Reviews new movies and my opinions on certain movies. My reviews are quick and to the point. If you are looking for a good insight into film stop here.
The rating system is 0 to 4 ticket stubs
2 is usually meant to be like a solid rent.
Now since this is my top ten films of 2012 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.
1 Django Unchained 5 out of 5
2 Sliver Linings Playbook 5 out of 5
3 Argo 5 out of 5
4 Skyfall 4.5 out of 5
5 The Avengers 5 out of 5
6 The Dark Knight Rises 4 out of 5
7 Cabin in the Woods 5 out of 5
8 Lincoln 4.5 out of 5
9 Wreck-it Ralph 5 out of 5
10 the Hunger Games 4 out of 5
There are a few movies that I think missed the cut that I also thing are also very good. Them being Sinister, Compliance, Looper, Life of Pi, and Ted.
Django Unchained is the next film by the legendary director and writer Quentin Tarantino(Pulp Fiction). The film is about a slave and who is given his freedom by a Bounty Hunter to find these three bothers who have a huge bounty on there heads. When they do this they bound and Django(the slave) wants to go save his wife's life. The bounty hunter agrees to help him do this and now we have Django Unchained.
I am going to start off the review saying that Quentin Tarantino is my personal favorite director so take everything I say with a gain of salt. Now to start off the review I want to talk about the acting in the film. Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, and Leonardo DiCaprio pay for your ticket alone. I loved the characters that Tarantino wrote for these guys. DiCaprio was one of the worst human beings I have ever seen in a film and I loved him for that. Waltz was a great character and just fit the role perfectly. Then Foxx really impressed me. He want form not saying much and not being very smart to this complete BA by the end of the film. The way this film was shot was classic Tarantino's fast zoom and well angled and great moving camera shots when they are talking I loved every minute it. The tone and pace that Tarantino does is perfect there is not one scene were I was like that wasn't really needed. He mix's comedy and this so super tense scenes so well together its crazy. This film is what I really wanted Inglourious Basterds to be. This was felt more like a older Tarantino movie with a huge budget. The script in this film was for lack of a better world perfect. It has all those things that we love about Tarantino which is his great dialogue and these really well done characters. He is was able to mix the style of a western and his style great. Also the are parts in the beginning where it almost feels like a buddy cop movie for a bit not to long, but I totally saw that.
This is easily the best and the most fun I have had in a movie in a long time the last time I had this much fun in a movie was The Avengers. So that being said I need to talk about a few other things. The movie is being called racist and super violent and bloody. Well yes this film is very violent I meant almost Kill Bill violent. So you have been given the heads up about that. As to it being racist it isn't really racist they just really tried to make it time relevant which I thought really worked for the film. So this all still being said I still had a great time at the movies and highly recommend that everyone of the 17 or older to see this film. So of course I give it
RATING
5 out of 5 ticket stubs
Also since I have seen this film I am going to make my top 10 list very soon. I don't think its going to include Zero Dark Thirty, but if i see it and I don't make the list it still has the chance to make the list. So that is just a quick update on that.
Les Miserables is a play that was made into a musical that got turned into a movie now that it is all said and done, the film is about a criminal named Jean Valjean played by Wol I mean Hugh Jackman. Who wants to become a better man after he has had this single act of kindness done on to him. So now he feels that he must help others.
This film has a lot of stuff to talk about. One being the acting done by everybody. All the actors are spot on in this film. Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway both deserve nods this year. Anne Hathaway was so good in this film she had some great scenes like the I dreamed a dream song which was so good. I mean tears. Then Jackman is just great all the way thought this film. I don't think he has a bad scene which is good because he is the movie to me. Also the direction done by Tom Hooper (King's Speech) was really good he hits this perfect tone that never really lets up. Also the cinematography was so good he likes to do this sweeping shots that really show off the landscape of the world he has created. The singing was good in the most part. Everybody except for one did great. Hugh Jackman really impressed me I knew he was a good singer but man he is really good. Also something else that needs to be talked about. That is most movies that have singing in it make it with the singing prerecorded and the they just over dub and this film they didn't do that. They actually sing on camera so all that emotion they are giving at that time they are also working on singing. Which really just blows my mind and really adds to the film. This leads in to the music this includes the score and the songs they sing they are both very good, best I have heard all year.
