J-Bang Reviews Present: Straight Outta Compton

I'm gonna be listening to old school gangsta rap for about a month! "Straight Outta Compton" provides a nice and refreshing break from an action-packed season of summer blockbusters, while also giving a detailed and engaging view of the career of hip hop's most notorious rap group.

"Straight Outta Compton" follows the rise and fall of the N.W.A. (Don't know what that stands for? Google it...) and follows the trials and tribulations of Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson Jr.), Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins), and Eazy E (Jason Mitchell). There's alot to like about this film, so I'll get started with the obvious one...the soundtrack! The music is just incredible, which it should be considering it's a movie based on a music group. The lyrics are just as powerful today as they were back then and gurantees a head bop or a foot tap sooner rather than later. Most notably, the best thing about "Straight Outta Compton" is how REAL it is. What I mean by that is that it showcases the real struggles of living in an improverished neighborhood like Compton, that is showcased to share the same traits of living in a Detroit, or Brooklyn. Gang Violence and Dope Dealing is a real problem in multiple neighborhoods and when mainstream society only see those factors as a main representation of that community, it becomes harder for anybody to get out of the hood and be given an oppurtunity to rise above it. The director, F. Gary Gray, makes that point evident by having the name of Compton dismissed numerous times in early moments of the film. It also showcases the harsh politics of show business through the motives of Paul Giomatti's character, Jerry Heller, and R. Marcos Taylor's Suge Knight.

In terms of acting, every one brings their A+ performances to the table. You hate the characters you're suppose to hate and you fall in love with the characters you're suppose to love with. Everyone has cohesive chemistry on screen and Hawkins, O'Shea Jr. and Mitchell bring an abudance of sympathy and empathy to the main three of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Eazy E. Plus, the youthful hip hop appearances of an early Tupac and Snoop Dogg starting out in the biz are fun little easter eggs.

The tone of the movie shifts DRASTICALLY after the second act. It feels like the characters see making music as a personal gateway to form comradery amongst themselves in an attempt to deal with serious issues like gang violence and police brutality, but then, once everyone becomes famous and decides to go solo, blood starts to boil, and jealousy, envy, loyalty and pride somehow ends up becoming a dangerous side effect of being given money and power for the first time. It's truly depressing but understandable. The only complaint I have about this movie is about the same complaint I have with every biopic I watch. It was just so long!

"Straight Outta Compton" truly gives us a much needed break from the action and sci-fi films of summer 2k15 while also giving us a well rounded underdog story as well as a thoughtful tribute to the legacy of the N.W.A. "Straight Outta Compton" gets a J-Banging score of 4.6 out of 5.

 

J-Bang Reviews Present: Fantastic Four

Before I get started I must clarify the "Fantastic Four" is a Marvel movie made by 20th Century Fox, not Marvel Studios! Marvel Studios produced the entertaining, fun, action flicks, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Ant-Man, whereas Fox produces the X-Men movies. Marvel Studios DID NOT make "Fantastic Four." 20th Century Fox did. Now with that having been said, I declare the Fantastic Four to be ONE OF THE WORST MOVIES OF 2015!!!!

My favorite film genre are comic book movies so trust me when I say this movie is terrible! The plot is Reed Richards (Miles Teller) helps create a machine with the ability to teleport people to other dimensions. When Reed and his friends test this out, things go awry in the dimension they visit, and return to Earth with new cosmic superpowers. Believe it or not, the best scene of this film is when they get their powers. That's literally it! As soon as the movie starts, the pacing is so slow, that it almost gave me a headache. The script is dull and it feels like every actor in the movie's performance is phoned in. Plus, when watching this movie from start to finish, for a movie that feels so dull, it also feels very rushed. It's like the movie starts with Act I, skips Act II, and goes straight to Act III. It's like a whole chunk of this movie is missing. And the action, Oh God, the action in this movie. Guess what?! IT'S NONE-EXISTENT!!! The trailers lied to you!!!There is no action. The only interesting piece of action that comes within this film is in the form of a 20 second highlight reel for a government presentation. 

The other piece of action comes in the form of a disappointing boss battle with the film's villain, Dr. Doom, played by Toby Kebbell. The picture you see above is the character of Doom, which is a far-cry from how he looks in the comic books. In the comic books, he is an evil war-lord of a fictional country called Latveria, and whose only purpose in life is to conquer and rule over all. This Doom is a mutated chrome burrito who wants to destroy Earth because he was left in another dimension for a year. It's easy to understand why someone would be mad about that but "Come On!" His actions leading up to this makes absolutely zero sense! Doom comes across a new team of teleporters, asking for their help, is taken back to the military base to receive medical treatment and to have tests ran on him, then decides he wants to go back home to the new dimension, but not without killing every one he sees and everyone on Earth. This is not only one of the worst film renditions of Doom ever, but also one of the worst villain performances ever. Surprisingly, Doom is not the only unlikable character in this movie. Even our "heroes" of Reed Richards (Miles Teller) Sue Storm (Kate Mara) Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan) and Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell) are terrible at acting their parts. Their characters just feel so shallow and uncaring that when they finally become "a team" at the end, it feels unearned and undeserved. 

