Director Spotlight of Mel Gibson

        Continuing the Director Spotlight segment we'll spotlight the man who has brought us some of the most controversial film of all-time as well as some off screen controversy , Mr.Mel Gibson. I'm going to give you his filmography, my top 3 favorite films of his and his future projects. So without further ado...

Mel Gibson's Filmography

Year	Film	Rottentomatoes.com Score
1993	The Man Without a Face	67%
1995	Braveheart	78%
2004	The Passion of the Christ	49%
2006	Apocalypto	65%
2016	Hacksaw Ridge	86%

Top 3 Favorite Films

1. Braveheart

2. Hacksaw Ridge

3. The Passion of the Christ

Mel Gibson's Awards & Nominations

Year	Award Type	Film	Win/Nomination
1995	Academy Award for Best Director	Braveheart	Win
2016	Academy Award for Best Director	Hacksaw Ridge	Pending

Future Films

TBA- Berserker

        So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of Mel Gibson's career and who would you like to see me spotlight next? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                                         Jonah Sparks

My Review of Fist Fight

        So I recently watched Fist Fight and I'm here to bring you my review. So without further ado.......







        On the last day before summer vacation, high school teacher Andy Campbell (played by Charlie Day) tries his best to keep it together amid senior pranks, a dysfunctional administration and budget cuts that threaten his job. Things go from bad to worse when he crosses Ron Strickland (played by Ice Cube), the school's toughest and most feared teacher. When Strickland gets fired, he challenges Campbell to a fight after school. As news of the showdown spreads like wildfire, poor Andy desperately seeks any way out of his date with certain doom.

     

        This might be the least funniest comedy film ever made. On paper the film has a very simple and predictable premise that should have some success, but overall not be a great film and that's exactly what this film is. Charlie Day and Ice Cube are great comedic actors and putting them in a film together is a great idea and it shows in the film as when they are onscreen together, they have amazing chemistry and every joke between them hits like it is supposed to. Other than that, the rest of the film as a whole is just terrible. Nothing else in the film seems to flow well and when Ice Cube and Charlie Day aren't on screen together and are off doing their own separate thing, nothing they do is funny which is mainly due to the rest of cast not being funny at all. In surprising fashion Tracy Morgan had so many awkward moments that it made it very painful to watch him every time he came across the screen. The same can be said for Jillian Bell who has been in some really funny movies as of late and she's done well in them, but this isn't one of her finer performances. Overall this film isn't funny outside of when the two leads are on screen together and the film suffers from a very boring, unoriginal and predictable plot. I give Fist Fight a 2.5 out of 10.

        So ladies and gentlemen what did you think of Fist Fight, what would you rate it and what did you think of my review? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                           Jonah Sparks

Weekend Box Office Review 2-17-17 to 2-19-17/ Weekend Preview

        Here are the weekend domestic box office results for the weekend of 2-17-17 to 2-19-17 as well as my 5 key takeaways, as well as my predictions for the top 5 films at the box office this weekend. So without further ado...

Box Office Totals courtesy of boxofficemojo.com

TW	LW	Film	Studio	Weekend	# of Theaters	Total Domestic Gross	Weeks
1	1	The Lego Batman Movie	Warner Bros.	$32,655,114	4,088	$97,221,428	2
2	2	Fifty Shades Darker	Universal Pictures	$20,276,260	3,714	488,972,715	2
3	-	The Great Wall	Universal Pictures	$18,469,620	3,326	$18,469,620	1
4	3	John Wick: Chapter 2	Lionsgate	$16,216,961	3,113	$58,409,044	2
5	-	Fist Fight	Warner Bros.	$12,201,873	3,185	$12,201,873	1
6	5	Hidden Figures	20th Century Fox	$7,218,957	2,217	$142,710,787	9
7	4	Split	Universal Pictures	$7,159,970	2,445	$123,725,500	5
8	6	A Dog’s Purpose	Universal Pictures	$5,713,775	2,400	$50,829,285	4
9	8	La La Land	Lionsgate	$4,590,758	1,587	$133,594,824	11
10	-	A Cure for Wellness	20th Century Fox	$4,356,941	2,704	$4,356,941	1

1. The Lego Batman Movie continues to reign supreme at the box office by claiming the number one spot for consecutive weeks. 

2. Eventhough it had a pretty disappointing domestic opening weekend, The Great Wall had great foreign numbers, but it'll be a tough road ahead to make back its budget. 

3. Despite horrible reviews, Fifty Shades Darker is on pace to match Fifty Shades of Grey in worldwide box office numbers. 