Now on to what I didn't like about this film. It is really slow. I feel like there is a theme going with the last few movies that I have seen. I wasn't the hobbit slow, but i think there is something they could have done to help movie the film movie along a little faster. Also there is a ton of singing in this film. Yeah that may be stupid reading that, but like 99% of the film is singing and if they do speak its a line tops. So I have to put that in the negative column. So if your worried your not gonna like it because there is singing stay far away my friends far away. Then to talk about the thing that is kinda the elephant in the room Russell Crowe. Maximus Decimus Meridius isn't the worlds best singer. I not saying Rebecca Black bad, but no where on pair with Hugh Jackman and the others. So for those reasons I have to give the rating of
The Hobbit is Peter Jackson's return to the realm of middle earth. It is the prequel series to the great and super popular Lord of the Rings trilogy. This story is about a the dwarves and how they want to kill the evil dragon smaug, but they need the help of a hobbit of the name of Bilbo Baggins. Now I have been a big fan of the series as a kid. So I was expecting a lot form this film. I am going to do my best not compare this to the rings and not spoil.
The Hobbit has a ton things that I need to talk about, so lets get this review started. The acting in this film is good. No real Oscar performances but they all work on the screen. Martin Freeman plays the main character of Bilbo and he is great really enjoyed his character all the way. Then you also have Sir Ian McKellen returns as the Gandalf the grey and he really shines in this film. I liked him more in this then I liked him in the rings. Also I note worthy performance is the actor that nobody eyes Andy Serkis playing Gollum. Gollum to me was the best part of this whole film the riddles in the dark scene was great and the CGI they did for Gollum was amazing. He looked so real and the performance done by Serkis just adds so much depth to the character.
Now on to what I didn't like. This film was dreadfully slow. The film clocks in just under 3 hours and the first 2 hours really suffer. Nothing really happens and the story really doesn't get pushed forward. Now I am not saying that Jackson did a bad job at directing this film but, the fact that this was meant to be a 2 movie in the beginning and recently got changed may have hurt the film. Also there was far to much CGI in this film. Now its not like Avatar CGI bad, but what I wanted to see was all the cool evil looking orcs in flesh. Also the are total of 15 characters in the company and its very hard to keep track of who they are. You don't really get stuck on any of the characters.
Now the last hour of this film was really good full of action and really pushing the story forward. The film really picks up at like right before they get to Riverdale. I would also like to talk about one of the characters called Radagast the Brown he is being called the JarJar of the Hobbit. He isn't that bad. I just didn't care for the character. On the whole thought this film really let me down. With the poor pacing and the poorly done CGI. Also the story isn't as good as the rings in my opinion. So it hardens my heart to give this score but
I would just like to thank the people that have been reading my reviews it means a lot. If you're one of my friends on Facebook or following me on twitter and If you're somebody just passing by. It really means a lot because I would love to do this for a living. And everyone that gives a view helps me closer to my dream job. So this really does mean a lot. Well keep reading and I will keep giving you great reviews. My next review is going to be the hobbit or Hitchcock. It really just depends on what I see first.
If you know me at all I have been waiting for awhile to see this movie. I love Jennifer Lawrence so I really excited to see this film. I had to the city just to see this film. Was it worth it your most likely asking yourself? Oh God was it. Sliver Linings Playbook is about Pat (Bradley Cooper) who is recently released form the hospital and has a metal illness. The illness being bi-polar. He meets a girl named Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who also has metal problems doesn't really give a actually disease. And now on to whats good.
The good about this film is a ton so lets get started. The direction done by David O. Russell (The Fighter) is perfect. He hits this great tone of drama and comedy. That is one the hardest things to do in romance comedies. Some directors get stuck in the romance or the comedy. He keeps it really balanced. He also with the help of DOP he makes the movie feel very real and genuine. You can never really guess where this film is going. The film almost feels like you are spying on this family and very few films do this and do it well. The writing of the film is so good and so funny. The characters are so well written and real. I can't say that enough. Now to the acting. The whole cast was amazing. Cooper does a great job. I always new he could act but he is always playing the same character. Now this one he is playing somebody completely different. Some else that did great was Robert De Niro. Which sounds like a stupid thing to say but wow was he good in one scene he almost had me crying which is saying a lot. Someone that surprised me was Chris Tucker every funny and good performance.
Now I have to start a new paragraph this person. Jennifer Lawrence was perfect in this role. I mean perfect I don't know if I could see anybody else in this role now. To start off she was great as this very smart and very crazy girl . See looked the part and I can tell had a great time with this role. This film in my eyes makes her my favorite young actor to ever come out 3 years. Her career is going to be going no where but up after this. I can see way she is the front runner for best actress its safe to say that I am rooting for her when it comes award season.