Fantastic Four has never had a great representation on film, but this movie takes the cake as the WORST VERSION OF THEM ALL. It's so bad that it actually makes me feel ANGRY!!! This movie tries so hard to be different from any previously released comic book movie that it ultimately ends up being flat-out boring and even disgusting to look at. Do yourself a favor folks and don't even attempt to see this poor excuse of a superhero movie. In all honesty, 20th Century Fox should've never released this movie! Fantastic Four gets a 1.5 out of 5. 

J-Bang Reviews Present: Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation follows Ethan Hunt and his disavowed "Impossible Mission Force" on a journey to expose and stop a secret group of terrorist known as the Syndicate. The Syndicate is basically the evil opposite of Ethan Hunt's I.M.F. so it's safe to say this proved to be a fun and exhilarating dynamic for this latest entry of the Mission Impossible franchise.

Rogue Nation is your typical summer action movie (which is funny because this film was originally supposed to be released the same time Star Wars was) filled with big moments and slick espionage, but the best characteristic of this movie is its unpredictability. Since the Syndicate is a shadow organization, it hard to tell who is either an innocent bystander or an agent of the enemy. There are twists and turns all over this film, and it is because of that, I never lost interest while watching it. That being said, the action is top-notch too. I was surprised to see that the biggest stunt of this movie just so happened to be in the first scene. I thought opening up with that action stunt was a bad move at first, but as the film progressed, evidently there were more action set pieces that were bigger and more fun to watch than the opening scene, my favorites specifically being the Opera House fight, water tank task and the motorcycle chase.

Rogue Nation's biggest strength also lies within it's characters, specifically Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Sean Harris, and notably Rebecca Ferguson, Ferguson's character, Ilsa, proved to be the most interesting character of the movie, simply because she was, in fact, unpredictable. Her allegiance to which side was questioned and unknown to both parties, she was cool and calm with her approach in situations and best of all, she wasn't a damsel in distress. She was simultaneously kick-ass and mysterious. Just as mysterious was the film's villain, Soloman Lane, played by Sean Harris. His methods seemed sinister and just his LACK of presence questioned the characters own motives. Like "Did we steal this, or did Lane want us to steal it as part of his bigger plan" type dynamic. It was cause for an interesting play of cat-and-mouse, trying to figure out who was who. The only flaws I had with Rogue Nation was that I had trouble comprehending Lane's true motivations. Did Lane want to destroy Ethan Hunt, keep his organization and himself secret or did he want to get rich and get revenge? It was kind of weird and murky towards the end. Plus, with all the swerves and 180's in the movie, I feel it's only worth seeing once rather than multiple times. Certain films like that tend to loose their novelty after one or two viewing because then, after the third time, you will know what's gonna happen. But that just an opinion of my own, it could be a different scenario for someone else, but that's just me. 

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation is a fun and engaging spy thriller that's sure to capture the attention span of those that view. it. Rogue Nation gets a rather compelling 4 out of 5.

J-Bang Reviews Present: Ted 2

Ted 2 debuted in theaters nationwide June 26th, I finally got around to seeing it...today! Today as in "July 23rd" today. I'm usually never this late to seeing a movie but with Ted, it just seemed like I never found the time. So since I've figured most of you have already seen Ted 2, for this J-Bangin Review, I've decided to do something rare. This piece will not only be a review but it will also be a "spoilercast," meaning I'll specifically talk about the things and scenes that I did, and didn't like in the film. Glad we cleared the air, now lets begin!

After the events that occurred in "Ted," "Ted 2" follows the foul-mouth talking teddy bear, Ted and his wife, Tami-Lynn's quest to adopt a baby. Once they find out they can't adopt a baby, they also find out that Ted is technically not a person, thus, he is considered property and has no human rights. Distraught over this revelation, Ted (Seth Macfarlane), his best friend, John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg), and their new friend/ lawyer, Samantha Jackson (Amanda Seyfried) go on a mission to get Ted his rights back. The movie is hilarious, no question about it. When you get the same mind that has created "Family Guy" and "American Dad" to direct a comedy like this, that classic Seth Macfarlane humor is expected.

