Reviews

The dark Knight rises is not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination, but it's not that good either. It feels more like an amalgamation of scattered ideas that doesn't even try to coalesce into an enjoyable tail end of this particular movie series.

On the plus side, the acting is good, the story is at least somewhat compelling, but the movie is way too damn long, and frankly, it lacks ambition.

Forget all the ridiculous plot holes, the lack of a truly gripping narrative, the movie is just not very enjoyable. I can't imagine anybody chomping at the bit to ever watch this movie ever again.

I also find it very odd that somehow this movie has made its way into not just the top 250, but the top 100 of the imdb. Ffs, why? I'm sorry, but audiences are very stupid sometimes.

It is honestly a pretty unremarkable film that does not hold up to repeated viewings. It's better than what Zack Snyder did with the character, but that's not saying much.

In these days, when perfectly acceptable films get spit upon by critics and audiences alike, somehow absolute mediocrity like the dark night rises gets elevated way too much, and it's totally not deserved.

I think audiences back in 2012 just decided they were going to give Christopher Nolan a pass anyway, despite how underwhelming the movie was overall.

Not sure what's up with all the hate directed at Miss Marvel. I think it's a great show. It's fun, it has a unique visual style, a lot of energy, and tries to be at least a little more realistic with the whole superhero aspect of things.... if such a thing is possible. (What I mean is there are actually consequences for Kamala Khan's actions.)

I totally respect this show for its positive and respectful representation of the Pakistani people and their religious community. I know this wasn't the whole intention, but I hope this will tend to help break a lot of negative beliefs and stereotypes typical americans hold about that community.

Iman Vellani is awesome as Miss Marvel/Kamala Khan. She's a totally relatable character and I think even adults like myself can find ourselves identifying with her and what she's going through even as a young teenager.

Miss Marvel is a fantastic show. Don't listen to the haters, I feel like their hate is completely irrational and based on nothing.

I have had a serious problem with some of the previous Bond movies. I thought they were too gritty, the tone was too serious, and they just weren't all that fun. Casino Royale was great, Quantum of Solace was just... well, soulless, Skyfall was meh, Spectre was a huge disappointment, but thankfully this final entry in Daniel Craig's James Bond legacy is by far the best and may even be the best of all the James Bond films.

There's some good levity, great character moments, great character arcs, and most everything you've come to expect from a Bond film.

But what's really different is how emotional this film gets. For the first time ever, we see James Bond getting truly emotionally involved and showing his humanity and spirit. Certainly we've seen this before, but mostly manifested in anger and thus revenge.

This time however there is a certain warmth to the character that comes through beautifully this time. I admire that very deeply. I also admire how the very long(but extremely compelling) opening scene really did a great job of setting things up and kept me engaged and invested in the film.

No time to die is a great film. For Bond fans, it's an absolute must. Even for just casual movie-goers, it's still a wonderfully fantastic affair.

I've Been watching Star Trek since I was a little kid. For me, Trek peaked with deep space nine. That show had so many great characters, so many great arcs and was just so deep, fun and emotional.

Even though I kind of like discovery, I didn't really enjoy Picard all that much. I feel like Star Trek is in danger of taking it self way too seriously again.

Fortunately lower decks is a breath of fresh air. If you're a lifelong fan of Star Trek, you're going to love lower decks. All the characters have a suitable amount of depth to them, and the show is overall a ton of fun to watch.

Normally I don't take animated shows all that seriously but lower decks is the exception to the rule. I strongly suggest checking it out, especially if you're a classic Trekkie!

Rose Byrne isn't just a great actress, she's also sexy as all hell and somehow pulls off the whole "almost Jennifer Beals" look in this charming and fun snapshot of my favorite decade. I'm serious, I love Rose Byrne, and she can "get it", as the young people say.

Rose Byrne portrays a woman named Sheila, and also serves as executive producer on this fascinating show that appears to have a lot of promise.

Unfortunately Sheila is clearly going through a lot of extreme issues, Partly a consequence of a culture that values beauty over well-being and self care. That's the 1980s for you.

The first episode was really good and I'm looking forward to seeing more of this interesting dive into days long gone by.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the MCU, and especially Infinity War and Endgame, so nobody was more eager than me to see the hijinks that would happen in WandaVision.

