The Zachtastic Movie Blog

(Poster courtesy Wikipedia) In my opinion, one would be hard pressed to meet a guy who did not find Blake Lively attractive. Likewise, such would also be the case for women and stories with strong female protagonists. Naturally, a film that contains both of these elements would be a big hit, right? The assumption can then be made that Hollywood executives had such intentions in mind when they produced The Shallows , the latest attempt to give actresses opportunities to stretch their limits on screen. The story therein focuses on a woman named Nancy Adams, a medical school dropout from Galveston, Texas. Surfing is one of her greatest passions, so one day she takes a trip to a secret, supposedly unnamed beach in Mexico which her mother once surfed at. While out in the bay, however, Nancy is bitten by a great white shark and ends up being stranded on a rock offshore. Now 200 yards from the beach, she does all that she can with the vicious sea predator at odds with her...

VidAngel is a media streaming service which allows viewers to filter any sort of content they choose. For me, I choose to not watch R-rated films in theaters based on certain content. I still have plenty of interest in these films, though, so I use VidAngel as a platform for watching new R-rated releases on demand, and then share my opinion. Considering that much will have already been written by these films by the time I watch them, these reviews will be brief. Click here for an archive of all the films I’ve reviewed via VidAngel. (Poster courtesy Wikipedia ) When I watched Olympus Has Fallen as part of my Clearplay Review series, it fell short of my boyish, guilty pleasure expectations. While the film contained some decent action, everything about the writing rubbed off the wrong way with me. Even so, my favorite genre happens to be action films (especially since they extend to fantasy, science fiction, and numerous other genres), so I am always willing to give th...

(Poster courtesy Wikipedia ) Other than their beloved Toy Story trilogy, Pixar has not done so well with their sequels. I may have liked Monsters University , but that film, as well as Cars 2, are nonetheless not favorites among Pixar's fanbase. But the incredibly talented artists at my favorite animation studio are indeed human beings, so naturally they would have their mishaps from time to time. That being said, expectations were kept to a minimum going into my experience with Finding Dory . The trailers did not sit well with me, nor did I ever imagine that Finding Nemo deserved the sequel treatment. Disney has a reputation for milking their properties dry, after all. Andrew Stanton--the director of Finding Nemo , WALL•E , John Carter , as well as a major story collaborator on many other Pixar projects--returned to write and direct this sequel though, so his involvement brought me hope. The story which resulted from his efforts takes place one year following...

VidAngel is a media streaming service which allows viewers to filter any sort of content they choose. For me, I choose to not watch R-rated films in theaters based on certain content. I still have plenty of interest in these films, though, so I use VidAngel as a platform for watching new R-rated releases on demand, and then share my opinion. Considering that much will have already been written by these films by the time I watch them, these reviews will be brief. Click here for an archive of all the films I’ve reviewed via VidAngel. (Poster courtesy Wikipedia ) Election years always seem to inspire filmmakers to create cinema centered on controversial issues. The range of such films is always different, but one particular release that caught my attention earlier this year was Michael Bay’s war film 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi . Despite receiving only a mixed critical reception according to Rotten Tomatoes, 13 Hours has since been touted as one of Bay’s ...

(Poster courtesy Wikipedia ) Brief disclaimer about this piece: since I'm experiencing a tight week between work, more planned film reviews and making preparations for my upcoming wedding, this review will be short. Perhaps this post will also be small for the fact that I was not a fan of the original, so enthusiasm is lacking in the vein of an extended treatise. My initial review for the first Now You See Me film was more forgivably positive, but the film has since declined in my favor. What many consider that original film to be is a goofy, guilty pleasure favorite. That's what the sequel is for me (although the word "favorite" may be a tad inaccurate here). Setting aside the absolute absurdity, Now You See Me 2 has an advantage over the previous installment since for the most part we already know who the characters are, and the plot is much more straightforward. The incessant, sleight-of-hand twists and turns are also still there, but over...