Preview: Top 10 Movies of 2022

 I haven't done this feature on the blog in a few years, but recently a friend at work got me back into using Letterboxd on a regular basis.  This allowed me to move all my IMDb ratings over to the Letterboxd app, which gave me an interesting review of all 900+ movies that I've rated on the platform.

With how excited I was for Halloween Kills and Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021, I figured I'd take a look ahead and see what movies I was most excited for in 2022.

And before we begin, all release dates are subject to change.

10. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (November 11)

I'm excited for the next installment in Black Panther, but it just doesn't get me as hyped knowing that Chadwick Boseman won't be under the cowl.  It's yet to be seen whether this movie even makes it's release date, as the production continues to struggle with injuries to, and anti-vax rhetoric by, star Letitia Write.

9. Thor: Love and Thunder (July 8)

Thor hasn't always been my favorite Avenger over the years, but the most recent character arcs throughout Infinity War and Endgame were fantastic.  While Chris Hemsworth won't be the one wielding Mjilnor, it will be cool to see Natalie Portman return to the franchise.  And with Taika Waititi in the director's chair once again, I'm sure this movie will be quite enjoyable.

8. Scream (January 14)

I only watched the Scream movies for the first time a few years ago, so I'm not as attached to this franchise as I am to the other slashers.  I was only three when the first movie came out, so by the time I was old enough to watch these types of movies, Michael, Freddy and Jason were all over AMC's FearFest and Ghostface was nowhere to be found.  I'm still pretty excited to see where they take the franchise in this fifth installment.

7. Morbius (April 1)

The extended Sony Spider-Verse has been pretty good, with two fun Venom movies already released.  I've liked Jared Leto as an actor since seeing him in Fight Club, so I'm very excited to see what he can do as Dr. Michael Morbius.  All the rumors circulating that this could be part of a Venom/Morbius/Amazing Spider-Man universe only makes me more excited.

6. Lightyear (June 17)

A movie about the "actual" space cadet that inspired the toy voiced by Tim Allen in the Toy Story movies.  Enough said.

5. Uncharted (February 18)

I've only played through the first game on PS4, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and will eventually get around the other games in the series.  The trailer for this looked fantastic, and it seems they may have nailed the aesthetic of the games.  Plus Tom Holland has quickly become such a bankable star, teaming him up with Mark Wahlberg seems like a good play here.

4. The Black Phone (June 24)

Everything about this movie looks awesome.  Based on a short story by Joe Hill, this brings Ethan Hawke back into a movie with some serious Sinister energy.  Add to that a mask that was sculped by Tom Savini's workshop, and this could be a low-key horror gem.  Unfortunately the movie was already bumped back nearly six months from its original January release date.

3. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (May 6)

Doctor Strange really messed things up in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and this movie is going to see him trying to deal with the fallout.  This movie is rumored to tie together some of the Disney+ shows, along with some other Marvel properties now under Disney's large umbrella.  I'm looking forward to seeing this one, especially as it may have a much darker tone to it.

2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - Part One (October 7)

The first movie in this series was a shocking hit, and with the help of a soundtrack featuring Post Malone, the movie became a global sensation.  This sequel looks to continue on that, and features a neat animation style along with giving Oscar Isaac a bigger chance to shine as Spider-Man 2099 (which is one of my favorite iterations of the character).

1. Halloween Ends (October 14)

Here's the deal, I didn't love Halloween Kills.  I enjoyed it, as I do with all the movies in the Halloween franchise (outside of Resurrection), but I just don't know what they're going for.  David Gordon Green and Danny McBride went to great lengths to humanize Michael to make him a man instead of an unstoppable killing machine in Halloween, only to turn around and make him an unstoppable killing machine in Kills.  I'm curious to see where they take the franchise, and I'll definitely be there opening night.

A Completely Non-Definitive Ranking of the Halloween Films

I've been a horror fan for most of my life, and I started watching them at a young age (probably younger than I should have).  It mostly began with watching the Universal Monsters on AMC's "MonsterFest" every Halloween.  In fact, my dad recorded most of them on VHS; I still remember the intercut segments of Whoopie Goldberg and Linda Blair standing in a haunting forest or swamp.

I loved all the Universal Monsters, but my favorite was always the Creature.  There was just something about the Creature from the Black Lagoon movies that I really enjoyed.

When I was a little older, I was allowed to watch the MonsterFest TV cuts of the Halloween movies.  I saw Halloween 4 and 5 first, and then I saw the 1978 original the next year.

Michael Myers in the new Halloween (Courtesy Ryan Green)

I was immediately hooked, and sought out all of them over the next few years.  I remember the last one I saw was Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers because it was never really on TV (and there's probably a good reason for that).  I secretly watched Rob Zombie's Halloween at 14, and I was able to go to the theater with a friend to see the sequel.

