The Magnificent Seven

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: D

Review: Bland, forgettable, and boring western, comes nowhere near it's predecessors.

The characters in this film are lacking in personality. At the end of the movie I don't feel like I know them at all. I have no idea what their personalities are. A great cast is completely wasted playing these characters. The story feels very rushed and I never got a feeling or danger or excitement. The action scenes are  well made, but since we don't know the characters they quickly become boring. Seven Samurai was three and a half hours and I was never bored watching that movie, but I got bored watching this two hour and twelve minute film with basically the same story. 

On the plus side the musical score is downright fantastic, and should have accompanied a better movie.

Skip this film and watch Seven Samurai (that movie is a masterpiece) instead.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Sully

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade:B+

Review: Well done movie is made even better by a fantastic performance from Tom Hanks.

Tom Hanks' performance in this film is incredible. He becomes the character of Sully. While we know the actor so well, we do not see the actor but the character instead. This is something kind of rare in films staring such big name stars. He isn't the only good performance here as everyone in the film is quite good, but there is something special about him in this film. On top of this the story is quite good, and Clint Eastwood's direction is very good. The opening scene and much of the trial at the end are particularly well done.

However on the downside as good as the story is, it can feel a little stretched out. The main problem with this fault is that we see the landing two times. It would have been much more effective to only see it once, as this takes away from how dramatic the second time we see it is, and it feels a little forced in the first time. Also other than Sully I feel we didn't get to know the other characters well enough. Despite this it still is a good story, and it is often very well told.

Overall an excellent film.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Tri

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland












Michael's Movie Grade:A

Review: The feature film debut of director Jai Jamison, is a fantastic uplifting movie.

This film has an undeniable great sense of charm. The characters are very engaging. Both the writing and acting for these characters are fantastic, and they really come to life on the screen. The story is a simple and very well told uplifting story with a great message. The photography is great here and gives a great look at the nature that surrounds much of the Triathlon. The pacing is perfect, it is slow enough for you to fully get into the characters and story, but fast enough for it not to ever be boring. However the best thing I can say about this movie is even though the story is essentially complete, I still wanted to see more of these characters lives after the film was over.

Though you may not have heard of this movie, you really should see it. This is a fantastic movie that definitely deserves more attention than it is getting. I have to check out what this director does in the future, I have a feeling more great stuff is in store.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Kubo and the Two Strings

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland




















Michael's Movie Grade: A+

Review: Simply incredible film is possibly the Laika Studio's best film and that is saying a lot.

Every single second of this film is filled with such a great sense of imagination. This is true of the story, the characters and the visuals. It is simply unbelievably breathtaking. It sucks you into the world of the film extremely well. The whole film is just filled with one of the best senses of atmosphere in recent film history. Much of this movie even reminds me of the great Studio Ghibli fantasy films.

On top of this the story is top notch. It never talks down to an audience like so many films do, but treats you with respect and intelligence. On top of this the characters are extremely likable, the animation is amazing and the humor is often funny.

Nearly everything in this movie works and it stands as one of the best films of recent years, and a must watch for movie lovers everywhere.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Pete's Dragon

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland










Michael's Movie Grade:A+

Review: Incredible film, represents fantasy film making at it's best, and just why Disney films are so great.

Everything about this film is great. The characters are very likable, the film looks amazing, it has a fantastic story, and a great soundtrack. The film has a fantastic sense of pacing. It doesn't rush anything, but at the same time it never feels slow either. This way we are sucked into the characters and settings in the way a faster movie couldn't allow us too, but at the same time there is nothing even remotely boring about this film. This also works so well because the story and characters are well worth getting sucked into. With this buildup, the climax becomes extremely exciting. The music in this film is not only great, but fits the movie to a tee. The music is very folk like, so it is also the perfect soundtrack for someone with my taste in music. Really anything I can say is wrong with this film would be a meaningless nitpick.

This is probably the best film of the summer and a must watch. Also it is just an incredible movie.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Suicide Squad

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland

















Michael's Movie Grade: F

Review: Simply a horrible horrible movie. Deserves a place along side the worst comic book movies ever made.

Everything that could go wrong with this film did. I believe none of the characters, and many of them are so underdeveloped that it is impossible to say what their personalities are (Especially Killer Croc and Captain Boomerang). On top of that we are supposed to feel sympathy for many evil characters. I am sorry I find it hard to sympathize with someone who kills people for no reason but to get money, or because they think it is fun. Despite this I am supposed to feel really bad from them at scenes. They way the go about doing this is extremely predictable and simply doesn't work. All these characters have been done much better elsewhere. On top of this the film is never fun, the humor doesn't work, and the story is a mess. To make matters much worse, this film includes the worst version of the Joker imaginable. Watching Jared Leto play the Joker is like watching someone do a terrible impression of Heath Ledger. Every scene with this character in it is painful to watch.

With films like this and Batman Vs. Superman I am really worried about what will happen to DC movies, because these films are some of the worst movies of recent years. let's just hope they can turn themselves around and make better movies, I hope they do, but I'm not sure they will.

This movie however is a terrible movie.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Nerve

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade:D-

Review: This movie has a good premise that could make a great movie, but doesn't deliver. It's neither a good social commentary or a fun thriller. Instead we mostly watch characters do stupid things. This is neither fun to watch nor is it though provoking it is just annoying. Rather we just feel embarrassed for the characters. There are emotional moments, but all of them have been done before much better elsewhere. The main character is likable enough, but everyone else in this film is simply a stereotype of movie characters, with no depth or anything to make you care. This movie tries to have a good message at the end but there was to little depth to the movie for that message to have any power behind it. The way this message is told is just very poor. Rather it's attempts at social commentary feel very out of place.

On the bright side the film is pretty to look at and the main character is likable, but this simply can't make up how much of a mess the rest of the film was.

-Michael J. Ruhland