Movie Reviews, including the stunning Good Will Hunting

GOOD WILL HUNTING

Honestly, It's taken too long - I've had it on record since just after Robin Williams' incredibly sad passing, and it was released over 17 years ago - but I finally watched Good Will Hunting for the first time, and, wow, it moved me! Whilst I was always expecting a movie-stealing performance from Robin Williams as the one-of-a-kind therapist, Sean Maguire - and he truly was sensational, certainly deserving of the Oscar for "Best Supporting Actor" that was to follow - I had no idea that Matt Damon would be as amazing as he was (I blame the movie "Team America: World Police" for me thinking bad of him!), playing the titular character, Will Hunting, a messed up genius from Boston who can avoid doing time for numerous assaults if he can help out a professor (the fantastic Stellan Skarsgard) with advanced mathematics whilst also seeing a therapist (Williams) once a week.

It's full of unforgettable scenes along the way, many featuring Sean Maguire, but one that really sticks in my mind is when Will Hunting is arguing with his girlfriend - Skylar, played by Minnie Driver - claiming he doesn't love her, when really he's just scared of letting people in because of some of the horrific things he went through as an orphaned kid. There are brilliant performances throughout, and I feel Ben Affleck deserves a mention, even if he is upstaged by Williams and Damon! Good Will Hunting is full of loads of meaningful and passionate lines that people still quote to this day, in what is a fantastic script written by Damon and Affleck, even if the story arc is a little predictive; but you know the movie's doing something right when that's the only bad thing I can honestly say about it.

It's worth noting that this movie was made with just $10 million - before Damon and Affleck had made it big - so don't go in expecting crazy, over-the-top scenes full of explosions or something, like you'd see in a spectacular but vapid Michael Bay movie, but what you get here is actually much better than that: a movie where the dialogue, characters, and actors get a chance to shine, in a movie that is full of more heart and soul than any summer blockbuster will ever be!

There's also a great music score done by Danny Elfman, who's most famous for The Simpsons theme, no doubt; and not once did I think the movie overrun at its length of roughly two hours. It will go down as one of my most favourite movies ever, and, if you don't mind me, I'm off to Amazon to make sure I own a copy that I can watch many more times in the future! :D <3

Robin Williams as Sean Maguire: "You'll have bad times, but they'll always wake you up to the good stuff you weren't paying attention to."

SCORE (out of 10): 9.7

*Movie contains strong language throughout*

Mini reviews of Django Unchained, Wreck-It Ralph, Despicable Me (1 & 2), Get Him To The Greek, and Airplane! follow.

DJANGO UNCHAINED

I absolutely loved Django Unchained - more than I expected to, to be honest, because, truth be told, I haven't loved everything from Quentin Tarantino - and the performances of Christoph Waltz, Jamie Foxx, and Leonardo DiCaprio are simply magnificent, with Waltz definitely deserving of his Oscar for "Best Supporting Actor" that was to come. The story follows Django (Foxx), a slave that is freed by Dr. King Schultz (Waltz) because he knows Django can help him locate the Brittle brothers, with Schultz offering Django his freedom in return. The two form an unlikely friendship, with Django becoming Schultz's apprentice and helping him do more bounty hunting, with the promise that they will go and try to free his wife, Broomhilda Von Shaft (Kerry Washington), who's being kept as a slave by the nasty Calvin Candie (DiCaprio). It's beautifully filmed in some stunning locations; deals with a serious issue from the past; has brilliant music; and is a very memorable movie. The only fault, for me, is that at 2 hours and 45 minutes long, it's just a bit too lengthy!

SCORE: 9.3

*Movie contains strong language throughout, including numerous uses of the "N" word; and loads of graphic violence (like you'd expect from Tarantino!)*

WRECK-IT RALPH

If you've already taken a glance down at the review score, you'll have seen that I have given Wreck-It Ralph a very generous 9.4, and, I'll be honest, that score comes from a guy who is a massive fan of computer generated movies, as well as a huge fan of video games, and so this score is, arguably, incredibly biased; but it is a superb movie that's suitable for everybody! I actually prefer this movie to all of the Toy Story movies, all the Shreks, Up, and I'd even say it's my joint favourite CG movie ever (the other being the absolutely amazing WALL-E, with How To Train Your Dragon in third place)! All the video game references and cameos are a joy to behold for a geek like me (everything from Mario and Sonic, to Street Fighter and Metal Gear Solid); the voice acting - from the likes of John C. Reilly (Ralph), Jack McBrayer (Fix-It Felix), Sarah Silverman (Vanellope von Schweetz), Jane Lynch (Sergeant Calhoun), etc. - is perfect for each character; the gaming worlds are beautifully realised with perfect looks and sounds; and the story of a bad guy wanting to be good is decent.

SCORE: 9.4

DESPICABLE ME

I found Despicable Me to be pretty great throughout - especially the hilarious Minions with their funny speech and animation - whilst unfortunately never managing to quite blow me away. The cast, as is often the case with computer generated movies, is truly amazing, with each actor - Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Julie Andrews, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove, etc. - really bringing their respective characters to life. Despite this stellar cast, though, most of the laughs actually come from the Minions (who everybody seems to love, and rightly so - where can I buy one?!) and the little girl, Agnes (played by Elsie Fisher), but, to be honest, there's barely any bad characters to be found here. A good range of characters; consistently funny; a good story; but just never truly mind-blowing. Now I should go and watch number 2, if only for the Minions! EDIT: I have since seen Despicable Me 2, and here's my opinion: just like the first, but ever-so-slightly better! XD

DESPICABLE ME - SCORE: 8.0

DESPICABLE ME 2 - SCORE: 8.2

GET HIM TO THE GREEK

I watched Get Him To The Greek after seeing it was going to be on TV one night, whilst also being recommended it by my older brother, and I found it to be hugely enjoyable, with some very funny moments. The story follows Aaron Green (Hill), a record company employee who is sent to London by his boss, Sergio Roma (Combs), in order to get Aldous Snow (Brand) all the way to the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles for a 10 year anniversary performance for a legendary show he did there in 1999. The thing that surprised me the most was that Sean Combs was so damn funny; I mean, I expected Russell Brand and Jonah Hill to be brilliant, but I didn't expect Sean Combs to have so many of the funniest bits of the movie! Some great licensed music, as well as some funny original music ("Bangers, Beans, And Mash"!); some great, funny performances, as well as some fantastic cameos (Pharrell Williams, Lars Ulrich, Pink, etc.); and just an all-round decent "journey movie".

SCORE: 8.5

*Contains raunchy humour and strong language throughout*

AIRPLANE!

My dad and little brother had been trying to get me to watch Airplane! for a ridiculously long time because of how they believe it is a classic (and they're not the only ones, as Airplane! is often voted amongst the greatest comedies ever made); now, I don't believe it's as amazing as they think it is, but it's still incredibly funny throughout. What's most impressive is that the movie barely goes a minute without throwing a joke of some sort in your direction, be it a verbal pun, a sight-based gag, something satirical, or just something downright cringeworthy! There are some great performances, from actors who actually weren't seen as comedy actors before this movie (even the late, great Leslie Nielsen wasn't seen as a comedy actor until this point); some very funny scenes/jokes (Family Guy often uses Airplane! jokes); and it's just a great - and very, very silly - movie that has stood the test of time, and it will continue to do so because everybody can benefit from a massive laugh and a bit of silly every now and again. WARNING: watching this movie may result in you retelling some of the stupid jokes to your family and friends for years to come, as that's certainly the way it has been with my dad! XD

SCORE: 8.4

I really hope you enjoyed those movie reviews, guys! Be sure to give me feedback on them, as well as telling me your opinions on the movies reviewed, or whether I've made you want to go and watch any of them. If this blog gets a good response, I will do more movie reviews in the near future, possibly including the likes of Gravity, How To Train Your Dragon (1 & 2), The Fault In Our Stars, American Pie: Reunion, Dallas Buyers Club, Frozen, etc. Thanks very much! ^-^ <3