This October, I'll get to go to the theater as an actual legal adult to view a new Halloween movie - David Gordon Green's Halloween, a direct sequel to John Carpenter's original.

I make the Halloween franchise the first thing I watch every October, and I've decided to give my non-definitive (and slightly biased) ranking of all 10 Halloween films.

10. Halloween Resurrection

This movie is all kinds of bad.  I remember liking it when I first saw it because it was the most modern film in the franchise, but it gets harder to sit through every year.  Pretty much everything in this movie is bad.  The acting and dialogue is pretty bad, and the storyline is all over the place and doesn't really make sense.  

9. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers

This movie is equally as bad as Resurrection, but it isn't all the movie's fault.  There are two separate cuts of the movie: the theatrical cut and the producer's cut.  Both films don't make a lot of sense and fall off the rails at the end, but the producer's cut might make a little more sense?  Maybe?  The whole production was plagued with re-writes, and the untimely death of Donald Pleasance didn't help matters much either.  And that's only if you can get past the fact that the jerk dad looks just like Biff Tannen from Back to the Future (but it totally isn't, I promise).

8. Halloween III: Season of the Witch

This movie isn't terrible.  I've seen way worse 80's horror movies, but I've seen better ones too.  Ultimately, this movie probably would have done better if it hadn't been labeled a Halloween movie at all, but I get what John Carpenter and Debra Hill were going for.  It does get bonus points for having Pittsburgh-native Tom Atkins in it.

7. Halloween II

I might be in the minority here, but I find Halloween II to be such a bore.  Maybe it's because I always view it directly after the original (and I mean directly after; it's always a double feature), and the original is just so much better.  Laurie seems completely helpless, unlike the first film, and the terrible wig Jamie Lee Curtis wears throughout the movie is very distracting.  I guess there's a reason why they're ignoring this film with the newest one.

6. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers

This is about the point in the franchise when it starts to fall apart.  The beginning of the film starts off well, but by the end it's like a roller coaster.  The whole thing is saved by Danielle Harris' superb acting as Jamie Lloyd in what might be one of the best child performances in horror.

5. Rob Zombie's H2

I will always love Rob Zombie's take on the Halloween franchise.  You can fight me on it if you want to, but I really like what this movie does with the surviving characters from the first film.  Instead of taking place right after the first movie, this takes place a year after, and looks into the emotional trauma that someone would suffer by going through such a harrowing experience.  Sure, it goes off the deep end towards the end of the movie, but it's best to just let it happen and enjoy the ride.

4. Halloween: H20

This movie's a welcome return to the franchise (especially following Curse of Michael Myers), but it definitely seems stuck in the 90's.  It's a pretty good take on what Laurie Strode could be like 20 years after getting attacked by Michael, and she finally turns the tables on him.  She becomes a little unhinged towards the end of the movie as she chases Michael around and eventually cuts off his head.  But not really, because we had to get Busta Rhymes into this franchise somehow.

3. Rob Zombie's Halloween

Alright, time to anger some people.  I loved Rob Zombie's take on the Myers' lore.  He went deeper into Michael's messed up upbringing, and we got to see pretty much why he is how he is.  It's not the best in the series, but I enjoyed how brutal it was while staying somewhat true to the original.  I love this movie, don't @ me.

2. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

This was the first movie I ever saw in the Halloween series, and I've been hooked ever since.  Every year when I see this, it's like a nice return to simpler times.  I really enjoy Dr. Loomis running around the town like a madman the entire time, and Danielle Harris is impressive in her debut as Jamie Lloyd.  The ending of the movie actually has a pretty cool twist, which is then completely discarded in the sequel.

1. Halloween
The movie that spawned a new generation of horror, the original Halloween will always be the best.  Every sequel has tried to capture the magic of John Carpenter's original, and all of them have fallen short.  There's just something about the mystery behind Michael and his motivations.  I won't ever know what it was like to see this movie for the first time without knowing all the sister stuff and everything beforehand, but I still love re-visiting this every so often.  The fact that it was made on such a small budget by a couple of 20-somethings makes it even more impressive.

Thanks for reading!  Do you agree with this list?  Let me know in the comments below what you agree (and disagree) with!  Except about Rob Zombie's Halloween, I asked you not to @ me and I'd like you to respect my wishes.

Top 10 Movies of 2018

One of my most popular blog features is back for another year!  This list is the top 10 movies I'm most excited for in the upcoming year.  I had a hard time shortening my list of movies down to 10 this year because there a ton of movies coming out that I'm interested in.  But it had to be done, so here are my top 10 movies of 2018!

10. Solo: A Star Wars Story (5/25)
To be honest, the only reason this movie is this far down on my list is because it sounds like the people that made it don't even like it.  Disney has already written it off as a loss, and that can't be good coming from a proven money-maker like Star Wars.  We'll see if it is really that bad in May, but I'm hoping to be entertained.

