Month in the Movies: June

The summer movie season has finally got underway and to say it's been a good start wouldn't be true. It's been a slow start this summer with not so many crackers hitting the big screen. Hopefully we're just getting the bad ones out of the way. However it would be unfair to say that there hasn't been some quality so far with a few films saving the season from being terrible.  If you aren't sure what this post is about, each month I look back at the movies I seen in that month and rank them based on a combination of how good the movie was and how much I enjoyed it. So lets get into the list!

10. The Boss

Simple as it is, 'The Boss' is the worst film I have seen so far in 2016. This was painfully unfunny to the point where I was so close to leaving the theatre. Peter Dinklage has the worst performance of the year within this film too which is painful to say but it is true. 'The Boss' is a disaster which for your sake, you shouldn't ever watch. Lets just hope McCarthy's next venture 'Ghostbusters' is much better than this turd. 

Final Verdict = F

Check out my review for 'The Boss' here

9. Gods of Egypt

For some people, this is their worst movie of the year and I can't blame them. A uninteresting story, bland characters, poor acting, mediocre CGI and terrible casting were only a number of things that went wrong in this 'epic'. 'Gods of Egypt' may become one of those "it's so bad, it's good" movies which isn't necessarily a good thing. 'Gods of Egypt' is truly awful but is lucky that there was a film I thought was even worse in the month of June.

Final verdict = F

Check out my review for 'Gods of Egypt' here

8. Independence Day: Resurgence

20 years after the original we got a sequel that people wanted back in the 90's. Unfortunately for us, the film came nowhere near the original in terms of quality. The film failed to replace Will Smith as the new characters were not interesting or charismatic enough. The heart of the original wasn't there either as 'Resurgence' became the 'Terminator: Genisys' of 2016.

Final Verdict = D

Check out my review for 'Independence Day: Resurgence' here

7. Mother's Day

A film about a holiday that here in the UK isn't celebrated to quite the same standard as shown in the film. There was potential for this comedy to succeed as it does have some characters whose stories would make for an interesting movie. However, it is filled with and focuses on some of the most terrible characters of the year who are the main focus which makes the film hard to watch at times. Like most comedies this year, it fails to create a funny movie which is unfortunate considering some of the cast members.

Final Verdict = C-

Check out my review for 'Mother's Day' here

6. The Angry Birds Movie

The movie based off of the hit mobile based game seems to have come a few years too late. The movie is clearly aimed for kids which may explain to why I didn't get that much enjoyment out of the film as it wasn't targeted to me. However there were a few decent jokes despite all the bird puns as well as some nice animation that the film deserves credit for.

Final Verdict = C-

Check out my review for 'The Angry Birds Movie' here

5. Mr Right

'Mr Right' is a really fun movie to watch with some good comedy and performances from the two leads. However the story isn't made that well with a lot of things happening only to allow the film to progress. It's a fun movie just to sit and switch your brain off with but no more than that unfortunately. I wanted more from this movie and although it is entertaining at times, there isn't a great deal of quality the whole way throughout the movie.

Final Verdict = C

Check out my review for 'Mr Right' here

4. The Secret Life of Pets

Much like 'The Angry Birds Movie', TSLOP is a film that is targeted for kids. This comes at no surprise as it comes from the creators of 'Despicable Me' and 'Minions'. However the difference between this film and TABM is that the comedy works a whole lot more in this movie. The jokes led by Louis C.K and Kevin Hart do land a lot more which does make this kids movie a lot more enjoyable to watch. It isn't one of the animated films that will blow audiences away but it is a fine movie to say the least.

Final Verdict = C+

Check out my review for 'The Secret Life of Pets' here

3. Me Before You

'Me Before You' is one of the biggest surprises I have had the cinema this year. I really didn't expect this movie to be good at all and was pleasantly surprised. The film is very charming and has some good comedy within it. The two leads do very well which creates an enjoyable viewing. The emotional parts could have been done a little better especially the finale which seemed to have been rushed. Regardless of that, 'Me Before You' was one of the better movies this month.

Final Verdict = B-

Check out my review for 'Me Before You' here

'The Angry Birds Movie' Review

With 'Warcraft' recently disappointing showing that video game movies still struggle to work, The Angry Birds stepped up to try and bring a bit of credit back to video game movies however on a different scale, as a feature length kids movie. 

Red (Jason Sudekis) is one of the few flightless birds who does not follow the others of leading a happy life. Daily annoyances lead to Red having to go to anger management where he meets fellow strugglers Chuck (Josh Gad) and Bomb (Danny McBride). As pigs come to the island of the birds, this aggravates Red even more and when it turns out that he was right about them, he and his new acquaintances will team up to save the islands precious eggs.

The Angry Birds Movie seems like it really should of came out a few years ago, right? It was huge when it burst out onto the scene with it gaining huge popularity and you could hardly escape hearing about the simple destructive game. Nowadays, it seems to just be another game and isn't mentioned nearly as much as it once was. It must still be a massive hit with younger audiences as for everyone else, the magic has seemed to have disappeared. 

And you can clearly tell that this film is made clearly for kids. An abundance of jokes coming from bird puns fills the movies as well as jokes mainly about the characters. The traits of Red, Chuck and Bomb are constantly used as jokes throughout the film. The humour used is mainly very childish and is based towards that target audience quite clearly so the general audience may not get as much enjoyment out of this as their kids would.

In recent years we have been lucky enough to have great animated movies like 'Inside Out' and 'Zootropolis'- or Zootopia depending where in the world you are- entertain both adults and children. Now not every movie is going to look to do this and have a deeper message that will bring the adults more enjoyment than the kids will. But then you have the likes of the Kung Fu Panda series which had its third instalment earlier this year that doesn't try to do so as much. This series looks to entertain younger audiences much more than anything else which is fine. My point in saying this is that this movie does simply try to entertain younger audiences but even still, it does not do it to the same standard as others out there. It might be unfair to compare it to an established franchise but that also had to start off somewhere but without the luxury of having a well known brand behind it. 

The main part of the Angry Birds games is the destruction as you have to figure out how to cause maximum damage to the pigs settlements as you retrieve the eggs. Doesn't really seem like the most solid idea for a movie and it shows in the movie. There isn't much to the film as you will just be waiting for the moment where it all kicks off. This only actually happens for a short period of time in the film as the first hour is a basic story that is once again catered to children and is oh so predictable. The eventual destruction is quite entertaining but isn't enough unfortunately to make up for the rest of the film.

High praise has to go to the animation within the film. Now most animated films all look incredible today as we really are quite spoiled when it comes to these visuals. Angry Birds does not let down with this. What amazed me in particular was the detail that went into things like the individual feathers on the birds and also the blades of grass. They looked phenomenal in the film and were very detailed giving them near realistic looks.

Final Verdict = 

The Angry Birds follows a very predictable plot and has its jokes clearly aimed at younger audiences. The bright colours and characters as well as the final act will be enough to entertain your kids for the run time but won't do so nearly as much for adult viewers.

So have you seen 'The Angry Birds Movie'? If so what did you think of it? I hope you enjoyed this review and found it useful for if you were planning on seeing the movie! Once again, thank you for reading my review, it is much appreciated.

By Angus McGregor