Dec 16 2015

Movie Reviews 101 Midnight Horror – Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015)

Director: Christopher Landon

Writer: Christopher Landon, Emi Mochizuki, Carrie Lee Wilson (Screenplay) Lona Williams (Story)

Starring: Tye Sheridan, Logan Miller, Joey Morgan, Sarah Dumont, David Koechner, Halston Sage, Cloris Leachman, Niki Koss, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Blake Anderson

Plot: Three scouts, on the eve of their last camp-out, discover the true meaning of friendship when they attempt to save their town from a zombie outbreak.

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Superbad With Zombies

Story: Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse follows high school students Ben (Sheridan) and Carter (Miller) who have stayed in scouts to support their friend Augie (Morgan) who is about to achieve the highest honour in the scouts. Agreeing to go on one last camp before telling Augie the truth, the three friends find themselves teaming up with sexy cocktail waitress Denise (Dumont) to survive a zombie apocalypse.

The three scouts use all the knowledge of scouts to escape the zombies as the friendship gets pushed to the limits, as they look to save the remaining survivors and their school mates from a party.

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse does everything you need in a horror comedy, it has laughs and gore without getting carried away with just one side of the story. We do get the three lead male character feeling very much like the three from Superbad hence why I think this is Superbad with zombies. They each like near identical with one being a loud mouth asshole, one being strange and the leading one being the shy good guy. The story happens all over one night which helps so the risk they are under while the dealing with the changing friendships also reflexes real life too.

Actor Review

Tye Sheridan: Ben is the normal one of the three as he wants to look to the future but hasn’t got to the stage of being able to Augie he wants out the scouts. He deals with Carter’s over the top reaction and loudness to make sure he stays calm through all the situations. Tye does a good job in this leading role working well with the rest of the cast.

Logan Miller: Carter is the loudest of the three, he wants out the scouts the most he wants to be the guy that is considered popular at school and especially when it comes to college. He thinks more with his dick and just really wants to get laid and it what you would consider a bad friend on the surface. Logan is good as the ass you really don’t want to like through the film even though you know it is mostly an act.

Joey Morgan: Augie is the die-hard scout who is about to earn the highest honours in the scouts, he has lost his father a few years early and that is the reason why the friends have stayed with him. He is the most resourceful of the three even if he learns that his friends are not everything they see to be. Joey is good in this role where he has to be different to the rest of the cast.

Sarah Dumont: Denise is the former student who works in the strip club as a waitress, she joins the boys in their escape from the town and proves to be an asset in combat as well as giving them life lessons. Sarah is great in this role as the strongest character when it comes to life.

Support Cast: Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse has a good supporting cast that does include Patrick Schwarzenegger.

Director Review: Christopher Landon – Christopher gives us a horror comedy that comes off original with its concept throughout.

Comedy: Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse has good laughs throughout mostly with the zombie kills.

Horror: Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse puts us into a zombie outbreak which always works for the horror genre.

Settings: Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse keeps all the action inside one small town showing how easily it could get taken over.
Special Effects: Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse has great effects for the kills even if some are for added laughs.

Suggestion: Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is one that I think all horror comedy fans will enjoy (Horror Comedy Fans Watch)

Best Part: Final battle.

Worst Part: Carter can get annoying at times.

Action Scene Of The Film: Final rescue.

Funniest Scene: Trampoline time.

Kill Of The Film: Britney Baby.

Favourite Quote: Denise (While crushing a zombie head) ‘I’m so fucking sick of zombies’

Believability: No

Chances of Tears: No

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: Yes

Similar Too: Dance of the Dead

Oscar Chances: No

Budget: $15 Million

Runtime: 1 Hour 33 Minutes

Tagline: Always Bring Protection

Overall: As funny as Superbad, add the horror of Dance of the Dead for this delight

Rating

Dec 16 2015

Days of Thunder (1990)

Director: Tony Scott

Writer: Robert Towne (Screenplay) Robert Towne, Tom Cruise (Story)

Starring: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes, Michael Rooker, Fred Dalton Thompson, John C Reilly

Plot: A young hot-shot stock car driver gets his chance to compete at the top level.

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Classic Sports Thriller

Story: Days of Thunder starts when Tim Daland (Quaid) comes to experienced mechanic Harry Hogge (Duvall) to build him a car with a brand new driver Cole Trickle (Cruise). When Cole turns out to have brilliant pace Harry comes back into the game but things don’t go smoothly to start with as the two clash. Putting their differences aside Cole gets taught the does and don’ts of driving to keep Tim happy and most importantly competitive.

When Cole finally starts winning he goes head to head with the best driver on the circuit Rowdy Burns (Rooker) which leads to both being involved in a crash leaving them both in the hospital. The two get slammed by the owners of Nascar but build on mutual respect as they have to win the owner back over to get back on the track while Cole gets into a romance with Doctor Lewicki (Kidman).

When Harry decides to start a new team with a new driver Russ Wheeler (Elwes) he pushes Cole the wrong way as he deals with the consequences of the previous accident with his new friend Rowdy struggling to get back behind the wheel.

Days of Thunder sums up a fun enjoyable sports drama though one of the most intense sports around today. We do get to look at side effects from sports which is important because we all know things could go wrong. We all know how the sports dramas will end so the ending is no surprise for us. The love angle does seem kind of forced upon us but when it comes to the racing everything comes off enjoyable.

Actor Review

Tom Cruise: Cole Trickle is the hot shot young racer who gets his chance in Nascar with a new team, he starts by making plenty of mistakes until he listens to his mechanic who teaches him to turn in pace into finishing races off. He becomes one of the main contenders to be champion but is his style going to be too reckless for the sport. Tom shows that he was on the way to becoming a superstar in Hollywood.

Nicole Kidman: Dr Claire Lewicki is one of the doctors who helps after the accident, she becomes the love interest of Cole as she has to help both drivers get back on the track. Nicole does a solid job but almost gets put on the back burner.

Robert Duvall: Harry Hogge is the mechanic who builds the car, teaches Cole about racing with all of his years’ experience. He becomes like a father to Cole when the team starts clashing against the owner. Robert proves he is the serial supporting actor with this great performance here.

Randy Quaid: Tim Daland is the owner of the team but he gets greedy and starts a second team which leads to clash between Cole and new team with hot shot racer Russ Wheeler. Randy gives us a solid supporting that is almost the villain but all businessman style throughout.

Cary Elwes: Russ Wheeler is a new rival driver who pushes Cole the wrong way leading to him becoming the new favourite in the world of Nascar and his owner Harry. Cary only has a small supporting role but becomes the smug racer well.

Michael Rooker: Rowdy Burns is the experience driver who starts out as a rival but soon becomes best friends on the track after their accident, this accident leads to the two having to deal with the consequences with accidents in the sport. Michael gives the best performance and could be the most interesting character in the film.

Support Cast: Days of Thunder has some big names in supporting roles that all make this feel like they are all part of the racing world.

Director Review: Tony Scott – Tony gives us a good enjoyable film that is fun to watch.

Action: Days of Thunder has all sports action here.

Sports: Days of Thunder is filled with sports drama from start to finish with edge of your seat action being used.

Settings: Days of Thunder creates the settings to make us part of the action throughout.
Suggestion: Days of Thunder is one for all the action fans to enjoy and is you love racing this is one for you to watch for sure. (Racing Fans Watch)

Best Part: Race sequences.

Worst Part: Love story.

Action Scene Of The Film: Final race.

Believability: Loosely based on a real driver and you can see elements being real.

Chances of Tears: No

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: No

Oscar Chances: Nominated for an Oscar

Box Office: $82,7 Million

Budget: $60 Million

Runtime: 1 Hour 47 Minutes

Tagline: Cruise like Thunder.

Overall: Great racing drama film that keeps you on the edge of your seat

Rating

Dec 16 2015

2015 Watched List Part 40

Over the past year I have seen an incredible amount of films and I have decided to share with you all which ones I have seen in what order. I am going to be doing these in groups of ten, where I will pick my favourite of the bunch and the worst of the bunch.

So without further ramblings here we go with 401 – 410:

Southpaw This boxing movie really tries to push the limits where the characters have to make up for wrong doings.
Jacob’ Ladder This psychological thriller that really ends up leaving you guessing what is real or not.
The Serpent and the Rainbow This Wes Craven film following voodoo magic that could create zombies, a clever idea based on real events.
Back to the Future The beginning of one of the greatest trilogies of all time.
Backwater – Horror film that works well until final twist which will leave you shocked.

Bully Follows a teenager who is getting bullied and how he has to deal with it, it really is an interesting film with a shocking ending too.
Mad Max Fury Road What a Film, What A Lovely Film.
Back to the Future part 2 The continuing chapter that is brilliant second chapter of the film.
Back to the Future part 3 The final chapter of Marty McFly travels through time.
Tomorrowland This ambitious sci-fi adventure sometimes gets caught up trying to be more than it should be.