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Jurassic Park (1993)
One of Spielberg's best and one of the greatest ever
Jurassic Park was one of the most riveting theater experiences for movie goers back in 1993 at the time of its release. I myself was a toddler so I grew up watching it on VHS, DVD and so on. As a kid I pretty much watched it for the Dinosaurs. I mean come on who didn't like dinosaurs when they were kids? But now as I've gotten older, I've watched it a few more times and have a newfound appreciation for it, and largely thanks to YouTube movie reviewers Chris Stuckmann, Jeremy Jahns and ThatMovieNerd.
Based on the original novel of the same name by Michael Chricton, rich billionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) hires a group of paleontologists Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Satler (Laura Dern) and Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) to take part in a test run for his new dinosaur theme park. Hammond's corporation, InGen used dinosaur DNA they extracted from mosquitoes buried underground and blended it with frog DNA in order to clone the Dinosaurs and bring them to life. Usually before the film's release in '93, dinosaurs were used in adventure B- movies but what makes Jurassic Park so unique is that both the novel and film give scientific explanations for how they were able to create the Dinosaurs. Now these reasons wouldn't happen in real life but here it's presented in a way where it makes you go, "That could happen!" Hammond is pretty confident and excited to show his visitors what the island has to offer, but Satler, Grant and especially Ian Malcolm (who thanks to Jeff Goldblum's performance steals every scene he's in) is against it. Malcolm flat out says to Hammond that this experiment is going to fail, and he later says to himself on the tour "God creates dinosaurs, God destroys dinosaurs, God creates man, man destroys God, and man creates dinosaurs". Everything is going well on the tour until the power goes out during a storm, thus resulting in the Dinosaurs breaking loose and the tourists including Hammond's grandchildren Lex and Tim try to survive the outbreak. Having read some of the novel itself, the movie doesn't accurately follow the book but it certainly captures the essence of it.
From a visual standpoint, this movie is just mind-blowing. More props were used for most of the close ups of the dinosaurs, particularly the scene where the T-Rex is ripping the SUV apart with Tim and Lex inside of the car scared out of their minds. You would assume that was a CGI shot but it was an actual animatronic. Not so much CGI is used here since Spielberg and the people he usually works on films with like to use practical effects, but while some of the CGI does look a bit dated in some shots, 95% of the rest of it is still ASTOUNDING!
Character/Acting wise, David Koepp's screenplay gives us some pretty solid character development. All the actors in the film deliver 100% and each character (except for maybe Wayne Knight aka Newman) is likable, have interesting backgrounds and they all play an important part in the story. Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) goes through his own arc where he starts out in the beginning of the film not really liking kids too much, but after bonding with Lex and Tim he learns the value of raising children. Ariana Richards (Lex) and Tim (Joseph Mazello) are surprisingly not annoying, they play an important part in the story and Spielberg is a master on working with children in his movies. As for the story structure, where some impatient people might criticize the story for dragging on the film takes it's time to tell its story, sucks you into its world and then about halfway through the film, it all hits the fan. Most films with action these days tend to throw everything at you right from the start, but Jurassic Park isn't one of them.
Spielberg being probably my favorite film director ever, like I said is a master. He adds something to each shot and creates a sustained wonderment mostly with the first time we see the Brachiosaurus. Half of that is thanks to John Williams' brilliant score, which adds to the awe and wonder. Spielberg also knows how to create tension here in the movie. Two scenes in particular being: one scene where Ellie Satler finally gets the power back on and a Velociraptor's head pops out through the wall right behind her. As YouTube movie reviewer Chris Stuckmann described it in his review, "One of the best jump-scares ever put into a film". And the other scene where Lex and Tim are in the kitchen trying to evade the raptors, and we as the audience are able to see the fear in the kids' eyes.
Overall, Spielberg and his crew successfully inject quite a bit of heart into the story, and create a nice mix of comedy, adventure and thriller elements that build up to in my opinion one of the best movies ever made, and one of Spielberg's best.
Man of Steel (2013)
Could've been a little better, but not a bad start
Speaking as a fan of the superhero film genre and a fan of comics to a degree, I was pretty satisfied with this one. I'm not really a huge fan of Superman, but the first two Richard Donner films in my opinion are so good and Christopher Reeve perfectly embodied Superman and Clark Kent. No one in my opinion can ever really replace him. I never got into "Smallville" or "Lois & Clark" or even the animated series, but I've always loved the first two, never saw 3 and 4 and I was bored by Superman Returns so I was interested in this one. I have to say that while it could've been a little bit better than what it turned out to be, I wasn't disappointed.
You all know the plot; it's a retelling of Superman's origin of how he became Superman and how he must stop General Zod from turning Earth into the new Krypton.
Let's get the negatives out of the way first: the tone of the film was a bit too dark and depressing sometimes. For me (I know I shouldn't compare this to the originals), with a Superman movie it should be hopeful and uplifting as Superman provides the people of earth with hope that there is someone out there who is willing to help. There were aspects of that here in the film but I feel like it didn't really need to be so dark. Jonathan Kent's death wasn't as impacting as I was hoping, the relationship between Lois and Superman just came out of nowhere towards the end after the big fight in Metropolis and the action went on just a bit too long. Plus certain scenes at the fortress of Solitude with Jor-El felt like it was just there to explain the plot and was a little bit too convenient. While those things weigh the film down, there are a lot of positives to find in this one.
Acting/Characters: The character of Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent was in my opinion written reasonably well and I liked the flashbacks to his childhood where we see when certain things happen to him as he grows up people and Clark himself realizes that he's not normal. Henry Cavill in my opinion was a very good pick for the role. He manages to come across as heroic, intimidating, he does really good with the emotional scenes and he pulls off Superman's charm very well. Russell Crowe's performance as Jor-El really hit me sometimes, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane did good as John and Martha Kent, Laurence Fishburne was good as Perry White and Amy Adams (one of my favorite actresses) I thought was a really good pick as Lois Lane. Michael Shannon as Zod I thought was good but he didn't really have that driving force like the Joker or Loki or Doc Ock but at the same time he had reasonable motives for what he was doing.
The sequence on Krypton I thought was awesome since we've never got a really good look at Kryptonian civilization before. It almost reminded me of Avatar and Star Wars in a lot of ways. And while I did say the action dragged on a bit too long, it was bad-ass and nice to finally see Superman kick some but in this one! For awhile I was on the edge of my seat but towards the end of the sequence I got a bit bored saying to myself "Ok are we almost done? I need to take a breather". Also the end where Clark shows up at the Daily Planet as the journalist that he's famous for in the comics, I loved how they decided to show that Lois Lane knows who Superman is the moment she sees him behind those glasses.
Overall, I think Zach Snyder and his crew did very good with this one although the film could've used some tweaking like I mentioned before, but I was pleased with this one and I'm looking forward to what the sequel has to offer.
