"Predestination" (2014)

Synopsis:
A time traveler (Ethan Hawke) must travel through time to stop a mysterious criminal who is plotting an attack on New york city and has eluded him throughout time.

Review:
There is not really much to say about this film without giving anything away, so this review will be a bit brief. All that you really need to know is that it's a time travel flick.

The story is intriguing, unique, thought provoking and compelling. It may seem confusing but it makes sense if you pay attention. I am not going to spoil it for those who have not seen the film but it goes a direction that you may not expect.

The film is well acted. I liked Ethan Hawke in this and I think he did a very good job with his role.

I think the Spierig brothers (Michael and Peter) did a very good job directing. It has beautiful cinematography, very believable make-up, and it does not rely so much on CGI effects. It also has some intense moments.

Overall, I thought Predestination was an excellent film and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of science fiction.

Max Scale:
10/10

"Mean Girls" (2004)

Synopsis:
Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) joins a clique of A-list girls known as "The Plastics", but then makes the mistake of falling for Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennet), the ex-boyfriend of "Plastics" leader Regina George (Rachel McAdams).

Review:
Let me stat off by saying that I am not a fan of these type of films and I have been avoiding this movie for longer than I can remember. However, the other day, I decided to give it a try, and it was actually not a bad film at all.

For the most part, it's pretty smart and clever and quite entertaining and has a bit of social satire. While it is not exactly "laugh out loud", it is often a bit funny at times. Also, the dialogue is quite memorable.

I liked the characters. The A-list girls, while often up to no good, are quite likeable. It is also well acted and I think the cast portrayed their roles quite well. I liked Lindsay Lohan in this. Amanda Seyfried, as a first time actress did quite a good job here. Amy Pohler is entertaining and funny as usual.

The one problem that I had with the film is that while the humor is often clever and funny, I felt that it needed a little more work and it could have been funnier.

I am normally not a fan of chick flicks, but I thoroughly enjoyed Mean Girls and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of comedies.

Max Scale:
8/10

"Project Almanac" (2015)

Synopsis:
A group of teenagers discover a secret plan to build a time machine, so they decide to construct one. However, things go haywire.

Review:
Let me start off by saying that I had very low hopes for this film. Upon hearing that it was produced by Michael Bay and from Platinum Dunes, I was like "Oh that will just be another failure". I don't think there has eve been a film from Platinum Dunes or Produced by Michael Bay that was good, and I was not surprised when it got mediocre reviews. So I did not expect this film to be very good at all. However, I gave it a chance and I was pleasantly surprised.

The story, while similar to other time travel films, is quite creative and intriguing. We have these teenagers building a time machine and one of them is bent on traveling back to when he was a kid after seeing a home video where he saw his current self in it.

Unlike all the other Bay-produced films, the characters here are interesting and likeable. You actually care for David and his friends as they get together and time travel while stuff goes out of control.

I think Dean Israelite, as a first time director, did a petty good job directing. For a found footage film, It is well shot and the cinematography is pretty nice to look at. For a low budget film, the effects are pretty impressive. A lot of cools things happen and it is quite intense.

There is also a pop/rock band cameo appearance which I will not give away for those who have not seen the film.

There were a few problems that I had with the film. One of them is that the camera was too shaky and over the top. The other problem is that it is a bit cliche at times. Also, while it is well acted for the most part, some of the acting felt a bit uneven.

Overall, I enjoyed Project Almanac and I would recommend it to fans of science fiction and/or the "time travel" concept.

If "Primer meets Chronicle" sounds good to you, then you'll probably enjoy it.

Max Scale:
8/10

"Tomorrowland" (2015)

Synopsis:
Loosely inspired by the Disney World park, "Tomorrowland" tells the story of a teenage girl with scientific curiosity, and a once genius inventor, who embark on a mission to discovery the mystery behind a place somewhere in time that exists in their collective memory.

Review:
I went and saw this with an open mind because of the mixed response, and I must say I had a blast.

The story is unique, creative and quite compelling. It is original science fiction which we do not get too often. The film is inspired by the Disney park, but at the same time, it's more of it's own thing.

It is well acted and the characters are quite likeable and believable. Frank Walker is interesting, entertaining and has a sense of humor. Casey is also an interesting character. I think George Clooney and Britt Robertson portrayed their leading roles very well.

The film is also quite funny at times. During this film, I think I may have laughed more than I usually do at the movies, which is saying something.

I think Brad Bird did a very goo job directing. The visuals are stunning and the special effects, while mostly CGI, are impressive. The action scenes are neat and intense. There is not a single moment where I was bored with the film. It also pays a nice homage to the Sci-fi genre.

The one problem I had with this film is that I was expecting a little more of the "Tomorrowland" place and that the story needed a little more work.

Overall, this was a great film and I highly recommend it to fans of science fiction. Plus, I think it totally puts "The Haunted Mansion" (2003) to shame.

In the end, say "Tomorowland" may not fully realize it's potential, but it should be satisfying as a fun and intriguing family sci-fi/adventure comedy romp.

Go see it.

