Hercules

Hercules is an American adventure film directed by Brett Ratner and starring Dwayne Johnson, Ian McShane, Reece Ritchie, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Joseph Fiennes, and John Hurt. It is based on the graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars. Distributed jointly by Paramount Pictures and MGM, it was released on July 25, 2014. It is one of two Hollywood-studio Hercules films released in 2014, the other being Summit Entertainment's The Legend of Hercules.

Hercules (Dwayne Johnson) is the leader of a band of mercenaries comprising the spear-wielding prophet Amphiaraus (Ian McShane), the knife-throwing thief Autolycus (Rufus Sewell), the feral warrior Tydeus (Aksel Hennie), the Amazon archer Atalanta (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal) and his nephew storyteller Iolaus (Reece Ritchie). Hercules is said to be the demigod son of Zeus, who completed the legendary Twelve Labors, only to be betrayed by Hera, who drove him insane and caused him to murder his wife Megara (Irina Shayk) and their children during a visit to King Eurystheus (Joseph Fiennes). Hercules has since rejected Zeus and chosen to live as mortal, and is tormented by visions of Cerberus.

One day, Hercules and his men are approached by Ergenia (Rebecca Ferguson), on behalf of her father, Lord Cotys (John Hurt), who wants Hercules to train the armies of Thrace to defend the kingdom from bloodthirsty warlord Rheseus (Tobias Santelmann). Hercules accepts after he and his men are offered his weight in gold, and the band is welcomed to Thrace by King Cotys and General Sitacles (Peter Mullan), leader of the Thracian army. After training the army, Hercules and his men lead them into battle against local barbarians as a test of their strength. After the barbarians are defeated, Hercules and Sitacles confront Rheseus and his soldiers, believed to be Centaurs, but soon proven to be men on horseback. Rheseus is defeated and taken back to Thrace as a prisoner, where he is tortured and humiliated. Noticing that Ergenia has taken pity to him, Hercules confronts her and finds out Rheseus was merely retaliating against Lord Cotys' aggressive attempts to expand his kingdom, and, although Ergenia doesn't agree with his methods, she abides to them for the sake of her son, Arius, Lord Cotys' successor to the throne.

This film and the concept of the storyline had fantastic potential. Sadly the director and the writer and the producer all failed horribly. The battles were poorly designed and executed, the worst was the battle against Rhesus, he was allegedly waging this incredible campiagn thru Greece and then he faces Hercules and suddenly his army turns into nothing more than individuals charging into a wall of spears. The horse charge at the start of the battle is stopped without breaking the shield wall at all and all the calvary are suddenly and mysteriously gone including any dead horse. The shield wall is shown multiple times and there are almost no bodies in front of it but we are to believe that they are stunningly victorius and completely destroy the 'enemy'? The final battle against the true evil king, Lord Cotys, has Hercules and his companions knocking over 'bowls' that anyone can see are filled with burning charcoal. These then catch the stairs completely on fire pouring down the staircase like molten lava. Finally Hercules topples a statue of Hera to break the armies attack and the head roles down the stair a hits Lord Cotys knocking him of the side of a cliff. sadly in all previous scenes there was no cliff anywhere near him. The next wide pan shows a giant hole in the courtyard that was not their before and is not explained at all and is apparently the spot Lord Cotys fell into.

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Lucy

Lucy is a 2014 French action film directed, written and edited by Luc Besson, and produced by Besson and Europacorp. It was released on 25 July 2014. The film was shot in Taipei, Paris and Cité du Cinéma. It stars Scarlett Johansson as the title character, along with Morgan Freeman playing Professor Norman.

Lucy is a 25-year-old American woman living and studying in Taipei, Taiwan. She is tricked into working as a drug mule by her new boyfriend, whose employer is a Korean mob boss and drug lord named Mr. Jang. Lucy delivers a briefcase to Mr. Jang containing a highly valuable synthetic drug called CPH4. Lucy is captured and a bag of the drug is forcibly sewn into Lucy's abdomen and that of others who will also transport the drug for sales in Europe. While Lucy is in captivity, one of her captors kicks her in the stomach, breaking the bag, releasing a large quantity of the drug into her system. As a result, she begins acquiring increasingly powerful mental talents and enhanced physical capabilities, such as absorbing information instantaneously, telekinesis, mental time travel, and can choose not to feel pain or other discomforts, in addition to other abilities. She kills off her present captors and escapes.

