Mud

This is an instant classic. A combination of many of literature's finest and most intricate characters. Not only that, but the story is a perfect blending of various classic movies. Part Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, The Tree of Life, Deliverance. Even some Hardy Boys flows throughout. It is, however, completely unfair to compare this to past movies because it stands alone with imaginative characters and one of the best told stories I've seen in recent memory.

Two young boys encounter a mysterious man on a beach and as they learn more about him they grow increasingly closer with him and involved in his affairs. Think Stand By Me, but without the discovery of a dead body. Details run rampant during the film and if you lose focus for one second you may miss something from earlier. It evolves at its own pace and reveals pieces of the story in slivers, never more than one bit of information at a time, but it never loses focus or drags. Not only that, but the one thing that ties everything together is the idea of true love, whether it be the version the young boys in different home situations have, or the one Mud is pushing upon them.

My opinions of child actors has been expressed here multiple times, but these two young men carry their roles to near perfection. Tye Sheridan, previously in The Tree of Life, played the role of a teenager in a crumbling home looking for adventure, better than I could have imagined. Bringing the innocence of youth to life is something that isn't necessarily an easy thing to do and as Ellis does an outstanding job. Jacob Lofland as his sidekick, Neckbone knocks it out of the park. The two played off of each other better than a lot of adult actors do. Reese Witherspoon reminded me of her role as June Carter in Walk the Line. Just as well acted and sadly portrayed as then, her character Juniper was equally as mysterious as Mud.

Matthew McConaughey has proven again, what he did in Killer Joe in 2011, that he's actually a great actor with skills as perfect as anyone. His character in this movie reminded me of a lot of things and people. He was expertly written by Jeff Nichols and felt like a ghost of a pirate for much of the film, but the best part was McConaughey. He was a man of few words, but his actions did all the speaking needed. This is easily his best performance of his career.

While the story and acting are both strong, what ties the film all together and makes this one of the best times you'll have in a theater (without special effects) is the cinematography and music. Some of the most beautiful shots occur in this film. Of the river, island, and the surrounding areas. There is one sequence mirrored in the film and when it comes back around it is extremely important. A single guitar ties the montage scenes together and adds to the feeling of small town life.

Do yourself a favor and sprint, bike ride, roller blade, drive, walk, ride a Segway for all I care. Get to the theater and don't miss this gripping tale of childhood fantasy, crumbling love, and one of my favorite stories to date. It will easily be one of the year's best films and should be around for awhile. Mud is a classic and we should be seeing a lot of it come awards season.

This is a movie that reminds me why I want to make movies. It was fresh, fun, entertaining, surprising, gripping, and just overall fantastic. Please go see this! (And take me along!)

10/10

This Is The End

First things first, I was lucky enough to get a sneak preview of this film over a month before it is released in theaters. Free tickets are never wasted on me! It was a very funny movie, for the first half, but after that it diverged into cheap laughs.

Following originally just two friends it becomes a conglomerate of nearly every relevant comedic actor of the times. All basically playing themselves makes it that much more entertaining and the cameos that happen within the first half hour provide some of the funniest moments of the entire movie! These cameos were funny mostly because of their gruesome conclusions within the first thirty minutes. You don't know who is safe and who will die, but it makes it that much more entertaining.

Story-wise it's very farfetched, but so are most end of the world movies. This is the End follows these actors playing themselves and having to deal with things like not liking an old good friend's new friends. However, when placed in a comedic actor's house it seems a bit misguided. As I said before the beginning was hilarious.

The acting overall is fine, but I can't believe that playing yourself in a movie is particularly difficult. Two of the best characters were Craig Robinson and Danny McBride, solely for the heart and absurdity, respectively, they both brought to the screen. James Franco proved that his role in Pineapple Express wasn't a fluke and that he actually has the panache to make people laugh, especially when he hints at a certain love or desire for another of the actors. Jay Baruchel, Seth Rogan, and Jonah Hill fill out the poster above and help make the movie move along. Jay's and Seth's friendship being the main motivation for a lot of the events.

Many of the laughs throughout the movie came from each of the actors ripping on another one. Tearing apart a past movie or simply just messing with one another. Other than that it seemed to have a fairly apparent agenda of shoving religion down the audience's throat. One of my biggest pet peeves of movies. I don't want to go to the theater for a sermon or even a bold political statement. If it can be pulled off without being so explicitly I never really mind, but this is far from that. It not only tries to shove religion down your throat, but it plunges into what many parody movies do the indelible failure that was Epic Movie.

Overall though, if you like stupid comedies, this will be right up your alley. Ending in a way completely unfit for the movie, yet even more rampant with some awesome cameos, This is the End could have been so much more than it turned out to be. If you're looking for a comedic take on end of the world movies you'll have to wait about three months, but it'll be worth it. World's End starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost from Shaun of the Dead comes out on August 23rd and I'm sure it will blow this movie out of the water. Mostly because I'm betting they tried to get This is the End out before World's End to try and steal some of its thunder. Unfortunately for the producers it will probably fall short.

5/10

Iron Man 3

Getting punched in the face has never been so much fun. At least since The Avengers. References to "New York," aliens, Tony Stark's past all culminated in this year's first blockbuster soon-to-be hit movie Iron Man 3.

Robert Downey Jr. is up to his old antics as Tony Stark, the witty, somehow lovable asshole and genius. Again, Gwyenth Paltrow plays Pepper Potts perfectly. Don Cheadle gives a repeat performance of the government-lackey version of Tony Stark because Stark is generally too busy being an avenger. Ben Kingsley and Rebecca Hall shine as The Mandarin and Maya Hansen respectively. Each putting great performances amongst an action film. And finally Guy Pearce. He reminded me a lot of his character from Memento, minus the short-term memory loss. Very one-track minded.

Story was strong and very entertaining. Lots of twists, if you haven't read the comics. Quippy dialogue as usual was intelligent and perfectly timed. This time around in the Iron Man series speaking played a larger role, which only made the fight scenes that much more adrenaline pumping. This is easily the best superhero movie since The Avengers, at least in terms of action. (The Dark Knight Rises was a superhero movie for non-comic book fans, in my opinion). Maybe because it has been one of the few notable superhero movies since that one.

The choreography for lack of a better term in the CGI was incredible! Tony is forced to fight in many trying situations one of which comprised one of the coolest sequences of the film. And all the mind-blowing things Tony does with his suits is fun to watch. Whether it's diving into a suit or fighting with minimal armor, you'll never expect the things he does with the suits.

Definitely the first blockbuster of the summer and a fun movie for everyone. 

9/10