PASSENGER (2016)

I just lower any expectation in my life and that includes when I watch movie. I watch this movie because I love romance and I like the idea of space ship drama. I strongly disagree and totally cannot understand why there are many critics addressed towards this movie. Passengers was wrapped with a beautiful and entertaining atmosphere. Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence was very outstanding on the movie. The chemistry between those 2 main character was charming.

Crimson Peak (2015)

Guillermo del Toro is a director and artist whose films fall into two distinct categories: big budget English language blockbusters like "Hellboy" and "Pacific Rim" and lesser known, low budget Spanish language horror films like "Devil's Backbone" and "Pan's Labyrinth". His latest film, "Crimson Peak" is what happens when these two worlds collide, in other words, a big budget English language horror film.

"Crimson Peak" is set in the late 19th century, first in New York, then in rural England. Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) is a young budding writer who is intelligent, beautiful, and strong willed, refusing to allow Victorian sensibilities dictate what she can and cannot do, and as a result butts heads with those around her. Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) is an English aristocrat and inventor who is in New York seeking financial backing for his mechanized clay mining business back home. When tragedy strikes, Thomas marries Edith and brings her to his home, Allerdale Hall in Cumberland, where his sister Lucille Sharpe (Jessica Chastain) is waiting. As Edith tries to fit into her new surroundings, she discovers that secrets abound and nothing is as it seems.

Celeste & Jesse Forever (2012)

Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg play a divorcing couple who remain best friends and inseparable until one meets someone new. The film is equal parts comedy and drama and actually allows both Jones and Samberg to show off their acting chops and do something a little more serious for a change. It was written by Jones as well, along with fellow actor Will McCormack (who also co-stars in the film). Lee Toland Krieger directed the film but Jones and McCormack were nominated for Best First Screenplay at the 2013 Independent Spirit Awards. The film has received great reviews as well and I think deservingly so. It's a funny and insightful film and both Jones and Samberg shine in it.

Jones plays Celeste, a trend analyzer who runs a media business with her friend Scott (Elijah Wood). Samberg plays Jesse, an unemployed artist still struggling to find work. The two were high school sweethearts who married young and have now been separated for several months (while they finalize their divorce). Their friends Beth (Ari Graynor) and Tucker (Eric Christian Olsen), who are engaged, think it's odd that they spend so much time together and act like they're still a couple. Jesse's friend Skillz (McCormack) encourages him to start dating. Jesse is reluctant to follow his advice because he believes Celeste will come around and they'll get back together. Celeste ended things with Jesse though because she thinks he's taken so long to find work and make something of himself. When Jesse tells Celeste he's having a baby with his beautiful new girlfriend Veronica (Rebecca Dayan) it throws her for a loop and causes her to reevaluate her life and her feelings for Jesse.

Before We Go (2015)

New York at night, a guy and a girl story. More beautiful is the script, the simple dialog and smart direction. Alice Eve is convincing. She doesn't overdo it but does it just right. Chris Evans has exceeded my expectations as an actor, as a director. Watch this with your loved one on a quiet night with a bottle of wine. You will not regret it. This is a simple story told beautifully. Do not watch this if need complex emotions that makes you wanna kill yourself. Chris makes you wanna write your own ending to his beautifully told story, letting you speculate what this might have been. That's the beauty of this film. Waiting for more such movies from this team. Adios.

Before We Go tries so hard to capture the style of Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise it plays more like a script read-through than a film with any genuine warmth and emotion.  The opening premise of damsel stuck in the city is nicely handled (several scenes are oddly reminiscent of Adventures in Babysitting), but the more the film tries to create an emotional connection between Chris Evans' and Alice Eve's characters the more they seem like brother and sister.

Aloha (2015)

Cameron Crowe is one of my favorite directors. He never fails to put a smile on my face, even if it's my 15th time watching the same film of his (Jerry Maguire). But with 'Aloha', it doesn't seem like his film at all. In fact, at times the film seems as though it's 3 different projects jumbled into one. Aloha was one of my most anticipated films this year, and with a cast that includes the likes of Bradley Cooper, Rachel McAdams, and Emma Stone, I didn't think there was any way this film would let me down. Boy, I was wrong. The trailer was fantastic. It had great music, great character drama, and a beautiful landscape, that's the makings of a great Crowe film. Unfortunately it was a bland and forgettable as a film can be. If you cant get a good film with all of the great things on your side, than there's something going on here.

