Sunday, December 30, 2012

Review: Django Unchained

IMDb

Title:
Django Unchained

Distributor: Weinstein Company
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writer(s): Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio
MPAA Rating: Rated R for strong graphic violence throughout, a vicious fight, language and some nudity.
Running Time: 165 min
Synopsis: With the help of his mentor, a slave-turned-bounty hunter sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.


What Others Are Saying?


Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 89% (Fresh), Top Critics: 79% (Rotten), Audience: 94% (Like It)
Metacritic: Critics: 81 out of 100, Users: 8.0 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 80 out of 100
My Review

Source Material: The Head of Quentin Tarantino and company.  

Entertaining Value:

  • Action Elements: This film isn't action pack, but it has it far share of action, and blood, and guts ect. Its a a quintessential guys movie, would Tarantino have any other way.  
  • Comedy Elements: This film inst a comedy by far, but it have a good amount of humorous lines. 
  • Dramatic Elements: This were the movie takes the cake mainly because Tarantino knows dialogue and how to make well written characters, now more than ever. He seem to even cast the perfect people as well. I hope to see some nomination out this film.
  • Sci-Fi / Fantasy Elements: This film is a period piece so the visual effect were in the form of fake blood and gun shots. 
Cinematic Value:
  • Acting and Dialogue: 9: Most of people who are fans of Quentin Tarantino film knows the man can damn right write good dialogue. Django Unchained is very much his handy work but a bit better. The words coming out the actors mouths fit the character to a tee, more then they did in his earlier work. Heck we started to see this evolution of his work a few years back with Inglourious Basterds. The actors themselves were also golden. I mean Oscar golden. 
  • Art Direction: 8: Got love the western backdrop meeting with the deep south. There was a good amount of locations most of them fitting the bill for the scene.
  • Cinematography: 8.5: With every Quentin Tarantino film there are those special camera choice that seem to end up in everyone of his film. That's not bad it just a signature, and I like it. I think its fun and brings a new perceptive to the scene.   
  • Direction: 9: I thought the pacing of the film was good. Like most of Tarantino's work the surprising turn around between "acts" was good as always. I personal like a movie every once in while break the mold and step out of it genre and try something new or even crazy.  
  • Editing: 8: I kind of glad Quentin Tarantino didn't break down in acts like he tends to do. I enjoined the story to unfold for itself.  
  • Screenplay: 10: I will say it again and again until it becomes untrue Quentin Tarantino makes damn good scripts with well developed characters and stories. What more can you ask for? I typically like Sci-fi movies but nothing comes close to well written movie. I like Sci-fi for the adventure and the fun aspect not necessarily the writing but Tarantino usually provides both fun and great writing.        
  • Sound and Music: 7: I always think the music choice in Tarantino films are weird but kind of work. The same would be true for this film.   
  • VFX: 7: The FX in this movie and most of Quentin Tarantino film can be done with prosthetic and fake blood, but making believable is hard part. Dose it really matter if it looks real, when a guy arm gets blown off and more blood then normal appears, I didn't think so.   
Overall: 8: Lets just say this will mostly go down as another cult classic like other Tarantino film tend to do, but it was a good movie. I enjoyed myself. I say to all the girlfriends give your man a shot. After you drag him into Les Miserables let him drag you into Django Unchained. I think it will be a win-win. Don't get me wrong Les Miserables was fantastic but Django Unchained might as well be up there with is, especially for the GUYS out there.         

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Review:The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

IMDb

Title:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Distributor: New Line Cinema
Director: Peter Jackson
Writer(s): Fran Walsh (screenplay), Philippa Boyens (screenplay), Peter Jackson (screenplay), and Guillermo del Toro (screenplay)
Starring: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, and many others Dwarves
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for extended sequences of intense fantasy action violence, and frightening images.
Running Time: 169 min
Synopsis: A younger and more reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, sets out on a "unexpected journey" to the Lonely Mountain with a spirited group of Dwarves to reclaim a their stolen mountain home from a dragon named Smaug.


What Others Are Saying?


Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 65% (Fresh), Top Critics: 42% (Rotten), Audience: 81% (Like It)
Metacritic: Critics: 58 out of 100, Users: 8.5 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 64 out of 100
My Review

Source Material: Adapted from the book titled "The Hobbit" written by J. R. R. Tolkien

Entertaining Value:

  • Action Elements: This film was jammed packed with action. Sadly the critic didn't like the added action sequence, the majority of them seem to agree it slowed the film down, unsaid of making it more exciting like action suppose to do. There was only one add scene that I questioned only because it remind me of Rockem Sockem Robots, but even then it was still a fun an entertaining moment in the film.
  • Comedy Elements: This film is an adventure, and a fun one. In any fantasy story who doesn't love a fun bunch of Dwarves. Personally I think Dwarves are funny
  • Dramatic Elements: This movie didn't hit a large array of emotions like The Lord of the Rings but it showcased a good amount of them, enough to make it feel little more than a fun adventure.
  • Sci-Fi / Fantasy Elements: This film takes place in Middle-Earth, so not having fantasy elements in the film is like not having sugar in ice cream.
Cinematic Value:
  • Acting and Dialogue: 8: The actor they got to play the younger Bilbo was great. He not only matches the nuances of Ian Holm but Bilbo as a character himself. I saw Bilbo not an actor punting up his best efforts to play Bilbo. I enjoyed the cameos from the old cast from Lord of the Rings. I like it when film series keep their worlds tight buy casting the same actors.
  • Art Direction: 9: Peter Jackson and his team at WETA make some awesome stuff that is equally beautiful while at the same time believable. i understand a good part of this was due to the beautiful landscape of New Zealand
  • Cinematography: 7: I personally can't wait to see this film again but this time in 48fps. I know a lot of people say it weakens the VFX and at times it detracting but the film was made that way so I attend to see it in that format. I will make a judgment call then, so for now I will say it looked good.
  • Direction: 8: I think the movies actually flowed well. Yes it’s a long movie but it didn't really feel that long, maybe it’s because I was have a great time. Compared to Lord of the Rings this film is more uplifting and fun. I hate to say this but The Lord of the Rings can become a bit boring sometimes. What I'm trying to say is you would have more luck getting a child to watch the entire movie without getting bored than you would with The Lord of the Rings.
  • Editing: 7: I don't think my eyes are as a tuned to editing as everything else or there wasn't anything god awful wrong with the editing.
  • Screenplay: 9: From the amount of "The Hobbit" I have "read" [I listen to a good chunk on audio books] I was impress with how closely the film and book were related. Some parts of the movie were even verbatim. Let's just say those parts warmed my heart. I also like the add parts to connect the cannon that Peter Jackson created with The Lord of the Rings. This aspect even bleeds into the filmmaking itself, including the music and camera work. Now I know a lot of critics are putting out negative feedback saying things among the line, "This film is draw out and should have been one, 2-2½ film and not three." Personally I can't play the "what if" game, so I won't. This whole time I have been saying this film was very fun and entertaining; the story didn't detract from that.
  • Sound and Music: 7: The score was awesome. It was nice hearing melodies from Lord of the Rings. It was another element that grounds this movie in Middle Earth Peter Jackson has made.
  • VFX: 8: It worked; there wasn't a time in the film I said that's fake and bad VFX. I believe Peter Jackson has improved since Lord of the Rings.
Overall: 8: I personally enjoyed the film and I can honestly recommend it to pretty much anyone, even a family of five. I believe the money spent at a movie theater on this film is very well spent. I think the critics are out of touch with the audience on this one. It might not be a critically acclaimed film like Lord of the Rings but it was a good movie and I'm bold enough to say great.