About Ealasaid

Ealasaid is a technical writer, freelance movie reviewer, bookbinder, and geek-of-many-trades based in Portland, OR.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Directed by: Bryan Singer Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklege, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan Rated: PG- 13 for sequences of intense sci-fi violence and action, some suggestive material, nudity and language Comic book fans are no strangers to “retcon” – short for “retroactive continuity” – that device long used by the major comic book publishing houses (among others) to change the events of past publications. Retconning is far more common than “rebooting” a franchise, which is what most moviegoers are used to. Consider the Spider-Man films of the last fifteen years: three from Sam Raimi starring Tobey Maguire, then five years later, “The Amazing Spider-Man” with Andrew Garfield. These weren’t sequels, they just ignored the previous films and started over. The X-Men films have taken a different approach, creating prequels when “X-Men: The Last Stand” left things in a problematic state (several characters dead, and possible storylines from

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Godzilla

Godzilla

Directed by: Gareth Edwards Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of destruction, mayhem and creature violence The only questions that really matter when grading a giant-monster movie are: are the monsters awesome? Are they on screen enough? For both, the new “Godzilla” succeeds. Unfortunately, it fails pretty much every other question of competence for movies in general, so unless a win on the monster front is enough to make it worth seeing for you, you’re probably better off giving this a miss. The plot is fairly standard: there are monsters, they rampage around destroying things, there’s a big fight between the monsters (in this case, it’s Godzilla vs. a pair of creatures that are supposed to be parasitical towards Godzilla-type-monsters but are the same size he is). To give us something to do while we wait for it to be monsters-fighting-time, there’s a

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The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Ealasaid A. Haas Directed by: Mark Webb Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Sally Field Rated: PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action/violence Superhero movies are big these days, but a small group of filmmakers are discarding the fundamental characteristics that make these heroes who they are in the comics and re-designing them to fit whatever story the writers feel like putting together. First, “Man of Steel” took Superman and turned him into a murderer; now “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” has taken Peter Parker and turned him into a guy with daddy issues who’s following his destiny by carrying on his father’s battle against a hugely powerful corporation. At first look, this film is a poorly-strung-together string of scenes involving a common cast. Start poking at it, and it becomes increasingly clear that this version of Peter Parker / Spider-Man has almost no volition of his own. He wants to break up with

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Transcendence

Transcendence

Directed by: Wally Pfister Starring: Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy Rated: PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, some bloody images, brief strong language and sensuality “Transcendence” is one of those films that wants to be thoughtful and profound and leave the audience questioning their interpretation of the film. Unfortunately, it’s more likely to leave the audience questioning what the hell they just saw. Not only does it get wrong some science so basic even your average cell phone user will spot the problem, it makes us doubt every single character’s interpretation of events without giving us the knowledge we need to sort out who’s right. The story starts with a post-apocalyptic Berkeley. Max Waters (Paul Bettany) searches for the home of his friends Will and Evelyn Caster (Johnny Depp and Rebecca Hall) and narrates for us the tale that started five years earlier, when anti-AI terrorists blew up several labs

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Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Directed by: Joe & Anthony Russo Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, gunplay and action throughout Marvel Studios’ productions already include eight feature films and a television show; rumor has it that the group has plans laid out for years to come. They are playing a very long game, which gives them a lot of time to develop characters and focus on making each film as good as it can be, knowing that they have a lot of room for storytelling. The latest entry in the franchise is “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” which brings us the continuing story of Steve “Captain America” Rogers (Chris Evans) trying to find his place in a world completely different from the one in which he was raised while also coping with all the challenges of a superhero movie plotline. In “The

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Non-Stop

The pre-Oscar season of dull movies studios don’t expect to succeed is finally easing a bit. “Non-Stop” is a film that’s almost summer-action-thriller-esque. It isn’t particularly ground-breaking, but succeeds in its aim to entertain, at least it does if you aren’t expecting it to be a thrilling summer roller-coaster ride of a flick.

Robocop

I haven’t panned a movie this hard in a long time. Either I need a break or the new “Robocop” was appallingly mediocre. Maybe both.

I, Frankenstein

I, Frankenstein

Directed by: Stuart Beattie Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Yvonne Straohvski, Miranda Otto, Bill Nighy, Jai Courtney Rated: PG-13 for sequences of intense fantasy action and violence throughout Some movies, you can tell whether you want to see them or not by the previews alone. “I, Frankenstein” is most assuredly one of those films. It has a ludicrous plot that can literally be summed up in a single sentence, heaps of action, and loads of gorgeous cinematography. It’s based on a graphic novel (by Kevin Grevioux, who worked as a writer on the “Underworld” movies), and it shows. If you are looking for an hour and a half of brainless entertainment, you could do a lot worse than “I, Frankenstein.” The gist of the story is this: Frankenstein’s monster (Aaron Eckhart) is drawn into the ongoing war between the legions of hell and the Gargoyle Order (yes, gargoyles, like the carvings on old churches. They’re sort of

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Grudge Match

Grudge Match

Directed by: Peter Segal Starring: Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Kim Bassinger, Kevin Hart, Jon Bernthal, LL Cool J, Alan Arkin Rated: PG-13 for sports action violence, sexual content and language As the baby boomers age, both indie movies and Hollywood studios have started paying attention, creating out more projects about older characters, often with plots directly about aging. We’ve gotten “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,’ “It’s Complicated,” “Last Vegas,” and many more over the last few years, and “Grudge Match” follows the same trend. Its chief difference is that its two main characters are both boxers in their seventies, with a very old conflict between them. Sylvester Stallone has been refusing to age for some years now – witness his action appearances in the “Expendables” movies, for example — but it’s hard to ignore that the man is over seventy. All the Hollywood tricks in the makeup box and plastic surgeon’s domain can only

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47 Ronin

47 Ronin

Directed by: Carl Rinsch Starring: Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ko Shibasaki, Tadanobu Asano, Jin Akanishi, Rinko Kikuchi, Min Tanaka Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images, and thematic elements If you saw the trailers for “47 Ronin,” the Keanu Reeves vehicle helmed by Carl Rinsch (doing his first feature-length film!), you could be forgiven for assuming the flick was another white-savior movie, where all the non-whites need is an American to save them. The trailers make this film look awful. It is not only not awful, it’s actually a fun ride! So, take your preconceptions and toss ’em out the window. This is not the film the trailers make it out to be. The tale of the 47 Ronin is essentially the national legend of Japan, a story about honor, loyalty, and the code of the samurai. The protagonist is Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada), head of the titular warriors, who seek

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