Disney's Cinderella

 Hello! Sorry everyone it's been a few weeks since my last post. I've been busy! 

Welcome to Mc's Film Critique! Recently I watched Disney's Cinderella (not by choice) and I knew nothing about this particular film going in.

I watched the trailer before writing this post and if you're reading this and have not seen the film or the trailer, good for you! Don't watch the trailer as-per-usual, it gives away just about everything! I really hate when trailers do that. Here is the link to the Trailer if you want to see it (don't click unless you're sure).

This version of the fairy tale I think is second only to the Brothers Grim version which is awesome! The film starts of with Cinderella living with both of her parents, something that you will recall is not true in Disney's original motion picture. This works really well because when she is left with her step-mother and step-sisters you're far more invested in her character.

(left to right) Helena, Lily, Richard and Cate

I thought the acting was really good. Cate Blanchett played her part to the top of her performing abilities. She gave a spectacular portrayal of the stepmother. Lily James did a great job playing opposite of Blanchett and showed us a Cinderella who can hold her own. Richard Madden former star of Game of Thrones, seems to have been chosen for both his acting and his good looks. He gave a very desirable portrayal of a prince. Like I said strong cast.

There was a lot of CGI animals, and I'm ever more impressed with animators, because the CGI looks more and more real each year. Click here for a top 10 worst CGI list by Watchmojo.com

The transformation from an everyday girl to princess was over the top! I already said how good the animation was but I will say it again, it was really good! The way each different aspect of her carriage was assembled and transformed was fantastic. I particularly liked how each transformed thing retained some of its previous forms aspects.


I would have liked a little more depth from the step sisters, they were pretty dimwitted. There is also some secret past of the step mother which never really gets flushed out, which sucks because I wanted more from this aspect of the story. It's just teased, which was a shame as it could have given more to the story, but oh well.


Overall good film! Go watch it! As my friend Jeff has said "Disney has been killing it lately, eh!"





Badge: Cinematography Badge 
Rating: 9/10

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

This week on Mc's Film Critique I watched The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1.

I want to start off by saying that I never read this book series. I was told about it by a camper in summer camp years ago. My interest was peaked enough to see the first film. I thoroughly like dystopian/ utopian fiction. I was required to read a book called WE by Yevgeny Zamyatin for one of my history classes and LOVED IT! That being said, I will go watch this type of film any day of the week, good or bad just to see what's what. 


Lets dive into this film. It is the third installment of the Hunger Games series adapted from the books of the same name. I don't like watching a film half way through and not getting to the end, so I will watch this series to the end. I have a need to find out what happened. This film is a part 1 of a final chapter to this story and unlike the Hobbit which I had problems with (click here for that blog), the ending in this film feels satisfactory. The entire series has not been concluded yet, but the film has a logical ending. As a viewer, you get a  sense of closure but the film leaves you eager to see Part 2 of this series.

Buttercup The Cat

The film is slow paced in comparison to The Hunger Games and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,  but it's setting the stage for the second part. When the DVD comes out, watching part one and two in succession will be awesome!

The effects in the film looked really good. When they were in a forest, destroyed  buildings, city or aircraft it all looked real. 


The story didn't have any unnecessary plot points. Even the choice to take a cat had purpose in the film (yes, there was a cat and it's fluffy). The characters acted in what felt like real life, driven by emotion and a sense of duty. Jennifer Lawrence  gave us a great performance, as did the rest of the cast. Natalie Dormer is in this film. You may recognize her from the popular show Game of Thrones, making this film a must see if you haven't yet. 

Natalie Dormer

Like I said earlier the film is slow paced, something people may not like in comparison to the two films before it.

I recommend this film. It makes up for the the previous blunders of the other two films in this series.

Badge: None
Rating: 8/10

The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend)

This week on MC's Film Critique I review The DUFF directed by Ari Sandel.

The film is set in a high school and after a few minutes we meet the main characters Bianca and her two friends Jess and Casey. Bianca our main protagonist gets called the DUFF of the group  at a party. This causes her to leave, and becomes the driving force of her actions for the rest of the film. 

I want to take this moment to look a problem I see in the film industry. In the United States the legal drinking age is 21. The main cast is playing students about to graduate high school so they are around 17-18 years old. A few years too young to buy their own drinks. Now are kids seeing this phenomena in films and drink because they think that they should be doing this? Or is the film industry noticing that kids drink regardless of the legal drinking age and are trying to portray real life? I'll just leave that out there.

Back to the film. The film is a comedy and does a good job at being funny with its jokes. It is a very now film. It's up to date with trends and social norms, while understanding how teens function. They are on their smart phones, Twitter, YouTube, social networking, all that good stuff. Other than the crazy party, there wasn't a part of the film that made me disbelieve the story.

