So I’ll go ahead and say it, best movie of the year. Unless Harry Potter Part 1 can trump it – which I doubt, Inception is definitely the movie to see this year. I have to admit, I went in with pretty high expectations. I mean this is all from the same director as Memento, the Prestige, Batman Begins and the Dark Knight … who wouldn’t go in with high expectations right? Either way, Nolan didn’t let me down and aside from a few minor things I think that it’s my favorite film by him thus far.

Sum it Up:

Leo DiCaprio plays a different type of “spy” in this movie where the espionage really takes place within someone’s dreams. He and his team go into the target’s dream and extract a thought or idea from that dream. All this changes when a client asks if Inception can be done. Inception is actually the opposite process, instead of extracting an idea or thought, you are implanting one into someone’s dream so that it then becomes their idea or thought. We are also told that it’s practically impossible to do this, but Leo thinks that he can assemble the right team for the job and make it so. Leo also has more driving him than just money to make sure that they complete this particular job.

the Good:

Where do I begin? I honestly could go on a positive rant about so many points in this movie where everything just blew me away. I’ll start with an easy one though, and for me that was the visuals. Brandon and I both walked out of the theater just raving about how there was so much CG and Visual Effects produced from this movie that hardly any point in the film you thought to yourself, “oh that looks bad” etc. See, where this film differs from say something like Avatar is that a lot of it is set in real world situations where we know what to expect and know what things should look like. Where as with a movie like Avatar, we are shown things we’ve never seen so we can’t just say, “oh that looks so fake…” etc. etc. Basically through out the entire movie up until about the last 15 minutes I never even considered anything to be fake. That’s how well the time and effort and even money paid off for the end result. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, please try and take in all the visuals that you can in the film because they certainly deliver.

Other things up for “good” consideration are the story/plot. I know that Chris Nolan had a lot to do with the writing of this movie and I commend him for it. Not since the Matrix have I seen something so original and breathtaking that I truly bought into the entire idea of the movie. What I mean by original is to take spy movies for example. We’ve all seen a James Bond movie, or a Jason Bourne movie or even a movie like Get Smart that deals with spies. They all share the same common qualities, one main guy, one main bad guy, a plot that involves the bad guy trying to take over the world using some sinister idea or some big machine to do it, throw in a bunch of henchman, some woman love interest and what do you get – your typical spy movie. That’s not to say that it’s not a working system and that a lot of those movies are bad … in fact a lot of the movies that I just mentioned are good films. Though, what sets Inception apart from these films is the original story of using dreams and espionage together. So well in fact that you get to see what Christopher Nolan has thought up, and not without justification, rules or limitations. It seemed as if Nolan had taken every chance to refine the idea and to make sure he ironed out all the intricate details involved in making this film into something we could all buy into. Not that you need much help to buy into it.

Which leads me into a quick note, all the back story as to how this “dream stealing” all came to be. If I had any worry going into this movie it might have been that we would be expected to swallow a very large pill of “ok i’ll buy into this” to be able to enjoy watching the movie. What is amazing is that you don’t need to with how Nolan explains things. I won’t ruin the movie for you because I feel this movie is definitely one everyone should see, but just believe me when I say that he explains it briefly but it all makes pretty good logical sense.

The pacing seemed to really bring me into the movie. Nolan seems to do this really well for all his movies. He has a knack for making sure he tells a story but also keeps the audience interested by throwing in action scenes and dialog scenes all at the appropriate time. I never once was bored or waiting for something to happen, I was more on the edge of my seat for this film than I was for say Iron Man 2. I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.

The acting for me was on par. Did I think it was great? No. Did I think any of the actors were bad or stood out in a bad way? No. I thought that the casting was ok. I do think that Leo is as others have said, is “running on auto pilot” or “just going through the motions” because he tends to land the same type of role over and over again where he never tends to “act” any differently than he did from the previous film. It would’ve been nice to see Brad Pitt or maybe Viggo Mortensen up for the main role but I digress. I’m not a casting director.

A little side note, I do enjoy how Nolan re-uses actors in his films. I won’t spoil the fun for you but try and think out of all his movies how many actors have been used in one or more of his films.

Oh, and I’ll leave the “good” section with this final thought. The way Nolan ends the film is pretty awesome. This won’t spoil anything for anyone (in case you were getting your panties in a twist about what I am about to say) … He pretty much ends it the way he chooses to and how I’m sure he understands how it all ends, but for the viewer – everything is up for interpretation. Which is awesome! At first I wasn’t so keen on the idea, but the more I talked about it and thought about it, the more I ended up enjoying the way it ended. It sparks conversation outside of the movie and makes you consider other possibilities. Which for a movie to impose anything on you past what you experience in the theater itself seems like a pretty decent accomplishment if you ask me.

the Bad:

Like I had said, the casting for me wasn’t the best, but it also didn’t detract much from the overall film. I think it could’ve been better but what do I know.

You’ll notice in the film how they are “put to sleep” and how they immediately go into their dream states. If I could really say anything actually negative about this movie it would be that. They seem to just slap these little bracelets on all the people that are getting ready to go into their dream, and then voila in a matter of seconds they are asleep and dreaming … and are all in the same dream. This is also the only part of the movie that wasn’t really explained. I’m not quite sure why they didn’t explain it, maybe because the process did seem a little “out there” and they thought it better to hope that the audience would in fact just buy into that since they explained everything else. I don’t know but it was awfully odd that they could all be in a very hectic stressful situation and all they had to do was slap on these little bracelet things that sent this sedative into their bodies and immediately they would be dreaming and in the same dream. Ha, I just realized that if you haven’t seen the film I probably just confused the hell out of you and if that’s the case, well shame on you – GO SEE THIS MOVIE!

Final Thought:

I can see how a lot of people would complain about the length of this film, it’s 2 hrs. and 22 mins., BIG DEAL! If we pay $10 for a movie, then I damn well want my to get what I pay for. I honestly can’t stand how people complain about long movies. Well I’m sorry – if you can’t stand being entertained by some amazing story telling then by all means, go next door and watch the Last Airbender or some chic flic for just under 2 hours and tell me how that goes. Oh and by the way, the length of every movie you want to see is posted on a website …how about you look it up before you complain about it being a long movie.

Wow sorry … bad Lucas – get back to the Final Thought …

Yeah, great movie. See it.

Inception Review : (9/10)

Ok ok, so I slacked off a bit in 2010 for all of my movie reviews. So in light of that slacking I have done, and since we’re already half way through 2010, I’m going to do a 2 part review session of all the movies I have seen of the 2010 season (there have been 16 total films that I didn’t review thus far so I’ll do 8 reviews in each part). Of course I’m not going to include ones like Alice in Wonderland, Iron Man 2, How to Train Your Dragon, or Clash of the Titans, because I’ve already done those reviews. So let’s get on with it shall we!

Toy Story 3

SO, I figured I’d start this off right by getting into the reviews with a great movie that has come out this summer of 210. Toy Story 3 was immaculate. I honestly thought that they had out done themselves with Toy Story 2. Nope, they come out with Toy Story 3 and one up themselves. To come back with a sequel that not only kept the story going but didn’t rehash much of what was used before was very impressive. Out of the 3 movies that came out, I’d have to say that Toy Story was the best then the 3rd one then the 2nd one. It might just be because I’m a bit sentimental, but the end of the movie had me watering up pretty good and it’s a damn kids movie! I mean come on! If there are those of us that saw the first movie when we ourselves were children when it debuted, then I think we all will share some emotional attachment to these characters. The movie delivers across the board with voice talent, story, characters and animation. Honestly, it was sad to see it end but at least they went out on top!

