Reviews Reactor

Shin Godzilla is the newest Godzilla film from Toho, the studio behind the Japanese Godzilla films dating back all the way to 1954. This one is a reboot of the franchise, yet again, for the contemporary Japan and the plot is basically what you'd expect; Godzilla arrives and wreaks havoc, all the while the Government tries to defeat it. Since the original Godzilla was inspired by the effects and scars from the WWII Atomic Bombings on Japan by USA, and how destructive and horrifying that power is, this one is similar and was inspired by the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, and the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster, all the while being disguised in a monster movie. Godzilla in this movie instills a sense of dread and fear as this indestructible monster with the power to lay waste to everything, a biological TERROR, and I really liked that about this movie. The way its proper form looked, particularly the head, was unsettling and that was the movie's intention, so ...

Arrival is a sci-fi drama directed by Denis Villeneuve, who I think is one of the better directors working today with previous films like Sicario and Prisoners under his belt, and it is about mysterious aliens spaceships coming down to our blue planet and our attempt at understanding why.  The movie focuses on the character of Amy Adams, who's a renowned linguist and is recruited to help the US army communicate with the visitors. She gives one of the best performances of her career here, and I hesitate to reveal anything more in the case of spoiling anything, so I'll just say that her character arc was profoundly moving. She is accompanied by several side characters, notable ones being portrayed by Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker, and they both delivered good performances. Now the way this movie approached the aliens scenario was my favorite thing in Arrival. The focus on language and communication felt like a fresh take. It was really intriguing to see Amy Adams...

Hacksaw Ridge is a war-drama based on the true story about Desmond Doss, an American combat medic in WW2, who saved 75 lives in the battle of Okinawa, one of the bloodiest battle of the pacific theater. Directed by Mel Gibson who, after a 10 years gap, returned to the world of cinema, and in full form.  Andrew Garfield plays as Desmond Doss and in the process gave the best performance of his career. You feel for him, you understand his character, and you root for him all the way. Teresa Palmer plays as the love interest, and she was simply lovely. Their short love story was quite sweet and they both had great chemistry. The performances were great across the board, and there were some surprising ones too like Vince Vaughn. He portrays a sergeant and I loved him in this film. He had a comedic layer to his role but was also dramatic when the movie called for it. The show stealer side-character performance was from Hugo Weaving, though, who plays as Desmond's fat...

Battlefield 1 is the next title in the franchise from DICE, bringing a much-appreciated change of setting, taking place in The Great War (World War 1). Now I was quite excited to finally play it, but at the same time, had some reservations about the campaign considering DICE's history with them. Thankfully, the improvement curve that was witnessed from BF3 to BF4 continued.  Story:  I'll be honest, I LOVED the fact that this took place in WW1 as I don't think I have ever played a big-budget AAA game focusing on that era. And it felt like a breath of fresh air amongst the saturated futuristic focus we've been getting for the past several years.   The campaign is divided into five war-stories, each taking place in different parts of the war with characters of their own. This enhanced the feel of the war and reeled you in more. Also, each of the stories boasts great cinematic presentation, with well crafted cut-scenes and moments, giving it a more EPIC feel...

The Accountant is an action-drama-thriller directed by Gavin O'Connor, who directed one of my favorite films of 2011 i.e Warrior, and it is about a guy with neurological disorder/autism who lives as an accountant (both normal and the dangerous kind), using his disorder to his benefit. Now, this isn't an action heavy movie with fights around every corner, but instead is a drama with some thrilling action sequences. The movie takes its time to tell you about the main character, as well as secondary ones. It sets up the world well enough that you care and are involved in the plot, which is something I quite enjoyed and it even felt a bit fresh.  Ben Affleck gave an excellent performance as the accountant. He had subtlety, depicting the character's issues with socializing quite well, and at the same time showing dedication and fierceness when needed. Anna Kendrick was sweet and fun as the love-interest, and I enjoyed her rather limited screen time. JK Simmons was...