I heard there was some serious behind the scene issues with Aloha. Ones that took Crowe out of the promoting of the film and even Sony's lack of marketing for the project. I mean there was only one trailer, ONE. I never bought into the Emma Stone-Bradley Cooper fling. I saw a reviewer talk about how her character thinks she's in a Will Ferrell comedy at first until toning it down later on, and that's completely true. The two seem like they are playing characters from different movies and somehow their dialogue matched up.

Suite Française (2014)

The movie tells the story of a french girl with a strict mother in law who falls in love with a Nazi officer. Well, the movie is not the cheesy love story between two people who simply cant and mustn't be together. Is way more than this. It's about the cruelty of the war and how everyone copes in the end, even if that means they have to give up on love or love the wrong people. The moral battle between the two main characters, who are stuck between their love and their loyalty to their country and people.

This is a rare thing nowadays and brings to mind the great heyday of romance in the Seventies. 'Suite Française' is set in Nazi occupied France during the start of World War II. You will therefore be crying with powerful and furious emotion. Michelle Williams is at the fore front of this film; gladly she does not fail or let the production team down in any respect. She plays a French Villager  called Lucile Angellier. I say this statement with doubt as last time I checked French people did not speak English as their first language. Her overbearing mother is played with severity by Kristin Scott Thomas. She outright leads her daughter's life for her and plays a prominent role in all of her decisions, whether they be little or large. Their village becomes ruled and dictated by German soldiers, some much more brutal than others. There are different personalities and beliefs to each of them. This is great to see, because it paints a broader and larger painting. It shows us that not everyone can be placed definitively into a category.

Far From the Madding Crowd (2015)

The fourth film adaptation of author Thomas Hardy's classic 1874 book, of the same name. This one was directed by Thomas Vinterberg  and it was written by David Nicholls. The film stars Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen, Tom Sturridge and Juno Temple. It tells the story of an independent woman, living in Victorian England, that juggles romantic relationships with three different men. I think it's a well made film, but it's also (somewhat) emotionally shallow.

Bathsheba Everdene is an independent farm owner, living in Victorian England. She first attracts the attention of a sheep farmer, Gabriel Oak (Schoenaerts), who proposes to her, before she inherits her farm. Although Bathsheba likes Gabriel, she doesn't wan't a husband, so she turns him down; breaking his heart. After Bathsheba inherits her land, and Gabriel's life takes a turn for the worse, she employs him at her farm. She later attracts the interest of two more suitors; a wealthy, but older, bachelor, named William Boldwood (Sheen), and a military Sergeant, named Frank Troy (Sturridge).

While We're Young (2015)

The story of a middle aged couple bored with life and each other trying to justify the fact that they don't have kids with the cliché fantasy of being able to fly off to Europe at a moments notice which of course they never do. They encounter a much younger couple who seems to embody everything that is precious, pure and unspoiled about youth. This is exaggerated by the fact that ironically despite the face that they were raised in the age of social media somehow they are completely unaffected by texted, emailing, googling and facebook.

Start with the successful New York couple, a documentary filmmaker Josh (played by Ben Stiller) and documentary producer Cornelia (played by Naomi Watts). They have spent a great deal of time on their projects, though their circle of friends has started to have children, cutting off their time allocated for fun. Josh would like to have a child though Cornelia has suffered two miscarriages and is a fried to try again, feeling that in her mid- forties, it's too late.

Age of Adaline (2015)

The curse of immorality is not that you grow restless and run out of things to do; it is that those close to you come and go with the passing years, and experiencing heartbreak becomes commonplace as the one you want to grow old with does—but you don't. This intriguing trope would be a brilliant one to explore, but in the entirety of The Age of Adaline, it is completely forgotten in its nonsensical storyline and passionless, flawed characters who never truly feel in love.

