Sunday, August 15, 2010

Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

IMDb

Title: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Distributor: Legendary Pictures (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Director: Edgar Wright
Writer(s): Michael Bacal (screenplay), Edgar Wright (screenplay), Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni Press graphic novels)
Staring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ellen Wong, Chris Evans, Brie Larson, Mae Whitman, Brandon Routh, Jason Schwartzman
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for stylized violence, sexual content, language and drug references.
Running Time: 112 min
Synopsis: Scott Pilgrim must defeat his new girlfriend's seven evil exes in order to win her heart.

What Others Are Saying?


Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter:
80% (Fresh), Top Critics: 79% (Fresh), RT Community: 82% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 68 out of 100, Users: 8.8 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 72: (31.2% A, 41.2% B,
19.7% C, 6.9% D, and 0.0% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: B+ Users: A-

My Review

Source Material: Based on a series of graphic novels written by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Entertaining Value:

  • Action Elements: The action is fun. Scott Pilgrim proves that cartoon-ish action can happen in real life. What I'm getting at is there was a lot of onomatopoeia used. So much so it kind of remind of the Batman from the fifties staring Adam West. But that was the point.
  • Comedy Elements: For me and my gamer friends it was pretty much not stop laughter. But I don't thank you have to be a gamer to get the references cause most of them come from old school gaming systems like the NES.
  • Dramatic Elements: Even thought this film is driven on comedy and ridiculousness, it still had some decent dramatic parts.
  • Sci-Fi / Fantasy Elements: With been a graphic novel based movie there is some Sci-Fi and fantasy elements that add to the spectacularness of the film.

Cinematic Value:

  • Acting and Dialogue: B+: This film has a fairly young cast, but there was also some talent mixed among them. Look at some of these actors: Chris Evans, who is the new go to guy for any and all, comic book, graphic novel, superhero based movie, Jason Schwartzman who is great in pretty much everything, Michael Cera, the type-cast awkward teenager, Mae Whitman, known for being the voice of Katara from Avatar: The Lastr Airbender.
  • Art Direction: A: The style of the film had a since of "coolness" because of the costumes and such.
  • Cinematography: A: I though it was interesting how they filmed it, so by the end of the film you believed that the reality of a video game could be the reality of the real world. Which, is perfect cause that's how Scott Pilgrim perceives his world .
  • Direction: A: I have been pleased with Edgar Wright films up to this point. He seem to know what he is doing, so I quote: "stick to what you know" As far as the pacing and what not, I never felt board once. It was the complete opposite.
  • Editing: A: Do you remember Ang Less's Hulk and how they tried to cut the film so it read like a comic book, and failed. Well, Scott Pilgrim is the opposite of that, it reads like a comic book but doesn't suck. It also reads like a video game. The video game theme was very common through out every aspect of the film. .
  • Screenplay: A: The theme was obviously nostalgic video games meets modern pop punk meets superheroes; a perfect movie for nerds and geeks alike, but the story combines all those aspect perfectly that a larger audience will like the film.
  • Sound and Music: A: I felt the soundtrack was like, "name that video game theme." but I okay with that cause the music fits the over all theme.
  • VFX: B+: It wasn't Oscar worthy but it contribute to the films awesomeness.

Overall: A-: This film was one of the most entertaining film film in my life. It may not win best picture but it a awesomely fun film. I highly recommend this film. It saddens me this film inst going to do as well at the box office as it should. I cant believe a film that rank way less critically has done better at the box office, that film is The Expendables. I say lets rally up and spread the word around that
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a good film so next week it can get those numbers it deserves

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

UPDATE: The Avengers


This is the Updated list based off the the info from Comic Con 2010. See the video over at /film

Founding Members


Ant-Man (Dr. Henry "Hank" Jonathan Pym):
Contenders:Adrien Brody, Nathan Fillion, Wishes: Michael C. Hall
Hulk (Dr. Robert Bruce Banner): Mark Ruffalo
Iron Man (Anthony "Tony" Stark): Robert Downey Jr.
Thor (Dr. Donald Blake) :
Chris Hemsworth
Wasp (Janet van "Dyne" Pym ): Contenders:
Eva Longoria Parker Wishes: Natalie Portman, Alyssa Milano, Mila Kunis


