Jason Bourne Review

Jason Bourne

Jason Bourne: "The next bullet's in your head!"

      Jason Bourne is directed by Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, Captain Phillips) and stars Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, Tommy Lee Jones as CIA Director Robert Dewey, Alicia Vikander as Heather Lee, Vincent Cassel as Asset, Riz Ahmed as Aaron Kalloor, Julia Stiles as Nicky Parsons, Ato Essandoh as Craig Jeffers, Scott Shepherd as Director NI Edwin Russell, and Bill Camp as Malcolm Smith.

Liam Neeson: "...I will find you...and I will kill you."

Matt Damon: "Dude! I just want to know who I f***ing am!"

      Jason Bourne is back to discover more secrets about his past, but this time, after years of hiding from the world, he is found by former friend Nicky Parsons to tell him about a new program that the CIA is forming to make more deadly human weapons by spying on innocent citizens. This leads CIA Director Robert Dewey to find him too and he assigns Heather Lee, a hacker and employee of the CIA, and a new asset to track Bourne and put him down. Bourne, evading all of the dangerous situations using his expert hand to hand combat skills, finds himself going up against an event that has the CIA working with a company called Deep Dream to monitor all human beings, thus providing the government with an eye in peoples' everyday lives; an epidemic invasion of privacy that is against the law and human ethics.

Jason Bourne is back and this time he's running out of time...to save the American people from the government creepily spying on them.

      The Bourne films with Matt Damon have always been a standard of what spy/action films try to do. They are exciting, violent, intriguing in plot, and damn fun. This newest installment, unfortunately, comes in fourth place out of the four Matt Damon films. This isn't to say I didn't have fun and Damon didn't kick ass. He did and it was freaking fantastic when the action sequences were shown. However, the plot is nothing to be praised. I found it boring for the most part, actually. In the previous films, it was fun to watch Jason dig deeper and deeper into his past to uncover the shocking things that the CIA did to him. There are elements of this in Jason Bourne, but the focus isn't at all on Jason solving those mysteries, it's about stopping this new company from spreading a technology worldwide that watches what people do in private. The script does tend to keep repeating that Jason is a patriot at heart, but this is the first film in which Jason does something for the entirety of the human race and not just for him. Call me selfish or whatever, but I enjoyed it more when Jason looked for his past, first and foremost. I feel like it gives Jason more of an oomph on his personal agenda. Like I said, this is present in Jason Bourne,  but it isn't the priority. It's almost if the filmmakers wanted to try something completely different, which I totally admire, but it just isn't pulled off very well in the end.

Even Jason is bored out of his mind watching these Deep Dream scenes!

      So action...yeah, there's a bunch of cool hand to hand combat in Jason Bourne just like the other Bourne films have. Again, it's awesome as hell. Even the vehicle chases are amazing. I applaud Paul Greengrass for the shots that he got. These definitely must've not been easy especially with one particular scene involving a SWAT truck rolling over a bunch of other cars. I can see why Matt Damon wouldn't return for another Bourne film unless Greengrass was again director. This guy is a mad genius! I do have to warn people though: there is a lot of shaky cam. This is a staple of the Bourne films, though. If you don't enjoy the realistic gritty action scenes in the previous films, then Jason Bourne's action scenes most likely won't win you over. For those of you who do happen to like the intensity of these action scenes, the technicality to get this sense of realism makes me and will make you happy that this style is still alive and well. The one problem I have with the Bourne action scenes isn't the grittiness of it all. It's actually the editing. Sometimes I can't even tell what's going on besides punching and kicking, but to help keep the audience in check, the sound editing is extraordinarily well done. A punch in the throat sounds much more different than a punch on the gut (weird thing to say) and it seriously is easy to tell in Jason Bourne.

Just sit the hell down, boy.

      We would all assume that Matt Damon is the star of Jason Bourne since he plays the title character. However, if someone asked me who that stand out character is, I would probably say that Alicia Vikander as Heather Lee is actually the stand out. Since her amazing performance in Ex Machina and The Danish Girl, she's been wanted by everybody. I think it may be because she just screams out everyday Joe. She isn't over the top, nor does she take you out of the movie she is acting in. She's very good at transitioning her acting and that shows here. Heather Lee's motives, though, are a little vague, but I would say that's due to the screenplay which, again, is the fault for most of the negatives in Jason Bourne. The performances all over the board were well done, but I would just mention that Alicia Vikander is just the person I would give highest praise to. Of course, Matt Damon is just as badass and just as fierce as he is in the other Bourne films. It's always entertaining to see how much Matt Damon is committed to his role as an international spy/assassin/soldier/killer/Chuck Norris. I'm glad he didn't disappoint because I know if he put in the same amount of effort the story regarding Deep Dream did, then I would've hated Jason Bourne.

Alicia, you've come a long way from being that beautiful and dangerous robot to a beautiful and dangerous human.

      Jason Bourne, rather than focusing on Jason's past and motives, falls short of good. This certainly has the potential to be another add-on to an already great franchise, except that Jason Bourne just doesn't feel as connectable as the other Bourne films because this one's primary objective is to take down a company that wants to invade the privacy of people. Jason does have his revenge motives in Jason Bourne, that's for sure, but I just don't really care when the Deep Dream plot is being shoved down my throat. I will give it this, the action is, once again, cool as hell and every fight scene that has Jason punching a guy sounds like you're getting hit without feeling actual pain. Paul Greengrass does his job with directing very well, but the screenwriting part seems to be the fluke. I'm sorry, man. You have got to keep Jason fighting his way to the truth in the forefront. I'm down for another Bourne film, though, and I think that the filmmakers will learn their mistake and hopefully make another action/thriller classic with Jason Bourne brutally hurting people to get answers.

3.5/5

PRO

• Action scenes are still as badass as ever
• Alicia Vikander and Matt Damon's performances
• Realistic and gritty view with handheld camera movement (while very, very subjective)

CON

• Deep Dream plot

Jason Bourne is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and brief strong language.

Click here to watch the trailer

Jason Bourne is in theaters everywhere now

      Thanks for reading, everybody! I really do appreciate it. Please subscribe to my blog and follow me on Facebook here and Twitter here to receive updates on new reviews and trailer drops. Also, if you've already seen Jason Bourne, comment and let me know what you think of it. Thanks again!

Check This One Out! - Dope

Check This One Out! - Dope  

 Malcolm: "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Malcolm Adekanbi. I'm a straight-A student with nearly perfect SAT score. I play in a punk band with my friends and I'm a 90's hip hop geek. A bad day for most geeks would be being the butt of jokes, but when you live in the Bottoms, a bad day could look like this..."

      Dope is directed by Rick Famuyiwa (The Wood, Brown Sugar, The Flash currently in pre-production) and starsShameik Moore as Malcolm Adekanbi, Tony Revolori as Jib, Kiersy Clemons as Diggy, Blake Anderson as Will Sherwood, Zoe Kravitz as Nakia, A$AP Rocky as Dom, Kimberly Elise as Lisa Hayes, Chanel Iman as Lily Jacoby, Quincy Brown as Jaleel Jacoby, Keith Stanfield as Bug, Roger Guenveur Smith as Austin Jacoby, and Forest Whitaker as The Narrator.

Friends 4 Life

      High School Senior Malcolm Adekanbi and his two best friends, Jib and Diggy, are super geeks that are into their studies, 90's music culture, and playing their instruments. They're normal geeks on the streets of Los Angeles when they are invited to a drug dealer's birthday party. The party turns awry and violence breaks out. The three friends get away, but the drug dealer, known as Dom, stashed some very powerful ecstasy, that the invaders of the party wanted, in the backpack of Malcolm. Unbeknownst to Malcolm, he runs away, but the next day finds out that he is in possession of this drug. A crazy adventure falls upon Malcolm, Jib, and Diggy to try and find out what to do with the backpack while other drug dealers are trying to kill them for it. Soon enough they run into stranger and stranger circumstances that could get them into trouble. HUGE legal trouble and in the meantime, Malcolm still needs to figure out how he is going to get into Harvard, the school of his dreams (and everyone else's!).

Yeah, they look like they don't even want to be close to this sort of situation.

      I have seen movies like these (and I bet you have too): an underdog kind of character gets looped into bad circumstances (maybe drugs, violence, sex, etc.) and eventually ends up on top by becoming the kingpin, top dog, the boss, whatever you want to call it. Dope does this in such a different way; a very good way. Director Rick Famuyiwa spins this underdog story to a length where it goes cartoonishly smart, if that makes any sense. He creates a world surrounding a geek (which maybe I'm just partial to because of my geeky characteristics) in an underprivileged neighborhood that sees him wanting to fail, but Malcolm, a potential Harvard student, is smart enough to evade solve certain problems even if it's an illegal way. Dope is also a coming of age story with Malcolm in the forefront confused about his future. However, this story allows a good kid to become...manipulative, in a way. He uses his smarts to spotlight himself in the drug world which, coming from fantastic grades and being in a geeky punk rock band, is a complete turnaround. Mr. Famuyiwa has really rendered a, what could've easily been, drama into an awesome dramedy and I loved every bit of it. Dope also consists of great characters. The geeky Malcolm is super enjoyable to watch during this drug filled adventure (even though he never takes drugs). Even the secondary characters like Diggy, Jib, and Nakia are relatable enough to make you think that they are people you really know in life.

No need to have this picture, but I just love the way how their equipment is set up in front of a donuts shop.

      Dope succeeds in flipping the underdog/coming of age genre with smart directing and writing thanks to Rick Famuyiwa. Realistic characters helps this film do that and when a film does have them, that automatically gets me on board. Watch Dope when you can. It's a lovely movie and a different movie. If you're tired of the same bulls**t that Hollywood puts out, this will shine a light in the world of originality. The biggest reason that I can recommend Dope though, is that this is a journey of a good kid allows the audience to see how bad things can be looked at from a happier angle. Like I said, this movie could've been dark and gritty, but it isn't. It has a lighter tone and amazing music that makes you want to dance.

Oh, well of course there's fun music: Pharrell is a part of the making of it!

Dope is rated R for language, drug content, sexuality/nudity, and some violence - all involving teens

Click here to watch the trailer

Dope is on DVD, Blu-ray, some streaming services, and digital download

      Thanks for reading, everybody! I really do appreciate it. Please subscribe to my blog and follow me on Facebook here and Twitter here to receive updates on new reviews and trailer drops. Also, if you've already seen Dope, comment and let me know what you think of it. I'll post another Check This One Out! next week. Thanks again!

Star Trek Beyond Review

Star Trek Beyond

Kirk: "We got no ship, no crew, how're we going to get out of this one?"

Spock: "We will find hope in the impossible."

      Star Trek Beyond is directed by Justin Lin (Fast and Furious 6, Fast Five, Fast and Furious) and stars Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Commander Spock, Karl Urban as Doctor 'Bones' McCoy, Simon Pegg as Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott, Zoe Saldana as Lieutenant Uhura, Anton Yelchin as Chekov, John Cho as Sulu, Sofia Boutella as Jaylah, and Idris Elba as Krall.

Damn. A good looking Enterprise crew!

      Captain James T. Kirk returns with the Enterprise crew in this third installment in the Star Trek franchise to expand the Federation by exploring new areas of the universe. When a rescue mission on a new planet is tasked to the crew, a surprise attack by new villain Krall destroys the USS Enterprise, sends them tumbling into the new uninhabited planet, drags them into survival mode to find their way off the planet and to stop Krall from continuing with his bad guy plans. Without the Enterprise ship to help out, Kirk and crew now have their most difficult challenge ahead of them.

Idris Elba gets like this when he hasn't had his daily Twinkie.

      I have to be honest when I say that Star Trek Beyond never truly excited me from the announcement of the film or the trailers. Maybe it was the way the premiere trailer was put together, a generic action summer blockbuster, or maybe it was the way the Star Trek reboot series has been going south with Star Trek Into Darkness (which I actually enjoyed, for the most part, but not as much as the first one). However, I proud to say that Star Trek Beyond is steering this rebooted series into the right path into future Star Trek adventures. I love how adventurous the script of Star Trek Beyond is willing to go, in terms of universal/planetary travel. This movie takes the Enterprise crew to an unknown area of the universe which is so interesting to me, and probably to everyone. That discovery of the unknown is so beautiful even if we can only see it through a film like Star Trek Beyond. This exploring of the cosmos has always been a trademark of Star Trek: "to go where no man has gone before". So I commend the screenwriters, who surprisingly are two people I didn't expect to make such a fantastic space adventure movie: Simon Pegg, who has written and starred in movies like Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End, and Doug Jung, who has really only written for TV shows in the past. I found Star Trek Beyond funny when it needed to be, action packed when it needed to be, sweet when it needed to be, and it never overstayed it's welcome. I had fun throughout the whole movie.

New discoveries await!

      When you think Star Trek, what is the one thing you think? It might just be a character or an actor who played that character. Don't lie to yourself, that's probably what you're thinking. I mean, I personally think of William Shatner saying weird stuff in the talk...ing then...pausing way he speaks. Anyways, with iconic characters such as Kirk and Spock, there is a large margin for error if each member of the crew doesn't get a good amount of screen time. Luckily, Star Trek Beyond is character rich, and that includes new characters. While we all know how deep the connection between the Captain and the Commander of the Enterprise goes, the one relationship that we don't see much of and is actually explored even more in Star Trek Beyond is the relationship between Bones and Spock. Bones, the sarcastic doctor, plays really well off of the literal Spock, and vice versa. Again, this is due to the wonderful script that Pegg and Jung wrote. Not only is this relationship unfolded more so than in other Star Trek reboot films, but the crew, including Uhura, Solo, and Chekov, get a good bulk of time to show how their commitment and faith to each other's skills goes. Family is the word that comes to mind after seeing this movie. It's also something that Justin Lin uses a lot in his Fast and Furious movies. It was truly a great choice to make Lin the director of this tight niche cast. To add onto these previously seen characters, the new characters like Jaylah and Krall are fantastic auras to this universe. To be perfectly frank, Jaylah stole the entire movie for me. Her make-up is not only cool as hell, but she kicked ass. Lots of it! She never is boring to watch on screen and I think that her, being a new character introduction, willingness/stubbornness to learn from engineer Scotty and her relationship with him showed that perfectly. Krall is nothing like the ingenious Khan, but he does what he can to stand up to the likes of an icon like him. For the majority of the film, his plans and his inspiration to do evil deeds is kept secret, which is a little annoying, but I can definitely say that when it was revealed, I was on board. I just don't think I ever felt Krall made as big of an impact as Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness or the Romulans in Star Trek.

Jaylah is the badass alien woman with the sniper, just for those of you who are curious.

      How Justin Lin created this world coming off of his success in the Fast and Furious franchise is mind blowing. However, I can see similarities in the action: over the top, at times, but still awesome. Star Trek Beyond feels like a Star Trek film, except it has a bit of an upgrade with CGI, obviously. The scene in the first act with the surprise attack on the Enterprise is one of the better action scenes I have seen this summer (still number one is the airport scene in Captain America: Civil War). Thumbs up to most of the CGI. There are some times I could spot some poor CGI for sure and it just didn't work, but overall it's a fun action film. Along with the script surprising the hell out of me, the score is phenomenal. The strings from the introduction of Starbase Yorktown are beautiful. It takes me back to films that gives off a sense of awe and amazement. Personally, I believe that Michael Giacchino is the unsung hero of Star Trek Beyond.

Yeah! Risk ourselves to get the cool shot! It looks awesome as hell!

      Star Trek Beyond is like getting a visit from your best friend that you haven't seen in a couple of years: you heard about his/her visit, you hope they didn't change, they drop by when you didn't see him/her coming, you're extremely happy that they're the same person they've always been, they tell you that they'll visit again later, but you still have some cool local friends that you hang out with so you don't get bored. I know it sounds super weird to compare Star Trek Beyond to that kind of experience, but think about it. It's pretty accurate. I'm so happy the Star Trek reboots are now going into the direction that the original series set out to do and visit unexplored locations. Best of all, we get to share these adventures with the Enterprise crew. Live long and prosper, everybody!

4.5/5

PRO

• Takes advantage of universe; opens up opportunities for more Enterprise adventures
• Characters that we love each have good amount of screen time
• Script is fantastic
• Cool fun action

CON

• Sort of an underwhelming villain

Star Trek Beyond is rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence

Click here to watch the trailer

Star Trek Beyond is in theaters everywhere now

      Thanks for reading, everybody! I really do appreciate it. Please subscribe to my blog and follow me on Facebook here and Twitter here to receive updates on new reviews and trailer drops. Also, if you've already seen Star Trek Beyond, comment and let me know what you think. Thanks again!

Check This One Out! - Frank

Frank

Jon Burroughs: "Can I ask you something?"

Frank: "Sure."

Jon Burroughs: "Why do you wear that?"

Frank: "...do you think it's weird?"

Jon Burroughs: "Kinda."

Frank: "Well, normal faces are weird too.You know, the way they're smooth...smooth...smooth...and blech! You know? All bumpy and holes, I mean, what are eyes like? It's like a science fiction movie. Don't get me started on lips. Like the edges of a severe wound."

Jon Burroughs: "That's true. But your head is still sort of intimidating."

Frank: "Well, underneath it I'm giving you a welcoming smile.Would it help if I said my facial expressions out loud?"

Jon Burroughs: "Well...maybe."

Frank: "Welcoming smile."

      Frank is directed by Lenny Abrahamson (Room, What Richard Did) and stars Domhnall Gleeson as Jon Burroughs, Michael Fassbender as Frank, Maggie Gyllenhaal as Clara, Scoot McNairy as Don, Carla Azar as Nana, and Francois Civil as Baraque.

Just letting you know, Michael Fassbender does not actually have a giant paper mache head in real life.

      An aspiring musician, Jon randomly encounters a garage band with a lead singer that wears a large paper mache head everywhere and at all times. Jon joins this electronic/pop/alternative band after being offered a role by manager Don, but soon finds out that maybe he took on a bigger challenge than he anticipated, what with weird Frank being weird Frank, jealous Clara being jealous Clara, and Nana and Baraque being...themselves. Fun trips, awkward scenarios, and awesome head banging music take over this critically acclaimed independent film.

I mean, I've heard about being drugged up when you're trying to make an album, but c'mon. I would freak the hell out if I was jamming with a guy like this!

      Frank is not only weird as hell, but it's also beautiful. Kind of the same tropes that an independent movie needs to be successful; it pushes the boundaries that blockbusters usually are contained in. I think that this particular movie is successful in that way because of Frank and the story. First of all, Michael Fassbender has always fascinated me in the roles he has chosen; from the sinister mutant in the X-Men series to a hunger-striking prison inmate in Hunger. I honestly think his performance in Frank is the strangest, yet most brilliant choice he's made in his acting career thus far. A front man of a band who is too insecure about his creative music skills without his paper mache head? You can definitely check the box that says '10' on the originality scale. Even with the very talented Michael Fassbender as the covered Frank, the rest of the cast is on their A game to compete with Fassbender's performance, especially Domhnall Gleeson who has a lot of screen time shared with the fake head. Gleeson's Jon Burroughs has the biggest character arch than any other characters in this film because of Frank's influence. He goes from nice guy to coward to bully to other, I guess, strange personalities. Frank is like the zombie apocalypse in this whole movie. By that, I mean that he impacts everyone's role in the band and in life. I wouldn't say he is the person to be focused on throughout the whole movie, but when you see his big fake head, you say to yourself "I would loooooove to see more of this guy".

An experience to remember, right Domhnall?

      If you like fresh ideas, I really mean FRESH, then check out Frank. It's odd, sweet, and has kick ass music. The music is also one of those fresh ideas because you just don't hear this type of alternative music in mainstream media anymore. Anyways, Michael Fassbender has a hilarious role to pull off in Frank and he does it extremely well. The rest of the cast, including Domhnall Gleeson's excellent performance, is spectacular. I think I'm actually going to go online and listen to the soundtrack to Frank now. Just think about it, a movie about a guy with a paper mache head has influenced my music taste so much that I actually enjoy music that's "way out there"...Awesome!

YEAH! ROCK ON, FRANK!

Frank is rated R for language and some sexual content

Click here to watch the trailer

Frank is available on DVD, Blu-ray, some streaming services, and digital download 

      Thanks for reading, everybody! I really do appreciate it. Please subscribe to my blog and follow me on Facebook here and Twitter here to get updates on new reviews and trailer drops. Also, if you've already seen Frank, comment and let me know what you think of it. I'll post another Check This One Out! next week. Thanks again!

Ghostbusters Review

Ghostbusters

Erin Gilbert: "That stuff went everywhere, by the way. In every crack. Very hard to wash off."

Me: *Facepalm*

      Ghostbusters is directed by Paul Feig (The Heat, Bridesmaids, Spy) and stars Kristen Wiig as Erin Gilbert, Melissa McCarthy as Abby Yates, Kate McKinnon as Jillian Holtzmann, Leslie Jones as Patty Tolan, Chris Hemsworth as Kevin, Neil Casey as Rowan North, Cecily Strong as Jennifer Lynch, Andy Garcia as Mayor Bradley, Michael Kenneth Williams as Agent Hawkins, Matt Walsh as Agent Rorke, Zach Woods as Tour Guide, and Ed Begley Jr. as Ed Mulgrave.

To the person who came up with the slogan 'women can be funny too': We know. They can be funny. It's not something that needs to be announced. These women are very funny at what they do!

      Science Professor Erin Gilbert is seeking her childhood and old ghost hunter friend Abby Yates for a favor, but she eventually ends up forming a team known as the Ghostbusters with Abby, Abby's assistant, Jillian Holtzmann, and a subway officer, Patty Tolan. With their science background and New York city landscape knowledge, the four women start this ghost hunting business and immediately get titled as "frauds" by ghost debunkers. Despite the misunderstanding from society, the Ghostbusters try to continue their work when someone tries to open up a portal so that ghosts can come through to our world. Now it's up to the Ghostbusters to save the world from slimy chaos.

Let's catch some ghosts!

      We all know the trailers weren't good, but that doesn't mean that the Ghostbusters movie couldn't be good, right? RIGHT? It is, I guess. Well, it's at least better than expected. The internet wanted to hate this movie so much that the first trailer currently actually has 270, 243 likes 946, 497 dislikes on YouTube. People, understandably, didn't want their childhood movie, a good movie, to be butchered and from first glance of the trailer, people took it apart by saying that the nothing was funny, bad actress choices, lack of original cast, blah, blah, blah. The only thing I agreed with was the humor. I didn't find the trailers all that funny and it just seemed like a cashgrab; throwing joke after joke. The finished product, however, is much better than the trailers and doesn't deserve the hate that it got. Unfortunately, if a reboot is going to happen, that reboot better be as good, if not better than the original or else there wouldn't be a point in rebooting the movie. Ghostbusters did not do that. The magic of seeing Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson running around New York hunting ghosts is not captured with these four actresses. The original is just too much of a classic. This also isn't to say that the 2016 version is unfunny or bad. Not at all, actually. It's just mediocre. I think that the reason Ghostbusters is actually not that bad is because of the leads' chemistry, especially that of Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig. Leslie Jones hasn't really been a lead in a blockbuster like this, so props to her for not going over the top and staying somewhat grounded in an otherworldly movie like this. Kate McKinnon is a hit-or-miss actress in Ghostbusters. Her character was the problem actually: Holtzmann is too much of a cartoon character and yeah, this is a cartoon-ish kind of movie, but she didn't fit into this film for most of the action she was contributing to. She is actually the over the top, funny-face-making person, not Leslie Jones. These actresses are f***ing hilarious in the most of the movies that they're in. The script in Ghostbusters just isn't as great or as funny as Bridesmaids or Spy, two hits from director Paul Feig. I wouldn't count this as  a cashgrab movie either, though. The four leads were fantastic and tried very hard with the script.

To be honest, Chris Hemsworth, as dumb as his character is in this movie, made me laugh the most.

      There's not too much to say about a movie that was just alright. Ghostbusters never amazed me, but it never let me down. I know that's what I've pretty much been saying, but in all honesty, Ghostbusters was just that: it was "meh". The special effects were very enjoyable, actually. This includes the action that I didn't think Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon could do. I know that might sound rude, or for you extremists, sexist, but they have never proved that they could do that kind of acting in the past (except maybe for McCarthy). In any case, the action scenes with the ghosts surprised me in a good way. The proton packs have cool upgrades and it's pretty neat to see them in action. However, special effects, more or less, go hand in hand with action and they just gradually get better with time. For example, the original Ghostbusters in 1984 had some pretty crappy special effects as compared to many of today's special effects. Still, the original Ghostbusters was revolutionary at the time with special effects, comedy, and horror; things the 2016 Ghostbusters isn't. Maybe it's just the wrong time to come out, but maybe all in all, a reboot is just unnecessary. Who knows...

Slimer is back!

      In the end, Ghostbusters isn't a film to pick at and it isn't a film to praise. It's kind of just there for our enjoyment. I legitimately had fun watching this movie and I think that's really all that matters for a blockbuster of this magnitude;  not an Oscar contender, by any means, but a fun movie to watch with friends in the theater. This 2016 version should not destroy your favorite childhood (current) movie so go and watch it. This year's Ghostbusters is just a proven point that you shouldn't judge a movie by its trailer. Prove the internet wrong. Trust me, it'll oddly feel like an accomplishment.

3.1/5

PRO

• The lead actresses' chemistry
• Cool action scenes
• Kinda actually funny, for the most part

CON

• Doesn't capture any of the true magic the original has
• Unnecessary...?

Ghostbusters is rated PG-13 for supernatural action and some crude humor

Click here to watch the trailer

Ghostbusters is in theaters everywhere

      Thanks for reading, everybody! I really do appreciate it. Please subscribe to my blog and follow me on Facebook here and Twitter here to get updates in new reviews and trailer drops. Also, if you've already seen Ghostbusters, comment and let me know what you think of it. Thanks again!

Check This One Out! - Kilo Two Bravo

Check This One Out! - Kilo Two Bravo

Mine: "Kaboom!"

      Kilo Two Bravo is directed Paul Katis (1st time director!) and stars Mark Stanley as Tug, David Elliot as Mark Wright, Scott Kyle as Stu Pearson, Bryan Parry as Jonesy, Benjamin O'Mahony as Stu Hale, Liam Ainsworth as Ken Barlow, John Doughty as Dave Prosser, Andy Gibbins as Smudge, Thomas Davison as Jar Head, Grant Kilburn as Alex Craig, Paul Luebke as Jay Davis, Robert Mitchell as Faz, John-Paul Bell as Luke Mauro, Ali Cook as Spud McMellon, and Malachi Kirby as Snoop.

I stand by this statement, just like I always have: the most intense job, in my opinion, is being a medic on the front lines.

      Setting: Afghanistan, 2006. A patrol of three British paratroopers go to a dried up riverbed that leads the way to a couple of Taliban men. Their mission is to disarm them, but one of the soldiers sets off a mine only to have his leg blown off. To his aid, the two other men signal for help and the others in their troop come to help. Unfortunately, other mines are set off. Now knowing that this dried up riverbed is a minefield, the men must be extremely cautious that their next small movie doesn't set off another mine. With selflessness at every soldier's foreground, they all must help each other and survive together until the rescue helicopter arrives.

Going through every area around you to carefully caution others about a mine is like making sure you study for every minor detail on a test...not really. This job is much harder. 

      I found out about this movie really randomly by scrolling through Netflix's drama section. Holy crap, am I glad I stumbled upon this gem. Kilo Two Bravo is almost the perfect war film that doesn't have any actual warfare in it. I can actually summarize it as 127 Hours meets Saving Private Ryan's Omaha Beach scene, but with less gun violence and brutality. It still holds the intensity just as well as the Omaha Beach scene, though. Two Kilo Bravo is first and foremost a fantastic film about brotherhood and heroism in the ARMY. We have all seen films like this, whether they're recent films like 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi and Lone Survivor or older films like Platoon or Apocalypse Now, but I honestly have to say that this film probably takes the cake on how soldiers interact with each other in a high stakes scenario. I can't say for sure whether or not soldiers would interact like this on the front lines with mines all around them, but I assume it would be something like this because of not wanting to raise others' fears/anxiety. I also absolutely loved how this film is primarily taken in one area: a dry riverbed. This is unlike most of the war films I have seen in the past. It's original, is what I should say, like the story behind it. That's actually another point: this actually happened. These brave badass people did whatever they could to help each other stay alive. Although not everyone was affected by a blast or shrapnel of a mine, the psychological damage that occurred literally moments after each blast impacted all of the men. The soldiers showed this anguish of not being able to physically help their fellow soldier who is just steps away from them. Well done, actors! I can't even remember the last time I thought deeply about a movie even days after seeing it. It's truly one of a kind.

Damn! If only I could be this selfless, courageous, and calm when trying to help people.

      Kilo Two Bravo is not only a great war film, but it also allows you to laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time in the way that a comforting friend would lighten the mood when things are going South. The bond that this band of brothers have is so strong that it feels like you're one of the soldiers. The camera work (by the way, cheers to the grips) has a lot to do with that; almost like a documentary kind of filming. I do want to stress that this movie is definitely for people that can hold their food into their stomach because there are plenty of scenes with graphic depictions of the aftermath of the mine explosions. In any case, watch it, please! Kilo Two Bravo is a film about real soldiers that deserves more credit than it actually gets and should be watched by everybody.

Front line medics...I salute you all!

Kilo Two Bravo is rated R for disturbing and graphic depictions of war injuries, and for pervasive language

Click here to watch the trailer

Kilo Two Bravo is available on DVD, Blu-ray, some streaming services, and digital download

      Thanks for reading, everybody! I really do appreciate it. Please subscribe to my blog and follow me on Facebook here and Twitter here to get updates on new reviews and trailer drops. Also, if you've already seen Kilo Two Bravo, comment and let me know what you think of it. I'll post another Check This One Out! next week. Thanks again!