Lucy travels to a nearby hospital to get the bag of drugs removed from her abdomen. The bag is successfully removed, and Lucy realises that she requires the bags inside the other three drug mules to continue expanding her neural capacity and that the process of rapid cell growth the drug is stimulating will eventually kill her. Returning to Mr. Jang's hotel, Lucy assaults him and telepathically extracts the locations of all three drug mules from his mind.

At her shared apartment, Lucy begins researching her condition and contacts a well-known scientist and doctor, Professor Samuel Norman, whose research may be the key to saving her. After Lucy speaks with the professor and provides proof of her developed abilities, she flies to Paris and contacts a local police captain, Pierre Del Rio, to help her find the remaining three packets of the drug. Her powers continue to grow, leaving her able to mentally disable an entire police force and the men who made her a drug mule. Lucy recovers the drug and must hurry to meet Professor Norman, with whom she agrees to share everything she now knows, after he points out that the main point of life is to pass on knowledge. Jang and the mob also want the drug and a gunfight ensues with the French police.

This film is complete - beautiful cinematography, great story, a gripping score and tension that crawls into you and won't let go. Fans of the Fifth Element will recognize the increasingly frenetic pacing and staccato use of scene cuts, as well as the gorgeous, flowing camera work and the use of visual allegory from Besson's previous projects. Old film tricks used in new ways serve to build the tension from the first frame to "Lucy"'s final, shuddering climax. Elements of Leon The Professional and La Femme Nikita are present but feel more refined here, more sophisticated and deliver even more "oomph" to action fans.

However, beyond what we know of Besson's previous work lies the truth of why "Lucy" is such a fantastic film and a true, "must-see". If you love sci-fi - It's an excellent rendition of a classic theme. If you love Scar Jo, she's never been better and again demonstrates the range of a true talent. But, if you love films - be you a student, an enthusiast or "in the biz" - you must see "Lucy". It is on of those rarest of works that will remind you of why you started loving movies in the first place.

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Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a 2014 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Captain America, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger and the ninth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, with a screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. It stars Chris Evans as Captain America, with Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily VanCamp, Hayley Atwell, Robert Redford, and Samuel L. Jackson. In the film, Captain America, the Black Widow, and Sam Wilson join forces to uncover a conspiracy within S.H.I.E.L.D. while facing a mysterious assassin known as the Winter Soldier.

Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who wrote Captain America: The First Avenger, stated before that film's release that they were working on a sequel, and in June 2012, Anthony and Joe Russo entered negotiations to direct. The following month, casting of the supporting roles began with the additions of Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan. Principal photography commenced in April 2013 in Los Angeles, California before moving to Washington, D.C. and Cleveland, Ohio.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier premiered in Los Angeles on March 13, 2014. It was released internationally on March 26, 2014 and in North America on April 4, 2014, in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D. The film became a critical and financial success, having grossed over $713 million worldwide. A sequel set to be directed by the Russo brothers is scheduled for release on May 6, 2016.

With the success of the recent marvel films, this one again is sure to do well at the box office. whats more pleasantly surprising is that this film is probably the best they've made so far, even rivalling the avengers. I'm sure that with these positive reviews this movie will make upwards of 600 million, beating Thor: the dark world, but i doubt that it will beat iron man 3. however with the success of this movie, i feel that many more people with be eagerly waiting for the third instalment so watch out Batman V superman!!

The acting as expected from Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans and Samuel L. Jackson was excellent. Robert Redford was impeccable in his role and he was worth the effort that Marvel put in to get him on board. The rest of the cast all play their roles extremely well and Marvel have done the right thing by bringing the Falcon in the movie, which was played well by Anthony Mackie.

The movie is a great political thriller and i must admit, even without the bonus of superheroes, the script/story is a great movie. The superheroes is what we pay and want to see but the amazing flow of the movie itself should leave many satisfied. The superheroes and villains were all great and i hope we continue seeing the Falcon in the future along with Black Widow. This movie is the most closely linked with The Avengers and also Avengers Age of Ultron, from the rest of the phase 2 films. This is a great movie and one that i highly recommend watching.

