Big Hero 6

I was very excited to see Big Hero 6 from the trailers and I have to say that my expectations were probably just met.  Expect a movie that focuses more on the story of people rather than a traditional villain versus superheroes plot line (this is a plus in my opinion).  I expected it to be funny and it was, but the humor was cute funny most of the time.  I have a feeling that anyone who liked Wall-E would like this movie (I hated Wall-E by the way but I still liked this movie).  I'm guessing the movie will be popular with kids and adults, but skip the teenage crowd for the most part but I could be wrong.  There is also an obvious setup for a sequel depending on how this one does at the box office.

My favorite line in the movie was "I have to go to this nerd school."  That is exactly how I felt when I got my flyer from UCAS so many years ago and it made me laugh because I understood that kid in that moment perfectly.

In short, go see it.  Probably not a buy unless you have kids though.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Ever since the the reboot of the Spider-Man franchise with The Amazing Spider-Man audiences have had a chance to fall in love all over again with our friendly neighborhood teenage superhero.  Like with the Batman reboots, The Amazing Spider-Man first chose villains who were not used in the originals (Batman used the Scarecrow and the League of Shadows, both of whom had not been done before, and The Amazing Spider-Man chose to use the Lizard which had also not been used before).  As with Batman, The sequel starts introducing more commonly known characters (aka: Green Goblin, Doc Oc's suit is visible briefly) but unlike Batman, the movie chooses to focus on yet another new villain who was given quite the makeover from how he appeared in the comics.  We are talking, of course, of our friend Max Dillon who becomes Electro.  This decision to focus on a new superhero again was a benefit in my opinion.  It seems like this franchise will continue to do this (they introduced Rhino and Vulture in this film) and I agree with their approach although I would much rather see them do the Kingpin.  I'm wondering if they are hesitating to use the Kingpin because they have created a world where Oscorp reigns supreme and they need to support two powerful criminal empires.

This movie, like its predecessor, was very funny with plenty of action.  I did feel like there was probably too much development of the relationship with Gwen, but it make sense in the end when Spidey snaps Gwen's neck at the end of the movie trying to save her.  Don't worry, they've already introduced his next love interest (Black Cat).  The movie was just as good as the first although after 5 Spider-Man films, I am hoping that they might finally be able to make one that doesn't have a funeral in it.  That scene has been very played out and is getting exhausting.

Looking forward eagerly to the 3rd installment of The Amazing Spider-Man.

Ender's Game

When I first picked up Ender's Game as a kid I loved it immediately.  Ender became and continues to be my favorite character of any book or series I had read before or have since read.  Ender is so well-written that no other character in any other book even comes close.  I childishly refused to read the other books in the Ender series simply because Ender in Ender's Game was so perfect and I was scared that he would get ruined (I still haven't read them by the way, but I fully intend to at some point).

I often wondered why Ender's Game hadn't already been made into a film since it was already wildly popular both inside and outside of the sci-fi/fantasy world.  I mean, they teach it in English classes in some schools for heaven's sake.  My only thought was that Card wouldn't let them make it into a movie because he didn't want it ruined.  Well, I don't know what the reason was, but they've made a movie now.

If you want to read a fair and balanced review of Ender's Game you may want to look elsewhere.  I am clearly biased by my love for Ender as a character and unfortunately, as the IF commanders do in the book, the producers and director sacrificed Ender for the sake of an entertaining, aesthetically pleasing film that might appeal to a larger audience.  In doing this, they took away the entire purpose of the book: Ender.

There is always good news and bad news.  I've always been the type of guy who wants to hear the good news first.

The good news is that Ender and Bean were both magnificently cast.

Okay, now on to the bad news........

But seriously.

I will attempt to group my criticisms of the film into categories starting from most offensive to least offensive.

Ender Wiggin
I don't know who that was on the screen but it sure wasn't Ender Wiggin.  Don't get me wrong, Asa Butterfield did a great job and he definitely looked the part.  I was okay with them making Ender older since that's how I pictured him when I read the book in the first place.  Ender is just impossible to connect to as a 6 year old kid.  My problem was that the producers and directors sacrificed important character building of Ender for the sake of plot, which was a huge mistake since Ender is important to the book and plot is not.  The book could have been about anything, any of the details changed, as long as Ender was Ender.  The main problem was that Ender was a smart-ass, likeable (by the other boys), leader straight from the get-go.  Ender never went through the crucible of isolation that made Ender who he was.  Ender didn't get a chance to win anybody's respect, he just had it right from the start.  Even later, when Ender was meant to be a leader, the movie got it wrong again.  Ender might have had fun winning in the games, but he was still alone and somewhat depressed the whole time.  Ender's weariness never showed either.  These are some of the most emotionally charged parts of the entire book because the readers have been wondering the entire time when and how Ender will finally break.  This extends past the battle school to the final scene where he wins the war with the buggers.  At that point he literally breaks and is done, finished.  It isn't until days later that he even realizes that the games were real or the implications of any of that.  I'm not saying that Ender in the movie was a terrible character.  I think he was a great character.  It just wasn't the character Ender Wiggin.  In short, they made Ender's Game with a new character that had Ender's name and face, but few of the traits that made him the best character ever written.