Ted 2's biggest strengths is the on-screen chemistry between Seth Macfarlane and Mark Wahlberg. The two of them together makes the idea of a grown man having a talking teddy bear as a best friend seem plausible. The jokes seem to be more gross than usual between the two as well. Whether it was smoking weed from a penis shaped bong, or being drowned in a sea of semen, Ted 2 isn't afraid to gross out the audiences. Ted 2 also gets bonus points for some equally hilarious cameos from celebrities. My favorite was definitely the Liam Neeson cameo that included a weird interest in Trix cereal. Ted 2 has it's moments, but not all of them are positive either. Some scenes ultimately didn't land there mark with me. Certain scenes ran longer than needed, such as the opening credits dance sequence. It first it was kind of funny how unorthodox it was, but the longer it went, the more quickly I wanted it to end. The same could be said for the library montage between Ted, John, and Sam. It was funny at first but moments later...meh. Another issue is that as the story continues, the plot seems to get lost among the jokes and somehow reverts back into the finale of the first movie, with Ted getting chased by his creepy stalker, Donny (Giovanni Ribisi) who somehow found his way back into the movie.I absolutely hate the character of Donny, not because I'm suppose to, but because he seems to come off as the Wile E Coyote villain from the old Roadrunner cartoons. He was fine in the first movie simply because he worked as the conflict the plot needed, but in Ted 2, he just seems like a straight cartoon character. Hell, he even dressed up as a ninja turtle to disguise himself.

By the end of this movie, I consider the first Ted to have a better story than Ted 2. Yet, Ted 2 has alot more funny moments than the first Ted. It kind of has a "Ying-Yang" dynamic to it, but overall, I found Ted 2 to be a fun good time, despite it's flaws. Ted 2 gets a score of 3.7 out of 5!

J-Bang Reviews Present: Ant-Man

Before it was released on July 17th, Ant-Man was being predicted as Marvel Studios' first flop, simply because of how ridiculous and unrealistic the title character's skill set was. I mean at first glance, a hero who has the power to shrink and control ants does sound a little ludacris, but such a synopsis didn't stop me from seeing it on opening day. 117 minutes later, I found myself gasping for air because I laughed too much and too hard from watching this film. To put it in layman's terms, Ant-Man is one of the funniest movies Marvel has produced since Guardians of the Galaxy. Besides its upbeat humor though, Ant-Man does manage to tell a compelling and entertaining story while depending on character motivations and actor performances instead of special effects (Although the Visual Effects were pretty rad too)

Ant-Man is still a superhero movie, but it is a heist film at heart. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) recruits common thief, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) to help him steal a militarized replica of the Ant-Man suit called "The Yellow Jacket," before it can get sold to warmongers by Pym's former protégé, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll). As the story progresses, it feels like the main theme of the story is redemption. Whether it's Scott trying to redeem himself of his past crimes, or Hank trying to redeem himself of his past failures, every characters' intentions have a clear and understandable motive.   

And speaking of characters, everyone mostly fits into their roles. Michael Pena's Luis is a surprising show-stealer while Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lilly continue to give out the great performances you expect from them. Hell, even the ants have been given such good personality traits, that it even makes the most annoying of insects likable. The action is spread out gracefully, and fun to watch transpire on screen.

The only problems Ant-Man has are relatively small (no pun intended). The film, although perfectly spaced out, does feel somewhat short. Like out of all the Marvel movies that have come out since 2008, this feels like the shortest in terms of run time. (Which might be good for mainstream viewers) And the villain (Darren Cross/ Yellow Jacket) is problematic in a strange way. He's more sinister than he is evil. I can buy into his motivations before he puts on the Yellow Jacket suit, but after, he feels like he's suppose to put on the suit and become Yellow Jacket because the script demands a final showdown between the hero and the villain. Granted, the final battle is pretty entertaining and tastefully different from other superhero movies.

 

Other than it's minor problems, Ant-Man is a hilarious, good time at the theaters. Ant-Man gets a J-Bang score of 4 out of 5.

J-Bang Reviews Present: Terminator: Genisys

So I walked into the theater to watch Terminator: Genisys with zero expectations. My thoughts were if I were to see this movie with no opinions about it whatsoever, it would be easier for me to allow myself to enjoy it. (if that makes senses) Once the movie started rolling its credits, I was left, well, indifferent and uninspired.

 

Terminator: Genisys follows Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) time-traveling back to 1984 to stop a Terminator sent from the future to kill Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke).  Sarah Connor just so happens to be the mother of John Connor, (Jason Clarke) the leader of the resistance that fights an army of robots called Skynet in a post apocalyptic future. Instead of traveling back to save Sarah Connor, Kyle is transported into an alternate timeline, where Sarah Connor is a fearless warrior that is protected by a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) sent prior to 1984 to protect her. As they attempt to figure out what causes the alternate timeline, they rush to stop an artificial intelligence called "Genisys" (Skynet in disguise) from launching a catastrophic assault on humanity while also fending off John Connor, who is now a new version of a Terminator. Now usually, I would consider the whole "John Conner-conundrum" a "spoiler," but since the studio decided that they would release that bit of info any chance they could get in every trailer/ tv spot, I see that I am doing no damage whatsoever. Dumb move on the part of the studio, because that John Connor/ Terminator plot could have been a really good twist for the story. Too bad, I guess.

