Noah

Noah is the next Darren Aronofsky film. It is a retelling of the story of Noah's Ark from the bible. You know, the one where he builds an ark and gets two of every animal on it. And then he watches the world around him drown to death. It stars Russell Crowe as Noah, along with Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Hopkins, Logan Lerman, and Emma Watson.

I am going to do something a little different this review. I am going to talk about a criticism of the film or at least a criticism to certain people. The story is based off the story in the bible. Now if your looking for an epic Noah film that is just the story put on film, this is not your movie. They do take liberties with the story. I personally really enjoyed it for that. Now the acting in the film is very well done. Some don't really get their chances to shine, but everyone does very good in their roles. The big ones in my eyes were Crowe and Connelly. Both had big moments and both knock it out of the park. With Crowe you can see how some of the things he had to do really effected him. Which I found to be amazing. It made the character part of the film amazing.

Although Crowe had top bill, Aronofsky was the star of the film. He knocks out of the part with this film. The film is almost like two films to me. The first half of the film felt like that big bible Cecil B. DeMille epic and the second half of the film felt like The Black Swan and The Wrestler. Now I don't think the two films mixed very well, but if we are looking at them as different movies both are done perfectly and with class. My major problem with the film is the script. I'm not saying that the script is bad though. They use symbols, dialogue and themes perfectly through the entire film.  The thing that it does wrong though is the huge plot holes in the film. Now I don't know if that is source material or the writers, but they are problems with the film.

This is a very good film. All together, if you like Aronofsky's other films you will feel right at home with this one. I would also like to add if you aren't a religious person this film keeps you mind and you should still be able to watch this film without feeling like you betrayed your beliefs.

RATING
3.25 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

Top 13 Favorite Horror films

Those that know me know what my personal favorite film of all time is, Pulp Fiction. The thing is gangster/ crime films aren't my favorite genre of film. That award goes to the one and the only the Horror film. Yes, horror films are my favorite. They catch a lot of bad heat for being one of the worse genres of film. Which I understand there is a ton of stupid and just plain bad horror films out there and also people who say they are bad because they scare them. To that I say isn't that the point. So if your not a fan of genre I have decided to make a list of my personal favorites and thing they represent the best the genre has to offer. Horror is a huge genre having many sub-genres, but I will be including all genres so hopefully nothing will be excluded. This is also my favorite not what I say is the "scariest" since scary may not mean the same to everyone. I will admit the films on this list do frighten me.  I will also do a micro review of each film basically just a few thoughts I have on the film. What I like and the basic of basic plots.

  

The Horrible 13

13) The Silence Of The Lambs- This film gave us one of the most interesting characters in all of cinema.  That being Hannibal Lector. Yes, I am aware that Hannibal Lector was in another film before based off the book "Red Dragon", but the performance done by Sir Anthony Hopkins is so legendary that it in my eyes is the first time we truly saw the character.  The story is Clarice Starling is looking for the killer Buffalo Bill and needs Lectors help to find him. The film is a horror film. I don't care if people say "But its a thriller,” NO I am sorry its horror. 

12) The Shining- What hasn't been said about the Shinning. You have Jack Nicholson going crazy. You have the great Stanly Kubrick behind it and you have one of the creepiest settings of all time. This film is tense and the viewer feels it all the way thought the film. It truly is a masterpiece. The story is Jack Torrance becomes the overseer at a Hotel that has to close down for the winter. He brings his family along. Then all of sudden some pretty odd things start to happen. 

11) Paranormal Activity 3- I personal thing this is the best this series had to offer. The first in my opinion started this found footage style craze we seem to find ourselves in. I will admit The Blair Witch Project also gets credit. This film did a lot for the genre it added humor with the super intense scares and also had a very powerful ending. 1 and 2 are just as good as each other but 3 is where the series hit its highest point and its best point. The story is about a family of 4 are living there normal lives in 1988 and when ghosts or something else start to terrorize them.  

The Big 10 

10) Halloween (1978) John Carpenter's- Okay people this is like the slasher film. I mean it started the crazy. Who doesn't know this film. Everything it does. It made a genre of film. I will repeat that so people can understand how important that is. IT MADE A GENRE OF FILM. When this film came out people couldn't sleep and eat for like a week. It had a huge impact on our culture and I am happy to say that is one of the few films that I will watch every Halloween till the day I die. The story Michael Myers (not Austin Powers) stalks a bunch of babysitters. Simple story and it is still effective to this day. 

