Only a few quick words about this one. I like Ben Stiller, he usually does a good job in comedy roles (Meet the Parents, Zoolander, Dodge Ball) . This one wasn't that funny, but with the exceptions of a few good lines and moments. Of course I loved the cameo by Darth Vader (even though he had no speaking lines, and they made him not as cool as they should have).
It's definitely a film made for families. So, if you have a family take them to see this.
In The End, I'd give this one 7/10
Stay tuned for TERMINATOR : SALVATION and next week Pixar's UP
Sunday, May 24, 2009
ANGELS & DEMONS
Ewan McGregor's character must banned together his allies in order to stop a dark enemy that threatens to unravel and destroy his powerful religion and beliefs, but he must solve the mystery of who is overshadowing them. I'm sorry, did I go watch Revenge of the Sith again...oh wait no, it was film version of ANGELS & DEMONS.
I didn't really expect much from this film. I barely remember watching the DaVINCI CODE when it came out in theaters. I only went to see this movie because of the director Ron Howard who I am a fan of, and I like Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor. Of course, I also like the idea of the fall of the Christian belief system.
But there's not much I'd like to say about this film. It had it's moments, and as a believer in science and it's foundations it's really hard to not be bias in the ideas of religion. The plot of this film is rather over dramatic, and unrealistic when it came to the church. So I don't really have a strong review about this film. It was barely entertaining and if not for Tom Hanks or Ewan McGregor I'd say this film was a flop. I think Ron Howard should stick to films like Frost/Nixon or a Beautiful Mind.
In the End, I'd give this film a 6/10
I didn't really expect much from this film. I barely remember watching the DaVINCI CODE when it came out in theaters. I only went to see this movie because of the director Ron Howard who I am a fan of, and I like Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor. Of course, I also like the idea of the fall of the Christian belief system.
But there's not much I'd like to say about this film. It had it's moments, and as a believer in science and it's foundations it's really hard to not be bias in the ideas of religion. The plot of this film is rather over dramatic, and unrealistic when it came to the church. So I don't really have a strong review about this film. It was barely entertaining and if not for Tom Hanks or Ewan McGregor I'd say this film was a flop. I think Ron Howard should stick to films like Frost/Nixon or a Beautiful Mind.
In the End, I'd give this film a 6/10
Monday, May 18, 2009
STAR TREK (2009)
Okay, I felt very dirty paying to see this movie. As a very, very faithful Star Wars fan pretty much since birth I am meant to despise and be against the Trek universe. But after seeing the trailers for it, and also being a fan of J.J.Abrams I had to concede and take time out to see this movie. And I honestly don't regret it (ouch, I felt a sharp pain in my side...must be the betrayal.)
Although I'm a devoted Star Wars fan, I'm also a major nerd and Star Trek is just another nerd movie in my opinion. The film as a whole was entertaining and definitely felt very Star Trekkie to me. The special effects were really well done, those were what really got me into wanting to see this movie. J.J. Abrams did a really good job in making this movie, much better than that weird Cloverfield movie from last year.
The actors themselves portrayed their respective characters really well. Chris Pine (who I never heard of before this movie), Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, and John Cho all did an extremely well job. They were all cheesy in their right mind but in a good entertaining way. My only two actors that bugged me in this film were Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy. To me, Quinto will always be Sylar from HEROES and I kept waiting for Spock to slice somebodies head open and take their powers. Although it's bad to characterize an actor by one role, it's really easy to see someone as that character when it's a tv show. Though, he did do a very good job as Spock it just didn't sell me like the others. And the only other issue was Nimoy's role. To me it seemed like just a plot driven role to sell more tickets and get the old fan boys in by bringing in Nimoy to play Spock. This was suppose to be a revamp of the universe, and it worked but they had to put in the original Spock too.
It was hard to review this film without being to judgmental or bias. So I'm just going to say that overall it was an entertaining movie at best. It had someone really bad and cheesy moments, but it was definitely something to look and listen to. I'd watch it again, but I probably wouldn't pay full admission price again. Do I say, not see it? Nah. I think the average movie goer and sci-fi fan would definitely enjoy it; even the average Star Wars fan too.
In the end, I give it 8/10
Although I'm a devoted Star Wars fan, I'm also a major nerd and Star Trek is just another nerd movie in my opinion. The film as a whole was entertaining and definitely felt very Star Trekkie to me. The special effects were really well done, those were what really got me into wanting to see this movie. J.J. Abrams did a really good job in making this movie, much better than that weird Cloverfield movie from last year.
