Movie Reviews

Review: “Bumblebee”

By jasonbleau on

Last week in my Box Office Breakdown I hinted that I may have a surprise review this weekend. Well, here it is! The “Transformers” movie franchise has been a train wreck pretty much from the very beginning. Director Michael Bay brought five movies to life over ten years that are now pretty much universally reviled by fans and critics alike. The latest entry in the franchise, “Bumblebee”, is supposed to be a new start for the series with a new director, new tone and new feel. Now this film doesn’t actually come out until Christmas weekend but thanks to the folks at Showcase Cinemas and National Amusement (who did NOT sponsor this I’m just giving them a shout out) I was one of the lucky viewers who were privy to a special showing of the film two weeks early last night and thus I get to share my take a few weeks ahead of time. Does this spin-off prequel truly right the ship for a franchise that, honestly, should NOT be that hard to make a cool movie about or is it just another horrible entry in a series that should have died long ago? Let’s find out. This is my review of “Bumblebee”.

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Trailer Reactions

“Avengers: Endgame” Trailer Breakdown

By jasonbleau on

IT’S FINALLY HERE!!!! “Avengers 4” not only has a trailer finally, but a title as well! One of the most hotly anticipated trailers probably of all time that has been in demand for months finally gives us a look at what we can expect from the culmination of the entire MCU. The first look admittedly doesn’t offer a WHOLE lot which is to be expected, but it certainly wets our appetites for what’s to come in a big way promising resolutions as well as fallout from the events that shocked us in “Avengers: Infinity War”. I’m so excited to break down this trailer and explore what it has to offer so let’s get to it., but I want to know what YOU think too so please let me know what you think about the first look at “Avengers: Endgame” in the comments and as always you can see the trailer in full at the end of the article. This is the trailer breakdown for our first look at “Avengers: Endgame”!

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2019 Golden Globe Nominees Review

By jasonbleau on

THE GOLDEN GLOBES ARE HERE….Well at least the nominations are. With the 2019 ceremony slated to kick off Hollywood’s award season next month the nominations were officially announced this morning with a few surprises and a few obvious choices on the mix for major movie-based awards. So to give you some insight on the nominees and categories let’s take a look at who has been nominated for the first of the two major movie-theme award shows for 2019. This is my 2019 Golden Globe Nominee Review.

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Versus

“Deck the Halls” Versus “Christmas with the Kranks”

By jasonbleau on

In the annals of mainstream Christmas movies there are always two that seem to stick out in the minds of many among the worst holiday films of the last 18 years, “Deck the Halls” and “Christmas with the Kranks”. Both are considered generic slapstick comedies that fail to capture the true meaning of the holidays in any creative way. One focuses on a battle between neighbors around the holidays and the other focuses on a couple trying to skip Christmas while fending of the peer pressure for neighbors to celebrate the holiday so in some ways they are comparable. While I will be spending time this month exploring the best in Christmas movies I wanted to start off the season on a more cynical note while having a bit of fun in the process by comparing these two films in a battle of bad Christmas movies to see which is better and, in effect, which is the worst of the two. Whether you love them as guilty pleasures or revile them like many others it’s time to find out which movie is the better (and worse) holiday flick. This is “Deck the Halls” versus “Christmas with the Kranks”.

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Box Office Breakdown Nov. 30-Dec. 2, 2018

By jasonbleau on

It was a slow weekend for the box office and a predictable one at that with holdovers galore and only one new wide release in the post-Thanksgiving weekend. The likes of “Creed II”, “The Grinch”, “Ralph Breaks the Internet” and others all tried to earn some extra income with little competition standing in their way but only one could come out on top. Who won the war? Let’s take a look at the numbers in this week’s Box Office Breakdown.

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Movie Reviews Uncategorized

Review: “The Possession of Hannah Grace”

By jasonbleau on

Possession has become one of the most overused tropes in horror films over the years and honestly many movies do utilize the cliché quite well. So well in fact I did a whole list on it leading into this weekend which you can read here. However, it has been a while since we’ve seen a genre piece that even remotely tries to do something different or unique with the premise. From the previews it looked like “The Possession of Hannah Grace” was going to break that trend and offer a different spin on the potential of possession. The setting seemed neat and there was a lot of promise for suspense and great horror thrills. But it’s still a horror movie which means there shouldn’t be heavy expectation for anything more than simple genre flair right? Well I got to check out the movie for myself with it being a slow weekend in theaters and I’m ready to give my take. Does “The Possession of Hannah Grace” really offer something new or is it just another typical horror flick that phones it in for simple thrills? Let’s find out. This is my review of “The Possession of Hannah Grace”.

