How It Ends

How It Ends is a disaster, thriller featuring Forest Whitaker, Divergent star, Theo James, and Vampire Diaries star, Kat Graham. It begins with Will, played by James, who flies from Seattle to Chicago to visit his pregnant finance, Sam’s, parents, played by Whitaker and Nicole Air Parker. After he arrives something unknown causes country wide power outages and chaos. Will and his future father-in-law then decide to take a road trip back to Seattle to find Sam, played by Graham.

I thought that the majority of the movie was very interesting and suspenseful. It also seemed pretty realistic. The post-apocalyptic theme and cinematography reminded me of the Book of Eli. The acting and the character development were also pretty good.

Where this movie unfortunately fell flat was at the end. I felt as if the writers had this really great idea that they didn’t know how to finish. They ended up just leaving the audience hanging, but not in a good Inception kind of way, but more of a disappointing lack of imagination type of way. And because of that there were a lot of questions left unanswered at the end.

Therefore, even though the majority the movie was really good, because they couldn’t wrap it up properly I will have to say that this movie is not worth the time and should be skipped.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is a Netflix coming of age rom-com based on the novel of the same name. It follows high school Junior and outcast, Lara Jean, as her world is turned upside down when love letters she wrote to her crushes are mailed to them unbeknownst to her.

This movie was like a new age Sixteen Candles. The character development for this uniquely diverse cast was full of depth. Even though they were all lesser known actors, they were all very entertaining. I especially thought that the lead actress, Lana Condor, did a great job carrying this film. She had a very likable and charming personality. The soundtrack was also a great mix of John Hughes like 80's gems, mixed with new pop and indy hits. Even though the plot was predictable, I did still found it to be realistic, engaging and fun.

For those looking for a fresh, lighthearted romantic comedy I’d definitely recommend checking this movie out.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is the 6th and final film of the video game turned horror film franchise. It is the direct sequel of Resident Evil: Retribution and stars Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter. The story follows Alice, played by Milla, as she heads back to the Umbrella Corporation to find an anti-virus to end the world wide infection. 

I thought that the movie was mildly entertaining at best. The action sequences were well choreographed and the cinematography was better than its predecessors. I also liked that this film, similar to the rest in the franchise, was female driven with two strong, leading female characters.

Where this film dropped the ball for me was in its character development and plot. I thought that the character development wasn’t as in-depth as I would have liked for the majority of the cast. A lot had to do with the fact that certain characters were killed off too soon, so I wasn’t given a chance to get to know them better. Additionally, the plot was predictable and at times not very creative. Some scenes were even taken from earlier Resident Evil movies, which may have been a nod to the original, but I was hoping to see something different.

Overall I was not very engaged in this movie and am glad that it’s the last one. For those feeling nostalgic check it out, but for everyone else, you can avoid this one.

BlacKkKlansman

BlacKkKlansman is the true story of Ron Stallworth, the first African American police officer to work for the Colorado Springs Police Department, in the 1970s. He and his small undercover team were able to successfully infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan.

I thought that the purpose of the movie was powerful, Spike Lee was able to tell a true story, that most people don’t know, while also showing an evolution of racism throughout the years. He was able to interweave the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement, the ear of the film, the 1970s, and current day. In that he did a great job of showing how if you don’t learn from your mistakes how history will repeat itself over and over again.

The acting from the entire cast was well done, especially that from John David Washington as the main character, Stallworth, Adam Driver as his partner, Flip Zimmerman and Laura Harrier as his love interest and political revolutionary, Patrice Dumas. The character development from the entire cast was done in a way where you could see the complexities and humanity in everyone.

I also appreciated the interwoven comedic moments that helped to lighten some of the heavier acts in the film.

What I didn’t necessarily enjoy was some of Spike Lee’s editing. There were a couple of really impactful parts that I felt didn’t get their true weight of importance because of how he would edit the scene. He had the floating heads like a Queen album cover, in one poignant scene and in another he did the floating bodies, where they are moving but not walking, during other. These editing techniques were distracting and retracted from the importance of those very important parts.

Overall, I thought that the movie was well made and the timing for this film couldn’t have been any better. You can really see the parallels in this movie to our current political climate. And with that being said, I do think that this movie is definitely something that everyone should see.

Gone

Gone is a thriller starring Amanda Seyfried. She plays the lead character, Jill, a woman, who after surviving a kidnapping is convinced that her abductor is back when her sister goes missing. 

I thought that the theme of the movie was interesting, it reminded me of Shutter Island. I thought that the acting from Amanda Seyfried was pretty believable and that the story was suspenseful.

However these couple of things were not enough to warrant an endorsement for this movie. It lacked proper plot depth. The motives were unclear and the story progression didn’t make a lot of sense. Additionally there was zero character development, the supporting characters were so one dimensional that at times I was wondering why they were even there. I’m not sure if the writer did that on purpose to make the villain more difficult to spot but it wasn’t executed very well.

Overall this wasn’t a terrible movie but definitely not one that I would want to watch again.

Mission: Impossible – Fallout

Mission: Impossible – Fallout is the 6^th movie in the franchise with an all-star cast including Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg and Rebecca Ferguson. It picks up where Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation left off. In this story Ethan Hunt and the MI6 are paired with a member of the CIA, played by Cavill, to stop members of The Apostles, a restructured former terrorist organization known as the Syndicate, from activating nuclear bombs in major cities.

I thought that the plot was easy to follow and engaging. There were plenty of the twits and turns, some predictable but most were a surprise. The character development was strong which helped to make you feel the level of suspense, which in my opinion, was higher in this movie than its predecessors. I also liked that some characters from the past were brought back and I thought that the acting from the entire cast was well done.

By far the most visually impressive part of this film were the stunts and high impact action throughout. It’s amazing that at 56 Tom Cruise still does his own stunts. The fight scenes and action sequences were so well choreographed that I think even stunt doubles would have hard time garnering believably. But like all of his films, Tom Cruise was able to pull all of it off.

Overall this was a really great film that I would recommend checking out. If this is your first Mission Impossible movie you might get a little lost in the weeds, but I still think it’s worth seeing. Just know, this is a popular one so get there early.