DB Reviews- La La Land

Image from Hollywood Elsewhere

Hello and welcome to my review of La La Land, a new, jazzy musical starring Ryan Gosling (The Big Short) and Emma Stone (The Amazing Spider-Man). This review does contain spoilers, so if you don't want to be spoiled, please stop reading, go see the film, then come back to this post to read what I thought about it. 

The story is this: A guy and a girl fall in love in Hollywood. The thing that brought them together? Jazz! A music genre that, according to Gosling's character, is dying. No one wants to hear it anymore, so Gosling goes out to revive it! That's his character's dream. 

He meets a young girl that wants to be a famous movie star someday! She works at a coffee shop in the Warner Bros lot (even though this film was presented by Summit Entertainment). They fall in love, but it didn't work out. They eventually followed their dreams, but they remember each other when they see each other in the last scene of the film. 

So here's what I think: First off, I don't think Gosling can sing at all! However, I do think he can play a mean piano, or should I say his music double Justin Hurwitz! Hurwitz can tickle that ivory! Gosling did a good job making it look like he himself was tickling that ivory! His character when away from the piano was OK. 

Emma Stone's character was good. Her singing voice was better then Gosling's! Her character has had a lot of frustrations throughout her journey to her dream and I think Stone did OK portraying those issues. She wanted to be a star really bad, but she kept getting interrupted during auditions for different roles and I think Stone did OK with those parts of the script as well. 

My favorite song from this musical was Start My Fire from John Legend. That could be his next hit single! The trumpet and trombone players were good too in this film! The song City of Stars was good, but again my pick for top song is Start My Fire. 

Overall, I give this film 3 out of 5 stars. The things that I didn't like from this film were Gosling's singing, a cheesy dance scene and the beginning of this film. Plus, the people who worked on this film didn't need the flashy cuts. Those are meant for endings of films. Basically, this film is about following your dreams and it has ALL THAT JAZZ! 

I hope you all enjoyed this review. Thanks for reading! 

DB Reviews- Passengers

Poster from Pinterest

Hello everyone! It's me, DB, and I'm back with another review! Today, I give you my review of the new film Passengers starring Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt. This review will contain spoilers, so if you don't want to be spoiled, then please stop reading and go see the film. Then, you can continue to read my review. 

Passengers is a love story that takes place in space. The story tells of a young engineer named Jim (Pratt), who is woken up from hibernation after a ship he travels in hits an asteroid field. He, along with 4,999 passengers, was supposed to go on a 120 year journey to Homecrest II, a planet similar to Earth. However, he wakes up with 90 years to go on the voyage. He then later wakes up a young author named Aurora (Lawrence) and they experience love while trying to figure out why they woke up early. 

I liked the way the story was written. I think that the writers made some memorable lines from the film. It was also easy to follow and to me, that makes a good story. There was drama, a bit of comedy, and some good action in the story. 

I also like the Avalon, the ship where the two main characters were traveling on. The ship itself reminded me of Star Trek, with the automatic doors and the voice recognition (the characters could tell the computer what to do).  I sensed a little bit of Wall-E too in the ship. I say that because the ship was like a cruise liner, offering daily activities, a full bar and even swimming, just like the ship in the Wall-E film. 

I thought Pratt did good as Jim. He did a good job portraying the character in different situations. However, I felt that his character didn't handle the situation where Aurura found out that Jim woke her up.  Other then that, he did fine. 

Michael Sheen's bartender android is probably the wisest of the bunch. I think that some of his lines in the film could be the most memorable. Also, he served coffee in a bar, something that I think is unusual in a bar like scene. Most of the time, you would see people drinking alcohol or throwing fists. I don't like either coffee or alcohol myself. 

Jennifer Lawrence's Aurora was OK. Just don't take away her life, or she will get MAD! I thought Lawrence's anger was good when it was needed. A bit over dramatic, but still good. The same thing could be said for her compassion towards Pratt's character. 

Lawrence Fishburn also had a role in this film, but his character didn't get much screen time. 

Also, I noticed that there weren't many extras in this film, just Jim, Aurura, the bartender and Fishburn. That to me was a bit odd, though I do think the studio did save some money this way. 

Overall, I give this film 3 1/2 stars. I thought the story was well written, the acting was good and the action at the end of the movie was up my alley! My review: A LOVE STORY THAT BLENDS STAR TREK AND WALL-E! 3 1/2 STARS! Thanks for reading! 

DB Reviews- Suicide Squad

Image from comicbook.com

Hello! It's me, DB and I welcome you to my latest movie review! Today, I bring you my review of Suicide Squad, the movie about a group of bad guys that have to save the world that's out on DVD/Blu-Ray now! This review does contain spoilers, so if you don't want to be spoiled, please stop reading and go see it. 