9. Venom (10/5)
Bane gets a symbiote!  Tom Hardy will play Eddie Brock in this movie, and he will don the evil space goop.  It's going to be weird having a Venom movie without Spider-Man, but we'll see what happens when this movie releases later this year.

8. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (12/14)
An animated Spider-Man movie covering one of the best Spider-Man comic arcs in recent years?  Yes please.

7. Ant-Man and the Wast (7/6)
Ant-Man is back!  I loved the first Ant-Man movie, and this movie should be no different.  Evangeline Lilly will don the Wasp suit for the first time, and the micro-shenanigans her and Paul Rudd get into should be fun.

6. Black Panther (2/16)
The first MCU movie of the year kicks off with a trip to Wakanda.  I am so excited for this movie, and many people believe T'Challa's story is long overdue.  This should be an exciting outing that sets the stage for the biggest Marvel movie in history.

5. Insidious: The Last Key (1/5)
This movie is already out, and critics have said it's the best Insidious movie since the original.  A couple horror podcasts have panned it, but I'm excited to get an Elise-driven story.  I can't wait to take another trip into the Further.

4. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (6/22)
Another Jurassic Park movie, just in time for my birthday!  The trailer for this movie looked epic, and I'm excited to see if Blue remembers Chris Pratt, or if he's going to lose an arm.

3. Deadpool 2 (5/18)
Of course the Merc with a Mouth is on my list!  Deadpool was one of my favorite movies in 2016, and I've been looking forward to the sequel.  I hope this one is just as fun as the original, and I'm sure they will up the ante when this movie hits theaters.

2. Avengers: Infinity War (5/4)
This is the movie that we've all been waiting for.  Since 2008's Iron Man, the MCU has been leading towards an all-out war with Thanos.  This year we'll finally see the Mad Titan don the Infinity Gauntlet and lay waste to the entire universe.  This is just the first part of the story, so it'll be interesting to see where the MCU goes from here.

1. Halloween (10/19)
The only thing that could beat out the biggest Marvel movie on my list is the return of my favorite horror franchise.  I am so excited for this movie.  I love every single Halloween movie, no matter how bad they are (and I will not stop defending Rob Zombie's 2007 remake).  In a surprising twist, Jamie Lee Curtis will be returning in this film as Laurie Strode, because she apparently didn't actually die in Halloween: Resurrection.  And she has a daughter!  Which also means that Halloween: H20 didn't happen.  Don't think too hard about the chronology of these movies.

Thanks for reading!  What movie are you most looking forward to in 2018?  Let me know in the comments below!

A Look Back at My Top 10 Movies of 2017

At the beginning of the year, I wrote a post about the 10 movies I was most looking forward to during 2017.  And now at the end of the year, I'll look back at those movies and see if I really liked them as much as I thought I would.  I always rate movies I watch on IMDb, so my rating will be in parenthesis next to the movie title.

And it should go without saying, but beware of spoilers!

10. Logan (8/10)
This movie was the perfect way to end Logan's story.  I really enjoyed the take on an aging Wolverine, and Hugh Jackman once again delivered a wonderful performance for what may be the final time.  I ended up waiting until December to see this movie, but I am glad I finally watched it.

9. Annabelle Creation (9/10)
I really enjoyed this movie.  I thought the filmmakers did a good job at taking care of some of the crappy stuff from Annabelle, and I liked the vibe from the isolated house.  I felt like this was a pretty good entry into the Conjuring universe.

8. Thor Ragnarok (10/10)
I'll be honest: I think Thor Ragnarok may be my favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe film to date.  I loved everything about it.  The comedy was great, the characters were great; everything about it was great.  I'm excited to see where Thor goes in Avengers: Infinity War.

7. Insidious Chapter 4
This movie didn't actually come out this year, but it'll be out in January.  Check back later, because this movie will definitely be on my list of movies for 2018.

6. The Dark Tower (9/10)
Was this movie true to the books? No.  But it was fun, and that's all I really look for in a movie.  And technically it was a sequel to the books by Stephen King, so that's how they got around making something that wasn't really a Dark Tower movie.

5. Power Rangers (10/10)
I loved this movie.  I enjoyed the new take on the Rangers, but it still had nods to the original series.  The original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers theme song was a nice touch, and it was cool to see original Rangers Kimberly and Jason with cameos in the film.  I'll also look past the whole "Megazord is built by love and friendship while burning up in a fire thing" too.

4. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (9/10)
I loved The Last Jedi.  I don't know what all the hate is about online, but I really enjoyed another trip to a galaxy far, far away.  The ending of the movie was perfect, and I believe it will set up for a very interesting finale to this new trilogy.