All other characters
Since we have already decided that Ender's Game is a book built on characters (Ender in particular) and not plot, the other characters that they did wrong (which is all of them) were also major problems with the film.  We will take them one at a time roughly in order of appearance.

Stilson:  It is ironic that I am about to say this, but Stilson is the only character that SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN CAST OLDER!!!  Wow!  The characters that are supposed to be older are too young but LITERALLY THE ONLY CHILD WHO IS ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO BE AROUND ENDER'S AGE IS A FREAKING GIANT!  That is all.

Valentine: I have few complaints about Valentine except that at first I thought Valentine looked younger than Ender.  It was just the camera angles in that first scene in the bedroom but it was okay after that.

Peter:  He was cast wrong and his character was not developed at all.  The reason this is a mistake is because you have to understand Peter and Valentine before you can even begin to understand Ender.  Valentine was developed enough, but more for her would have been nice too.

Mom and Dad: They were fine.  They are not important enough to the story for me to care although I did imagine dad as having glasses with a briefcase and newspaper (not exactly, but you get the businessman feeling from him in the book).

Graff:  As a Harrison Ford fan it plagues me to say this, but he might have been the worst of the main characters in the entire movie.  It isn't because he was cast wrong (on the contrary, he could have done Graff proud) but instead because he was so flat the entire movie.  It was hard for me to tell if he even cared about Ender or the war or anything at all.  HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT since Graff is in my inner circle of most important characters in the book.

Anderson:  Although I pictured Anderson as a white man, I was fine with Anderson being a black woman.  The complaint that I have is that Anderson was too compassionate (more about this later).  I realize that Anderson always tried to balance Graff, but Anderson always came off strong to me, as a partner with Graff, just with more of a conscience.

Dap: What the hell?  Worst casting decision of the entire film.  Nuff said.

Petra, Alai, the absence of Shen, Dink (perfect!), Fly Molo and Bernard I was okay with except for the fact that Bernard lacked an accent.  They throw in random races and accents to everyone else but Bernard doesn't get one?  That was a dumb move.

Bonzo:  Sorry, THIS is the worst casting decision of the film.  I realize that Moises Arias played a feisty Bonzo, but I seriously couldn't take him seriously with him being a whole head shorter than Ender.  Was Bean taller than him?  Just kidding.

Mazer: I was okay with it other than I pictured him with a pretty gnarly beard for some reason.

I don't care about the Strategos or any of the other guys that barely appear in the book.

Ender Scenes
This is similar to the Ender section, but I will talk about specific scenes and everything that was wrong with them, not just the Ender parts.  I will try to go chronologically.

Beating up Stilson:  We've already discussed the fact that Stilson is too big, but Ender should not have been that scared during that scene.  Ender was freaked out inside, but he wasn't like that on the surface.  If you wanted the audience to know how he was feeling, the cut scene to Valentine was a perfectly fine way to show all that.  Ender reacts logically, not emotionally and that entire scene was done wrong, including the way Ender chose to fight (grabbing random objects, not planned out, etc).

Choosing Ender for the IF:  I just wanted to do a quick shout out because I think this scene was actually really pretty good (except why was Anderson there?  I guess it's okay.....).

The shuttle and Bernard in general:  Skipping this scene was a vital mistake because it is a huge Ender character developing moment.  Also, the decision to make Bernard an ally was idiotic.  I see why they did it (Ender brought all the kids around to his side, even Bernard), but that is not how it was supposed to work.

Ender's first battle with Salamander:  Ender's not freaking Neo from The Matrix.  What was up with those stupid moves like letting go of both guns, flipping, getting them again, shooting everybody and everything?  That was not Ender's first experiences in battle.

Ender as Dragon commander montage:  Okay, let's force all of Ender's character building moments into a 5 minute montage that focuses more on the cool tricks he is doing rather than the actual character growing that Ender is going through.

