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Reviews
The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010)
What a fun movie !
Get it right and it can't go wrong.
Walk inside the theater expecting to watch a film for fun, and sometimes you'll get just that.
I read a review in IMDb before I went to watch the Sorcerer's and the guy nailed it just right. The actors appeared to have fun, the movie is there for some mild action and laughs. Light-hearted humor, some light- romance without the unnecessary skin and physical exposure, moments that'd make the audience awe through the use of special fx.
The main attraction of the movie is the actor portraying the apprentice, playing the geek better than a real geek. In fact he puts my own geekiness to shame ! Predictable yet not in a bad way, fast-paced and still managing to hold the story's simple yet attractive plot together, I'd recommend this summer movie to anyone who wants to have fun with friends or relatives in watching a delightful Disney film about sorcerers, nerds and adventure !
Twilight (2008)
A beautiful movie
Greetings all.
Before posting a comment on the movie I took the time to read on what other people thought of/about it and even though it was a film that I really looked forward to watching I got intimidated by the generally average/bad reviews it received. To my eyes the reviews spoke of a cheesy film, made for 15 year old girls which has no point whatsoever etc etc. Yet since I've taken time to watch some of the worst films of all history (Manos, hands of fate being the top one) I decided to go and watch it nonetheless setting my expectations to ground zero just in case. For the reviewer's record, I am a 29 year old guy whose favorite films list is populated by movies like schindler's list, the man with no name trilogy (fistful of dollars, fistful of dollars more, good bad ugly), rocky 1, gone with the wind, the green mile and of course the dark knight ! Not exactly a 15 year old girl's or boy's preferences :).
The movie was far from cheesy to begin with. It was a story told before, for sure, but the way it was portrayed and displayed was very elegant.
Main Actors. The chemistry between the two main stars is incredible; I am strongly considering watching the film again just to see them both play together. Easily to become one of the most loved couples of our times on the screen. Edward suffers from his predatory hunger for Bella's blood yet loves her very strongly at the same time. The pain and torn heart of his displays on his features in almost every bit of the way. The way he looks at her is truly both inhuman and deeply mortal in some manners truly capturing the idea of how an Immortal could love a mortal (at least in the way my mind perceives it). As for Bella, she is a very beautiful woman yet a quiet one. Not one to show off. Her face doesn't give away pride or arrogance. She ignores most of the world or the happenings around her and yet lets Edward inside. I think the two are brought together through their search of something different to the rest of the world. Or, in this case, their worlds. They really blend as one and all the scenes that the two participate in are beautiful and emotionally strong; it's the love we've all dreamed of from times to times yet few movies came close to doing honor to the book pages that stimulated our fantasy. This is one of the movies that pulls through.
Secondary crew.
Unfortunately, they come across as insignificant. Save for Bella's father who played his part nicely and lively, I don't remember a single high school person's name. It's a bit sad really because it feels like viewing two characters' deeply evolve and unravel their inner being and yet be surrounded by one-dimensional, shallow support crews. Bella's dad was good, the vampire family were...well didn't really have much to do. The high school gang was as if out of a teen-horror movie show; And jacob who supposedly plays a very strong part in the following books came across as hardly even a potential love interest to Bella. If I could improve something about this movie, it would be the surrounding characters' evolution and involvement in the story. Even the bad vampire was...Well, you knew he was there to get his ass kicked to be honest. He never felt like a threat or not really portrayed his motivations long or believably enough. Haven't read the book but I surely hope it's not like this !
Directing
Seriously, give the director a break. The way most of the reviews come across about how 'cheesy' it is to see Bella's hair fly at the fan, or to see Edward sparkle, or this or that. Made me feel like I was going to watch a comedy. But having the fan blow her hair and as such her blood's scent for him to take in and feel uncomfortable was a great moment while also introducing some well received humor in the intensity of the moment. We are talking about teen-love after all, do not forget !And disregarding the fact that vampires usually explode in sunlight, it was nice and...new. Keep an open mind to things and you won't be so disappointed in them. The scenery was great, the camera shots were beautiful. Even the small town seemed inviting and felt 'real' enough. Everything was absolutely stunning direction and screen writing-wise, I couldn't have asked for more or less on that regard really.
Plot
Nothing new and that's not necessarily bad. It's a love story, an unusual love story. Usually love stories' success depend on the chemistry of the two parts and in my opinion as I've already stated, that was perfect. Vulnerability meets Immortality into a beautifully made story that keeps the romantic at heart captivated.
Overall....
A GREAT movie to see with an open mind. Walk in the theater, don't expect anything and erase all of that you imagine you do or do not know about vampires and love stories. Give this movie ground to seed and grow upon without being affected by past films/books you might've read.
Twilight is a great film and I will definitely watch it again.
8/10 mostly due to the side-crew's parts being so trivial and not noticeable.
The Eye (2008)
Was it supposed to be scary?
I haven't seen the original, I'll just comment on the title. I picked it off the 'horror' movies section but in all truth I think it'd better put in the sci-fi/documentary section.
A cortex replacement that causes a girl to see things, okay. Well it's an interesting concept. The most interesting idea is when she sees herself in the mirror for the first time and it's not her, now that I did not expect.
The rest of the movie is a slow drag to pointlessness in a totally predictable scenario that tries (and fails) to offer you the usual ghost-jump scare that just isn't there anymore.
Thank god for some partial-skin show for Miss Alba that at least satisfies our otherwise sore (due to the movie) eyes.
I did watch it to the end though, to see if the little girl in the bus would be saved or not. Yey, another kid survived the horror movie...
I slept easily afterwards. My accomplishment was being able to stay awake through it anyway.
Avoid it, unless you're interested in post-medical surgery one in a million side-effects.
The Dark Knight (2008)
Thank you.
The last movie I commented on (luck made it so that it also was an action movie), was Wanted. My remark on that movie was that 'if you have to give an action movie a plot, please make it so that it's worth it'. And here we are, the Dark Knight. I could write about this film for hours and hours and hours. Dethroning my personal favorite (the good, the bad and the ugly) from my top-10 list, TDK offers something to all movie fans to enjoy.
To the action-movie fan: Restrained yet beautifully done action scenes. No exaggerations, no cars flying into trains. No need for pointlessly placed excessive stunt men. Just the right number of it all served within the movie's theme and as part of the plot instead of the usual action film approach which is "let's put some beat'em up scenes in so that the people'll hopefully forget about the shallow story we're offering them" To the movie-plot fan : A movie that offers up a solid storyline. Used before in other films yet never to this extend. Each and every character are tied to the plot and contributing in their own manner. This is not a railroading storyline that you know its ending from scratch. This is a mad roller-coaster ride that even though you have a hunch it won't have a happy ending, you take it fully to its destination.
To the acting-performance fan: I am not as eloquent as other people who've praised performances in this movie. From Mr.Ledger, to Mr.Caine, all I can say is they've done the best impersonation I've seen. Of good, evil, chaos, law, and the eternal struggle. An extra word for Mr.Ledger as he remains the most solid evil character impersonation that I've seen on the big screen ever.
To the movie-soundtrack fan: The perfect score for a chaotic film such as this. It ties, it sticks in your mind, it makes you hum it as you walk down the street and as you do hum it the entire film goes through your eyes again and again and again.
To movie-direction fan: Anything I say or put here will be pointless. Photography, colors, scenery, dialogs, scenes and the prequel tying to the sequel. Watch it for yourselves and see. 10/10 out of me.
To the Batman fan: The Nolan brothers do this for more than just money, I can assure you. They love their work, they love putting their ideas to paper. And they respect the symbol that one of the world's greatest superheroes is. Not only that, but they also respect the villains and the entire world of Gotham. This project couldn't be in better hands.
As an epilogue, I'd like to state two things.
First a big thank you to everyone who brought us this movie in a period where Hollywood mostly makes us bang our heads on the wall and wish we were blind. I am not sure if there should or should not be a sequel what with Mr.Ledger's tragedy. But I am sure the Nolan brothers will make the right choice. If the sequel (if there is one) is not directed by them, I will surely not sit and watch it.
Second to any directors out there or to anyone from the Hollywood movie industry that might take the time to read this (even though my hopes are not so strong on it :). Watch and learn. Watch and realize what an action film that respects its genre should be like. It takes more time to make than a future DVD-trash like Wanted that only gets some glamor due to the strong acting names involved in it. But the end result will still fill your pockets with good cash. And will keep the people that go out for a lovely movie weekend satisfied and happy. To the point that they might say : That was 10 bucks well spent, let's go again next weekend.
I know I have and will do so again.
Wanted (2008)
Why, why, why.
I'll start this with saying that I can't usually be bothered to write a movie review. No matter how good, or bad a movie is? There's far better people than me when putting down their thoughts that so often match my thoughts. However, I'll make an exception with Wanted.
--This post will contain spoilers, not sure how to hide them--
Walking into the theater, I was more or less certain of what to expect. A bunch of superhuman beings kicking each other's asses. Even though I enjoy cultural and classic movies, I'm not the type that'll go with 'unrealistic, duhh.Am not watching this, this is kiddy stuff'. On the contrary, I dig superhero films. I like unrealistic movies. So, I'll start with my likes for this movie.
Likes:
-Great special FX. They didn't waste any resources. They tried to make it as impressive and they succeeded. It was far better matrix quality in some scenes.
-The main hero was very nice in his role. He fit the role like a glove, he was convincing. One could 'bond' with him and feel for him at certain stages.
-Action, Action, Action. The movie's like a fast rolercoaster that doesn't stop for a moment. From moment one, to the end. Chases, shoot outs, more chases, training. It doesn't give the audience a breather, and the audience is happy for it.
-Overall, enjoyable in its strong points.
Here comes the sad list of dislikes though....
Dislikes:
-Jolie. I like her. I think she's sexy. I think she was seriously mis-casted. She was trying too hard to put the bad girl look on, which just...Didn't click for me in this movie. Sorry.
