Reviews by BAMF

Initial Thought: I didn't know much about N.W.A. to be honest. I only knew about the three main members. I didn't even know who MC Ren or DJ Yella were. All I know is the trailer was awesome and the I was familiar with a few songs of theirs. So when it came to my theater I set out for it immediately.

Characters/Acting: Sure it would have been cool to have all the next generation of these rappers play their fathers, but honestly that wouldn't have been all that logical. Not everybody has that acting charm that can pull off a movie like this. O'Shea Jackson Jr. was just an exception because of how brilliantly he performed. It was as if he was Ice Cube himself. It's quite haunting. I could have sworn that cloning was truly discovered and this guy is none other than Ice Cube's very own clone. He had the facial reactions, the rapping, the personality, the voice, and was just overall the perfect match to pull off the role. Corey Hawkins played Dr. Dre so well also. Every time he was onscreen he mastered the performance. His demeanor was spot on for a young Dre. Jason Mitchell shines bright as Eazy-E. Who knew that he had struggled through so much in life. His performance here is definitely that worthy of an Oscar nomination. You see the way his life changed so drastically and he didn't realize the repercussions of the decisions he was making. The scenes dealing with his AIDS were heartbreaking. I wish we had the chance to get more of a feeling for MC Ren and DJ Yella, but they both did get a few moments that added to the story. Man Suge Knight was a monster! I mean if that stuff happened the way it's portrayed here that man has serious issues. Paul Giamatti as the manager Jerry was excellent. We will never know the exact truth of what went down. Or maybe we do seeing as the real manager hates the way he is depicted here, but refuses to share his end of the story. Even the bit parts here were great like Tomica, Snoop Dogg, Tyree, and Kim. Only thing I would have liked to be added was a young Eminem!

Story: The group NWA emerges from the streets of Compton, California in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes pop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood. It's crazy that they decided to come out with this at this time. We see that times haven't changed all that much to be honest. The Rodney King incident is very much pertinent with what is going on with several cases these days. It seems America hasn't learned a damn thing since the late 80s and early 90s that this film takes place in. I loved the way each member is introduced. The music was of course on point. It was interesting to see how everything started and ended. We got to see Death Row Records, Lynch Mob, Aftermath, and of course Ruthless. I loved seeing the moment where Ice Cube is writing the script for Friday! Also the "Bye Felicia" reference was perfect. There were moments that were just so heartbreaking. I didn't expect this to have much in the way of light-hearted moments, but when it did it was great. It was truly interesting to see how everything went down between each other, the law, and just within their lives. The ending was really powerful and well done. The perfect end for a movie I really wish didn't have to end. This made me laugh, cry, bob my head with the rhythm of the music, and for the most part brought my attention to the times.

Directing/Writing: F. Gary Gray who worked with Ice Cube on Friday directs Cube's son as his father. To me that is pretty awesome. Most of his movies I have liked quite a bit. Be Cool was probably my only disappointment as of yet. He needs to keep making films like this though. The fact that he had the help of producers Ice Cube, Dr. Dre., and Eazy E's wife Tomika helped a bit. In the end though it's his direction that really stands out. So the story was created by S. Leigh Savidge and Alan Wenkus. Both of them haven't really done much. Savidge directed a movie and that's all from him. Wenkus' only other film was written thirty years ago. The script was written by first timer Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff of World Trade Center. For basically being unknown the script department was amazing. The jokes, the heartbreak, and pop culture references were all well thought out.

Final Thought: That was fucking amazing. Pardon my French, but that's justifiable for this film. For a film with mostly unknowns/small timers behind and on-screen it was magnificent. If I didn't work at the theater I would have paid the price for this ten fold. It was incredible from start to finish. It's two and a half hours, but I would have sat another two and a half if they decided to tell more. If you haven't seen this one yet I highly recommend giving this your attention.

Initial Thought: I only knew about this because of an interview with Norman Reedus. He is basically the only reason I had interest in the first place. Then I saw the rest of the cast and thought it seemed quite good. I wondered how another thing besides The Walking Dead would work for a Robert Kirkman production.

