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Friday, June 28, 2013
Movie Reviews 6/28
What is it about?
Two over the hill salesmen lose their jobs when their company goes out of business. They then go for an internship at Google.You will like it if...
You like feel good underdog comedies like Kickin' It Old School or Wildcats. They don't make a lot of movies like this anymore. It was better than I thought it would be. There is a lot of charm here, but it's not the second coming of Wedding Crashers.
What is it About?
The end of the world as seen from the eyes of Seth Rogan. That in itself should be scary enough. James Franco is having a party at his house, and then the Apocalypse happens.. litterally.You will like it if...
You like Rogan's other comedies. The movie is funny in spots, and adventurous in a silly way in others. Hot Tub Time Machine is a good movie to compare this to, even if this one is the better of the two.
What is it About?
Zombies attack! They create more zombies, and they attack! These aren't your grandfather's slow, eat your brains kind of zombies. They are more like the 30 Days Later kind, but not as messy.You will like it if...
As if Brad Pitt wasn't enough to like this one! He does bring the star power to the movie. At it's heart it's still a zombie movie, and you have to like zombies to really get into it.
Rated G / 1 hr 44 min / Animation - Action - Adventure
What is it about?
Mike and Sully are back in this prequel about how they became the best scaring team in the business before the events of Monsters Inc. They are college students in Monsters University.You will like it if...
You like other Pixar movies. Brave, Finding Nemo, Cars, Toy Story, etc.. They have a great track record. This isn't one of their best movies, but it would land firmly in the middle of the rankings of all of the Pixar movies made to date.
What is it about?
It's a reboot of the Superman franchise. I think we would all like to forget the last Superman movie. General Zod is here as the villain, and he wants to turn Earth into another Krypton. That means wiping out humankind.You will like it if...
You like superhero or Zack Snyder movies. It seemed like they were trying to make 2 different movies at the same time. The script is well written, but they try to do too much with it. This genre feels like a natural fit for Snyder who seems to be adept at creating films with lots of eye candy to distract you from shortcomings in the script. This is much better than the last iteration of the franchise.Thursday, June 27, 2013
Currently Reading: Night Bells
Website: http://lmsherwin.com
I'm going to post all of my reviews on Goodreads from now on.
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My Review of Legend by Marie Lu
Friday, May 31, 2013
Now You See Me
Synopsis
The movie mostly follows FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo), and his pursuit of some street magicians who have somehow managed to rob a bank in France. The group of magicians call themselves the Four Horseman. J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg) is an illusionist, Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) is a mentalist/hypnotist, Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) is an escape artist, and Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) seems to be a jack of all trades. According to Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), the group is going to strike 2 more times. Rhodes is in a race against time to catch them in the act before they steal more money. They aren't keeping any of the money, so why are they doing it?
Acting
As great as this cast seems, the main plot follows Mark Ruffalo. He is a decent actor in a supporting role, but he doesn't quite have the charisma to pull off the lead. Morgan Freeman is excellent as usual as a former magician who makes his money debunking and giving away the secrets to magic tricks. Woody Harrelson has the most likable role, and really delivers here. Jesse Eisenberg also does very well with his understated way of delivering witty lines. Isla Fisher is underused, but she looks quite stunning as usual. Franco is mostly a minor character, but he gets to participate in all of the main action and chase scenes.
Story
The script is very well written. The movie is perfectly paced. There aren't any spots I can think of where the movie dragged. There are several twists and turns in the story that will keep you interested. The magic tricks are mostly done by CGI animation. Many of which are easy enough to figure out with help given by Morgan Freeman's character. My main complaints have to do with the underdeveloped love subplots. There are also enough hints throughout that the major reveals in the movie are predictable. However, it doesn't detract from the entertainment value as it would in most movies of this type.
The Bottom Line
This is one of the most entertaining movies I have seen this year. It's not a great movie though. In some aspects they try to do too much, and in others they don't do enough. The CGI animation also takes away from the magic tricks a little. The hastily thrown in love story seems forced also. The clever dialogue and twists in the plot more than make up for the shortcomings.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Star Trek Into Darkness
Synopsis
The crew of the Enterprise in this alternate reality are boldly going where no one has gone before.. again. This time there is a terrorist (Benedict Cumberbatch) that is threatening to take out Starfleet's leadership. The terrorist is one of their own, and knows all of their secrets. Kirk (Chris Pine) is tasked with stopping him. The usual cast of characters are there to help. I could really sum up this movie in one sentence. I just don't want to give too much away.Acting
Just like the first movie in this reboot series, everyone gets some face time. Sometimes this is good, and other times it seems like they are trying too hard to keep everyone involved. Zachary Quinto and John Cho are both excellent in their respective roles. Of course, Spock has a much larger role and gives Quinto more of a chance to shine. Karl Urban and Zoe Saldana are good in their own roles, but aren't given much to do in this iteration. They do have their moments, but not nearly enough of them. Chris Pine and Simon Pegg both still seem miscast in their roles. Pine does a serviceable job, but you can't help but to compare him to Shatner. Pegg is much too campy for his role. Benedict Cumberbatch does a fine job of looking menacing in his role as the terrorist. One thing did irk me about his performance. He seemed to be speaking as if no one could hear him, and we all had to read his lips to understand him.
Story
This is a well written movie that has high ambitions. There are a few mistakes that are repeated from the first Star Trek movie. One is trying to keep everyone involved as a major or semi-major character. It ends up looking forced in some cases. They really could have taken one character in particular out of the movie, and I don't think anyone would have noticed. They also have a few lines that were thrown in that make the actors look like they are saying, "Look at me! I'm playing (insert Star Trek character's name here)." All they are missing is a thumbs up towards the camera. There are fewer of those moments than in the first movie, but they are very noticeable. Keith Urban seems to be the best at delivering these lines, but it looks painful anyway. These are relatively minor gripes for an otherwise excellent film. The story has a few twists and turns that keep it interesting. The special effects are spectacular just as they were in the first movie. The sparks from the volcano in 3-D are well worth the price.
The Bottom Line
If you liked the first one then you should like this new Star Trek movie. It is wildly entertaining with beautiful special effects. There are also tons of one liners that had the audience breaking out in laughter. At the showing I went to the audience applauded the movie several times. This is a must see for anyone who enjoys science fiction or action movies. J.J. Abrams has fine tuned the formula he used for the original reboot of this franchise, and improved on nearly every aspect. This one ranks right up there with Wrath of Khan as one of the best Star Trek movies even if it doesn't quite knock Wrath off the top spot.
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