Review: Adventureland

I had one question running in my head when we left this movie. What kind of lazy screenwriter spent months watching Frank go about his normal life? Cause I couldn't put my finger on it, but the main character is FRANK! Perhaps not 100%, but it's hard not to make the connections. Frank it's not a bad thing, he's a cool character.

Now, the trailers and promos for this movie made it seem like the next Superbad, but it's not. It's actually a very interesting character study. Pretty much the main character's parents tell him they can't afford to give him a Europe trip anymore, and may not even be able to afford graduate school. So what kind of job can a 22 year old without any work experience get? A minimum wage job at an amusement park. I'll forgo all of the love triangles, but it's complex enough to be entertaining, but not too complex.

While it is funny, in the end it's more dramatically themed. I found the subplot that one of the characters brought up about, where in this country can intellectuals flurish instead of being poor and forgotten?

Then again, sometimes it became repetitive. Drink, drugs, drink, work, drink while working, drugs while working and SEX! While I appreciate that, that's what older college students do during the summer, it grows tiring.

Also, some of the melodrama seemed cliched and overused, but it really didn't detract from the overall experience.

Pros: Funny when it happens, interesting characters, good acting, nice script and a nice little date movie.

Cons: Cliched scenes, some sloppy dialogue, and repitition.

Overall: 8/10
I enjoyed it, and in the end, that is what really matters. Just don't go see it expecting to see another Superbad.

Top Five Mindf**ks in Film.

There are some pretty messed up films and moments in film, but some just keep making you feel wrong. Just wrong...

#5 The last 25 minutes of Brazil
Really I can't say a lot without ruining a film masterpiece, but I think the picture certainly says a lot. Also Terry Gilliam is the bomb.

#4 Izo, the whole movie.
There's a lot that can be said about Izo, a movie that even film buffs struggle to get through. Centering around Izo, a real life assassin during the Boshin War in Japan. Who, according to all historical texts, went a little nuts. Takashi Miike, a brilliant Japanese director obviously believed this meant time travel and dimensional hopping. What does Izo do when he is thrown around time and other dimensions like a rag doll? Kill everything on screen. Seriously, trying to count all the murders in this movie is like counting hairs on your arm. In one scene, he gets thrown into a modern day city center full of Japanese businessmen. What does he do, start slashing until there is nothing left to slash. I commend you if you can actually get through the whole film.

#3 The end of 12 Monkeys/Brad Pitt in 12 Monkeys
Terry Gilliam makes his second appearance on this list, with his incredibly dark science fiction film 12 Monkeys. The ending is left so wide open, that you can't stop thinking about it and it literally consumes you. Then to freak you out before the actual ending there is Brad Pitt, being... Creepy. When I think about it, creepy is an understatement for whatever kind of crazy Pitt is in the film. Up to this point, Brad Pitt was a pretty boy with some decent acting chops, so this totally creeps you out.

#2 Oldboy
South Korean film is quickly becoming some of the best in the world. Oldboy takes all this is wonderful from revenge films and Hitchcock and makes it truely awesome, and incredibly messed up. I would not reccomend this film if you are, A: Squemish, B: A child or C: Anyone who likes Friends. It's just masterfully done, interesting characters, one of the creepiest villains and great fight scenes.

#1 Eraserhead... Just all of Eraserhead.
There is nothing I can say that truly states how messed up this film is. Not that it isn't a wonderful piece of work, but after the first viewing, you kind of want sit in a corner and cry.

For some of you other film buffs out there, I am aware I'm not including 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange and Se7en, might be strange, but these are my own opinions.

Movie Recommendations.

I'm bored, itching to go and teach the young impressionable minds of America. Wishing I had some money for a nice long vacation until then. Wondering how much this upcoming weekends baby shopping is going to cost. Tryinge not to look at some of the disgusting baby books, wondering why it has been two weeks since I've last seen a movie I haven't seen before.

So I'm here, leeching off of my work internet, pretending I'm listening to whatever stalker girl is talking to me about. So I figured I would start a little tradition, movie recommendations, since I don't talk enough about movies anymore. They are going to be split into genres, for ease of use. I'm only going to do two this time, because I hate typing on my work computer.

Action/Adventure: Hard Boiled
Remember when John Woo used to make good movies, yeah its been awhile. John Woo's action masterpiece stands up well, even with big time CGI action movies are coming out. While the story may be a little standard action fare, the action makes up for it. One critic once said, it has more action than a dozen Die Hards. The movie that without it, we wouldn't have Kill Bill, The Matrix movies and dozens of other crappy action movies. I really hope you'll check it out.

Sci-fi: Sunshine
I'd be surprised if a lot of you have seen this one. Made by the director of 28 Days Later, it's a deep and interesting science fiction adventure to the sun. I guess a good way of explaining it is, The Core, but much better and in space.

Also got any good baby names I can pretend I came up with?

Rant: Rotten Tomatoes 50 Best Animated Movies.

If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you'll figure out I have a passion for well crafted animation. Not your Saturday morning cartoons, but art films and foreign television shows, where animation is not reserved for children.

As I tend to do during the weekend, though delayed a bit due to events described in posts before this, I frequent Rotten Tomatoes. If you don't know what the site is, it's a website that tabulates reviews for movies and based on how many positive or negative reviews, gives it a percentage of positive reviews. Basically I used it when working at the movie theater to determine how busy we would be and if I should watch it. Now I just use it to determine which movie I we can escape go to.

Every now and then they have these little top fifties that they make by using their rating system. I usually bypass these and just glance at the site to see what's coming out and what's worth checking out. Cause their system, while good for studio and limelight independent features cause of the amount of reviews flooding in, truly ignores a lot of the foreign and indie movies, due to the lack of reviews. Let me put it this way, Spider-man 3 gets a 61%, which means 61 percent of reviewers like that movie and gave it a positive review. Though since it is a Hollywood Blockbuster, more reviewers go see it, in this case, 227. That means 88 reviewers did not like it at all.

Now lets make a fake 1 million dollar indie movie, or substitute it for an award winning foreign movie that does not get a theatrical release in the United States. Let's be optimistic and say ten reviewers review this movie. Then let's be realistic, 9/10 of those reviewers are internet douchebags who no one likes at all, so they compensate by killing indie films. People whose ability to judge films stems from seeing Star Wars 30 times and those pretentious film school rejects, who won't see a movie if there is an inkling of special effects. I've gone off track... So let's say that this movie gets 3/10 good reviews. Mostly from people who shouldn't be able to judge movies intelligently anyways. It's simple math, the more reviewers, the better chance of getting a better rating on the site. Unless it is a pile of garbage then I don't care either way.

