Growing up, I was a fan of the book series, A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket. So, when I found out Netflix was developing a series based on it, I was immediately interested,
The series follows the Baudelaire orphans, three children who lose their parents and are chased by the sinister Count Olaf, played excellently by Neil Patrick Harris. The first season is based on the first four books, on a strict schedule of two hour-long episodes for each book. I think that this is a good schedule, giving each book what could be considered a movie length adaptation. The series stays very faithful to the source material, even including the humorous dedications at the start of each book, but also includes many story-lines that were not included in the original series.
This show does a great job of capturing the darkly comedic tone of the books. It is shot in a very Wes Anderson-ish way, which adds a colorful feel to the dark story. And there are plenty of good silly jokes, even some that happen at the darkest moments.
Also, the characters are portrayed very well. While the child actors playing the Baudelaires acting may fall flat at times, the adult actors bring a colorful and energetic performance to all the characters. Neil Patrick Harris's performance sticks out in particular. He gives an energetic and fun performance as Count Olaf. Over the course of the season, Olaf wears many disguises, playing different characters, which Harris is able to do with ease.
In conclusion, this is a faithful and highly entertaining adaptation of the popular children's book series. It may be somewhat aimed for children, but I could see it being enjoyed by adults just as much. Though not all of the jokes hit, there are a lot of good ones with great delivery. This is essential for fans of the books.
All right, now it's time to look toward all of the bad movies of this year.
Now, I just want to say that there is a chance that some of these movies may be good. I haven't seen Ouija: Origin of Evil yet, but I've heard enough good things about it to know I was wrong to put it at number two on this list last year. This is just the list of movies that I have the least faith in. And if you're looking forward to any of them, then good for you. Don't let my opinion ruin your excitement. I'm just some guy on the internet with nothing better to do.
So without further ado, let's get into this thing.
10. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter Trailer The Resident Evil movies has been pretty cheesy from the beginning, and it's final installment probably won't be much different. The reason this movie ranks so low on this list is because it might become a guilty pleasure for me.
9. Friday the 13th
And so we get yet another Friday the 13th reboot. This is the thirteenth installment in this horror franchise which had run out of steam a long time ago. After almost thirty years, I think it's time to lay this franchise to rest.
8. Saw: Legacy And now we come to yet another horror sequel nobody asked for. Despite the statement that 2010's Saw 3D would be the last one, Hollywood is still eager to squeeze as much money as they can out of this dead franchise. I have never been a fan of this franchise's brand of torture based horror, even though I liked the psychological horror of the original movie. This movie will probably follow the sequels' formula of violence over terror, despite how the horror audience's tastes have shifted. So this is another horror franchise that needs to be laid to rest... again.
7. Power Rangers Trailer
Power Rangers is a show that does not hold up well, watching it as an adult. However, I do believe that a reboot might have worked, if it was aware of the show's campy nature, and focused on being fun. But this movie intends to take a darker, more serious tone. As a result, the trailer for this movie looks very dull, and almost like the much hated Fantastic Four reboot.
6. Captain Underpants I'll admit I was a fan of these books as a kid. But I am highly skeptical that they could work as a film. I feel like they worked best as short chapter books aimed mostly at children, rather than a full length animated movie aimed at families. I mean, if it wasn't for nostalgia, would you be eager to sit through a children's movie called Captain Underpants?
5. Amityville: The Awakening Trailer
This movie was also on last year's Least Anticipated list. You see it was originally set to be released last year, but it's release was pushed back to this January, and later to the summer. In addition to this, it wasn't even originally supposed to premier last year either. It was first set for release in the January of 2015, as the linked trailer says, but was pushed back multiple times. That is over two years this movie was delayed. In the movie business, this is a bad sign. Oh, and it's also an unnecessary sequel to a badly received horror remake.
4. The Nut Job: Nutty By Nature This sequel to the crappy 2014 family film. I'll admit to having not seen the original, but the bad reception of it is enough for me to be disinterested.
