Jurassic World [A Fat Jesus Film Review]

Let's face it. If you were a kid growing up, which I think we all were, you went through a dinosaur phase. You drew pictures of them, you had your favorites -- velociraptors and ankylosaurus for me -- watched 'The Land Before Time' and pretended to be T-Rex's (walking around with your arms tucked in roaring). Unfortunately, when you get older it's harder to be as enthusiastic about dinosaurs. This is why we have the Jurassic Park series. Even though "The Lost World" and "Jurassic Park III" exist. 'Jurassic World' is the fourth installment in this series and stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and The Kingpin, err, I mean, Vincent D'Onofrio. While lacking the pure wonder that the original film gave us, it more than makes up for its one-note characters with dazzling dinosaurs that are more than just the backdrop to the story.

'Jurassic World' is set 22 years after the events of 'Jurassic Park.' InGen, the company that cloned the first dinosaurs, has successfully opened a theme park called "Jurassic World." One day, operations manager Clare Mitchell (Dallas Howard), has two of her nephews, brothers, Zach and Grey Mitchell (Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins), visiting the park. Though she is too busy to be with them during the day, they plan to meet up later in the evening. In order to drum up attendance, InGen created a genetically modified dinosaur with the genes of a bunch of different predatory dinosaurs as well as present day animals, Indominus. Meanwhile, at a different part of the park, Owen Grady (Pratt), a former Marine, has just finished a successful training session with his velociraptors. After the session, InGen's head of security, Vic Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio), tries to convince Owen that the raptors would be perfect for military use. The park owner, Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan) orders Owens to go check out the Indominus' enclosure, to make sure it's ready for visitors. Clare and Owen head to the exhibit, only to find that they weren't getting a heat signature from Indominus and that there are giant claw marks on one of the walls. While Owen and two guards are checking out the claw marks, it is discovered that Indominus is still in the enclosure and that she is masking her heat signature. Owen and one of the guards escape, but in doing so, so does Indominus. Now the park must find a way to stop Indominus, because it's putting not only the lives of the other dinosaurs in danger, but the people in the theme park as well.

I'm going to start right out and say it, I wasn't a fan of the first 20 minutes or so of this film. I understand you have to set up characters, but almost nothing of values happens during this time frame. I don't need to see a family take their kids to the airport or them riding on a boat across the ocean to the island. This could've been plausible if there was any meaningful dialogue, but there's not. Once they get to the island, Claire is introduced and finally Owens and Hoskins start getting screen time, the film sets into a good, albeit one note, pace. The characters are almost lifeless and that's not a good thing. Chris Pratt is a charismatic and hilarious actor (see 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and 'Parks and Recreation'). Bryce Dallas Howard has shown she has acting chops ('The Help' and '50/50'). Vincent D'Onofrio has a stupendous role in 'Marvel's Daredevil.' Even Ty Simpkins has had great roles in the 'Insidious' series and 'Iron Man 3.' So the lack of good writing really hurts this pretty well rounded cast. Even so, the characters, though dull, do serve a purpose throughout the film. The brothers get into jungle hi-jinx, causing their aunt to enlist her "will he, won't he" boy toy to go save them (and the rest of the park, I guess). All this is while the evil corporation is plotting a take over, well, more preservation, of the dinosaur's DNA when all the poo hits the whirling fan blades. The story is tired, but you didn't come to this for story, I didn't come to this for story -- but at least it wasn't completely terrible -- we came for dinosaurs, and boy did we get dinosaurs. Side note, Claire was running around through a jungle all day and a theme park all night, all while wearing high heels. Like full on sprinting, running, ducking, hiding, etc. Come on man. Come on.

The CGI in this film, the action and the use of dinosaurs themselves in the film really did save it for me. I love theme parks and the idea of one revolving around actual dinosaurs is an awesome idea, vision, dream, whatever you wanna call it. 'Jurassic Park' did this, but not to the kind of "theme park" I always picture, like Six Flags or Universal Studios. So seeing it actually come to life in this film is freaking awesome! I want a Jurassic Park or World t-shirt that I paid $40 for, while I walk around in my triceratops hat, personalized with my name on it. I want to go see Free Willy aka The Mosasaurus pop out of the water to engulf a shark. I want to be a kid again (somehow) and go into a petting zoo and ride a baby triceratops or pet a baby apatosaurus. The idea an execution of the theme park side of this film is actually awesome. I was entranced once the brothers reached the island and actually started going around the park. The flip side of things is the awesome CGI that was used for the dinosaurs. I recently re-watched 'Jurassic Park' and the CGI and models used in 1993 weren't half bad. But the CGI in this film is done pretty well. It felt like Chris Pratt was besties with his raptors. It felt like a fight when Indominus was tearing through the jungle killing it's prey. You even got a little sad when one of the apatosaurus dies in Owen and Claire's hands. On the flip side, the brutality is in full force. For a PG-13 film, I wasn't expecting to see as much dino on human violence. Humans were being picked up by pterodactyl, eaten whole and stomped on by the Indominus and torn to shreds by raptors. Boy, did I love every second of it too! I'm glad they didn't shy away from the fact that these are dinosaurs whose first instinct is to kill and hunt prey. Not to mention the final act of 'Jurassic World' is a pleasure to watch and is well worth sitting through the first half hour of so. I was enthralled.

'Jurassic World' isn't going to win over any fans. Unless you're there for Chris Pratt. Chris Pratt isn't going to make any new 'Jurassic World' fans, but this is a great effort for what is a reboot, sequel, a requel! The story is only okay, the acting, despite the awesome cast, is one-dimensional. But the dinosaurs, kicking ass and taking names is a beauty to watch. It's a pretty long film, at just over two hours, but if you can get past the first part of the film, everything gets better. The music is on point throughout, and I had to hold back yelling "Dododododo-Dododododo!" when they first panned to the island. If they can get the writing better, I have high hopes for the next 'Jurassic' film. As long as it's not some weird romantic comedy involving Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and talking dinosaurs. 'Jurassic World' is still, I think, well worth the watch.

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Guardians of the Galaxy [A Fat Jesus Movie Review]

I've been waiting for 'Guardians of the Galaxy' for awhile. With each new tidbit of information my interest grew. I was apprehensive in the early stages of that this would turn in to. All of that has since been obliterated, as this film is one of the best all around movies Marvel has ever put out. The synergy, atmosphere, story and characters they developed, in what isn't an Avengers related film, is quite amazing. Chris Pratt leads an almost ragtag group of actors in a Marvel action flick and makes it seem like he's been in character for years. 'Guardians of the Galaxy' is everything a Michael Bay film wants to aspire to be, but never will.

"I am Groot."

'Guardians of the Galaxy' follows the story of Peter Quill/Starlord (Chris Pratt) as he is abducted from earth as a child and grows up to become a space pirate under Yondu (Michael Rooker). Twenty six years later we meet a grown up Quill who is stealing a mysterious sphere-like object from the planet Morag. He is intercepted by Korath (Djimon Hounsou), who is sent my Kree Ronan (Lee Pace), but manages to escape with the sphere. Once Ronan is informed that Quill has escaped he sends his assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana) to retrieve it. Things turn sour for Quinn when he returns to Xandar and the person he is selling to backs out. While all this is happening,Yondu is putting a bounty on Quinn's head. Two bounty hunters, a genetically engineered raccoon, Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and a treelike humanoid, Groot (Vin Diesel), are already on Xandar. They begin to hunt Quinn as Gamora takes the sphere from him. A fight filled chase ensues between the four and eventually they are all incapacitated, arrested or both. They are sent to a prison facility called the Klyn, and the four band together once they learn of Zamora's plan to sell the sphere. They enlist the help of fellow inmate, Drax The Destroyer (Dave Bautista), and begin on what they think is a quest to sell a mysterious sphere. What they don't know, is the unimaginable power that lies inside and that the most powerful being in the universe wants to control it.

"They balled up my pants! Rude! They folded yours!"

We'll start with the story that ties in with everything that is happening in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Which is pretty cool. This isn't just some spin-off movie. Thanos is revealed in full, shout-out to Josh Brolin, and we also now know what the Infinity Stones do and why they are so sought after by the aforementioned Thanos. They've already announced 'Guardians of the Galaxy 2' and who knows who's gonna be able to be in that film as the Marvel movies keep churning out. James Gunn, the director of this fine film, is also signed on and I think he did a brilliant job with this film. There's a ton of CGI, but I feel like the cinematography as a whole and the overall direction was brilliant. The scenes in space are beautiful, the grittiness of desolate planets are highly apparent and I loved the design of Xandar. Speaking of CGI and things of that nature, this movie is chalk full of it. Some of the scenes it's noticeable, and one of the chase scenes was kinda iffy. Despite the few rough spots, the CGI was really done well in this film. The action, throughout was also done pretty well too and there was a metric ton of it littered throughout this. The fights set in space were fun and explosive and then when hand to hand combat was involved no one was slacking either. The seamlessness of all the visuals blending together with the characters and writing really made this a fun movie. If there's one complaint out of me about this movie it definitely isn't the soundtrack either. They set the tone early and every track that followed was so perfectly placed, it was beautiful to listen to. Not to mention the fantastic score to go along side this. This is probably the best score and soundtrack to a Marvel film that I've ever heard and it's truly one of the best parts of the film. This is a movie that is two hours long, but one that gets you so wrapped up and entertained you're not even gonna notice the time flying by. I do wanna touch one one thing that kinda irked me and it's my biggest flaw with this film. That's the way they used Ronan in the film. He's supposed to be this bad-ass super villain, but it more felt like he was a supporting character, that was just a placeholder until Thanos comes along to wreak havoc.

"I don't think anyone is 100% a dick."

There is so much other stuff to talk about that it almost boggles my mind. I don't think I have another "bad" thing to say about this film either so I'm already going to cliche this as a "glowing review." I've bought completely into Marvel and what they're doing with the cinematic universe. It doesn't matter if the film is main series or one that's kind of off the radar like 'Guardians of the Galaxy.' Marvel is going in for all their movies and I love it. We'll start with the writing and I really loved the way they got us used to these characters seamlessly. I felt like, by the end of the film, that I knew them. I loved that I had a connection to them as not just people on a screen I paid money to see. The way the audience connected with a raccoon, a walking tree and space thief, is truly amazing. The story was pretty solid as well. It wasn't just a bunch of degenerates who banded together and found out how to be good. It was a superhero story that felt more like an grand adventure rather than your usual "good vs bad leading to a final fight." Not saying that all this formulaic stuff wasn't there, but it's one of the films where I didn't even care one bit because I was so enthralled. All this is directly tied to the acting. This is the year of Chris Pratt and I've loved this guy ever since I first started watching 'Parks and Recreation.' Pratt is the true star of this film, no pun intended, and carries the film with each scene that he's in. He has such a good chemistry with all of his co-stars, including two that are merely CGI. His comedic timing is spot on, his emotion shines through and even the action sequences involving him were pretty damn good too. He is the glue that holds the cast together. But, that doesn't mean everyone else involved is slacking at all. One of the biggest surprises is Dave Batista as Drax The Destroyer. I'm a pro wrestling fan and I've been watching Batista for years now. Only a handful times have I ever been as entertained by this man. His comedic timing in this is impeccable and got a ton of laughs out of me. Plus, his action scenes were great as I think that's what came most naturally to him. Bradley Cooper as Rocket was great as well. It's not often that live action and CGI mesh so well, but Bradley Cooper walked the line perfectly. Never did I ever think in the middle of this type of movie I could get major feels out of a genetically engineered raccoon, or laugh at his antics. Well, maybe the second part of that. The other half of this duo was Groot, voiced by Vin Diesel. He doesn't say much, well anything aside from "I am Groot." When he does speak, there's always a laugh, smile or a welling of emotions afterward. Finally, Gamora was someone that took a little bit to get accustomed to out of these five. Her action scenes are great and he back story is pretty detailed in the film. Zoe Saldana was just playing the same green alien role that she only played okay in 'Star Trek' to me. She wasn't bad, but she really was the kinda weakest point of all five of them. That's not saying much though when they all have such a great chemistry on-screen.

