J-Bang Reviews Present: 10 Cloverfield Lane

Mystery. Suspense. Secrets! "10 Cloverfield Lane" came out of no where and has suddenly made its way into theaters. I will tell you one thing. In a movie full of twists, turns, and jump-scares, my biggest mistake was seeing it in IMAX, because by the time this movie was over, I could of sworn I had 6 heart attacks!

After she was involved in a car accident, Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) wakes up in a bomb bunker, and is held captive by a mysterious, unstable man named Howard ( John Goodman). Howard tells her the world isn't the same as it was when she was knocked out in the car accident, and despite her pleads, refuses to let her go. So Michelle must figure out what the truth of the world's fate really is while being held against her will in a bunker with Howard and fellow captive, Emmett (John Gallagher, Jr.) The story cleverly unfolds as a thriller with horror movie tropes. And what makes this movie intriguing is that we (the audience) are figuring out the story just as the main characters are. Plus, when the movie dynamic changes from one genre to the next, the tone stays the same rather than changes, which is a service to how this movie aimed to make me feel uncomfortable.

If I had to describe this movie without spoiling anything, I would call it a psychological horror film. The only thing I would count as a sin though is that, for me, personally, the main twist did not surprise me, considering I saw the first "Cloverfield" movie. It may shock you, but for me, I knew that certain "aspect" would occur. I wish I could go into more gory details, but you're just gonna have to see for yourself. "10 Cloverfield Lane" is the twilight zone mixed with old classic terror sci-fi of the 50s that is guaranteed to leave you "literally" on the edge of your seat. 

"10 Cloverfield Lane" gets a score of 3.5 out of 5.

J-Bang Reviews Present: Deadpool

The Rated R Superstar Deadpool has finally hit the big screen and he is literally bringing the Chimi-Fucking-Changas with him! It's rare in this cinematic golden age of Superhero movies that we are given a comic book film with an " R- Rating." But this one, this movie serves it's "R- Rating" well while simultaneously serving as a satirical twist on the superhero genre itself.

When Wade Wilson, former soldier and currently bad shit crazy dude, is diagnosed with cancer, he searches for a cure, only to end up super powered and disfigured by the man who said he would "cure him." This leads Wade on a vengeful journey to find the man who fucked up his life. Ryan Reynolds steals the show as the role he was born to play (Deadpool) and is surrounded by a strong, humorous cast of colorful characters. Yes, Deadpool is funny, but one thing that caught me off-guard was how compellingly romantic it was. Throughout all the murders and quips, Deadpool is motivated not by vengeance, but with the need to save his girlfriend, Vanessa (played by Firefly's Morena Baccarin). Deadpool wants to be with Vanessa, but fears that she will reject him because of disfigurement. Deadpool hides from her throughout this endeavor until justice calls for her rescuing. That is when shit gets real! "Deadpool" is more than a superhero film, it's pretty much a "Rated-R Rom Com."

Another element of "Deadpool" that makes this movie fun is how connected it is to the "X-Men movie-verse" as well as to the superhero movie-verse. There are numerous easter-eggs that connect to characters like Wolverine and Professor X, and cameos that extend to Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Yep, you read that right). There are even references to Ryan Reynold's previous role as DC's the "Green Lantern" and "old Deadpool" from "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." These references range from sly to obvious and make for hilarious jokes.

If I had to fault the film for something though, I would say it would have to be the heavy exposition on the flashbacks. The flashbacks were cool and all, don't get me wrong, but it felt like some moments lasted longer than they needed to. The flip side of that though is I did like how the flashbacks were introduced right in the middle of a scene just like "Out of nowhere!" But anyway, "Deadpool" is good! Go watch it! It's a fun superhero movie that mocks itself as well as the superhero genre. "Deadpool" gets a 4 out 5!

J-Bang Reviews Presents: The Revenant

"Revenge is not in my hands. It's in God's hands." "The Revenant" is visually stunning and is an expertly filmed piece of cinema. While it is impressive in style, it is also compelling in substance. "The Revenant" follows Hugh Glass, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, and his journey of survival after being attacked by a bear. Once he sustains life-threatening injuries, his group of men decide to live him behind but not before traitor, John Fitzgerald, played by Tom Hardy, kills his son right in front of him. This motivates Glass to trek through blizzards and rivers alone and in pain so that he might find Fitzgerald and kill him for what he has done.

