JULY MOVIE RANKINGS:

Summer is going by too fast for its own good. Although this has been a slumber of a Summer for movies in the theater, I have reviewed quite a bit of good movies without leaving my home. With five Burnt Popcorn movies and five Juicy Hall of Famers in this roster, it has been a month full of variety. Another great perk of this month was having guest reviewer Captain Critic come over to give his take on The Bourne franchise, which you can check out by clicking the link. I hope you have had as good of a July 2015 as I have! All of that said, onto the rankings!:

#14- “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2”
30%= Burnt Popcorn
Pros: The special effects were pretty good and Kevin James is still funny even with the awful script.
Cons: The story is similar to the first movie, they cut off ties to the first film to make a joke, most of the jokes are stale, the whole movie felt like an awful Disney Channel movie, and the characters are hollow.

#13- “Slow West”
41%= Burnt Popcorn
Pros: Wes Anderson type of cinematography (even though he wasn’t directing), some scenes are actually good, and the acting is good overall with Michael Fassbender stealing the show.
Cons: The story is broken and convoluted, too much poetic-like dialogue that doesn’t land at all, most scenes are outrageously stupid, I couldn’t tell if it was a comedy or drama, they throw you right into the messed up story, and I didn’t feel anything for the characters (I was tempted to feel for Fassbender’s character however).

#12- “Gamer”
49%= Burnt Popcorn
Pros: Great use of color tones, cool special effects, Gerard Butler is awesome, I didn’t lose interest, and acting is good for the script they are given.
Cons: Made me feel filthy watching it, most things in the story make no sense, I didn’t feel sympathy for any of the characters besides Butler’s character Kable, and the flow of the action scenes in the game “Slayers” wasn’t the best with it being too fast-paced.

#11- “The Bourne Legacy”
60%= Burnt Popcorn
Pros: Had a strong beginning that was awesome, great acting, cool action scenes, and the locations are beautiful.
Cons: The story shifts focus to finding pills and it doesn’t work, nothing was resolved at the end, and I couldn’t figure out who the real villain was.

#10- “Minions”
69%= Burnt Popcorn
Pros: Amazing animation, the stereotype British background characters are funny to look at, good voice acting, and there were some funny parts.
Cons: Clearly for very young children, disappointing villain, and the Minions can’t hold up a movie as the main characters.

#9- “Jurassic World”
74%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Okay acting (Chris Pratt did the best), fantastic special effects, fun to look at what the park would’ve been if it opened, good take on the Velociraptors, and cool fighting scenes between dinosaurs.
Cons: Story is predictable, the characters are pretty much the same as the ones in the first movie, product placement can be too much, some things didn’t make sense, and I retained little coming out of the theater.

#8- “Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser”
76%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Christopher Walken, Patrick Warburton, funny for the most part, good characters, great music, and Joe Dirt is back.
Cons: Rips off many films, some jokes don’t land and are prolonged, some scenes drag, you have to turn your mind off to watch most of it, and it takes a while for the story to pick up pace.

#7- “Batman Returns”
84%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Christopher Walken, Gotham City is well-portrayed, has great color tones, good acting, the Penguin is a pretty good villain, dark, fine musical score, fantastic make-up, fun, and it gross on you.
Cons: Bruce Wayne is better portrayed than Batman, Catwoman isn’t very good of a character, can get silly, and it suffers plot holes.

#6- “Black or White”
86%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Interesting plot, there wasn’t much talk on racism (and when there was it was handled well), the characters are entertaining, the acting is really good, the courtroom scenes are great to watch, and the transitions of lifestyles are compelling.
Cons: Some things didn’t click in my mind (like some of Eloise and Elliot’s routines) and the musical score didn’t suit the film that well.

#5- “The Bourne Supremacy”
89%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Vast locations, more gritty than its predecessor, strong performances, and great car chase.
Cons: You can nitpick at some decisions, the cuts can be too fast for my tastes, and Jason Bourne’s character shifts (but it is a half-hearted con).

#4- “Kingsman: The Secret Service”
90%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: All out fun, crazy action sequences (the church scene was awesome), solid acting, great special effects, fun characters, and makes you feel good inside.
Cons: The villain isn’t the best and some things don’t make sense.

#3- “Batman” (1989)
91%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Dark in tones, Jack Nicholson is fantastic, fun story, great soundtrack, lovable characters, well-portrayed Bruce Wayne, and it grows on you.
Cons: Has quite a bit of plot holes, Batman tends to look goofy most of the time, some of the special effects didn’t go well (the art museum Batman break-in is notable), and some characters weren’t needed for the story.

#2- “The Bourne Identity”
92%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: The plot is original, you are kept in the dark having to rely on Jason Bourne’s point of view, great acting from Matt Damon as well as some supporting actors, great scenery, and well-choreographed fight scenes.
Cons: The relationship between Bourne and Marie felt forced and the second act can drag.

#2- “John Wick”
92%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: The hotel idea is genius, the action scenes are epic, Keanu Reeves is awesome, great acting, you can really feel for the characters, and cinematography is well-made.
Cons: You can nitpick at things that wouldn’t happen realistically and the ending is a mixed bag.

#1- “Ex Machina”
93%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: A deep thinker’s sci-fi, terrific acting, intriguing concept, chilling the deeper you think about it, amazing special effects, and has a lot of depth.
Cons: Made me feel uncomfortable at times and the small “action scene” looked, in lack of a better term, stupid.

Juicy Hall of Fame Inductee– “The Bourne Ultimatum”
94%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Shaky camera handled well, intense, solid acting especially Matt Damon, fantastic locations, and great action scenes.
Cons: Same archetype as all the previous films and the ending was disappointing.

Juicy Hall of Fame Inductee– “The Shining”
94%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Classic, very good acting, Jack Nicholson is fantastic, the cinematography and directing is refreshing, great color tones, enjoyable, intense towards the end, edgy, and it gets better the more you watch it.
Cons: Predictable, the ghost woman scene with Jack is something I wish my eyes never witnessed, the musical score can get obnoxious, and unintentionally laughable at times.

Juicy Hall of Fame Inductee– “No Country for Old Men”
98%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Unbelievable acting, realistic, deep overall lesson, unpredictable, relatable characters, terrific cinematography, gritty action sequences, and interesting dialogue.
Cons: Mainly minor plot holes that are never explained.

There you have it folks! “Ex Machina” is July 2015’s Movie of the Month and will go on to face “The Truman Show”, “Rocky”, “It’s Kind of a Funny Story”, “Rocky Balboa”, “Whiplash”, “Avengers: Age of Ultron”, “Inside Out”, and the rest of the months in January 2016 to decide which film will become 2015’s Movie of the Year!!!