Edward Scissorhands

Edward Scissorhands is one of Tim Burton's prolific work. This stars Johnny Depp as the titular character, and his life in his neighborhood when Peg Boggs took him in her home. It showed the relationship he had with his neighbors and the family, including his crush on Kim. This had the signature Tim Burton style to it, a style that while charming back then, may not have aged very well.

Sapphire Blue

Sapphire Blue is the second book of the Ruby Red trilogy, with the movie adaptation released in 2014. The movie does recap the main points of the story, but it is about a time traveler named Gwendolyn, and how she must uncover the prophecy concerning her, as well as to find the missing chronograph.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

The Last Jedi is the second installment of the new trilogy written and directed by Rian Johnson. This picks up the action after the events of Force Awakens - the Resistance is fleeing and is being attacked, while Rey needed to persuade Luke Skywalker to come back to fight. From there, the movie shifts to three story arcs led by Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron, with their arcs eventually merging towards the end of the film. The company must have been happy with Johnson's work, as he is starting another trilogy for them. While this installment has its share of controversy and backlash, this was an entertaining movie that leans towards a formulaic blockbuster film. note: spoilers

Justice League

Justice League is DC’s foray into introducing new but familiar characters, and an entry way to the solo movies these characters have lined up. Taking place after the events of Batman v Superman, Batman recruits people with special abilities to take on a threat that can destroy the world. While far from being a flawless flick, Justice League does enough to quench the thirst for the new characters, but not enough to be a solid blockbuster that it should be.

Ruby Red

Ruby Red is the first book in the fantasy series written by Kirsten Gier, and are translated from German. This is about a teenage girl who finds out that she has the ability to travel through time, and the secrets and conspiracies that lie behind her ability. There are three books in the series, making for three movie adaptations released two years apart. I have read the books but don't remember much aside from the main points. The books are made for binge reading though.

Air Doll

When I first read the synopsis for Air Doll, I thought that it would at least have a similar vibe to ‘Lars and the Real Girl’; since it’s one of my favorites, I dove into this one with a positive outlook. I expected that the movie would either fall on a fantasy-type spectrum, or a philosophical study of humanity. While it does fall under the latter, it was still way off from my expectations. Contains spoilers.

Beauty and the Beast

Ever since the trailer first dropped, the live adaptation of a beloved Disney classic has been heavily marketed with tons of behind the scenes, features, and song numbers to boot. The heavy marketing deemed this adaptation to high expectations. Reigning in names like Emma Watson, Ewan McGregor and Ian McKellen certainly makes the pull of the movie stronger. However, did it meet expectations?

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is the latest movie to grace the Harry Potter Universe. Focusing on the adventures of Newt Scamander, this installment introduces a magical world outside the London world that we’re used to, opening the doors to a new realm of magic. Set in New York in the 1920’s, Newt Scamander arrives to America for his own reasons, only to have some of his creatures accidentally set loose in the city, threatening the exposure of wizarding folk. 

Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange is Marvel Studio’s newest addition to their universe, introducing characters and stories that deal with the mystical realm. The new superhero is in the form of Stephen Strange, a bright neurosurgeon whose life takes a turn when he loses his abilities due to an accident. He goes and seeks for a way to heal, leading him to the door of The Ancient One, and his journey to becoming the next superhero. Note: this review contains spoilers.

Amelie

I was clearing out my drafts folder (I'm one of those people with impossible inboxes) when I unearthed this old review of Amelie I wrote a few years ago and never got around to publishing. I did end up editing this a bit, but I wanted to preserve my original thoughts on the film, so here is a slightly updated version of the review.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

I’m not even going to try to sugar coat it, but Batman v Superman was awful. Despite the critical slams, I went ahead and watched it just to see how terrible people are making this out to be. I was disappointed, because there were good parts and ideas, but the sum of all these parts just made one terrible production. I hope this will be remedied in the future movies if the DC franchise wants to survive in the cutthroat world of superhero movies. This review contains spoilers.

Blind Spot: Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Monty Python is a famous British comedy group primarily known for their show Monty Python’s Flying Circus. This was their second motion picture, focusing on the Arthurian legend in where Arthur and his knights are on the search for the Holy Grail. For someone unfamiliar with their work, anything is to be expected. While I loved the way that the group tackled the legend, and had some favorite funny bits, I think this film was not for me.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Happy New Year everyone! What better way to start a new year with a film everyone watched over the holiday season – The Force Awakens! I didn’t get to see it until after Christmas so avoided all reviews (including spoiler free ones) until I got to watch it for myself.* I went to watch the original trilogy in preparation for the seventh film. The wait was over, everyone was simply raving about it on social media – I have to say, I definitely agree with the hype; the film simply delivers to expectation and I cannot wait for the next installment.

*It was almost a spoiler-free run, until my cousin mentioned a scene over Christmas dinner. Merry Christmas to me. 

Fairy Tale Blogathon: Penelope

To celebrate fairy tales, Fitzi Kramer of Movies Silently is hosting the Fairy Tale Blogathon which will run from November 9 to 11 this year. For my entry, I decided to review Penelope, a modern retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast. It stars Christina Ricci, and this movie also marks the day the name "James McAvoy" landed on my radar, and I have been tuning in his work since.

Batman Forever

So, after spanning two decent Batman movies, the franchise took a turn when the torch was handed over to Joel Schumacher, whose rendition of the masked crusader has got to be the worst installments I have seen. In a few words: it was messy, sloppy, and outrageous. How this garnered a sequel from the same director, I would never know. 

Batman

As I've mentioned here, it's difficult to assess the previous Batman films mainly because of the trilogy that Christopher Nolan brought, so I'll try my best to be as objective as possible. This movie introduced the start of the movie versions of Batman (not including the film adaptation of the series), and while it was a good start, I felt that it was a lesser version of the sequel (Batman Returns). While it had a colorful villain, the screenplay was off-putting and unsatisfactory, leaving me with mediocre feelings towards the first film.

Blind Spot: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

If I was to make a list of children's films people my age have probably seen during their childhood, E.T. would have been one of them. As a child, I was never really coerced into watching a brown, strange looking thing point his finger and then makes it glow (hence, this blind spot). But I wasn't unaware of E.T.; I think it would be slightly improbable that people not recognize E.T. After all, he is an iconic character himself, and the film is considered to be one of Spielberg's finest. Beside the iconic shot that's used in all promotional items, or anything regarding the film, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial displays a powerful friendship in the eyes of its characters.

Blindspot: Pan's Labyrinth

I think I found a suitable family film. Not only does it introduce children to a different, darker fairy tale, but it's set in a war period, so there's guns, violence and drama for the adults. Also, despite the bloodshed (and areas of bloodshed and ample slashing), I find myself wanting to watch the film over again - primarily due to the tale that's embedded in the fight. While I'm not quite versed with Guillermo del Toro's work, Pan's Labyrinth make a great recommendation in finding out more from the director, as it offers a fantastic tale that doesn't go short of getting you fascinated.

About Time

It may have masquerade itself as another time traveling romance movie, but About Time should not be dismissed. A work by Richard Curtis, About Time displays more than a love story, but rather, a coming of age of an adult, particularly when he steps out of the confinement of his own home. It's different from romantic comedies in a way that it doesn't stop at the happy ending, but rather goes further into their lives.

This Is the End

Cast: James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen
Director: Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen

When this was announced to be released, I knew I had to see it. I'm willing to bet a lot of people had to see it too because I caught one of the night's earlier show times and the entire theater was packed. I'm not a big fan of dirty humor, but with this cast, I knew what kind of material I'd be expecting. It certainly did not disappoint, even when conforming to the apocalyptic craze. In fact, it helped with their whole comedic craze. I'd say this now: the entire movie was entertaining! It had a ton of laughs and the chemistry of the cast was stupendous. I left the cinema with people who were applauding (the applauding part annoys me in theaters, sorry) and definitely were satisfied with what they saw.