Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

I feel like I should add a disclaimer of sorts at the beginning of this review. While reading, please be aware (wary?) that the review you are about to read was written by a die-hard fan of the Potter books, so the opinions may be a bit harsh or, at times, biased. I assure you I did my best to keep the bias to a minimum, but I can’t turn off my level of obsession! Feel free to carry on.

Experience has previously taught me to have low expectations for the Potter films. I had no complaints for Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets, but the release of Prisoner of Azkaban had me outraged. They had completely left out the explanation behind the Marauders’ Map, ruined whatever they had left in regarding Remus Lupin, and more. Goblet of Fire was a tad better, but my opinion went down again with the release of Order of the Phoenix. Therefore, you can imagine the mindset I had going into the theatre to view Half-Blood Prince.

That movie changed everything.

Well, not everything, I suppose. I didn’t change my outlooks on Prisoner, Goblet or Phoenix, but it did change my attitude about Prince. A lot.

I was amazed that when I saw the movie, the scenes I’d seen in trailers looked more impressive, they were funnier, they were just better. This movie, as Frak from PotterCast put it, really “held hands” with Phoenix in a way that was completely natural. Having had Prisoner, Goblet and Phoenix helmed by three different directors, it was obvious that they were completely different movies. This time, it actually felt like it was the same series. The opening shot of Prince was from one of the last scenes in Phoenix. What a brilliant start to a brilliant movie.

The movie only got better from there. The movie was actually funny without having to have the actors act out of character, and for once, it was because it was the first time Steve Kloves actually decided to use lines verbatim from the books since Chamber (can anyone say “the prophecy?”). That alone transformed the movie more than I can say. Steve Kloves and David Yates (and the rest of the crew and actors) also did a fantastic job at balancing the (appropriately, might I add) light-hearted scenes with darker ones, which really made the darker scenes stand out as true accomplishments.

Something else I really loved in this film was the acting. Dan, Emma, Rupert and Tom have become such great actors. Their scenes in Prince didn’t have a forced air about them like they might have in previous films. I was quite worried about the Sectumsempra scene, but Tom pulled it off perfectly; in the common room scenes, I actually got the sense that Dan, Emma and Rupert have the same friendship that Harry, Hermione and Ron do. Alan Rickman also, yet again, was absolutely perfect as Severus Snape. His facial expressions were fittingly confused, worried, torn, etc. when the time called for it, without giving his alliance away to the movie-goer who doesn’t read the books. Kudos to you, Alan Rickman, for being so awesome.

Don’t get me wrong – this movie could still have been improved in various ways. The adult actors, as usual, did not get enough screen time, unfortunately, and though Michael Gambon’s acting was stupendous during the climax of this movie, the rest of his performance failed yet again to convince me that he was Dumbledore. Movie!Dumbledore also failed to adequately prepare Harry for finding the horcruxes. You thought he wasn’t prepared after book!Prince? Well, he’s even less prepared now. I guess they’ll just have Hermione figure things out for him, like she always does…

Though I’ve only touched on things I liked about this film (others include the Vanishing Cabinet scenes, Spinner’s End, and tons of other little details that they left in but could have just as easily discarded), I can assure you it’s the movie to see, and I’m not just saying that because I’m a Potter fan. (Ok, maybe a little.) Settle in for the best Potter film seven years.

Monsters Vs. Aliens (2009)

The first thing you to talk about regarding Monsters Vs. Aliens is the quality of the 3-d. It was amazing! I actually believe it’s the best movie I’ve seen in 3-d. It’s just gorgeous, and done unbelievably well. It’s wasn’t just cliche “3-d-movie-commercial-where-theater-audience-members-act-like-they’re-actually-avoiding-a-fireball-or-etc.-WOAH” 3-d. It was also the smaller details that made the 3-d great, as well.

While the 3-d was brilliant; it’s not the only reason ‘Monsters’ is a great watch. It had a good plot, with a sweet story. It was cute, and pretty hilarious. The dialogue was well-written. In fact, it was probably better than a lot of live-action films, which isn’t always the case with cartoons. Definitely worth going to see at your theater.

Another plus for ‘Monsters’ was its cast. The cast was excellent! Seth Rogen was especially hilarious at delivering his lines. But that’s not to take away from the rest of the cast, becauase they were very funny as well. Even Steven Colbert, who didn’t have a whole lot of lines, was really funny too(albeit, his lines were a tad cheesy in moments. but that wasn’t his fault!). Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Paul Rudd, Kiefer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson, and the rest were good, too.

