Quick Movie Review

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014, UK) | Rating: 4/5
At first, I wasn't super interested in this movie, but then my mom mentioned that I would've enjoyed it and she was pretty hyped up about it after seeing it in theaters. Later, a patron came in and recommended it to me as well, so I added it to my watch list on IMDb. Once it was released on DVD, my parents watched it first and my dad joined the hype with my mom, then I finally watched it in my room. I must say, it was pretty entertaining and the action was greatly paced. It took me a while to get into and like the younger characters, but I instantly enjoyed the older ones. The whole evil plot was cliched and silly, but in a good Austin Powers kind of way. The climax was brilliant and worth the build up to the final fight. I wouldn't be surprised if a sequel was released in the near future.



A Girls Walks Home Alone at Night (2015, USA) | Rating: 4/5
I've seen the cover for this movie a couple times and I know it's available on Netflix as well. I think this is the first western Iranian vampire film, which is quite a feat. I can't imagine too many movies being created from Iran that feature vampires, especially female ones. Normally, vampires are very sexualized creatures, but due to culture, this vampire has a gentle, sensuality about her that is easily intriguing to her prey. It's not completely a horror story, so don't expect to be scared. It's more about the characters and how they survive in this world the director has created. I urge you to give this movie a chance. The story is well paced, the characters are enjoyable, and the visuals have an interesting balance of classic horror and current dramas.



The Lazarus Effect (2015, USA) | Rating: 1.5/5
Most times I can tell the good from the bad when it comes to horror movies. This one I expected to be somewhere in the middle and I was pretty close. Mostly, I was happy I didn't waste any money to see it in theaters. For the most part, it has an interesting premise, but the execution is kinda poor. The movie didn't really take too much time with a lot of the characters and even when you did, it's a little hard to follow. Either there was too much detail or the details were not that interesting. There's lots of jump scares, poor build up, and just a lot of things that don't logically make sense. In short, this movie isn't really worth your time in seeing. It isn't the worst thing I've seen, but it's not even entertaining in a bad way.



The DUFF (2015, USA) | Rating: 3/5
Another movie based on a teen book, but fortunately doesn't have a dystopian future or supernatural elements to it. No, this is just another contribution of fixing up an average girl into someone dateable...or something like that. It's not truly a makeover story, it's a mixture of delving into the people who make cliques and just surviving high school. Most of us have heard of that one ugly friend in each group when it comes to groups of girls in a club, so this is basically the same without making it exclusive to one specific gender and in high school. I don't see a general audience watching this and it definitely appeals to the female crowd, not because of the majority female cast, but because of the contents. Although, I don't find the main character to be that fat or ugly, the movie does explain that the friend doesn't necessarily have to be either. The story is simple and the characters are fine. It's definitely for a younger demographic, but I found it enjoyable, even if it is a little silly at times.



Jurassic World (2015, USA) | Rating: 4/5
Originally, I was going to do a full review for this movie, but I kinda don't have too much to say about it. Before you assume anything, I really enjoyed this movie. I've heard a few complaints about it being a little slow in the beginning or even the CGI not looking very good, but I wasn't bothered by any of this. Like most additions to older franchises, it was unnecessary, but not a terrible installment. Also, if you're worried about not seeing the previous three films, all you really need to watch is the first one as the movie does reference more things from Jurassic Park. Anyway, my mother and I found ourselves very entertained. In the beginning, I was a little annoyed by Gray and Zach, but they slowly grew on me and I started to care about their well being. Occasionally, Claire would straddle the fence of defenseless/useless female character cliche, but she did redeem herself with some sort of character development. There are some predictable plot points, but overall, I thought the movie was a fun ride and the climax was very satisfying.


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