A Good Day To Die Hard

On the flip side of how much I loved Warm Bodies,  A Good Day to Die Hard was pretty awful. Everything that was great in the previous Die Hard movies was nowhere near coming through in this iteration of John McClane (STILL played by Bruce Willis). I found myself laughing more at things that were supposed to be serious than at things supposedly added to make us laugh.

This was clearly a filler film, for Jack (John's son, played by Jai Courtney, recently in Jack Reacher) to take over the "family business," which basically only entails thwarting criminals and blowing lots of stuff up. It wasn't anything like the original classic involving small time criminals, led by a near perfect Alan Rickman, but a sad excuse for a Die Hard movie. I'm not sure how Bruce Willis can go from movies like Red or Looper to this. He's still a good actor, but this movie certainly did not showcase that.

That all being said. I was still entertained. Sometimes you just have to sit back and enjoy bad movies and this was one of those times. Scoffing at terrible dialogue, laughing at wild explosions, and just being utterly confused during most of the movie may make it seem like it's not worth seeing, which is true. Unless you can see it cheaper than a normally priced film, even for free if you want to sneak in somewhere. (Un)fortunately it is at the budget theater so get there if you want to make fun of films like Troy and Abed on "Community."


You might find yourself enjoying a film in an entirely new way. Or you may be mad about spending money and sitting through this film. Try counting the amount of onscreen deaths you see. I think my total was 87. Make it into a game. Find something to enjoy in it.

I'd need an entirely new blog to discuss all the problems with the script and dialogue, but who knows, maybe other people really loved it. Those die-hard Die Hard fans maybe up in arms at anyone who dislikes one of these films.

4/10

Skyfall

Let's cut straight to the chase: this was very closely my favorite movie of recent memory (aside from Cabin in the Woods). Less surprises than Looper, but still an excellent storyline and tons of excitement. James Bond is back, better and badder than ever before.

Bond has been a beloved character for years and whether you think Daniel Craig fits the bill or not, Skyfall should make the answer rather obvious. Aside from the occasional shots of his awkward running stride, Craig is a great Bond and if you haven't heard he has signed on for two more films as well.

Beginning with an outstanding opening chase scene and an exciting and impressive opening credit sequence paired with Adele's single. I was hooked from the start. Following Bond into a story full of a perfect balance of old and new (revamping classic characters and reviving the playfullness of older Bond movies) was incredibly fun this time around (as opposed to whatever you'd like to call Quantum of Solace).

As for the story I won't give anything away, but look forward to a witty candor amongst characters that is refreshing and relieving at times. Little side glances from characters and quips about age coarse through the veins of this film and make it a memorable experience. Watch for the symmetry in many of the shots, though I feel it's hard to miss. It just adds to the subtle beauty of this Bond movie.

There are three things, among others, that are hard for me to believe in movies: fear, sadness, and cold. Check (✔) the first one off for Skyfall with Bérénice Marlohe's performance as Sévérine, one of the Bond girls. Then there's Q played by Ben Whishaw. He was excellent playing the brainy, young character opposite Daniel Craig's "old" Bond. And the mere fact that Craig turns on the waterworks, however brief, should be another ✔ off the list. Judi Dench is as impactful as ever as M, giving a beautiful performance of a snippet of a Tennyson poem swelling with the music. Naomie Harris who you might remember from 28 Days Later or the Pirates of the Caribbean series brings a rapport with Bond to the screen that hasn't been seen from a Bond girl in years. And Ralph Fiennes (aka Voldemort) shows his always skillful acting ability as Gareth Mallory.

Javier Bardem stands alone here. Both literally and figuratively. While his performance was both powerful and frightening, it felt familiar, reminiscent of the Joker from The Dark Knight. Bardem is always an incredible actor at the top of his game here. Still not as scary as Anton Chigurh (did you remember his name?) in No Country for Old Men. And many critics are claiming that he is the scariest villain of any Bond movie, but it's almost too easy to claim that once you learn his motive...Possible spoiler

Anything can be scary if it's made personal. And is only amplified when his malevolence is directed towards a main character.

However, the malicious and sadistic tones he conveys are incomparable to previous villains and his performance as Silva is not one to be forgotten.

Two things did bother me in Skyfall: Daniel Craig's awkward running and the CGI breath to show just how cold it is (✔? Only thanks to the snow and frozen water).  Why does his running bother me? Because he looks like he is a person in Minecraft living in an hi-def world. The CGI verges on annoying simply due to just how fake it really looks. It's nit-picky, oh well.

Skyfall joins a special tier of films, and in my opinion is one of the best Bond films to date. It will surely create new fans of the series and should impress any die-hard fan.

9/10

Looper

Have you ever had that movie experience where your mind is completely blown? Like Memento or Inception or even The Dark Knight (Heath Ledger's performance, whew!)? Would you like to have your mind blown again? Well look no further this year, for in the realm of science fiction, one movie reigns supreme: Looper. (My apologies to Christopher Nolan for not supplying pop culture with a mind destroying film this year)

Before this movie I could only fathom what seeing Blade Runner for the first time in theaters could have done to someone. It would have been mindjarring (my personal combination of mind blowing and bottling). As was my experience with this film. Rian Johnson has done what he did to film noir with Brick (2005): flipped it on it's head.

I thought I knew sci-fi movies and knew the kind of movie that Looper was, but whatever thoughts I had in my mind were changed because of this movie. The story begins with us following the life of Joe played by Joseph Gordon Levitt. His narration draws us in slowly and gently, but ever so subtly and we are transported to another world (or dimension depending on how you look at it). And after that we are given the conundrum: "if you were to meet your future self, should you kill him or her if you were a looper? "The sci-fi genre has not seen the likes of this movie since Alien or the aforementioned Blade Runner. The script is written so beautifully with subtle mentions of different topics that we never get a full explanation of, but have to fill in with our minds, and keeps reminding you that Bruce Willis is from the future. (Most of the movie I had to remind myself that he was)

But nobody likes a good story without a great ending. And Looper does NOT disappoint. Four little words in the film are all it took to blow my mind this time around. I walked out of the movie, drove home, and immediately asked my roommates if they wanted to see it tonight. The acting is incredible for the genre. And the special effects/make-up used to make Joseph Gordon-Levitt look different are unbelievable. He is transformed into a younger Bruce Willis with no visible changes at all. I could barely believe my eyes.

Whether you like sci-fi movies or not this is an absolute must-see. (Do you like Christopher Nolan movies? Yes? GO SEE THIS MOVIE TOMORROW!)<--Said in your Billy Mayes voice. This is a movie that could turn non-fans into die-hards (no pun intended Mr. Willis).

9/10