Recruits


Black Widow (Natalia Alianovna Romanova) : Scarlett Johansson
Captain America (Steven Rogers): Chris Evans

Hawkeye (Clinton Francis Barton) :
Jeremy Renner
Nick Fury: Samuel L. Jackson

Directores

Top 5 All Time Favorite Directors/Filmmakers

1. Tim Burton
2. David Fincher
3. Christopher Nolan
4. Robert Rodríguez
5. M. Night Shyamalan

Top 5 All Time Favorite Indie Directors/Filmmakers

1. Wes Anderson
2. Darren Aronofsky
3. Jason Reitman
4. Steven Soderbergh
5. Gus Van Sant

Top 5 All Time Favorite Blockbuster Directors/Filmmakers

1. James Cameron
2. Peter Jackson
3. George Lucas
4. Steven Spielberg
5. Robert Zemeckis

Top 5 All Time Favorite "Nerdy" Directors/Filmmakers

1. J.J Abrams
2. Kevin Smith
3. Zack Snyder
4. Matthew Vaughn
5. Andy and Larry Wachowski

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Review: Inception

IMDb

Title: Inception
Distributor: Legendary Pictures (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer(s): Christopher Nolan (written by))
Staring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Marion Cotillard
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action throughout.
Running Time: 148 min
Synopsis: In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a highly skilled thief is given a final chance at redemption which involves executing his toughest job till date, Inception.

What Others Are Saying?


Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter:
86% (Fresh), Top Critics: 78% (Fresh), RT Community: 93% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 75 out of 100, Users: 8.5 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 84: (53.9% A, 31.4% B,
12.6% C, 0.0% D, and 0.0% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: B+ Users: A-

My Review

This review comes to you after watching the film twice. I heard that one needs to watch it at least three times to get the full vision of the film. I leaning towards the idea that you do need many viewings to pick up on subtle details you didn't see the first time. With that being said here is my review...

Source Material: Original
screenplay

Entertaining Value:

  • Action Elements: This film isn't the next summer blockbuster action film with said action heroism. Even thought its not the action film of the summer, it does have a lot of great action sequences
  • Comedy Elements: Its not a comedy by far, but it has some cleaver one liners to lighten up the mood a bit.
  • Dramatic Elements: Personally, I think the dramatic moments were great. I liked how the different relationships between each character played out on screen.
  • Sci-Fi / Fantasy Elements: The world built by Noland is awesome. Personally I think the use of partial fx and vfx is flawless, or at least basically flawless.

Cinematic Value:

  • Acting and Dialogue: A-: Let state that for most people Leonardo DiCaprio is either the best actor on the plant or they hate him with a passion, it seem the middle ground is few and far between. I say that because I am one of the few that make up the middle ground, for me he is hit or miss, in Inception he is a hit. I also like the other castings. Both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page have made a pretty good career already, this film is defiantly going to strengthen them.
  • Art Direction: A+: I cant believe how many loction they used on this film, one more beautiful than the next. Even the studio sets where good.
  • Cinematography: A+: I think Christopher Nolan has a cinematographers mind when he makes his films cause he pull off innovative camera shots, Inception is no exception. This film had a rich color plate and awesome effects, I will talk about that latter.
  • Direction: A: Christopher Nolan is by far in my top five directors of all time, maybe even tom three. With that being said he delivers once again. This film is pushing three hours, I never once looked at my watch to see how much longer do we have. From what I have read on this film up to this point it seems, most say the biggest fault is its lengthen, and that they should cut some stuff out, but I disagree.
  • Editing: A: The cuts between reality and dream states mix perfectly, by the time you get to the end of the film you second guess yourself on what was real and what was a dream, which I think was done on purpose. Can you say brilliant?
  • Screenplay: A: What can I say the concepts in this film are very interesting and mostly true. I basically would say the same for the screenplay as I do for editing.
  • Sound and Music: A+: The score adds emotions to the film like it should. In some parts of the film I felt more excited because of the score.
  • VFX: A+: The blend of partial fx and vfx is flawless, or at least basically flawless. I said this above but its true. The only time you know a computer was used was when laws of physics where broken.

Overall: A:You may need to see a couple of time to fully understand it but it a a great movie. In my opinion a movie that make you think and discuse the film after words is a great film, which this film does. I recommend that you see this one in theaters, even with the ridiculous prices.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Review: The Last Airbender

IMDb

Title: The Last Airbender
Distributor: Nickelodeon Movies (Paramount Pictures)
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Writer(s): M. Night Shyamalan (written by)
Staring: Noah Ringer, Dev Patel, Nicola Peltz,Jackson Rathbone, Shaun Toub, Aasif Mandvi, Cliff Curtis, Seychelle Gabriel
MPAA Rating: Rated PG for fantasy action violence.
Running Time: 103 min
Synopsis: The story follows the adventures of Aang, a young successor to a long line of Avatars, who must put his childhood ways aside and stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water, Earth and Air nations.

What Others Are Saying?


Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter:
09% (Rotten), Top Critics: 07% (Rotten), RT Community: 65% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 20 out of 100, Users: 2.8 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 37: (23.0% A, 15.3% B,
15.3% C, 15.3% D, and 30.7% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: D+ Users: C+

My Review

Source Material: Based on
Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Entertaining Value:

  • Action Elements: The showcasing of the different martial arts forms was great, there could have been more, but as an action film it not too bad.
  • Comedy Elements: Sokka character bring a lot of slap stick and physical comedy in the television version while the film had some, it was missing quite a bit.
  • Dramatic Elements: Can you say epic fail, most of the failure comes from bad acting.
  • Sci-Fi / Fantasy Elements: Elemental Bending, and other Asian culture/ folklore, descend visual effects.

Cinematic Value:

  • Acting and Dialogue: C-: The acting well, wasn't that great. I think most of the bad acting comes from the fact the cast was young in there careers. Out of the "child" actors the only ones I recognized was Jackson Rathbone, known for portraying Jasper Hale in The Twilight Saga, and Dev Patel from Slumdog Millionaire. The adult actors also only did okay, the best acting came from Shaun Toub who play Iroh. To top it all off the best acting in the entire movie came from the girl who played Princess Yue, Seychelle Gabriel. So we have established the acting wasn't the greatest well neither was the dialog, exhibit A, “We need to show them that we believe in our beliefs as much as they believe in their beliefs” There were many lines like this one, were one word would get repeated.
  • Art Direction: B-: Awesome location, with beautiful sites for the different nations.
  • Cinematography: B-: There were some really cool scenes that capture the different martial arts showcased in this film. Some of the scene brought me back to The Matirx days.
  • Direction: C: M. Night Shyamalan is one of the director in my top five favorites directors. I know people will raze me for liking him and his films, cause the general public started to jump ship after The Village and even more so with the Happening. Now with The Last Airbender, it seems the only people on the ship are M. Night Shyamalan and minute amount of fans. I think he did a good job directing the movie but the film didn't turn out that good.
  • Editing: D+: Very slow pacing, the 103 min movie felt a lot longer. the cut between scenes seemed a bit random, and out of place. I thought there were to many montage type of scenes.
  • Screenplay: C-: The mythology and story from the television show is great, some where along the line it was ruined. Personally I thought the story had too much childish behavior written into. Aang is spouse to be a bit childish but full grown adults, WTF. Seriously, this is one of the lines from an adult, "Those kids where earthbending and hitting us with small rocks in the head, that hurts. These words were uttered in a winy manner, just like a child. I do understand that the film was mad for kids but it doesn't have to be that extreme
  • Sound and Music: C: Midorcer like everything else.
  • VFX: B-: Probably, the best thing about this movie.

Overall: C-:Fan will be disappointed to some level cause it doesn't live to to the television show.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

The Picture Box



A co-worker and friend of mine is trying very hard to get his small student film to the high school section of the Heartland Film Festival, which takes place in Indianapolis, Indian. If you're a connoisseur of films and the art of filmmaking, like myself, then you may enjoy this emotional silent film that showcases how precious our memories become to us over time. As a friend and a fellow filmmaker I fully support this film, and I hope you do too.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Review: The A-TEAM

IMDb

Title: The A-TEAM
Distributor: Dune Entertainment (20th Century Fox)
Director: Joe Carnahan
Writer(s): Joe Carnahan(written by), Brian Bloom(written by), Skip Woods(written by), Frank Lupo(television series "The A-Team"), Stephen J. Cannell(television series "The A-Team"))
Staring: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, Sharlto Copley, Patrick Wilson
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence throughout, language and smoking.
Running Time: NA
Synopsis: A group of Iraq War veterans looks to clear their name with the U.S. military, who suspect the four men of committing a crime for which they were framed.

