The Godfather Part II

Tali: The Godfather II picks up several years after the first one - Michael is now the Don of the Corleone family and is wildly successful at controlling casinos in Nevada and elsewhere. This film has all of the same bloodlust, rivalries and thirst for power that the first one has, only for some reason I found it to be more interesting and worthwhile. Perhaps it is also the splicing with the origin story of Michael's father, Vito (played by an almost unrecognizable Robert De Niro) which gave the story some depth for me. Don't get me wrong, this was a good movie and I liked it more than the first one.. but I still don't get it. This movie is ranked #32 on AFI's best films of all time (the first one is #3) but I am just not getting it. Perhaps my attention cannot be held for 3+ hours. Who knows. 77/100.

Leo: It's hard to top, or even come close to the critical success of a movie that's rated 1-3 on most top all-time movies, but this one usually manages to grab a seat right behind it. I personally enjoy this movie a bit more because it adds a bit more politics (she says abortion, bro) and depth to the story, even if I think the first movie is slightly more well-done. Robert DeNiro and the old Italian-American storyline is definitely my favorite part of the movie and it makes you appreciate the first one much more. There's too much to say about this 3 hour movie to go into too much detail, but the nuanced story-telling, pacing, and script only add to the incredible storyline and atmosphere put into play from Coppola's directing. Again, I hope this number doesn't insult the family. Leometer: 95/100.

Good Night, and Good Luck

Tali: Good Night, and Good Luck follows the true events surrounding Edward Murrow, who in the 1950's, became the first journalist to publicly stand up to the McCarthyism of the day (despite corporate and sponsorship pressure to do otherwise). I have always had a soft spot for stories wherein reporters uncover the great and sometimes uncomfortable truth about our governments (or corporations, etc) and Murrow is the OG in this regard. His words are incredibly powerful (and they are true to real life) and so effective in create change and disrupting the status quo. Though the film keeps up a slow and steady pace, they do eventually win the race by bringing us directly into this story, so much so that once the curtain falls, we do not want to leave. 88/100.

Leo: This film had lots of great elements which aided it in being a very worthwhile film. George Clooney has this very particular style with directing in that he chooses incredible stories to tell and tampers very little. Sometimes that's not good enough, which was a common criticism of his latest film, Monuments Men. This time, however; it was good enough. This story has a clear message and sells it quite well with aid from the words of Edward Murrow which are put together by Murrow himself extremely well and presented equally well by David Strathairn. I'll admit, the supporting cast would not add much if I wasn't such a big fan of Robert Downey Jr. or recognize the occasional "news worker #2" in the cast from more recent TV shows but all in all, this movie is definitely worth seeing, especially if you are into journalism and like hate governments and stuff. Leometer: 85/100.

How to Train Your Dragon 2

Tali: HTTYD2 picks up 5 years where the last one left off-the viking village of Berk is now a thriving, dragon-filled community, only now they face the threat of someone wanting to take Berk's dragons to fight in some mysterious super-army. Both films had a lot of the same elements, which made them both enjoyable: fantastic one-liners, Toothless's personality (like a large, fire-breathing puppy) and just enough magic that it didn't seemed forced. However, this film was missing something-I can't place my finger on it-that made it not as special as the first. One cool thing in this film is the introduction of a character we have heard of before (I'm not gonna spoil it for you), though initially I thought they were cool and interesting, eventually the character totally fell flat. Though, apparently someone else also felt this way. 85/100.

Leo: This series, as many do, has an awesome original film but sequels are usually a little harder to keep the magic from the first. This is an exception. HTTYD2 keeps the same magical animated chemistry between Hiccup and Toothless that made the original movie one of my all-time favourites (if not my all-time favourite) - just look at his face in this clip. It was awesome to see two friends growing up together, taking similar steps together, and in the end growing into the potential their loved ones always thought, or at least hoped, they had. I don't know what the big deal about Valka (his long-lost mother) was for all those confused; she decided to stay away for clear reasons then decided to return because those reasons were gone and actually made into a positive aspect of Berk. I don't find it that crazy that Hiccup and Toothless overtake her in terms of power and awesomeness but I can see why some people do. The one thing the movie did not cover is why Drago did not attack Valka's home earlier, but in the end, it doesn't really matter and it could have been a number of reasons. I mean, all of these little things do nothing to top the hearstring-pulling tear jerking scenes that happen. Let's just say I'm happy that the 3-D glasses are tinted :). The SCORE. HTTYD probably has the best score in recent memory and I could play it on repeat for my entire life and not get bored, in fact I'm pretty sure I would be happy for my entire life. John Powell should do more stuff. If I were to give HTTYD 1 a Leometer it would probably be 99/100. This one is not as good but that has more to do with the original being impossible to top and the magic is still there. Look at this and this and this. I dare you to not enjoy this movie (and if you don't, you have no soul). Go see it. Leometer: 91/100.

