Lucy review

There seems to be a myth floating around Hollywood that humans only use 10% of their brain and the other 90% is basically not used at all. This is not even remotely true. We consciously use 10% of our brain for thinking and things like that. The other 90% is still in use. It's used for our subconscious mind and other things. It is not possible to 'unlock' this other part of our brain because it is already unlocked and in use. Even if we could somehow use this other 90% consciously, it certainly wouldn't give us godlike superpowers or even increase our memory and intelligence (like in the film Limitless). Luc Besson's newest film, Lucy, plays off of this age old myth about our brainpower and then takes it to extreme heights. It's really a ridiculous concept for a movie, but if you can get past that you may actually have some fun with the movie and really get something out of it. Scarlett Johansson plays the titular character here. She starts out as a seemingly vapid college girl studying abroad in Taiwan. Through a mix-up with her shady boyfriend, Lucy becomes a drug mule for a brutal Taiwanese boss and then in turn accidentally ingests the experimental drug she was supposed to be carrying. The drug allows her to slowly gain full access to her brain, which in turn gives her powers fit for Superman (Superwoman, rather) or a god. Lucy is in incredibly odd film. It's one half dumb Luc Besson action flick where the main characters traipse around in some foreign country getting in car chases and dodging bullets. It's also one half smart pseudo-philosophical science fiction film that tries to explain creation and the future of human evolution. It dabbles in interesting ideas but will occasionally stop for a gun fight with Taiwanese bad guys. Like I said, odd. But not all bad. Lucy was obviously heavily influenced by Stanley Kubrick's awesome 1968 classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Lucy begins with the Dawn of Man like Kubrick's film did, showing the first ape woman (also named Lucy). As the movie progresses, Scarlett Johansson's character becomes almost equivalent to the star baby at the end of 2001. A human who was been altered by an outside force (the monolith in 2001, the drugs in Lucy) and is now a god-like being who has been seemingly sent to save humanity and correct our oh-so-many problems. One thing I have to give massive credit to Besson for is not making this a movie that uses its head female star for nothing but eye candy and beating up bad guys. Too many action films (Kick-Ass 2 to name one) think making their head star a woman allows them to underwrite their characters and indulge in camouflage misogyny. Here, Besson focuses more on Lucy and her increasing intelligence and only uses the gangster subplot sparingly. I do applaud him for that. Another problem this movie could've run into is it being really bloated and drawn out. Instead, it's kept to a lean 90 minutes. This movie had the potential to be truly awful, I'm glad it was able to surpass all that. Yet, as I mentioned before, Lucy isn't without its issues. First off, it's completely illogical. But I already addressed that. There's also quite a few oversights plot wise that made me slap my forehead thinking "How could they not see that?".  It touched on a few different things that could've been really cool but doesn't really expand on them. As her knowledge increases, her humanity decreases. There's a part that hints that Lucy may want to keep her human emotional side. Unfortunately, Besson doesn't go into depth really at all. Despite it's many flaws, I found Lucy to be quite good. It's a really ambitious movie and somewhat succeeds on many fronts. It's no 2001: A Space Odyssey but I suppose it makes for a good pop action version of the film. Calling the movie stupid is easy and honestly a little unfair. For all its shortcomings, it really does make for a solid smart summer blockbuster. Hell, I'd say it's better than a lot of the blockbusters out in theaters this summer. Luc Besson has always annoyed me. I was never a huge fan of his films, but Lucy is a little different than most of his films and it shows he may have some real talent. I give Lucy 4.2 out of 5 stars. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @WhitsMovies and like me on Facebook at Facebook.com/WhitsMovies. Happy Viewing everyone!   

The Lego Movie review

If you don't like The Lego Movie, you are Fox News.

If you had told past me that a 100 minute toy commercial released in the bleak winter months would be one of the best movies of the year (so far), I would laugh in your face and say some arbitrary statement like "No good movies come out in January or February!" or "A movie about Lego's? Give me a break." Past me knew nothing. The Lego Movie is the best animated movie I've seen since Toy Story 3, and it's better than anything that has been released in 2014 so far. I can almost guarantee it a spot on my Favorite Films of 2014 list. The film is about Emmett Brickowoski (voiced by Chris Pratt) He loves his job as a construction worker, where he builds things according to the instructions and blows up things that are "weird". Emmett drinks coffee at a chain coffee shop where coffee costs 37 dollars. He thinks this is awesome. Emmett fits in so well, that his coworkers barely even notice him. That all changes when he accidentally finds the mysterious "piece" that will help stop Lord Business (Will Ferrell) from using the Kragle to destroy all of the Lego world. It all sounds very confusing I know. Don't worry though. It all makes glorious sense when you see the movie. Many animated movies nowadays are made specifically for profit reasons and only entertain the little kids. Rarely is there an animated film that captures the imagination and attention of both the adults and kids in the audience, all while being an actually "good" movie. Cars 2 this is not. The Lego Movie is a strangely effective mix of classic science fiction, pop culture references, fast paced witty comedy, and fantastic animation. Take the kids, but you may actually be getting more out of it than they will. In the city that a majority of the film takes place in, there are big billboards with the face of President Business saying things like "Conform" and things like that. I can't help but think of John Carpenter's 1988 movie, They Live. Even Business' minions bare a striking resemblance to the evil aliens from that film. Lego Movie takes a lot from classic sci-fi like 1984, but adds it's own style and humor.The Lego Movie was marketed as a fun kids movie, but obviously has a lot more to say then just that. It takes jabs at Big Business and government surveillance, yet doesn't hit you over the head with the message. More important than that, the movie is really quite funny. The script for the film is actually genius. It's able to stay consistently funny while not getting tiresome. It's characters are ridiculous at times, yet they also feel weirdly real. The writers and directors of the film, Chris Miller and Phil Lord, have made some decent movies in the past. They did Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which was alright. And 21 Jump Street, which was actually very funny.Take the best qualities of both those movies and then multiply it by ten, and you may have an idea of what The Lego Movie is like. The voice acting here is awesome. Elizabeth Banks, Charlie Day, Will Arnett, Morgan Freeman, Will Ferrell,... the list goes on. It's not just a smorgasbord of celebrities being paraded around,, everyone here has something to offer. The talent is put to good use. I really can't get over how great the movie is! It's funny, yet deep and meaningful. It's exciting, but not tiring. It's so, so well animated. I know I'm probably overly praising this right now, but just trust me on this one. The Lego Movie is awesome. The best way I can describe the film is if you took The Avengers and 1984, then mushed it into a terrific SNL skit, threw in more pop culture references, then made it into a movie involving Legos. The movie is great. It left me in a state of awe, all while making me crack up. I really did love it. The Lego Movie is a film for our generation. It personifies a lot of today's society, and carries a timeless message. I was expecting the movie to really suck. How could an hour and forty minutes of product placement be good? Yet, it really is. That's all I'm going to say for now. I give The Lego Movie 4.5 out of 5 stars. Happy Viewing! You can follow me on Twitter @WhitsMovies and like me on Facebook at Facebook.com/WhitsMovies!