Summer Recap 2016

From Tomorrowland to Fantastic Four, summer has officially ended. There's some pretty good films and some bad ones. Surprises and also let-downs. Let's have the recap (finally!). Being late is never too late.

Top 3 Films
1. Jurassic World
This film blows my expectations. Granted, they set a really low standard with the stupid trailers but still the film is a fun, loud and a worthy successor to the original film back in 1993. Another summer, another big Chris Pratt movie. I really like this film despite its frequent silliness and plot holes and also blatant product placements. It has a light atmosphere but also seriously satisfying action scenes. This film is what makes summer movie going fun. Oh it's the only movie this summer that I watched twice at the cinemas.




2. Mad Max: Fury Road
Where to start.. How about the Fury Road?! Witness!! Quality-wise, Fury Road trumps Jurassic World. The dinosaur pic might be more accessible and it has a soft spot in my heart as I am very much like that Jake Johnson's character. Mad Max: Fury Road or as I like to retitle it as Furiosa: Fury Road, is the most intense summer film you could ask for. It is a stunning technical and filmmaking achievement. Filmed in the harsh environment of Namibian desert, the film delivered on all levels: visuals, audio, acting, effects. Story might be a little light, but man all the other stuff absolve it from its sins. Witness!!




3. Inside Out
Pixar is officially back. Not in their usual tempo, but still it is a welcome return to form for an animated studio that has been struggling to shell out quality original features. They went basic and touched our emotions with a story about emotions. The film is light on adventure ala Up, Finding Nemo, or Toy Story movies, but it fired on all cylinders on story. It is a smart approach that can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. Pre-adults like me would get the feels the most, especially being away from parents. Man, this movie is ruthless in draining out people's tears.

Honorable mention:
- Tom Cruise's latest, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. The movie is another achievement in the long-running franchise as it keeps the franchise energized with stunning set pieces and surprises.



Most Surprising Film
Jurassic World
One of the main reasons that this film nabbed the title best of the summer for me is the fact that it killed my low expectations. Usually I have this knack of predicting if a movie's bad or good just based on the trailers, and from JW's the movie has bad and disrespectful written all over it. It is an entry to a 22 year old franchise with a questionable rap of producing crap underwhelming sequels. But wow, this movie is great. Humor, action, thrill, perils, sci-fi, monsters all blended into one film. Also, Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard is great in this film. A sequel to this would be a hard feat to follow. So far, I'm not sold on Trevorrow's ideas for the next one.


Honorable mention:
- San Andreas, the Dwayne Johnson-starrer disaster movie. A perfect guilty pleasure and highly entertaining (and also informative) summer movie. I didn't even expect the movie to be half as good.



Worst Film
Fantastic Four
Is it any wonder though? There are probably other bad films this summer, but I'm pretty wise to skip them and probably catch them someday. Fantastic Four is bad because it was tampered heavily by the studio. I want this movie to be good. Really I do. Fox doesn't care if the audience like this movie or not. They even released a B-Roll to this movie that contains what seemed to be great scenes if it were included in the finished movie. It's fucking heartbreaking. Let's hope the best for Josh Trank's career and also to future FF films.

Honorable mention:
- The disrespectful, shit-on-your-face quasi-sequel-reboot Terminator Genisys. Even the title should be considered as the worst of the year.



Next up
hmmm.. some posts
Planning to see The Intern, Pan, and Maze Runner 2 this month
Oh, something about Netflix Japan too.