Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

When "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" was released, it quickly became one of my favorites of the franchise. It was a brilliant reboot of one of my all-time favorite franchises (as I have pointed out here, here, and here, among other places), and deserved to go down in the pantheon of incredible film making. Now, it's sequel has been given to us, and it is equally as beautiful, climactic, and breath-taking. There are scenes in this movie that moved me to auditory responses that I don't get to make during many films.

Andy Serkis should seriously be given some kind of technical Oscar for being a better mo-cap actor than most actors are without it (because they have some crap rules about giving it to actors who don't appear on-screen). Honestly, I can't think of any performances that were sub-par in this flick, some characters could have flushed out a little better, but just none stand out the way Serkis did. Except, perhaps, Toby Kebbell as Caesar's second in command, Koba. That ape was just plain frightening. Despite a couple of lags in the story early on, it is a well written sci-fi movie, with plenty of heart and brain to spare. "Dawn" simply hurdles toward a third act that is thrilling in every way, and captures the spirit of the original series with an ending filled with doom and gloom.

Grade: A-

3D: Doesn't hurt, doesn't help

Easter Egg: Not really. Only some sounds. 

Starring: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman
Director: Matt Reeves
Writer(s): Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
RT: 130min
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and brief strong language

Lucy (2014)

Place Beatles Reference Here

There a few things that writer/director Luc Besson did right with "Lucy". He cast Scarlett Johansson, who is just utterly incredible in this role. Watching her become godlike in this film is an absolute treat. He and cinematographer Thierry Arbogast create a visually captivating film that manages to keep the eye completely full. There is always something worth looking at in this film. He gave the first twenty minutes some weight and intrigue (complete with some cuts of cheetahs hunting antelope). Despite the concept starting out strong, Besson devolves into a world of mismanaged action sequences, silly pseudo-science, and gaping plot holes. Nothing makes much sense, and its self-aggrandizing gets old rather fast. I honestly can't defend anything that happens in this movie after the inciting incident; therefore, I would not be able to defend suggesting this movie to anybody.

Grade: D
3D: N/A
Easter Egg: None

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Feeman, Min-Sik Choi
Director: Luc Besson
Writer(s): Luc Besson
RT: 90min
Rating: Rated R for strong violence, disturbing images, and sexuality

A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)

A funny thing happened while I was watching this movie. And then a couple more funny things happened. There may be more funny things that happened in this film, than in "Ted" and all three cartoon sitcoms MacFarlane has on Fox combined. This isn't to say that the movie is really good, it just happens to be an improvement. Out of its 116 minute run-time, there is about 30 minutes worth of quality material. However, solid performances, and some expert cinematography are present in this film, and they were damn hard to ignore. MacFarlane even packs this movie full of some seriously funny cameos that make some of the lulls easier to take. I was 100% shocked at much I actually enjoyed the best parts of this movie.

Grade: C-
3D: N/A
Easter Egg: No

Starring: Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Writer(s): Seth MacFarlane & Alec Sulkin & Wellesley Wild
RT: 116 min
Rating: Rated R for strong crude and sexual content, language throughout, some violence and drug material

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Marc Webb's newest entry into the "Spider-Man" franchise suffers from the same thing that Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man 3" suffered from: trying to do too much too fast, and sacrificing story elements in the process. No moment with emotional weight in this film is earned, because everything is so rushed in order to service three storylines that included two new villains. Neither of which are very interesting, or feel above two children throwing massive fits. Electro is completely static (shut up, I liked that pun), and Harry Osborn gets an undeserved emotional arc in which he is Peter's best friend, without so much of a mention in the first film.

On the plus side, Andrew Garfield remains a great Peter Parker, and a perfect goofball Spider-Man. Put him in the first two Raimi movies, and you have the perfect super hero flicks (especially the second one, which was damn near perfection). Emma Stone is mostly excellent as Gwen Stacy, even if the script doesn't give her much to do until the final fight. She does often feel bored with her tedious storyline, and its conclusion is telegraphed in pretty much every conversation she has with Peter. It was hard to not be pleased by the technical elements. They are so pleasing, that when I walked out of the film, I thought I enjoyed it more than I did. The more thought that went into it, however, the more I seemed to dislike it.