However, I don't recommend that you see this film and for a few good reasons. First, it's a movie about a group of bad guys from the DC Universe. I felt that some of the bad guys here didn't get much screen time, like Killer Croc. That could be a good thing in my opinion. 

Second, this movie contains a lot of swear words! Personally, I don't like swear words at all! I know that people are free to use swear words as a right to free speech, but I don't like them! I would rather use other words to get out what I'm trying to say. 

Third, the lighting. I think the special effects folks need to tone it down. I think there could be some problems for people watching this movie with the lighting. 

Fourth, Jarod Leto's Joker character.  I think Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson still take the cake when it comes to portraying the classic Batman villain. Jarod was crazy, but not Ledger or Jack crazy. 

On the flip side, however, there are some things from this movie that I would like to mention. 

First, I thought that Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn was pretty good. I could see fans flocking into theaters to see her in a solo film. Mrs. Robbie had the Harley lingo down to a tee, saying words that Harley would say, like "puddin". Yes, she even had the classic mallet and the checkerboard outfit, but only for 1 scene each. Would I see a solo Harley Quinn film? Probably not, but I could see it becoming a cult classic with other DC fans. I would put Harley in my Top 10 Infamous Sidekick/Henchperson list. 

Second was the gore. I liked that there was little gore in this film. The comic book Squad that this film was based off of had tons of gore, especially when Captain Boomerang (who came up with that name?) threw his boomerang at people. This film, however, stuck mainly to action without all that blood. I'm not a gore fan at all, which is why I don't like horror movies. This movie is kinda horror, but it's not like a Friday the 13th type of movie. 

Finally, I think Enchantress would make a legit DC Universe villain. To me, she was a crazy version of Voldemort, though I like Voldemort better then I like Enchantress. To me, the scenes with the Enchantress looked more like Ghostbusters then DCU and I like Ghostbusters. 

That's my review of Suicide Squad. Overall, I give it 1 star and I don't give out 1 star ratings all that much. Thanks for reading! 

DB Reviews- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Image from starwars.com

Hello again, everyone! It's me, DB, and It's time for my review of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story! This review does contain spoilers, so if you don't want to be spoiled yet, don't read this until you see the movie first, then you can read this! 

This film is basically a set up for Episode 4 of the main series. It focuses on the Death Star, Star Wars (and motion picture's) most famous destroyer of planets! It tells the tale of how a group of Rebels were able to retrieve the Death Star's plans, noting that this planet destroyer has a weakness designed by Galen Erso, the father of Jyn Erso, the main character of this movie. Galen designed the Death Star before he left the Empire, but he was forced to come back and make sure the super weapon was completed. 

I thought the story was good. I liked how the writers were able to bring hints of Episode 4 and future episodes of the franchise into Rogue One. For example, they brought the AT-AT, which are battle droids that we would see in Hoth in Episode 5 (The Empire Strikes Back). It also brought us some cool, but deadly battles. 

The characters were OK in this film. I liked the fact that they brought a character from the Clone Wars animated series to this film. His name is Saw Gerrera, played by Forest Whitaker. Whitaker will revise this role in voice form for an upcoming episode of the latest Star Wars animated series, Rebels. 

Felicity Jones did good as Jyn. Diego Luna was OK as was Whitaker. 

James Earl Jones still rocks the Vader voice! Heck, I think he rocks any character with that voice of his, just ask Mufasa! He has a great, low, deep sound to his voice, which is a nessesary thing for Lord Vader's character. The new guy under the Vader mask did good too on screen. 

The action was amazing! I felt the cliamatic battle between the Rebels and the Empire was the best battle in the Star Wars saga EVER! This battle must've cost a ton of money to make, but they pulled it off without a hitch! BEST BATTLE EVER! The goal during this epic battle was to get the Death Star plans out of the Empire's hands. I'd say goal achieved! 

Plus, C-3PO and R2-D2 made a cameo! You can't have a Star Wars film without 3PO and R2! You just can't! Those two are central to the Star Wars franchise and I think they really cool to have! Kay (the droid in Rogue One) was OK, but no droid beats 3PO and R2! 

So overall, this film is A MUST-SEE FOR ANY STAR WARS FAN! The action was great, the story was good and the characters were good. Since they brought a Clone Wars character on board for this film, I'd like to see a character from Rebels in the next one, mainly Kanan or Ezra or even Jeb! Thanks for reading this post and go see Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, now playing as of this post! 