What Others Are Saying?


Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 52% (Rotten), Top Critics: 47% (Rotten), RT Community: 87% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 47 out of 100, Users: 8.0 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 57: (7.4% A, 38.5% B, 38.2% C, 13.6% D, and 0.0% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: C+ Users: A-

My Review

Source Material: Based on the television show with the same name.

Entertaining Value:

  • Action Elements: This is very well done action movie. In place it seem a little over the top, but really by the end you fell like you had a good ride.
  • Comedy Elements: Great one liners, and I'm guessing a lot of lines from the television show
  • Dramatic Elements: This film is driven mainly by action and comedy.
  • Sci-Fi / Fantasy Elements: No space or science type stuff, but there was a good use of fire and partial special FX.

Cinematic Value:

  • Acting and Dialogue: A-: From what I have heard each character made a great effort at portraying there television counterparts. Liam Neeson was by far the best actor on screen but everyone did a good job even the UFC fighter Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson. Sharlto Copley is making a pretty good name for himself with this film and District 9.
  • Art Direction: B-: It could have been a bit better. It had the right stuff for a good summer movie.
  • Cinematography: B+: This was a good action movie. Usually with action movies the quality of cinematography goes down cause the whole movie is shaky cam, not in this case, well not as much anyways.
  • Direction: B+: The pace was nice, I never felt board or confused. As for the directors style well, it more on the "dick-flick" side of things, which I like. For those of you who don't know, this is the same guy who did Smokin' Aces
  • Editing: B+: There was take on a technique I have seen in many other film that I really like where as the character tells the plan it happens.
  • Screenplay: B: There was big jumps in story, aging wise, but nobodies seems to age. From the opening scene/ introduction scene to the percent there is a 6 year 80 mission gap. Then there is another gap of 6 mouths (time spent in prison).
  • Sound and Music: B: I liked the sound track, it work for that type of movie.
  • VFX: B: Like I said before there was a good use of Special FX rather than Visual FX, either way it passed as a good job in my book.

Overall: B+: Its a very good guy summer movie. But I have a filling that 40-50 some will enjoy it too cause, from what I have heard the actors do a good job matching the originals.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Review: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

IMDb

Title: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
Director: Mike Newell
Writer(s): Boaz Yakin(screenplay), Doug Miro ( screenplay), Carlo Bernard (screenplay) Jordan Mechner (screen story) Jordan Mechner (video game series "Prince of Persia")
Staring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action.
Running Time: 116 min
Synopsis: Based on the video game, which follows an adventurous prince who teams up with a rival princess to stop an angry ruler from unleashing a sandstorm that could destroy the world.

What Others Are Saying?


Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 39% (Rotten), Top Critics: 23% (Rotten), RT Community: 73% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 49 out of 100, Users: 8.4 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 52: (0.0% A, 26.4% B, 54.4% C, 16.8% D, and 0.0% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: C+ Users: A-

My Review

Source Material: Based on the video game.

Entertaining Value:

  • Action Elements: There is a lot of action sequence most of them using the same parkour tricks, but from what I have been told its an homage to the video game.
  • Comedy Elements: Cheesy factor +1, most of the joke where a bit on the cheesy side but at the same time kind of witty.
  • Dramatic Elements: There were quite a few moments the film tried to take a breather from the action with a drama kiss but it was usually interrupt by the bad guys.
  • Sci-Fi / Fantasy Elements: The film incorporated some bending of time aspects, hence the title of the film, The Sands of Time.

Cinematic Value:

  • Acting and Dialogue: B-: Let say I have seen better from Jake Gyllenhaal, he wasn't bad there just was something missing from his performance. This is the only second time I have seen Gemma Arterton in a film, so Iam going to say, "So far so good"
  • Art Direction: A-: For the most part Jerry Bruckheimer production have decent art direction this film hold up to those standards.
  • Cinematography: B+: The fighting choreography was great, From what I hear shooting this isn't the easiest, so I give a small token of kudos to the filmmakers on this one.
  • Direction: B: I only known Mike Newell's work from Harry Potter, so from that standpoint he has improved in my opinion.
  • Editing: B+: With all the parkour stunts and fast pace action I think they asembem it in away we as an adiance didnt lose the brilliantly crafted fighting choreography. I say the same to the editing team as I did to the filmmakers, kudoes.
  • Screenplay: C: In my opinion the weakest element to this film was its story, one there where some holes in the story, that I would classify as a continuity issue. I already mentioned how cheesy the dialogue was. Well, even thought it was kind of witty, not to many people laugh at the jokes sadly. That maybe to bad writing?
  • Sound and Music: B: There was a decent score.
  • VFX: C+: I think I would have enjoy the film if the FX were 50% better. They were go but not that good.