Oh and a quick side note – the amazing short, ‘Day and Night’ that played before this movie was one of the most touching and sincere shorts that Pixar has graced us with to date. Pay close attention to all the detail and talent that goes into that movie. (this earns toy story 3 a half point)

Toy Story 3 Review: (9.5/10)

The Last Air Bender

Yes well I started this review session off with a great movie and I’m going to follow it up with a really bad movie. M. Night’s the Last Air Bender was a acting atrocity. I have no idea how the director could’ve been watching his reels back in the editing room after the first day of shooting saying to himself, “oh man this movie is going to ROCK!” … If I had been there watching in that very same editing room, I would’ve given him the biggest mushroom stamp. I wouldn’t say that I had high expectations for this movie because it is based off of a Nickelodeon cartoon after all, but I definitely didn’t expect this. I can’t even put into words how bad the acting was on every scale. Not only that, but the writing was god awful as well. The only couple things, and let me say that again, ONLY couple things that saved this movie and didn’t allow me to walk out was the amazing visual effects and the story. I have never seen the cartoon, but now I’m very tempted to go rent the series just so that I might enjoy this interesting story and broad range of characters.

The Last Air Bender Review: (3/10)

Eclipse (the Twilight Series)

Throw stones at me all you like, but Eclipse is a good movie. It’s not great and it’s not bad, but it’s good. I must say that I went in a little cautious just because the other two movies were pretty much garbage but this movie was actually entertaining and kept me moderately interested most of the time. The plot is a lot more involved this time around with the entire cast and not just the love triangle. We get a little more in depth with some key characters and we also have more sinister villains this time around. Even the Vulturi (I have no idea how they spell that crap in the book) play a more significant role in a grand scheme that seems like the entire saga is boiling down to. I’d have to say that having a decent director this time around did wonders for the film and certainly gets my vote. I hope that they bring him back to finish the saga. Though, with all the good you must take the bad. The bad being the 3 main actors and the mush that surrounds the plot. The whole reason all the women swoon over the saga – the threesome love story. I got so tired of it in this movie. I got sick of Bella going “oh Edward I love you…oh Jake I love you…but I love Edward…but Edward I love Jake…Bella but I love you…but” blah blah blah! Seriously, once we see the turmoil that all three of them are dealing with – we get it. We don’t need the situation continuously pounded into our skulls like we’re infants just learning how to read. I don’t care if the book is that way – that is something that might translate well through the pages but on screen it’s monotonous and BORING! Just choose a damn mate and move on already! Hell even because of all the mush crap I was dealing with I had to change my least hated character out of the 3 of them to Edward this time. At least he wasn’t practically puking rainbows and unicorns out on to Bella every chance she was around.

Eclipse Review: (7/10)

The Book of Eli

This was an interesting story. One man, on a quest to bring a “book” of untold wisdom/power from one side of the nation to the other, on foot no less, as commanded by God to do so. You figure out early on in the story that the “book” is the Bible so I’m not ruining anything there for anyone. Once you realize that, then the movie takes a different turn. It becomes biblical in essence, which is not what I was originally expecting from the trailers and marketing. Not saying that it detracts from the movie so much, but it definitely puts a completely different spin on things. The good parts of the movie are the set pieces and the acting. I mean we’ve got Denzel, what’s not to like about that guy? There are other actors that shine too in this movie, but Denzel is the whole reason you go to see it. Now I would’ve rated this film even lower had I not had an interesting perspective presented to me by my cousin Patrick. So to say the least I see the movie in a different light than what I had previously thought. When it was in theaters I wouldn’t recommend this movie to anyone, but now that it’s out on DVD/Blu-Ray then I say hey – go ahead and check it out.

The Book of Eli Review: (7/10)

Edge of Darkness

Blow the crap out of some guy’s daughter (seriously the first 5 mins of this movie his daughter is blown almost halfway apart by a shotgun right in front of him) and see what happens. You’re bound to piss him off I promise you that. The Edge of Darkness is one of those vengeful movies that for some reason Mel Gibson can’t seem to get away from. Have you seen Braveheart? Or perhaps you’ve seen the Patriot? No, well maybe you’ve seen Ransom? Well in case you’ve living under a rock, revenge movies seem to be Mel’s niche and he pulls it off as best as he can. I wouldn’t say that Edge of Darkness is his crowning achievement (Braveheart is) but it’s a pretty decent movie. There are a few moments where the dialog gets muddled and it’s hard to follow what is being talked about, but overall if you pay attention it shouldn’t detract from the entire plot. Mel is as good as Mel gets basically, though he is definitely starting to show his age in this movie. It’s fairly played out and the ending is typical but I’d say go ahead and rent it sometime, it’s gotta be better than a lot of the other rentals to choose from lately.

Edge of Darkness Review: (6/10)

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

With every video game series there is bound to be a movie eventually, you can’t have all that story and not a movie – it just wouldn’t be right. Prince of Persia, for me, is a decent video game adaptation to film. I for one think that the first 10 to 15 minutes are actually spot on just like the video game, but then we’re shown characters and places and events that never happen in the video game. Not to say that these things hurt the film, but they weren’t exactly part of the video game, or at least the first one. I would have to say, that with this film, I was unhappy with the dynamite team that brought us Pirates of the Caribbean…this just didn’t seem to have the refined essence that the Pirates first movie had and I found myself wanting it. What is that essence you say? Well, it’s that “Disney magic” that only Disney seems to be able to put into movies that no matter what – the movie still shines. I think that with this film, what shines are it’s actors and some of it’s set pieces – what doesn’t shine is the visual effects. I understand that sand might be hard to render and to figure out – but if we can film in the desert then by god then lets actually use some of the REAL sand then! Aside from that the story is intriguing, the characters are well developed and even the acting is on par. (I’m sorry I could go into more detail but I’ve got to write a lot more of these minor reviews and I can’t take up the time delving into each movie)

Prince of Persia Review: (7.5/10)

Repo Men

There are a couple things that I would recommend never to happen on this planet. One, don’t go see Repo Men with  your mother. Two, Jude Law should never do an action movie. Three, you should never try and cut up someone and make love with that person at the same time. Four, for no one to buy this movie or to tell anyone else to see this garbage. I am surprised how much I didn’t like this movie. It had everything going for it; Sci-Fi, Action and Adventure, with Forest Whitaker and Jude Law, what’s not to like? Well just about everything aside from the acting, and even that isn’t going to save this movie – hell it even had a pretty good plot. It’s just all around bad. I can honestly say that when starting out to write these reviews I thought that the Air Bender would’ve been the worst reviewed, nope, this one definitely wins that award. No, I’d rather not tell you anything else about it – don’t see this movie.

