I saw American Ultra this week.

I didn’t expect anything amazing from this movie but I wanted a good time… and I got it. Jesse Eisenberg, as always, did a good job, but the surprise performance for me was Kristen Stewart. The only thing I’ve seen her in previously is Twilight, so I didn’t think too highly of her, but after this I have much more respect. She was by no means phenomenal, but I was pretty impressed. Overall the cast was good and it was cool seeing Lavell Crawford too. The movie is an action/comedy and it did well with both. You’re not going to be crying with laughter but it’s still funny. There were a couple of shots that I thought were pretty creative and cool. They took what could have been an average summer movie and added flair to it.

I could definitely see myself being invested in a sequel. There are a lot of different places it could go. As far as the tone of the movie it can either be way over the top or actually get serious and be done well. It never feels to light or too dark.  Overall, even though the movie wasn’t fantastic I had a lot of fun. If you’d be entertained with a stoner Jesse Eisenberg with John Wick-like skills then you should definitely check it out.

I also saw Southpaw and I realize that this is pretty late. I’m not a huge fan of fighting movies but I really liked this one for a couple of reasons. One being Jake Gyllenhaal who is quickly rising to the top of my favorite actors list. His transformations between roles reminds me a lot of Christian Bale, my favorite actor.

The other reason that I really like this movie was that it took a very cliché genre and added some twists. There were two really cool reflection shots in this movie that any film buff would appreciate. This is not the kind of movie that you just go out with a bunch of friends at random too see though. It gets dark.

I’ll put it this way, for a good action and comedy see American Ultra, for a more deep and emotional experience see Southpaw.

Thanks for reading.