Bonzo fights Ender:  Kudos for tactfully showing this scene but it was a little laughable, mostly because of the bad casting decision for Bonzo that I already mentioned earlier.

Bonzo, Petra, and Ender with Graff:  This scene is completely unnecessary since it is not in the book AT ALL!!!  Ender doesn't give up on the game because of Bonzo.  Oh wait, I forgot you don't want to build the character of Ender, you want to build a new character that is not Ender but more Valentine than anything who definitely would not have been able to win the war with the buggers.

Ender and Valentine:  It was a bit silly but I honestly don't know how they could have done this scene without coming off really super cheesy.

Command school:  Again, where is the crucible that Ender is supposed to go through?  Why are we telling him who Mazer is right from the start?  Why are all his buddies there right from the start?

Ender fails a battle: THIS PISSED ME OFF!  ENDER DOES NOT LOSE!  ENDER NEVER LOSES!  Petra makes mistakes, not Ender.  Ender never loses.  Can I say that one more time?  Ender never loses.

Ender is upset about the war:  The way it happened in the book was perfect.  This way was really horrible.  It just makes it seem as if Ender is too much Valentine, not enough Peter.  Not enough Ender.

Miscellaneous problems of varying offensiveness

Girls at the battle school: I'm sorry that we live in a world where girls might feel offending if there aren't enough of them in the movie but suck it up.  There aren't supposed to be very many girls at the battle school (none that I know of except Petra) but the way they set this up it seemed as if there were tons of them.  There were several in Ender's launch group. 

The hook:  The hook was stupid.  I don't really know what else to say about that.

Buggers:  Why did they intentionally avoid using this phrase?  Is it offensive in some way that I am unaware of?  It was supposed to be offensive.

Petra love:  Making it seem as if there was something between Ender and Petra was bunk.  Just total bunk.

Mazer has to help Ender figure the buggers out:  Ender figures the vids out for himself while he is still at battle school.  He doesn't need Mazer to hold his hand and explain everything to him.

Mind game:  More vital character development of Ender that they cut out.  The mind game was a joke they way they presented it.

No Intelligent Progression:  They present Ender as a Launchy/Salamander/Commander all at the same time with no progression to follow.  This was a huge injustice to developing Ender's character properly.

Bean in the launch group:  I was okay with this.  I even thought that they stumbled onto genius when I thought they might combine the characters of Bean and Alai (which they didn't).  I would have liked to see a bit more of Bean's development, but oh well.

I can keep going, but what's the point?

I heard the suggestion given that they should have done this movie in two movies.  I still think it could have been done properly in one, but if they did make two movies then even an idiot should be able to get it right, just follow the book.  The details about Ender matter.  The details about everyone else doesn't matter as much.  If they did split it, I would end the first movie with Ender becoming Dragon commander.  The obvious benefits of drawing the movie out into two is that they could actually spend the correct amount of time developing Ender slowly (since that's how he develops!).  It would also let the progression of exhaustion show which I think was a major drawback in the movie.  I don't feel like Ender EVER felt exhausted, just angry or sad or some other powerful emotion.

Needless to say it was the worst book adaptation I have ever seen (you heard me right my friends, worse than Eragon) and I will not be seeing it again if I can help it.

Man of Steel

I

It's been a while since I've done a review on my blog but hey, it's never too late to start back up again.  Let me begin by saying that I give the movie an 8 out of 10 overall.  

Portraying Superman is difficult and I think the franchise has struggled for a while with this.  How can you have an unbeatable man, then create a BELIEVABLE situation where the hero really struggles?  The creators of this version of Superman tried to overcome this problem by providing a rich back story which they spent a good amount of time on.  In my opinion they were probably as successful as they could be with this and I liked the focus on the back story before Superman even gets to Earth.

I liked the beginning part of the movie (after the back story) very much.  Superman jumps from scene to scene, trying to stay under the radar but unable to overcome his urge to help people.  This part of the story is aided by flashbacks to Clark's childhood which I think effectively add to the back story.  The only part about this that I wasn't impressed with is that I didn't respect and care about the Kent's as much as I have in other incarnations of Superman.  Martha and Jonathan Kent are supposed to be a huge part of what/how/why Superman is and I just didn't feel their contribution much in this film.  I hate to say it, but I didn't really feel the loss when Jonathan Kent died and the scenes with Martha I couldn't help but feel annoyed with her for some reason.

They throw Lois and Clark together in a twisty sort of way that was surprising and refreshing.  I like the fact that Lois knew who Superman was even before Superman fully knew who he was himself.  Amy Adams made a great Lois Lane.  

The villain was powerful, believable, and unknown, keeping even big Superman fans interested and guessing at what exactly was going to happen.  Obviously we missed Lex (noticed the few nods to Lexcorp in the film) but I actually preferred that Lex was not the villain of this movie.  

The action was great even though some of the scenes were a little unbelievable (particularly very tall buildings toppling over like trees when in reality they would collapse downward).  I don't feel like the action was forced at all and the scenes flowed very naturally.

I know that we've already established that the council of Krypton are morons, but if their prisoners escape their planet's destruction, couldn't they have escaped the destruction somehow?  Anyway, just a little confused about that.

The biggest drawback in this movie (in my opinion) is that it wasn't funny.  I understand that this movie was not meant to be a comedy, but superhero movie fans have come to expect punny, cheesy moments as well as well-constructed wit but this movie lacked a lot of that.  There were really only a few moments where this was felt, and only briefly.  The best of these moments was the last two lines of the movie which were just great.

Overall I liked the movie and I would watch it again.  I will plan on buying it this Christmas as a stocking stuffer for myself.

Underworld Awakening

Kate Beckinsale + vampires = yes. The fourth installment of the Underworld saga was violently great. I would probably give it about an 8.

This fourth movie follows up where the second one left off. The humans have finally caught on to the fact that there are lycans and vampires around them and have "purged" what they could. I thought this was a great twist because I've always wondered what would happen if humans caught on to the supernatural things going on around them in a lot of movies. The lycans and vampires were treated like a zombie outbreak or something and I thought it was fantastic.

For those of you who don't like violence stay away. It is by far the most bloody and violent movie out of the 4. There is one part where Selene breaks a guy's arm and the bone comes out of his arm. It says the F word twice but there is no nudity in this one (I think there was in the 2nd one).

Overall it was my favorite Underworld movie. It moved a lot faster than any of the other three and it wasn't boring like the 2nd movie. It was left pretty open so it is possible that another Underworld might be on the way in the next few years. Hey, I'll take Kate Beckinsale over Kristen Stewart as a hot vampire any day.

Breaking Dawn Part 1

If you are looking for a teen sex movie with no plot, go see Breaking Dawn Part I.

I have to say that I expected more out of this movie. After Eclipse, which I thought was brilliant (see my review) I thought the Twilight Saga movies had finally taken a turn for the better. Unfortunately, Breaking Dawn Part 1 harks back to the bad acting, shallow plot, awkward blocking, and poor characterization of Twilight and New Moon, in fact surpassing Twilight and taking the title of worst movie in the Twilight Saga. Overall I give it a 4 out of 10.

Right from the beginning I could tell that Breaking Dawn wasn't going to fit well with the rest of the series. The director chose to create odd scenes that really didn't fit with the rest of the series.

In Eclipse, the directors focused on characterization and because of that, the plot naturally flowed. In Breaking Dawn it fell like they focused on plot and forgot the characters (the most important part) and because of this the plot felt haphazard and forced.

Bella was flat and emotionless throughout most of the movie, but it was most noticeable at the wedding. She seemed forced and it really made it hard to connect with Bella at all.

The scene where the wolves were all talking to each other and Jacob creates his own pack was not done very well and that was really a shame since it is one of the climaxes of the story.

I expected them to do very well with the birthing/transformation scene since this director seems to enjoy presenting shocking and/or surprising shots. It was pretty gory, but again they failed to capture the emotion of what actually was going on in the book. They talked about a delicate balance between getting Renesme out and changing Bella but when it came down to it Edward almost ignored Bella until she was already dead. I was okay with them changing the storyline a little to integrate Jacob into the birthing scene but the fact that they butchered it made me upset anyway.

I expected them to do a horrible job with Jacob's imprint on Renesme and I was dreading the moment but when it happened I was happy with it. It wasn't too cheesy and they didn't drag it out too long. This was probably one of the best scenes in the entire movie (sadly).

The nudity was not necessary for little kids to see and it did nothing to further the plot.

On a superficial note: If you are going to make a crappy movie at least have some hot chicks in it. Bella was pretty nasty the whole time and Alice lost her pixie-like allure with her poor new haircut and bossy/mommy attitude.

In short, we already know that Breaking Dawn Part II will be better since it can't get much worse than that. Besides, Alec and Jane (two of my favorite characters) will be there. Breaking Dawn was my favorite book in the series and I hope they wrap up the ending of this series better than they started it.