Another reboot of the popular 80's cartoon, this time completely animated. While I'll admit this looks better than the previous two movies, I have never been a fan of The Smurfs, and probably will never see this.
Yo, what up! I'm a Hollywood executive, and I'm down with the young ones! I know kids love emojis, so we got emojis! We have an entire movie about them! Come see it! It will make you LOL, and say OMG and... a bunch of other things that kids say these days! It's radical!
It was very difficult to decide which would get the top spot between this and The Emoji Movie. However, I had to go with this one, because despite how dreadful The Emoji Movie looks, I think that it could probably still entertain better than this one. This will probably be another equally plot-less, poorly acted piece of garbage. The books' main appeal lies in the sex scenes, which are certain to be toned down in the movies to keep an R-rating. This will probably be one of the worst movies of the year, and it is definitely my least anticipated film.
This is my first post in over a year. I have decided to start posting again, and will update at least once every two weeks in 2017. And I will start with the list of my most anticipated films for this year.
Now, this list is made up mostly of blockbusters, mostly because that's mainly what I hear about most often. There may be a few smaller movies that belong here, but I have not heard of them yet, and I don't know what they are. So, without ado, here are the movies that I am excited for right now.
10. Blade Runner 2049 Trailer
The long belated sequel to the sci-fi classic. Harrison Ford is set to reprise his role, and Ryan Gosling will also have a starring role. Ridley Scott, director of the original, will only be an executive producer, and the role of director will go to Denis Villeneuve, director of Arrival. This probably won't live up to the high standard set by the original, but I'm sure it will be a great movie nonetheless.
Christopher Nolan directs this World War II film, based on a true story. I like Nolan as a director, and would like to see what he could do with a war film.
8. Logan Trailer
Logan is set to be the last time Hugh Jackman will play Wolverine, and this looks like a fitting send-off for him. If the trailer is any indication, this movie will be a much different tone than any other superhero movie, and I am eager to see how it turns out.
The Lego Movie was surprisingly one of my favorite movies of 2014. This spinoff will feature Will Arnett reprising his role as Batman, with Michael Cera as Robin, and Zach Galifianakis as the Joker.
6. Alien: Covenant Red Band Trailer
Ridley Scott goes back to directing his iconic horror franchise. This film is set after the events of Prometheus, but will focus on the xenomorphs from the original film. The trailer looks effectively creepy, and I am excited to see this.
5. Kong: Skull Island Trailer
King Kong isback and in another movie. However, this is a much different Kong than you're probably thinking. He is much taller, made this way to face Godzilla in the upcoming Godzilla vs Kong. While this could be just a cash grab, I think that this would still at least be a fun movie to watch.
4. Kingsman: The Golden Circle Kingsman: The Secret Service was a surprise hit, and a movie that I really enjoyed watching. This sequel will have Colin Firth reprise his role, despite the original movie's ending, and will also feature Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges, Juliane Moore, Halle Berry, and Elton John. I would love to see it if it could recapture the energy and humor that made the original great.
3. War for the Planet of the Apes Trailer
The third movie in the Planet of the Apes prequel trilogy. The first two delivered a great balance of action and emotion, and I am hoping that this one will keep up that tradition.
Guardians of the Galaxy was one of the better flicks in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The trailers suggest that this movie might retain the humor and excitement of the original, and could be one of the most fun movie of the year.
1. Star Wars: Episode VIII I didn't want to place this at number one, considering the fact that I place a Star Wars movie at the top of all my Most Anticipated lists. However, I feel like I would be wrong to put any other film here. I am interested in how the story will continue after The Force Awakens, and want to see more of the action that only Star Wars can deliver.
And those are the movies that I am most looking forward to in 2017. I will also make a Least Anticipated list, so you can look for that within the next few days. Until then, I wish you all a good 2017.