The Normal Heart

Tali: The Normal Heart is based off of the recently revised Broadway play, about the growing HIV/AIDS crisis in 1980's New York. It's hard to say that movie was "good." Though incredibly sad and deeply moving, Mark Ruffalo's anger, persistence and passion keep this movie going and take it past any ill-faired cliche's it may have been set up for. Though slow to start, once you get into it, you get in deep. This story is extremely important, and must be told carefully, and it works. It's a painful reminder of the homophobic past/unconsciousness, the pharmaceutical industry and the power of community and love. Also, who know Jim Parsons could be so good when he is not being Sheldon? 88/100.

Leo: This is probably the saddest movie I've seen in a long time (if not ever). The quality of the movie is unquestionably high, though (as Tali said) it's hard to say the movie was "good". The acting, Mark Bomer (of White Collar) was the best of them all. I can't believe he's doing a damn Bravo TV series when he's capable of this type of acting. The only parts of the story I thought were a little fuzzy and not explained well was what the other characters (besides Mark Ruffalo) were doing. It seemed as if they were sitting on their asses doing nothing but I'm not sure if that's actually true. Either way, it was a small nitpick in an otherwise very well-done movie. Leometer: 84/100.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Tali: Hellboy II: The Golden Army, is the sequel to the original which we recently reviewed. Picking up where we left Hellboy and co. last, the team find themselves in the middle of a war between the humans and the 'underworld' (though that may not be the correct word), and they must stop the mighty Prince Nuada before he awakens the Golden Army (who are indestructible). Leo assured me that I would like this one much better than the first, and I most certainly did. The Hellboy series continues to be TOTALLY WEIRD, only now it's in a way that makes much more sense than the first film and is quite enjoyable at times (for example, this bizarre line at the end of this scene). Despite Liz being a total wet blanket, and the end fight scene being a little clunky, it was still a pretty entertaining movie. And the underwater C3P0 character gets a love interest, which I will always root for. 81/100.

Leo: This movie is one of my favorite repeat movies to watch because of the sheer craziness of Guillermo Del Toro's creations. There's always some weird creature that you miss and don't see until you've watched it twice or three times. Not to mention, Ron Perlman's Hellboy is so well-done. He's the type of hero who you know has his flaws and he knows has his flaws, but you like him anyway. He's the lesser of two evils and relies on Liz keeping him that way. Abe Sapien gets a bigger role this movie and the new characters of Nuada and Dr. Krauss bring more lore and comedic relief respectively. Either way, this movie is more linear and makes more sense than the first movie while also bringing in important questions about the character and identity of Hellboy. In addition to everything, it's also very entertaining.  Leometer: 88/100.

Chef

Tali: Chef tells the story of, well, a chef (played by Jon Favreau), who after a very public meltdown, buys a food truck and travels across America with his young son and trusty Latin-American sidekick to find himself. This was a fairly typical, feel-good Friday night movie. Nothing controversial, no explosions, no ridiculous love-story… just a ton of food porn. I felt that Favreau's character was a little self-ritcheous (and at times a huge baby), but the little boy was adorable and the whole thing was "feel good" enough that it got a pass. 78/100.

Leo: This movie really really played to my interests in terms of style, casting, and subject matter. Jon Favreau sometimes seems as if he's making movies just for me. It made me want to just drop what I'm doing and travel the world in a food truck making just "good food". There was no curve-balls or anything in the plot, I mean it was simply a feel-good rough beginning happy ending type of comedy, but honestly I haven't seen a good one of these types of movies in a while so it was sort of refreshing. The scene with Robert Downey Jr. was perfectly hilarious; they obviously have their Iron Man chemistry still intact and it really showed. Scarlett Johansson is really showing herself to be a versatile actress and has hopefully shaken off the "too pretty to be a good actress" stigma that somehow was somehow attached to her. The scenes in the truck were also a lot of fun, particularly the sexual healing sing-a-long and the corn starch balls. Very funny, made me hungry, and got the message through. I need to find a good Cuban sandwich place in Winnipeg...Leometer: 85/100.