People need to understand that even though the first few episodes are short, there is a LOT of storytelling that happens(so far, the events in this show span various decades of TV sitcom stylings), and nothing reflects the breakneck pace of this show like how rapidly it jumps from the aesthetics of one decade to another.

It's also refreshing to see an offering from Marvel that is pretty much 100% action free. There's no shooting at people, there's no explosions, there's no crazy action scenes, just a much more simpler take, a character study if you will of Wanda Maximoff and her tormented soul. Each episode presents a little bit of a mystery, something to hook you because... you want to know what happens next episode, which is very much the way serialized television works, and I love it.

Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany and everybody else in the cast is absolutely fantastic. As of this date(2-13-21), I saw the sixth episode... which promises to really change the whole direction of this show entirely, which also serves as a metaphor for drawing us, the viewers into its amazing, diverse world. The story-telling on this show reflects the most positive aspects of something like The X-files, The chilling adventures of Sabrina(NOT Sabrina, the teenage witch), and even some shades of Star Trek: The Next Generation, most notably within the character of Vision.

I continue to be fascinated with how this show is constantly stretching and playing with the norms of what is possible in a TV show. WandaVision has a lot of heart, soul, great drama and even some great humor and wonderful, genuine surprises sprinkled throughout its complex framework. This show is mandatory viewing for those who love the MCU, can't get enough of it and need their MCU fix... who am I kidding? This show is for everybody.

I really loved Happy Death day and its follow-up Happy Death day 2U. Christopher Landon is an outstanding writer/director, and I was really looking forward to seeing the crazy stuff that would be offered up by his latest movie, in light of his success with the aforementioned Happy Death Day films.

I love Kathryn Newton(of Detective Pikachu fame), and Vince Vaughn was absolutely perfect to play the killer. The whole angle where all of a sudden they swap bodies and consequentially personalities is very fun to say the least.

There is plenty of gore, but I don't think it classifies as an outright gore fest. There's some wonderful moments that are funny and touching, or just funny, or funny and touching. There's even one (unintentional) innuendo that makes me wonder if the postman is fooling around with Millie's mother.

Freaky is a freaking good time. It isn't as great as Happy Death Day.... but then again, WTF is?

Apparently, everybody who isn't a Christian in this movie is a horrible, horrible person. Aside from that, I think the biggest problem with this movie is that it does absolutely nothing to convince us that God even exists.

It's basically a theists greatest fantasy: get your Atheist Philosophy Professor to confess that they in fact don't believe in God, but actually hate him. In the end, all this movie does is attack the Atheist community without providing anything in the way of a strong argument proving the existence of God, while also being remarkably tone deaf.

The performances by Kevin Sorbo and David AR White are absolutely... okay, at best. I think Studio Pureflix really, really wanted to provide a counterpoint to earlier successes like the film Religiosity as well as popular Youtube Atheist channels that provide far better arguments for Atheism than this series of films could ever hope to for Christianity or even just Theism.

Basically, the movie is disgusting because it paints all Atheists as horrible people and sets its sights pretty low, story and plot-wise.

God's not dead and its follow-up are laughable(in large part because of how terribly they are written), although I have heard the third movie in this series isn't nearly as terrible.

There are few things in this world that make my skin crawl these days as much as racism. In my personal experience, these days, it's a lot less overt and manifested in much more subtle ways. It is especially disgusting when racism taints the process of justice.

This is by no means the first movie to tackle such a touchy subject. On the other hand, it's also here to remind us that racism is still alive and well in the USA. Just like Paul Robinette(Richard Brooks) said on Law and Order... we are at the hearts and minds stage, we've been there for a LONG time. Unfortunately, I see no signs of that particular flaw in humanity changing anytime soon.

The process was tainted in the case of the wrongly convicted man Walter Mcmillan(Jaime Foxx). In this movie, Defense Attorney Bryan Stevenson(Michael B. Jordan) seeks to undo the injustice behind the murder conviction of Mr. Mcmillan.

The supporting cast is excellent, the drama , writing and pacing all excellent. Some people may for whatever reason dismiss a lot of the events in this movie on the basis that it's all too overdramatic. People want to believe racism is a thing of the past.

The fact that the events of this movie took place in my country in the(relatively recent) late 80's activates my gag reflex. Of course, back then I was blissfully unaware anything was going on mostly because, I'm white and that makes me privileged and therefore since it's not a problem for me it's not something I need to be aware of. Racism Is not a thing of the past. People still treat African Americans as an inferior people. They do it all the time in this country. I used to be an optimist. Sometimes my faith in humanity pays off... but when it comes to the criminal justice system... Black Defendants tend to get the wrong end of the stick. Pardon my language. But the sad fact is that innocent people get sent to death row all the time.

