Reviews by BAMF

Initial Thought: I was pretty skeptical about this at first. I don't really follow Amy Schumer as she really doesn't seem all that funny and I don't quite find her attractive either. Upon asking a few people who watched a screening of it saying that it was pretty good I thought I would give it a shot. Plus I do tend to like Judd Apatow to an extent.

Characters/Acting: This isn't Judd Apatow's usual round up of people. It does have a pretty solid cast with the likes of Bill Hader, Tilda Swinton, and Ezra Miller. It also has quite a few great cameos added in. Holy crap if that's Tilda Swinton I have to say she is quite unrecognizable like that. John Cena does great with his comedy albeit being in rather awkward scenarios while accomplishing this. Yeah so Amy Schumer is really not funny and basically plays the same type in everything. She is almost like the Will Ferell of female comedians. For me that's a bad thing. Even Method Man is a better actor here. I thought Lebron James was pretty funny. Bill Hader was pretty good. Since this is kind of sports related there are quite a few cameos from them here.

Story: Having thought that monogamy was never possible, a commitment-phobic career woman may have to face her fears when she meets a good guy. Honestly the only times things are funny onscreen is whenever Lebron James or John Cena are on screen. The last like twenty minutes were actually pretty good. The rest of the movie and like the very last few minutes didn't do anything for me. The story was just way too typical.

Directing/Writing: I have seen a lot of Judd Apatow's films. They range from just okay to pretty damn funny. I'm hoping this leans to the latter. I'm surprised that he didn't write this one as well. I haven't seen much of Amy Schumer, but she hasn't done anything to wow me so far. Hopefully her writing is entertaining. Well for the most part her writing is pretty bland. I wonder how much of this was actually improved. Anyways maybe if it had Apatow's writing it may have been good.

Final Thought: This was as the title states a trainwreck. It's a bit too long. Amy Schumer cannot hold a movie in my opinion. She has to be the weakest performer of everyone here. This was basically all the movies we see about guys like this just with a woman in the position. I wouldn't recommend it unless you are one of those who actually like Amy Schumer.

Initial Thought: I have been really wanting to see this, but I didn't have the chance until now. The concept albeit similar to recent movies like The Den or Cyberbully (starring Maisie Williams) has it's own style that caught my interest.

Characters/Acting: The cast here is alright. It's a mixture of newcomers, slightly recognizable people, and even Konstantin Khabenskiy. These characters are all so unlikeable. I think the only ones I actually liked were Mitch and possibly Jess. Blaire is attractive, but beauty is only skin deep here.

Story: A group of online chat room friends find themselves haunted by a mysterious, supernatural force using the account of their dead friend. I like the realistic feel that they put into the way the connection on skype is and the many details of the internet. I feel like other than the fact that this is a horror movie it's pretty damn spot on with all the details It's always great to see a serious topic dealt with and explored in different ways. Each way of storytelling brings something new to a topic. There are a few noticeable errors here and there, but it doesn't really take away from the enjoyment. Every time I heard the Facebook or Skype sounds kept making me check my own thinking somebody was contacting me haha. The deaths escalate which was good. The first death was pretty bland though. I did like the brutality shared in brief glimpses. The twist at the end was pretty good. I even liked the whole ending itself. It could have done without showing the ghost but it was still pretty enjoyable.

Directing/Writing: This is the first mainstream film by Levan Gabriadze. From the looks of it he really made sure to detail the internet and applications the way they actually feel. I'm not familiar with Nelson Greaves, but the concept he created here is well thought out and interesting.

Final Thought: I really liked the style of this film. It's fun, it's mysterious, it keeps you invested. The characters may not be very likeable so when they meet their demise instead of anger you feel a bit satisfied. With a different ending I think it could have been somewhat better. That doesn't mean it's a bad movie. In fact it's a really enjoyable watch. If want something new I would say check this out.