Hellboy

Tali: Hellboy is a "supernatural superhero film" (that's what Wikipedia says) about, essentially, a demon spawn, brought to earth via a portal to hell created by… you guessed it, Nazis, raised by humans to fight supernatural crimes! I had no idea what to expect from this movie and I can literally say that my expectations were exceeded, but I still don't know what in the hell I watched! Hellboy himself is so uninterested in anything, so anti-hero that it is confusing. Also what was up with the underwater C3PO knockoff character (he was great is what's up). A total genre-busting movie, with some cool and interesting things that made it enjoyable….. but also it was totally weird. This review may sound confusing because this movie was totally off the wall! 77/100.

Leo: To be honest, I didn't really like this movie the first time I saw it, but I genuinely loved it the next 20 times (not even an exaggeration bro, it's always on TV). Perlman is a perfect fit for the witty-cheesy (in a good way) dialogue as well as the intense and evil parts. He brings one of the most complicated and characters that can't be related to down to being a simple loving/mistake-making/wisecracking hero we all know and expect. Again, in a good way. The interesting thing is that this movie's side plot (the complicated Liz-Hellboy relationship) is actually not in the comic but the movie would almost be too one-dimensional without that aspect of motivation. It also adds another weakness / strength to the hero. All in all, this is an awesome movie and everyone should see it at least twice. If you love Gillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) then you will also enjoy this movie in all of its disturbing and weird glory. Leometer: 87/100. 

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Tali: X-Men: DOFP is a hard movie to describe. It focuses on two different though linked time periods, which a type of time travel is possible and both have their own apocalyptic structures. With that being said, the movie tried to pick up on what Marvel has made their movies successful - flawed characters. Professor Xavier, Magneto and Mystique are all so intriguing because they are not perfect. It is certainly the best of the X-Men movies to date--which, although it doesn't say much, reflects the type of movie fans want to see and that fans deserve. Big and better yes, but real and plausible, too, especially when fantastical. While I loved this movie, it disappointed me to learn that the plot changed significantly from the original comic storyline. 85/100.

Leo: When dealing with time travel, especially when being scrutinized by masses of comic-book nerds, it has to be done perfectly without any paradoxes. This was done perfectly. The entire cast was excellent, the plot carefully thought out and adapted for the mass audiences (I think Wolverine is a better link between timezones than Shadow Cat). Jennifer Lawrence, as usual, shined since she was actually playing a much more mature and angry mystique than in the previous movie. Hugh Jackman's Wolverine was actually, for once, not one-dimensional and really helped carry the movie and helped the audience relate. If there is one thing this movie did, it's restore the X-Men franchise to where it should be. It fixed most of the mistakes (Rogue is a very obvious one that hasn't been fixed) of the previous films and built on the most recent one. Quicksilver's scenes were also some of the most enjoyable scenes to watch from any movie in recent memory. The after-credits scene set the stage for the next movie, a classic favorite of mine from the cartoons: Apocalypse. Leometer: 91/100.

Only Lovers Left Alive

Tali: Only Lovers Left Alive tells the story of two vampires, Adam and Eve, as they deal with the melancholy of being alive for hundreds of years and living amongst the "zombies" (humans). I had high hopes for this movie, as other folks LOVED it. While there were no better casting choices than Tom and Tilda, I was quite disappointed with how slow the movie went. I love a good art film, but this was too much. I just wish more, happened. With that being said, abandoned Detroit served as the PERFECT background to this movie, and the humour was subtle and perfect. 70/100.

Leo: I actually enjoyed this movie a surprising amount despite its painfully slow pacing. I saw a quote from a critic that was something like: "It finds horror not in the extreme, but in the mundane" and that perfectly explains the film. It shows how these powerful immortal creatures lives sort of boil down to the very basics in terms of finding food and hiding from the dangers of the world. The amount the vampires sleep, while necessary to make the point of how mundane their lives are, made the movie even slower. The cast's delivery of the subtle humour was also perfect but I think we were the only ones laughing in the theater. Whatever they didn't get it. Leometer: 73/100.