Saturday, July 28, 2012
Friday, July 20, 2012
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Well....No. It's not as good as The Dark Knight. But let me tell you, it is pretty d*mn close.
This film is directed by Christopher Nolan and stars Christian Bale as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Anne Hathaway as Catwoman/Selina Kyle, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Blake the "hot-head' cop who is an orphan, Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate, and Tom Hardy as Bane. Now let me tell you that I will try my hardest to not tell you anything crucial to the plot in this review. If you are a purist and don't want to know anything about the film, why are you here??? Go watch it, it's fantastic. Now for those of you who don't care here is the review.
The basis of the plot is that, peace has stopped in Gotham. 8 years after the ending of The Dark Knight, crime has stopped. No crime means no Batman. No Batman means no playboy Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne stays in Wayne Manor in seclusion and also uses a cane. Surely Batman has seen better days. Then out of nowhere comes chaos and anarchy. Bane is in charge of this uprising. Joker was right. These people will eat each other. Safe to say that the story is fantastic. And the script is full of jokes that will always keep the audience entertained. Something that really stood out to me was the editing. Nolan writes scenes where ten things are happening at once and you still understand what was happening. The editor (Lee Smith) must have gone to great lengths to make the movie at it's final stage as good as it could be.
The directing is great though occasionally some scenes have a main character in focus while a battle(or something) is blurred. That bothered me because I wanted to see what was happening "back there." Other than that though, Nolan's directing is pitch perfect. Now to talk about the main characters. They of course are great. No other actors could do a better job. Tom Hardy really stood out to me though. It is not the dialogue that stood out to me but his stance. The way he intimidatingly just stands with a mask on his face. He stands as if nothing will stop him. While not the Joker he is still damn good. Another thing that bothered me though is Batmans voice. While it didn't stand out to me the last films, it did in this one. But that's just me nitpicking.
I have to say that this story was a memorable one. This one always keeps you guessing. More than the last Batman films. In the last Batman films, you knew Batman would survive. His friends might have died but not Batman himself. Since this film is three hours, and since you lose track of time while you are watching it you have no clue what will happen. Will he survive? You just don't know. I applaud Christopher Nolan with this trilogy. He preformed CPR on a franchise that desperately needed one. This was a fantastic movie. The acting was great, directing was phenomenal minus a very few annoyances, the writing was sharp, and the editing was perfect. And I didn't even talk about the action scenes. I want to give this a ten but since this a review, I just can't. In my mind this is just a little but worse than The Dark Knight but still a helluva great film.
9.8/10
This film is directed by Christopher Nolan and stars Christian Bale as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Anne Hathaway as Catwoman/Selina Kyle, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Blake the "hot-head' cop who is an orphan, Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate, and Tom Hardy as Bane. Now let me tell you that I will try my hardest to not tell you anything crucial to the plot in this review. If you are a purist and don't want to know anything about the film, why are you here??? Go watch it, it's fantastic. Now for those of you who don't care here is the review.
The basis of the plot is that, peace has stopped in Gotham. 8 years after the ending of The Dark Knight, crime has stopped. No crime means no Batman. No Batman means no playboy Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne stays in Wayne Manor in seclusion and also uses a cane. Surely Batman has seen better days. Then out of nowhere comes chaos and anarchy. Bane is in charge of this uprising. Joker was right. These people will eat each other. Safe to say that the story is fantastic. And the script is full of jokes that will always keep the audience entertained. Something that really stood out to me was the editing. Nolan writes scenes where ten things are happening at once and you still understand what was happening. The editor (Lee Smith) must have gone to great lengths to make the movie at it's final stage as good as it could be.
The directing is great though occasionally some scenes have a main character in focus while a battle(or something) is blurred. That bothered me because I wanted to see what was happening "back there." Other than that though, Nolan's directing is pitch perfect. Now to talk about the main characters. They of course are great. No other actors could do a better job. Tom Hardy really stood out to me though. It is not the dialogue that stood out to me but his stance. The way he intimidatingly just stands with a mask on his face. He stands as if nothing will stop him. While not the Joker he is still damn good. Another thing that bothered me though is Batmans voice. While it didn't stand out to me the last films, it did in this one. But that's just me nitpicking.