3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (9/10)
I had such a great time watching this movie.  Baby Groot's antics throughout the whole movie put a huge smile on my face that stayed there the whole time.  I thought it would be hard to follow up the original, but Chris Pratt and company proved they could pull it off.

2. IT (10/10)
This was my favorite movie of the year, hands-down.  I loved it.  I've been a fan of the book and the TV miniseries from the 90s ever since I was a kid, and this movie was true to the source material.  The Loser's Club was perfect, as was Bill Skarsgard's portrayal of Pennywise.  He was equal parts creepy and funny and weird.  I loved every minute, and I can't wait to see the sequel.

1. Spider-Man Homecoming (10/10)
I loved this movie, but I didn't love it as much as I thought I would.  I just felt like something was missing, and I still can't quite put my finger on what was missing from Spider-Man's first solo entry into the MCU.  It was still a better movie than any of the Tobey Maguire films (I still love Andrew Garfield's Amazing Spider-Man films).  I'm interested to see where they take the character in Infinity War and beyond.

That's my list! What movie was your favorite of 2017?  Let me know in the comments below!

Top 10 Movies: 2017 Edition

A new year has begun, and with it come a whole slew of new movies.  This list features the top ten movies I'm most looking forward to in the coming year.  So let's get started!

(Editor's note: the release dates in parenthesis include links to the respective film's page on IMDb.)

10. Logan (March 3)

Power Rangers

This is it.  One final ride with Hugh Jackman as everyone's favorite Canadian with a metal skeleton.  I can't wait to see what an R-rated Wolverine movie looks like because the character lends itself so well to the rating.  Thankfully, Deadpool showed us that an R-rated superhero movie, when done well, can drag all the nerds to the theater (I saw the movie in theaters twice).  I can't wait for Jackman's swan song as Wolverine.

9. Annabelle 2 (August 11)
I make it pretty clear that I love horror movies, right?  There has been such a resurgence in good horror lately, we've all been spoiled.  Annabelle was one of the best horror movies in recent memory, and the sequel should be good as well.  I can't wait to see my second-favorite creepy doll make her return to the silver screen.  Sorry Annabelle, Chucky is still the king.

8. Thor: Ragnarok (November 3)
Thor is my least-favorite Avenger, but I'll still be seeing this movie opening night nonetheless.  I'm very excited to see how they work the Hulk angle into this movie, especially since props have leaked that point towards a Planet Hulk-themed setup. 

7. Insidious: Chapter 4 (October 20)
Insidious is definitely my favorite horror franchise in recent memory.  I loved the first two, and the third film kicked it up another notch and was legitimately scary.  The same creative team is coming back together for this film, and it still features everyone's favorite ghost hunter Elise.

6. The Dark Tower (July 28)
Stephen King's epic series is finally coming to the big screen, and I couldn't be more excited.  While it's going to stray a little from the books, I'm perfectly alright with the creative choices they're making.  I can't wait to see Roland Deschain and The Man in Black in theaters.  I read these books when I was in high school, and I've been waiting ever since to see them made into a movie.

5. Power Rangers (March 24)
The Power Rangers were literally my childhood.  Being a 90's kid, I grew up watching different iterations of Rangers kicking butt on TV.  I was born the same year Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers debuted on TV, and I grew up adoring the Green Ranger, Tommy.  While he's not in this movie, the other original rangers will be.  I can't wait to see how they portray these characters, and hopefully the movie is great.  Even if it does turn out poorly, it still couldn't be as bad as the original movie with Ivan Ooze.

IT

4. Star Wars: Episode VIII (December 15)
The Force Awakens was awesome.  Rogue One was awesome.  I have no doubt that Episode VIII will be awesome as well.  I can't wait to see what happens now that Luke has been found and Rey will start her training.  Also, more BB-8 is always a good thing.

3. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 (May 5)
Guardians of the Galaxy is my favorite movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I can't wait to see what the sequel holds.  The first trailer for the movie looks amazing.  Plus, just look at how cute and awesome baby Groot is!

2. IT (September 8)

Spider-Man: Homecoming

IT was one of my favorite movies when I was little, and it's became one of my favorite books as well.  This movie is the reason my sister is afraid of clowns, because I showed it to her when she was little in a genuine act of brotherly love.  They're splitting this one up into two movies to properly cover all 1,081 pages of Stephen King's epic.  Pennywise looks amazing, and before I even see it, I know this movie could be my favorite of the year.

1. Spider-Man: Homecoming (July 7)
I. Can't. Wait.  Spider-Man is my favorite comic book character of all time, and I've been waiting for the character to be done "right," and this looks like it'll be perfect.  Tom Holland looks like he's going to finally bring the quintessential Spider-Man story to the big screen.  I remember sitting in the theater during Civil War's big fight scene and, while Giant Man is on screen, thinking that the real Spider-Man would make an "Empire Strikes Back" reference.  And then he did. I fell in love, and I got more excited for this movie than I thought I ever could.

