Ok, I went into this without knowing anything about the plot whatsoever. I only heard that the 3D was amazing. So, I went to see this to be visually entertained, which I was. For those that are constantly on the internet, I'm sure you have heard that this movie makes the 3D in "Avatar" look "Avatarded". Lame joke, I know. But, it is very true in this instance. The 3D was beyond spectacular. Beautiful use of colors, and a great story to boot.
Although this is a "religious movie", it doesn't necessarily force you to think a certain way. It is not so much "preachy", but it does educate you into a way of thinking. It touches on 3 religions: Catholicism, Islam, and Hindu. But, it doesn't say "Hey! Be this religion". With that in mind, I loved this movie. The last movie I saw that would be considered "religious" would be "The Book of Eli", and even that was not preachy. While this movie does focus more on spirituality than religion, it doesn't go overboard. The spirituality is an important part of the plot.
The movie was so well-written that the story hooks you, and you are swept into this story. And it is fun and exciting. There are quite a few "edge-of-your-seat" moments, which is something I personally have not experienced much in the theaters (I think the last movie to have me on the edge of my seat was "The Avengers").
So: Great plot, stunning visual effects, characters that we could relate to (animal or human), a movie that keeps you thinking even after the end credits roll. This movie seemed to have it all. Definitely recommended that you see it... in 3D!
My Rating: A+
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Movie Review- "Skyfall"
Ok, before we get into my review of this movie, keep in mind that I have only seen a few Bond flicks. I tried watching "Dr. No" back when I was a teenager, but found the beginning so boring I turned it off. Then, someone (i don't remember who) suggested I start with "The Living Daylights" (and Timothy Dalton was the worst Bond ever). I don't remember that much about it, except for the scene where a blond chick rides down a snow bank in a cello case. Then, I saw "Die Another Day", which to my understanding, was the last of the "formulaic" Bond movies. I kind of liked the hokeyness of it, from what I remember. Finishing up with the Daniel Craig incarnations of "Casino Royale" (which was ok), and "Quantum of Solace" (which I did not really like very much).
At first, I thought that "Skyfall" was a 3rd part, continuing from "Quantum of Solace", but was informed that this was a new adventure. So, with that in mind, I decided to give it a shot. The starts out with a very good chase scene, with Bond working with a partner named "Eve", played by Naomie Harris, who I haven't seen since Johnny Depp became a pirate. She was nice and loyal and charming in this, as well as beautiful. But then again, most Bond girls are. She was the one with a good, moral compass.
And they introduced a new "Q", a young 20-something. His scenes are brief, but he does have this camera presence that makes him a very likable character. Hope to see more of him in future Bpond movies.
Javier Bardem plays the main villain Silva, who we don't even see until 1/2 way through the movie (something that kind of bothered me). They could have at least shown him in shadow or something, prior to his somewhat comical entrance into the film. He seems to have a slight "Joker-ish" quality about him. Other people on IMDB pointed out how much this film borrows from "The Dark Knight" and "The Dark Knight Rises". Some of those borrowed features are very easy to spot. I was just waiting for Silva to ask Bond (while strapped to a chair), "Wanna know how I got these scars?"... LOL. Maybe I'm a bit of a "Bond n00b", but does EVERY Bond villain have some sort of physical deformity or impairment? At least with this movie, they did not make it glaringly obvious until halfway through what his deformity was.
********************SPOILERS BELOW***********************
But, this movie never has a dull moment. Although, I was say that the ending was a bit of a letdown and very anticlimactic for me. I guess I was expecting more for an ending in a Bond flick. And I'm talking about how the villain died. But, one thing I really liked about this was how they broke tradition. Judi Dench made a great "M", from the few movies I saw her in. But, I really liked that they killed her off. Not that she wasn't a good character. Far from it. But, I don't think she has ever died in the series before. And that was a refreshing change.
So, keeping all that in mind...
Final Rating: B-
At first, I thought that "Skyfall" was a 3rd part, continuing from "Quantum of Solace", but was informed that this was a new adventure. So, with that in mind, I decided to give it a shot. The starts out with a very good chase scene, with Bond working with a partner named "Eve", played by Naomie Harris, who I haven't seen since Johnny Depp became a pirate. She was nice and loyal and charming in this, as well as beautiful. But then again, most Bond girls are. She was the one with a good, moral compass.
And they introduced a new "Q", a young 20-something. His scenes are brief, but he does have this camera presence that makes him a very likable character. Hope to see more of him in future Bpond movies.
Javier Bardem plays the main villain Silva, who we don't even see until 1/2 way through the movie (something that kind of bothered me). They could have at least shown him in shadow or something, prior to his somewhat comical entrance into the film. He seems to have a slight "Joker-ish" quality about him. Other people on IMDB pointed out how much this film borrows from "The Dark Knight" and "The Dark Knight Rises". Some of those borrowed features are very easy to spot. I was just waiting for Silva to ask Bond (while strapped to a chair), "Wanna know how I got these scars?"... LOL. Maybe I'm a bit of a "Bond n00b", but does EVERY Bond villain have some sort of physical deformity or impairment? At least with this movie, they did not make it glaringly obvious until halfway through what his deformity was.
