Self/less

Directed by : Tarsem Singh  
Written by : David Pastor, Àlex Pastor,  
Starring : Ryan Reynolds, Natalie Martinez, Matthew Goode, Ben Kingsley,  
Release Date : July 10, 2015  

It's always great when movies try and tackle big science-fiction related philosophical topics. In the case of "Self/less," it's plot of transferring your mind into another body brings about a lot of fascinating things to think about. It all comes down to the notion that this is one way of being immortal. As with stories like these though, there's always a catch. 

A sci-fi story of this nature can easily fall apart from it's own ambitions. Thankfully, this is actually a well written and well paced movie! It seems like there were some meticulous planning that was put into creating this story, and all that work only made the plot payoffs that much better. There are of course still some moments that require a lot of suspension of disbelief, but I didn't really have too much of an issue with that. 

The fact that Ben Kingsley and Ryan Reynolds are essentially playing the same person, could have been an ambitious undertaking. However the two actors didn't seem to try to mimic each others mannerisms or acting style in any noticeable fashion, which I think would have been fun to watch. While there are moments where both actors do some similar actions that the character would do; like the way he tosses his keys on a chair, it doesn't get any more detailed than that. 

As much as I enjoyed "Self/less," it still has that small scale feel to it. While it has some nice visual touches, it wasn't really that cinematic of a movie. It's not exactly an indie movie, a cult movie, or a big blockbuster movie either, which means that it's likely going to get overlooked. If you get a chance to watch this, see it. You might just like it more than you would have thought. 

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Trainwreck

Directed by : Judd Apatow  
Written by : Amy Schumer  
Starring : Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, Colin Quinn, LeBron James, Tilda Swinton,  
Release Date : July 17, 2015  

If you're looking for a funny movie that has offensive humor, with doses of comedic sex scenes, and some heartfelt relationship plot, then "Trainwreck" may be for you. I know comedy is subjective, but I thought this movie was absolutely hilarious. Even the sexist, racist, and just the general crass sense of humor completely worked for me.  

This also has a very strong cast, from the comedic talents of Bill Hader and Colin Quinn, the fantastic work of Tilda Swinton and Brie Larson, and even the non-actors such as Lebron James and John Cena. In particular, I thought John Cena absolutely won me over here. Of course, the true star that stands out the most here is Amy Schumer, and she is so very incredibly good in this. 

There's a lot of funny scenes in this movie that seem in tune with the stand-up comedy style of Amy Schumer, and a lot of it were very quick witted. This is the kind of funny movie that I love. Unfortunately it gets bogged down during the fourth act of the movie, once it deals much more with the emotional aspect of the story. It was like the sharp sense of humor couldn't maintain itself. 

Judging the story by itself, "Trainwreck" is not necessarily doing anything completely unique, and the movie itself feels longer than I preferred. However, watch this film for Amy Schumer, because she is one funny woman, and deserves all the praises that she gets for her work here. 

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Mr. Holmes

Directed by : Bill Condon  
Written by : Jeffrey Hatcher, Mitch Cullin  
Starring : Ian McKellen, Milo Parker, Laura Linney,  
Release Date : June 19, 2015 

When watching a Sherlock Holmes movie, there are three things one expects. An adventurous exciting mystery to solve, Sherlock showing his amazing skills of deduction, and him being tactless. With "Mr. Holmes," two out of those three is actually not bad, so don't let that dissuade you from watching this film. 

Without that adventurous exciting mystery element, this film is a methodically paced story that some might find a little slow moving. Despite Holmes being an old man here, there are fantastic scenes where he still gets to showcase his detective skills. The mystery for this story is also rather compelling, as it's Sherlock Holmes trying to recall his memory of his very last case, that convinced him to put himself in exile away from the world he knows. 

Ian McKellan does a fantastic job as the older Sherlock Holmes, and his interactions with his housekeeper; played by Laura Linney, and especially her son Roger; played by Milo Parker, are all just great. With the strength of McKellan's work here, I found this movie very melancholic, and only heightened the lonely life that Sherlock put himself in. It was hard not to feel something for what has become of this great detective. 

"Mr. Holmes" felt like the most personal and most intimate movie about Sherlock Holmes. It was very poignant and very moving, and the way the story builds to it's conclusion was very very satisfying. 

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Infinitely Polar Bear

Directed and Written by : Maya Forbes  
Starring : Mark Ruffalo, Imogene Wolodarsky, Ashley Aufderheide, Zoe Saldana, 
Release Date : March 5, 2015 

This movie is actually based on the true life experiences that Director / Writer Maya Forbes had with her family, and that personal touch is easily felt throughout the film. The story does start out a little slow and a little bit confusing at first, but then this becomes a fascinating and interesting experience of a movie once it gets it's groove. 

There's a lot of ground that this movie covers, from the bi-polar nature of Cam, to the dysfunctional family life. A lot of the material has to do with character growth, and the chaotic nature of trying to just get by in this world. The key theme of this story though is about family, and this movie is fantastic on showcasing what it takes to try and keep a family happily together. 

Over all, the cast here is on top of their game, and absolutely makes the movie even better than it already is. Mark Ruffalo gives an incredible performance as Cam, from subtle quiet scenes to explosive moments. Imogene Wolodarsky does a wonderful job as Amelia, the older daughter who also happens to be a character based on Maya Forbes herself; the Director/Writer of this movie. 

Despite the simple but dramatic story, there are tons of humor and incredible scenes throughout. "Infinitely Polar Bear" isn't exactly a movie for a mass audience, but I think this will really hit home a lot to those who absolutely love their dysfunctional family. 

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Amy

Directed by : Asif Kapadia  
Starring : Amy Winehouse, Mitch Winehouse, Blake Fielder-Civil, 
Release Date : June 11, 2015 

Comprised entirely of archival footage, "Amy" tells the story about Amy Winehouse that many are familiar with. The talented musical artist that met a tragic end from her drug addictions. The way this movie lays out the archival footage; which includes never before seen material, gives us a more intimate glimpse into her mindset, going through the roller coaster ride of her short life. 

From the beginning moments when she got her first opportunities to actually make money from doing what she loved, the rise of awareness about her talent, her stardom under the world-wide spotlight, all the way to the destructive end. This is a really well put together film that chronicles her life. However it's the small moments that the archival footage shows us here, that really fleshes Amy out as a person, and not just as a celebrity. 

I myself was only familiar with Amy Winehouse in a superficial way, but this movie really made me feel for her so much, and only made the tragedy even more heartbreaking. The dynamics between her friends, her family, her love life, her addictions, and her mental state of mind, all play out as a very gripping story that I couldn't stop watching. 

If you are a fan of Amy Winehouse, you definitely should watch "Amy." Even if you were not a fan, the story of a talented individual who couldn't get a grip of the pressures of life, is a universal theme that is worth experiencing here. 

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Ant-Man

Directed by : Peyton Reed  
Written by : Adam McKay, Paul Rudd, Screenplay by : Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish,  
Starring : Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Michael Peña, 
Release Date : July 14, 2015  

Most Marvel movies lately have been more about epic stories about saving the earth, so it's a bit of a refreshing change for a movie like "Ant-Man" to scale down that saving the earth story. There's a bit more focus on the characters here, combined with the heist caper aspect of the plot. The movie is well paced, and I thought just about all the comedic moments were spot on. 

What really worked the best here are the characters of Scott Lang; played by Paul Rudd, and Hank Pym; played by Michael Douglas. Both of them were fantastic here! Their chemistry together and all their witty banter were just terrific. If there was one character that really stole every scene he was in though, it would be Michael Pena as Luis, who was given almost nothing but funny scenes to play in. 

Going into this movie, I thought the biggest issue might be the ants itself, as I'm not that fond of insects in the first place. Thankfully, the ants were overall actually kinda adorable in their own way. Not everything completely worked out though, as there were some plot conveniences to overlook, and the overall additions of tying parts of the story to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe can get distracting. 

The premise and concept of "Ant-Man" may not seem appealing at first, but this movie made it work big time. The key factor here is that this is overall a fun movie. Lots of fun. Go see it! 

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Minions

Directed by : Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin  
Written by : Brian Lynch  
Starring : Pierre Coffin, Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Saunders, Geoffrey Rush,  
Release Date : June 17, 2015 

Since they introduced the Minions in the "Despicable Me" movie franchise, a lot of people (including myself) were clamoring for a whole movie just based on them. Their innocence mixed with their slapstick comedy were often a highlight in those films. Now we have that Minions solo-movie, and I have to say that I'm slightly disappointed. 

It just wasn't that funny. It was more amusing than hilarious, and I hardly ever laughed out loud. What I liked about the Minions as characters and sense of humor is still there, but somehow I just didn't find the majority of this movie to be that funny. It was entertaining to a degree, and I liked the whole sequences that introduced the origin story of the Minions, but most of the movie wasn't that funny! 

I know that kids are the target audience for this movie, and it seems that most of the children in my movie theater enjoyed it. However I expected a good balance of jokes for adults and jokes for kids; just like the Despicable Me movies, but this one was heavily skewed for children. I suppose the writing and directing for this movie simply didn't work for me at all. 

I'm more than willing to recommend "Minions" to kids and maybe young adults, but there's not that much here that would impress an adult. I found it amusing, and the Minions are still adorably charming, but that's all I got from this. 