Lawyer Bryan Stevenson is if nothing else, determined. He keeps hitting wall, after all, after wall. In a situation as grave and as dire as sitting on Death Row, it's easy to lose hope. I think part of this movie's intention was to remind the audience that black people are people too, and you may want to be dismissive of this movie's message and scoff, but no, injustices still happen all the time to defendants, both white and black, but by and large, black.

Just Mercy is an excellent movie, the kind of cold water we all need right now that will I hope inform us the correct point of view is this: what is left in America to hold onto? I mean other than the hope that people will realize how wrong they've been, come to their senses and realize we are all one race, the human race. I know that's hokey and cliché, but that doesn't make it less true. I highly recommend Just Mercy.

About a week and a half ago I picked up the first season of Rick and Morty on the recommendation of a good friend. Here's how much I love the show. At this moment, I've already purchased seasons 2 and 3 and have watched everything except season 4.

I am trying to think of a sufficient way to describe Rick and Morty in a way people can process. Rick and Morty is... brilliant... insane...incredibly funny...awesome... and more. Basically it's what if your grandpa was a scientific genius who likes to remain just a little too aloof at times.

This series has one hell of a heart and soul. I really enjoy this show for the complex, beautiful writing as well as the absolutely surreal directions that pretty much every episode takes at breakneck speed.

It's not as if you didn't know this already, so as far as I'm concerned I'm just adding my one voice to a cacophonous vortex of praising voices. Rick and Morty is an A+ series. If you haven't checked it out, do so already.

Oh yeah one more thing: this show has tons of language and gore and adult themes so this is NOT a show for kids. Just think of Rick and Morty as Futurama meets South Park. Yuck, that sounds like a terrible cliche.

See, Ghostbusters(2016) isn't that bad a movie, the four lead actresses are good, it's not boring, and overall it has some fun moments. On the other hand... if you're going in expecting a straight up comedy you're likely to be a little disappointed. See all these women are EXTREMELY talented and they are all capable of being both great actresses and have been in very funny roles before. Where this movie excels is creature design, it's bizarre and quirky performances, and some very cool and creative ghostbusting scenes.

What they really needed to do with this reincarnation of the story is a little more polishing. There are jokes, but a great deal of the time the humor falls flat. They needed better jokes in this film. That being said, this movie is still a fairly good time. I strongly suggest just renting it first to see if it clicks with your particular taste. If I'm also being honest, it's not nearly as great as the original Ghostbusters... but then again, what is?

Sometimes it's not a good idea to produce a sequel that provides answers... IE 2010 The year we make contact. Sometimes however... when a story is handled correctly, it can enhance the overall narrative.

Happy Death Day 2U is an excellent sequel and follow up to 2017's Happy Death Day starring the lovely Jessica Roth as Tree Gelbman. Now there's honestly not nearly as much character development in this movie as there was in its predecessor, but Tree remains a lovable and sympathetic character who goes through some serious, horrible crap in this movie.

In all honesty, and you've probably heard this before but Happy Death Day 2U is more of a science fiction film than it is straight up horror... but again it's super fun science fiction/horror/comedy, which I admit is one hell of a rare hybrid, and even rarer because this is a sequel that actually works on all levels. I highly recommend Happy Death Day 2U.

When I heard the premise of Happy Death Day, I just had to see it. I was not disappointed. The story focuses on a typical stuck up college woman named Tree, who finds herself re-living the day of her death over and over again. In the wrong hands, this Groundhog day-like premise could turn out awful.

Luckily, not only is this movie an amazingly great time, but there's also some great character development for the stuck up, hateful, spiteful Tree. The movie features a perfect blend of comedy, horror, and Tree after a while turns herself around into a character that we actually care about, which is important in this kind of movie. Her transformation arc is one that makes her a memorable character and gives her humanity that we all can identify with.

Happy death day is an excellent horror film that is of the rare PG-13 variety that is actually good... just make sure and PLEASE for the love of God watch this movie before you see Happy Death Day 2U.

I know this is going to sound naive, but back in 2017 when the #metoo movement started... I had NO idea sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace were that serious of a problem. How wrong I turned out to be!

