Sisters

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland


















Michael's Movie Grade:F

Review: Unfunny, and immature comedy is just plain bad, despite good performances from the film's leads.

The main problem with this film is despite being a comedy it is never that funny. For this around two hour movie there are only one or two jokes that work. The two leads try hard to be funny, but their effort was wasted because the script was not funny to begin with. The humor is very immature. While that type of humor can work, it often times doesn't and this is a case where it doesn't. The worst thing about the film is the side characters. These are stereotypes of movie characters, and are just plain bland and annoying.

If you want a good laugh simply look elsewhere.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Point Break

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland
















Michael's Movie Grade:C-

Review: Decent time passer. Will never be remembered as a great movie, but isn't really that bad either.

The characters and story are all stuff we have seen before, and not just in the film this is a remake of, but in many many other films. While it is not done too bad here, it has still been done better elsewhere. The characters are likable, but they are also underdeveloped and been done better elsewhere. However on the bright side the action scenes are great. Doing them out in nature, is a nice change from the the usual city landscape for action scenes. These scenes also have fantastic cinematography. While the rest of the film isn't all bad, you really wish it was as good as thee action scenes are, but as it is this is a decent time passer. Don't go to this expecting a great film, but if you want to just spend some time at a movie theater, you could do worse.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Joy

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade:D

Review: This film tries hard, but sadly it is mostly just bland and overlong, despite a few good scenes.

The main character of this film is pretty likable, but unfortunately she is the only character in the film one feels like they actually get to know. The rest of the characters are just bland and boring. The actors give it a lot of effort and talent, but unfortunately they are given little to work with. On top of that you never truly feel the emotional connection to the story that director/writer David O Russell, seems to want you to feel. Still on top of that the movie just feels like it should have ended much earlier than it did. However there is some good humor (as well as some humor that misses the mark), and a couple of emotional scenes actually work well. Despite this Joy is mostly joyless.

P.S. I was tempted to make this review more jokingly by referring to it as a spin off movie to Inside Out, but I decided against this and the film gave me fairly little to work that joke with.

-Michael J. Ruhland

In The Heart of the Sea

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland


















Michael's Movie Grade:B+

Review: Excellent film that is not afraid to take it's time, and by doing such makes itself a much better movie.

This film has excellent atmosphere, and fantastic characters. Unlike too many modern films this one does not rush into the action, but rather lets you get absorbed into the world of the film, before the story really gets underway. This makes the film more intense and engaging when the story really does get under way. The characters are complex yet we understand and relate to them quite well.

The whale hunting scenes are quite exciting. They look fantastic, and are full of suspense. This film is in fact full of visual amazement.

On the downside, the dialog often feels forced and the film sometimes feels like it is trying to hard to be deep and meaningful (though often times it is). These faults may hinder some people's enjoyment of the film, but as for me they were surrounded by so much greatness, that I couldn't help but love this movie.

For those who also like slower moving films, this is an excellent experience that can be both entertaining and thought provoking.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland




















Michael's Movie Grade: B

Review: New Stars Wars film plays it safe, maybe too safe, but is fun and atmospheric, which is exactly what a Star Wars film should be.

When I say the movie plays it safe, I don't mean a lack of good and surprising plot twists, but rather that the film at times is very close to A New Hope. A few scenes seem lifted from there. However these scenes are still done well, and there is enough different that this film is by no means pointless.

The film is fun, and offers us a great visit back to the world we enjoyed in the previous films. The characters both old and new are quite likable, the world is awe-inspiring, and the film is engaging. The film is just really fun. Though it may go on a bit long, it never loses the viewers interest, and you never become really bored by it. At times it's predictable, and there is little we haven't seen before, but again the film is too well done to harp too much on these faults.

-Michael J. Ruhland

The Good Dinosaur

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland


















Michael's Movie Grade:A-

Review: While more "safe" than Inside Out, this is still an excellent film in it's own right. Peter Sohg, a Pixar animator since Finding Nemo, makes his first feature film a great worthwhile movie, and I am happy to see what he does in the future.

The best thing about this film is the interactions with the characters, and it's respect for it's audience. It never cops out, and treats it's audience like they have minds in their heads. It is not afraid to have quiet nice scenes that never feel they have to over-explain anything to it's audience. One scene with Spot and Arlo talking about their families is simply fantastic, and very beautiful. This film has many moments like this that make the film well worth watching.

The film has a fantastic folk music score, and as a folk fan I love it. It is truly lovely, and I recommend staying through the credits just to listen to this music.

Though some may have problems with Arlo's design (I didn't), the animation is beautiful of the type we have grown to except from Pixar.

While this lacks the experimentation and originality of Inside Out, it shouldn't be judged by that but instead enjoyed as the great film it is.

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

Michael's Short Grade:A

Review: Sanjay's Super Team is an excellent semi-autobiographical film about the film's director Sanjay Patel's childhood. It is touching and sweet, as well as having excellent animation. The relationship between the father and son is sweet. The character design is fantastic. This is a personal film and you can see watching it why this short was so important to the director.

-Michael J. Ruhland

The Peanuts Movie

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland


















Michael's Movie Grade:A+

Review: Peanuts' fifth theatrical feature is the best one since the first, and the best film to come from Blue Sky Studios thus far. This is a greatly written, and perfectly animated movie, and a must see for every Peanuts fan. Charles Schultz would be proud of this excellent film.

The animation in this film is perfect. It embraces the art of the classic comic strips and animated specials and movies, while adding something unique along the way. This movie is just a joy to look at.

The characters are written perfectly. They are still the people we have grown to love. Charlie Brown is just as Charlie Browny as ever. Snoopy and Woodstock are a delight to see. Linus, Lucy, Franklin, Schroeder, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Pig Pen, Patty, and really just everybody else were perfectly realized.  However every scene with Sally was just perfect. She has always been one of my favorite cartoon characters and this film just perfectly shows why. Look around for quite a few characters thrown in their specifically for us Peanuts fans.

The Peanuts Movie needs to go down and history as a classic, this is one of the greatest family films, and maybe even films of any kind of recent years.

However we are not done here we have a short to review...

Michael's Short Film Grade:C

Review: This film feels like it is over as soon as it begins, but it is still a fun short with some good slapstick. While not as funny as Scrat was in the first Ice Age film, he is still in good form here. This cartoon is quite entertaining but feels like it need more time to truly take off (pun intended).

-Michael J. Ruhland