Summer Wrap Up (2014)

These are my top 5 and bottom 5 big movie releases of the summer. Hopefully, this'll help make the decision easier on what summer movies to catch up on, or rewatch as we head into Fall. (Note: I have not seen Sex Tape, Million Dollar Arm, or Get On Up so I can't speak for those films).

My Top 5 Movies of the Summer:

1. The Guardians of the Galaxy: A sci-fi movie so packed with action fun that it made me feel like I was watching Star Wars again for the first time, which is great because it will be amazing if the new Star Wars is even half as good. Chris Pratt makes a firm case to be the next big movie star of Hollywood, and Zoe Saldana is, as always, an alien. Also, I AM GROOT.

My rating: 9.

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2. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: I remember when Rise of the Planet of the Apes was announced and I was convinced this series would be ridiculous. Remember that spectacularly awful Tim Burton movie? Well I was dead wrong, this movie takes it to a whole other level and it almost has me believing the Planet of the Apes could be possible. Also, the motion capture and visual effects are breathtaking.

My rating: 9.

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3. 22 Jump Street: The first sequel made me believe in Hollywood comedies again. This one made me worship it. Possibly the greatest comedy of all time (definitely of the summer) this movie is the best skewering of Hollywood since the Lego movie (coincidentally directed by the same people). Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill prove that the buddy cop movie isn't dead, by giving us a brilliant parody of it.

My rating: 8.75.

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4. X-men; Days of Future Past: Probably the most fun I’ve gotten out of an X-men film in a while; sure the time travel logic can get a little iffy and some of the mutants are unfortunately under-utilized (it’s a busy movie though), but I was completely on board for the whole ride. When you get down to it, this movie simply has everything you expect and could want from an X-men film: lots of action, plenty of mutants, a war with two sides you can sympathize with and whole lot of Wolverine (they’re even the latest movie to create their very own Kennedy assassination conspiracy theory).

My rating: 8.5.

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5. How to Train Your Dragon 2: This would be a firm candidate for kids' movie of the year if it weren't for The Lego Movie. How to Train Your Dragon 2 manages to up the ante in every way without compromising the series and it doesn't shy away from showing real loss and grief. By going where a lot of children's movies won't, How To Train Your Dragon 2 sets itself apart from other animated films, in a good way.

My rating: 8.5.

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My Bottom 5 Movies of the Summer:

1. Tammy: I don't have much to say about this one. It's simply so unfunny that I couldn't even sit through the whole thing. Melissa McCarthy really misses her mark here.

My rating: 2.


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2. The Giver: Possibly one of the most disappointing adaptations in recent memory and an absolute bore to watch. If you're thinking about watching this one, do yourself a favor and don't, or, you know, just Netflix it.

My rating: 3.

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3. Deliver us From Evil: A horror movie that also doubles as a cop movie, and it doesn't really get either genre right. The scares are more boring than frightening. The power of Christ has never been less compelling.

My rating: 3.5.

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4. Transformers: Age of Extinction: If only the subtitle on this one were referring to the state of the franchise. Sadly, Transformers made all of the money this summer so we're definitely going to be seeing at least a full new trilogy. They made the upgrade from the whiny Shia Labeouf to the significantly more buff (but surprisingly still whiny) Marky Mark, but it doesn't help things much. At this point, you'll get less of a headache if you just bang your head on a wall for three hours, and that's free so, you know, your choice.

My rating: 4.

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5.Lucy: There are many people who will defend this film and say it was great, I'm not one of them. This movie was downright ridiculous and even though I'm totally willing to accept ridiculous premises, this one failed to win me over.

My rating: 4.

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-Ryan Maples

Lucy (2014)

Ever since I first saw the trailer for Luc Besson’s Lucy, I knew I was going to have a tough time swallowing the premise. The theory that we use only ten percent of our “cerebral capacity” is utter nonsense and even if it weren’t I find it hard to believe that gaining more access to our brain power would grant us the ability to change hairdos on demand. However, I decided that if I can accept (for the sake of a movie) that apes can leapfrog us in evolution and take over the world, then I could go along with this premise. Well, I tried, but after watching Lucy, I’m pretty sure apes being our ultimate demise makes more sense than anything in this film.

Luc Besson himself described this movie as having three parts: the first, his very own Leon:  the Professional. The second part is supposed to be Inception (other than one zero gravity sequence, I’m not sure where that part comes into play), and finally, the third part is 2001: A Space Odyssey. This definitely helps to explain the film, but unfortunately it does nothing to make it better. In fact, it explains why the movie seems like it’s always aiming for something more, and missing.

Admittedly, some of the sequences in this picture are interesting, but none of them seem to add up or make any sort of sense, and Scarlett Johansson’s portrayal of Lucy does nothing to help. Apparently, gaining more control of your “cerebral capacity” not only makes your more aware of (and gives you control of) radio waves, electrical waves, all the waves really, but also causes you to be distant and rude… for some reason. She goes from being a real person, who is initially terrified of being killed, to a soulless zombie, mumbling nonsensical things and predicting the color of pens next to people on the other end of telephone lines (because increased brain power, I guess).

Of course, all of these powers that Lucy discovers throughout the film are totally explained by none other than Morgan Freeman, the ultimate explainer. In a completely superfluous role, Freeman plays a professor that Lucy must impart her newfound knowledge to, because the movie demands it. He also explains to us how this is all completely plausible, because dolphins have sonar. Seriously, I’m not making this up.

That’s another thing about Lucy, no one’s motivations make any sense. Why is Lucy so desperate to reach 100% brain capacity (whatever that means)? We’re led to believe that she must because she can (no word on why no one else can try and Get Smart like her). Of course, the only way she can do this is by taking all of the drugs, but these aren’t just any drugs, they’re special synthetic fetus drugs, or something like that; and the movie just wouldn’t be complete if there wasn’t an Asian drug cartel chasing after her, shooting up airports, hospitals and schools, because they must really need those four bags of drugs back badly. Personally, I might have tried a more subtle approach, but to each their own.

I understand this is just a sci-fi film, and of course it’s not really saying that any of this could ever happen (at least I really hope not), however, I feel like this film simply throws us into its plot, daring us to question it. Everything that happens is explained (or not explained) because of more brain power, but the more the film went on the less brain power I felt in my own head (maybe that’s where Lucy was gaining all her power, by sucking it from the minds of the audience). At one point, Morgan Freeman urges Lucy to “pass on” the knowledge she has gained; I wish this movie could have at least attempted to do the same, but then again, maybe it just has nothing to pass on in the first place.

-Ryan Maples

Rating: 4.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2872732/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1