Movie Review: Paper Towns

The recent film Paper Towns, based on the novel by author John Green, was playing at my local theater and so I opted to go see it. Although I didn't have many expectations for this movie, I left the theater slightly disappointed about what I had just watched. I'll explain in further detail below, but first I want to give a quick summary as to what Paper Towns is about.
The film centers on the character of Quentin, who was close friends with his neighbor Margo until they enter high school and grow apart. One night while he is sleeping, Margo breaks into Quentin's bedroom and convinces him to help her go on a mission to get revenge on everyone who has wronged her. The next morning, Quentin goes to school and realizes that Margo is missing. He begins to follow clues that he finds in order to track down Margo's whereabouts, and eventually recruits a team of his friends to help in the search. Through his searching for Margo, Quentin experiences things that would normally fall outside of his comfort zone, and he begins to question his relationships and his life.
What this film did bring to the table was both a good portrayal of teenage confusion, and an interesting plot that managed to hold my interest through the entirety of the movie. I suppose John Green should be credited for this particular aspect; after all, the film is based on his book. In spite of the shortcomings that Paper Towns has, the storyline was still good enough to make me want to keep watching and see what happens in the end.
But despite these two positive elements, Paper Towns managed to underwhelm me in nearly every other aspect. First, I want to address the acting, which I thought was somewhat mediocre. Although nobody who stars in this film did a terrible job portraying their characters, nobody really shone either. I especially didn't feel much of a genuine connection between the two main characters, Margo and Quentin, played by Cara Delevingne and Nat Wolff. Also, despite the unique plot, there was an element of ennui throughout the duration of Paper Towns that just never seemed to go away. I can't say I was completely bored; the plot was interesting and did hold my attention. But there is just a certain lackadaisical element that has a strong hold on this film. The bottom line is that there's just a thick enough thread of a story to pull you into Paper Towns, but hardly any impact beyond that, emotional or otherwise. I found myself not really caring what happened to the characters or how the film would end, I just wanted to see it through simply to know what happens.
So the bottom line is this: I expected more from Paper Towns and overall was disappointed with what I ended up watching. It's certainly not a terrible movie, but it really lacks the depth or character connection that transports a movie into an award-winning classic. If you're still adamant about watching Paper Towns, at least wait until you can view it somewhere cheaper than a theater.

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Mystery/Drama

Run Time: 109 minutes

Release Date: July 24, 2015

My Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Movie Review: Max

Filled with high hopes, I recently went to go see the family flick Max. However, I ended up leaving the theater with mixed feelings about this film. Although it's truly a heartwarming movie about a boy and his dog, in my opinion it most certainly did not live up to its full potential.
Before I get too far into the details, I'll catch you all up on what Max is about. After Kyle, a dog handler in the U.S. Marines, is killed in Afghanistan, his German Shepherd Max is sent back to the states. Max is is extremely distrusting of and violent towards other people, but shows an affinity towards Kyle's younger brother Justin. Because of this Kyle's family takes Max in, and Justin begins training him with the help of his best friend's cousin who is good with dogs. However, things take a turn when Kyle's friend Tyler begins to get closer to Kyle's family. Eventually, Justin must rely on Max to help him find out the truth behind Tyler and what secrets he is hiding.
First, I want to state that Max proves itself to be a good film that perhaps older kids can get something out of. It might not be the most appropriate movie to take your four-year-old to see (there are some violent scenes), but I think most children around age 10 or older would thoroughly enjoy Max. It's quite rare these days for a non-animated movie that is child-friendly to be released, but this film is one of them. Families aside, I think that anyone who is a dog-lover could appreciate this movie for the story that it tells, as it is a good depiction of the strong bond between a boy and his dog.
However, there are some numerous negative aspects to Max as well. Firstly, this movie didn't quite know what it wanted to be and never really made its genre evident to the audience. It could easily be a patriotic war movie, filled with action scenes and the quintessential "catch the bad guy" plot that accompanies most action movies. However, it can also be labeled as a coming-of-age flick, where the relationship between a young teenage boy and his family and friends are put to the test. Take your pick, because Max does not make it clear at all. Overall, there's just too much content weaved into the relatively weak plot that this film centers on. Another negative is that I personally found this movie to be a bit slow, even slightly boring at times. It also had an extremely predictable plot, to the point where nothing at all surprised me while I was watching Max. Perhaps this is because it's a family film, and so the plot should understandably be a little bit easier to follow because kids will be watching it. But adding to this point, I do want to say that Max is actually a bit of a violent movie for younger children. I'm not a parent, so perhaps I have no right to step into this realm of movie critiquing, but in my opinion there were several action scenes that would make me think twice about taking younger kids to see Max (think war scenes, shooting, dogs fighting each other, and throw some explosions in there too). The last negative point that I want to make about this film is the acting. I personally wasn't moved by any of the characters in this movie, and despite their eldest son Kyle having recently died in war, his family didn't show much believable emotion over his death. Just in general, I thought that no one who acted in this film did an amazing job.
So there you have it, perhaps a bit harsh but my truly honest opinion for the 2015 movie Max. Maybe it's because I was expecting this film to be really good that it fell pretty short for me, but maybe one of you will enjoy it more. It's not a motion picture that I would recommend going to see, but I wouldn't tell you to not watch it. Maybe just wait until it's on DVD and rent it for a dollar instead of paying the big bucks at the movie theater.

