{Movie Reviews} Movies I Watched in January

Can you believe January is over? My my, time flies so fast!

I watched a bunch of movies in January and somehow never managed to find the time to blog my reviews about them except for Theory of Everything, which is my fave of the month. So I decided to lump all reviews together in one post. Perhaps I’ll do this from now on. We’ll see.

Anyway, on to the movies!

Taken 3

Synopsis

Liam Neeson returns as ex-covert operative Bryan Mills, whose reconciliation with his ex-wife is tragically cut short when she is brutally murdered. Consumed with rage, and framed for the crime, he goes on the run to evade the relentless pursuit of the CIA, FBI and the police. For one last time, Mills must use his “particular set of skills,” to track down the real killers, exact his unique brand of justice, and protect the only thing that matters to him now – his daughter. (C) Fox

Verdict

I loved the original Taken movie, and they really should have stopped at that. While its two sequels were not a complete waste of time and money, they’re not exactly what I’d brand as a “must watch” though, if you know what I mean. So watch this only if there’s nothing else that you really wanna see.

Audience Ratings: IMDB 6.2 / Rotten Tomatoes 50% liked it

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Synopsis

From Academy Award (R)-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” the third in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and the Company of Dwarves. Having reclaimed their homeland from the Dragon Smaug, the Company has unwittingly unleashed a deadly force into the world. Enraged, Smaug rains his fiery wrath down upon the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town.

Obsessed above all else with his reclaimed treasure, Thorin sacrifices friendship and honour to hoard it as Bilbo’s frantic attempts to make him see reason drive the Hobbit towards a desperate and dangerous choice.

But there are even greater dangers ahead. Unseen by any but the Wizard Gandalf, the great enemy Sauron has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the Lonely Mountain. As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide – unite or be destroyed.

Bilbo finds himself fighting for his life and the lives of his friends in the epic Battle of the Five Armies, as the future of Middle-earth hangs in the balance. (c) Warner Bros

Verdict

Pretty sure I’ll get a lot of hate for saying this, but I am not really a fan of the Lord of the Rings universe. I haven’t even seen all the movies in the original trilogy, and I only watched all The Hobbit movies because of FOMO (fear of missing out). There, now that I got out of my chest I feel so much better.

I did enjoy them, though. I shed a tear or two and learned some valuable lessons about how greed for gold can lead people to doing irrational things like sacrificing relationships and lives. So I liked this movie and the others in the series, but I just didn’t love them, and I’m sure that’s not them, but me.

Audience Ratings: IMDB 7.7 / Rotten Tomatoes 76% liked it

Into the Woods

Synopsis

“Into the Woods” is a modern twist on several of the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales, intertwining the plots of a few choice stories and exploring the consequences of the characters’ wishes and quests.

This humorous and heartfelt musical follows the classic tales of Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), Jack and the Beanstalk (Daniel Huttlestone), and Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy)-all tied together by an original story involving a baker and his wife (James Corden & Emily Blunt), their wish to begin a family and their interaction with the witch (Meryl Streep) who has put a curse on them. (C) Disney

Verdict

My friends loved this movie and thought it was a hilarious, especially the “Agony” scene below.

I liked it, too, but not as much, because I had seen a VHS tape of the broadway musical version of this film for a college Philosophy class, and I really loved that, and hated that there was a lot of stuff that did not make it to the film, like what I thought is the most hilarious scene, Agony reprise, which you can watch below.

And also, the witch did not rap the greens song. I guess it was too much of a stretch for Meryl Streep to do so. She does act the part of the witch really well, though, hence the Oscar nomination.

But if you haven’t seen the broadway play, I’m sure you’ll love it just fine. It has a lot of funny scenes, catchy tunes with good lyrics, and lessons about life.

Just a warning, though, there are a lot of 1-star reviews on IMDB for people who did not know that this was a musical or thought this is a children’s film. They tried to make it less dark to target the children audience, but some parents cry foul on this. So I wish they had just stuck to the original dark theme instead. But oh well, I’m just glad to see this on the big screen so I could share this story and music with more friends!