9) The Conjuring- I think this is the scariest modern horror film to date. I was terrified after watching this film. This is a film that paid homage to 1970s ghost films. This is a film were everything works. The performances are all so good. The story is very good and the scares all feel real and genuine. It works on every level. The story is a family of 7 moves into a new house and once again ghost come after them. (is anybody noticing a trend here) Full review-http://quickfilmreviews.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-conjuring.html

8) The Descent- This is the film that spawned two great and personal loves in film. One being the horror film. For a while I really didn't enjoy horror films too much. After a watched a few in like a marathon. I got more and more used to them. Then I saw this masterpiece and it is when I became a horror junky. The other one is a powerful female cast/characters. The all female cast is amazing in this film. The film does one thing that I personal find very hard to do makes you feel like the walls are closing in on you. It is almost split into to films. The story starts off as a group of friends go spelunking and gets cut off in a cave system. Then they have to fight there way out but they soon find out they are not alone. 

7) The Evil Dead- "Groovy" That is all. 

6) Let The Right Ones In- This is the only foreign horror film to make the list and it just missed the top 5. This film really brought back what it meant to be a vampire after Twilight came out. It has one of the best stories ever put to film for horror. I enjoy all the acting and the scares are some of the most memorable. I will also mention Let Me In, this would be the American version of the film. It also does a lot of great things for the genre. If you haven't seen them you should because it’s not a great horror film but a great film.  The story is about a little girl that is a vampire and a boy who meets her. 

The Big 5 

5) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)- Even thought this film came out before Halloween. It would still go under the genre of slasher. I think this is the most brutal film I have ever seen. The imagery and the way it was shot just combine to make one of the realest looking films without applying the found footage style. Tobe Hooper was a mad genius with this film. The film is about a bunch of friends on a road trip to a grave site when they come across there old home. They find a new family there and that is all I will say. 

4) Jaws- "Where gonna need a bigger boat" This film started shark week. This film started the summer blockbuster season. This film started STEVEN SPIELBERG. It also has one of the greatest horror themes of all time. (If not the greatest horror theme of all time.) The film is about a shark. This film needs to be seen by everyone. Not just horror film fans, but fans of film. It works to this day. It is still fun to watch and quote. 

3) A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)- Just saying my high school was on Elm Street. I didn't sleep much in class because of this film. It gave us the best slasher killer of all time in Freddy Kruger. It is also done by the great Wes Craven. It has one of the greatest ideas in film. It is about dreams within dreams (oh wait sorry that's that dumb Inception film) but all jokes aside. The film is about a killer that you can't escape a man that gets you when you sleep. Talk about a way to keep you up at night. When I was a kid this film scared me so bad that I had to run to my mom. 

2) Psycho(1960) - The shower scene alone would have made it on to this list. It is the most infamous film scenes of all time. It only clocks in at 3:21 (at least the scene on YouTube). Then there is the rest of the film. I don't really know what else to say about Psycho. I mean if you haven't seen it. See it. This is another film that will last forever and will never be forgotten.

Now after all that Kyle's Favorite Horror film of all time is 

1) Cabin In the Woods- Cabin is the woods is the perfect horror film for the horror film fan. It does everything and pays homage to all the films I have just mentioned. It also has one the best stories out there. I won't spoil it for you so just see it. It also has a great sense of humor. The only problem with my favorite horror film of all time is that it isn't really that scary. I love this film still and watch it almost every year. It is a parody that works on its own that as a horror film what more can I ask for. Full review-

Now after that is all said and done. I have on more thing I would like to say. People yes horror films have a bad rep and people don't like them because they are scary or gory. I just want everyone to see this without the horror film I probably wouldn't want to become a filmmaker or a film reviewer. So they hold a very special place in my heart.  I will leave you saying this. Everyone can always use a good scare. 

300: Rise Of An Empire

This film is the prequel sequel to the smash hit that was 300 done by Zack Snyder. I have found that 300 is one of those films you love or hate. It is a simple film. It's not trying to be this masterpiece of high thinking story-telling. What it was trying to do was give tribute to one of the most visually striking graphic novels of all time. Now that 300 did very well, it was able to create its own style and it is very  much style over substance. I personally love the style of the first film so I knew what to expect going in, visual gore fest of guys kicking the crap out of each other.

Now the film's strongest point is the fact it has a set up world and set up style. The style of the film is the same but different from the first film.  Yes, you get the super slow-mo and hyper CGI looking film, but you can tell the director is not Zack Snyder. I could tell right form the beginning this film wasn't being headed by him, but he was in the background. The camera movements work a lot better and have more of a point. They got rid of the quick zoom in and zoom out thing that the first one. It's still there but not as bad. They use longer takes which gives it a lot more tease moments and you get to see the fighting a lot better. While I am talking about the fighting, Its awesome! I mean if your going to see this film for the fighting you're in good hands.

Now where the film falls apart is the whole story, script and acting. There is a lot wrong in this department. The story is simple. Nothing we haven't seen before. (SPOILERS) It takes place right at the beginning of the last film, but is forced more on the Athens side of the war. So with that you don't see much of the badass Spartans. (END OF SPOILERS) Now another thing wrong with the script is the characters. You don't care about anybody and you don't really get to know anybody expect one character which I will get to. Now the acting is alright they all do what they need to do. The replacement isn't as likable as Gerard Butler was from the last film. He is okay, but if Butler would have still been in that leader role I think it would have been a better film.

