DVD Review For June 9, 2015: KINGSMAN, THE DUFF, and PROJECT ALMANAC

KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE
Rated: R
Stars: Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Samuel L. Jackson
Plot: A young man joins a secret, elite spy team to help bring down the apocalyptic plans of a madman
Trailer

Clint Says: Buy this DVD as soon as possible

This is still one of my favorite movies of 2015. It is so much fun. It's a great flick to grab your friends, a bucket of popcorn and just have a blast.

The movie is based on a comic book so there is a level of absurdity to it that makes the film even more enjoyable than it would have been as just a simple spy movie. (If you aren't laughing and cheering when the elites get theirs, you might want to re-evaluate your priorities, because it is one of the most insanely, ridiculous scenes to come along in a long time).

The characters are all intriguing and complex, and the villain (Samuel L. Jackson) is anything but one-dimensional. The story is exciting, compelling, intense and thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end. Even though this movie clocks in at just over two hours, it never feels long.

If you like a good spy flick, you will love KINGSMAN.




THE DUFF
Rated: PG-13
Stars: Mae Whitman, Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne
Plot: A girl tries to change her high school social status after she learns she is a DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend)
Trailer

Clint Says: Buy this DVD as soon as possible

This may well be the first great high school comedy since John Hughes gave us everything awesome about the 1980s. It is funny, heartwarming, a great story, but above all else it rings true. There isn't a scene or even a line that feels like it was written by an adult trying to get into the mind of a teen.

The book was written by Kody Keplinger, a 17 year old high school senior, and thankfully the powers that be let her writing stand for itself in the transition from book to screen.

The casting for this movie is spot on. Whitman is brilliant, Amell is great as the dumb jock with a heart, and Bella Thorne kills it as the girl everyone loves to hate.

As I watched THE DUFF I found myself constantly smiling like a goofy idiot, that is, when I wasn't laughing so hard I could barely breathe.

This is a movie that will become an instant classic and a must-own by teenage girls everywhere.




PROJECT ALMANAC
Rated: PG-13
Stars: Amy Landecker, Sofia Black-D'Elia, Johnny Weston
Plot: A group of teens build and use a time machine, but things start happening beyond their control
Trailer

Clint Says: Rent it after you've seen the other films out this week

PROJECT ALMANAC is an okay film. It's not horrible, but it's not great either. It is a "found footage" style movie, but it really should not have been. There are several scenes in the movie where there is no way any of the kids would have been filming.

The movie has several large plot holes and, for all of the cool effects, it really doesn't go anywhere new and exciting. There are also several scenes that are straight rip-offs from classic 80s and 90s movies. After the third or fourth copied scene it becomes really tedious.

The film clocks in at just over 1 1/2 hours, but it feels significantly longer than that.

Movie Review For February 13, 2015

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY
Rated: R
Stars: Jamie Dornan, Dakota Johnson
Plot: A young woman falls for a billionaire businessman with specific sexual desires
Trailer

Clint Says: Don't even bother

Let me preface this review by saying that my review is not based at all on the morality of the film's content. I try to review films in the most honest and objective way that I can. Whether you feel a movie meets or does not meet your own moral standards is your decision, not mine.

For those that don't know, the books were originally TWILIGHT fanfiction* written by E.L. James and posted online. Once it started to become popular, she changed the main characters' names from Edward and Bella to Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. The names may have been changed, but the fact remains that this is straight up theft of Stephenie Meyer's characters and world. If you do have to see this horrible movie, just think TWILIGHT as you watch it, you'll be shocked by all of the similarities. (Set in small town Washington, a near love triangle between Anastasia (Bella), Christian (Edward), and Jose (who looks a lot like Jacob), Christian gets together with his family and they talk baseball, etc.).

That said, this is easily one of the worst films I have ever seen. It is full of painful dialogue, lackluster acting and minimal plot. This movie would be boring if it was only an hour long, but unfortunately it clocks in at over two hours. Oh, the agony.

The character development is superficial at best. Really all we get to know is that Grey is an abusive jerk in just about every area of his life and Anastasia is barely more than prey. The rest of the cast doesn't even matter.

I saw an early screening of this film in a theater full of rabid fans of the book. Needless to say, they were all primed and ready to go before the movie began. There was a buzz and and electricity in the audience that I've only experienced at a few screenings. With almost all screenings of good/great movies the crowd typically applauds and cheers at the end and then I will hear accolades for the movie from the masses as we all walk out together. With this movie, the audience groaned at the incredibly lame ending and then proceeded to walk out in near silence.

That tells you more than my review ever could.

If you'd like to see my video review of this movie, you can click here.

*Stories written by fans of popular books using the same character and world set up by the author. Much of the time fanfiction includes an element of sexuality not seen in the original work.





KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE
Rated: R
Stars: Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Samuel L. Jackson
Plot: A young man joins a secret, elite spy team to help bring down the apocalyptic plans of a madman
Trailer

Clint Says: Wait until after opening weekend, but see this in theaters

I know we are only a few weeks into the new year, but this is my favorite movie of the year so far. It is so much fun. It's a great flick to grab your friends, a bucket of popcorn and just have a blast.

The movie is based on a comic book so there is a level of absurdity to it that makes the film even more enjoyable than it would have been as just a simple spy movie. (If you aren't laughing and cheering when the elites get theirs, you might want to re-evaluate your priorities, because it is one of the most insanely, ridiculous scenes to come along in a long time).