I have to say that this story was a memorable one. This one always keeps you guessing. More than the last Batman films. In the last Batman films, you knew Batman would survive. His friends might have died but not Batman himself. Since this film is three hours, and since you lose track of time while you are watching it you have no clue what will happen. Will he survive? You just don't know. I applaud Christopher Nolan with this trilogy. He preformed CPR on a franchise that desperately needed one. This was a fantastic movie. The acting was great, directing was phenomenal minus a very few annoyances, the writing was sharp, and the editing was perfect. And I didn't even talk about the action scenes. I want to give this a ten but since this a review, I just can't. In my mind this is just a little but worse than The Dark Knight but still a helluva great film.
9.8/10
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Brave (2012)
Brave is another film by Pixar. They usually make great films. Usually. You probably know the two films which don't live up to the Pixar name. Cars was an okay movie to say the least but was a disappointment considering the past films. Cars 2 was just bad. Disney Pixar's Brave is the CPR of the Pixar films. And it's... okay. It's just okay. No it's not Citizen Kane but it's not Plan 9 From Outer Space. It's. Just. Okay.
This film is about a girl named Merida(Kelly Macdonald), a Scottish girl who is the daughter of a King and Queen. The Queen, Elinor (Emma Thompson), is a strict mother who is kind of portrayed as a "bad guy." She doesn't let Merida be who she wants to be. The king, Fergus(Billy Connolly), who a goofy dad and is pretty much the opposite of Elinor. The plot is Merida wanting to change her fate because she does not want to be the princess of her kingdom. All of the sudden her family gets a letter saying that 3 first born sons of 3 clans of 3 clan leaders will come so then Merida will can choose who she will marry. As you can imagine, Merida is not very "thrilled" to be married. The fantasy adventure ensues.
Let me start off by saying the animation is amazing. I didn't get the chance to see this in 3-D but hot damn did this film look good. Merida is a character that stood out for me. She seemed very adventurous and daring. I'm not sure why but I am always find that type of character. I also liked the king because he was very cartooney. He has a huge body but small legs. He was also, like I said, goofy and clumsy. This film really surprised me on the plot. It went in a completely different direction then what I was expecting. Instead of a grand epic adventure you get a movie where the main locations are a forest and a castle. It also adds a mythological sub-plot when it really didn't need to. This wouldn't be so bad but they drop half way the movie and bring it back towards the very end. It might sound that I am bashing this movie but I'll put the good stuff next. There was comedy in this film. Quite a lot actually. Kids will laugh out loud at this movie. And uhhhh.....well.....that's it.
Bottom line is that this is a kids film. Kids will love this film. I want to like this film more but oh well. You won't hate it but you won't love it. That's about it, I mean there is not much else to say. This is an okay film but you will forget about it in 1 day. Come on Pixar! Next film bring your A-Game!!!
6.5/10
This film is about a girl named Merida(Kelly Macdonald), a Scottish girl who is the daughter of a King and Queen. The Queen, Elinor (Emma Thompson), is a strict mother who is kind of portrayed as a "bad guy." She doesn't let Merida be who she wants to be. The king, Fergus(Billy Connolly), who a goofy dad and is pretty much the opposite of Elinor. The plot is Merida wanting to change her fate because she does not want to be the princess of her kingdom. All of the sudden her family gets a letter saying that 3 first born sons of 3 clans of 3 clan leaders will come so then Merida will can choose who she will marry. As you can imagine, Merida is not very "thrilled" to be married. The fantasy adventure ensues.
Let me start off by saying the animation is amazing. I didn't get the chance to see this in 3-D but hot damn did this film look good. Merida is a character that stood out for me. She seemed very adventurous and daring. I'm not sure why but I am always find that type of character. I also liked the king because he was very cartooney. He has a huge body but small legs. He was also, like I said, goofy and clumsy. This film really surprised me on the plot. It went in a completely different direction then what I was expecting. Instead of a grand epic adventure you get a movie where the main locations are a forest and a castle. It also adds a mythological sub-plot when it really didn't need to. This wouldn't be so bad but they drop half way the movie and bring it back towards the very end. It might sound that I am bashing this movie but I'll put the good stuff next. There was comedy in this film. Quite a lot actually. Kids will laugh out loud at this movie. And uhhhh.....well.....that's it.
Bottom line is that this is a kids film. Kids will love this film. I want to like this film more but oh well. You won't hate it but you won't love it. That's about it, I mean there is not much else to say. This is an okay film but you will forget about it in 1 day. Come on Pixar! Next film bring your A-Game!!!