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Disappointing. Why do people love this one so much?
I really don't understand why fans adore this film. The original Spider- Man trilogy had a chance to revamp itself after Spider-Man 3 but unfortunately that wasn't the case because of the reboot, which I wasn't supportive of to begin with. Though I saw a few previews on TV about a week before it came out so I decided to give it a chance. And even though I did like it on the first viewing, a part of me felt disappointed. And that's probably the best way to describe this movie: disappointing.
This movie is not without positives. The visuals have improved a great deal but it's been a decade so it's expected. Martin Sheen, Dennis Leary and Emma Stone I thought did very good with their roles and they were probably the only people in this movie that I was really interested in.
Andrew Garfield is a great actor and I was really impressed with him in "The Social Network", but his version of Parker is nothing like his comic book counterpart. He looks way too handsome to be the biggest loser in the school and he's not very likable overall. Now I don't blame Andrew Garfield. He does his best with what he's given, and I believe he can do a really good Peter Parker if he was given the right character design and material. But nothing about this Peter Parker said underdog to me. Plus has no character arc. Unlike Spider-Man 1 and 2 where Tobey's Peter learns about responsibility and sacrificing what you want the most, this Peter Parker (not Andrew's fault though) doesn't get better. In the end he breaks a serious promise he made to a man who gave his life to save him, therefore putting Gwen in grave danger.
As for the relationship between Peter and Gwen, I didn't buy it. Emma and Andrew do have good chemistry with each other but it almost seemed way too easy for Peter to get Gwen's attention. This movie missed the point completely. The whole point of the Spider-Man lore is that he's trying to get the girl's attention, and it seemed like they were throwing themselves at each other from the start. They don't get to know one another, and they don't go out on a date. Why did they like each other? Because they do!
What's the Lizard's plan? Turn everybody in NYC into lizards! I'm not asking that he be a complex villain like the Joker or Bane, but at least make it somewhat convincing. But no, all the lizard wants to do is take over the world! In the comics, the Lizard was a normal, nice guy who desperately wanted to fix his severed limb. When the serum he uses turns him into the Lizard this gives Spider-Man quite a problem: He has to stop the Lizard but he doesn't want to harm his friend. In this movie, there's no arc for him either and there's no evidence of any humanity that we're supposed to attach to with Dr. Connors. I can't say anything that hasn't already been said about the Lizard, so the bottom line; the Lizard is one of the weakest movie villains I've ever seen in a movie.
As for the tone, it was way too dark. Not every superhero movie has to be "The Dark Knight", which was proved by "The Avengers". I'm not entirely opposed to a darker tone, but it's not always the right choice to go for a darker and realistic tone in a superhero movie. Just because you use a dark tone in a superhero movie, it doesn't make it better. In fact, the movie gets so serious that it feels depressing and all the fun is sucked out of it. I know that Spider-Man is going through a tough time but life's not always dark and gloomy. There's nothing wrong with a dark tone, but there's nothing wrong with a light- hearted tone either. It's okay to be cheesy sometimes. Here in TASM, I didn't feel any heart whatsoever. But hey, all the fans care about is no more chessiness right?
This is probably my biggest problem with the movie aside from the character of Peter Parker; "The Untold Story". What untold story? This was the main reason that raised people's interests including me. All the hype around this movie was that there was some big secret about Peter's parents having something to do with the spider that bites him. After seeing this movie, the answer never came. All we know about peter's parents is that something happens where they had to disappear and leave Peter with Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Then years later Peter does some research after finding his father's bag in the basement and discovers that his parents worked with Dr. Connors at Oscorp. And that's all we're told. It never comes up again and it's forgotten about halfway through the movie. Granted, in the first entry of a new series we shouldn't get all the answers right away and that's not what I'm asking for, but I want to know something about them. People keep saying that it will all be explained in the sequels so we should give the movie a pass. Well guess what? The trailers weren't advertisements for a sequel, they were ads for this movie. It really makes me wonder why are fans not bothered by that?
Hey, if you like or absolutely love this movie, good for you. But I don't really find it that great. It's not by any means a terrible film, it's just not up to Spider-Man standards as far as I'm concerned. I don't blame any of the cast or Marc Webb. As for the upcoming sequel I am willing to give it a shot and I think has a better chance of being good. Let's hope it does.
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
One of the most satisfying conclusions in any trilogy
Unfortunately, this movie has a bad reputation because of the Ewoks. The fans need to let that go. Sure it wasn't the best idea, but it certainly wasn't the worst idea. I'm probably letting nostalgia get in the way, but the Ewoks never bothered me. I can see why people don't like them, and I know that the idea of teddy bears using bolas and sticks to defeat highly trained soldiers is ridiculous. But hey, at least it wasn't Jar Jar and I'll take the Ewoks over Jar-Jar any day of the week. All in all, I love Return of the Jedi just like I love the other two films in the trilogy.
Story: After rescuing Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt, Luke Skywalker and Leia rejoin the Rebel Alliance to destroy the 2nd Death Star while Luke prepares for his final challenge to confront his father, Darth Vader and the Emperor.
What makes this movie great? Like I said in my review of the first Star Wars movie: the characters and the story are the main focus and not the spectacle. The acting once again delivers 100% with Mark Hamill giving in my opinion probably his best performance as Luke Skywalker in the entire trilogy. Luke has matured at this point in the trilogy, more patient and the scene where he first uses his new green light saber at the Sarlaac pit is so awesome. Harrison Ford once again is great as Han Solo with the character being more mature in this one than the first two outings. Carrie Fisher once again is great, and I remember the first time I was watching this and the revelation of Leia being Luke's sister really surprised me. Billy Dee Williams once again brings his own charm as Lando, and Ian McDiarmid is really great at playing Emperor Palpatine.
There are so many other things that work in this movie: the Sarlaac Pit sequence, Yoda telling Luke there is another Skywalker which Luke learns through the spirit of Obi Wan that it's Leia, the speeder bike chase on Endor and the space battle where Lando destroys the 2nd Death Star. But most of all the final confrontation between Luke and Darth Vader with the Emperor relentlessly taunting Luke with lines such as "Use your aggressive feelings boy! Let the hate flow through you!" Luke of course has learned to use the discipline that he learned from Yoda and Obi Wan and not give in, and tries to get Darth Vader to come back from the dark side. But Luke nearly falls into the dark side when Darth Vader threatens to turn Leia to the dark side and Luke loses it and cuts off Vader's hand. Luke stops himself and refuses to give into the dark side, and the Emperor responds by shooting lighting out of his hands at Luke. Then comes in probably my favorite scene in the entire movie: while the Emperor is electrocuting Luke, the camera pans up to Darth Vader's mask showing Vader looking back to the Emperor and back to Luke, and all of a sudden he lifts the Emperor and throws him down the reactor pit and the Emperor dies. The reason why I love this part so much is that the way the camera focuses on Darth Vader with the music playing in the background, the audience gets the impression that Vader's conflicted and then without saying a word, he decides that he will not let Palpatine kill his son, and is redeemed (Whatever you say, don't even get me started about the change George Lucas made in this scene). I have to admit, the scene where Luke removes Vader's mask gets me a bit emotional, especially when Vader says "You were right about me".
