Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland


















Michael's Movie Grade: F

Review: This film wasn't as bad as Rogue One. However that is the best thing I can say about this movie and in my mind that is not even a compliment.

This movie simply gave me no reason to care about anything that happened on screen. The new characters were devoid of anything resembling personality, and the old characters seemed to have lost any personality they once had. There were moments that I knew were supposed to be suspenseful but being left with no one to root for I kept waiting for them to end. There was not a side of this battle I wanted to see win or lose, because I felt no connection with any of them. This movie also seemed to lose the atmosphere that is so visible in the best Star Wars movies. What made the best Star Wars movies work is that the planets the characters stayed on felt so real and vivid, that you completely believe these places and picture yourself there. Every place that is seen in this movie is horribly undeveloped and simply uninteresting. I could never image any of these places as real, they simply felt like locations in a third rate science fiction movie. The one thing this does have over Rogue One was that there were some plot twists I didn't see coming. However I was so uninterested in anything I was seeing that they left no impact at all on me. This film also had some attempts at humor that would have been nice, if they were at all funny. Sadly they are just as bland and boring as the rest of this movie.

After this and Rogue One I have lost all hope in the Star Wars franchise. I know it is possible for the series to turn itself around, but I just don't see it happening. Simply put this movie is pure boredom and I simply just don't care about this franchise any more.

-Michael J. Ruhland     

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland











Michael's Movie Grade: A+

Review: Fantastic movie is incredibly moving and powerful.

This film could have so easily been a preachy one sided film about a woman standing against authority. However it was anything but this. The movie did not take sides or try to convince us of anything. Instead it showed us the problem in all its political and social complexity and come to our own conclusions. Writer and director Martin McDonagh isn't afraid to show our main character doing things that aren't quite admirable. It is never fully clear what kind of feelings we are supposed to have towards her. This again lets the audience come to its own conclusion, which is much more effective than the one-sided film this so easily could have been. Frances McDormand's performance makes this lack of clarity much more powerful. Her performance here is one of the finest acting performances of this year. She plays the part with such a feeling of conviction, that you believe her completely, no matter what over the top thing she does. This is needed for this movie since it is so much a character study of her.

However despite the serious and dark subject matter this film was very funny. There were many times I was laughing out loud watching it. The humor also perfectly complemented the story. Not only did it keep the movie from being to bleak and depressing, but since it was always tied so perfectly into the story and characters, it actually helps the story move along and feel more real.

This is by all means a must see film and one that I hope will go down in history as the great great movie it is.

-Michael J. Ruhland 

"CoCo" and "Olaf's Frozen Adventure"

Reviews Written By Michael J. Ruhland



CoCoMichael's Movie Grade: A+

Review: Incredible pure Pixar magic at its best and a must see for all movie lovers.

When I was watching Cars 3 for the first time (and yes I enjoyed that movie) I could tell you each little thing that was going to happen next. This is far from the case with CoCo. Just when I thought I knew where the story was heading it did something completely different. However not only was it completely different, but it was so much more powerful than what I saw coming. This is an extremely moving movie. This is hugely because the characters and environments felt so real. I believed from the bottom of my heart every little thing I saw on screen and accepted it as real. The characters could have easily been simple movie stereotypes, but they are so much more. Each facet of their personality is extremely well thought out and come together to make a completely believable character. The environments are likewise filled with an extreme amount of detail. I can't even imagine how much work probably went into something I probably saw on screen for no less than a second. The story itself is fantastic. As I stated before, you never know what is going to happen next. Despite this though each plot twist seems to naturally flow out of the story and characters and there is nothing in this film that feels forced.

It is hard to praise this movie enough, but every movie fan out there needs to see it.

Olaf's Frozen Adventure

       Michael's Movie Grade: B+

Review: This short was a delightfully enjoyable little film, and I was happy to get both this and a feature film for my money.

The best parts of this film were the humor and characters. While I know many people seem to be tired of Olaf, I find him a great character, whose ability to detach body parts reminds me of silent era cartoon characters like Felix the cat or Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He is extremely delightful here, as he is funny and good hearted and brings a classic cartoon energy to this film. This film is quite funny throughout much of it. While it is hard to describe why a film is funny, I found myself laughing at quite a few of these jokes. The short also gives us a greater insight to what happened when Elsa had to hide from Anna, and these scenes are very touching and flow naturally out of the characters, we already loved from Frozen.

On the downside this does feel like a story we have seen before, and Anna and Elsa's part in the story seems too brief.

I have to be honest, I don't know why people hate this short so much. I find it delightful. I know many people complained about having to sit through a 21 minute short before the feature. However to me the short felt like it went by extremely quickly. Also to me to get a longer short and a feature just made it feel like I was getting a very special movie going experience that is too rare today. Personally I would love if Disney made more 21 minute shorts before their feature films, but sadly that doesn't look like it is going to happen.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Wonder

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: A-

Review: Fantastic heartwarming family film, of the type there are too few of today.

What makes this movie so fantastic is that every character is so fully fleshed out and given a prefect amount of time to shine, without the movie feeling too long or cluttered. This is all worked together perfectly to show you that each of the character has their own side to the story that is just as valid as anyone-else's. This is something that is very hard to capture in a movie as usually when it is tried the movie just feels like it is forcing too much in the film, but this filming is never felt in this movie. Instead we connect to every character in a personal way. This movie is also filled with great humor. The jokes with Chewbacca are especially very funny. The story is not only told well but is very charming. All the emotion in this film feels real and genuine. You care about everything that happens and the movie may even produce a few tears. While this movie has its sad moment the film comes together to be very uplifting. These type of family-friendly feel good movies are sadly becoming too rare, and most of the time when they come about they feel too forced and phony. There is nothing phony about this movie it is a genuinely charming movie and a delight for the whole family.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Lady Bird

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland












Michael's Movie Grade: A+

Review: Lady Bird is a profoundly moving and funny film, and one of the one of the finest American movies in recent years.

What really makes this film so incredible is its honesty and straightforwardness. Everything in this film feels so real in natural. This does not feel like you are watching a movie, but rather that you are seeing these characters' lives unfold on screen. These characters could have so easily become one dimensional stereotypes, but they are so much more. Like us they have fully rounded personalities that are sometimes admirable and sometimes much less than that. When we see a character make a bad choice, we don't just shake our head and think they are stupid as we do in so many other movies. We really feel sorry and regret for them. This is because as we watch the movie they become almost like friends and family to us and we feel legitimate concern for them. The relationship between Lady Bird and her mother is extremely real and powerful. All this is so important because this is a film that is much more propelled by the characters than the story. The story itself is really simple, and resembles stories we have seen in other films. Despite this the characters make it feel so unique and new. Besides just being profound and moving, this movie is consistently quite funny. There were many times and other audience members laughed out loud. The jokes were not only funny but very clever as in. Fitting into the spirit of the narrative, each joke perfectly comes out of the characters. This means the jokes are not only funny, but help us get more and more involved in the characters and story we see on screen. Though this movie does bring up politics and religion and uses them as the basis for jokes, there is nothing mean spirited here, and the movie never preaches to us on what we should think.

All in all this is just an incredible movie and a must see for all movie lovers.

-Michael J. Ruhland 

Thor Ragnarok

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: D

Review: Though this film tries to make Marvel's weakest cinematic series into something more enjoyable the film seems bland and lifeless.

The Thor movies are my least favorite Marvel movies. The main reason for this is that I find Thor and Loki maybe the two most boring major characters in Marvel's cinematic universe. There is little to make them more interesting here. Sure, Thor has more wisecracks than he did in the past, but a personality that doesn't make. There is just little reason to care about this character at all. The villainess is equally boring here. She is definitely very powerful, but her screen presence and personality just feels like many villains we have seen in many other superhero movies and there is nothing here to make her stand out among so many similar villains. The Valkyrie is one of the many characters in recent films (like ones we saw in Rogue One) that has a backstory instead of a personality. Bruce Banner is honestly the only character here I actually seem to care about. With the blandness of the characters there seems to be little reason to get into the action scenes, and they come off as boring. The movie does look really good, but all this amounts to little when all but one character are so boring.

One of the main selling points of the movie was the humor. It ended up being very hit and miss. There were some jokes that made me laugh and were the highlights of the movie (though the movie's best joke was already seen in the trailer). Most of the jokes that worked seemed to come from the Hulk. He was the only character in this film that made me laugh consistently. The bickering between him and Thor were easily the highlights of the film. On the other hand much of the humor just falls flat. Thor's wisecracks leave little to no reason to laugh, and Loki's humor is annoying rather than funny.

I know I am hugely in the minority on this movie but I found the film quite bland.

-Michael J. Ruhland

All I Can See is You

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: C+

Review: This movie some big flaws, but it still ends up being a good movie thanks to great direction by Marc Foster and a very moving performance by Blake Lively.

Thus film really looks great. However this not only makes the movie pretty to look at but makes the story more effective. These visuals often allow you to see the world through the eyes and mind of our main character. When she sees or feels distorted, we can see that visually on the screen and when things are less distorted for her we see things in a rather normal way. With this the main character feels more real to us, and we believe the story more because of this. Also helping make this movie more believable is Blake Lively's performance. Critics seem to be split on this performance but I love it. You feel the emotion in her face. There is not a scene of this movie where she ever feels fake or unreal. Instead even when she doesn't say a word she conveys every emotion perfectly and pulls you into the movie. Why this film works is that with the direction, cinematography and performance all working together this main character feels undeniably real and this makes for some very emotionally effective moments.

However this film does have some huge problems. One of these is as real as our main character feels, her husband doesn't feel real. Though there are some interesting ideas with him, he is never believable. His dialogue often is the film's most forced and there is little knowing what he would be like or do if his wife wasn't in this movie. On top of this some of the side characters simply seem to be there to show us how the relationship between these two is having trouble. (slight spoilers though these events don't take place that far into the movie, so you won't have the ending ruined) How sexually satisfied the sister and her husband are is supposed to contrast with the awkward sex life of our two leads. However it becomes obvious that that is the only reason those two side characters exist. Likewise the peep show scene is supposed to symbolize their troubled sex life, but that scene is instead just awkward and hard to watch, while only telling us what we already know. (spoilers over) There is also another character who only exists for a similar reason, but I won't talk much about him so I don't spoil something that happens late in the movie. Again though while this problems are big, there is more than enough good here to make it worth watching.

-Michael J. Ruhland    

Geostorm

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland










Michael's Movie Grade: F

Review: Horribly clichéd and very uninteresting movie.

This film feels like the filmmakers simply went down a checklist of every movie cliché and made sure to use every single one of them. When these clichés are used there is nothing inspired or interesting about how they are done. They are instead either forced in or done with no attempt to make them interesting. The characters here are really bland. They feel like weaker versions of characters we have seen in plenty of other movies. There is nothing here to make them stand out or make you ever believe they really exist. There is also a horribly forced environmental message. This is so forced that if you took out the horribly written opening and closing narration there would be no message. It is like this is done to make the film important and if this is true it doesn't work. There is plenty of humor in this movie but not one of these jokes is actually funny. The only moment I laughed was at a scene that was supposed to be taken seriously (it involved a boy and his dog), and this scene was so forced in I couldn't help but laugh.

Overall this movie feels like it is just going through the motions, and there is nothing interesting behind all the clichés.    

Blade Runner 2049

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: A-

Review: Dark, complex and uncompromising film is also extremely involving and powerful.

One thing that is so incredible about this movie is simply the atmosphere. Unlike many sci-fi movies this film feels so real. This is because the world it takes place in is so intricately thought out. Everything about this world even the smallest things was so well thought out and this is unbelievably effective. While this does help make the movie extremely beautiful looking, that is not the only purpose these settings play. They help pull us into the world and feel like we have been transported there and helps us believe everything that happens on screen as a result. The characters are also very well thought out. Each has their own individual personality. These personalities are not just little character traits, but fully fledged personalities. Again all this feels completely real to us and we believe each and everything they do. This is because none of this feels like it was done for the sake of the story but because it flowed naturally out of the characters. This is not only true of the main characters but of each individual one no matter how small their part is. The story itself is quite complex and compelling. While it is hard to fully discuss this story without providing spoilers, the twist and turns again seem perfectly natural. Often times you have no idea where this story is going and when you think you do it is proven wrong. Despite all this when at the end you see how it all works out it makes perfect and complete sense and not forced in to keep the audience guessing.