The characters are all intriguing and complex, and the villain (Samuel L. Jackson) is anything but one-dimensional. The story is exciting, compelling, intense and thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end. Even though this movie clocks in at just over two hours, it never feels long.

If you like a good spy flick, you will love KINGSMAN.

DVD Review For January 27, 2015

FURY
Rated: R
Stars: Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman, Shia LeBeouf, Michael Pena
Plot: Five brave soldiers take their tank behind enemy lines to do their part to help win World War II.
Trailer

Clint Says: Rent this if you like war movies, buy this if you love war movies

If you are a war movie fan this is a masterpiece. The action is intense, non-stop and brutal. For you, I would recommend buying this and watching it on the biggest screen with the loudest sound system possible.

For those of you looking for a great film that happens to be about war, you'll be left wanting. While it is a phenomenal story of five men facing insurmountable odds and the acting is superb, the depth of character just isn't there. We catch tiny glimpses into what makes each of these men who they are, but it's not enough for the audience to be fully invested in their lives.

The plot is very simplistic, which in this case is fine, because the movie is so intense I doubt we could handle much more.

As far as straight up war movies go, this may be one of the best ones ever made.




THE BOOK OF LIFE
Rated: PG
Stars: Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum
Plot: Two men battle for the love of one woman while the masters of death have a wager on the outcome.
Trailer

Clint Says: It's worth seeing once

This is a fascinating film. If you only look at the plot it's an average movie at best, but because of the unique animation style and the cultural aspect of the film it makes it worth seeing.

The Day Of The Dead imagery throughout the film is spectacular and the glimpse into the Hispanic culture relating to one of their most important holidays is fascinating. I was intrigued by this movie, but I realized the cultural significance of it when I observed a family of Hispanic descent after seeing the film. The adults were all wiping away tears of joy and the children were bouncing with excitement.

The soundtrack of the film is also unique and very good. Most of the songs are either current hits or very popular songs remade into music that fits the theme of the movie. Trust me, you've never heard Mumford and Sons like this.

Surprisingly, given the subject matter of the film, there are very few scenes that I would consider scary for the younger kids. It's not squeaky clean, but if your child can handle a little bit of tension and drama they will enjoy this film.




THE JUDGE
Rated: R
Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall
Plot: A big-time lawyer returns to his home town and his estranged father, a judge, who is accused of murder.
Trailer

Clint Says: See this film as soon as possible

This film is powerful, intense and emotional. Downey Jr. and Duvall give masterful performances that are award-worthy and probably just shy of Oscar nominations.

It is almost 2 1/2 hours long and there are parts where it feels like it's dragging, but overall it's paced well.

This is much less a courtroom drama than it is a story of family, loss and reconciliation. It's by no means a fun, popcorn flick. It will break your heart and make you want to try harder with your own family.




BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP
Rated: R
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong
Plot: A woman wakes everyday without remembering anything from her past, but she begins to realize that the people around her may not be who they claim to be
Trailer

Clint Says: Rent it when you get around to it

Nicole Kidman does an outstanding job of playing a person that can't remember anything one day to the next. She pulls off the "terrified of the unknown" malady in a very convincing fashion. Unfortunately, the plot is rather slow-moving and easily predictable.

It feels like the director realized he didn't have a lot to work with story-wise to make a thrilling film, so he added a bunch of jump-out-of-the-closet-and-say-boo moments to get the audiences' collective heart rate up. It feels really contrived and lazy.

Without Kidman's fine performance this movie probably would have bordered on unwatchable. Thankfully, she makes it tolerable enough to at least give it a watch once.

Movie Review For October 31, 2014

NIGHTCRAWLER
Rated: R
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton
Plot: A man becomes a crime journalist, but takes it too far trying to make a name for himself
Trailer

Clint Says: Wait until after opening weekend, but see this in theaters

This is a perfectly creeptastic film for Halloween weekend. It's not necessarily scary as much as it is creepy.

Gyllenhaal plays a psychotic, anti-social, yet driven man so well in this film that audiences will be mesmerized by his performance. His character is so disturbing you'll feel like you need a shower after watching this movie.

The biting commentary on our society with its 24-hour news cycle, the need to have the wildest news first, and the phenomenon of people more interested in filming a situation rather than jumping in to help is expertly portrayed in this movie.

If you are looking for a creepy thriller that isn't too scary, this is a great choice.




BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP
Rated: R
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong
Plot: A woman wakes everyday without remembering anything from her past, but she begins to realize that the people around her may not be who they claim to be
Trailer

Clint Says: Wait for the DVD

Nicole Kidman does an outstanding job of playing a person that can't remember anything one day to the next. She pulls off the "terrified of the unknown" malady in a very convincing fashion. Unfortunately, the plot is rather slow-moving and easily predictable.

It feels like the director realized he didn't have a lot to work with story-wise to make a thrilling film, so he added a bunch of jump-out-of-the-closet-and-say-boo moments to get the audiences' collective heart rate up. It feels really contrived and lazy.

Without Kidman's fine performance this movie probably would have bordered on unwatchable. Thankfully, she makes it tolerable enough to at least give it a watch when it comes out on DVD.