Cinema Civilian

*This review will contain spoilers for Jigsaw **This review will discuss scenes of intense fictional violence. Reader discretion advised. Before I actually begin this review, I find it important to note that I, in fact, enjoyed this film. I was super excited to see this franchise return, and it was a good journey. With that being said, there are definitely major issues with this film. And with that, let's begin... Ten years ago, the team behind the Saw franchise disbanded, stating that they would not return to the franchise unless they had a story to tell... Now, they are back to tell the story... That makes absolutely no sense! While the film delivers what Saw fans desire (creatively diabolical games, a creative twist, and a creepy puppet), the film fails to actually do what it wanted to. The film simply fails in following the lore of the franchise. Let me explain... The franchise follows John Kramer, who, after losing his unborn child and being diagnosed with ter...

*This review will contain spoilers for Thor: Ragnarok I remember seeing the trailer for this for the first time: Thor losing his hammer, and his hair, and ultimately having to fight Hulk. It looked amazing... The film does not disappoint. Here is another great example of a film in a cinematic universe that doesn't rely on the rest of the world. When Thor returns home after the battle with Ultron, he goes to prevent Ragnarok, the prophesied destruction of his home-world. Finding the entity responsible, and promptly defeating him, Thor returns home to find Loki, disguised as Odin, has been running Asgard. Thor exposes Loki, and demands to be taken to his father. After a comedic run-in with Doctor Strange, they find Odin just in time to say their good-byes, as Odin moves to the next life... And the chaos begins... Hela, the godess of Death, arrives to claim her place as queen of Asgard. She seeks to resume the world's history of conquest and destruction. Naturally, ...

*This article, and the resulting series, will contain spoilers for 13 Reasons Why . **This article, and the resulting series, will discuss topics of Sexual Assault, Sexual Harassment, and Suicide. Reader Discretion is advised. "Hey. It's Hannah" These were the opening words of the tapes in 13 Reasons Why , which I reviewed last year ( Read the Review ). Many people don't notice an important comment in this intro though: "Don't adjust your radio, or whatever you are hearing this on." This implies that Hannah intended for the tapes to go public. She expected the listeners to fail. Or did she ever want them to remain a secret... I thought about this about a week back, but never had a reason to discuss this idea. Until I saw this on Twitter the other day: This got me thinking again: If the main point was Hannah's ultimate suicide, why would that warrant a second season? Granted, it could be focused on the lawsuits filed by ...

*This review will contain spoilers for Cars 3 Some of you may know by now that I enjoyed the first cars movie, even enough that I placed in the number 10 slot on my Top 10 PIXAR Films list . The same could not be said for the sequel, which tried to change character focuses and genres, resulting in an overly complicated film, one that is arguably the worst film PIXAR has released to date. Because of this, I was rather concerned when I heard the announcement of Cars 3 . I was worried that the film would be one of two things: 1. a re-skin of the original film in order to regain support for the franchise, or 2. something completely different from the last two films, in another bold change that would wreck the franchise even more. Boy was I wrong... While the film does return to the basic story of Lightning McQueen trying to win the big race, it changes the tone and morals in an alarmingly deep direction. Let me explain... When McQueen wrecks at the beginning of t...

*This review will contain SPOILERS for Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl , Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest , Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End , Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides , and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales . In 2003, Jack Sparrow arrived in Port Royal for the first time. Now, 14 years later, we find ourselves at the end of Jack's journey. I have to say I enjoyed the first three installments. They had an interesting story, compelling characters, and some impressive action sequences. However, I wasn't a huge fan of On Stranger Tides . I felt that Jack, as a character couldn't carry an entire film on his own. It was for this reason that I had my concerns going into Dead Men Tell No Tales , as I feared more of the same. I am pleased to say that the series returned to its roots, where there were several subplots in addition to the main story line. And, with that in mind, let's dive into...

13 years ago, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Pheobe, Rachel, and Joey, walked out of their famous New York flat for the final time. This final episode punctuated what is perhaps, in my opinion, the strongest sitcom in television history. Why do I think this? Well, let's take a look into the series to find out. Let me start off by saying I did not grow up with the series. In fact, I still remember my parents telling us to leave the room for the final episode, as we wouldn't understand the significance of this finale. Friends follows the lives of six people living in New York City. Each member of the group has their own quirk, as in most sitcoms: Rachel's the rich, pretty one; Monica's excessively neat; Ross's the smart one; Joey, the "dumb" one; and Pheobe's the odd one. However, the show develops each of these characters over the 10 seasons to the point where these became more footnotes in the characters' profiles. And that's something I ha...

*This review will contain spoilers for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl With the series coming to a close this month with Dead Men Tell No Tales , I figured I would take a look back at the film that started it all. Jack Sparrow first sailed into Port Royale on July 9th, 2003. Well, sot of sailed, that is. Since then, Jack has sailed the seas of the Caribbean for four films thus far.  After facing mutiny from his first mate, Barbosa, and his crew, Jack seeks to take revenge and reclaim his vessel, the Black Pearl. His journey leads him to meet with William Turner and Elizabeth Swan, and together the three go on a swashbuckling adventure as pirates. The plot of this film is very easy to follow throughout, with interesting subplots, such as Elizabeth's relationship to Will and the Commodore, and the various backstory elements of Jack's life. While there is a lot going on in this film, I am glad to say that it is nearly impossible to lose tra...