Watching this again recently made me realize how great and underrated this movie is despite the common complaint about the Ewoks. Again, the Ewoks don't really bother me and the Yub Nub song (the one before came another change I'd rather not talk about) makes me feel like a little kid again. This film works terrifically as the final chapter in the original trilogy with the character arcs ending on a positive note for the main characters and all is right with the galaxy. "Return of the Jedi", along with the other two will always have a special place in my heart. This set of movies shaped my life in so many ways and gave me so many great experiences with my friends who also loved Star Wars, and my Dad who saw them in theaters back in the 70's and 80's and even my Mom (though she isn't really into Star Wars, even after she watched them with me. But it was worth a try).
Regardless of how much hate George Lucas gets these days because of the prequels and "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", people need to watch this and the other two original films again to be reminded of how great a saga George Lucas gave to the world. This is in my opinion one of the best conclusions in any trilogy, and like I said about the Ewoks, the fans need to let that go. In light of the recent news of Episode 7 currently in the works, let's hope whoever decides to direct the new trilogy in the future can bring back the spirit of Star Wars that was missing from the prequel trilogy.
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The greatest of the entire saga!
When this movie came out in 1980, people were unsure of how it can live up to the hype due to the success of the previous film. But it did deliver! This movie went to even darker places this time around, and the characters are left at the lowest point by the end of the film. Great action sequences, great acting and above all the biggest twist of all time!
Story: The Rebels have built a new base of operations called Echo Base on the ice planet Hoth after the Empire chased them off Yavin IV in response to the Death Star being destroyed. It's not long before the Empire discovers their new hideout and force the Rebels once again to flee from the invasion of Imperial AT-AT walkers. Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca and C-3PO escape in the Millennium Falcon, but are later captured by Darth Vader on Cloud City with Han Solo being frozen in carbonite and handed over to Boba Fett who takes him back to Jabba the Hutt. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker travels to the swamp planet Dagobah to continue his Jedi training but this time from former Jedi Master Yoda. During his training, he sees visions of Leia, Han and Chewbacca being kidnapped by Vader and sets out to Cloud Cit to rescue them, only get into a confrontation with Darth Vader where he discovers the most shocking secret about Vader.
Everything in this film is close to perfect as you can get: The battle of Hoth is one of my favorite movie battle scenes ever, and the music once again makes it awesome. The asteroid field pursuit is entertaining as hell, and the light saber fight between Luke and Darth Vader... it's basically indescribable.
The acting once again is fantastic with Mark Hamill once again giving another solid performance as a young impatient Luke Skywalker who fails every task given to him by Yoda, Harrison Ford once again owning the role of Han Solo and his interactions with Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) make for some really entertaining dialogue. I also like seeing how their relationship actually grows from love/hate to a love relationship, especially since Han grows throughout the trilogy. Billy Dee Williams as Lando brings his own brand of charm to brighten the mood up until he is forced to betray Han, but redeems himself by turning against the Empire and helping Leia attempt to save Han.
As for Yoda, he is so awesome in this one! Frank Oz's puppetry is so terrific that it's better than anything CGI can do today (not that I despise CGI). I love the scenes where he's training Luke on Dagobah, especially the part where he goes "Not this crude matter!" Darth Vader is more evil than he was in the first one. He's killing lieutenants left and right that it makes me go, "I'll do whatever you want, just please don't choke me!" As for the big twist where he says "I am your father" to Luke, it still gets me every time. I can't remember the first time I heard him say that line because I was like 5 or 6 years old when I first watched "Empire" but when he says it and you hear that music playing in the background and the look on Luke's face... you still feel that shock that Luke feels.
It goes without saying that this is not only the best Star Wars movie ever, this is one of the best MOVIES ever made. As for sequels surpassing the predecessor, for me it's right up there with "The Godfather Part 2", "The Dark Knight", "Spider-Man 2" and "T2 - Judgement Day". Even with the foul taste that a lot of people have in their mouths from the prequel trilogy, they need to watch this again to be reminded that George Lucas gave us a great saga. Final grade: A+
50/50 (2011)
A beautiful and very emotional tale about cancer
Both of my grandparents were diagnosed with cancer within the last 15 years, but thankfully they pulled through. Even with those experiences of a relative who had cancer, I realize that this is a very touchy subject.
Plot: Loosely based on screenwriter Will Reiser's experiences, Adam Lerner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a 27 year old public radio journalist who lives with his girlfriend Rachel (Bryce Dallas Howard) and one day out of the blue discovers he has a rare type of cancer and that he has a 50% chance of beating the cancer. With the help of his friend Kyle (Seth Rogen), his mother (Anjelica Huston) and his therapist Dr. Katherine McKay (Anna Kendrick), he struggles to beat the disease and learns what the most important things are in his life.
The performances in this movie are so spot on: Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character is so likable and there's one scene in particular when he got such an emotional response out of me. His performance in this film made him in one of my favorite actors ever. Seth Rogen is usually hit and miss for me, but this is best performance I've seen him give because he had me laughing my butt off so many times in this one. I love the way he catches Rachel cheating on Adam, and that made me say "This guy is awesome!" I remember seeing Anna Kendrick in "Twilight", "New Moon" and "Eclipse" and I was so annoyed by her in those films, but her performance in this film made me regret any bad thing/thought I said/had about her. Anjelica Huston as Adam's mother while overbearing, she portrays the character is such a loving way. And finally, Bryce Dallas Howard. I like her as an actress, and I think she did really good in her role, but her character was such a bitch! This film and "The Help" made me fell sorry for her because people keep casting her as a bad person. Whatever you do in your next film Bryce, please give somebody flowers! Special note: Phillp Baker Hall has a small role here, and he's really good in this one. Believe it or not, screenwriter Will Reiser makes a small appearance in the movie. Watch the scene where Adam's coworkers are trying to comfort him, Reiser is the one who says "My uncle had what you had."
The tone of this film feels realistic in terms of the kind of house Adam lives in, the dialogue between the characters, and the way the film handles the subject of cancer feels very light-hearted even though it does get emotional at times. Every time I watch this film, it reminds me of how great life is and that you have to appreciate the good that's in your life especially in your darkest time. There's really not much else I can say about this one. Great acting, great story and this is another reminder that we are still capable of making great movies.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Much much better, and surprisingly a satisfying conclusion
OK, I've given this a lot of thought. I haven't watched this in awhile, so I popped in my DVD copy and wondered if it would be better, just as good or worse than I remembered. After watching, I can say that it's actually pretty good. Is it perfect? No. There are times when the dialogue falls flat, and some of the acting is still generic. But the actors in this film have improved very much, which I'll get to in a minute, the dialogue while not perfect has also improved, and the story is actually more interesting than it was in "Phantom Menace" and "Attack of the Clones".