Repo Men Review: (2/10)

She’s Out of My League

Ok, so some of the guys do get the girl – just by being the “nice guy”. I will give ya that – it’s bound to happen. Well with this movie, it at least takes a few twist and turns before getting there and it actually has some pretty decent humor thrown in that got me to laugh out loud a few times. I’m not saying that it’s as funny as Step Brothers or anything, but it had it’s moments. The lead role is played by that kid that voiced How to Train Your Dragon so it already lost a point on my scale for that. I mean just look at him in this picture – tell me you don’t just want to hit him for being a star and you’re not. Hell I don’t think he can even stand up straight. (watch the movie you’ll know what I’m talking about) Ok, but from aside from my apparent hatred for this actor, everything else seemed to flow pretty effortlessly in this movie. I’d say some of the key shining moments involve some shaving, and some family members and that’s all I’m going to say. If you have a special someone you would like to watch this with, then go out and rent it and sit yourselves down on the couch. It’s not that bad – really.

She’s Out of My League Review: (6.5/10)

Iron Man 2 – arguably the most anticipated movie of 2010. With $133.6 million in the first weekend and ranking number 5 amongst the top weekend openings for movies of all time – I’d say that’s pretty much a sure bet. Though it will have to compete with movies like Harry Potter’s Part 1 of 2 in November, Twilight’s Eclipse and even Toy Story 3 this summer…I’m sure that many would say that this was the movie that they were excited to see! I know I was excited to see it!

Sum It Up:

The movie basically picks up about a year after Tony has claimed that he is indeed Iron Man and we find our hero struggling to juggle all the complications that come with being not only rich and famous, but a super hero as well. Tony is now trying to figure out how to solve a “problem” that the suit is now causing (no I’m not going to tell you – just watch the movie and find out) and he is also trying to keep the government at bay. (the army wants his suit because they’re not smart enough to build their own) Not only does he have to juggle saving the world, thwarting our own government but he has to try and launch the Stark Expo (a side thing of dear ol’ daddy) as well as fend off a new bad guy. Sounds like Tony has his robotic hands full.

the Good:

If you didn’t know, Iron Man is one of the few super heroes in all comic books that everyone knows the identity of the super hero – and it’s this rare plot twist that keeps the movie alive and interesting. It’s so fun to see Tony Stark play off the fact that he is indeed Iron Man and that no one can really touch him. Not only because he is rich, but he’s smart and quite powerful if he needs to be. Throw in his narcissistic nature and it’s pure brilliance to watch a character with as much depth as his on screen.

Of course this leads into the lead role played by none other than Mr. Robert Downey Jr. I’m telling you what, this guy has made Iron Man what it is. Along side with Jon Favreau’s awesome vision – Downey has pretty much single handedly given us cinematic genius at it’s best. He reminds me of Johnny Depp playing Captain Jack Sparrow, where every scene he is in – he completely steals it. Whether it’s him bantering on and on with his “would be love interest” Pepper Potts, or yelling at his machines, or even showing a sympathetic side, Downey as Tony Stark takes the lime light every time and we should all bask in the awesomeness.

Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not gay over Downey, eh, I might be. But that’s a whole other issue.

Moving on…

A thing I think Jon Favreau has done correctly with this film has to be that he went along the lines of “don’t fix it if it ain’t broke”…and he basically did just that. Though I think he took into careful consideration the characters this time around and tried to pay attention to his fans of the first film. They screamed, “WE WANT MORE ACTION” and he delivers it. They screamed again, “WE WANT A BETTER VILLAIN” and he delivers on that one. The fans screamed, “WE WANT TO SEE WAR MACHINE” and if you hadn’t guessed it – yep, he delivers on that request too. It seems that Jon really took to heart what his fans were looking for out of this film and did his best to tend to their needs.

As I mentioned in the first Iron Man review, the CG was spectacular and that it really helped to create the world of Iron Man for you to enjoy. This movie is nothing less. Not only does it stand up to the original but there are certain segments that you just sit back and go “dammmnnnnnn” (particularly if you pay close attention during the car race scene when Whiplash destroys a couple cars – it looks pretty phenomenal)

I also think that this movie delivers on stronger characters with better actors playing them. I know that people will disagree with me on this, but Don Cheadle as Rhodey was a great replacement for Terrence Howard’s ego. It’s true. Had we had Don Cheadle from the get go, I think we would all be very pleased with what he can bring to the table. He seems to have a confidence about him that Rhodey’s character needed, that Terrence’s Rhodey didn’t quite capture. Not only did Don Cheadle get into the mix, but we threw in Scarlett Johansson and Mickey Rourke. Both in my eyes did a pretty good job with their limited roles. (if you can, try and see how many lines that they actually have – there aren’t many but the few that they do have they use them well…no, Rourke’s Russian lines don’t count – I don’t speak Russian damn it) I don’t want to seem like I’m treading on and on about the acting, but Gweneth Paltrow was a delight once again as Pepper, and Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer was a great replacement in the weapons department. ( I do hope we get to see more of him in the third installment)

the Bad:

Actually, as much great stuff there was about this movie – I’d have to say it had it’s fair share of downers too.

For example, (and I think that I actually complained about this in the Iron Man review back in 2008) but; WTF!?!?!? Would you please cut it out with the trailers that tend to give away a lot of the very exciting and pivotal points in the action sequences. I MEAN COME ON! If you’ve seen the trailers you already know what I’m talking about. We see Iron Man and War Machine suit up together fighting some type of other “Machine Men” … we see Whiplash “whipping” (in a non-homosexual way) Tony on the race track. We see suits flying after suits. STOP IT! I’ve pretty much described every action sequence that takes place in the movie. Leave some of it out so that when we see it – we’re like OH THAT’S THE SHIT!

It’s funny because the “don’t fix it if it ain’t broke” saying I think applies to the bad parts of the movie as well. In the first film, the entire plot boils down to Tony throwin down with his mentor Obediah and the final fight is about 8 minutes long. I’m sure that porn stars can have sex in a shorter amount of time – and that’s just sad. Well you know what is even more sad, Tony and his nemesis Ivan (aka: mad scientist with electric whips) have a final show down with War Machine thrown into the mix, and it’s even shorter than the fight with Iron Monger in the first film! WTF? No, I’m not kidding …

Not only that – but I have a major complaint about the final “bad guy” that shows up to fight Iron Man and War Machine – but I won’t ruin it for you. You’ll just have to go see.

I have another complaint – why exactly did we get Garry Shandling to play the annoying Senator that has to come after Tony? You honestly want to sit there and tell me that amongst all the great actors out there – that we go and get Garry “Hi, I’ve had way too many Botox injections to stop from smiling” Shandling?!?!? Again, WTF?

The last thing I’m going to mention that rubbed me the wrong way was that the movie didn’t seem to pace itself too well. There were high moments of action and excitement, then followed by a lot of talking and really mundane moments where I could look around the audience and see people just get antsy in their seats. All of them, just dying for another glimpse of the Red and Yellow suit kicking ass. If anything I’d say we could’ve seen more of Iron Man and even War Machine. At least with the slow parts of the first film, we were treated to more Iron Man screen time than with this one.

Final Thought:

When it’s all said and done, it’s a fun movie to watch. I am tired of hearing from other critics that, ” it doesn’t compare to the first film” or “it’s good, but not good enough” etc. etc. I think that every film should be judged on it’s own and not as if it was part of a sequel. It’s funny because since the Dark Knight did so well and a lot of people consider it to be better than the first, a lot of them expect the same out of Iron Man 2. That’s a lot for Jon Favreau to try and give the audience. I think that he set out to give you a compelling story of already known and loved characters from the first movie while trying to bring something new to the table. Did he accomplish this? Yes.

