The Martian (2015)

During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.

Director: Ridley Scott

Writers: Drew Goddard (screenplay), Andy Weir (book)

Stars: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig |

Storyline

During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring "the Martian" home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible, rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney's safe return. Based on a best-selling novel.

Movie Reviews

Imagine if you took the movie Cast Away, stripped away all the humanity and excitement, and set it in space. You'd have The Martian. This movie is an uninspired mess full of dull performances and idiotic characters. Jeff Daniels does a great job at playing the professional idiot, Sean Bean plays the cool dude who undermines his superior, and Matt Damon plays the most annoying protagonist of all time. If you like movies consisting almost entirely of an irritating character talking to you through a webcam about mundane activities or events you've already seen, then buy a ticket immediately. 

There are literally no redeemable qualities to be found here. The script is laughably bad, the science aspects of the movie don't dazzle the eyes, and there's no tension due to Damon's terrible performance. Just when you think it can't get any worse, the film wraps up with one of the most hilariously terrible climaxes in cinema history. No spoilers, but you'd assume a scientific movie would have a basic understanding of the laws of physics. Anyway, If you like pedantic movies that serve no purpose other than to throw science at your face, without any heart or intrigue, then go see this. Otherwise, I'd advise you look elsewhere. 

The Final Girls (2015)

A young woman grieving the loss of her mother, a famous scream queen from the 1980s, finds herself pulled into the world of her mom's most famous movie. Reunited, the women must fight off the film's maniacal killer.

Director: Todd Strauss-Schulson
Writers: M.A. Fortin (screenplay), Joshua John Miller (screenplay)
Stars: Taissa Farmiga, Malin Akerman, Adam DeVine |

Storyline

When Max (Taissa Farmiga) and her friends reluctantly attend a tribute screening of an infamous '80s slasher film that starred Max's late mother (Malin Akerman), they are accidentally sucked into the silver screen. They soon realize they are trapped inside the cult classic movie and must team up with the fictional and ill-fated "Camp Bloodbath" counselors, including Max's mom as the shy scream queen, to battle the film's machete-wielding, masked killer. With the body count rising in scene after iconic scene, who will be THE FINAL GIRLS left standing and live to escape this film?

Movie Reviews

The combination of horror and comedy is always a volatile recipe, and the failure to mix those ingredients just right can often result in disaster. But every once in awhile, a film comes along that manages to stumble upon the secret formula for success, with Cabin in the Woods being the most recent example. Now, three years after that film blew the roof off the Paramount Theater at the SXSW Film Festival, we have another SXSW debut that premiered to a cacophonous ovation: director Todd Strauss-Schulson's The Final Girls.

Max Cartwright (Taissa Farmiga) is struggling with loss after the tragic death of her mother, 80s slasher flick icon Amanda Cartwright (Malin Akerman). When she attends an anniversary screening of her mom's landmark film, Camp Bloodbath, a freak accident transports Max and her friends (Alia Shawkat, Alexander Ludwig, Thomas Middleditch and Nina Dobrev) into the film itself, where they're forced to abide by the rules of the movie's narrative in an attempt to survive.

Of course, everyone knows that anyone who has sex in an 80s horror film is bound to be butchered shortly after, so Max finds herself in the awkward position of trying to convince her mother's character not to sleep with the cocky, swaggering Kurt (Adam Devine), whose dialogue is almost entirely made up of sexual innuendo. Meanwhile, the attractive but vapid Tina (Angela Trimbur) is constantly trying to disrobe, which is a big no-no in this film, since a pair of bare breasts will bring the masked killer and his machete running.

Fans of the Friday the 13th or Sleepaway Camp series will find plenty to love here as the film gleefully pokes fun at genre tropes, and much of the fun comes from the fact that Max and her friends aren't just living in the world of the film - they're living in the actual film, complete with voiceovers, on screen credits, and flashbacks. There are so many hilarious moments that the film practically begs for repeated viewings, as audiences are bound to be laughing so hard that they'll miss some of the rapid-fire humor.

