Pitch Perfect 2 Review

Starring: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Hailee Steinfeld, Skylar Astin, Adam DeVine

2012's Pitch Perfect was a surprise success. It's one of the biggest cult movies of all time. If you don't believe me, Pitch Perfect 2 made more in 3 days than the entire revenue of the first film. I cannot tell you how many people told me to watch Pitch Perfect as soon as it came on DVD. Literally, everyone was all over this movie, and it stumped me why no one went to see it in theaters. The first film is an incredibly funny movie with a great purpose. It takes the college comedy and turns it into a fresh new idea, and I believe Pitch Perfect 2 capitalizes on this. Pitch Perfect 2 is not hilarious, and is not nearly as funny as the first one. But it undergoes a certain kind of change from the first one, as if it has morphed into a new type of movie. This is a very good movie, but it is so different from the first one. Directed by Elizabeth Banks (who appeared in the first one, and appears here as well), she seems to capitalize on the success of the first one, and this allows it to graduate into a more serious movie.

Everything about Pitch Perfect 2 feels bigger. The main thing I loved was the music. The music is much better than the first one. I don't want to spoil many of the songs, because it is greater when you don't know what's coming. The Riff Off scene is much better than the one in the first movie. I also favored Das Sound Machine as the enemies rather than the Treblemakers from the first movie. Das Sound Machine, the German group the Barden Bellas team would be challenging in the World Championships, looked like a real threat. Both the German male and female were very good in their roles, and I enjoyed that the film downplayed the romance between Jesse (Astin) and Beca (Kendrick). In the last movie, it was the "forbidden love" between two families in a Romeo & Juliet style that was just so old, I liked that it was ditched here. I don't think "Flashlight" is better than "Cups", but it definitely makes more of a presence. Remember "Cups" is a remixed version that became popular after the film, and the actual song didn't make much of an impact in the movie. "Flashlight" is the original song of the sequel, and they perform it at the finale to much applause. It's written by a newcomer played by Hailee Steinfeld. In my opinion, she was the best in the movie. Steinfeld is an Oscar nominee for True Grit back in 2010, and she definitely brings some acting chops.

Here's what I thought did not work. Lily (the Asian who doesn't talk) is not very funny. Her whispered lines of sheer ridiculousness was one of the highlights of the first film, and what she says isn't very funny, and it's a lot more infrequent than in the first one. Fat Amy is also not as funny, but I feel like Rebel Wilson did a better job acting-wise. Her character actually had an arc, and a romantic relationship. So she upped her game, but lost her humor in the process. The commentators were one of my big problems. They were my favorite part of the first movie. The showed up so infrequently that every time was absolutely hilarious, and here they show up too much. And none of them is really funny either. Gail is played by director Elizabeth Banks, and I attribute this to her not being able to act and direct well at the same time. But she does direct with an incredible skill both behind the camera and from a business perspective. She's definitely capitalized on the success of the first film.

That's really all I have to say about Pitch Perfect 2. Quality-wise, it's a better film than its predecessor. It lacks the re-watchability that the first film had in spades. I can watch Pitch Perfect over and over again (I probably have seen it at least 10 times by now) and the jokes are still hilarious, and it's like watching it for the first time. It never gets old and that quality will, I believe, immortalize it in time as one of the defining movies of this generation. This movie flows better, but it doesn't quite match the surprise and awe of the first film.

Rating:

Mad Max: Fury Road Review

Starring:Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Bean, Rosie Huntington-Whitley

Mad Max: Fury Road is the best film of 2015 I've seen so far. If you don't believe it could possibly be so incredibly good, check out the Rotten Tomatoes score, where it sits at a near perfect 99%. Mad Max: Fury Road tells the epic story of a world without water. Set in futuristic Australia, a group of brainwashed road warriors worship a False God-like king Immortan Joe (Keays-Bean). When one of them, Furiosa (Theron) steals his "Breeders" (basically sex slaves to give him an heir) and plans to help them escape to freedom, Immortan Joe starts an all-out pursuit of the convoy, where a prisoner named Max gets thrown into the mix. Mad Max (Hardy) is not the star of the movie. This movie is about a shockingly important message on humanity and power that draws from both mythology and the Bible. I cannot stress enough how great this movie is. Continue reading, and I can better articulate why this movie may be one of the best I have seen in recent memory.

While I believe it is incredibly well-acted, I think that the story is really what makes the actors shine. The script is so tightly woven, that it's a strenuous task to find any problems. Max's backstory is confusing, but it's meant to be that way. I believe it draws from previous Mad Max films which I have not seen. The true strength of the movie is its message on feminism, ans subsequently, the female characters. The Breeders are such fascinating characters, completely draped in white clothes, one of them 8 months pregnant. They are treated as objects by Immortan Joe (pictured above) so they try to escape. One of the most poignant scenes I saw was when Immortan Joe's truck was speeding up behind Furiosa and Max's and he was aiming his gun at Max in the window. Suddenly the backseat door flew open and Splendid (Huntington-Whitley) was leaning out in front of Max, her pregnant belly blocking the shot. He couldn't hit her, no matter how much he hated her. She was his object, and that baby was his. The way they interacted was great to watch as well. One was scared and she always wanted them to take her back, and they joined forces with Furiosa's old tribe to fight Immortan Joe. The tribe was very Amazon-like, obviously drawing from the myths of tribes of all-women warriors able to combat any man. The true star of the movie was not Mad Max, but Furiosa, with Charlize Theron turning in a spectacular performance worthy of any award. While it surprised me, there's a subtle somewhat feminist nature of the movie. Even more surprising is how much it elevates the story and the film itself if you pick up on it.

