Fanboys Anonymous

Welcome to the latest edition of Making the Grade—a review format segment here on Fanboys Anonymous where we break down the five major components of something and give it a score based on the standard report card lineup: A, B, C, D, and F for a total failure.

The next report card is for the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) entitled Captain America: Civil War.

Captain America: Civil War—directed by Anthony Russo and John Russo; written by Christopher Markus (screenplay), Stephen McFeely (screenplay), Mark Millar (comic book), Joe Simon (characters) and Jack Kirby (characters); starring Chris Evans (Steve Rogers / Captain America), Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark / Iron Man), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow), Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson / Falcon), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier), Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton / Hawkeye), Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch), Paul Bettany (Vision), Emily VanCamp (Sharon Carter / Agent 13), Paul Rudd (Scott Lang / Ant-Man), Tom Holland (Peter Parker / Spider-Man), Martin Freeman, Chadwick Boseman (T'Challa / Black Panther), Don Cheadle (James Rhodes / War Machine), Daniel Bruhl (Baron Zemo), Frank Grillo (Brock Rumlow / Crossbones), Marisa Tomei (Aunt May) and William Hurt (General Ross).

STORY: B–

Admittedly, this is a little thin. The concept itself isn't bad by any means, and it makes perfect sense for this to be the logical next step, but it also makes the movie feel more like it's a means to bridge the gap between Age of Ultron and the future films rather than its own entity. Basically, the film boils down to 50% the culmination of things that were set up before and 50% setting up new things for the movies coming down the pipeline. That's all well and good, but if you strip those other movies away, this film basically comes down to a couple of chase sequences to capture Bucky, with less of the gravitas that Captain America: The Winter Soldier had. That, to me, is still the best film of the MCU. This story, on the other hand, is something that feels straight out of a comic. It was still super fun to watch it unfold, but I have to dock them a little bit for how basic it was.

CHARACTERS/ACTING: A+

Every character is as close to their comic book counterpart as they can possibly get while maintaining the differences that were created for the films. There isn't a lot to say if you've seen the other movies, because this shouldn't be a surprise to you, and you should know who these characters are by now, outside of some of the new ones.

Black Panther kicks ass. I was never a big fan of T'Challa all that much, considering him more of a cursory supporting character along the lines of Ant-Man and the other secondary heroes, but I'm definitely sold on him going forward. I don't like Tom Holland's Spider-Man as much as Andrew Garfield's, but I'm curious to see where they take this, and I think the end result will be good for sure. By the way, how hot is Marisa Tomei? Come on!

You've got to love seeing just the sheer number of characters in this. The universe is huge, and yet we still had room for Redwing! Disappointed in no Maria Hill or Nick Fury, though.

VISUALS (FX, MAKEUP, COSTUMES, SETS): B–

No complaints here. It's not going to beat out The Jungle Book at the Academy Awards, but the movie looks realistic in all the same ways we're accustomed with these films.

MUSIC & SOUND: C+

Nothing stands out all that much, but that also means nothing stood out in a bad way. I'll have to go back and listen to the score, although I didn't catch anything sounding as good as what Henry Jackman did in the previous installment.

TONE (ACTION, ROMANCE, COMEDY): A

ACTION: That airport scene was pretty damn sweet, wasn't it?

COMEDY: Marvel knows how to put jokes in their films without getting too jokey. No surprises in the good execution on this.

ROMANCE: Pepper Potts being written out of the movie was lame, and Sharon Carter being pushed aside was disappointing as well. The biggest romance was between Bucky and Cap, oddly enough, but it was cool to see Vision and Scarlet Witch start getting a little closer.

FINAL GRADE: B+

Very much in the same vein as Iron Man 2, this movie had a ton of heavy lifting that it needed to take care of, so if I can forgive Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice for similar flaws, I have to do the same here. Both movies are comparable in many ways, but the difference maker between the two is how Marvel's earned the right to have a setup movie now and again whereas DC is only in this boat because they're rushing. Also, Marvel films are just more entertaining overall because they're not so dour, and they do better service to the source material while still changing things up to fit their goals rather than altering things just for the sake of it. There are problems with this movie, and I think it's getting a little too much praise for what it's worth, but I can't dislike something like this just for feeling a bit thin on the story.

Welcome to the latest edition of Making the Grade—a review format segment here on Fanboys Anonymous where we break down the five major components of something and give it a score based on the standard report card lineup: A, B, C, D, and F for a total failure.

The next report card is for the 2016 remake of the Disney classic The Jungle Book.

The Jungle Book—directed by Jon Favreau; written by Justin Marks (screenplay) and Rudyard Kipling (book); starring Neel Sethi (Mowgli), Bill Murray (Baloo), Ben Kingsley (Bagheera), Idris Elba (Shere Khan), Lupita Nyong'o (Raksha), Scarlett Johansson (Kaa), Giancarlo Esposito (Akela) Gary Shandling (Ikki), and Christopher Walken (King Louie).

CHARACTERS: B

In a film like this, the characters aren't going to be exceptionally detailed and the stuff of Oscar material, so you take what you can get. The good animals are good, Shere Khan is a worthwhile villain for sure, and some personality is given to pretty much everything in the animal kingdom from the pesky little monkeys to the adorable little wolf cubs. Don't you just want to take one of them home and have it as a real pet? Don't you also never want to run into anything like King Louie in your entire life?

ACTING: B

Much credit is given to Neel Sethi for being able to pull off this movie on his own with nothing but green screen to work with. Child actors are very much either amazing or terrible and he's thankfully in the former's category. The voice acting is pretty spot on, with my favorite probably being either Ben Kingsley, who felt so natural in the role that I fully bought into him as a comforting character instead of something to be feared.

VISUALS (FX, MAKEUP, COSTUMES, SETS): A+

Everything is CGI, and yet there's a believable edge to it that made me not question it. Animals can talk now. That's just a thing I guess, right? Kudos to the team that pulled this off, because the environments shouldn't be glossed over just because the animals are sensational, and making a photorealistic jungle is an achievement on its own.

I still think we're a few years away from jaw-dropping, but this is one of the most impressive showings I've seen from something like this pretty much ever. I would rather see Disney focus their efforts on something like Aladdin next to allow just a little more time before we have a live action The Lion King come to theaters, which I'm sure will blow people away.

MUSIC & SOUND: B+

I was never the biggest fan of the songs as a kid, so seeing them cut down on them a bit here but still have some for those who were into it was a happy medium for me. They didn't annoy me, and I found them charming instead. Great marks for the sound, as I didn't pay any attention to it at all, which means it all felt natural enough that nothing stood out as weird.

TONE (ACTION, ROMANCE, COMEDY): B–

Disney films usually have a solid balance when it comes to tone, where the action was enough to keep the pace going and the comedy was enough to lighten the mood when things got too dark. This story lacks the romance angle (even more so than the original, as I could have sworn he at least meets a little girl in the animated film, but maybe I'm remembering that incorrectly). Seeing some kids in the theater get scared for the entirety of the movie hinders it a tad for me, as it is definitely marketed towards kids, but whatever, I had fun.

FINAL GRADE: B

I went into this not being a big fan of the previous incarnations and mostly just wanting to see what the visual effects looked like, but enjoying the movie enough to justify spending my money. This had enough of an edge to it that kept me from thinking that I was watching a kids film that was below me, but also wasn't too dark so as to bring the cynical side of me out. After watching Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and heading towards two more films that have some morose undertones (Captain America: Civil War and X-Men: Apocalypse), this was a much needed break with some levity. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in seeing it, as it will likely pay off for you as well.

Welcome to the latest edition of Making the Grade - a review format segment here on Fanboys Anonymous where we break down the five major components of something and give it a score based on the standard report card lineup: A, B, C, D, and F for a total failure.

The next report card is for the indie horror Green Room.

Green Room - directed and written by Jeremy Saulnier; starring Alia Shawkat, Imogen Poots, Anton Yelchin, Patrick Stewart.

CHARACTERS: B+

Some movies with ensemble casts don't bother with character development, but Green Room is different. For a big chunk of the movie, eight people are trapped in a small room, and while the action is intense, the audience doesn't get lost with who is who. We identify with the characters, specially the members of The Ain't Rights, and we want them to survive.

However, Darcy is probably the best character. He gives out orders to his hooligans with such calm and collectedness that we smell how dangerous he is. This man has done many "clean-ups" before and he gets away with it.

He is the perfect villain.