Now the saving grace that is the character and acting in this film is Eva Green. Holy hell she was having the most fun in this film. Like, her character was badass for lack of a better word and on top of it she killed it as the head villain. I was rooting for her to win by the end of the film. Not a good thing for the film, but awesome to watch. I would personally want a 300 3 with just her character. My final thoughts; if you enjoyed the first film you should like this film. It's action packed and will get the action junkies' butts into the seats. Everyone else wait for the Blu-ray

RATING
2 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

RoboCop (2014)

RoboCop is the new remake and redone version of the 1987 classic of the same title. The film is about a straight arrow cop of Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnamn) who gets nearly killed in the line of duty and this company OCI comes and gives a second chance and turns him into RoboCop.

To start off this film could have been really bad or really good. I know that sounds like a stupid statement, but this is a remake and with the market that is so chalk full of them and a lot not good this one has a lot to live up to. To begin the music in the film is actually really good and made me happy for one reason. They didn't change them theme song which put a huge smile on face. They updated the sound, but not the actual tune itself. Also I thought the acting in the film is really good. Gary Oldman is very good like he always and Abbie Cornish who plays Murphy's wife was very good. The CGI in the film is very cool and good looking.

Now where the film falls in my eyes is the script. It does a lot of things right, but it also does a lot of that works. I can tell the script has seen a lot of hands. First one thing it does right is characters themselves all are very good and very well done. Now I think the over all plot and storyline is were the film ultimately fails. There are points in the film that really could have been cut and it has this political message in the to the much more satire version of the original. Which I don't think really works at all in the film. So it really is a bad tone and pace for the film. The action that you see in the film is cool but not very gripping.

So for all those faults I still enjoyed watching the film over all but not enough for a fresh or a recommend to people. If you have seen the first one I would say stick with that one. It is a better film, but if you have time and you want to watch this you won't be crying by the end of it.

RATING
1.75 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

The Lego Movie

The Lego Movie is the newest WB animated film. It is about Legos. And when I say that it's about Legos, I mean it's just about Legos. This film is a blend of Stop Motion animation and CGI. It is about a normal everyday Joe named Emmet he finds something that makes him, as the movie puts it, "the special."

Let's start this film off right. Is it funny and good for kids? Oh yeah it is! This film starts off at a super fast pace and never stops that pace. I mean this film has so much energy. The jokes they start and they don't stop till the end of the film. They are also done with great pacing. Like, some jokes get set up and take the whole film to pay off. Then there are like, one sentence jokes that work perfectly and will have you laughing non-stop. Then they have all the in jokes, two of those said jokes I had to cover my mouth from laughing so much. The voice over work is perfect. Everyone does great and deserves big props. My personal favorites are Will Farrell as Lord Business and Will Arnett as Batman. Those are my favorites because they made me laugh the most. No one was better than the other. The story and overall theme of the film work perfectly. The themes are so good and everyone will get them including little kids. That part is what makes this film so great and what makes me love it.

Now with that being said I do have some problems with it. All though the Stop Motion and CGI work perfect over all there are some moments that it just doesn't blend the best. Still top notch work and should be seen. Also I think it runs a little long for younger kids, but once again, over all it is not at all a poorly paced film.

This film has set the bar for what is to come this year with animated films and with film in general. All the movies should be this good. It has set the bar very high for animation this year. Come Oscar season next year. I know who I will be rooting for.  Everything is Awesome!

RATING
3.75 out 4 Ticket Stubs

The Monuments Men

The Monuments Men is about a group of older soldiers in WWII that were tasked with finding and returning stolen art. It has a huge, amazingly talented cast but the thing that this film is going to be known for is the man in the director's chair. George Clooney is relatively new to the chair but I am sure you have heard that name before. The stars are Matt Damon, John Goodman, Bill Murray, and Cate Blanchett. I left a few names out but those four are the biggest names in my eyes.

This film was a odd one to say the least, and not a good odd. The pace and tone were just okay. The film clocks in at about 2 hours, it doesn't feel like two hours, but there is another problem with that that I will get to later. The tone was pretty well thought out in the film. It does lose itself at times, but isn't so bad that the normal viewer would be put off by it. The film was well shot.  I loved a lot of the shots and they were used very well in the film. It had a very classical way of telling the story which I really enjoyed.

