2010 Movie Wrap Up

Here are all the movies i have seen in theatres this year [did not include movies i have seen on DVD, tv, etc. JUST in theatres] - these are in order of when i saw them with the date i saw them:

Daybreakers 1/8/10
Avatar 1/12/10
Percy Jackson and the Olympians 2/15/2010
The Crazies 2/28/2010
How To Train Your Dragon *saw it in march, lost ticket stub*
The Losers 4/24/2010
Kick Ass 4/25/2010
Nightmare on Elm Street 4/30/2010
Iron Man 2 5/8/2010
Splice 6/5/2010
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time 6/5/2010
The Karate Kid 6/12/2010
Toy Story 3 6/22/2010
Eclipse 6/30/1010 *midnight showing*
Salt 7/23/2010
Inception 7/16/2010
Inception 7/18/2010
Scott Pilgrim vs The World 8/13/2010
The Expendables 8/14/2010
Takers 8/28/2010
Resident Evil 3D *saw in september. lost ticket stub*
Let Me In 10/16/2010
Red 10/16/2010
Saw 3D 10/29/2010
For Colored Girls 11/11/2010
Skyline 11/13/2010
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 11/19/2010 *midnight showing*
Tron Legacy 3D 12/19/2010

BEST OF THE BEST
*excluding Avatar because it is a 2009 movie.

Best Musical Score: Inception
Best Special Effects: Tron
Worst Movie: Skyline
Most People In a Theatre: Eclipse
Biggest Surprise: Let Me In
Funnest Movie: tie between The Losers and Red
Biggest Dissapointment: Skyline
Geekiest Movie: Scott Pilgrim
Strangest Movie: Splice
Cutest Movie: How To Train Your Dragon
Saddest Movie: For Colored Girls
Best 3D: out of the ones i saw, Tron. I am not that big a fan of 3D, however.

Top 5 Movies:
Inception
Tron Legacy
Scott Pilgrim
HTTYD
Let Me In
*excluded Eclipse and HP...wanted to choose things not in such a long series.

I still plan to see Black Swan and True Grit, but I am unsure if i will be able to see them in 2010. I shall try :) I enjoyed going to see a lot of movies this year and hope that i will be able to start reviewing more and getting some of them published

The Walking Dead - Series [so far]

With one episode left of AMC's pretty awesome adaption of a comic book, The Walking Dead is shaping up to be a really amazing and captivating series. Episode 5 was perhaps the most emotionally charged episode the series has had. From start to finish it was packed full of moments that stood out. After what I thought was the biggest mistake of the season in episode 4 - the revealing of a lot more survivors then Rick and company - episode 5 clearly redeemed the series in a way that i felt was very successful.

The dichotomy between human versus zombie is not the key focus of this series which is steadily proven as human versus human becomes more clear. Shane plotting to kill Rick in the woods was a shining moment, but there have been many throughout the five episodes that have aired.

But the battle for retaining humanity does not mean the zombies take a back seat. The series meshes all of this very well together. There is still that constant threat of "Walkers" but also the threat of your fellow survivors.

AMC's The Walking Dead has already strayed from the comic book in several ways (very successful ways for the most part) so it is certainly going to be interesting to see where the series goes in it's next season. I will certainly be watching.

Skyline Does Not Deliver

Let’s just be blunt - Skyline was a direct to DVD movie with an exceedingly large special effects budget. The movie probably should not have been on the big screen at theatres across the country.
There have been many movies that showcased the battle for mankind against some extraterrestrial threat. Skyline barely compares to any of them. A large portion of the movie is spent in a high-rise penthouse and any attempt to escape is thwarted by the gigantic alien creatures. Humans can not win. Such a depressing concept, but it has quite the potential. This movie, however, did not use any of the potential that it had. Instead, we get bumbling humans that are impossible to identify with and seem to make stupid decisions one after the other.
One thing the movie has going for it, however, is it’s special effects. Despite the horribly boring story, the blue light the aliens generate and the aliens themselves are a terrifying, haunting beauty. From the flying aliens with multiple tentacles and brain snatching capabilities, to the monstrous walking aliens that leave destruction in their wake, to the massive regenerating spaceships, if there is one think Skyline got right it was their aliens. The controversy* surrounding these visual effects is almost forgivable by seeing them brightly on the big screen.
For such a “short” movie, clocking in at about 100 minutes, it seemed incredibly long and drawn out. As stated before, most of it took place in and around the penthouse which made the entire thing seem to stretch on for hours. A lot of the action sequences were even quite dull, only one scene seems to have actually been interesting.
This review is shorter then intended, but there honestly is nothing else to say about the movie. It was very simple, very boring, and very disappointing. Expectations were high for another, good alien invasion film. Skyline did not deliver and perhaps we better put our faith in the other, Los Angeles based alien movie releasing early next year.

*It is reported that Sony Pictures Entertainment is going to sue the directors of Skyline and Hydralux films because Sony paid Hydralux to create visual effects for Battle: Los Angeles and were not aware they were also creating the visual effects for the similar movie, Skyline.

Seventh Film is Exhilarating - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

It is the beginning of the end. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is the seventh film in the Harry Potter series, bringing the events of J.K. Rowling’s last book to the big screen. After seeing the film and remember the outrage of the film being split - with many thinking Warner Brother’s was milking fans of money - the decision to have two separate films was a great choice. Now, instead of heavily rushed films like Order of the Phoenix and Half Blood Prince, viewers have a film incredibly rich with moments and scenes straight from the book making this the best Potter film out of all of them.
It is dark times. Voldemort is particularly powerful, taking over a great deal of aspects of the Wizarding and Muggle world alike. He dishes out Avada Kedavra curses like he’s handing out candy. He is terrifying, seemingly even making his own followers fear him which is evidence in the Malfoy family.
However, The Chosen One - Harry Potter - knows how to make the formidable Voldemort vulnerable again. That is why he and his two best friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, go on a quest to find the Horcuxes - objects that hold a piece of Voldemort’s nasty soul.
Deathly Hallows is a slow start to the epic finale of the movies, as it probably should be since it is setting up for the big showdown in Part 2. The dark tone of the movie allows viewers to feel the heavy emotion that is showing on screen. Even happy occasions are ruined by Death Eaters and we find the trio on the run, avoiding getting themselves killed. Daniel Radcliff, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint deliver outstanding performances. Of course, they have had ten years to perfect their roles as the infamous trio. Radcliff said they gave it all they got for their last time playing these characters. It shows.
The movie is not all doom and gloom, however. The juxtaposition of the light hearted moments make the film even more believable, makes the audience feel even more connected to these characters. Use of comedic moments, either with dialogue or magical accidents, provide a nice break from the hardcore atmosphere of the impending doom of the Wizarding world. Fred and George, the hilarious pair of Weasley twins, always provide a laugh or two. Deathly Hallows allows others to provide some chuckles including Fleur Delacour/Weasley turned into a bra-wearing Harry via Polyjuice Potion.
Let’s talk about magic as it is not a Harry Potter movie without magic. Deathly Hallows does not have as much magic as the past films and magic is certainly not the focus of the movie. However the scenes in which use a great deal of magic, such as the chase scene near the beginning and the incredibly swirling mass of Voldemort’s soul coming out of the locket Horcrux, are very subtle yet effective moments that says “Hey, we know this is a fantasy, magical movie. Here’s your magic.”
Exhilarating. That is what Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was. Although probably the slower of the two movies, Part 1 was still a great ride for the audience. The movie is probably more suited for those who have been devoted to reading the books or a fan of all the movies, as this particular movie jumps right into the thick of things instead of explaining past events. And if you have not been apart of this phenomenon in some way, then why not? Pick up Sorcerer’s Stone and get started. You do not want to miss being apart of this.