As a kid, I mildly enjoyed the prequels, with Episode 3 being my favorite of the 3. Now that I'm older, I realize that the prequels are flawed, with "Phantom Menace" not very good, but certainly not terrible. "Attack of the Clones"... well there are times when I don't like it and there are times where I think it's okay. In no way do I hate the prequels as it seems a lot of people do, but this one I have to say is probably the best out of all three. Not as good as the original trilogy, but it comes close. And yes, like 99.9% of the fan base, I do not like the midi-chlorian idea at all! I don't care what Lucas says, they don't exist in my world!
Not much I can say about the story, but going in for the first time, I knew what was coming. The only questions were "How does it happen?" "How does Anakin get that suit?" or "How did Luke and Leia get separated at birth?" After seeing it, it all made sense. Seeing Palpatine manipulate Anakin by saying that he can help him save Padme from dying, seeing Anakin and the clone troopers kill the Jedi, Anakin being burnt in a volcano which causes him to wear that famous suit and mask up until the ending scene with Obi Wan taking Luke (who is an infant at that point) to leave him in the care of Owen and Beru. It actually for me was so satisfying. Not to mention that scene where we see the mask being put on Darth Vader's face, there was this strange feeling in the theater and I almost couldn't speak. It was so cool!
The acting has improved, and while I never hated the actors in the previous two films, I found most of the characters to be uninteresting in the previous two movies (minus Obi Wan and Yoda). While I found Hayden Christensen to be very shallow in Episode 2, in this one he's better even though he still overacts sometimes. He's actually very good at portraying Anakin's fall into the Dark Side. Ewan McGregor I always thought was cast well as Obi Wan. I liked him as Obi Wan in the other prequels, and this time it actually felt like he would become Alec Guiness. Natalie Portman I think did a lot better in this one than the other two, and I'm glad she's done great work like "Black Swan" "Brothers" and "Thor" in recent years. Ian McDiarmid I thought was awesome as the Emperor and I consider his character one of the best movie villains ever. Samuel L. Jackson, Jimmy Smits and Christopher Lee I also thought did good in their roles. Character-wise, I thought they were more interesting overall. Yoda was awesome in this one! I love the scenes where he uses his light saber against the clone troopers and the fight between him and the emperor.
The action is done very well as it was in the last two films, and fortunately the story actually serves a purpose behind the CGI. John Williams' musical score also is brilliant as always. Despite all the flaws the prequels have, his music has never been bad.
Overall: It seems like Lucas realized his mistakes in the first two films, and decided to put in what the fans wanted to see. Still not perfect, but this was executed much better than the other two, while still retaining some of the flaws from the other prequels. Does it have it's flaws? Sure it does. Is everyone going to like the movie? NOT AT ALL. If you don't like it, that's fine, but I think it's really good and it ties right into the first film of the original trilogy very well.
The Dark Knight (2008)
Simply amazing
After the success of "Batman Begins", and the ending scene where Gordon hands Batman the Joker card, the world waited 3 years for what Nolan had in store for them in "The Dark Knight". The only question was, could it deliver? Man... did they deliver!
The film takes place about a year after the events of "Batman Begins", with Batman (Christian Bale) continuing to wage his war on crime reigniting hope in the city and inspiring others, like the newly elected D.A. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). Regarded as Gotham's White Knight, Dent is ready to pick up the baton from Batman and carry on the fight against the mob. With the help of his trusted allies, Alfred (Michael Caine), Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), and Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), Batman corners the mob giving Dent the opportunity to convict them all. However Batman, Dent and Gordon find themselves facing a new class of criminal. One that can't help but laugh as he drives Gotham into anarchy and chaos and pushes Batman to the breaking point. Behold the Joker (Heath Ledger).
The acting is superb with Christian Bale delivering another solid performance as Bruce Wayne/Batman. People have complained about his Batman growl, but I actually don't have a problem with it because I understand why he talks that way because he doesn't want anybody to recognize his voice. After seeing this and the other two films, he is definitely my favorite Batman. Aaron Eckhart delivers a compelling version of the character of Harvey Dent/Two-Face and it made me forget all about that clownish version of Two-Face in "Batman Forever", Maggie Gyllenhaal is more convincing as Rachel Dawes than Katie Holmes, even though I didn't mind Katie in "Batman Begins". As the loyal butler, Alfred, no one beats Michael Caine. Morgan Freeman delivers as Lucius Fox, and Gary Oldman as usual does a phenomenal job as Lt. Jim Gordon. A special nod to Eric Roberts as Sal Maroni, who did great in his role as well.
Of course, we must never forget the great Heath Ledger (God rest his soul) as the Joker. I don't really know how to describe this to you, but he really loses himself in this role. A lot of people were initially skeptical when he was announced as the Joker, but I felt the opposite. Though I was let down a bit when the pictures of him in costume came out, seeing him in the trailers erased all my doubts. When I saw this on opening day, and when he pulled off that mask in the beginning of the film in that bank heist scene, I knew I was in for something very special. And that scene when he slams that guy's head into the pencil, almost everybody in my theater laughed but my jaw just dropped. That scene with him in the kitchen was probably the strongest introduction to a character I've ever seen in any movie. Another great thing about the character is that he is able to give good reasons as to why he's doing what he's doing. He understands what's wrong with society, and he's trying to fix it but obviously the way he's going about it is wrong. I don't really know what else I can say that hasn't been said before, other than that he really knocked this right out of the park.
The writing is terrific with some famous lines such as "Why so serious?" and "Some people want to watch the world burn", the score by Hans Zimmer is amazing and definitely fits into Nolan's vision of Batman. Lastly, the directing is outstanding. One thing I've noticed with this movie and the other two, these movies are long but are not dull. The pull you in at the start and don't let you go until the end. When you can make that kind of film, you've hit the jackpot. Nolan is an amazing director, and I think this one is arguably his best film yet. Well done Mr. Nolan!
There are many complaints I've heard about this film that I'd like to address: One complaint I've heard about this movie is that, "It's not about Batman, it's all about the Joker". Well it's not about the Joker because unlike Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film, it's not the Joker's origin story or why he's the Joker. The Joker is the catalyst of what goes on most of the time in the story, but it's Batman. Another complaint I've heard about this film is people say, especially in the scenes where we see the cops and courtroom scenes, "What is this a cop show? Where are the super villains?" Well honestly speaking, at this point you don't clean up the streets by going after the super villains, you go after the mob. They run the show. Plus this film is mostly a tribute to "The Long Halloween", which Christopher Nolan paid tribute to with this film.