Overall: B-: Its one of those popcorn summer movies, that you could take most of the family to, little kids would be board, hence my use of the word "most". I say it was a fairly decent movie, yes it has some cinematic flaws but it is entertaining.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Review: Robin Hood

IMDb

Title: Robin Hood
Distributor:
Universal Pictures
Director:
Ridley Scott
Writer(s):
Brian Helgeland (screenplay), Brian Helgeland (story), and Ethan Reiff (story)& Cyrus Voris (story)
Staring:
Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Mark Strong, Oscar Isaac, Mark Addy, Matthew Macfadyen, Kevin Durand, Scott Grimes, and Alan Doyle
MPAA Rating:
Rated PG-13 for violence including intense sequences of warfare, and some sexual content.
Running Time:
140 min
Synopsis:
The story of an archer in the army of Richard Coeur de Lion who fights against the Norman invaders and becomes the legendary hero known as Robin Hood.

What Others Are Saying?


Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 44% (Rotten), Top Critics: 42% (Rotten), RT Community: 65% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 53 out of 100, Users: 5.9 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 57: (7.2% A, 31.6% B, 45.6% C, 14.6% D, and 0.0% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: B Users: A-

My Review

Source Material: Characters based on the Robin Hood legend and folklore.

Entertaining Value:
  • Action Elements: Lets just say it had action but it was very weak and a bit boring in parts.
  • Comedy Elements: There were some cutesy line but I wasn't laughing much during the film.
  • Dramatic Elements: The film main drive was drama, but again it was a bit weak
  • Sci-Fi / Fantasy Elements: Beside the already legendary aspect of Robin Hood.
Cinematic Value:
  • Acting and Dialogue: B+: The acting was good only because the starring roll were cast with Academy Award Winning Actors. But even the other charters did a good job.
  • Art Direction: B+: I think the costuming was the best part of the art in the film. I think period films always win when come to costuming.
  • Cinematography: B: The Cinematographer made some inserting choices that worked for the film.
  • Direction: C+: For The most part I like most if not all of Ridley Scott's work. Film likes Gladiator usually squeak into my top ten all time favorites. Ridley Scott slightly missed the mark on this one, mainly because their was major pacing issues.
  • Editing: C+: I can see how most of the people I talk to say the film was hard to follow and kind of boring, cause it somewhat a bad editing job. There's quite a few times it switches back in forth.
  • Screenplay: B: I enjoined the fact the story was "historically" based but at the same time holds up the legend aspect of it. I also like how it was more of a story of how Robin Hood became Robin Hood rather than the classic story of a man stealing from the rich and giving from the poor.
  • Sound and Music: B: It was one of the better scores I have heard in awhile.
  • VFX: B: I think the partial effect were great and the stunt teams did a good job.
Overall: B: The true defection of a film with mixed reviews, your either going to like it like myself but there also going quite a few who lean toward, "its boring" I can't recommend it as a must go see but fanboys of that time period, should like the film. Just because I liked it dosent mean you will.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Review: Kick-Ass

IMDb

Title: Kick-Ass
Distributor:
Lionsgate
Director:
Matthew Vaughn
Writer(s):
Jane Goldman(screenplay) & Matthew Vaughn(screenplay)
Staring:
Aaron Johnson, Evan Peters, Clark Duke, Lyndsy Fonseca, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Mark Strong, Chloe Moretz, Nicolas Cage
MPAA Rating:
Rated R for strong brutal violence throughout, pervasive language, sexual content, nudity and some drug use - some involving children
Running Time:
117 min
Synopsis:
Dave Lizewski is an unnoticed high school student and comic book fan who one day decides to become a super-hero, even though he has no powers, training or meaningful reason to do so.

What Others Are Saying?


Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 78% (Fresh), Top Critics: 76% (Fresh), RT Community: 92% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 67 out of 100, Users: 8.6 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 72: (29.6% A, 43.8% B, 20.6% C, 5.0% D, and 0.0% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: B Users: A-

My Review

Source Material: Based on comic book series written by Mark Millar and illustrated by John Romita, Jr

Entertaining Value:
  • Action Elements: A lot of stylized fighting aka kicking ass.
  • Comedy Elements: There are a good amount of reference to comic books and pop culture. The brutality of the fights were funny to the guys in the crowed.
  • Dramatic Elements: Just high school drama.
  • Sci-Fi / Fantasy Elements: Anything that would fit into a comic book realm.
Cinematic Value:
  • Acting and Dialogue: B+: The line deliverance was great. As far as performance there were not to bad since most of the cast are all newish to the business
  • Art Direction: B+: I think the costuming was the best part of the art in the film.
  • Cinematography: A-: Action sequence were great. The film makers experimented with cool techniques and they worked beautifully
  • Direction: A: Were looking at a fairly new director here, who has some pretty awesome producing credits with films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. I liking Matthew Vaughn more and more. How did he do on this film, well Kick Ass (some pun attended).
  • Editing: A: The transitions in the film were sweet. I liked how the editing paired very nicely with the cinematography.
  • Screenplay: B: The story seem to be pretty solid, from what I have heard from my friends who read the comic is its fairly close to the book.
  • Sound and Music: A: The sound track was great, it to fit the on screen action.
  • VFX: A: I personally want to say kudos to all who did there own stunts on this film, it was one of the better action movies with real kick ass fighting in, that I liked. Therefore, I also have to give props to the stunt guys also case they made everyone else look bad ass.
Moral and Ethical Value:
  • Themes: Superheros
  • Moral of the Story: Standing up form someone could pay off in the end.
  • Take Home: The most Kick Ass movie ever.

Overall: A-: Its deferentially a good guys movie Comic book nerd should also like it. But its also a pretty funny movie, but it rated R so its not for everyone, duh.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Review: Clash of the Titans

IMDb

Title: Clash of the Titans
Distributor:
Legendary Pictures (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Director:
Louis Leterrier
Writer(s):
Travis Beacham (screenplay), Phil Hay (screenplay), Matt Manfredi (screenplay), and Beverley Cross (1981 screenplay)
Staring:
Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes
MPAA Rating:
Rated PG-13 for fantasy action violence, some frightening images and brief sensuality.
Running Time:
118 min
Synopsis:
The mortal son of the god Zeus embarks on a perilous journey to stop the underworld and its minions from spreading their evil to Earth as well as the heavens.

What Others Are Saying?


Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 31% (Rotten), Top Critics: 33% (Rotten), RT Community: 53% (rotten)
Metacritic: Critics: 40 out of 100, Users: 5.4 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 44: (0.0% A, 29.3% B, 28.1% C, 34.6% D, and 7.8% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: C+ Users: B

My Review

Source Material: Based on the 1981 film Clash of the Titans written by Beverley Cross. The original film is based off a Greek mythological story about Perseus and Andromeda.

