Movie Review For July 24, 2015: PAPER TOWNS, PIXELS, and SOUTHPAW

PAPER TOWNS
Rated: PG-13
Director: Jake Schreier
Stars: Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne
Plot: When a high school girl disappears, her neighbor and friends follow clues to try to find her
Trailer

Clint Says: Wait for the DVD

It's probably not fair to compare this movie to THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, but the reality is that it is really hard not to do it since they are both based on John Green novels. That said, PAPER TOWNS is not nearly as good as TFIOS.

It's not a bad movie at all, it just doesn't have that magic that we all experienced with TFIOS. Cara and Nat do a decent job, but they aren't quite accomplished enough yet to carry a film like this. I feel it might have been a much better movie with the likes of Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley as the leads.

While I do recommend seeing it at some point, it's not a film you need to see in theaters. It is worth the time to check it out when it comes out on DVD, because there are several good moments throughout.

If you go into it thinking TIFIOS you will be disappointed. But if you go in thinking that it's a coming-of-age story you'll leave mostly satisfied.




PIXELS
Rated: PG-13
Director: Chris Columbus
Stars: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Josh Gad, Michelle Monaghan, Peter Dinklage
Plot: A small group of former video game champions must save the world from an alien invasion
Trailer

Clint Says: Save some money and see a matinee

Thank goodness for Josh Gad. He should be required casting for all comedies from now on. Without him, this movie would have been barely tolerable.

The best way I can describe PIXELS is by saying it's kind of like eating candy. It looks good, it tastes good, but then you realize that what you've just ingested has zero nutritional value and is, in fact, slowly killing you.

On a scale of Adam Sandler flicks this one ranks as above average, but it's only because the effects are fun and Josh Gad is hysterical. The rest of the film is full of bad dialogue and mediocre jokes.

If you like Sandler movies, then you will enjoy PIXELS a lot, but if you find his style to be tired, then you will walk out of this movie feeling slightly amused at best.




SOUTHPAW
Rated: R
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, Oona Laurence
Plot: A champion boxer loses everything and must work hard to get his daughter and life back.
Trailer

Clint Says: Save some money and see a matinee

I wish I could say that this movie was better than it was. It had a lot of potential to be great, unfortunately, Director Antoine Fuqua let us all down. As a big boxing fan, I was excited to see a rough and gritty fight film. Instead, I saw a movie where the director didn't even bother to get the boxing right.

The pacing was also problematic throughout the movie. In some places it drags on and gets to the point of almost being boring, then it speeds through other parts so fast the audience misses key elements to the story.

Jake Gyllenhaal gives another incredible performance. While not Oscar-worthy like NIGHTCRAWLER was, he proves once again that he is one of the best actors in Hollywood. He's one of the few with the ability to disappear into a role.

Rachel McAdams does fine as well, but Oona Laurence completely steals the show. She is the 10 year old daughter, Leila. This is a girl that has every opportunity to be a superstar in the next 10 - 15 years. She may have even taught Jake and Rachel a few things about acting.

The story itself is interesting, compelling, heartbreaking and inspiring, unfortunately it just isn't told well enough to be something that you need to see.

DVD Review For September 16, 2014

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS
Rated: PG-13
Stars: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff
Plot: Two teens with cancer fall in love and learn how to live a beautiful, if short, life.
Trailer

Clint Says: Buy this DVD...and some tissues

Not only is TFIOS the best movie of the year so far, (I told you MALEFICENT wouldn't hold the title very long), it has a great chance of holding that title when the year finally comes to a close. It is a master-class work by the entire cast and crew. 

Fans of the book by the same name will not be even the slightest bit disappointed by the film adaptation. It is rare to see a movie that so closely follows the book. I liken it to the first HARRY POTTER film where almost every bit of the book was portrayed on the big screen, and in a way that was very true to the book.

Shailene Woodley gives an Oscar-worthy performance and Ansel Elgort is charming throughout. Woodley and Elgort are perfectly cast as Hazel and Augustus, and even the hard-core YA fans aren't going to have a problem with the they-are-brother-and-sister-in-DIVERGENT-but-lovers-in-TFIOS-how-weird thing.