"I look around and you know what I see? Losers!... But life's giving us a chance."

'Guardians of the Galaxy' is probably the best action film you're gonna see all summer. It's also one of my favorite films of the year so far. The story, characters, action, look and humor were all done exceptionally and I don't think I need to praise this anymore. It also felt like a lite version of 'The Avengers' and that's part of the reason it's gonna be liked as well. Amidst all the lightheartedness there's some real emotion and you really do get hit hard at points in the film. I think that's what really made me have a great time. It wasn't just the fantastic humor or the awesome visuals. It was the fact that during all that, we still got a chance to relate, feel sadness, happiness, joy or pain with who we were watching on screen. That's what movies are all about right? Having fun and connecting with your audience. Marvel, you have the formula down, keep 'em coming.

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The LEGO Movie [A Fat Jesus Movie Review]

There's a reason that I waited up until February of 2014 to actually watch my first movie of the 2014 season. Sure a movie like "Lone Survivor" is doing well and I have an abnormal fascination with the "Paranormal Activity" series. But, those are movies that you can really wait on. The may be good, they may be bad, but they weren't something I was REALLY looking forward to. "The LEGO Movie" on the other hand is truly the first release of the year that I had any hype for. From the first teaser trailer I saw, I was hooked. Then the voice acting cast was revealed and eventually the trailers. I was on board completely and it even had the feel of "Wreck-It Ralph." While not quite on that level, "The LEGO Movie" is one that is perfect for kids, where as the adults will get mileage out of this as well.

"The LEGO Movie" follows the story of Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt) and ordinary construction worker living a completely normal life. Years earlier, the [now] tyrant of Brickville, the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell) defeated Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman) to obtain a super-weapon called the "Kragle." Vitruvius warns Lord Business of  a prophecy where the "Special " will find the Piece of Resistance capable of stopping said Kragle. One day after work, Emmet comes across a woman, Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), who is looking for something at the construction site. Emmet falls down a hole and lands in front of the Piece of Resistance and upon touching it is shown visions and passes out. He wakes up in custody and begins to be interrogated by Bad Cop/Good Cop (Liam Neeson), a henchman of Lord Business, and finds out the Piece of Resistance is attached to his back. As Emmet learns of Lord Business' plan to destroy the world, Wyldstyle busts in and rescues him to take him to Vitruvius. Vitruvius explains that he and Wyldstyle are Master Builders, able to build anything that they need without instructions and with great speed. He also explains that in Lord Business' rise to power he captured a great many Master Builders. Emmet must become The Special, aka everything he thinks he's not, to stop Lord Business. With the help of Batman (Will Arnett), an anime unicorn kitten, Uni-Kitty (Alison Brie), a 1980-something Space guy, Benny (Charlie Day) and a pirate set out for revenge, Metal-Beard (Nick Offerman), they just may be able to save the world.

