn't terrible. Lauren Cohan does a good job leading the film, but her performance is restrained. Director William Brent Bell does a great job creating a creepy atmosphere. The problems in the film lie with the script. The dialogue in the film is very subdued, and there are no truly memorable lines. The ending of the film may seem stirring at first, but upon reflection, it doesn't match up with the rest of the film. The ending brings forth a concept that doesn't make sense in comparison to the rest of the film. 'The Boy' is not dreadful, but it could have been better.

A Perfect Day (2016) is a great comedy-drama film, lead by prominent performances. Based on true events, 'A Perfect Day' serves as a sharply made war-time black comedy. The ever-so-charming Benicio Del Toro does an excellent job as the lead role.Fernando León de Aranoa also does an stellar job directing this film. The script is well written and witty. What I liked the most about the film was its social commentary on war. The dark and twisted humor also worked for me. It is quite obvious that the film is inspired by the style of the original M.A.S.H. The biggest complaint I have about the film is the narrative. It is very messy at points. Other than that, 'A Perfect Day' serves as intelligent entertainment.