Real Steel

I realized I haven't done a post since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II came out. Perhaps it is because I am lazy and perhaps it is because nothing was worth talking about until now. Nobody will ever know.

I decided that I really needed to do a post about Real Steel because I feel like it is the most underrated movie of the year. Reviews were terrible and I didn't even get an "it was okay" from any of my friends. This was a real bummer because I was looking forward to this movie. After seeing Real Steel (finally!) I have to give it a 9 out of 10.

Real Steel tells the story of a washed up boxer who now does a poor job of training boxing robots. When his ex-wife of 11 years dies unexpectedly he ends up spending the summer with a son he never knew. Max loves boxing robots and the two help each other be successful as they make their way to the biggest robot fight ever.

Hugh Jackman did an excellent job. He was true to his character and the dynamic between father and son was different than any I had ever seen in a movie before. Rather than one person trying to build a relationship and the other evading, neither character tried to get to know the other but they were brought together by a common interest. They inevitably grew together along the way.

I have heard that many people think that the boxing robots were kind of cheesy and lame. On the contrary, I thought it was interesting and exciting watching the matches. Having never been a boxing fan and being a little sick of robots (mainly from the last 2 Transformers movies which were fails) I expected to be a little fed up with this. I looked forward to every fight and I was never disappointed.

The supporting characters had just enough involvement to be "supporting characters" but most of the time was saved for Max and Charlie to develop their relationship. I enjoyed a movie that was more about character than about plot and that presented it in a new way for me. The movie is definitely not for everyone, but I think it makes a great film that guys and girls could agree to watch together.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II

Brilliant. Absolutely bloody brilliant! Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II represents to me the culmination of my entire childhood. I have looked forward to this moment for over a decade now and it has finally ended. It comes with a mix of sadness as well as content. It could never be any other way. I do not remember who introduced me to the first book as a child (probably my parents) but I do remember the impact it had on me. Chamber of Secrets scared me so bad that I had to sleep on the floor in my parents' room until I finished it but I would not put it down even though my mother asked me to. At school while other kids played soccer or basketball I spent my time browsing the books, writing down every spell and its effect and committing them to memory in order to play wizards with my friend Seth. The writing in the books improved as I grew up and my reading level increased, keeping me interested. The seventh book was and is my favorite. That is probably how a series should be. Ron, Harry, and Hermione have been with me practically my entire life and to see them on the big screen in these vivid scenes was more than a dream come true.

Now for the actual evaluation of the film. Hehe . . . . sorry for getting distracted.

The beginning of the film was a perfect transition from the first half. After that it had a few rough transitions that were choppy and I felt like they rushed just a couple of things. For instance, the scene with Aberforth was not fulfilling enough. The transition when Harry gets to the Room of Requirement and Ginny announced that Snape knows that Harry was spotted in Hogsmeade is abrupt and choppy. From the reaction of the audience they felt the same way.

When Harry steps out from the crowd and calls Snape out and the Order steps through the doors I just about peed my pants. It sent shivers up my spine. It was all about to begin. The epic continued with McGonagall facing down Snape. When the castle comes to life and the good guys begin preparing for the defenses I was tingling.

The battle itself, as expected, was amazing. It did not disappoint in any way, although they changed a few things about the way it all went down. I never felt like it dragged and I was genuinely concerned about nearly every single person shown in the frames.

Snape's death was well done and garnered a lot of sympathy points for the half-blood prince. This was closely followed by a quadruple combination of scenes that eventually made me teary. I was glad that the director chose to make the scene short where Harry sees Fred, Tonks, and Lupin. That scene led to Snape's memories where his love for Lily is clear and poignant. Immediately after that Harry knows what he must do and that he must go alone. As he leaves his friends Hermione wishes it could be any other way, cries, and offers to go with him. That nearly got me there. When Harry uses the resurrection stone to speak to his parents, Sirius, and Lupin I finally shed the tear that had been welling up over the past fifteen or so minutes. It was very touching to me.

Epic scenes unfolded from there. The death of Harry, Molly and Bellatrix, Neville and Nagini, and finally Harry and Lord Voldemort.

My friends will probably say that I am eating my words here but I enjoyed the epilogue and felt like it was very much needed. In the book I didn't really think we necessarily needed to see it and it didn't do much for me then but the movie really needed that boost of happy and alright with the word to counter all the pain and suffering that had just happened. The victory over Voldemort, at least in the movie, was not enough alone. I felt a lot of strength when Harry spoke of Snape's bravery to his son Albus.

