Europa Report (2013, Sebastián Cordero)- This is a brilliant piece of sci-fi film. Sure it was campaigned as a horror type of sci-fi but it was not that, if anything, this is more of a character driven story as we follow this space crew go onto the adventure of a lifetime to discover life in Jupiter's moon, Europa. The characters in this movie is well developed but the performance of the actors are a bit questionable because even in the story most of them are descendants from different countries yet most of them have a pitch perfect American accent. Nevertheless, this movie has a great story and the usage of flashbacks fits well with the narrative and also the build-up of tension was really great so that to make the big reveal feel really grand even though it was for only a bit of a moment. Overall I enjoyed this movie and I felt the tension all through-out. I only wish that this movie could have gone longer.
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Kick-Ass 2 (2013, Jeff Waldlow)- I'll say this early on, this sequel is not as god as it's predecessor, but that does not mean that it's a bad movie. This installment is very entertaining from start to end mainly because of the action scenes and the great performances from the cast most notably Jim Carrey, he was just so damn god in his role and you will wish that you'd see him more screen time in this movie. Another thing that made this movie very entertaining is the setup that they are building for a very climactic third act that was very satisfying and very bloody and very action-packed. What I liked more in this movie than the previous one is that there's a lot of shocking moments in this installment and in my opinion it made the movie to move more onto it's dramatic side at times. This was a fun movie even though it's nowhere near as good as the first one.
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After Earth (2013, M.Night Shyamalan)- Lately, this guy is slowly losing his touch on directing with movies like "The Happening" which was beyond stupid even on paper and "The Last Airbender" which was a total bastardization of a great source material and served as a big bitch slap towards the fan of the cartoon. His latest offering, which honestly for me is a bit of a step-up in hi game. It was not as bad as I though it would have been, I was entertained with the movie and thought that the VFX and the cinematography were the biggest strengths of the movie, but how about the weakness? The weakness of the movie for me is the lack of story development and some scenes which was also pretty stupid. As for the performance, Will Smith's performance was a bit odd, he was basically wooden all through out maybe because the character is written in that way but I think his performance is a bit off, as for Jaden Smith, he did a passable job but there was something very noticeable in his performance where he has this unusual accent at first then by the end of the movie it's completely gone which was bothersome because it breaks character, however there was one scene in the movie where he showed that there's room for improvement in his acting.
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Dark Skies (2013, Scott Stewart)- It's been two strikes for this director, first is "Legion" and the second is "Priest". I'll admit I liked the former but I was bored as hell with the latter. This film has a lot of great ideas but also a lot of very dumb lines and at times also tidbits of silly ideas (but the good ones outweighs the silly ones). This movie could have been a lot better with a better director, better script and a better actors especially the father role who was just dead-eyed throughout the movie and has an issue of showcasing his emotion which was really annoying. The one thing that I only liked about this movie is it's great VFX which was at times really believable.
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Man Of Tai Chi (2013, Keanu Reeves)- Keanu Reeves has been out of the Hollywood films the past years but this one marks his return to the big screen and also marks as his directorial debut and for me he did really good. This movie was immensely entertaining with breath taking action which was very watchable, why? Because Keanu did not use shaky cam, a case in which directors use nowadays that if not well done, it will turn out irritating. I liked the fact that Keanu filmed the action scenes in a steady way because it showed how awesome the choreography is, it did not go to waste. As for the performances, I really enjoyed Reeves' villainous turn in this movie, he was threatening and just cold and dead-eyed which in this case really works for the character and for the protagonist played by Chen Lin-Hu, in my opinion, he was really good because in just movements he was able to show his serenity and rage and also he's able to do it by just shifting to it in a snap of a finger. Oh and if there is one thing this movie proves, Keanu does know Kung-Fu.
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The Frozen Ground (2013, Scott Walker)- Nicolas Cage plays a role in this movie that is not borderline insane. Yes that is true and you know what? He is really good at it. This is the type of role the Cage should always pick, a serious type role so that people would take him seriously again, I for one love this guy but seeing him play a lunatic over and over again got a bit tiring 'cause for me he just perfected it and seeing him in this role was not only a breath fresh air but it also showed that Cage can still do good in his career. Next is Vanessa Hudgens, before the role may not be as mature as her role in Spring Breakers but she definitely gave a better performance in this one for me even though there are some scenes of her that appears to be not well directed. As for the other cast, thy were also good in their roles it's just that Nic Cage really stole it for me. Now, the execution of the story is a bit iffy for me 'cause there were some parts that was a bit boring but there were also some parts which redeemed these scenes. All in all, this is a not so gripping thriller but it still delivers a good performance and also delivers a quite good of a story. I highly enjoyed it.
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Super (2010, James Gunn)- This is basically Kick-Ass on the other side of the mirror and quite frankly this is the better movie for me (but only by an inch). This movie is dramatic when it needs to be but it is also funny to a part where it serves like an ice breaker for the movie. The dark humor of the movie works for it because of the heavy drama the character is experiencing. Speaking of character, Rainn Wilson fits well with his role and his chemistry with Ellen Page was really good and goes on to show that they are really hero and sidekick, also Kevin Bacon makes up for a very entertaining villain. This is a well thought-out film with a great script and funny characters.
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