Sadly, that is where my compliments end. The film is boring and very clichéd. Like I said above, the pace of the film is good, but it doesn't matter much. This film felt like Clooney was trying to make his version of Saving Private Ryan. It even steals the ending of the film to some degree. You never really get to know any of the characters, but the acting is good for what it is worth.  I will admit Bill Murray, John Goodman  and Cate Blanchett are doing a great job for what they have. The story about how we should look after our art is pretty good, but, as the viewer, you just don't care. This film is a huge disappointment in my eyes. It should have been very good and really could have been great, but misses the mark by a lot. For the first film that I am reviewing of 2014, this one made me sad so I am giving this film a

RATING
1 out 4 Ticket Stubs.

The Wolf of Wall Street

The Wolf of Wall Street is the next film by Martin Scorsese, personally one of my favorite directors. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill as the main two roles. The film is about a stockbroker named Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio) who is to eventually become known as the the wolf of wall street. It is mainly about the crazy adventures he has on his rise to riches.

This film is easily one of the most puzzling films of the year for me next to Man of Steel. There is definitely a ton of good in this film. DiCaprio is on fire in this role, just incredible. It wasn't like the Great Gatsby, where I really didn't see a character, just DiCaprio.  I saw exactly who DiCaprio was trying to show, Belfort. Then, Jonah Hill equally kills it along side of DiCaprio. I honestly got lost in Hill's character because of how amazing he did. The perfect casting for him. Now, the screenplay of this is film is amazing. This film is easily one of the funniest movies I have seen all year. The conversations that these people have are amazing and became the highlight of this film. The script felt very Tarantino-ish however. Possibly because of all the talking and the over the top characters.

My problem with this film is Martin Scorsese. Very rarely will I say I have a problem with the director. I really enjoyed his direction and it felt like one of his films with push ins with the dollies and well used moving cameras. I have a problem with the tone of the film. When I walked out of the movie, I was stuck like I didn't know if Scorsese wanted me to feel bad for these guys or if he wanted me to hate them. I felt like the tone was all over the pace. It has the same problem as in Pain and Gain (I know I just compared Michael Bay to Martin Scorsese). The person that the film was about was a really bad person but it was made into a comedy so I have no idea what to feel about this person by the end. Also, the run time is a 3 hours long and the last 45 could almost be cut from the film. The actually ending of the film felt very sloppy to me.

With all that being said, this just missed the cut for one of my favorites of the year. I really enjoyed the film because the writing and characters are just so damn interesting along with all the side characters in the film and the style it had.  I really want and need to see it again. So with that I am going to give it a

RATING
3.25 out of 4 Ticket Stubs.

My Top 10 of 2013

Now since this is my top ten films of 2013 this is all my personal favorite films. This means even thought I didn't give it a perfect rating it still may out beat other movies. Also I didn't see everything. So sorry if your favorite film isn't on the list.  I will also post the rating out of how many ticket stubs I think the movie deserves because I didn't do full reviews of all them. Also since this year I changed the way I did my Ticket Stubs system I will try and rework them for what it is now. I am so going to say I am sorry for not being as good this year as I was last year school kind of killed me so 2014 will be better promise.

1) Prisoners 4 out of 4
2) 12 Years a Slave 4 out of 4
3) Mud 4 out of 4
4) Gravity 3.75 out 4
5)Star Trek Into Darkness 4 out 4
6) Frozen 3 out of 4
7) American Hustle 3.75 out of 4
8) The Wolverine 3 out of 4
9) The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 3 out 4
10 )The Conjuring 4 out of 4

Movies that just missed the cut
Side Effects
The Place Beyond the Pines
Pacific Rim
The Hobbit: Smaug
The Wolf of Wall street

Movies that I missed this year, well the ones that I really wanted to see but didn't didn't get a chance.
Captain Phillips
Her
Rush
Blue is the Warmest Color
Lone Survivor
Secret life of Walter Mitty
Dallas Buyers Club
Inside Lleywn Davis

American Hustle

American Hustle is the next film done by the Director of Sliver Linings Playbook and The Fighter. If you were to combine the cast of those two movies you would get the basic cast for this film. It stars Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Bradley Cooper in the main three roles. It also stars, my gir,l Jen Lawrence in a supporting role as well Jeremy Renner in a supporting role.

This film has a style all of its own. I loved the tone of this film. It was funny and it had moments where I was on the edge of my seat much like last year's Argo. David O. Russell basically took some pages from Martin Scorsese's playbook and applied them thought out the film. He also had his own style all over the film as well. It really worked for the film and I enjoyed it so much. The acting was so great. All the leads and all the actors did amazingly well in this film. The acting alone should get you in the door. Now that being said my two favorite actors of the film were Lawrence (was that a surprise people) and Bale.  Bale to say the least was amazing. He put on a hell of a show and did so much to his body for his role. Then Lawrence just steals every damn scene she is in. There was a moment in the film where Lawrence and Bale are arguing and I forgot who both were and just got lost in the scene which was easily one of my favorite scenes of the year. Something else that was amazing in this film was the writing. Some of the best lines of the year were in this film and I also loved the story.