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The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (released with the subtitle Rise of Electro in some markets) is a 2014 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, directed by Marc Webb and released by Columbia Pictures. It serves as a sequel to the 2012 film The Amazing Spider-Man and was announced in 2011. The studio hired James Vanderbilt to write the screenplay and Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci to rewrite it. Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz, Colm Feore, Paul Giamatti, and Sally Field star.

Development of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 began after the success of The Amazing Spider-Man. DeHaan, Giamatti, Jones, and Cooper were cast between December 2012 and February 2013. Filming took place in New York from February to June 2013. The film was released in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D on May 2, 2014 in the United States. The film received mixed reviews, and grossed $708 million worldwide, making it the lowest-earning entry in the franchise.

I had very high expectations on this sequel as The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) was an amazing film. This film exceeded my expectations. The action was brilliant, casting and special effects were amazing and there was a great use of comedy thrown in there too. Many people say that there was too many villains in the film but I don't see how 3 villains is too much! Speaking of villains, the villain choices were great, Electro's big screen debut was an amazing one as was the Rhino's, and the Green Goblin, I think, was not as good as the Willem Dafoe Goblin but a close second. A VERY close second. One downer was that they killed Gwen Stacey. I didn't like that as she is a strong female character in the Spider-Man universe and much much better than MJ Watson but, if they want to follow the comics, then I guess the Death of Gwen Stacey comic is a brilliant one to follow. Overall, I think The Amazing Spider-Man is truly amazing and I do look forward to The Amazing Spider-Man 3 in 2016 and The Amazing Spider-Man 4 in 2018!

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Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy is a 2014 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the tenth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is directed by James Gunn, who wrote the screenplay with Nicole Perlman, and features an ensemble cast including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, and Benicio del Toro. In Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter Quill forms an uneasy alliance with a group of extraterrestrial misfits who are on the run after stealing a coveted orb.

Screenwriter Nicole Perlman began working on the screenplay in 2009. Producer Kevin Feige first publicly mentioned Guardians of the Galaxy as a potential film in 2010, and Marvel Studios announced that the film was in active development at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2012. Gunn was hired to write and direct the film that September. In February 2013, Pratt was hired to play Peter Quill / Star-Lord, and the supporting cast was filled out over the next several months. Filming began in July 2013 at Shepperton Studios, England with filming continuing in London before wrapping up in October 2013. Post-production completed on July 7, 2014.

Guardians of the Galaxy premiered in Hollywood on July 21, 2014. It was released in theaters August 1, 2014 in the United States in 3D and IMAX 3D. A sequel has been announced and is scheduled to be released on July 28, 2017.

Just like everybody else out there I went to see this movie with no idea what so ever of this "Guardians of the Galaxy' characters nor story. In short, I wasn't expecting much from this movie. Boy, was I wrong! This movie quickly gets off on the right foot by introducing us to the main character's origins in one of Marvel's greatest introduction to date followed by the now iconic Marvel Logo intro. Pretty much every main character gets a backstory and reason why they are there. This is great filmmaking at its chore to begin with because this draws us immediately to root and care about the characters. Great action scenes, hilarious moments, endless funny one liners and outta of this world special effects make this movie the most complete Marvel movie I've seen so far. What makes it even greater to me is that at the end of this movie you recall all of the Main character's name and what the movie was from beginning to end. That in itself tells you how good it was.

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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 2014

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a 2014 American science fiction film directed by Matt Reeves and written by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It stars Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. It is the sequel to the 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which began 20th Century Fox's reboot of the original Planet of the Apes series.

It is the eighth theatrical film in the franchise. The film was released in the United States on July 11, 2014, and was met with critical acclaim, with critics praising its visual effects, story, direction, acting, and emotional depth.

As seen in a prologue, the ALZ-113 virus causes the collapse of human civilization following martial law, civil unrest and the economic collapse of every country in the world. Ten years later, Caesar leads and governs a new generation of apes in a community located in the Muir Woods. While walking through the forest, Caesar's son Blue Eyes and Rocket's son Ash encounter a human. The human, Carver, panics and shoots Ash, wounding him. Carver calls for the rest of his small party of armed survivors, led by a man named Malcolm, while Blue Eyes calls for the other apes. Caesar orders the humans to leave. The remaining humans in San Francisco, genetically immune to the virus, are living in a guarded tower within the ruined city. Prompted by Koba, a scarred bonobo who holds a grudge against humans for his mistreatment, Caesar brings a large group of the apes to the city where he conveys the message that while the apes do not want war, they will fight to defend their home. He then demands that the humans stay in their territory and states the apes will stay in theirs, too.