There are a few times when The Final Girls gets a little too stylish, such as poorly rendered early scene that involves a bottle of vodka rolling across the floor of a crowded theater, and there are a few moments where the film seems to forsake its own rules in favor of an extra laugh. But these are minor complaints, and the audience at the Paramount Theater certainly didn't allow these nitpicks to detract from the overall experience. The Final Girls is an immensely fun experience that finds a great balance between being a spoof of the genre, and a love letter to its absurdity.

Big Stone Gap (2014)

In a small town nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, self-proclaimed spinster Ave Maria Mulligan finds her life shaken up and forever changed after learning a long-buried family secret.

Director: Adriana Trigiani
Writer: Adriana Trigiani
Stars: Ashley Judd, Patrick Wilson, Whoopi Goldberg |

Storyline

Nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, the tiny town of Big Stone Gap is home to some of the most charming eccentrics in the state. Ave Maria Mulligan is the town's self-proclaimed spinster, a thirty-five year old pharmacist with a "mountain girl's body and a flat behind." She lives an amiable life with good friends and lots of hobbies until the fateful day in 1978 when she suddenly discovers that she's not who she always thought she was. Before she can blink, Ave's fielding marriage proposals, fighting off greedy family members, organizing a celebration for visiting celebrities, and planning the trip of a lifetime-a trip that could change her view of the world and her own place in it forever.

Macbeth (I) (2015)

Macbeth, a Thane of Scotland, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.

Director: Justin Kurzel
Writers: Jacob Koskoff (screenplay), Michael Lesslie (screenplay)
Stars: Marion Cotillard, Michael Fassbender, Elizabeth Debicki |

Storyline

Macbeth, a Thane of Scotland, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.



Macbeth movie Reviews

A visually impressive, intelligently adapted, atmospheric version of a very famous play. Michael Fassbender is stunning in the title role. What an actor he is! Brutal and sensitive, cruel and caressing, he handles the verse effortlessly, the fights viciously, and he radiates a huge wattage of charisma. He and Marion Cottilard make a convincingly sexy couple. She is not obvious casting - usually the role is the province of more steely performers. All the same, she makes a success of it, forceful in the electrically effective banquet scene, and touchingly melancholy as she drifts into the deep depression of her mad scene.

The supporting cast is terrific, the technical side superb, the score by the director's brother mesmerising. I have a couple of quibbles: the emphasis on interiority makes the pace feel insufficiently varied, and so much close-miking gives the impression that too much of the text is whispered. But on the whole this is a bravely envisioned, powerfully acted movie.

Everest (2015)

A climbing expedition on Mt. Everest is devastated by a severe snow storm.

Director: Baltasar Kormákur

Writers: William Nicholson (screenplay), Simon Beaufoy (screenplay)

Stars: Jason Clarke, Ang Phula Sherpa, Thomas M. Wright | 

Storyline

On the morning of May 10, 1996, climbers (Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin) from two expeditions start their final ascent toward the summit of Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. With little warning, a violent storm strikes the mountain, engulfing the adventurers in one of the fiercest blizzards ever encountered by man. Challenged by the harshest conditions imaginable, the teams must endure blistering winds and freezing temperatures in an epic battle to survive against nearly impossible odds.