Iron Man 2 Review : (8.5/10)

Yep, this movie should’ve won Best Picture, granted there were quite a few good movies that came out in 09, but Avatar really topped them all. It not only expanded what we can expect to see from movies going into the future, but it also showed how a great story and an awesome imagination can take us all on an adventure that is truly one of a kind. I’ll be the first to say that I was skeptical when the first images were shown of what Pandora and it’s inhabitants looked like, but I should’ve trusted James Cameron and his amazing vision. It’s truly an epic to behold.

Sum It Up:

Avatar is a movie set in our future where we’ve obviously tapped our resources and need to look elsewhere for those resources. Cue the moon Pandora, a setting not all that different from Earth, except that it has really tall blue alien peeps instead of our normal fleshy selves (along with a wide array of other interesting alien species) Our hero Jake Sulley is enlisted into the “avatar” program as a substitute for his brother who recently passed away. (they were twins) Avatars, in a nutshell, are cloned aliens that are then used as a “pod” for humans to transfer their consciousness into in order to mingle/walk amongst the indigenous population. Throw in the daughter of a chief, a menacing General, and lots of kewl creatures along the way, and you have the movie Avatar.

the Good:

Everything is amazing about this movie. I’m not going to make this review too in depth, because you honestly have to see this movie. I shouldn’t have to tell you anything you don’t already know, but let’s sum up real quick the reasons you need to see this movie…

- $2,713,395,000 Worldwide in total sales can’t be wrong.

-The visual effects were the first of their kind and will be some of the most amazing that I’ve seen for a long time I’m sure. (that or till the sequel comes out)

-On top of the visual effects it was the best use of the 3D technology to date. (yes I saw it in theaters both ways so I can actually make that comparison…though I liked the normal 2D version better – it was still the most impressive use of the 3D I had seen yet…not that toping Beowulf or Jim Carrey’s A Christmas Carol was too hard to do…)

-The story is fun, full of adventure, and wonder. (and for anyone who thinks it’s such a hack off of movies like Pocahontas, and this movie Delgo – which I’ve not seen needs to really take the time to watch the movie to see that it’s not only better than those movies, but it’s so much more than any of those …)

-The characters all have extreme depth and give you reason to invest the 3 hrs. of viewing time to see how their story carries out.

-The production value and time spent are completely obvious in every last detail.

-It’s by far the best looking movie on BluRay to date and really shows you what our home movies are capable of with the new technology.

the Bad:

I’m not going to say that the movie was perfect, at first I was, but I got to thinking about it and there are some parts where I would’ve changed a few things.

Such as the one liners that our hero spurts out in moments of angst or egotism … (an example would be where he scares off a beast – or thinks he does – and in his moment of triumph he yells “yeah what now bitch” … completely unecessary and close to just stupid … I’m not sure if Cameron was trying to push the “marine” aspect of Jake or what in this segment but the line was not needed) There were a couple other instances of this type of dialogue and each time you hear it you sort of think to yourself, “wtf…?”

Add that in with some mediocre acting from a few characters and I’d say that gives the minus half a point. But that’s honestly it. I’ve seen the movie 3 times now and still have yet to find any real reason to complain.

Final Thought:

Seriously, I know I probably sound completely biased for this movie but I own the BluRay now and I know that I’ll watch this at least another 3 times before November when the extended 4 disc edition comes out on BluRay and I buy that version instead. If you failed to see Avatar in IMAX, a 3d Cinema, or even a normal theater then you have my sympathy. You missed out on one of the best movie experiences of our life-time.

Avatar Review: (9.5/10)

You know that a movie is good when Sta’s comes out saying, “where’s my Dragon!?!, I want to ride a Dragon!?!?” Sta’s my friend, your day will come. Some day, you too will own your very own dragon and soar through the skies…

What am I saying, no you won’t. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but they don’t exist buddy.

Aside from that, the movie was pretty good, but Rotten Tomatoes has it at a 98% fresh rating…which is wrong. Sorry but I don’t see why everyone apparently ”loves” this movie. I would say it doesn’t compare to the likes of Kung-Fu Panda, Wall-E or Up by a long shot.

Sum It Up:

The story centers around a younger Viking called Hiccup. No, I didn’t hiccup, that’s his name…yeah not quite sure why everyone else seemed to have a strong Viking name and then he gets slapped with a name like Hiccup – it’s like he was intended to be a loser of a Viking since the day he was born. Anyways, so Hiccup sucks at being a Viking and by sucks I mean he is terrible. He doesn’t have a “mean” bone in his scrawny ass body and doesn’t want to kill Dragons. (not that he could because he can’t even pick up a sword … weak) So Hiccup comes up with this contraption that shoots down the “mysterious” dragon that no one has seen and the good part of the movie picks up from there. We then meet his new “pet” dragon that he calls Toothless. And the two must find a way to show not only the Vikings but the dragons as well that they can “all just get along”…

the Good:

Awesome job on some of the CG effects. Mainly on the vikings themselves. The hair especially was so impressive. It got the point where the hair looked so real on their garments and even their beards that it was really starting to fool me. Awesome job by the DreamWorks guys there.

Whoever was in charge of the art department should also get a pat on the back. The main viking design was also top notch. Not for the CG effects but the actual character designs for each one in the movie were pretty awesome. Without having them speak you knew which character they were meant to portray and they all had their own little quirks that helped to further define them. Along with that the scenery and the landscapes were massive and helped to contain the world as well as the set pieces for the Vikings. (their houses, boats, and accessories)

Ok I’m going to mention this both as a good thing and a bad thing. Voice acting. All of the characters aside from one were good choices. I’d have to say that the one that stood out the most was Gerard Butler. He was the voice of the head Viking and his voice is perfect for it. If any of you are un-aware he was King Leonidas in 300 and if you haven’t heard the powerful voice he produced in that movie, then you might not understand what I’m getting at.

There was one particular segment in the movie that was really good. As far as storytelling and character development and making the audience really care for what was going on up on the screen. The segment where Hiccup and Toothless are bonding and where Hiccup is helping Toothless to fly again – pretty awesome stuff. You can see very similar character subtleties from a unique Disney character a while back during this segment – which is partly due to the fact that the same writers for that Disney movie were a part of this film. (I’ll save you the stress of guessing what movie I’m referring to…it’s Lilo and Stitch) If you look at some of the expressions that Toothless conveys – they are right on par with Stitch. Anyways back to my point – this segment is awesome because at the very “tail” (haha good one Lucas) end of the movie they tie it all together really well. (yes, you’re going to have to see the movie – i’m not going to ruin everything for you)

Alright brace yourselves because I’m going to get into what I didn’t like about the movie – and yes, there are a lot of things. Though for some reason despite the fact that there are, I want it noted that I still came out saying that the movie was “good” so bare with me till the final rating at the end of the review…

the Bad:

