ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL (2015) 4.7

This concept behind this film is a huge success, in my opinion. The overall plot is extremely simple but carried out with intricate details which are all appreciated. Strength in friendship is an idea that we have strayed from with the explotation of sex within the past few decades. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl brings back the idea of two friends with a strong bond having benefits of honesty and reliability; less the benefits of sex-for once!

Greg, the main character played by Thomas Mann, is a quirky teen who finds a way to skirt by without much notoriety in high school. He is committed to avoiding meaningful social interactions in an effort to not be associated with any one clique. Rachel, played by Olivia Cooke, is one of his classmates to whom he pays little attention until his mother forces him to hang out with her after learning she has cancer. Lastly, Earl is one of Greg's best friends from when they were very young. Other than Rachel, Earl is the only other character Greg is seen with alone on screen, excluding his parents. Each of these are fantastic roles that show the committment to their background and development. This committment and strong characteriziation is extremely prevelant in the main single shots lasting longer than expected. The one that comes to mind is the bedroom scene when Rachel has decides to stop seeking treatment and brings Greg in on that decision.

While dealing with cancer of a forced friend, the film manages to carry a lightness. The use of Greg's voice journalizing the entire movie helps the audience stomach the cancer of a close friend. It allows you to see through his eyes and take in all interactions he faces no matter how big or small. The playful cinematography is a strong parallel for how Greg actually is, with his dry humor and unique perspective on just about everything. While it does make sense to feature this type of camera handling, it is somewhat distracting with frequent movement and 180's that seem unneccesary.

Overall, I am pleasantly surprised with this film. I recommend it to all ages. It's a unique perspective that is not overdone or romanticized. From scissors, to squirrels and pillows, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is presenting a slightly maturing version of Juno consistent with the Indie feel although a major motion picture.

INSIDE OUT (2015) 4.5

Leaving the theater for this movie, I felt completely refreshed and satisfied. The Pixar short before the feature, Lava is fantastic. As an adult, it helps to get you in the innocent mind frame of seeing an animated movie. Inspired by one small idea, "I lava you," the short is adorable and irresistibly simple.

As for the feature, I was excited to see the film, but had very few preconceived expectations. The introduction absolutely hooks the audience in by going through the intricate maze they created to be the human mind/brain. Concepts of the different sections of the mind, short-term memory, subconscious, and the fading of different memories are extremely simple for a younger audience to grasp and relatable for adults. I found myself actually recalling old, personal memories and reminiscing to those memories I didn't have clear pictures of, such as riding a bike for the first time or my first spoken word.

There also is a solid concept of how these events in everyday life contribute to who you become as an individual. Memories that don't fade are those that shape you. Going through the main character's emotions, I was somewhat emotional seeing the main character Riley, growing and I could see these simple emotions evolving into those more complex. The audience is then able to see this evolution throughout their developed maturity and even the ages of children. It truly captures the idea that emotions are not simply black and white or one color in this case.

Innovative concepts of how we truly remember the past were fantastic. From Imagination Land and even the Dream Studio that featured classic movie posters for those dreams that always tend to circle back, the ideas were extremely entertaining and realistic, as ridiculous as that sounds.

The headquarters, where the emotions are to stay is a win as well. The voiceover choices were spot on. Amy Poehler as Joy captures the essence of true joy and how something inside does ultimately strive for joy regardless of the circumstances. Sadness utilizes the voice of Phyllis Smith, and this is the most impressive by far. There are multiple hilarious quotes from this emotion that the audience can definitely walk away with such as, "Crying helps me slow down and obsess over the weight of my problems," and "We could cry until we can't breathe." Reflecting back, the constant interference with sadness parallels the urge to self-wallow. Bill Hader, Lewis Black, and Mindy Kaling play Fear, Anger, and Disgust and these are not at all lost, even though their role is a bit smaller. The five emotions come together and give some reason to our everyday mood swings.

Near the end of the film, there featured the inner emotions of Riley's mom, dad, a dog, a cashier, a cat, and even a bus driver. These are absolutely hilarious. It is effortless to find someone you to relate these emotion characters to. This feature is the close of the film. At a 94 minute screen time, Inside Out is a huge success. I recommend all ages to go see it. After all, "what could happen?"

ENTOURAGE (2015) 0.2

One of the first lines in the movie is "sometimes you just know." I would have to say this is an acurate statement for myself, as a viewer with very low expectations of the movie. This movie is an absolute flop and extremely boring, to say the least. Twenty minutes into the movie, I was tempted to focus my attention on reading more reviews of Jurassic World.

The introduction is a low point that sets the standard for the rest of the movie. Right from the getgo, there are shots with soft focus with no artistic value being a sit down interview. The boy/sex humor, that is to be expected, is definitely percieved as pathetic rather than funny. It would have been somewhat comical had there been some development with the humor, but it is lacking actual foundation. Quite frankly, it makes the actors and characters look dumb and dull.

A take away from the movie is that famous people have money, and they spend it on toys and trying to shield unhappiness. Much of the movie is flashing expensive cars and cribs, but little substance. Trying to throw in as many big names as possible, such as Kelsey Grammar and even T.I., contributed little to the overall movie and had a slight impact on them losing credibility in my mind. This is definitely not the comeback Haley Joel Osmont is looking for.

Stock footage of the red carpet is a good example of lack of follow through. It would have possibly taken some additional digging, but there is a huge range in the quality of the footage that is shown for the "red carpet" for HYDE, which makes the scene almost insulting.