I really have no real complaint about Monsters Vs. Aliens at the moment. True, it was a bit silly in parts, but it’s a cartoon! It’s a supposed to be a little bit silly!

One con about ‘Monsters’ is that since it’s in 3-d, it costs a tad more than it would if it wasn’t in 3-d(though it doesn’t seem to bothered too many folks, seeing as it’s in the number 1 spot this week beating out those lame new 2-d movies. hahaha!), and with everyone watching their wallets in these times, it might be a bit harder for some people to see. But if you have some extra cash, and want to see a good movie, and laugh and get your mind off things; Monsters Vs. Aliens fits the bill(pun not intended.) perfectly.

‘Monsters’ follows Susan/Ginormica(Witherspoon), Dr. Cockroach(Laurie), The Missing Link(Arnett), Insectasaurus, and B.O.B.( Rogen) who are four monsters(hope that didn’t spoil the whole thing for thing for you.) took in to be controlled by the government. That is, untill an alien named Galaxar(Wilson) attempts to take over the world, and cannot be subdued by the army, and then the government decides to counter Galaxar with the monsters.

To sum it up; this movie is great. Kids and adults can both enjoy it. There’s something for just about everyone in it. Whether it’s just because you like 3-d or are a fan of the 1950′s monster flicks, or if you just want to have a laugh and enjoy a movie with your family, or whatever the reason; Monsters Vs. Aliens is a great movie to see. Plus, B.O.B. is one of the greatest cartoon characters ever.

Watchmen

As a fan of the “Watchmen” I wanted to love this movie, a gritty movie that was true to the novel and brought some of my favorite characters to life. This movie brought to fruition some of my desires. I got to see the Comedian butcher his pregnant girlfriend, Doctor Manhattan’s clockwork home on Mars, Silk Spectre, Rorschach’s line, “You’re all locked in here with me.” All these things put smiles on my face but the quality of the movie overall was disappointing.

I’d like to say that the acting was good and overall, it was. The main hinderance for this movie was the fact that it was only two hours and forty-five minutes. The Watchmen could easily be split into an epic length film. Honesty, another hour at least would not have hindered this film. That is my major qualm, I guess, it’s not long enough to do the story justice.

Anyone who was a fan of the original graphic novel will recognize plenty of background sights. There was so much happening behind the primary characters that it could keep hardcore fans of the comic watching the movie several times to still discover new easter eggs. Luckily, that fun aspect of looking for any resemblance to the novel might keep you interested while Snyder butchers the original storyline. The movie is a mess from a storytelling perspective. There’s way too much happening in too short a period of time. There was little coherance. I’m afraid that people who haven’t read the novel will be confused at several points in the storyline.

Because you didn’t get the length and content of a novel, sometimes the characters’ actions seemed manic and random. Silk Spectre suddenly sleeps with Nite Owl and then kisses Doctor Manhattan. The actors do their best to defend their character’s intentions.

I think the notable greats from the film would have to include Billy Crudup as Doctor Manhattan. Of course, his performance had to be electronically enhanced but you can’t blame a guy for not being blue and demolecularized. He sells Doctor Manhattan’s icy disconnectedness to us. Jeffrey Dean Morgan gives the Comedian a likeability that allows you to try to understand where the character is coming from, not an easy task considering his multiple murders during the movie. Patrick Wilson gives the second Nite Owl an everyman quality. Matthew Goode gives Adrian Veidt a cold aloofness and arrogance that was dead on. Malin Akerman is a beautiful second Silk Spectre but at times came off mechanical. I can’t say I blame her, her scenes were about evenly split between Doctor Manhattan and Nite Owl. Her scenes with Doctor Manhattan come off awkward because she’s the only one i the scene feeling emotion. That could be a testmanent to the moviemakers though, they make the audience feel the same way that Laurie Jupiter (secret identity of Silk Spectre II) feels.

I wanted this movie to be my favorite this year but I doubt it will be. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still purchase the film when it comes out on DVD because of my loyalty to the original comic but it will be one of the less viewed discs in my collection. Overall, I liked the film but can’t say that it’s a superb piece worthy of the novel.

The film is rated R. The extensive nudity, sexual content, realistic gore, and violence justify this rating. I wouldn’t recommend viewers under the age of 16 seeing this film.

