Category: 2018

REVIEW: ‘Deadpool 2’ is a blast thanks to its relentless comedy

“Deadpool 2” is a lot like its predecessor. It’s very funny, but is at times shallow and carries its share of flaws.

The film sets off with Deadpool, AKA Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) now living a fairly comfortable life, working as a mercenary and living with his girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). Following a disastrous series of events, though, Wilson finds himself without the love of his life and in prison with only a young fire-powered mutant named Russell (Julian Dennison) as company.

Wilson’s problems only increase when a new foe named Cable (Josh Brolin) emerges. Cable soon reveals that his goal is to kill Russell, and Deadpool sets out to stop him.

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Enjoy ‘Deadpool?’ Hyped For ‘DP2?’ Cool, Then You’ll Love ‘Kick-Ass’

A main character dressed as a superhero fights crime, narrates his own story and in some moments breaks the fourth wall.

Think I’m talking about “Deadpool?” Nope. I’m talking about “Kick-Ass,” the 2010 action comedy adaptation of the comic book. In just a few days “Deadpool 2” will be released, with the first one coming to theaters in early 2016.

Despite both of these films having a great number of similarities to “Kick-Ass,” though, people seem to have forgotten the movie that’s now nearly a decade old. But the fact is that “Kick-Ass” deserves to be remembered and recognized because of how it raised the bar, especially in this period of time where we have the “Deadpool” films coming out.

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A Look At How ‘Mystery Men’ And ‘Unbreakable’ Were Ahead Of Their Time

“Avengers: Infinity War” continues to dominate the box office, now reaching a total of nearly $1.2 billion.

The theater tickets sold, as well as the great feedback from audiences and critics, is the latest example that we are in the superhero movie golden age. Since 2000, when the original “X-Men” came out and was followed by “Spider-Man” a few years later, the genre has been on an incredible upward trend.

“Infinity War” is just the latest highlight in a series of milestones that includes great films such as “The Dark Knight” and “Captain America: Winter Soldier.” Even comedy films based around the genre have popped up over the years to some solid success.

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REVIEW: ‘Life of the Party’

Melissa McCarthy is a talented individual but there’s no doubt her track record with movies hasn’t been perfect. As a result, there is only cautious optimism when I walk into one of her features, such as “Life of the Party.” Fortunately, this one was actually a pleasant surprise.

McCarthy’s latest starring role is playing Deanna, a housewife who didn’t finish her college degree and is suddenly met with divorce papers from her husband. As she weighs her options, Deanna sees this life-changing event as an opportunity to go back to college and complete her archaeology degree.

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REVIEW: ‘Isle Of Dogs’ Is A Witty, Funny Stop-Motion Animation Venture

Nearly a decade after producing the stop-motion feature “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” Director Wes Anderson is back with another film using the same animation style, this time with “Isle of Dogs.” Like his previous animated feature as well as his other live action films, Anderson adds his own flair in both the visuals and writing.

“Isle of Dogs” takes place in a completely fantastical world. The movie is set in the city of Megasaki, located in Japan. The city seems to be a thriving metropolis except for one problem, the canines living there are infected with “dog flu” and have become a nuisance for their owners.

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REVIEW: Third ‘Avengers’ Is A Stunningly Well Made Feature

In 2012, the folks behind Marvel managed to put together numerous superheroes in one film and made it all work in “The Avengers.” This time around, in “Infinity War,” they use a lot of that same formula on a much bigger scale and even though there’s so much more going on, it still fires on all cylinders.

The latest “Avengers” takes place directly after the events of last year’s movie “Thor: Ragnarok.” In fact, the opening of “Infinity War” was even teased in “Ragnarok.” We soon find out that Thor (Chris Hemsworth), along with his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) are under siege by the powerful character Thanos (Josh Brolin).

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REVIEW: ‘Super Troopers 2’ Sadly Doesn’t Live Up To Original

Look, I didn’t want to do this. I really enjoyed the original “Super Troopers,” I remember renting it on VHS and laughing through most of its runtime. But, unfortunately, this sequel is multiple levels of bad.

The film picks up years after the original, with the five lead characters all in new jobs after getting fired from the local Police Department for a constantly hinted at incident involving a celebrity. Their luck changes, though, when they’re informed that a section of Canada actually is part of the United States (Vermont more specifically) and they’re recruited into a new highway patrol unit.

The problem is the local Canadians aren’t taking too kindly to the new law enforcement unit. This is especially true for the area’s Canadian Mounted Police, which see the new officers as rivals.

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REVIEW: Clumsy Execution Of Premise, Weak Humor Sink ‘I Feel Pretty’

“I Feel Pretty” is the type of film that has good ideas and even a concept that could work, but unfortunately, the execution is really rough.

The film follows the character Renee (Amy Schumer), a woman who’s insecure and is having difficulty in both her career and love life. However, after a fall during an exercise routine, Renee wakes up with the belief that she’s suddenly become seemingly more beautiful than before. This is despite her appearance not changing.

As a result, Renee becomes significantly more confident than before and she has success in many aspects of her life, starting a relationship with a guy named Ethan (Rory Scovel) and advancing her career with a promotion.

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REVIEW: ‘Rampage’ As A Whole Isn’t Saved By Monster Spectacle

There are two aspects with “Rampage,” one is the giant monster battles and the other is everything else. The giant fights are entertaining, the rest is forgettable.

The story behind the giant monsters in “Rampage” starts in space. A shady corporation turns out to be doing biological experiments high above Earth and after something goes wrong, three canisters are dropped from a space station containing genetic altering substances. One of those canisters falls in a San Diego wildlife center, where the protagonist Davis (Dwayne Johnson) works. The canister comes in contact with a gorilla Davis works with, named George, and it ends up making the primate grow to a massive size.

The other canisters land in North America, too, and have the same effect on two other animals. Meanwhile the (basically outright evil) corporation decides to lure the animals to Chicago, meaning it’s up to Davis, a former employee of the corp., Kate (Naomie Harris) and a government agent named Harvey (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) to stop them, as Davis has worked with George before.

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