Rebel Without a Pause Button

It probably won't surprise anyone to know that Jupiter Ascending is a complete mess, even by the standards of the Wachowski's Matrix sequels. Their latest film throws the sci-fi rulebook out of the window with its awfully outdated cgi, laughably bad performances, lazy, nonsensical writing and the mind-numbing genericness of it all. This one definitely won't be winning any Oscars. The story goes that Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis), a down on her luck maid, is actually the rightful owner of Earth and becomes hunted by the evil forces of the Abrasax family. Caine (Channing Tatum) arrives on Earth to protect Jupiter but she is kidnapped and taken to the Abrasax family, who want to take back control of the Earth and Jupiter is the key. The story may sound simple at first, but it quickly becomes convoluted and over-complicated, with the terrible script not helping matters. Lines vary between childishly simple and incomprehensibly jargon filled with no inbetween. Tatum spouts h...

American Sniper may be the most divisive film of the year. Acclaimed by some critics as a powerful and brutal portrayal of war, it has also received criticism from others for its seemingly patriotic tone and overly simplistic portrayal of the Iraq war. But does this wildly successful ($264 million worldwide in only a few weeks) deserve to be praised or criticized? Based on the autobiography of Chris Kyle, the deadliest sniper in US history, the film initially follows his pre-war years through a series of flashbacks that briefly cover his troubled childhood and failed ambitions to be a cowboy. News coverage of 9/11 is briefly shown and then it cuts to Kyle (Bradley Cooper) signing up to the marines. This is the first major problem with the film, as it creates the sense that the Iraq War was an immediate reaction to the terrorist attacks, which most people know it wasn't. The film is clearly rushing to get to the war scenes so his relationship w...