Neighbors

In a world where Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are the comedy tag team champions of the world, it only makes sense that Seth Rogen and Zac Efron work together perfectly in the frat comedy Neighbors. Rogen and Rose Byrne play new parents adjusting to family life when a college fraternity moves into the house next door. Of course this isn’t a nice, quiet, volunteering frat either. Efron and co. are quite raucous. So after a failed attempt to befriend their new neighbors, they go back and forth in prank warfare.

Rogen has become a master at portraying the loveable oaf and in this effort he is a responsible, loveable oaf. He pulls it off quite well. Byrne complements him well as she continues to be a comedy powerhouse in her own right. Now what about Efron? Well, he’s actually quite funny. All three of the leads provide some depth to their laugh happy characters, but let’s not pretend this is some deep dive into the human condition. It’s a frat comedy that meets all the stereotypes of the binge-drinking, fornicating college idiots. But at the risk of sounding overly simple, Neighbors is just plain funny. I tend to think that’s important for a comedy.

Seth Rogen has done well adapting his films to his increasing age. It seems odd to think that the stoner comic is playing a semi-responsible parent, but he does so with great success. The frat also comes across as equal parts annoying and likeable. The fact you can work in a Franco brother (Dave), the actor formerly known as McLovin’ (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) along with Efron, I’d say casting has done their job quite well. And as if I needed to say more, what about that Robert DeNiro themed party? Genius.

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

At the risk of bringing nostalgia into this conversation, X-Men: Days of Future Past is the movie I dreamed about when I was five years old. It’s not necessarily this particular storyline, but it’s a comic book movie chock full of popular characters with cameos from additional familiar names, allusions to other moments in the expanded universe and, believe it or not, it’s a really strong movie too. DOFP has the team from the original X-Men films living in a future where mutant hunting sentinels have almost completely wiped them out. So to try and change this reality, they use Kitty Pride’s (Ellen Page) powers to send Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back in time to try and stop an important assassination that set the world on this path. It sounds a bit confusing, but the script makes it easy to understand.

Not only is the cast list filled with the best of the previous films, these actors are an acclaimed, award winning bunch. Hugh Jackman leads the charge by appearing in both future and past timelines, but he doesn’t actually come across as the film’s main character. Maybe it’s because he’s had his own spin off Wolverine films, but this is essentially a Professor X story. This works since Sir Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy do such a great job adding depth to a character that could very easily come across as a priest-like moral stalwart. With current superstar Jennifer Lawrence, Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender also featuring prominently, the principle cast, which contains a ton more familiar names, is quite incredible. And to avoid spoilers, I won’t even get into the cameos!

The story for Days of Future past is strong. It’s clear this film was made with the intention of molding a super-franchise like The Avengers and also repairing some of the continuity hiccups created throughout seven films that had a number of different directors. Plus since the film is directed by X-Men and X2 director Bryan Singer, let’s just say the elements erased from the timeline aren’t the ones from his projects. The X-Men are a fun group that diversifies the plot among characters better than any other comic book film. Would my thrilled yet hypothetical five year old self understand the time travelling paradoxical results of this movie? No, but I’d definitely think it was a lot of fun.

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.

Godzilla

In the lead up to the Gareth Edwards directed Godzilla, it seemed that everyone needed to compare it to Roland Emmerich’s project of the same name from the 90s. Those comparisons will happen, but it’s clear that this movie was made with that predecessor planted firmly in mind. This film takes itself very seriously and, if you can believe it, lacks realism in critical moments. I will explain that momentarily. Godzilla tells the story of a naval officer (Aaron Taylor Johnson) who finds himself repeatedly coming in contact with a trio of ancient monsters who suddenly wake up.

By attempting to be faithful to the original Japanese Godzilla films, we get a Godzilla who unknowingly acts as a defender of the people by preying on the two MUTO (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism). That’s all fine except for the fact that the US Navy rides along side by side with a massive dinosaur like monster and trusts him while he crushes everything in his wake. Also, I think our military is smarter than repeatedly targeting monsters that feed on radiation with radioactive weapons. But yes, I understand the movie is just that, a motion picture about giant monsters.

A lot does go right also. The cast is quite successful with Johnson proving to be a likeable and adequate lead with an understated performance. Paired with Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen and Ken Watanabe, who all give emotional personality to the story, there isn’t a weak link among them. Visually there are a number of memorable moments that are beautiful on the big screen. When a team of soldiers HALO jump to get into war torn San Francisco, the result is a haunting scene that emphasizes the intended tone. The movie is good, but if you’re rebooting an old concept that has been done a bunch of times before, it needs to be different. At this point with Godzilla, I don’t know how that’s possible.

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

In the build up to blockbuster season, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 seemed to take the backseat in my mind to time travelling X-Men and city smashing monsters. The result of this is a movie that kicked off May with a bang that will be tough to match. Spider-Man/ Peter Parker is a compelling character, which is why he has been a pop culture mainstay for so many years. But never has a Peter Parker come across as human as Andrew Garfield’s portrayal in his second turn as the web-slinger. But the British actor doesn’t deserve all the credit. In fact, there are a number of pieces to this puzzle.

The film picks up with Peter enjoying being Spider-Man, as well as his relationship with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), only to quickly be forced into conflict with the emergence of a number of powerful villains. To be honest, the development of the villains is pretty par for the course with what we’ve seen from all the superhero movies. But with the average development of Electro (Jamie Foxx) we get an incredible audio-visual experience with a Time Square battle between him and Spidey. I can’t think of a special effects scene that had me in awe like this since last summer’s Pacific Rim. But beyond Electro, the company Oscorp, with Norman and Harry Osborne, is presented as a villain factory of sorts that will prove troublesome in future franchise installments, which is a cool twist.

But even with high flying stunts and immersive special effects, the most successful moments follow the young love of Peter and Gwen. Sure, the on again off again element is dull and tiring, but their connection is as real as any on-screen couple you’ll ever see. Maybe the fact that the actors are dating in real life has something to do with it. On the same note, the film’s emotional climax far outweighs the fisticuffs that accompany it. If The Dark Knight changed the tone of comic book movies for the better, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has changed the genre’s ability to convey emotion. Poor Peter Parker. The character has been around since 1962 and in all that time, he just can’t seem to catch a break.

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.