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Hoppers | Average Guy Movie Review

Mabel (Piper Carda), a 19 year-old with a passion for nature, is fighting to save a glade with special meaning for her family. It's under threat from the local mayor (Jon Hamm), and his highway construction plans. This very personal mission leads Mabel to discover technology that allows her to transfer her consciousness into a robotic beaver, Avatar style, and explore the animal kingdom, unlocking unimaginable secrets. But will she be able to use it to save the glade? Pixar 's 30th feature film is yet another hilarious foray into nature, but  in much the same way scientists use camera rigs disguised as animals to observe different species in their natural habitats. Only this time, a human actually gets to explore the animal kingdom by hanging out with the animals, and Hoppers is delightfully self-aware when it comes to the similarities it shares with a certain James Cameron property. One of several amusing pop culture references throughout the film. In many ways it is an even ...
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Für Elise | Average Guy Movie Review

Two people at a turning point in their lives attempt to figure out where their relationship is going through a discussion on Beethoven's famous piece of music; Für Elise.  Perspective is a word that springs to mind when it comes to Jaschar Marktanner's fascinating short film, Für Elise . More importantly, how perspectives may differ from one person to the next. Watching Tobias Mosig's 'Ludwig' play the titular piece of music - beautifully, I might add - as he regales a mildly interested Elise (Marlene Fahnster) with what turns out to be a (spoiler alert) fictional tale behind the origins of Beethoven's famous work, is at first quite charming. Until, that is, Elise destroys it with her own, arguably more relevant perspective. The thing is, they aren't really talking about music. From the moment they appear on screen, it is clear how familiar these two are with each other, and yet it all feels very awkward. Something is clearly off, which only adds to the intr...
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Crime 101 | Average Guy Movie Review

A meticulous diamond thief (Chris Hemsworth) targets jewellery stores neighbouring the 101 freeway in Los Angeles. In need of some intel for his next job, the thief begins cultivating a relationship with a high end insurance agent (Halle Berry), disappointed with the lack of forward motion in her career. All while the one cop (Mark Ruffalo) who has connected the 101 robberies slowly closes in. I think it's fair to say that Bart Layton's latest crime thriller has some serious Heat vibes. Obviously this works in the movie's favour, even if Crime 101  doesn't quite meet the incredibly high bar set by Michael Mann's classic tale of cops and robbers. But it is still a slick and stylish thriller, that sees Hemsworth's complicated thief steal millions of dollars in diamonds by intentionally avoiding violence. It's a brilliant performance, in which we see something a little different from the Thor  actor. Yes he's playing a career criminal, but not what you’d ca...
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Mercy | Average Guy Movie Review

In 2029, a Los Angeles police officer finds himself on trial for the murder of his wife. His is the 19th case to be heard in the new 'Mercy Court'. Strapped to a special chair, Detective Chris Raven (Chris Pratt) has just 90 minutes to prove his innocence to an A.I. judge (Rebecca Ferguson), or he will be executed. Timur Bekmambetov continues to explore the 'screen life' genre with Mercy , only this time he's apparently weighing in on the Artificial Intelligence issue. Much like he did with Searching , Bekmambetov has his main character using screens to solve a crime, and in this case, prove his innocence. Pratt brings a likeability to Raven (great name!), but doesn't shy away from this troubled man's flaws. Whereas Rebecca Ferguson's portrayal of Maddox, the A.I. judge, can be a little uneven. At first she is perfectly cold and unemotional, but towards the end of the movie that begins to faulter, somewhat. Although it's definitely more the fault of ...
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Let Dan Go | Average Guy Movie Review

Several years after Dan (Daniel Griesheimer)'s tragic death in a car accident, his father Harry (Timothy J. Cox) reconnects with Dan’s wife Abby (Ashlee Lawhorn) in order to celebrate Dan’s life and reconcile their loss. Let Dan Go  opens outside a bar, where a desperate and frustrated woman pleads with her intoxicated husband to give up his car keys and come home with her. It is undoubtedly a familiar scene for far too many, and one that ends all too predictably. But despite a brutally honest approach to such a sensitive subject, director Arielle Carroll is also respectful of those that have suffered such a loss. Never going too far in her portrayal of the event that drives this short film.  After this intense and traumatic opening, we encounter Harry, sitting on a park bench, where he's soon joined by his daughter-in-law, Abby. It has been some time since that tragic night, but the pain is still fresh. On the face of it, this a catch-up. Two people who haven't seen each o...
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The Bride! | Average Guy Movie Review

After more than 100 years of existence, Frankenstein's monster (Christian Bale) is struggling with loneliness. So he heads to Chicago to see Doctor Euphronius (Annette Bening), who he asks to make him a companion. They select a murdered woman (Jessie Buckley), and after bringing her back to life, the reanimated pair go on a manic adventure together. One that sparks a police manhunt, and something of a social revolution. Maggie Gyllenhaal's bold re-imagining of The Bride of Frankenstein  is a little bit messy. A mishmash of genres and styles, in much the same way that Frankenstein's monster was once assembled. It stands to reason, however, that at least some of this messiness is intentional. And while some of it doesn't work, the parts that do are at the very least, rather good. The look of the film, for instance, is incredible. Stunning, even. It's all very 1930's, but met with some deliciously garish and gritty punk stylings. As well as a beautiful shock of ble...
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Predator: Badlands | Average Guy Movie Review

Seeking his father's respect, and a place within his clan, a young Yautja named Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) heads to one of the deadliest planets in the galaxy. Where, if he survives long enough, he will hunt a creature so deadly, it makes even the most seasoned Yautjas weak at the knees. Taking the idea for the original Predator  movie and flipping it on its head, it turns out, is actually a stroke of genius. Dan Trachtenberg has now delivered three cracking instalments in the franchise, reviving it in ways that few likely thought possible. Badlands  is a bit of a back-to-basics Predator  movie, akin to the Arnie starring original. A Yautja on a hunt in a foreign land, only this time we're following the lone hunter rather than being hunted by him. And he's the one in some "badass bush". You know, the kind Billy wouldn't wish on "a broke-dick dog". That said, much like Killer of Killers , it also goes deeper into the Yautja lore - including...
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