Casual Fridays are upon us again! and this week we have a two-for! Jupiter Ascending starring Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis, Eddie Redmayne; and Seventh Son starring  Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore, Jeff Bridges. I had a fun time with both films, but lets check it out a little more see if it’s worth you’re hard-earned simoleons.

Jupiter Ascending

The story centers around the story of a woman named, Jupiter Jones (…), who leads a very boring  and worked filled life cleaning homes with her family for a living. Ever fascinated with the stars, she works with her cousin in an attempt to cash in on growing market of artificial insemination by selling her eggs for $10,000. Her wish is to buy a telescope to view the heaven as an attempt to reclaim a piece of her father who was taken from her life before she was even born.

Her chance to reclaim some sort of peace in a life she hates so much is thwarted when an attempt to take her life is made, and she discovers we’re not alone in the universe. With the help of a mysterious warrior, she uncovers why it is a wealthy and ruling galactic family wish to see her dead.

First Impressions

I was very pensive when I first heard about this film. I haven’t been able to see Foxcatcher, which I’ve heard positive things about, but I’m still very hesitant to take Channing Tatum seriously as an actor. I’ve considered him better in his more buddy comedic roles (21 &22 Jump street), dancing movies (Step up) or when he’s a secondary or background character (Coach Carter). I feel as though in his more dramatic roles he tends to be a bit deadpan, and he’s doesn’t look necessarily challenged portray another character in his films. It’s just Channing Tatum in whatever movie he’s doing at the time. The same character. The same performance.

I haven’t seen a lot of Mila Kunis’ roles. The work that I have seen is Max Payne (which really was a horrible film in the case of story and writing), her voice work on Family Guy as Meg, and That 70s Show. She always appears to me as the same person in her roles, but under different circumstances as if to say she approaches it by asking herself how would I have turned out if these series of circumstances had happened to me?

When I heard the Wachowski’s were behind this film, I was interested to see how it would turn out, because I loved the Matrix Trilogy (Even the last two films). I had heard bad reviews for their Cloud Atlas film, but I was still with them because of the whole universe they created with the Matrix.

After the Film

Honestly, I set the bar low on the film because of the stars headlining the film, but I really enjoyed this one. I feel like they made good use of Tatum’s stoic performances by making his character a hunter and warrior. He lacks emotional range because the character required that. So Tatum’s M.O. worked in his favor for this film because it didn’t depend so much on his acting ability as it did his physicality. I don’t know who Tatum’s agent is, but this person needs an award, a raise, or a memorial for being able to keep getting this guy the opportunities he’s afforded. Sure, there are tons of potential if he developed certain skills, but I have yet to see it and hope it takes before X-Men: Apocalypse comes out. Don’t want to see a deadpan Gambit on-screen. I can do without that.

Mila Kunis did a good job as Jupiter. I liked the character because she was never gave off the feeling of being a victim. She was a survivor in the film and tenacious. There are moments where you think she’s going to break but she really handles business in the film, and her character really keeps pushing even when things look their worst.

The supporting cast was filled with incredible talent. Sean Bean, Eddie Redmane, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Douglas Booth. I feel like they were grossly underused.

Visually, the film was amazing. I loved the blending of styles in this film that took shape. Jupiter Ascending felt more like a Steam-punk-anime-space-odyssey film more than anything. There were gorgeous area shots that were reminiscent of Guardians of the Galaxy. All of the action sequences were adrenaline pumping. My favorite scenes in the movie are the ones that involve gravity surfing and dog fights.

Overall this film was par for the course for me dramatically, with gorgeous visuals. I’d probably advise you see it once and catch a matinée. Set the bar low though.

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Seventh Son

Young Thomas is apprenticed to the local Spook (wait a minute… let me finish. Spooks are the name of a warrior line that fights against evil spirits and witches) to learn to fight evil spirits. His first great challenge comes when the powerful Mother Malkin escapes her confinement while the Spook is away. (IMDB)

First Impressions

This movie has had an interesting road to its debut. Originally this film was supposed to come out, I believe, 3 or more years ago, but had been persistently delayed for some reason or another. When I first saw the trailer I was interested in the fact that it was a sword and magic movie that was starring Ben Barnes. I enjoyed Barnes in Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and was looking forward to seeing what else he could do. Alas, the movie had been delayed and my patience began to wane. I was wondering if the film was ever going to come out.

As the movie release came closer, I started to dislike the fact that Jeff Bridges was putting on some kind of accent reminiscent of Bane from The Dark Knight Rises. The longer I waited the lower the bar went.

After the Film…

I felt the film was meh. It felt like something that really should have been released on Netflix. Spending money for the ticket was regrettable. The graphics were ok, but the story could have used a bit more working out. It wrapped almost abruptly with really no resolution of Jeff Bridges character. The movie didn’t do a good enough job of making me like the universe that I was in. I’m glad that ending was final. I don’t think I need to come to this world again.

Overall, it’s watchable but not for the price of a full ticket. Take a matinée if you just want to watch a movie. Really… it’s not that serious though.