Going to get right into my biggest complaint about the entire film: Hiccup, our main hero, the one guy that we’re all focused on…his voice talent SUCKED! It not only sucked, it was HORRIBLE. What’s something else I could use to describe it? Say you were running your fingers down a chalkboard and you didn’t want to hear that crap anymore, yeah that’s how I felt about Hiccup’s voice. And honestly, his narration part, where the movie starts in and he’s describing his village and the whole setting of the movie sounds great…then you pair it up with the way he looks and it doesn’t match at all. The character Hiccup looks like a normal teenage boy. He doesn’t have anything wrong about him other than the fact that he doesn’t look like any of the vikings. So the voice doesn’t fit. It would have been better to have him slouch awkwardly, or give him some glasses to fit the annoying “nerd-esque” voice over that he had. OMG this just really pissed me off the entire length of the film. So I warn you now! (for those who haven’t seen it)

Now that I’m fired up let’s move on to another one…the look of all the dragons except for 2 were way over the top and almost comical rather than “dragon-esque”. Our hero dragon, Toothless, his design was pretty awesome as was the final “evil” dragon that we don’t really see till the end of the movie. All of the other dragons looked like estranged lizards or snakes. I don’t get where the art department went wrong here. Everything in the film has a good look, whether it’s the trees, the fish, the textures of rocks, the vikings themselves, the houses or even the boats – but when you look at the dragons they stand out, and not in a good way. It’s almost as if the art directors were smoking whatever Dr. Seus used to smoke. I understand that it was a family movie and we’re all trying to impress the kiddies but I’m sure some of the kids were even thinking to themselves … WTF?

The whole family aspect brings me to my next point – why did it have to be such a “kid/family” movie? At least with movies like Kung-Fu Panda it had plenty of little things that entertained those of us without the annoying kid attached to our hip. Yes, there are those of us who go see animated movies because we enjoy them. Some of us might still be young at heart but we need a bit more than just “oh daddy why don’t you accept me for who I am?” context.

And my final rant is going to be on just that – the context/story/plot whatever you want to refer to it as. I’ve read some reviews on Rotten Tomatoes that give this movie the “it’s so original that it competes with stories like Up and Wall-E…”, or “Pixar better look out…” Are you kidding me?!?!? I love how people tore up Avatar left and right for not having an “original story/plot” that it had been done a million times over…did these same critics watch How to Train Your Dragon? Did they see anything that I saw? No? Hmmm, funny because I seem to think that I’ve seen plenty of these movies where our main character is someone who isn’t accepted by his society/or family, runs off on his/her own adventure and happens upon a pet or confidant of some sort who then has to rescue the town that excluded them in the first place. All the while always throwing in some sappy love story because we can’t have a movie without having a love story now can we. ARGH! Yeah, Avatar wasn’t original bu this movie was because it had Vikings and Dragons … WTF ever.

Final Thought:

Like I said before, I have plenty of things to gripe about with this movie, but they don’t detract from what ultimately I would call entertainment. Is it fun, yes, it has dragons how can it not be fun? Is it exciting, well certain parts of it are. Are the characters charming and captivating, some of them are. Overall I enjoyed the movie. Would I recommend it, I’m not sure but you can take my review as my recommendation.

Rating: 7.5/10

Let me start by saying I’ve not seen the original Clash of the Titans from the 80′s. I would like to but have yet to find the time – therefore I figured I’d go ahead and review Clash of the Titans from 2010 as if the other never existed. So if everyone would like to pretend that the other didn’t exist too then we can proceed with this review of Greek Mythology told as if they had taken some pointers from the newest installation of God of War. Though I have to say I have more fun playing God of War 3 than I did watching this film. Kratos is just that much of a bad ass.

Sum It Up:

Clash of the Titans is actually a misleading title. It should be God Vs. Man or something like that because the titans aren’t even involved except for the subplot behind it all. See the Gods had to destroy the Titans in order to reign on high – and so they did and Zeus took over. Well when Zeus took over he needed someone to love and honor him etc. so he created man. The Gods’ immortality is fed by prayers and when the human civilization starts wising up and figuring out that they don’t need to honor the gods, that’s when shit hits the fan. The gods start getting pissy, and the humans look to someone who isn’t even human to save them. They shouldn’t have started the damn fight in the first place! Honestly, you think things are going to go well against gods?

the Good:

I have quite a few things I like about this movie let’s list them shall we?

1) Lots of very cool creatures done fairly well. It looked as if someone took some lessons from Del Toro (director of Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth) because some of them looked as if Del Toro had actually came up with them himself. The Sisters of Fate, the Kraken, even the “sand” people (no idea what they were called – who cares) all looked like they had literally been torn out of his sketchbook. Not that this is a bad thing, I loved seeing the detail and really great imagination that went behind them.

2) Some parts of the CG were awesome … and some were not. In particular, I’d have to say that the Pegasus looked extremely awesome. It takes quite a bit to add big wings to a horse and not have them look just like they are slapped on there. Not only that but they used a bunch of horses and had our hero riding a black one so that was a good idea to try and spice up the variety there.

3) Characters. There were plenty, but we were given enough to care for and enough that we didn’t care if they lived or died. We had our hero, his somewhat of a love interest, the hero’s guide, the ex-centric character and the pet. Then throw in a few bad guys and the father figure and you could basically say the movie was complete.

4) Action was prevalent if you couldn’t tell from the trailers. Once again, didn’t see the first film, but this one was pretty action packed and kept the pacing up the entire time. I can’t tell you how many action/adventure films falter because either the pacing is so royally screwed up or that the directing is just that bad. This film does not fall to that at all. (in my obvious uber opinion)From the time we find our hero to the time he defeats the big baddie the audience is treated to a grand scope of images and action that never really takes a back seat to any of the character or plot development.

5) Hades was awesome! I’m normally a fan of Liam Neeson but they didn’t give his character, the all powerful ZEUS anything to really play with. No, they gave Ralph (pronounced Ray I think) Fiennes the glory with his character. He’s dark, he has an awesome spooky voice over and his acting was pretty top notch for the character. If you go see this movie, make sure to pay attention to the screen when he’s on it.

the Bad:

Ok, so did you notice how Acting was not one of my things I liked about this movie? That’s because the acting sucked! Now I know this might hurt someone’s feelings (*cough* pat *cough*) but Sam Worthington was not a good choice for the star role. I never felt any pain or anguish from him, even after his family was killed. That and I’m sorry if I’m told all of a sudden that I’m a demi-god and not just a man, I think I would have plenty of questions and show a bit more feeling towards this new found information. Worthington seemed like a stone cold boring plate of nothingness in almost every emotional scene. Granted he has a good action face for fight scenes and stuff where he has to yell, but I promise we’ll never see him in a drama where he’ll have to shed a tear or anything. But it wasn’t only Worthington, oh no, Liam didn’t do a fine job, and neither did hardly any of the others. There were only 2 that I thought did a better than sub-par job with their roles. Everyone else could’ve been cast better.

Conclusion on acting = fire the casting director for next film.

Moving on, one-liners. Oh my can we say nothing but? Jeeze, when the movie practically starts off with “one day, someone’s going to have to make a stand, one day, someone’s gonna have to say enough…” I mean wow, really? That’s the best motivational speech we can come up with to charge the audience with a big battle cry? Nope – didn’t get me going and I doubt it gets any of you going too. There are a lot more in store for you too when you get to viewing this one.