Bombshell is an excellent film, focusing on a powerful tycoon at Fox news and his sexual harassment and assault of numerous female employees. The performances by Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Kate Mckinnon and John Lithgow are all excellent.

This kind of topic is something very uncomfortable to discuss, depending on who you are, because in this world Men still hold a little too much power for their own good, and they don't always use it for good purposes. Women are still being victimized, and men are still victimizing women in the workplace. There's also the subject discussed of how dangerous it is to be gay and work at a place that primarily supports conservative views.

Nicole Kidman portrays Gretchen Carlson, a courageous woman seeking to expose what's going on behind closed doors. Charlize Theron's portrayal of Megyn Kelly is excellent. Charlize is a wonderful actress and her portrayal of the real-life woman is absolutely spot on. Margot Robbie, Kate Mckinnon and John Lithgow are also excellent in their roles.

Bombshell is a truly powerful movie. I hope that in years to come, movies like this are yet another nail in the coffin of things like sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

It's going to be hard to not write about this movie without spoilers. I'll try and keep this short and sweet. Star Wars the rise of Skywalker is beautiful. It has a LOT of story, and a lot for the viewer to absorb. It contains a lot of very wonderful themes that this new trilogy has been building towards... and I can't talk about that either without spoilers!!!

I'll just say that they did everything they could to have great character moments for everybody that's a main player in this movie... especially Rey and Kylo Ren. But there's also wonderful scenes with Poe, Finn, C3-PO, R2-D2 and Princess Leia... and... that's all I can say!!!

Anyway, try your best to go in cold. Avoid spoilers at all costs. If you are a Star Wars fan, this movie will give you much to celebrate, much to cry about and much to laugh about. I think you will have an awesome time. May the force be with us.

There was a Roger Corman Fantastic Four movie... that was terrible but had a low-budget charm to it. The 2005 Fantastic Four movie was terrible... but at least it was probably in some part responsible for Chris Evans becoming Captain America later. Then we got the Silver Surfer... which was not very good for a variety of reasons. For me, it's more of a middle of the road movie, not bad enough for me to give it a one, but not good enough for me to give it anything higher than a 5/10.

Rise of the Silver Surfer does several things wrong, like the presentation of the villain Galactus... FFS make him a giant guy in Blue and Purple armor or just GTFO okay??? The design of the Surfer was good, but this movie's "comedy" just came off as weird and awkward, much like in the first movie.

As for the rest... the team involved in making this thing did... an okay job at best. This movie had SO much potential, and it ended up being about as mediocre as superhero movies get... not horrible, but certainly not good either. The actors did the best they could with the material they were given, the chemistry between the characters works, but only just barely.

I would not recommend this film, or the horrible Josh Trank FF film... but that's a review for another time.

For years I was wondering out loud how a Captain America film would work without it coming across like a colossal joke. Fortunately, Captain America the first Avenger worked beautifully... which begs the question... how do you make a sequel to Captain America work in modern day without it being a colossal joke? The answer is simple... you bring back the brilliant writing team of Christopher Markus and Stephen Mcfeely and the Russo brothers to direct.

The Winter Soldier is a comic book/political thriller. While in part being a commentary on today's world that's very relevant to our current social climate and fight against terrorism, it also serves as a cautionary message as to how easy it is for evil, powerful men to fool people into believing they are the good guys... I'll let you draw your own conclusions from there.

Chris Evans continues to be amazing as Captain America. The man somehow is absolutely perfect despite his resume containing characters such as Johnny Storm and that guy from Not another Teen movie. Sebastian Stan is also awesome as The Winter Soldier, and the beautiful Scarlett Johannson as Black Widow, and newcomer Anthony Mackie is really awesome as Sam Wilson/The Falcon. I was slightly annoyed he wasn't fighting with the Avengers in Age of Ultron. Before I forget, the absolutely lovely Cobie Smulders returns as the smuldering hot agent Maria Hill... get it?

And of course Sam Jackson returns as the charismatic Nick Fury. Between this amazing casting that also includes Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce... who would later return in Avengers: Endgame, a great script, fantastic direction and great character stuff... The Winter Soldier is an absolute win for the MCU.