The film even looks at Cyberbullying. Anyone who knows me well knows that I don't tolerate bullying, with my friends, with my co-workers and especially between the kids at my summer job. The film looks at high school labels and in a comical way and turns them around in a positive way.

Speaking of plot, this one was really good. The way the main character interacts passes the Bechdel test (see the video to the right), the film is funny but, it was predictable, which is a pet peeve of mine. A predictable movie can still be good, but I like not knowing what's going to happen next. 

If you like comedy and are looking to laugh, this film is a must see.

Badge: None

Rating: 8/10

Birdman Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Movie poster

This week on MC's Film Critique I watched Birdman. There was a lot of hype about it and it did really well at Oscars so I thought I would check it out.

Many films try to be different by trying out different camera shots. I'm not a fan of change, usually because it is for the worst when messing with different camera shots. However, the way that Birdman is shot, it seems as if it was done all in one take. I thought it was pretty cool. I tried to play a game of where I thought the shots ended and started back up again.


Lets talk about the film. It's an interesting story, we follow around an actor/director of a play who is trying to distinguish himself from his former Hollywood super hero role BIRDMAN. Does he succeed? Spoilers. 


I think the film reflects how actors take playing a role to an extreme. It's basically a self critique of the industry. I think that's why it won so many awards.

The music was interestingly done. It's basically a drum kit and small jazz band that play for most of the film. At points it is even shown and looks organic. The transitions are organic feeling as well, like I said earlier it was interesting.

Things I didn't like about the film. There was a sound issue for me at least, sometimes it was super quite, sometimes  it was really loud. I kept having to adjust the volume accordingly. At times the film was in my opinion boring. We are faced with these long shots going down hallways as if we are walking through Broadway, which was cool but added to the length of this film while not adding much in the way of plot. It also made Broadway seem very unappealing.

The ending is quite strong but filled with this boring dream like transition before we reach the conclusion of the film.

Overall see the film. It's different from the rest and worth your time. Just keep your remote handy to adjust the volume.

Badge: None

Rating: 7.5/10

Jupiter Ascending

This week on MC's Film Critique I look at Jupiter Ascending. Directed by The Wachowskis, brother and sister director duo who brought us The Matrix trilogy.

The trailer looked interesting, so this was on my radar. For those video game savy and fans of other Si-Fi films, let me know if you agree with me that the film looked like Mass Effect meets Star Craft II meets The Fifth Element.

Visually this film looked great. The effects were awesome! There were some really out there concepts in this film such as: owning planets, spliced humans with animals and this super important but rarely mentioned key aspect of the film. 

There is the Abrasax dynasty of who Jupiter (Mila Kunis) is a reincarnation of the head of the dynasty. That's all that made sense to me. After that there is some type of King Lear squabble between her former selves children. Side note, I felt like it reminded me of a Shakespearean play, but I was at a lost until I read this review rogerebert.com. 

Each of the three had like half a goal. POSSIBLE SPOILER One wanted to be closer with her and then is never seen again in the film. One wanted to marry and kill her to inherit the earth to make more money? Then the eldest, Balem Abrasax. First off the actor Eddie Redmayne whispers most of the film so as to not hear him. This motivation was the least clear. He wanted to kill Jupiter so he could keep the Earth? SPOILER OVER

Basically this film had too much going on. It didn't give many answers, and I found myself asking too often "what is going on and why?" While the action scenes are quite choppy, though they had potential. Not to mention a main plot point is excluded. Why anyone wants or should be helping Jupiter will forever be a mystery.

Overall don't watch this unless you bring earplugs and skip the plot to enjoy how pretty the film looks...

Badge:Jar-Jar Badge

Rating: 4.9/10 Being Pretty Doesn't Cut It For a Passing Grade. 

Taken 3

Movie Poster

This week on MC's Film Critique I look at Taken 3, more like taken again?

I can't believe that this managed to become a trilogy. Taken has to be one of my favorite films ever, a high action, nail biting movie, that had you on the edge of your seat as Liam Neeson was a bad ass! Taken 3 still has him being a bad ass but, it does not have the same effect as the first film. In the first film it was unexpected, this film was trying too hard.

The biggest problem I had with this film was the motivation of the "bad" guy. Taken 2 was a stretch but at least it was logical. In this film he becomes a fugitive (not a spoiler it was in the trailer) not to mention that the trailer gives away most of the film anyways.

Liam Neeson

As a squeal this film is weak. People expect the film to be better than the first film. All this film does is tarnish the good name of Taken.

We learn a bit of back story (finally) about Liam Neeson's character Bryan. Although it was cooler when we didn't know anything about his past.