After a freak accident in the late 1920s, Adaline finds herself permanently stuck in her young body up into the 21st century. The only person who knows her secret is her daughter and she purposefully avoids love at all costs—not because she's afraid of heartbreak, that would be silly, but rather she is actually terrified of being experimented on and used for science. Most of this information comes to us in flashbacks topped-off with an annoying Benjamin Button-esque narrator giving us more detail than we need or want.

Boy Meets Girl (2015)

Boy Meets Girl (2014) was directed by Eric Schaeffer. Rickie, played by Michelle Henry, has known she's a woman since childhood. The problem is that she was born in a man's body. She has been transgendered medically, but not surgically. The people of the small town in which she lives know all this, and they've accepted it. (I live in a small town, and this rings true. People may think transgendering, or being lesbian, or being gay, is a little strange, but Ricky is one of their own, and they accept her for what she is.)

Ricky's straight best friend Robby, played by Michael Welch, truly cares for Ricky. There are some funny scenes where Robby tries to answer questions about what heterosexuals do when they make love. Remember that Ricky has male genitalia. When she's attracted to a beautiful straight woman, she doesn't exactly know how it all works. The beautiful woman is Francesca, who is engaged to a Marine. He's stationed in Afghanistan. He's there, Ricky is here, and romance with Francesca develops.

Insurgent (2015)

Insurgent, based on the second book in the science fiction series of young-adult novels by Veronica Roth, takes us back days after the events of the first film. Divergent director Neil Burger is replaced by Robert Schwentke and so are the screenwriters. It's too early to say if this was a bad move, and again, it doesn't matter. Here's why: Insurgent is basically a rehash of Divergent but with added visual effects and a bit more violence than expected in a YA film. In other words, if you've missed the first film, Schwentke brings you up to speed with the post-apocalyptic remains of a dystopian Chicago. Tris (Shailene Woodley) is haunted by the massacre of her parents. Along with her boyfriend and instructor Four (Theo James), brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort) and fellow survivor Peter (Miles Teller), Tris must do all she can to outrun, outgun and ultimately outsmart forces sent by main antagonist Jeanine (Kate Winslet).

The movie is good if you haven't read the book. I am really disappointing and OK, I know the book is always better than the movie, but the first one was almost the same as a book (perfect movie it was). This one, however, was not. I think I like the first director more because this one throw out some really important scenes and the end is a lot different and I hate thing that the relationship between Tris and Four in the movie is perfect but in the book it has its ups and downs. This movie has a lot of special effect that gave a headache. The first one was perfect adaption, but now, just MEHH

Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)

Keep in mind that I've read the book. The writing is laughable and sophomoric. It's the literary version of redtube. If you pay close attention, you'll realize that it's Twilight fan fiction. As for the movie, this is ndoubtedly the most hyped film of the year so far with much anticipation from the millions who've already read the book, and those with 'singular' interests. There are so many poor qualities in the film, it has little or no redeeming features.

The cinematography looks fine, but the film lacks substance. Many other reviews will point out the flaws, but the main problem is I wasn't able to engage with the story or the characters. The exercise seems to have been just to fling parts of the book on the screen and see if it sticks. The film is always choppy, with many unanswered points left dangling - but the sex scenes are introduced to distract the audience from these discrepancies.

Love, rosie (2014)

Based on the book "Where Rainbows End" by Cecelia Ahern where –long story short- Alex and Rosie are perfect for each other but for whatever reason keep getting pushed apart. I read the book earlier in the year after learning that it would later be adapted into a film. Although I enjoyed the book towards the end it was becoming more and more irritating that they still weren't together.

This movie will have you clenching your fists with frustration, laughing out loud, and welling up in the right moments and sometimes at the same time. Whenever something made yours eyes swell up with tears, something small happens to keep you from losing it and breaking down in the middle of the theatre. Rosie (Collins) and Alex (Claflin), childhood bestfriends who dance around their true feelings for each other through multiple decades, countries and partners. The story line tortures the viewers that sit on the edge of their seats, praying and waiting for the two friends to finally admit their feelings and get together.