This is a fantastic movie and proves that a much belated sequel can actually be a great movie, even if that isn't usually the case.

-Michael J. Ruhland      

Til Death Do Us Part

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: C+

Review: A very effective suspense thriller, but not a great one.

What works about this movie is the main protagonist and antagonist as well as the suspense scenes. Our protagonist is a very likable character and one that we can fully relate to and care about. On the other hand our antagonist is quite scary and effective. With these two pluses fully set in place it is no wonder the suspense scenes work as well as they do. These suspense scenes are easily the highlight of the film. They are well shot and excellently paced. Most of all though these scenes do keep you on the edge of your seat. All this is helped out hugely by great performances from Stephan Bishop and Anne Ilonzeh, who make these characters feel so real to us.

Unfortunately though a major fault with this movie is that these two characters are the only ones who seem real. None of the other characters are ever fully fleshed out and just feel like characters we have seen in previous movies. This is especially problematic as our protagonist finds a new lover. This character is very awkwardly written and is given much corny and forced dialogue. You can see Taye Diggs is trying his hardest to make the character work, but unfortunately he is not able to pull it off. This sadly makes a major plot point come off as unbelievable which really hurts the movie. He is not the only character given forced dialogue, but he is given more than any other character. Even the best characters though occasionally have this kind of dialogue and sometimes it is sad with how well written our two main characters can be at times.

Despite these faults this movie does what it is supposed to, and does that pretty well. The suspense and two main characters are fantastic, and the movie has an important message about domestic abuse. However this will not go down as a great suspense movie, even if it is still a quite enjoyable movie.

-Michael J. Ruhland      

My Little Pony The Movie

Review By Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: B

Review: A highly enjoyable adventure movie, but those who have seen enough of the TV show it is based off of will know that show does outshine this film by quite a bit.

The highlights of this movie are the returning characters and animation. The characters are just as well developed and likable as they are in the TV show. Twilight is given the biggest role and is handled very well. While it is unfortunate that her geekiness is toned down here, she is extremely likable and relatable. At all times you fully understand what she is going through. She may be a hero but she is far from perfect and does things that she soon regrets. The other members of the mane six are also very well written but are not given as much development as they have received in episodes of the TV show as this film is mostly Twilight's story and there is nothing wrong with that. The animation is the one thing that really is an improvement over the show. This animation is absolutely incredible. It stays true to the TV show's roots but does something quite different with the look here. The film beautifully combines 2-d animation with 3-d animation. This never feels forced and the two look perfect together giving the film a bit of scope not seen in the show. The character animation is equally effective and just by looking at the animation you can tell just what the characters are thinking. They tell you everything with just a look. The story itself is quite charming and fun. It is not anything that rises above anything the show itself has done (and in fact repeats what episodes of the show have already done), but is still a lot of fun. It has a great sense of adventure, and scope.

However this film does have problems the main one is many of the new characters. The Storm King himself is a very disappointing villain. Despite his great power and how much he intimidates other characters he does not feel the least bit threatening when appearing on screen. This is strange considering how intimidating the villains in the show were (Discord, Quenn Chrysalis, Tirek). The fact you know they have done so much better on this front makes him all the more disappointing. His character is also given some humor but this falls flat. Speaking of unfunny villains Grubber a "comic" sidekick to the villains is extremely unfunny. Every one of his jokes feels forced and annoying. This character also talks in a very modern "hip" style that will soon date each scene the character is in. Tempest however is a fairly strong villain even if she treads ground already done in episodes of the series. Despite this she is quite enjoyable and a nice addition. Capper is another strong new character. On another downside Songbird Serenade feels like just what she is a forced celebrity cameo.

There is nothing (besides the animation) here that makes it stand out among all the episodes of the TV show. In fact some of the show's best episodes are better. However for what it is this is a very enjoyable movie. It is a lot of fun to watch and fans of the TV show (myself included) will have a lot of fun watching it. Newcomers should enjoy the movie, but will not understand the huge obsession the show's fanbase has as well as if they had watched A Canterlot Wedding (for a quick example). So just understand that the show is better and sit down and enjoy a fun movie, because there is still a lot to recommend here.

-Michael J. Ruhland

The Lego Ninjago Movie

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade:D

Review: Sadly an extremely disappointing film after the last two Lego movies, and just not a very good movie period.

The major problem with this movie is that is simply extremely clichéd and predictable. The only thing that is really surprising in the story comes quite early on and everything that happens after that can easily be seen coming. This is equally true of almost all of the film's jokes, most having a punchline we see coming from a mile away. There are some good jokes here, but sadly they are not as common as the weak jokes are. However these weak jokes are rarely that bad they just don't invoke much laughter. The characters are similarly very familiar. They aren't bad characters but they feel like characters from so many different films, and have little to make them stand out on their own (yes I do know this is based off a TV show). However the weakest part of the movie is the live action opening a closing sequences. These really feel out of place in this movie and like they were tacked on at the last minute. They add nothing to the movie and the film wouldn't lose anything if they were cut. The inclusion of these scenes feel more puzzling than anything.

The movie has its good points though. The animation is excellent, as should be expected from these Lego movies, the voice acting is quite good, there are a few good jokes (even if they are in the minority), and the characters are pretty likable if not exactly memorable.


This movie doesn't leave much of a bad taste in your mouth, but instead just leaves one with little if any impact. This unfortunately though does make this a huge disappointment after the last two Lego movies.

-Michael J. Ruhland   

Tulip Fever

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland


















Michael's Movie Grade: D


Review: Though this movie has its charms, they are sadly greatly overshadowed by the film's faults.