Those are my top ten movies of the coming year; what movies are you most looking forward to?  Let me know in the comments below.

REVIEW: Top 10 Movies of 2016

At the beginning of the year, I made a list of the 10 movies I was most excited for in the coming year.  That year is now drawing to a close, and I thought it would be fun to see if my excitement was warranted at the beginning of the year.

So here they are, my reviews to my top 10 movies of 2016!

10. Ratchet and Clank (8/10)
I was cautiously optimistic about this movie at the beginning of the year.  Video game movies don't tend to fare well, but this movie exceeded my expectations.  It perfectly captured the fun of playing the games, and it took me back to playing the original game back in 2004.  The tie-in video game was also tons of fun.

9. Lights Out (8/10)
I had been looking forward to this movie for over a year, and I think that hurt my reception.  I liked it, but I just didn't love it as much as I wanted to.  I think it was a combination of how short the movie was and how the characters didn't seem to be fleshed-out enough.  But I guess that's what you get when you make a feature film out of a three-minute short.

8. Gambit (NA)
Well, that went well.  I had one movie in 2015 that didn't come out, so this is that one this year.  I want this movie to be good, and I hope they do end up making it with Channing Tatum in the titular role.  But for now, we'll keep waiting.

7. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (10/10)
There really isn't much to say about Rogue One, other than the fact that it was my favorite movie of 2016.  I loved it from start to finish.  Everything in it was amazing, and I had the biggest smile on my face leaving the theater.  I loved how they used CGI to put in Tarkin and young Princess Leia (Rest in Peace Carrie Fisher).  This movie was everything I'd hoped for and more.  I am very confident the other non-numbered Star Wars movies will be amazing.

6. X-Men: Apocalypse (9/10)
I really enjoyed this movie, and it may be one of my favorite X-Men movies ever.  I love the younger versions of the X-Men, and this movie looked like it may set up for the Dark Phoenix Saga with Jean Grey, which would be awesome.  I also really liked Oscar Isaac's portrayal of Apocalypse.  That guy seems to be popping up in everything lately.

Doomhead is the heaviest hitter in Rob Zombie's "31."

5. 31 (10/10)
This was one of my favorite movies of 2016.  I loved this so much, and it was everything I wanted and more.  This was the movie Rob Zombie fans wanted him to make, and he sure delivered.  I wasn't a huge fan of Lord of Salem, but this movie is like House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Reject ramped up by about 100 percent.  I loved it, and I can't wait to watch it on repeat.  It is now available exclusively on Shudder, an online streaming video service for horror movies.

4. Doctor Strange (9/10)
If anyone has seen the original Iron Man, then they've seen Doctor Strange.  It sticks to the Marvel formula, and it could almost be a clone of Tony Stark's origin story.  This movie was one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen.  The effects really ramped it up to another level, and it was fun to watch.  Take that, Dormamu.

3. The Conjuring 2 (10/10)
This movie was fantastic.  It perfectly built on what had been seen in the first Conjuring in 2013.  If you know anything about the Warrens' story, you know that they didn't die while on this case, but I was still on the edge of my seat towards the end of the movie.  Also, the Crooked Man was straight-up terrifying.

2. Captain America: Civil War (10/10)
Civil War was everything I'd hoped it would be.  The fight scenes were bigger and more spectacular, and the storyline was awesome.  I think my favorite part of the whole movie was seeing Spider-Man, though.  We've finally found the perfect Spider-Man in Tom Holland.

1. Deadpool (10/10)
I fell in love with this movie when I first saw it.  It was everything I'd ever wanted in a Deadpool movie, and they perfectly captured the essence of the character.  I hope we get to see more Deadpool in the future, and hopefully they won't ruin the character.  For now, go watch this movie a few times and try not to laugh.

Thanks for reading!  What do you think of my ratings for my top movies of the year?  Let me know in the comments below!

Top 10 Movies of 2016

2015 was a great year for movies, and 2016 looks to be just as good.  Below are the 10 movies I'm most looking foward to in the coming year, along with links to their IMDb pages.

10. Ratchet and Clank (April 29)
Growing up, I loved the Ratchet and Clank games.  I basically grew up with developer Naughty Dog, from Crash Bandicoot to Ratchet and Clank, and now with Uncharted and The Last of Us.  I am extremely excited about this movie, and it should be as fun to watch as it was to play.

9. Lights Out (July 22)
This movie is based on a short film from 2013.  I've seen it, and it's absolutely fantastic.  Light's Out is being produced by James Wan, who brought us Insidious and The Conjuring, so I'm sure this is going to be great.  To see the short, check out this link.

