Saturday, December 14, 2024

Tag: John Boyega

Woman King, The (2022)*

Title: The Woman King
Rating: PG-13
Directed by: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Written by: Dana Stevens and Maria Bello
Starring: Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and John Boyega
Release Date: 9/16/2022
Running Time: 135 minutes

Official Site
IMDb

What did you think of this film?

The story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen.


Are There Any Extras During The Credits? Yes

during the credits
Amenzi pours a liquid on some weapons and says words in a memorial ceremony for her fallen sisters.

Are There Any Extras After The Credits? No

Is this stinger worth waiting around for? NoYes (No Ratings Yet)
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Special thanks to Alisa for this submission


Breaking (2022)

Title: Breaking
Rating: PG-13
Directed by: Abi Damaris Corbin
Written by: Abi Damaris Corbin and Kwame Kwei-Armah
Starring: John Boyega, Nicole Beharie, Selenis Leyva, and Michael Kenneth Williams
Release Date: 8/26/2022
Running Time: 103 minutes

Official Site
IMDb

What did you think of this film?

When Marine Veteran Brian Brown-Easley is denied support from Veteran’s Affairs, financially desperate and running out of options, he takes a bank and several of its employees hostage, setting the stage for a tense confrontation with the police.


Are There Any Extras During The Credits? No

Are There Any Extras After The Credits? No

Memoriam: In loving memory of Michael Kenneth Williams

Special thanks to Frank for this submission


Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Title: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Rating: PG-13
Directed by: J.J. Abrams
Written by: J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio
Starring: Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong’o, Keri Russell, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, and Billy Dee Williams
Release Date: 12/20/2019
Running Time: 141 minutes

Official Site
IMDb

What did you think of this film?

The riveting conclusion of the seminal Skywalker saga, where new legends will be born and the final battle for freedom is yet to come.


Are There Any Extras During The Credits? No

Are There Any Extras After The Credits? No

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Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)

Title: Pacific Rim: Uprising
Rating: PG-13
Directed by: Steven S. DeKnight
Written by: Steven S. DeKnight, Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder, and T.S. Nowlin
Starring: John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Jing Tian, Cailee Spaeny, Rinko Kikuchi, Burn Gorman, Adria Arjona, and Charlie Day
Release Date: 3/23/2018
Running Time: 111 minutes

Official Site
IMDb

What did you think of this film?
The globe-spanning conflict between otherworldly monsters of mass destruction and the human-piloted super-machines built to vanquish them was only a prelude to the all-out assault on humanity in Pacific Rim Uprising.

John Boyega stars as the rebellious Jake Pentecost, a once-promising Jaeger pilot whose legendary father gave his life to secure humanity’s victory against the monstrous “Kaiju.” Jake has since abandoned his training only to become caught up in a criminal underworld. But when an even more unstoppable threat is unleashed to tear through our cities and bring the world to its knees, he is given one last chance to live up to his father’s legacy by his estranged sister, Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi)—who is leading a brave new generation of pilots that have grown up in the shadow of war. As they seek justice for the fallen, their only hope is to unite together in a global uprising against the forces of extinction.

Jake is joined by gifted rival pilot Lambert and 15-year-old Jaeger hacker Amara (Cailee Spaeny), as the heroes of the PPDC become the only family he has left. Rising up to become the most powerful defense force to ever walk the earth, they will set course for a spectacular all-new adventure on a towering scale.


Are There Any Extras During The Credits? No

Are There Any Extras After The Credits? No

Special thanks to Rick for this submission

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Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

Title: Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Rating: PG-13
Directed by: Rian Johnson
Written by: Rian Johnson
Starring: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, and Benicio Del Toro
Release Date: 12/15/2017
Running Time: 152 minutes

Official Site
IMDb

What did you think of this film?
The Skywalker saga continues as the heroes of The Force Awakens join the galactic legends in an epic adventure that unlocks age-old mysteries of the Force and shocking revelations of the past.


Are There Any Extras During The Credits? No

Are There Any Extras After The Credits? No

Memoriam: In loving memory of our princess, Carrie Fisher

[wpolling_archive id=”147″ vote=”true” type=”open”]


Detroit (2017)

Title: Detroit
Rating: R
Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
Written by: Mark Boal
Starring: John Boyega, Anthony Mackie, John Krasinski, Will Poulter, Algee Smith, Jason
Mitchell, Jacob Lattimore, Hannah Murray, and Kaitlyn Dever

Release Date: 8/4/2017
Running Time: 143 minutes

Official Site
IMDb

What did you think of this film?
The summer of 1967 was a pivotal moment in modern American history when the
country was beset by growing political and social unrest: the escalation of the country’s military
engagement in the Vietnam War and decades of racial injustice and repression. The epicenters of
all this discontent and simmering rage proved to be the nation’s major cities with their systemic
discrimination, racial disparities in housing and education, and growing unemployment in
African-American communities.