This movie's faults sadly are much too bad to overlook. The main problem with this movie is the characters. They are simply bland and boring. They feel too much at service to the plot and the plot not enough at service to them. They seem to exist simply to tell the story that we are seeing and nowhere in this film can we picture them as real people. This wouldn't be as much of a problem if this movie wasn't a tearjerker, but it is and simply doesn't produce tears because in the end we have little to no idea who these people actually are. Another problem is that we have a couple of side plots that are not interesting at all and simply make the movie longer without adding any substance. There is also the problem that this movie often times becomes too reliant on contrivance. If a characters had not been in a certain places at a certain times this movie would be a much shorter one. However they see things the interrupt as other things and hear things at exactly the wrong moment. While this sort of thing can work at times, here it does not because there is little feeling behind it and therefore this makes much of the plot seem forced.

This movie does have some good things about it though. The sets and costumes look lovely, and the cinematography looks excellent. As well as this Danny Elman's musical score is quite good. However again, the faults in this movie overshadow these good things and it winds up as a poor movie.


-Michael J. Ruhland.

Leap! (Ballerina)

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland













Michael's Movie Grade: B-

Note: I was only able to see an English dubbed version of this movie so far. Since this movie was originally in French I will not be mentioning the voice acting in my review, and it has no effect on the grade I gave this movie.

Review: Maybe not a new animated classic but a thoroughly enjoyable movie.

The animation here is absolutely top notch. This is of course very important for an animated movie that centers around dancing. Each movement when these characters dance is extremely precise and done with the upmost care. Yet it always flows naturally and never feels forced. As well as the dancing animation the animated acting is also excellent, letting these characters truly come to life through that animation. Our main character is very likable and relatable. At every moment in this film you believe her love for dancing, because her passion feels completely real. The story of this movie is very clichéd and there is no getting around that. At almost every moment you know what is going to happen next. However because of the believability of our main character and moments where you can feel the filmmakers passion the story is actually pretty effective. While this movie has a clear message that we have heard a million times, the filmmakers understand that the audience is intelligent enough to get what the film is trying to say and because of this it never hammers the message in but it seems instead to just come naturally from the story.

This movie certainly has problems. I have mentioned above that it is clichéd and no where is that worse than with the villain. In fact there is no need for this movie to have a villain and having one alone feels forced. The villain herself is extremely bland and pretty much just wastes screen time. While the other clichés are still handled pretty well, this one is handled horribly and it is definitely the worst part of the film. The humor in this movie is another big problem. It is never funny and there is a lot of it. However the good in this movie outshines the bad and it is definitely well worth a watch even if it probably won't become a classic.


-Michael J. Ruhland     

Ingrid Goes West

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: A+

Review: Ok, I'm calling this, this is the best movie of the year. True it is only August, but I simply don't see how any upcoming movie is going to top it. This is a very intelligent, fascinating, funny and thought provoking movie, that will keep your eyes glued to the screen from beginning to end.

What really makes this movie work so well is the main character, Ingrid. Never for a second is this character not absolutely fascinating. We are allowed to view her as a comedic figure, a scary person, a very tragic case and most importantly a human being. Though through all this we never get to know fully who the real her is, because to be honest she doesn't know either. We get bits and pieces, but there is always something missing. Like Michel from Breathless is a character we are not certain could exist as he is without movies, we are not sure Ingrid could exist if not for social media. Her life is dominated by social media and she too often views it as real life. Because of this what we see of her through a lot of the film we are not sure whether it is real or a façade. However with this we still relate so fully to this character. Sadly this may be because there is more of us in her than we care to fully admit, and what we see of ourselves in her may not be something we are always comfortable with while watching. As you might guess this is not an easy character to play, however it would be impossible to find a better actress for the part than Aubrey Plaza. She plays this role to absolute perfection and hugely because of this performance the character feels so completely real to us.  

While this movie is hugely a comedy, there is little that is light about this movie. While some of the Batman jokes (many of which are very funny) wouldn't seem out of place in a typical light comedy, the majority of this film's humor is extremely dark. Often I laughed at a joke, but felt a little like I shouldn't be laughing, because of the sad or frightening nature of these jokes. However this does not diminish that the humor in this movie is really good and often laugh out loud hilarious.

This is the feature film debut for director and co-writer Matt Spicer and what a debut it is. I am very much looking forward to what this guy will do in the future as he has brought us a true work of cinematic art here.

This movie probably won't receive the mainstream popularity it completely deserves, but make sure you dear reader do not pass by this brilliant movie. I am sure there is much of this film that will stay imprinted in your mind like it will be forever imprinted in mine. This is certainly a movie you will never forget.

-Michael J. Ruhland.    

Logan Lucky

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland














Michael's Movie Grade: A

Review: Often times the films that stand above the rest are the ones that take the most chances and are the most original. With Logan Lucky that is not quite the case. This movie stands above so many other movies coming out of Hollywood today, not because of being original but because it does what other mainstream Hollywood movies do even better.

This is a movie filled with pure energy and even more important pure fun. There is never a scene in this movie that is boring. Every scene is filled with excitement and humor. The characters are fantastic. Again they are not the most original characters but they are handled with real sincerity and therefore feel more real to us than other similar characters from other similar movies. It doesn't hurt that the whole cast does a fantastic job. The movie has very clever script that ingeniously mixes a crime drama with a comedy and it does this perfectly. The movie works perfectly as both and neither the crime drama nor the comedy ever get in the way of each other. They in fact complement each other and make the other work all the better. The humor in this film ranges from very subtle to very broad and both are very funny. I simply laughed out loud a lot while watching this movie. The story contains a lot of movie clichés but they are handled with so much sincerity that they are completely believable. Steven Soderberg's direction is of the highest caliber. It moves the film along at a brisk pace that helps fill the movie with so much fun, but it never moves too fast to ever feel rushed.

This is a definite must see movie and just a lot of fun.

-Michael J. Ruhland.     

Atomic Blonde

Review Written By Michel J. Ruhland










Michael's Movie Grade: C+

Review: A fun cold war thriller with a great visual style and lead character, but the story leaves a little to be desired.