Song One (2014)

Fresh off her Oscar winning performance and infamous on screen haircut in Les Miserables, Anne Hathaway stars in this infinitely smaller film from writer/director Kate Barker-Froyland. A Sundance Film Festival entry, the movie winds through the clubs, coffee shops and second hand stores that make up the indie music scene in northern Brooklyn.

Ben Rosenfield ("Boardwalk Empire") plays Henry, the kind of musician so enamored with his own folk sound that he is willing to play for pocket change in the subway tunnels. Failing to adhere to mother rule #1, Henry pays the price for not looking both ways prior to crossing a street in front of a New York cabbie. Next thing we know, he is comatose in a hospital bed. Henry's mom (Mary Steenburgen) beckons wayward daughter Franny (Anne Hathaway) home from her worldly pursuit of a Ph.d in Anthropology.

The Nicholas Sparks-like teary tropes are there: For instance, her folk singing brother, Henry (Ben Rosenfield), is in a coma while her mother (Mary Steenburgen) is eccentric and Franny (Hathaway) has been estranged from her and her brother . Enter heartthrob folksinger James Forester (Johnny Flynn), who sings sexy naturalistic songs and wins doctoral candidate Franny's heart.

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them (2014)

I have been waiting for this movie since 2013 TIFF. The plot looks good, I love angsty love story. and They have Queen Chastain and McAvoy in one film. Written and directed by Benson, "Them" crafts an emotional and passionate tale of love lost, regained, and ultimately doomed to exist. Almost taking cues from films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Benson offers up an honest and raw interpretation of love in the shadow of tragedy. Likely not his first choice in which to tell his story, he takes a meticulous paintbrush and strokes through every part of the film with intricate detail, choosing what and what not to tell the audience.

The negative aspect of the film, the audience never acquires an understanding of how this event created two very unhappy people. The only glimpse I receive of their suffering is at the beginning when Eleanor tries to kill herself by jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge. The movie transitions from utter happiness in the opening scene to a suicide attempt hence the sudden mood change. From there on it is downhill with the occasional hope of a happy ending unfortunately never fulfilling though.

Serena (2014)

Having read, and enjoyed, Ron Rash's novel I am not sure what I saw on the screen. I don't know who is to blame -- the director, the editor or the screen writer. They did not stick to the book so if you liked the book, this film is not it. The story tries to focus on a seldom exposed setting of the time frame and place combination. There are quite many movies about the depression era, but most of them are movies about mobsters, bootleggers, or at least there is a significant crime and violence portion within them. There are also movies about mountainous country sides and or the logging and timber companies or industries, but none of them takes the specific depression era time setting.

Nevertheless, I think that the story's interesting starting point doesn't really give any warranty that developed story lives up to it. Although the first few minutes of the movie is nicely unpredictable, especially on how the main characters meet and marry, but the rest of the rest becomes very much so right after.

Bier's Serena is the same story boiled down into an unmemorable soap opera fluff cash-grab buddy flick oddly devoid of any chemistry. Not unlike the "expendables" franchise, one gets the impressions that the films main stars are never actually in the same room together. The "surprises" Bier plants aren't surprises if you're familiar with the novel.

Only Lovers Left Alive review (2013)

My favorites were int his movie. Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowsa, Anton Yelchin. So why not? the movie sounds creepy at first. with those creepy stars it makes it more and more interesting. Only Lovers Left Alive is kind of an anti-vampire movie. It embraces aspects of the vampire genre like how vampires can't go out in sunlight, have super fast reflexes, and live forever. However, it moves away from some of the silly aspects. Jim Jarmusch does a good job of setting up how a vampire could survive in the world. He takes his time and shows us instead of tells us

As a matter of fact, rarely does one find a film with such romantic awareness about the world coming to an end. It is as if the film knew it was the last love film on Earth. The narrative is definitely lacking in certain areas and when you consider Only Lovers Left Alive is a movie about vampires, we expect more than we end up with, in respect to bloodsucker behaviour, but what saves this film more than a little are the brilliant performances by our main two, Adam and Eve, Anton Yelchin's Ian, and the short but destructive appearance from Eve's sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska).