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Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
A New Frontier in the Star Wars Saga
I'm a Star Wars movie fan. I grew up in the '80s and caught the original films on video. I anticipated and enjoyed the release of the prequel trilogy. And when I sat down to watch The Force Awakens I was immediately brought back into a state of childhood wonder where heroes are common people who put aside their selfish wishes for the sake of the greater good.
This new movie beautiful, rugged, and looks lived in. Everything you see looks and feels real. There are surprises everywhere. The characters are relatable and intriguing. It's good to see the old classic characters help pass the torch.
On the whole I was very impressed. The plot itself can resemble that of A New Hope with some improvements. That doesn't bother me though. I loved it. You probably will too.
A Night to Remember (2014)
Best Intentions; Failed Execution
I know one of the actresses in this movie, so it's with a heavy heart I must say that despite every good effort she put in, it wasn't enough to salvage the rest of the production. The film is shot as a found-footage genre piece. I don't believe the crew understood what all is needed to make a film look and feel like it was shot in that style. Additionally, the storyline is too brief and unnecessarily padded out in the beginning. The sequence featuring a hide-and-seek game is almost unwatchable. (It's ten minutes of the director yelling into a dark woods with only a small flashlight illuminating trees. The cast is large but underdeveloped. Most of the hearsay conversations are either badly lit or poorly recorded . . . or both. The script should have seen a revision or two before shooting began.
Godzilla (2014)
Exceeded My Low Expectations
I qualify this review as someone who enjoys movies and critiques them on a case-by-case basis. I have a working knowledge of the original films by Toho mostly through other reviewers like James Rolfe. I never grew up with the originals, so my understanding for the phenomena of kaiju was limited.
Coming into this movie though I was anxious to see what would come of the work and devotion to the past, and I was for the most part pleased with what I saw. The portrayals of the main family in their efforts to stay in contact were well done. That storyline often carried some emotional weight that I don't often see in a summer blockbuster.
I liked the creature design on Godzilla and the M.U.T.O.s. I thought they showed true menace and were quite threatening. I only wish that I could have seen more discussion and portrayal of the titular character. Godzilla showing up halfway through a two-and-a-half-hour movie creates a bit of anxiety. And for a film that's supposed to be kicking off a new series, it really does very little to attempt to talk about the where and why of the giant lizard.
When I did get to see Godzilla though, I wasn't disappointed. All the elements that made him an intense fighting force were there made even better by grounded motion capture performance and trademark radioactive breath put to good use.
I left the theater feeling good, and that's better than I could have hoped for.
The Wolverine (2013)
A good personal tale
I've been a fair fan of the series of the whole. Even the weaker installments I thoroughly enjoyed, so my review is already weighed in favor of this film. I will say even from a critics point of view I thought it was really well done. It's not the standard comic book faire, but more of an intrinsic study of the Wolverine character. He shows a lot of depth and vulnerability in this outing, far more than previous installments. It's a risky but necessary move to see him operate on a balance challenge where he really is prone to death at any moment. The humor is matched well with the drama for an interesting viewing all the way through. All the supporting roles I found interesting as well. I really enjoyed the presence of Yukio who provided invaluable aide despite Wolverine's incessant protests. I found it nice to see his character finally develop some closure after all the time we've get to see him in all his cinematic installments.
Another Girl in a Basement: The Ultimate Experience in Clichéd Terror (2014)
A refreshing spin on a done-to-death formula
I went into this film wondering how it was going to separate itself from the rest of its kind in the genre and I was surprisingly happy to see how it turned out. As a narrative, the short film is refreshing and darkly comical. The beginning starts out as often abduction/torture scenarios are often wont to do, but then it takes a surprisingly unexpected shift in tone and story. I like the originality of the end concept. Cinematography is quite good in this short. Lighting and tone are excellent. The film does have a few moments of audio muffle that bring down its technical ranking slightly. On the whole though I certainly recommend it. Fun for the whole messed up family.
Animaniacs: The Great Edgar Hunt (2005)
Nostalgic escapism
Appreciation for this game hinge heavily on whether you're a fan of the original show. The cut scenes in particular are packed with riotous humor that people have known and loved from the '90s. I can't say for certain why this game ended up being made so long after the cancellation of the series, but I'm thankful nonetheless. It's a simple 3D platformer game where each playable character has a unique skill once you unlock it that helps complete the story 100%. There's plenty of collectibles to discover. It's not a super long game, but it's definitely a lot of fun. Most of the boss battles are easy and follow the rule of three when you're taking them on. A lot of the on-screen instructions are self-explanatory as well. "Animaniacs: The Great Edgar Hunt" follows in the footsteps of many greater games, but it's not a bad way to spend some time relaxing. The theming on each level is clever which has me coming back again and again for replayability.
Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge (1997)
Aptly made but unbalanced
My fascination for Darkstalkers comes from a very strange direction where I first learned about the characters cosplayed before I knew they were based off an anime based off a video game. I wanted to know more about the personalities that made up the Darkstalkers, and that was nowhere to be found in this series except for a handful of choice characters. Only four or five receive any decent amount of screen time and, and many of the threads never converge. As for the character of Felicia (whom I was most interested to know more about), she received about 10 minutes of focus if that. She was introduced in the first episode and acknowledged again in the third to then never again be seen. Most of the story hinged around Donovan the vampire hunter. The animation style was good, and the English dub was decent. I just wasn't happy about the focus.
Damnbulance (2012)
Intriguing look into Christian hypocrisy
This short film has a strong production value by making use of real equipment and vehicles. The locations have an organic feel to them. But above all that, the acting is really good. Terence Cover tells an interesting story about a couple of paramedics who stop following their routine training instructions as ambulance paramedics and begin trying decipher divine instruction. It opens up a vipers nest of complications that doesn't resolve until the climactic showdown and ambiguous ending. The soundtrack is subtle and fitting for the dramatic pacing. I personally enjoyed the richness of the color palette. It's obvious that it was filmed on a limited budget, but that doesn't take away from the quality of the story. I definitely recommend watching this short film.
Troy (2004)
As Good As I Could Expect
Anyone who is familiar with the famous works of Homer knows that his two greatest epics were the Iliad and the Odyssey. Troy is of course and adaptation of the former, and incidentally not my favorite.
As far as casting goes, I think the filmmakers got it right. I was certainly proud of them for getting Sean Bean as Odysseus, my favorite character in the bunch because of his intellect, cunning, and grander scale adventures in the story that follows.
Alas I knew that the movie was going to be a mess of action with some choice dialog here and there with no real understanding of who's on the side of right. After all, it was just a petty issue of jealousy that generated an onslaught of genocide. How is someone supposed to feel watching a bunch of people you know to be doomed or a horde of rivals that are unlikeable? I was really only interested in seeing Troy for the depiction of events I remember from the epic. With some artistic license, they truly got it spot on. I'm reminded of that adage, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." Whoever came up with that obviously wasn't a Trojan.
In the end I really wasn't cheering for the winning army because of their crafty maneuver to penetrate behind enemy lines. It was all-out slaughter at that point.
My final remaining hope is that through all this, I can hope to see a depiction of the Odyssey that was done as well as this. The technology and talent is certainly available.
Adventureland (2009)
Dashed My Expectations
Congratulations to Greg Mottola for dashing my expectations. I thought I was going to see a whimsical period comedy set amid the debauchery and antics of ride ops and game workers at an amusement park. Instead what I got was melodrama about teen love mixed up in several tawdry affairs which included a cast of barely enjoyable characters who all seemed quite miserable. Special recognition to the director for making party scenes and marijuana scenes boring as hell.
Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig and Ryan Reynolds were criminally underused. Their scenes were top-notch hilarious but too sparse to give credit to the movie in which they take place.
The only really good stuff took place inside the park.
I leave with this question. If you had an amusement park at your disposal, wouldn't you try to shoot as much of the movie there as possible?
Junebug (2005)
One the tip of the picket fence
3.0 out of 5 stars On the top of the picket fence, February 22, 2009 I sometimes come across movies where I am very much on the fence about whether I like them or not. Certain aspects of them tug me in both directions. I'll say firmly that the acting was top notch. The settings looked incredibly familiar. The cinematography was innovative and interesting. Unfortunately, there was nothing to tie it all together. The point of view keeps changing and at inconsistent methods. Sometimes you get to hear what certain people are talking about and then it jumps to another person or group meanwhile the first situation is still playing on. The disjoint causes feeling like I'm too a person in the house but have no control over where my body is taking me. Certain realistic issues are brought up with no explanation or closure. I'm not saying that's bad film making, because it is very representative of what I see in real life. However, that's one of the things in life that I don't enjoy very much. To me, a sad ending is a story that's been cut short. I'm disappointed by the thematic cliff that Amy Adams' Ashley is left on after her meltdown at the hospital. All we are treated to after that is an inaudible outburst over the phone to her enigmatic brooding husband. I gave the movie an honest chance, but it delivered a great set of characters with no explanations.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Not for the experienced gamer
I chose this title on a whim because my Blockbuster return deal allowed movie OR video game rentals for free. I of course have a Gamecube, so the selection was devastatingly sparse. I came across Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and figured, "What the hey!" I will vouch for the remarkable set designing and creativity when it comes to the look of the game. I was impressed by the beauty.
However, the challenges were really not too challenging and rather predictable. I had endeared to another game ran along similar lines: Animaniacs: The Great Edgar Hunt, which took me a couple days to finish. This game took me an evening and and after noon to complete.
I don't fancy myself a hardened gamer, and to complete this game so quickly, I was a bit let down. This is really more for the target audience of the Gamecube, kids; young kids! It was nice to see the sets and a bit of variety and depth, but I didn't feel challenged.
Stardust (2007)
The proof of life still in the genre of fantasy
I'm particular about movies depending on the very mood that I exhibit at any given time, but this film caught me completely off guard in its capability for both originality and level of surprise.
After The Lord of the Rings, I thought that perhaps all we had to look forward to in the fantasy genre was for the Harry Potter series to finish its run. I'd seen several attempts of new efforts here and there that simply failed to captivate me.
What held me from the very start was the well-spoken narration by Ian McKellen. From there on it just became more and more charming to behold with each set and character introduction. The whimsy was light and delightful.
There were the archetypes of old, but they were merely touched upon, not hammered upon in great detail. The story was very complicated, yet simple in concept. I thought that the beauty of the story telling was that everyone knew what actually should happen to the main character which was a direct contradiction to his main goal.
I thought it was remarkable that the story held no restraint in eliminating characters. It was quite brutal yet understandable.
The film, to me, was all about true beauty of soul. So many characters were absolutely remarkable for their own inner radiance. The quality of them helped to turn the tale in surprising new directions that really kept the pace exciting.
The ending surprised me above all things most. I'm prone to finding tears of sorrow in movies, but rarely to tears of happiness burst free. In the last moment of the movie, I wept. I praise Stardust for keeping fantasy alive and wonderful. This film is a blissful escape, and a very charming one.
Silent Hill (2006)
Perfect rendition, but then some
A friend of mine got me into the excitement of watching her boyfriend play the Silent Hill games. We can't play them ourselves because we quite frankly are too intimidated and scared to. However we enjoy the sense of being freaked out of our minds by the neurological horror brought forth by them and find the stories in them fresh and innovative.
To be sure, discovering that a movie was being made had us all ecstatic but suspicious. We're not idiots to the notion that video games are hardly ever represented properly on the big screen as stand-alone features. Nevertheless, we counted down the months and days until the opening of this picture.
When we finally got to see it, the time was 20 minutes past midnight, so the children were sure to be at home. We only had a few annoying college doofs that probably passed the joint around before the show.
But thankfully, the show really delivered on everything that made the games so engrossing.
The set and creature design was spot on. I can't begin to explain to you how disturbing it was to see how the famous creatures from games one and two walked. Maps, clues, keys and puzzles were part of the story as she should have been. Generally, the entire first two thirds of the movie were going in a wonderfully dank and depressing direction. My heart sank every time the town siren sounded.
Despite having worries about the Christopher Da Silva scenes as being convoluted and unnecessary, I didn't have issues with them. They showed an interesting contrast between Silent Hill experiences for different people.
For me, what altered the mood to a less engrossing level was upping the level of inhabitants in the town from four to about 40. The pay off in the end was worth it, but seeing the rise of human element seemed to negate most of the terror. Additionally, I felt that the fate of one of the key characters was a trifle unnecessary to show in disgusting detail. The time could have been spent better on more monster confrontations.
At the end of all things, I think that the depiction was horrifically excellent. Aside from masses which are handled in a strangely cathartic manner, I'd say that the movie was finished OK. Though if a director's cut is floating around in the editing room, I'd certainly want to wait up for that one instead. For some, two hours was too long of a movie. I was quite frankly surprised to see it end so quickly.
It's still the best game to film adaptation, but it doesn't work well as a solitary piece. The doors are left wide open for sequels thankfully. Whether the James Sunderland or the Heather Morris story lines are to be explored remain unanswered, but fans in general will really like what they see in this movie.
And as for poor acting, the characters don't act any worse than the voices of the characters in the games.
Maburaho (2003)
My first love in anime!
I have always been a fan of live action film. Only occasionally will I sit down to appreciate a comedic or adventuresome cartoon. To me, anime became popular if it involved the act of collecting and battling. It was not until one day I noticed some cover art for Maburaho that I was intrigued by this genre.
And I am pleased to say that this has altered my opinion of anime altogether. It wasn't the medium that I disliked, but the various plots that I had seen before that caused me to dismiss it.
The story revolves around a young adult named Kazuki Shikimori. He feels downtrodden because his magic count is depressingly low compared to his peers at a magic-user's school. Then one day he finds himself being sought after by three gorgeous classmates. Later he discovers that he is a critical heir in a long line of famous magicians, and that his children would most likely become extremely powerful magic users, thus the reason for his three tagalongs.
The show has great moments of comedy, tenderness and suspense. I watched the first four episodes and was pleasantly surprised. I can't wait to see how the rest of it turns out. I have high hopes for it though.