Kevin Lau

When you watched The Avengers , did you stop to wonder how much better it would be if there were more sass between the characters? Well, look no further than the tenth installment to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (which also works well as a stand-alone movie)! At a young age, Peter "Star-Lord" Quill (Chris Pratt) was abducted by aliens. Now living among the galaxy twenty years later as an intergalactic thief, his latest job lands him in deep and unsettling waters. It turns out that the orb he stole from ancient ruins was also wanted by the universe's biggest baddies, Thanos (Josh Brolin) and Ronan (Lee Pace). Ronan sends one of his assassins, Gamora (Zoe Saldana), after the orb and Star-Lord, with a bounty on his head, is soon caught between Gamora and bounty hunters Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and human-like tree Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel). When all four are caught and arrested, they also meet Drax (Dave Bautista). An unlikely bond forms between the...

If Lucy  is proof of anything, it is that a movie, no matter how good the acting or visual effects are, is only as good as its script. Unknowingly and unwillingly participating in a drug trafficking operation where the drugs are bagged and put inside the person's body, the bag Lucy holds within her is broken open, releasing a powerful drug which allows her to use more than 10% of her brain. She can analyze problems faster, perform telekinesis, can telepathically see around the world, and control electrical objects. However, when she realizes that without the rest of the drugs her body will not be able sustain itself, she sets out to find the other bags of drugs until she finally reaches 100%. Roll credits. Seriously, the movie ends right when she reaches 100%. Though some may conclude this to be a film with an open ending, I believe Lucy to be an entirely incomplete movie throughout. Sub plots are started throughout the movie, but are never resolved or even touched base on...

Hannah Baker is dead. Everyone knows that. Suicide. However, there is something that only a few people know: before her suicide, Hannah recorded 7 audiotapes of her story, 13 reasons why she finally considered suicide as her final option, and Clay Jensen is one of those reasons. After receiving the tapes on his doorstep one day, Clay is drawn to listen to what Hannah has to say not just about the other people involved with her problems, but about him as well. Maybe finally he could find out what kind of person Hannah Baker really was. Little does he know that what is on the tapes will change his life forever. Simultaneously narrated from two perspectives, Jay Asher's debut novel is an accomplishment in my eyes. The concept of the writing was intriguing and well written from the perspectives of Clay and Hannah. Another thing that was extremely well done, and Asher must receive praise for this, is the emotions it makes the reader feel. When Hannah Baker is describing her life, ...

WARNING:  The following review contains spoilers for Rise of the Planet of the Apes . Ten years after the virus that increased the intelligence of chimpanzees but killed off almost all the humans was spread across the world, the apes are at peace. It has been two years since they had last come into contact with a human and they wonder if the humans have all died out. That is, until they come across a town of survivors in San Francisco who are naturally immune to the virus. Both humans and apes don't want war, but each side is skeptical of the other, making the chance for peace slim. It is best to keep this review short and simple. Appealing not only visually but story-wise as well, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes  is another amazing summer flick. Well directed, written, and acted, alongside pitch perfect pacing, intense action sequences, and an intriguing unpredictable story, this film has become one of my top candidates for movie of the year. 5/5 Stars

When I saw the full trailer for this movie, my expectations weren't necessarily high. When forced to move out of there neighborhood, 13 year olds Tuck, Alex, and Munch decide to spend their last night together to do something big: follow the maps they received on there phones. The maps lead them into the desert where they find an injured alien they name Echo. Echo, with the ability to manipulate electronics and mechanical objects, gives the kids a set of maps on their phones which leads to parts of machines he needs to repair his ship. The boys are thrust into a high stakes scavenger hunt, trying to understand Echo and hide him from the authorities who threaten his existence. In a basic sense, Earth to Echo  is a modernized found-footage E.T. Overall, the movie works well for its target audience, but not much farther than that. The dialogue is rather corny at times and the chemistry between the actors are just above tolerable. A problem I had with the movie was that I notice...

I am a growing fan of Stephen King and I felt that I can't properly call myself that until I read his debut novel Carrie . Carrietta "Carrie" White's entire life is nothing to be desired: she is constantly bullied at school, she has no friends, and her psychotic over-religious mother believes Carrie to be a devil spawn. However, no one knows the power she possesses, the ability to move inanimate objects at will: telekinesis. At first, she keeps it to herself, practicing and testing her limits, until one night when enough was enough. For a story that could easily have been covered in 100 straightforward pages, Stephen King extends the story to 245. Going back and forth between the present story and the documentations of the events in the end, King's debut novel is reasonably paced and masterfully written with characters that feel real and bone-chilling moments (I shuddered a few times reading this). Though there were some parts where the story could have ...