Deadpool

Wade Wilson, aka the Merc with the Mouth and the guy that kinda looks like Spider-Man. Deadpool is a parody of a comic book super hero and over the years he's become incredibly popular. Unfortunately, his first appearance in a movie was a horrible, horrible mess and left a bad reputation. However, Deadpool has his own movie now and has been redeemed. Suit up and grab a taxi, and don't forget your guns. This is Deadpool.

The Plot:
Wade Wilson is ex special forces turned mercenary.  He meets the love of his life, Vanessa, and everything seems great. But all good things don't last forever, Wade finds out he has terminal cancer and signs up with the Weapon X program in hopes of curing the cancer so he can spend the rest of his life with Vanessa. While being subjected to mutant testing, he is tortured by Ajax (Francis), a mutant who can't feel pain. However, Wade isn't too discouraged and teases Ajax(Francis) until Wade develops his super healing mutant powers (and fourth wall breaking powers). The powers come at a cost, turning Wade into a disfigured monster. Afraid that Vanessa won't love him because of how he looks, Deadpool becomes obsessed with finding Ajax (Francis) and get his looks back. While searching for Ajax (Francis), Deadpool teams up with couple of X-Men; Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. The two agree to help Wade only if he joins the X-Men to become a super hero. Wade agrees and they go off to find Francis, but Francis has kidnapped Vanessa, angering Wade. Deadpool fights Francis and saves Vanessa, but his looks aren't cured. Vanessa doesn't care how Wade looks and the two kiss and live happily ever after.

The Good:
Uh, pretty much everything. I was laughing from start to finish throughout the entire movie. Ryan Reynolds nails Deadpool. Everyone else does a decent job too. The banter between Deadpool and Blind Al (the old blind lady), and Negasonic Teenage Warhead is the coolest super hero name ever. Brianna Hildebrand (NSTW) is hilarious and awesome at the same time. And the easter eggs, there are plenty.  In one scene where Colossus is taking Deadpool back to the Xavier's school, and says "We are taking you to professor." Deadpool asks, "Which one? McAvoy or Stewart?" FYI: James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart have played Prof. X in the movies.

The Bad: 
Mainly Ajax (Francis). He's not a very intimidating villain. He has nothing to gain by killing Deadpool, because....Deadpool can't die. It's a losing situation. There are a few minor things that were annoying, but they're not worth mentioning because the movie does a decent job on keeping the pace going. 

Overall:
Deadpool is a great movie. Even if you're not a fan of Deadpool, it's a fun movie. There's lots of laughs and decent action scenes. The dialogue between the characters to Deadpool breaking the fourth wall will keep you entertained. If you're a fan of the Merc with the Mouth, then you're going to love this movie.

Score:
5 Chimichangas out of 5.

Attack the Block

When man first gazed upon the stars, was his first thought about aliens invading us? According to Hollywood, yes. Don't get me wrong, I like an alien invasion movie every now and then. Though nowadays, alien invasion movies are a dime a dozen and most of them have the same plot. Brave hero defeats aliens and saves the day. Attack the Block however, is a bit different. An unlikely hero defeats the aliens and saves the day. (Block?) 

The Plot:
A group of teenage street thugs encounter an alien after mugging a woman. Moses (John Boyega), the leader, kills it and takes it back to a friend's home for safekeeping.  After getting high with his friends (I never said this guy was a stand-up citizen) they discover more and more aliens keep crashing into the neighborhood. They arm up and go out to kill the aliens, but find themselves outnumbered and scared. The aliens only seem to be interested in Moses and his friends, ignoring anything else unless attacked. Moses and his friends head back to the block they live in and try to escape, but they're pursued and picked off one by one until Moses has had enough and decides to end it once and for all.

The Good:
For a low budget movie, it's actually pretty good. The dialogue is amusing, I found myself laughing at certain parts of the film. The actors do a good job too. The kids are likable at most, even though at the beginning, you find yourself hard to root for Moses. The kids grow more and more throughout the movie and you feel sad when one of them dies. The monsters are pretty wicked looking. Pitch black fur with glowing teeth is pretty terrifying and it's nice to see that it's an original look.

The Bad:
I honestly can't think of one thing that was too terrible. A minor thing though, is a gang leader is attempting to kill Moses and has the worst aim ever. I mean, Stormtroopers have better aim than this guy. For such a baddie, he's not very threatening.

Overall:
Attack the Block is a fresh breath of air into alien invasion movies. It has a character that you have to earn trust from, instead of Mr. Action Hero. The effects are pretty decent and it doesn't focus too much on the aliens, but rather the people involved.

Rating:
4 glowing alien teeth out of 5.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider

Ellen Ripley, Sarah Conner, Furiosa....these are some of the toughest fictional females in movie history. Now, you can add Lara Croft to that list. A popular video game character going to the big screen makes sense, right? Well, let's find out in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider!

The Plot:
The Illuminati (don't worry this is not a conspiracy theory movie) are searching for an artifact that grants the user to control time. For reasons unexplained, they must find it before time (haha) runs out until the next 5000 years. Lara Croft (Angeline Joline) gets thrown into the hunt by finding her father's clue and must destroy the artifact, again for unexplained reasons. Croft is sent via clue to a temple to obtain the first piece of the artifact and is forced to work with the baddie, Manfred Powell, an Illuminati member in search for the artifact as well. After Lara gains the first piece, she goes into hiding and works out a deal with Powell. He gets the piece, she lives and they can work to get the second piece where it becomes a free for all. Powell and Croft head to The City of Light in Siberia and they find the second piece. After solving a puzzle, Lara gets the artifact and has a heart to heart with her departed father, before going back in time and saving James B- I mean, Alex West (Daniel Craig). Powell and Croft fight as the City crumbles around them, again, for unexplained reasons. Lara wins and heads back to safety. The movie ends in a classic freeze frame of happiness.

The Good:
Did you enjoy that scene above? If not, well, you apparently don't like fun. This movie is full of scenes like that and it's enjoyable to watch. There's also a few nods to the video games: Lara's mansion is similar to the game's layout for one. And towards the end of the movie as Lara is making her escape, she makes an "Aha.." Like this:

  Nice little nod there.
You can tell the actors are clearly enjoying themselves in the film and it makes you enjoy it more, regardless of the plot. Also, a good thing, Daniel Craig's "American" accent. It's so bad it's good and at times you can hear his British accent.

The Bad:
Daniel Craig's "American" accent. It's bad. Like he can't decide which region of America so he throws in a hybrid of Western/ Boston. It's bizarre. The plot is all over the place. For example, in Daddy Croft's clue, he mentions that the artifact was broken into two pieces and sent to opposite ends of the earth. Clearly he was lying, because one piece apparently stayed behind in the City of Light for giggles. No explanation as to why it was still there. There's also alot of unexplained stuff going on and it gets a bit frustrating as to how certain things are going on. Again, example: In the first tomb Lara raids....Haha get it? Anyways. Lara figures out the puzzle and suddenly the statues come to life. How? There's bit a pieces like that and it gets a little frustrating. It's like the writers came up with this stuff and no one proof read the script.

Overall:
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is no where near a perfect movie. The plot flops around and lots of things don't make sense. But, it is a fun movie to watch. Angeline Joline was having a great time as Lara Croft and you see that on the screen. Sure, there are some cheesy lines and silly action sequences, but it's still fun to watch.

Rating: 4 tombs raided out of 5.