10 does not even begin to describe this film. It undoubtedly joins the ranks of my all-time favorite movies. I feel it is unfair to judge its place in those standings just yet until this euphoria wears off. Otherwise, I would make it my #1 movie of all time this instant.

I hope everybody enjoys the movie. Here and a few pictures of my friends and me from the theater.

Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon

I will admit, I was not looking forward to this movie very much. After the disappointment of the second movie I wasn't sure I would even go see it. Alas, fate had something else in mind for me and a friend invited me to go. It actually wasn't as bad as the second movie but is was still kind of awful. I am giving it a 6. First I will cover the big, overarching things that they got wrong then we can talk about a few little things. I will say it was pretty cool how they used actual footage from Kennedy and Nixon's presidencies as well as casting Obama and Buzz Aldrin as themselves.

Plot was a lot better in this movie than in the second one but it still could have been better constructed. It seemed like they just threw characters in at random when they didn't have to. However the biggest problem (same as in the second movie) was that the producers and writers must have been confused about what kind of movie they were making. The first Transformers had a great plot line, great action, and it was funny. The two sequels were crudely strewn-together comedies with action going on in the background. A LOT of scenes were simply thrown in to get a cheap laugh and did not further the plot or characterization AT ALL. (The action was fun to watch though).

A few little things:

What the heck with the colored blood/liquid crap oozing from wounds that the transformers get? Apparently they didn't bleed at all in the first two but 2011 hit them all like Y2K or something and changed their genetics to have blood. Whatever.

The girl's accent was pretty annoying.

As much as I love John Malkovich and Ken Jeong and as funny as they are . . . all they did was detract from the film.

Last but not least, the redhead general who died in the first movie is back again! He was in the second movie too. Since nobody believes me about this I have attached a video for your viewing pleasure. Nobody survives the attack on Qatar except the small team. Yet the general magically does. Hmmm . . . continuity issues people.

Transformers - Attack in Qatar - Watch more amazing videos here

Super 8

More like Super 10. This movie definitely deserved my highest rating. I was a little leery of my good old J.J. Abrams after the disaster of Cloverfield but he began redeeming himself with Star Trek and Super 8 has more than fully restored him to my good graces. I remember them released a cryptic 20 second trailer of Super 8 last year before it even had a title and I have been waiting for it ever since. Without further ado, my review.

This movie was hilarious. It reminded me of Goonies and Sandlot which isn't surprising considering it follows around a group of kids. It is set in a charming late 70s town in the midwest and the feel of adventure that the kids bring is instant and intoxicating. The storyline unfolding at a quick pace but without leaving much out. It followed a logical progression and didn't leave the viewer feeling like he or she was missing anything. The romance was well-played, keeping the innocence of the the main characters. The kids did an amazing job.

My only complaint about the move was the language. It was necessary for some foul language, but I felt like the F-word was unnecessary and they could have toned down the kids' swearing a little bit in some scenes. Other than that the movie was fantastic. As my second 10 of the year, I would readily recommend Super 8 to anybody who needs a good laugh and loves childlike adventure.

Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides

I know it has been a few days. So sue me. I went and saw Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides Thursday night at the Orem theater and even though most of you have probably already seen it, I decided to do my review.

Overall I gave the movie an 8.5. I struggled with how I should grade this movie because it was not very good as a sequel but it was entertaining as a stand alone movie. Even though I hate Penelope Cruz I think she did an excellent job and so did most of the other actors. For some reason I was mostly just annoyed with the priest. There were very few things which harked back to the first trilogy. I think that was a smart move. This movie was funny without needing to take everything from the first movie and reusing it. I think that Jack should have "lied by telling the truth" at the end of the movie with the two cups simply because it would have been a funny joke considering that Cruz's character had done that to him earlier in the movie. I don't know why the writers didn't take that easy joke but whatever. Overall, I would buy it and watch it multiple times which is much more than I can say for the 2nd installment in this trilogy.

Thor

Yesterday I decided to go see Thor after work. I was pretty tired because I had only slept four hours the night before and just worked a ten hour shift but I wanted to see it anyway so that nobody would ruin it for me. Surprisingly, I had no trouble at all staying awake. The movie was hilarious and and the casting was great, even for the supporting characters. The story pulled me in and made me almost forget about the upcoming Avengers movie. It was so good that I would want to watch it over and over even if the other Avengers movies hadn't been made. Natalie Portman was gorgeous as usual. I thought the acting was pretty good. Loki was fantastic at the end when he is battling Thor. One thing that bothered me was the opening scene. I was okay with how it started but the cut to the opening credits came at an odd moment I thought. Other than that I mostly loved the movie. I gave the movie a 9.

