Movie Review: Fantastic 4

 

Review by Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: F

Review: Awful. One of the worst superhero films ever made. This is a film that makes one question if anyone working on it even thought it was good.

A long time is spent on the origin story, which would be no problem if it added anything to the film but time. However it doesn't. It gives you no reason to care. The characters are as bland as characters get (in this film version that is), The story is bland and needs to be much more fleshed out. What is at stake is not presented until near the end of the film, and by then it is too late to care anymore.

Near the end we get and the first and last action scene, which again wouldn't be a problem if there was anything to care about, and wow is it bad. It is rushed, and goes by very fast in fact so fast, that we never get the feeling anyone was in any danger, or the villain was all that powerful. (Spoiler the superheroes save the day).

This is an awful movie with nothing to recommend. Avoid at all costs.

Movie Review: Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

 

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland
























Michael's Movie Grade: F

Review: Well everybody seems to like this movie, so I almost regret to say I'm not among that crowd. This is my first and probably last Mission: Impossible film. It just felt bland, and lifeless, and on top of that it went on for much too long.

The main character Ethan Hunt is bland and boring. He has no likability and I just couldn't come to care if he lived or not. On top of this Tom Cruise makes the character worse because it feels as if he is just phoning it in. If I do not care about the main character, I do not care about the action scenes. I am a type of person who can't enjoy an action scene unless I have an emotional connection with the characters, and there was not one character worth caring about in this film.

Director/Writer Christopher McQuarrie perfect understands action movie cliches and there was nothing in this film I felt I had seen before, but done better.

The action looked cool, but since there was no emotional attachment it came off as still boring. However the rest of the audience seemed to enjoy the film a lot, so there is an audience for this movie, I am just not part of it. Maybe I'm just not enough of an action fan. If you are looking for action, and don't want to try anything new maybe you'll like this, but for me it was awful.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Movie Review: Paper Towns

 

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland




















Michael's Movie Grade: B+

Review: A sometimes beautiful, sometimes funny, and sometimes nostalgic portrait of the High School years, that doesn't view a teenager's life through rose-color glasses or through cynicism. The plot can often times seem quite outlandish, however I have the feeling that that was done on propose, but it still might turn off those who want something more believable.

The best thing about this movie is the relationships between the characters. You truly see how much these characters care about each other, and it made me think of all the great friendships that I have had over the years, both past and present. This film captures a place and time in people's lives so beautifully. This feeling of nostalgia, and of our own friendships is where the film really shines and boy does it shine in this movie.

The cast is amazing in this film especially considering their age. They can even bring some likability to some of the more underdeveloped characters.

However this film is not without it's faults, and is far from a perfect movie. Some of the character's seem very underdeveloped, and this film could have been better, had we felt we knew those characters better. These characters have great relationships with the more defined characters, that really add to the movie, but as characters themselves they don't quite work. While much of the humor does work, there are points were it feels forced and immature. Some pee jokes in particular feel more gross than actually funny, but luckily they are quick and don't hurt the film too much.  However the transitions from comedy to drama are always well handled.      

Overall this film really works though it is not without it's faults. If you can accept outlandish stories, and can overlook it's faults, it is a great movie, that you will probably enjoy as much as I did.


This is amazingly the second feature directed by Jake Schreier. I may have to follow this guy in the future and see what is in store for him.


-Michael J. Ruhland

Movie Review: Antman

 

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: B+

Review: Superhero film raises no bars, but is so good you may not care. A really fun movie, with some surprisingly effective emotional scenes as well.

Unlike most other action films (I'm looking at you Jurassic World) this summer this film waits before getting into the action scenes. It sets up who the characters are and what the stakes are very well before getting into the action scenes. This make the film's action scenes much more effective than those in many other recent action films. Although the action scenes questionably go on too long for the most part they are very well done.

The characters are quite likable and although they are not especially complex, they are not 2 denominational stereotypes. You do sympathize with the characters and care if they make it out of the film okay.

Overall this film is a very entertaining movie that is probably the best action film of this summer.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Movie Review: Pixels

 

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland










Michael's Movie Grade: C

Review: Decent comedy, is helped very much by great video game style animation, and a very fitting 1980's soundtrack that fits perfectly with the movie. This movie contains some pretty funny moments though they come too far apart to make this a great comedy.

Like many comedies the romance feels forced and definitely is the lowest point of the film. In fact any serious moment is a low point, as much of it consists of tired movie cliches. The characters though are likable enough to keep this from making the film bad.

Not to give too much away but Q-Bert is a highlight of the film, and gets a few true laughs, as does the Wonder Kid (Josh Gad's Character).

Overall an enjoyable time passer, but nothing that will ever be remembered as a great movie, but nothing that will leave a bad taste in your mouth.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Movie Review: Minions

 

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland








Michael's Movie Grade: C+

Review: While this movie is far from spectacular, it is a fun silly comedy, and what more would you want from a film like this. This film is just what you'd expect, a story that is nothing but an excuse for some silly humor. While obviously this is not screwball comedy on par with say Looney Tunes, Laurel and Hardy, The Marx Brothers, Three Stooges, ect., it is quite an enjoyable little comedy that easily surpasses both Despicable Me films.


Directors Kyle Balda, and Pierre Coffin (also the voice of the minions), and writer Brian Lynch know just what the audience wants and provides that as well as they can. The voice cast is also in top form. And we easily have a much more interesting villain in this film than the Despicable Me films(i'm not counting Gru as a villain, because of reason that should be obvious for people who have seen the previous movies).

While this will never be considered a classic of film comedy, it is a fun movie, that easily surpasses it's predecessors.

Movie Review: Terminator Genisys

 

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland















Michael's Movie Grade: C+

Review: A fun action movie, even if it is not much more.

The special effects are amazing and help the movie a lot. One reason this helps is the action scenes can be long and unrelenting. This is especially true of the beginning. The film takes a while to slow down and let you care about the story. 

The story, while nothing we haven't seen before is not that bad. The characters while not reaching the emotional strength, the film-makers were pulling for, are quite likable, and you do actually want to see things work out well. Although the story is nothing particularly original, none of the cliches feel particularly annoying as they do in plenty of bad action films.

The acting is top notch, and of course Arnold Schwarzenegger is perfect as an emotionless robot (I know shocking). Emilia Clarke, and Jai Courtney, particularly, bring much needed likability to their characters.

Overall a fun action film, and if you don't expect much more you will enjoy this.

-Michael J. Ruhland