6.5/10
Friday, July 13, 2012
Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying andLove The Bomb (1964)
Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love
The Bomb, is a Cold –War satire directed and written by Stanley Kubrick
starring George C. Scott and Peter Sellers and
it was released in 1964. When this movie was released, many people were
surprised on its subject matter. A satire of a conflict that could destroy
humanity. Kubrick made it anyway. The story is about General Jack D. Ripper,
(clever Kubrick), played by Sterling Hayden, who orders B-52 bombers to bomb
Russia. This surprises Washington because they did not order this attack.
Ripper took off all communications from his air force base so nobody could
interfere with his attack. The only way to stop the bombers is to give a three
letter code that only Ripper knows. Ripper also told his soldiers to shoot
anybody in a 200 yard perimeter around the base. He does this because he thinks
that the Russians are destroying the purity of our bodily fluids. The comedy
just writes itself.
The
films comedy is phenomenal. Every line,
every facial expression, is done to add comedic hilarity. Stanley Kubrick told
George C. Scott to over act for practicing the actual scene. Scott didn’t want
to use the practice scenes but Kubrick used them anyway. This enraged Scott but
if it wasn’t for Kubrick’s smart move, the film wouldn’t be as funny as it is.
Peter Seller played three rolls in the film. Dr. Strangelove who is a former
Nazi nuclear expert now working for the U.S., Lionel Mandrake; a British
officer, and lastly the president of the United States. He plays all of these
roles expertly and Dr. Strangelove is probably one of the best quotable
characters.
The
movie takes place in basically just three locations. The iconic War Room, the
inside of a B-52 bomber, and the inside and outside of an air force base. The
film can be suspenseful in fairly comedic ways.
For example, in one scene the whole world depends on a Coca-Cola
machine. It is these parts that make this film so enjoyable. And here is the
kinda scary part: This all could have happened. Sure it maybe a little of a
stretch but the basic idea of a corrupt general that exceeded his authority and
send bombers to wipe out all of Russia could have happened.
Dr.
Strangelove is a great film and surprisingly a lot of fun. Who knew a black
comedy about the cold war could have been this good. Though the ending did
leave me feeling a wanting more. I guess I haven’t learned to stop worrying and
love the bomb yet.
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
The Amazing Spider-Man is of course a super hero movie
starring Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Emma Stone as Gwen
Stacy and it was directed by Marc Webb. Seriously with a last name like that it
has to be good. The film is about Parker’s origin story of how he got his
powers and how the disappearance of his father and THEN the death of his uncle
affects him. This is the second movie that Webb directed, the first being (500)
Days of Summer which is a critically acclaimed independent romance film.
First
let me talk about the characters. Garfield portrayed Spider-Man/Peter Parker materfully. When he is Peter he is a shy, outcast type kid but when he is
Spider-Man he acts like he is immortal. He takes advantage of the mask in front
of him. With the mask on he has no consequences. You immediately identify with him. If you had a secret identity and super powers, I think we would all humiliate and play with criminals. When his uncle (played by
Martin Sheen) is shot you can really feel the emotion he is through. I mean he
has no fricken clue about his father and suddenly loses his present “father.”
During the scenes of him mourning his loss, you buy it, and I’ll admit I got a
few body chills during that scene. You also see how it really affected him. In
the Sam Reimi films you saw Toby Maguire doing his terrible crying face and
then it cuts to the next scene. In this one the flesh it out a lot more. Garfield is a great crier in this movie. That might sound weird but remember Toby Maguire's crying, did you ever buy it??? In this film you definitely do. Emma
Stone’s character, Gwen Stacy, is a great character. She actually does stuff and not just get
captured by the bad dude. She is unlike most female characters. She isn't just a prize for Spider-Man after she gets kidnapped. She has layers. Future filmmakers, listen up! This is what female characters have to be like. And of course the romance is great and completely
believable. I mean it’s from the dude who made (500) Days of Summer.
The
villain in the movie is Dr. Connors who I gotta say is one of the few problems
with the film. When I was watching the movie I had no clue why he was doing
what he was doing. They should have fleshed him out more and they also should
have had a scene where he was with his family. Something else that could have
been better was Peter’s parents. They should have shown more of them. That
would have been awesome but I’m reviewing the movie for what it is and not what
I want it to be. The editing is also something that bothered me. Scenes went
away way to fast and about one or two times I couldn’t keep up with what was
happening. I can kind of agree why he did that, because we saw it 10 years ago, but at sometimes it seems that ten sub-plots are going at once. But on the upside, the first-person views in
the film were great.