Now my one and only fault is in the middle. I feel like it loses it focus and starts to slow down a lot. In it's defense however, it does pick right back up at the start of the third act. The film is a great ride and really funny. It is easily one of my favorites of the year. I don't want to get into spoilers but here is my final thoughts. If you like a Goodfellas feel mixed with a Sliver Linings Playbook feel then this is your film.

RATING
3.75 out of 4

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug is the follow up to the first movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected  Journey. It stars a ton of people. I mean, to list the cast would take about half of the review. It is directed by Peter Jackson of course, and follows the same journey to the lonely mountain to get  back the Dwarfs' home.  If  you read my first review of The Hobbit I thought it had a lot of issues that needed to be fixed. Did they fix them? Well lets get to the review.

Peter Jackson did a really good job of fixing a lot of problems from the first film. I actually really enjoyed this one. The pace issues were gone in this film. The action and story actually move at a very good pace and you don't feel like your just watching filler like you were in the first part. They fixed a lot of the CGI problems that I had with the first one. I felt like they used more practical effects in this film and then the CGI that they did use was very good. It felt like I was actually looking at a real thing instead of a CGI image. The acting for the film was good on all accounts. The story of course was still very good and very enjoyable. This was the hobbit movie that I have been waiting to see. The action was a lot better and very cool. Also they bring back some of the darker tones. Nowhere as dark as the LOTRs but it is a little darker then the first which really fit this movie. Also Smaug was one of the coolest looking CGI creations I have ever seen. And with the powerful voice of Benedict Cumberbatch behind him he became a very memorable character. 

I am going to get to the elephant in the room. There is a lot of added stuff in the film that of course is not in the book. So with that, if your a fan of the book you have been warned. Keep this in mind Jackson and the studio wanted to make this into 3 movies out of a 310 paged book. So I think they are going to have to add a few things. I personally who have never read the book thought all the added stuff was good and fun. Also even with the pace of the film being fixed you are still very aware that you're in the theater for about 3 hours. So remember, if you don't like long films this is one is not for you. So with that all said and done my rating for you guys is this 

RATING

3 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

Frozen (2013)

Frozen is the new animated Disney film, not the Adam Green horror film. The film stars Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell in the Princess roles. The story is about a coming of age queen that basically has the powers of ice and snow.  The film is a return to the classical way Disney films are made with the songs and the magic of Disney.

To start off, the film is a musical with a grand total of around 10 songs. All of them are good. I mean, I enjoyed every song that was played in the film. My personal favorite of the film is "Let It Go". I have that song still stuck in my head about 3 hours after the film. The animation in the film was perfect. It was gritty and it added a great layer to the film. The pace and the tone were great. It was very fast paced and it hit that great classic Disney tone. That Disney tone is one of the hardest tones to hit and this team of people hit like a hammer to a nail. It really is just impressive in it of itself. The pace is fast but works for the film and keeps you from getting bored. The voice acting and the characters themselves were very good. My favorite character, Elsa (Menzel), was great and really brought life to this film. Another great character was Olaf. He comes into the film and just pushes this film from good to great and turns it to an instant classic.  The overall theme of the film, love, works very well into this film.

My problems with film are very few. My biggest problem of the film is that the songs all feel very unbalanced. The beginning of the film  is jam packed with songs, just one after another, and it's almost like stepping over into Le Miz. Then, it just stops for a long time and eventually brings it back for one song. It just really took me out of the film. My other problem, which is just a personal one and may not apply to everyone, is the fact that I really wanted to see more of Elsa. She is in the film a lot and is one of the main characters of the film, but I just wanted a little more like one more song from her or another scene. That being said this easily my favorite animated film of the year. With that being said I am going to give it a

RATING
3.25 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Catching Fire is the next in the Hunger Games series and it's going be 4 films long and stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth. There is also a huge slew of side characters with great actors in their roles. The biggest difference between this film and the first is that the director from the first, Gary Ross, has fallen to the new man in the chair, Francis Lawrence.

With that new man in the chair, we get a much different feel and a little bit of a different tone. The first thing that you will notice all shaky cam is gone. Instead, we get a great looking and well shot film. A lot of dark night photography and it all looks great. I mean, I have seen better but still much better than the first film. Now, the tone has changed but only ever so slightly. The first one is so dark and serious with very little humor and this film puts a little more humor into the film than the first one. I think the humor is both good and bad. They had the perfect amount of humor in the film and all of the jokes work and hit well with me. I think the pace of the film is amazing. It is close to two and half hours and it really doesn't feel that long in the theater. Also, I really enjoyed all the acting. No one is bad in the film. There are a few stand outs. One being Hutherson (I bet you thought I was going to say Lawrence). I liked him in the first one. In this one, I enjoyed him even more than in the first film. He seemed to have lost many of the teenage attributes of his character so I really enjoyed him and his character. Lawrence on the other hand was amazing like she always is. For example, she hits so many emotional moments in the movie and does it with grace and perfect timing. One of my favorite moments is the very ending shot and shots in the tubes (you'll see what I mean when you see it).