Entertaining Value:
  • Action Elements: There a lot of "Fantasy Action" so sword play and what not, but it wasn't as epic as I wanted it to be / expected it to be.
  • Comedy Elements: I think I could count the "jokes" of the film on one hand.
  • Dramatic Elements: There are a lot of daddy issues, but no highly dramatic scenes.
  • Sci-Fi / Fantasy Elements: It's Greek Mythology so its chalk full of VFX
Cinematic Value:
  • Acting and Dialogue: B-: A friend / co-worker told me, "I cant get over the fact Liam Neeson is playing Zeus" I replied with, "But Liam Neeson is a god." It sad but true the best acting comes from the main gods from the film Liam Neeson as Zeus and Ralph Fiennes as Hades. Everyone else was decent the only person I think was a bit off when it comes to acting chops is Sam Worthington. He maybe on the up rise right now with Avatar but he is mediocre at best. When he gave the "let get ready for battle men" speech I wasn't convinced to fight, like I would have been in another movie.
  • Art Direction: B+: I did like the authentic feel of the film. Greece during the Golden Ages
  • Cinematography: B-: It could have been better. There were a lot of shots I liked very much so, mainly the action ones. Also bad use of 3-D there could have been really cool parts but there wasn't...i guess nothing will ever live up to Avatar for a while.
  • Direction: A: We have seen Louis Leterrier work before in the films Unleashed, Transporter 2, The Incredible Hulk. I personally liked both Transporter 2 and The Incredible Hulk. Clash of the Titans seem to me that it didn't do his name justice.
  • Editing: B-: There were some scene that confused me.
  • Screenplay: C: It veered to far from the original story. There where some parts I was like, "you could have left that out completely but fans of the old movie will hate you for it" Big key element I would have liked to seen but were cut: Better use of Acrisius/Calibos character, use Andromeda as the love interest and not Io, and the use of Bubo.
  • Sound and Music: A: The score was good all around, some piece of the music fit beautifully with the action happening on screen.
  • VFX: A: The open story about the gods over throwing of the titans was the best use of graphics and visual effect to tell a story via stars, cause most of our constellations do tell of stories from Greek mythology including this one. Very nice touch. The film carries this greatness of VFX in other parts of the film also like the Kraken
Moral and Ethical Value:
  • Themes: Men vs Beast and Men vs God
  • Moral of the Story: Good defeats evil.
  • Take Home: Greek mythology is close to my heart

Overall: B: Its a good guy movie. its a decent action movie, it an okay sword and sandal movie, so maybe consider seeing it at least once.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Review:Alice in Wonderland

IMDb

Title: Alice in Wonderland
Distributor:
Walt Disney Pictures
Director:
Tim Burton
Writer(s):
Linda Woolverton (screenplay), Lewis Carroll (books)
Staring:
Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Matt Lucas, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, Alan Rickman
MPAA Rating:
Rated PG for fantasy action/violence involving scary images and situations, and for a smoking caterpillar.
Running Time:
108 min
Synopsis:
19-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's reign of terror.

What Others Are Saying?


Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 53% (Rotten), Top Critics: 61% (Fresh), RT Community: 74% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 53 out of 100, Users: 5.9 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 60: (10.6% A, 36.7% B, 39.0% C, 12.9% D, and 0.0% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: NA Users: B

My Review

Source Material: Based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll. I haven't read the books so I don't know how it hold up to the source material but because I know how Tim Burton treats source material I am guessing its perrty close.

Entertaining Value:
  • Action Elements: There a lot of "Fantasy Action" so sword play and what not.
  • Comedy Elements: There are some cleaver line said from the Hatter that can be quite funny.
  • Dramatic Elements: Enriched with drama and back-story.
  • Sci-Fi / Fantasy Elements: One of the first fantasy so yes there is a good amount of VFX type shoots.
Cinematic Value:
  • Acting and Dialogue: A: I loved the cast, I know being a Tim Burton film were going to see Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter but the other cast members were just as great.
  • Art Direction: A+: Very beautiful, Seeing that magical world come to life was awesome. If I am not mistaking Tim Burton did some art direction project on his earlier films, so I expect the best.
  • Cinematography: A: The Cinematography complimented the art direction like in every Tim Burton film. I think is was beautiful and magnificent.
  • Direction: A: This film surely has the Tim Burton style, some pacing issues like near the begging it dragged a bit and near the end it was too fast the final battle was lacking length.
  • Editing: B: It was cut together well but like I said before there was some pacing issues.
  • Screenplay: A-: I think the story highlights the wonderfulness of both Alice stories while at the same time holding its own as an "original" story.
  • Sound and Music: A: Finally a film with a score. It seem all the films I enjoyed watching over the past couple of months have been flooded with music from mediocre sound tracks.
  • VFX: A: There was a good mixture of live action and animation, both of which blend together to create a pretty flawless Underland (Wonderland).
Moral and Ethical Value:
  • Themes: Innocents, Ignorance, Betrayal
  • Moral of the Story: Good defeats evil.
  • Take Home: Following the white rabbit could lead to a wondrous adventure.

Overall: A-: Visually it was amazing. The other elements of the film hold up to be good also, I say see it once if not twice (once in 2-D and once in 3-D)

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Review Shutter Island

IMDb

Title: Shutter Island
Distributor:
Paramount Pictures
Director:
Martin Scorsese
Writer(s):
Laeta Kalogridis (screenplay), Dennis Lehane (novel)
Staring:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo
MPAA Rating:
Rated R for disturbing violent content, language and some nudity.
Running Time:
138 min
Synopsis:
Drama is set in 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island. .