Two nights after the Detroit rebellion began, a report of gunshots in the vicinity of a
National Guard staging area prompted the Detroit Police Department, the Michigan State Police,
the Michigan Army National Guard and a local private security guard to search and seize an
annex of the nearby Algiers Motel. Flouting procedural rules, several policemen forcefully and
viciously interrogated motel guests, conducting a “death game” in an attempt to intimidate
someone, anyone, into confessing. By the end of the night, three unarmed young men had been
gunned down point blank, and several other men and women were brutally beaten.


Are There Any Extras During The Credits? No

Are There Any Extras After The Credits? No


Circle, The (2017)

Title: The Circle
Rating: PG-13
Directed by: James Ponsoldt
Written by: James Ponsoldt, and Dave Eggers
Based on the novel by: Dave Eggers
Starring: Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, John Boyega, Karen Gillan, Ellar Coltrane, Patton Oswalt,
Glenne Headly, and Bill Paxton

Release Date: 4/28/2017
Running Time: 110 minutes

Official Site
IMDb

What did you think of this film?
When Mae (Emma Watson) is hired to work for The Circle, the world’s largest and most
powerful tech and social media company, she sees it as the opportunity of a lifetime. As she
rises through the ranks, she is encouraged by the company’s charismatic founder, Eamon Bailey
(Tom Hanks), to engage in a groundbreaking experiment that pushes the boundaries of privacy,
ethics, and ultimately her personal freedom. Her participation in the experiment, and her every
decision begin to affect the lives and future of her friends, family and that of humanity.


Are There Any Extras During The Credits? No

Are There Any Extras After The Credits? No

Dedication: For Bill

Special thanks to Aus for this submission


Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review – 3.5 out of 5 Stars

StarWarsEpisodeVIITheForceAwakensPoster6
In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is missing and a new government run by the dark side has taken power. General Leia (Carrie Fisher) sends the rebel pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) to retrieve information that could lead to his whereabouts. Elsewhere, a disillusioned storm trooper named Finn (John Boyega) tries to escape from his life and a badass scavenger named Rey (Daisy Ridley) finds a robot that leads to a heap of trouble. When Finn and Rey unite, they meet friends like the aging Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and foes like the mysterious Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).

At this point, it feels a bit anticlimactic to be reviewing The Force Awakens. Everyone who’s reading this has probably seen it already and I doubt this review will be influencing anyone from seeing or not seeing this movie. It’s too soon to say whether The Force Awakens will be able to stand the test of time like A New Hope or The Empire Strikes Back but I can definitely say one thing; Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a film made for the fans. However you feel about that statement will probably decide how much you love this movie. Personally, I feel a bit for both sides.

This sounds like a mixed reaction but there are a lot of things to admire. For starters, this is a terrific looking movie. I had issues with J.J. Abrams that I’ll get to later but I still think this is his most well directed film to date. Say what you will about the story, this is a movie that feels huge. Abrams understands how important this movie is for many people and he uses the occasion to present the world in a way that feels larger than life. One of the things that people disliked about The Phantom Menace was how lackluster the experience of being in another Star Wars felt. In the Force Awakens, the world is captured through these sweeping, giant shots and possibly the best visuals effects in the franchise to date. Everything about how this movie looks and sounds is top notch. The cinematography is stunning, the production design is marvelous and the costumes and the makeup are perfect. The thing I loved most about The Force Awakens was the time spent just looking at these places that they created. The movie is well paced and it never feels boring or disinteresting. I could go on for hours about the music by John Williams. As much as I love some of his work with Spielberg, it’s refreshing to watch him step away from the more melodramatic, manipulative music he’s done in recent years. The score here is a mix of some of the older, more notable bits of music from Star Wars as well as some new works. It’s exciting and it captures a lot of the magic of the original soundtrack.

The technical aspects are the areas where pleasing the fans was beneficial to the final product. Abrams has created a movie that reassures fans that there’s still some magic left in that world they fell in love with while growing up. There’s wonder, there’s life here that Lucas didn’t bring to the prequels. You feel excited and in awe of these planets and creatures in a way that couldn’t me mustered from The Phantom Menace.

If the looks and the sounds of the movie are where it excels, the screenplay is where the movie gets dragged down a little bit. It’s not a horrendous screenplay tied to a great filmmaker like Sicario or It Follows but there’s a lot of things about it that feel somewhat repetitive or simplistic. So what did I enjoy about it? Firstly, I liked the way it handled the characters from the previous movies. It was a brilliant move on their part to make the hero from the original movies go missing. The disappearance of Luke Skywalker shows the audience that time has changed and that there are new heroes to find with the old ones like Luke serving as the wise, old trainers reminiscent of Yoda or Obi-Wan Kenobi. The relationship between Han and Leia is also a bittersweet highlight. They haven’t seen each other for several years but they don’t seem angry or upset after meeting again after all this time. They acknowledge that what they once had was lost but they seem to know that deep down, they’re still in love. It’s subtle and sweet in a way that was missing from the similar relationship between Jones and Marion in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Han Solo also gets some charming scenes with his friend Chewbacca and Harrison Ford gives one of his more energetic performances in a while.