I Am Number Four and The Eagle Double Feature

The other day my friend Heather and I wanted to go see I Am Number Four and since we were already there we decided to go see The Eagle as well.




I Am Number Four

I was expecting this movie to be sort of like the TV show Heroes and I won't ruin it for you but it has a different sort of twist to it. The pacing of the movie was perfect and there was plenty of action. There was romance, but I don't think it was too much. The downside is that I was wondering when some attractive people would show up and finally we get to meet the love interest who is pretty decent-looking. The plot unfolding in a logical and well-timed manner and although I wasn't particularly invested in the characters at the beginning, by the end of the movie there are several characters that I like. The major disappointment of this film for me was the fact that it felt like an extended pilot episode of a new TV show, not a movie. At the end of the movie it is obvious that there will be sequels. I say sequels because there is no way they could wrap this story up in less than three movies. Because of that fact, I felt a lack of completeness since the story arc wasn't really there. If I had known that I was going in to a series then it probably would have made my experience more enjoyable. Having said all this, I did like the movie and I will look forward to the sequel. Also, I didn't realize this until after I saw it, but this movie was based off a book by the same name. I probably won't have time to add it to my reading list but I would be interested in talking to someone who has read the book.



The Eagle

Heather and I went directly from I Am Number Four to The Eagle in the adjoining theater. For me, this movie beat out the other one. It was not a 10, maybe about an 8.

The unique thing that I liked about this movie is that there were no female leads. There were only two or three women in the entire movie and they had non-speaking roles in one scene towards the end. It was refreshing to see a movie without a love side-story going on. Channing Tatum, though I am not a big fan of him, was great in this movie. He fit the role and played it well. The actor who played Esca was also brilliant, even more so than Tatum. I believe the movie takes place in the 2nd Century Roman Empire and is fairly accurate in its depictions of the soldiers and the fighting. For a lover of history it was just nice to see a small story set in the larger scheme of events that we normally see. Like I said, it is not an epic monument to filmaking or the genre necessarily but it was a good respite from movies that focus only on large, real events in textbooks. One additional note: The movie has many quiet parts in it so make sure you are not in a theater next door to the Justin Bieber movie or you will catch most of that one as well.

Tron Legacy

It has been about a week since I've seen this movie but I am just getting around to writing the review now. The movie is at a semi-solid 8. It probably would have been a 7 if I hadn't seen the original. Let me explain.

Tron Legacy had a sense of nostalgia but it felt more like a premier than a sequel because of the many years that have passed since the original came out and the leaps in cinematography and special effects since then. This included not only the casting of Bridges as Flynn but also the references to Tron and, of course, the games.

I won't say that the special effects were fantastic, but they were fun to watch and the light cycles were pretty cool. I want one.....

I have heard a lot of complaints that people were bored during the movie. I could see how this could happen. The plot isn't necessarily slow, but I think the fact that they are in a virtual world slows it down because the viewer is unfamiliar with everything that shows up. I thought it was just fine.

The actor they chose to play Sam was great. He played his part well and I think he showed the corresponding emotion for the corresponding scene.

The largest failing of the movie was the end. I will not spoil it for anyone, but I think the "reintegration" of Flynn and the digital Flynn could have been less destructive, perhaps trapping Flynn in the grid forever or something like that.

If you liked Aeonflux then you would probably like this film.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

I gave this movie an 8.

I have been waiting for the next installment in the Narnia series for quite a while and I was very excited to see it. These books (and movies) are very close to my heart and I thought the first two were very successful.

I wondered how the new studio would handle the series, but it seems like they did a fairly good job at keeping most things the same. Some stylistic differences here and there. A lot of the storyline was changed but hardly any of it was ignored completely. I was okay with the changes that were made.

The new character Eustace played his role well. I liked the boy they chose for Eustace but they are going to have to do a good job on the next movie in order for me to like him as much as a main character should be liked.

I was mad at the three people in front of me in the theater because they were mocking the touching scene at the end. Like I said, these stories are very close to my heart and I wish they hadn't been there but nobody could ruin it for me. There was too much positive and wistful emotion colliding all at once.