Humans generally have a superiority complex that makes them often consider all other forms of life as inadequate. Civilization has exemplified the mass exploitation and selfishness humans are capable of in the past, and present, on numerous occasions. The Planet of the Apes series delves on this complex. It displays the vulnerabilities of the human race and how nothing is to be underestimated.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes will surely entertain. As the sequel to the last instalment, we follow Caesar in his new habitat following the human pandemic instigated by the Simian influenza. In a world where the human population is depleted and infrastructure collapsed, society is broken apart and in a fragile state. With stubborn and selfish humans, the fate of humanity does not rest in good hands.

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X-Men Days of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past is a 2014 superhero film based on the fictional X-Men characters that appear in Marvel Comics. Directed by Bryan Singer, it is the seventh installment of the X-Men film series and acts as a sequel to both 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand and 2011's X-Men: First Class. The story, inspired by the 1981 Uncanny X-Men storyline "Days of Future Past" produced by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, focuses on two time periods and Wolverine going to 1973 to save the future of mankind. The film stars an ensemble cast, including Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Nicholas Hoult, Shawn Ashmore, Peter Dinklage, Ian McKellen, and Patrick Stewart. Simon Kinberg wrote the screenplay from a story conceived by him, Matthew Vaughn, and Jane Goldman.

The film is a British-American co-production with a budget of US$200 million. Principal photography began in Montreal, Canada in April 2013 and concluded in August the same year, with additional filming and pick-ups taking place in November 2013 and February 2014. The film premiered in New York City on May 10, 2014, and was theatrically released on May 23.

X-Men: Days of Future Past received widespread critical acclaim, becoming the best-reviewed film in the X-Men series. Reviewers commended its fresh visual style and storyline. It is also the highest-grossing film in the series, having earned over $741 million worldwide. A sequel, X-Men: Apocalypse, is scheduled for release on May 27, 2016, with Singer returning to direct.

Days of Future Past continues the work of X2 as genre-defining. I have to classify it as a work of art/comic book pulp fiction. The characters, effects, and story are outstanding. Everything in this movie is exceedingly better in the sequel then even the first two films and First Class. Like X2, the acting is superb and the dialogue is rich. Every character feels believable. No cartoonish villains, every side of the issue is presented by people who believe they are the ones who are in the right and the underlying message of tolerance and bigotry only add to the depth of this film. What's better then its predecessor X3 in every way. It restores the sense of epic adventure and grand-scale storytelling that's been absent from far too many of most alleged blockbusters.

This film is far more sophisticated and has a better story than any X-Men movie to date. Here, the characters previously introduced but under used are utilized in a comprehensive and cohesive manner, and the newly introduced characters are blended in seamlessly with the story. The music is very good as is the special effects. The budget clearly hit the screen fully and there are truly some amazing sequences to behold. The cast-selection is still perfect.

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Godzilla 2014

Godzilla is a 2014 American science fiction monster film directed by Gareth Edwards. It is a reboot of the Godzilla film franchise and retells the origins of Godzilla in contemporary times as a "terrifying force of nature". The film is set in the present day, fifteen years after the unearthing of two chrysalises in a mine in the Philippines. From the pods come two giant radiation-eating creatures, known as "MUTOs", which cause great damage in Japan, Hawaii and the western United States. Their awakening also stirs a much larger, destructive, ancient alpha predator known as "Godzilla", whose existence has been kept secret by the U.S. government since 1954. It stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn, and Bryan Cranston. The screenplay is credited to Max Borenstein but includes contributions from David Callaham, David S. Goyer, Drew Pearce, and Frank Darabont.