Rating: PG

Genre: Action/Adventure

Run Time: 111 minutes

Release Date: June 26, 2015

My Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Movie Review: Every Secret Thing

I was initially compelled to watch the crime drama Every Secret Thing for two main reasons. First of all because I typically like movies that are mysterious and suspenseful, and also I enjoy several of the actors that were cast in this film. Let me cut right to the chase: I was not very thrilled with this movie. Although it did have some elements that were done right, it fell short on almost every aspect possible. I will elaborate further, but first let me give you a quick synopsis of what Every Secret Thing is about.
The movie begins as two young girls, Alice and Ronnie, go to a pool party together. They are distant from each other and only hang out together because Alice's mother doesn't want Ronnie to feel left out. Walking home from the party, the girls steal an infant from the porch of a house and attempt to care for it, but the baby eventually dies and the girls both go to prison for seven years. Soon after their release, a local toddler goes missing from a furniture store and Nancy, the same police detective that worked on Alice's and Ronnie's case, is also assigned to this new one. Upon further investigation, Nancy suspects that the two events are linked, and that Alice and Ronnie might be involved with a second missing child case.
Let me begin with the pros of Every Secret Thing. What drew me to this movie in the first place were the actors that are in it, and honestly they all did a good job portraying their individual roles. I especially liked the characters of Ronnie and Nancy, played by Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Banks, respectively. I also thought that the storyline of Every Secret Thing was unique and very original, and I was somewhat drawn into what was playing out onscreen. However, this is pretty much where the positives stop for this film.
Despite the unique plot, it didn't provide me with a lot of surprising moments or truly thrilling "on the edge of my seat" scenes. The story that Every Secret Thing centers on is also quite unbelievable in the sense that an unattended infant is just randomly snatched up by two young children who have absolutely no reason to do this. This is just something that is fairly inconceivable in reality. But the glaring issue of this film is simply its slowness. The plot is like proverbial molasses, slowly lumbering along and taking much longer than necessary to get its main points across to the viewer. Every Secret Thing is not a long movie, but despite this its hour and a half run time still seems much too drawn out.
So in conclusion, I would say that Every Secret Thing is probably not a film that I will be recommending anytime soon. I wouldn't adamantly try to stop you from seeing it, as it does have some good elements. I would simply warn you that, in my opinion, it's probably not worth your time or money.

Rating: R

Genre: Crime drama/mystery

Run Time: 93 minutes

Release Date: May 15, 2015

My Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Movie Review: Ex Machina

Going completely off of someone else's recommendation, I went to go see the science fiction thriller movie Ex Machina at my local theater a few days ago. I honestly didn't know what to expect, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised by what this movie brought to the table.
The film begins as Caleb Smith, a young programmer, wins a prize which grants him a visit to the facility of prestigious CEO Nathan Bateman. Once arriving, Caleb learns that he is expected to take part in a Turing Test to evaluate Nathan's humanoid robot called Ava. As Caleb becomes increasingly enthralled by Ava, she proves to be more capable and intelligent than either man could have ever imagined.
The positives of this film outweighed the negatives significantly, and overall I really enjoyed Ex Machina. I found it to have a very unique storyline that I haven't seen in any other movies before, and the fact that it's Alex Graland's directorial debut is pretty impressive. Another positive aspect of Ex Machina is the fact that it has an extremely limited cast, but still manages to pull off a very compelling and engaging plot involving only these few actors. In fact, there are only three actors in the entire movie with speaking roles, and all of them did a respectable job portraying their individual characters. Another element that I regarded as a plus for this movie is its very clean-cut plot with no offshooting stories that can all too often weigh a film down. Ex Machina cuts right to the chase, expending all of its time and energy into the main plot. The last element that I liked about this movie is the fact that the questions and topics that it brings up can directly be applied to our modern world in regards to technical innovations. I found it to be a thought-provoking film that is all too real in regards to the future of society.
Regarding the negative elements of Ex Machina, I would say I have two main issues with it. The first is that it is somewhat of a slow movie in that nothing major really goes down throughout its almost two hour run time. I'm not saying that it's a boring movie; on the contrary, the plot was actually very intriguing to me and held my interest. It's just that the scenes were slow, the setting never changed, and aside from the three main actors nobody new was introduced to the film. You'll know what I mean if you go see Ex Machina. I didn't find it dull to watch but it just had an odd lethargic feel to it. The other negative part of this movie is its unrealistic elements. I can't say too much here without revealing spoilers, but my issues lie with the fragility and power source for Nathan's robots.
All in all, Ex Machina was a very interesting, unique, and enjoyable movie to watch for me personally. I would recommend going to see it, whether at your local theater or later when its released on DVD. It's not only an engaging movie but also raises some interesting questions that will make you think about the modern world that we all live in today.