So you can see how making a top 50 list of any kind of genre based on those terms is faulty. Now I was willing to give it a chance, since I try to be as open minded about things like this as I can. Cause in the film world, being open minded as a viewer is the greatest asset to see how good a movie is. If you go into a movie already disliking something about it, odds are you're not going to like the movie. If you go in, willing to try something new, or try something that you may have disliked in the past, I gaurentee you'll have a better time at the movies.

I'm going on a tangent again, but it's a rant so I can do whatever the hell I want to do.

So being the little ADD kid that I am, I skipped to number one and went backwards. Here is an uncut reanactment of my reactions to the to 10 on their "list."

#1 Toy Story 2
"What... The... FUCK!? Toy Story 2, the fucking sequel which turned likeable characters into annoying mockeries of their former selves! God damn do I hate woody..." To be fair I didn't see this movie till like a year ago. I liked Toy Story, I thought it was smart, witty and a pioneer for the now sadly overused 3D animation.

Moving on to #2, hoping to god I can get through this with my sanity.

#2 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
"I can understand this... I would put it in my list, maybe not this high though. On the other hand, it was the first Disney animated feature film... You escape for now list, but I'm moving on."

#3 Pinocchio
"Good Disney movie, shouldn't be this high though. I mean there are certainly many better Disney movies. God..."

#4 Toy Story
"I'll give this one to you list, but I'm not liking, what I'm not seeing you dirty... Shizno." *Note. If you know what a Shizno is before Jenbun, you can officially say you're better than her at reading my mind. I can't give you an award because Jenbun has her claws dug into it, but you can say you beat her. **Note note. Email answers to me.

#5 Wall-E
"Tis good..." I fear Frank killing me if I say otherwise.

#6 Finding Nemo
"Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude..." I was cool with this.

#7 Fantasia
"One of the best musicals ever, pretty animation, but compared to a narrative... ehhhh."

#8 Chicken Run
"DONE, I'M JUST DONE!" *Storms away from computer, but comes back.* "Top 10, really!? I mean I have no problem with it, but it's just not as good as Wallace and Gromit. I wouldn't even put it in my top 20.*

About now I'm tapping my foot and a little angry. Not because what is on the list this high, but what isn't.

#9 Who Framed Roger Rabbit
*twitch* "I-I-I-It's not even fully anima--. GOD! Can I even force myself to look at #10."

#10 The Nightmare Before Christmas
"FINALLY! REDEMPTION! REDEMPTION! How is this only #10! DEAR GOD, WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE WORLD... Calm down... Don't want to become a Tim Burton goth... *Cough* Ashley. *Cough*

So let me get this straight... Not a single. NOT A SINGLE foreign language animated film. Hell, even the Disney choices were a tad poor. The first foreign language film is at #13 (Spirited Away) and it's not even Miyazaki's best film! The first independent film is #17 (Persepolis).

I won't go into too many details, but suffice to say that nearly all the movies on the list are mainstream. Thus proving a bit of my point from above, that independent and heavily foreign animated works are ignored. Even blue collar Americans would be a little peeved that South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut is the last on the list. Even the placement of The Lion King at #26 a whole five ranks AFTER Antz makes me angry.

In fact after the top ten, some things made me angry:

- Even a classic like Watership Down is #49.
- Where's The Secret of NIMH!? It has a damn 96% on the site! WTF!?
- My Neighbor Totoro!? Porco Rosso!? Castle In the Sky!? Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind!?
- Not even a single Lupin III movie!? I mean there are like 20 of them!
- Lilo and Stich is on the list... Nuff said.
- Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella are in the 40's.
- WHERE IS FOX AND THE HOUND!?
- GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES! GO WATCH THAT MOVIE (with crying tissues and a fluffy animal nearby) AND TELL ME THAT DOESN'T BELONG ON ANY TOP LIST!

Making correct lists of movies is impossible, making lists of your favorites, is fun and no one smart can be mad at you for expressing your own opinion.

But when a damn computer tells me these are the best animated movies! I have a problem with that! I don't care if these are based on total reviewers and rating, if you can't include a great movie on the list because lack of reviews, you shouldn't make a goddamn list!

Go check it out. Feel free to rant or agree with the list. I won't mind either way, but keep this in mind for all you kids who grew up in the 80's and 90's. THERE IS NO MENTION OF THE SECRET OF NIMH! or All Dogs go to Heaven. I need to hug a puppy.

Top Five: Dead Actors.

So begins a four part series of top fives of actors and actresses, dead and alive. Here is the top five dead actors according to me. I warn you of course, as always, these are my own personal five and it should not detract from your own favorites. Here we go!

5. Orson Welles
Quite possibly the smartest man that ever went to Hollywood and made it big. Let me put it this way, he had memorized three Shakespeare plays at the age where I first discovered the girl sitting next to me in class was "budding." Most people know him from the original radio play, "War of the Worlds" and "Citizen Kane." Which he also wrote. My favorites are a little more, off the path. Movies like "The Third Man," "Macbeth" and "The Magnificent Ambersons." I highly suggest "The Third Man" I watched it when I was 15 and I've seen it around 12 times and I never tire of it. A brilliant actor, writer and director who was a creative victim of the studio system in the golden age.

4. Buster Keaton
The Great Stone Face, while Charlie Chapman had the Tramp, Buster Keaton had The Great Stone Face, because he never smiled in his early silent movies. Often in the great shadow of Charlie Chaplin, Keaton I always thought was the greater of the two. His physical comedy was more daring and often get more laughs out of me than Chaplin's. Watch "The General" and tell me I'm wrong. I DARE YOU. His shorts and feature length movies astound and amaze. One of the most amazing silent era actors to ever act.

3. Alec Guinness
One of the great questions I pose to film enthusiasts is, "Did Star Wars plague Alec Guinness' career?" I always get different answers, but my answer is, that it was just the cherry on top of the sundae. Just look at the movies he did before Star Wars, "The Lavender Hill Mob," "The Ladykillers," "The Bridge on the River Kwai," and Lawrence of Arabia." My favorite is "Kind Hearts and Coronets," where he plays eight roles, including a woman. He was unquestionably one of the best British actors ever.

