Backcountry

2014 -1/5

I had never heard about this movie and for some reason I came across the trailer. I wasn’t interested… until… I saw that Missy Peregrym was in it! I absolutely love her as Andy McNally in Rookie Blue, so I had to see this movie.

It intrigued me that it was based on a true story, and bears are terrifying. I was ready to pay $5 for this on [Canadian] iTunes, but they didn’t even have it! I’m hoping it won’t be campy – no pun intended.

***SPOILER ALERT***

When it came to the plot, it’s obvious that Adam McDonald (the director) changed the story a bit from the book (I haven’t read the book). The synopsis you read for the book focuses more on Jenn and Alex getting lost and having to deal with the black bear. The synopsis for the movie seems to focus more on Brad, the creepy Irish guy. Why, I don’t know, but what I do know is that the time spent establishing the creepiness of Brad could have been used more effectively developing Jenn and Alex’s characters. I think this story had so much potential because bear attacks are a real thing, and a bear stalking you can translate to film in a very suspenseful way.

There’s only so many stupid mistakes people can make before you start to not care about either character… not that I cared to begin with. Unlike some reviews I read, I don’t think there was good character development and the acting wasn’t that good.

Jeff Roops character Alex was not likeable at all. Right from the get-go, and his stupid sing along, the movie tries to make him out to be a fun, goofy guy, but I just saw right through that. So because I didn’t care for Alex from the start, I didn’t care what happened to him later.

You could tell that Jenn didn’t want to be there right from the start and that she was only going for Alex. Clearly he didn’t appreciate that enough to put his own arrogance and stubbornness aside and be smart enough to take a map considering he hadn’t been there “since high school”. Umm, I’m pretty sure THINGS CHANGE… especially in the wild! Way to impress your girlfriend Alex! First you get them lost, then you put her life in danger. Way to go! - insert slow sarcastic clap here.

As for Missy Peregrym as Jenn, well, lets say that I didn’t find this to be her best performance. Like I said earlier, I love her in Rookie Blue, and she was the selling point for me watching this movie (and the only reason it got a 1/5). I feel as if she did the absolute best with what she was given; she didn’t have much to work with, so I wouldn’t say it was a fail on her part – basically nothing about the movie supported her to succeed in this role.

Overall, the movie spent too much time on things that didn’t matter and not enough time on things that did. The plot wasn’t as suspenseful as it could have been. And the characters were flat.

End of Watch

2012 - 3/5

I am not sure I’ve seen a movie with Jake Gyllenhaal as the lead, that I didn’t like... and I’m dying to see Southpaw!

Nightcrawler (2014)
Prisoners (2013)
Source Code (2011)
Brothers (2009)
Zodiac (2007)
Jarhead (2007)
Donnie Darko (2001)

This is a different type of buddy-cop movie. This movie takes you through the grittiness, the heroism and the friendship… or should I say the brotherhood between Brian (Gyllenhaal) and Mike (Pena) and life as a police officer. The chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Mike is genuine as characters and actors. The plot moves forward at a good pace, but the concept of timing is a bit hard to follow.

With regards to people saying this is a found footage movie, that’s wrong. The movie has parts in which Brian is filming and pretty much takes you along for the ride.

Furious 7

2015 - 3/5

The Fast & the Furious (2001)

Fast & Furious (2009)

Fast Five (2011)

Fast & Furious 6 (2013)

#ForPaul

I saw this in AVX (which cost $3 more) and I'm not sure if I could pick out whether or not it was actually better than the regular screen.

I have loved this franchise from the get-go (minus the 2nd and 3rd). I hated the fact that Paul Walker died, not just because I think he belongs in this movie (and also not just because he’s hot), but I liked seeing the relationship between Brian and Dom and the others develop.

This movie was good… for what it was. Basically, you need to put aside the 3 things that matter in a movie (good plot, script and acting) in order to enjoy this one. And once you put those 3 things aside, this movie is pretty darn entertaining! Having said that, I’m not going to bother commenting a whole lot on the plot, script or acting.

Plot: this one didn’t really have a great storyline; it kind of wore really thin.
Script: far to many cheesy one-liners and Dom saying the word “family”.
Acting: well…

I will say that I liked the 5th and 6th ones more, but I sat in that theatre for 2 hours and 17 minutes and it did not feel like a 2hr17min long movie. I love how they keep going to different places around the world: Fast 5 = Rio; Fast & Furious 6 = UK; Furious 7 = Abu Dhabi.

I have a feeling that most people have either already seen this, or they’re going to see it soon, so I’ll just say, that if you’ve invested your time in watching the other 6, I’d highly recommend watching this one. Overall, this movie had great flow, fun action, it got your adrenaline pumping and a good soundtrack to bring it all together.

Knowing that Paul Walker has passed away (RIP), I will say that I did not cry or tear up at the end, but I sure did have a huge lump in my throat. Especially with the song they chose for his send off.

***SPOILERS***

I didn’t like how a lot of the scenes with Brian were in dark settings, but it is understandable as to why they did it.; I didn’t think the CGI was glaringly obvious (I’m not one to be able to pick out those things anyways).

I wasn’t a fan of Kurt Russell in this; I think they could have casted that character a bit better. I really hope he’s not in the next one. Speaking of new editions, I loved Jason Stathom in this. He’s made a name for himself when it comes to action movies, and I think he suited this role a lot. Looking forward to seeing him in the next one.

When Dom and his crew are trying to rescue(?) Ramsey, they were in Azerbaijan (from what I remember), my friend and I looked at each other after the crew was informed that they need to go to Abu Dhabi and Dom said something along the lines of “lets go to the Middle East”. I’m sure that out of the millions of dollars that went into this movie, someone could have purchase a map.

Letty fighting with the chicks with hijab’s and then that UFC chick was high-larious! My friend and I couldn’t help ourselves and we just kept laughing! “Would you believe it if I told you I killed him with my charm”. Ridiculous, with a capital R indeed!!!

I thought this movie was going to be on the sappy side because at the end of the trailer, Toretto, as always, says “I don't have friends, I have family” and it cut to a shot of Paul Walker. I didn’t like how Toretto had to say the word “family” a 100 times. We get it, family is important and you’re foreshadowing to the fact that Brian will not be in the next movie. I did like the ending though; I thought it was done tastefully. I also liked how the whole movie, rather just the end credits was a farewell to Paul.

Obviously there’s going to be an 8th installment, and here are my thoughts on it:
-it’s going to include more of Dwayne Johnson as Hobbs.
-the 2 brothers, Deckard and Owen Shaw are going to be the villains
-perhaps another female MMA fighter for Letty to duke it out with

Obvious Child

2014 - 2/5

It was a full blown drama, and it wasn’t a full blown comedy. It was a happy medium. It was a simple movie; no glitz, no glam.

I thought it had really good acting from all parties. I have no idea who Jenny Slate is, but just over half way through the movie, it hit me how good she was.

The Call

2013 - 2/5

Going in, I wasn’t expecting much, but it turned out to be pretty entertaining… for what it was.

It had its weak moments, that’s for sure, but overall, I didn’t mind it.

It had just above average acting (some people dragged it down, some did really well).

The plot moved forward at a good pace and I found that I was emotionally invested.

I'm only giving it a 2/5 (a solid 2) mainly because its not a movie that I'd care to watch again; once was enough.


***SPOILERS***
-I think it could have done without Casey being topless.

-it never really explained why they guy kidnapped and killed females (aside from it being obvious that he had some sort of mental illness and attachment to his sister)

-this has got to be one of the most stressful jobs

-I don’t think its as suspenseful as other reviewers are making it out to be, but it wasn’t a complete bore either