The film is a co-production between Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures. It was distributed by Warner Bros. worldwide, except in Japan where it was distributed by Toho. It is the second Godzilla film to be fully filmed and produced by an American studio, the first being the 1998 film of the same name. The project initially began in 2004 and was originally intended to be an IMAX short film titled, Godzilla 3D: To The Max, to be directed by Yoshimitsu Banno, director of Godzilla vs. Hedorah. After several years in development, the production was transferred to Legendary for development as a feature film. Producers Kenji Okuhira, Brian Rogers and director Banno were retained by Legendary. Shortly before filming began, several producers were dismissed from the production and a court case is ongoing between themselves and Legendary. The movie was filmed in the United States and Canada in 2013.

The film was released worldwide in 2D, 3D and IMAX on May 15, 2014; in North America on May 16; with releases in China on June 13 and Japan on July 25, 2014. Critical reception for the film has been positive, with some praising the film for its slow pace and dramatic build-up, while others criticized the length of time before the titular character's appearance, as well as its on-screen duration; however, the direction, visual effects, music, characterization, and creature designs were positively received.

Critics have lost their way. They have rated this film average/below average because they dislike the tease of Godzilla in the movie and say an improvement would be having him centre stage every scene he's in. When you look back to some of the greatest, most tense horror/sci-fi films like Jaws or Alien, you will see that they don't always show the creature from the start, but little snippets, building tension throughout the movie. They call this a B-movie because they enter the screening with the mindset that its cheesy because they don't understand the meaning behind Gojira itself, making it sound like just another monster movie when it's not. The fans are speaking out, showing their appreciation for the movie and love for the view Gareth is giving Godzilla, but the critics do not. Never listen to them; their opinions don't stand for the millions that actually GET what the director was trying to establish here.

Also, if you're a monster movie type of person, go see this. If you're not, don't go see it. It is that simple. Don't go judging on how bad an actor is in a film when you can't even memorize a single line. Don't go writing a review that is completely biased just because you do not know the concept and origin of Godzilla. Half of these reviews are trolls anyway so it is best to ignore them (and including me if I sound ignorant). If you like monsters or Godzilla, go see it and make up your mind. If you don't, then spend your money on something else.

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The Purge: Anarchy

It is March 21, 2023, hours before the Annual Purge. While television programs credit the Purge for record low unemployment and poverty levels, people across the country are preparing either to commit acts of violence or to barricade themselves indoors against the mayhem. Meanwhile, an anti-Purge resistance group intermittently hacks into television programs to broadcast their own messages that challenge the system. In Los Angeles, Eva Sanchez, a waitress, rushes home to her daughter Cali and her terminally ill father Papa Rico. As they prepare to lock down for the evening, her father slips out of the apartment and into a waiting limo. He leaves behind a note explaining that he sold himself to a wealthy family as a Purge offering in exchange for $100,000 which will be transferred to Eva's and Cali's bank accounts following the Purge.

A couple named Shane and Liz are driving to the house of Shane's sister to wait out the Purge. They stop at a market but when they return to their car, Shane is startled by a man with white facepaint, whose gang silently taunts them. They quickly drive away, but their car dies just as the Purge begins. They discover that their fuel line was cut, and that the gang had tampered with the car. The aforementioned gang then shows up, forcing Shane and Liz to flee on foot. At the same time, police sergeant Leo Barnes goes out into the streets to get revenge on the man who killed his son while driving under the influence of alcohol twelve months ago. Leo is skilled in combat and is heavily armed.

Here is how I see it. The second installment (to what promises to be a yearly occurrence) of the Purge was a lot better than the first. But it isn't because The Purge: Anarchy is a significant film. It's because Writer/Director James DeMonaco is finally able to incorporate the underlying theme of class hierarchy that was completely misguided in its predecessor.

The big mistake with the first film was making it a trite home invasion thriller. With Anarchy, we explore the outside world during the 6th annual Purge, and it proves, without a doubt, to be ten times more thrilling and suspenseful. We see the nut cases in freaky masks (one with GOD written on it) wielding their weapons of choice. We see the upper class citizens holding each others hands reciting the "New Founding Fathers" motto that feels like some satanic cult. In our seats, we feel that we have to look around all at times, because there could be a killer ahead or behind us.