4. The biggest loser of the weekend was Fifty Shades Darker as it made 56.5% less than it did last weekend and there was no biggest winner of the weekend.

5. I went 5 for 5 on my predictions. 

Predictions
1. The Lego Batman Movie $23 Million
2. Get Out $17 Million
3. Fifty Shades Darker $14 Million

4. The Great Wall $10 Million
5. John Wick: Chapter 2 $8 Million

        So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of this weekend's box office totals and what are some of your takeaways? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                           Jonah Sparks

My Review of The Great Wall

        So I recently watched The Great Wall and I'm here to bring you my review. So without further ado...







        When a mercenary warrior (played by Matt Damon) is imprisoned within the Great Wall, he discovers the mystery behind one of the greatest wonders of the world. As wave after wave of marauding beasts besiege the massive structure, his quest for fortune turns into a journey toward heroism as he joins a huge army of elite warriors to confront the unimaginable and seemingly unstoppable force.

       

        This film is just utterly horrendous. At first glance this film has a very interesting premise and if executed well could help bring attention to a lot more foreign films. However the addition of Matt Damon to the film makes the film terrible and it really is pretty distracting. Now granted had Matt Damon not been in the film, then it probably wouldn't have gotten made and his star power is what helped the budget go up and to help get the film released. The story mainly focuses on him and it shouldn't have when you have some very capable Chinese actors that could've carried the film. The first 20 minutes of the film are pretty interesting and it helps you get into the film and it leads you to believe the film is going to be like that the entire time and then after those 20 to 25 minutes, the film goes down hill. It gets to be very sloppy and everything becomes muddled. One thing that everyone wants to know about is what the monsters look like and are they really good looking and to be honest they look like monsters created in the late 1990's and they are so bad the Godzilla from 1998 looks more revolutionary than the monsters do in this film. Zhang Yimou is a marvelous director and the films in his filmography are films that everyone should she just simply because they are so mesmerizing and beautiful and it feels as if this film was a little to ambitious for him and maybe he just needs to stick to much smaller films where he knows he can have a lot of success. Overall this film lacks story depth and the characters are bland and boring, Matt Damon is the biggest distraction in the film and it might have better served the film had he not been in it, the visual effects look choppy and sloppy enough to maybe pass for 1990's standard effects. I give The Great Wall a 2 out of 10.

        So ladies and gentlemen what did you think of The Great Wall, what would you rate it and what did you think of my review? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                           Jonah Sparks

My Review of John Wick: Chapter 2

        SO I recently watched John Wick: Chapter 2 and I'm here to bring you my review. So without further ado...







        Retired super-assassin John Wick(played by Keanu Reeves)'s plans to resume a quiet civilian life are cut short when Italian gangster Santino D'Antonio (played by Riccardo Scamarcio) shows up on his doorstep with a gold marker, compelling him to repay past favors. Ordered by Winston (played by Ian McShane), kingpin of secret assassin society The Continental, to respect the organization's ancient code, Wick reluctantly accepts the assignment to travel to Rome to take out D'Antonio's sister (played by Claudia Gerini), the ruthless capo atop the Italian Camorra crime syndicate.

       

        If you are into hardcore action films with a lot of violence, then this is the film for you. John Wick was the surprise success of 2014 and not only did it show that fabulous action films could be made, it showed us that Keanu Reeves is back and here for good. In this film it ramps up the action and the body count to such high levels that the enjoyment of the film gets better as you go through it. The film does a great job of taking what the first film presented with this underground crime world and the filmmakers were able to expand upon it and even show that this just isn't in America and in fact is a much bigger syndicate. Being able to continue to build upon what has come before is a hard task to do in a sequel, but even with the world-building done in this film, there is much more to the story to tell that this franchise could go on for 3 or 4 more films. The acting isn't all that great, but when it comes to these films the acting goes out the window and the action and violence clearly make up for the lack of great performances. There are also some pretty predictable parts that are very easy to pick out and you expect it to be predictable when again most of the film gears towards the violence and action. One of the best parts of the film is newly welcomed addition in Lawrence Fishburne and his role is very minor in the film but will become even larger in the next couple of films. Overall this film isn't as great as the original, but it continues to expand upon the mythos of this universe and provides tons of action and violence to keep you on the edge of your seat. I give John Wick: Chapter 2 a 9.5 out of 10.

        So ladies and gentlemen what did you think of John Wick: Chapter 2, what would you rate it and what did you think of my review? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                           Jonah Sparks

My Review of Fifty Shades Darker

        So recently watched Fifty Shades Darker and I'm here to bring you my review. So without further ado...







        When a wounded Christian Grey (played by Jamie Dornan) tries to entice a cautious Anastasia Steele (played by Dakota Johnson) back into his life, she demands a new arrangement before she will give him another chance. As the two begin to build trust and find stability, shadowy figures from Christian's past start to circle them, determined to destroy their hopes for a future together.

       

        This film might be the most incoherently structured and pointless film ever made. Look if we were to compare films, then this film makes the first film look like a masterpiece. This film has no basic structure to it whatsoever and honestly it seems like a child put the whole thing together. E.L. James had the gall to come out and force the studio to get rid of director Sam Taylor-Johnson and screenwriter Kelly Marcel because the previous film didn't live up to her expectations so she deicdes that it's in her best interest to get her husband to write the film and to get James Foley who has made one great film in his entire career (Glengarry Glen Ross) and that was back in 1990. E.L. James has to be the most oblivious person in the world and in fact who honestly thinks her husband is going to say no to her when it comes to script? As for the film itself the structure is so poor and the script itself makes this film feel more like a comedy than a romance film which is not something that you want your film to do, Performance wise if Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan were smart they would go ahead and get out before the next film starts productions because this will be a huge black mark on their careers, but they've made it this far so I guess this next film might be the last of their careers. The one thing that really just doesn't make any sense about the film is one little scene and if this spoiler territory I don't care because this film doesn't deserve any special treatment. Christian Grey goes missing after his plane crashes it's shown on the news to Anna and her friends and they hold out hope he his ok. The very next scene is Christina walking into apartment like nothing happened. Also the crazy ex-girlfriend has two scenes in the film and doesn't make any impact at all on the film as a whole. Overall this is easily the worst film of the year so far and unless something more utterly ridiculous comes out, then this will be at the top of the list for the worst film of the year. I give Fifty Shades Darker a 0 out of 10.

        So ladies and gentlemen what did you think of Fifty Shades Darker, what would you rate it and what did you think of my review? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                          Jonah Sparks 

Weekend Box Office Review 2-10-17 to 2-12-17/ Weekend Preview

        Here are the weekend domestic box office results for the weekend of 2-10-17 to 2-12-17 as well as my 5 key takeaways, as well as my predictions for the top 5 films at the box office this weekend. So without further ado...

Box Office Totals courtesy of boxofficemojo.com

TW	LW	Film	Studio	Weekend	# of Theaters	Total Domestic Gross	Weeks
1	-	The Lego Batman Movie	Warner Bros.	$53,003,468	4,088	$53,003,468	1
2	-	Fifty Shades Darker	Universal Pictures	$46,607,250	3,710	$46,607,250	1
3	-	John Wick: Chapter 2	Lionsgate	$30,436,123	3,113	$30,436,123	1
4	1	Split	Universal Pictures	$9,525,935	2,961	$112,498,205	4
5	4	Hidden Figures	20th Century Fox	$8,002,670	2,667	$131,454,920	8
6	3	A Dog’s Purpose	Universal Pictures	$7,271,430	3,025	$42,501,105	3
7	2	Rings	Paramount Pictures	$5,649,575	2,931	$21,321,861	2
8	5	La La Land	Lionsgate	$4,943,811	2,065	$125,954,156	10
9	10	Lion	The Weinstein Company	$3,950,610	1,337	$30,236,332	12
10	7	Sing	Universal Pictures	$1,703,625	1,479	$265,408,620	8

1. The Lego Batman Movie surprisingly took over the number one spot this weekend and upsetting Fifty Shades Darker.

2. Speaking of Fifty Shades Darker, compared to Fifty Shades of Grey, it made $39 million less than its predecessor did which isn't good for the franchise with one more film to be released. 

3. John Wick Chapter 2 had a really solid opening weekend boding well for a third installment in the franchise as it more than doubled what John Wick made in its opening weekend

4. The biggest loser of the weekend was Sing as it made 58% less than it did last weekend and the biggest winner of the weekend was Lion as it made 5.1% more than it did last weekend.

5. I went 2 for 5 on my predictions. 

Predictions
1. The Lego Batman Movie $30 Million
2. Fifty Shades Darker $22 Million
3. The Great Wall $19 Million

4. John Wick Chapter 2 $13 Million
5. Fist Fight $10 Million

        So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of this weekend's box office totals and what are some of your takeaways? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                           Jonah Sparks