TRAINWRECK

Starring: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Lebron James
Directed By: Judd Apatow
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%

     New romantic comedy movie. Judd Apetow directs. Amy Schumer stars. And Lebron James is an actor? Yes, that is correct. Lebron James is an actor, and he's actually pretty good at it. More on the greatness of King James later. Trainwreck is a really solid movie that has around 8 laugh out loud moments, which is a high number. Judd Apatow delivers another classic comedy, and probably his best one since 40 Year Old Virgin. He is arguably the best comedy director in the game right now as he has directed or produced recent hits such as "40 Year Old Virgin" "Knocked Up" "Superbad" "This Is 40" "Funny People" "Stepbrothers" "Pineapple Express" and now "Trainwreck". Amy Schumer is on a hot streak as well, having her own tv show on Comedy Central, sold out stand up comedy shows across the country, and writing and starring in her first movie. Trainwreck brought these two comedic minds together to produce the must see comedy event of the summer.
     Schumer plays Amy Townsend, a crazy party girl who is a writer for a trashy magazine called S'nuff. She is sent on a writing assignment to do a story on Dr. Aaron Connors (Bill Hader), a sports doctor, who is also a really good friend of Lebron James. The movie succeeds in providing a refreshing twist to the conventional rom-com formula with Amy Schumer playing the unapologetic, uncommitted, drinking, cursing, and over-sharing lead role, traditionally played by guys. Trainwreck lets modern society realize that there are girls out there who like to party, be loud, and be single without caring. Bill Hader plays more of the serious role, and is the perfect yin to Amy Schumer's yang. NBA superstar Lebron James adds another dimension of comedic relief in a role that sees him playing a penny-pinching version of himself even though he is a multi-millionaire. His acting skills are impressive, as evident through his great comedic timing. He has great timing, which makes his acting feel natural and not forced.
     Trainwreck has all the ingredients needed to make a great romantic comedy. The energy, tone, and characters provided good laughs for the first half of the film. It's a fun, but mature comedy. However, the second half, particularly the third act needed more laughs and a better climax. The movie added some heart to its comedy in the second half, but it finishes about 20 minutes too long, and stayed too conservative and cliche with its ending. I wanted this movie to finish strong, tie it all together, and be different because it started with such qualities. Beyond these pitfalls, I really enjoyed Trainwreck, and all its uniqueness. Its edgy. It's character driven, and pushes the boundaries of modern romantic comedies. Overall I give this movie an 8.5 out of 10. It has Judd Apatow. It has Amy Schumer. And it has Lebron James.

JURASSIC WORLD

Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, (and Dinosaurs)
Directed By: Colin Trevorrow
Rotten Tomatoes score: 71%

     Jurassic World was a huge box office success, earning $511 million internationally during its opening weekend, breaking the record previously held by Harry Potter - and the Deathly Hollows Part 2 ($483 million). The blockbuster surpassed all financial expectations, costing only $150 million to make, and subsequently establishing Chris Pratt as a bonafide box office star. With all the success, Universal studios has already announced it plans to do a sequel, Jurassic World 2, with Chris Pratt signed on to reprise his role.
    It's been 22 years since the last installment of the Steven Spielberg created, Jurassic Park franchise, and it seems audiences have not lost interest. Personally, I wanted to watch the movie for nostalgic purposes, as I remember watching the Jurassic Park movies as a young kid. After all these years, I was still entertained with the action and thrills of the movie, while also amazed with the quality of special effects from the realistic look of the dinosaurs. After watching some behind the scenes videos of the making of Jurassic World, I learned that the production crew built animatronic sculptures from multiple layers of fiberglass cloth and many more materials to create the most realistic looking dinosaurs possibly ever made. Translation: humans are awesome. There was a scene were a long neck dinosaur was dying, while Chris Pratt tried to comfort it during its last breaths, that made me feel a sense of sympathy for these larger than life animals. The movie did a great job of portraying some of the dinosaurs as friendly creatures, able to walk the earth next to humans, and not just huge monsters destroying everything in its path. This elemental inclusion gave heart to the movie, and not just an empty handed action roller coaster ride. Don't get me wrong though, the action scenes were the highlight of the movie. The 3 velociraptors were the coolest dinosaurs to me, they were able to communicate, and had an integral role throughout the movie. The T-Rex hybrid was a formidable main villain, as it was part raptor and part T-Rex, making it a physically gifted yet smart dinosaur, able to methodically out smart and hunt for humans. The scene wear he sniffs out humans and Chris Pratt hiding under a car was one of the best scenes of the entire movie.
     I cannot write about Jurassic World without emphasizing the point that Chris Pratt is the new box office superstar. He has proven this with Jurassic World and Guardians of the Galaxy both breaking box office records for opening weekend gross revenue. He has what critics would call the "It factor". He has It. The ability to carry a franchise on his shoulders, be charismatic, funny for comedic scenes, but tough enough for action scenes. He has many facial expressions. The look of a fierce leader in his eyes, and the gentleness of a dad who is good with children. He has the whole package of a modern day box office star littered with ageing Hollywood action stars such as Tom Cruise, Liam Neeson, Vin Diesel and Will Smith. He will also be starring in "The Magnficent Seven" with Denzel Washington, and "Passengers" with Jenifer Lawrence, both coming out in 2016. Most importantly, he has been heavily rumored to be the next Indiana Jones, which is another successful Steven Spielberg produced franchise. Mr. Spielberg handpicked Chris Pratt for Jurassic World, and reports have surfaced that he wants to direct Chris Pratt in the next Indiana Jones movie. Overall I give Jurassic World an 8 out of 10 for an all around good movie your mom, dad, little brother, and even you can enjoy. Anyone can enjoy.