There are three revolving stories of people who are entering the night. One is Eva and Cali, a waitress and her daughter. There is Shane and Liz, a crumbling couple with no killer instincts at all. And then there is Leo, the sergeant, the "kick ass and take names" guy. Leo is out to revenge Purge. The others find themselves wandering the street. Leo winds up having to protect them. Will his generosity effect his main goal? Can Leo really save everyone? Frank Gillo makes for a very convincing and likable hero. While we watch and the story unfolds, we learn that The Purge, and its purgers, aren't so much anarchic as they are regulated.

With it's unique premise the Purge is always able to separate itself from the average horror/thriller film. Most importantly, Anarchy is a step up because it realizes its potential to be truly scary from the realism of its "legal murder" concept; rather than just bludgeoning people left and right. Unlike the first film, your instinctive fascination with such a nightmare concept will multiply here, not diminish or turn into a laughing stock.

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Maleficent

Maleficent is a 2014 American fantasy film directed by Robert Stromberg from a screenplay by Linda Woolverton. Starring Angelina Jolie as the eponymous Disney villainess character, the film is a live-action re-imagining of Walt Disney's 1959 animated film Sleeping Beauty, and portrays the story from the perspective of the antagonist, Maleficent.

Principal photography took place between June and October 2012. The film premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on May 28, 2014, and was released in the United Kingdom that same day. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures in the U.S. on May 30, 2014 in the Disney Digital 3D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D formats, as well as in conventional theaters. The film was met with mixed reviews from critics, but was a commercial success, having grossed over $727 million worldwide.

Review:

I saw this movie tonight with a friend and it was spectacular. Going in, I was excited as a life-long Disney fan but also expecting a somewhat cheesy good-vs-evil type of movie based on what I had seen in the trailer. I couldn't have been more wrong! Angelina Jolie delivers an amazing performance and makes a well-known, previously rather one- dimensional Disney villain relate-able and more sympathetic, while also managing to look like a convincing, gorgeous, magical creature.

The CGI is a tad heavy and a little freaky at times (such as the three coloured pixies/Aunts) but was used, in combination with some amazing sets, to create a fantastic world and creatures which were reminiscent of the beautiful and imaginative work in movies such as "Hellboy 2" and "Pan's Labyrinth". The effort by the art team here really helps to draw you into Maleficent's world at the beginning of the movie and makes you wish you were a kid growing up with this movie as fodder for your imagination.

Although Maleficent's character has been humanised in this re-telling, the story really emphasises that she isn't human at all, and explores the ins and outs of her life and how she relates to the humans she encounters.

The plot for this movie really fits into the current trend of exploring the anti-hero (Breaking Bad, Hannibal...) and shows that Disney is trying to break with its past depiction of characters being black and white, good or evil, etc.

I feel like I am gushing over this film, but as a Disney classic lover I have been truly impressed by what is sure to be a new favourite with kids and adults equally. I do expect some controversy over parts of the film but I won't discuss those here.

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How to Train Your Dragon 2

How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a 2014 American 3D computer-animated action fantasy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox, loosely based on the book series of the same name by Cressida Cowell. It is the sequel to the 2010 computer-animated film How to Train Your Dragon and the second in the trilogy. The film is written and directed by Dean DeBlois, and stars the voices of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller and Kristen Wiig with the addition of Cate Blanchett, Djimon Hounsou and Kit Harington. The film was released on June 13, 2014, and received positive reviews.

The film takes place five years after the first film, featuring Hiccup and his friends as young adults. DeBlois revealed in an interview about the story: "At the end of last film, all these Vikings who were previously somewhat landlocked are now on the backs of dragons so the entire Northern Hemisphere opens up to them. And with that Hiccup's curiosity increases, the map expands and inevitably they are going to come across new dragons, new cultures." Hiccup then "discovers a larger conflict brewing between humans and dragons and he finds himself at the center of it".

Review:

How to Train your Dragon 2 is a shining example of what both family movies and animated films are capable of. This is not the same story rehashed over again. From the characters, to the drama, to the action, to the comedy, this film does what any sequel should do by stepping up its predecessor in every way possible, and respects its audience enough not to shy away from its darker and more dramatic content, but still remain viewable and entertaining for all audiences. We are talking about a PG rated Dreamworks film after all.

From the moment the music began playing during the beginning to when the end credits began roiling, I was completely immersed in this phenomenal movie that is more than worthy to stand along side the likes of any great live-action fantasy film or the past decade. Possibly one the the best animated movies I have ever seen, this is the Empire Strikes Back of animated films.