Characters/Acting: Like I said I came for Norman Reedus. It also helped to have Djimon Hounsou here. Michael Hogan is usually fun to watch in science fiction especially when it was Battlestar Galactica. I thought the duo actually did quite well together. This will probably make fans of Daryl upset. It's interesting to see the way people act together in situations like this.

Story: Air is about two custodians who struggle to hold onto their sanity living in an underground bunker with cryogenically frozen people meant to re-populate society. I always like a good post-apocalyptic style story. It's a pretty slow moving story. That isn't necessarily a bad thing except for the fact that this could have easily been a short film. I liked the ending. It kind of reminded me of the Mist in a way. I also do wonder how much actual time had passed between Bauer's death and the awakening.

Directing/Writing: I have never heard of Christian Cantamessa or Chris Pasetto. That's probably because this is the first film they have done. I wonder how much Robert Kirkman was involved behind the scenes here. They did a decent job for beginners, but they could have done so much more.

Final Thought: So it has a familiar feel to it, but it's also got it's own flare of originality. I was entertained an interested from start to finish. It may not be great, but it was good for a one time watch. I suppose it helps that the actors are awesome. If you got nothing else to do give it a shot.

Initial Thought: I figured I should check out a supposedly reliable classic that I've never seen. I always enjoy a good Hitchcock film. I really should have seen this one already. I'm such a slacker. Better late than never though.

Characters/Acting: Some of the actors here are Hitchcock regulars. I'm really only familiar with a few like Tippi Hedren or Veronica Cartwright. There are some whom I don't recognize that I have seen movies of. I didn't know this was Tippi Hedren's first credited role and only second film she had been in. She is absolutely amazing and stunning here. I don't know why, but I just really adore her character here.

Story: A wealthy San Francisco playgirl pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town which slowly takes a turn when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people there, in increasing numbers and with increasing viciousness. It does take awhile to get to what we came to see, but the build up here works. Okay Birdemic was released 47 years after this, yet this actually looks a bit more realistic. The whole scene in the diner where they are talking about the birds was kind of amusing in my opinion. I'm not entirely sure how I felt about that ending.

Directing/Writing: Ah a good old Alfred Hitchcock film. This guy is such a legend. There hasn't been a single film of his that I didn't like. This is actually based off of a story from Daphne Du Maurier. I had actually thought this was an original idea from Hitchcock. This is my first encounter with a film written by Evan Hunter. Let's see if they made a good team.

Final Thought: For a movie made in the 60s about killer birds I thought it was quite thrilling. It could have been better than it was though. People wonder why I'm not particularly fond of these creatures. Now I can show them one reason. If you haven't seen this classic yet you should.

Initial Thought: I thought the first one was funny but average. I planned to check this out whenever I could get a hold of it for cheap or borrow it. So now that I have I'm going to see what it has to offer. It may even end up being more enjoyable than the first. You never know.

Characters/Acting: We of course have several of the actors who returned to reprise their roles as well as many new additions. The bottle cap bird is my favorite of the group. I also like Gabi the frog. Other than that the acting is pretty decent. The characters are cute as usual.

Story: It's a jungle out there for Blu, Jewel and their three kids after they're hurtled from Rio de Janeiro to the wilds of the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the vengeful Nigel, and meets his father-in-law. Honestly most cartoon sequels end up feeling awkward. This is one of those kinds of sequels. It does have good moments though like the audition montage. It just doesn't feel like an actual movie. Some of the humor here is actually pretty dark, but since kids are watching they make it look pretty comical. Near the end it started to feel like a film which was good.

Directing/Writing: Carlos Saldanha brought us the Ice Age series and started the Rio films as well. It's good to see a director who continues to work on what he started. He has only written the 2 Rio films. Everything else he only directs. I haven't seen any of Jenny Bicks' films, but I have heard of them. This is Carlos Kotkin's first film. Don Rhymer isn't known for making particularly good films. He was the writer of the first Rio though. So there's that. Yoni Brenner has done work in the Ice Age series besides this. I don't know why they need so many writers. Especially seeing as most of them aren't particularly known or very good.

