Film: Allegiant

GENRE: Action

RATING: PG-13 for violence and partial nudity
RUNTIME: 2 hours

STARRING: Shailene Woodley (Divergent, Fault in Our Stars)

Theo James (Insurgent); Jeff Daniels (Newsroom, Steve Jobs)

DIRECTOR: Robert Schwentke (Flightplan, RED, Insurgent)

WRITERS: Adam Cooper & Bill Collage (Accepted, Tower Heist)

Noah Oppenheim (Maze Runner)

PLOT: Tris and her friends find out what is beyond the wall and things are not what they seem.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I didn’t read the final book, heard it wasn’t that good.

STORY STUFF: Be aware that like all young adult books turned into movies, they have divided the final book into two parts. It was pretty obvious that they were taking their time to justify another film, some looks linger a bit too long. If you break down what really happens plotwise, not much goes on. This story would be my least favourite of the three so far but it wasn’t terrible or anything, just not as gripping.

ACTING STUFF: Everyone does a good job on screen. These actors know these characters and give it all they can. I did like seeing Jeff Daniels in his role as David (boring character names btw). It’s hard to believe that Daniels was in Dumb and Dumber.  

ARTISTIC STUFF: You can tell there was a lot of CG going on this movie. Being the future, some of that is understandable, but at other points, some realism would be nice. I found the over abundance of red, white and black kind of dull. I also wasn’t really impressed with the futuristic building designs. You could also tell that Four does not like white, he changed into his black outfit as quick as humanly possible.  

VERDICT: Two and half stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You’ve already seen the other two films.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Captain America: Civil War

Film: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

GENRE: Action

RATING: PG-13 for violence
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 31 minutes

STARRING: Ben Affleck (Gone Girl, Argo, Daredevil)

Henry Cavill (Man of Steel); Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)

DIRECTORS: Zack Snyder (300, Man of Steel, Watchmen)

WRITERS: Chris Terrio (Argo) & David S Goyer (The Dark Knight)

PLOT: After Metropolis is wrecked, Batman wants to keep Superman in check so he takes him on with some extra egging on by Lex Luthor.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I had low expectations after watching the just okay Man of Steel.

STORY STUFF: While I felt they did a pretty good job justifying Batman wanting to fight Superman, I didn’t understand Lex’s motives much. Wonder Woman is given a good introduction but Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg are left on the peripheral.

ACTING STUFF: Everyone does a good job but there is not really a standout in the lead roles. I usually don’t like Laurence Fishburne (Matrix) but I really enjoyed his work this time around as Perry White. I actually cared about him as opposed to his weak introduction in Man of Steel.

ARTISTIC STUFF: The dark palette continues much like Man of Steel and Nolan’s Batman trilogy. I did not like Batman’s Iron Man suit complete with glowing eyes and platform shoes; too bulky. Unfortunately, the last third of the movie spirals out of control as Snyder makes the action busier and busier. Also, based on the dream sequences, I fear that Bruce Wayne has narcolepsy.

VERDICT: Three stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You love broody superheroes and explosive action
UPCOMING REVIEWS: Allegiant

Film: Zootopia

GENRE: Animation, Action

RATING: PG for some action and rude humour
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 48 minutes

STARRING: Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon a Time, Ed)

Jason Bateman (Horrible Bosses); Idris Elba (Thor, Pacific Rim)

DIRECTORS: Byron Howard (Tangled), Rick Moore (Wreck-It Ralph)

WRITERS: Jared Bush (newcomer) & Phil Johnston (Wreck-It Ralph)

PLOT: A bunny cop and slick fox work together to find some missing animals and a greater conspiracy.

FULL DISCLOSURE: They had me at the sloth trailer.

STORY STUFF: The plot moved along a pretty good pace. I really enjoyed the themes of the film. Not only does it take on racial equality but also the idea of following your dreams (which they beat you over the head with Shakira’s “Try Everything” song). There are some great moments throughout but the best, by far, is the sloth scene at the DMV. It’s worth watching again and again.

ACTING STUFF: Really great voice acting all around. Even though I knew it was Goodwin doing Judy’s voice, it still reminded me of Amy Poehler.

ARTISTIC STUFF: This film looks a couple a steps shy of a Pixar film. There’s cleverness in the backgrounds and beautiful animation but it looks like it could go a bit further. Also the supporting characters needed more pizazz, like the mayor.

VERDICT: Four stars out of five

SEE IT IF: Love clever Disney animated films

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Batman vs Superman, Allegiant