BradWesley123's Movie Journal- April 2015

Netflix- 1hr. 36min.
First Viewing

It never really breaks out from the "grieving loved one" niche, but The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him is a grounded, heartfelt, and often heartbreaking look at moving on. It wouldn't really work without McAvoy, who is great here, as is Chastain in her few scenes.

Netflix- 1hr. 45min.
First Viewing

In theory, Her should be the stronger effort of the two split films; looking at the emotional fallout of the title character losing her child and leaving her husband. Admittedly, it does house several of the duo's stronger scenes, mainly because it gives the lead more to do (Chastain is superb). Weirdly though, it feels haphazard at times; you can tell in this one, more so than in Him that this was meant to be one long movie because so many of the scenes here feel cut, and are lacking the clarification that McAvoy's scenes would give. Still, it's a solid effort that entices me to one day seek out the Him/Her version.

Note: If you watch both of them separately, I would suggest watching Him first. The editing I was talking above would've been much more confusing had I not done so.

DVD- 2hrs. 10min.

Blu-Ray- 1hr. 55min.

DVD- 1hr. 37min.
First Viewing

The Boxtrolls is inventively animated, and well voiced by the cast, but just too generic and bland when it comes to the story. It's missing the creative flair that has made so much of Laika animations' previous output so interesting.

DVD- 1hr. 45min.
First Viewing

Rudderless hits a few too many worn-out notes but director William H. Macy, in his directorial debut, wisely gives the film over to his actors, who are all superb (especially Crudup). The late-film twist is also of note; it shocks, while it also works without ruining the work that came before it.

Netflix- 1hr. 31min.
First Viewing

The cast is solid (with Rockwell and Wilde coming off the best), and some of the situations do wring a few laughs, but Better Living Through Chemistry is a disappointingly frenzied affair, with not enough time devoted to characters and/or plot.

DVD- 1hr. 50min.
First Viewing

Do you hear that? I think it's the sound of thousands of 90s-kids souls dying a little bit. There's no other way to put it, Dumber and Dumber To is just so fucking bad that it hurts. Actually, that's not entirely fair, I did laugh a few times. Those laughs, however, usually came by how unfunny and stale most of the jokes and set-ups are. Even Carrey and Daniels are off here, with their performances coming off as depressingly desperate, and not in a funny way. The only real bright spot in the movie was Rachel Melvin, as one of the two's daughter. She commits to every scene, leaving to lingering feeling that she deserves better than this. To cap it off, this movie is pretty much a disaster.

DVD- 2hrs. 1min.

DVD- 1hr. 50min.
First Viewing

I'm not sure that there's a single original idea in The Good Lie, but the film has enough earnestness and heart that it doesn't really matter. This is a great movie, or even a particularly memorable one, but it flows okay and it isn't overly preachy or condescending, and sometimes that's good enough.

DVD- 1hr. 48min.
First Viewing

Its a smart, funny and searing dissection of race itself. The script is superb, with so many wonderful touches, and the cast routinely excellent, especially Tessa Thompson in a genuine breakout role.

DVD- 1hr. 38min.
First Viewing

Night at the Museum 3 is one the most unfortunate types of movies out there; the franchise afterthought. An afterthought is sequel to a once mighty franchise that has since fallen off the map and, as such, comes and goes without much, if any, fanfare. These types of films are often signified by general air of "going through the motions", and are as bland as can be. Sure, the cast is fine, including Hugh Jackman's cameo (which is someone amusing), and the film looks alright, but the first thought that I had after seeing this movie was "okay". To me the worst kinds of films are not the outwardly awful, but the one's that make absolutely no impression at all because if it doesn't, then what the hell was the point?

VUDU- 2hrs. 17min.
First Viewing

Unbroken is an unfortunately bland movie. There's so much vitality in Louis Zamperini's life story that it's disappointing that so much of the film is devoted to a worn-out POW story that doesn't divert for any of the other ones we've seen in other films. Those faults, and most others, all result for an unfocused and uninteresting script that doesn't try to anything other than Oscar FYC moments. The film's visual output is a far different story. Roger Deakins cinematography is as quietly beautiful as ever here with a very shot more interesting that most of what's happening with the characters. The film's sound design is also strong, working with the visuals to create a mood and atmosphere that always keeps the movie watchable. Still, it's just too dull to get a pass for me.

DVD- 1hr. 32min.
First Viewing

It's kind of fun occasionally, with the Penguins themselves being quite fun to watch. Penguins of Madagascar is just too cookie-cutter and bland to make anything resembling an impression. To be honest, I don't really remember this movie, which pretty much distills the movie's quality.

DVD- 2hrs. 16min.

DVD- 2hrs. 30min.
First Viewing

Look, Exodus is beautiful to look at, with the costumes, sets and cinematography popping off of the screen. The movie is just so damn bland though, with a dull script takes the story of Moses and turns it into something of a limp Gladiator rehash, without that film's sense of fun and adventure, and (more imprtantly) sooo damn long. I would hate to have to sit through Ridley Scott's (presumed) even longer cut.

DVD- 1hr. 38min.
First Viewing

Predestination is a surprisingly smart and original time travel flick with a thrilling, and quite emotional, plot and excellent acting. Hawke is as committed as usual and is quite good. The surprise of the movie though is Sarah Snook, has is given an incredible amount of noted to play, and does so superbly every single time.

VUDU- 1hr. 28min.
First Viewing

An interesting and complex portrait of obsession filled with excellent performances. To be honest, I was somewhat asleep watching this, so I don't remember everything. I just know that what I do remember was quite good.

DVD- 1hr. 53min.

Blu-Ray- 2hrs. 22min.

DVD- 1hr. 38min.
First Viewing

There are a couple of straight spooks, and the movie looks decent, but Annabelle reeks of nothing more than cash-grab. The film doesn't offer much to justify it's own existence, with a skimp plot and characters that don't draw any sort of interest.

DVD- 1hr. 45min.
First Viewing

Adams and Waltz are solid, the film's visual stylings are strong and this does represent a step up from Tim Burton's more recent fare, but Big Eyes is just missing a spark that would make it come together satisfyingly. The plot starts okay, but stretches itself so thin that by the end it becomes too broad to register.

DVD- 1hr. 27min.