After that's all said and done what I didn't like about this film. Which was nothing. This movie in my eyes is perfect. Anybody who sees this film will love it. This is easily one of my favorite films of the year if not my favorite. This one and Argo are the movies that I am rooting for this year. Both deserves to win best film of the year. So of course I am going to give this film my highest score of
Life of Pi is a book adaptation that was supposed to be unfilmable. Well director Ang Lee said to hell with that and made the best visual and 3-d film I have seen since Avatar. The story is about a boy who has lived in India for his whole life and how his family made money was they owned a zoo, but now they need to move and they are taking the zoo with them. When Pi's ship goes down and he is by himself on the ocean on a boat with a wild tiger form the zoo. To what this film did good.
The visuals. The visuals. The visuals. It is a visual masterpiece. Like I said in the intro this is the best cgi and 3-d film I have ever seen. The tiger looks so life like and you really believe that it is there with Pi on the boat. Then on top of that there are some crazy good 3-d. Ang Lee did a great job with this he had some shots in here that are just breathtaking. The 3 scenes that are just great in this film are the ship wreck scene, this scene with a whale and a fish scene that got showed early. The acting in this film was very good Pi played by three different people all did great.
Now that it is out of the way I am going into what I am on the fence about. The script has some problems and so does the pace of the film. The script is mainly why the film is poorly paced. The first 30 minutes of the film is all character development. Now this is good that they did this and helps you get attached to character and is really needed. Its just a little boring and some people will just want to get to the castaway stuff. Also there is scenes were if you do see this movie in only 2-d you also may think it is boring. So this if you are going to see this movie spend the extra money and actually see in 3-d it is very worth the money.
Now to my rating. This is actually one of the harder to rate films for me, because this film really does tell a great story and is amazing to watch. So i am going to rate this film very diffidently because this film is to good to be a 4 but not good enough to be a 4.5. So my rating is going to be
Rise of the Guardians is the next animated adventure form Dreamworks. They have been doing a lot of really good work. Like with How to Train Your Dragon and that was great. So I was really looking forward to this film form the trailer. The story is about the Santa, Easter-bunny Sandman and Tooth-fairy are real and they protect the children of the world. Pitch Black is coming back to plung the world into darkness and the Guardians need Jack Frosts help to stop him.
Now what I enjoyed about this film was the voice acting done by all the leads. The ones that I thought were the best were Jack Frost and Pitch Black. This is my all time favorite villain for a kids movie next to the villain in Wreck it Ralph. Jude Law as Black was so good. The voice was so creepy and chilling I loved every minute that he was on the screen. Then Frost voiced by Chris Pine he was really good here. He made you really feel for the character. Another good thing about this film was the action and the score. The action was pretty sick like the fight scenes were very cool. Then the score made everything have this great scene of tone and action based feel.
Now what I what I didn't really like about this film. The humor was really hit and miss for me. Like it had some moments that it was pretty funny and smart. The other part about the humor I never really had a big out loud laugh. So i was really looking for a really funny and cool animated film and i didn't get that. Another thing about this film. It had a lot of holes and problems with pure storytelling. I felt that if the movie was a bit longer then they could have fixed this, but what kids is going to sit thought a 2 hour animated film.
So when it comes down to it. This film is still really enjoyable. The kids will really like it, but the adults will find it boring and not as heart warming. It was still a over all descent film. So my rating is going to be
Lincoln is the new film by the master of film himself Steven Spielberg staring some of the greatest actors of our time one being Daniel-Day Lewis as Lincoln himself. Tommy Lee Jones as a leader of the republican party. Sally Fields as Lincolns wife. The story of the movie is about the last 4 months of the Abraham Lincoln life and doing two very important moments in American History one being the passing of the amendment that ended slavery and ending the civil war.
To start off the acting in this film is the best I have seen all year. Tommy Lee Jones explodes off the screen and this great character that is so easily likable it amazes me. Sally Fields as Lincoln's bipolar wife was perfect. Then of course Daniel-Day Lewis was Lincoln. His performance alone should pay for your ticket. Lewis became Lincoln. There are moments when I forgot that I was watching him play Lincoln, but actually thought it was Lincoln himself back form the dead. If Lewis doesn't get a nod for this there should be riots in the street. Now the screenplay of the this movie is just off the walls good. Best written movie of the year. Hands down the best written movie the year. The dialogue in this movie is some of the best I have ever heard and I will be saying form now one. The scene where Lincoln asks if we choose to be born or fitted into the time is mind blowingly good.