Initial Thought: Honestly I am only watching this for Sofia Vergara and Reese Witherspoon. I don't expect much from it to be honest though. It does look somewhat amusing. I hope it isn't a complete waste of time. Then again I am the guy who watches everything at least once. I never follow others advice for movies. I tend to want to make my own opinions. So that being said time to find out how this goes.

Characters/Acting: Like I stated above Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara are what have my attention. There are a few other decent actors here mostly being comedians though. I was honestly annoyed with Reese's accent here. I mean I adore her, but the accent was just too much. I honestly didn't even like the characters here. They just didn't come off interesting enough for me. That includes the main people I was wanting to watch this for. The looks were all that this had for it.

Story: An inept police officer must protect the widow of a drug dealer from criminals and dirty policemen. So I can't tell if this movie is insulting the intelligence of Texans or if all the characters are just supposed to be idiots. Well I really don't know what else to say other than the story was pretty bogus. It's full of boring cliches and childish jokes. The ending was just as bland as the rest of the movie. The bloopers during the credits weren't even particularly funny.

Directing/Writing: I have only seen Step Up and Guilt Trip directed by Anne Fletcher and I thought they were pretty enjoyable. She has also acted in about a dozen films I've seen. As for David Feeney and John Quaintance, who are both known for television, have no work I've seen before. It's sad that Anne Fletcher couldn't make this interesting like her past films. It could have also been the fact that she filmed such a poorly scripted film.

Final Thought: Okay so that was pretty bad. It wasn't funny in the least bit. I was really disappointed with this one. It seems that everyone is right to rate this so low. Unless you are a glutton for punishment and absolutely love Reese Witherspoon or Sofia Vergara I wouldn't recommend this one.

Initial Thought: I just finished watched the Netflix prequel series. I figured I would see how they whole thing came to be. The series was pretty off the wall with it's humor. The way everything came to be as everyone knows it is pretty hilarious. A lot of the plot was so nonsensical that it was actually amusing to watch. That being the case I wanted to see how everything turned out and if the humor was about the same or not.

Characters/Acting: Many of the actors here were also in the series with a few alterations from both. There are also a few actors with very small roles who play in both productions. Some of the characters are slightly different with the way they act or do things. My favorite characters from the series as well as this movie are definitely Andy (Paul Rudd) and Gene (Christopher Meloni). It was pretty funny to see some of the kids acting more mature than the characters played by the older actors. I thought everyone pulled off the teenager act quite well for a comedy.

Story: Set on the last day of camp, in the hot summer of 1981, a group of counselors try to complete their unfinished business before the day ends. It starts off fairly similar to the way the series ends. I liked that bit of continuity for the series. It doesn't seem to coincide with a few of the explanations or scenarios from the series though. It has some pretty amusing moments throughout like when a few of the "teens" go out to town. I like how everything tends to be different than what is expected. The ending was pretty good and silly. Make sure to watch after the credits for an additional scene.

Directing/Writing: I haven't seen anything Michael Showalter has written other than the prequel series for this. As for David Wain I have seen Role Models and Wanderlust. In my opinion both were pretty enjoyable. My favorite of the two was definitely Role Models. I'm sure with the entertaining series I just watched and the two films by Wain I assume I will be enjoying this.

Final Thought: This is all kinds of off the wall. It's utter nonsense and that's pretty much what charms you here. It's basically a parody of summer camp films and the constant casting of exceptionally older actors playing very young characters. It definitely screams cult classic which it is. If you haven't watched this or the series yet and like oddball humor you will enjoy this. If you are a stickler about your jokes you might not.

Initial Thought: I must be bored to sit here and decide to watch this. I hear nothing but negatives about this movie. I guess I tend to do things for myself. I'm sure it won't be the worst thing I've ever seen.

Characters/Acting: It's too bad Keanu Reeves didn't return for this. At least we got Sandra Bullock again. Plus I think Jason Patric is pretty underrated. I am glad he is a new character instead of them trying to pass him off as the same one. Also with Willem Dafoe as a villain is good. The little deaf girl is probably my favorite character. The characters aren't bad, but they are a bit hindered by the bad script.

Story: A computer hacker breaks into the computer system of the Seaborn Legend cruise liner and sets it speeding on a collision course into a gigantic oil tanker. This is a weird plot considering how slow boats move. They could easily be moved from a collision path with no fear of going too fast. You know movies don't always follow the rules of actuality, but usually you don't really care or notice. Here everything that happens feels too falsified. It takes away from the escapism and makes you know you are just watching a crap movie. Oh that ending was so groan inducing.

Directing/Writing: I feel sorry for Jan de Bont who didn't even want to due this critically bashed film. Hell maybe that's why he made it end up so badly. Twister is my favorite of his films by far. Speed is fairly good. The rest of his films have sucked though in my opinion. Graham Yost didn't participate this time around. Randall McCormick who helped with the story isn't known for making particularly good films. He wrote two of the trash sequels in the Scorpion King series. He did do Titan A.E. though which I really enjoyed. Jeff Nathanson who scripted this is actually a really good writer. I have enjoyed everything I've seen of his so far. Some lines here made it out to be more comedy like one scene where several characters in different spots of the ship say the exact same thing.

Final Thought: As a sequel I can see why people hated it. As it's own movie it really isn't the worst thing I've seen. It is a bad corny movie though don't get me wrong. It is a bit too long for the subject it deals with. It's chock full of cliches and cheese. This is a prime example of why Hollywood shouldn't always force sequels. Especially on films that have no real ability to allow for one. Just skip this.

Initial Thought: I have actually never seen the first Vacation. The only one I have seen was Christmas Vacation. I did really enjoy that one. So I was intrigued about this one as well. I decided since my job opened it early I checked it out after a successful final interview for another job.

Characters/Acting: Ah the good old tradition of never having the same Rusty Griswold continues once again. Ed Helms is always pretty funny even if I sometimes confuse him with Jason Sudeikis. I mean they even came around the same time. As well as close to the same age. Anyways moving on. Christina Applegate is still a hottie in my opinion. She also still has some pretty good comedic timing. The two kids played respectively by Skyler Gisondo and Steele Stebbins were good for their roles. Although I really didn't care for the younger brother as a character. He was just a bit too evil and antagonistic. I always love seeing Leslie Mann as I have such a huge crush on her haha. I'm never disappointed with her. Chris Hemsworth was actually quite hysterical here and plays the uncle everyone thinks is awesome. His character is so over the top with awesomeness that you can't help but be somewhat amused. I enjoyed seeing Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo reprising their iconic roles. Even the supporting characters who only showed up once or twice were quite hilarious and unexpected.

Story: Rusty Griswold takes his own family on a road trip to "Walley World" in order to spice things up with his wife and reconnect with his sons. The credits were kind of amusing. I think the humor here is a lot more gross out and more grown up at least from Christmas Vacation. I mean it is an R rated film. Just because a comedy film has a family in it doesn't always mean take your kids. I mean there are so many blatantly obvious adult jokes here that it would be really awkward having to sit through them with your kids or even explaining a few of them. There are even a few bits of dark humor thrown in for good measure. Some stuff is a bit ridiculous though and not particularly in a fun way. I'm not going to lie though I laughed several times here. It's also a bit self-aware near the beginning. This was much more entertaining than I was anticipating.

Directing/Writing: John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein are mostly known for writing and before this have directed nothing. Daley also acts quite a bit unlike his buddy. I have enjoyed everything I have seen of theirs with Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 being my favorite by far. I thought they kept up their skills quite well. I wasn't at all disappointed.

Final Thought: This was a good escape from the real world. There are some pretty laugh worthy moments from beginning to end. I mean it did have it's groan worthy stuff too. Would I recommend it to the original fans? Probably not. For people unfamiliar with the series and familiar with today's kind of comedy I would.

Initial Thought: I have been wanting to see this since I saw the trailer. It looked like an intense and powerful movie. So today I saw it at the theater I work at. I was out for an interview that went well. So I decided to go ahead and go check this out.

