Inherent Vice

 Inherent Vice is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Josh Brolin, Joaquin, and Benicio all give standout performances. It's definitely confusing, it does drag on a bit, and the ending isn't completely perfect, but the humor is so refreshing and spot-on that I'm giving it 4.5/5.
Inherent Vice looked interesting from the trailer. I don't remember what Roeper said about it, but he gave it a B, so I guess he didn't hate it. I think Chris liked it more after thinking about it than he did right after he saw it. All that put together, and I still wanted to give it a shot, but I went in prepared to just enjoy the ride and not have everything wrapped up at the end.

I was surprised by how funny it was. It's subtle humor; they don't beat you over the head with it, but it's good. I'd say it's the funniest movie I've seen in a year, so that should count for something. I love that they shot it on actual film. It looks amazing; it has character without looking dated - although since it is set in the 70s, you could probably allow some dated-ness leeway. I liked how most of the women didn't look like they were wearing makeup. They all looked clean and natural. I'm sure they were wearing some makeup, but it just wasn't over-the-top like usual.

Predestination

Predestination is based on a short story, and it shows. They added some things that weren't in the story, but it's not enough. The framework of the original idea is really all that's there, and it wasn't worth my time. I was expecting a flashier action/fantasy-type movie, and it turned out to be straight drama. 

The trailer for Predestination made it seem like it would be all futuristic, but a weird 40s-style future, and flashy and exciting with the way they do the time jumps, like an action/fantasy movie. But it was actually pure drama; borderline boring drama. It was such a narrative. I wasn't surprised at all to find out it was based on a short story. It had a real "short story" feel to it. I don't think they had enough here to make a movie out of, even though they added things that weren't in the story. I feel slightly disenfranchised being sold a movie that turned out to be a short story, now that I think about it.

John Wick

John Wick is a lot of fun. The soundtrack adds just the right energy, the composition is interesting both in terms of lighting and blocking, there's some cool stuff going on with the action, and Keanu doesn't have too many opportunities to ruin scenes with his signature brain-dead delivery. 

John Wick looked like a cool movie from the trailer; there were some standout action sequences that made it seem like it would be unique, and I was hoping Keanu Reeves' acting wouldn't ruin this movie like it did Johnny Mnemonic. His delivery in the trailer was pretty terrible. One of his first scenes in the movie is with Willem Dafoe, and the contrast between their levels of acting is crazy. It's like Keanu is reading off of cue cards and Willem is just an actual person saying something.

Luckily Keanu doesn't have a lot of dialogue. He's primarily just doing stunts, most of which he apparently performed himself, so that's cool. I always get a little lost with close combat. It's tough to tell what's going on, and these fight scenes were no exception. I wish I could've seen it in the theater; a bigger screen might have helped, but it didn't come to the cheap theater. It seems like they only get kids' movies anymore.

The soundtrack was great. It sounded good, it fit what was going on, and it added just the right kind of energy. The composition was great, too, both in terms of lighting/colors and blocking/framing. The sets were gorgeous, and the neon overhead shots of New York were cool. John's house was actually designed to be an art gallery, so it had lots of windows and light, and it looked perfect. The art director said he wanted something everyone would want to live in, and he really hit the mark.

Everything was super sleek and opulent for the whole movie. John's suit looked great. The wacky subtitles were a misfire. I don't know if they were going for a comic-book feel or just trying to do something different, but it was just annoyingly distracting. The different sizes and placements just weren't necessary. There's nothing wrong with regular subtitles.

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Kingsman: The Secret Service looks good, aside from the weird jumpy camera style they went with for a few of the fight scenes. There are some interesting ideas, but Eggsy's protégé character is totally one-note, and I would've liked it better if it had less immature violence and more parkour. 

I don't have many thoughts on Kingsman: The Secret Service that don't involve spoilers. It had just the right amount of "gadgets" to keep things interesting without being gimmicky. I was disappointed the parkour scene wasn't longer; they should've done more of that. And I hated the weird jumpy camera style of the fight scenes.

Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For

Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For has a striking visual style, an engaging plot, and fun characters and cameos. 

I liked the first Sin City, although I haven't read any of the comics. I didn't remember much about it, so I read the Wikipedia article on it before watching this one. I didn't think it really helped; it was just a jumble of names - X did this, then Y did that, and I couldn't even keep the names straight while I was reading it. I think it actually was useful, though.

I love the visual style of the sequel. I wanted to see it at the theater, but it looks like it's not coming to the cheap one. It's amazing how much it looks like you're watching a live comic, and all the highlights and color pops were great. I liked the noir-style narration.

To Be Takei

To Be Takei is an interesting look into George's life, but it's more like an E! Special than a movie. 

I wasn't planning to see To Be Takei, but Roeper gave it a favorable review, and I decided it might be interesting just to watch in place of a TV show throughout the day. It actually took less sittings than I expected. Before and during watching it, I was most interested in the scenes of George's home life with his husband, but there weren't many of those. The internment camp stuff was interesting, though. I guess George really doesn't like William Shatner. I wonder why Shatner even agreed to do an interview for the movie.

I don't know how George can stand his husband being so critical all the time. I guess George is just a super easygoing, positive kind of guy. He seems nice. I like that he has a sense of humor about things. I kind of felt bad for his husband, since he wanted to retire, but instead they're constantly running around doing appearances.

There's really nothing more to it than advertised; it's just a little look into George Takei's life. I didn't feel like I wasted my time because of the way I watched it, but in terms of just sitting down and plunking two hours into it, I found myself wondering at the end why anyone would want to do that. It certainly didn't seem like the kind of thing that would be worth watching that way.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince moves along at a decent pace, without too many unnecessary distractions. There's not really anything "magical" about it, but it advances the plot, and it's better than the previous two Harry Potter movies.

I accidentally watched Harry Potter #7 before #6, but now that I've seen this one, I realize I really didn't miss much, even though it felt like I did when I watched #7. I probably should read a synopsis of "the story so far" before I watch the last one, though. I don't remember any of the Tom Riddle business, and apparently I should. I also don't remember what happened with Draco's father, but I guess something did.