It seems like every other franchise these days dealing with time travel tries to adhere to certain... "rules" behind time travel. Doesn't matter if it's Terminator, Star Trek, Timecop, Quantum Leap, Looper, Back to the future, Doctor Who, X-Men: Days of future past, Hot Tub Time Machine, Die Hard, Somewhere in time, or the best movie of all time Avengers: Endgame, they've all done it successfully because they're all really great films/TV shows. Turns out unfortunately that Back the future is a bunch of crap though(#sarcasm).

Make no mistake, Looper is a pretty violent film with LOTS of F-bombs so it's not for kids. It is a fascinating film though that is absolutely crazy good. The performances by Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon Levitt are really good, and Rian Johnson is an excellent director/writer.

There's also a lot of cool surprises and plot devices in store that in similar circumstances in other movies might not work, but fortunately it somehow works in Looper! Ever since I was a little kid I've loved the concept of time travel in movies, and Looper does a great job of being a compelling, interesting story with heart and humanity in the end. I highly recommend it.

The first time I saw Into the Spiderverse... no kidding, I walked out. I freaking hated it. I didn't care for Miles Morales and his stupid uninteresting family dynamic BS between him and his felonious uncle, I didn't care for the ugly, choppy looking animation, nor did I like the stupid, overly cartoony ridiculously goofy tone. I don't care that this movie has all the spidermen in it, by the time all these other guys start showing up... it's too little... WAY too late.

I watched it again recently and sigh... I still hated it. Seriously, I freaking despised this movie. Why people love this movie is beyond me... and yet... it won the OSCAR for best animated feature!!!! Slow year for animated films maybe?

Well, maybe, or MAYBE I'm just missing something. I just find absolutely nothing of redeeming value whatsoever in Into the Spiderverse. You've got to also bear in mind I LOVE the MCU Spiderman. I think Spiderman Homecoming and Spiderman Far From Home are really good movies. It's just very difficult for me to take this movie seriously when it's so overwhelmingly goofy. I think that's my problem.

And yet... kids and adults alike SOMEHOW like this movie! So maybe I am missing something, and maybe I should concede that this just isn't a movie for me. I didn't like it at all, but hey I guess chances are you and your kids will.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I walked into the Icon Cinema movie theater in Albuquerque earlier tonight to see knives out. Knives out is... astonishingly good. I have seen my share of murder mysteries, and this thing is ridiculously fun. Between a well-crafted murder mystery, a great cast and wonderful performances by them all but ESPECIALLY Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Christopher Plummer and Jamie Lee Curtis.

There's a lot of mysteries set up in this movie and strangely enough, the tail end of the murder part of this mystery is actually revealed near the end of the first act. But from there there's still a lot for this film to reveal, like who did what, why did this happen?(I know I'm being vague, trying to avoid spoilers).

As of my writing this review, I can see that 591 people have given this movie a 1 out of 10. My guess is that those 591 people have in fact NOT seen this movie and are little more than pathetic trolls trying to downvote this movie because of their comically overblown intense hatred for The Last Jedi and Rian Johnson.

This is sad, because Knives out is a genuinely great film. Some elements reminded me of Agatha Christie's "Appointment with Death". Anyway I guess what's most important is that I had a great time. I was emotionally engaged by everything, and the funny stuff ALWAYS worked. Within the last 10 minutes you might find yourself laughing as hard as you ever have in your entire life. That being said, I HIGHLY recommend Knives out. It is an utter delight. This movie rocks!!!

When I saw the trailer for Infinity War I was like any other MCU fan boy...I squealed and screamed and I was like HFS this is going to be amazing!!!! It is no exaggeration to say that Infinity War delivers on every level despite having the unenviable task of telling a HUGE story and somehow balancing this story that takes place on two planets with more super heroes then there have been in any super hero movie before or since.

This is a task that would be difficult for even the most seasoned of film makers. Fortunately they brought on the writers from Captain America The First Avenger, Winter Soldier and Civil War. Of course the one thing that made this whole thing work was the Russo brothers. At the end of the day those two guys and all the talent involved pulled everything together and delivered something truly special.

Infinity War finds Thanos and his Black Order: Ebony Maw, Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight and Cull Obsidian searching for the Infinity Stones. Along the way, the Guardians meet up with Thor, Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Spider-man in an effort to stop the mad Titan.

Coming back from his self imposed exile is the man himself, Captain America who realizes that even though the Avengers are scattered, him, Black Widow, Falcon, Bruce Banner, War Machine, Black Panther and the armies of Wakanda are the only ones who can possibly stand in the way of Thanos carrying out his plan to destroy half the life in the universe.