Grade: C
3D: Don't bother
Easter Egg: A scene from the new "X-Men", which was awful.

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx
Director: Marc Webb
Writer(s): Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci & Jeff Pinker
RT: 142 min
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action/violence

Draft Day (2014)

Ivan Reitman has directed many a great film, but seems to be on bit of a dry streak. There was hope that "Draft Day" would have pulled him out of it. Unfortunately, its melodramatic formula got in the way of what could have been the football equivalent to "Moneyball". Scott Rothman and Rajiv Joseph's script focuses too heavily on the personal problems of Kevin Costner's Sonny Weaver, Jr., the GM of the Cleveland Browns, and a lot less on the problems with the team. It never feels like you are in the moment with the draft, and the actual draft itself is only in about a quarter of the film. A few solid performances, from Costner, Chadwick Boseman (playing a potential draft pick), Frank Langella (as the Browns owner), and Ellen Burstyn (as Costner's mother), keep the film afloat and watchable. The dealings, however, become a little outlandish, and final resolution is too neat for such a chaotic concept. "Draft Day" amounted to nothing more than a fluff piece.

Grade: C+
3D: N/A
Easter Egg: No

Starring: Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Frank Langella
Director: Ivan Reitman
Writer(s): Scott Rothman & Rajiv Joseph
RT: 109 min
Rating: PG-13 on appeal for brief strong language and sexual references

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Sure, this film had a couple of story issues, but what film doesn't? It is the most solid, most thrilling, and most overall well-made film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Anthony and Joe Russo took the Marvel formula, and flipped it to create a spy thriller with great action sequences (including my new favorite car chase), and a stellar script that is a little transparent, but ultimately tense and funny. They were given a great leading cast, which they used to full advantage; not wasting a single talent on screen like a few others in the franchise have managed to do.

Chris Evans is utterly charming as Steve Rodgers (Captain America), he displays a idealistic innocence, even after surviving WWII and the "Battle of New York" from "The Avengers", that makes you instantly like him, and want to root for him at every turn. Samuel L. Jackson took his Nick Fury to a whole new level of badass, and Scarlett Johansson keeps making Black Widow one of the most well-rounded and intriguing characters in this universe. The addition of Anthony Mackie as the Falcon was very welcome. He has been the only interesting comic relief in the three Phase II films (the kid in "Iron Man 3" and Kat Dennings in "Thor 2" were unbearable).  The Russo Brothers even snagged a great performance out of Robert Redford, who is playing Nick Fury's mentor, and head of the World Security Council, Alexander Pierce. And any time I see Cobie Smulders on screen, I instantly melt... so, there is that. Did I mention this is my new favorite Marvel film?

Grade: A
3D: Meh. Not worth it.
Easter Egg: Two seems to be the new norm for Marvel Studios

Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie
Director: Anthony and Joe Russo
Writer(s): Christopher Markus & Stephan McFeely - Story - Ed Brubaker
RT: 136 min
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, gunplay and action throughout

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

There is literally nothing I didn't love about Wes Anderson's newest movie. His writing only seems to get sharper with every film. Dripping with a mixture of wry wit and low brow slapstick, it is one of the funniest he has produced, as well as (possibly) the most exciting. It is actually quite exciting that an actor as great as Ralph Finnes fits into Anderson's style so effortlessly. He plays M. Gustave H. so beautifully, that his Oscar for it should already be lining his shelf. Actually, this entire cast hits their marks with a vibrant glee, and award caliber perfection. From Wes' mainstays like Bill Murray and Owen Wilson, to more new comers like F. Murray Abraham (and his hilarious younger self played by Toni Revolori) to the ever delightful Saoirse Ronan, there isn't a character wasted in this entire film. I could go on and on about my love of Robert D. Yeoman's cinematography, and the brilliant decisions of switching between aspect ratios depending on the era the story is set in, but this review is supposed to be short, so I won't. Just go see this movie already.

Grade: A+
Easter Egg: No
3D: N/A

Starring: Ralph Finnes, Jude Law, Toni Revolori
Director: Wes Anderson
Writer(s): Wes Anderson - Story: Wes Anderson and Hugo Guiness - Inspiration: Hugo Zweig
RT: 100 min
Rating: R for language, some sexual content and violence