For those of you out there who say, "ugh, I don't want to see some cancer death movie," don't be so quick to judge. In THE HUNGER GAMES kids killed kids, yes, but that wasn't what it was about. In TFIOS, teens are dying from cancer, but the story is about them living, and loving, to the fullest that they can in the short infinity they are given.

I have seen TFIOS twice, something I rarely do simply because I see so many movies that I only have time to see ones that I REALLY love more than once. The second time through I was able to really see the layers that make this film so enjoyable.

NOTE: A few months ago I had the honor of hosting the DEMAND OUR STARS event at War Memorial in Nashville with John Green, Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff and 2,000 screaming TFIOS fans. You can see the recap of that event here. We also got to interview all four of them on Mix 92.9 the following day. You can hear that interview here, or see it here.

They are all very down-to-earth, genuinely good people that were able to come together and make a truly stellar film.



GODZILLA
Rated: PG-13
Stars: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen
Plot: Godzilla returns from the deep, forcing humanity to come together to try to bring down their common foe.
Trailer

Clint Says: Rent this DVD for a really fun weekend

As far as monster movies go this may be one of the best ones ever. If you're looking for cinematic perfection, you should probably skip this flick.

This is one of those great summer popcorn movies that gives you tons of action, suspense, chills, jumps and bumps, but you can't think about the plot too much. You just have to leave all reality at the door and escape into the movie.

The effects are A+ and the acting is surprisingly above average for a film like this. If you're looking for a fun movie without too much thinking involved, GODZILLA would be a great choice.



THINK LIKE A MAN TOO
Rated: PG-13
Stars: Kevin Hart, Gabrielle Union, Michael Ealy
Plot: A group of friends reunite for a wedding in Las Vegas, but things don't go according to plan.
Trailer

Clint Says: Rent the DVD if you've got nothing better to do.

If you saw the first THINK LIKE A MAN then you've already seen this movie. It's the same people with the same jokes, it just happens to be in Vegas this time.

Kevin Hart is funny as always and if you think he's great then you'll probably be happy with this movie. If you are simply looking for a fun comedy, you'll want to pass on this film and go for something with a bit more originality.

Movie Review for June 6, 2014

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS
Rated: PG-13
Stars: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff
Plot: Two teens with cancer fall in love and learn how to live a beautiful, if short, life.
Trailer

Clint Says: Drop everything and go see this movie now...and take tissues

Not only is TFIOS the best movie of the year so far, (I told you MALEFICENT wouldn't hold the title very long), it has a great chance of holding that title when the year finally comes to a close. It is a master-class work by the entire cast and crew. 

Fans of the book by the same name will not be even the slightest bit disappointed by the film adaptation. It is rare to see a movie that so closely follows the book. I liken it to the first HARRY POTTER film where almost every bit of the book was portrayed on the big screen, and in a way that was very true to the book.

Shailene Woodley gives an Oscar-worthy performance and Ansel Elgort is charming throughout. Woodley and Elgort are perfectly cast as Hazel and Augustus, and even the hard-core YA fans aren't going to have a problem with the they-are-brother-and-sister-in-DIVERGENT-but-lovers-in-TFIOS-how-weird thing.

For those of you out there who say, "ugh, I don't want to see some cancer death movie," don't be so quick to judge. In THE HUNGER GAMES kids killed kids, yes, but that wasn't what it was about. In TFIOS, teens are dying from cancer, but the story is about them living, and loving, to the fullest that they can in the short infinity they are given.

I have seen TFIOS twice, something I rarely do simply because I see so many movies that I only have time to see ones that I REALLY love more than once. The second time through I was able to really see the layers that make this film so enjoyable.

A few weeks ago I had the honor of hosting the DEMAND OUR STARS event at War Memorial in Nashville with John Green, Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff and 2,000 screaming TFIOS fans. You can see the recap of that event here. We also got to interview all four of them on Mix 92.9 the following day. You can hear that interview here, or see it here.

They are all very down-to-earth, genuinely good people that were able to come together and make a truly stellar film.