In my opinion, the best part of the movie is Lloyd's wedding after the end credits, so for those who stay after, you may gain some entertainment with your popcorn.

Going into a feature film based off of a series only having 3 million viewers for the last season, they definitely are not going to strengthen their audience or encourage new viewers to take advantage of the inevitable streaming options in the future.

JURASSIC WORLD (2015) 4.5

I expected to go to this movie and walk away wanting "more teeth" since I've been so polluted with special effects in the past and lack of follow through with remakes. However, I am pleasantly surprised by the innovative ideas, perfect casting, and use, but not overuse, of special effects.

The actual Jurassic World is an amusement park I would gladly visit. The awesome incorporation of technology with hands-on learning for the patrons is fantastic. From the petting zoo, to the "hamster ball," even with the souviner dinosaur balloon, the small details were polished and impressive. I found my jaw dropping at some of the amusements just as I would be if I were in the audience of the prehistoric SeaWorld-like attraction.

Casting is an abosolute homerun with this movie. All of the characters show conviction in their role, from the parents who have only a few scenes, to the children whose chemistry noticeably grows throughout the movie much like their own relationship. Chris Pratt definitely had a challenge in his hands for those who are somewhat cult-fans of Jurassic Park. His role in the movie seems flawless and like there were no others to consider for the role. I can ensure we will be seeing more of Ty Simpkins who plays the role of young Gray, an excited, but aware child.

There are numerous pair in the movie that feel 100% authentic. Christ Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. Ty Simpkins and Nick Robinson. Jake Johnson and Lauren Lapkus. Each of these interact flawlessly in a very subtle way. There is a short suggestion of somewhat forced romance with Pratt and Howard, but this develops into a natural conclusion over time even with little shared screentime.

Action movies have forced us to become totally desensitized to violence, blood, and even the "wow" factor with special effects. This movie is refreshing in that way. The special effects are not overdone and placed in the scenese when it adds value. The action scene with the hybrid and t-rex at the conclusion of the movie is captivating and a welcome change of pace. These effects allow you to forget you were watching a movie about dinosaurs, but rather animals we are not so familiar with; it made the plot a plausible circumstance.

Screentime of 124 minutes is a bit long, however there are no scenes that I feel are too extensive and should end sooner. Overall, I would highly recommend this movie, but you already know that being that within the first release weekend it has broken the global box office record.

SPY (2015) 4.0

Spy is a knee-knocker movie with perfect timing and a genius script. Melissa McCarthy plays her role flawlessly. She isconvincing as each of her characters, from one cat lady to a sassy Bulgarian clown. Her friend, Nancy played by Miranda Hart helped to make the perfect pair. This seems like a home run for Hart, as her role is not over the top but you leave the movie convinced that she isjust as awkward and qwerky as her character suggested.

The script in this movie isfantastic. The humor isthe perfect combination of stupid-funny and mindless adult humor sharing new terms with the world like "thunderfuck" and "limpdick unicorn." McCarthy, Hart and even Jason Statham who played a cocky agent has a perfect delivery.

Casting isalso a win for the most part. As a Jude Law fan, this isthe only character who I feel as though could likely be better played by someone else. It seems as though he is somewhat outdated as a heartthrob, which he is for McCarthy, and his role seemed a bit basic and not memorable at all. Statham is likely the most annoying character on the screen, he but does a fantastic job of making the audience feel as pestered as the other CIA agents were likely feeling in the plot line.

Plot is a tricky territory in films that fall into this category. Of course every movie needs to have a plot, however the audiences who see these movies care very little about the plot. That being said, it is pretty standard with agents going rogue, some light romantic thoughts, the underdog rising above, and ultimately catching the bad guys at the end. When people talk about this film, it will have nothing to do with the plot but will applaud the one-liners that are likely to become token phrases over time. Short of Sandra Bullock and Kristen Wiig, this is on the same level as The Heat and Bridesmaids, so Paul Feig can chalk this up as a definite win.

ALOHA (2015) 1.5

This movie isa total miss in every sense. While I'm a sucker for romantic movies, or even an action movie with an intimate scene, this picture did nothing for me. From cinematography to character development to even the plotline, there is little to nothing to offer.

It seems as though this movie may have fallen into a category of movies that are jammed packed with big names, and that's the only perkit has to offer. Bradley Cooper seems to have little dedication to his role; although, it may be a flat character that was difficult to translate or communicate. Rachel McAdams made absolutely no impact on screen. Other than having a daughter to Bradley's character she is not memorable by any means. Emma Stone does deliver the character well, but there is not much back story for the audience to know much beyond the surface or connect to her. John Krasinski's character, Woodey who is tokened as a silent type, to say the least, seems to have the most powerful effect. However, the playfulness on screen with subtitles and distasteful dramatic silence lessened the validity quite a bit.

The quality of the film seems to be off point as well. Opening with a montage of old footage from Hawaii, the actual film seemed to mimic this quality although not purposely. The shots are extremely elementary and communicated little to nothing to the scene at hand. Being that the movie is actually shot in Hawaii, it seems as though they could have done a bit more with the land or the vast scenery that is beautiful if you can simply see.

An actual plot seems to be lacking as well. There is not much development on a back story and though the film only had a 105 minute run time, it feels too long. The flashbacks are an unnecessary addition and could have been better recieved with a different opening scene. There proves to be one good idea on the surface, but nothing beyond that.

Aloha, Aloha.