Reviews by BAMF

Initial Thought: I have been planning to watch this for awhile, but I never got around to it. I'm a sucker when it comes to inspirational sports dramas. I never really got into the real thing though except for baseball. Something about baseball always had my interest.

Characters/Acting: This has a pretty great cast. I haven't seen Mad Men or anything recently where Jon Hamm is the lead. He does seem to be a very good actor from what I have seen of his work. It's nice to see Suraj Sharma after his career starting Life of Pi performance. Madhur Mittal from Slumdog Millionaire is here too. Lake Bell is always a pleasure to behold on screen. Alan Arkin is quite a well versed actor with his plethora of film roles. The acting is quite good. The characters are all fun and unique.

Story: I find it intriguing that a guy could find baseball talent within a group of Asian cricket players. This really didn't feel like a Disney film. There was some risque humor that I think younger kids of this generation would catch on to. It was interesting to see how Indian culture translated with baseball. Who knew that the two best pitchers would not have any experience in any sort of ball sports. The ending was great and even gave us some of the real footage of these two.

Directing/Writing: Craig Gillespie has done pretty good work with Lars and the Real Girl as well as the Fright Night remake. He did however flop with his Mr. Woodcock film. Thomas McCarthy is the writer of Up! He also directed The Cobbler though which wasn't too popular.

Final Thought: You can do anything you set your mind to doing. I really enjoyed this. As I knew I would. The story was just powerful and well executed. It was a little cliche, but it's fairly unavoidable in most underdog sports films. If you like those kinds of movies I recommend giving this a shot as well.

I really enjoyed the comics and of course the Evil Dead series. So I figured why not check out this short. The action is quite good and seems to work fluidly within the given fandom. The characters are played quite well. The guy who played Ash executed the witty banter and catch phrases quite nicely. The video was crisp and the sound quality was on point. The ending leaves you with a strong thirst for more. The only thing I wish is that this was feature length with the real actors. Excellent job from the people behind this!

The sound editing is quite awful. I really couldn't keep up with turning up or down my sound. The video quality looks quite awful almost snuff level. Whenever Deadpool talks it sounds like he isn't actually on the screen. Also Black Panther sounds more Asian than African. The Deadpool jokes are the only fun thing about this movie. Pretty much everything else sucks big time. To think this was produced by Machinima is such a shame. I can't wait for the real Deadpool and Black Panther movies they are going to be amazing.

Initial Thought: I have to admit when I saw this I got pissed off. I thought the classic animated film was great. I guess it should be expected though these days. It's just we basically got another Cinderella just recently with Into the Woods. Oh well I was curious to see how everything went.

Characters/Acting: The cast here is quite good with the likes of Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Helena Bonham Carter, and Stella Skarsgard. So we do get acknowledgement about her name. It was weird seeing Robb Stark in such a joyous mood. The acting is quite good given the cast involved. All the characters were well written. They just didn't do much different with them.

Story: It's the same story as always. Cinderella is raised by her cruel stepmother and bullied by her stepsister after her father passes away. The only difference is she is called Ella for some reason. It seems to go a very little more in depth with Cinderella's background. The costumes are great and the cinematography is quite beautiful. We get references to some of our favorite songs from the animated feature. I would have liked this more with musical numbers. One thing I have always wondered is how the slippers don't disappear when the spell wears off. I mean is it a different spell entirely or they just wanted to make it easy for the story? I thought the transformation scenes were quite humorous. Okay how the hell did Lady Tremaine find the freaking glass slipper?! There is one moment of singing, but I would hardly consider it like a musical moment the way it is presented. The only time we actually get the actors singing is during the credits where Lily James sings "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" and Helena Bonham Carter sings "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo". The ending kind of looked like Frozen in the way the palace looks during winter.

Directing/Writing: Kenneth Branagh is quite well known as both director and an actor. He has directed such films like Jack Ryan and Thor. Another actor and director by the name of Chris Weitz works behind the scenes as the screenwriter. His most notable works as director/writer are The Golden Compass and About a Boy. With these two behind the project I'm sure it will be good.

Final Thought: I thought it was cute albeit quite average. The magic just wasn't there for me without the music. It had a few pretty funny moments. I just wasn't all that impressed with it. They didn't do anything new with the story except maybe for Cinderella's history. That just wasn't enough for me though. It might be a good one for the family. It just wasn't my cup of tea. I would watch the original again, but not this one.

Initial Thought: I really enjoyed the first one. The songs were fun. Olaf was great. So I am glad I saw Cinderella and got the chance to see this one first.

