drostjosh Reviews

Assassin's Creed (2016)

Great fights, but forgettable

[7/10 · 3 January 2017]

Assassins Creed, as a game series, is at its core a game about using parkour to get around and kill people. That is what the movie is about too.

The plot follows a Michael Fassbender as he finds out a distant relative was an Assassin and has hidden a mythic artifact from the Templars. Using the Animus, a tool that analyzes genetic memory, he relives key moments of his ancestors life.

The highlight of this movie is watching the assassins move. Whether they are fighting or running the choreography is spectacular. Everything else supports this. The story and acting are simple and do a great job of leading to more fighting. There are twists in the plot that cause fighting, then over roof escapes.

The character development and the ending both seemed sudden. Some of the choices the characters made seemed instant and out of place. Also, the end resolved really fast. These got in the way of the parkour, and took away from the film.

This was a fun movie to watch but is not for everyone. If you want a well tied together mystery about a mans ancestors, this is not for you. However, if you want an entertaining series of well choreographed parkour fights, this will not do you wrong.

Warcraft (2016)

Well Crafted War

[6/10 · 3 January 2017]

I have played video games where while watching the cut scenes I thought 'This would make a great movie'. That is what this movie is. It is a well made video game with the gameplay removed.

The story follows the orcs, whose home world is dying. To survive, they have decided to take over another world, the realm of the humans. The human world is a more peaceful place, but able to defend itself. And so there is war.

The story is simple, with a few twists. The acting is decent. What makes the movie stick out is the action and CG. The fighting is awesome, the magic is beautiful. They did a fantastic job of bringing the world alive.

Overall it is not worth watching for all people. But if you have ever thought a bunch of video game cut scenes would make a good movie, you will likely enjoy this one.

The Great Indoors: Pilot (2016) Season 1, Episode 1

Millennials and Laugh Tracks

[6/10 · 31 October 2016]

Do you like listening to laugh tracks make fun of millennials? If so this show is for you.

Joel McHale (Community) spent the most of his life hiking and works for a adventure magazine writing articles about his adventures. This magazine is staffed by a group of diverse yet stereotypical millennials. He now supervises them.

I like Joel McHale, he was great in Community and is why I watched the pilot. His character seems the exact same, but more outdoorsy.

Overall the episode uses every cheap and easy millennial joke possible. Again and again. It is to millennials what big bang theory is to nerds. The jokes did not all catch, the bar scenes seem tacked on, and the pilot seems like the lowest amount of work required to get by, which is fitting as many people think of millennials that way.

However, CBS is good at comedies. While Big Bang and HIMYM were not the most clever shows, they were consistently funny and loved. So this could improve.

I will give the show one more episode. If you have nothing else to watch, or like to laugh at a machine laughing at millennials, give it a try. But as of now it is not a need to watch.

Central Intelligence (2016)

Funny but forgettable

[6/10 · 31 October 2016]

This movie is like eating at taco bell, it is enjoyable while eating but feels lacking afterwards.

Central Intelligence is a pretty standard buddy-spy style movie. I rented it from Google Play videos ($4.99) to watch with my wife because it has the Rock in it. Overall it was enjoyable to watch while we watched it. The Rock is fun to watch in goofy comedies, he is very good at that role. Kevin Hart plays a very Kevin Hart role, and that was fun. There is a mystery that runs through the movie that kept me focused on the movie.

However, the ending was mediocre. and afterwards looking back it just feels shallow. There is a lot of easy humor, but few standout jokes. the characters who are not the Rock or Kevin Hart are weak. Overall the movie is forgettable.

Recommendation: If you are looking for a funny movie to watch, there are many better buddy spy movies. I would not go out of my way to watch it again. But I do not regret watching it and it was fun.

The Magnificent Seven (2016)

It did not quite live up to its name.

[6/10 · 28 September 2016]

Magnificent 7 follows the story of a town that is being taken over by a greedy gang boss which fights back by hiring Denzel Washington and his crew of dead shots. The crew had a whole range of characters from the stoic Asian, the goofy drunk, the jolly fat guy and the stoic native American.

The strengths of this film come in the scenery and the action. It was shot in the plains, near the mountains and it was beautiful. There are many shots of people riding horses through beautiful backdrops. The action was also well done with physical effects and well directed fights and shooting. The crew did a great job acting their parts, especially Denzel Washington and the redhead.

The weakness was that when it got done I felt bored. I didn't really care that much for any of the characters and the movie did not seem fun. It felt like the movie could not decide if it wanted to be fun and lighthearted or serious and emotional and tried to take a middle ground. Group chemistry was also missing. There were hints at points, but at no point did the group feel like a team.

All in all it was a decent movie. I do not regret seeing it, but I do not need to see it again. If you want an action movie you could do far worse. But there is no need to rush out to theaters to see this one.