Maybe the best thing about this movie is its great visual filmmaking. While there is little groundbreaking about this style does keep your attention and enjoyment even in the film's weakest moments. This visual style carries over to so much. Even the way certain hotel rooms and clubs look is absolutely beautiful. On top of that these set designs create a fantastic sense of atmosphere that can be seen throughout the whole movie. The cinematography is equally effective. It is great to look at but never shows off, but simply adds to the atmosphere. This is not like a Jean Luc Goddard film or a Alfred Hitchcock film, where the visual style astounds you and even expands the way you think of cinema, but it adds a lot of fun and enjoyment to this movie. Also important to this movie is that the main character is really interesting. She is a bit of a complex character, but what ever she does is fascinating and believable. Sadly she happens to be the only interesting character in this movie, as the rest are rather bland.

The story on the other hand seems like it could have used more time. Since we know the main character is going to survive in all the flashback scenes (which make up most of this movie), we need something else to gain suspense. Sadly this something else is kind of missing. The story isn't bad, per say, in fact it is kind of enjoyable. However we left with little to make suspenseful scenes work because our main source of suspense has been eliminated and replaced with very little.

This is a very violent movie. The fights are made realistic and bloody. While I am not a fan of this as I prefer either off-screen violence or bloodless violence and get a little uneasy with gore, it does have a problem that reaches beyond that. This is that the movie often uses 1980's pop songs on the soundtrack. This kind of a thing worked for the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, because the action there is stylized. However with more realistic action the use of pop songs feels at odds with what we see on screen.

However big this movie's faults are I still enjoyed it because I really like the main character and the visual atmosphere. The movie also has a really good twist ending which I won't spoil here. It is very faulted but fun.

-Michael J. Ruhland 

War For the Planet of the Apes

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: B+

Review: It is incredible how misleading this movie's previews were. They made it look like just another bland cliché action movie of the type I am honestly getting a bit tired of. However what we have here is quite different. This is instead an excellent and intense drama with some action scenes.

One of the things that makes this movie work so well is the main character. Cesar is a fascinating and very complex character. Not everything he does is always admirable, but it is always very well relatable and real. This is a character of many different sides and even though you don't always know what he is going to do next, you always believe him doing it. I respect that this movie is not afraid to be things drastically different from the average Hollywood blockbuster. This is shown heavily through the complexity of the Cesar, however that is not the only place it is shown. While there are explosions and big action scenes, there are also plenty of quiet scenes that add so much mood and atmosphere to the film in a way that most summer blockbusters would avoid (because "if they stop making noise for a second the audience will be bored out of their minds" says Hollywood filmmakers). There is also the fact that the movie asks the audience to do some work for themselves such as *gasp* reading subtitles. Adding to all this is how much effort was put into making this world. The world of the film feels so real while watching out, almost like you could reach out and touch it.

The film does have its faults too. Every attempt to add comedy into this movie falls flat, and most of the side characters don't have much in the way of personality (though the little girl is fantastic). One of the side characters (an ape from the zoo) is even kind of annoying. However these are a small price to pay for an excellent movie.

-Michael J. Ruhland

The Big Sick

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: A

Review: It is no secret that many romantic comedies today simply feel rushed out with no real heart or effort. Even many of the best ones feel very formulaic. When you think about this context, The Big Sick is all the more amazing. While this film definitely dives into some of the clichés seen in almost every romantic comedy, there is such a feeling of believability and charm here that these clichés feel like they are naturally coming from the story and characters and not from a checklist.

What really makes this movie work is simply the characters. Each one even the most minor ones feel completely real. They are extremely well fleshed out. Very quickly in this movie we grow to really care about these people. That makes every tearjerker moment feel so natural and real. Because of this unlike so many other romantic comedies we never feel we are being manipulated at all. Throughout this whole film the characters never stop feeling real to you. This is only helped by the great performances by the whole cast.

Also helping is that the humor is actually funny. Again so many of today's romantic comedies never make me laugh even once. Here however I laughed plenty of times. There were a few jokes that missed but they were few and far between. This humor is not only funny but always comes out of the characters themselves. In turn this humor again makes the characters feel all the more real.

Overall this is a fantastic movie and definitely one that shows great romantic comedies can still be made.

-Michael J. Ruhland.     

Dunkirk

Review written by Michel J. Ruhland










Michael's Movie Grade: A-

Reviews: A fascinatingly experimental and moving movie that actually overcomes some Christopher Nolan's usual faults as a filmmaker.

What makes this movie so particularly fascinating is that there is often very sparse dialogue. While this is very different for almost any film today, it is even more shocking to be seen in a Nolan film. While I like some of his films (particularly Following and Batman Begins) a huge fault in many of them is an over reliance on dialogue. This dialogue can often feel un-cinematic as it explains things we could have easily seen and often dissects scenes in a way that should be left up to the audience not the characters. With all this much of Nolan's dialogue in previous movies comes off as pretentious and pointless, even when the movies themselves are good despite that. However here that fault is much less prevalent, because there is so little dialogue in this movie. This works to its full advantage here as we are still drawn into what the characters are going through and no dialogue is needed to make us do this. With this we have a fully cinematic film and in many ways a very effective one because of that. We make our own judgements on what we are seeing and the result feels more satisfying because of this.

All in all this film is a different kind of character study than many other movies out there. Instead of it being a study of a specific character it is the study of a group. We see their reactions to the war and how different it is for many of them at times, but also what panic can do to them as a group. This is quite fascinating and great to watch. At the end while we do not fully know any of these characters as individuals, we still know them quite well as a group. This makes this movie an experience rather than just a simple war story.

However this film does have some faults. The camera never stays still. This can be very distracting and kind of hurts the film. There is also on the camera side too much of a reliance on close ups, which can also be a little distracting. However despite these faults this is a really good movie and I highly recommend it.

-Michael J. Ruhland.     

Despicable Me 3

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland


















Michael's Movie Grade: C+

Review: Maybe not a great movie but still quite fun.