Characters/Acting: All the main actors/characters return again here and that is always awesome. Olaf of course is the main piece of awesomeness. Everyone is awesome and on point as usual.

Story: It is Anna's birthday and Elsa wants to make it one to remember. I like the references to the previous film's songs. The little snowgies are so adorable. Who knew snot babies would be so cute?

Directing/Writing: Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee return as the writers and directors here. Chris is known for writing Pocahontas as well as Surf's Up. He also directed the latter and Tarzan. Jennifer Lee's only other work is Wreck-it Ralph only as a writer. Newcomer Marc Smith also helps co-write this.

Final Thought: It is still quite cute. The song was alright, but it could have been better. The humor was what made this one so much fun though. I'm glad they made this while we wait for part two. If you are a Frozen fan I'm sure you will want to see this.

Initial Thought: Thank goodness this is almost over. I really hope this isn't worse than the previous one. Well at least there won't be another afterwards.

Characters/Acting: Charlie and Ug return as usual for this final part. The guy who plays Ug plays another character as well. We get a few new additions that I enjoy with Angela Bassett and Brad Dourif. It seems this didn't halt Bassett's career though. She was in Boyz in the Hood before this and then Malcolm X afterwards. This is probably the movie she hopes no one will find. I didn't like what they did with Ug's character. Angela Bassett and Brad Dourif really improved this for me.

Story: Critters in Space. We always get one of these in a horror sequel if it lasts long enough. Oh wait. What's that you say? You say they are from space already? Oh well then get on with it then. So basically the end of the previous film is irrelevant. This ends up starting the exact same was as part three ended. It does have a few slight changes as well as a big one like changing the location to freaking Kansas!? It took about 37 minutes before anything remotely interesting happened. I did like what happened when it finally did however cheesy it was. The ending made me chuckle.

Directing/Writing: The writers of the story return here with Rupert Harvey taking the reigns as director. It was probably because nobody else wanted to be associated with directing in this series. David J. Schow stays on this script with new co-writer Joseph Lyle. He hasn't done anything else though.

Final Thought: It wasn't actually all that bad. It still had it's fair amount of cheese. It does change the series lore up a bit though. I know I'm going to go against popular opinion, but I actually thought this was the best of the series if only by a slight margin. This series was a roller coaster. Watch it at your own risk as I'm sure it can go either up or down.

Initial Thought: Why do I do this to myself? I guess I am a glutton for punishment. This is the third entry in a mediocre series. The only reason I was interested in it was for Leonardo DiCaprio's first film role. Other than that I'm not really expecting much. I've heard they get pretty bad after the first one.

Characters/Acting: I'm pretty much here for Leonardo DiCaprio. Other than the returning characters Charlie and Ug no one else really garners any recognition. We do get some archive footage from characters of the previous films. I really didn't like the two asshole characters. The dad was a pretty useless character until the end. Some of the acting in some parts was rather aggravating.

Story: The critters return again this time to wreck havoc on a high rise Los Angeles apartment complex. There are only a handful of scenes I liked here. The ending pretty much made the first two films irrelevant.

Directing/Writing: I haven't seen any of Kristine Peterson's other work. Rupert Harvey and Barry Opper co-wrote the story for this one. They both wrote part four as well with Rupert Harvey taking helm as director. David J. Schow has good work under his belt with the likes of Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and The Crow. It seems that he didn't think properly when he wrote this because this was just terrible.

Final Thought: This was pretty awful. I was just really bored through this whole thing. I liked seeing where Leonardo DiCaprio started. That was about it for me. Other than him this movie really had nothing to offer. It changed up the lore of the series and barely did anything of note. This was uneventful and unmemorable. It might be of interest only to those who want to see where Leo started.

Initial Thought: I watched the first one awhile back. I didn't find it very good to be honest. This is the series I am going to check out now though to get it over with. Fortunately enough it only last two more after this and I heard they aren't so good after the first one.

Characters/Acting: Several characters/actors return from part one. One of the returnees is Sally who is played by Lin Shaye. Why is she in everything that I plan to see? It ruins my interest in some cases. I really hope she is barely in this. Other returnees are Ug, Brad, and Charlie. Harv and Zanti get new actors. The bounty hunters I have to say are my favorite especially Lee (preferably as Roxanne Kernohan).

Story: Eggs left behind from the first film begin to hatch leading a new set of critters to feast on a neighboring town. It reminded me of Cocoon and Gremlins 2 (of which it seems to resemble almost on purpose). It's pretty cheesy as expected. There were a few things that I didn't like here that are personal quips. The ending was alright.