Audience Ratings: IMDB 6.5 / Rotten Tomatoes 54% liked it

The Imitation Game

Synopsis

During the winter of 1952, British authorities entered the home of mathematician, cryptanalyst and war hero Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) to investigate a reported burglary. They instead ended up arresting Turing himself on charges of ‘gross indecency’, an accusation that would lead to his devastating conviction for the criminal offense of homosexuality – little did officials know, they were actually incriminating the pioneer of modern-day computing.

Famously leading a motley group of scholars, linguists, chess champions and intelligence officers, he was credited with cracking the so-called unbreakable codes of Germany’s World War II Enigma machine. An intense and haunting portrayal of a brilliant, complicated man, THE IMITATION GAME follows a genius who under nail-biting pressure helped to shorten the war and, in turn, save thousands of lives. (c) Weinstein

Verdict

This is my favourite movie in this list, and not just because it stars my favourite actor, who did a brilliant job in it, by the way, hence the Oscar nomination, but also because the entire movie was fantastic. It’s a period movie based on history, which would normally be boring, but this one was not. It had some funny moments, a couple of tearjerking scenes, and it was interesting all throughout.

It is definitely worth a watch.

Audience Ratings: IMDB 8.2 / Rotten Tomatoes 93% liked it

Boyhood

Synopsis

Filmed over 12 years with the same cast, Richard Linklater’s BOYHOOD is a groundbreaking story of growing up as seen through the eyes of a child named Mason (a breakthrough performance by Ellar Coltrane), who literally grows up on screen before our eyes.

Starring Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as Mason’s parents and newcomer Lorelei Linklater as his sister Samantha, BOYHOOD charts the rocky terrain of childhood like no other film has before.

Snapshots of adolescence from road trips and family dinners to birthdays and graduations and all the moments in between become transcendent, set to a soundtrack spanning the years from Coldplay’s Yellow to Arcade Fire’s Deep Blue.

BOYHOOD is both a nostalgic time capsule of the recent past and an ode to growing up and parenting. It’s impossible to watch Mason and his family without thinking about our own journey. (c) Sundance Film Fest

Verdict

I admire the director’s unique idea, not to mention his tenacity with actually going through with filming this film for the span of 12 years. I mean, what if the boy had died in the middle of it or something?

That said, I am sorry to say that I did not really find this movie all that entertaining. Maybe I’m not deep enough or whatever, but it bored me a little bit. It was not that funny or tearjerking or whatever, just watching someone’s mundane life unfold onscreen. I know I’m not alone in thinking this because there are a lot of 1-star reviews on IMDB who say the same thing.

It’s kind of like an indie film, I suppose, so if you’re into that, you might love this. In the words of Amy Poehler, good for you, not for me.

Audience Ratings: IMDB 8.3 / Rotten Tomatoes 85% liked it

Birdman

Synopsis

BIRDMAN or The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance is a black comedy that tells the story of an actor (Michael Keaton) – famous for portraying an iconic superhero – as he struggles to mount a Broadway play. In the days leading up to opening night, he battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career, and himself. (c) Fox Searchlight

Verdict

This movie was made to look like it was shot in one long continuous sequence, which was interesting and unique, but which also gave me a headache, so no, I’m not really a fan of it.

I enjoyed the funny scenes and some parts of the story, but as a whole it was just too dark, depressing and confusing, especially in the end. I mean, what the hell was that ending supposed to mean?? Apparently it was purposely made out to be vague and up to the viewer for interpretation, which I sometimes don’t mind, like in the case of Inception, but this time it was just… “after everything you put me through, that’s how it ends??”

One of the reviewers in IMDB said this: “If you’re waiting for the moment when the loose ends are all tied together in any coherent manner, you will be waiting in vain.” Ditto!

It’s not a complete waste of time and money, though, it’s just… definitely not for everyone, especially if you’re into mainstream movies.

Audience Ratings: IMDB 8.3 / Rotten Tomatoes 84% liked it


Have you seen any of these movies? Do we have the same opinion of them?

What was your favourite film that you watched in January?