2. Cary Grant
That smile always makes me dizzy *swoon*. Where was I? Just look at him! LOOK AT HIM! There are just so many movies that he is in that I adore, most of you know him from all the Alfred Hitchcock movies he did in his career. "Notorious" was always my favorite, just because... *swoon*. Where was I?

1. Toshirō Mifune
No one on the planet Earth will tell you that Mifune wasn't the greatest Japanese actor of all time. Kurosawa's go-to actor, in a sense you could say that Kurosawa wouldn't have been the greatest Japanese director of all-time without Mifune and that is saying something. He could go from animalistic and wild, to regal and kingly in a matter of seconds and never leave us doubting him. The man was an insperation to all future Japanese actors and many non-Japanese actors. One of my favorite movies is "Yojimbo" where Mifune was funny, clever and sold the movie. I first saw "Yojimbo" when I was in 8th grade and I grew addicted to Mifune. Within a year I had made my way through all of his Kurosawa movies. I can honestly say, I have seen about 90% of all of the movies he has ever been in. That is how much I love him. No I need a better example of my love... When I showed "Yojimbo" to Ashley the first time (we had been dating for about 4 months) she asked me how much I loved him. My answer, "I would totally make out with his rotting corpse."

It's a miracle that she married me, what with the necrophilia. What? Don't look at me like that!

As a side note, Rachel won the contest, so she can keep the award up. You can see the winning submission above.

Rant: Watchmen

Today we start a new kind of post. The rant, what I truly think on controversial issues, things I like and people. We will start with Watchmen.
To say that I was disappointed would have been an understatement for what I truly felt after seeing the trailer for the Watchmen movie. There were so many things just generally wrong with it. First off, the protagonist is shown barely in it, until the very end. Where we get a bit, but it's not enough. It also seems like most of the focus falls on Dr. Manhattan and Silk Spectre. I understand it's a big part, but really? Another problem is "The Visionary Director of "300"" Last time I checked, Frank Miller wrote, co-directed and helped with the style. It does not take a visionary to add slow motion to a fight scene. Which is the last problem of the trailer, last time I checked action sequences were rare in the comic.

Watchmen is considered by many, the greatest graphic novel ever made or conceived. It is the pinnacle, the book that all others after it will forever be compared to. Before Frank Miller and before Neil Gaiman, there was Alan Moore. Many consider him the greatest comic writer since Stan Lee. With watchmen he singlehandedly brought on a revolution in comics. No longer were super heroes shining lights among society. They became just as mentally broken as those they fought against. They became deeper and the worlds they lived in thrived.

A book that has had so much impact among a newer generation of writers, illustrators and inkers. It's a shame that DC has thrown her to the Hollywood dogs. I understand money is the main reason, I understand that a lot of people have been calling for this, but why intrust a work of art to an unproven director, unproven writers, and actors who don't have the skill to pull of such a movie.

I haven't been this angry about a comic book movie since "From Hell" made me feel like I was in hell.

I tend to agree with Alan Moore. There are very few good comic book movies. Look at the movies that were made from his comics; "From Hell" became a boat for Johnny Depp and never lived up to darkness of the original. "The League of Extraordinary Gentleman" was a farce of a movie, no semblance of plot or acting. "V for Vendetta" on the other hand was okay, but I tend to agree with Moore, that a lot of what made V a great character was washed away and plot holes were scattered everywhere.

In recent interviews he called the director, immature, homophobic, and wholly unfit to tell the story. The blame does not all fall on the producers or anyone involved. The producers of "The League of Extraordinary Gentleman" ruined any chances of him wanting to work on anymore movies.

I know I have gone a little off track, but it's a rant and they tend to do that.

The impression that I got from the trailer left me with the fowl taste of "Batman Forever" in my mouth. The style eerily reminiscent of that travesty. Also with the recent success of movies stylized like "Sin City," it has styles of that, that just don't fit. I'm afraid it will be mish mash of recent comic book movies. Betraying the individual style that was created over twenty years ago.

Now I'm not saying I won't see it. I'll be there opening night, but I do fear it will end up being trash. My biggest fear though, is this will turn off a whole new generation of comic readers off of the original. That is my greatest fear.

Top Five Fictional Universes.

Before I do my little top 5 thing, I think there might have been a slight misunderstanding about the contest. Don't make a quote for the picture, make a quote for the blog. If it just so happens to match the picture all the better. Right now Frank has done that (even if he kind of hurt my feelings :P), while the ones Rachel and Jenbun submitted were funny, but they don't quite fit the blog. So you all can submit new entries on the previous post. Not on this one. I will decide a winner by the end of the week.

So let's start with the top 5 fictional universes.

#5
The Gundam Universe
Spanning twenty years, many TV series, movies and strange fan fiction of all kinds. You find people at war, using Gundams. From the simple back at the inception of the series, all the way to disturbingly complex. So why did this make the top five if most of the stories are set in alternative realities. Well, it's because of the designs of the Gundams themselves. There are literally hundreds of different Gundams, from the strange (Mermaid Gundam) to things that simply look like robots with guns. This universe has permeated many different series and even though Robotech made the mech genre, Gundam became the supreme influence on the genre.

#4
Star Trek Universe
While I'm not a fan, other than Next Generation, I do have to give props to Star Trek. Unlike Gundam it's all in the same universe, just different times. Many different species, with many different languages and customs. I really can't expand upon this further since I'm not a trekkie, but you have to give credit, where credit is due.

#3
Lord of the Rings Universe
Like Star Trek, you must give credit, where credit is due. Modern fantasy and role playing would hardly exist if it wasn't for this universe. Though the problem that occurs with this universe, while expansive and detailed, no other author has been able to expand upon the universe and have the writtings be canon. His son did write another book, but is it really the same universe if someone else wrote it? Thankfully J. R. R. Tolkien thought of this and was able to tie all the legends and stories together. Learning all the mythology behind the stories is entertaining, because often it is as deep as the orginal story.

#2
Marvel Universe
While the D.C. Universe might sport some of the most identifiable heroes and villains in comic book history, it lacks the realism and depth. One that the Marvel Universe is very good at doing. In the D.C. Universe, there are a lot of heroes, but very few are fleshed out like Batman. With Marvel, you find even the smallest of characters with long stories, and due to the multiple dimensions in Marvel. Literally thousands of Universes with various alterations to characters and what not. I have found myself many times rooting through Wikipedia and the internet, learning more and more about heroes and villains. Sadly I have to say, minus Batman, I have never found myself that interested in the D.C. Universe.

