Finding Dory

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland












Michael's Movie Grade: A

Review: Fantastic film is even better than the first.

The best thing about this film is just how great of a character Dory is. She is not only funny, but a genuinely sweet person (or fish) that is much more than a funny quirk. While her memory loss was just something funny in the first movie, it gains a more serious side here, but without every losing the fun that was in the first one. Her memory loss actually is a big problem for her. However with her mind and loving (and adventurous) heart she can overcome this problem. This is what really works about this character and I can't help but think it is a great message aimed at those with disabilities. They don't make her a dumb character like so many other films would, but actually a fairly smart one who does suffer from memory loss. In this character is where the heart of the film lies. While she is just as funny as every there is a great amount of depth to the character here.

On top of all that this film is full of great humor, heart, and just plain fun. This is a film that has a strong emotional center to it, but doesn't let this interfere with the movie's sense of fun, which also doesn't interfere with the emotion. The story may be reminist of the first movie, but it is told even better here.

Overall a fantastic film that all fans of Disney and Pixar should enjoy very much. But that's not all we have a short to look at.

Piper

Michael's Short Film Grade: A-

Review: Delightful sweet cartoon is reminiscent of some of Disney's better Silly Symphonies of the 1930's. This cartoon is a very lovely looking film with a good heart and a sense of humor. This whole film is just very charming. The story is very simple which is perfect for a short. The character animation is fantastic here, and the main character is very well represented for it. Overall just a very lovely short.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Central Intelligence

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: C

Review: Surprisingly funny, and enjoyable film despite big faults.

This film does have big faults. The biggest fault is Kevin Hart's overacting. He is not a bad actor when he doesn't overact, but he can be really annoying when he does overact. The storyline is very predictable and there are many times when you can tell what is going to happen before it does. With these big faults, why did I give the film a passing grade? Well it made me laugh. While there are many jokes that miss the mark, the ones that are funny are quite funny. When this film made me laugh, it did it well. On top of that while the story was overly predictable, it was an enjoyable, even if it was completely unoriginal. We have seen the story done many times before, but it is still done decently here.

This is not one of the all time great comedies. There are too many faults and jokes that miss, but when this film is funny it is quite funny, add a decently told storyline and you a get an enjoyable time at the movies, even if it doesn't come close to being a classic.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Now You See Me 2

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland




















Michael's Movie Grade: C-

Review: Entertaining time passer, but little else.

The characters are likable, but underdeveloped. The plot is entertaining but not much more. None of the twists though are that well devolved and too many of them are quite predictable. The effects look great. The acting is quite good. This movie is entertaining but I doubt it's going to leave much of an impression.

This is an enjoyable movie to watch, but it lacks any depth or anything memberable.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Warcraft

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: F

Review: Extremely boring movie has all of the clichés of fantasy movies, but none of the charm of the better ones.

Even though I have only seen this movie once, I feel I have seen it many more times, and not in a good way. This movie is  simply a collection of tired movie clichés. Nothing new is added here, you are essentially watching a movie that rips off of every fantasy movie ever made, but without adding anything to it. To make matters worse the pace is so fast that I never felt that I got to know who any of these characters are. The characters seem to be nothing but plot devices.

This film might be better for those who have never played the game it is based off of. I have not played this game and I can say I found the movie horrible, and it is  not worth the time if you also haven't played the game, and it might be bad for those who have as well (I don't know).

-Michael J. Ruhland

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland


















Michael's Movie Grade: F

Review: Loud, obnoxious and just plain irritating.

This movie seems afraid to shut up. There is constant noise, whether it be loud music or just characters being obnoxious. This film seems to think if it was ever quiet for a few seconds people would lose all interest. The result is the film just being irritating to sit through. This also leads to another awful thing about this movie. The pace is to fast for us to care about a thing. We never stop and spend anytime with these characters, we never stop and see just how much is a stake. It moves from one scene to the next constantly to the point of just being obnoxious. Attempts to add drama fail horribly, because we barely spend enough time with these serious scenes to care.

To make matters worse this film has horrible villains. Be-bop and Rock Steady are just irritating and loud. Not enough time is spent with Shredder to see him as a real threat. Krang is given a horrible voice that is just a pain to listen to.

I am not expecting high art, but the turtles deserve better than this.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Me Before You

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: C

Review: Quite likable if really predictable tearjerker.

The story offers nothing new. We have seen this story many times before. It is full of storytelling conventions that we have long accepted, and it knows this. The pace of the film rushes quite a bit, however that doesn't hurt the movie because we have accepted these story points and we know they are going to happen before we see them. However despite all this the film manages to be quite likable. This is mainly because of the characters. These characters are very charming and just a joy to watch. Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin have great chemistry. You truly believe the romance between them. On top of that with the fantastic settings this film is a joy to look at. This whole film looks beautiful.

This film seems to be really liked by audiences, but not so much by critics. I personally understand both sides. This film is very unoriginal and it lacks the depth it probably should have. On the other hand the acting is excellent, the movie looks great, and the characters are quite likable. Judge it for yourself whether you should see it or not. As for me I liked it despite it's problems.

-Michael J. Ruhland