It's at this point in the summer season that the box office starts winding down. This is not the case this year as there are 3 exciting new releases this week. Today I will be reviewing "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" which is Hollywood's latest attempt to cash in on the young adult fiction craze. I will also be reviewing "The World's End" which is the latest from the creators of "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" (which are two movies that I absolutely adore). Finally, I will be reviewing the horror/dark comedy "You're Next." As usual I'd like to give a shoutout to the Free Gamer's Alliance YouTube channel. Their videos cover everything from walkthroughs, glitches, easter eggs, and various amusing video game related content, all of which is delivered with some colorful commentary while they have buckets of fun doing it. Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/user/FreeGamersAlliance/.
Let's get this started with the end. By that I mean "The World's End." Here is the trailer:
- The casting in this movie was absolutely spot on. The actors fit their character very well. The actors also had great chemistry and were clearly having a lot of fun making this movie. This, in turn, translates into more fun for the audience.
- The soundtrack is absolutely killer. The songs really add something special to the movie. They are also fun enough that they may make you want to dance.
- Despite being a comedy, this movie has a lot of heart. You really do become invested in these characters and it's pretty much impossible not to root for them.
- There were quite a few killer action scenes. They were well done to the point where they easily get the audience's adrenaline pumping.
- Most importantly, this movie is absolutely hilarious. The comedic timing is perfect and every joke feels well thought out and executed perfectly.
The Bad:
- I've got to admit that the ending (as hilarious as it was) felt a bit rushed. Everything happened so quickly that the end of the movie feels less satisfying than the rest of the movie.
The Verdict:
"The World's End" is a very well executed film that will make you laugh and make you really feel something simultaneously. I absolutely recommend this one!
Up next is "You're Next" (see what I did there). Here is the trailer:
- The sets for this movie were absolutely spot on. Everything felt authentic and real which is always very helpful when trying to get lost in the story.
- Gore fans are going to have a field day with this one. There is no shortage of blood.
- The way that this movie blends horror and comedy is absolutely brilliant. It manages to be over the top as the film pokes fun at various horror cliches. I laughed hard in this one.
- The soundtrack choices were fantastic.
- The main character is written very well. It becomes easy for the audience to sympathize with/root for her as she is interesting.
The Bad:
- The movie is fairly predictable. Any plot twist can be seen from a mile away.
- Aside from the main character, the characters were very hard to root for to the point where I actually found myself hoping they would die. This is because they do really stupid things. I get why they did it this way but it may upset people.
The Verdict:
"You're Next" is an absolute blast to watch. The humor is dark and it works in a very big way. I would say that it absolutely is worth going to see in theaters (especially in a full auditorium at night).
Finally, it's time to review "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones." Here is the trailer:
- All of the moments where humor was intended worked in a big way. I found myself laughing my ass off at the jokes as they were well timed and delivered flawlessly.
- If there is one actor in this movie that absolutely nailed his role, it is Jamie Campbell Bower. I bought everything that he said and did. He was likeable/charismatic and was fascinating to watch.
- Having read/enjoyed the source material enough, I knew that there was a chance that this could turn way too melodramatic. I'm happy to report that this isn't the case.
The Bad:
- The pacing in this movie really worked against it. There were certain scenes that really felt like they were dragging on way more than they should have.
- The action scenes in this movie were executed extremely poorly. They became so cartoonish that I had a very hard time taking them seriously and it became distracting.
- The special effects were very hit and miss. Some worked, while many of them looked so cheap that they could have came straight out of "Sharknado." This makes it hard to take anything going on seriously.
- I can't stress this enough, Lily Collins really needs to find something else that she is good at because acting isn't her strong suit. She spent most of the movie with the same stupid look on her face as she stands there with her mouth open all the time. On top of that, anytime she does attempt to change facial expressions, they look really half-assed. I will say that she is better at that than Kristen Stewart, but not by much. It should also be noted thatRobert Sheehan also did not work in his role. His comedic bits were fine but anytime he had to show emotion or do anything remotely seriously, it came off as though he was trying to hard and it becomes distracting.
- This movie has a hilariously awful kissing scene that could be a contender for worst kissing scene in cinematic history.
- Finally, there were some very bizarre soundtrack choices. There are three that stick out in particular. There are two scenes with a soapy pop ballads going over them. The one that really bugged me, however, was a fight scene between the main group of characters and a bunch of enemies. This scene was set to dance music and it really did not fit. Imagine having a crazy fight scene set to something along the lines of the video below:
"The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" has is moments, but I think it ultimately failed in it's transition to the big screen. I think that it will please the most hardcore fans of the series but most other people probably won't dig it.
Thanks for reading everyone!! Feel free to leave a comment!!