Now that those parts are out of the way. Spielberg in the chair again is always a great thing in my eyes. He knew what he had in his hands and let the actors and the screenplay tell this story. He made a great tone for this film. He had some great drama and actually some pretty good humor in it. This film is easily the best Spielberg film in awhile. I liked this film more then last years War Horse. (which is underrated by fans in my opinion) John Williams score is good not his best but good none the less. And of course this film was shot great. Not the best of the year but totally the top 5 of the year.
I did have a few problems with the film. The biggest problem with the film is the way its done. This movie has a lot of talking in it. I mean a lot. In fact is the whole film is just talking. Now I personally loved it for that. Show me good talking scenes and I am good. I mean my favorite film of all time is a talking movie(Pulp Fiction). Now my problem with this is that if you are not expecting this your going to be very upset. This film won't be seen by many teenagers or a younger crowd, because there is "no action". So since it does have a good enough mass appeal. I have to give this movie
Wreck-It-Ralph is the next Disney animations studios production. That means no Pixar. Now Disney's own animation hasn't been that good, they did redeem themselves with Tangled. To start off with a little bit about the story. The main character in this is Ralph the bad guy in a arcade game called Fix-it-Felix Jr. He is sick of not being recognized as a character and always looked at as a mean person. So he goes off on this adventure to get a medal and be seen as a someone. Then crazy stuff starts to happen when he gets his medal form a game called Heroes Duty. The story really takes off when he gets to a game called Sugar Rush.
The animation in this movie is great looking. It doesn't fail in this at all. The things the animators did with the characters in the games were great. Like the way the talked and moved. It was a great treat to watch as a retro gamer myself. Besides the look of the movie the sounds were great. Really funny sound effects along top of great score.
Now the tone and the pace of the film were great. I have a little issue with the pace but it all works together as a whole so I really can't complain to much about it. The tone of this film I thing was absolutely perfect. It is a great way to do a kids movie. It started off really lighthearted and letting you get stuck to the characters and then it turns to this very dark tone (for a kids movie) that the parents can actually really enjoy. Another good thing about the film was the humor. Even the jokes in the trailer I still laughed at. I really have to give to the voice work to that. They really sold there characters to me. All the jokes in the movie landed perfectly and all very funny. Also the over all moral of the movie was great. I don't think many kids will miss it and its a good lesson for kids.
Now there were there were very few problems with the film. One of them being that the movie has all the classic Disney cliches in it. They even find away to get a princess into the movie. I personally love all these Disney things because I am a big Disney fan so it didn't bug me that much, but it could bug others. That is really the biggest problem about, but none the less it is still a great time at the movies and easily one of my favorite animated films of the year. All really should enjoy it so I am going to give it
Skyfall okay James Bond wow this movie is good, but it does have some faults. It took me two viewings to get this review down packed. First off a little bit of the story. Bond is trying to get back this list of agents who are secretly undercover. He fails in this mission and the list starts to leaked on to the web. Now Bond has to figure out how to get it back. Lets talk about the acting. Craig returning for the third time as Bond. I think he now can fully cement him as Bond. He played Bond perfectly. He had all the moves. This is his best work as Bond to date. Now the supporting cast around him was also very good. Javier Bardem plays a great bad guy. Man did I love him in this role. Everything he did worked and his performance comes right off the screen. Now on to the direction of Sam Mendas, he made this great world around Craig and this amazing story. He had a great tone of pure serious all the way thought and this great pace. Then the final thing I want to talk about is the way this film was shot. This is easily my favorite shot film of the year. I thought the Rises was good but holy crap. Roger Deakins doesn't get a nod for best cinematography. I will very upset. The shots at night look amazing and the shots during the day look amazing. There really isn't a bad shot in this movie. The scenes in china are some of the best scenes that I have personally ever seen. The way Deakin use lighting just blew my mind. Now form reading that you are thinking to yourself what didn't you like about this movie Kyle. Here it is. My biggest problem is that it slows down right after this great action scene. This scene is so will paced at put together. Then goes to really slow section of the movie. Which really thought me off. The worst part about this is that the scene that slows it down is actually really well done. So maybe if they would have put it somewhere else or did something I don't know it would have worked better. Also this is not a personal for me, but some people my not like it. This movie doesn't feel like a Bond movie at all which I can see a lot of people getting pissed off at. So for those two problems with the film that are almost unfix-able I have to give it