-Plot Holes : This is my favorite part of it all, really. As I said, I don't mind non-realistic bits, or flying cars, or curved bullets. But, let's break down the movie to a reasonable level.
1.'A thousand years ago, a band of assassins was created. to read names, and kill people'
Fair enough. In the situation though that only one person reads names. His name could come up, and well...oh wait. It actually happened.
Tip: When you got a machine, passing around death sentences, best to have more than a single person at the 'reading committee'
2.'You are his son. You're the only one he wouldn't harm'
So the master assassin has a son. That he knows about. That all his assassin friends know about. That he's ready to die for. Why not just capture his son, and tell the guy 'Come in, or we kill him'. Seems to me he was ready to die for his son. Oh wait. He did.
And if he knew his son was his Achilles' heel. Why did he wait to the end to tell him. Why didn't he just........give him a call?
3.'Kill him'
Never ceases to surprise. When the death order is passed on the star. Everyone's shooting at him, trying to kill him,with him surviving it. And of course, when he reaches what I'd like to call the 'dialogue area', in our case a circular room? No one tries to shoot him anymore for some reason. Did anyone hear a 'cease fire'? Beats me.
4.He lied to you. My father is innocent' 'Is this true?' 'etc. etc.'
The big climactic fight. So, let's take maths and statistics into account for this one.
One room. One star. One end-boss. 12 bad guys.
The boss clearly states to all 12, that he's lied. Once more, beats me why. He could've answered as 'No, I am not lying. shoot him'. End of story. Our hero had no proof, no evidence, whatsoever.
Instead, he admits lying. And then tells all the rest that their 'own names had come up'.
The sad part, is that all 12 believe him.
The nice part, is that Jolie's character serves as proof of the golden world rule.
'In a group of morons, their leader outbest the rest'
5.'The End Scene'
So, we go to the end scene. And Sloan decides (once more, escapes me why as he could do so earlier and in a much more convenient manner), to kill our hero.
For being the guy who taught everyone everything they know. I find it kind of sad that he actually had to step two steps behind the poor guy, to try and kill him.
Serves him right. Gets assassinated by a bullet from 10 miles or so away.
Conclusion : You don't have to give an action movie a plot, to make it a nice action movie. If you bother with one, do put some effort in it please. It's hard to make all characters seem like geniuses, of course. But don't make them look so damned retarded. :)
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
A 'good' movie. Not a 'good' spidey
--Possible Spoilers--
Let me begin by saying that I am a spiderman fan. Even since I was a young boy about twenty years ago, I've always kept in touch with Spiderman and its various comic adaptations. More or less its had its own variations but some things remained the same, and in my honest opinion, gave our hero its unique taste as compared to other super beings. Making Spiderman more 'mortal', more 'human' in comparison to other famous heroes like Superman and Batman. Villains, were always very important to Spidey's life. Most importantly, Harry's GG and Venom were always his arch-rivals in the comics. Both due to power clashing, but also due to psychological reasons.
The reason for this small intro, is to better explain to me why this movie would be fan to watch as a 'standalone' adaptation, had we not seen the previous two spideys. I think it suffered from the same thing X3 suffered. Too much to tell, too little time, too propagandistic at times that does not befit a hero like spidey (too many messages, too many notations, too much patriotism). Worse of all, it took Spiderman life's most important characters, like MJ, Harry, and Venom and minored them to sidekick level. the movie builds, and builds, and builds up quite efficiently but then it runs out of time. And hurriedly throws everything together. Not explaining a thing about venom neutralizing spider's sense. Not a thing about the depth of Harry's confused state for Peter
(never in my knowledge did such an ending come on Harry. Instead, the two always mind-twisted one another using each one's past traumatic experiences)
Spidey's adaptation of his darker self was a bliss though, and Jona was amazing as always. Pity they didn't' give him more time.
Overall, a 6/10. Too cliché, and too shallow at certain points, but still a spiderman. And at certain moments, performances save the day.
Experiment (2005)
Mediocre
Having watched the film, and in respect to most users' comments I will try and be as easy on it as possible. The idea around which the movie's filmed, is interesting. Yet not overly original. Manchurian candidate was more or less of the same idea, with some better acting to it I might add. Nonetheless, it's always an interesting idea. I did feel a slight bonding to the characters, but not overly so. Yet for a movie where the characters hardly take the time to speak to one another other than grunt, that is an achievement. And has a lot to do with their gestures, and facial expressions. Solid 'silent' acting by the two stars, the villains of the film were kind of 'fakish' to my eyes. But the married couple seemed bond well together after a rusty start. However, the 'scary' part I must disagree with. I wasn't frightened during any of the film's moments. And I may be a hardcore thriller/horror movie fan, but I do remain jumpy or frightened if something is there to actually frighten me. This movie was more so like a...film in which you knew there'd be a twist in the plot at the movie's end, and just waited to see if your guess was right. Unfortunately for me, and the friend who watched it with me, we both were more or less right over both the twist and its nature. Not recommended for watching, unless you really want to kill an hour or two watching a film. On the bright side. It's not really that bad, it's just overly mediocre. There's many better films out there. And twice as many worse.