So why is it that we’re told that this Kraken is such the big bad beast and then we only really get to see it on screen for a matter of about 2.5 minutes? Seriously, they build it up and up as basically the end of the world as we know it (oh good song there) and then he shows up and is literally spent in no time. I would’ve liked to had seen it tear up half of the city and eat some people first – hell give the thing a chance, it’s been under the water for thousands upon thousands of years, you didn’t even give him a chance to eat just one measly human? For shame.

Final Thought:

All in all though, I can honestly say I went into this movie with hardly any expectations. I mean you can basically tell from the trailer what you’re going to get. I didn’t expect the acting to be as bad as it was, but the movie’s action and really cool stuff to look at more than made up for it. It’s not going to win any Oscars and as of right now it’s not fairing well on Rotten Tomatoes, but I would suggest that if you like Greek Mythology, if you like God of War, or if you like Action/Adventure movies that you check  this out on the big screen. There are plenty of things that you can “oooh, and ahhhh” at while not coming away disappointed.

Rating: 7/10

Wonderland? Wonderland you say? Last I checked they refer to it as Underland in the movie – though I’m not sure if hardly anyone caught that during my screening of the movie. Honestly I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Tim Burton’s latest tip toe through the movies of old but I think that with the talent of Depp and some interesting characters I could expect a delightful time…

Sum It Up:

This go around with Alice in Wonderland is not meant to be a “reboot” of the classic Disney movie we’ve all grown to love. No, this is supposed to be a loose sequel to that film. It’s a story of how Alice (apparently the dumbest blonde girl ever to exist next to Jessica Simpson) has somehow found yet another never ending rabbit hole to fall into once again. This hole then leads to another universe that seems oddly familiar to her as if she has been there before. The story then continues and we’re introduced to a slew of characters that are both strange and delightful. Yet this time it’s not a matter of just getting back home, Alice must save Underland, sorry, Wonderland.

the Good:

Not sure why I always feel the need to point this out, but if you have Johnny Depp in a movie, more than likely he will do his best to help save it from utter failure. And he does yet again with another Burton movie. Not saying that the movie as a whole is better but it’s at least more enjoyable to watch his performance as the Mad Hatter than to sit and stare at a kaleidoscope of color on screen.

I for one love the art direction of this film. I didn’t see the 3D version and I’m pretty sure that I’m going to stay away from all 3D versions of any films. I might save that rant for just a random rant for the blog.  ANYWAYS, the look is pretty awesome. The landscapes and scenarys are what pull you into this new imagined Wonderland, or wait, Underland and I think it’s leaps and bounds better imagined through Burton’s eyes than through what we were originally introduced to in the first Disney film. The colors and bright characters all seem to leap off the screen with every detail, wether or not they are digitally rendered is not something to be considered. Just take a look at the Mad Hatter’s outfit and all the trimmings and even the attention to detail to his hat and you’ll get some vague idea of what I’m talking about.

I loved the look of the Cheshire cat and found myself wanting to see him more and more. Nuff said.

the Bad:

That’s really all I have to say that was good about the film or that stood out for me to make a point out of it. Let’s get on to what I didn’t like.

I didn’t like how almost everything was CG. Granted I did enjoy how they presented a lot of it, but now that we’ve seen Avatar and what special effects can look like, so you best do your damnest to try and up what your giving the audience. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum for example looked horrible, as well as the caterpillar. I expect Disney to learn from this and maybe go see Avatar a few more times to know how to do human representations in a CG film. Not saying everything that was CG looked horrible but most of it seemed like it was “too much” … and not as refined as say all of the detail that went into making the Mad Hatter so awesome.

Granted there were good characters but we were given so many that the lack of character depth/development started to make my mind go numb. I was starving for more reason to give two shits about the dog, about the caterpillar, about the mouse, about the Mad Hare, about the White Queen, about almost all of the characters that we’re given in the run of the movie. I come away thinking that the movie isn’t about any of them aside from the Mad Hatter and Alice and quite possibly the Red Queen. (i actually felt some sympathy towards the end for her) Just seemed like the entire film was so crammed with intricate characters that there wasn’t enough time to give each one of them enough credit to help them stand on their own and to pull the entire plot together.

Could’ve been longer. Seemed rushed and frantically put together at the end.

I’ve since then gone back to the internet and watched vids of the old Alice and find myself enjoying that movie a lot more.

Final Thought:

It was a good attempt but for me it comes across like it was hastily done in order to get it out in time. So many moves in the right direction only to seemingly fall flat. I’m sure that someday Burton will come back to his story telling days of Edward Scissor Hands and deliver to us a movie worth at least 8 or more stars. Either way, if you’re a Disney fan you might like it, and if you’re a Burton fan you will like it. I just don’t think that anyone will come away loving this movie.

Rating: 6.5/10

What exactly does one do when God gets pissed? Do you run and hide and pretend that he can’t find you? Do you stand your ground and curse at the sky above? Do you perhaps look around for the devil and try and strike up a last minute deal? Either way, if you were to indeed be around for the day that God decides that the human existence needs to end, you best get on your knees and pray for a pregnant woman to fall from the sky because if you don’t then you might as well bend over and kiss your sweet ass goodbye. I’d have to say that this movie let me down…sadface.

Sum It Up:

Legion is a twist on the tale of the apocalypse to come. The day that god will end all and you will be judged. Though, this apocalypse has a slight twist…an angel doesn’t exactly agree with God’s plan and flies down to protect the humans that he has grown to love. It’s this angel that gives us weak and helpless humans a chance to show God that maybe we’re not ready to be destroyed and he can just go ahead and “start over” …

the Good:

I’m going to get right to the point on the good things of this movie.

I for one think that  the original idea behind this movie is what should’ve pulled any audience that it might’ve got, in. I guess I’m a sucker for the angels/demons plot lines, but there was actually more to this than say Heaven and Hell. This story was actually about the characters’ faith in what was going to pull them through this ordeal and above all, God’s faith in humanity.

The main character, the angel Michael, played by Paul Bettany is pretty awesome. This is not the first time we’ve seen Paul play a “religious” role and the part seems to suit him. He tends to be able to transcend the character of “faith” fairly well and it comes across on screen. My one regret is that he could’ve had more screen time, a lengthier back story, possibly a few more lines to help give his character some depth.

And honestly, after those two things I’m finding it hard to push my brain any further to come up with anything else, nope wait. I do have one more – the character design was pretty kewl. For instance, if you look at how they made the wings, and that the angels use them as weapons – that’s pretty awesome. Throw in some attention to detail as far as costumes and a few key items (the attack mace for example) then I’d say that character design somewhat shines through.

Ok, an that’s it for the Good.

the Bad:

I don’t want to talk about everything that was bad with this movie, but I need to warn people if not for their own right to know.