The End is Near - Harry Potter's finale brings memories

I was twelve years old when I first read The Sorcerer's Stone. My good friend and partner-in-geeky-crime presented me with the book when we should have been listening to our teacher. I begin reading it right there in class - the rest is history as they say.

Now, nearly twelve years later, the series still enchants me and its millions of other fans across the world. From the books to the movies to the video games to the toys to the shiny new amusement park, Harry Potter is a phenomenon to be reckoned with.

And now the final movies are being release.

On November 19th, Part One of what is sure to be an amazingly accurate and action-packed finale begins. Deathly Hallows has Harry and company on the run from the powerful and intense Lord Voldemort. Part 1 will not show their final showdown, but it will not be a snooze. The first 24 chapters of the book is packed with situations and settings ranging from fight scenes on broomsticks to weddings to emotional deaths. Part 1 is sure to not dissapoint.

I am devoting the entire week to Harry.
November 15 - watching Sorceror's Stone and Chamber of Secrets
November 16 - watching Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire
November 17 - watching Order of the Phoniex and Half Blood Prince
November 18 - relaxing all day, taking an after noon nap, and going to a midnight release of Deathly Hallows Part 1!!!!
November 19 - possibly seeing the movie again with sane people who do not go to midnight releases

There are plenty of things I have left to do in this fandom, like visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida, but this movie brings tears. What has been twelve years of my life all comes down to seeing the seventh book come alive on the screen. It's incredibly, hauntingly beautiful, and I can not wait till midnight strikes on the 19th.

Black Rock Shooter Finally Releases

Already captivating many fans way before it was an actual anime, Black★Rock Shooter finally released it’s OVA in late July after pushing the release date back from “Spring 2010”. Spawning from the growing popularity of the singing synthesizer, Vocaloid, Black★Rock Shooter started out as a character design by the artist Huke and then Ryo of the group Supercell was inspired by the artwork. His inspiration caused the two to collaborate and work on a music video for character, using vocals from Miku Hastune of Vocaloid fame.

movie review - Explosive Manilness

If ever there was a manly man movie that grew hair on the chest of everyone in the audience - male or female - it is The Expendables.

The movie is excellent for what it is - putting together a dream cast of action stars in one over-the-top, balls-to-the-wall action flick with explosions, killing, guns, and knives. Whether or not the story makes sense is up to the viewer, but we’ll get to that. Let’s talk about that cast.

Movie Review - Fighting Evil Exes

Whether you hate him or love him, Michael Cera is quite good at playing some awkward teen in love. The film adaptation of a comic book, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World opened to a very disappointing weekend while the big name action movie took the top spot. Even still, the movie has garnered an irrevocable cult following amongst geeks, for which the movie seemed heavily marketed towards.

Punched in the Face - Preview of Sucker Punch

I can not exactly remember when I heard of Zack Snyder’s latest creation. All I know is that it excited me beyond anything…and as more information comes about the film which debuts in March, I can not stop grinning.

The story goes a little something like this:

What's in a Name?

A lot.
A name sets the tone. It can tell people what to expect. It can excite, cause interest, and much more.

The name for this blog has been a stand-in till I thought of something better. And I think I have.

I shall now be known as The Cinema Diva.

It makes me think of old Hollywood glam and sparkles and crown motifs. I absolutely love it! It sounds rather girly, but girly should have been my birth name. I've got a photoshoot idea for the banner I hope to create for this blog. Can't wait till I finally get to take the pictures.

Innocent Until Proven Guilty - Salt Review

“The spy’s name is Salt”
“My name is Salt.”
“Then you are a Russian Spy”

Releasing on July 23rd, Angelina Jolie’s latest action movie, Salt, is about a woman accused of being a Russian spy within the CIA. What unfolds after an intense opening scene is a cat-and-mouse game that keeps the audience guessing about the outcome. Jolie is not new to the action game as she has done plenty of those in her career. Salt is a typical movie, unremarkable and not very memorable. It toys with it’s audience - which is good and bad.
It is good because it keeps you on your toes, having you guessing and then revealing something completely different. It is bad because, well, some of the time your guesses are correct. Things start becoming predictable and that is never a good thing.
The role of Evelyn Salt was originally written for a male actor - Tom Cruise. He bailed out of the project after feeling Edwin Salt was too close to Ethan Hunt, the protagonist for Cruise’s best series Mission Impossible.
That’s cool.
There are a lot of gender swapping stories in the history of film when parts designed for males were changed to be female.
What is not cool is that it does not seem anything was changed, but the gender. It did not seem as if any of the dialogue, action, or emotions were being transferred to a female role. Why does it matter? Because I would have liked to have seen this role transformed to fit Jolie and not Jolie try and fit this role. She did not fail at this task, but I do not think it was all too well. Maybe it was my pre-known knowledge the part was originally written for a male that caused me to feel this way, but I do.
Jolie herself has reported in saying she thinks the gender swapping improved the story (in an Entertainment Weekly from April 2010) and that it makes it “more emotionally complex and physically meaner” and that “female action heroes can be just as badass as their male counterparts.” I think Jolie has proved this in many other ways - in many of her other films - but just not Salt.
With that aside, the movie was still enjoyable. There were scenes that wretched at the heart - like the opening - and they certainly did not hold back on the violence that Evelyn Salt went through. There was some shoddy camerawork a lot of times in the film causing some of the action to be difficult to follow as the camera shook.
The ending left much to be desired from the film. I wish there was a more conclusive ending because, with what we were given, there were many questions left that had not fully been answered making it quite difficult to feel very satisfied. Cliffhangers are good, but only when done well.
Salt was a decent film. Just don’t expect it to live up to Angelina Jolie’s prior performances.

Amazing New Series: Avatar The Legend of Korra

There has been speculation that a new Avatar series would be happening.

Speculate no more.

It was just announced that Avatar: The Legend of Korra is now a go and we can expect to see it sometime next year. This is a blast of fresh air after the incredibly failure of a live action movie, The Last Airbender. Now, fans can rejoice that we have a new series to look forward too.

Here's what we know about Avatar: The Legend of Korra so far:

Beyond the Gate - The End of Fullmetal Alchemist

Watching the first episode of Fullmetal Alchemist in highschool was - for sake of sounding overly cheesy - a brillant and amazing expierence. I was pulled into its wondrous world of alchemy with rules and loved all the characters. The tragic tale and adventure of brothers Alphonse and Edward Elric moved me.

Now, it's over.

The original 2003 series ended at 52 episodes {and also a movie) while the recent 2009 series ended at 64. The manga is also over.

It's over.

Edward and Alphonse Adventure is over.

Excuse me, I think I need a tissue.



Fullmetal Alchemist was a wonderful, well-rounded anime series - a series any anime fan should love to watch. Regardless of whether you watched and became a die hard fan, casually watched, or did not watch at all (<- wait, WHY!?), Fullmetal Alchemist is the stuff of animated dreams. For starters, Alchemy has rules. Therefore, the series was already realistically grounded even though alchemy itself is not realistic. Alchemists are not superheros who have a weakness, they are extrodinary humans bound by rules that have dire consequences. Of course there is a way to bend these rules, but, even then, choose to bend those rules can be downright evil.

There is also the wonderful cast of characters in the series. We have are main two characters, Edward and Al, who have lost parts (or all) of their bodies trying to bend those alchemic rules. There is also several other characters that stand out in the series including Roy Mustang, Winry Rockbell, Major Armstrong, and the villians, Homunculi, named after the seven deadly sins.

I certainly can not forget the amazing animation that both series have. Of course Brotherhood, the recent 2009 series, is "better" in terms of animation because it's newer, but both animated series offer brilliant sequences - especially any scene using alchemy.

The musical score throughout the series is captivating. I personally loved all the openings and endings.

The 2003 follows a path of its own while the 2009 follows the manga very closely. After having seen the 2009 series in completion, i simply love it more. The twists and turns, the brilliant animation, the fighting scenes, the subplots, the complexity. Its a better series. That does not mean the 2003 series was not brilliant in its own way! It's just that the 2009 series has cemented Fullmetal Alchemist to be one of the favorites!

First Solid Movie of the SUMMER - Inception

*spoiler free!*

Sitting here in the food court, I wonder if I'm dreaming. Are all these people projections of my mind? If I tip this chair over will I jolt awake? Or am I took heavily sedated and it won't work?

Was that entire movie a dream?

Inception clearly blew my mind. The concept of the movie was remarkably fascinating. Dreams are intimate thoughts our mind conjures up. Interfering with dreams seems very invasive and that is just one of the themes this multi-layered movie presents.

The acting was superb. The most surprising performance coming from Ellen Page, or Juno as you probably know her by. She holds her own amongst people that have been at this acting game far longer then she - and she does it well.

Visuals and the musical score accompanied the story and action expertly. I would not expect less from the likes of Christopher Nolan, the director who has done such films like The Dark Knight, The Prestige, and Memento.

After such a lackluster summer of movies, Inception has redeemed my faith in the industry. Not all movies have to be remakes or sequels to be absolutely brilliant.

to show or not to show

I wrote an entry about how they were not going to show Bella's very graphic birth scene in the newest installment of the movie, Breaking Dawn. Now, apparently, the screenwriter is saying that she would like to show it - just less graphic of course.

This is one of those things I guess we just have to wait and see...

H.O.T.D bites into Summer Anime

Highschool of the Dead recently released and boy is it thrilling.

It's plotline is simple: (taken from WIKI) The world is over taken with a very deadly disease that turns humans into zombies. In Japan, several students of Fujimi High School, and the school nurse, band together to survive the present apocalypse. The story follows Takashi Komuro, one of the students who survived in the initial outbreak.

So, what makes this so different from other zombie shows?
Well...nothing really.

Movie Preview - Inception

I'll try not to talk about Inception too much, but I'm very excited for the movie:

http://movies.ign.com/articles/110/1103912p1.html

IGN just wrote an amazing, pretty spoiler-free review about the movie. They went as far to call it "Nolan's masterpiece". I'm a sucker for movies that have multiple layers or probably confuse the heck out of people - took me 3 times to get Prestige and now it's my favorite movie ever. However, I do not think a standard movie audience wants to be confused while watching a movie. Inception, however, seems to have this beautiful and amazing dream sequences that will hopefully hold someone's attention - that and the main story line. There seems to be sub-plots weaved throughout which always makes me happy.

I'm definitely excited.

Summer slump

As the summer treads onward and movies are being released steadily, I find myself worrying about the movie industry. while I've found enjoyment and solace in sitting in a theatre week after week, no movie released this summer has really been incredible.

Mostly, this summer has been stacked with sequeals. This probably contributes to the high numbers, but, as a movie fan, I really want something that will WOW me.

Inception might do that.

I love Nolan. Two of his movies make my top 5 list (The Prestige is my absolute favorite movie and I love The Dark Knight). This probably makes me automatically love Inception, but others need to love it too.

The movie seems genius to me and I hope I'm not dissapointed. I love the concept, captivating ads, and awesome trailer. Surely, this movie will save this summer from the movie slump.

It has too.

July 4 update!

Happy Independence Day!

I have quite the few articles coming up. Tomorrow I will review The Twilight Saga Eclipse and also the weekend box office numbers.

Very soon I'll do a preview on the new Nolan film, Inception! Leading up to the release of Salt, I will taking a look at some female action stars and analyzing their roles.

All of this will happen...if I make it happen. =/

Please spread the word about this blog if you like it. I'm going to try and post more often if I get 10 followers by August!

before i review it...

...I just had an amazing night! All last week I made my sister and I some Eclipse shirts to wear to the midnight showing. My friend was throwing a movie release party so - after a rather intense and lengthy thunderstorm - we went to the party. She had amazing decorations in the resturant and nearly everyone had on Twilight shirts or were dressed up. We watched New Moon while playing a trivia game of the first two movies. I knew most of the answers, but some questions were hard! I did win a Team Jacob tote bag (which I'm using now!) and my sister won a keychain. After the party, we went to the theatre. Wasn't much going on there except a crowd, of course.

My night was amazing mainly because I got to hang with my friends that are here in South Carolina. I don't have many friends and I find it hard to let people into my life after being hurt by people. So I am glad to have had this night!

Review tomorrow if I'm up to it

Movie Review: Toy Story 3

Nostalgic. There's really no other way to describe the recent and final installment of the Toy Story franchise. It has been 15 years since the story of a couple of toys belonging to a kid named Andy captured the hearts of many.

Now, Andy is off to college and the fate of the toys is questionable.

What follows is a truly captivating, heart wrenching, entertaining journey. I was certainly emotional the entire time as the movie kept me on the edge of my seat.

The movie seemed very adult, at least more adult then other Pixar films. Disney/Pixar has seemingly (in my opinion) been moving towards themes that can certainly keep an adult interesting (such as the theme of love and loss in Up). Toy Story 3's main theme is certainly the strange stage between being a kid and growing up. Any adult can relate to this.

Although the movie will be something great for adults, some of the scenes may confuse children and even scare them. I still think the rest of the movie despite these few intense scenes.

Toy Story 3 is a must see movie. It holds the charm of the other two and is an amazing end of the franchise.

Censoring should be BANNED

SPOILERS! HUGE MEGA SPOILERS!
I know, another Twilight related article, but even if you are not a fan you have to admit the franchise is HUGE. Also, you probably do not like censorship so this article might be interesting to you.

After the announcement that Breaking Dawn would be split into two films, director of the films, Melissa Rosenburg did an interview with the LA Time talking about directing the movie...and how she is going to censor it.


There are many great (and horrible...) things about Breaking Dawn that wrap up the series nicely. Bella finally loses her virginity to Edward, leaving her covered in bruises becasue of his strength, but also making her have sex every other honeymoon scene with him. This results in her getting pregnant with the half vampire Renesmee Cullen. The birth scene is rather violent as the ambiotic sac holding the child is made of vampire skin. Edward eventually has to use his teeth to tear through the sac. If that is not strange enough, the weird shapeshifting "imprinting" phenomenon finally happens. Jacob see's Renesmee and imprints on her. Yeeeah...weird.

for a very detailed description of the birth scene, I suggest going here.

But, guess what, fans will never get to see that. Fans will not see the birth scene. The director will leave it out so she can keep the film in the PG-13 demographic. While I understand this choice, it quite infuriates me. Did these teenagers not read the book? Of course they did! So imagining in their head and seeing it on screen are different? I can see if they director decided to not have the scene be so graphic because, lets face it, there is a LOT of blood in that scene. And Edward using his teeth to tear the sac? Yeah, gross. Taking the scene out completely almost makes me want to boycott the films. I can not see the story working without it. It's a major turning point because it also is when Bella become a vampire, something we have known her to want since the first book.

Censorship is horrible in all manners of media. This just seems downright absurd.

Pixar a THIEF!?

I was browsing /Film as I so often do and happened upon another Pixar related article. This article talks about a French short film, Above then Beyond, that could have inspired Disney/Pixar's film Up. After reading the article and comments, this is what my conclusion.


There is not a shadow of a doubt in my mind that Pixar was inspired by the film and seemingly borrowed elements - maybe even direct screen-by-screen shots - for their film, Up. I do not, however, think this constitutes as blantant "stealing".

After reading Sciretta's - the article writer - timeline of the two films (as far as when things were actually published so to speak), it seems Above and Beyond was out long enough for Pixar to see it and get inspired from it. The students, or company, who did the film even have a partnership with Pixar.

While I do not think any idea is an original idea and most certainly not the idea of tying balloons to an object to fly away, i'm a little let down by Pixar from borrowing so many screen-by-screens from the French short film. That sequence in Up was my favorite part and, although the French film's cimentography and such do not tickle my fancy, they still seemed to have done it first. It does not make me like Up any less, but I'm just disapointed that my favorite part was heavily inspired by something else. Considering I thought the movie dragged at so many points after that, I am let down even further.

It seems that both Disney and Pixar draw heavily from other things. That does not make either any less of an amazing coporation for entertainment and film. As a fan, I just wish they were a bit careful about how they put their inspiration into their films. I am sure not many people knew about Above then Beyond - I know I did not prior to seeing it on /Film - but I really do wish Pixar would have mentioned being inspired by it. It does make them look incredibly like theives for not saying they were, especially after some of the comments Pixar made that seem contradictory to each other.

What makes a GOOD film?

After reading this article on /Film - my favorite film blog - and the comments on the article, it got me to thinking about what exactly makes a good film. While I believe the Toy Story franchise is an amazing franchise, I still believe people are entitled to their own opinions about films. With saying that, I do not think anyone should bash a film just because they did not like it. This White guy is apparently and so OBVIOUSLY a troll as he puts down all films that a lot of people like and praises those a lot of people do not like. If that does not spell T-R-O-L-L then it needs to get redefined. I do not agree that every Pixar film is golden and amazing, I still think give a film credit where credit is due.

And the commentors can be the worse. I try not to take offense when a film I love is criticized immensely (which is why I try not to review films of franchises that I am heavily a fan in), but sometimes it is hard to do so when so many derogatory words have been chosen to be used - someone refered to Harry Potter as a "wankfest" in the comments. Whats up with THAT?

These days, too many people are quick to bash something. I see this in the film world and the anime world. If something gets too popular in someone's opinion then some people just HAVE to go against the grain and hate it. That seems life a very sad like when you have to be antagonistic about everything.

With these people out there, the question of what even makes a good film becomes blurred. Everyone has a differing opinion in what makes a good film, but my key ideal would be that the film is ENTERTAINING. That's what a films are: entertainment. So, PERSONALLLY, if a film can keep my interest despite all the flaws, i still find it GOOD. It may not win awards, but it wins my heart.

Movies that excite me: The Last Airbender

*i was going to provide pretty pictures and handy links, but I decided to write this from my phone. Gotta love a Blackberry

Despite the fact this movie should have been called Avatar except the fact some huge movie about huge blue aliens took the name, The Last Airbender is based on a highly popular and amazing Nickelodeon cartoon. The series ended in 2008 and consists of series refered to as Books and the episodes are Chapters.

The tale follows Aang, the last of his kind and the Avatar, and the brother/sister pair of Sokka and Katara. They are in a world where the elements - water, earth, fire, and air - can be "bent" by certain people who have the innate ability to do so. The firebending nation is out to rule the world and Aang, the avatar who can bend all the elements, is supposedly the only one who can stop him.

That's the basic story. There are so many layers to the Avatar world that make the series very successful.

When a movie was announced, fans got antsy. They wanted this done, but they wanted it done right. M Knight Shamalan is the director and many people are still worried this movie will not give justice to the series. When actors were being chosen, fans were quite upset as many white actors were rumored to have been chosen when the Avatar world has characters who clearly are not white. Petitions exploded on the internet and so did communities against the moviemakers (such as aang_aint_white on Livejournal)

So, what do I think? I love Avatar...a lot. It is one of my favorite animated series ever. I was worried about the movie. Very worried. I still am quite worried that this will not live up to my expectations, but that is the problem with movie goers these days. They judge movies too harshly. From what I have seen in the trailer, the movie will be taking the entire season 1 (which takes place in the Water tribe area of the Avatar world) and it looks darn good. The bending looks fantastic and I can not help but love the cute kid who will be Aang.

I will be at this movie. I will even be wearing a costume. I'm excited.

Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) - Nintendo Stole the Show

Every year, the gaming world turns to E3 to find out what the latest in gaming will be for the coming year. The only thing last year’s show did for me was say Final Fantasy 13 would be released on the Xbox 360 - a marvelous announcement indeed! This year, I was thrilled the entire show as my eyes stayed glued to G4’s coverage and my constantly updated twitter feed.

Jaden Smith Interview - The Karate Kid

In the recent issue of Ebony magazine, Adrienne Samuels Gibbs conducted an interview with 11 year old Jaden Smith, son of remarkable Will Smith and Jada Pinkett- Smith. Here is the interview:

Gibbs: Why did you take on the challenge of The Karate Kid?
Smith: Well, I’ve always really been interested in the martial arts. I started taking karate when I was 3. So when my dad mentioned the idea to remake the movie, theres no way I was going to pass that up! And the story is really great. Its inspired by the original film, but different. In this one, I play Dre Parker. He’s a cool kid, but he has to move from his home in Detroit when his mom gets a job in China.

Book Review: The Second Short Life of Bree Tanner

Stephanie Meyer got absolutely lucky to come up with Twilight. She wrote the first book quickly. It got published quickly. Such a success story that all authors dream of.

Recently she released a novella to accompany her third, and my favorite, book in the series. Eclipse. This short book took a very minor newborn vampire and formed a story around her.

That was Meyer's mistake.

Meyer may have cared about this story, but its quite impossible for anyone else to care. Bree lacks a certain charm that Bella does. Her male counterpart, Diego, does not offer dashing, romantic escapades like Edward. Of course the four characters could not be compared, but its difficult to not too.

The writing seems rather lazy, atleast lazier then the Twilight saga and Meyer's other novel, "The Host". The words are quite simple and there are not many, if any at all, elaborate sentence constructions that I like Meyer for.

The Second Short Life of Bree Tanner released in the same month as the new movie, Eclipse. That would have been a clever ploy if it had been done after the movie instead of before. Maybe then, someone would have actually cared about Bree Tanner enough to like this novella.

Movie Review - The Karate Kid

I've been around martial arts my entire life. My father is a karate instructor and so are his two brothers. I've taken karate before and it still runs in my family. I've been to tournaments my whole life and have seen some amazing competitors.

So it was only natural that we went to see The Karate Kid, remake of the 1984 original, as a family.

This movie was an excellent, solid remake. It was highly entertaining and the training montage would even give Rocky a run for his money. Jaden Smith certainly proved himself as an actor, something he has not had an oppurtunity to do in his past films. The movie ran the gauntlet of emotions - from fear to anger to sadness to joy - and Jaden did not miss a beat. When he needed to cry, he did. When he needed to crack some classic Smith wit, he did.

Jackie Chan was spectacular as well. But he's Jackie effin Chan...what else can be expected?

The story progressed very well, but the characters outside of Jaden/Dre's training bubble were not very well developed. I'm not sure if it really mattered, however.

Very good movie. Go see it.

Breaking Dawn. Two movies.

Breaking Dawn, the forth and final book in Stephanie Meyer's Twilight saga, will now be split into two films, the first being released in November of 2011.

This whole scenario seems oddly familiar when the final book of Harry Potter had been split into two films. Is this a way to gain more money from the hordes of fans both franchises have or are they really just dedicated to giving the finale of each work as much dedication as needed?

Yes and no.

While the seventh Harry Potter book seems to need two films to cover the sheer amount of action, story, and character development that the book has, Breaking Dawn seems just the opposite. There does not seem to be any need for the two films as the book does not have much to offer. The basic story is simple and it may be a bit obvious as to where the split would occur, which may mean no Vampire Bella in the first film. Breaking Dawn was a very weak ending to the series, reading like a gigantic epiloque then an actual end. Its going to be very interesting to see what they can possible pack into two films with very little - it seems - to work with.

Twilight: Eclipse (the TRUE ending to the series) releases on June 30th. I'll be at a midnight showing after a release party with friends.

[Also, I'd like to note that Harry Potter and Twlight seem to trade off release months. Eclipse is June this year, HP is Nov this year. They seem to switch off next year. Maybe they do not want to step on each others toes. A pretty smart move]

This Weekend in Movies

I'll be seeing The A-Team tomorrow and The Karate Kid on Saturday.

Born in 1987, neither of these remakes' original sources are fresh in my mind which is - in my opinion - good because I can go in with no preconcieved notions. My boyfriend, a very big fan of A Team and Mr. T, will be unable to accompany me to the movie so I will try to read up a little on the A Team tonight, just to get a feel of what fans loved about the show.

My family will be accompaning me to see The Karate Kid or, as I affectionately call it, The Kung-Fu Kid. Our family business seems to be karate. My father and two uncles have been Karate instructors all my life. They even own a Dojo here in town. It's my dad's idea to go see this movie and I happily oblige. The trailer's look entertaining for this movie and Jaden Smith is adorable.

I also owe this blog a Prince of Persia review. I loved that movie so much.

Awards Show - MTV Movie Awards

This will quite possibly be my last year watching the MTV movie awards.

While I like to watch as many awards shows as I can possible stand - especially ones related to movies - the MTV awards show just does not seem to be to my liking. Typically, its the winners of awards that seems to make me roll my eyes. Even last year i made an entry about these dissapointing awards: http://jessichan99.livejournal.com/44139.html

Viewers can cast votes on MTV's site or through text message of who they want to win. Not just one vote...multiple votes. The awards should have a definent name change to something along the lines of a Viewers Choice awards. That would probably make me feel better since I do NOT think winners are chosen based on the content of their films or acting, but on how many fangirls can click a button.

That being said, here are the winners and my thoughts:

The Generation Award went to Sandra Bullock, which I thought was fitting and probably the most deserved award all night. Of course MTV had to do a girl-on-girl kiss between Sandra Bullock and Scarlett Johannsen. MTV just can not stay dignified for one second.

Biggest Badass Star went to Rain, who was also my pick for that category. I thought this award was deserved and Rain looked very happy to accept it. The other nominees which included Chris Pine and Angelina Jolie (for a movie that is not even out yet, may i add) with some other stars just did not compare to Rain's performace in Ninja Assassin. Incredibly badass. Congratulations Rain.

Best Scared as S--- award went to Amanda Seyfield for Jennifer's Body. I really thought Katie Featherson from Paranormal Activity would take this, but I should have known better that some cute, teenage-appealing star would. Don't get me wrong, Amanda Seyfield is great if you like that kind of stuff...

Best WTF Moment went to the Naked Trunk Surprise in The Hangover. I agreed that this was a huge WTF moment. The other nominees could not touch this.

Best Kiss went to New Moon. Second year in a row Twilight has taken this award. I also think that The Twilight Saga DOES have the Best Kisses and I actually did predict this win. Also MTV's Kiss Cam was very cute as Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens were put on and did a delightful little peck.

Best Villan went to Mr. Tom Felton a.k.a Draco Malfoy for his very villianous performance in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I thought Stephen Lang from Avatar would win this, but I'm glad Felton did. Half Blood Prince offered up a very dark - or should i say darker - change in his character and gave him a bit more screen time then the past Harry Potter movies. Considering he did his acceptance speech with Mark Walhberg and Will Ferall over his head, Felton is great guy.

Best Comedic Performance went to Zach Galifianakis from The Hangover. Very well deserved. There's really nothing else to say since I predicted his win and thought he was amazing in that movie. Very funny.

Best Breakout Star went to Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air. While I want to say that this award came about because she was wonderful in Up in the Air, I have a sneaking supicion that Twilight fangirls were amping up the votes for her, since she does appear in that franchise as well. I'm glad Kendrick is not letting that be the only thing she is known for - Twilight that is - and can not wait to see her in Scott Pilgrim later this summer.

Best Male and Best Female went to the leading stars of New Moon - Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. Robert also recieved the Global Superstar award in which THREE Twilight stars were up for (also Johnny Depp and Daniel Radcliff)

Best Movie. New Moon. Even with Avatar up for the award.

While I hate to cry FOUL again. Twilight was awarded so many huge awards during the show that it, again, should be called MTV's Twilight Awards. For the next two years, no one else should even be happy to be nominated for this awards show because they won't win if they go against Twilight.

I love Twilight. I've read all the books. More then once. I've brought merchandise. I'm excited for Eclipse and will be blogging about it in the coming weeks. I'm going to the midnight showing of the movie IN a self-made tshirt with my sister in a matching tshirt for Christ's Sake. I'm by no means one of those Twi-haters. HOWEVER, I am a movie fan and do not think the series deserves its praise movie wise. I do not think Kristen Stewart is a very incredible actress. I do think Robert and Taylor Lautner are good actors, but just not as good as someone like Johnny Depp or even Daniel Radcliff. Do i enjoy the films? Yes, because i love the franchise. Do i think the film is better then something like Avatar? No. Has anyone SEEN Avatar's numbers?! I do not even think the film is as great as a lot of films that have been released in the last couple of films. So, yes, I'm ranting about them winning so many awards two years in a row. Honestly, MTV, come up with a new voting system. Twilight is monopolizing your little, low-brow awards show.

Movies That Excite Me: Tron Legacy

To say that i'm a Disney fangirl is an understatement. Since i was a young child, my head has been filled with Disney via my parents. Trips to the theme parks. VHS tapes of all the movies (and now DVDs that i'm older). Mountains of merchandise. My whole family has always been enchanted by Disney. Love it or hate it, Disney is one of those companies that will just keep rolling no matter what.

When i first viewed the Tron Legacy trailer, it was attached to Prince of Perisa: Sands of Time. I'm not behind in my movie news because I knew the movie was going to be coming soon, but the trailer just seemingly blew my mind. It did not seem to take much to draw me into the world of Tron and want to know more.

At 22 years of age, I barely remember the original Tron movie. It released about five years before I was born and i will honestly say i have only seen bits and pieces of it. Having played Kingdom Hearts 2 multiple times, I am at least familiar wit Tron. Now, i want to watch the movie in its entirety thanks to this new trailer.

The characters, even those that do not offer one line of dialogue in the Tron Legacy trailer, captivate me and I want to know more about them. I have even screencapped the females - for future, cosplay purposes.

This movie definitely excites me. 12/17/2010 can not get here soon enough. Check out the trailer at the youtube link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9szn1QQfas

Movie Reaction: Splice

I hestitate to call this a review, so I won't. Instead, this will be my reaction to the movie Splice, which I saw this afternoon. There is just no way I could write a decent enough review to something that left me going "WHAT THE H###!?" afterward.

When I first saw the Splice trailer months ago, it seemed like a new scientific/sci-fi take on cloning. I expected a lot of messages about playing God (and not to do it) and I think that this message was set up early on with dialogue from a minor character.

I also thought the movie would be more a thriller then it was, but I think the climatic, thrilling scene was enough after all the WTF-moments the movie has delievered...and it still kept punching the audience in the face till the very end.

Rape. Incest. Beastility. Playing creator. Messing with science. This movie should, as my boyfriend put it, be shown as a warning to all scientists/bio-chemists so they will not attempt splicing or cloning. The movie was pretty disturbing, but I think the creators had to know that because they continuously pushed the envelope...continuously...When viewers thought it could not get any worse, it did. The shocking ending just left a bad taste in my mouth and made me dislike the Elsa character even more.

Actually, there did not seem to be a likeable character in the entire movie. I thought they were all crazy and, excuse my language, fucked up.

Even with all the WTF-moments, disturbing scenes, and the questioning of what was just seen, kudos to everyone involved with the movie and taking it to the extreme. Its certainly one of those movies you should see ONCE. If you see it more then that then you should question yourself.

Movies That Excite Me: Prince of Persia

The movie released a couple days ago and reviews have been mixed. I'll be seeing the movie this weekend and here's how i feel about it before i go in:

I have not played the Prince of Persia games, unfortunately. Not that they haven't interested me, but i just have not played them. [note, however, that the newest game paired with the movie looks really really really bad] So, i am going into this movie as a Disney and Pirates of the Caribbean fan moreso then a person that has played the games. Even so, video game movies have been disapointing in the past. Video games offer up a new type of interaction that movies can not do. No matter how great a movie is - and i've seen some great ones - i still am very much aware of my surroundings, whether it be the crying baby a few rows up or the guy munching a bit to hard on his popcorn behind me. Video games allow me to immerse myself into a world and control a character to an extent. I do not understand how movies will be able to convey this, in my opinion, and even 3D movies can only do it to a certain point.

Even still, i have hopes that Prince of Persia will be an entertaining movie. A movie does not have to be earth shattering and move mountains in terms of new expressionalism or new cinema techniques to be entertaining. I personally feel that people have judged the movie too harshly [although, i am saying this WITHOUT having seen it yet. The trailers still look highly enjoyable]

Its from the same studios and people that did one of my favorite movie series, Pirates of the Caribbean, but i thought the concept behing Pirates is far better then Prince, and also allowed for more creativity. Taking a theme park ride allows for nearly an entire world to be created and a story to be formed. Taking a video game means there is already a world that needs to be inhabited and fans that want to be pleased.

So, I am expecting this movie to be entertaining none-the-less. A few reviewers and commentors around the web have called it a bit boring and dry at points. I certainly hope this is not the case as it looks so wonderful in the trailers. and, as a cosplayer, i think the COSTUMES look great in the movie! They also look accurate to what i've seen of the games

Frank Miller's Xerxes

Frank Miller is at it again.

His latest endevor is a prequel to his comic, 300, and it will focus around that Persian ruler, Xerxes. Dark Horse will be releasing the comic the beginning of next year and Miller says it will be more complex then his other hit, moreso because it covers 10 full years before the storyline of 300.

Zack Snyder, director of the movie 300, says that he is waiting to read Xerxes and that he can not wait to adapt it to the big screen.

Personally, I loved 300. I went into the movie with high expectations and was not dissapointed. It was like a thrill ride, twisting and turning me with excitement and joy. I'm glad to see that there will be a prequel comic and perhaps a movie! Even thought i think prequel, sequels, and remakes are dominating Hollywood at the moment, its always exciting to see more of the world of really good movies.

Epilogue pictures from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

*HP spoilers in this posta

Its been a few years since the wizarding crew of the Harry Potter world defeated Voldemort (in a lackluster final battle) and moved on to get married and have some wizarding kids of their own. Although the book was a satisfying end to the Harry Potter series, the most dissapointing of all seven books was J.K. Rowling's attempt at an epiloque to tie up the series with a nice little bow.

I was never a fan of the epiloque. I read and reread it, but it still seemed unneccessary and read like something a fangirl would write - especially with the cliche marriages and children names. With the upcoming movies for Deathly Hallows, the epiloque will be in place. Recent pictures were released for the epiloque scenes and they are as dissapointing as the book.

Although the epiloque takes place 19 years after the final battles, the epiloque pictures showcase some badly aged characters. They look significantly older then they actually should be. In the pictures we have Harry, Ron, Draco + son, and a girl that maybe the daughter of Harry and Hermione.

I'm just very dissapointed in the photos. I'll always be a Harry Potter fan (and I'm very excited about the opening of Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando), but the movies have been losing steam just like the books did.

Anime Conventions - Gotta Love Them

I've been going to anime conventions since 2003 and it never ceases to amaze me how awesome the people I meet are. I come from a rather small, rural part of South Carolina and there were probably five anime fans in my highschool, all who were my friends. when i look back on those times when i was attempting to find myself in the world and lost in the ruralness of smalltown, usa, i knew that i was apart of something bigger then i, but still small enough to feel exclusive: the anime subculture. As i used the internet to fuel my needs for this geeky part of myself, i stumbled upon conventions. Grabbing my best anime friend and escaping away for the weekend to the convention (Animazement 2003) i still remember arriving at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center and seeing a Sailor Moon cosplayer. Right then. Right There...i knew that conventions were a place i wanted to be for the remainder of my life. I was 14 at my first convention. i am now 22 and continue going to geeky getaways at conventions. I have met some of my closest friends there and i wouldnt have it any other way. I've had good expierences and bad expierences. I've found love. I've lost love. I've done some crazy things. I've had some fun times. All within the walls of conventions and hotels. As i broaden my convention scene to include comic conventions, multi-genre cons, and video game conventions...I will always remember where it all started - anime conventions. I look at these more adult cons as a graduating step from my fangirl days at anime cons, but there will always be a special place in my heart for those conventions dedicated to our favorite animations from the land of the rising sun.

Pictured are my convention badges to date. I'll have to update this is about a week because i will be returning to Animazement for my seventh year. The con badges are as follows:

Top Row: Momocon 2010, Nashicon 2008, Nashicon 2010 [last con badge as of today], Animazement 2003 [first con badge]

Next Row: Katsucon 2008, Katsucon 2010, Animazement 2009 [my favorite badge so far], Ichibancon 2010

Bottom Row: X Con 2009, Anime Weekend Atlanta 2007, Anime Weekend Atlanta 2008, Animazement 2005, Animazement 2006, Animazement 2007, Animazement 2008

Missing: Xcon 2008, Nashicon 2009

Don Cheadle on his role in Iron Man 2 - interview

In the June 2010 issue of Ebony magazine, Don Cheadle conducted an interview given by Adrienne Samuels Gibbs. Here's the questions relating to his most recent role:Gibbs: You get to blaze for real as the robot man War Machine in Iron Man 2. That had to be fun.Cheadle: Its cool. Its like being able to play with all the best toys, the high-end expensive toys. I read comic books as a kid and you don't ever think you'll be in a movie as a superhero, so its kind of fun to do.Gibbs: its a different kind of role for you, this sci-fi comic book thing.Cheadle: you just put your finger on it. Its different. It was an opportunity to be in a summer blockbuster.Gibbs: I heard there was some drama though. A few critics say you're a better Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes than Terrence Howard was in the first Iron Man.Cheadle: that's a recipe for disaster if you start reading that stuff or having any reaponse to it. I think we're different actors and its a shame that we're often presented with that sort of comparison. We're not building houses. And I'm sure a lot of people were bummed out about the switch. I hired him for the movie Crash and he did a great job in it. He started in Iron Man. It was something between the studio and his agents. I saw him very soon after it all went down and he was very cool with me and there was no rancor. I didn't expect any.The complete interview is in the magazine where Cheadle also talks about his role in Brooklyn's Finest and other things. Personally, I'd like to hear what Howard has to say about all the "drama" about the switch. Perhaps he's not allowed to say anything? Or maybe he has and I haven't seen it? Either way, the answer seems the kind of thing that will come out of the actor that replaced him's mouth. He was just in a blockbuster summer hit (which he's well aware of from his other answer) so I doubt he cares at all what happened between the studio and Howard's agents. Neither actor did an outstanding job in the role as Rhodey so I really do not have an opinion on the switch of the two actors. I just know its a little jarring in franchise movies when an actor is switched out (I.e. Evie's character in the 3rd Mummy movie *shudders*) whatever the case may be about the switch, with no clear reason as to why it was done, movie watchers can only speculate and wonder

Iron Man 2 - Review

*spoiler free. totally wasn't going to write this, but whatevs *kanye shrug*Is the Iron Man franchise rusting?The latest installment of the movie released in America on May 7th. The hype surrounding this movie has been festering since the last installment started off a great summer of brilliant movies. However, this sequel does not live up to what that movie started. As a sequel, there are just certain expectations that come with it. The first Iron Man was a mixture of a great story with nice pacing, rounded characters, and several action sequences that well done. For Iron Man 2...1 outta 3 might not be TOO bad. The story was not paced very well. There were a few moments that were dull or too prolonged (for my tastes). The character of Tony Stark was not as rounded as in the previous movie. We see him spirling downward, which is all good, but there is no redemption or resolution in his spiral. Potential is there, but dialogue in the last few scenes do not prove much (albeit these scenes seemed excessive).Also, there were so many new characters in the movie (and the attempt to expand on former character's roles) that it was difficult to enjoy their performances to the fullest - although I did enjoy the additions. Can't go wrong with Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury! Scarlett Johannsen has a very successful action scene (with no special effects which made it amazing), but it brings up the question on whether little Montez (Kick Ass) set the bar incredibly high for female action scenes.* The replacement Rhodey, Don Chedle, did no better then Terrance Howard in the role. The little dialogue quips that he was a new actor in the role were funny, but his performance was so-so. Good thing is, I could not really place another actor in the role and he's better then Howard was.The movie seemed like a prequel to other Marvel projects. Ok Marvel, we get it. You're pimping out future projects, but can we get back to the movie at hand? It was great to see the little, geeky things and dialogue (I.e Captain America's sheild), but oftentimes it was a bit heavyhanded. I especially thought the extra scene after the credits would be Iron Man related, as I was dissatisfied with the ending, however it was not. Of course it was an enticing surprise nonetheless.The action sequences were fantastic. The villian, Whiplash, was a combination of two comic villians, but I actually think this creation of a new villian was very successful to the film. I was intriqued by this character and his backstory. The raceway scene (which I saw prior to the entire movie) was definently my favorite scene in the movie for several reasons (I won't list them here...so long and numerous.) I felt his final scene, however, was entirely too short after a very prolonged flight scene.This was a very enjoyable movie. I plan to see it again this coming week. My many gripes with it were probably overshadowed by excited geekiness. For the casual movie goer, this is probably a fantastic movie to see. I think fans of the franchise will also be pleased.*i am working on a 'Women in Action Films' acticle that will be posted probably around the time Angelina Jolie's "Salt" releases since her part was originally written for a man. It'll analyze women in action movies, past and present, and their roles. It'll compare + contrast what I think is successful and not successful. It'll talk about the sex appeal of them (tight clothes o_o) and all that stuff. Should be fun to writ

My Summer Movie List!

May-August means its Summer Movie time!!! Entertainment Weekly just did their huge, summer movie preview feature. Here are the movies (with release dates) that I will be seeing all summer!
May 7: Iron Man 2
May 14: Robin Hood
May 21: Shrek Forever After
May 27: Sex and the City 2
May 28: Prince of Persia The Sands of Time
June 4: Splice
June 11: The A Team, The Karate Kid
June 18: Jonah Hex, Toy Story 3
June 25: Grown Ups
June 30: Twilight - Eclipse
July 2: The Last Airbender
July 9: Despicable Me
July 16: Inception
July 23: Salt
August 13: The Expendables
August 20: The Lottery Ticket, Takers

Whew. Only like three weekends where nothing comes out that I want to see...and some weekends where TWO movies come out! Knowning me, I'll probably be seeing a lot of these during the matinee times - smaller crowds, cheaper prices. Expect reviews of all of them.

