Boyhood | Movie Review

Boyhood is directed by Richard Linklater and was filmed in sections, every year, for 12 years. They also use the same actors. It stars Ellar Coltrane as the main character, Mason. This movie just chronicles his life between the ages of 5 and 18. It also stars Patricia Arquette as his mother, Lorelei Linklater as his sister and Ethan Hawke as his father.

This movie has a pretty simple premise. The fact that it is filmed over 12 years using the same actors will go down in history. This technique enhances the film and I was just mesmerised by the performances of particularly Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater as they truly jump into these roles and make it their own. You believe that these actors really are these characters.

Ethan Hawke was also amazing. I was quite stunned when I saw him at the beginning of the film. He looked so much younger and it was a nice surprise. Patricia Arquette was fantastic at the beginning but was a little wooden towards the end of the film.

The fact that this movie is just a series of scenes about a boy's life and that it could be so enthralling and just so intense to watch. However, there are some flaws I have with this movie. Yes, there are a bunch of nitpicks that I won't mention. I will say however, that the third act of the movie started to drop in quality. Mainly, Ellar Coltrane's character became less relatable, Patricia Arquette didn't seem to care and it was kind of generic. It wasn't terrible, but there were noticeable flaws in comparison.

Overall I feel that there is only one way to explain my rating

Act 1: A+

Act 2: A+
Act 3: B+

The first 2 acts were so captivating I have to give this film

A

I'm Jonathan and this is Movies for the People

Guardians of the Galaxy | Movie Review

Well my most anticipated movie of 2014 is finally here. Guardians of the Galaxy stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, the voice of Vin Diesel and the voice of Bradley Cooper, John C. Reilly and Karen Gillian. This is Marvel's riskiest film since the first Iron Man. This is not your typical superhero film. It is very heavy on comedy and is not your typical action movie.

In this film, The Guardians have to join together to take down Ronan The Accuser who is after The Orb which has fallen into the hands of Star Lord. Together, Star Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Groot will (for their own reasons) try to take down Ronan and might just become quite possibly, the most unique and weirdest team in a superhero film ever.

The casting choices in this film were strange to say the least. Chris Pratt works perfectly as a guy who is mentally stuck in the 1980's. Zoe Saldana plays a badass warrior who is trying to forget put her past behind her and she is one of the best female roles in a superhero film that there has ever been. Dave Bautista was a huge risk. But as a side character, he is really good and really funny, even though I think it took until about half way through the movie for his character to really shine. The two people who stole the movie for me, however, were Rocket and Groot. I, personally, liked Groot more than Rocket. His facial reactions to everything that happened had me laughing so hard that I actually missed the dialogue that came after. Also the way he says 'I am Groot' every time, gets funnier as you realises how true it matches his emotions. So a lot of credit goes to Vin Diesel for pulling this off. Rocket is the kind of character who people want to have his own spin off movie. He is really funny and so awesome.

The villain, Ronan The Accuser, has been getting some pretty negative feedback in terms of being compared to Malekith from Thor: The Dark World. He is said to be an under developed villain, bland, generic and overall not as cool as Loki. Because lets face it, the weakest point of the Marvel cinematic universe is the villains. That is why I am hoping that the next two Avengers films with Ultron and Thanos really change everything. Now, I am not saying he is on the same level, and for spoiler reasons I am not going to say why. But in my opinion, Ronan reminds me of Darth Vader. He is pretty cool and is a great villain for this movie. It is also building to another villain because, keep in mind this is only the first film.

One flaw I have with the film however, is that like many Marvel films such as: Iron Man, Thor, The Incredible Hulk and Thor: The Dark World. This movie takes a little while to warm up. Granted, this movie takes a lot less time then the ones I mentioned above and it is a lot faster paced in comparison to these other movies, however, looking at this film with objective eyes, it is a noticeable flaw that only caught my attention upon my second viewing.

The story is pretty quick and simple. But is made so great by the characters. It could only be so great if it is in this type of a movie. No other Marvel movie is like this, and I love it so much. It had to happen, it was so necessary for such a great change to the series and I hope this series continues. And no, I do not think that this movie needs to have a crossover film with ANY other character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe apart from maybe a cameo from one of The Avengers in future films or vice versa.

I'm going to give Guardians of the Galaxy

A

I'm Jonathan and this is Movies for the People