You can’t just throw us into the apocalypse and not explain anything…? The movie drops Michael out of the sky, he cuts his wings off, blows up a building and then goes to help these people. Then we find the people, alone and stranded out in the middle of nowhere’sville and the savior of humanity happens to be there. Of all places! We’re given a laundry list of characters that we feel nothing for because all the while we don’t exactly know why everything is happening. (don’t get me wrong, we’re given some vague idea but it doesn’t make me care any more …)

We’re also given way too many character development scenes for each one of the people that are stranded at the ” Paradise Falls” pitstop. Oh, and that’s another thing – “Paradise Falls”??? Come on, really? I think that there was a movie this past year that enchanted audiences everywhere with it’s little old man trying to get his little old house to “Paradise Falls” with a bunch of damn balloons … and then you go and tarnish that thought with this crappy po-dunk diner pit stop thing? Pssh … for shame. Ok sorry, back to the point. So anyways, at the “Paradise Falls” (hack) … we are seriously given about 5 to 10 minutes for each character to spill their guts about their life and meaningless stories that we could obviously care less about. I understand what the director was trying to do here but they were so random and so pushed that we end up either not caring at all, or we fall asleep (as I did during the girl’s monologue about how her “life sucks blah blah blah” …)

So here’s the sequence: Scene one, Michael falls from sky. Scene two, Michale cuts wings off blows up building and kills cops/angels (though they look like demons-remember this I’m coming back to it) Scene three, “Paradise Falls” and girl/guy have a talk in the morning. Scene four, guy/father talk. Scene five, people at “Paradise Falls” talk in diner – people upset and restless. Scene six, kill granny angel (yes angel – wait for it I’m getting there). Scene seven, Michael gets to “Paradise Falls”. Scene eight, Michael says “get ready” and gives everyone a gun. And so on and so on, the point to any of what I just described is that the pacing was so screwed up from the word “go” that you can never buckle yourself in and enjoy the ride. That’s kind of the point with a action/fantasy/thriller/horror movie. It’s supposed to show us something we’ve not seen and keep us glued to our seats. This movie didn’t. Between all the character monologues and the few and far between action scenes you find yourself more bored than anything. I personally found myself yearning for Michael to strap his wings back on just so I could at least have something to look at.

Oh and let me touch on the angel/demon thing. So why is it that when an angel possess someone, they end up looking like really scary demons rather than just people? It really threw off the audience and myself through out the entire movie. Because now instead of making the audience by into the plot and story, you are confusing us and pulling us from the experience. Now instead of watching and knowing what’s going on, I’m thinking of why the person that was a nice old lady now has sharp pointy shark teeth and dark dead zombie like eyes.

Need I go on?

Final Thought:

I could’ve gone on with some more things that upset me about this movie but I digress. Don’t be fooled by the trailer like I was … I really went in expecting this to be a fun movie to watch. I didn’t go in expecting a Oscar nominee or anything, but it had Paul Bettany and a good premise backing it up. This just goes to show that a good concept and a lead man to back it aren’t going to always pull it off in the end. You might rent this movie someday, but save yourself the 8 or 9 bucks.

Rating: 5/10

“Why can’t they just pull the plane up?!?!” A very good question posed by my friend BK (Brandon Kloer) and such a good question that I asked him to go ahead and write the review for the film 2012. The film debuted this past weekend in the year 2009 for fear that the year 2012 might come into play later on and you would not be able to see said film. Honestly if this whole debacle actually happens in the year 2012 then I’ll eat my shorts. Anyways, just trying to keep things interesting. I apologize for the lack of reviews as of late – I’ve just not had time. So without further ado, here is Brandon Kloer’s review of 2012 – thanks BK!

Sum It Up:

The movie 2012 is the story of the end of the world in the year 2012 as predicted by the Mayan calendar.  Our main character Jackson Curtis, played by John Cusack, is a divorced father of two children and a little known author.  His entire purpose in this film is to save his estranged family from the inevitable destruction of the planet before it is too late, all the while trying to regain the love and trust of his family.  There are more themes to the plot including what makes us civilized and how people lose their humanity in desperate situations which help to round out the story.

the Good:

Needless to say about this film but the first thing that really stands out even just watching the trailer is the special effects throughout the movie.  All the disaster effects look amazing and are so well done that I found them to be believable.  Not once during the film did I feel like I was pulled out of the story by a bad special effect.  My favorite special effect in this movie was the super volcano.  The eruption of the volcano and the subsequent fallout looked impressive and wasn’t quite like anything I’ve seen in a film before.

Another strong feature of this movie was the acting.  I’d have to agree with Lucas that it’s hard to go wrong with John Cusack.  He delivered where it mattered and had some pretty strong scenes while still being able to present some comic relief.  Amanda Peet also did a decent job of portraying Jackson Curtis’ wife in the film and the actors who played their children were decent.  However, I feel my favorite performance in the film was delivered by Woody Harrelson (sorry to shortchange Cusack Lucas).  His character was so out there that his performance just stuck with me after the film was over.  I just wish that he had been in the movie more because he was pretty entertaining.

I was also a fan of the overall plot of the movie.  I’m always a sucker for a good disaster/apocalypse movie because there are so many interesting things that directors and writers can do.  They came up with a pretty interesting way for the world to end and set the canvas for the amazing scenes that occurred.  I found myself really curious how anyone was supposed to survive the end of the world right up to the end of the film.

the Bad:

I’d like to say that the biggest con of this movie was the first half an hour or so but that’d be unfair for me to say because I slept through that part.  The movie just started way too slowly.  I came into the theatre excited and prepared to see amazing destruction and awesome special effects but I felt I was waiting too long for anything very interesting to get started.  I understand that they want to get the characters established and some back story to the film before everything turns to chaos but I just found myself uninterested in the first half hour of the movie.  I felt I began to care about the characters more as they banded together and grew closer to survive the apocalypse.

One of my other complaints was that a lot of the really cool action scenes felt reused to me.  There are literally three scenes in this movie where the main characters are taking off in an airplane at the last second where almost the exact same thing happens.  I just wish that at least one takeoff had gone differently because it seemed like I kept re-watching the same scene over and over.  And while I’m on this topic, and I know I’ve said this before Lucas so you knew it was coming, why during the first takeoff was that dumbass flying underground forever?!  If you’ve seen the trailer you know what I’m talking about, but during the movie I just wanted to yell at that asshole to pull up.

My only other real complaint about this film is that while some of the acting was really good some of it left me feeling less than impressed.  Danny Glover as the president for instance was just terrible but the last film I saw him in that I enjoyed was Lethal Weapon but Mel Gibson wasn’t here to back his ass up this time.  Also I found almost all of the Russian characters to be over the top.  At times I enjoyed the character Yuri and found him interesting but at other times his strange performance pulled me out of the film.

Final Thought:

All in all I feel that 2012 was a good movie.  It’s one of those movies that you go to see knowing that you’re going to have to suspend your disbelief but that you’re going to be entertained.  And I was very entertained by this movie and you can’t ask for much more than that.  Could I have waited until it came out on DVD to see this movie?  Probably, but I enjoyed my movie experience.

Rating: 7.5/10

(phoenixwave’s review score = 5/10)

Best movie of the 6 that are out thus far – Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince doesn’t disappoint. Now I’m one for movies trying to stay as true to the fiction that they come from – and I think that the director of Half Blood Prince does as best as he could to do so. (with the help of his writers of course) There are so many characters in the Harry Potter stories that you can’t expect them all to make the final cut in the films – nor can the director stray away from what makes Harry Potter – Harry Potter. So it’s no surprise that some people might’ve been somewhat disgruntled by this latest film in the franchise, but I thought as far as a movie adaptation goes – it was pretty solid.