ACTING: A

It is no surprise Sir Patrick Stewart slays as Darcy, the leader of a white supremacist group. He is manipulative, powerful, and extremely creepy. But then again, we all know the man can act. Anton Yelchin and Alia Shawkat are also amazingly believable as members of the struggling punk rock band The Ain't Rights. As their day takes a turn for the worse, they behave as most of us would if we were trapped by Neo-Nazis: they make mistakes, they get hurt badly, they cry, they are terrified.

Imogen Poots is also fun as Amber, the slightly deadpan semipsycho member of another band. She delivers one of the most gruesome scenes in the movie, and her acting matches its intensity like a glove.

Nobody does a poor job in Green Room. This is the first movie Saulnier did not shoot himself, since he wanted to focus primarily on the actors and their performance. A winning choice.

VISUALS (FX, MAKEUP, COSTUMES, SETS): A

This movie is rich in texture. The sets are gritty, dirty, and completely authentic to the point it seems we are truly in an underground skinhead infested warehouse. The costumes are also perfect, but what truly shines in this category is the special effects.
The wounds and blood work in this movie is mind blowing. It is visceral, extremely realistic, and not for the weak. We are talking about gunshot wounds to the head, lethal dog bites to the throat, machete slashes and a lot more. It was delicious.

MUSIC & SOUND: A-

The music is as intense as the action in this movie. The soundtrack is filled with hard rock songs, some of which are original, and others are punk classics like Dead Kennedys's "Nazi Punks Fuck Off." It fits the movie, and you don't have to be a screamo fan to appreciate it.

TONE (ACTION, ROMANCE, COMEDY): A

This thriller-action-horror movie is an adrenaline rush. With a few jump-scares, this movie shines with its tension building and psychological warfare.

ACTION: Get ready to have your heart racing. The action in this movie is not for the weak, since it is covered in blood and gnarly wounds. You won't be seeing car chases, but you will get machete fights, dog attacks, bones breaking, and plenty of guns.

COMEDY: There are some moments of light comic relief like most horror movies, but no laugh-out-loud beats.

ROMANCE: No romance whatsoever in this movie. Thank the gods. The story doesn't ask for it or have room for it, so it was refreshing to see the director didn't try to force something odd down our throats.

FINAL GRADE: A

Green Room is quite possibly one of the most original indie horror movies to date. With rich aesthetic and interesting character development, it is hard not to appreciate this movie even if you are not a horrorphile. However if you are not used to extreme violence, this movie might be hard to watch. The special effects makeup department delivers amazingly realistic wounds and deaths and director Jeremy Saulnier makes sure you are at the edge of your seat the whole entire time. It is tense, gritty, and dirty. It was close to perfect and this Fangirl thinks you should watch it.

Welcome to the latest edition of Making the Grade—a review format segment here on Fanboys Anonymous where we break down the five major components of something and give it a score based on the standard report card lineup: A, B, C, D, and F for a total failure.

The next report card is for the latest film in the DC Extended Universe film franchise, entitled Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Fearing the actions of a god-like super hero left unchecked, Gotham City's own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis's most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it's ever known before.

STORY: A+

Basically, it's exactly what you expected from the trailers with no real surprises, but that's okay, cause the story works. It's a little thin in some areas, but since the movie is long, I'm expecting some of those elements to have been fleshed out more in deleted scenes. This movie had a cram a lot in it, and it could have been much more disjointed than it was, so I think they did a fine job balancing things out.

Batman's cynicism that he needs to stop Superman before he becomes the threat he could potentially be is totally within his character, as is Lex Luthor's jealousy and how everything comes together. I'm a big fan of how Lex was looking into the other metahumans and how that brought Wonder Woman into the fold, which allowed her to catch up to speed rather quickly. This is pretty much what I was hoping the movie would be when it was announced, outside of some details that I would have changed.

CHARACTERS / ACTING: B

This Batman is probably my favorite interpretation on the big screen now. He just kills this role both in the cowl and outside of it. Unfortunately, he also kills other people, which is totally against what Batman's code is. However, I was paying attention as closely as possible, and the majority of those times, Batman isn't actually killing someone. At times, though, it's hard to argue that he wasn't just firing bullets for the pure sake of permanently disposing of that particular enemy. As much of a Batman fan as I am, that bugs me, but since there wasn't a scene of him flat out murdering someone like back in the Tim Burton era, I'm willing to let it slide a bit. I was worried they were making him too old, but that didn't seem to be a factor, so I'm glad about that.

Superman is much more "Superman" than he was in Man of Steel, thankfully. Henry Cavill didn't have to change much about his portrayal, but the script needed to put him in the right direction to pull it off, and he did. I'm excited to see how he takes Clark to the next level in the future.

Wonder Woman was a surprise. Gal Gadot did a good enough job that I'm sold on her, although she was kept to a minimum in a lot of scenes, so it will be interesting to see how she handles more dialogue and character work than what happened here. I don't think she's the standout like others have said, but she worked.

I still don't like the casting of Amy Adams as Lois Lane. Really, that's all I dislike about that whole character from the first film and this one, and I think a different actress who is younger and has better chemistry with Cavill would do it better service, but I think she was a step up.

Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor wasn't as bad as I was expecting, but he still just was the wrong direction. This is 75% Lex Luthor and 25% "do you even know who Lex Luthor is?" I maintain that someone else who resembled the character more on a physical level should have been cast. Why is he not actually bald, too? Why do we always have a Lex with hair when the character is iconic for being bald? He isn't even permanently rendered bald in this, as they just shave his head! So dumb. I didn't hate this version of the character as much as I thought I would, but that doesn't mean I love it, either.

Speaking of that theme, Doomsday fits a similar mold. He shouldn't be radiating pulses of energy and he should have had more spikes. Bizarro could have been just as good of a villain, where he would be the corrupted version of Kal-El if they had used the birthing chamber (and Lex manipulated it for his purposes, of course) and it would have fulfilled a similar role in the movie. I'm okay with this version of Doomsday, but I'm also a little disappointed in it as well.

The Flash looks dumb. Ezra Miller was not the right choice. What's up with the facial hair and that armored suit?? Ridiculous.

Aquaman....meh. Kind of cool for a character I don't like. I've never liked how Cyborg is given such a big push with the Justice League and we're getting him but no Green Lantern, but his cameo was decent. KGBeast, cool. Mercy Graves was cool. Perry White was better this time around, as was the characterization of Jonathan Kent.

By the way, having Batman and Superman connect over the fact that their mothers are both named Martha? Some are probably going to think that's ridiculous, but I loved it.

As far as characters and acting goes, major points for Superman, Batman (minus the killing), and Wonder Woman, but points deducted for Lex Luthor and Doomsday as well as The Flash and Amy Adams.

VISUALS (FX, MAKEUP, COSTUMES, SETS): A

There's more color this time! Yay! No real complaints with the visuals on this one. The suits for Batman and Superman are the best on-screen versions so far (outside of Batman still having some issues turning his head). The special effects are on par with what I was hoping for, and none of it really looks fake. I could do without the Wonder Woman leaping forward shot being stylized the way it was, but it's not like that "bugged" me, either—it just isn't the choice I would have made. All in all, for the visuals, big thumbs up.

MUSIC & SOUND: C–

This is lacking a bit. We joked after watching the movie that every theme was basically BOM BOM BOM with drums except for Wonder Woman's, which didn't quite fit her at all in our opinion (our opinion meaning myself and 8 other people that I saw the movie with, so not just my own). I still think it's sad that we haven't had a theme for Batman that we could hum since Batman & Robin, even though I love Hans Zimmer's score for Christopher Nolan's films. This time around, I was hoping to get an actual theme and not just background mood music, but just as that happened with Man of Steel, we're seemingly sticking with the low key score.

TONE (ACTION, ROMANCE, COMEDY): B+

ACTION: Awesome in so many ways, but my favorite was Batman's fight at the end.

COMEDY: I smirked a few times, which is more than I was expecting. One or two more legit laughs wouldn't have hurt the movie, though, and I can see why some people are saying it's too morose.

ROMANCE: I still don't buy into the chemistry of Amy Adams with Henry Cavill, but their relationship was handled much better this time. There weren't any other romantic plots in this movie, so some points are docked.

FINAL GRADE: B+

This is FAR better than what I expected it to be, as I was nervous it would annoy me as much as Man of Steel did, but I ended up loving the majority of it. I think it's a fun ride that has a few bumps along the way, where my biggest issue is that they made some of the wrong choices with the direction they were going with the characters—namely this version of Lex and how they weren't more careful with Batman and his code of ethics as well as the look of Barry Allen. This made me more excited about the future of these films than before, and as long as they don't do something stupid like kill Dick Grayson off as the dead Robin or make Superman evil when he comes back from the dead, I think I'll enjoy Justice League.