Everest movie  Reviews

I think the main problem with this movie is a loose focus. It seems like they tried to make a disaster, drama and documentary stories at the same time but failed to develop any of that properly. But the good things first: stunning scenery, overall tension and a few really great scenes make this movie worth watching without a doubt. It is just somehow not working as a single piece. With a fast start you expect some eventful action to follow but there's nothing like that. The characters developing is limited to a couple of sentences excluding Rob Hall and Beck Weathers what makes others a little more than forgettable 'guys who die first'. For some reason, Scott Fisher, being a smart capable mountaineer is shown as a careless hippie-like person, Anatoli Boukreev as a cliché tough Russian playing garmon in a tent, Beck Weathers as a hardly-realistic guy from Texas. But it doesn't matter anyways as when the masks put on it's really hard to follow who is who and and their position on the mountain, especially on descending. The whole day of May 11 is clumsy and hardly could be learned from the movie, on the summit the story switches to Rob completely and gets distractingly touchy-feely then slowly turning into the aftermath. The drama feels a bit out of place when other participants dying with little or no attention. I was disappointed. The most vivid scene of the movie turned out to be shown in the trailer (crevasse ladder). Another Beck Weathers scene was really powerful too, but otherwise I didn't feel the pressure of surviving, the height itself (the stormy clouds could be seen from 2000 as well), an incredible effort to even try to step on that track.

Andre Bredenkamp writes about Everest climb: "You get completely disorientated. I had to keep reminding myself I was climbing a mountain. Every step of the way I had to try to motivate myself. At that altitude I took at least 10 to 15 breaths each time I moved one foot."

Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)

Continuing his "legendary adventures of awesomeness", Po must face two hugely epic, but different threats: one supernatural and the other a little closer to his home.

Directors: Alessandro Carloni, Jennifer Yuh
Writers: Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger
Stars: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman |

Storyline

When Po's long-lost panda father suddenly reappears, the reunited duo travels to a secret panda paradise to meet scores of hilarious new panda characters. But when the supernatural villain Kai begins to sweep across China defeating all the kung fu masters, Po must do the impossible-learn to train a village full of his fun-loving, clumsy brethren to become the ultimate band of Kung Fu Pandas. 

Attack on Titan: Part 1 (2015)

In a world where giant humanoid Titans prey on humans, Eren joins the scouting legion to get revenge on the monsters who killed everyone in his town.

Director: Shinji Higuchi

Writers: Hajime Isayama (manga), Yûsuke Watanabe (screenplay) (as Yuusuke Watanabe) , 1 more credit »

Stars: Haruma Miura, Kiko Mizuhara, Kanata Hongô | 

Storyline

A teenage boy named Eren Jaeger must use his special gift to fight alongside with the military to defeat the titan race. Mankind is on the brink of extinction when these man eating monsters terrorize everybody and destroy the last of human civilization left in the world.

Attack on Titan Movie Reviews

Fans would not be pleased of the deviation from original source and its presentation barely manages to deliver average action thriller

18 August 2015 | by quincytheodore (Indonesia) – See all my reviews

Film studio usually takes liberty on interpreting a live action, but Shingeki no Kyojin strays so much it doesn't even resembles the original story. This would be acceptable if the new plot follows the same core, far from that the characters and world here feel inferior, they are almost unrecognizable if not for the cosmetic. Its biggest strength is the gore, it's a viable action with a lick of horror when it gets momentum.

Humanity has a grim reminder that they live in fear of Titans, or so the opening says. The film focuses on a group of youngster trying to fend off Titans with Spider-Man cosplay tool. Right from the opening act, it doesn't follow the plot of manga. To be fair, it would have been okay if it worked. I'm not a fan and changes are expected, but in this case, it ruins both the new rendition and might even offend the fans.

Setting takes a drastic turns, both the time and place are entirely different. Character development feels watered down. Stripped from their traits, these guys and girls look like generic anime protagonist, while in manga they at least have distinct features. This rings especially true with the lead Eren and Mikasa who only bear the same name yet without any real charm.

The new additional characters as well as the portrayal of existing ones are choppy at best. Probably only a few of the scenes with humans actually have the same level of humor or tone. Effects don't really capture the agile motion, although the Titans do appear menacing. They look creepy enough with all the smirk and blood, which the show used in abundance. These Titans are bleeders.

It's uncertain what this live action tries to accomplish, its major demographic is definitely the fans, yet the significant change will turn them off. It may appeal to general audience as an action flick, although with lesser plot it's merely passable as monster movie with slightly nifty gimmick.