EDGE OF TOMORROW
Rated: PG-13
Stars: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt
Plot: A soldier finds himself repeating the same day, a day the aliens destroyed humanity. But he uses his special ability to get trained in a way to destroy the enemy.
Trailer

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

If you like sci-fi action flicks EDGE OF TOMORROW will completely satisfy your craving. It has aliens, explosions, cool weapons, people that don't get what's happening, a pretty boy that has no clue how to do anything and a super-awesome, kick butt woman that has to turn the pretty boy into a hardened soldier so he can save the world.

I found the movie to be mostly original in its story, with the exception of the one-alien-to-rule-them-all thing that so many sci-fi movies use as a crutch to make sure the humans can finally win. But aside from that it was an enjoyable action flick with a 50 FIRST DATES style love story thrown in to give the audience a little break from the action.

I would recommend paying the extra money to see this in a bigger theater with the huge sound system, but if you don't want to blow $20 on a movie for one ticket, seeing it in 2D will still get the job done.
By the way, these tough soldiers are going to lose big time to the teen girl army at the box office this weekend.

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS - "DEMAND OUR STARS" NASHVILLE EVENT RECAP

Picture Courtesy of Lauren Thoman @LaurenTHCW

Several weeks ago a contest began on Tumblr allowing fans of the wildly popular John Green novel THE FAULT IN OUR STARS to vote for their state to get one of only four visits from the author and the stars of the movie by the same name: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort and Nat Wolff.

Picture Courtesy of Lauren Thoman @LaurenTHCW

As the contest entered its final few days Tennessee was nowhere to be found, but then, in the last day of the contest Tennesseans stepped up big time and helped us get one of the events. (Way to go Tennessee!)

I know. Awesome. Right?

On Thursday, May 1st I was contacted by the movie studio and asked to host the event. This was pretty much my reaction:

Pretty sure that was the fastest "YES" in the history of ever.

 

Actually, it was more like this:

Yep. I channeled my inner Katy Perry.

 

 

Then there were several moments of FREAK OUT as I realized we had less than a week to get ready for the event. I may or may not have looked like this a few times:

Somebody needs a chill pill.

 

Finally, after many hours of hard work it was time for the event. We found out early Thursday morning that people had started lining up on the steps of War Memorial Auditorium at midnight for the 7PM event. Holy cow!

 

The midnight crew. That dude may be the best dad ever.

Picture Courtesy of Mary Blair @wmarocks

 

I arrived on site at about 4PM and was greeted by several thousand TFIOS fans happily waiting for their chance to get inside the event or meet their TFIOS heroes on the red carpet. Everybody was great! They all were living by the DFTBA code:

DON'T FORGET TO BE AWESOME!

 

I have never seen such a large crowd be so awesome. It was so much fun to talk to all of the people that had driven for hours, stood in line all day long and still had smiles on their faces. Nerdfighters truly are made of awesomesauce.



 







Nerdfighters. Awesomesauce. See, I told you so.

Photo Courtesy of Clint Redwine @ClintRedwine

 

I had the privilege of hosting the event with a good friend of, and fellow YouTuber with John Green, Evelina Barry. We spent most of our time before the event out in the crowd talking to the fans, but we did have time for one pic together.

 



In case you suffer from an affliction similar to Isaac, Evelina is the one on the right.

Photo Courtesy of Clint Redwine @ClintRedwine

 

Soon after this pic was taken, it was time for the doors to War Memorial Auditorium to open. The crowd was sooooooo excited, but even so, they were still awesome to each other.

 

Fault Fanatics waiting for the doors to open...and being awesome.

Photo Courtesy of Clint Redwine @ClintRedwine

 

Once the doors opened, 1,900 uber fans were allowed entry into War Memorial Auditorium for the main event. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough room to fit everyone in, but the ones that didn't get in still got a treat by being able to hang out at the red carpet and get autographs from their favorite author and movie stars.

The red carpet and the Capitol...only in Nashville. #Awesome

Photo Courtesy of Lauren Thoman @LaurenTHCW

 

 







John Green signing autographs on the red carpet.

Photo Courtesy of Lauren Thoman @LaurenTHCW

 

 

And the stars looked incredible...

Shailene Woodley

Photo Courtesy of Lauren Thoman @LaurenTHCW

 

Ansel Elgort

Photo Courtesy of Lauren Thoman @LaurenTHCW

Nat Wolff

Photo Courtesy of Lauren Thoman @LaurenTHCW

The TFIOS Peeps

Photo Courtesy of Lauren Thoman @LaurenTHCW

 

 

Meanwhile, inside War Memorial, Evelina and I were getting the crowd worked up into a frenzy...and taking selfies.

This time Evelina is on the left.

Photo Courtesy of Clint Redwine @ClintRedwine

 

We all know that Nashville is a special place and special things happen here. This night was no different. Because it's Music City, we had to have some live music, and that was provided by TFIOS star Nat Wolff and his brother Alex.



I snuck my camera between the backstage curtains for this shot.

Photo Courtesy of Clint Redwine @ClintRedwine

 

Of course there is crowd video of their performance...

 



Video Courtesy of karlamademedothis

During their performance Evelina and I were backstage with John, Shailene and Ansel. They had never seen Nat play before and they REALLY wanted to. But, they couldn't just walk out on stage, so they did the next best thing. They laid on the ground and watched under the stage curtain.

Of course I took a pic...

John and Shailene watching Nat and Alex from backstage

Photo Courtesy of Clint Redwine @ClintRedwine

After Nat and Alex Wolff played, the crowd was treated to 10 minutes of the movie not seen before.

John Green came out to the stage to thunderous screams, cheers and applause to introduce the sneak peek. He was classy and funny as always.

Video Courtesy of Kristen Stuard @lil_Kstu

That was a really special moment, even though the crowd only heard about half of it because they spent the other half screaming with joy. They were all so excited to get the exclusive look. Unfortunately, you can't see what they saw, but here is a link to the trailer to give you a little taste of all the feels they had.

Most of the crowd looked like this during the sneak peek...

1900 Happy Elves

 

But there were some scenes that made them all look like this...

1900 Ugly Cries

 

And, of course there were scenes that made the crowd look like this...

1800 "Marry me, Ansel" (There were about 100 guys there).

 

After the sneak peek, it was time for the stars to make their apperance and do a question and answer session with the audience. Evelina and I took the stage and began to bring out the four stars of the evening.

 

I am not exaggerating when I say that, at the moment I introduced Ansel, it was the loudest sound I have ever heard. It was so loud you almost couldn't hear it. You just felt the pressure on your ears.

 

Here's a video of that moment...



 



Video courtesy of Kristen Stuard @lil_Kstu

 

 



Once the Q and A got going this happened. Yes, dear reader. This. Happened.

Ansel Elgort dances while Nat Wolff throws down a beat

Video courtesy of Carrie Germain

 

Finally, the Q and A session wrapped up and it was time to go. That meant there was only one thing left to do. We did a full crowd "Okay? Okay." It was a beautiful moment.

 

 





Okay? Okay!

Video Courtesy of Kristen Stuard @lil_Kstu

 

As I left the auditorium that night, I walked to my car parked several blocks away and even 45 minutes after the event had ended I could still hear the screams of hundreds of TFIOS fans echoing through the streets of downtown Nashville.

 

It was truly an epic night. A night that, for many of the fans there, will be one of the best nights of their lives. It was a night that they could count as a perfect little infinity, their own little forever, in their own greater infinity.

 

The next morning, John, Shailene, Ansel and Nat were all gracious enough to wake up early and come into Mix 92.9 so we could do an interview with them all.

 

You can hear that whole interview here. It was a blast! They are such a fun bunch. And they even took the time to take a pic with us after the interview even though they had a crazy busy day.

 

The Mix 92.9 Crew and the TFIOS Crew

Photo Courtesy of Clint Redwine @ClintRedwine

 

All in all it was an incredibly awesome two days with John, Shailene, Ansel and Nat. It was a wonderful little infinity, and I hope someday I will be able to work with them again.