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Transformers 4 Age of Extinction

Transformers: Age of Extinction is a 2014 science fiction action film based on the Transformers franchise. It is the fourth installment of the live-action Transformers film series and stars Mark Wahlberg in the lead role. A sequel to Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the film takes place four years later, after the invasion of Chicago. Like its predecessors, the film is directed by Michael Bay and executive produced by Steven Spielberg. Ehren Kruger is the film's screenwriter, having written every Transformers film since Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The film features an entirely new cast of human characters and is the first in the series to feature the Dinobots. Returning Transformers include Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Leadfoot, Brains, and Megatron now known as Galvatron. The film was released on June 27, 2014, in IMAX and 3D.

Upon release, the film's reception was negative. Critics overall expressed dislike for the acting, directing, length, and writing. It received an average rating of 18% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the lowest rated film of the franchise, although some praised the action scenes, visual effects, and Wahlberg's and Tucci's performance. The film was also a commercial success, grossing over $1 billion in worldwide box office revenue. It became the third movie in a franchise where more than one film grossed $1 billion worldwide. The other franchises being Pirates of the Caribbean and The Dark Knight Trilogy.

Review:

The movie isn't the best movie out there for sure. But it's the best of all Michael Bay-made Transformers films. I kept my expectations low due to Michael Bay factor, and what I've got was more than I expected, which made me pleased in the end.

This movie abandoned the "Bumblebee and his stupid friends" concept and focused entirely on Prime and survival of Autobots, which had been the main projection of the Franchise since G1. In this case, I can easily say this is the first TF movie that really felt "Transformers oriented". Even though there still existed the idea of "An unnecessary family and their dumbfuck relations", Mark Wahlberg made a hell of a good job to have that family factor "endurable" while waiting 2.5 hours just for dinobots to pop up.

Despite the questions popping out of nowhere, the plot is quite entertaining and at most times makes the watcher wonder what will happen next, unlike the first three installations. The visuals are absolutely amazing though.

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22 Jump Street

22 Jump Street is a 2014 American comedy film directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, produced by and starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, and written by Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel, and Rodney Rothman. It is the sequel to the 2012 film 21 Jump Street, based on the television series of the same name. The film was released on June 13, 2014, by Columbia Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film received generally positive reviews, and earned over $290 million at the box office.

Two years after their success in the Jump Street program, Morton Schmidt and Greg Jenko are back on the streets chasing drug dealers. They thought by going to actual college that they would be hunting down real criminals once again. However, unannounced to them, they were assigned to an online university, only looking for keywords and phrases during online lectures that might give off any indication of any illegal crime happening around the city. Eventually, they come across the meeting time and location of another powerful gang in the docks. However, after failing in the pursuit of a group of dealers led by the elusive Ghost, Deputy Chief Hardy puts the duo back on the program to work for Captain Dickson—now located across the street at 22 Jump Street. Their assignment is to go undercover as college students and locate the supplier of a drug known as "WHYPHY" that killed a student photographed buying it on campus.

At college, Jenko quickly befriends a pair of jocks named Zook and Rooster, two football player fraternity members that become the prime suspects of the investigation. Jenko starts attending parties with the jocks who do not take as kindly to Schmidt. Meanwhile, Schmidt gets the attention of an art student, Maya, by feigning an interest in slam poetry. The two sleep together, to the disapproval of Maya's roommate Mercedes, and it is revealed that Maya is the daughter of the vehemently disapproving Captain Dickson. Despite sleeping together, Maya tells Schmidt not to take it seriously, and he starts to feel left out as Jenko bonds more and more with Zook, who encourages him to join the football team.

Review:

Loaded with potential, 22 JUMP STREET is the sequel to the comedic buddy teamup (based on the 1980's Johnny Depp TV show) where Christopher Tatum and Jonah Hill posed as high schoolers to bust a drug dealer… Not only did it score at the box office, 21 JUMP STREET was actually really funny and involving, and the duo made a fantastic polar opposite team.

The first of many inside-jokes is when Ice Cube's grouchy Captain of the 22 Jump Street's new abandoned church location comments on how no one thought the first "reboot" (referring to the church within the movie, but not really) would actually work like it did... And now they're piling more money into this new one (again quasi-referring to the church)… Something sequels actually have to do to win over audiences, a second time.