Now, my biggest problem with the film is this I really wanted to spend a lot more time in the Capital. I loved the Hunger Games part. It is action packed and very well done but the story that I want to see is the is revolt against the Capital. It is a very minor problem and it has nothing to do with the writing of the film just the way the books are done.  Also, the film has so many themes that it is trying to get across to the audience is just a little too much. All of them are done simultaneously and their is too many of them. Maybe pick and focus on just that one at a time could make it better but I really don't know. Not taking much away from the overall score of the film but it was just a minor thing that I noticed. Overall, this is easily the best action movie of the October, November, and December season so far. Don't miss it.

RATING
3.5 out of 4

Thor: The Dark World

Thor: The Dark World is the sequel to Thor. It stars all the people from the first film and is directed by Alan Taylor.  The story of this film is simply. The dark elves have come back form the deepest parts of space. They come to destroy and put the world back into darkness using the Aether.

What this film had going for it was the director and the cast of Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston. I loved Hiddleston in this damn movie. I mean I almost thing he really saves the film for me. The man truly loves the role and you can tell. Then Hemsworth really is Thor. It will be really hard to ever replace that man. Then there play back and forth was so prefect and well timed. I mean every time Loki (Hiddleston) is on screen he just kills it. You actaully really care for his character in the end of the film. Also the direction by Taylor works so well you get that super fantasy and epic feel from his background work Game Of Thrones. The action which there is a lot of comes fast and hard and very well shot. I also thought the pace that he set in for he film worked over all.

Now this film has a few really big problems. I biggest problem with the film was the tone. Its not like it is a dark tone and it just didn't work but it was the villains. Like the villains were this super sci-fi bad guy. Like there were moments when I was swear I was watching Star Wars. SPOILERS DO NOT READ HERE ON IF YOU DON'T WANT THINGS SPOILED. I WILL PUT READ HERE FOR NO SPOILERS.  The moment when a star ship comes flying in and starts to shoot lasers at the the home base and almost destroys it. Really took me way out of the film and if you get pulled out of the a Thor movie it must be something that is really out of place. READ HERE. Now there are other problems with the film as well. Like I said above the back and forth between Loki and Thor is amazing and perfect.  I wanted so much more of it. Like that was the moment in the film that I realized I was watching a comic book movie and it felt so good, but it comes and goes sadly.

My final thoughts are this Thor: The Dark World is a good action film for Nov. I think if you enjoyed the first you will really enjoy this film and if you didn't like the first one. You may like this one better. It isn't the best Marvel movie but it is still a good time at the movies.

RATING
2.5 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

12 Years A Slave

12 Years A Slave is a true story seen thought the eyes of Solomon Northup. The man was a free man in the in New York. When he joins a group of man to make some money. When he wakes up caught and about to be sold back into slavery. The film stars a lot of people. The main two actors in the film are Chiwetel Ejiofor (really happy I don't have to say that name aloud) and Michael Fassbender. The film is directed by Steve McQueen.

I am going to start off saying this movie is acted so well. I mean really well almost every person nears the praise that they are getting. Not just Fassbender and Ejiofor, but all the actors to me did amazing. They all weren't actors to me they were the characters they were trying to be so for that I gave my highest praise. Fassbender was not on screen that man is my favorite actor in right now he has not done a bad job in any of his films. That man can act and will be doing so for awhile. Now Ejiofor was equally as amazing as Fassbender was. There are so many times where the shot was set up were it was just his face and you got to see the real emotion on his face and feel with the character. The credit for that goes to McQueen and Ejiofor.  McQueen has made more art house films in the past. Like Shame and Hunger. I have never seen Hunger but I have seen Shame and that was one of best movies of that year. Now with that being said the art house isn't completely gone McQueen's style is felt all over the film, but it is more held back as it were. I think this really help the film a lot it was able to focuses on the story it was trying to tell and emotions it wanted you to feel.  McQueen sets up some amazing looking shots. Some of the transitions were just amazing as well. The editing was just perfect all the shots last the perfect amount of time.

The pace and the tone are perfect to say the last. I will admit that the pace is slowed down at times, but it really didn't bug me that much. Like it doesn't happen many times and I also saw this film at a later time so that could have effected the pace of the film. Now also the violence in the film is hard to watch. McQueen really wanted you to see the brutally of it and he shows it with no remorse. It made for a much better movie and set up everything so well. This film is easy one of my favorites of the year. Please if you have the chance go see this piece of Art.

RATING
4 out 4 Ticket Stubs.

