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.
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.
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.
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.
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. Check out the cast, crew and trailer.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Note: I have not read the novel and
therefore this review will not have any in-depth analysis of the book-to-screen
adaptation; it is simply a review of how the movie stands on its own merits.
That being said, I’ve heard from multiple people who have read the book that
this adaptation completely botches the source material in every way, so keep
that in mind.
There are a
few ways that going to see a highly anticipated movie can turn out. You can go
into it with high expectations and either have them met (or surpassed even), or
be disappointed. On the other hand, sometimes having low expectations can mean
that the movie surprises you and is better than you could have expected.
However, every so often, even the lowest of expectations can lead to disappointment,
and The Giver, unfortunately, is definitely a case of the latter.
It’s hard to
know where to start with this movie, as there are just so many things wrong
with it, but let’s start with the acting, shall we? I’m not sure what Jeff
Bridges was going for in this role, but it could be one of the worst
performances from him that I’ve personally seen. Then again, if his goal was to
portray an old drunken man, who radiates creepy vibes and can never seem to
quite catch his breath for whatever reason (I always suspected he had just
finished running some laps at the beginning of every scene), then he totally
nailed it.
All of the
kids in this movie come off as wooden and their dialogue is eerie both in the
way it is written and delivered, this may have been somewhat intentional to
create that “cult” vibe, but it just didn’t translate well to the screen in any
case. I found myself constantly wondering why the main character had his mouth
hanging open in every scene, as if he just couldn’t contain his wonder at
virtually everything and the only way to portray that is with a silly,
gaping-mouth grin. Also frustrating, are the utterly forgettable performances
by Katie Holmes and Alexander Skarsgard respectively (half of Katie Holmes’
lines involved the phrase “precision of language”), even Meryl Streep isn’t all that great; it
seems as if everyone phoned it in on this one.
The real
problem with this film, however, is how it completely bungles what admittedly
is an interesting concept. The Giver is about a world where there is no
feelings, no love, not even any color, (and no memory of how things used to be
before the utopia) just rules and regulations and “precision of language.” Then
one day at graduation, Jonas (our main character) is chosen to be the “receiver,”
which essentially means he is given all the old memories and feelings of the
old world by Jeff Bridges, the Giver. This could all add up to an interesting
universe, but everything in the film is dealt with in such an abstract,
generalized way that none of it seems real enough to care about.
The terms,
names, and phrases that people use in this film sound so ridiculous and simple,
that I had to keep a list of them. First of all, the land outside of Sameness
(not 100% sure that’s what their community is called, but it might as well be)
is called “Elsewhere,” and beyond that is a place called “the border of
memories.” The people use stiff phrases over and over again, such as “I
apologize” and “I accept your apology” and my personal favorite “precision of
language.” We’re never really told what exactly “precision of language” is
supposed to mean (does it simply mean use less words, or more “precise” ones?)
but I guarantee you after seeing this movie you’ll never want to hear that
phrase again. Also, they have landmarks, such as “the triangle of rocks.” These
names are so simplistic, they just end up coming off as laughable, and it
serves to ruin the atmosphere the film tries to set.
I’d like to
dedicate an entire paragraph to how incredibly creepy Jeff Bridges’ scenes are
with Jonas (in one scene near the beginning he utters the phrase “come closer”
three times in a row as he forcefully pulls Jonas’ chair closer to him), but
that wouldn’t leave enough room to talk about the ending, which makes very
little to no sense at all.
Jonas
quickly learns that there is beauty in the world (and he just can’t stop gaping
at it throughout the movie) and he longs to share it with others, but he’s
forbidden, because Meryl Streep says so. However, when he learns that babies
who aren’t deemed healthy enough upon birth are “released” and that means
killed, he decides he must save one specific baby who he’s made a personal
connection with (I assume all the other babies just die because they’re not
important enough to save). He also learns that in order to restore the world
back to its colorful self, he must cross the boundary of memories (or something
of that order). Simply by crossing the border/boundary, he will then restore
everyone with feelings, emotions and tear ducts to produce tears to display
said emotions; however, it is never explained why simply crossing a border will
have this effect, since it is established early in the film that the only
reason society is so dull is that all the citizens are required to take their “morning
injection.”
There’s a
lot that’s not explained in this film, such as why this utopia exists, or who
created it, and how the giver has the power to transfer memories (or how Jonas
makes a trek worthy of Middle-Earth in the last ten minutes of the movie with a
baby in his arms the whole way). This is a shame, because as soon as the
mystery starts to build up, the movie just sort of ends. I won’t spoil the
ending, but suffice it to say it is extremely underwhelming and disappointing.
In the end,
even though the Giver was the novel that inspired other dystopian stories such
as the Hunger Games and Divergent, it fails to stand out against them as a
film. If you’re a fan of the book, I can’t give you much hope, this one looks
like it’s been completely Hollywoodized in the worst sense; you’re probably
better off just giving the novel a reread and imagining it as a better film
yourself.
One final note: Taylor Swift is in this movie... so take from that what you will.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
