This was a really cute film. Finally a believable romantic comedy filled with things that could actually happen in the real world. The chemistry between the two leads feels genuine and the romance happens subtly, which is a switch from the usual by the numbers rom-com. The film even throws in a couple twists to keep you on your toes. Most of comedy comes from quirky banter between the main characters and their best friends, but the film also has a few laugh out loud moments. And they don't even need to resort to gross-out potty humor to be hilarious. I rather enjoyed this mostly down-to-earth movie, and now I want to try a fool's gold sandwich.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)

I had a good time watching this movie. It's nice to see a movie not afraid to be fun. The opening sequence felt like a space version of Raiders of the Lost Ark and really hooked me out of the gate. The prison break scene was clever and extremely compelling. After that the film's action scenes got more and more droning and I found myself bored now and again, that is until the next joke or Groot did something funny or cute. It's a fun superhero movie with some funny moments and a great soundtrack, but it's no masterpiece. It is an origin story and they did a great job of explaining everyone's motivation and back-story, so hopefully next time we can just jump in guns blazing.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)

I'm a big fan of Zach Braff's first film Garden State, but this one just didn't do enough to really grab me. The story is written well enough and the characters are acted well, especially Kate Hudson and Braff himself, but this film lacks the clever visuals that his first film had. Gone are the intricate camera rigs or well-thought out shot lists and in their place are locked cameras and stiff special effects shots meant to be endearing but end up being easily forgettable. The film often plays out as a melodramatic television show and not the heartfelt movie it's trying to be. I enjoyed it, but it was not great.

3 Stars (out of 5)

While I enjoyed Rise a little more, this was a competent and impressive film filled with big ideas and incredible acting, both in the flesh, and behind the "digital makeup". Once again Andy Serkis' Caesar steals the show, showing us what it really means to be human, through the eyes of an ape. The movie delicately threads the needle of how a war can start between two very different groups, who aren't really that different after all. Technically this film showcases the best special effects in film history, pushing motion-capture to a new limit and showing what a force it has become. At the end, as with many summer blockbusters, the intelligent story-driven film starts to devolve into a CG clusterfuck of action. It never gets too bad, and even has some interesting action set-pieces (the 360 degree tank shot comes to mind) but the last fifteen minutes of action come off as a little stiff.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)

A film that is well aware of its own clichés, aware of its sappiness, and aware of its sadness, yet still manages to take an upbeat approach. The comedy is honest and the drama is well acted leaving a fairly balanced feel, even if it is a little heavy-handed at times. I liked the inclusion of a little history with Amsterdam and the Anne Frank Museum, something I imagine John Green had in the novel to educate us while still being entertaining.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)

This was the best documentary on the subject of obesity in America I've seen. Seeing how school cafeterias look more like a mall food court with brand name fast food joints littering the wall, and not just high school or middle school, but even elementary school now, is just incredible. How can a healthy lunch even compete with that? As the film went on I heard gasps from the people around me. We see young children being told they must have surgery to survive, being told to eat better or die, but then they switch from one food they're told is bad to another that's just as bad but says "Light" on the package and it's all a little unnerving. We've had to re-name adult onset diabetes because it's not just for adults anymore. In the end the film asks you to try a couple of weeks without refined sugar in your diet, and I couldn't agree more.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)

Still an entertaining entry to the series, and a clever way to combine the two casts while also spinning everything off into a new and separate timeline, yet I found myself bored and ultimately disappointed much of the time. After the first scene in the future hellscape and other time we see what's happening there is dull and mostly shot against a greenscreen, leaving all the fun to the 1970's sequences. And while there are some fun scenes, most notably one with Quicksilver, the plot itself is thin and once again too heavily reliant on Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. What I liked about First Class is that it had a fresh feel to it, but with this one it's once again more of the same. Either way, a good film, with an interesting set-up for future installments.

3 Stars (out of 5)

Gareth Edwards was the perfect fit for this franchise. I adore his film "Monsters" and his ability to make a believable story from a cheesy concept. This film rights all the wrongs that left a bad taste in my mouth by Roland Emmerich and his 1998 Godzilla film (by name only). The slow build-up in this movie before really showing Godzilla was much like the older original Japanese versions, saving the big city battle for the end. The adversary monsters were terrifying and their appearance early in the film not only caught me off guard but also kept me on the edge of my seat. I do hope Edwards takes the helm on any sequels, if they are to make them, which I'm guessing they will. I'll be first in line.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)

Oculus is a clever horror film, which is kind of hard to believe considering it's about a killer mirror. The film does a fantastic job of building suspense, telling two parallel storylines that converge in the end of a brother and sister trying to prove to the world that the mirror on the wall is responsible for the murders, suicides, and insane behavior of several generations that have owned it. It's a crazy plot but done in such an earnest way that by the end I am actually rooting for the protagonists to make it through unscathed, something I'm not used to feeling from a scary movie.

3 Stars (out of 5)

A much more enjoyable experience than the first film, this one stands alone as a great action adventure and even sci-fi film. It does a great job of tying together the bad guys from WWII to the political issues of the current day, bringing Captain's past to the present, and tying it all up with a nice little bow. I really enjoyed the scene where they discover a supercomputer containing the preserved consciousness of a long dead scientist. They manage to do a better job of conveying such a technology in a five-minute sequence than Transcendence could do in an entire film. I look forward to Avengers 2 and future films in the series.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)