If I had to describe "The Revenant" in one word, that word would be intense! The cinematography is used to capture the vast emptiness and overwhelming beauty of the wilderness. And when the action started to ramp up, "The Revenant" uses natural light and "really close" close-up shots to make everything feel more intimate. It is as if the audience is going through that traumatic experience along with Leonardo DiCaprio. 

Besides the surprising brutal opening battle and the traumatic bear attack scene, "The Revenant" is supplied with a very skilled cast of characters. Tom Hardy portrays John Fitzgerald as a rotten racist coward who only cares about his payment and his own survival. Domhnall Gleeson is Andrew Henry, the Doctor of the group of hunters that who reluctantly left Glass for dead, as well as apparently the only authority their town. And what can I say about Leonardo DiCaprio?! If his portrayal of Glass hasn't proved himself "Oscar Winner worthy" yet, I don't know what will?! 

"The Revenant" is a trippy, yet convincing tale of using revenge as motivation to survive. It is beautiful to watch as well as intense to experience. Leaving the theater, "The Revenant" had me feeling all sorts of vengeful for no particular reason. Which is a good thing, because after I saw "Mad Max: Fury Road," I had a strange, unstoppable urge to go Go-Kart racing. Anyway, "The Revenant" gets a J-Bangin score of 4.7 out of 5.

J-Bang Reviews Present: The Hateful Eight

The latest film to come out of the mind of Quentin Tarantino is "the Hateful Eight," starring Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. "The Hateful Eight" is a story about a bounty hunter taking his captured bounty to a town to be executed but on the way, they run into a blizzard in the middle of winter and must take shelter in a sketchy cabin, full of sketchy characters. Basically, the story is a game of "Guess Who" in a western setting, because once everyone gets situated, it turns out that everyone is not who they say they are.

The "Hateful Eight" is filmed in that same Quentin Tarantino style he is known for. The dialogue is sharp and the script is quite witty but the film mostly lives of the suspense it builds. The first act helps the audience get to know all of the characters and their backstories, while the second act introduces a conflict that disrupts the "harmony" of the cabin. The third act is obviously the reveal and result, but I put "harmony" in quotation marks because the tension can be cut with a knife when it comes to these characters. Even though they don't know each other, it is the lack of knowledge they have of each other that makes them aggressively defensive towards each other. Since everyone is not "buddy-buddy," it makes it easier to understand why everyone is so twitchy when it comes to their trigger finger.

Though "the Hateful Eight" is packed full of unexpected moments, that does not make it the perfect film. One of the few issues I have with the film is the first act. The first act runs a little longer than it needs to. The exposition feels like it is overstuffed with information that doesn't necessarily matter to the story itself. Yet, because it is a mystery and suspense film, I felt obligated to listen to all of the dialogue, word for word. And while I felt liberated to find out that some of the small details of everyone's story did matter as it corresponds to the bigger picture, some details where left unanswered and without resolution.

Anyways, "The Hateful Eight" is an intriguing piece of fiction that goes on to satisfy the cerebral thinking of its viewers rather than the blood-thirstiness of those who choose to watch it. (Although there is a lot of bloodshed, too) "The Hateful Eight" is as fun to watch as it is exhausting. This film gets a score of 4.2 out of 5.

J-Bang Reviews Presents: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

STAR WARS!!!!!!!!!! It's back baby and better than expected!!!!!! "The Force Awakens" perfectly captures the spirit of the original trilogy while also adding itself as one of the franchise's best! I have some much to say about this movie but thanks to the "super-secret" marketing of Disney, I think that it's best that I keep this review short and sweet. Basically, "the Force Awakens" is awesome!!!

            "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" delivers on all fronts in terms of the cast and the story. The cinematography is stellar and perfectly captures the huge scope that "Star Wars" is known for. Truly, there is no "breakout performance" because every actor in this film puts on a top notch performance. Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, is without a doubt, the best female character in this film as well as one of the best to debut on screen in 2015. She is a strong and likable presence who contributes alot to the story as a whole. Finn, played by John Boyega, is a sympathetic turncoat for the rebellion that brings laughs but also brings a lot of regret and tragedy to his character. BB-8 is practically the cutest little comic relief of the whole movie. Before seeing this movie, I feared that he would end up as the "Jar-Jar Binks" of the movie but luckily, he was cool as he was hilarious. 

             The original cast of Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill were as great and as convincing as they were 30 plus years ago but my favorite of all characters has to be Adam Driver's Kylo Ren. He is just a scary-ass dude in a nutshell! I mean, he is so volatile and so overpowered in this film that it makes me wonder who would win in a battle between him and Darth Vader. Not only that, but he also turns out to be a sad character who, in a way, has the same motivations as Rey and Finn. 

