QUICK REVIEW: HACKSAW RIDGE (2016)

From IMDB:

Storyline

The true story of Desmond Doss, the conscientious objector who, at the Battle of Okinawa, won the Medal of Honor for his incredible bravery and regard for his fellow soldiers. We see his upbringing and how this shaped his views, especially his religious view and anti-killing stance. We see Doss's trials and tribulations after enlisting in the US Army and trying to become a medic. Finally, we see the hell on Earth that was Hacksaw Ridge.

71 Metascore From metacritic.com

Reviews 425 user | 390 critic

From Rotten Tomatoes:

MOVIE INFO

HACKSAW RIDGE is the extraordinary true story of Desmond Doss [Andrew Garfield] who, in Okinawa during the bloodiest battle of WWII, saved 75 men without firing or carrying a gun. He was the only American soldier in WWII to fight on the front lines without a weapon, as he believed that while the war was justified, killing was nevertheless wrong. As an army medic, he single-handedly evacuated the wounded from behind enemy lines, braved fire while tending to soldiers and was wounded by a grenade and hit by snipers. Doss was the first conscientious objector to ever earn the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Rating: R (for intense prolonged realistically graphic sequences of war violence including grisly bloody images)

Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama

Directed By: Mel Gibson

Written By: Robert Schenkkan, Andrew Knight

In Theaters: Nov 4, 2016 Wide

On DVD: Feb 21, 2017

Box Office: $66,935,525.00

Runtime: 139 minutes

Studio: Summit Entertainment

TOMATOMETER 86%

Average Rating: 7.2/10

Reviews Counted: 222

Fresh: 192

Rotten: 30

Critics Consensus: Hacksaw Ridge uses a real-life pacifist's legacy to lay the groundwork for a gripping wartime tribute to faith, valor, and the courage of remaining true to one's convictions.

AUDIENCE SCORE 92% liked it

Average Rating: 4.4/5

User Ratings: 45,938

Man wanted to be a doctor and help people so bad he went to war for it... ©Summit Entertainment

Basically this decades' Saving Private Ryan...

Here's another movie that's been out months and one that I also saw a while ago but like the LEGO Batman movie review I just posted up, I'm just getting round to putting a review about it. Again, you've probably already seen and heard everything about it and maybe even saw when it won 2 Oscars recently. 

This man is a literal real-life superhero...©Summit Entertainment 

Anyway, here's what I like about it...

• The story. An amazing story. An although it isn't exactly the way it actually happened how it's laid out for you is beautiful. You get who Desmond Doss is. You get his motivations. And you admire his determination. Oh, and if you want to see how the movie and the real story differs you can either read about Desmond Doss on the wikipedia page about him or about the Battle of Okinawa which is where the movie takes place. You can also go to HistoryVsHollywood.com and read about how it compares according to them. 
• The cast. All of them do a heck of a good job, especially Andrew Garfield. The only person that I just had a hard time believing was Vince Vaughn, just hard to believe his character as the drill sergeant.
• The action. When it gets going it is incredible, incredible visually. The realism, the gore and violence is unlike any other movie that I can remember but it doesn't take away from the core of the story. If anything it makes what Desmond has to go through and his determination to stick to his principles even more incredible.
• The visuals. As I mentioned before it is gory and violent and incredibly realistic. The camera work throughout all this is just brilliant. 
• 
  

When you don't believe in violence and won't carry a gun but the other men won't go into battle without you... ©Summit Entertainment

Overall, Hacksaw Ridge is one of those movies that will probably be talked about for awhile. It'll definitely rekindle interest in what happened during the pacific theatre of World War II and in who Desmond Doss is. I wrote in the title that Hacksaw Ridge is this decades Saving Private Ryan but there's a difference, Saving Private Ryan was partly based on a true story but in the real story there wasn't a band of men sent to save him, what happened instead was that the last surviving brother was informed that all of his brothers had been killed in the war and that the army was sending him home. Hacksaw Ridge on the other hand aside from certain details omitted or changed to suit the telling of the story in film it's basically all there, or at least the key parts of it. 

Regardless of what cinematic and story-telling license the writers took to make it fit into the film medium it's still a very good story and an amazing one. I'm giving it a solid 4.5 out of 5.

Here's a trailer for Hacksaw Ridge. 