Welcome to the latest edition of Making the Grade—a review format segment here on Fanboys Anonymous where we break down the five major components of something and give it a score based on the standard report card lineup: A, B, C, D, and F for a total failure.

The next report card is for season 2 of the Marvel television series Daredevil available on Netflix.

Daredevil Season 2—starring Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock / Daredevil), Deborahn Ann Woll (Karen Page), Elden Henson (Foggy Nelson), Elodie Yung (Elektra Natchios), Jon Bernthal (Frank Castle / Punisher).

CHARACTERS: A

There's not much to say about Matt Murdock that wasn't already spoken about the last season, as the character hasn't downgraded in the slightest bit. It's interesting to see him struggle this season with how he needs to be more reserved rather than as brutal as he was before. Of course, in comparison to The Punisher, Daredevil looks harmless.

Foggy gets to show off his intelligence more, to the point where I actually buy into him being a legitimate lawyer now. Last season, he was kind of a bumbling sidekick for a good portion of it, and although he wasn't an idiot and he eventually was instrumental in the case against Wilson Fisk, from the start of this season, he's clearly advanced in confidence and skill. I'm still glad he took a bit of a backseat, though, as I wouldn't have wanted much more than what we got out of him.

Speaking of taking a backseat, Karen Page may have had just a tad too many scenes over the 13 episodes of season 2. At times, I felt like she was sticking around just because she's a main character and not because the plot dictated that she appear. I'm also getting a bit sick of the "woe is me" act about her being a bad person. By the third or fourth time this was brought up, I wanted her to just get her comeuppance already. Karen fills that Lois Lane role where she digs up some stuff and eats up time looking into things that could have probably been accomplished much quicker. Having her as a journalist rather than a secretary for the majority of this season just made me want Ben Urich back rather than the tag team of Karen and Ellison.

The Punisher's story arc was my favorite of this season by far. The episode where Frank Castle has Daredevil tied up on the rooftop equals or surpasses the hallway action scene from last season for my favorite moments of the show's history. I loved the idea of the power struggle coming up from the vacuum left behind by Kingpin, whose appearance was greatly appreciated as well. This is definitely my favorite version of The Punisher so far and I want to see a spinoff series for sure.

The other major storyline was The Hand with Elektra and Stick. Admittedly, I was a bit disappointed that most of this was so simple as to just be "insert ninja fight" but that the more complex plot behind it all is still up in the air. I want some clarification as to what Black Sky really is, damn it! Stick is the man, Elektra is welcome back any time, but I'll be disappointed if The Hand alone are the sole villains of The Defenders.

Nice to see shout outs to Jessica Jones characters, the Stilt Man legs, Melvin Potter in general still being quite cool, and a decent use for Turk. No Bullseye appearance, though? Still? Very disappointed in that.

ACTING: B+

Everyone from the previous season matches up to what they were before, so let's just jump right into the two major newbies who are both fantastic.

Jon Bernthal is the best Punisher yet, hands down. Somehow, he was able to do the character justice when it comes to the hard edge brutality and also throw in some humanity. Over the course of the season, I found myself thinking he was legitimately insane, downright a villain, or the best hero of them all. As hard as it would be to cheer someone like this in real life, I was rooting for the guy so much more than the other incarnations.

And then you have Elodie Yung as Elektra, who is pretty much the total opposite of Jennifer Garner's version, thankfully. I buy into her being a foreign assassin instead of just some bored white chick from Oklahoma or wherever Garner is from. I feel like it's Oklahoma for some reason. Anyway, Yung provides another example of a character that I probably wouldn't like for real because of how murderous she is, but I actually liked. She's got that "bad girl" sexiness going on that I was digging a lot.

VISUALS (FX, MAKEUP, COSTUMES, SETS): A

For the limited budget that this show is working with, I don't remember a single time that I thought something looked cheap. I'm sure the sets are recycled, but they're redressed well enough that I couldn't pinpoint anything looking too similar. There aren't a lot of visual effects to be concerned with, the makeup for all the wounds is believable and the costumes are reminiscent of the comic book iterations while keeping them grounded in reality.

MUSIC & SOUND: C–

By no means is anything offensive to the ears with this show, but I'm not a huge fan of the main title sequence and it actually bugged me that Netflix didn't skip it like they did with Jessica Jones. Having to manually skip past that theme 13 times got frustrating, and nothing else stood out to me as a positive to balance it out. Stick's theme from the last season was probably my favorite track and I can't even remember that necessarily being too prevalent this time around (although I could easily be wrong about that and just didn't pick up on it as I was focused on the action). The sound is fine, but the music could use an upgrade.

TONE (ACTION, ROMANCE, COMEDY): A–

This is definitely the darkest that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has gotten so far when it comes to violence (with the sex aspect of the R-rating going to Jessica Jones of course, and I'm sure Luke Cage will push the boundaries for racial issues while Iron Fist will...uh...have glowy hands)

ACTION: Guns and ninjas galore. Sometimes, the stunt choreography got a bit fantastical with how Daredevil flips to kick so many people, but I'll allow it.

COMEDY: Not too much to laugh at here...

ROMANCE: Elektra is so much hotter than Karen, am I right?

FINAL GRADE: A

If you liked the last season, I can't imagine you'll be disappointed with this one. The weak point continues to be the need to keep Karen at the forefront instead of letting her take some time off like Foggy did this season, but by no means does this suffer from the same pacing and stretching issues that Jessica Jones did. This is a strong season that I highly recommend.

Welcome to the latest edition of Making the Grade - a review format segment here on Fanboys Anonymous where we break down the five major components of something and give it a score based on the standard report card lineup: A, B, C, D, and F for a total failure.

The next report card is for the sci-fi thriller and "blood relative" of Cloverfield entitled 10 Cloverfield Lane.

10 Cloverfield Lane - directed by Dan Trachtenberg; written by Drew Goddard and Daniel Casey; starring John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and John Gallagher Jr.

CHARACTERS: B+

Howard (Goodman) was definitely the best character. He was creepy and unstable, a solid combination for a psychological thriller antagonist. Michelle (Winstead) was very reminiscent of a young Ripley (Alien), determined and strong. Right away, she assumed the position of a fighter instead of slowly transforming into one, a welcomed choice instead of what we normally see in most thrillers or horror movies.

Emmett was a bit too monotone for me. Even when the stakes were high, he maintained a cool demeanor. A slightly strange choice for a supporting character in thriller.

ACTING: B+

John Goodman is the man. He is able to go from scary to vulnerable to homicidal with great believability. Mary Elizabeth Winstead held her own so she earns major props. John Gallagher Jr. felt a bit stale. Anyone could have played his part.

VISUALS (FX, MAKEUP, COSTUMES, SETS): B+

Every now and then I found the CGI to be a little bit shaky, but it might have just been the snob in me. Overall they did a good job, specially when it came to creature design. The creatures in 10 Cloverfield Lane bordered the line between the mechanical and the organic, which gave the flick a fresh and innovative look. Though we don't see the big Lovecraftian alien from Cloverfield in this one, the presence of tentacles and a octopus-like mouth on one of the flying beings allows us to deduce they are all in fact part of the same universe.

The makeup was also good. Nothing looked particularly bad and I appreciated the continuity of Michelle's pealing nail polish as the days went by.

Howard bunker was quite possibly one of my favorite aspects of Cloverfield Lane. Just like Howard's character, it had cold scary areas (like Michelle's room) and nostalgic bits like the jukebox and movie collection. It felt light at times and in the next second oppressing. Perfect.

MUSIC & SOUND: A

Sound design was really important in this film since Michelle's only connection to the outside for the majority of the story is based on what she hears. Music was also very entertaining and present in the movie, since Howard has a good old jukebox in his bunker. The rendition of Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now" was particularly cute.

TONE (ACTION, ROMANCE, COMEDY): A

This movie is a psychological thriller. Prepare to feel tense and uneasy for most of it.

ACTION: The final scenes are charged with action. Michelle needs to save herself from Howard and then from a force she does not understand. It definitely kept my attention and I was cheering for her safety and success.

COMEDY: There are some fun moments in this film and some non intentional funny ones, but comedy is not a major point.

ROMANCE: This is not a romantic movie, thank the gods. Though you will find interesting to know that the voice of Michelle's boyfriend is actually Bradley Cooper's.

FINAL GRADE: B+

10 Cloverfiel Lane is a successful movie. It plays with paranoia, murder, alien invasion, and survival. The characters (for the most part) are very interesting and likable, which allows for the story to be enjoyed even by those who are not big fans of science fiction.
I throughly enjoyed this movie and if you watch it, you won't be disappointed.

Welcome to the latest edition of Making the Grade—a review format segment here on Fanboys Anonymous where we break down the five major components of something and give it a score based on the standard report card lineup: A, B, C, D, and F for a total failure.

The next report card is for the long awaited film about The Merc with the Mouth, Deadpool.

Deadpool—directed by Tim Miller; written by Rhett Reese (screenplay), Paul Wernick (screenplay), Rob Liefeld (character), Fabian Nicieza (character); starring: Ryan Reynolds (Wade Wilson / Deadpool), Morena Baccarin (Vanessa), TJ Miller (Weasel), Ed Skrein (Ajax), Brianna Hildebrand (Negasonic Teenage Warhead), Gina Carano (Angel Dust) and Leslie Uggams (Blind Al).

CHARACTERS: B

Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool, aka the titular protagonist of the movie, is spot-on. Fans have been clamoring for this character to be brought to life on the big screen properly for years, particularly after the complete misstep of X-Men Origins: Wolverine's interpretation. Thankfully, there's nothing to fear here, as this is indeed the Deadpool we know and love from the comics. Anybody who was worried that it wouldn't be faithful has nothing to worry about, and I can't imagine any other team being able to pull it off as well as this team did.

Unfortunately, if I'm judging this movie based on all of the characters as a whole, I can't score it in the A-range. Everyone other than Deadpool is pretty thin. Sure, the characters work in their respective supporting roles, but they're so overshadowed by Deadpool that there's basically no meat to anyone else.
 For example, if you ask anyone that has just watched the movie what the name of Gina Carano's character is, they probably won't be able to tell you. It's Angel Dust. I'm pretty sure she's referred to as just "Angel" and only once in an offhand comment. The bad guys are just the bad guys, like out of some '80s action flick. I'm still really confused about the choice to add Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead into the movie as the two representatives of the X-Men branch, but I have no complaints about them in particular, as they were fun extra additions to throw into the mix.

This is a Deadpool movie where everyone's going to see it because of him, not because of anyone else, so it's somewhat excusable, but that's why it doesn't reach even an A– from me.

ACTING: B

As per usual with a superhero film, you're not going to see performances that will be hailed as Oscar-worthy outside of the extreme rare exceptions (Heath Ledger as The Joker being almost the only example) so you have to grade it on a sort of sliding scale.

Ryan Reynolds is the man, capturing the spirit of Deadpool better than anybody else could have done it. There's no doubt that he'll go down as one of the top 5 people to have fully embraced a character and translated it to film without changing too much or trying to put his own spin on it and thus, deviating from what the fans love.

T.J. Miller's Weasel left much to the imagination, sadly. This new version of Colossus is better than the Daniel Cudmore one (sorry dude, but maybe you can be Captain Marvel in the Shazam movie to make up for it, eh?) We don't see anything from Copycat, just her normal self, but I bought into the relationship between Morena Baccarin and Ryan Reynolds, so points go to both. Ed Skrein as Ajax is certainly just going through the motions, as is Gina Carano as Angel Dust. 

VISUALS (FX, MAKEUP, COSTUMES, SETS): B

Major points for the Deadpool costume looking just like it does in the comics, complete with the eyes. There needs to be more of a willingness to do this in comic book films instead of always cutting the eye holes out and ignoring the blank white slots.

If you really examine things, you can tell that this movie doesn't have the same budget as some other Hollywood blockbuster films, but that doesn't matter. What they have to work with, they pull off very well. Not once did I think to myself that the makeup for Wade's deformed body looked too unrealistic, nor was I spotting fake looking cardboard props or anything of the sort.

MUSIC & SOUND: A–

Very similar to Guardians of the Galaxy, this movie utilized old classic songs for laughs and will be revitalizing a lot of them on iTunes, I'm sure. I was also a big fan of the Deadpool theme song's lyrics.

TONE (ACTION, ROMANCE, COMEDY): A+

The tone of this film was the biggest thing separating it from normal superhero movies, so much so that it caused all of the delays. How could a comic book movie filled with graphic violence, language, nudity, and zany fourth wall breaks really have mass appeal?

Well, this movie accomplishes everything it set out to do in all of those regards, and it seems like audiences are loving it. The violence is a tad more restricted than I thought it was going to be, and surprisingly the romance has a bigger presence than I had predicted. The comedy is unlike any other superhero film that has come out, and you get a good feel of that from the opening credits to the very end post-credits tag.

FINAL GRADE: A–

Bottom line, you're going to love this movie or hate it. If it doesn't appeal to you, you won't get it, everyone else will look like complete idiots for being fans of it, and it's going to drive you nuts hearing about it for years to come. If this is your type of thing and you were interested in the character, you'll have a smile on your face for the entire time you're watching it.

Welcome to the latest edition of Making the Grade—a review format segment here on Fanboys Anonymous where we break down the five major components of something and give it a score based on the standard report card lineup: A, B, C, D, and F for a total failure.

The next report card is for a film which is getting lots of buzz right now and could potentially win the Academy Award for Best Picture very soon: The Revenant.

The Revenant—directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu; written by Mark L. Smith (screenplay), Alejandro G. Iñárritu (screenplay), Michael Punke (novel); starring Leonardo DiCaprio (Hugh Glass), Tom Hardy (John Fitzgerald), Domhnall Gleeson (Captain Andrew Henry), Will Poulter (Bridger), Forrest Goodluck (Hawk), Paul Anderson (Anderson), Kristoffer Joner (Murphy), and Joshua Burge (Stubby Bill).

CHARACTERS: C–

Our protagonist Hugh Glass is rather disappointing, not having much to him other than grunts of determination to avenge his son, Hawk, who is nothing much more than just "Glass's son who dies." By far, that's my biggest criticism when it comes to characters, as there should have been more there. In fact, nearly every single character is indistinguishable from the next, even if you look at their IMDB profiles. I can't tell you who Anderson, Murphy, or Stubby Bill were.

Bridger is a worthwhile supporting character and Henry is honorable enough that I liked him, but he didn't do a ton other than looking concerned. Again, underwhelming, even if I thought those characters were okay.

Fitzgerald, on the other hand, is great. He's the only one with more complicated motivations than pure revenge, he has the best dialogue, has the widest range of emotion and if this film weren't half his point of view, it would be a total drag.

ACTING: A

Leonardo DiCaprio does so well with so little in this that I really hope he does win Best Actor. To be fair, though, at this time we don't know who else is going to be nominated and I haven't seen a good number of the films getting attention (like Michael Fassbender for Steve Jobs) but I think Leo's competition is going to have to be pretty damn amazing to take this from him.

That being said, Tom Hardy steals the show. I actually think he's the better actor of the two in this movie, and by default, the best actor in the whole film. If he doesn't get at least nominated for Best Supporting Actor, that's a travesty, as he should possibly win it in my book.

Everybody else gets lots of credit for putting up admirable (albeit not memorable) performances in such harsh environments. That's a lot of dedication that I know I wouldn't be able to pull off.

VISUALS (FX, MAKEUP, COSTUMES, SETS): A+

Filming this movie in natural light and coming out with that result is absolutely amazing and worth of the A+ on its own right. This movie is beautiful and it even made me—someone who has no interest in nature and camping and whatnot—kind of wish that I could just sit by one of the streams for a bit, before inevitably wimping out because that's way too damn cold for me.

While the cinematography of the environment is virtually timeless, the makeup and the costumes and sets are all pulling the weight of bringing you into that specific time frame, and they all achieve that goal in spades. People are grimy and dirty and everything seems as harsh as it likely was.

MUSIC & SOUND: B+

There wasn't much music, but in this film, that was okay, as the silence spoke for it. Still, the lack of a memorable theme is a tad disappointing. Sound design is something that I've always said I'm not the most educated about, but I saw (I mean, heard) nothing that stood out to me negative about this movie and nothing that really made me wow. Perhaps that's another instance where it's best that I didn't notice a thing, as it means it was so believable that I just bought into it all happening for real.

TONE (ACTION, ROMANCE, COMEDY): A–

ACTION: If you go into this movie expecting it to be lots of explosions and fast-paced energy, you'll be disappointed, but you'll also be an idiot because it's not advertised like that at all. The level of action in this film is far above what it needed to do to tell the story and I dug it.

COMEDY: I might have chuckled twice or thrice, but I think one of those might have been at something obscure that I wasn't supposed to laugh at, like a random idiosyncrasy or a line delivered in a funny accent. This is definitely not a movie to see if you're looking for a pick-me-up.

ROMANCE: The love story in this movie wasn't so much a romantic one, but the love between a father and son/daughter, which were about as simple as they could get. The next closest thing was between Glass and his wife (or I guess Powaqa and those terrible French guys) and there's not much to say about that.

FINAL GRADE: A

So far, this is one of the best films I've seen in the past 12 months. I don't know if I'll be rooting for it to win Best Picture quite yet, as I need to see what it's up against, but if it did win, I don't think I'd be disappointed. There are definitely some flaws here and there that could be fixed to make this an absolutely amazing movie, but I'm still astonished by a good portion of what I saw. This is long and it's dour, but just because it doesn't wrap itself up in a neat little package to send everyone home smiling doesn't mean that it isn't good, or great. The best parts about this are easily the performances of Tom Hardy and Leonardo DiCaprio as well as the cinematography. Those factors alone mean this should get a recommendation to watch.

Welcome to the latest edition of Making the Grade—a review format segment here on Fanboys Anonymous where we break down the five major components of something and give it a score based on the standard report card lineup: A, B, C, D, and F for a total failure.

The next report card is for Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens.

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens—directed by J.J. Abrams; written by J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, and Michael Arndt; starring Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux), Carrie Fisher (General Leia), Lupita Nyong'o (Maz Kanata), Andy Serkis (Supreme Leader Snoke), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Max von Sydow (Lor San Tekka), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Gwendoline Christie (Captain Phasma) and Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker).

CHARACTERS: A

The new heroes added to the canon are much better than I was even expecting. Rey, Finn, and Poe are all different but find a way to be engaging. Easily my favorite of the bunch was Finn, whose story was also the most interesting in my opinion, along with him being the funniest. Rey's story is very similar to what we've seen before, but although this movie retreads familiar ground on many occasions, that's not something that particularly bugs me. Poe is just a stand-up good guy, and I'm loving the bromance between him and Finn. Oh, and BB-8 is absolutely adorable.

The villains, on the other hand, I felt underwhelmed about. Supreme Leader Snoke is going to need a massive upgrade in the sequel to be intimidating to me, and Hux needs to differentiate himself from Tarkin more. Captain Phasma needs to do SOMETHING, as she was utterly pointless in this movie. That was a huge disappointment. Kylo Ren is interesting, but in a weird way. I'm hesitant to buy into his character 100% until I see the direction they go in the future.

As far as the older characters that returned, they were handled very well. Give me some Lando in the next film!

ACTING: B–

You're never going to get Oscar-worthy performances in a Star Wars film, but everyone pulls their weight rather well here. Hat tip goes to John Boyega for being the best of them and really holding this film down, as well as to Harrison Ford for getting properly back into character instead of just playing himself. I think there's maybe a little bit of overacting on Domhnall Gleeson's behalf, and I didn't get a strong performance from Gwendoline Christie, who admittedly wasn't given anything to do. Still, hers is an odd case, as she was clearly cast for her height but doesn't seem imposing at all. We don't see her face, so her entire acting performance was her voice, and that wasn't distinctive enough or performed with any real moxie. It seems like they could have just redubbed her with someone else and used her as a stunt double—or, you know, given her at least one action scene to make her a decent character.

VISUALS (FX, MAKEUP, COSTUMES, SETS): A+

This movie is stunning. If it doesn't win the Academy Award, I don't know what could possibly trump it. Everything looks realistic and just so awesome.

MUSIC & SOUND: B–

I'm a tad disappointed when it comes to this music. Every film previously has given us at least one really distinctive theme that stands out and is memorable. Obviously, A New Hope has the bulk of it, while The Empire Strikes Back has the Imperial March and Yoda's theme and Return of the Jedi has the Emperor's theme and I'm particularly fond of "Into the Trap" as well. The prequels have "Duel of the Fates" in The Phantom Menace, "Across the Stars" in Attack of the Clones, and "Battle of the Heroes" in Revenge of the Sith, among others. Sadly, this movie doesn't have a standout piece. Having seen the film twice, I still can't remember any new themes—just the old ones. Did John Williams phone it in?

As far as sound goes, that was amazing, especially in IMAX 3D.

TONE (ACTION, ROMANCE, COMEDY): A+

Star Wars is back. This legitimately feels like a true sequel rather than some offshoot or a different direction for the sake of changing things up.

ACTION: Every action scene is exhilarating and quite literally my only gripe would be that I think the lightsaber duels could have used a little bit more of the prequel flair. I don't want them to be endless flipping for no reason, but I also don't want to see everyone so stiff. Still, it was awesome to see the Stormtrooper fight, and I enjoyed every set piece as far as action goes.

COMEDY: Surprisingly, I don't think there's a single joke in this that I didn't chuckle at. I do think there's a bit too much fan service for the sake of it and at times, it's a little overboard to throw a reference in just to pop the audience, but if you ignore the forced lines about the trash compactor and whatnot, the comedy is on point. In particular, Finn is such a great comedic character in the right way. My favorite joke of the whole thing is probably the quick exchange between Finn and BB-8 giving each other the thumbs up. It sounds so bland, but it ended up being a fantastic moment.

ROMANCE: These movies aren't ones that should focus too heavily on the romance, but it should still linger at least a little bit. With Han and Leia, that was good enough. With Finn and Rey, I was digging their budding romance. None of it felt forced and the dialogue wasn't hokey like it was with Anakin and Padme. Nicely done.

FINAL GRADE: A

I can nitpick different things about the movie, and I'm a little disappointed in how some things didn't measure up to what they could have been (namely the music and the villains), but all in all, this is an awesome entry in the series and a step in the right direction. By no means is this problematic on the scale of the prequels, so I'm super excited to see what comes next.

Welcome to the latest edition of Making the Grade—a review format segment here on Fanboys Anonymous where we break down the five major components of something and give it a score based on the standard report card lineup: A, B, C, D, and F for a total failure.

The next report card is for season 1 of Marvel's Netflix television series Jessica Jones.

CHARACTERS: C

There are three characters on this show that I was really into, but sadly only three: Jessica Jones, Kilgrave, and Luke Cage. They make up a triumvirate who balance each other out in a lot of interesting ways. On one side of this complex love triangle is Luke Cage, who is quiet, reserved, big, strong, and seemingly has a heart of gold—probably the best example of a moral compass as far as characters go. On the other side is Kilgrave, who is a more loud, flamboyant, wiry coward frequently referred to as The Devil (rather than his comic book namesake The Purple Man—a disappointment that nobody called him that).

In the middle of these two is Jessica, who is definitely heroic like Luke but has a dark side like Kilgrave. She's a snarky pain in the ass whom I know I'd hate to be around, yet she does the right thing time and time again. If you thought Tony Stark was stretching the limits of how much of a jerk a superhero can be, watch out for Jessica. She earns her hero cred, though, and just as much as she's an interesting foil to Luke Cage, I'm looking forward to seeing how she works with Daredevil later on down the line.

The other characters, however, are where this show falls by the wayside. At best, they're tolerable for a short amount of time, but nearly all of them are useless. In fact, I can't help but feel like the majority of them serve no purpose for the season other than to pad out episodes because the story was too thin to make 13 hours of content.

For example, what's the deal with the incest twins? Ruben was a sacrificial lamb that we didn't get to like enough to be sad to see die, as these two were presented as oddballs. His sister Robyn is a total annoyance who eats screen time just complaining. Did we need to follow that thread? Would we have lost anything to the story if neither of them existed?

Did we also need to devote so much time to Jeri Hogarth's divorce if it was all going to end up being a wash? Pam has no character other than being "Jeri's new fling" and both Jeri and her ex are just bitchy to each other. How much time was dedicated to Hogarth asking Jessica to get more dirt on Wendy all for this to end with it not mattering at all?

That's a recurring theme—that stories are dropped for an episode or two, drag on too long, and have too weak of a resolution.

Malcolm is a drug addict who gets over his addiction pretty damn fast, doesn't he? After that, he just stands around and looks worried. I can't even remember the older cop's name who is just a trope, being killed before his retirement. Then there's Will, who started off boring, became interesting, and then was tossed aside abruptly, making him amount to not much more than a distraction.

Trish Walker is a decent sidekick but doesn't match up to Foggy Nelson levels in comparison to the Daredevil franchise. My only real complaint about her is that her backstory is ridiculous and continues the trend of being superfluous. She's got spunk and I'm glad she survives, as I hope to see more of her, but not more of her bickering with her mom or any more references to the strange careers she's had, which I couldn't care less about.

And then there's Hope. This is a character who could have been much more useful, but while she kicks off the show's purpose in a lot of ways, she spends a lot of time sitting off on the sidelines doing nothing. It's a shame, as her story had untapped potential that may have smoothed the pacing a bit more with a rewrite.

ACTING: B

The two standouts here are Krysten Ritter and David Tennant.

The character of Jessica Jones is such a bitch and very abrasive, so in the hands of the wrong writers, directors, and actress, she could have easily become an unlikable protagonist, but Ritter pulls it off. Instead of hating her and rooting for the villains, I wanted to see her happy.

I'm not a fan of the Doctor Who franchise, so I didn't go into this with any particular bias for David Tennant beforehand, and I'm glad to say that he won me over from the very beginning. He's figured out a way to take a character who could be a monster and make him relatable just as Ritter did with Jessica. There are times where I pity him and wish to see him rehabilitated. The best part of the whole season, in my opinion, was the episode revolving around him learning how to be a hero instead of using his powers for evil. Kilgrave is one of the few villains from the Marvel Cinematic Universe who I feel lives up to the hype. He's twisted and extremely menacing, so I felt the tension and feared for everyone's safety. I'd put him on par with Wilson Fisk from Daredevil, if not above him.

Gender-bending Jeryn Hogarth was an interesting choice, but I get it. I like Carrie-Anne Moss in the role even if I don't think the writers made the character strong enough to properly utilize her. Hopefully, when we see her again, she'll have a better story.

I do like Mike Colter as Luke Cage, but I also have to acknowledge that I don't think he's doing anything special with the role that nobody else could have done. He embodies what I know about the character from the comics, so I'm cool with him going forward. The same goes with Rachael Taylor for Trish Walker, whom I'm admittedly not as familiar with as far as characterization, but I'm up for seeing more of her down the line as I liked her on-screen pairing with Krysten Ritter and bought into their friendship/sisterhood just as much as I believed Ritter's romance with Colter.

Everybody else? Meh.

VISUALS (FX, MAKEUP, COSTUMES, SETS): B

No complaints to me on this regard. It feels like this is in the same universe as Daredevil, so the continuity was maintained, which I'm happy about. Nothing negative stood out to me that looked fake or cheap.

MUSIC & SOUND: B

Most of the music went unnoticed to me, but I like the opening theme quite a bit. With Daredevil, I got sick and tired of hearing it over and over again, yet this one is more relaxed and enjoyable. It's also quite different from what the other themes for the MCU have been, and it suits the style of this noir detective tale perfectly.

TONE (ACTION, ROMANCE, COMEDY): B+

ACTION: I'm not sure how I should look at this, actually. On one hand, it's a superhero property, so action is one of its primary functions. However, this is not supposed to be something like The Avengers. It's a detective story, which is more about investigation than punches. I won't be too harsh, but I do have to say that it leaves much to be desired. Daredevil had that hallway fight sequence, but this doesn't have anything memorable. The fight with Luke was probably the best part, but most of the season was just watching Jessica break off a lock with her bare hands or casually jumping in or out of frame instead of flying. Those two things happened so often that I lost track while trying to keep count, and I wasn't impressed any time I saw it.

COMEDY: Is it wrong that I laughed quite a bit at what Kilgrave said and did? Am I messed up? Oh well. Considering the source material, comedy was never going to be the focal point, as the subject matter is just far too dark to make a laugh riot out of it. I did still laugh at times, though, so that's good.

ROMANCE: Rather than romance, this show is about sex, and while it's no porno, it's raunchier than I expected. It's actually rather nice to see this as a change of pace, as lust tends to be edited out of relationships in film and television. Jessica and Luke, for instance, love to fuck and get down and dirty when they're up for it, and it isn't masked in any kind of hokey "clutching the bed sheets in slow motion" fashion we're used to. Not much is off limits, as almost everything is either shown or implied, but I'm very thankful that one thing that was omitted was any rape scenes, as that would have just felt uncomfortable to watch.

FINAL GRADE: B

It may seem like I have a lot of negative to say, but in the end, I do recommend the show. Rather than genuinely disliking the things I criticized above, I more so feel a sense of disappointment, as I wanted this to be as good or better than Daredevil, but it just doesn't match up. The main story is incredibly interesting and the core trio of characters are a delight, but it's just the extra stuff that gets in the way.

Reducing Malcolm's role, abandoning Jeri's divorce angle, shortening Trish's backstory to only the elements that help establish Jessica's origin, completely eliminating the twins and not dragging out Hope's story as long would have helped trim the fat with probably half of the content. Theoretically, if those are 6.5 episodes freed up, that time could have been spent dedicated to expanding on Luke Cage, who I think might also not have 13 full episodes' worth of content.

While I can't help but feel that this dropped in quality from what came before it, I still do suggest Marvel fans check it out. It's something different and there are some great things that are worth struggling through the bad to experience.

Welcome to the latest edition of Making the Grade—a review format segment here on Fanboys Anonymous where we break down the five major components of something and give it a score based on the standard report card lineup: A, B, C, D, and F for a total failure.

The next report card is for the 24th film in the James Bond film franchise, entitled Spectre.

Spectre—directed by Sam Mendes; written by John Logan (screenplay and story), Neal Purvis (screenplay and story), Robert Wade (screenplay and story), Jez Butterworth (screenplay), Ian Fleming (characters); starring Daniel Craig (James Bond), Christoph Waltz (Oberhauser), Léa Seydoux (Madeleine Swann), Ralph Fiennes (M / Gareth Mallory), Monica Bellucci (Lucia), Ben Whishaw (Q), Naomie Harris (Moneypenny), Dave Bautista (Hinx), Andrew Scott (C), Rory Kinnear (Bill Tanner) and Jesper Christensen (Mr. White).

CHARACTERS: A–

One of the things that I enjoyed immensely about this movie was how much of a callback it was to previous films in the franchise. After Skyfall, it seemed like we were getting back to the core cast, as we now have M, Q, Moneypenny, and Tanner to round out the MI6 team. However, this film took that to the next level, giving us the classic powerhouse henchman Hinx, who evokes memories of Jaws, Oddjob, and others that came before him. We have Ernst Stavro Blofeld and the S.P.E.C.T.R.E. organization, which was sorely missing. Lucia's role is one we've seen many times before, as the woman who despises her criminal husband and leaks information to Bond in exchange for one night of fiery passion. Madeleine Swann handles herself well but doesn't upstage Bond in any way, which is a great mix of wanting to get away from the frankly sexist portrayals of women in the past while also not forgetting that 007 is our hero, not the Bond girls. Max Denbigh is a true sniveling twit that you see working alongside the villains all the time. This movie nails the tropes of Bond characters one after another.

ACTING: B

Bond films are never the absolute strongest when it comes to acting, as there isn't much of a range to play around with. You're never going to get Oscar-worthy performances out of anything that happens in any of these films, no matter how iconic a certain character might be. Basically, it has to boil down to whether you believe these actors were cast correctly for the characters they were putting up on the screen within the 007 universe.

In my opinion, yes, they were. When he was originally cast as James Bond, I thought I would hate Daniel Craig, but I've warmed up to him. Still, I've never felt that he was fully the character until this film. Christoph Waltz is such a perfect choice for Blofeld that I'm even willing to admit I was wrong when I said in the past that this was Kevin Spacey's part to play. Monica Bellucci is super sexy and Léa Seydoux has a different sort of charm about her that I found intriguing. Our supporting cast all have their fun moments as well. I'm warming up to Ben Whishaw's nerdy pushover Q and Naomie Harris's resourceful Moneypenny very much, as well as the take Ralph Fiennes has on M as a more hands-on boss.

VISUALS (FX, MAKEUP, COSTUMES, SETS): B+

Sets were beautiful, visual effects didn't stand out to me as odd in any way, the costumes were distinct for each location (particularly the opening sequence) and I'm digging Blofeld's scar. Well done.

MUSIC & SOUND: B+

"Writing's on the Wall" is not as good as "Skyfall" in my mind, but it's a damn good entry in the pantheon of Bond themes. One of my complaints about Skyfall's soundtrack was that Thomas Newman—a composer who has done many scores I absolutely love—didn't match up to David Arnold's from the past. I still maintain that Arnold is better, but I wasn't taken aback as much this time around by what Newman had to offer. Perhaps he's grown more comfortable or just made some different decisions. Until I've re-listened to the score isolated and on its own, I should reserve some judgment, but as far as first impressions go, I have no complaints.

TONE (ACTION, ROMANCE, COMEDY): A+

ACTION: The action this time around felt more about the intensity than it did the stunt work, but that's not a complaint. The car chase was a lot of fun in particular, and I loved the fight inside the train, which may not measure up to the one in From Russia With Love for the people who can't let go of the nostalgia, but I feel it was on par.

COMEDY: I can't think of a single time that I was supposed to laugh in this film but didn't. Granted, nothing was an uproarious belly-laugh, nor did I have tears in my eyes from chuckling so hard, but the Bond films aren't comedies to begin with. This was a nice balance.

ROMANCE: Admittedly, Bond's seduction of Lucia felt a bit rushed, but I found his relationship with Madeleine to be pretty interesting. The idea of Bond shacking up with someone from a psychiatric background brings a new dimension to a Bond girl relationship that we haven't seen before. Oddly enough, though, my favorite part of the romance in this film was the connectivity regarding Vesper Lynd and even M (although that's a mother/son relationship rather than a romantic one). The flirtatiousness between Bond and Moneypenny was something that I had fun with, too, as that's a staple of the franchise.

FINAL GRADE: A

While I certainly expect no major attention from the Academy Awards, I do think Spectre is in my top favorite films of the year. As a huge Bond fan, this movie was just served up on a platter for me to have fun with. All of the references to previous aspects of the franchise made me grin from ear to ear, and the opening gun barrel alone got me to literally jump out of my seat a bit with excitement. There's no way I couldn't love this film, so I recommend it wholeheartedly for serious 007 fans. That being said, the friends I saw this with aren't nearly as into the series as I am, and they still enjoyed it, so don't feel as though you have to have seen the previous 23 films and read all the books to like it. We started off this year with a great spy movie in Kingsman and we're ending it with another in Spectre. Sam Mendes, you better do another one of these!

Welcome to the latest edition of Making the Grade – a review format segment here on Fanboys Anonymous where we break down the five major components of something and give it a score based on the standard report card lineup: A, B, C, D, and F for a total failure.

The next report card is for Eli Roth's most buzzed about gore fest, entitled The Green Inferno.

The Green Inferno – directed by Eli Roth; written by Guillermo Amoedo and Eli Roth; starring Lorenza Izzo (Justine), Ariel Levy (Alejandro), Aaron Burns (Jonah), Kirby Bliss Blanton (Amy), Magda Apanowicz (Samantha), Ignacia Allamand (Kara), Daryl Sabara (Lars), Nicolás Martínez (Daniel), Sky Ferreira (Kaycee), Ramón Llao (Bald Headhunter), Antonieta Pari (The Elder).

CHARACTERS: C–

The characters in the movie are not very fresh. Justine (Izzo) is the naïve virgin freshman whose wits are incredibly questionable. Who in their right mind would go to the jungle to try to get close to a guy who treats you like crap? Really. The only time I was able to truly connect with her was when the Peruvian militia had a gun pointed at her head.

Alejandro (Levy) is the leader of the activist group. I feel as though Roth wanted to create an unlikable character for Alejandro, and he picked every single douchebag cliché in the book. He uses people, does not care for anyone but himself, and masturbates while held captive by crazed cannibals. As one should.

Jonah (Burns) is falling for Justine. He is one of the activists, the only black character, and—surprise!—dies as soon as they get to the village. In my opinion he was the most likable character.
Kara, Lars, Daniel, Amy, and Samantha are other activists, with almost zero character development. They are just there to fill in space and add more victims to the headhunters' list.

ACTING: D–

Oh boy, where do we begin? The acting in this movie is bad. Really bad. The only reasons I did not give it a F were the natives' performances and the scene where the students are captured by the headhunters. It is important to note that the headhunters and tribesmen were actual locals who  decided to participate in the movie. In fact, Eli Roth has said in many interviews that villagers approached to be extras in the film had "never even seen a movie and had no concept of what one was." So Roth hosted a screening of 1980's Cannibal Holocaust, which the villagers thought was a comedy.

Let that sink in. People with no concept of what a film is did better job than the actors.

The real actors in this movie got on my nerves. They were laughable, and not in a good way. There were moments where I just wanted the cannibals to eat them already and move on. They only did a good job when they were screaming and panicking, other than that they were unrelatable and stiff. With that said, the movie is basically gore porn, so I was not expecting any tour de force when it came to acting.

VISUALS (FX, MAKEUP, COSTUMES, SETS): C+

Since the movie was shot in the middle of the Amazon forest, the sets were beautiful and textured. The headhunters' village was particularly very interesting and seemed to borrow many aspects of real tribal living (minus the cannibal part).

The special effects makeup in this film was reminiscent of Hostel. Lots of blood, bodies getting torn apart, eyes getting popped out of their skulls, etc. However, since all the action happened in broad daylight, some of the gags felt a bit gimmicky.

The makeup done on most of the natives was interesting, but the choices made for The Elder were not that great. I felt I was looking at Jack Sparrow's senile grandma, who happened to buy one white contact lens at a local Halloween store.

On the other hand, the CGI (computer generated image) is bad. From the ants used in a torture scene to lounging jaguars, the effects felt amateur at best. They actually reminded me of those Syfy movies about giant crocodiles fighting off anacondas. I am still debating if the CGI was worse than the acting.

MUSIC & SOUND: B+

As any horror fan can tell you, sound can make or break a movie. The Green Inferno makes use of great sounds to complement its carnage, upping the effectiveness of grossing out the viewers. In no moment did I feel it was overdone or overwhelming.

TONE (ACTION, ROMANCE, COMEDY): C

Heavily inspired by Cannibal Holocaust, Roth tried to go to a gory extreme. If you are a horror fan and gore porn connoisseur, you will not be super impressed. The gore can definitely affect some people but felt cliché. Although this movie is a horror movie, it is not really scary. Its intent is to gross the hell out of your pants and see how much you can take.

ACTION: Plenty of scenes of escape attempts and people running. The scene where the airplane crashes was probably the best of the film.

COMEDY: The acting was so bad at times, I laughed hard. If you have a deranged sense of humor you might also laugh at the extreme gore and antics of the headhunters. I know I did. However, be warned: you will most likely not get good belly laughs out of this one. Some chuckles, maybe.

FINAL GRADE: C–

If you like gore porn, you might enjoy this film. Yes, I said might. It is definitely not the best Eli Roth movie, and I do have to say I was disappointed. The Green Inferno has a slow start and tones of expository dialogue that make scenes drag much longer than they should.

The main characters only arrive in the Amazon at the 45-minute mark, and the movie failed to get my heart thumping any faster after that. Yes, the gore was entertaining, but that was it.

Welcome to the latest edition of Making the Grade—a review format segment here on Fanboys Anonymous where we break down the five major components of something and give it a score based on the standard report card lineup: A, B, C, D, and F for a total failure.

The next report card is for a film based on the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, entitled Everest.

Everest—directed by Baltasar Kormákur; written by William Nicholson and Simon Beaufoy; starring Jason Clarke (Rob Hall), Josh Brolin (Beck Weathers), John Hawkes (Doug Hansen), Robin Wright (Peach Weathers), Michael Kelly (Jon Krakauer), Sam Worthington (Guy Cotter), Keira Knightley (Jan Arnold), Emily Watson (Helen Wilton), and Jake Gyllenhaal (Scott Fischer).

CHARACTERS: B+

Let's get one thing out of the way first. Everest is based on John Krakauer's Into Thin Air. The book is Krakauer's account of the events that transpired when he joined Rob Hall's Adventure Consultants group to summit the mountain. The movie is pretty faithful to the book—the biggest difference being that it focuses more on Hall than on Krakauer.

Rob Hall, chief guide and owner of Adventure Consultants, is leading a summit attempt and the stakes are high: not only does he have a magazine writer on his team detailing the endeavor, the mountain is experiencing an extremely crowded season, and the previous year he failed to take his clients to the top. He needs to make this work. At home, his wife is carrying their first child, and he knows he needs to be back for her birth as well. With all his responsibilities, Hall is a kindhearted leader, which in many other instances would be an absolute strength, but when it comes to climbing the highest mountain in the world, it will be a death sentence.

Beck Weathers, family man from Texas, feels he needs to climb the Everest. He is tough and sometimes obnoxious but is likable just the same. His good physical condition is his savior, and before you start complaining he could not have survived in real life, shut up. He did, and he suffered everything that was shown in the movie.

Doug Hansen, a mailman who has tried to conquer the mountain before, wants to get to the top to inspire kids. He wants them to see that even a "normal guy" can achieve the impossible. Doug stole my heart in the book and in the movie. He is a good guy you want to see succeeding, but he is not in great shape and the audience is left knowing something bad will happen to him.

John Krakaeur, a writer for The Outsider magazine, seems to be the only one to follow his instincts. His friendship with Doug is downplayed in the movie (probably because they ran out of time) and Michael Kelly does a fine job portraying him.

Scott Fischer, Mountain Madness guide, competes with Hall, but soon decides to team up to avoid more problems while attempting the summit. He is a party dude who has a serious problem with knowing his limits. His intense need to keep pushing it is his downfall.

ACTING: B

With a cast filled with well-respected actors, it is hard to imagine the acting would be bad in this movie. It is not. In fact, I truly believed I was watching the real-life characters I had read about in Into Thin Air. Clarke and Hawkes truly shined in particular. They were vulnerable and very faithful in their portrayal of Rob Hall and Doug Hansen, at least based on the book.

Robin Wright (Peaches Weathers), though only a supporting character, brings warmth and relatability as the wife of true Texan Weathers (an entertaining Josh Brolin). If anything, I wished she had more screen time, but that could easily just be my House of Cards–thirsty self.

VISUALS (FX, MAKEUP, COSTUMES, SETS): B–

The visuals in this movie are breathtaking to say the least. Although I'm not particularly fond of the whole IMAX 3D experience (sue me) I am glad I watched this movie under these conditions. The CGI and digital sets were so seamlessly integrated to the movie's physical aspects, I had a hard time trying to figure out what was real and what was not. Yes, the incoming storm was a bit heavy, but I have never—and will never—climb a mountain like that to know how storms behave in really high altitudes. Overall, they did a really amazing job.

The makeup was also well done. The frostbite and the various degrees of wind burn were delicious. They looked real and gnarly without venturing into gory movie territory. The work done on Beck was faithful to all the injuries the real Beck suffered.

I believe costuming this movie was somewhat of a challenge to the production. How can you have characters covered from head to toe in extreme weather gear and still allow the audience to tell them apart? Though I have to confess I caught myself trying to guess who was who at certain points, especially when most of the characters had their faces covered with oxygen masks, my questions were easily answered by the acting.

In my mind, the costumes were still a success because they did not fall into the trap of designating one specific color to every single character, which would have made them look like mountain-climbing Power Rangers.

MUSIC & SOUND: A–

By no means I am an expert in sound design, but I truly feel the sound mixing and music in this movie were special. The ice cracking, the wind, and the storm made me feel I was there climbing the mountain and that made me anxious, just like the characters were feeling. I tend to be somewhat sensitive to sounds, which made me a bit nervous about watching this movie in IMAX, but I was not overwhelmed (in a negative way) in any moment. Yes, I got startled a couple of times and felt my heart beating a bit faster, but that was probably the filmmakers' objective.

TONE (ACTION, ROMANCE, COMEDY): A–

Suspense and tension shroud this movie just like the mountain's shadow hang around Beck's mind for years. This is not for the faint of heart, and it almost feels like a documentary reenactment at times, especially if you read the book, which I highly recommend as well. That aspect, however, is not a negative in any way. Movies based on real-life tragedies should be treated with some respect and authenticity. Everest does it.

ACTION: Attempted rescues, ice breaking, ladders sliding...this movie is filled with suspenseful action. The characters are not action heroes, however, and they make mistakes along the way just as their real counterparts did.

COMEDY: There are some lighter moments where one might crack a laugh, but this is not a funny movie.

ROMANCE: Nothing overwhelming (thank the gods). We get a glimpse of Hall's and Beck's family lives and their relationships with their wives. The love they share is established and feels real. No complains.

FINAL GRADE: B+

Everest is a solid man-versus-nature movie. The fact that it is based on real events just makes it more intense and allows the audience to connect with characters on a more personal level. We care for these characters, and it hurts us when they fall prey to the mountain.

With that said, if you like movies with a happy ending, this is not for you. Most characters die in horrible ways, and sometimes you don't even get a chance to say your goodbyes. However, anyone who watches the trailer and has seen movies like The Perfect Storm will be able to tell that men who challenge nature hardly ever leave as the winner.

Watch this movie in IMAX if you can and bring a jacket. You will get cold.

Welcome to the latest edition of Making the Grade—a review format segment here on Fanboys Anonymous where we break down the five major components of something and give it a score based on the standard report card lineup: A, B, C, D, and F for a total failure.

The next report card is for the story of Irish mobster James "Whitey" Bulger and FBI agent John Connolly, entitled Black Mass.

Black Mass—directed by Scott Cooper; written by Mark Mallouk (screenplay), Jez Butterworth (screenplay), Dick Lehr (book) and Gerard O'Neill (book); starring Johnny Depp (James 'Whitey' Bulger), Joel Edgerton (John Connolly), Benedict Cumberbatch (Billy Bulger), Dakota Johnson (Lindsey Cyr), Peter Sarsgaard (Brian Halloran), Jesse Plemons (Kevin Weeks), Adam Scott (Robert Fitzpatrick) and Kevin Bacon (Charles McGuire).

CHARACTERS: A–

This is a little weird, as it's an ensemble cast which really ends up being a one man show. Obviously, James Bulger is the main driving force of the film and is given the bulk of the characterization, but John Connolly's life is followed in the narrative as well, allowing both the mafia side of things and the FBI's perspective to all get a chance to play. There's also this weird dynamic where nobody seems like a good guy, but you also kind of root for everyone, too. Some characters obviously were more fleshed out than others, and I would have liked some more information on what happened with Dakota Johnson's Lindsey Cyr, a little more elaboration on Juno Temple's Deborah Hussey and some others, but I feel there was a good balance overall.

ACTING: A

Despite how there were big names that popped up and I recognized here and there, only for a split second did I think to myself "oh hey, that's Benedict Cumberbatch" as opposed to thinking of these characters on screen as the actors themselves. Everyone pulled their weight and I can't really point out a single bad performance whatsoever.

Needless to say, the true star of the movie is Johnny Depp, and this is my favorite performance he's put on in years. He went into a rut where it seemed like all he was interested in portraying was effeminate and usually gothic Tim Burton characters and once you've seen Edward Scissorhands and Pirates of the Caribbean, you've already exhausted all avenues of that well, I feel. This was a change of pace where I felt like he was back to his roots of being a legitimate great actor, sinking his teeth in a role that was a little different and required a lot of effort. I would not be surprised whatsoever if he's nominated for an Academy Award.

VISUALS (FX, MAKEUP, COSTUMES, SETS): C–

Obviously, a movie like this doesn't have extensive special effects for action sequences or anything too elaborate as far as costumes and sets go, but that's not why I'm docking it some points. Honestly, I felt like the makeup used for Depp was distracting at points and seemed a little over the top and fake. Also, I couldn't tell much of a difference between the time periods. Over ten years goes by and I recall thinking to myself "wait, why does everything and everybody look exactly the same as they did in 1975?"

MUSIC & SOUND: C–

As I've stated in pretty much every edition of Making the Grade, I'm not the guy to be calling out sound design flaws and as such, I essentially think that something is a pass if I don't notice anything weird. For an example of a fail, check out Interstellar. However, I do feel underwhelmed with the overall audio. This movie struck me as the 2015 edition of GoodFellas or The Departed and both of those films have recognizable songs or a distinctive score. This doesn't. Nothing was offensive, but I can't tell you anything about the audio in any capacity outside of one of the songs used in the trailer, which of course doesn't have anything to do with the finished product of the film as a whole.

TONE: A–

If you're into mobster movies and things like the two films I just mentioned above, you'll feel at home with Black Mass as it is just as heavy as those. There were scenes that were played for laughs and got some genuine chuckles out of me. There were deeply dramatic scenes that hooked me into the moment. Everything was treated in earnest and I got exactly the type of movie that I was expecting to get when I saw the trailers.

FINAL GRADE: B+

This was one of the better films that I've seen this year, overall. It's not absolutely perfect, but it delivered in every way I was expecting it to, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre. Strong performances and an intriguing story make this something that I endorse, even though I don't see myself ever necessarily watching it again as the running time felt a too little long to want to sit through again, even though I'm glad that nothing more was cut as that could have hurt the film.