One of the best things about this movie is the animation. The film looks and moves in a very cartoony fashion and is expertly handled here. The animation may be quite exaggerated but all the exaggeration and cartoony-ness comes straight out of the characters and out of the story line. Because of this the exaggeration really makes the characters come to life for us and believe them all the more. Most of all though this animation is filled with an energy that is just fun to watch. 

There are definitely though too many side stories in this movie. Lucy has one, the minions have one and Agnes has one. Thanks to this they all feel very rushed and not given nearly enough time to be fleshed out. Lucy's side story is the weakest and honestly is just cliché and dull. The minions side story has a couple of good laughs but nothing too memorable. Agnes' side story on the other hand offers the most entertaining part of the movie. It has the biggest laughs, a great premise and above everything Agnes is just so enjoyable to watch here. It is sad this wasn't given more time because even with how rushed it feels it is probably the best part of the movie. The main story belongs to Gru and it is quite enjoyable. Gru is quite relatable and fun here, and the story while it has been done before still has quite a bit of charm. This story is given the most fleshing out and while it isn't anything incredible or original it is still quite a bit of fun. Probably the biggest problem with this main story is that while it had a few good jokes, it also has some that fall a bit flat. They aren't terrible or even necessarily that bad, but they just are a bit unmemorable.

This is exactly what you expect from the Despicable Me movies, meaning it may not be a great movie but it is still fun.

By the way there is a very nice reference to the Marx Brothers' movie Duck Soup, and if they make a Despicable Me 4 Agnes needs a bigger part, she is my favorite part of this series.

-Michael J. Ruhland.      

Cars 3

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland


















Michael's Movie Grade: B-

Review: A good movie and one that fixes some of the problems with previous Cars films, but still a movie with problems of its own.

One of the reasons the Cars movies have not been my favorite Pixar movies is that the characters never felt real to me in the same way that the characters of Toy Story, The Incredibles, Inside Out or Up felt. They felt like rather clichéd movie stereotypes instead of real characters. I never hated these characters, they just didn't grab me like other Pixar characters did. Here for the first time though Lighting McQueen feels real and relatable to me. Like Woody did in Toy Story 2, Lighting is essentially dealing with his own mortality here and his realization that nothing can last forever. While this is mostly due to getting older, any one who has gone through any change in their life can relate. Adding to this is the new character, Cruz who is also a really relatable and fun character, who again goes through an arc that feels real. Unfortunately all the other characters don't feel real here. They are simply again clichéd movie stereotypes.

The best thing about this movie though is a few scenes where the characters talk about Doc Hudson. As many of you may know in the previous movies Doc was voiced by Paul Newman, who has passed away recently. While it is never actually stated that the character has died as well it is easy to know that is what happened. These scenes are treated with the upmost dignity and respect. These scenes are just beautifully touching tributes to Paul Newman, and are easily the most moving scenes in the series.

Probably the worst problem with this movie is pretty obvious foreshadowing. All this foreshadowing kind of makes it hard for you to not know how the movie will end. This wouldn't be as big of a problem though, if the characters weren't so oblivious to it. While it makes sense for these characters to act this way (after all, they don't know they are in a movie), it can get annoying for the audience. You just kind of want them to wake up and realize what is so obvious to you, nd it makes the movie feel longer and each time they don't realize it kind of annoying. Also hurting this movie is the humor, it completely falls flat. Not a single joke actually works and I don't think I really ever laughed watching this.

Despite this the movie has good character development and some quite touching scenes and this makes it well worth watching.

But don't go away I have a short to review.

LouMichael's Movie Grade: A

Review: If the feature was too predictable, this short film was anything but. I personally try avoid anything talking about the shorts before Pixar movies, because I like seeing a film without knowing what it is going to be about and it is impossible to do this with a Pixar feature. So everything that happened came as a complete surprise to me and it was well worth it. Likewise I am going to not give much away here and do a really short review so you can have the same experience. This film was fun, clever and all together very charming. It is told in pantomime and dialogue is never missed because this pantomime does nothing but add to the charm of this film. Honestly if you don't want to see Cars 3 and are certain you will not like that movie, I still will tell you should go, this short is easily worth the price of admission.

-Michael J. Ruhland





   

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Review written by Michael J. Ruhland









Michael's Movie Grade:B

Review: Quite enjoyable movie and definitely a huge step up from the last three Spider-Man movies.

What interestingly works best about this movie is the high school stuff. None of it is exactly original, but it is done so well that who cares? Three of these kid characters feel especially real. Luckily one of these is Peter Parker himself. Also two characters that could have easily been too cliché are also very real. The best friend and the love interest are much more than that and actually really likable characters. As well as this Peter's troubles in school are done very well and are much better done here than any other Spider-Man movie. You really feel for the kid and anyone who has been through High School will easily relate. On the down side the other kids are not as well fleshed out. In the case of a certain character named Michelle, kind of annoying and pointless. The school scenes are also really tied well into the superhero story, especially in a delightful scene where Spider-Man talks to Karen (those who seen the movie will know what that means). On top of all this the movie contains probably the best cameos Captain America will ever have (the gym teacher's comments after one of these cameos easily my favorite line in the whole film), and a fantastic musical score (by Michael Giacchino) that just makes the whole movie so much better. On especially great use of the score is how in one scene that gets intense, it goes from very present and upbeat, to very sparse and downbeat. I will also give this movie credit for not always doing the obvious thing (not giving away how, no spoilers here).

On the downside is certainly the villain. I get what they were trying to do with this guy, and appreciate that, but he is rather boring. There is just simply little interesting about this guy. Michael Keaton does a very good job playing this character, but is just given too little to work with. On top of this the action scenes go on much too long at times, and are kind of bland compared to the more character driven scenes in the movie.

Overall a quite enjoyable movie and well worth a watch for Marvel fans.

-Michael J. Ruhland         

Captian Underpants: The First Epic Movie

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland















Michael's Movie Grade: B+

Review: Excellent film is just simply a lot of fun.