Characters/Acting: This has a pretty excellent cast. We have Jake Gyllenhaal who always gives excellent performances. I think this one is for sure one of my favorites. Rachel McAdams is flawless here. In the amount of screen time she has she really makes her presence remembered. Forest Whitaker was great. I really liked his character here after awhile. Even the kids were amazing. Oona Laurence was just incredible. Most of the times I teared up were because of her. 50 Cent was good too, but I hated his character here. I thought all the characters here were just really well portrayed even people with smaller roles were enjoyable.

Story: Boxer Billy Hope turns to trainer Tick Willis to help him get his life back on track after losing his wife in a tragic accident and his daughter to child protection services. This was brutal, gritty, intense, and heart-wrenching. I knew this was going to have some drama, but I didn't imagine how much exactly. I actually teared up a couple times throughout especially at the end. There are just so many moments that play with your heartstrings. I loved the soundtrack here. It really gets you pumped up. A lot of things happen throughout that I didn't expect to happen. The fights are all so realistically brutal and they actually looked like something you would catch on an HBO fight. The ending was just so wonderfully performed.

Directing/Writing: I haven't seen anything before from Kurt Sutter, but if this is something to go by I should check out more of his stuff. That includes Sons of Anarchy. Almost anything Antoine Fuqua makes is amazing. The only one he missed majorly with from what I've seen was King Arthur. He really proved himself again here. This is honestly the best film he has made since Training Day. With that said I'm looking forward to a few Oscar nominations from this hopefully. Even if it's a summer release.

Final Thought: This was truly phenomenal. I can't say that there was anything bad to say about this. I hope I see this on the nominations for the next Academy Awards ceremony. It's such a powerful and exciting film. If you haven't seen this yet I highly suggest doing so as soon as possible. It's worth every penny and every second.

Initial Thought: These two are major dorks. Their humor is a bit childish, but it works well for them. Some of my favorites of theirs are the "If blank was real" series, "Every blank ever" series, and Food Battles. This is proof that if you become Youtube famous you are going to have a movie or at least show up in one. It kind of reminds me of like when Tim and Eric got a movie. Hopefully it isn't as dumb as that looked.

Characters/Acting: Of course we have Ian and Anthony since it is their movie. There are even a plethora of other Youtubers who show up here either on archive footage or as other actors. Michael Ian Black isn't the only actual Hollywood star here either. There are a few cameos here and there. Although most of them are just the Youtube stars there is one or two who aren't. I think Dominic Sandoval was probably the funniest here besides Ian and Anthony.

Story: An embarrassing video of Anthony surfaces online right before his fifth high school reunion. The Smosh dudes then race to pull down the clip before it blows Anthony's chances of reconnecting with his teen crush Anna. It starts off and kind of feels like Fred meets Dumb and Dumber without the ridiculous voice of course. This really didn't have all that much going on for it. Sure it had some funny scenes throughout. There were moments though that kind of fell through. The hilarious ending made up for the whole thing.

Directing/Writing: So Alex Winter is still around. I was wondering where he had gone to. It would be awesome if he could go ahead and get with Keanu Reeves and make another Bill & Ted already. It seems this is the only movie I have seen directed by him. I am unfamiliar with Eric Falconer. As for Steve Marmel he has written some of my favorite cartoons of Cartoon Network and Nickolodeon. I do like the whole concept around being able to jump into videos and be able to interact with them.

Final Thought: Well congratulations to them for getting a feature length film into theaters. It could have been much better though. I mean I liked it a little, but I felt it lacked a certain something. For the major fans I'm sure you will still enjoy this to a certain extent. It's pretty much just like all the stuff they do on Youtube just extended. I think it's a decent one time watch.

Initial Thought: This should be called Oh Hell Yes! Haha the first one enjoyable. The second was way better especially with all the cameos added in. So I knew I would absolutely want to see yet another part to the series. Don't take these movies seriously. They really are just for fun. I never expect Oscar worthy stuff from these movies. They are just here for pure stupid enjoyment. Also they are definitely not the worst stuff produced by Syfy by a long shot.