In conclusion, all I can say is that this movie is so great and so solid, and this is one of those sequels that improves/surpasses the original. As in sequels, this is right up their with "The Godfather: Part 2", "The Empire Strikes Back", "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" and "Spider-Man 2". This movie is so great, I've watched it many times and will watch it many more times for years to come.
Star Wars (1977)
One of my all time favorites, one of the greatest films of all time
It's now known as "Episode IV - A New Hope", but I'm calling it what it was when it came out, "Star Wars". But if you call it "A New Hope" that's fine. I've loved this and the other two original films since I was 6 years old, and I always will. Ever since I saw those yellow words blast on the screen with John Williams music playing in the background, I was addicted. Don't worry, I'm not going to talk about the stupid changes that Lucas made to this film.
Story: A young farm boy named Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) who longs for adventure. Having been raised by his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, he's always wondered who his father was, and has longed for a life beyond his home planet Tatooine, but his Uncle Owen won't allow it. One day, he and his friend Obi Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) join forces with Han Solo (Harrison Ford), a wookie Chewbacca and two droids C-3PO and R2-D2 to save Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) from the clutches of Darth Vader and the evil Empire. After they save Leia, Luke joins the Rebel Alliance who use the blueprints of the Empire's new battle station called the Death Star, and with the help of Han Solo and Chewbacca, Luke destroys the Death Star and all is well... for now.
All the actors deliver 100%: Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker perfectly embodies the heroic young boy who longs for adventure and would do anything to help his friends. Harrison Ford owns the role of Han Solo, Carrie Fisher is great as Leia, and Alec Guinness was perfect in the role of Obi Wan Kenobi. As for Han and Leia, I love how the two are always arguing, and makes for really entertaining dialogue. The character of Darth Vader (physically portrayed by David Prowse, and voiced by James Earl Jones) is probably the best on screen villain of all time. The first time he comes through the fog on that ship in the beginning of the movie gives the audience the impression that he is the most menacing and evil figure in the galaxy.
What makes this a great film besides the story and the acting? The special effects still blow my mind, even today and John Williams' score is terrific. But the main reason why people love this film and the other two so much is that the characters and the story are the main focus and not the spectacle. Unfortunately that's the way it was in the prequel trilogy (even though I thought "Revenge of the Sith" actually ended the saga on a better note). The story is shared through the experiences of Luke Skywalker, a wide-eyed innocent who has yet to explore the unknown. Star Wars and the other two movies as a whole is a coming of age story of Luke growing into becoming a Jedi Knight like his father before him. Plus, Luke, Leia and Han are the most normal people in the entire trilogy, and their interactions with each other seem real.
Fans can say what they want about George Lucas, but I give him a lot of credit for giving us this great saga which has inspired so many people all over the world, and will continue to be an inspiration for future generations. If you're one of the few people on the planet that hasn't seen Star Wars, do yourself a favor and watch it. It's awesome!
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
A very touching and mature coming of age story
My interest was raised after watching the trailer for this film, and after seeing it yesterday I'm happy to say that it is amazing. Now I've never read the book, so I can't say if the movie did the book justice but from a filmmaking standpoint I thought this was done so well.
The story, the acting, the writing and the humor was close to perfect as you can get. The story is simple enough (Spoiler free): High school freshman named Charlie (Logan Lerman) begins his high school days unsure of how he's going to fit in. Charlie didn't have the best childhood, and he's definitely the type of kid that wouldn't be respected by his peers. That all changes when he befriends Patrick (Ezra Miller) and Sam (Emma Watson) who are high school seniors who introduce him to the real world.
Acting: This is the 2nd film I've seen Logan Lerman in since the 3:10 to Yuma remake where he played Christian Bale's oldest son. He was good in that one, but my God was he great in this film. He perfectly embodies the young troubled boy who must confront his demons, and inevitably grow into adulthood. He reminded me of myself in some ways he was awkward and shy among other people. I was definitely not the popular kid in school, and now that I look back on it I'm glad I wasn't because I would probably be a jackass. He was also very sympathetic and relatable that it reminded me of Tobey Maguire's portrayal of Peter Parker in the original Spider-Man trilogy. I know this sounds like an odd comparison to you, but to me the way Peter Parker was written like Charlie was made sympathetic and relatable that it made you care about the character, what's happening to him and how he's growing into manhood despite all the trials and tribulations he's been through. Anyway, great performance by Logan, and I'm interested in seeing what he does next. Emma Watson... oh my word, she is breathtaking. I've always liked her since Harry Potter, and it was nice to see her doing something different this time. There were a few times when her British accent slipped out, but it wasn't distracting and I thought she gave a great performance as Sam. Ezra Miller was also excellent as Patrick. Very funny and likable, and I wish I had more friends like him. Paul Rudd as Mr. Anderson played his part very well. It was a small part, but I thought he did a good job with it. The rest of the cast, including Nina Dobrev, Mae Whitman, Dylan McDermott, Kate Walsh and Joan Cusack were great also.
The writing was so beautifully written, and felt very natural throughout the film. The music was done very well, and themes presented here reminded me of a John Hughes movie but with a darker spin. Stephen Chbosky did such great work translating his book into a film adaption, which is not an easy thing to do with movies based on books. Again, I've never read the book but I think it was done very well.
I've seen my share of films where the actors look like they're phoning in most of the lines, and it seems like they just don't care about whether or not they're making a good movie or not. However, this is one of the many films I've seen where the interactions between the characters feels real and natural that you really buy that these guys are actually really good friends.
Final verdict: I give this film an A. The acting was fantastic, the music, the story and the direction were brilliant. This is one of those films that remind us all of the innocence of our youth and that feeling we have of learning new things in life, wondering what lies ahead for us in the future. I cannot compliment this film more, so go see it even if you haven't read the book.
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
Arguably the best of the 4
I've always enjoyed the Mission Impossible films: the first one was very good, the second one was okay, the third was definitely an improvement over the 2nd, and this one... WOW!
Story (No spoilers): Ethan Hunt of IMF finds himself in another predicament when he and his team must act on their own to stop a nuclear war from occurring between the United States and Russia.
Acting: I've always liked Tom Cruise as an actor. He's very talented and always gives it 100%. Say what you want about him, but regardless of how messed up his life is he is one of the most hardworking actors we have on the scene today. Those action stunts he did in this film, including the one when he's on the side of the tower in Dubai had me on the edge of my seat. Simon Pegg does great in this one and I'm glad he has a bigger part than what he had in the 3rd film. He's funny, he's likable but he's also not annoying, and he has some of the most funny lines The other main cast members such as Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton (very easy on the eyes by the way) give great performances and so do the rest of the actors in the film.