8. Gambit (October 7)
I love when an actor is passionate about a character, and passionate enough to keep pushing for a movie for years.  Channing Tatum is going to be great as Gambit, and I can't wait to see him up on the big screen.  Fox's X-Men universe is about to get a little bit bigger.  I'm not sure if this movie will actually come out this year, but I can definitely hope.

7. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (December 16)
So this thing called Star Wars seems to be kind of a big deal?  This movie is the first non-numbered films to be put out by Disney.  Disney's idea is to have a new numbered film every two years, with little movies like these in the years between.  This one should be fun.

6. X-Men: Apocalypse (May 27)
The trailer for X-Men: Apocalypse looks awesome, and I'm sure I'll love it.  I loved First Class and Days of Future Past, so I expect this movie to be up there with both of those.  Let's hope they avoid the X-Men: The Last Stand debacle of the third movie in a trilogy being bad.

5. 31 (TBA)
I love Rob Zombie so much.  It's safe to say he's one of my favorite directors.  I love all the gross gore stuff in his movies, and this one looks just as good.  Clowns playing some weird murder games by kidnapping people and putting them in a carnival sounds like my kind of movie.

4. Doctor Strange (November 4)
Doctor Strange is one of the coolest Marvel characters in their comics, so bringing him to the big screen is pretty exciting.  It's going to be something completely different than any other Marvel movie yet, and I'm going to love it.  Plus, Benedict Cumberbatch is playing the Doctor.

3. The Conjuring 2 (June 10)
2016 is a good year for horror fans.  James Wan (Insidious, Lights Out) is taking us back to two of the most famous paranormal experts, the Warrens.  I'm excited for this, and the trailer looks awesome.  

2. Captain America: Civil War (May 6)
The next movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is coming up in May, and it's going to be a big one.  The movie will pit Iron Man against Captain America, and the two will split the other heroes in the world.  Plus, we've got some huge big-screen debuts in the movie: Black Panther and MCU Spider-Man!!

1. Deadpool (February 12)
Everyone knows my favorite hero is Spider-Man, but my second-favorite is Deadpool.  The Merc With a Mouth is making his big-screen re-debut (let's forget his "appearance" in X-Men Origins: Wolverine) around Valentine's Day, and it's going to be epic.  The movie is getting an R-rating, which is exactly what Wade Wilson deserves.  Plus, Ryan Reynolds has been pushing for this movie to be made for such a long time, it can only be fantastic.  Check out the red band trailer right here.  Definitely NSFW, but definitely awesome.

That's my list! Leave a comment below with the movies you're most looking forward to in 2016.

Review: Top 10 Movies of 2015

At the beginning of the year, I counted down the top 10 movies I was most looking forward to in 2015.  Now that the new year has begun, I decided to look back at how great (or crappy) that list was, along with a quick little review about each movie and my personal IMDb rating.  Let's go!

10. Inside Out
Rating: 9/10
I really liked this movie.  It was really cute and I liked all the actors they casted for the characters.  This movie also gets bonus points for putting Lewis Black in a Disney movie.

9. Poltergeist

Ant-Man!

Rating: 8/10
I actually really liked this movie.  I saw it twice in theaters for some reason.  The only problem with the movie was that the family is completely unlikeable.  They're actually kind of giant dicks.  In fact, when everything starts going down, I realized that I didn't care about this family at all.  I bought the extended version when it came out because I was sure it would make me care about them.  Nope, still dicks.

8. Insurgent
Rating: 9/10
I thought this movie was really fun, and a good sequel to Divergent.  It took me awhile to see it, but I loved it once I did.  Maybe next year I'll actually see the new one in theaters.

7. Fantastic Four
Rating: 4/10
There are not enough words to describe how much I hated this movie.  I could easily pick apart the thrown-together story, the obvious re-shot scenes, the A-list actors phoning in their performances, and so on.  Instead, I will say one thing to Fox: please give the Fantastic Four back to Marvel.  This movie sucked hard.  I didn't pay to see this movie and I still wanted my money back. 

6. Friday the 13th
Rating: NA
Alright, I guess I jumped the gun on this one.  Now IMDb says it's coming out January 13, 2017.  I'll let you know.

5. Insidious: Chapter 3
Rating: 8/10
I loved this movie.  It was the scariest of all three Insidious films, and I loved every minute of it.  I especially liked the ending, but I won't spoil it here.  It was fun to see how Elise got involved with Tucker and Specs.

4. Jurassic World
Rating: 9/10
This movie was great.  It was a great return to the franchise, and it felt the same as the original.  Sure there were some major plot holes, but I'm willing to look past the fact that the Jeep from the original movie was able to start by just replacing the battery.  It was fantastic, and Chris Pratt can keep popping up in franchises because it works.  Plus the T-Rex from the original is a bonus.

3. Ant-Man
Rating: 10/10

BB-8 rolled his way into our hearts.