NIGHTCRAWLER

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal
Directed by: Dan Gilroy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%

     Nightcrawler is a movie crime thriller film about a guy named Louis Bloom, played by Jake Gylenhall. Taking place in modern day Los Angeles, Louis gives up his life of petty crime to pursue becoming a "Stringer" or free lance cameraman, who films car accidents, or incidents around the city and sells it to local news stations for the highest amount. Eventually, he starts his own company and at one point tampers with a car accident scene to gain better footage. The climax of the movie involves Louis setting up a pair of local robbers to get caught by police at a donut shop, all the while knowing they are armed and would most likely start a shootout with police. He withholds this information from police and patiently waits with his camera ready to film the shootout happen. The shootout eventually leads to a high speed car chase, where a crash occurs and the robber is lying on the street. Louis tells his employee to film the robber as he is lying on the ground, because the robber is dead. As it turns out, the robber is not dead, and shoots Louis' employee, fatally wounding him. Louis begins to record his dying employee with total disregard for his well being, only concerned with getting some great footage to sell to the news stations. Police question Louis the robbers, and the related incidents, suspect he is lying, but cannot prove it. The movie ends as Louis expands his operation by hiring more employees.
    This movie had a very good critical reception, some even called it a modern masterpiece. This movie is not for the average movie go-er. Its a dark film, twisted, and at times bloody. Jake Gylenhall's performance amplifies the murky, cut-throat world of Los Angeles, and one man's desperation to carve out a place for himself in the city. His desperation to succeed is shown through his character's creepy charm, and his negligence of basic humanity. Gyllenhaal gives the best performance of his career, displaying extreme anger, extreme confidence, gritty determination and a creepy charm all within the context of the character. This was a close "Best Actor" Academy Award nomination type of performance. Unfortunately for him, he was not nominated. Nevertheless, he will be nominated soon, as this performance, along with his other recent film Prisoners allowed his career to take a big step up the ladder.
     Overall, I give this movie a 7 out of 10, it has beautiful cinematography of the nigh shots of the streets of Los Angeles, a near Oscar nominated performance, an official Oscar nominated screenplay, and a truly unique storyline, mixed with mystery, drama, crime, and suspense. With all that said, its worth watching once, but I would not want to watch this movie again, its just too creepy.

HOUDINI

Starring: Adrian Brody, Kristen Connolly

Directed By: Uli Edei

Rotten Tomatoes score: 44%

    The youngest "Best Actor" winner at the Academy Awards at 29 years old, Adrien Brody, stars as Harry Houdini in this 2 part series originally airing on the History channel. Although its been 13 years since he won the most prestigious award in acting, Adrien Brody still shows flashes of great acting chops in this bio-pic of Harry Houdini. At the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards Houdini received two nominations, one of which had Adrien Brody being nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie. I enjoyed part 1 of the series more than part 2, because it showed Houdini's origins as a young boy named Eric Weiss who was enamored with traveling magicians. Eric Weiss grew up and changed his name to Harry Houdini after his favorite magician Robert Houdin, and later becomes the world’s greatest magician performing for everyone including celebrities and royalty. It was very interesting to learn that Harry Houdini was recruited by MI5 (the British equivalent to the CIA) to do missions and spy on the Kaiser in Berlin. Additionally, the series allows Houdini to perform his tricks, then rewind as Houdini narrates to show the audience the simplicity of how the tricks were actually pulled off. This was one of the highlights of the series, as it reminded me of Robert Downey Jr's Sherlock Holmes' slow motion breakdown of what he is about to do, or what he has done. The trick and explanation where Houdini makes the old bell tower ring in front of the Russian royal family and Rasputin, was one of the best scenes in the movie. There were a lot of tricks and escapes in this movie that were pleasantly revealed to the audience, adding to the satisfaction of the viewing experience. Some of the best tricks were: catching a bullet with his teeth, making an elephant disappear, escaping from being chained up in a police jail cell, and jumping off a bridge into freezing cold water.  It was well directed, and made great use of fast paced zoom in shots and super slow motion to tell the story. This movie is one of those cases where the critics are too hard on a movie as RT only gave it 44%, but I will stand up for this movie and say it is very watchable, and entertaining. Overall, I give "Houdini" a 7 out of 10 for being well acted, well directed, and showcasing a quality story set in the early 1900's.