If you
can’t tell by this review I completely recommend this movie. Some people might
say that a re-boot is unnecessary but I completely disagree. After what
Spider-Man 3 left us, we needed to redo the story. Also some people thought that it was unneeded. I don't think that they should give it a low score just because of that. Also Marc Webb didn't copy exactly what Sam Reimi did in his movies. The scenarios change and are quite different. All in all I thought this was a fantastic movie and it was a hell of a lot
of fun. And be sure to expect a sequel
as they almost completely drop the story about Peter’s parents. As the title
suggest it is The Amazing Spider-Man and amazing it is.
9/10
9/10
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Madagascar 3 (2012)
Now when I entered this movie theater to watch this movie I expected a good time. Just a good time. Nothing more nothing less. This movie stars Ben Stiller as Alex the Lion, Chris Rock as Marty the Zebra, David Schwimmer as Melman the Giraffe, and Jada Smith as Gloria the Hippo. This movie is about the New York zoo animals waiting for the penguins to return to take them back to their zoo. But they don't come. So they then go to Monte Carlo to try to find them and they do. In a casino. Gambling. With a disguise of a woman. And nobody notices them. As you can see this movie does not share the realistic style that other animated films use such as Toy Story. It is very cartooney, for example their is one scene where a woman runs through and breaks a brick wall without losing momentum and feeling no pain. But I digress, the zoo animals then get the attention of the gamblers and everybody runs for their lives. While all the animals, including the penguins, are trying to escape. In the meantime a animal exterminator chases them through Monte Carlo and through the entire movie. The animals then find a circus train while they are running from the cops and they then join the circus.
I loved the comedy this movie uses. It has comedy that kids will love (such as slapstick) but also have comedy for adults too. Many jokes will go over kids heads but you will get. This is great because if you are a parent watching it, you will have just as a good time as your kid does. I really liked the characters. They were all shown their flaws, fears, and weaknesses. And none were annoying in how many other animated films are. But I think the stars of this movie are the circus animals. The Russian tiger (played by Bryan Cranston) is one of them that stands out. His character really shows someone who has truly lost something. Gia the jaguar (played by Jessica Chastain) is another circus animal that I really liked. When she is on screen, you feel a sense of adventure. But maybe I'm looking too much into it. Oh well.
This movie also has some faults though. It has some things that every kids movie has. In every kids movie there is always something that the main character does that is a lie, the other characters find out, the main character says it's not what it looks like, and then is shunned for 15 minutes while he then gets redemption and everybody loves him. This movie has this, painful formula but it executes it for a very slow amount of time and also bends it a little. I am so happy that they did that because I HATE the mellow drama that ensues at the beginning of the end of a kids film.
So in conclusion, this is a very good film, albeit a predictable one. This is a great film to watch if you want a good time and them some.
8/10
I loved the comedy this movie uses. It has comedy that kids will love (such as slapstick) but also have comedy for adults too. Many jokes will go over kids heads but you will get. This is great because if you are a parent watching it, you will have just as a good time as your kid does. I really liked the characters. They were all shown their flaws, fears, and weaknesses. And none were annoying in how many other animated films are. But I think the stars of this movie are the circus animals. The Russian tiger (played by Bryan Cranston) is one of them that stands out. His character really shows someone who has truly lost something. Gia the jaguar (played by Jessica Chastain) is another circus animal that I really liked. When she is on screen, you feel a sense of adventure. But maybe I'm looking too much into it. Oh well.
This movie also has some faults though. It has some things that every kids movie has. In every kids movie there is always something that the main character does that is a lie, the other characters find out, the main character says it's not what it looks like, and then is shunned for 15 minutes while he then gets redemption and everybody loves him. This movie has this, painful formula but it executes it for a very slow amount of time and also bends it a little. I am so happy that they did that because I HATE the mellow drama that ensues at the beginning of the end of a kids film.
So in conclusion, this is a very good film, albeit a predictable one. This is a great film to watch if you want a good time and them some.
8/10
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Grown Ups (2010)
Ahh, Adam Sandler why must you make such unfunny movies. You used to make hilarious films that were such good times. Films like Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, and Mr. Deeds. Those were awesome!