Final Thought: It's not that bad actually. At first it felt more like something on television, but it improved. It was a bit cliche to be honest. I think for the kids it will be enjoyable. As for watching it by yourself probably not as much. At least it wasn't a complete waste of time.

Initial Thought: So I was actually pretty intent on watching this when it was announced. I was hopeful for it. Then the first trailer came out and it looked like it would be fine and take on a darker tone than the previous two films. Then another trailer came that had issues I was skeptical about. Now that it's out I hear pretty much constant negativity. So I decided to see for myself if it really is just an awful film or something else.

Characters/Acting: I for one was totally on board with Michael B. Jordan as Human Torch. I figured he could pull off the personality and be wicked awesome. Plus I like the whole mixed family vibe especially since mine is growing into one such family. Miles Teller is a good actor, but he does seem a bit too frat boy to be a Reed Richards type. Kate Mara is okay, but I think they could have casted many better choices. Jamie Bell as the human Ben Grimm is a fine. What isn't fine is having him also be the voice of The Thing. I don't want to hear him sounding like a young guy trapped in a large creature. It just seemed so wrong that they did that. The Doctor Doom here while played by a fairly good actor doesn't feel like him. I mean they even state in trivia that he is a mixture of a few villains. That is a big no-no! Doctor Doom should only ever be Doctor Doom or you ruin this amazing villain. The chemistry as well as the acting between the characters felt a bit awkward. They tried to add effects to make Ben Grimm sound a little bit more gruff, but it still just didn't work for me. Even his catchphrase made me groan. Doctor Doom looks absolutely dreadful.

Story: Four young outsiders teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe which alters their physical form in shocking ways. The four must learn to harness their new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy. So as we know it's yet again the origin story we all know by now. They really took the cake at making the origin story here last as long as possible. It takes pretty much half the movie until they finally get their powers. I thought that the scene where it happened was where it finally gave something interesting. Otherwise the first half felt pretty much like Stargate. There are some elements to this that are good, but it doesn't quite make up for the mediocrity of it as a whole. The Doom hallway scene was probably the coolest thing here and it didn't feel right in this movie. The fight at the end just felt like it was added to remind you that this is a comic book movie.

Directing/Writing: I absolutely loved Chronicle. So I was hoping that Josh Trank would end up making this good as well. Apparently this isn't the actual version Josh Trank wanted to make. It is either true or he is just trying to make himself look good. He probably knew this film was not going to do well at all. Simon Kinberg is a 50/50 writer. Sometimes his films are awesome and sometimes I wish they hadn't been made. I have only seen Lazarus Effect by Jeremy Slater and it was pretty average at best. I'm really hoping there are some things they do right here. It can't be that pathetic. Well I was wrong it really can be pretty pathetic. If there is a better version from Josh Trank I wish we could have gotten that.

Final Thought: This movie really wasn't all that long, but they stretched the origin far too much. Barely anything happens through the whole movie. This has to be definitely one of the most boring and disappointing Marvel films I have seen. At least in quite awhile. Fox really just needs to give up on this team. They haven't made an enjoyable version yet. At least the casting from the previous films were more on point. Did they really think this was going to earn sequels? It's such a shame when this could have had potential. It wasn't worth watching. I couldn't recommend it even if you are unfamiliar with the comics.

Initial Thought: I have been meaning to watch this for several years. I just never really got the chance to until now. I'm a huge fan of Stephen King. I figured it was finally time to check this out!

Characters/Acting: Ah Ian McKellen playing a Nazi before playing a Jew just like Michael Fassbender. I've been thinking that was pretty interesting to do. It also has a few people I didn't realize were acting in the 90s. A handful of the actors here actually worked together with Bryan Singer in the X-Men series. I find it amusing that Ian McKellen was only in his 50s when he was playing a character in his 70s. Now he would be the actual perfect age to play him again if they remade this or waited until about this time to make it. Todd has to be one of the most messed up teenagers on film. Kurt may have done really awful things, but he was trying to put the past behind him. I thought everyone did a great job here.