Infinity War is a staggering sci-fi, action-packed, highly emotional piece of cinema that will bring out the tears in even the staunchest of movie critics. The finale of this movie is... something to behold. You know this movie worked when it leaves you thinking "My God... NOW WHAT?!".

Avengers Infinity War has everything I wished the first two Avengers films could have been, and it's obviously necessary viewing for anybody who wants to see Endgame. Obviously though, a LOT of MCU movies are mandatory viewing for going into Endgame anyway.

Filmmakers will be hard pressed to make something more compelling for many generations to come.

If you want to describe Guardians of the Galaxy to the uninitiated, I guess you'd describe it as Star Wars, except there's no force and everybody is either Han Solo or Chewbacca... or both.

Before 2012 I never even heard of the GOTG. I was introduced via the character Rocket Raccoon who was in Marvel Vs Capcom 3. When I saw the trailer for GOTG I was... kinda blown away. I was like hmmm, this could be damn good!

I was wrong. This movie isn't damn good, it's frickin' AMAZING. I guess another way of describing Guardians of the Galaxy is that it's The Avengers... except they're all anti-heroes. Although Joss Whedon's Avengers is really good, I'm not sure it's as great as GOTG.

What makes this story work is the characters... starting with actor Chris Pratt as Peter Quill. Chris Pratt (to use a perhaps exhausted phrase) is this generations Harrison Ford. Before 2014 I never even heard of Chris Pratt. I never saw Parks and Rec. This was one of those cases where I instantly fell in love with the character of Peter Quill, which I heavily credit to Chris Pratt's awesome performance. Chris Pratt pulls off the funny, charming scoundrel personality very very well.

Zoe Saldana is amazing as Gamora, the adopted daughter of an intergalactic despot, our big baddie that you love to hate... Thanos. Karen Gillan is also amazing as Nebula, the real daughter of Thanos. Dave Bautista is a lot of fun as the very lunk-headed Drax.

To be honest though... one of my favorite characters in the MCU is Rocket Raccoon, voiced by the fantastic Bradley Cooper. Guardians is such a great movie, in that it made me feel real emotions for a computer generated, gun-toting anthropomorphic critter. Rocket Raccoon is bad ass, and I frickin' love him.

Oh yeah, and I guess Vin Diesel does the voice of Groot. If I am being fair though, GOTG had a very hard job. This movie has to establish all these great new characters, have them straddle the line between being heroes and out-laws and make us the audience tear up during the final 15 minutes of this scene.

James Gunn did an INCREDIBLE job. It also helps that the soundtrack to this film is incredible and immerses you into this fun and vast universe. People like to complain that the character of Ronin is kind of a typical villain, but in my opinion that doesn't hurt the film at all. Why? Because this film is all about the Guardians and their consciences motivating them into doing the right thing... even if that doesn't mean them doing the right thing ALL the time.

Guardians of the Galaxy is in the top 5 of MCU films thus far(As of November 2019), and I highly recommend it for anybody who needs a cold introduction to the MCU. Adults will love it, and so will the kids... although just be aware the kids might ask you what Star Lord was talking about when he mentioned Jackson Pollock...

Old movies probably don't get the kind of respect that they should. There was a time when being an actor was more than just a sign you were wealthy, it was a sign you were talented as hell. The whole cast in this movie is nothing short of amazing. Between that and a great story, 12 angry men although made in 1957 is just as culturally relevant and important today as it was back then.

The story finds 12 nameless jurors(at least until the end anyway) deliberating over a boy who is supposedly guilty as hell over the murder of his own father. Suffice to say, almost all 12 men(remember, this was the 1950's) want to convict this boy. The lone holdout wants to go over the evidence a little more because something inside him says maybe it's worth it because they're deciding a boy's fate, and that it's not something to be so casual about.

The ensuing two hours of the film features some great twists, great turns, and remarkable humanity on display by all these wonderful actors, portraying very flawed but very relatable human beings. In the end, what really makes this movie works is that 12 men understood what responsibility truly means... so I guess this is kind of like Spiderman... times 12.

All jokes aside, 12 Angry Men is a classic and is worthy of being shown at film schools not just because it demonstrates compelling acting, great story, amazing emotion and even character growth... by most of the main cast. Show me a movie that has such a transformative narrative(Transformers doesn't count).