At first it was sad because I knew that this was the last time Edmund and Lucy would be able to visit Narnia. This also brought to a close the first three movies, since none of the original characters would continue from now on. Reep and Eustice were able to bond in the movie and though I was happy for Reep to visit Aslan's Country, Eustice started crying and it made it one of those bittersweet moments for me. Aslan was also there during this scene which just brought power and majesty to it. Overall I felt like they did very well and I will definitely be purchasing the dvd when it comes out.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

The last movie promised that number seven would also be a decent movie and it did not disappoint. Though I liked Half-Blood Prince better, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 definitely makes it to the top half of my list of Harry Potter movies.

Although it was long, it was interesting the entire movie. I was wondering if they would end this first installment with Ron's return to the group but it went much farther than I anticipated. This means that the battle at Hogwarts in the next movie is going to take quite a while, which I am perfectly okay with.

Most all of the characters performed admirably. There are not any parts that I can think of that had an obvious lack of talent. The movie was hilarious all the way through. However there were some minor mistakes and two larger flaws which place Half-Blood Prince over this one.

Minor flaws: Bill's scar was not what I expected. I thought it would be much larger and/or cover a much larger area of his face. Though he played his part well, I did not particularly like the man chosen to play Xenophilia Lovegood. I think it could have been more violent. Of the unforgiveable curses I only saw the Avada Kedavra even used and that only indirectly.

Slightly bigger flaws: The camera work at some points was disorienting, specifically when the snatchers are chasing the trio through the woods towards the end of the film. The much talked about nudity scene I felt was interjected specifically so that the audience could see Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe naked and was not only completely unnecessary but out of place. The specific details of that scene do not even happen in the book at all and if they had wanted to put it in then they characters could have at least been clothed. Like I said, it was apparent that they put it in because they wanted to and I don't feel that it enhanced the emotion of that moment even a morsel. It actually somewhat bothers me that they would purposely insert such a scene in a movie that they know many children will watch (and that is probably precisely why they did it).

I loved the character they chose for Bathilda Bagshot.

I am convinced that the next movie will probably be the best of the lot because it will have all my favorite parts of the seventh book. Looking forward to it.

Salt

So I don't know why I have waited this long to see Salt because it was amazing. This is probably going to be an unpopular comment but I thought it was better than Inception. The action was hands down more active and violent and even Inception's interesting ideas could not defeat Salt's overall appeal. Angelina Jolie was perfect. She looked hot no matter what color her hair was or how long it was (In fact towards the end when she has really short hair I think it made her look really hot, which is unusual for me). Everyone and their dog has done the idea of Russian spies posing as Americans but I think this is the best way I've ever seen it done. Salt is a definite must see.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

I avoided this movie while it was in theaters because I had heard too many bad reviews of it. The comment I heard most often was that the best parts were in the trailer (which I thought was hilarious and that is why I was interested in the movie). So I didn't ever see it. The other night I rented the movie to watch with a friend and loved it. It was not the most amazing movie ever, but it brought me back to that age again and it was full of humorous real-life experiences.

The only part about the movie that I disliked was the fixation on the moldy piece of cheese. I felt it was unnecessary and the director relied far too much on the cheese for poor scene transitions.

Inception

Let me start off by saying that Inception is a solid 10.

About a year ago when Inception was first announced I was uber excited. Very few others shared my enthusiasm for the movie, but now I think many of those people have changed their tune. The movie's high praise is well-deserved.

The problem I typically see in movies is pacing. This movie had none of those problems. Information was revealed with perfect timing and execution and the amount of information revealed at any given moment was not overkill. In short, the movie allowed for the viewer to figure things out for themselves without getting frustrated that they can't.

Casting was great, specifically Ellen Page and Joshua Gordon-Levitt.

My one and only complaint is two-fold: the casting of Michael Caine as the grandfather and the flatness of that character. He wasn't terrible or anything. I just think that an actor of his caliber deserves more than five minutes of flat acting. He simply served as a distraction. Also, though the grandfather is hardly in the movie, his responses seemed automated, lacking depth and character, and overall did not fit with the rest of the film.

Inception is a must see. I will definitely be buying it when it is released.

Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 was my second 10 for the year so far. It brought back all my childhood memories, was true to the character of the toys from the first two movies, and created a story so dramatic and engaging that I think it might even be better than the first one.

Every scene was hilarious and the way things fell in to place was perfect. Even though Andy is all grown up, he is still a lovable character.

I must admit, I got a little teary at the end but you will just have to see it for yourself to know why.

I would recommend this movie to anyone. This is the first year I have ever given a 10 to a cartoon movie.