Max Scale:
9/10

"Seventh Son" (2015)

Synopsis:
Loosely inspired by the novel, "The Spook's Apprentice", an evil witch named Malkin (Julianne Moore) has broken free from imprisonment and is wreaking havoc across the land. An old spook and monster hunter named John Gregory (Jeff Bridges) recruits Tom Ward (Ben Barnes), a seventh son of a seventh son, to help him stop the witch.

Review:
Let me start off by saying that have not read the novel nor even heard of it prior to hearing about this. I went into this film expecting a cheesy but fun flick. Generally speaking, I often enjoy a good corny supernatural action flick. But this was quite disappointing.

Before I get to the point, let me go ahead and note that this film was originally distributed by Warner Bros. and was set for a January 17, 2014 release. But at the last minute, after releasing the teaser trailer, Warner Bros. sold the distribution rights to Universal and the release date was postponed to February 6, 2015. That is exactly an entire year plus one month. I have never ever seen that happen before. Apparently, Warner Bros. did not want to have anything to do with the project.

This film has a lot of things going for it, and it looked promising from the trailers, but after watching it, I can now see why Warner Bros. didn't want to feel responsible for it. But before I go into the bad things about the film, I am going to name the good things.

The Good:
I like the film's style, setting and tone. I liked Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore in this. They are what you would call the "strongest parts of the movie". I liked Julianne Moore as the villain. The witches and wizards are cool as well as their creature transformations. It has some intense moments and I really enjoyed the third act. Unfortunately, that is all that I can say about the good.

The Bad:
This film is, for the most part, a snooze fest. I was literally bored out of my mind throughout the first and second act. The characters are wooden, boring and just plain uninteresting. Jeff Bridges did a pretty good job portraying his character but his character is just boring. Bridges usually makes his characters entertaining (The Dude, Flynn, Rooster Cogburn, Starman etc.), but unfortunately, this is not the case. There is not a whole lot of action and nothing exciting happens until the last 30 minutes or so. The film is also uneven. The plot is rushed, the special effects are cheap looking and the opening sequence is downright laughable. The script is very derivative to the point where it felt like I have seen it all before. The final act is basically the only part of the film that I enjoyed.

Overall, Seventh Son, despite it's redeeming qualities, is a pretty poorly made film and I do not recommend it.

Max Scale: 
3/10

"Mad Max: Fury Road" (2015)

Synopsis:
Set in a dystopian future where humanity is broken and there is nothing left except a desert, there are two rebels who just might be able to restore order: Max (Tom Hardy), a man of action, and Furiosa (Charlize Theron), a woman of action who is searching for a way back to her homeland.

Review:
This film is just awesome in every way.

Just to clarify, this is not a direct sequel to the original three "Mad Max" films but rather the start of a new series featuring the "Mad Max" character. So you should not be confused if you haven't seen the older ones.

The storyline, while it's the fourth installment in a series, is quite unique and creative. It is also very well thought out and compelling. I like the characters. Just like in the older films, Max is likeable and a really cool protagonist. Joe is an awesome villain. I like Nux. He is quite an entertaining antihero. Furiosa is also likeable and I actually had feelings for her as well as those other women that Ally Max. I like the chemistry between Max and Furiosa.

I think all the actors and actresses played their roles very respectively. Tom Hardy is surprisingly great as Max. He's not Mel Gibson but he's about as close to another "Mad Max" as you're going to get. I liked Nicholas Hoult as Nux as well as Charlize Theron as Furiosa. I also think that Hugh Keays-Byrne did an awesome job as Joe.

As usual, George Miller did an incredible job diecting. It's visually stunning and the action scenes are stylish and downright intense and really keep you at the edge of your seat. It is action packed but still leaves room for a well constructed storyline. I like the design, costumes and make-up as well as the setting. Also, the film is-what some people would not expect-funny at times.

***Minor Spoiler***
I loved that guitar guy.

There is not a single thing about this film that I did not like.

Overall, I thought Fury Road was an awesome film and it just might be the best film in the "Mad Max" series (besides "The Road Warrior"). I highly recommend this to fans of action flicks. Go see it!

Max Scale:
10/10

"Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome" (1985)

Synopsis:
In this third installment of the "Mad Max" series, Max (Mel Gibson) is back and this time he leads a tribe to rebel against a vengeful queen.

Review:
This film is not as good as the first two but still quite enjoyable.

I like the environment. Just like "The Road Warrior", Beyond Thunderdome expands the Universe and explores places that were not explored in it's predecessors. It has a great first act and intense final act.

I liked the characters. I liked Master and Blaster and Aunt Entity (played by Tina Turner) is a pretty awesome villain.

I think George Miller did a pretty good job directing this film, though not as much as the previous two. I like the sets, the costumes, and the make-up. The action scenes, just like in the first two, are intense. That road action scene towards the end is awesome and probably my favorite part of the whole film.

There are a couple of things that bugged me. One of them is that it's a bit silly at times. The other thing that bugged me is the second act. After the first act, the film kind of slows down and takes a bit of a ridiculous turn.

However, the third act picks it back up and makes up for it.

This film does some stupid things but I enjoyed it for what it is.

In the end, "Beyond Thunderdome" is not quite the best in the Mad Max series and does not have a very good second act, but overall, the film is enjoyable and should be satisfying to fans of dystopic fiction.

Max Scale:
7/10