Category: Movie Review (Page 5 of 9)

This review is going to be short. I just finished Zombieland (2009) and I was pleasantly surprised. Aside from the language, this is a wholesome family, zombie-filled film. It was hilarious, had a few emotional moments, and is interesting…but most importantly, it has zombies.

The actors make me happy. Woody Harrelson is funny and amazing at kicking zombie butt. Jesse Eisenburg delivers a breakout performance. Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin are good too. Bottom line=this movie is good.

Zombieland runs a nice 88 minutes and is rated R (definitely not a kid movie). I give it a nice 8 ramheads out of 10.
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My brother got High School Musical 3 from the library, so I figured I’d watch it before I judge it. I’ve seen the first two: I didn’t mind the first, but wasn’t a fan of the second one. Those were both Disney Channel original movies that were made for TV, but the third was a full theatre release film, complete with a real budget. Did they use it for good?

Simple answer: no.

HSM3 was boring until the last 20 minutes, had pretty horrible dialogue, and disappointing music. The dialogue was detached and poorly acted. The setting/attempted theme was very relevant but they didn’t use it well. It was rather disappointing. The music was pretty bad, except for a few songs (which were reminiscent of the first movie).

There are two things this film has going for it: dancing/choreography and the already developed likable characters (from the other two movies). The filmmakers should have used the extra money to hire better writers and directors instead of the gimmicks that they featured (there were a lot of stupid gimmicks) and they would have made a halfway decent film…BUT, they didn’t.

High School Musical 3 runs 112 minutes (it felt like longer) and is rated G. I give it a disappointing 3 ramheads out of 10.

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I‘ll tell you flat out, Toy Story 3 is a masterpiece. I don’t just mean among animated films, it will hold its own among any film out there. I saw it in 3D, which was nice, but if you don’t have the extra couple bucks, don’t sweat it: the 3D is not necessary.

The story and the setting of the story were brilliant. Anyone who was a kid when the first two Toy Story films came out and is in college or around college-aged will really relate to this film. On second thought, anyone who was a kid, played with toys, and grew up will relate to it.

Andy’s off to college and is forced to reckon with the decision of what to do with all his old stuff, including Woody, Buzz, and the other toys. They are constantly disappointed when Andy is busy playing with his cell phone, laptop, and other gadgets, but still long for his attention. -Anti-Spoiler-Alert- (Details you can gather from the trailer) They end up getting donated to a day care, to find out that the little kids there are devil-children who don’t know how to play. Mishaps happen and they all live happily ever after…or do they? You’ll just have to see for yourself. (You really should.)

Toy Story 3 is my favorite of the trio of films, somehow Pixar does not disappoint, even with sequels. 3 is really funny (and not just little kid funny), emotional, and just really cool.

Toy Story 3 runs 103 minutes and is rated G. Yes folks, G. EVERYONE and their mother should see this film. I give it 10 ramheads out of 10. Bloody brilliant.P.S. The Pixar animated short Day & Night is amazingly original. I don’t know how they do it. It was best one since Geri’s Game (chess game before Bug’s Life).

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The Golden Globe house-cleaning film Up in the Air, starring George Clooney has no plot, no action, and no special effects. I. t also deserved the awards it won.

Up in the Air is a story about a man who fires people for a living. He travels across the country, living out of a suitcase–and loving every minute of it. He even speaks to professionals about letting go of everything. Then stuff happens.

This film makes one think about priorities and life. Pretty good for a film without a plot, eh?

George Clooney is brilliant. Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga are great supporting actresses. The music is sufficient, but not memorable.

Up in the Air runs 108 and is rated R. Do not show this to your kids, the language gets bad at times, there is some sexuality (they don’t show too much) and any kids really won’t get it or appreciate it. I give Up in the Air 10 ramheads out of 10.
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It has been a long time since my last review. Time happens to be the main idea of the next series that I’m going to review. Back to the Future parts 1-3 are classics (according to me) and deserve to be watched by everyone, if for no other reason than to allow references to the movie to be made.

Back to the Future (1985)
This 80s classic Stephen Spielberg-produced film franchise is one of my all-time favorites. The concept is brilliant and the concept-to-screen transition was near-perfect. Michael J. Fox is spectacular Christopher Lloyd is perfect. The only thing that could take away from this film is some of the aging makeup, but I think it makes the film even more authentic and fun.

Back to the Future: Part II (1989)

This sequel is not as good as the first, and delves more into time travel as Marty and Dr. Brown travel to 30 years in the future. The acting is good, the story is interesting, and it definitely is a classic. It is a little too cheesy at times (even for me) but all in all it a as good addition to the series. It is definitely worth watching.

Back to the Future: Part III (1990)

The third and final film of the series is the most likable film in the Back to the Future Trilogy. It is based in the 1800s wild west and it really a fun film. It is a good, warm close to the series and my favorite.

This classic trilogy is all rated PG. There is some language that may not be good for younger kids. I give it a heavy 10 ramheads out of 10.
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This afternoon I had the pleasure of seeing Iron Man 2. Let me tell you, I was very entertained. Although some other reviewers didn’t like it, I definitely did. This film had a lot of action, a lot of humor, and a lot of content. Whereas some critics say it had too many subplots, I think all the necessary pieces were there and in place, the pieces just happened to be bigger ones.

Tony Stark is as cocky as ever, doing what he wants publicly, while still defending the people and being brilliant. He also had to defend the Iron Man suit from the government and a competitor in the weapons making business, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). Underneath all the cockiness and arrogance, Stark is vulnerable and has issues. Issues that I won’t tell you about. You’ll see as soon as you see the film.

