Month in the Movies: July

The summer movie season has been quite a huge disappointment with some even calling it the worst summer for movies in a long time. There hasn't been that many hits with more controversial movies taking centre stage. July featured everything from original movies to reboots, sequels and continuations so there was a wide range, unfortunately, not all of it was quality. I was lucky enough to see 11 films this month, some very good and some very bad.

If you aren't aware of this series, I pretty much go through the month and rank the movies that I saw that month based on a combination of quality and how much I enjoyed the film. So lets get into the list!

11. Absolutely Fabulous

Quite possibly the hardest movie to get through this year, 'Absolutely Fabulous' was absolutely dreadful. Painfully unfunny with horrible characters, this movie is one of the worst that I have seen so far this year. A movie that I most definitely will never return to.

Final Verdict = F

Check out my review for 'Absolutely Fabulous' here

10. Ice Age Collision Course

The FIFTH movie in this franchise which was hard for me to believe and understand. I'm not entirely sure how this is still going on as the movies have got worse and worse but it still must attract the younger audiences. The movie has elements that have potential to create a good story but it fails to do so. Children may enjoy it but adults will definitely not do so as much.

Final Verdict = D+

Check out my review for 'Ice Age Collision Course' here

9. Now You See Me 2

I completely forgot that I saw this movie in the last month which says a lot about the film. The cast bring it once again- apart from Harrelson's bizarre performance as his normal characters twin brother. In the end the film is quite anti climatic and there isn't enough that amazes you in what seems to be a very drawn out film. 'Now You See Me 2' is an alright watch but unless you loved the first one, a film that you don't have to rush to see.

Final Verdict = C

Check out my review for 'Now You See Me 2' here

8. Ghostbusters

'Ghostbusters' was nowhere near as bad as many expected it to be which is a good thing. The film featured some good moments with the leading ladies doing a good job especially Kate McKinnon. However the comedy was not as consistent and a very weak villain hold the film back quite a lot. Although there is no need for this film to exist, it is still an enjoyable viewing that should bring you entertainment.

Final Verdict = C+

Check out my review for 'Ghostbusters' here

7. Keanu

Key and Peele deliver comedy phenomenally well and 'Keanu' is a great example of that. This movie is incredibly funny and the pair shine as they look to recover their new kitten. This movie will no doubt have you in stitches. The movie does tail off at times and loses focus becoming a complete action movie at times. The execution asn't quite there at all times but Keanu is a very entertaining and enjoyable movie.

Final Verdict = C+

Check out my review for 'Keanu' here

6. The Legend of Tarzan

The gritty continuation of the character Tarzan that nobody really asked for did bring me quite a bit of entertainment. Although some problems with the CGI, I really enjoyed the performances throughout the film such as Christoph Waltz as Leon Rom who proved to be a highlight of the film for me. Some great action really helps the film as well in what was overall an enjoyable film.

Final Verdict = B-

Check out my review for 'The Legend of Tarzan' here

5. Central Intelligence

Kevin Hart and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson were phenomenal in this movie together. The pairs chemistry was incredibly good and they have to work together again. The comedy in this movie works incredibly well as does most of the action. 'Central Intelligence' is a very good action comedy and will have you wanting more from the two leads. One of the funniest movies of the year and one to check out.

Final Verdict = B-

Check out my review for 'Central Intelligence' here

4. Jason Bourne

Matt Damon is back with a bang- sorta. Jason Bourne is a fine action movie in its own right but does not compare to the previous three Bourne films that Damon was a part of. The story wasn't as interesting as others but once again the action lives up to expectation and creates some phenomenal scenes. Damon is great as the title character with good performances also coming from the likes of Alicia Vikander, Julia Stiles and Tommy Lee Jones. A fine addition to the franchise.

Final Verdict = B

Check out my review for 'Jason Bourne' here

3. The BFG

Steven Spielberg certainly delivered another great family film as he brought Roald Dahl's classic novel to life. Mark Rylance was great as The BFG which is one of my favourite performances of the year. A real good fun movie from the excellent mind of Steven Spielberg as The BFG is a film that is enjoyable to all ages. Not a Spielberg classic but still a good watch.

Final Verdict = B

Check out my review of 'The BFG' here

'Ice Age: Collision Course' Review

The Ice Age gang are back for the fifth film which really is a surprise to me. However with the fourth film 'Continental Drift' grossed a massive $877,244,782 worldwide. To put that into context, Batman v Superman grossed $872,662,631 so that shows that there is clearly an audience out there craving this series- mainly kids. Pretty mad to think of that so surely there must be some redeeming qualities to the series and hopefully, to the new film. 

Scrat is once again pursuing and trying to keep his acorn which leads him to set off a series of events that may end the world. Manny (Ray Romano) and the gang must head to a certain location to try and prevent the disaster that could end the world. Reuniting with Buck (Simon Pegg), they will have to face off against new enemies who look to get in their way.

Didn't they already do this story in 'The Meltdown'? Wasn't the second one a story of the gang travelling to a location to try and provide safety? That's what I kept on thinking throughout this movie which makes it seem so lazy that they are rehashing the same plot lines from a previous instalment. I know it's been 10 years since that movie but come on.

Like quite a lot of the animated movies, this is clearly for kids. Unfortunately, the film isn't like a Kung Fu Panda where it is still highly entertaining despite this. I can't slag it off too hard for this as it is clearly aimed for children which is apparent from the whole load of immature slapstick humour.  Due to this and with it being the fifth film, it feels really repetitive and you feel as if you've seen it many times before. This formula has been used throughout the whole series and it may finally be time for them to look elsewhere for comedy.

I feel that something that really affects this film is the constant going back to the character of Scrat. Now it is fine to do wee small clips of the character getting into bother but that should be it. The ones involving him in this movie seemed tediously long and took up far more of the run time than was actually necessary. The film is hour and 40 minutes long so I don't see why it was necessary to have so much of it within the film. 

There is one aspect that the movie handles really well and that surrounds the family elements. With Manny's daughter Peaches in a relationship with fellow Mammoth Julian, Manny struggles to come to terms with this that leads him to act nastily to Julian who just wants to impress him. It's quite realistic in the way the parents react to the change in their daughters life which was actually done quite well. These moments do connect well with the older members of the audiences as it may be relatable to some. If the film had solely made it about this rather than going to other subplots, it may have been more enjoyable. However we were given another pointless story for Sid as well as Diego and Shira deciding if the choice to become parents is a good one which really hurts the movie. 

The villains in the form of dinosaur birds are really terrible in this film. One of them knows that their plan is bogus yet they still go to carry it out until it is convenient. It is completely lazy and predictable which didn't really add anything to the film other than disposable useless characters.

Final Verdict =

Entertainment for the kids will be in this film but unfortunately not a lot for the rest of the audience. Not really worth seeing unless you are taking little ones.

So have you seen the latest Ice Age movie? If so what did you think of it? I hope this review was useful for if you were deciding on seeing the movie. Once again, thank you for reading my review, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor