Maskerpiece Theatre

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Arrival - Box Office Review

I walked into the theater knowing absolutely nothing about this film. I had read a few tweets celebrating the story and the originality but beyond that I was clueless what I was about to get into with my ticket purchase. So let’s dive in and take a look at my thoughts of “Arrival” in this box office review…

I was pleased with the casting of this film. When your four leading talents are Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Michael Stuhlbarg and Forest Whitaker you can safely assume the acting will be enjoyable. It was. Each character played a completely unique voice as all four work together to try and figure out the sudden arrival of alien ships on the planet Earth, each with separate purpose and motivation. As per usual, Renner had the comic relief bits to provide some levity to an otherwise thought provoking examination of how communication matters and why proper communication is essential. This film explores what it means to share thoughts and concepts, the value in sharing and why what is perceived could be misleading with misinformation.

The story, overall, was not all that challenging. It’s plot is fairly simple. Aliens land, we need to figure out what they’re saying, some humans act crazy, communication and understanding saves the day. Not all that interesting when broken down in that manner. However, the language the aliens use was brand new. In fact, the movie goes as far as to calculate the language in mathematical terms to try and decrypt the symbols to better understand their meaning. The details of this story are what shape the concept into something special and worthwhile. This would be the second science fiction film this year I’ve seen and reviewed that was not overly special effects heavy, the first being “Midnight Special.” The attention to detail in character development, tone, story and look make this film a must see for science fiction fans and for those of us who also love thought provoking drama’s.

“Arrival” is in theaters now! I recommend this film to most everyone. It’s well told and it keeps you thinking. I won’t go as far as to say you must see this on the big screen but I will encourage you to. This is an original story that isn’t a reboot, a sequel or filled with comic book characters. I’m not knocking those types of movies because I’ve been enjoying most of them. I just talk to movie goers and they seem to voice their frustrations with how many theaters are filled with those types of movies. So, if you’re one of those folks then you need to see this in theaters and support originality, whenever done well. “Arrival” was done well. If you wait for Redbox or VOD, it’s still worth your time.

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Act 186: Who Wants Some ZWAAG?

Bryan Vanderzwaag, the founder of the Zwaag Bag joins Masked Blogster, Mandy and GloryHoundd in this episode that talks about a subject near and dear to Blogster's heart: Subscription Boxes.
"Zwaag Bag's Comic Book Swag Bag comes every month with a T-shirt, at least one comic book, and $40-$50 of total swag guaranteed! We choose a theme, and curate a package based on that theme, working with the hottest new artists and toy companies to bring you something new every month."
This is a great service and Bryan has a special giveaway for those that listen to this podcast(while supplies last, so get on it!). Promo Code: TEEME

To listen, click here. To download, right click and "Save As..."

Follow Maskerpiece Theatre:
Website: abnormalentertainment.com/maskerpiecetheatre
Facebook: /MaskerpieceTheatre and Fan Page
Twitter: @MPTheatre2015 -Masked Blogster @MaskedBlogster -Mandy @moviefreakgirl -Handsome J @jbrunansky -Matt @MpTheatreMatt
Instagram: maskerpiece_theatre
Pinterest: /abnormalpodcast/maskerpiece-theatre/

Maskerpiece Theatre is sponsored by MoviePass. See unlimited movies at a theater near you for a low monthly rate.

You can also support our show on our Support Us page.

Friday, November 18, 2016

Trolls - Box Office Review

Dreamwork’s took a shot at making a musical animated film in a time where we don’t see many musicals on the big screen. There’s plenty of song and dance shows on television but we don’t see many musicals on the big screen right now. So let’s dive in a take a look at my thoughts on “Trolls” in this box office review…

This film was made for kids, plain and simple. The bright colors, the hurried pace of the film, the basic plot and the overly exaggerated characters on screen are all visual candy for kids if all my years of watching movies and having been a kid once myself are any indicators. The songs explore relationships, adventure, celebrations and sorrow very broadly expanding the universality of this film. You don’t have to be a troll with magic hair powers to relate to the songs these characters sing because they’re relatable to any age beyond 5 years old and that plays to the strength of this film.

The voice talent in this film isn’t necessarily voice actor talent as much as popular names that are recognizable. I don’t recall the majority of the actors being actual “voice actors” but just actors or singers, which is fine. After all, this is geared for children so they really only need to take a vintage toy line with popular current names and make it seem both fun for the kids and identifiable for the adults taking their kids which I feel they accomplished. This was just a fun film that didn’t ask a lot from me as an audience member. The deeper message that happiness can be achieved in new or different ways was predictable but still entertaining. Also, for as random and almost completely useless the cloud was in this film, I loved his small part and the time he was on screen.

“Trolls” is in theaters now. If you have kids or just like kid movies, this is definitely the film for you and your family. Also, why not take some time for family and enjoy some light hearted fun at the movies. This film might not win any oscars or make you think much but it has some humorous moments and the songs aren’t cringeworthy. If you feel the desire to spend some time together out of the house as a family, I’d recommend seeing this on the big screen, if money is an issue you can also wait for Redbox and make a family afternoon at home out of this film. It’s versatile like that.

Phoenix Comicon Fan Fest 2016: Cosplay Photo's

Maskerpiece Theatre was present for the 2016 Phoenix Comicon Fan Fest We were able to get lots of great Photo's of all the wonderful Cosplay. Please Enjoy and let us know what was your favorite.

Supergirl Review: Season 2 Episode 5 "Crossfire"

Supergirl Season 2 Episode 5

“Crossfire”

Starring:

Melissa Benoist, Mehcad Brooks, Chyler Leigh, Jeremy Jordan, Floriana Lima, Chris Wood, David Harewood, Brenda Strong, Katie McGrath, Alexander Cendese, Andrea Brooks

Synopsis:

Supergirl must beat a ruthless new gang who has been armed with dangerous new alien technology. When Cadmus sends a video to the DEO, the team realizes Cadmus is the one staffing the criminals for a secret mission. Meanwhile, Kara gets Mon-El a job as an intern at CatCo, James makes an important decision and Lena invites Kara to attend one of her fundraisers.

Final Thoughts:

Cadmus takes center stage in episode 5 of Supergirl by handing out alien weapons to humans and having them robbing banks. This takes everyone from Supergirl to Wynn and Lena Luthor in order to stop the robbers. The most interesting twist to come from this episode has to be the reveal that head of Cadmus is non other than Lena’s mother. This makes sense and provide an opportunity down the road to turn Lena toward her brothers evil side.

Mon-El finally joining the real world was the second part of this episode. It’s an entertaining story line being told here. Obviously he is brining some of his own traits from his home world to National city. Nice light hearted moments for the show. We also get to see the growing relationship of Alex and Maggie, it will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few weeks.

Now to the big turn, James Olsen wanting to become a hero. During the episode we see James get involved over and over again. Being a man with now powers leave him vulnerable, and in harms way. By the end of the episode he is able to get wynn to agree to help build him a suit. So now we are finally going to get the guardian. I am not sure how I feel about this, James has been an interesting character on the show. For the better part of season 1 he was more or less disliked by the fans, and for the better part of the first 4 episodes from season 2 just MIA. So will this help get people behind the character more? Im not sure, I still haven’t enjoyed him and I am not seeing that change any time soon.

Let us know your thoughts on the episode and leave your comments below.

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