This film is a great mixture of clever humor, childish bathroom humor, fantastic animation and just pure fun. What really makes the movie work though is the main characters Harold and George. These characters maintain all of the likability they had in the books. You fully understand their love of pranks. They are not doing it because they are mean, but rather because their school is so boring they need to find someway to entertain themselves. This is something I can easily relate to. While for the most part I liked school, there was on the other hand science classes, which I found so boring it drove me crazy to just sit there. Because of this my mind would wander easily and I could simply entertain myself with my own imagination through these classes. Because of this what Harold and George do makes perfect sense to me and feels so relatable. On top of this most of the humor hits very well. While there are times when it can miss such as an extend sequence where the kids tell Captain Underpants to impersonate a principal that goes on too long, most of the humor is quite funny. Again these jokes range from childish potty humor to very clever humor, and some how the two mix perfectly here. These jokes are perfectly complemented by the animation. The animation is very cartoony, energetic and just plain fun. Many of the jokes are timed so well, that they hit perfectly. Also helping make the movie so fun is the use of various animation styles. This is not a gimmick as it is utilized perfectly to complement the story. These scenes include a great look into the boys' brains, the use of child like drawings for the comic books and most importantly a flip-o-rama action scene (which is very funny).

Just a fun movie.

-Michael J. Ruhland  

Wonder Woman

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland














Michael's Movie Grade: C+

Review: A good movie, even if it isn't a great one. However despite any faults after Batman VS. Superman and Suicide Squad this movie being good is a very pleasant surprise.

The best things about this film are the characters of Diana and Steve as well as the world of Themyscira. After the unpleasant look to many of DC's most recent live action films, the world of  Themyscira is a revelation. It is in fact beautiful to look at. When this place was first shown I couldn't believe my eyes, here was something in a live action DC movie that was pleasant to look at. However the goodness doesn't end there. This world is very well set up and ends up feeling very real to us. The two main characters are also delightful. They feel very well fleshed out and really grow on the audience. Over the course of the movie you really get to care about these two and just enjoy seeing them.

However despite the good points this film has its share of faults. While the two main characters are interesting they are the only ones. Every other character is undeveloped and even boring. This especially goes for the villains. Most of these villains are just plain boring and with very little interesting about them. Two of them especially feel like the time dedicated to them is just wasted. These two feel like they are simply there to pad the length of the movie*. A surprise villain (not giving away who it is) would be interesting if he hadn't been done so many times before in other recent superhero movies. While there are more faults in the movie, none of them are as big as this fault is. Despite any other, faults boring characters (again not including the main two who are very likable) is easily the worst of them. There is also the problem that the movie is longer than it needs to be and can sometimes feel padded out. The humor is very hit and miss, however even when it hits it gets more of a chuckle than a real laugh.

While this movie has its faults (including one huge one), it is still a good movie. And hopefully this means that the DC live action films will continue to get better, and we will never see more DC films of the poor quality of Batman VS. Superman and Suicide Squad again. Justice League is coming let us keep our fingers crossed. Wonder Woman is a good sign things could be getting better. Just don't bring back the Batman VS. Superman version of Lex Luther ever, please Warner Brothers.  

 -Michael J. Ruhland

*Spoiler Alert: They also act as red herrings for the audience, however this and taking up time is all they amount to.     

Gaurdians of the Galaxy Vol.2

Review written by Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: B+


Review: A very fun movie that is highly recommended.

This movie successeds on many levels. The characters are very likable and relatable. By the end of the film we feel that we completely know the main characters. Unlike a lot of these type of movies it does not confuse backstory with personality and understands that a good backstory can never be a replacement for likability. Though there is a lot of backstory here, the main focus is these characters and simply what made people like them so much in the first film (or comics for that matter). The backstory however is quite interesting and really complements the character. As well as this even though they are often comic relief, Rocket and Baby Groot are just as likable and real as any of the other characters, and who can't like Baby Groot. The humor in this film is fantastic. There are very few jokes that miss, and some jokes are flat out fantastic (Baby Groot and that toe especially). The music once again complements the action perfect and makes the scenes more exciting, funny, emotional and of course the songs fit Star Lord's character perfectly.

On the downside, the story while good has been done before and it is not hard to guess the movie's twist. This film is very similar to many other superhero movies, story wise. Gomorra's side story with her sister, honestly could have just been dropped. It isn't bad at all, but it is very rushed and doesn't add much to the film. Maybe it could have been better if it was either the focus of the movie or just given more time, but as it is it is kind of the weakest part of the movie. Despite all this the movie is more than fun enough to make up for these faults and still comes out as an excellent movie.

-Michael J. Ruhland    

I am Groot.

Born in China

Review by Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: B+

Review: Excellent film, is a pure delight especially on the big screen.

The nature photography in this film is absolutely incredible. Like Disney does so often in these films, I haven't the slightest idea how they got the shot, but I am too busy being amazed that I don't think about that until after the film. This is a movie that will definitely be better if you see it in a theater (though most movies are better in the theater (except obviously those made for TV)). From the first shot you feel as if you have been transported to China.

However this film does have a fairly big downside and that is John Krasinski's narration. While it isn't all bad it certain does get in the way. The attempts at humor through this narration (especially when he voices an animal character) fall really flat. There is also a really inappropriate use of the song, Burn This City, but that is so brief it will not affect your enjoyment of the film. Still these faults are completely overcome by the sheer beauty of the nature photography, which is so breathtaking, you can overlook these faults no problem.

By the way do not go away when the end credits start. There is plenty of great footage of the crew interacting with the animals. This is delightful, fun and would be worth the price of admission easily, even if the rest of the film didn't exist.

This film may have its faults, but if you are a nature lover like me, it is a must see, simply to see the beautiful nature photography.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Boss Baby

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland








Michael's Movie Grade:C+

Review: DreamWorks has proven with the Kung Fu Panda trilogy (yes I know there are more coming and I am excited), that they can make an idea that seems bad on paper actually work. While this movie is not on the same level as Kung Fu Panda the filmmakers takes a seemingly terrible idea and makes a movie that is quite enjoyable.