DB Reviews- Marvel's Doctor Strange

Image from Screen Rant

Hey, true believers! It's me, DB! I haven't been blogging for a while now, but I'm back with my review of Marvel Studio's Doctor Strange! WARNING: This review does contain spoilers. So if you haven't seen the film yet when you're reading this, please stop reading and go see it, then you can come back to read!

So, this film tells the story of Doctor Stephan Strange, a neurosurgeon who loses his hands in a car accident. He wants to get them fix quickly so he could get back to doing what he does best, fixing people! Along the way, he learns that a patient at his hospital magically walks again after being paralyzed. Dr. Strange then ventures out to find the person that helped this man in hopes of healing his hands. He found so much more then just the healing touch! He found that he was needed to save the world from a magical threat.

Now, my review:

I thought the story was ok. It's a run of the mill story about how a superhero came to be. That hero loses something, but gains powers in return. That's Marvel's way of telling an origin story. Dr. Strange lost his hands, and almost the one he loves, but gains his power through sorcery and magic when he tries to find someone who can heal him.

Benedict Cumberbatch protrayed a great Dr. Strange! You may know this actor from other hit films such as the Imitation Game. You may also know him as Sherlock! I think he brought a little of his Sherlock side to the role of the Sorcerer Supreme, which is a good thing to me. He made his point when he needed too during a few scenes. He also brought a little humor to the role. That's something that I think Marvel needs to do more often, have their main hero or heroin bring a little humor into their roles. Cumberbatch definitely did just that!

Benedict Wong played Wong. It's not common to see an actor portray a role who shares the same name with the actor. Wong's Wong wasn't the normal Wong from the comics. He was more of a demanding keeper of the books. I think Wong did a good Wong.

Tilda Swinton did a good job portraying the Ancient One. She was focused and wise, a poise needed for this role. Even though it was revealed  that she got her immortality through the Dark Realm, she did a good job hiding it till the time was right when the big reveal occurred.

The best part of this film was the special effects! No one can do special effects like Marvel! The people behind the scenes working on the effects of this movie did a tremendous job! The effects were a big part of the film. They needed to be, since most of Dr, Strange's adventures contain a lot of spells and powerful magic! I thought the scene where there was 3 cities instead of 1 reminded me of the Pokemon card Parallel City. The action was fantastic too, as well as the martial arts!

Overall, I'm very pleased with how Doctor Strange turned out! The story was ok, the action and effects were awesome and Cumberbatch and Wong were good. That, to me, is the making of a hit film! With this film, consider my MIND BLOWN! Thanks for reading! You should go see this film if you haven't already!

BTW, that Cloak of Levitation was AWESOME! That cloak can kick some serious butt!

DB Reviews- Sully

Image from birthmoviedeath.com

Hello, and welcome to my latest review! This review is off the new movie Sully, based off the book Highest Duty by Capt Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger. The book itself is based off of true events. I'll be posting a video review of this film on my Youtube channel too! To see it, click here: 

This movie, and the book that inspired this movie, were based on actual events. If you don't know what happened (perhaps you were born after the events occurred), then here's what happened: 

On January 15, 2009, an aircraft (Flight 1549), piloted by Sully and his first officer Jeff Skiles (protrayed by Aaron Eckhart in the film), was lifting off from New York's LaGuardia airport. It was en route towards Charlotte, North Carolina when a flock of geese flew into both the plane's engines, causing the plane to lose control of them. When this happened, Capt Sully radioed TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control), stating that he lost the thrusters in both engines because of the birds. Sully had to turn back towards LaGuardia, but he didn't feel like the aircraft would make it there safely. He then decided to land the plane in the Hudson River, even though he had open runways both at LaGuardia and at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, located across from New York. The flight's North Carolina destination was a stop over on it's way to Seattle, Washington. 

During that time, Capt Sully told everyone on board to brace for impact. All 155 people (passengers and crew) survived because of Sully's heroic move to land the plane in the Hudson. Local ships around the river and emergency responders quickly made their way towards the floating plane, which was taking water on. All the passengers and crew got off the plane safely and hit dry land. Because of this, Captain Sullenberger was hailed a hero, along with his fellow flight crew. 

The focus of the movie was what happened during the NTSB's investigation into the landing. They called this event a crash, but Sully (played by Tom Hanks) called it a water landing or ditching. Most of the NTSB believed that Sully could've made it to one of the two airports mentioned safely, but Sully didn't think so. 

The writers of this film definitely did their homework on this movie. The story was great! Not only did they depict the events of the landing correctly, but the writers brought us into the life of Capt. Sullenberger afterwards. They did a great job telling Sully's story! 

Tom Hanks did a fantastic job protraying Sully!  I agree with the actual survivors of the event when they said Hank's portrayal of Sully was spot on!  He did a great job putting Sully's emotions onto the big screen. He did great at portraying Sully's sadness, worriness and happiness. I believe that the real Sully was feeling emotional during the investigation and I think Hanks did a great job showing us what Sully was feeling during this ordeal. Plus, Hanks looked good in that little white mustache! 

I also liked Aaron Eckhart's role in this film. To me, he did a better performance as the first officer in this film then he did the president in London Has Fallen or even Olympus Has Fallen. He did a good job in trying to convince naysayers that Sully did the right move. 

Clint Eastwood has had a good rep as a director. I thought he did a good job with this film. I agree with my mom in saying each scene's timing was excellent! Eastwood established himself to be a good director after his success in acting. Could this movie bring him another nomination for Best Director? Possibly. If so, I'm rooting for him to win it! 

Could this movie overall be a good nomination for Best Picture? I think so! I would also give it a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, maybe even a Best Actor nomination for Hanks and Best Supporting Actor for Eckhart. 

I also liked the effects, especially the ones that showed what could've happened if Sully didn't land the plane on the Hudson. 

Overall, I was very pleased with this movie. The story was good, the acting was great and the scenes were well done. 

I believe that Sully did the right move too by landing the plane in the Hudson. He was there! He felt it! He knew what he had to do in order to save those lives! He remembered his past experiences while flying, even with the Air Force. I think that's what helped him save the lives of all the people on board, including himself. 

This movie is now playing at the time of this blog post. If you're reading this post in the future, then I suggest you go see it or get it on DVD/Blu-Ray or Digital! Thanks for reading! 

DB Reviews- The King and I

Poster from fanart.tv

My next review is of a classic movie that's celebrating it's 60th anniversary this year! It's Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I! This movie featured Yul Brynner reprising his role as the King from the original Broadway production, itself being based off of the book Anna and the King of Siam by Margret Landon.

This movie is a classic and I can see why! The film had a great story, fantastic, high beat songs and the acting was incredible! I even loved the scenery! This film was a masterpiece and I don't say that to most films!

Yul Brynner brought his experience as the King to the big screen in a big way! His voice was loud, commanding and strong, a few things which are necessary for this type of character. His singing voice was good too! This role was made for him! I think the folks who made this film definitely made a good choice when they casted him for this role! Even if I see another version of this movie, I don't think anyone could beat Mr. Brynner in this! He earned the Best Actor Oscar in this picture!

Deborah Kerr did a good job in the role of Anna in this film. She did a good job bringing the style of the English woman to this film. She was a good dancer too! She also did a good job standing firm when she needed to.  Marni Nixon did a good job too providing Anna's singing voice.

Speaking of the music, all the songs were performed very well! I especially liked Getting to Know You. That song because a staple in the musical in my eyes (and in my ears too). The choreography was good. I liked the dance that Anna and The King had towards the end of the film because it was a simple dance, very easy to dance. It also became one of motion pictures most famous dances!

The story itself was good and simple. King hires Anna to teach the kids English, which sets off a great Siam experience. This story was very well written.

The story featured a Siamese version of Uncle Tom's Cabin, another classic book. This book was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Rita Moreno, who was later cast in the classic West Side Story, provided the narration as her character Tuptip. I thought Tuptip was good. I can see that this character was in love with the person who brought her to the palace.

Uncle Tom's Cabin, the Siamise version, was good, but a little stereotypical. The costumes were good. They reflected the Asian style costumes of the era, with the white faces and headware. I thought "Evil" Simon's mask was scary! If the filmmakers plan was make a scary mask for Simon, then I say job well done!

The scenery was definitely Siam like! Whoever built the sets did a fantastic job! Even the boat where Anna and her son came to Siam on looked real!

The costumes in the entire movie were good. They reflected the customs of England and Siam very well. I could definitely tell the difference between the styles of Siam and England.

I could also see why the film was banned in Thailand (which Siam became). There were some mistakes made about the history of the world. But, I do feel that the filmmakers did get a few facts right. One of which is Buddhism. I believe the people of Thailand do believe in Buddha. That's why Buddha was used in the Uncle Tom's Cabin ballet instead of God. It fits the Thai culture better, or at least the culture of Siam in the movie.

Overall, I thought this film was AWESOME! This musical cracks my Top 2 favorites, just behind the Phantom of the Opera! I even thought this film was better then The Lion King! I wonder if any scenes from this film helped the making of the Lion King? I don't know.

One thing I do know is this: I call this film A MASTERPIECE!

DB Reviews- Florence Foster Jenkins

Image from finalfilm.co.uk. 

Hello once again! Today, I give you my review of the new film Florence Foster Jenkins, starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant. 

This film is about how the singer Florence Foster Jenkins rose to stardom despite her awful singing! 

This film may have awful singing, but I do think the actual Madame Jenkins would approve of Ms. Streep's portrayal of her. I thought Ms. Streep did an OK job singing badly (which she did NOT use her real singing voice). Her character never gave up on her dream to sing and that's something I like in a main character in any movie. I thought Ms. Streep did an OK job portray her characters willingness to never give up on that said dream! 

Hugh Grant looks like James Bond in his costume! He did a good job with his monologues (even thought I don't have the slightest clue which plays were some of his monologues are from). I thought his acting when his character was under pressure to keep the New York Post out of Ms. Jenkins hands was OK. He did a good job playing a timid character, which is a completely different role then the one he has on Big Bang. It's good to see something different out of actors once in a while. 

If you're a Big Bang Theory fan, then you'll probably recognize Simon Helberg, who played the pianist in this film. Boy, can he play! I think the producers of Big Bang should watch this film and consider a scene where Howard Wolowitz (Helberg's character on Big Bang) can play the piano. He was great! Perhaps you can sense a bit of Wolowitz in Helberg's Jenkins character? 

Another great thing about this film is the set design. I've always been a fan of nostalgia and this film didn't disappoint! The sets were brilliantly designed to look like New York City from the early 40s! Whoever supervised the set design should be nominated for an Oscar!  The buildings were great, the streets looked great, even the rooms inside the sets were great! 

The music selection was good too, though I have no idea what any of the song's names were. 

My review: AWFULLY ENTERTAINING! 

I gave this film 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. The only thing for me is they didn't need to do any scenes with anyone in the bed with their clothes off. That's a private thing! 

DB Reviews- Star Trek Beyond

My next review is for Star Trek Beyond, the 3rd installment of the most recent trio of Trek films. In this film, Captain Kirk and his crew are stranded on a planet that's ruled by a ruthless dictator who was a former Starfleet captain who's looking to get rid of Starfleet. It's in theaters now as of this post.

I felt that this movie was more like a film from the Next Generation series. The costumes for the main villains almost resembled the Borg, while the henchmen wore suits that were almost Iron Man like. The action was also like the action in a Next Generation movie. I liked TNG, so that was a plus for me.

I think Leonard Nimoy chose his Spock successor wisely. Zachary Quinto took the Vulcan mantle and made it his own! He brought the style of Spock, a style that Nimoy created, to a new generation while keeping true to the character that Nimoy brought to small tvs in the 60s. He even gave us a bit of emotion when he learned that Ambassador Spock, Nimoy's character in these new films, passed away, following what happened in the real world.

They even honored Nimoy by using a photo of the original 60s show cast. I thought that was nice, but some people might find that a bit confusing, since the stars of this film were supposed to be playing the roles the stars of the TV show used to play.

Chris Pine plays a good Kirk, though he does not have the same voice as William Shatner did in the TV show. Pines portrayal of Kirk was professional. He was in control during the pivotal scenes of the film. Pines Kirk knew that he and the crew were in trouble and he was prepared to get them out of it! What I'm saying is that I thought Pine did a good job as Kirk in this film.

The story was good. It was written in the Next Generation style, with action and a plot that was easy to follow once you get it.

Overall, I give this film 4 stars. The acting was great, the story was good and the film itself reminded me of the films of the Next Generation Era, the era that came after Kirk. This film even brought back the USS Franklin, which may have been seen in TNG!

My review: GO SEE THIS FILM!

DB Reviews- Ghostbusters 2016

image by befreestlouis.com

Over 30 years ago, a group of scientists (Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Remis, Ernie Hudson) took on the evil of the paranormal world and took it down! Now, a new team of scientists takes the mantle! Welcome to my review of the reboot of one of pop cultures most successful franchises, Ghostbusters! 

Melissa McCarthy and Kristin Wiig lead a new team to battle evil ghosts haunting New York in this. I must say, they did an OK job. Not only did they take over fo Aykroyd and Murray, they also acted like Aykroyd and Murray's characters from the original film. I'm not a big McCarthy fan, but I do think this was some of her better work. Wiig did OK too in this film. I thought that her character in the beginning of the film wasn't all that good, but when she joined the Ghostbusters, she stepped up! 

I could definitely tell that Kate McKinnon played the Egon of the group, with her character's knowledge of all the tech that the Ghostbusters used throughout the film. She did pretty good at that. I felt that her character was a bit too wonky though, but in the science realm (which was Egon's thing too), she did excellent! 

Leslie Jones was the Winston Zeddemore of this new group. I liked her character. She was energetic and willing to help the Ghostbusters in any way she can. Jones's character was hired just like Zeddemore from the original film. I think I could see Jones in the future with movies. Probably comedies. 

The one character that I felt wasn't too great was the receptionist, played by Chris Hemsworth (aka Thor). I felt that this character was too "dumb" for Hemsworth to play. He was better when he got controlled by a ghost, but other than that, I think this wasn't a Hemsworth worthy role. However, this was pretty much the only big thing that I didn't like about the film. Some of the jokes were a bit dirty, but not as bad as Hemsworth's receptionist. 

The thing that put this film over the top for me was all the little references to the original film. They had every single original Ghostbusters film thing you can think of in this film! Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and the original receptionist all made cameos! Slimer was in this and he even got a girlfriend (lucky ghost)! Also, a head bust was made of Harold Remis to honor his memory. The only thing missing was Rick Moranis! Even the Marshmallow Man made an appearance in the form of a balloon. Also, Ray Parker, Jr's song was in it! They had to add that! It wouldn't be a Ghostbusters movie without that hit song! 

Another thing I liked in this film was that the writers decided to use the ghost in the Ghostbusters logo as the final big ghost the Busters had to fight. Really nice! This was the part played by the Marshmallow Man in the original film. This thing was more fierce then the Marshmallow Man, mainly because technology today is more advanced then it was back in the early 80s. 

The special effects were on point! The guys who handled the effects certainly did their homework cause they knew what color should the streams be, how the ghosts were presented, etc. I give their work 2 big time streams up! 

The story itself was easy to follow, especially if you saw the original film. Why? Because it seemed to match itself to the original film with every step. They had a big ghost at the end, they had a ghost battle at a hotel during an event (albeit the events differed) and they started with one professor being fired before the Busters even began! Dejavu for fans of the original? Possibly. 

Overall, I give this film 4 "ghostly" stars! The cast was good, the set replaced Times Square and even the story was easy to follow. Who you gonna call? Definitely this team of Ghostbusters! Thanks for reading! 

DB Reviews- The BFG

Hello, movie goers! It's me, DB, and I'm back to bring you another cool review. This time, I'm reviewing the BFG!

Before I get to the review, I must talk about the theater where I went to see this film. The Showcase Cinemas had a brand new style of theater, which was based on those 4D shows you see in theme parks. It's called Showcase MX4D and it's tagline was "Unlock Every Dimension". Boy, does it mean it!

I took this at the theater. 

Whoever thought of bringing the idea of 4D shows into regular theaters was a genius! This made watching the BFG fun! Not only will you see the film in 3D, but you'll also feel the effects (air puffs, water and strobe lights) hard! I recommend you go to your nearest Showcase Cinemas location and try it out! 

Now,on to the review. 

This image came from pop.inquirer.net

First off, let's talk about the story. It's a simple one that's about a young girl who befriends a tall, dream catching giant. That girl teaches the giant to stand up for himself when the bigger giants bully him. I thought that was good, though the beginning could use some work. Younger children could be a bit frightened by the giant in the beginning. 

Also, the girl helps the giant save London, England from an attack by the same bigger giants seen before. He does so by warning the queen by issuing a dream into her head using a trumpet and some visual effects (which I'll talk about later). That part of the story was good, I thought. It kept the movie going and it added a little action to this fantasy tale. Not the blow-up kind of action, but still. 

Next, the acting. I'm not sure if the little girl (Sophie) will get another role, but who knows. I thought Mark Rylance was pretty good as the BFG himself. He was a little nasty in the beginning, but as his character started to become the true BFG, so did he. I think he could line up more work in the future, especially with Disney. 

Now, let's talk about the visual effects of the film. I thought they were stunning! I would not be surprised if this film got an Academy Award nomination for best visual effects. If it does, then I hope it wins! These effects were amazing! Colorful, even and there were plenty of colors used to represent the dreams the giant catches! 

Let's add this to Steven Spielberg's list of better films. It's not as good as ET, but it still fits the bill as a good Spielburg movie! Spielberg has made tons of other films in the past as well, such as Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, and Jaws. I'd say the BFG beats Jurassic Park because I don't like films with blood in them. 

So overall, I'd give this film 4 stars because of the directing and the visual effects, especially the effects! 

Thanks for reading! Catch you for my next review! 

DB Reviews- Independence Day Resurgence

Image courtesy of the web.

So, after 20 long years, we finally get a sequel to one of the world's most famous sci fi movies ever made! Is it worth seeing? Oh yeah! But, is it as good as the original film? Oh heck no! Before I go on with this review, I warn you! If you haven't seen this film yet, then stop reading this review and go see it before you read!

If you haven't seen the original film (another film I highly suggest you see), then you may be a bit confused with the plot. You won't know what the characters are talking about when they say the War of 1996! That's why I suggest you see the original before seeing this film.

This film makes tons of nods to the original, from the storyline to the scenes themselves. The story is a continuation of the plot of the original film. It takes place 20 years after the events of the original (which the characters in this film call the War of 1996). I thought that was a cool idea because it fits the timeline in the real world, since the original film came out 20 years ago! Since then, the people of that Earth used the alien tech they found in the original film to form the ESD, or earth space defense, or something like that. With that, the people managed to transform the Earth into a futuristic world, much like the worlds in Tomorrowland and the Terminator. I liked that a lot!

The tagline in the poster says "We had 20 years to prepare. So did they." I thought that tagline fit this movie perfectly because, even with all that tech, the humans still had to find a way to bring down this alien threat! I have to give props to the folks who worked on the special effects for this project. They did one heck of a job giving us a bigger, badder evil alien spaceship! This thing was HUGE! They must've had to do a lot of programming and editing to get this ship to be that big! Plus, the Alien Queen reminded me of the monsters that Rita Repulsa would send down to Earth to fight the Power Rangers! I would've loved to see the Megazord fight this thing!

Even though I've been gushing on how AWESOME this film was, it pales in comparison to the original! The original set the bar very, very high when it comes to action sci fi movie standards! This film, even with all the cool action scenes, didn't come close to that bar. It didn't have Will Smith, which might be a turn off for some of the viewers of the original film, but it did have highlights of President Whitmore's speech to the troops on July 4th from the original film! I liked that speech a lot! I thought it was one of Bill Pullman's (who played President Whitmore) best lines!

Speaking of Mr. Pullman, he returned to the role in this film. I thought he was ok at best in this film because he seemed to have some trouble dealing with the aliens inside his mind. I think he was a bit crazier in this film then he was in the original and I don't think that suited him well. He did better as the President in the first film.

Another returning character was Jeff Goldblum's David Levinson. He seemed to be the same David from the original film, which I thought was good for him. Goldblum had played some memorable characters in his career, including Mr. Levinson in this franchise and his role in Jurassic Park. I don't remember his character's name in Jurassic Park, however.

This film had some new faces too. I thought the best new faces in this were Liam Hensworth and Jessie Usher. I especially liked Usher's role as Hiller's son. I think he could use more roles like this. He has a bit of potential to be the next action star in Hollywood. Hemsworth was a good fighter pilot in this movie. I think he could be the next Hollywood heartthrob.

The story had a Marvel like plot twist, announcing that the humans were allies with the aliens enemy. It was definitely a different twist then the one about the aliens consuming our natural resources in the first film. I liked this twist because I'm a Marvel fan!

I liked the inclusion of the new robot character from another planet in this film. That robot was the enemy of the aliens.  Who knows, perhaps it could get  as famous as R2-D2 or C-3PO, or maybe even BB-8, someday.

Overall, this film was AWESOME! I'm definitely picking this up when it comes out on Blu-Ray and Digital HD! I give it 4 stars overall! The plot was good and the acting was pretty good too. But the special effects are what made this movie so amazing! It doesn't beat the 1st film, but it's too good to miss!

DB's Orlando Vacation Vlog

Hello everyone. This is my Orlando Vacation Vlog. I hope you enjoy it! It's from my Youtube channel (http://www.youtube.com/c/davebeckelvis)



This videos and photos taken for this Vlog were taken at least a month BEFORE the tragic events at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. I would like to send my thoughts and condolences to the families and friends of the victims of that tragic shooting.



Again, I hope you enjoy this Vlog. This features some of the great attractions Orlando has to offer, from Disney to Universal and beyond. I hope that this vlog series gives you joy and happiness, especially during this tragic time. I also hope you consider this vlog series helpful when you're deciding on what to do during your vacation to Orlando.



This series features just some of Orlando's great attractions. There are plenty more things to experience!



Orlando is still a great city, especially to visit on vacation! #OrlandoStrong!

DB Reviews- Now You See Me 2

Hello once again! It's me, DB, and today, I'm gonna give you my review of Now You See Me 2, the sequel to last year's hit film Now You See Me. This review does contain spoilers, so if you haven't seen the film first, stop reading and go see it! Then, you can come back here to read my review. 

The image is from Wikipedia. 

In this film, the now famous Horsemen must stop Owen Case from stealing everybody's data via his new software. They have to deal with new baddies (including one played by Daniel Radcliff) and put their nemesis (played by Michael Caine) back behind bars. 

I like this plot, even though it had more twists and turns then a roller coaster ride. I do think those twists and turns are what made this plot good. It's a movie about magic, and with magic, you never know what could happen! This film had one surprise after another! If you haven't seen the first film however, then you may want to see that one, well, first. That way, you'll get more of a sense of what's going on during the second film. If you see this film before the first one, then you'll get confused a lot! 