Story: A boy blackmails his neighbour after suspecting him to be a Nazi war criminal. This is actually much different than what I was thinking it would be about. The atmosphere of the movie is pretty dark with the content it deals with. It honestly isn't the most thrilling of Stephen King's adaptations, but it still keeps your attention. There are a few really well done moments. The ending here was absolutely excellent even if it's wandered from the actual ending.

Directing/Writing: I have seen a good chunk of Bryan Singer's films. I usually enjoy them quite a bit. I hope this keeps my faith in Bryan Singer alive. This is however my first rodeo with Brandon Boyce. He has written things I have heard of though. If this is good I might check them out as well.

Final Thought: It's definitely not what I was expecting it to be. It's not necessarily a bad thing though. It was pretty interesting with a few memorable scenes. I did think it was a bit too long given that this was only a novella in the first place. It isn't the typical Stephen King story you will see. If you are a fan of his I would still recommend checking this one out.

Initial Thought: I saw the Battle of Gods film recently as well as watching the Dragon Ball Z: Super series. It was in preparation for this one. The return of the most iconic of the DBZ villains. We had a special event screening the past few days for this. So I took my brother and a few others to go see it. After all I have been watching this since I was a kid.

Characters/Acting: A lot of the more important characters return here. There were many that weren't as well though. An explanation for some being gone was pretty humorous. The new characters of Freiza's squad weren't really all that cool except for maybe Tagoma. It seems though these films really don't want to have much focus on many besides Goku and Vegeta anymore. Sure other characters do at least one thing of importance, but not much else. I noticed a lot of characters calling each other out on the stupid decisions they make. It's like the director's knew how we were feeling. Therefore some nonsensical stuff that they do actually does make sense.

Story: The remnants of Freeza's army arrive on Earth to revive Freeza with the Dragon Balls. The beginning was pretty hilarious. The rest of it from the plot is basically unending action. The fight with the entire army and then Freiza was just plain epic. As usual there are a lot of good moments of humor throughout. It got quite dark near to the end. The ending was just plain great. There is an after credits scene in this one that is pretty good.

Directing/Writing: I think first time director Tadayoshi Yamamuro did an excellent job with Akira Toriyama's work. It almost didn't feel like someone who has never done Dragon Ball Z before. He had the humor. He had the epic battles. He really wrapped it together nicely with a bow.

Final Thought: This was an excellent addition to the Dragon Ball Z franchise. It has everything a fan would want from humor to badass action sequences. I couldn't have asked for anything more than what was given. I highly recommend seeing this if you are a fan. Hell maybe this would pull in some new fans.

Initial Thought: Honestly this looked like a good story. I never saw the Intouchables movie though. The main actors looked great. The main reason I ended up watching it while it is in theaters is for my major Ethiopian crush Liya Kebede.

Characters/Acting: So Liya Kebede is what pulled me into this. To my disappointment she was in maybe five minutes of the whole thing. Her name was credited on the poster so I thought she would be a major character. While she isn't in the whole thing her character does have a lasting impression. Omar Sy is amazing. I've only seen him in Jurassic World and X-Men: Days of Future Past, but he really outshines himself here. He kind of reminds of a French Idris Elba. Charlotte Gainsbourg is a unique beauty. I absolutely adored her character here. She tends to play quite damaged characters. I think Izia Higelin is my new crush though. She is a total hottie here and plays an interesting supporting character. They always end up being superb. Tahar Rahim who plays the buddy here is a fun character.

Story: Samba migrated to France ten years ago from Senegal, and has since been plugging away at various lowly jobs. Alice is a senior executive who has recently undergone a burn-out. Both struggle to get out of their dead-end lives. Samba's willing to do whatever it takes to get working papers, while Alice tries to get her life back on track until fate draws them together. The struggles Samba deals with here really reminds me of my situation with my wife. It feels like the government doesn't give a crap about love and only wants to make money any way they can. We see a man who struggles living in a country he loves to help his family in a country that isn't easy. I know the feeling. While the topic and most of the movie is serious there are moments of humor throughout. There were some moments I didn't expect would happen. The continuity was excellent. The ending was absolutely great.