Directing/Writing: Mick Garris is quite a familiar name with directing work such as Riding the Bullet, Happy Town, and his own segment in Masters of Horror. He also writes this with only one other work I have seen being Hocus Pocus. David Twohy also writes this! He wrote and directed the three Chronicles of Riddick films. He only did the writing for the animated feature though. Below and A Perfect Getaway are two more of his work that I have enjoyed. With him working on the script how can I not enjoy this.

Final Thought: I actually kind of enjoyed this one. Sure the actors as high maintenance as the previous one, but I found that this one had the right amount of cheese. Of course it isn't amazing. It's a movie you can just sit and turn off your brain with. Of course it really could have been better. Anyways you may or may not like this.

Initial Thought: I kind of wanted to see this because I really enjoy Sean Penn. The only problem is it feels like Pierre Morel just wants to continue with the Taken style of filming. It's not so much a fun idea like it used to be. I mean hey sometimes it still works. Let's just see how it goes.

Characters/Acting: Sean Penn is a pretty great actor. One of my favorites was I Am Sam. Seeing him as an action lead is a little bit odd, but not so unusual. The rest of the cast is also quite awesome with the likes of Javier Bardem, Ray Winstone, and Idris Elba. The acting is quite good as expected from such a cast. Most of thecharacters however I just really didn't care too much for. Terrier was obviously pretty cool and had some good skills. Felix was such a boring and ridiculous character although Javier Bardem's acting was great. I just thought the way his character was written was lame.

Story: Bryan Mills must clear his name after he is betrayed and thought to be a criminal. Oops sorry that isn't the right character, but it could have been. This plot could fit and even almost sounds a bit like Taken 3. The reason everything goes about here feels so contrived. It's just the dumbest reason to cause all the chaos that happens. The action scenes are really good though whenever they happen at least. The twists are really cliche and just plain predictable. Some of the kills were kind of cool. There really wasn't anything here that we haven't all seen before. The ending was kind of weak.

Directing/Writing: Even though this sounds and looks eerily close to a Taken story it's actually based off of a book by Jean-Patrick Manchette. I never heard of anything by him though. Pierre Morel is the guy who brought us Taken. It seems he just can't shake away from that style of storytelling. I've liked his movies nonetheless. It took three people to co-write this including main star Sean Penn. Don MacPherson also wrote the 1998 bomb The Avengers. That doesn't give a good impression for this. Pete Travis also helped writing this after being a director of Dredd and Vantage Point. So this script seems like it will be wishy washy. It has good talent behind it as well as some not so good.

Final Thought: It isn't that bad. In fact the action here is pretty entertaining. The story here is what falls flat. I was bored with the plot since the beginning. Action and acting aren't the only things to make a movie good. You also have to have a really well thought story which I found this lacking. There are way better movies out there that deal with this same subject. Go watch those as they pull you in much better. It's decent enough to keep your attention if you do decide to watch it.

Initial Thought: I've heard of this awhile back, but wasn't sure if I was interested or not. Then it was briefly at my theater for a film festival. I missed out on it. Ever since then I have heard really positive feedback about it. It's said to be the Fight Club of hacker movies. So I shall finally check this one out.

Characters/Acting: Two actors here played briefly in Unfinished Business and I easily recognized them in that. Honestly they are the only two I recognize here. Nearly everyone else is new to me or I don't recall their faces. Some of the masks here are really unique and fun like MrX. The acting is quite good with some truly interesting characters.

Story: Hackers recruit a computer whiz to join in their cause to be world renown hackers. I like the way they show the interactions in the darknet with a visual setting rather than just words on a screen. There are a few moments where characters speak in English, but it's mostly in German with subtitles. The twist is really good. It kind of reminded me of Hackers, Identity, and of course the inspired Fight Club. The ending was one of the best I have seen for awhile.

Directing/Writing: I have not seen any of Baran bo Odar's previous work. He not only directs but co-writes as well. The other writer is Jantje Friese whom I'm also unfamiliar with. These two need to do more stuff like this or even in general. Their minds are just fantastic.

Final Thought: This really keeps you on the edge of your seat. You keep wondering what will happen next and how it will all go down. The Germans really know how to do it. This was quite a brilliant movie. You have to work your brain and you still have fun throughout it. If you like hacking movies with badass twists don't skip this one. I highly recommend it. You won't regret it.