Anyway, the plot gets really confusing and somewhat repetitive as the plot progresses, (Which is predictable when it comes to time-travel stories) but for such an ambitious plot device, I was disappointed in how conservative they were with the time-traveling concept. For example, the only years Kyle, Sarah and the Guardian explored was 1984 (the past), 2017(not our present but I guess it was suppose to be?), and 2029 (the future). The best movie out of the Terminator franchise was and still is "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," so why not give us the chance to explore the nostalgia of the 90s? There were plenty of Easter eggs and nods of the original Terminator movie. The only nods to "Judgment Day" are basically small characters name-dropped in 2017 and the existence of the T-1000. This is unacceptable. What is also unacceptable is how surprisingly generic the action is. The basic blueprint of Terminator: Genisys's action scenes are basically: Shoot the indestructible robot with as many bullets as you can! (It won't do damage, but it's better than doing nothing...) Robot vs. Robot fight scene! Keep shooting! Human vs. Robot fight scene! Car chase! Are we out of ammo yet? Nope! Keep shooting! Chase scene but with helicopters! Robot vs. Robot fight yet again! and etc. Although there are a few cool moments in those action scenes, for me personally, they're not as memorable as the ones in "The Terminator" or "Terminator: Judgment Day." Besides its notable negatives, the positives of this movie do come from the cast itself. The character interactions are great between Jai Courtney, Emilia Clarke, and especially Arnold Schwarzenegger, who delivers a just as memorable performance as he did in Terminator 2. Arnold is a more humorous character in this film than he was in previous iterations, but he still kicks ass as an older model of a T-800. He is by far, the best character of the movie. Another thing I also liked about the movie is even though the action is somewhat generic, the finishes to them are spectacularly different in their own unique ways. Whether it's a bullet to the robotic neck, an acid bath, or a dive-bomb to a helicopter, I admire the different methods of defeat that keep this film from repeating itself.

 

If you want to go and see Terminator: Genisys, that is your choice and yours alone, but if you want to skip seeing Terminator: Genisys, believe me, you're not missing anything special. I give Terminator: Genisys a score of 3.5 out of 5.





J-Bang Reviews Present: Jurassic World

Holy f*#&in S%^! Jurassic World was fantastic! It was a welcomed sight to see this franchise back in theaters, and I must say, I was more than impressed with what I saw in theaters. Before I continue, I will say that the best way and the only way to experience this movie is in IMAX 3-D. Feeling every "roar" and bone-crunching moment gets the blood boiling and the heart racing.

Anyway,out of all the things that make Jurassic World great, I'll first start off with the tension. This movie lives on tension. Whether it's the fear that ensues when the Indominus Rex is stalking its prey, or whether it's the unsettling feeling of not knowing who is going to survive, the tension is real and you can feel it just as much as the characters feel it. But as much as there is tension, tension is not as good unless there is a great payoff from it. In Jurassic World, the payoff is death, and that death is gory and perfectly executed. You would think that for a movie rated PG-13, the Dino-kills would be tamed and censored, but really that's not that the case with Jurassic World. The Dino-kills are animalistic and quite creative. And yet somehow, every death that was showcased to us, I felt sympathy for everyone in the movie that died because their deaths were just so grizzly, barbaric, and out of their power and control to stop it.

Besides the action, the story is pretty solid as well. Over 20 years after the events that occurred in the first Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park is rebuilt and rebooted into "Jurassic World," a Dinosaur theme park. Once Jurassic World's yearly attendance and ticket sales drop, the company decides to construct a genetically-modified dinosaur titled "The Indominus Rex." The Indominus Rex breaks out of it's cage and goes on a killing spree throughout the park, and it's up to Owen and Claire (Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard) to stop it while also trying to keep the park's attendees, which include Claire's nephews Zack and Gray (Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins) safe and unaware of the danger that is the Indominus Rex." The story is pretty simple to understand and the characters that occupy the story help bring it to life. And the music, my God, the music is so perfectly executed that it recaptures the magic and wonder that I felt from watching the first film. And speaking of first film, the parallels and connections that this film makes with the first film will make any fan feel nostalgic and satisfied. "Jurassic World" basically is the perfect sequel to "Jurassic Park."

 "Jurassic World" gets a score of 5 out of 5!