Nightmare on Elm Street - Review

*no spoilers. But, seriously, how do you spoil Freddy nowadays?!*If you're looking for some authentic recreation, remade, redone, revamped remake of the original STOP RIGHT THERE! DON'T BUY THE TICKET! YOU'LL BE DISSAPOINTED!Although this movie does stick to the original and also features several iconic scenes, that is the movie's flaw. It is difficult to fill the supernatural, creepy shoes of former Elm Street films with England as Freddy. He's one of the Big Three slasher/horror baddies of all time (the other two being Michael Myers and Jason). One thing Freddie has on those two is dialogue, which makes his shoes even harder to fill. I'd like to think Jackie Earle Hayley (JEH) didn't fill the shoes, but made them fit his feet. However to fans of the series, this will probably be a dissapointment as JEH is a tad bit shorter and uses his Rorscach-esque raspy voice as Freddy. JEH's performance was still pretty decent (coming from a casual movie-goer expierence and not a fan).The movie had way too much potential that it did not adequately use. Several scenes that could have been ridiculously scary were not at all. This was due to the film attempting to redo a classic which causes dissapointment. The introduction of what I assume were new scares were, however, not dissapointing in the slightest.The best part of the film was the atmosphere, setting, and transition between reality and dream sequence. Every time one of the kids drifted into a dream there was edge-of-your-seat anticipation about what was going to come next - even if the movie rarely delievered on it. The very pessimistic outlook on the characters survival was probably due to the really detailed settings - from the preschool, the basements, even the Pharmacy. We all know Freddy was a pedo...this movie plays on that fact to a tee nearer to the end complete with witty sexual dialogue from Freddy/JEH. It actually caused laughter at a key point where I think the audience should have been terrified instead.If the movie stood alone and wasn't apart of a classic franchise, it'll probably be great. But taking on the mantle of Nightmare on Elm Street and the role of Freddy, it only gets a so-so

[LONG] The Losers and Kick Ass - movie reviews

* very little spoilers, if any at all. And i got kinda lazy near the end - I APOLOGIZE.* April brought on two comic book movies – each coming out within a week of each other. As a comic book fan, of course these movies were on my must-see list for 2010. However, I went into these movies “blind” having not read the comics. This was done purposefully. Not only did I want to be able to review these movies without the prior knowledge of having read their source material, but I also wanted to be able to focus clearly on the movie ITSELF without becoming emotionally attached to the stories and characters beforehand – as I often do when it comes to movie adaptations of prior work. I went into The Losers with low expectations. Not only had I not heard of the comic before seeing movie trailers (bad comic fan), I just did not know what to expect – with the hype surround Kick Ass and not this movie. The moment the movie started, however, I was already deeply involved. It starts by introducing the central characters and their specialties in the military (and to their little team “The Losers”). There’s Jeffery Dean Morgan as Col Clay, Idris Elba as Roque, Chris Evans as Jensen, Columbus Short as Pooch, and Oscar Jaenada as Cougar. First of all, each of these actors enriches their characters with personality from the get go. I was very impressed with Jaenada, who hardly has any dialogue because of his character, who stood out even without saying much, and Short, whose prior roles have not allowed for much character personality in my opinion, who showed me that he is a versatile actor. Evans never ceases to amaze me as playing witty characters and he certainly was my favorite character – as I love characters that crack jokes in serious situations. The Roque and Clay dynamic was very well and intense…I loved it.Playing the mysterious vixen in the movie would be the fabulous Zoe Saldana. [I’ll try to keep my bias at a minimum…but lemme just insert a fangirl squeal and an I LOVE ZOE SO MUCH right here and I’ve loved her since Center Stage!] Zoe’s roles in both Star Trek and Avatar have definitely jet setted her to stardom. Her role in Loser’s was played very well. She plays Aisha al-Fadhil. One thing that stuck out to me though was the fan service thrown in with her role as Aisha. As I have not read the comic, it seemed a little heavy handed at points – mainly when she was diving through a door in a rain of bullets in only her underwear.One disappointment in the movie was the villain, Max. I liked his nonchalance and witty conversations with his right-hand man, Wade, but I felt that this coldness he was supposed to be portraying was not really there on screen. It appeared that he was supposed to be cold and callous, but I only felt it maybe three times – normally when he wanted someone killed. Even still, Max and Wade’s dialogue was very witty.Speaking of dialogue, the screenplay was written beautifully – as beautifully as any action centered film can be written. There were lines in there that stuck out even after the movie was over. Clearly Jensen had the best lines as he was the comic relief, but Pooch’s lines were also captivating and so were Max’s and Wade’s. The more serious characters – Roque, Clay, Aisha to be precise – were not short of very serious, detailed lines as well. And let’s not forget the absence of lines from Cougar, who delivered his few lines well enough, but whose personality shown in other ways. I’ll conclude this review like this: if you like action movies, go see this. If you like comics, go see this. If you like bullets flying everywhere, explosions, great dialogue, wonderful actors, and having an awesome rendition of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing playing through the credits, then this is a must see. I went into Losers expecting little and got a lot…The opposite happened for Kick Ass, which I went in with a lot and got maybe a medium.The premise is simple enough – Dave Lizewski, played by Aaron Johnson wants to become a superhero after wondering why no one has ever tried. Only him becoming a superhero leads to bigger things and situations then he could ever have imagined. He gets caught up in Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) and Hit Girl’s (Chole Moretz) fight and…stuff hits the fan. This movie is classified as an action-comedy and does deliver on both. There are some clearly fabulous jokes, quotes, and lines throughout the movie that will keep the audience laughing. Dave’s voiceover provided funny insights to things happening on the screen and early on viewers will note that he just is NOT suited to be a superhero. The fluke that makes his superhero persona popular lands him in hot water constantly. Despite being the title character, Kick Ass seemed a bit underdeveloped as a character –superhero or not – and the bigger picture of the film overshadowed his lighthearted goodness. It was clear what the movie was trying to do or say about Dave/Kick Ass’ character, but I felt it was to cliché that he eventually got the girl he wanted, after pretending to be a homosexual best friend to her, and his life seemingly went back to normal with the addition of said new girlfriend. Cage and Mortez, however, were truly the stars of the film. They provided very dark elements that certainly allowed the movie to earn its R rating. Cage plays an ex-cop out for revenge who has trained his eleven-year old daughter to help him. Cage’s characters – both personas – were pretty funny to watch. His Batman like costume as Big Daddy mixed with the curt way of talking as a superhero made me chuckle [as a HUGE Batman fan….]. The revenge, however, that he sought out seemed a bit unjustified. Sure, the back story was told, but there seems to be only one scene where the emotion finally comes out about why he’s seeking revenge (when he’s in his human persona) and one scene where we can truly tell he loves his daughter (when he’s in his superhero persona). I wanted a more genuine character so that I could sympathize with.Mortez is favorite of the entire film, as many people have commented and said, because of her use of profanity and violence. Its quite funny to look back and see the roles that Mortez has previously held and then gawk at her role as Hit Girl. The character is no stranger to violence as she kills countless people throughout with a highly skilled set of moves. Mortez ability to appeal as a sweet fragile girl, a badass superhero, and a scared child all in one film was acting genius for a young star. However, I must say that the most surprising performance in the film was that of that of Christopher Mintz-Plasse or McLovin as maybe probably know him as. Having just shocked me by doing voice work in How To Train Your Dragon, he continues to surprise by playing Chris/Red Mist in this film. The son of the villain/bad guy in this film, I thought Mintz-Plasse was just achieve another geeky role. But he proved to be able to maintain some form of geek-like behavior by being, essentially, the most developed character in the entire movie (in my opinion). I did like the film’s progression. It moved from a very light heartedness to something dark and then swung back around to the light hearted comedy. This was certainly a fun, must see film