Deepwater Horizon is a disaster movie based on true events. It is about an offshore drilling rig where things took the turn for the worst, resulting in the largest oil disaster in USA's history. I'm an avid disaster movie fan, and while you do get fictional ones every now and then, getting a well-executed one based on a true story is almost non-existent. Hence, I was very contented when the movie was over. Peter Berg, just like with Lone Survivor, returns to direct with Mark Wahlberg as the lead in another based-on-a-true-story movie. And in a similar fashion, the movie spends a hefty amount of time on the first act, setting up the characters and location etc, leading up to the climactic release. The screen-time was distributed properly, no one character hogged all the time and apart from the setup, no focus to lovey-dovey stuff was given, all of which contributed to a solid first act. The acting was good all around. Mark Wahlberg did a good job (great at t...

The Purge: Election Year is the third movie in the franchise which is set in a world where America holds an annual purge, and everything becomes legal including murder on that day. After watching this movie, I'm still waiting for them to properly utilize this world they have created.  Election Year has, well, politics thrown into the mix where Frank Grillo returns as the lead, and this time he's the head of security for the senator, played by Elizabeth Mitchell, who's fighting in the election and wants to end the purge while the evil government opposition is trying to get rid of her during the purge. Couple that in meh execution along with some forgettable subplots and side characters, bad and way over-the-top acting, stupid/nonsensical scenes, and just an overall forgettable experience, and you have another wasteful purge movie (Anarchy was fine, loads better than the other two). The only characters I had any interest in were the two leads, that'...

"We’re all dying. That’s what defines the condition of living ." The Crown is a series about Queen Elizabeth II and her early years as the Queen. Now personally, I don't really have that much interest in the subject matter and wouldn't go actively look for media showcasing it, but after hearing so many great things about it, I decided to give it a watch. To my surprise, I was hooked from the start. The series is so well made, the execution of everything is so exemplary, and its pacing is remarkably well balanced (for a series like this), that I couldn't help but have a wonderful time with it. I was intrigued by the inner workings of the royal household, and how the crown weighs on the bearer and the people surrounding them.  The casting was damn good. Many of the actors do look similar to the personalities they are portraying in that time, and the acting itself was marvelous. Clair Foy is so lovely and plays as the queen with great beauty. John Lithgow...

"These violent delights have violent ends." Westworld is a sci-fi series from HBO and is about a futuristic western-themed park populated by artificial being or hosts (as they are called in the series) where rich people can come and do whatever they want. The premise alone was enough for me to warrant a watch as the subject matter of the series is something I have a very high interest in. And to my utmost delight, the series deeply explored it and gave me the experience I always wanted.  It is created by Jonathon Nolan (brother of Christopher Nolan) and Lisay Joy, and they both did a marvelous job with it. The world, the characters; the moral, ethical and philosophical dilemmas; all the interesting stuff I look forward to in things tackling this genre were top notch.  The series boasted an impressive cast with some A-List actors thrown in the mix and the resulting acting was good to spectacular across the board, but the two standouts for me were Anthony H...

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is the first stand-alone anthology film in the franchise and is set right before the events of Episode 4: A New Hope. The story follows a group of rebels which leads the charge for retrieving the plans that could aid the rebel alliance in destroying the Death Star.  Now I was really hyped for this movie ever since it was announced for various reasons: First Star Wars stand-alone film. Gareth Edwards directing it. (I loved Godzilla 2014)  War movie feel which caters to my Battlefront fan side.  Curiosity and anticipation for how they would end it, which, knowing the story, would be great if they don't veer away from it too much.  And suffice to say that the movie met my expectations and more.  The main rebel team i.e. Rogue One was likable. Each character was fun in their own way. They were led by Felicity Jones, who plays Jyn Erso, daughter of the Death Star architect. She did a good enough job in the t...