This movie was one of my favorite movies I saw this year.  No one believes me when I tell them it's one of my favorite Marvel movies, but it really is.  Sure, it's literally Iron Man with "Iron" replaced by "Ant," but it was great anyways.  Ant-Man is up there with Guardians of the Galaxy in my book.  I can't wait to see what Marvel does in the future with Scott Lang.

2. Avengers: Age of Ultron
Rating: 9/10
I don't know why, but I felt kind of "eh" after seeing this movie.  I still can't quite put my finger on what I didn't like about it, but there was just something that was holding it back for me.  I still loved it, and the death of [redacted for spoilers] was absolutely terrible.  But seriously, Civil War though.

1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Rating: 10/10
This movie was my favorite of 2015.  There was a ton of hype surrounding the movie, but it totally lived up to it.  I loved it so much, and I am going to see it more than a few times in theaters.  I went on opening night, and it was absolutely amazing.  See it if you haven't yet.  Plus it has BB-8!! I love that little ball droid so much. So, so much.

What did you think of my list? Be sure to stay tuned to the blog in the next few weeks for my Top 10 movies of 2016!

Top 10 Movies of 2015

The new year is here, and one of my most popular blog features is back -- the 10 movies I'm most looking forward to in 2015!  Along with the list, the release dates for the movies will take you to their respective pages on IMDb.

10. Inside Out (June 15, 2015)
Inside Out will be this year's movie from Disney Pixar.  I love everything Disney and Pixar put out, and this one looks like it's going to be pretty funny.  Plus this will bring Lewis Black into a Disney movie, which is the strangest pairing on this list.

9. Poltergeist (July 24, 2015)
So apparently they are remaking 1982's Poltergeist.  There's no poster or anything up on IMDb yet, so I'm not quite sure if it's going to happen.  Although, Sam Raimi, director of the original Evil Dead and the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man, is attached to the project, so it should be good if it does happen.

8. Insurgent (March 20, 2015)
So my girlfriend finally forced me to watch Divergent in December.  I really thought it was going to be stupid like Twilight, but it actually turned out to be pretty awesome.  I absolutely loved it, and I really can't wait to see the sequel.

7. Fantastic Four (August 7, 2015)
I haven't seen the original Fantastic Four in awhile, and I don't even think I've ever seen Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, but my recollection is that they both kind of stink.  Hopefully this one is a little bit better, and if it follows every other superhero movie that has come out in the past few years, it should be.

6. Friday the 13th (November 13, 2015)
This movie is probably even less likely to come out in 2015 than Poltergeist.  IMDb says the movie is still "in development," which is basically movie speak for "not gonna happen anytime soon."  If it does come out this year, I'll be in the theater on opening night.  I love a good slasher horror movie.

5. Insidious: Chapter 3 (June 5, 2015)
Insidious was one of the best horror movies I've seen in the past few years.  And Insidious: Chapter 2 was a really cool place to take the franchise.  I'm really excited to see how this prequel turns out.

4. Jurassic World (June 12, 2015)
This movie looks crazy.  All of a sudden Chris Pratt has started popping up in everything awesome, and this movie should be another one.  The trailer looked crazy, and I've always loved the Jurassic Park franchise. 

3. Ant-Man (July 17, 2015)
When this movie was announced, it got about the same reaction of "WTF" as Guardians of the Galaxy.  But it's a Marvel movie, so it should be absolute gold.  I'm really excited to see it in the summer, and it has Paul Rudd, so you know it'll be funny.

2. Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 1, 2015)
Seriously, this is obviously one of the movies I'm most looking forward to in 2015.  I can't wait to see Ultron up on the big screen, and it is going to get crazy.  I always look forward to the next movie in the Avengers series, so I've been looking forward to this since Guardians of the Galaxy in August.

1. Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (December 18, 2015)
This movie being my top movie of 2015 is a no-brainer.  I loved Star Wars as a kid, and I even loved Episode I when it came out.  Of course, as I grew up I realized what a monster Jar-Jar was, but this one is going to be amazing.  I seriously can't wait until December.

Thanks for reading!  Leave a comment below with the movies you are most looking forward to in 2015.

Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Friday night I went to a late showing of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 3D. I really enjoyed it, and I really liked some of the things they did with the characters. Read on to see my review. 

Warning: Spoilers!

The movie starts off with the untold story of the Parkers, and it's pretty cool. They let us know why they had to leave Peter with Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and Richard Parker's experiments were actually pretty interesting. 

Max Dillon has some serious issues. I mean, yeah, he turns into a super villain; of course he has issues. But he was crazy before the whole Electro thing. The effects for Electro were pretty sweet, and I couldn't really tell he was computer-generated. That may have been due to the fact that most of the movie was CGI, and it kind of felt like a video game. 