MOVIE REVIEW: LIGHTS OUT (2016)

From IMDB:

Storyline

When Rebecca left home, she thought she left her childhood fears behind. Growing up, she was never really sure of what was and wasn't real when the lights went out...and now her little brother, Martin, is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that had once tested her sanity and threatened her safety. A frightening entity with a mysterious attachment to their mother, Sophie, has reemerged. But this time, as Rebecca gets closer to unlocking the truth, there is no denying that all their lives are in danger...once the lights go out.

58 Metascore From metacritic.com

Reviews 109 user | 204 critic

From Rotten Tomatoes:

When a bloodthirsty supernatural being that lurks in the shadows preys upon a family, a young woman must fight to protect herself, save her little half-brother, and uncover a mystery about her family's shadowy past.

Rating: PG-13 (for terror throughout, violence including disturbing images, some thematic material and brief drug content)

Genre: Horror

Directed By: David F. Sandberg

Written By: Eric Heisserer

In Theaters: Jul 22, 2016 wide

Box Office: $1,601,441.00

Runtime: 81 minutes

Studio: RatPac-Dune Entertainment

TOMATOMETER 76%

Average Rating: 6.3/10

Reviews Counted: 139

Fresh: 105

Rotten: 34

Critics Consensus: Lights Outmakes skillful use of sturdy genre tropes -- and some terrific performances -- for an unsettling, fright-filled experience that delivers superior chills without skimping on story.

AUDIENCE SCORE 68% liked it

Average Rating: 3.6/5

User Ratings: 19,555

This time it is all mom's fault. ©Warner Bros.

What was once a creepy and intriguing 3 minute video becomes a creepy and somewhat entertaining 80 minute movie...

So in 2013 David F. Sandberg made creepy little video about a woman who on her way to her bedroom turns off the hall lights and begins to see a human silhouette in the dark. Turning on the lights makes it go away but turning it off again brings it back. Anyway, I think it's better that you watch it instead of me writing it out.

That little short eventually got shared and shared and became sort of viral. Viral enough that it caught the attention of Hollywood. That little short was apparently made with; 

Blackmagic cinema camera with Tokina 11-16 lens. Zoom H4n with Rode Ntg1 mic. A paper lantern from ikea. A 375w photo bulb. A Chinese knockoff redhead light from eBay. A Manfrotto tripod. A home made dolly with pvc pipe, a piece of shelving from ikea and skate wheels. (Wikipedia)

The little short was popular enough in Hollywood that apparently it got the attention of Lawrence Grey who took it to the current master of all things horror, James Wan who although he liked the short didn't think it would work as a feature length film. But a feature length treatment by Sandberg did the job of convincing Wan and he and his wife Lotta Losten quit their jobs and left Sweden for Hollywood. When they arrived they lived in Airbnb homes for a while. And in fact when production started Sandberg had no idea how to handle it as it was his first time working on a production of this magnitude. You can read more about Lights Out here.

You work in a factory full of mannequins that alone will give anyone the creeps. ©Warner Bros.

Anyway, this feature length Lights Out if you still have yet to see it is about a particular family who have been, bothered I guess is one way to put it, by a malevolent presence in their home. The presence is intrinsically and emotionally linked to the mother of the family Sophie (Maria Bello), things begin to get worse when her current husband Paul (Billy Burke) is murdered one night in his clothing factory. Soon even her young son Martin (Gabriel Bateman) is feeling threatened by it and goes in search of his step sister Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) to escape it.

And then this thing shows up. ©Warner Bros.

Rebecca confronts her mother over what's going on in the house and when she doesn't get a clear answer from her mother she takes it upon herself to search the house for clues. During her search she is assaulted by the presence and finds a possible clue to what it may be. She finds out that her mother has suffered from severe depression since she was a child and was placed in an institution for a time. At the institution she befriends a girl who suffers an unusual condition where any exposure to sun or bright lights will cause severe burns. Before this girl arrived at the institution she spent most of her life confined to the basement by her parents and when they found her they also found her father dead apparently murdered by her. She was classified as extremely violent by the institution. Their attempts to cure her unusual condition culminated in her being strapped into a chair and exposed to extremely bright lights. The lights caused her to spontaneously combust.

Candles, a contributing factor to many fires in the home and a good weapon against the creeps. ©Warner Bros.

Anyway here's the likes and not so likes.

The likes.

1. The scares. Although it's the usual tropes and techniques it's done very well. We've all had that feeling late at night of not being alone in an empty house, of seeing things in the corner of your eye or shapes when the lights are turned off. Lights out takes that and puts it on screen pretty well.
2. The acting. The main cast does a pretty good job with their roles. Pretty convincing throughout.
3. The visuals. Done very well. Very atmospheric and brilliant use of lights both in the set-up of the scenes as well as in the scenes when the characters are using lights as weapons. 