Blood Father is a movie about a man who is on parole and is living a straight life, but all that takes the turn for the worst when his missing daughter asks him for help. I'm a fan of Mel Gibson's, so I HAD to watch this movie. And it wasn't bad.  Mel Gibson was great in this. He bulked up for the role, he looked and felt raw, and he had some great flip-out moments, you know, the good old Mel Gibson stuff. It was just awesome seeing him back in form. The daughter, played by Erin Moriarity (Sherlock got his eye on her) also did a really good job. Since this is a father-daughter drama, both of them carried the film.  Their relationship was a bit rocky at first, but as the movie went along, I grew to like it more. Hell, I even got some feels at the end. And this is the main reason I actually liked the movie. The movie had some decent action sequences, but if you watch the trailer, they pitch it as a full-on action movie, which this certainly is not. I would call ...

"Better to die saving lives, than to live with taking them."  Star Trek Beyond is the third entry into the star trek rebooted franchise, and follows Captain Kirk and team, who are 3 years in their 5 year exploration mission. After following a distress request, they get stranded on a planet encountering a new villain hell bent on destroying the federation.  I'm a big fan of this reboot franchise. I loved both previous parts directed by J.J Abrams, and while I was a bit worried that he wasn't returning to direct the third one, I was excited nonetheless. Thankfully, this is yet another great entry in the franchise. Simon Pegg and his script, Justin Lin at the helm, and with the same amazing team of cast reprising their roles, created one hell of an entertaining adventure, from start to finish. I was completely hooked.  Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and the rest, gave great performances and made the whole crew dynamic feel natural and fun, once again. I love ...

Kubo and the Two Strings is a stop motion animated film from the studio Laika, and is about a boy who must go on this journey to acquire a special magical armor in order to defeat the forces of evil. I'm deliberately not putting more in the synopsis since I believe this movie is best watched with as little knowledge as possible, and hence why I'll keep this review short as well.   From start to finish, this was a beautiful, heartfelt, entertaining, often really hilarious, and a magical journey. It's an adventure movie that really reels you in with the aspect of adventure. The world/setting was really interesting, and the mythos, the legends, the stories etc all kept adding to the experience. Just the type of adventure I love.  Kubo was a great character. You feel and root for him throughout. And the supporting characters were just as great if not better. Their relationship with each other, and the way it progresses, was so sweet. Animation quality was outs...

Jason Bourne is a sequel to The Bourne Ultimatum and is set some years after the last film. Bourne is forced once again to come out of hiding and face the CIA, as well as uncover things about his past. Now, I'm a huge fan of this franchise. I love The original Bourne trilogy to death, and I even enjoyed Legacy. So naturally, I was extremely excited to finally watch this film considering Matt Damon is teaming up again with director Paul Greengrass (Supremacy, Ultimatum). Unfortunately, 2016 being a year of disappointments (Big or small), this followed the same suit.  Now, not all of the movie was disappointing. There were some things I liked. I enjoyed Matt Damon reprising his role, he was great again. Some action sequences were exciting and thrilling, like the finale, even if a bit more on the over-the-top side as compared to previous parts. Hearing the score from the previous parts again was so satisfying. The story, while being mostly uninteresting, did have some as...

Sausage Party is an R-Rated animated film about...well...food. Just like how toys were alive in Toy Story but unknown to humans, the same concept is applied here on food, fully utilizing its rating.  Now the concept itself was very fun and entertaining. Just seeing food items stereotyped according to real world traits was hilarious, and the jokes/situations that ensued with it. And there were some great scenes, two in particular, which you've probably seen in the trailers.  Problem is, concept alone is not enough, and that is where this film faltered. Instead of creating creative and fun dialogue that complements the concept, Seth Rogen and the team just added crude humor, tons and tons of profanities and sexual innuendos, in order to raunch it up to the max. And while it does reel you in at the start with the novelty of a 3D animated movie with an R-rating, it all just gets old really fast. Just because the food is saying 'Fuck' for like 200th time doesn't...