Directing: Brad Bird's first foray into live action films actually pays off here. Before he was famous for animation which he does very well, and I never thought he had it in him for a live action film, especially a Mission Impossible film. Well done!
Final Verdict: This is a very entertaining fun film, and for me arguably the best of the 4 films by far, and I'm looking forward to the 5th one.
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
It didn't disappoint.
I didn't know what to expect from this movie. I know almost nothing about Cpt. America except all I saw in this film. When I saw "avenger" in the title, my interest was raised. This movie like "Thor", "Incredible Hulk", and Iron Man 1 and 2, is a lead up to "The Avengers" which we got to see this year, and tells the story of Steve Rogers aka Captain America. At first I was hoping it wouldn't be like the Fantastic Four movies since Chris Evans (who played the Human Torch previously) stars in the title role, but I'm very happy to say that I was not disappointed with this film.
Story: (No Spoilers) The film takes place during the 1940's during WWII, and we are introduced to Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) who is a short, skinny and frail young guy with a big heart who wants to fight for his country. Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) discovers Rogers and is able to get him enlisted in the Army as part of a new "Super Soldier" program. Rogers takes the Super Soldier Formula and becomes more physically fit than he was before and is deployed to Europe to take part in special forces type of missions to fight HYDRA led by Nazi officer Johann Schmidt aka the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving).
Acting: Chris Evans is great as Cpt. America and pulls the character off so well throughout the film. His character is exactly the kind of man I want to be, especially since I'm leaving for basic training in the Army National Guard very soon. Hugo Weaving as Red Skull is a really cool villain, Stanley Tucci as always is very good, Tommy Lee Jones as Col Chester Phillips is his usual self: gruff, hard around the edges but really funny and his character obviously is kind deep down inside. As for the others, Haley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Sebastian Stan as Bucky, Neal McDonough as Dumb Dumb Dugan (who I really liked in Band of Brothers) and Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark are all very good in this movie.
Verdict: This is a really good movie. Yes there are some cheesy moments in the movie, but for the most part I really liked it and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested.
Men in Black³ (2012)
Very Surprised!
I did not want to see this movie at all, since I saw the first preview. I expected it to be a terrible movie, but my Mom wanted to give it a try so I caved in. During the previews I kept telling myself, "This is gonna suck". Boy was I wrong! I still think that the 1st movie is best one, but this one is definitely a close second.
Plot (No Spoilers): Agent K encounters an enemy from his past known as "Boris the Animal" who Agent K arrested in 1969 which resulted in Boris losing his arm. Boris goes back in time to the year he was arrested to kill Agent K. Agent J then goes back in time to 1969 to stop Boris from killing his partner and from changing history.
Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are great as usual, but a special nod to Josh Brolin who plays a younger Agent K, because he looks and acts exactly like the character. Jermaine Clements as Boris is amazing, and quite freaky also. The things he does with his hand made my skin crawl. And finally Michael Stulbarg, who plays "Griff", was out of this world! His character had these extraordinary abilities such as being able to see the future/possible future scenarios, and the way he said things like, "unless it's this" or "it could go like this" left me in awe.
The story (again, no spoilers), not much I can say but while slow at first, it got very interesting when we got to the 1969 scenes and I really liked how it had the 1960's feel. Special note: I'm a huge Rolling Stones fan, and I laughed at the scene where Agent K tells J about monitoring Mick Jagger (lead singer of the Stones), since he was a possible alien. Also without spoiling anything, there's a shocking twist in the final act that I don't think anybody saw coming.
Men in Black 3 is a really good and entertaining movie and a great improvement over the second one. Yes it is a bit cheesy in moments but it's a lot of fun. I recommend this to anyone who wants to give it a try.
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Best of the original trilogy!
I don't care what anybody says, but this movie is one of the best superhero movies of all time as far as I'm concerned. Since the new reboot of Spider-Man came out, a lot of fans of that new film are boasting about how it's way better than this movie and the other two, how Andrew Garfield was way better and that we should all forget about Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films. They even go so far as saying all three are as bad as "Batman and Robin". I find that completely ridiculous. Me personally, I don't have anything against "The Amazing Spider-Man". I really liked it since it was nice to see a new version of Spider-Man come onto the big screen. However, it's difficult for me to erase the memories I have of going to see Sami Raimi's Spider-Man movies.
I loved the first film, and was excited for the 2nd film. I still remember getting pumped every time I saw the ads for the movie on TV, and I marked everyday off my calendar up to the day it came out. I was so excited to see Doc Ock, and it didn't let me down. It was amazing! Plot: 2 years after the events of the first film, Peter Parker's life is a mess due to his commitment to being Spider-Man; he's failing his classes in school, he's messing up in his job and he barely talks to Mary Jane and Harry these days since Spider-Man takes up most of his time. Peter and Harry haven't talked much since Harry believes Spider-Man killed his father, Norman Osborn, and Mary Jane begins dating another man. Plus his Aunt May is facing foreclosure since Uncle Ben died, and Peter is emotionally shattered over not telling her the truth of how Uncle Ben really died. Peter becomes so overwhelmed with the unrelenting stress of living two lives that he gives up being Spider-Man. Things seem to go better for him, until Doc Ock comes onto the scene. Dr. Otto Octavius is injured during a lab demonstration on fusion energy, fusing four mechanical arms into his spine, and becomes Doctor Octopus (Doc Ock). Peter is then forced to become Spider-Man again to stop Octavius' rampage. I really think the story is excellent because it shows Peter struggling with everyday problems, and how he feels that being Spider-Man has brought him nothing but one problem after another. That feeling we have at some point in our lives where we just give up on life after having so many problems is very human, and I love how Sam Raimi was able to show that Spider-Man is also a human being with common everyday problems.
As far as accuracy to the original comics, which fans of the reboot claim that this movie is not faithful to the comics at all, the plot in this story was mostly influenced by "Amazing Spider-Man #50", also known as "Spider-Man No More", where Peter gives up being Spider-Man, but finds himself unable to let it go. Sure there are some differences to this version: Mary Jane is the main love interest, Doc Ock is the main villain in the movie whereas the Kingpin was the main enemy in "Spider- Man No More!" But honestly, I don't care how accurate the movies are to the comics, because at least in my eyes, this movie captured the core of Spider-Man and that's what a superhero movie should be about.