#1
Star Wars Universe
Like Marvel and Gundam, the canonical portions of Star Wars have been written by many different people. Not all under the shadow of Lucas. Just so happens, some of the books, comics and even video games have more intriguing stories than the original trilogy. For example, the picture above, a tribute to A New Hope, but using canon characters 3000 years before the Star Wars movies. Including my favorite Sith Lord, Darth Nihilus, the world eater. No, that's not just a nickname, he actually eats worlds. He makes Darth Vader look like a kitten. In fact according to canon, he's still alive somewhere in the universe while Darth Vader was alive.

Whoa, I got way off topic, but I just love this universe that much.

The longest in fictional years, clearly defined universe. The earliest canon material taking place 10,000 years before the first movie and going hundreds of years after. There are still many gaps in the millenia of the old republic, but slowly, gifted writers are giving them life too. Like Marvel I can spend hours reading factoids and stories about his universe. What can I say? I'm a giant nerd.

As per usual, I'd like to see comments on your five, and alterations of mine. Also remember to try again in the contest if you want. I really want to see what you'll come up with.

Top Five: Jackie Chan Movies

I love Jackie Chan and I have since I was a little kid. Therefore I thought making a top 5 of his movies felt like the right thing to do.

#5
Shanghai Noon
As Jackie got older and more famous he had the freedom to do what he truly wanted to do since he was a kid. He wanted to be a comedy/action star like Buster Keaton. It was a tough choice between this and Rush Hour, but this movie had more laughs and flare. Action sequences were good and classic Jackie Chan physical comedy. While a little contrived at parts, the chemistry between the two was very enjoyable to watch.

#4
First Strike
This movie is so unbelievable action filled that you often forget how paper thin the story is. Unbelievable chase scenes, fight scenes and some truly genuine comedic moments that could only really come from Jackie. This was made during the height of his popularity both in America and in China. This is also a true example of real good Hong Kong action, no wires, no magical weapons or items, just good action Hong Kong style.

#3
Rumble in the Bronx
Like First Strike this movie is full of action and a lot of funny moments. This one is way more fight oriented and the fight scenes are high strung, acrobatic and amazing to watch. The reason that this movie edges out First Strike on this list, is in the credit sequence where they show failed stunts and bloopers, it is revealed that Jackie did some of the most amazing stunts with his ankle broken. Also if you haven't seen it, the last 20 minutes is just amazingly awesome.

#2
Drunken Master
The earliest one of his movies on this list and widely regarded as one of his best movies. Jackie Chan learns and masters one of the most entertaining fighting styles, drunken boxing. Learning from quite possibly the funniest kung-fu master ever. It's funny, interesting and an all around good movie. This was of course before wire fighting and all the fancy slightly annoying now action devices and it is pure goodness. Plus what's funnier than seeing a drunk doing funny things, including beating sober people up?

#1
The Legend of Drunken Master
One of the few great sequels ever made. Considering this sequel was made 16 years after the original it is amazing how Jackie can still play a trouble making teenage boy. Keeping true to the same comedy, action and fighting scenes formula of the first, this one has even more amazing scenes than the first. It's just a fun watch and he's not the only character to watch, his step-mother is a funny character and just as fun to watch. In 16 years Jackie looks even more skilled in this interesting fighting style and is able to pull of drunk stunts better than anyone before. Also he might get more drunk in this movie than any other movie ever made.

As usual I wouldn't mind hearing reactions and your own top 5.

Review: The Orphanage (El Orfanato)

The Orphanage is a Spanish and Mexican made film from 2007 by director Juan Antonio Bayona. Yesterday's story about which movie we were going to watch that night, this is the one I wanted to watch, but I lost to Johnny Depp. We got to watch it tonight though and it was well worth it. Now this being a movie somewhere between horror and Gothic thriller, Ashley wasn't too gung-ho about watching it. She spent most of the movie with her face buried in either a pillow or my arm.

The Orphanage is a dark, mysterious and scary movie centered around an old orphanage. Laura used to be an orphan at the old orphanage before she was adopted. Now she has come back with her doctor husband and her adopted son Simon to turn the old place into a home for disabled children. That's when her son starts exhibiting strange behaviour with his imaginary friends. This behaviour grows and and grows until he disappears. Now Laura must find out what happened to her son and the mysteries of the old orphanage.

Good horror movies play off a fear that many people can identify with. This film deals with the horror of losing your child and how a parent deals with it. You would do anything to get your child back, even going into the darkness to retrieve him. It's beautifully portrayed in this movie and it is really hard not to feel sympathetic for her. It's a great aspect that makes this film what it is, beautiful.

This acting in this film is exceptional, especially with what you have. The problem you have with any actor playing a character who is distraught is that they can get one-tracked and very annoying after awhile. Eventually they just end up crying a lot and show no personal strength. Even when crying and in panic Belen Rueda, the woman who played Laura, showed strength and the resolve to find her missing son. Even the supporting cast was brilliantly portrayed, the husband who slowly gives up hope, to the psychic investigators.

The fact that this movie is a horror movie, it has a lot of scares in it right? It does. The problem you find with some movies, mostly American, is that they depend too much on the jump tactic. Doing something only intended to make a person jump is an amateur technique pandering only to teenagers. It takes a good writer and director to convey fear in situations and throughout the movie. This movie did that. With squeaking and moving doors, strange bumps against the walls and occasionally children appearing. The unseen and unknown can be the most terrifying thing ever.

Now a problem this movie has, is the transitions between scenes. They sometimes seem brilliant using object to cause natural wipes to black, but sometimes they are made to make you jump. Which after the first time gets annoying and hard to watch. That's really a small thing though and doesn't take a lot from the movie.

Ratings:
Concept: 7/10 Not totally original, the idea of losing a child isn't too original or new, but there are enough things here to compensate for it.
Editing: 8/10 Well done except for a few transitions.
Cinematography: 10/10 Very pretty and the idea of putting the camera at child height is just brilliant.
Dialogue: 9/10 Simple, clean and at times very smart. No forced dialogue or anything of the sort.
Acting: 9/10 Brilliant acting that I thought was perfectly cast and directed.

Overall Rating: 9/10
It's a beautiful, scary, lovely and smart movie. You have to thank the success of Guillermo del Toro and using it to help new artists. I have really enjoyed the past years of explosion in the Spanish and Latin film community.

Questions for You!