The Nigh Of is a mini-series from HBO and it's about a guy who, on one night, finds himself in a very sticky situation when the girl he was with ends up dead and he becomes the main suspect. From a glance, this might look like another murder mystery type show, but in actuality, it is more about being in this situation, and how the system is flawed.  In usual HBO fashion, the pacing of the show is slow, but the good kind. Everything takes its time and lets you soak it all in. The tension slowly creeps up on you during crucial moments, and builds and builds, putting you on the edge of your seat, without rushing anything. Since there are only eight episodes, there isn't a moment of boredom to be found, even if things slow down to a great deal.  From crime-scene to police stations and trials, everything feels laid out to a great degree of detail. People are simply doing there job, going about their business while the protagonist finds himself in this situation. It al...

Lights Out is a horror movie about a family, that is being tormented by an entity/ghost. The catch is, it can only appear in the darkness. I was really looking forward to watching this because of its premise. I mean let's face it, fear of the dark is a fundamental fear that everyone experiences atleast once in there life. So a movie centered around something like this genuinely intrigued me.  The cast did a uniformly good job. The kid was good, the mother, the sister, and hell, even the boyfriend. Usually the boyfriend/girlfriend character ends up being just disposable copy paste cliches, but this movie did a good job with the character.  Run-time of the movie is short around 1 hour and 20 mins, so the pacing was fast. You don't have slow periods or long build up periods that horror movies usually have. From the start, shit starts happening. That was both a positive, and a negative for me. On one hand, I enjoyed the fast pacing as it kept me on the hook consistent...

Stranger Things is a Netflix original series about a disappearance of a boy in a small town, and the efforts of his family and friends in order to find him, in the midst of strange events. This show's popularity really blew up after its release this year. It was everywhere, and I finally got around to watching it, and to see what all the big fuss was about. And well, the hype is real. I'll be very honest, I don't think I have ever seen a show that got me hooked so badly, so quickly, and maintained that interest throughout with extreme consistency. I started it after midnight, with a plan of watching a couple of episodes that night (Working Day, had to get up early), and continuing the rest next day. But instead of that, I stayed up till morning and completed it in one go. It literally glued me to the TV. Now, the thing that was most prevalent in hooking me to this show, at least at the start anyway, was the setting. It hit all the right points for me considering...

Suicide Squad is the third and latest entry into the DCEU, and is about a bunch of bad guys that are rounded up to fight for someone else. And just like this year's BvS, this movie received overwhelmingly negative reviews by the critics and was divided among the fans. I was super curious to watch it because unlike many, I actually enjoyed the DCEU till this point. Enjoyed both Man of Steel and BvS. But unfortunately, this one's a mess. The majority of the movie just feels choppy, editing was all over the place. Like they had a final product but because of disagreements, they took out a lot of scenes, shorten the runtime, and added others, making a giant choppy mess in the end. Scenes don't properly flow, including the flashbacks. Some scenes feel like they were added later (Probably the re-shoots) and they definitely didn't fit, particularly the elevator scene with Harley. The songs were all over the place as well. Some worked with their respective scenes, but...

Central Intelligence is sorta of a buddy-spy comedy and it's about an average joe hung up on life over past issues, until he meets up with one of his high school batch mate, and things suddenly turn upside down for him. A movie like this only works if the two leads meld together, and boy oh boy did they ever in this movie. Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart both were excellent in this movie. I loved their chemistry, their banter and their relationship. They clearly seemed to be having a great time in their roles, and as a result, the movie as a whole became a lot more fun. Also, I liked it more that they weren't playing their usual selves. It was just hilarious to see The Rock play this man-child agent, he always manages to bring so much energy into every role. And Kevin Hart dialed back a lot. He was the average joe, the normal guy in this movie and I liked that. You do still get the usual Kevin hart outbursts/moments, in small doses. Aside from these two, there was a...