The elevator scene was the best part of the whole film. It's just too bad we didn't have more scenes like that one.

The acting was alright, the filming was good, the story line was weak. I would have liked to have seen more from the "bad guy", in terms of ambition and goals. I also do not find it believable that the actions of the bad guy would have gone unnoticed by Bryan. This whole "problem" in the film had no possible way of happening.

The film isn't bad, however it isn't good either. They should have stopped at Taken 2. I hope we don't see a taken 4 after this film.

I hope that Escapist does a review of this film, but the chances of that seem pretty slim at this point.

Badge: None

Rating: 6.4/10

Into The Woods

Movie Poster

This week on MC's Film Critique I look at Into The Woods. I have been sitting on this one for a few weeks and it's still in theatres!

Lets start off with, the fact that film is based off a musical play, based off of a book. I can not stress that enough. The film is a musical. When I was deciding whether or not to see the film, I looked it up on Tribute. I read the comments and many seemed mad that the film was a musical... These people were too focused on an aspect that I was pleasantly surprised to learn (prior to watching the film). It's like they have no possible way of finding out any information prior to watching a film. *cough read my reviews next time cough*

Lets talk about the film, I'm done my little rant.

The film starts off singing, while it seamlessly weaves many fairy tales together. The main characters are taken from Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Cinderella, as well as several others. They each play a role in one another's story until the main plot brings them together in a new fairy tale involving all of the characters.

I have never seen the play but I bet it was damn good. This film had me wondering how and who would fit where! I didn't feel that the film was predictable. There was a plot point with the bakers wife that didn't seem to fit with the whole story but, you can't please everyone.
The special effects were great, they didn't look cheesy unlike the baby in American Sniper, which I just happen to review over here.

One thing I could not stop thinking during the film was that Doctor Who, played by Matt Smith was going to show up to save Stormageddon and Craig who, was played by the same actor as the baker.

The acting was great, the effects are pretty damn good, the story is excellent minus my dispute with the one plot point.

This film is a must see, as long as you like singing and fun.



Badge: Cinematography Badge

Rating: 9.5/10

American Sniper

Movie Poster

This week on MC's Film Critique I look at American Sniper. I am really excited to talk about this film!

Alright so me and the g.f. went to see this the other night and wow. When I watched Saving Private Ryan for the first time and they storm the beaches of Normandy, I felt like it was an accurate representation of what it must have been like to storm the beach in WWII. I got that same feeling from this film. It might have been due to the fact that I watched it in AVX and all the sound effects were so fantastic. When a helicopter flew by, I felt like a helicopter actually flew by. When they were in a fire fight, I felt like it was happening all around me.

Not once do I recall hearing the word "clip" when the term "mag" should have been used. This is a pet peeve of mine. Look at the picture to the left, there is a difference! They are not interchangeable. You can't put a clip inside a magazine fed weapon and vice versa!

I did feel as if the film over glorified being a Sniper. Although, it's a war movie and they all glorify one aspect or another somehow. It did bug me that Chris Kyle had no spotter in the film when he would have had one in real life. Snipers work in squads of two, a shooter and a spotter. 

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The way the credits came on screen, I thought was very appropriate.It did feel eerie to leave a theatre in such a manner.

Overall the acting was solid. Bradley Cooper gave an amazing performance, the rest of the actors were great as well. However the baby could not be more fake. Watch College Humors take on it.

Remember the film is based on a book which was written after the events took place. Odds are not everything happened as it did in real life but that does not take away from the general feel of the film. I would suggest you watch this one if you like action and war films.



Badge: None 

Rating: 9/10

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Hello! This is my first blog post ever on MC's Film Critique and I look at The Hobbit: The
Battle of the Five Armies.

In this review I am working under the assumption that you have seen The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and all spoilers for that film are fair game.

This was the final film in the Hobbit trilogy. Starting from where we left off in the last film, (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) our hero's have an angry dragon to deal with.

I personally was a big fan of everything in this film that was true to the original book by J. R. R. Tolkien. To be honest, I preferred the original story over this connecting story that was adapted for the film. However, that will not sway me too much in how I will look at the film. 

The movie throws you into the action from the get go, which is great. Although, I feel that the start of the film should have been the logical ending for the previous film.  

I wasn't a fan of the love story between Kili (Aidan Turner) and Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) and had expected more than what we got out of this film in terms of that sub-plot line. 

The five armies in the film really deliver. The battle surpassed my exceptions to the point where I was exhausted from the onslaught that ensued for the greater portion of the film. There were some points in the battle where I thought "really?" but, overall the battle is one for the books!

Despite what I said I disliked about the film, I Give This Film My first Cinematography Badge.

Badge: Cinematography Badge

Rating: 8.5/10