Only Lovers Left Alive (2014)

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Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

Date seen: 28 June 2014

Rated R, 123 mins.

IMDB User Rating: 7.5

Metascore: 77/100 (User Score: 7.8)

Tomatometer: 85% Certified Fresh (Audience: 80%)

Movie Notebook Score: 9.55/10

Recommendation: C - Selectively Recommended

Grade: QM - Watch a high Quality Movie

Notes:

Only Lovers Left Alive (2014) sends all of the other known films to date with a vampire genre to the trash bin. Sophisticated, intelligent; and a potpourri of melancholy, music, and art--this film must be a strong contender as this year's best film. An undeniably powerful cast that magnificently delivers makes Only Lovers Left Alive (2014) a must-watch for movie-lovers around. Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton make a very convincing deeply-in-love couple. 

For your consideration:

• Acting: Tom Hiddleston as Adam
• Acting: Tilda Swinton as Eve
• Acting: Mia Wasikowska as Eva
• Directing: Jim Jarmusch
• Original Screenplay
• Film of the Year
• Cinematography
• Musical Score
• Costume Design
• Production Design
• Make-up
• Editing

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Scores are as of posting.

The film's wide release was in April 2014, but was screened in 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

A Fighting Man (2014)

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A Fighting Man (2014)

Date seen: 21 June 2014

Rated R, 88 mins.

IMDB User Rating: 5.9

Metascore: Not yet listed

Tomatometer: No score yet from critics (Audience: 43%)

Movie Notebook Score: 6.85/10

Recommendation: C - Selectively Recommended

Grade: ST - Watch if you can't Sleep

Notes:

While the movie is good enough to spark the viewer's interest after the first ten minutes of sequences, the unconventional method might just be dizzying for the rest of its length. The film is full of moral premises that in contemporary times affect each one of us. Good material, but, not for the blockbuster-loving audience. 

For your consideration:

• None

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Scores are as of posting.

Endless Love (2014)

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Endless Love (2014)

Date seen: 20 June 2014

Rated PG-13, 104 mins

IMDB User Rating: 6.3

Metascore: 30/100 (User Score: 3.4)

Tomatometer: 15% Rotten (Audience: 61%)

Movie Notebook Score: 5.50/10

Recommendation: D - Not Recommended

Grade: WT - Watch if you want to Waste Time

Notes:

Probably the most insincere supposedly-romantic Hollywood flick I have seen in years. Fast-paced in terms of "romantic" antics with its crappy screenplay that centers all issues to the troubled father of the lead female (Gabriella Wilde). While it seems the cast did their best--Alex Pettyfer, Bruce Greenwood, and Joely Richardson--the weak plot pulls them all down. 

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Scores are as of posting.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

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The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Date seen: 16 June 2014

Rated R, 100 mins

IMDB User Rating: 8.3

Metascore: 88/100 (User Score: 8.3)

Tomatometer: 92% Certified Fresh (Audience: 89%)

Movie Notebook Score: 9.35/10

Recommendation: B - Recommended

Grade: QT - Watch if you want to have Quality Time

Notes:

Fueled by an all-star cast lead by the Oscar-worthy Ralph Fiennes, magnificently written screenplay, grand cinematography, effective costume and make-up, and Wes Anderson captainship--The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) is surely Oscars 2015 bound. The film is story-telling in style, making a dark tale as light and delightful as possible. 

For your consideration:

• Acting: Ralph Fiennes as M. Gustave
• Acting: Willem Dafoe as Jopling
• Directing: Wes Anderson
• Film of the Year
• Cinematography
• Original Screenplay
• Art Direction
• Ensemble
• Make-up
• Costume Design
• Musical Score

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Scores are as of posting.

300: Rise of an Empire (2014)

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300: Rise of an Empire (2014)

Date seen: 05 June 2014

Rated R, 102 mins

IMDB User Rating: 6.6

Metascore: 48/100 (User Score: 6.3)

Tomatometer: 41% Rotten (Audience: 58%)

Movie Notebook Score: 6.98/10

Recommendation: B - Recommended

Grade: GT - Watch if you want to have a Good Time

Notes: 

The visual effects, costumes, Eva Green's soulful delivery, and story-telling style are all in. But, the plot lacks spirit just like how empty and non-connecting is the performance of Sullivan Stapleton as the lead character Themistocles. 300: Rise of an Empire (2014) is less compared to the impact of its predecessor 300 (2006).  

For your consideration:

• Visual Effects
• Costume Design
• Music

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Scores are as of posting.

X-Men: Days of the Future Past (2014)

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X-Men: Days of the Future Past (2014)

Date seen: 07 June 2014

Rated PG-13, 131 mins.

IMDB User Rating: 8.5

Metascore: 74/100 (User Score: 8.6)

Tomatometer: 92% Certified Fresh (Audience: 94%)

Movie Notebook: 8.80/10

Recommendation: A - Highly Recommended

Grade: GT - Watch if you want have a Good Time

Notes:

Equipped with stunning visual effects, perfect-fit cast, and well-written screenplay, this just might be the best among the X-Men movies to date. Certainly, the best to see among the movies currently playing in local cinemas--worth the money, worth the time.

For your consideration:

• Visual Effects
• Sound

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Scores are as of posting.

Maleficent (2014)

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Maleficent (2014)

Date seen: 06 June 2014

Rated PG, 97 mins.

IMDB User Rating: 7.5

Metascore: 55/100 (User Score: 7.1)

Tomatometer: 51% Rotten (Audience: 76%)

Movie Notebook: 7.00/10

Recommendation:  C - Selectively Recommended

Grade: GT - Watch if you want to have a Good Time

Notes:

Undeniably a visual spectacle, it fails in terms of screenplay. It makes us ask why such a reinvention for the widely beloved classic fairy tale Sleeping Beauty. It appears that Angelina Jolie was cast to play as a cherry over wasabe. 

For your consideration:

• Costume Design
• Make-up
• Visual Effects

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Scores are as of posting.

Pompeii (2014)

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Pompeii (2014)

Date seen: 25 May 2014

Rated PG-13, 105 mins

IMDB User Rating: 5.7

Metascore: 39/100 (User Score: 5.6)

Tomatometer: 28% Rotten (Audience: 40%)

Movie Notebook Score: 4.85/10

Recommendation: D - Not Recommended

Grade: WT - Watch if you want to Waste Time

Notes:

Disappointingly tragic with a poorly written screenplay, dull cinematography, and trying-hard visuals. This is one movie you'd like to watch if you have plenty of time to be wasted or if you can't sleep despite taking sleeping medications.

For your consideration:

• None

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Scores are as of posting.