The intentionally mirrored storyline of Hill's Schmidt and Tatum's Jenko in college lacks the suspenseful undercover element of keeping their identities secret: Not only do they constantly shrug off the mission at hand… finding the drug dealer that sold to a girl who fatally overdosed… but the students they're involved with are equally pointless and unmotivated.

Jenko bonds with a fellow football jock while Schmidt scores (much too easily) with a girl way out of his league. The twist on who that girl's related to provides some laughter but the joke gets old after a while. As do the bromantic metrosexual comparisons about the bickering cop-partners being in and out of a close relationship... You're straight but seem otherwise: We get it already!

The best scenes take place after the weary college story peters out… Not like it had any real juice in the first place… Hell, even their current psychedelic overdose is lame and contrived. So when the boys infiltrate Spring Break/Mexico there's a neat burst of overboard sequel-action to make us forget two things: 22 isn't as good as the first venture, and the first 3/4ths of this movie isn't very good at all.

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Edge of Tomorrow

Edge of Tomorrow is a 2014 American military science fiction film starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. Doug Liman directed the film based on a screenplay adapted from the Japanese light novel All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. The film takes place in the near future, where an alien race has invaded the Earth and defeated the world's military units. It follows Major William Cage (Cruise), a military officer inexperienced in combat, who is deployed into a combat mission against the aliens. Though Cage is killed in minutes, he finds himself starting over in a time loop, repeating the same mission and being killed. Each time, Cage learns to better fight the aliens, and he teams up with Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Blunt) to defeat them.

Rights to All You Need Is Kill were bought in late 2009, and a spec script was sold to the American studio Warner Bros. Pictures for production. The studio co-produced the film with the Australian production company Village Roadshow. Filming began in late 2012 and took place mainly at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden outside London. Trafalgar Square in London was also a filming location for some scenes.

The film was released in theaters in 28 territories, including the United Kingdom, Brazil, Germany, Spain, and Indonesia, on the weekend of May 30, 2014. On the weekend of June 6, 2014, it was released in 36 additional territories, including North America (United States and Canada), Australia, China, and Russia. The film received largely positive reviews from critics. As of August 3, 2014, the film has grossed $362.8 million worldwide. (c)Wiki

Review: 

Edge of Tomorrow (EOT for me) will be the most surprising blockbuster of this year (maybe along with X-Men: Days of Future Past) for doing its job so well that beats every expectation about what it has to offer. A storyline about one man that is shown to us doing the "same" things every time could be dull. But EOT has a thoughtful script full of turns and fun that entertains and allows to Cruise to do new things inside that particular Groundhog Day.

I wont spoil anything because the movie is full of valuable twists, surprisingly good chemistry between Cruise and Emily Blunt (Full Metal B**ch) and it has an involving script aside of the spectacular action sequences. The first one in the movie is totally amazing. But the rest is as that good. The movie clearly develops in the action and the riveting pace. It offers what a great blockbuster should be and it reaches that superb goal.

Also Tom Cruise gives his best performance in so many time. Maybe, I'm not joking, this is his best performance ever. For the first time he is not doing an smiling hero. He is a coward. He is a scared and inexperienced soldier who has to learn to be more skillful (and to escape from his personal loop) every time he returns to the "same" day. And Cruise is wonderful in that role. You really don't recognize him. Forget his frequent smiling, his heroic or possible macho topics. This could be a new and groundbreaking role inside his career even if you are not a big fan of him (I'm not going as far as saying that this is his best movie or the most enjoyable one of all, but this movie could be one of his best ones too). And when a movie has a star doing his job properly and much better than expected, a great script and a riveting pace (the movie is never boring) the whole concept has the job done. And that's the case of EOT. Also the stellar performances from Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson are truly good.

In fact I'm glad that this one came after "Oblivion". That one was good, but this one is different and much better. Don't expect "Oblivion 2" or its same style because you will be wrong.

Please, trust me and go to the theater to enjoy this wonderful, original and surprising entertainment. It delivers much more than you could expect, delivers the best Cruise (in so many time that I personally think that this is Cruise at his best) and delivers a clever story with a good twist. Enjoy! 

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