Box Office Films

Ransom Stoddard · May 6, 2015

IanKEvans2 said:
I caught Age of Ultron tonight. I think it had more of a comic book feel than the first Avengers; which I enjoyed. I could metaphorically see the voice bubbles coming out of the heroes' mouths. The new characters were enjoyable and James Spader's voice was perfect menacing for Ultron.

3.5/4.

I haven't seen it yet, but I thought it was interesting casting with Spader as the baddie. There's a teen flick from the 80's called "Tuff Turf" where Spader plays the new kid in town that gets bullied by an assortment of kids, including one played by Downey. Pure 80's cheese, but interesting to see those two in the cast list.

IanKEvans2 · May 15, 2015

Hoping to catch two films receiving high praise by Tuesday: Mad Max: Fury Road (99% Critics, 94% Audience on Rotten Tomatoes) and Ex Machina (91%, 89%).

IanKEvans2 · May 16, 2015

Mad Max was AWESOME. George Miller with another action masterpiece.

4/4

IanKEvans2 · May 20, 2015

Ex Machina is a sci-fi and psychology fan's dream.

4/4

IanKEvans2 · May 31, 2015

Caught San Andreas yesterday. I wouldn't exactly recommend it, but it wasn't the worst "bad" movie I've ever seen. And who doesn't love The Rock?

homesickalien · Jun 3, 2015

Mad Max is one of the best action movies of all time. Nuff said.

danielb927 · Jun 3, 2015

IanKEvans2 said:
Ex Machina is a sci-fi and psychology fan's dream.

4/4

I saw this last weekend as well and really enjoyed it.

IanKEvans2 · Jun 3, 2015

Caught Tomorrowland yesterday. Despite its positive message, big budget, and solid cast, I felt the story was told rather poorly.

2/4

Kramer · Jun 3, 2015

I'm thinking I might sneak out of work tomorrow afternoon and watch Mad Max. Tired of waiting for someone to say let's go.

Does it stay true to the original or redefined?

Ransom Stoddard · Jun 7, 2015

It's certainly not a big box office film, but I saw Love and Mercy last night and thought it was great. It's the story of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and his struggle with both mental illness and an overly controlling psychiatrist. Great performances by John Cusack and Paul Dana as Brian at two different points in his life, and Elizabeth Banks as the woman who ultimately saved Brian.

It's one of the best films about artistry I've ever seen. The sequences about the creation of Pet Sounds were incredible.

IanKEvans2 · Jun 7, 2015

Thanks for the heads up, Ransom!

I feel Paul Dano is one of the most underappreciated actors in Hollywood.

Kramer · Jun 8, 2015

Dano is great! I loved him in There Will Be Blood.

Saw Mad Max last night, great movie. I got home and thought I was going to watch the original, I decided to watch the trailer first and thought wow maybe I shouldn't thirsty some years later it might not be the best plan.

Anyone seen Spy?

Ransom Stoddard · Jun 8, 2015

Kramer said:
Dano is great! I loved him in There Will Be Blood.

Saw Mad Max last night, great movie. I got home and thought I was going to watch the original, I decided to watch the trailer first and thought wow maybe I shouldn't thirsty some years later it might not be the best plan.

I tried to get my son to watch the original Mad Max after he'd seen the new one twice. He walked out after about 20 minutes--I guess he wasn't in the mood for such a "lo-fi" action movie.

Anyone seen Spy?

You couldn't pay me to sit down for a Melissa McCarthy movie.

IlliniFaninHoosierLand · Jun 8, 2015

Saw Entourage over the weekend. I liked it but if you didn't really follow the show you may not have liked the movie. It may have seemed a bit rushed but the storylines in the movie are ones that could have easily been extended out to story arcs for at least half a season if not a full season if the show were still on the air.

IanKEvans2 · Jun 12, 2015

Jurassic World was a whole lot of fun. Plenty of nostalgia from the original(s) with a modern twist from a strong cast led by Chris Pratt. He's impossible to dislike.

3.5/4

Kramer · Jun 12, 2015

IanKEvans2 said:
Jurassic World was a whole lot of fun. Plenty of nostalgia from the original(s) with a modern twist from a strong cast led by Chris Pratt. He's impossible to dislike.

3.5/4

Thanks Ian for the review, it does look good.

IlliniFaninHoosierLand · Jun 27, 2015

Saw Ted 2 tonight. Not quite as good as the first but still had its moments at times.

IanKEvans2 · Jun 27, 2015

Couldn't recommend Inside Out enough. Best Pixar film in years.

4/4

Ransom Stoddard · Jun 28, 2015

Finally saw Avengers Age of Ultron today.

Meh. Great CGI and action sequences, but they want for lots of explosions and acrobatic combat rather than actually dealing with the moral issues being presented. This was roughly the same philosophical ground that The Dark Knight walked and Nolan did it so, so, so much better.

IanKEvans2 · Jun 30, 2015

Caught Dope this afternoon.

If you like 90's hip-hop and/or refreshing coming of age stories, this is the movie for you. Shameik Moore owned the screen. Somewhat reminded me of Superbad, but set in Inglewood.

3.5/4

IlliniFaninHoosierLand · Jul 18, 2015

Saw Ant-Man this afternoon. It is definitely a change of pace from the traditional Marvel films that have been released thus far but I think it's a good one. My only real criticisms were that the villain had too many similarities to Obadiah Stane from the first Iron Man film and there was another character in the film that I thought was bordering on becoming an annoying character to me.

Overall though, I really liked the film and it's great that they're building towards Captain America: Civil War which is set to be released in May 2016.

IanKEvans2 · Aug 24, 2015

Caught Straight Outta Compton and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. this past week.

I really enjoyed Straight Outta Compton despite the glossing over of a few of the main character's flaws (Dr. Dre's violence against women being the main one. Though, seeing as though he was an executive producer, it makes sense.). Taken strictly as a film, it's one of my favorites from 2015. 4/4.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is criminally underrated (currently sitting at 67% on Rotten Tomatoes). It's as much thriller as it is comedy, and the attention to detail of the period is fantastic. Nothing of the spy genre was reinvented, but it was executed very well. 3.5/4.

IanKEvans2 · Sep 12, 2015

Caught M. Night Shyamalan's The Visit yesterday.

The first hour was riddled with cringeworthy screenwriting and classic horror mishaps. The "found footage" camerawork was also an annoyance and took away from the film. However, the final 20-30 or so minutes had me on an adrenaline rush.

Not quite a full redemption for M. Night, but it's far better than his most recent offerings.

2.5/4

IanKEvans2 · Oct 4, 2015

Strongly recommend "The Martian." Might be my favorite of 2015 thus far.

4/4.

AzIlliniFan · Oct 4, 2015

I saw The Martian yesterday and I have to agree. Very entertaining. I did have a few "Seriously?!?! moments concerning the scientific liberties taken. But I guess most Sci-Fi movies do the same thing.

I also saw The Visit. It was good but I'm not sure I'd recommend laying down the $ for a ticket tho. If they omitted a few scenes of the kid it would have helped the flow of the movie a lot. Those who've seen it probably know what I'm talking about.

Box Office Films

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