Movies | Gumballs Plays Games

Recently watched: Guardians of the Galaxy

Posted on February 1, 2015 by GumballsPlaysGames

Yesterday evening we finished watching Guardians of the Galaxy. I knew absolutely nothing about the Guardians of the Galaxy comics going into the movie, and despite all the hype I hadn’t been very interested in seeing the film. I usually love the Marvel movies, but for whatever reason Guardians never caught my attention.

I think part of it was that the film seemed a little cartoony and too caught up in trying to be funny. Most of the Marvel films have a pretty decent and often self aware sense of humor, however the trailer made it seem like Guardians was going to take it a little too far.

Overall the movie was enjoyable, and it definitely has nice scenery and special effects that stand out on Blu Ray, however I couldn’t really get on board with the humor. Sure it was funny for the first few jokes, but after awhile it just felt like it was trying too hard. That said, I think Vanessa enjoyed it more than I did so maybe I just wasn’t approaching the film with the right attitude.

Guardians is certainly of a different tone than most of the Marvel movies, but maybe that isn’t such a bad thing. It isn’t quite as predictable as other comic book films, and the characters are unique and fresh. Bautista plays his role especially well, and I was surprised by the quality of his character. Groot confuses me, but I feel like he provided the best comedic relief in the film. Rocket Raccoon started out as an enjoyable character, however I feel like his jokes came off a little forced toward the end of the film.

Ultimately I enjoyed the experience of Guardians of the Galaxy, especially the colorful visuals and special effects. I’m interested to see how the story further unfolds, as we’re assured in the end, that the Guardians will return.

Recently watched: Fury

Posted on January 31, 2015 by GumballsPlaysGames

Last night we watched Fury, the WWII tank warfare movie starring Brad Pitt. I had been wanting to see the movie for awhile but hadn’t gotten around to it. We rented it on Blu Ray from Redbox, but now I’m kicking myself for not seeing it in theaters. It would’ve been an awesome movie to see on the big screen. It sounded pretty good on my sound bar, but I had to adjust the volume frequently in an effort to not disturb the neighbors (we live in a duplex).

The movie has amazing sounds and great visuals throughout. The cast (led by Brad Pitt just as his character leads his soldiers) is wonderful and they fit together quite well. Logan Lerman also has a standout performance and his character’s transformation is thrilling to watch.

I loved both the action packed, bullet flying, blood splattering moments and the slower, human, emotional moments throughout the film. Everything fits together so nicely and watching the characters struggle physically and mentally is fulfilling throughout.

I highly recommend checking out Fury if you haven’t already. Even if you’re not a fan of war movies I think you’ll find something to enjoy!

Amazon Prime is $72, today only!

Posted on January 24, 2015 by GumballsPlaysGames

I just found out about an awesome discount on Amazon Prime, effective today (24 January) only! To celebrate Amazon’s series Transparent winning two Golden Globes they’ve discounted the price of an Amazon Prime subscription to $72 from the usual $99. This $27 discount is a great deal for an incredible service.

I usually sign up for free trials of Prime when I can (especially around Christmas), however this marks the first time I’ve committed to an entire year of the service. The free two day shipping is awesome (and addictive!) but you also get access to Amazon’s video and music streaming services, which are pretty cool as well.

Head over to Amazon to take advantage of this discount while it lasts!

The Imitation Game, a wonderful film

Posted on January 4, 2015 by GumballsPlaysGames

Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine.

On New Year’s Day we saw The Imitation Game, the absolutely must see movie that follows Alan Turing’s life and his secret work to crack the German’s Enigma code during World War II. Whether you know anything about Alan Turing or not, I highly recommend seeing the film. It tells a wonderful story about an amazing man and his struggles being both a socially awkward genius and a closeted homosexual. The pacing of the story is just right and the build up to the ultimate climax and breakthrough are amazing. The Imitation Game joins The Theory of Everything as not only one of the best films of the year, but also one of the best biographical films in recent years. I can’t recommend both films enough.

Alan Turing’s arrest and punishment (chemical castration) for being gay are an absolute outrage, and it’s hard to believe just how recently humanity has done horrible things to those who chose to live differently. Turing certainly lived an interesting life and I’m left wanting to learn more about it. I’m certainly looking forward to reading the biography the film was based on (Alan Turing: The Enigma, Andrew Hodges) and seeing him mentioned in Walter Isaacson’s The Innovators which I bought awhile back but haven’t started reading yet.

If Turing’s name sounds familiar you’ve probably heard it in the form of the Turing Test, the test meant to determine whether a computer can “think” enough like a human and fool a person into believing it is a human. You may have read that this past summer a computer passed the Turing Test for the first time.

The Interview is now available to stream

Posted on December 24, 2014 by GumballsPlaysGames

The controversial film The Interview has just been released on a variety of streaming services including Google Play and YouTube. It should also be coming to Xbox Video momentarily, for purchase or renting.

I haven’t bought a movie in ages, I usually just choose to stream them, but I think I’ll be purchasing The Interview once it becomes available on Xbox Video just for the heck of it. One thing is for sure, controversy tends to be a great marketing tool.

I’ll be sure to post my thoughts on the film after watching it.

The Theory of Everything is a wonderful experience

Posted on December 21, 2014 by GumballsPlaysGames

Last night we watched The Theory of Everything, the biopic directed by James Marsh (Man on Wire) and based on the Jane Wilde Hawking memoir Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen (Alma Books, 2008).