Now to talk about director George Miller. The directing is spot-on. The whole movie is like a wild ride that never relinquishes its grip on the viewer. I've tried to explain certain plot points to people and it just comes out sounding like a psychedelic nightmare. The movie is almost stolen by on of Immortan Joe's henchmen, a guitar wielding servant who rides with the gang, stage and speakers attached to his vehicle. While the action's going on he's literally just jamming out from, while his electric guitar breathes fire. I cannot explain how awesome this is. The score is also incredibly well-done, as are the gorgeous visual effects. The cinematography is so well-done that it doesn't even feel like you're watching a movie, it feels like you have been thrust into the world, and the script makes you believe every line, and every image, no matter how convoluted it seems.

Can I recommend this movie to everyone? Even though it's near 100%, that doesn't mean 100% of my audience will enjoy it. I think if you're into this sort of adventure, if you've seen the original movies, or if you just enjoy really amazing movies, this is for you. It's not very graphic in violence or sex, there is just a fair amount of explosions and some very disturbing imagery. When the movie ends, a single quote comes up after the fade to black. This quote really illustrates how poignant this movie is. You can see this as your standard popcorn flick, or you can see it for the message George Miller intended. I hope it's not forgotten during awards season so it can get the recognition it deserves. I'm not going to spoil the ending, but the quote really made me realize that humanity could end up like this, as crazy as it seems. We fight wars over individuals, over oil, and over diamonds. When will the war be for clean water? And will we lose ourselves and our humanity in the scramble.

Rating:

Avengers: Age of Ultron Review

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Cobie Smulders, Linda Cardellini, James Spader, Samuel L. Jackson

The following contains hidden spoilers. Reveal at your own risk.

Avengers: Age of Ultron is the movie that you'll all likely see. It's poised to become the biggest movie of the year (if Furious 7 doesn't keep it from the top) and is going to open with massive numbers this weekend. Here we see our six major Avengers: Iron Man (Tony Stark), Captain America (Steve Rogers),Thor, The Hulk (Bruce Banner), Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff), and Hawkeye (Clint Barton) take on Ultron, played very well by James Spader. Ultron is an artificial intelligence that turns against his creators and becomes hell bent on eradicating the Avengers and their kind. Ultron is aided by The Twins Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch (Pietro and Wanda Maximoff) who turn against him and become Avengers. We also have Paul Bettany playing

The Vision

. One thing that The Avengers movies really succeed with is character development. The characters are so well developed that it makes the movie so enjoyable. I think this is a great movie. It's not perfect, and I'll dissect it below.

Out of the characters, the ones who make the most impact are definitely Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. The latter was my favorite part of the movie. I think her superpowers of mind and matter manipulation are unmatched by anyone in the series, and I really like her character struggle. When she's a villain she's the one that brings the team down, and when she's a hero, she struggles with her past. Quicksilver was like a little boy running all over the place. His humor and accent were perfect. I also really liked

The Vision and his little nods to religion and Christianity. His birthing scene was fantastic, and the fact that he's JARVIS makes the character well realized as artificial life

. I also loved Hawkeye. Hawkeye is always the butt of the jokes, but he finally gets to shine. His backstory with his wife and kids makes him seem like the only sane Avenger, with all the rest considering themselves as monsters. Even Black Widow, who is also very well-realized. She's not at her best, but she has a meaty backstory where she's

sterilized

. I have problems with The Hulk. He has a romance with Black Widow and I hated it. The scenes were boring, and their relationship was not believeable. While the first film capitalized on The Hulk's struggle, this one got caught up with the romance and the movie suffered from it. Maria Hill and Nick Fury are great as always. I disliked Ultron (I KNOW RIGHT?) only because they cheated with the ending. He did not get a good fight scene, and I never felt he was dangerous to the team. Overall I loved the ending and when they fought in the circle and "became" the statue and when 

Quicksiilver died and Scarlet Witch finally gained confidence. When she ripped out Ultron's heart it was

symbolic . So much symbolism made the movie really shine.

The seeds are definitely being sowed for Civil War. If you don't know what I'm talking about, that's the storyline for Marvel going forward. In it, Iron Man and Captain America are divided and must fight each other. The next movie is Captain America: Civil War. Obviously Iron Man is being painted as the villain after this movie. He is incredibly unlikeable here, and he leads all of the Avengers to even fight Cap and the Twins. I really liked the team at the end. If you've seen it, you know some of them quit and new Avengers join Captain America's team. I love the direction Marvel is going in, I just am getting a little bit of Marvek fatigue. I still believe that Marvel's greatest villain is Loki, and to cut Tom Hiddleston's scenes was a mistake. I think James Spader did a fine job as Ultron, but the character just didn't deliver in the ending. It's a little overblown, and it's not as good as the first one in quality, but they definitely insert new characters with ease and really give us some great action sequences!

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars