X-Men 3 The Last Stand

Do I like it better than X-Men 2? I don't know man!

You know, a lot of people give shit to this movie probably more so of, ooh you didn't adapt the comics right, more than actual shoddy production or acting. I never got it and I still don't. I can see the perspective of some people when they say nothing happened in the second movie, plot wise it was very weak, and while I see it more as a character driven movie than a plot driven movie I can't call it weak myself. But here? So much happens. The government has manufactured a cure for mutants which raises some big questions, Magneto is forming an army, Jean comes back after her Wrath Of Khan death, shit happens in this movie. People die, lines are drawn in the sand, they do the Phoenix story which I hear so much about, it does kinda feel like a true end to the X-Men series. The actors sure treat it like that with Hugh, Patrick, Ian, and even Halle giving it their all for one last bout. I gotta give Halle major credit for this movie, she came off a terrible bomb of a movie and has a very passionate, strong, and take no prisoners attitude with Storm and I for one love it. She really does improve through each movie. It's a shame Alan Cumming didn't return but in his stead we have Kelsey Grammer as Beast. Holy. F***. I am going to be publicly executed by both Marvel and DC fans alike when I say, Kelsey Grammer was better casted as Beast than Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Yes. I said that. This is coming from a man who for all intents and purposes has fallen in love with Hugh Jackman, that massive dork. If you ask me who my favorite X-Man is, it's Beast. You wanna talk cream of the crop? Good lord, that's some good stuff right there, yeah buddy. So story and cast get check marks from me, maybe if I was hardcore into the comics I'd go ballistic over the Phoenix thing but I can roll with it, she has a split personality and literally dusts people a decade well before Thanos. Huh, there's a standoff for you, Jean Grey full destructive Phoenix mode versus Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet. I have no clue who would win that. Any well read and informed fans out there, let me know. Effects have improved once more, they throw the cars, do the wirework, blow stuff up so props once more to the effects department. But the CG looks mostly good, with stand out moments being of course the bridge scene and seeing the metal bones under Logan's skin. Pretty good work I must say and some credit must he given for trying out new technology to de-age Patrick and Ian. Do I feel that was necessary? Nope! It was a decent trilogy, set the bar for future Marvel movies especially for Marvel team movies at that, it genuinely was cool to go back and watch them again to solidify my opinion. For this one, I'd give it 3 stars, 6.5/10, in terms of pure entertainment the second one did it all for me. And we got one more week before the rematch of the century, and I'm backing my corner full force next week.

Toy Story 2

It's better than I remember.

I love Toy Story, it is an excellent film and still so enjoyable to this day. I watched both Toy Story 1 and 2 when I was a kid on VHS, a lot. And yet now as I'm older I love it so much more. I'm not even sure what it is, the humor is great with some moments that made me laugh so hard I couldn't breathe, the story takes new ideas and gives a bit more of an emotional tale, the animation is amazing, Toy Story 2 is without a doubt a superior film and another rare awesome sequel that you come across now and then. I love how the story goes, the fact that Woody gets damaged and then is stolen is a great way to hold interest for the whole movie and a handful of our favorite toys set out to rescue him. But in the meantime Woody comes to discover he's actually a rare toy and meets toys from the same line as him, a cowgirl named Jessie who almost singlehandedly makes the movie surpass the first, a fun horse Bullseye, and the astronaut prejudiced Prospector. Now these 3 characters alone bring so much to the table it's crazy. Bullseye is just a fun character and come on, what's a cowboy without a horse? The Prospector brings up a lot of important things to be seen in the next movie, and actually brings up the point to Woody that Andy won't be a kid forever. Ugh, those are such great moments! Which takes us to Jessie, and she is incredibly active with a bubbly personality but she has major emotional baggage that the movie isn't afraid to shy away from. It's her flashback sequence alone that really does push this movie from really good to great, it's a kind of powerful scene that can be understood by kids possibly more than adults. Kids grow up and change a lot, it may not seem like it but they really do, I had tons of toys as a kid and there were some that I lost, some that were replaced by new favorites, and some that got damaged, and this happened while I was still a kid. Though the humor is in my opinion better than ever, there's always something more to notice as time goes by. Some of it's little things like the abundance of Star Wars sound effects in the opening, or that surprisingly soothing and hypnotic repair of Woody's arm to more big things like how Woody is actually a family toy meaning he was passed down probably from his dad or uncle because he was around in the late 50s right before the big space race boom, or a certain fan theory that seems much too credible to dismiss but we will cover that next time. And I gotta say the animation for this movie looks outstanding, for a movie that's 20 years old some of this stuff looks like today's Pixar animation, I was thoroughly impressed by the colors and expressions of characters. Like jeez, I can't even imagine how I'll take Toy Story 3 because I have my own history with it but again, another thing for another time. Toy Story 2 is that perfect continuation of a great series, I wouldn't be surprised at all if some people said it was The Empire Strikes Back of the series, though for less obvious reasons. It really does improve and continue to innovate this world that Pixar banked everything on and it payed off. For only the 3rd film in their library, they hit their stride quick and is still making movies today. Yet another 4 stars, 10/10, could not recommend it enough! Definitely go back and check it out if it's been a few years, it might stir up some old memories for you too.

Transformers Age Of Extinction

What...the...flying ostriches? A GOOD Transformers movie directed by Michael Bay? I call foul.

How...the frak did this happen? Like, it was really good! I didn't hate the humans, I liked all the Autobots, the comedy was decent, the action was good, what is this?? Okay got to breathe. Take it slow. So the movie picks up 5 years after the last movie, we ditch the annoying characters and we meet up with Mark Wahlberg (Yeah I know his character has a name but you're going to call him Mark Wahlberg.) and the world has changed. The Autobots are hunted by the government, a corporation has created transformers and upgraded them, and this weird like bounty hunter transformer is helping the government in hunting down both Autobots and Decepticons. Whoa. And the bounty hunter guy is trying to almost terraform Earth in order to create new robots, and Prime rounds up all 4 Autobots who didn't bite the dust and all of them rock! We get this hardcore military guy voiced by John Goodman (Far out man.), we get a samurai, we got Bumblebee still, we get this gunslinger looking dude, and they all kick ass and need I say anything about Optimus? Well, one line kinda pissed off Peter Cullen and I highly agree with him, it just doesn't seem like Prime but I still enjoy watching him. And Megatron becomes Galvatron, and he does.....absolutely nothing. He barely fights, it's not his evil plan this movie, he's just kinda there. Hell even the bounty hunter guy doesn't really do much beyond the kinda, sorta, terraforming thing. And yet somehow, the movie is still good. All the human characters I like, well except for one but the snitch got what he deserved so no harm there. No forced comedy or just plain stupid attempts at getting laughs, when you laugh you really laugh. What the hell happened?! I mean I got to the point last week where I never wanted to talk about Transformers for the rest of my life, and yet this movie was good?? Did I jump dimensions again man? This is getting weird. I can't believe I'm saying this but, check this movie out! See if it's worth the decent rating I gave. Apparently The Last Knight is, well the last Transformers movie and it hits tomorrow so expect a review soon for it.