RATING
4.5 out of 5 Ticket stubs. (doing that really hurts me)
Argo is the true to life story about a group of 6 people being held captive in Iran and how the CIA got out them out. This film is acted and Directed by the same person named Ben Affleck. I am going to talk about what this film does great. Which is pretty much everything. To start it off everyone in this movie is so good. There is not any bad actors in this film. Even the small roles that have one or two lines they are played great. John Goodman, Ben Affleck, Alan Arkin and Bryan Cranston(which is all the main characters) were my favorites in the movie. Ben Affleck should get at least a nomination for his great performance. Now moving on to Affleck direction. This is his best movie to date. It had a great tone, it was thrilling and it was really funny. It had this very tease feeling which I really enjoyed. I was on the edge of my seat the last 45 minutes of the movie. The pace done by Affleck was perfect it was a two hour movie it ever lagged or got boring. The way this film was shot was beautiful to look at and felt great not my favorite of the year, but still good. The script was very well written, all the stories were summed up and complete. Its safe to say this is why I like the October, November, and December season a lot more then the summer season. The films that come out are great and very good dramas and very tease. This is as of right now my favorite movie of the year. Followed by The Avengers and then The Dark Knight Rises and finally Cabin in the Woods and ParaNorman. So I am going to give this my highest rating of
Sinister is the new horror film staring Ethan Hawke. It is about a writer who moves his family into a new house. What he writes about is true life murders that haven't been solved. So he moves into the house of a missing child and the death of her whole family. To start this review off I am going to say this folks. This one is easily the scariest film I have seen all year. I actually yelled in the theater. So that being said I loved this movie. Ethan Hawke was so good in this movie. I mean form start to finish. The stuff he was seeing was really effecting him. He put on a great performance as this character. Now the director of the this film has made exorcist of Emily Rose. So he knows his ways around a horror film. He hits it out of the park with this film. The opening scene of this film sets a perfect tone to this film and boy is that tone creepy. It really never lets up(more on that later) The way this film was shot was great. Very dark and low colored which I love. Now the scares in this film were great. There is one with a lawn motor may have jumped out of my seat and then the final scare I may have yelled in the theater. The score of this film was great it really keep me in this film. Now I did find one problem with this film. I personally didn't think it was problem, but I still need to point it out. The film actually has drama parts. I personally loved that it made feel a lot more closer to these characters. So people are looking for none stop scares you will miss out at some points. So if your looking for a good horror movie to go see at Halloween. This is your film. So even with the littlest pace issue I am giving still giving this my highest score. Please people if you want a good horror movie see this movie.
Paranormal Activity 4 is the next in the Paranormal series. This is the official sequel to 2 so this one takes place a few years after 2. The story centers around the a girl named Alex who has a new neighbor and creepy stuff start to happen. Now there are some good parts about this movie. I like the 2 actors playing the parts of Alex and Ben (Alex's boyfriend). They were very good in the film. I really believed that they were real characters. Ben was very funny character and really keep me in the film. Alex was just felt real like you would see this girl in the streets everyday.It still a really good movie to watch with your friends to get scared. Now there were a ton of problems with this film. First off the plot had way to many holes. I can't really discuss them without spoiling anything, but trust me they are there. Next tone felt off in this film. It wasn't as intense as the last 3 films. Now the biggest problem with this movie was the scares. Now I get that Paranormal staples are jump scares. The scares in this film are just cheap and not as good as 1 2 and 3. Don't get me wrong it does have its better scares in this one, but they are few and far between. This movie on a whole felt very rushed. I think the producers didn't wait for a well crafted and needed story. This one feels very pointless. It doesn't move the story in anyway and it doesn't do anything new like the 3rd one did. This one feels and i believe is a totally cash grab. I don't really say you need to see this movie. If your thinking about seeing it just because you like the series and think you need to see to keep the story going just wait for dvd.