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Movie Reviews

Review: “Green Book”

By jasonbleau on

“Green Book” has been touted as a front runner for awards season and as one of the best movies of 2018. Many have compared it (favorably) to the Best Picture winning 1989 classic “Driving Miss Daisy”, although in the case of “Green Book” it’s a real-life story and the roles of the races are reversed with a white man chauffeuring a black man. With so much buzz surrounding it and some amazing names in the cast I had to give it a watch to see for myself if “Green Book” was really up to snuff especially in a year where race relations seems to have been a hot topic in the world of film. That said is this movie worth all of the praise it’s been receiving or is “Green Book” and epic miss? Let’s take a look. This is my review of “Green Book”.

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Countdowns

Top 10 Possession Horror Movies

By jasonbleau on

Possession is one of the most common story elements in horror films. Some of the most iconic in history revolve around the concept whether it’s due to a demon, a ghost or even the devil himself taking control of a physical human being. It’s so common in fact you could make an entire subgenre out of it and thus we have my list today. This weekend’s only new major release is a horror film that embraces this very premise called “The Possession of Hannah Grace” and I thought it would be fun to close out the month of November with a look at some of the best horror movies to work possession elements into their stories. These are my picks for the Top 10 Possession Horror Movies.

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Movie Reviews

Review: “Beautiful Boy”

By jasonbleau on

Drug addiction is one of the most controversial yet destructive vices impacting society today. Here is America opioids have become one of the most damaging mainstream drugs on the market, used to treat mental and physical illness but also highly addictive due to their euphoric and relaxing properties. A lot of films have tried to capture the impact such drugs and addiction in general have on someone’s life and family, but surprisingly not a lot of them are grounded in the real world which is probably why “Beautiful Boy” has gained so much attention in recent weeks. An early Oscar favorite, this biographical drama is based on the duel struggles of father and son Dave and Nic Sheff whose memoirs provided looks at the different sides of addiction, the addict and the loved ones affected by the addiction. I finally got the chance to see the film myself. Is “Beautiful Boy” the emotionally charged experience is needs to be or is it a pandering drama that misses the mark? Let’s find out. This is my review of “Beautiful Boy”.

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Box Office Breakdown Thanksgiving Weekend 2018

By jasonbleau on

Thanksgiving is always a HUGE Box Office weekend for Hollywood with films releasing days earlier than normal to take advantage of the extended holiday vacation. In 2018 this past weekend was more competitive than normal with three big releases looking to score the top spot, including two highly anticipated sequels, which threatened Thanksgiving records in one of the year’s most competitive weekends to date. So, who ended up coming out on top? Let’s dive in and find out in this week’s Box Office Breakdown.

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Movie Reviews

Review: “Boy Erased”

By jasonbleau on

Homosexuality and transgender identity have become major hot button topics in recent years as acceptance of those who identify as such has become the social justice movement of a generation. A lot of this debate is driven by how these sexualities differ from the morals of religion and surprisingly this relationship of ideals has seldom been captured effectively on the big screen. A recently released potential awards season project looks to change that, “Boy Erased”. Based on the memoir of Gerrard Conley “Boy Erased” depicts his real-life experience in a gay conversion therapy program. Frankly it’s a powerful and overdue theme for a film and with several great actors and writer/director/producer/co-star Joel Edgerton at the helm “Boy Erased” had a lot of promise. So, is this the eye-opening look at atrocity it was meant to be or does “Boy Erased” missed the mark in tackling its real life premise? Let’s take a closer look. This is my review of “Boy Erased”.

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Movie Reviews

Review: “Creed II”

By jasonbleau on

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving yesterday!

The Best Picture winning “Rocky” has spawned many sequels over the years, but with the series’ popularity weaning MGM, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. decided to reboot the series with a new lead, an apprentice to Rocky named Adonis Creed, the son of one of the franchise’s most popular characters Apollo Creed. And thus, a new franchise was born with the 2015 “Creed” being a massive hit and spawning award season buzz. So, it was natural that a sequel would follow and many expected it to connect the story of the younger Creed to his father’s legacy even more. That’s exactly what we got with “Creed II” which builds on the younger Creed’s journey by pitting him against the son of his father’s killer Ivan Drago. With such an epic rematch as it’s base and an amazing predecessor to succeed does “Creed II” live up to expectations? Let’s find out. This is my review of “Creed II”.

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