Harry Osborn shows up right as his father is about to die, and he ends up inheriting Oscorp.  He comes off very emotional and just kind of whiny, but I can see where he's coming from.

The one weird thing about Harry is how after he takes over Oscorp, Peter just shows up and they're like best friends again. That would be perfectly fine if they had been hanging out before he came into all this money and power. But they haven't seen each other in EIGHT years. That's a pretty long time to go without talking to your BFF. 

The whole reason Harry becomes the Green Goblin is because of a hereditary disease that begins to manifest when he takes over for his father. Except his father was way older when he finally got really sick and died, but we're supposed to believe that Harry's illness is extremely accelerated and he begins to "die" in just a matter of weeks. 

The Peter and Gwen dynamic throughout the movie was very enjoyable, and Gwen plays the hero before the end of the movie.  She finally turns the tide in the final battle with Electro, and she comes out as one of the true heroes of the movie.

Andrew Garfield is also really funny as Spider-Man, and he does a great job with the jokes throughout the movie.  It really feels like you're watching the comic book.

The final showdown with Electro is also a great example of why so many people love Spider-Man.  He puts his life on the line so that the rest of New York can survive and so that he may finally stop Electro. 

Now I'm not going to ruin the actual ending with the Green Goblin, but make sure you have some tissues ready. 

The movie ends with Peter doing that whole "I don't want to be Spider-Man" thing, but he ultimately stands up to take down the Rhino.  

And there's no need to stay after the credits.  Once you see the post-credits Days of Future Past  preview, there isn't anything else.  But you can use the Shazam app on the Alicia Keys song to get a preview of the Sinister Six.

Overall, the movie was good, and it was a solid follow-up to its predecessor.  Make sure you take a trip out with friends and see the movie that kicks off the summer movie season!

My rating: 9/10

Leave a comment below and let us know what you thought of The Amazing Spider-Man 2!

Top 10 Movies of 2014

Last year, I counted down the 10 movies I was looking forward to the most in 2013.  It was one of the most popular posts of the year, and it was exciting to look forward to all the movies coming out in 2013.  So I'm going to do it again this year, with my top 10 movies of 2014!  (Side note: all release dates are subject to change, and the dates are linked to each movie's respective IMDb page.)

10. Devil's Due (January 7)
This movie seems like a stupid horror movie that will probably be bad, but I'm in.  I love movies like this, and it looks pretty good.  Apparently some woman is going to give birth to the antichrist?  I'm not sure, but it sure will be fun.

9. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1(November 21)
I still haven't seen Catching Fire, but I love Jennifer Lawrence and I really liked the first one.  I'll see this one eventually, but I probably won't see it opening weekend or anything.

8. Captain America: Winter Soldier (April 4)
Captain America is my least favorite Avenger, but that won't stop me from seeing this opening weekend.  When this movie rolls around, Phase 2 will be winding down, and then we'll be one step closer to the Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015.

7. 22 Jump Street (June 13)
I loved 21 Jump Street.  Channing Tatum is so funny, and he and Jonah Hill have a great chemistry together.  The trailer looks funny, and I'm excited for this movie to come out.  Very few movies made me laugh as hard as 21 Jump Street.

6. The Lego Movie (February 7)
A movie about legos.  What else could anyone want?

5. Guardians of the Galaxy (August 1)
I've been reading the new Guardians of the Galaxy series that started with Marvel NOW, and it's been pretty good.  I'm excited to add more stuff to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and who doesn't love some Avengers in space?

This early promotional photo was released by Disney a few days ago.  Look! A talking Raccoon and a tree that sounds like Vin Diesel!

4. Godzilla (May 16)
I grew up watching Godzilla movies, and I think the world is ready for a new Godzilla.  I'm optimistic that it won't be as bad as Godzilla from 1998.  Just check out the trailer and tell me that isn't the most exciting thing you've ever seen.

3. The Hobbit: There and Back Again (December 17)
The Desolation of Smaug was awesome, and it left on such a cliffhanger that I can't wait for December to roll around to see Bilbo's adventure end.  Yeah, I already know how it ends, but the journey is the fun part.  I love Middle Earth.

2. X-Men: Days of Future Past (May 23)
I recently re-watched all the X-Men movies, and I'm really excited for this movie.  First Class was definitely one of the best X-Men movies, and this continuation will be great.  It won't follow the comic book, but that's fine by me.  Just give me a great action movie with some mutants.

1. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (May 2)
I absolutely loved the Amazing Spider-Man, and I can't wait to see this movie.  I don't even care that the Rhino looks dumb, or the Green Goblin isn't Norman Osborne.  Spider-Man is my favorite comic book character, and the trailer made me a million times more excited for May.

There you have it!  Now that you've seen my Top 10, what movies are you most looking forward to in the coming year?  Leave a comment below with your picks!