Ender's Game

Ender's game is based off the book written by Orson Scott Card. The film is centered around Ender Wiggin and the world that he lives in. The world he lives in is earth in the future after a massive war with the evil alien race. So the military fearing the fearing of another attack by the them start to enlist this very gift kids to train and fight for them in this war.

Now to begin. I think this film is a really well done science fiction tale. It creates a great world and a very cool enemy. I also think the films action is really well done. It has really great moments. I really enjoyed like the 30 of the film. It was really good and set up for a get end of the film. Another really strong part of the film was the acting done by the main two. I thought Harrison Ford and Asa Butterfield did a great job. Ford was super intense in the film. Then Butterfield I really enjoyed as a main character. He was clam and cool and just all around good character. I will get more into the characters in a little bit later on in the review. I also really enjoyed the way it was shot and the tone of the film that in credit to the director of the film Gavin Hood. I also liked the score to the film it created very hardcore and moving moments all at the same time.

My problems with the film is the pace. All the problems really go back to the pace of the film which is super odd. Like you can tell this is based off the book and they are moving really quickly thought the book to get to the end of the film. The only thing is the film is slow. I really don't know how Hood pulled that off. Like it was a slow film with a lot of fast and no breathing scenes. It made no sense to me in the theater.  Also since the pace of the film was so sloppy that you really don't get to know the characters. Then only people you care for is Ender and Graff (Ford). Also Ford really doesn't have much of an arc in the film maybe it is extended in the later books of the series, but I don't know the books.

I think this film is okay and is still a fun time in at the movies much like I thought Carrie was. This was better then Carrie. Which i saw just was unable to do a review. I think if you want to watch it go ahead. Its not you are going to walk of the theater mad you saw it, but if you aren't a fan of this type of film run fast.

RATING
2.5 out of 4 Ticket Stubs.

Carrie mini review.
If you wanted to see Carrie and ever saw it go see the new one. If you have seen the old one it is better so just stick with that.
1.5 out of 4 Ticket Stubs.

Princess Mononoke (The Ghibli Archive)

Princess Mononoke is held to be one of the best of the Studio Ghilbi films. I read online that it was supposed to be Hayao Miyazaki's last film back when he said he was going to retire. What the film is centered around is a Prince Ashitaka the last prince of his people who gets cursed defending his village from a cursed boar. He must leave his village and try and find a cure. When doing this he comes across forest gods and village that are trying to kill each other and thats the story.

Well to begin I am going to say this all the Studio Ghilbi films look amazing. This is like the Brave (be it a lot better) of the Studio Ghilbi. It has a lot of stuff work with like the landscape and the people it greats to create. It has great shots of mountain sides and it also has some really epic looking battle scenes. Now when it comes to the story this is a very good story with a really big and completely obvious message.  It isn't really much subtext to the theme of film. It is nature is good and man is good we need to work and live together and have no war. Miyazaki did a great job of balancing the two stories understanding were both sides come from. Now I will admit you feel more for the forest spirits like the humans are in the wrong, but that could be different from each viewing or who is viewing it. The acting in the film was good. I mean I enjoyed everyones voice, but I don't thing anybody brought anything to the role but it is still good. The tone of the film is amazing. The tone that is set by the film is this dark but very fantasy like world were everything has weight to it. The soundtrack is amazing. This my second viewing of the film. I really enjoyed it this time around. I thought it thought way to highly of itself. Now this viewing it wasn't as bad and a lot better.

My real only problem with the film is the pace. It is really action packed and really well made I think some scene just drag on a little. Not too badly, but sometimes I was like alright I get it lets move on please. I think if you are a person who things down on Anime or any from of Japanese film making this film should prove that it can very adult medium. This film can turn someone who things its just kid stuff to someone that is the total opposite. I mean this won the best Japanese film of the year at there "Oscars". I think more films need to be made like this.

RATING
3.5 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

Studio Ghibli

This intro is for those who don't know about Studio Ghibli. Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio. Created by the great animator Hayao Miyazaki. Most people have heard of a lot of these films due to the fact disney took them a ported them to America. They have many of there films dubbed. So all of this films are Japanese influenced. Now I am going to do what I did with Disney Collection posts. I am going to watch and revisit some of them. A lot of these I am going to be seeing with fresh eyes it will be really cool. I am going to try and find all the dubbed ones and only those I won't go and back and watch it again subtitled. Some aren't dubbed and those are the films that I will review with subtitled. I am just going to watch them randomly, but I will try and keep them in order. So with all that being said look out for the first review which will be Princess Mononoke.

Gravity

Gravity is a space thriller. It is about a crew of astronauts that are working on the Hubble telescope. When a ton of space junk comes and hits the ship and the telescope sending the astronauts in a bunch of trouble. The film stars really only two people George Clooney and in the main role is Sandra Bullock.