Dead Poets Society is about a new teacher coming to a all boys private boarding school. The new teachers name is John Keating played by Robin Williams. Yes I know I finally saw this film took me awhile, but man am I happy that did. I am going to start off with the acting everyone in this film is great. Robin Williams gave the performance of his life in this. He was better then Good Will Hunting. Then the kids in this film all gave great performance I didn't hate anybody in this movie. Now the writing in this film is just speechless. I loved this screenplay. The lines carpe diem and Oh captain my captain. Some of the best lines in film history and I understand why. I really recommend this movie for anybody, but if you are in high school or college please watch this movie at least once. The plot of the film was about this kids trying to find there own voice and become something that they wanted to be. It speaks very true in two characters. Todd and Neil those are my favorite characters. Neil wants to act, but his parents won't let him. Todd is a very shy and quite and doesn't thing he is anything important to say. Both of these characters get great development and actually change by the end of this film. Peter Wier directed this film and boy does he knock it out of the park with this film. He gets a perfect pace and tone and keeps it thought out the whole movie. I was never not entertained by this film. Now the way this movie was shot actually blew my mind every shot was picked perfectly. Now about the last 5 minutes of film is one of the best endings to a movie I have ever seen. I was about to start clapping watching this by myself. It is one of the most moving scenes in film history. I highly recommend this film.
Frankenweenie is the other stop motion,clay motion film. This one is directed by Tim Burton. It is about a lonely kid named Victor who loses his dog and only real friend sparky. So Victor gets the idea to bring his dog back to life and it works. Now as you may have guessed things start to happen and that's where the story takes off. Now to get this out of the way. I have not really been liking Burton's movies recently. I have said that he needs to go and change his style. Now this film was a short that he did way back when he first started. This has all the same Burton like things, but man did I still love this movie. I had a lot fun watching this film. It hits that great tone of were that it is a kids movie, but it really isn't. The film had some actually really creepy parts. One character comes to mind. The one with the big eyes and if you see the movie you know the one I am talking about. Also the characters in general are great in this film. Love all them. Wish you could see more of them, but still all very good and still get a lot of screen time. Burton knocks it out of the park with this film. He hits a perfect tone and pace with the film. Then the music done by Danny Elfman is perfect fits every moment of this film so greatly. Pick it up if you like scores like I do(also I would do the same for ParaNorman). The puppets they used looked great and just fit the film so well. It was a smart idea to make the film black and white because this film feels like one of those old black and white horror movies and pays them great honor. Now I saw this in 3d, but don't see in it 3d. Everything about the depth of feel was great and it still looked great but I think if you see it without the glasses you will get more from the puppets. Now this film has one minor problem. Now the script is really well written and you get a great relationship with Victor and Sparky which is the main story. The plot line itself feels a little under developed and not the funniest movie. That is my only problem with this film. A very small problem. Still I highly recommend this film.
ParaNorman is a stop action claymation film. It is about this boy named Norman who can see ghosts everywhere he goes. He lives in this town where this witch was killed and cruse is coming and he is the only one that can stop it. This is one of the best claymation films I have ever seen. It is up there with a Nightmare before Christmas. The claymation is perfect. It looks just great it all flows every well into the film. It really helps the tone of the film. The jokes and humor in this film is so great. I was laughing all the way through. It was a very witty and fun sense of humor. The score of the film is awesome. It sounds like a old 70's and 80's horror films. The voice acting is awesome. They are all very into there character. I loved the story of the film. Great family film it makes a great message by the end of the film. It pays tribute to the old 70's and 80's horror movies very well. If your a horror fan you will love this movie. If your not a horror fan you love this movie. This film should be doing great thought out the fall months. I can not recommend this movie any higher. If your looking for a fun time at the movies see this. If your looking for some good laughs see it. If your looking to take your kids to this see it. The parents will enjoy this just as much as the kids. I can not find
anything wrong with this film.
Looper is the new film with Joesph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, and Emily Blunt. Directed by Rian Johnson who also directed Brick with Levitt as well. Looper is a time travel film were Levitt and Willis play the same person Joe. Willis being the older one and Levitt being young one. They placed make up on Levitt to make him look like a possible young Willis. Now Levitt has been a rising star for a little now with Batman and Inception. He does great as Joe. Parts of the film I thought he was Bruce Willis just a ace on the acting with Levitt. Willis was great best I have seen him in years. He was perfect. Blunt also hits it out of the park. No one does a bad job acting in this movie. Johnson does a great job with writing and making this movie. He wrote a very realized world and set a great tone. The characters he wrote in this film were great very fleshed out and realized characters. The biggest thing that I thought was amazing was the way this film was shot. The camera movement was perfect. No shacky cam. One of the best shot films I have seen all year next to Dark Knight Rises. The problems I found with the film was that the story was great, but it is very hard to follow. If you are not a fan of time travel or movies in that area. Please avoid this film you will hate every moment of the film. People looking for a big action film don't see this as well. Then the final problem I found was that it was slow for my taste. It takes a little bit for it to get were it wants to go, but still very well told. On a whole if you like time travel. See this thing in theaters you will not be upset.