Ever since "The LEGO Movie" hit theaters this past Friday all I've heard is a steady stream of overwhelming positivity towards the film. The few negative thoughts center around the idea that this is just a giant commercial for LEGOs or that it suffers because of a lacking plot or story-line. I mostly don't agree with these sentiments, because for me this is a movie in the same vein as one I mentioned before, "Wreck-It Ralph." A movie totally based and made around video games. Just like "The LEGO Movie" is based in a world made of LEGOs. I did want to buy or play video games after "Wreck-It Ralph." The point of the film wasn't to sell video games though. "The LEGO Movie" is gonna want to make kids go play with what the just saw, sure. But, I highly doubt that anyone truly thinks this is a "100-minute commercial" for LEGOs. Especially when such a great a main point of the film, is to breakout of that norm and learn to harness creativity. Sure things get a bit convoluted when they are forced to use the instructions at one point to move onward, but in the overall scheme of things, "The LEGO Movie" wants you to breakout of that shell. I like that message in this film and in this day and age. Also the story is pretty okay to me. Sure it doesn't break any new ground, but it's one that really does work in a movie like this. A character who is ordinary, finds out that if he can go against the grain, he can be great. You don't have to be the strongest or the smartest to make an impact in everything going on. I liked the writing by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the same team that brought us "21 Jump Street" in 2012, and look to wow us again with it's sequel later this year. "The LEGO Movie" is a pretty well written story and has that great blend of both humor for adults and for kids alike. 

The animation in this is also pretty great. An almost flawless blend of CGI and stop motion using the LEGOs we all know about. The worlds are not only vibrant, but familiar if you've grown up at any point with LEGOs around your house. Beyond that they're brought to life you used to in your imagination as a kid. I loved being able to see what I did as a kid come to life, so nostalgia was a big part of this film for me. I touched on this a bit in the previous paragraph, but the humor is a great point in this film. Some jokes fall flat, but there's never a moment were a joke couldn't be put into a situation. Almost like "Family Guy" in the style of which the jokes were used, despite you know the movie having a semblance of a plot. Kids will love the humor and the adults will get more than just a few laughs throughout the viewing as well. Finally, we'll get to the character and voice acting, cause I thought they were all pretty good too. Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Morgan Freeman the rest of truly delivered performances fitting for each character. The voice cameos were fun as well as I want to give this a re-watch just to catch them all. While I love the voices, the characters were hit and miss. Emmet was great throughout, but I thought suffered from the fact he was very one dimensional, same could be said of a lot of these characters though. I liked Vitruvius as sort of the guide and teacher of the group, while Wyldstyle (she's a DJ right?) brought that over the top action into the mix. The supporting roles by Batman, Uni-Kitty, Benny and Metal Beard were fine as well as they all brought a distinct character into this diverse band of LEGOs saving the world. Lord Business was a good villain throughout and really captures the misinformed and crazed power hungry side of a bad guy well. While his main henchman, Bad Cop/Good Cop was a nice one. One that was not only was menacing, but that had some back story as well. All of this mentioned above is combined with a stellar soundtrack led by the song "Everything Is Awesome." Which you will know by the end of this film.

"The LEGO Movie" is one of those movies that's hard to hate. You could find faults in it all day, but I'd rather be the guy that lets my inner child take over when watching an animated film like this. This move looks great, the voice acting is done well and there's a bunch of humor (and emotion), all wrapped nicely in a fun little story. There's a major moment near the end that really did vault this from "only an okay" movie, to a great one in my eyes. Don't worry, I won't spoil it for you here. Even if you never played with LEGOs growing up and don't plan to start your collection now, "The LEGO Movie" is hard to pass up, as it's easily the best of 2014 so far.

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Her [A Fat Jesus Movie Review]

"Her" is one of those movies that clicks on every level. When I first heard about this Spike Jonze film, I was intrigued. A love story in which one character was on screen and one was off is a concept that is highly original. This cast is also loaded. Joaquin Phoenix leads a crew that includes Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara and Olivia Wilde. "Her" is easily my favorite movie of the year and Spike Jonze has made a film that tells quite a story, while hitting you right in your emotional gut.

