Hey! Do you like how I used ‘films’ instead of ‘movies’? It makes it seem more important doesn’t it? This list is made up of picks by both myself and Andrew, with some help from Dillon. And unlike Dillon’s comic list this is in descending order.
Archive for the ‘Movie Reviews’ Category
If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Daybreak it.
On January - 10 - 2010
WARNING: Daybreakers is not a film for everyone and neither are its Australian filmmakers, The Spierig Brothers. For those of you who do not know them by now, their break out movie was 2003 cult horror movie, Undead. Essentially, these two brothers are the unspoken princes of “B” horror movies which are essentially films that are “so bad its good”. Because of the flawed nature of B movies, the audience for them are varied. Most of the films that are released that adhere to the genre are either beloved or revered for their awkward style that matches innovation. Does the Spierig Brothers’ film boost movies into a welcome new year or does it just flop on it’s toothless face?
I Know Kung-Fu
On January - 1 - 2010
Ah Sherlock Holmes, the latest film from Silver Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Entertainment. Well, the first thing to say about it is that it’s not quite as bad the trailer wants you to believe. Yes, this is a drastically different take on the famous British literature ensemble, but it is not a vision that is necessarily too awful. This basically means director Guy Ritchie and producer Joel Silver didn’t totally molest, embarrass, and violate the property like hmm, let’s say… Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg with the Transformers franchise. All and all this film will entertain anyone looking for a “buddy-cop” comedy affair at their local theater. Essentially Sherlock Holmes is the British version of the Rush Hour movies with Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan only the writing is far better and everything is set in the period of the industrial revolution. Of course there is no swearing or repetitious racial stereotyping like Rush Hour, but the overall feeling of “bromance” between Downey Jr.’s Holmes and Jude Law’s Dr. Watson is pretty convincing and rather entertaining. The main aspect of the film which teeters it on the edge of good and bad is the plot and what a ridiculous plot it is. About an hour into the film, one could believe that they might be watching a film where Sherlock Holmes may confess himself to be the first Ghostbuster, who’s art would be carried on in the 1980’s by Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd in the battle against the Stay-Puff Marshmallow monstrosity. However, the writers of the film at least explain all the supernatural hubbub in the last five minutes during a strange sword fight. Isn’t big budget movie making just cute?
Out of This World
On December - 27 - 2009
There have been very few times in this closing decade that a movie has come out which has furthered the dynamic vision of feature filmmaking. If anything, the past ten years have shown a declining slope in creativity for movies across the board with constant remakes, reboots, sequels, adaptations, and not to mention the summer blockbusters that have an utter disregard for storytelling. When James Cameron left features behind in 1999 to spend years filming the ocean floor, there seemed to be a rift in the industry. This changed the moment that test audiences began posting their reactions to the first footage of his follow-up to the most watched movie ever: Titanic. Avatar is the movie that everyone was raving about and that no commoner could lay there eyes on…until now. It seems almost poetic that in a decade filled with commercializing and capitalizing on terrible franchises, that Avatar arrives “five minutes to midnight” and absolutely changes the way that movies can be made, felt, and experienced. In the 1930’s, King Kong opened people up to the possibilities that movies had of offering a fantastic escape. Later, in the 1950’s the sci-fi renaissance once again impacted audiences in a way that it furthered the possibilities of special effects. In 2009, James Cameron has changed the name of the game with Avatar because everything else is simply just a movie.
What’s Your Ninja Weapon?
On November - 27 - 2009
Ninja Assassin is THE most awesomely terrible movie of the year. What is an awesomely bad movie you ask? Well, it is when a film is created by a team of people who understand that their source material is terrible, yet they embrace it and try to deliver the audience a kick ass, and rather funny film to entertain you for taking the time out of your day to see such a piece of shit. Ninja Assassin is practically the definition of awesomely bad. The plot is downright non-existent, yet the majority of it is spent in flash backs showing the main character, Raizo (Rain- yeah sick name right?) and his progression from being a prized student of his ninja clan to being the clan’s number one target. Bah, who am i kidding? Watch the trailer and you know the plot of the movie except maybe a few tidbits about Interpol and a few other people that are bland as the popcorn sold at your local movie theater. Director James McTeigue really tries more so on delivering what you’d expect from a movie called “Ninja Assassin”, which is people getting cut to ribbons by buff Asian men and women dressed in black with tons of sharp stabby objects. McTeigue absolutely kills by bringing all of these expectations and turning the volume up so much that it borders on ninja-cutting euphoria. Yeah, that’s right Ninja Assassin is the most entertaining of all American ninja assassin-genre movies.
A Big Indie Monster
On November - 2 - 2009
Ever since I first saw the teaser poster for Where the Wild Things Are, I was pumped to see Spike Jonze’s adaptation (no pun intended). The theatrical trailer blew me away as it teased the childhood adventure that I wanted to see on the big screen oh so very badly. It is with a heavy heart that I must admit Spike Jonze did not deliver a wonderfully crafted adventure for all ages. This movie is not the book that I remember falling asleep to in my small bed that harbored all of my monstrous fears. Instead, Where the Wild Things Are is an indie-movie masterpiece that takes an amazing adventure about being a child and dresses it up to be a snooty art house picture that very much has its own agenda of being artsy and message-ridden. This is truly a shame as the film shuts out every young child sitting in the theater and beats every other person in the room with symbol after symbol of the dangers of childhood. Read the rest of this entry »
I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghost
On October - 15 - 2009
Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity is a movie that everyone needs to see in theaters. Whether you hate scary movies or not, Paranormal Activity is one of the most creative pieces of film making that I have seen all year. Oren Peli has pulled off one of the most terrifying films in a long time and with only a budget of about $15,000. How Peli managed to capture the horror of an invisible presence is amazing. The evolution of the audiences petrification is fantastic especially since they are scared of a transparent entity on a film screen. Without an intense or deranged soundtrack or virtually any special effects, the film re-installs the child like fear of the boogeyman that kept you up all those nights in your childhood. Read the rest of this entry »
A Three Hour 3D Advertisement
On October - 13 - 2009
Toy Story 3 is currently scheduled to be in theaters June 2010, this coming summer. The first Toy Story came out in 1995, which makes me feel very old. Toy Story 2 was released in 1999. Now that the first is almost 14 years old and the second nearly 10 years old, re-releasing the movies for new younger audiences is a great marketing idea for the third. In order to make sure people would fork over the cash to see it in theaters they needed to make both movies 3D and show them together for one price, which are also very good ideas. While I can’t really review these two classic animated films, the 3D aspect of them is new.
Zombieland Fed On My Giggles
On October - 10 - 2009
Ruben Fleischer’s Zombieland is the movie that you need to see in theaters this Fall. Regardless if you hate the previews for it, have something against the cast, or just do not have a “thing” for zombies, Zombieland is probably the most fun you will have at the cinema until Winter. Fleischer has created a world that is 1 part scary and a million parts hilarious. Even though the movie is pretty much over before you know it, the experience is well worth the admission into the theater. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s Raining Food, Hallelujah!
On October - 9 - 2009
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is an animated movie made by Sony Pictures Animation that is based on the children’s book by Judi Barrett. It’s the story of Flint Lockwood, a fledgling inventor, and his sardine eating hometown. Flint is desperate to invent something that the townspeople will finally like and respect him for. This leads to him inventing a machine that turns water into food, you’ll have to watch it to find out the rest.