REC is a Spanish horror film series about a zombie like infection this is the 3rd in the series. It is a prequel and gets rid of the found footage style. Now this film has elements that are really good and really bad elements. The things that worked were the actors mainly the actor Clara she was great I really believed in her and liked her character and also like Koldo he was good just not as good as Clara. Some of the scares worked really well. When you actually saw the zombies they were some great makeup on them very creepy. The director had a great feel for pace. The tone was all over the place thought but the pace was still great. This was more of a over the top horror movie. It went along the lines of Return of the dead and its a lot more funny. Now if this was a stand alone film I wouldn't mind it, but sense this is a 3rd in the series it really hurt the film. The first two RECs had a great tone very creepy and great scares. Also something I think that really hurts the feel and the biggest problem with me the first 20 minutes of the film are done in found footage style and then switches to traditional. When it switched I found it really hard to get back into the movie. All in all the only real reason should see this movie is if you like the series. Even then you can still possible skip it.
House At The End Of The Street is about Elissa (Jennifer Lawrence) and her mother moving into a new neighborhood and in a small town. They rent out this house next to the one at the end of the street. The reason they get this house for so cheap is because two people were murdered by there mentally challenged daughter. The one really good thing about this movie is the acting done by Lawrence. She is great in the film. The only real reason why you should go see this movie. Now time for the stuff that weren't so good. This movie had problems with pretty much everything else. The Director was awful he had no sense of timing, pace, or tone. The DOP had some of the worst shots I have seen in a long time. There is way to much shaky cam when it is pointless. Then finally the writer of this movie put almost every single callable thing in the movie really bad and cheap jump scares and really stupid twist ending. People when I say I love horror movies and I hate one you know that it isn't good. The only reason why anybody should see this movie is because Lawrence is so good in everything that she does.
I haven't been posting film reviews lately because I lazy, but I am going to start getting back into it. I have seen a lot of really good movies this summer along with the start of the fall season. So the first review I am going to do is House at the End of the Street. It will be up in a few days.
Chronicle is a found footage film ( its like the paranormal movies and cloverfield). It follows the story of 3 boys in high school that find this hole in the ground with a glowing rock and they all get telekinesis form said rock. The movie is really well made. It is just a all around well made film. I really didnt know what to except when going into this movie but when it was over and i was happy i stuck around for a hour and 30 minutes. The film really does a good job of making you care about these three boys and whats going on. Then on top of that the special effects are very well done. The last 20 minutes of this movie are great. It has a great fight scene at the end and you can tell that it was coming. the pacing of the film is one the best paced films to date. It is never slow and it is never too fast. the only problems i have with this film two thinks i wanted more action in the film and after awhile i really didnt care about the found footage style and just wasnt feeling it anymore. but all in all i say go see it at the movies it is worth the money.
The Ides of March is a film that is about how to become somebody you don't want to be in the world of politics. It starts a lot of big name actors and has a good performance for all the people involved. The stars in the leads are George Clooney and Ryan Gosling. The acting was great to say the least. I mean Ryan Gosling can't fail in any of the roles he played this year. The Director George Clooney (yes the same guy) was very good. I shot this movie with a really good DOP and wrote a very good story. I will say the story was a little slow and need a little work, but the overall story was very good and something to watch. It really is a very good political movie and i hate politics so if i enjoyed the film it has to be pretty descent. I like the characters of Gosling and of Clooney. It was a very well written script with the characters. If you are looking for a good thinking movie i say pick it up it will make you think about who you are and what you stand for.
Okay Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil is the funniest movie I have seen in a long time. I loved ever bit of this film. It is a horror comedy film that has a lot of heart. Now with thoughts things together you think that one part of that wouldn't work and its the horror part its not very scary. So if you want to see a good scary movie were you won't want to sleep after then don't pick this, but if you love horror movies see it anyway. It has the most unoriginal story that i have seen, but at the same time the most original i have see. The acting in the film was really good all the people did a good job and were all very funny characters. I loved very single scene of the movie form start to finish. I loved the beginning where it sets you up with the same old thing that everybody has scene and then it just flips on your head. This is my favorite horror movie of the year (yes out beating Paranormal 3) I loved this movie and i recommend this movie to almost everybody. The only people that i cant recommend this to is the people who don't like gore because it is on the gorier side.