The most important element in a comedy is one I think most people can agree on... is it funny? Easy A... is not funny. True, it does have some things going for it, including a fairly strong cast, consisting of Emma Stone, Amanda Bynes, Thomas Haden Church, Patricia Clarkson, Malcom Mcdowell... it's just too bad this movie thinks awkward=funny, because if that were the case Easy A would be one of the funniest movies of all time.

The movie is appealing on an emotional level to some extent... but like I said this is supposed to be a comedy, and I sat down and watched this thing solely because I wanted to laugh my ass off. That is NOT what I got. What I got was 90 minutes of disappointment mixed in with a little bit of confusion. Like I said though, Emma Stone is good, she's just not given much to work with. As far as comedies go... this movie is more like an Easy F.

First off, I would honestly like to say if you loved or put up with the Star Wars prequels, I honestly believe you should have no problem with the newest Star Wars films, otherwise... you're in my opinion a hypocrite.

I humbly ask that you'll indulge me a little bit because it's hard for me to review this movie effectively without addressing the major issues people seem to have with this movie. For the last two years I have seen every variation of every complaint about The Last Jedi and they basically amount to one of these four things: 1) Rose Tico, 2) This movie having a "agenda", 3) Leia's force powers and 4) They didn't like Luke in this movie.

First off, I don't understand why people have a chip on their shoulder about Rose. I've watched The Last Jedi several times, scanning carefully for what people might be irritated about. In the end... I could find nothing. I mean, honestly Rose is not the bad character everybody keeps telling you. She's a good guy and because of her loss in this movie, I think she feels a burden because of the events early in the movie she has a legacy to live up to. I mean at least she doesn't go around stepping in piles of feces, or shouting "exsqueeze me!" or "Maxi big da force!" or succeeding in spite of total incompetence. She is a good character.

As for the "agenda"? I just don't get it. Why is it such a bad thing that women are being leaders and doing heroic things? Why is that bad? Seriously! Maybe people thought that the small subplot with the Fathiers was some kind of strange message about animal rights? Okay, again, why is that a bad thing? I mean there is a point that such a thing could potentially wildly unbalance a movie but I don't feel there was a disproportionate amount of time spent on that.

Why is Leia using the force a bad thing? I mean... I've seen all kinds of cynical people making all kinds of memes about her using the force in the certain scene I'm referring to, and again I don't know why people have such a hard time accepting this. Again, if you loved the prequels, you should have ZERO issues with anything in the new Star Wars movies!!!

As for Luke... the moment I saw the first trailer for The Last Jedi I said to myself "Damn, this poor guy has been through some stuff.". People got SOOOO enraged at the beginning when Luke tossed away the lightsaber Rey handed him. Instead of getting angry though, I got curious, I thought "Oh my God what happened to Luke?". People also claim they don't like how he was, and I thought you know what? If any of us were in his position we might have the same internal discussion or conflict. I mean... we wouldn't follow through hopefully, but that doesn't mean we wouldn't consider taking a certain... action if it meant the fate of the entire universe.

See, for me my primary concern for any movie are two specific criteria: the characters and the story. Rey, Finn, Luke and Poe Dameron are great characters. Rey, Finn and Poe were set up as great characters in The Force Awakens. They are all good people who would fight for what is right until the very end, even in the face of death. That's what makes them compelling and interesting and people you want to identify with.

As for the story? It's reminiscent of The Empire Strikes Back, but instead of focusing on a Luke's training and Han and Leia's budding romance, we focus more on the remnants of the resistance barely being able to outrun the First Order. There is a good amount of suspense because these few ships are all that is left of the Resistance. They are being gradually being picked off one by one, and that creates a lot of suspense, putting the pressure on Rose and Finn to sabotage the First Order's tracking systems.

Rey's story is compelling. Luke is hesitant to train her because he is afraid of history repeating itself. Rey just wants answers, because her past is basically a complete mystery. In spite of the fact that she has nobody to support her but Luke and Finn, she has to find her own strength. Luke points out to her the failings of the Jedi in the events of the prequels and... yeah, he was absolutely right! Were Star Wars prequel fans put off that Luke was pointing out the truth about the events in the prequels?

When all is said and done, The Last Jedi is a great, suspenseful entry into the Skywalker saga that is fun, exciting, moving and intriguing. I am looking forward to The Rise of Skywalker.