I'm bored, but tomorrow I get to go tour around my new theater/job. Pretty much I get to talk to the guy I'm replacing and find where I'm going to be sitting in the dark for money now. Good news I found out is I get a big raise because technically I got a promotion. Yay!

In my borediness I want to ask all 4-5 of my readers, you know who you are. This is something that other bloggers have done in the past and I've been wanting to do for about a month now. I'm going to ask you five questions and I want you to answer as honestly as you feel like. :)

1. What's your favorite movie?

2. If you were to write an autobiography, what would you name it?

3. Do you guys and gals want more reviews? Top 5s? Young me's? Or do you just want me to do whatever I feel like, like I am now?

4. What kind of script do you think I should try and write now? Comedy or Horror?

5. What do you think I look like?

I may or may not answer some of these question one and five myself in a future post or in the comments section. Enjoy and have fun!

Until later, sayonara! :3

Review: Battle Royale

You know I did see a movie in theaters called Narnia and I was going to review it, but I got a little present from Ashley when I got here. Now I had seen this movie awhile ago, but Ashley bought me the DVD so I felt like reviewing it here.

Made in 2001, Battle Royale is a Japanese film based on the best selling Japanese novel of the same name. Essentially the story takes place in an alternative Japan, where instead of a democracy it's a police state, where unemployment and civil disobedience in the schools have become the biggest problems for the government. To stop the disobedience in classrooms the government has established a lottery program where they choose one 9th grade class in the country to take place in the BR Survival program. In this program each student is given a weapon of varying usefulness the gambit runs from a pot lid, to large guns and then they are set loose on the island. Their goal is in the next three days the students kill each other off until only one remains. If they can't, they all die. That's the game the government created to instill fear into the students of Japan. The game that the students of this year must play through.

Last year's winner.

In a sense this movie is like a Japanese Lord of the Flies. Like Lord of the Flies, this movie really delves into what a human would do, when forced to kill your friends to survive. It varies from student to student. Some try diplomacy, ganging up, suicide, sneak attacks and a few thrive in this environment and become blood thirsty killers. It's an interesting look at human nature the mental mind. You also find this a giant metaphor for a young persons personal and professional struggles in school and at home.

What you find is interesting, you have the stereotypical roles of every class all trying to kill each other. The nerds, the popular girls, the couples, the cute boys and the girls who want to be popular. A simple line as one of the popular girls gets killed, "I just didn't want to be a loser anymore." It's brilliant.

The way the movie is laid out is great. Whenever someone dies, a scoreboard like device appears stating who died on screen. Instead of just letting these characters run around and kill each other, there is a lot of back story for some of the characters explaining their actions in the game.

It's a hard movie to sit through if your not used to gore and violence (Ashley decided it would be better for her just to have her hands perpetually close to her eyes). Though I do highly recommend people watching it, for how it explores how we as humans react under pressure.

Now there is something that needs to be said about the one bad thing in this movie. The horid acting by some of the principle actors. Some of the students didn't really seem afraid and scared. While some fully embraced this and became memorable characters. This would be just a small thing except one of these bad actors was the female protagonist. No strength she ever showed in her character when she was supposed to and when she was supposed to be weak, all she did was weep.

Now there is a X-factor in this movie. Takeshi Kitano probably the most influential and talented filmmaker and actor in Japan right now. This guy is a poet, game show host, singer, novelist, screenwriter, director, actor, stand-up comedian and an award winner in all of those. His performance as the former teacher of the class and now the coordinator for the BR Survival Program is astonishing. A subtle anger, sadness and loneliness in all of his actions.

Now for the ratings:
Concept: 10/10 It's a brilliant concept that gives tons of stuff to work with.
Editing: 8/10 A little jumpy at parts, but all around nice.
Cinematography: 7/10 Sometimes the angles are strange and the camera seems distracted.
Dialogue: 7/10 Good, but not great.
Acting: 7/10 I would have given this a six, but Kitano is sooooo good.

Overall Rating: 8/10
It's a good movie with an interesting concept with enough interesting characters and meaning behind it. I think the transition from book to screen could have been better, but it's not bad. The most important thing is it is entertaining... That's if you can stand it all.

"You just have to fight for yourself... That's just life."

Top Five: Movie Musicals.

I figured this would be a nice little thing to do every now and then. Make a list of my top five things and what not. This week I'll start with my favorite movie musicals, not to be confused with stage musicals. Cause if this list were of stage musicals it would look very different. Alright let's start with five.

5. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut:
Matt Stone's and Trey Parker's grown up cartoon. With wonderful songs, profanity and paper cut out gore. This movie has the ability to keep you laughing not only with strange circumstances, but with hilarious songs including: "Blame Canada" (Nominated for an Academy Award), "What Would Brian Boitano Do?" and "Uncle F***a." All priceless songs that all have that South Park humor.

4. Fiddler on the Roof:
This three hour epic musical about a poor Jewish family in Russia. It touches on all those beautiful family connections, mostly between daughter and father. The first 20 minutes or so are so amazing with the songs, "Tradition," "If I Were a Rich Man," and "Matchmaker." I just love this movie and every time I watch it, those three hours just go by like a dream.

3. Man of La Mancha:
I love, LOVE, Peter O'Toole. He plays Don Quixote and he does an amazing job of it. This musical is just amazing because it's a story in a story. With tons of wit and his perfect acting O'Toole is able to do so much. Like in the songs, "I Don Quixote," "Dulcinea," and "The Impossible Dream." I just love it.

Now I have to say that it was a hard choice between these two movies for my favorite movie musicals of all time.

2. Singin' in the Rain:
I just love Gene Kelly and this is my favorite one of his movies. A song about the change in Hollywood during the silent era and about love. It's light hearted, funny and a very sweet and wonderful thing to watch with that special someone. The songs, the beautiful choreographed song like, "Make 'Em Laugh," "Good Morning," and of course "Singin' in the Rain." If you haven't seen it, you have to see it.

1. Once:
Oh my god I love this movie so very, very much. It's a newer movie that all of you should freaking watch. It's so beautifully shot and simplistic at it's core. I mean all the songs are great, but one song will make you fall in love with this movie, I mean just look at it.


A movie about love, loss and trying to heal. This song shows all that and it's just so beautiful. Did I mention it just won the best song award at the Oscars? Well it did and it beat Disney. DISNEY! I'm going to go watch it again.

I'm probably going to get some guff for not listing, West Side Story, Wizard of Oz, The Sound of Music or Mary Poppins at the top. Like I said before, this is just what I think. I would love to hear what you think of the list, or better yet, your top 5.