The Artist is a mostly silent film. There is one scene where they talk and its a really good scene of the movie. What I have to say about this movie is this. It sets out to give people who love film history and film in general a good reason to go to the movies now. It looks great and has really good story. I very much enjoyed the film. It is a love story and it is also a drama about how sound changed film. The acting in the film is really good but if there was talking it wouldn't be because its over the top acting so you can understand whats going on. So for this film it is good but others just ok. What really shines in this film is the Direction and Cinematography. This film is one of the best shot films of the year there so many beautifully done shots and scene thought this how movie and the reason why the Direction was so good in this film was because it has to be. If the Director didn't know how to tell a story just thought imagery this film would have failed The only movie that i saw this year that may have it beat for best Direction and best Cinematography is drive which is still my favorite movie of the year( since the year is over). Now this film I think will win the Oscar this year for best film and best Director. So if you like old movies and history watch this movie your time will not be wasted.
Best Film
The Artist
Best Actor George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Best Actress
I think it has to be Viola Davis, "The Help"or Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Best Supporting Actor Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"
Best Supporting Actress Octavia Spencer, "The Help"
Best Director Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Best Adapted Screenplay Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin and Stan Chervin, "Moneyball" Best Original Screenplay Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
Best Animated Picture
Rango
Best Cinematography
I don't know all so good
I have never seen the original Arthur so I had no idea what to get out of this film. It was actually not that bad of a movie. It had its moments were i was just like really, but on a whole it was a very descent film. I did not see the heart of this film coming. It was a descent story and something that i did enjoy watching but i would watch it again. It had its moments were it was only kinda funny and the film is being coined as a comedy then it had to be able to make me laugh thought out the whole film. Russell Brand was pretty good in this movie. What really liked was the girl that played is love interest she was actually not bad. I cant say this movie will be going on shelf for a lot of people, but it is not that bad. If you are looking for a movie to rent form the redbox and you are in the mood for a comedy i say pick it up. Who knows you may really like it.
RATING
2.5 out of 5 ticket stubs.
Moneyball is hands down one of the best films of the year. This movie is a solid piece of film making all the way through out. The script of the film is great. You have some great lines and none of them being to cheesy like sports movies tend to be. Then on top of good lines the story of the film is just good all around. If you are not a baseball fan you will still love this movie. If you don't know anything about the sport you will still enjoy the movie. Then the acting done by Brad Pitt is great. One of the best jobs of the year. He was very good at being a GM of this baseball time. Then also Jonah Hill was actually really good. He did a great job of playing somebody who is actually very smart and just funny. The tone and the pace of the film were perfect. It never moved to fast so you didn't miss something. It had moments that were very funny and then it had moments were you on the each of the seat hoping that this team wins. Even the ending of the film was good. You feel very complete when the movie ends. I say if you want to see a good baseball movie see it. I say if you want to see one of the best films of the year see this.
This film is one of the two films directed by the great Steven Spielberg that came out in the last few months. There was also War Horse which I plan to see soon. This a motion capture movie. It is the best looking one too date. You great detail in the faces of all the animated characters. Then the voice acting just makes the detail that much better. This film had such a great feel and tone thought out. I was in the theater watching this and just loving the story and the adventure it took me on. This is such a Spielberg movie you have all the things that he does best which he is able to make you laugh and have your jaw drop. I watched this and it took back to when first watch Indiana Jones. It is a great film with great moments. The chase scene in Cario was one of the best scene i have seen all year. This film does have its problems. The pace of the film is way to fast. You don't really get to breath after each scene and the story is harder to follow. Not saying that you won't get it but you really need to remember who is who. Also I have a problem with the ending. It makes room for a sequel but in doesn't complete the story of this film, but all in all this was my favorite animated film of the year.
Tower Heist is a comedy with Eddie Murphy who has been very hit and miss with me lately. Also stars Ben Stiller who is one of my favorites so i didnt really know what to expect in this but when I came out was a pretty good movie. It has its fault but it on a whole its a really good Heist movie along with a comedy. There is a lot of really good one liners in this film which was where the most of the comedy comes form. I enjoy that comedy a lot and i am pretty sure that was coming for the Director of Brett Ratner he has made the rush hour series. so he has was able to balance the action and the comedy very well. The biggest problems with the film is that is kinda all over the place with the pace and the story is easy to follow but they like forget to tell you information that they expect you to know. Like who is all in the plan to steal the money. Also it is very predictable at what will happen I knew the whole movie before it happened, but i still enjoyed watching the film. It is in no mind a bad movie but no where near a great comedy movie. I say if you are fan of the Director and the stars see it.