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The Death Of "Superman Lives" : What Happened?

Directed and Written by : Jon Schnepp  
Starring :  Jon Schnepp, Jon Peters, Tim Burton, Kevin Smith,  
Release Date : May 1, 2015  

Back in 1998, there was going to be a Tim Burton directed movie, starring Nicolas Cage as Superman. It didn't happen, but the story behind it is wonderfully chronicled in this movie. This documentary is worth watching, just to see how a big hollywood movie starts up in the beginning stages and the kinds of people behind it. From the writers, the producers, the director, the art and design team, to all the movie making social politics involved. 

There is some gripping behind the scenes drama that is touched upon here, especially when it involved Director/Writer Kevin Smith and Producer Jon Peters, on what their take for the "Superman Lives" movie was, especially since the two guys kind of contradicts each other in some ways. Then there's the understandably ambitious but questionable choice of having Nicolas Cage cast as Superman. Tim Burton's artistic take on the project, and all the design work that was done for this movie. Fascinating stuff. 

Most of this documentary really had a nice quick pace of getting the audience invested in seeing this Superman movie come to life. Finding out what the story could have been, to seeing Nicolas Cage actually being in the costume, were all fun highlights. However this film started to feel a little dry towards the end, as it settled on just showing production designs after production designs; which honestly isn't as gripping of a story to tell. 

Watching "The Death of "Superman Lives" : What Happened?," I at one point almost forgot that this movie never did come out. I can see why Jon Schnepp wanted to investigate the story behind this doomed project, because the "what if" of it is just too tempting to think about. 

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The Overnight

Directed and Written by : Patrick Brice  
Starring : Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman, Judith Godrèche  
Release Date : June 19, 2015  

If you're looking for a low budget indie movie that has a sense of humor that's awkward, weird, unnerving, provocative, and insightful, then this might be the movie for you. However, I felt like it pushed some boundaries and crosses some lines that are purposefully meant to get a strong reaction from it's audience. Without spoiling anything, some things in this movie may be things you wouldn't have wanted to see. 

The premise of a couple that recently moved to Los Angeles that meets another couple who wants to befriend them and have some very interesting, philosophical, enlightening, existential conversations, seems like a simple but arguably boring idea of a movie. It's easy to just wonder "how is this a movie?!" Half way through the film though, the story goes to bizarre places that will likely make you want to see how it ends. Actually, depending on where you think it's going, maybe not. 

For the things the characters do in this movie; especially the uncomfortably weird situations, it thankfully has a strong cast to pull it off. Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman, and Judith Godrèche, are great in this. Each one of them had many moments to shine as actors, and there are things they do here that I won't be forgetting anytime soon. 

"The Overnight" is definitely definitely definitely not a movie for everybody to see. While it does some brilliant things, it's honestly not that great of a movie. Although it's at least an undeniably interesting experience, assuming you have an expansive open mind to take it all in. 

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Terminator Genisys

Directed by : Alan Taylor 
Written by : Laeta Kalogridis, Patrick Lussier 
Starring : Jai Courtney, Emilia Clarke, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke 
Release Date : June 25, 2015 

I'll just come right out and say it, I did not hate this movie. In fact, I'd argue that it's enjoyable in all the right ways. It's not without it's problems though, and a lot of it has to do with the convoluted story that it tries to juggle. Of course they try to distract you from those plot conveniences and leaps of logic, by giving us almost non-stop entertaining action set piece, after entertaining action set piece, after entertaining action set piece. BTW, those action scenes are just fine, nothing really that memorable, but at least not horrible, and kinda fun. 

What's probably the biggest difference between this installment of the franchise, compared to the much revered first two films, is that there isn't a lot of introspective dramatic down time here. There is at least some pathos between the older T-800 Terminator and Sarah Connor, but that aspect are just briefly touched on. Basically the movie is mostly just action sequences, with some exposition scenes tossed in, and of course the homages towards the previous films. 

The single thing that I can honestly say I absolutely loved, is this new T-800 Terminator named Pops, as played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. He brings back the more human-like Terminator that was being introduced in Terminator 2, with some welcome moments of humor. Emilia Clarke is fine as Sarah Connor, but she plays her like a teenager who just acts like she's tough, and I never really bought her convictions. Jai Courtney and Jason Clarke were simply just adequate enough for their generally underwritten characters; Kyle Reese and John Connor respectively. 

Besides the action sequences of "Terminator Genisys," this movie overall actually has a good amount of humor spread throughout, that really lightens up the mood in a very welcome way. Feel free to count how many one-liners there are here. I'm just glad that I didn't find this movie horrible. It's not necessarily a great movie, but I can't deny that I did like it, and even had fun watching it. 

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