Directing/Writing: I haven't seen any of writer/directors Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache's work. Now that I have though I wish I'd seen them sooner. At least if their work is like this. They really drew me in with a subject that spoke to me as I've dealt with a slightly similar situation. I didn't know this was based off of a book. What isn't these days though? Anyways everyone did a wonderful job bringing this story to life.

Final Thoughts: I came for Liya Kebede, but the story and performances made me stay. This was such a well done film. It's tragic. It's realistic. It's honest. I doubt they could of made it any better other than having Liya Kebede being in a lot more lol. I highly recommend this one. This might just be a contender for the foreign film Oscar just like the Intouchables should have been.

Initial Thought: I kind of wanted to see this because of the trailer. It looked like an interesting concept. I heard the rumors that I was supposedly part of the Charlie Charlie trend.

Characters/Acting: Most of the actors here are first timers. Only the daughter of Kathie Lee Gifford stands out as recognizable. So basically the director who stars here is playing himself. I mean the character is also a director of sorts. Ryan is such an unlikeable character. Everyone else is alright. You get to know the characters, but they don't seem to be completely developed given all the time spent watching them.

Story: 20 years after a horrific accident during a small town school play, students at the school resurrect the failed show in a misguided attempt to honor the anniversary of the tragedy. The play in the beginning seriously looked like a real play that would have been recorded in the 90s. One of the jump scares was pretty much there to let us know it's supposed to be scary. It just made me roll my eyes. It takes over half the movie before anything really happens to our characters. Sure there are creepy things that happen and the atmosphere is chilling, but it really wasn't interesting enough to really pull me in. Given that the deaths involved a noose I guess that really was the best they could do with death scenes. The ending was a bit unexpected, but it ended up being better than the movie as a whole.

Directing/Writing: This is the first film by co-writer/directors Chris Lofing and Travis Cluff. Of the duo Travis actually partakes as a character in the film. For first timers you can really tell that they need some work. If you are going to make characters last over half the movie they need to be developed more. We know it's supposed to be scary so the unnecessary jump scares need to go. Other than that I think they did a decent job for beginners, but there are quite a few first timers who were just magnificent through the years.

Final Thought: It's not the worst found footage I've seen, but it's certainly not close to the best either. I do have to say it was an interesting concept for a ghost/slasher type of movie. It's pretty drawn out for such a short film. The characters could have been fuller. Some plot details didn't feel right. It was just okay, but I doubt anyone will actually enjoy this as a whole.

Initial Thought: I remember seeing the trailer for this. It looked like an adorable father/son kind of movie. One of the ones that usually melts your heart. Anyways I'm hoping this will be as good as it looks.

Characters/Acting: The cast here is a nice selection. It has the talents of Emily Watson and Tom Wilkinson to name a few of the bigger ones. Ali Landry I think was cast because her husband is the direct. At least she is a decent actress. The little kid here is actually quite an adorable young actor. I see a nomination in his future. Kevin James seemed pretty useless to the whole thing. I guess he is just here because as I read he liked the script. He kind of took away from the whole thing and made it seem more comical than it should have. Everyone else here was splendid.

Story: An eight-year-old boy is willing to do whatever it takes to end World War II so he can bring his father home. The story reveals the indescribable love a father has for his little boy and the love a son has for his father. I liked seeing the visual representations of Pepper's imagination. This kind of reminds me of Pay It Forward with the acts of kindness. It's heartwarming and heart-wrenching at the same time. The ending was so beautiful!

Directing/Writing: This is the first movie I have seen by director/co-writer Alejandro Gomez Monteverde. He has only done one other movie. This is the only credited writing work from Pepe Portillo though. I hope to see more from these two in the future as long as they keep this level of filmmaking.

Final Thought: It really pulls at your heartstrings. I admit at the end of it I was crying. It was a really moving film. These kind of movies always get me emotional because of similar situations that I've been in as well. This is something I would love to watch when I have kids someday or it would have been nice to watch as a kid with my father. I think it could bring fathers and sons closer. I would say it's definitely worth checking out.