Sum It Up:

This movie picks up exactly right after the last film – Harry has just lost his uncle, the Death eaters are running a muck, and He Who Must Not Be Named is causing everyone to be on watchful alert. Harry and Co. are bustled back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and there are many things that have changed. Mainly the influence of teenage hormones. Amongst all the fear and loathing that is surrounding the grounds of Hogwarts, the adolescent teens are still finding times to “snog” in the corridors. Meanwhile Harry has been with Dumbledore to divulge in lessons of the past. By using the Pensive and the memories taken from certain individuals Harry is to piece together the puzzle to a big question. All of this leads to the gathering of what are referred to as Horcruxes and the sad ending of the film.

the Good:

My hats off to the special effects team this time around. First comment that came out of my mouth when the credits started to roll was that the CG and Visual Effects were so much better! Things that I complained about in previous Harry Potter movies such as Quidditch, or even CGI monsters etc. all seem but distant memories. This time Quidditch was actually amazing to watch and it looked fantastic. The effects from the wands whether it was a spell being cast, a curse being thrown or the simple illumination of the tip all seemed very real and a treat for the eyes. A lot of this movie is shot within the castle walls, but the few parts that were away from Hogwarts seemed epic in every sense of the word. Whether it was the Burrow or the cliffs in which Harry and Dumbledore find themselves as they search for the Horcrux – it all looked amazing. (compared all of the previous entries)

The acting has also grown better with time. This is obviously due to the cast maturing and growing with the characters that they’ve been playing for years. It can’t be all that hard to play as Hermoine Granger or Ron Weasley after doing it for over 7 years. Even so, it seemed like everyone knew the importance of how this film leads up to the remainder of the story and really tried to give it their best. Along with that – there were a few additional characters that got to stretch their acting talents quite a bit this time around. One in particular, that I was happy to see again (since in The Order of the Phoenix he practically didn’t exist) was Draco Malfoy. The kid who played him can actually act and he did very will in my opinion. I felt his anguish with the task that lay before him and his internal struggle. He delivered every line with a sinister snear and hatred towards Harry that we’ve all grown very accustomed to him having. He is every bit of what I had built up in my mind for that character and I applaud his efforts.

Now as everyone is aware – as with all the previous films – things must change in order for the story to work as a film. You can’t expect the writers and director to fit in every last little detail along with every last character mentioned. Granted while reading books we are able to build up great images of what everything would look like if we were to play it out – but when you go to make a film, it’s an important aspect that you try and stay as true to the text will maintaining the integrity of the movie. With that said, they change one big thing in this film and really only left other parts out in order to push the story along. This for me didn’t detract from my viewing pleasure (aside from the one big change) which made it much more enjoyable to watch. When I don’t have to go “aw man why did they do that?”, or “they completely left that out?! – why?!” … I tend to enjoy myself more. These were things I seemed to have asked myself more so during the previous films than I did with this one. So I compliment the writers and director.

Another thing with this film that I’d like to point out is that it’s almost as long as Transformers 2 and I actually never felt like it was stretched out. Funny how they are both fictional movies, with action, romance, humor, but one seemed to get the timing of events and overall pace better than the other. The Half Blood Prince seemed to get this almost exactly right every step of the way. Whether we were laughing at Ron being a dork, feeling sympathetic for Hermoine, or biting our nails as Harry and Dumbledore were frantically trying to get the next Horcrux – it all seemed to work together in a smooth fashion. Oh, and just to add this in there – I didn’t look at my watch once.

the Bad:

WHY IN THE HECK WOULD YOU PUT THE BURROW SCENE EVEN IN THIS MOVIE?!?!? Ok, so I know I said I was alright with the director/writers having to change things in order to make the story work in a limited time frame etc. for the sake of the film – but this was just stupid. It’s only one scene so that’s why I have to bring it up. We are at the Burrow (mind you this is where the Weasleys live) and the Burrow is attacked by Death Eaters. (aka: the bad guys) Basically what happens is that the Burrow is blown up and people have to scatter to new locations in order to be safe from He Who Must Not Be Named. Well that’s all fine and dandy – but it happens in the last book!!! Why do this? Why put an extra scene into a movie that is already complex enough and doesn’t need it. This scene actually doesn’t show anything to move the plot along except for the Harry and Ginny connection, which could’ve been done in a multitude of other ways. Plussssssssssssssssssssss, you could’ve taken that extra time and footage and put in something else that you ommited from the film. (aka: the beginning of the story involving the new Minister of Magic – duh.)

Ok enough ranting on that – moving on to a point that was made to me after we were outside of the theatre and chatting it up. It’s a great point and I give my father kudos for making it. If you haven’t read the books or seen the other movies then DON’T SEE THIS FILM. And yes, I understand that the director/studio was probably thinking that if you’ve seen the movies or read the books then this would be fine. Yet, this movie does not stand up on it’s own merit. It either needs the audience to be informed via the past movies or by being fans of the books. If you haven’t done either and go into this movie completely blind, you would probably think it’s one of the most stupid and idiotic pieces of film in a long while. Granted I and everyone I went with have read the books and have also seen all the previous movies but if you haven’t then I bid you good luck in keeping up.

To add to that – I also think that there was a lack of explanation for things. Sure they summed up stuff with quick little snippets here and there tossed in like sprinkles on a cupcake. But what if the fat kid ate all my sprinkles and I wasn’t able to get any? What if some innocent movie goer was watching and missed an important clue whether it was in a newspaper clipping or someone spoke it in a line directed towards Harry? Does that viewer not deserve to know what’s going on? It just seemed like they had to smash in so much in order to complete the story telling that they couldn’t be expected to explain everything in the detail it needed to be explained in. Yes, I have examples. For example – Who is Fenrir Greyback and why is he a death eater? How did Harry know how to use the thing he puts in Ron’s mouth to keep him from dying? What REALLY is a Horcux and why is it so important for Dumbledore/Harry to find them? Who the heck was the girl that got attacked by the necklace and where the bloody hell did it come from? These are all questions that I think the common moviegoer might ask while they are watching the movie that could’ve been explained with an extra 5 mins for each and you could’ve saved that time by taking out the BURROW SCENE! (oh yeah, see how I came full circle there – impressive eh?)

Also, and I know that I’ve read this in a few other reviews out there – but honestly, there might have been a bit much of the love stuff pushed upon us. From the get go we understand that all the adolescents have hit their peak interests in the opposite sex. We get that girls are interested in boys and vice versa. Yet it didn’t have to be the forefront of the movie. I would’ve rather had a little less of the “snogging” and a little more of the rest of the story brought to our attention.

I’ll also make a quick comment on the relationship between Harry and Ginny…rather – the lack of one. Sure there are a few really good awkward moments tossed in, but really we never see them make that “commitment” to one another and I was never sold on it to begin with – yet at the very end of the movie we’re told that Ron has given them his blessing and that he’ll be alright with them dating eventually. I mean come on – they had one peck on the lips and now we’re boyfriend girlfriend without really seeing them together afterwards? A bit of a stretch – but I digress.

Final Thought:

Yep even after my review I think it was a good movie. It wasn’t a great movie – nor was it the movie of the summer. (Star Trek is still holding strong there) Though, if you’ve seen the other films or have read the books, I think that you would enjoy this next chapter in the 8 film franchise. Granted there are a few key parts left out, and a really big part added in for no aparent reason other than to piss me off – but I enjoyed my time at the movie and that’s what counts.

Rating: 7.5/10