Summer Sweep

Sorry for being away for more than a month. Although no one seems to be counting or missing me (in this blog). I had a busy camp throughout August, followed by a week-long holiday in the capital city, and in the September, those were just me being a total couch potato or more accurately, bed potato. To be fair, I had a lot of part-time work too. So I'm not a total lazy ass bitch. More importantly, I watched a couple of summer films throughout the rest of my summer and here are their short reviewsss. Spoiler alert, I mostly liked them all like usual.

Southpaw
This film has one of the best leading actors of the year. Jake Gyllenhaal is having his own Gyllenhasance (you heard this term first here) following his Oscar snub for his intense performance in Nightcrawler. Also in the cast is Rachel McAdams in a very different role. She's also opting to challenge the typecast against her by playing strong women as seen in this film and also True Detective season 2. Despite strong performances by everyone, the film is bogged down by cliched boxing drama story. Even the drama dragged a bit too long. If it weren't for Gyllenhaal and Forest Whitaker, this film could be unwatchable. Antoine Fuqua's direction is confident, then again the story written by Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter might be too heavy for the film in overall. Southpaw: rated 2.5/4

Inside Out
I'm so happy that I could see this film in the cinemas. I was already giving up because the film was only shown in its dubbed version, then I went to the capital city and all is well again. After skipping 2014, Pixar made a great comeback after a pretty lackluster couple of years (Cars 2? Monsters U? Anyone?). Pixar excels at bringing out emotions in their films so they went basic and made a film out of emotions. The film hits your heart even before it started, with the sweet short Lava. The actual film is unexpected, smart and funny. It literalizes (is this a word) the stuff you usually say like Train of Thoughts. The film establishes its world smoothly and then play along with the concept greatly. There's also a great breakout star in the character of Bing Bong who's responsible for waterfall-like tears that's hasn't been seen since the ending of Toy Story 3. The only downside is that the film feels isolated and isn't explored much. It feels small compared to most of Pixar films. It even feels small compared to Cars. That's my only complaint, but hey maybe they succeeded in making a small film. Oh fun fact: the film is retitled as Inside Head in Japan. Inside Out: rated 3.5/4

San Andreas
In terms of pleasure, fun and loudness, San Andreas is the best summer movie of the year. Erasing his WWE origins for good, Dwayne Johnson has emerged as one of the most reliable Hollywood action stars lately. At least three franchises has undergone 'The Rock Treatment' for the better (Fast & Furious franchise, Journey films, and--highly debatable--G.I. Joe films). It's just probably fair to give Johnson a studio summer tentpole film to showcase his eyebrows, biceps and acting prowess. He had Hercules last year, but that film is devoid of any fun. The film may not be as iconic as Roland Emmerich disaster films but it is fun in its own way. The story is the cliched-broken-family-reunites-in-the-wake-of-disaster as seen in 2012 most recently but that so-called "disaster film to end disaster film" is too melodramatic. Whereas San Andreas delivers on spectacle and intensity. It has an awesome one-take sequence with Carla Gugino during an earthquake. The cast is pretty cool too. Aside from The Rock and Gugino, the film has Alexandra 'baby blue eyes' Daddario, Ioan Gruffud, and Paul Giamatti. The film is awesome, that's all. You don't need to worry much about story in this kind of film. You just need to be entertained, and this film does even more than fulfilling your needs. San Andreas: rated 3.5/4

Spy

Spy is definitely the funniest movie of the summer. I'm not surprised if it eventually be the funniest movie of the year. Melissa McCarthy stars in the movie with a stellar cast that includes Jude Law, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Allison Janney, Miranda Hart and a very very brief Morena Baccarin. The film could end up unfunny like Steve Carell/Anne Hathaway's Get Smart which just borderline silly and stupid. What worked in Spy is that it is not a spoof, it is a comedic spy film, like Jump Street films but more women-centric. So the action scenes are treated as an action scene in an action film and the logic of the narrative too, despite it being a basic/template spy movie story with stolen nuclear mumbojumbo going to be used to bomb the world or stuff. Jason Statham went full comedy and boasting nonsensical lines is one of the many highlights of the film. Melissa McCarthy's tough ass lines are also hilarious. Rose Byrne once again proved that she has an overabundance of talent that is still untapped. McCarthy-wise, the film is not as funny as Bridesmaids, which I just watched right after seeing this film. But for 2015, it's a pretty funny movie and I hardly react that much to a comedy film. Spy: rated 3/4

Pitch Perfect 2
Girl power! This is the sequel to the surprise hit and crowd-pleaser Pitch Perfect which also is responsible for kids around the world playing with their cups during dinner. The film is now directed by Elizabeth Banks who did a pretty great job for a first timer. The film is basically the same with the first one. It is still widely unfocused. The story is everywhere. The jokes doesn't always work. Beca's character is so different and quite unrelatable. However, what it lacks is improved by the stellar acapella performances. Not only from The Barden Bellas, but there's this incredible German group Das Sound Machine who covers Fall Out Boy's My Song Know What You Did In The Dark. It's rooftop-blowing awesome. There's also a great sequence featuring great names in acapella music like Pentatonix and Filharmonic singing Anyway You Want It. And as usual the Rif-Off is greattt. There's also nice surprises from the smaller roles like Bella newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, the scene-stealer Keegan Michael Key and a cameo by Snoop Dogg. The film may not show up as anyone's all time favorite, but we watch the film for its pleasant atmosphere and great singing. Pitch Perfect 2: rated 2.5/4

Ant-Man

Marvel's Phase 2 ender is their smallest hero to date. Paul Rudd stars as Scott Lang, a con artist who's "drafted" to be next Ant-Man by the original hero Hank Pym played by Michael Douglas. The film took the DCEU approach by establishing that Ant-Man is already around. So it's more like a quasi-origins film. We all know the behind-the-scene drama which resulted in Edgar Wright's exit and eventually Patrick Wilson too. But I'll try to review the film objectively without that issue in mind. The film is Marvel's second funniest film so far (for me Guardians of the Galaxy is super hilarious), but not because of the lead actor. That credit goes to Michael Pena for playing a straight-up chillin Hispanic character that is rich and dare I say, embracing the stereotype silliness but with so much flair and style. I like Corey Stoll but his villainy is very much wasted in the film. I hate Marvel sometimes for not respecting the villains. I mean, the hero could be good if the villain is really cruel. The opening scene with a de-aged Michael Douglas is great by the way, I just had to mention it. I really like Michael Douglas' role as the mentor in the film. Evangeline Lilly is always badass. Overall, the cast is craycray. It also features Bobby Cannavale and Judy Greer in small roles. The film is imaginative in its visual but not so much in the narrative. The film isn't confident enough to stand on its own that it had to namedrop The Avengers and feature a fight scene with a B-grade Avenger. Ant-Man: rated 3/4

More to come
- Heroes Reborn rant
- Fantastic Four review
- Summer Recap

I need to absolve myself  for not posting anything on September. You'll be seeing a lot of me.