When things that go bump, creak and anything else start leaving their names, you've got a problem. ©Warner Bros.

The not so likes.

1. The story. It starts off ok then it becomes predictable. It's a problem all horror films have. Also the reason for the existence of the evil presence is a bit hackneyed. 
2. The evil presence. You've seen her before. From the way she moves to what she does. It's been done before. So it becomes predictable. 

Here's Diana! ©Warner Bros.

Overall it's an enjoyable movie. It's more of the usual if you've watched enough horror movies but it's done very well. For a first time director who went from making film shorts with things everyone can afford and jumping to a full-length big Hollywood studio backed film it's an impressive first film. Hopefully Sandberg gets to fine tune his skills with better stories to work on in the future. 

I enjoyed the film so I'm giving it a decent 3 out of 5. 

Check out the trailer.

MOVIE REVIEW: THE CHOICE (2016)

From IMDB:

Storyline

Travis and Gabby first meet as neighbors in a small coastal town and wind up in a relationship that is tested by life's most defining events.

27 Metascore From metacritic.com

Reviews 15 user | 39 critic

From Rotten Tomatoes:

MOVIE INFO

When feisty medical student Gabby Holland moves in next door to perennial ladies' man Travis Shaw, it sends them both on a romantic journey neither ever dreamed possible. Travis has always believed a serious relationship with a woman would cramp his easygoing lifestyle, while Gabby is all set to settle down her long-term boyfriend-until an irresistible attraction between the unlikely couple upends both of their well-planned lives. After a whirlwind courtship, Gabby and Travis wed and build a family together, making every decision hand-in-hand until one of them is forced to make the most important choice of their life alone. A poignant and life-affirming celebration of love, marriage and family that explores the most heart-wrenching question of all: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?more

Rating: PG-13 (for sexual content and some thematic issues)

Genre: Drama, Romance

US Box Office: $13.3M

Runtime: 1 hr. 49 min.

Lionsgate Films

TOMATOMETER 7%

Average Rating: 3.4/10 | Reviews Counted: 57

Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 53

Critics Consensus: Like the 10 Nicholas Sparks movies before it, The Choice finds tragedy striking star-crossed lovers in the sun-dappled South -- yet even for those who loved its predecessors, this gauzy melodrama may feel painfully formulaic.

AUDIENCE SCORE 67% liked it

Average Rating: 3.6/5 | User Ratings: 8,314

THE CHOICE OPENED ON THE 5th OF FEBRUARY IN THE US AND ON THE 18th FEBRUARY IN MALAYSIA. TO FIND OUT WHEN IT OPENS NEAR YOU CLICK HERE.

This happens way, way later. He promises her the moon and the stars. On his own little island. ©Lionsgate

The latest in a long list of Nicholas Sparks books turned into movies... 

MOVIE REVIEW: POINT BREAK (2015)

From IMDB:

Storyline

A young FBI agent infiltrates an extraordinary team of extreme sports athletes he suspects of masterminding a string of unprecedented, sophisticated corporate heists. Deep undercover, and with his life in danger, he strives to prove these athletes are the architects of the mind-boggling crimes that are devastating the world's financial markets. Filmed on four continents, North America, Europe, South America and Asia, "Point Break" presents extraordinary feats performed by the world's top extreme sports athletes, and involves some of the most daring exploits ever committed to film. Extreme sports featured include snowboarding, wingsuit flying, free rock climbing, high-speed motocross, and surfing 70-foot waves.

From Rotten Tomatoes:

MOVIE INFO

An undercover cop makes his way into a scene of bank-robbing extreme-sports atheletes in this remake of Kathryn Bigelow's Point Break. Ericson Core directs from a script by Equilibrium's Kurt Wimmer. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Rating: PG-13 (for vioelnce, thematic material involving perilous activity, some sexuality, language and drug material)

Genre: Action & Adventure

Directed By: Ericson Core

Written By: Kurt Wimmer

Runtime: 1 hr. 53 min.

Warner Bros. Pictures - Official Site

POINT BREAK OFFICIALLY OPENS ON DECEMBER 24th WORLDWIDE BUT IF IT DOESN'T CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHEN IT OPENS NEAR YOU.

So to make sure you know that Johnny Utah is a bad ass before he becomes an FBI rookie we get to see him do this. ©Warner Bros. Pictures

They of course had to remake this one too…