Hammer hires Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), a Russian physicist who is out to get the Stark family because he believes his father got screwed over by Howard Stark (Tony’s father), to help replicate the Iron Man suit. Rourke does an amazing job acting. Period. Interesting things happen. Stark and Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) develop their relationship a little, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is back and a new assistant to Stark shows up (Scarlett Johansson). Rhody (Don Cheadle) is back, but isn’t Terrance Howard anymore.

Lots of big names. Lots of action. Lots of humor. Good music. Extremely entertaining. Also, make sure you stay after the credits because there is an extra scene just like the first Iron Man.

The highly entertaining Iron Man 2 runs 124 minutes and is rated PG-13. I really enjoyed this film and give it 7 ramheads out of 10. (The first was better.)

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I never liked this movie as a child. I liked things that I could understand, identify with, and enjoy. Disney’s Alice in Wonderland (1951) was none of those things for me as a child. It still isn’t many of them now, but I can definitely appreciate the cartoon classic a lot more nowadays.

Supervised by Walt Disney himself, Alice is considered one of Disney Studios finest works. It looks great, is presented great, and is a great length for a Disney cartoon. I’m not the biggest fan of some of the music (the songs with the choir from Peter Pan).

This movie is confusing and weird, but that’s how it is supposed to be. As a nearly 21 year old adult, I like it and can accept that it doesn’t always make sense.

After seeing the new Alice in Wonderland (2010), I’m not sure about this cartoon classic’s ending. It irks me. Besides that and a couple songs, I really enjoyed this classic.

Alice runs 75 minutes and is rated G. (Show this to your kids and kid siblings and kid cousins and the kids next door.) I give this classic cartoon a solid 8 ramheads out of 10.

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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a pet dragon? How to Train Your Dragon (2010) delves into the awesomeness and mystery of dragons and their dealings with vikings. It also wonders why Brett Favre ever became a Viking.

In this highly entertaining film, a young viking (only by name) somehow manages to catch the fastest breed of dragon. While he was always told to kill dragons on the spot, he couldn’t do it. He ends up befriending “Toothless” and learns to fly with him and do many other cool things. Because the vikings are sworn enemies of the dragons, he has to keep it all a secret. Interesting things happen (I’m not going to give anymore away).

I saw this film in 2D and it was really cool. I think 3D or IMAX would also be cool, but I enjoyed it muchly in 2D. This film had great themes and content; Fatherly expectations and family were some of them. Aside from it’s good themes, ti was funny, heart-warming, and full of action…plus it ended great too.

Also, the voice talent was superb, the music was nice and I was severely…
happy with this film.

I wasn’t expecting as much from this movie as I got, so I left the theatre quite chipper. This was the best animated film I’ve seen since Up.

How to Train Your Dragon runs 98 minutes and is a very family-friendly PG. I give it 9 ramheads out of 10. If you’re still confused about the Brett Favre thing, it was a joke.

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I‘ve always enjoyed Ewan McGregor films. I haven’t seen alot of them, but the one’s I’ve seen have been excellent. He grows an awesome beard in Star Wars II and III, he is spectacular in Big Fish, and I love his first name. The Ghost Writer is no exception.

McGregor plays the character only named “The Ghost” in this brilliantly written suspenseful thriller. The difference between this thriller and alot of others out there is that this one is smart. The characters are very convincing, thanks to the acting. Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, and Olivia Williams all pull of award-worthy performances. The minor roles all had solid acting as well.

The other thing that sets this film apart is the ending. I’m not going to say how it ends, but I was extremely impressed. It is just good movie-making. It reminded me of how Citizen Kane ended.

The music in this film is very well done. Andre Desplat, the composer, did a great job assisting with the suspense and intrigue. The music in this film is putting me a little at ease about the fact that Desplat is doing the music for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1.

This film was bloody brilliant in my opinion and I would highly recommend it. The Ghost Writer runs 128 minutes minutes and is rated PG-13. This isn’t too bad for kids, but younger ones probably wouldn’t get it. I give this film 10 ramheads out of 10.

I finally saw the much anticipated Alice in Wonderland [3D] (2010) on Saturday and let me tell you, another film lived up to the hype. First Avatar, now Alice…. I’m a pretty happy moviegoer.

Tim Burton creates a much more adult “Underland” in this adaptation of the Lewis Carroll book. Alice has returned to Wonderland, where everything seems vaguely familiar to her, but she thinks it is a dream. The audience journeys along with Alice as she deals with a darker Wonderland than in her childhood and has more decisions to make. Parts of the movie may seem superfluous or misguided at times, but that is because Alice is feeling misguided; the film immerses the audience very well. You feel how Alice feels. It’s pretty sweet. It may be a bit darker and dealing with heavier subject matter, but it was still funny.

Johnny Depp, of course, plays the Mad Hatter, who has a lot more depth than I remember from the animated classic. Depp does a spectacular job. Mia Wasikowska also nailed her role as Alice. I was extremely impressed with the performances…even the CG performances. The characters felt real to me. (That’s a good thing.)

Danny Elfman’s score was brilliant. It helped create the mystery and was an essential part of this film. The only thing is that it felt like I had heard it in another film; it just felt familiar. I love this score, so I’m not going to knock it. Here’s a sample:

Overall, this movie rocked. Alice in Wonderland is rated PG and runs 108 minutes. This one can be shown to all ages, though kids probably wouldn’t get the deeper meaning. 9 ramheads out of 10.