People can say what they want about Tobey Maguire, but I think he was great in this film. He makes the character sympathetic and relatable, and I really care about what happens to him. I would argue that out of all three movies, Tobey gives his best performance as Peter Parker in this one. He was good in the third one, really good in the first film, but I think this was his best performance as Spider-Man in this film. Kirsten Dunst as always is beautiful and amazing as Mary Jane (yes she is a bit harsh to Peter in this movie, but I think she is still good in this one regardless), James Franco is fantastic in this movie as he shows the rage and anger Harry feels towards Spider-Man, Rosemary Harris is terrific as Aunt May, but I have to give two thumbs up to Alfred Molina who played Doc Ock. He was incredible as Doc Ock, and very scary with those mechanical arms (in a good way). And yes it wash a bit harsh of her to leave John Jameson at the altar the way she did, but the last scene where Mary Jane (who at this point knows that Peter is Spider-Man) chooses Peter almost brought tears to my eyes, and then it shows Spider- Man swinging through New York after hearing sirens going off in the distance. One of my favorite scenes in this movie was the battle between Spider-Man and Doc Ock on top of the subway. I still get a thrill out of watching that scene, and I remember being in awe of the scene where the passengers see Spider-Man without his mask and they promise not to tell anyone they saw his face. As far as directing, Sam Raimi did an excellent job with this film, especially since he was a big fan of the comics.
I don't really know anybody who hates this movie, even though I've heard the fans of "The Amazing Spider-Man" badmouth this movie relentlessly saying it's just as bad as "Batman and Robin" by Joel Schumacher (give me a break!). Like I said, I don't care what anyone says, but this movie is one of the best superhero movies ever made besides the first Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Chris Nolan's Batman trilogy and The Avengers. 8 years later, this movie is still a great film to watch.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
The most satisfying conclusion to a trilogy I've ever seen
I just saw TDKR in IMAX with my Mom, and I have just one word for it... WHOA! I was really impressed with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, but this one... I'm sorry but I'm still in awe of this movie. The best Batman movie I've ever seen, and maybe the best MOVIE I've ever seen. Since the final scene in The Dark Knight when Batman is riding the Bat-Pod and disappears into downtown Gotham, I've been waiting four years to see what direction Christopher Nolan and the rest of the crew and cast would take. Now that we've finally reached the release of "The Dark Knight Rises", I'm extremely happy to say that I was completely blown away by this movie. Usually threequels tend not to do so good, but this is one of the few that are outstanding!
Story (No spoilers): 8 years have passed since the Joker's rampage, and Batman has not been seen since he has taken the fall for Harvey Dent/Two-Face's crimes. Bruce Wayne is now a recluse, and is clearly emotionally damaged by his experiences as Batman, and his loss of his childhood sweetheart Rachel Dawes. The crime rate in Gotham City has quieted down, but that peacetime is short lived when a new threat arrives. A threat even worse than what the Joker had in store for Gotham... BANE. Batman is then forced to come out of hiding to stop Bane's reign of terror.
The acting as always is top notch: Christian Bale is an excellent and believable Batman/Bruce Wayne, and accurately shows the complexity of the character. This is probably his best portrayal of Bruce Wayne since we get a really good insight on Bruce Wayne much like the insight we got on Peter Parker in Spider-Man 2, and how Bruce must rise above his personal demons once again and become Batman in his heart and mind. Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman really surprised me. I loved her performances in some of her other movies, but this performance is probably her best yet! She is the best Catwoman ever put on screen! Tom Hardy as Bane, while he may not be as interesting as the Joker he's still an awesome villain. Tom Hardy's performance as Bane is phenomenal, and he is one of the most exciting and most terrifying villain I've ever seen. He's physically superior to Batman which is shown in the first confrontation between the two characters, which was so intense by the way. I like how his physical appearance was changed for this movie because the expressions in his eyes makes him more intimidating. And yes his voice was much more easier to understand this time, even though there are times you may not clearly understand what he said. Plus, Tom Hardy's Bane made me forget all about Joel Schumacher's version of Bane in "Batman and Robin", and that's saying something. As for the rest of the cast, Michael Caine (he got me teary eyed a few times in this one), Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Marion Cotilliard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (awesome as usual, and his character has a surprising story arc at the end) are fantastic in their roles. Heck, anyone who had a small part or anyone who was an extra should be proud that they were even in this movie! Lastly the directing: Christopher Nolan has done such a superb job with telling his story of Batman, and I congratulate him for making a trilogy that is probably the best I've ever seen.
The moment this movie started, I was completely drawn into it from beginning to the end, as was everybody else in the theater. No spoilers, but there were twists and turns that I didn't expect to happen, some scenes with funny lines (especially some of the scenes between Lucius Fox and Bruce Wayne, and between Bruce Wayne/Batman and Selina Kyle/Catwoman) and yes some romance. And the way the film ends (without spoiling anything) was perfect. All the loose ends that were open throughout the trilogy were wrapped up so nicely.
The visual effects once again were amazing and I liked the scene at the football stadium. The music by Hans Zimmer is mind blowing, and I don't think you could come up with a better score for Batman than this! And I also love the look of Gotham City in this one. Unlike the last two films which were filmed in Chicago, most of it this time was filmed in NYC, and some of the shots were filmed in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh. Plus I was able to pick out a few spots obviously since most of this was filmed in NYC, since my family is from NYC.
This trilogy once again is probably the best that I've ever seen, and it's definitely the kind of trilogy we'll be telling our kids about in 20 years time much like our parents told us about Star Wars. These three movies have given me such great experiences and memories that I will remember forever, and I'm absolutely going to miss the hype that comes with waiting for Nolan's next Batman, but I think he's right when he says it's time for the story to come to an end. I'm not kidding when I say this: Check this one out because, you're in for one hell of a ride!
(This is in light of the tragic shooting in Colorado: may God take care of the victims that are now with Him, the families of those who were killed and may He help the family of the shooter get through this terrible ordeal he's put them through.)
Update: I still think this film is great, and I don't really see any problems or plot holes like people keep insisting there is. This was a solid ending to the trilogy and nothing more.
Batman Begins (2005)
Quite a surprise!
The first few times I saw the previews for "Batman Begins", I didn't know what to make of it. With the way "Batman and Robin" turned out, I was careful not to get too excited for this one. Plus, based on the trailers it looked a bit too dark for me. So my attitude was "wait and see".
I didn't really pay much attention to the popularity it received that summer (2005), and when school started, I read some of the reviews and was a bit surprised at how positive they were. So I decided to give it a chance. After I watched it, I can tell you how completely off my first impression was. It is amazing! It's basically an account of the origin story of how Bruce Wayne became Batman, and it's the exact story you want to see. Bruce Wayne's parents are killed right in front of him by a mugger named Joe Chill, and years later when Chill is released on parole Bruce tries to get revenge for his parents death but fails. With nothing left in Gotham, he leaves and travels the world to understand the criminal mind. Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) who is a member of the League of Shadows takes Bruce under his wing and trains him in numerous fighting methods. He later betrays the league when he learns they are using him to attack Gotham and destroy it in order to bring peace to the city. He burns the house down leaving the league's leader Ra's Al Ghul to die, but saves Henri Ducard.
