Title: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Genre: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Stars: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell
Runtime: 130 mins
Rating: PG-13
The Planet of the Apes films have always been classics in movie history, and I remember being afraid that Rise of the Planet of the Apes would go the way of Tim Burton’s movie and ruin them. However, I thoroughly enjoyed Rise so it was with great excitement that I went to see this film. I settled into the theatre hoping there would be no monkey business (I’m so witty…)
Title: Transformers – Age of Extinction
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammar
Runtime: 165 mins
Rating: PG-13
I’m not sure what possessed me to WANT to see this movie. While I would watch every movie if possible, I certainly wasn’t jumping for joy at the thought of there being a fourth Transformers installment. While I kinda liked the first one, the second and third made me want to denounce movies altogether, and fans had no problem voicing that opinion. So perhaps I was hoping Michael Bay actually read some internet comments and decided to take this project more seriously and churn out a movie that the fans could be happy to watch. I sat in the theatre with bated breath, hoping against hope that disappointment wasn’t around the corner. I mean after all, they did get rid of (the slightly crazy) Shia LeBeouf…
Title: How to Train Your Dragon 2
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Stars: Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler
Runtime: 102 mins
Rating: PG (G in Canada)
Once again I apologize for my lengthy absence. Money can be a bitch sometimes. However, I finally did get a chance to head to the local theatre and was able to get a seat to see this movie despite the numerous number of kids around. The kids are a double edged sword as you can imagine. When I see kids movies I like having kids around to gauge how much they are enjoying the movie, but then I have to deal with kids screaming or throwing popcorn, or the kid next to me who freaked out at the 3D at one point and jumped so hard he actually hit me. Such is the life of a non-professional reviewer I suppose…
Title: X-Men Days of Future Past
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Stars: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Partrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, you know what? It stars freakin’ EVERYBODY!
Runtime: 131 mins
Rating: PG-13
So after the adventure that was my Godzilla review, I am pleased to announce that I am back, and crazy-free. I apologize to anyone who I freaked out, especially that family whose apartment I hid in from my editor (was the restraining order necessary?). After a brief stint in Godzilla Rehab (where they forced me to watch Godzilla vs. Megalon on a loop) I was ready to watch the second film I was super excited to see. X-Men movies have been hit and miss, but I was really excited to hear Bryan Singer was directing again and that the cast of both X-Men generations were being brought together. Super excited, I sat in the theatre promising not to go too crazy this time to everyone around me.
Title: Godzilla
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Stars: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe
Runtime: 123 mins
Rating: PG-13
Note: I apologize ahead of time for the amount of swearing in this article…I was…uhhh…really excited when I wrote this….
You know how when a kid gets too energetic, parents turn on the TV to calm the little guys down? My parents used to do that to me…except instead of cartoons they turned on Godzilla movies. You see, Godzilla was my childhood hero (actually he still is my hero, screw all you guys) and in 2004 the last Godzilla movie was filmed (Final Wars it was appropriately called). So when this movie was announced, I was so confunklargerer I could barely function. Finally, the day I got to see Godzilla again was here, after a long 10 year wait. Yes it was a reboot, and yes it was made by Americans who previously gave us that god awful rendition in 1998. But the King of the Monsters was back and I’ll be damned if anything was going to stop from getting to the theatre.
Title: The Other Woman
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Stars: Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Kate Upton
Runtime: 109 mins
Rated: PG-13
I apologize for my absence, but financial and time restraints put a limitations on my movie experience. However, given some free time and money, I decided to watch something outside my comfort zone and went to see The Other Woman, a semi-romantic comedy. While it’s not my usual movie choice, Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann have proven their comedic prowess in the past, so I was hoping they would really help the movie out…
….that and my girlfriend really wanted to see this movie….
Title: Noah
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Stars: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Emma Watson
Runtime: 138 mins
Rating: PG-13
I’m trying to decide how this movie was pitched. Like, were a bunch of Hollywood executives sitting in a board room, tossing ideas back and forth when suddenly one said “We could do a gritty reboot! Everyone likes gritty reboots!”? To this another replied “That’s a great idea! But what is still available for a gritty reboot?”. After pondering for what must have been minutes, a third replied. “I know! A Noah’s Ark reboot!”, after which the head executive screams “You’re a goddamn genius! Here’s $125 million! Make this shit happen!” And so it happened.
While the mere idea of a Noah reboot makes me chuckle, I couldn’t dismiss it off hand. It featured a solid cast and had director Darren Aronofsky at the helm who has done some very solid films. Besides, perhaps this film could tell the story in a new, exciting, and serious way. So, like many others at the theatre that day, curiosity drove me to see it.
Title: Divergent
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Stars: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Zoë Kravitz
Runtime: 139 mins
Rating: PG
Another day, another film based off a young adult book. However, unlike many films with this target audience, I was more drawn to this one, similar to how I was drawn to The Hunger Games. This is probably because unlike Twilight and other novels of the sort, no one present is super powered and/or a mythical creature. A dystopian future, as depicted in this film, can be very entertaining if done correctly. I was really hoping that this movie would be able to elevate the young adult genre to something more respectable.
Title: Mr. Peabody & Sherman
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi
Stars: Ty Burrell, Max Charles, Ariel Winter, Allison Janney
Runtime: 92 mins
Rating: PG (G in Canada)
I wasn’t a huge fan of Peabody and Sherman back when they were a comic or a TV cartoon, but they were popular, and some of those strips were really funny. However, I’m always up for some animated films so it made sense to watch this one. The trailers did show some chuckle-worthy moments and I was excited to see if Peabody would spout some intellectual humour, besides the normal pun jokes he usually makes.
Pittman Movie Reviews 
Why Filmmakers Should Love Mystery
Good day everyone!
Some of you may have wondered where I went or what I have been doing. While many things contributed to my decision to take a break from writing this blog, the main reason was I has somewhat lost my passion for it. A shame, I know. But if I wasn’t going to be passionate about it, it wasn’t worth doing.
But in the past months I’ve found myself wanting to write again. Not necessarily doing reviews (though I may revisit) but to just talk about movies and the movie industry in general. While the ideas were bouncing around my head, something happened that convinced me that I had to write again. Something that excited me so much that I had to talk about it.
Read more…