While so many animated features today go out of their way to make their fantasy worlds seem as real as possible and for us to accept them as such, Boss Baby simply embraces the fact that it is a cartoon by simply having fun with how absurd it all is, and having a field day with their imaginations. This is the film's biggest asset. This is especially shown through Tim's various fantasies and daydreams. Taking a page out of Maurice Noble's design work for the Ralph Philips cartoons of the 1950's all of those working in DreamWorks art department create a vivid, but very stylized look to these daydreams, that is honestly a joy to look at. Also great to see is the fantastic design of Baby Corp., which is so imaginative that it creates a great sense of fun here. The idea of babies and puppies being created by companies rather than well you know is a great one that just helps add to the fun.

The characters are quite likable. While they might not be the best fleshed out characters in animation, they are not just the one joke characters that you might think they are from the previews.

On the downside for a comedy this film has very few laugh out loud moments. This isn't to say that the humor is bad, but I giggled and smiled more than I actually laughed out loud. There are some laugh out loud moments ("Your parents are Lennon and McCartney"), but there are just much fewer than there should be for a movie like this. Also while the film is full of imagination, it is not lacking in Clichés. There are many moments where you know just what is going to happen and I think many people will see the ending coming.

So this isn't Kung Fu Panda by any means it is a fun movie, and definitely worth a watch.

-Michael J. Ruhland     

Power Rangers

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland.
















Michael's Movie Grade:C

Review: A surprisingly good movie, even if it is far from a great one.

What surprisingly works well here is the characters and the emotional moments. This almost feels more like a Breakfast Club like movie, with teenagers who happen to be super heroes. Scenes like the one around the camp fire as well as the Red and Pink Rangers speaking in his bedroom, were surprisingly kind of touching. To a much different extant Rita was an over the top and quite fun villain. I kind of miss these over the top villains and this one was definitely fun.

This film did however delve into a few clichés that I am so tired of and don't want to see anymore. One of these is a terribly written school bully, who is simply a walking stereotype of a school bully. Another one is (without giving anything away (not that you can't see it coming in the first place)) a scene where they try to make you think the film is going to do something we all know it isn't. Also surprisingly with how good the characters and emotional scenes are the big action scene is kind of underwhelming. It isn't bad but it could be much better.

I would complain about the Krispy Kreme product placement, but it was so ridiculous, I found it funny instead of annoying. There is even a scene where Rita stops in the middle of an action scene to eat a doughnut. Again this so over the top and silly that instead of finding this annoying it is downright funny.

Overall a good movie, even if it is far from a great one.

-Michael J. Ruhland.    

Old Town Music Hall: You Were Never Lovlier (1942)

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland.













Michael's Movie Grade: A+

Review: Once again I am doing a review of another great time I had at the old town music hall. This is an incredible place for all those who love old movies and if you are ever in El Segundo, California, it is a place that you must go to.

As always before the movie Bill Field (an extremely talented musician) played the Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ. This pipe organ has existed since 1925 and still sounds amazing to this day. Then the screen came down and introduced what films and concerts were coming soon. Following this lyrics to songs appeared on the screen, and the whole audience sang along. These songs included such great songs as Mairzy Doats, April Showers, and Pretty Baby.

Following this was a silent short film starring Our Gang. In this short after hearing about Noah's Ark, they decide to make their own Noah's Ark. This was a fast paced and very funny short. Some of the highlights included dressing a dog up as a lion, and a cars reaction to a skunk. The Our Gang kids are really great comic actors easily on par with the best adult comic actors. They were pure professionals and pure talent and nowhere does that show better than on the screen. Accompanying this short was Bill Field on the pipe organ. If you have not seen a silent film with live music, you are only cheating yourself. This is a completely different experience than watching one of these films on TV. Honestly this is something everybody needs to do sometime in their life, esspicially if they are movie lovers.

After a short intermission came the feature and what a great feature it was. Like many movies with Fred Astaire, the story itself is pleasant but predictable. However when watching the movie you don't care at all, because everything is done so well. The dialogue is extremely clever, fast paced and just plain funny ("Just think papa, you've been married longer than we've lived!" "I consider that a very fortunate coincidence, my dear."). The chemistry between Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth is near perfect. You simply believe the relationship between these two so well and it is just a joy to see them share the screen. Of course though the best thing about this film is the singing and dancing. There is so much energy, talent and commitment in these scenes to a level you rarely see in today's films. They may not make movies like this anymore, but after watching this film (esspicially in such a great atmosphere with an amazing audience) I have to say this film has never been lovelier.

-Michael J. Ruhland   

Beauty and the Beast

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland










Note: Before I start anything let me state here this film has a major fault, it is just too darn similar to the 1991 animated movie, and that movie is better. There are some differences (besides being live action), but they make little to no difference. Because of this you may leave the theater not knowing why exactly this movie exists or be less impressed because the 1991 movie was just so amazing that this film can't help but pale in comparison. However this film is fantastic if you do not compare it to the 1991 movie, even though that is hard. Because of this I am reviewing this as a stand alone film and not compare it to that movie, because this truly is a great movie despite that. So the grade this movie gets and the review are not affected by this fault at all.

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

Review: Fantastic film.

What really makes this work is just how good the story and characters are. Every character is extremely likable and well thought out. Belle and Beast bonding over books is a brilliant touch. It makes this romance completely believable. In fact the whole relationship between this two characters is downright beautiful and is utterly believable. More than this though Gaston is an amazing villain. He is a lot of fun, but still threatening. This is a hard combination to do and it is done very well here. The story may be a very old fairy tale, however it was adapted to feel more modern here very successfully, and without compromising any of the magic of the original tale.

On the downside is the designs of the servants who were turned into household objects. To fit in with live action there are made to look very realistic. These designs look just plain strange and can be a little distracting (this is not a comparison to the 1991 film, these designs would be distracting if that never existed). However the design of the castle is fantastic and a joy to look at. This feels like you are entering a fantasy world, it is just that good.

Overall a fantastic movie.

Note: Yeah this was hard to write a review without comparing it to the 1991 movie, because they are just that similar. I will say the Be Our Guest scene pales very much in comparison here though. Overall with the other film in mind this is a great movie, but completely pointless.

-Michael J. Ruhland