********************SPOILERS BELOW***********************
But, this movie never has a dull moment. Although, I was say that the ending was a bit of a letdown and very anticlimactic for me. I guess I was expecting more for an ending in a Bond flick. And I'm talking about how the villain died. But, one thing I really liked about this was how they broke tradition. Judi Dench made a great "M", from the few movies I saw her in. But, I really liked that they killed her off. Not that she wasn't a good character. Far from it. But, I don't think she has ever died in the series before. And that was a refreshing change.
So, keeping all that in mind...
Final Rating: B-
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Movie Review- "Wreck-It Ralph"
Ok, disregarding the fact that this is a Disney film, I got drawn in by all the cameo appearances from all the throwback games from yesteryear. During the first 30 minutes, I was looking at the screen going "Oh, there's the old Star Wars game! Hey, there's Road Blasters!". Just for that alone, I got my money's worth.
However, once the story actually get's going, it really pulls you in. The main character of the story is the villain of the game this time around (if that makes any sense), but he wants to feel accepted and belong. I could relate to the character. I really liked the concept that these characters could interact with one another after the arcade had closed (kind of like the Toy Story movies how the toys could move when no humans were around).
The character of Vanellope started off annoying for me. But, as the story went on, we understand her as a "glitch" in the game. So, maybe she was supposed to be. I don't know. When Ralph and her started to actually bond as friends, she became less annoying. And towards the end, she was even a bit adorable, like the "It's so Fluffy!!!!" girl from Despicable Me.
Jane Lynch was hilarious as the tough-as-nails op from hybrid spoof game "Hero's Duty". And of course, she had to have an emotional backstory... Spoofed to perfection, I'd say.
Overall, this was a fun and enjoyable ride. Never really a dull moment. Nothing really offensive that I can think of. So, feel free to take the children, they will enjoy this movie.
My Rating: A-
However, once the story actually get's going, it really pulls you in. The main character of the story is the villain of the game this time around (if that makes any sense), but he wants to feel accepted and belong. I could relate to the character. I really liked the concept that these characters could interact with one another after the arcade had closed (kind of like the Toy Story movies how the toys could move when no humans were around).
The character of Vanellope started off annoying for me. But, as the story went on, we understand her as a "glitch" in the game. So, maybe she was supposed to be. I don't know. When Ralph and her started to actually bond as friends, she became less annoying. And towards the end, she was even a bit adorable, like the "It's so Fluffy!!!!" girl from Despicable Me.
Jane Lynch was hilarious as the tough-as-nails op from hybrid spoof game "Hero's Duty". And of course, she had to have an emotional backstory... Spoofed to perfection, I'd say.
Overall, this was a fun and enjoyable ride. Never really a dull moment. Nothing really offensive that I can think of. So, feel free to take the children, they will enjoy this movie.
My Rating: A-
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Movie Review- "Cloud Atlas"
What can I say? Almost a year of remakes, rehashes, re-imaginings, and regurgitated messes, then a truly unique movie like this comes out. The movie doesn't necessarily have a "main character" as it does, a few "transmigrating souls". The characters in this are unique unto themselves. Some you love to hate, some you hate to love. It was interesting to see a movie tackles a touchy subject as Reincarnation. But this movie handled it artistically well.
Halle Berry and Tom Hanks prove that they both still have the acting knack. And Hugo Weaving stole the show no matter what scene he was in. He was especially impressive as the nurse. This was the first movie in which I saw Doona Bae. I was the most impressed with her acting. She was a shining star. I look forward to see her in future movies. And, to me, her storyline was by far the most interesting.
I will say that one of the "flaws" in the movie was the part where Tom Hanks played the tribesman named Zachry. It's not so much his character or storyline that bothered me, it was the dialect they chose for post-apocalyptic Earth. Some of the language was somewhat easy to pick up ("true-true = the truth", for example). But, I felt like I was missing out on important information when we were first introduced to it, because I was not expecting it. And according to various people on the IMDB message boards, they are in agreement with me. I personally didn't find it that big of an issue, but it was annoying in some scenes.
Each storyline parallels another in the fact that all the central characters in each storyline are struggling in their own personal way. And they way that it all ties together was handled brilliantly. I give a giant thumbs up to the Wachowski siblings. I may have to see this again as there was so much detail.
Final Rating: A-
Halle Berry and Tom Hanks prove that they both still have the acting knack. And Hugo Weaving stole the show no matter what scene he was in. He was especially impressive as the nurse. This was the first movie in which I saw Doona Bae. I was the most impressed with her acting. She was a shining star. I look forward to see her in future movies. And, to me, her storyline was by far the most interesting.
I will say that one of the "flaws" in the movie was the part where Tom Hanks played the tribesman named Zachry. It's not so much his character or storyline that bothered me, it was the dialect they chose for post-apocalyptic Earth. Some of the language was somewhat easy to pick up ("true-true = the truth", for example). But, I felt like I was missing out on important information when we were first introduced to it, because I was not expecting it. And according to various people on the IMDB message boards, they are in agreement with me. I personally didn't find it that big of an issue, but it was annoying in some scenes.
Each storyline parallels another in the fact that all the central characters in each storyline are struggling in their own personal way. And they way that it all ties together was handled brilliantly. I give a giant thumbs up to the Wachowski siblings. I may have to see this again as there was so much detail.
Final Rating: A-
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