"Her" follows the story of Theodore Twombley (Joaquin Phoenix), an introverted man who writes personal love letters for people unable to express it for themselves. He's become very lonely, as he about to become divorced from his childhood sweetheart, Catherine (Rooney Mara). One day, Theodore purchases a OS (operating system) with artificial intelligence designed to evolve like a human. Theodore decides to have his OS be a female and not long after he meets Samantha (Scarlett Johansson). They begin to bond through her going through his emails and learning about his personality. Beyond that they begin to bond through talking about life and love. One day, to get over Catherine, Samantha convinces Theodore to go out on a blind date with a woman (Olivia Wilde). The woman is a friend of Theodore's longtime friend, Amy (Amy Adams). The date goes well, but things don't quite mesh between the two when Theodore is faced with commitment. After the date, Theodore and Samantha begin to talk relationships and Theodore brings up how he briefly dated Amy in college. Each day Theodore and Samantha become more and more intimate. Amy mentions to Theodore that she is divorcing her overbearing husband, Charles (Matt Letscher). Then Theodore mentions that he is in fact dating his OS, Samantha. Theodore is finally in a place to get past his ex and Samantha is just the thing to give him hope in life.

"Her" is a movie that had me hook line and sinker from beginning to end. The direction and writing from Spike Jonze has garnered him a nomination for Best Original Screenplay, but it also put his movie in the mix for Best Picture. I'm glad that this film made the top nominations of the year. Not just because it was my favorite film of 2013, but because it's one of the few that truly deserved it. Every aspect of this film was great. You name it, it was fantastic. The writing and directing that I already mentioned, the acting, cinematography and the story. It's almost hard to pinpoint things because everything was so good. I guess that makes my job easy, but here are a few things that jumped out to me about this film. The story and writing are great. This is a love story yes, but one done is such an original way that you don't groan when you hear what the movie is about. A man, from the not so distant future, falls for an almost real being that happens to be his operating system. It does sound kind-of wonky, but it's done it such an intimate and emotional way, the wariness will leave you quickly. The writing is fantastic, especially considering a bulk of the dialogue is for a person, Samantha, you never see physically on-screen. Everything feels real, from the letters Theodore writes, you partially hear about, to the relationships between characters and then obviously the relationship between Theodore and Samantha. Being organic is a good way to get attention and add good to a film. It lets the audience connect, live and laugh over the course of the film. The characters make it easy to invest in them and you begin to empathize, and almost root for them, in way.

Let's not stop here, because this movie looks and sounds great. One of the things that hit me when I watched this, was that everything was futuristic, but didn't feel out of place. What I mean by that, is that it's obviously set in the future, but everything felt like it could happen. It's not going out of its way to throw flying cars and impossible inventions in just because it's set ahead of now. It feel like this is what the world could look like in 20 years, with things our grand kids could be using in everyday life. Speaking of, the few shots we do get to see as backdrops, of LA and Shanghai, are beautiful and really let you appreciate the visuals of this film. The score and soundtrack is great as well. It really immerses you in everything going on. Also, in case you hadn't heard, the signature song, "The Moon Song," was nominated for an Oscar as well. We'll finally get to the acting, as everyone was exceptional, and really brought this film to life. Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore was the anchor of this film. He embodies the Theodore and really does bring the character to life. The other big name that really makes this movie is Scarlett Johansson as Samantha. You never see her on-screen, but you can argue that without her vocal performance, this film wouldn't be as good.  Obviously this isn't an animated film, so you never actually see Samantha outside of a cell phone-like device or a computer. It's a wonder that Scarlett was able to give such a wonderful performance and I'm glad she got the role. Phoenix and Johansson are a great pairing and everything goes so smoothly. You get to see the friendship, the emotion, the awkwardness, the relationship and the hard times. At a lot of points in this film, you lose track that Samantha isn't real. You're so sucked in by the interactions between Phoenix and Adams, or Wilde or Mara. Even Chris Pratt , who only had a handful of lines, was able to bring his role to life and become memorable. Maybe it was the writing, maybe it was the actors themselves. I'm glad that everyone was completely on with Spike Jonze making "Her."

"Her" really is the complete film. I don't really know how much more I can say. This is the type of movie you watch, and fall in love with. Spike Jonze and anything and everything nominated from this film truly does deserve it. The acting, original writing, directing, look, sounds, characters are all great. "Her" is a movie that blends realism with emotion so well. If you haven't seen this yet, I highly recommend it. Even if you only look to watch the best films of the year, you must include "Her" in your viewership. You will not be disappointed.