         "The Force" has truly been awaken in this latest entry to the "Star Wars" franchise. It tells a tale that is easy to follow but also serves as a cinematic metaphor for discovering your destiny, and finding you true calling in the unpredictable game of life. It's funny, suspenseful, nostalgic, tear-jerking and action-packed! This is a film I am definitely gonna watch again and again while its in theaters! "Stars Wars: the Force Awakens" gets a 5 out of 5!

J-Bang Reviews Presents: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

To be honest, I saw this movie on opening day and I would have posted the review earlier, but I got side tracked by the wondrous world of college. Anyway, a week later and here we are, I finally bring to you the J-Bang Review of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2.

After the lackluster "Mockingjay Part 1", The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 finally finishes the story of Katniss Everdeen and her endeavor to take down President Snow and the Capitol. Even though it is the 2nd half of a whole movie, Part 2 feels like a whole movie on its own. You will pretty much get a feel of the whole movie after 10 minutes. Also, the pacing of the film has approved since Mockingjay Part 1. Everything feels faster and well spaced out. Part 2 packs plenty of unique character moments while also supplying some intense action set pieces using the best visual effects of the series.

Although this movie has improved from its predecessors, Part 2 does include some minor flaws. Due to editing, some of switches from scene to scene end up feeling random and confusing. For example, our heroes would be fighting monsters in one scene, then all of a sudden, our characters are somewhere else, safe and sound. And the love triangle between Katniss, Gale and Peeta comes off as more laughable than it does conflicting, and I'm not sure if that is based off design or not. 

Anyways, other than some weird, little issues, The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2 is an enjoyable grand finale for the franchise that packs an emotional punch as well as a few unexpected twists and turns. It ties up loose ends and delivers a fulfilling conclusion to the series. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 gets a 4 out of 5! Now, if you excuse me, I'm gonna continue waiting for STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS to be released...

J-Bang Reviews Present: 007 Spectre

Daniel Craig returns as James Bond in "007 Spectre." Spectre is the legendary evil organization that has made multiple appearances throughout the James Bond franchise and has returned to cause chaos in this year's Bond movie.

"007 Spectre" starts off with an impressive bang! The opening stunt is well choreographed and suspenseful, including a helicopter spot that I have personally never seen performed before. After a colorful and artsy opening title sequence, Bond seems to steal the old disavowed trope from the "Mission Impossible" franchise. The whole movie, Bond has to do things without the "sanctioned" help of MI5. It seems weird that this route would be taken but since Bond is going up against a whole terrorist organization on his own, it makes each run in he has with Spectre feel more risky and severe. Plus, without help from MI5, every run-in Bond has with Spectre henchmen is forced to have a definitive conclusion (Which, by the way, is a good thing). The acting is spot on from every member of the cast, including the always talented Christoph Waltz who plays the main villain, "Oberhauser." To be honest, as the movie progressed, I thought Waltz was getting cheated out of screen-time, thanks to the over exposure of Dave Bautista's character, Mr. Hinx, (For those of you that don't know, this is the same guy who played the green alien from "Guardians of the Galaxy") but in the end, I believe Waltz got his well deserved due of camera time. Just to be clear, I'm not complaining that Bautista got so much exposure. It's just that I wasn't expecting it. In the end, Mr. Hinx proved to be a suitable henchman to challenge Bond. I liked him. I liked him alot. 

This entry in the Bond franchise also proved to be the most funny and satirical in my mind. There are a lot of jokes here and there that I would've only suspected from the days Sean Connery played James Bond. In a way, "Spectre" ultimately ended up feeling like the ultimate tribute to the Bond franchise. The snarky jokes! The over the top action stunts! The gadgets! The women! The British-ness?! Everything that made the Bond films famous, appears here in spades! 

             I do have some complaints about the film though. It feels incredibly dense and extremely long. The movie runs for about 2 and a half hours but somehow ends up feeling like 3 hours and 15 minutes. Plus, they throw so much information at you that it is easy to get lost in the shuffle if you loose focus. But of course, most films run into these types of problems, so these cons didn't take away from the pros that come with the Bond experience.

"Spectre" ends up being a fun and explosive joyride that feels more sophisticated than most action movies. If you have the attention span for it, go ahead and buy yourself a ticket for it because it is worth watching! "007 Spectre" gets a J-Bangin score of 4 out of 5.