The acting in this film was good. I thought that Jesse Eisenburg was much better in the role of Atlas then the role of Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman. He's more serious in this role, which I think suits him better then his wacky version of Luthor. I would like to see him in more roles like Atlas in the future. 

Woody Harrelson can now add "hypnotist" to his acting resume. The audio effect for his character when he's hypnotizing someone was really good. Also, the writers came up with some great lines for his character to use when he hypnotizes someone. 

I agree with my mom in saying that Daniel Radcliffe was a bit out of his element in this movie. He's more of a Harry Potter kinda guy then a Voldemort kinda guy in my opinion. I know he's trying new roles to improve his action repertoire, but I think he should stick to what I think he's good at and that's playing more teen heart throb action roles like Harry Potter. 

The effects were awesome in this film! Not only was the audio effect for Harrelson's character good, like I mentioned before, but the effect for Eisenburg's final solo trick was excellent too! The people that added that effect that stopped the rain into the trick did an awesome job! I also think the finale was well done too! That plane trick even had me fooled! I could see David Copperfield do a replica of that trick during one of his shows. Speaking of which, I was thinking. Did they have any actual magicians on set to help them with all the tricks? I wonder...

Overall, I give this film 4 stars. It's not as good as the 1st one, but it's still very good! I highly recommend this film to any fans of Eisenburg, Harrelson, or magic in general. I hope they make a 3rd installment soon, cause I'd like to see that! 

DB Reviews- Finding Dory

Hey all! Welcome to my new DB Reviews blog! In this blog, I'll be sharing with you my reviews of movies and restaurants around the Boston, MA area. 

My first review is Disney/Pixar's newest release, Finding Dory. Finding Dory is the sequel to Disney/Pixar's smash hit Finding Nemo, the hit movie that followed Marlin and Dory's adventures to find Marlin's son Nemo. 

The story for Finding Dory is slightly different. This time, Nemo and his dad Marlin must venture out to California to find Dory. Meanwhile, Dory is on an adventure of her own. She's trying to find her family. 

Image from comingsoon.net

Now let's get to the review. 

First off, I liked the plot. It's pretty much the same plot as Finding Nemo, but with a few twists. Dory searching for her family is one of those. Another thing that the plot does is that it shows how Dory's short term memory loss can be one of her strengths instead of her weakness. She didn't let her memory loss slow her down in the search for her parents and her memory improved throughout the course of the film. That was something I really liked. 

The plot did mention a lot of nods to Finding Nemo, the original film. A good example is the pipeline  that Dory uses to call to Destiny when she was younger. This was at the Seaworld-inspired Marine Life Institute. Like Nemo in the first film, Dory uses the pipes at the Institute to escape to the ocean. Nemo used the pipes at the dentist office in the first film. 

One of the parts of the plot I liked the most was when Dory found the line of shells outside her home. This is a great tool to help anyone remember the way back to a certain place. In Dory's case, it was her original home. Her parents decided to use this on their new home and that set the stage for the key reunion scene in the film. 

Next, let's take a look at the voices. I thought Ellen DeGeneres did good reprising her role as Dory. She definitely knew what her character was like in this film thanks to her experience from the Nemo film. Albert Brooks brought back Marlin. He also brought back Marlin's overprotective side from the first film too. That's something that the writers could've worked on, since Marlin started that way in the first film. I think that's something for the writers to do when (and if) there's a 3rd film in the franchise. 

The new characters in this film were good too. I especially liked Destiny and Hank. Hank was determined to get to Cleveland to stay at the aquarium there, but Dory taught him that the ocean wasn't such a scary place after all. Destiny, like Dory, had a disability. She was nearsighted, but that didn't stop her from helping her friend get out and back into the ocean. Her neighbor, Bailey, had to help her with her swimming. By doing that, he was also able to gain his ability of echolocation back. That's another win right there! 

I liked this film because the characters did not let their disabilities stop them from doing what they did! 

The direction was good, with Andrew Stanton at the helm. The animation was excellent too! I originally felt that the use of "What a Wonderful World" during the truck crash was weird, but my mom explained after the film that the truck was releasing the fish back to the ocean, part of the Institute's moto. That's why the song was used in that scene. 

Overall, I give this film 4 1/2 stars. It may not beat Nemo, but it was definitey unforgetable! 

Finally, we did have a ton of cameos from the characters from the first film. Crush, Squirt, Mr. Ray, and even Willem Defoe's character all made appearances. Even the seagulls that said "Mine" had a cameo! Totally sweet!