The actors themselves portrayed their respective characters really well. Chris Pine (who I never heard of before this movie), Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, and John Cho all did an extremely well job. They were all cheesy in their right mind but in a good entertaining way. My only two actors that bugged me in this film were Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy. To me, Quinto will always be Sylar from HEROES and I kept waiting for Spock to slice somebodies head open and take their powers. Although it's bad to characterize an actor by one role, it's really easy to see someone as that character when it's a tv show. Though, he did do a very good job as Spock it just didn't sell me like the others. And the only other issue was Nimoy's role. To me it seemed like just a plot driven role to sell more tickets and get the old fan boys in by bringing in Nimoy to play Spock. This was suppose to be a revamp of the universe, and it worked but they had to put in the original Spock too.
It was hard to review this film without being to judgmental or bias. So I'm just going to say that overall it was an entertaining movie at best. It had someone really bad and cheesy moments, but it was definitely something to look and listen to. I'd watch it again, but I probably wouldn't pay full admission price again. Do I say, not see it? Nah. I think the average movie goer and sci-fi fan would definitely enjoy it; even the average Star Wars fan too.
In the end, I give it 8/10
X-MEN ORIGINS : WOLVERINE
Opening weekend of Summer Blockbuster Season, for the movie theaters it's the best time of the year for them. But for the movie enthusiast I claim to be, it's the 2nd best time of the year (Oscar Season being the 1st). But what better way to start Summer 2009 then with a prequel to a personal favorite X-MEN TRILOGY (okay, I don't include X3 but it's still a trilogy).
When word broke that Wolverine (aka Hugh Jackman) would be getting his own film, I couldn't be shocked. If you know comics or the X-Men franchise at all, you know Wolverine is the go to guy for the X-Universe, and a big icon in the comic industry; so it's only natural he'd get a solo title. Though I'm not that big a Wolvie fan, I use to despise him in my early days of comic book reading (HE WAS FREAKING EVERYWHERE...not that he's not these days) but over time I got over him and considered him a some what dynamic character.
If you're not knowledge to the Marvel Comic lore, then you should probably know nothing was really known about Wolverine's past until 2001 when Bill Jemas and Joe Quesada brought out a 6-part mini story called ORIGIN that revealed a lot of Wolverine's past. And that is where a good portion of the early movie comes from, and how an origin story could be crafted into the big screen.
As I said, Wolverine is quite the dynamic character and has so much back story that I doubt that this will be a stand alone Wolverine movie. But we shall see.
In the first days of the X-MEN movie, Dougray Scott was the name attached to play Wolverine, but due to time restraints he was released from the position and it was handed over to Hugh Jackman. What a great outcome. I'm not that big of a fan when it comes to Mr. Jackman (2008 People's Sexiest Man Alive) but then again I've only really seen him in the X-Films, but I do love him as Wolverine. He's not the short stack, psychopathic killing, knucklehead that avid comic readers know but he definitely gives his own twist to make a really good Wolverine. And in this solo film, he continues that tradition.
Hugh Jackman resuming as Wolverine, Liev Schrieber taking over as Sabretooth, and Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth Deadpool (who by the way will be leading his own solo DEADPOOL movie in the foreseeable future) were the saving graces of this film. Though I had no serious problems with the rest of cast accept for the replacement of Brian Cox's Stryker for Danny Huston's, those three were the best ones in the film. Schrieber is a very talent actor and a step up from the quiet, hairier Tyler Mane version of Sabretooth from the first X-MEN film. And Ryan Reynolds I felt always if ever belong in a comic book movie, it'd have to Wally West's Flash or Deadpool. Glad I'm not the only one who saw it.
With out giving away to much of the plot, I'd have to say it's fairly flaw. The throwing together of random characters from different "eras" of the mutant world didn't fit well into the developing story. With my biggest peeve being Gambit. I've loved this character since the beginning of my comic book days but putting him into this film for the sake of just having him was a mistake. And he didn't really add anything to the story as a whole accept for some flashy special effects. The build up to Wolverine joining the Weapon Plus Program and getting his adamantium wasn't exactly the best, but it worked for a good portion of it. And the ending, the ending need a good strong re-write. Once again, not going into to much detail other wise I'd be giving stuff away.
It's easy to be very critical of this film because it's based on a 30 something year old comic book character, who is still kind of new in comparison to other characters. But something the things they did in this film just so they could add characters and connect it to the first 3 films just didn't do Wolverine justice. There's a lot more they could of done, and a lot less as well. I didn't expect a film as good as X-MEN or X-MEN 2, but I was definitely more impressed with this than Brett Ratner's trash that is X-MEN 3.
Overall, I'd say an entertaining film. As I've said over and over again, as an avid fan and pretty knowledgable comic reader it doesn't work that well, but if you're looking a fun action packed film than I'd say you found one.
Because of my bias, I give it a mid 7/10.
When word broke that Wolverine (aka Hugh Jackman) would be getting his own film, I couldn't be shocked. If you know comics or the X-Men franchise at all, you know Wolverine is the go to guy for the X-Universe, and a big icon in the comic industry; so it's only natural he'd get a solo title. Though I'm not that big a Wolvie fan, I use to despise him in my early days of comic book reading (HE WAS FREAKING EVERYWHERE...not that he's not these days) but over time I got over him and considered him a some what dynamic character.
If you're not knowledge to the Marvel Comic lore, then you should probably know nothing was really known about Wolverine's past until 2001 when Bill Jemas and Joe Quesada brought out a 6-part mini story called ORIGIN that revealed a lot of Wolverine's past. And that is where a good portion of the early movie comes from, and how an origin story could be crafted into the big screen.
As I said, Wolverine is quite the dynamic character and has so much back story that I doubt that this will be a stand alone Wolverine movie. But we shall see.
In the first days of the X-MEN movie, Dougray Scott was the name attached to play Wolverine, but due to time restraints he was released from the position and it was handed over to Hugh Jackman. What a great outcome. I'm not that big of a fan when it comes to Mr. Jackman (2008 People's Sexiest Man Alive) but then again I've only really seen him in the X-Films, but I do love him as Wolverine. He's not the short stack, psychopathic killing, knucklehead that avid comic readers know but he definitely gives his own twist to make a really good Wolverine. And in this solo film, he continues that tradition.
Hugh Jackman resuming as Wolverine, Liev Schrieber taking over as Sabretooth, and Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth Deadpool (who by the way will be leading his own solo DEADPOOL movie in the foreseeable future) were the saving graces of this film. Though I had no serious problems with the rest of cast accept for the replacement of Brian Cox's Stryker for Danny Huston's, those three were the best ones in the film. Schrieber is a very talent actor and a step up from the quiet, hairier Tyler Mane version of Sabretooth from the first X-MEN film. And Ryan Reynolds I felt always if ever belong in a comic book movie, it'd have to Wally West's Flash or Deadpool. Glad I'm not the only one who saw it.
With out giving away to much of the plot, I'd have to say it's fairly flaw. The throwing together of random characters from different "eras" of the mutant world didn't fit well into the developing story. With my biggest peeve being Gambit. I've loved this character since the beginning of my comic book days but putting him into this film for the sake of just having him was a mistake. And he didn't really add anything to the story as a whole accept for some flashy special effects. The build up to Wolverine joining the Weapon Plus Program and getting his adamantium wasn't exactly the best, but it worked for a good portion of it. And the ending, the ending need a good strong re-write. Once again, not going into to much detail other wise I'd be giving stuff away.
It's easy to be very critical of this film because it's based on a 30 something year old comic book character, who is still kind of new in comparison to other characters. But something the things they did in this film just so they could add characters and connect it to the first 3 films just didn't do Wolverine justice. There's a lot more they could of done, and a lot less as well. I didn't expect a film as good as X-MEN or X-MEN 2, but I was definitely more impressed with this than Brett Ratner's trash that is X-MEN 3.
Overall, I'd say an entertaining film. As I've said over and over again, as an avid fan and pretty knowledgable comic reader it doesn't work that well, but if you're looking a fun action packed film than I'd say you found one.
Because of my bias, I give it a mid 7/10.
Way behind...
So, I had planned on writing a review for each movie I saw this year. But I've been seeing a movie every single week. And trying to find time to write one for every movie, every week is hard when you're working 40-50 hour weeks and working on other writing projects. So I'll do my best here on out; especially since it's Summer Blockbuster time. But for now, I'll just give rankings to the remaining movies I've seen so far this year:
Look out soon for the reviews to: WOLVERINE, STAR TREK, and ANGELS & DEMONS.
The first three big movies of SUMMER 2009.
- Beau
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE - 10/10
CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON - 9/10
THE READER - 9/10
FROST/NIXON - 8/10
MILK - 8/10
WATCHMEN - 8/10
TAKEN - 7/10
FIRED UP - 7/10
I LOVE YOU, MAN - 7/10
ADVENUTRELAND - 7/10
UNDERWORLD 3 - 6/10
OBSERVE AND REPORT - 6/10
PUSH - 6/10
FAST & FURIOUS - 5/10
FIGHTING - 5/10
CRANK 2 - 4/10
DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION - 4/10
STREET FIGHTER - 4/10
THE READER - 9/10
FROST/NIXON - 8/10
MILK - 8/10
WATCHMEN - 8/10
TAKEN - 7/10
FIRED UP - 7/10
I LOVE YOU, MAN - 7/10
ADVENUTRELAND - 7/10
UNDERWORLD 3 - 6/10
OBSERVE AND REPORT - 6/10
PUSH - 6/10
FAST & FURIOUS - 5/10
FIGHTING - 5/10
CRANK 2 - 4/10
DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION - 4/10
STREET FIGHTER - 4/10
Look out soon for the reviews to: WOLVERINE, STAR TREK, and ANGELS & DEMONS.
The first three big movies of SUMMER 2009.
- Beau
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