I also enjoyed the villain Kylo Ren because he succeeded in doing in 20 to 30 minutes of screen time what Anakin Skywalker couldn’t do in 3 movies. Both are confused, less prepared young men that begin to move towards the dark side. It works mainly because Adam Driver is a significantly better actor than Hayden Christensen but it also works because the movie manages to make Ren intimidating and weak at the same time whereas Skywalker was just plain whiny and pathetic in the prequels. He’s scared and inexperienced but he ends up making decisions that are legitimately twisted and evil. And while Skywalker’s final transformation came in the form of an overlong fight, Ren’s final choice for the dark sides comes in the form of a shocking, quick scene that will leave a far bigger impact than the entire 5 or 6 hours of Anakin’s character arc.

To a lesser extent, I admired the new heroes like Finn and Po. Finn is this emotionally damaged storm trooper who decides to rebel against what everyone else is doing. There are a lot of fascinating places you could take this character and I’m interested to see how he transitions to the real world or if he will try to free the other storm troopers in the later films. As it stands, they don’t really manage to explore many of these things but Boyega’s performance as well as good writing set up what could be potentially the most interesting arc of the three new main characters. Po also starts off strong in the movie due to the acting of Oscar Issac and the friendship he creates with Po is fun to watch. After the first act, he disappears from the movie for longtime and then shows up again near the end. It’s an entertaining character that I assume they’ll do more with in the next movie.

The problems I had with this movies script could probably be summarized with the character of Rey. She does cool things and she has some potential, but there are not a lot of things that she’s doing that feel new or memorable. She’s likable and you know she’s important but they write her with such little creativity that you can’t help but feel that she was forgettable. As much as I enjoyed many things about this movie, there’s a lot here that will please the fans but probably won’t please moviegoers who want new or original ideas. Everything that’s great about this movie is either a retread or a follow up of previous movies. The things I liked that did feel new felt pushed aside for something that’s a lot more repetitive and safe. The new evil government feels just like the old one. The big bad creature Ren looks up to is very similar to emperor Palpatine and there big bad plan here is to literally make an even bigger version of the death star, I think you can guess how that works out for them.

Besides that, there’s just a lot of beats in this movie that felt added because they had to be there. There has to be a point where the protagonist is reluctant to become the hero even though she hasn’t shown reluctance before said point. There has to be a scene where the old mentor gets killed by the bad guy. If the direction embraces Star Wars just right, the writing embraces Star Wars a bit too much. The movie goes over a lot of the same territory it has in the past whether you’re talking about the characters or just simple clichés. Creed also had a lot of elements in its story that came from older Rocky films but that movie also had a lot of things in it that were fresh and ambitious. The new things in the new Star Wars are either pushed aside for the old or end up being just blatant copies of the past. This isn’t a complaint that destroys The Force Awakens for me but it is a complaint that covers the entire film. I can only hope that the next movie will expand on the new stuff more and will try to make more of its own thing in the future.

So hopefully you know what I now mean when I say that “a film for the fans” is a mixed compliment. J.J. Abrams creates an amazing world that reminds you of everything you loved about Star Wars with stirring music and magical visual effects. But he takes the nostalgia a bit too far and he creates a story that’s extremely reminiscent of previous movies for better or worse. We get a lot of great moments with older characters but we also get a lot of cool, new things that get overshadowed by repackaged storylines. Either way, The Force Awakens is still a fine enough start and it’s fun enough as a big, blockbuster action film to go see this holiday season. The real Star Wars film that I’m looking forward to is the one that’s coming up next that’s directed by Rian Johnson. It seems fitting that they are handing over this franchise to the man who has made arguably the best science fiction movie of the decade so far.

Rating:[star rating=”3.5″ numeric=”yes”]

Review by: Ryan M.

Release Date: 12/18/2015

Rating: PG-13

Cast: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie, Peter Mayhew, Simon Pegg, Andy Serkis, Kenny Baker, Anthony Daniels, Lupita Nyong’o, Warwick Davis, Max von Sydow, Maisie Richardson-Sellers and Tim Rose

Directed by: J.J. Abrams

Screenplay by: Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams and Michael Arndt

Based characters created by: George Lucas

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

StarWarsEpisodeVIITheForceAwakensPoster6

Title: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (aka. Star Wars: The Force Awakens 3D and Star Wars: The Force Awakens An IMAX 3D Experience)
Rating: PG-13
Directed by: J.J. Abrams
Written by: J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas
Starring: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie, Peter Mayhew, Simon Pegg, Andy Serkis, Kenny Baker, Anthony Daniels, Lupita Nyong’o, Warwick Davis, Max von Sydow, Maisie Richardson-Sellers and Tim Rose
Release Date: 12/18/2015
Running Time: 136 minutes

Official Site
IMDb

30 years after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, a new threat rises. The First Order attempts to rule the galaxy and only a ragtag group of Heroes can stop them, along with the help of the Resistance.


What did you think of this film?

During Credits? No

After Credits? No

Note: Contrary to earlier rumors, J.J. Abrams recently confirmed at a press conference that there will be no extra scenes shown.

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Attack the Block (2011)

TITLE: Attack the Block

RELEASE DATE: 5/13/2011

RATING: R

What did you think of this film?


Amazon

IMDb


During Credits? No

After Credits? No