This summer, PIXAR Animation studios releases their 18th film,  Cars 3 . To commemorate this film, I have created a list of my top ten films by the studio, as of the conclusion of the 2016 releases. You can click the title of a film to watch it on Amazon Video. Doing this helps support the blog and enables me to review more films currently in the theater. In tenth place, we have  The Incredibles . PIXAR created a superhero film that actually had a villain with a compelling story. Most movies of this genre really don't give strong cause to the villains, but Syndrome's origin is actually truly tragic. I won't spoil it here, but it makes you wonder about how your actions can shape another person's life. The animation is very crisp and clean, despite having a lot going on, especially the jungle chase and the final battle. If you haven't seen it yet, it's worth the time. Coming in ninth is  Cars . I remember being unimpressed by the trailers of this film,...

*This review contains minor spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 I adored the original Guardians of the Galaxy  a lot. It was funny, exciting, and established this side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This one, however... focused of the characters a whole lot more. Normally, I would summarize the plot of the film here. Seeing as I am writing this opening weekend, and wish to minimize spoilers, here is my summary:  Peter finds out who his dad is.  That's all I can summarize it as. Those of you who have seen the film will know exactly what I mean. Let me start off by saying that, given the lack of family developments in the Marvel story lines, I found this one to be the most emotionally involving film I have seen produced by the studio. This film is all about family, both the good and the bad. We learn a lot more about Nebula's relationship with Gamora, her sister, and Thanos, her father. And I have to say, Karen Gillian (Nebula) and Zoe Saldana pl...

*This review will contain spoilers for Big Fat Liar and Bigger Fatter Liar Well, we've reached a new milestone on this blog: I have found a film I do not like. But, before I get too into the new film, a little background on the original. Big Fat Liar  was a 2002 comedy about a high school student who lies. A lot. One day, his final paper is accidentally left in a limo with a Hollywood director. When he finds his paper is being turned into a film, he and his girlfriend travel to LA to get revenge, and hijinks ensue. I enjoyed this film fifteen years ago, and still find it amusing today. The slapstick and timing was perfect, and there was a reasonable background on the characters. Bigger Fatter Liar  is about the same thing, only it's a video game instead of a movie. It also lacks the comedic nature of the film. The lead male, Ricky Garcia, has none of the charismatic charm of Frankie Muniz, and thus the premise is less agreeable. The original benefited from the...

*This review will contain spoilers for Song of the Sea This is not your average animated film. Do not let the simple art style fool you; this film covers some very serious ideas. The entire film is a journey of emotions. The story focuses on Ben, a young boy who had always wanted a little sibling. However, when his mother "vanishes" on the day of his sister's birth, he grows to resent his new sister. He criticizes her at every chance he gets. However, through a journey through the mythology of his mother's stories, he finds the spirit of their mom lives inside his sister. Furthermore, there is a sub theme about the need of emotions, even painful ones. This exists in two main ways: Maka, the Owl Witch, and Ben's grandmother. Maka sees emotions as evil things, as her son nearly drowned himself in his tears. Maka removed the feelings of her son, and anybody else she could, believing in her very soul that she was helping them. However, in the process of remov...

Given the debate about 13 Reasons Why 's controversial scene, I feel the need to discuss the idea of Artistic Liberty, and whether or not it goes to far. I recently had the opportunity to perform in a production of The Shape of Things  by Neil LaBute, in which an artist crosses several ethical boundaries in the name of her art. I won't list what lines were crossed, as that is what makes the play interesting to read and to watch. This also had raised the question of how far can (and should) an artist go to create their art. Well... I actually don't know. Art has so many perspectives that it is hard to judge everything under the same rules. Everybody has their own line between effective and ineffective uses of Artistic Liberty. So, let's look at a few examples of both good and bad artistic liberty usage, and then look at the choices made with 13 Reasons Why . First, a very good example: Jack and Rose in Titanic . This iconic couple from the James Cam...

*This review will contain spoilers for BFG I remember hearing about this film last year, and being cautiously hopeful. The visuals looked nice, and the character of BFG seemed to be true to the concepts from the book. Little did I know how impressive this film would be... First, I want to address the visual adaptation of the book. The original contained small illustrations, created by Quentin Blake, to help a child envision the world of the story. Some examples of these are pictured her:   These are stunning visuals, and are very well drawn. I am very happy to say that the creators of this film captured these perfectly, from Sophie to the brothers to the BFG and his job, everything captures the whimsical nature of the story. I have very mixed opinions about child actors. I have seen great performances, like McCaully Culkin in Home Alone , and very weak work, such as the Baudelaire orphans in the film version of A Series of Unfortunate Events . That being...