Rating: R

Genre: Science fiction/thriller

Run Time: 108 minutes

Release Date: April 24, 2015

My Rating: ★★★★☆

Under The Radar Musical Artists

The music that I listen to is all over the place, and the artists that I enjoy not only vary by genre but also by popularity as well. Sure, there are many well-known artists that I enjoy listening to, but there are also some unknown singers flying under the radar that I enjoy just as much. So I thought that I would devote a post here on my blog to these little-known musical artists that I feel deserve some more recognition for their talent. If you want to listen to any of the songs of these listed artists, just click the little music note next to their name. Let me know in the comments if you've heard of any of them, and also if you have some favorite under the radar artists of your own!

♫ BANKS:
Jillian Rose Banks, or more commonly known by her stage name BANKS, is a vocalist that I've been familiar with for about a year. Known for her unique style and sound, she blends the genres of R&B, electronic, and pop into a cohesive collection of songs. Her vocals are on the darker, moodier side of the musical spectrum, and so far she has released one album, Goddess. I'm clearly not the only person that enjoys her music, as BANKS is seemingly on the up and up and is definitely worth a listen!



♫ VÉRITÉ:
In my world, if an artist does not have a Wikipedia page than they are really under the radar! This is the case for the electronic pop musician VÉRITÉ, who I only recently started listening to. Although she has yet to release a full album, the songs that VÉRITÉ has released so far are full of potential and are certainly worthy of playing alongside the modern hits of today.





♫ Years & Years:
This British electronic pop band has managed to make nearly every single one of their songs into something extremely catchy. They have a way of making their music sound very unique, but also manage to turn their songs into earworms that get stuck in your head for days (in a good way). I've only been listening to Years & Years for several months or so, but they've definitely risen quite a bit in popularity since then. In other words, Years & Years is sure to be a mainstream band in the near future.



♫ Grimes:
The Canadian artist known simply as Grimes has managed to carve her eccentric sound into today's music scene. Her uniquely-sounding tracks can be quite different from each other, and Grimes is truly a musician that jumps between genres. Because of this, she has released some songs that I don't personally enjoy as much, but others that I love. It's this variety and musical creativity that makes Grimes one to watch, and even if her music is just a bit too "out there" for some, there is no denying the fact that Grimes is a very unique artist.


♫ Kawehi:
Another Wikipedia page lacking artist is Kawehi, who has a large YouTube audience and creates lots of unique covers to songs of well-known singers. In addition to making some extremely creative covers, she also has released several albums with her own songs through Bandcamp. Go listen to some of Kawehi's songs and covers on her YouTube channel, and see what you think!





♫ PVRIS:
PVRIS is a rock band that I only discovered recently, but I have already become hooked on their music. With one album already under their belt, they are proving to be a force to be reckoned with in the alternative rock world. I'm looking forward to exploring their music further, and I only see PVRIS getting more and more popular with time.



♫ Jetta:
This musician hailing from England is clearly talented and has some killer vocals, but she is still relatively unknown to many. Jetta's musical style blends indie, rock, and pop and her three extended plays feature songs that showcase these differing genres. Perhaps many of you have heard Jetta already without knowing it, as her cover of I'd Love to Change the World has been featured as the song for several movie trailers. Due to her unique sound and embrace of many different genres, Jetta is an artist that is sure to generate a large fanbase.

♫ Panama Wedding:
The last band that I want to shed some light on is the electronic group Panama Wedding. I first heard one of their songs playing in Starbucks, and I've been a fan of theirs since. They make great "feel-good" music, as all of their songs are quite upbeat and have a very distinct sound. Panama Wedding has released one extended play called Parallel Play, and they've also performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live. They've started out with a bang and I can see Panama Wedding becoming a favorite musical artist among many in the near future.