Review: Iron Man

If you didn't notice I used the comic version of Iron Man for this review pic. Also take note that person he just beat into a bloody pulp is Captain America. Anyways last night I saw the "beginning of summer" movie, Iron Man. Now I guess something that hasn't yet come up is that I am a huge comic fan, with a social life *shock*. I'll tell you right now, my two favorite superheroes are, Deadpool (Look him up, he's great fun, plus he's gonna be in a movie soon) and of course Iron Man. Now the thing that people must understand about Iron Man before watching is. Iron Man is the "dick" of the Marvel Universe. He's an asshole of the highest degree, yet he has a huge human side to him. Anyways enough comic ranting, on to the actual movie.

With an all-star including Robert Downy Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts and Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger. Who all give amazing performances that just shock me for a summer movie. Not only that, but this movie rivals Spider-man for being the most dead-on with the comic, just swapping some things to make it coincide with the present. The dialogue is funny, witty and always a great fit for whatever character is talking. The action ranges from funny slapstick-ish too amazingly beautiful and fast paced. The story is a lot like a culmination of the first comics that came out in the sixties. There were enough little hints given throughout the movie for not only a sequal, but had enough things to make the comic fans drool. This is how a marvel movie is supposed to be made, by marvel writers and marvel staff heading the project. Otherwise we'd get something like Daredevil again. *shudder*

I'm going to leave the negative side paragraph a little short since there was very little to complain about. The real only problem I had was at parts the story got a little slow, but that's just because most people were expecting massive explosions 24/7 in this movie. These plot points were funny, solid and amazing to watch in my opinion.

One last thing before I get to the breakdown of the movie score wise. Don't go in expecting non-stop action and only that. Cause this is a good dramatic story at its heart and it must be respected. Also before you go see the movie I highly suggest visiting Wikipedia's article on Iron Man. Just look over it and get a general idea about who Iron Man is. Not that, not reading it will ruin the movie for you, but it'll certainly make you appreciate it more.

Ratings:
Story: 9/10 Very close to the original and amazingly complex for an action movie.
Concept: 8/10 Comic book movies isn't a new concept, but having it done by Marvel is.
Editing: 10/10 Action movies suffer from one thing. Jumpy cuts, this had none of that.
Dialogue: 9/10 Smart, witty and funny. Fit all the characters like a glove.
Acting 9/10 Good acting, better than Spider-man and not once did you think about the actors as actors.

Overall Rating: 9/10 great movie. Unless something spectacular comes out this is the best of the summer.

"Tony Stark: Iron Man? That's kind of catchy."

Review: Forgetting Sarah Marshall

I saw this movie today and it was amazingly awesome. Judd Apatow's little writing/directing/acting group hit stride last summer with Knocked Up and Superbad. I'm getting tired of them advertising every single movie that one of them is slightly involved in, as being from the makers of those two movies. I do find that Apatow's group has a very firm grasp on how to mix up the normal. If you study film structure like I'm required to do, you know that Romance Comedies are comprised of "Guy meets girl, guy loses girl, and guy gains girl back." Also substitute guy for girl in some movies. This movie starts with guy loses girl and stretches that out for over 90 minutes.

Story wise it's solid, funny and draws you into watching to see what horrible thing happens next. I've been through enough break-ups and I'm sure most people have. This movie draws upon all that stuff and adds the right amount of silliness to make it very funny. The acting was great, with each actor being a custom fit for the character that he/she was playing. This is one of those movies that your friends will start to quote non-stop and they won't stop until you hit them. It does what it promises by making you laugh, feel weird and leaving the theater happy and content with your choice to watch it.

I had a few small fleeting problems with this movie. The first being that some of the scenes seemed out of place and didn't add much to the story. Mainly those involving Jonah Hill, seems like a lot of his character was left on the cutting room floor. The other problem that I had with it was, without much explanation they jump from LA to Hawaii. You're are just supposed to assume he decided to leave. None of these things really hampered my viewing of this movie. Remember I've gone through three years of training to do this for fun...

Ratings:
Story: 8/10 Not completely original, but it's a situation comedy based on an old comedy structure.
Concept: 7/10 Not original, but it makes the structure its own.
Editing: 7/10 Some strange jump cuts and the skip of time, doesn't hamper though.
Dialogue: 9/10 Smart and witty, without a hint of being awkward.
Acting: 9/10 Like I said the actors fit the characters perfectly and had great chemistry.

Overall Rating: 8/10 I laughed, I cringed and I loved the character. It hit those marks in me and I had a great time watching it.

I also saw Forbidden Kingdom. I will write review when I have more time.

"Come outside. *singing* The weather outside is weather..."
Surfer Guy

Film Review: This Film is Not Yet Rated

Man, it's been awhile since I last did a review on this blog. A LONG TIME. Funny seeing as it was one of the reasons I made this darn thing. Not to mention this is the first non-narrative movie I have reviewed here. It was a real toss-up between this and "Run, Fatboy Run" I liked both, but this one is going to stick in my head a little longer. Considering as an employee of a theater I know this issue quite well. It's about the MPAA's rating system and how in a sense it is unfair.

Now I had never seen any of Kirby Dick's previous documentary work before, but now I'm interested. This was like a toned down Micheal Moore, it was interesting and funny. Not to mention he had tons of filmmakers contribute, the most known being Kevin Smith and John Waters. Both, mostly John Waters have pushed what can be seen on the screen. I go off track, but all these filmmakers talk about their personal experiences with the rating board, all bad. Most of which are entertaining and a must listen.

Within the first few minutes of this film, you realize how biased, unfair and silly some of the rules the MPAA have created. Which is so true and I know it to be true. Simply the idea behind the rating board is hypocritical at best. It's something to the tune of, "We don't want to restrict the film artists and give them free reign over their medium... But we don't want to give them complete reign over it." Not only that, but they claim that rating have no effect on the box office, which is completely not true. For example, a PG-13 horror movie came out this weekend, now if it were R rated, it would probably do terrible business. Thankfully it was PG-13 and we sold over 400 tickets to one showing, I can guarantee 390 of them were 16 or under.

I digress, it was an excellent documentary, but it had a few problems. The biggest being that at points it really does slow down and you end up listening to people you would rather fast forward through. Another problem I had, very tiny one, was that it doesn't provide a true in-depth look at any of the positives of the MPAA. I guess it does, but only little bits here and there, but then immediately discounts them.

I will say it is worth watching just for the simple amount of shenanigans that the director does in trying to get at the MPAA.

Ratings:
Story: N/A
Concept: 9/10 He tackles an important issue among filmmakers and makes it entertaining.
Editing: 7/10 A lot of funky jump cuts in interviews.
Dialogue: N/A
Acting: N/A

Overall Rating: 8/10 I really dug this film, it entertained me enough and made me more aware of the issue it discussed.

Indie/Student Film Trends that Need to Die!

Now that I've seen enough people's work I see trends that after awhile, I'm fucking tired of and I would rather die in a fire than see/read again.

5. Skater Movies.
WE GET IT, YOUR FRIENDS AND YOU KNOW HOW TO SKATEBOARD, GET OVER YOUR FUCKING SELVES. Seriously at least a third of the people who enter film school do it because they like shooting each other skate. It's not artistic, it's not entertaining and you see it all the damn time. Seriously if I have to see another guy slide down a hand rail I'm going to kill a small animal. I'm at the point now where them injuring themselves is no longer funny.

4. Fantasy Trilogies.
Look, I came to understand a long time ago that every single writer has some sort of fantasy trilogy spinning around in their head. Most are just LOTR ripoffs. I don't want to hear about it and I don't want to read it. Gladly since it costs tons of money to make these movies you never see them, but I read them all the damn time. Honestly it's getting tiring.

3. Zombie/Horror Movies.
I'd say a fifth to a third of people in film school are raging horror nerds, nothing wrong with that, but I don't want to see a horror movie as every single piece of work you've done. You're not George Romero, you're not that talented, cause let's be honest everything with horror has been done before and much better. The main problem I have with it is... It's easy, no challenge, no real creativity, you're just beating a dead horse. That is unless you're actually beating a dead horse... it is horror.

2. The "I'm so Misunderstood" Movie.
It's that movie that if you're any kind of intelligent person, you can plainly see that it's a representation of that person. I get it, your mommy and daddy didn't hug and love you enough. All in all these just become a giant "Life Sucks for me" movie/script. Well life sucks, deal with it. I just don't want to watch/read it.

1. The Gay/Lesbian Love Movie.
Ok, let me put this out there, I don't hate gay/lesbian people. I just hate seeing the same thing over and over. Mainly I don't want to see another gay sex scene, gay bar scene, gay prostitute scene or "HEY LOOK I'M GAY, LOOK AT ME, UNDERSTAND MY PAIN AND FEELINGS! LOOT AT MEEEEEEEEE!" God! I get it, you're gay and proud, stop rubbing it in my face, cause I DON'T CARE! If you're going to do it, do it tastefully, I've read a good script centered around a gay lifestyle, I've seen good student movies done about it. I'm just getting tired of it.

Everyone in this industry, especially the writers are all good at something or another. I know I'm good at writing short comedic and action oriented pieces. Yet I explore a lot of other things. So that doesn't mean you have to stick with it all the time, try and get out there and write something new and interesting to yourself. It'll be fun, trust me.

"I don't care!"

Top Ten Movies of 2007

Now that I've seen most of the watch-worthy movies of 2007 I decided to make my top ten list of movies.

10. Zodiac
A good thriller is hard to come by and even harder to find one made in the past five years. This is one of the longer movies at around 2 1/2 hours, but those hours are well spent. Great suspense and intrigue splattered through the whole movie. The part that really got me was the director having five different actors play the Zodiac during the murders. Great writing, acting and a fun time spent watching it.

9. Live Free or Die Hard
I've always liked the Die Hard series, but this one was just amazing. Two hours of action, funny one-liners and John McClane kicking some serious ass. Putting into words what this movie is, is hard to explain. It seriously ranks up there in one of the best action movies of all time. A few gripes with it, but cheesy one-liners really help me forget that.

8. Reign Over Me
I'm not ashamed to say this movie made me cry. It was hard not to and this story tugged so hard on your tear ducts that you're dead if this didn't make you cry. A touching story filled with beautiful images and wonderful acting. This movie proved to me that Adam Sandler is a good actor... despite his last movie.

7. Michael Clayton
With a slightly disjointed story and wonderfully done dialogue, it is hard to look at Michael Clayton without believing it as one of the best movies of the year. The main focus I found most interesting about this movie was that the characters were all so well developed and I found almost all of them interesting to root for.

6. Juno
Smart, satisfying and funny. The script that was made for this movie was so amazing, so well thought out that I can't imagine a better way to do it. The actors all seemed to understand the script so well that it resonates in their performances. They become the characters, now that. Is beautiful.

5. There Will be Blood
Now I just saw this and was captivated by the brilliant acting and overall story. Each part was perfectly cast and Daniel Day Lewis is one of the most intense actors anywhere. It's a treat seeing him, seeing as he's only made 3 movies in the past 10 years. This was a good story but in the end a platform for one great actor's talents. Much like "The Queen" and "Capote"

4. Once
You know what, I loved this movie, touching, heartfelt and incredibly well acted. Smart music and wonderful feelings made this a must watch for me. It made my day for me and caught me completely without words. I am so happy I saw this cause I believe this movie touched me in a way few movies have this year.

3. 3:10 to Yuma
I like Westerns and I like seeing them well done. Sadly it is a nearly dead genre, but this movie may have been the spark it needs to become great once again. Great action, story is amazing even if it is a remake and the acting between Bale and Crowe makes me so very happy. Fun to watch, great to enjoy and of course the best thing is it entertained me throughout.

2. Eastern Promises
Stylizing gore is hard, I mean it takes a lot to keep a person from grimacing at a gouged eye or someone getting slashed across the throat. I don't know how, I don't know the reason, but Cronenberg was able to make little old women enjoy the gore and violence. I immediately came to the realization that this movie is Russian mob version of "The Godfather" except it doesn't glorify the mob any bit. Great acting and wonderful music pulls the rest together.

1. No Country for Old Men
Astonishing. This movie combines every aspect of what makes a great movie, great. It is beautifully shot, the darkness creeps, but is not overwhelming. It's writing is one of the most brilliant adaptions of a novel ever. The music is haunting and makes the skin crawl at points. The acting is so amazing that it draws you even further in, into what films strive for. Full immersion in the characters and stories.

Now since some movies have to be left out, I thought I would mention them.

Honorable mentions: Hot Fuzz, Stardust, 300, Hairspray, Charlie Wilson's War, Sweeny Todd, Ratatouille, Gone Baby Gone and Paprika.