First off the film is CGI masterpiece. Guys I am not kidding when I say I could tell what was a CGI effect or a built set. It is also helps that this film is amazingly shot. The opening shot of the film is one of the longest takes in have seen in a awhile. Like the director Alfonso Cuaron loves to do this and it works so well for the movie. This movie is really his master piece like he is the star of the movie. Like I don't think this movie would have worked without this director. He was set a tone in one shot. Easily my favorite opening shot of the year so far. The shot goes on for about 20 minutes but it was amazing. This is one of the most tease films of the year. I was on the edge of my seat for the whole movie. Now the acting by Bullock and Clooney was very good. I really enjoyed them you really felt for Bullock because I mean who would want to be in this situation. Clooney felt like a old and awesome old astronauts. I also loved the music for the film. It was beautiful score and very good use. Which leads me into the point about sound it is soundless for parts which just draws you in more and more. I also say go see the movie in IMAX and 3D this is what it was made for spend the extra money.

My only complaint is hard to explain but I will try to explain the best I can. So the writing in the film is good, but I feel like it couldn't be used that well. There is so much in the film going on with the action that the great and awesome writing can really show up for the great parts. There is like one scene of character development  and they needed more and I wanted more.  Everyone needs to go see this movie much like Prisoners.

RATING
3.75 out of 4 Ticket Stubs.

Curse of Chunky

The Curse of Chucky is the 6th. That's right sixth movie in the child's Play/ Chucky series. The film stars the voice of the Chucky (Brad Dourif) who has played him in all six of the movies.  Which makes me happy as a fan. The film is set about 4 years after last Chucky movie ( I didn't know that by watching the movie thank you Wikipedia). It is centered Nica who is mailed the Chucky doll. When crazy things happening because of the evil doll.

Now this movie was supposed to be return to the roots of Chucky which is a horror movie. This is awesome for the true Chucky fan. Which I am I have seen every single Chucky film is that a good thing. No its not a good thing at all. What this film does well is actaully what they set out to do and make a over the top horror film. In the old style of horror. A good old Slasher film. I personally love all types of horror films. I think this why I like B movies so much. Now this a slasher film you have to know what your getting with this film. Lots of blood and over the top deaths along with some odd and goofy humor. It gives you all of that.

Now what the film fails at is being a very fresh and just all around good movie. This film is made for the fans for Chucky and has a lot of call backs to the first set of films. I loved it but most people won't really care. It is a enjoyable film if you like slasher and 80's movies like me, but if your in the majority your not really gonna like this film. It does have some really good and creepy ass scenes in the beginning of the film and actually is able to keep a lot of tension thought out the film, but it isn't very scary like some better VOD horror movies out there.

RATING
Fans 3 out of 4 Ticket Stubs
Everyone Else 1 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

Prisoners

Prisoners stars Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal and a lot of other people. This film is about a child abduction of Jackman's kids and Terrence Howard on a one thanksgiving night. The film is Directed by Denis Villeneuve, and shot by the great Roger Deakins. The total runtime of the film is about 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Well I first want to talk about Roger Deakins to those who don't know I think he is the best working Cinematographer working today. No matter what this guy touches if he is just a consultant or is the actual person working on the camera shot. The film looks amazing. This film looks amazing he use this grey look to the film to create this cold atmosphere. The film is the best shot film of the year next to possibly Mud. Now the director Denis Villeneuve was one of the many shinning stars in this film. This film is tease all the way thought. Ever time I took a breath I swear it was at the end of a super intense scene. He used the great writing done by Aaron Guzikowski. Villeneuve lets each scene play out and breath and get more tease. It was very cool and awesome thing done.  The writer plays into stereotyped films but shades light on these characters which we have seen so many times before.  The dialogue in the film is so good and felt so real. Now this leads me into the characters and the story of the film. The characters are the best part of this film. Loki (Gyllenhaal) is a great character because you can tell that he doesn't want to fail these two families. He will not sleep until he sees justice done. Gyllenhaal performance is amazing I mean he really is amazing and does a great job as this character and I loved him in this. Now Keller Dover ( Jackman) for how good Loki was Keller Dover the best and most intersecting character. You want him to find his kids but he does things that your not sure is the right thing. The film is so good at this and it keeps asking you. Would you do this? How far would you go to find your kids? Then Jackman's acting in the film is insanely good. When both Gyllenhaal and Jackman are on the screen together it is magic. Jackman needs a nod for the performance in this film as well as Gyllenhaal.

I really have no complaints on this film. I think this is one of the best of the year and is my personal favorite film of the year. Prisoners just barely bets out Mud for my favorite. Everyone needs to go see this film. I could go on and on about this film. I didn't  even talk about the pace and the tone (both are perfect). Please go see this film

RATING
4 out of 4 Ticket Stubs