What Others Are Saying?


Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 66% (Fresh), Top Critics: 62% (Fresh), RT Community: 87% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 62 out of 100, Users: 7.1 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 71: (26.3% A, 46.3% B, 20.9% C, 5.0% D, and 0.0% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: NA Users: B

My Review


Source Material:
Baed on a book with the same title by author Dennis Lehane

Entertaining Value:
  • Action Elements: There are some action sequence but this film is more dramatically driven.
  • Comedy Elements: Maybe a few cleaver lines but not much of a comedy.
  • Dramatic Elements: Highly dramatic with great acting
  • Sci-Fi / Fantasy Elements: Some dream sequence have some neat effects but that about it.
Cinematic Value:
  • Acting and Dialogue: A-: The acting was very believable and Leonardo DiCaprio dose a good job even thought I am not a fan of his work generally.
  • Art Direction: B+: The art direction it was a very colorful movie, which contrasted the dark content. I have to say great make-up
  • Cinematography: A-: They had some very cool shoots, with a good amount of verity
  • Direction: A: The movie felt a little long but over all Martin Scorsese knows what he is doing for sure.
  • Editing: B: It was cut together in away that kept you thinking, and on the edge of your seat.
  • Screenplay: B: It was a decent story. most people will guess the plot twist but it dose a very good job going back and fouth on the guessing game.
  • Sound and Music: B: Brought an effect dark felling to the film
  • VFX: B: Some of the dream sequence where neat...but it's the make up that take the cake...great make-up
Moral and Ethical Value:
  • Themes: "Crazy is a normal thing here"
  • Moral of the Story: The mind is a beautiful thing to waste.
  • Take Home: Maybe I should get a physic test, just kidding, but really I may be crazy.

Overall: A-: I enjoyed this movie, I think you should give a chance.

Review Cop Out

IMDb

Title: Cop Out
Distributor:
Warner Bros. Pictures Fox
Director:
Kevin Smith
Writer(s):
Robb Cullen (written by) & Mark Cullen (written by)
Staring:
Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan
MPAA Rating:
Rated R for pervasive language including sexual references, violence and brief sexuality.
Running Time:
107 min
Synopsis:
A comedy about a veteran NYPD cop whose rare baseball card is stolen. Since it's his only hope to pay for his daughter's upcoming wedding, he recruits his partner to track down the thief, a memorabilia-obsessed gangster.

What Others Are Saying?

Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 20% (Rotten), Top Critics: 21% (Rotten), RT Community: 63% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 32 out of 100, Users: 4.0 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 37: (0.0% A, 10.2% B, 46.7% C, 31.5% D, and 11.5% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: C Users: B


My Review

Source Material:
Original screenplay written by brothers Mark and Robb Cullen

Entertaining Value:

  • Action Elements: With being a comedy about cops their is some action sequence but they more slapsticky cause the comedy aspect of the film.
  • Comedy Elements: There are a few one-liners that got the whole theater laughing but these happen mainly in the opening credits .
  • Dramatic Elements: Umm not so much, they actually make fun of melodramatic moments in movies.
  • Sci-Fi / Fantasy Elements: No shiney Sci-fi elements this time.

Cinematic Value:

  • Acting and Dialogue: B-: The strongest actor was Bruce Wills but the strongest comedic performer was Sean William Scott. Tracy Morgan wast as annoy as he usually is in movies. There some great one liners, and pop culture references
  • Art Direction: C-: Nothing too fancy here
  • Cinematography: C-: Agian nothing too fancy here
  • Direction: B: Kevin Smith is very good at asembling a good comdey, this was good but there was some chemistry missing. Maybe that because he not using his normal comic players
  • Editing: C: Nothing special
  • Screenplay: B: The story wasn't half bad, a bit cliche but it work for a comedy
  • Sound and Music: C: I wasn't the biggest fan
  • VFX: NA not enough to commit on

Moral and Ethical Value:

  • Themes: Friendship, "A Couple of Dicks"
  • Moral of the Story: Friends stick up for each other together even in the hard times, I got your back
  • Take Home: A couple of laughs, that's about it.

Overall:
C: Even thought I liked this film for it comedy aspects it relay suck every else.