Bruce then returns to Gotham, and becomes Batman in order to fight the criminals and corrupt officials that have taken control of the city. (Spoiler Alert) He discovers a bigger plot run by Henri Ducard who reveals himself to be the real Ra's Al Ghul, and is intending to destroy Gotham. Bruce as Batman is able to stop him, and is hailed as a public hero.
Acting: Christian Bale is the best actor to play Bruce Wayne/Batman ever. He's good at capturing the struggles that Bruce goes through as he starts to lead a double life, and is able to show the anger Bruce still feels over his parents' death. Michael Caine does a terrific job as Alfred who is Bruce's butler, Gary Oldman does great as Jim Gordon, Liam Neeson is as great as ever as Henri Ducard/Ra's Al Ghul, Morgan Freeman who plays Lucius Fox is awesome as he always is, and I love the interactions between him and Bruce Wayne. Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes is OK, and the rest of the cast such as Tom Wilkinson (Carmine Falcone) and Cillian Murphy (Dr. Johnathan Crane/Scarecrow) are excellent.
Overall: I love how the director, Christopher Nolan was able to reinvent Batman and make him more realistic than he has ever been, how he was able to make Gotham city look like a real life modern city like Chicago where most of it was filmed, and the musical score by Hans Zimmer is excellent! Most of all, it felt like Batman and that's what I like. After the credits started rolling I said, "That's it! That's Batman movie I've been waiting for!"
The Hunger Games (2012)
Quite an excitement!
I knew absolutely nothing about "The Hunger Games" until I saw the previews for this movie, and also when my Mom and sister went to see it in the theater. My Mom told me it was exciting, but my sister 'liked' it only because she said it didn't really follow the book.
My interest was raised, and I watched a preview and decided to go see it. Honestly, I liked it! The story takes place sometime in the future in a country called Panem, which is a post-apocalyptic America and Canada and divided into 12 (or 13) districts, and one young person from each district is sent to the capital city located in the Rocky Mts to take part in a match called "the hunger games". The games are a series of a fight to the death type of scenario like the gladiator fights that took place during the time of the Roman Republic/Empire, and only one will remain victorious and receive eternal glory. Two young people, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) are taken to the capital city to take part in the games. By now a lot of people have seen the movie and read the books, so I don't think it's a big surprise what happens at the end. Peeta and Katniss are the last two left by the end, and are pitted against each other so only one comes out a winner. They later decide to kill themselves instead, thus forcing the game hosts to declare them both winners. They emerge as celebrities throughout Panem, but now the President of Panem (Donald Sutherland) has to figure out what to do with Peeta and Katniss since they started a rebellion throughout the other districts.
I thought the acting was very good: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz and Donald Sutherland are very good in their parts, and the scenes that took place during the match were pretty intense, and I got a bit freaked out when the giant dogs came out. I never read the books so I can't tell you how the movie is in comparison, but I did feel like there were some things that felt a bit rushed. But in the end, I thought "The Hunger Games" was a good movie and I'm looking forward to the sequels.
Rock of Ages (2012)
A lot of fun!
*No spoilers (except for the ending), just some minor plot details.
My Mom and I saw this movie about a week and a half ago, and enjoyed it very much. I'm not really into musicals that much, nor have I ever been to a Broadway show, but I do have a Broadway show soundtrack on my ipod; "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark" and I enjoy the music from the show very much. I've never seen the original "Rock of Ages" show so I can't say which version is better, but I must say I really liked the movie.
The storyline was a typical love story between Sherrie and Drew: they fall in love after meeting, they break up but reunite in the end. But the love story didn't really bother me so much since there was famous 80's music mixed in. I was born in the early 90's, but I've always preferred music that was popular before I was born. I'm a big fan of 60's and 70's rock music groups/singers like the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, the Beatles and Queen. But I also like some 80's music and I'm also a huge fan of Bon Jovi whom he and his band started out in the 80's and one of their great songs "Wanted Dead or Alive" was in this movie :) Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx is terrific in every way, Alec Baldwin of course is great, and the others I thought were good too. Some of the characters' physical appearances reminded me of some famous singers: Tom Cruise's physical looks reminded me of Axl Rose, and Russell Brand as Lonny Barnett looked just like Freddie Mercury.
The music is amazing. To name some of my favorites; Tom Cruise did good at covering "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi. Diego Boneta did good with "I Wanna Rock" and I liked the closing song "Don't Stop Believin'" which was originally performed by Journey since I first heard the song in the Sopranos finale.
OK so this movie is not perfect and not everybody is going to like it, but I had a blast with it and left the theater with a warm feeling in my stomach. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes musicals or rock musicals in particular, 80's rock music, etc. If you don't like 80's music you probably won't care for this too much. If you're looking for something fun to watch, check it out!
Spider-Man (2002)
"This is my gift. My curse. Who am I? I'm Spider-Man." 10 years later, it's still amazing!
Before I saw this movie, I didn't really care for Spider-Man that much. Summer of 2002 when it came out, my Dad and I went to see it and I thought it was incredible! Even today 10 years later, I still get a thrill out of it, and it's a movie that has stayed in my imagination for a long time.
It's a great origin story about how Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) becomes Spider-Man after being bitten by a genetically engineered spider, and becomes a superhero after his Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson, RIP) is killed by a carjacker. He later battles the Green Goblin who is really Norman Osborn, the father of Peter Parker's best friend, Harry Osborn (James Franco). I still love how the movie ends. Peter is walking away from Mary Jane who has just kissed him and realized that he could be Spider-Man since she kissed Spider-Man earlier in the movie. In a voice over, Peter says, "Whatever life holds in store for me, I will never forget these words: 'With great power comes great responsibility.' This is my gift. My curse. Who am I? I'm Spider-Man." And it shows Spider-Man swinging through New York City.
Tobey Maguire is in my view, the best actor to play Peter Parker/Spider-Man yet, and accurately captures the awkwardness and caring personality of the character. Kirsten Dunst who plays Mary Jane is great even though I wish she didn't play damsel in distress so much in this movie. My Dad and I joke around about the famous scene where she and Spider-Man kiss each other in the rain with Spider-Man hanging upside down. As for, Willem Dafoe who plays the main antagonist Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, he is insanely good, since he always plays an excellent bad guy, and the rest of the cast such as Rosemary Harris, James Franco, Cliff Robertson and J.K. Simmons bring their "A" game. Sam Raimi was an excellent choice for the director since he was a big fan of the Spider-Man comics as a kid. He definitely brought what he knew into the story, even though he made some changes in this version. Honestly, I don't have a problem with changes he made.
I know that because of the new Spider-Man coming out this year, fans of that film are hating this movie and the other two and embracing the new one. In all fairness, I will always love Sam Raimi's trilogy regardless of how successful the new Spider-Man films are even though I'm looking forward to the new series.
10 years later, I still give this movie a thumbs up.