Movies that might tip the scales: Persepolis, Lars and the Real Girl, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and The Host.

I would love to know your top 10 movies of the year...

Review Marathon Part 3: Anime: Higurashi No Naku Koro ni

I initially downloaded this series as something to spend my free time enjoying. I had heard a little here and there and felt it was my duty as a fan to watch the series. From this picture and the first episode I discovered a few things. One that this was in no way a harem anime like so many others, and two that fucked up doesn't even come close to explaining this series. The original source material was a mystery/thriller digital graphic game with multiple endings. Usually when a producer of a series based on a game is given something with various endings, he chooses one ending and sticks with it for the entire series. This producer on the other hand did something strange, he realized one ending is too short to fill a full series and decided to split each ending into various chapters. Each on showing more and more of the initial story as it goes on.

A short summery of the story: It's the summer of 1983 in a small village just outside of a rural part of Japan. A group of five friends all study in a small school house that serves as the school for the entire village. Behind all the playing and laughter a dark secret lies. I know this is vague, but anymore would ruin a lot.

After the first two chapters I thought this was just going to be a random retelling of the same few days all with various endings. What I got after those first two chapters were stories that took place the same time as the others, and had different ending, but still gave more insight into the overall story. I found out more and more about characters, plot lines and answered questions as each chapter unfolded. At the very end I found myself looking at a complete if not still unanswered puzzle. It was still a mystery and I loved that. Deep characters and great dialogue fits so perfectly in this piece of work.

The animation was a little sloppy, voices sometimes didn't sync and what-not. Some of the actors voice wise didn't seem too into it.

Overall Score: 4 out of 5

I liked it, it was a good mystery/thriller that had a new and interesting way of showing it.

Review Marathon Part 2: Movie: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Sweeney Todd is the most recent offering from well known writer/director Tim Burton. In his new offering he delves into the darkness of 19th century London and serial killers. Bringing life to the Musical Sweeney Todd. A fairly average revenge story with the only real point of interest being the way he exacts his revenge. Tim Burton calls upon some of his stable actors, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter to star in it.

Story wise I wasn't too impressed, revenge movies are hard to do well, very hard. Sadly this got close to the bar, but didn't quite reach it in the end. The biggest problem was the material was there to show that they way he handled his situation was there, but it didn't feel like it in the end. It just felt a lot like overkill. Now one of the contributing factors in this was Burton's trademark visual style. Everything is so color changed to make everything black, blue and white. Except for red, which comes out in beautiful bright gushes of blood. It worked for him in the past why should it fail now? Because it feels a little strange. Everything is to be made so much more unrealistic than it needs to be. I think it only really worked as intended in one scene, the flashback to when he had a normal life to what he is now. Tis visual style and the way that Sweeney Todd wears his hair especially seriously brings it down. The feeling that is supposed to be there is of a once human man, a man who lost everything and now is an animal. Which means downtrodden looking, but not completely insane. This is beyond what should have been done. I don't know, but in the whole scheme of things it didn't bring it down too much, but it just bothered me and didn't connect me as much as I would have liked with the main character.

As far as the acting goes it was okay, not great, but enough that it made watching it a hell of a lot more enjoyable if it wasn't talented actors. Now you would think the Depp would be the real stand out, but the real stand out is Sacha Baron Cohen. Editing was fine, music was actually the stand-out, it gave me the feeling of being a few rows behind the orchestra pit. Enjoyable. One small hitch though, sometimes the music was too loud that it drowned out some of the dialogue in the movie. Bothered me, but it's just a small gripe.

Overall Score: 3.5 out of 5

Not bad, entertaining. I enjoyed some of the songs and the acting, but it failed to do one of the most important things in any movie, emotionally attach the viewer to the main character. I just kind of felt apathetic about the whole situation.

Review: I am Legend.

"I am Legend" is a science fiction movie based off of the novel by the same name, written by Richard Matheson in 1954. The original book was an interesting look at what being alone in a world full of monsters does to the human psyche. It's an amazing story and I was looking forward to seeing the third adaption of the novel into a movie. The other two being, "The Last Man on Earth" and "Omega Man" both classics in their own right. Each of those movies in my mind have a major flaw. They both change the story so dramatically that it loses a lot of what the original meant. In "The Last Man on Earth" it was pretty much a new story with the backdrop being one of the only things to stay the same. In "Omega Man" they keep a lot more but the third act fails at being as touching as the original. Now I was hoping that this movie wouldn't have the same problem as the other two.

What I found out about this movie intrigued me, it was almost a remake of "Omega Man" in the way the character was written and portrayed. Sadly this movie had the same flaw as the other two, it pretty much collapses in the third act onto itself. I'm not going to say wholly what was wrong with it because of spoilers, but what the fuck!? I thought Hollywood and the entertainment community was past the sucky Hollywood endings where everything seemingly turns out for the best. I was utterly captivated for the first two thirds and then I felt betrayed almost. It's like if that puppy you've been raising since birth decided to one day turn around and bite you in the crotch in your sleep. Some people may see the ending as being sad enough, but it's not nearly as captivating as the end of the book or "Omega Man." It really saddens me that you have such a great artistic property and you don't do anything great with them. I want to see him captured by the vampires, I want to see him forced to realize that he is the true monster, I want him to realize that he's the last of his kind and forced to become a legend. That is what was so beautiful about the original and goddamn it if they didn't ruin that. The only thing I got from the end of the movie was an utter feeling of hope, and a movie like this shouldn't have any goddamn hope.

Now that's not to say that I didn't enjoy it. I was captivated by the first two acts and I wanted it to stay that way. Firstly the most amazing thing people notice is that Times Square and all these famous and busy New York location are completely shut down. It's a startling image at first, but the cool thing is you start to get used to it. Pretty much you see a lot of his daily life and realize what the huge destruction of civilization has done to him. Also in the process it builds a lot of tension and suspense. Though advertised as a very action heavy movie, they are far apart from each other and not that long until the end. It was entertaining, the dialogue that was there was nice, but the director did a good job at realizing that you don't need a lot of dialogue to make a story good. It was refreshing, good acting, not great, thanks to the supporting cast and it was entertaining. Not a lot really to get in-depth into, but it was fun and I had a good time.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Good and entertaining, not great. Though this keeps up the upwards slope of my liking for Will Smith. Plus I got to see the real Dark Knight trailer.

P.S. Sorry for the lack of posts, end of the semester, personal stuff, etc...