But! Then there came Grown Ups. This movie was directed by Dennis Dugan, who is known for his partnership with the funny (and unfunny) Adma Sandler movies. This movie stars Adam Sandler (also co-written by him), Chris Rock, Kevin James, David Spade, and Rob Schnieder. Okay, now with a cast like that you expect (at least I did) comedy gold or at least a good time. The movie is about these 5 basketball players winning a championship of something related to basketball (the movie never tells you). Also, how come there are only 5 players. They need at least one sub. Anyways their coach dies and we see the basketball players 30 years older. Adam Sandler is a rich agent in Hollywood. Kevin James is a co-owner of a lawn furniture company (does that even exist???). Chris Rock is a stay home father. David Spade is some sort of playboy. And lastly Rob Schnieder is the weirdo in every group of friends and somehow has married and divorced a bajillion amount of times. These guys all have wives and kids, except David Spade, and to the films credit it does have quite a few characters and show what their traits and character are but it doesn't amount to much. Many characters are either unlikeable and/or underdeveloped. The children are also portrayed as stupid, mean, and ignorant. So the basket-ball players and their wives and children all stay in this log camp house thing for some reason. Something I don't get is why do they stay at the house thing? They at first go to the funeral yes, but why do they stay? I mean they would catch up with each of their lives in a restaurant or something. Or maybe go to the same house but just stay for one day and go back to their regular lives but oh well. Then the team that they played with 30 years ago somehow find them and want a rematch cause they think they cheated and the rest of the story (the little that their is) unfolds.
Where this movie fails is at the comedy. It is just an unfunny movie. With this cast I was definitely expecting a really funny movie with classic Sandler who made movies I loved but was reduced to this, and eventually much worse. I didn't laugh once in this movie. Rob Schneider's character was one I gennualy did not like. It was disgusting watching a 40 year old man french kissing with what seems to be a 60+ year old woman. I did not like this movie. Mainly because it's boring and unfunny. Unfunny scenarios. Unfunny characters. Unfunny comedy. This movie had tons of potential but failed in almost everything. And of course it made lots of money. I'm sure everyone who watched this had the same expectation as me and was disappointed for the most part. And of course they are gonna make another one which won't make any sense why they would catch up again.
3/10
P.S. My next movie is gonna be a more recent movie. Cheers!!
But! Then there came Grown Ups. This movie was directed by Dennis Dugan, who is known for his partnership with the funny (and unfunny) Adma Sandler movies. This movie stars Adam Sandler (also co-written by him), Chris Rock, Kevin James, David Spade, and Rob Schnieder. Okay, now with a cast like that you expect (at least I did) comedy gold or at least a good time. The movie is about these 5 basketball players winning a championship of something related to basketball (the movie never tells you). Also, how come there are only 5 players. They need at least one sub. Anyways their coach dies and we see the basketball players 30 years older. Adam Sandler is a rich agent in Hollywood. Kevin James is a co-owner of a lawn furniture company (does that even exist???). Chris Rock is a stay home father. David Spade is some sort of playboy. And lastly Rob Schnieder is the weirdo in every group of friends and somehow has married and divorced a bajillion amount of times. These guys all have wives and kids, except David Spade, and to the films credit it does have quite a few characters and show what their traits and character are but it doesn't amount to much. Many characters are either unlikeable and/or underdeveloped. The children are also portrayed as stupid, mean, and ignorant. So the basket-ball players and their wives and children all stay in this log camp house thing for some reason. Something I don't get is why do they stay at the house thing? They at first go to the funeral yes, but why do they stay? I mean they would catch up with each of their lives in a restaurant or something. Or maybe go to the same house but just stay for one day and go back to their regular lives but oh well. Then the team that they played with 30 years ago somehow find them and want a rematch cause they think they cheated and the rest of the story (the little that their is) unfolds.
Where this movie fails is at the comedy. It is just an unfunny movie. With this cast I was definitely expecting a really funny movie with classic Sandler who made movies I loved but was reduced to this, and eventually much worse. I didn't laugh once in this movie. Rob Schneider's character was one I gennualy did not like. It was disgusting watching a 40 year old man french kissing with what seems to be a 60+ year old woman. I did not like this movie. Mainly because it's boring and unfunny. Unfunny scenarios. Unfunny characters. Unfunny comedy. This movie had tons of potential but failed in almost everything. And of course it made lots of money. I'm sure everyone who watched this had the same expectation as me and was disappointed for the most part. And of course they are gonna make another one which won't make any sense why they would catch up again.
3/10
P.S. My next movie is gonna be a more recent movie. Cheers!!
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