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Zero Dark Thirty [A Fat Jesus Movie Review]

Okay so I really like Parks and Recreation and Chris Pratt, who plays Andy Dwyer, is one of the best characters on the show. So when I saw that Chris Pratt was featured prominently in the trailer I got excited. Also I really didn't mind the last Kathryn Bigelow movie I saw in The Hurt Locker. The action and writing was good in that, so I was kinda excited to see this movie. To say the least it was, less action filled, but pleasant surprise. 

Zero Dark Thirty's story starts two years after the September 11th attacks and follows the story of CIA officer Maya (Jessica Chastain). She has spent her brief career only following al-queda intelligence on their leader Osama bin Laden, when she is transferred to work with follow CIA member Dan (Jason Clarke) at the US Embassy Pakistan. Maya would often accompany Dan when he went and interrogated prisoners in his less than humane way. They trick one of their prisoners into telling them that a man named "Abu Ahmed" is working as a courier for bin Laden somewhere and also works with a man named Abu Faraj al-Libbi who is apprehended and interrogated, but tells nothing. By 2008, Maya is no longer the newbie officer she once was and in 2009 she lost her friend in the Camp Chapman attack. It's at that time Abu Ahmed is all but confirmed dead. But Maya may have incidentally stumbled upon evidence of who this mystery courier is and what may be the secret hideout the infamous Osama bin Laden is hiding. This may finally be the break Maya is looking for and this Navy Seal team, led by Justin and Jared (Chris Pratt and Taylor Kennedy , may be in the biggest raid of their entire lives.

Well for me this was more like a documentary, of sorts, turned into a feature film. So I kinda enjoyed the plot and story. I didn't know any of the details behind Osama's capture and death (or if some of this was fudged to make the movie more juicy, so to speak). I'm sort of the typical American when it comes to politics and these types of things. Chanting "USA", singing 'God Bless the USA' and kissing babies while waving a little American flag. Well, maybe not the last one. So the details behind everything was cool to see. The acting was pretty solid too, especially by Jessica Chastain and in the beginning part of the movie with Jason Clarke as Dan. Once the Navy Seal team came in as well there was a nice air of humor added into to this serious dominated movie. The music and score was a nice compliment and never detracted either. Out of place sounds and music drive me nuts. The cinematography in and around India where they filmed (to look like Pakistan) were very pleasing to look at as well. Always a plus for me.

There were some flaws in this though. The action, the trailer fully had me believing this movie was full of, was limited to the tail end of the movie. Sure there were covert chases, torture scenes and bombings, but I'm not counting them cause they were usually one time thing more than a scene itself. I will say though that the raid scene to end the movie was was one the coolest action sequences I've seen in awhile. Also this movie is one that felt long for me, and that's never a plus. I know we need to get every detail possible so the viewer isn't confused as to whats happening (and I wasn't), but it really did feel that more often than not that a scene was long or dragging. This is well over two hours, but for me felt longer than that. One more thing I did notice, while we were supposed to follow the story of Maya, Jessica Chastain's really the only person that really got a huge amount of range and character development. I mean Dan, Jason Clarke, did get a fair amount in the early going, but it dropped off considerably and I really felt like everyone that came on screen was almost "one off" and I never noticed them again.

All in all this is almost a story of two halves of a film for me. The beginning setting up was cool the see all the processes and time it took to gather the intel. With the end being actually getting the ball rolling and the awesome looking raid itself. The main, well character haha, in Maya was cool and the rest of the decent cast's acting followed suit. With the story, writing, filming and music all being good. I don't think it deserves as many Oscar nods as it's gotten. But that's just me. The few grips I had came with length and misinterpreting the trailer and hoping for more action, which can easily be looked over. This is a very well made drama-action hybrid, though it has flaws, with a nice story to tell.  Zero Dark Thirty feeds off our patriotism and makes us want to see the full story behind Osama bin Laden's death.

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