J-Bang Reviews Present: Mad Max: Fury Road

Oh what a lovely day. After seeing Mad Max: Fury Road I was surprised to see that it is more of an artistic piece of film than it is just an action movie. The film is just beautiful with its usage of vibrant colors and I love how for a film coming out in 2015 it gives me a sense of retro 70's low budget cult classic feel similar to what the old Max max's movies used to look like. The characters are likable and fun to watch and it is a joy to watch them evolve over the course of the film.

 

Earlier when I mentioned artistic feel what I mean by that is that Mad Max can be interpreted multiple different ways depending on the viewer. If you're a simple minded Joe you can watch Mad Max as just an action film but if you want to put more thought into it, Mad Max could be about feminism, it could be an allegory for an idea of what a savior supposed to be in a world where there is no hope, or it can be a tell that doesn't just have cool awesome stunts that involve exploding cars and people flying all over the place but also display the constant struggle between survival and redemption.

 

 

The different ways you can watch this film proved as the perfect reason to watch Mad Max: Fury road over and over again in the future. There are just so many ways to watch this film. Mad Max: Fury Road gets a J banging score of 4.2 out of 5.

 

 

J-Bang Reviews Present: Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland is the latest addition to Brad Bird's directorial resume, and it stars George Clooney, Britt Robertson, and Raffey Cassidy. As I sat in my seat, watching my number 7 most anticipated movie of 2015, I felt I was watching an entirely different than from what the trailers were advertising. Let me explain...

 

Among the things I liked about this film was the chemistry between George Clooney's Frank and Britt Robertson's Casey. Frank represents the cynical harsh inventor whose dreams have been shattered by complicated situations while Casey represents the optimistic adventurous side of that dynamic. Both work well together with their back and forth banter and support of each other. I also liked Raffey Cassidy's character, Athena. She's a small little British girl who brings laughs while also kicking some robotic ass. Did I also mention she's a robot. (I'm starting to guess evil robots are going to be a running theme of 2015) My favorite moment of the film though was not the action of escaping a house full of robots or the wonder and excitement of escaping the Eiffel Tower in a rocket ship. No, it was Hugh Laurie's speech about humanity's lack of inspiration and motivation. It was a dark and brooding speech but the sad thing about it was that it was a pretty accurate description of our world. By the time he was done with his rant, the audience ended up looking at each other, nodding their heads in agreement.

 

 

Unfortunately, the cons of this movie outweigh the pros. Sure, the characters are likeable but the movie itself has problems. For example, the place of Tomorrowland itself ends up being treated as a MacGuffin rather than the amazing place it advertises itself. Roughly 85% of the movie is spent trying to get to Tomorrowland instead of "actually" being there. Once we finally got to Tomorrowland, I was left disappointed. Sure you can make the case that the glimpses of Tomorrowland at the beginning and in Casey's pin-touching visions should have been a good enough representation of the world, but for me, it felt fake. The conflict presented once we get to Tomorrowland also felt lame and easily solvable. It was like once the characters realized the danger was imagination, the whole fight among characters to stop it felt pointless and unnecessary. Also, the way our heroes tried to explain the danger and how to solve it felt somewhat convoluted. Lastly, the connection between Frank(George Clooney) and Athena ( Raffey Cassidy) kind of creep me out. All I'll say is it felt weird and somewhat forced. Maybe it's because she's a robot or maybe it's because she's a little girl. 

Tomorrowland has its moments but the closer it got to the end, it all pretty much fell apart and left me uninspired. Tomorrowland gets a 2.9 out of 5. Also, here's a link on social justice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzxKJZzHZfw

J-Bang Reviews Present: Avengers: Age of Ultron

Eight months I have been waiting to see this movie! Hell, it was even my number one of "Top 10 most anticipated movies of 2015" instead of Star Wars. So it's safe to say my expectations were high...but were they too high? As a big fan of Marvel movies, I'm gonna give you the answer to the number one question that surrounds the existence of this movie first, "Is it better than the first Avengers movie?!" Simply put, the answer is...No. But, it's still a fun and exciting blockbuster with extremely awesome moments! Confused? Well, let me first tell you what I liked (and loved) about "Age of Ultron" and then what I actually didn't like. Let's get started!

"Age of Ultron" is a blockbuster in every sense of the word. The set pieces are bigger, and action is more creative, and every character in this film gets their moment to shine. James Spader is perfectly casted as the sentient killer-A.I. Ultron. His dialogue is surprisingly witty and charismatically funny, and the scenes that he and Paul Bettany's Jarvis, a.k.a. the Vision share together are one of my favorite moments in this film. I wouldn't say there is one scene that steals the show because there are so many "Marvel-ous" moments that it may differ among viewers. The story is surprisingly easy to follow, and the special effects in this film are much better appreciated in IMAX 3-D.

Now, it's time to dive into the negatives. As much as I had fun watching this movie, it felt like there were too many characters that really didn't need to be there. For example, Nick Fury. Yes, we love Samuel L. Jackson. Who doesn't? But the fact of the matter is he really has no purpose in this Marvel universe if he isn't the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. like he was in the first Avengers movie. It feels like he's in this movie just because he has to be. There are other characters too, that I would like to complain about but I'm keeping it "Spoiler Free." Also, although there are lots of amazing Marvel moments, I kind of wished the movie went longer just to space things out and give the audience time to breath. I know! Crazy right! The movie is long enough with a run time of 2 and a half hours. It's just that there are a few things in the movie that are left unexplained and then are left alone without reason. I would prefer everything be explained to make the story more cohesive rather than skip over it like it didn't exist and keep moving forward. Last thing I want to mention on my soap box is the ending. Sure, the third act is more or less the same concept as the first Avengers, but that I can forgive Director Joss Whedon for because the same things people complained about in the 1st film, he fixes in the 2nd film. I would love to elaborate on why I just don't like the ending. I really would, but all I can say is for me personally, it felt anti-climatic.

 

"Age of Ultron" is a great movie, don't get me wrong! Hell, I plan on seeing it again soon! It's just that it fails to capture what made the 1st Avengers so awesome! It feels like less like a sequel to the Avengers, but more like another Marvel movie. It still has the potential to be the best superhero movie of the year, considering it's competition is "Ant-Man" and the "Not-so-Fantastic Four." But to sum up how I feel about this movie: It's not better than the first Avengers, but it's not worst either. In fact (despite it's flaws), it currently holds the position of best movie of the year in my book simply because it still tells a great and understandable story that somehow doesn't collapse under its own weight while being highlighted by some of the best choreographed action in superhero film history. I give it a 4.5 out of 5!