Mortdecai (2015)

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

Johnny Depp has never been one to be defined as a comedy genius of any sort, and it’s pretty telling of that fact when the one gag he has to ride on throughout “Mortdecai” is his mustache and how it twirls. That’s basically the defining comedic element of Mortdecai. He’s painfully proud of his mustache despite the obvious disgust by his loving wife, and he takes great pride of flashing it around. He even gleams proudly when he finds himself in America packed in to an elevator with men donning mustaches and beards of their own. That’s what counts as comedy in the painfully unfunny “Mortdecai.”

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Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

Adapted from the novel that made bored housewives across the world dream of being tortured by the most boring man in the world, “Fifty Shades of Grey” lives up to its reputation. It’s cheap, misogynist, Z grade exploitation masquerading as the romance of a woman trying to tame the ultimate man, who by all accounts should be alone left to his own demented fantasies. It began its life as fan fiction and reads like the cheap fantasies of a bored sexually repressed woman. “Fifty Shades of Grey” is about boring people doing stupid things to one another, and cardboard characters trying to create some sense of tension and conflict that never amounts to anything interesting. “Fifty Shades of Grey” is the film that essentially romanticizes abuse and misogyny as something that’s admirable in a man and can potentially be snuffed out with the right woman by his side.

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Ex Machina (2015)

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

Alex Garland’s “Ex Machina” is a brilliant often mesmerizing amalgam of “2001” and “Frankenstein” in where man has once again reached the ability to create life, albeit artificial. Garland chronicles the ever enduring battle of artificial intelligence and human intellect and how the lines can sometimes be blurred by the geniuses seeking to create actual life. “Ex Machina” is a consistently enigmatic and stunning science fiction tale of humanity, and the god complex that entrenches us in a deep and very bleak mystery as well as introducing us to a slew of characters, all of whom may not particularly be devious at first glance.

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Spy (2015)

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

When Melissa McCarthy is misused, she’s a bumbling, awkward, and unfunny mess trying way too hard (see: Tammy), but when she’s used correctly, she’s about as great as any other female comedian working in film today. McCarthy certainly is charming and has a down home quality to her that makes most roles she takes absolutely interesting. Even in such a derivative movie like “Spy,” McCarthy shines and arouses raucous laughs. And because of her, folks like Jude Law, Bobby Cannavale, and Jason Statham manage to shine and earn their own raucous laughter in the process. You wouldn’t think Law or Statham could be funny, but lo and behold, they’re just top notch in another great Paul Feig film about a unique female conquering some form of personal limitation.

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Ant-Man (2015)

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

“Ant Man” seems like a stand alone superhero effort at first, but it fits comfortably in the pegs of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It also introduces us to a wonderful superhero who, by all logic, should not have translated in to such a great film. Surely enough, with a script by Edgar Wright (and various others) and an excellent cast (including a welcome Hispanic presence), “Ant Man” is one of the best adaptations of Marvel’s Phase Two in their Cinematic Universe. Like every hero in the Marvel Universe, “Ant-Man” is just an average man thrust in to great circumstances, and he has to earn his stripes as a crime fighter while overcoming his own flaws and insecurities.

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Knock Knock (2015)

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

I’m stunned it took two screenwriters and Eli Roth to write what is a remake that steals bits from “Funny Games.” This time rather than the nemeses being petulant snot nosed young guys, the villains in this instance are two gorgeous young girls. “Knock Knock” is the least incompetently made film from Roth’s ever growing film library, and that’s due to the fact that it borrows a lot from “Funny Games,” despite being an admitted remake of 1977’s “Death Game.” There isn’t the sly self awareness, but Roth and co. do eventually realize how stupid their story is and then completely ride off the rails by the second half.

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The Visit (2015)

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

After a considerable slump with “The Last Airbender,” and “After Earth,” Shyamalan gives us yet another humanistic, demented, mystery that is filled with his trademark themes about life and coming of age. In this case, it’s young Becca and Tyler, both of whom are still healing from a broken marriage that saw their father leave them years before we meet them. Cut like a mock documentary, Shyamalan tailors the film to give us more of a personal view in to the dilemma Becca and Tyler find themselves in, and what it ultimately means in their development as adults.

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