I didn’t know a whole lot about the film going in, or even much about Stephen’s life so I expected it to center more on his scientific achievements over his personal life. In reality the film focuses almost entirely on his relationship with Jane and the trials and tribulations during their time together. It was actually quite informative and a good story that causes a great variety of strong emotional reactions throughout.

The film is a great visual experience, with plenty of great colors and wonderful scenes that left me in awe. Eddie Redmayne plays Stephen Hawking wonderfully from his healthier youthful days right through the rapid progression of his disease. I also really enjoyed the performances of Charlie Cox (Jonathan Jones) and Maxine Peake (Elaine Mason).

Overall The Theory of Everything is an incredible movie with superb acting, a wonderful soundtrack, great visuals and a compelling, emotionally taxing story. I highly recommend it, 5 out of 5.

Worth watching: Begin Again

Posted on September 28, 2014 by GumballsPlaysGames

The film Once quickly became one of my favorite movies of all time, even though I’m still not quite sure how I even found out about it (this was about 2 years or so ago). The music by Glen Hansard is absolutely breathtaking, and the story is incredible. It’s worth watching for the music alone, but trust me the entire movie is beautiful.

That said, to find out John Carney (who wrote and directed Once) also wrote and directed Begin Again sealed the deal, I knew I was going to watch it.

Begin Again stars Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightley and Adam Levine (Maroon 5, The Voice) and like Once is a story about music, relationships and navigating the highs and lows in life.

The music is enjoyable, the story is heartwarming and the acting is quite wonderful throughout. I love the setting (New York just happens to be my favorite city in the world) and again the music is just as great as the city. I highly encourage you to see Begin Again if you loved Once, and if you haven’t seen either I recommend you see both as soon as possible.

Recently watched on Netflix

Posted on August 23, 2014 by GumballsPlaysGames

This past week I watched two movies on Netflix that I didn’t think would be that great but actually turned out to be pretty entertaining.

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The first was Pain & Gain, starring The Rock and Mark Wahlberg. Going into it I had no clue what it was about, and although I like Wahlberg, I never really thought The Rock was a great actor. He proved me wrong in Pain & Gain. His character was quite amusing and portrayed quite well throughout. The story kept me entertained as much as the characters did and I’m glad I ended up giving it a chance.

Last night, on a whim, I decided to watch The Art of the Steal, another movie I had never previously heard of. At first it seemed like a typical B action movie, but it had something extra that kept me from turning it off. I like movies with a bit of mystery and the potential for a plot twist and I ended up riding it out to the end and found it to be quite rewarding. Is it a movie I’d recommend renting? No, but if you have Netflix it’s worth turning on if you can’t decide on anything else to watch.

My summer watchlist (so far)

Posted on July 29, 2014 by GumballsPlaysGames

I’ve enjoyed quite a few great indie movies this summer and I’ve quickly fallen in love with indie movies. A few of my favorites I’ve already watch include The Pretty One and Ping Pong Summer, both of which were quite enjoyable (The Pretty One has become one of my favorite films of all time joining (500) Days of Summer and Juno among others).

Lately I’ve been compiling a list of movies I intend to watch in August, if possible, while overseas. A lot of the films in this list caught my attention through their pleasant movie posters and after watching the trailers I can’t wait to watch all of them. Most I hadn’t even heard of until coming across them on Indiewire which has become my number one source for discovering new movies.

I should note that I know little to nothing about any of the films I’m going to list. That’s a lot of what I like about indie films, I can go into them with hardly any knowledge or expectations and experience something new and refreshing.

The first on the list is Prince Avalanche.

One of the things that really stands out to me is the use of color in the scenes shown in the trailer. I absolutely love films that could almost double as paintings, if that makes sense. I feel like all the colors mix pleasantly and at the same time stand out against the green, brown and grey backdrops shown in the scenes. This alone has me wanting to watch this film in HD and just enjoy taking in all the scenery.

Next up is Touchy Feely.

Again, I love the poster for this film. I also absolutely adore Ellen Page, so I was already sold on this film before I even watched the trailer. The trailer has piqued my interest, and I don’t know much about the film other than I can’t wait to watch it.

Blue Ruin

Things take a turn away from the seemingly cheery atmospheres of the previous two films with Blue Ruin. It looks both suspenseful and thrilling and I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints

It’s hard to say what exactly caught my eye with this film. I think it has something to do with the title, I just like the sound of it so I figure why not watch it?

Just watched: The Pretty One (loved it!)

Posted on June 14, 2014 by GumballsPlaysGames

I was looking for a movie to watch long distance with my girlfriend and ended up coming across this one on the Google Play store. Something about it just caught my eye (maybe it was Zoe Kazan ;))and after watching the trailer I knew I wanted to watch it.

The movie tells the story of identical twins, one who is ‘the pretty one’ and the other is the ‘quiet, shy, awkward one’. When an accident takes the live of one of the sisters the surviving twin (the shy one) is mistaken for the other. The surviving twin is then living in a world post-death and must then learn who she really is and where she fits in in the world. There’s a great love story alongside the story of finding oneself and it’s both heartwarming and tearjerking.

I have to say I absolutely LOVE the color in this film. I don’t know how to describe it, other than to say the colors just caught my eye and everything seems to fit right, like a perfect painting. I absolutely love films that seem to use color to set the mood, and this one is on par with (500) Days of Summer and The Great Gatsby (2013) in that regard. I also love the use of music in the movie, especially toward the end.

You may not have heard of this movie (I never have), but it’s certainly worth seeing. Please do yourself a favor and give this film a chance, you’re very unlikely to regret it.