Characters/Acting: Of course we get our returning main characters with Tara Reid and Ian Ziering. We also have a few new additions I'm excited for including Bo Derek and Frankie Muniz comes out of hiding. We even get a few returning cameos. I do think most of the cameos in part two were much more well known. Mark Cuban actually pulls off being a cheesy action hero. Nova and Fin are the coolest characters. I'm really tired of April. Tara Reid needs to go. I liked Frankie Muniz's character. I wish him and Amanda Bynes would get back to making movies like Big Fat Liar or something. They were such a good team. Anyways the cameos were fun especially trying to find out who they were. Although there were quite a few I am unfamiliar with. I can't wait to see who they can get for part four.

Story: The sharks take bite out of the East Coast when the sharknado hits Washington, D.C. and Orlando, Florida. I like the cheesy James Bond reference in the beginning. The death scenes of the sharks are quite creative this time. I was actually kind of disappointed about certain deaths. The whole thing with the sharks in space was ridiculous and yet totally fits in with the nonsensical plot we've come to love. The chainsaws always end up being the coolest weapons with various kinds being throughout. I did enjoy the ending. I liked how they made it a cliffhanger ending where the audience gets to choose April's fate. That was a fun idea.

Directing/Writing: Thunder Levin isn't known for writing good films, but he has made the Sharknado series something of a cult phenomenon. The same goes for Anthony C. Ferrante the director of the series as well. These guys ended up making a film series that is just so stupid you can't help but find the charm of it all. I respect these guys for making an enjoyable series out of something so ridiculous. Also for the fact that they can get so many recognizable cameos.

Final Thought: This was cheesy as all hell. If you weren't expecting that then you don't know the series very well. That or you aren't even familiar with the Syfy channel. I absolutely cannot wait until part four comes out presumably next year. If you liked the enjoyed the first two then this one is worth watching too.

Initial Thought: It's time for a little male enjoyment. If I can sit through both Magic Mike films I deserve to watch a few of these. Plus it has a fairly decent cast. I have been curious about this one for awhile.

Characters/Acting: There are a few oddball choices here like Jennifer Tilly and Sandra Oh. Then you have the good ones like Kristin Bauer van Straten and Daryl Hannah when she still had some of her looks. Plus Elias Koteas is always fun to watch. This is such a strange group of strippers though. I mean Sandra Oh, Jennifer Tilly, and even Daryl Hannah are just all kind of unusual to be in awe over. I did kind of find it amusing that Daryl Hannah's character is Angel who share the same name as her character in Sense8. The acting is kind of dull which kills the serious topics this deals with. I liked that the owners weren't the typical sleazy meatheads you usually see in these kinds of films. I didn't understand why some characters did what they did. Kristin Bauer was the best thing about the whole movie.

Story: A non-glamorous portrayal of the lives of people who make their living at a strip club. Yeah sure if you say so. Most of them aren't I think only films along the lines of Magic Mike tend to glamorize it. It starts off with a nice amount of drama. Then as it goes on everything just seems a bit silly. It really takes away from the seriousness of the subject matter. The dominatrix scene was just absolutely hilarious! Some subplots here just seem so spur of the moment and end up underdeveloped and out of place. Oh no wonder things didn't really make sense as a whole. It was pretty much all improvised! The way it all ended was just kind of eh.

Directing/Writing: This is my first encounter with Michael Radford and writer David Linter. I've only heard of two other films by Michael Radford. As for David Linter his other films don't sound familiar. What exactly was actually written here though versus what was improvised. I honestly don't know who made it worse.

Final Thought: It wasn't the worst thing I've seen by far. It just should have had more consistency to it. Also the acting should be improved a bit or replace a few people. They really shouldn't have gone the whole improvised route. It may have been much more enjoyable. I would honestly say skip this one just do to it being a bit all over the place and the odd casting choices.