Disagree with anything in this film? Want to talk about Watchmen? Anything you liked about it? Let us know and please post comments.

7 Favorite Epic Films

There are many movies that speak to the heart to the soul of the human experience. These epic films can give you the experience of reading a novel with the time consumption of watching a couple of movies. Epic films are a great genre. What has happened to this genre?

Modern hollywood wants to get you in and of thetheatre nd back in to see a sequel or another sequel after that. The emphasis on hollywood as a business can take away frm the experience of art.

I’m not saying that hollywood has ever placed art above business. That would be a lie. Of course, hollywood produces the films thatpeople are willing to go see. There are some notable exceptions to that fct but tose are generally hrrible movies and they’re not produced very often.

Anyways, I’ve been watching a lot of epic films lately and that is why I got on this rant. You should make it a priority to see some of these films:

1. Gone With the Wind
2. Das Boot
3. Bridge on the River Kwai
4. Lawrence of Arabia
5. Seven Samurai
6. Dr. Zhivago

Got any other epics you like or that should be on the list? Hate epic films? Love them? Comment and let us know what you think.

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Mumbai, India: 18-year-old Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is a contestant on India’s version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” Unbelievably, Jamal has answered the 10 million rupee question correctly, and is now one question away from the prize, the most money the show has ever given away: 20 million rupees. Unfortunately, to the producers and host of the show, Jamal’s success has been a little too unbelievable. The movie starts with Jamal being tormented, physically, emotionally and verbally, to give up his secret. How is he cheating? Surely an orphan from the slums cannot possibly know the answers to questions that have stumped those with a higher education than he.

Told in a combination of the present and flashbacks, Slumdog Millionaire chronicles Jamal’s rise up the “Millionaire” ladder, with each question having its own flashback to explain how Jamal knows the answers.

Although the Academy and I rarely agree, I cannot pass up this movie. Slumdog Millionaire is a gripping film about an orphaned boy’s struggle for survival—survival for himself, his brother, and his love, Latika (Freido Pinto). Jamal’s experiences are horrifying, excruciatingly painful to watch, but deeply moving. This movie not only informs the viewer of the shocking situations one can face in third-world countries, but also shows that, even under the worst of circumstances, one should never give up hope.

The plot alone, however, was not enough to carry this movie. Patel and Pinto were both very convincing in their respective roles as Jamal and Latika, teens in love torn apart by the less-advertised aspects of the slums—prostitution and the intense need for survival. The transitions between the shots of Jamal on the show and Jamal’s past were also extremely well done. In some movies, it becomes difficult to tell the past from the present. Slumdog Millionaire, however, made the transitions flawless yet each time period was recognisably different.

Though this movie deserves every award it is up for, be reminded that there are some unpleasant scenes that may be extremely disturbing to some viewers. The director showed the slums exactly as they are, hiding nothing.

Despite the scenes of violence, I would highly recommend this movie. Grab a tissue and be ready to be enthralled. Slumdog Millionaire is definitely a must-see.

Push (2009)

Just imagine a world in which there’s a movie about people with super powers, but in this movie there’s no cheesy clichés, no goofy irrelevant additions to the plot, or even no spandex? Quite a baffling, yet brilliant concept, isn’t it? Even more so baffling would be if this movie(as far as I know) has no ties to Marvel or DC.

But that is ‘Push’, and even as a conisseuer of movies based on comics, I really loved Push because it’s not a cliché superhero movie; it’s wonderfully unique. I actually don’t think it should be compared to superhero movies, because in my oppinion, Push is a brilliant action/thriller movie in which the charactders just happen to have super powers.

My two complaints about Push are that the camera-work was awkward and a bit too fast in some scenes. And a very minor complaint of mine, is that parts were tad predictable. Other than that, I have no more complaints.

First, in the gratuitous praise section of this review, I got to say the actors in this film were fantastic. All of the actors were brilliant. Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning were espescially great in both of their roles. I was curious how Fanning was going to do, since she is most usually(to her credit, not always) in less-than-intense, family-friendly movies, but she held her own.

It had great, well-written dialogue. And the plot and twists were pretty amazing. The fight scenes were epic. And the score was pretty good, too. If you are into action movies you will love Push. Even though Stan Lee doesn’t even make one cameo, it was quite epic.

Push centers around people who have various psychic powers that I won’t tell you too much about because I don’t want to ruin the experience for you. Specifically, it centers on Nick(Chris Evans), who has telekinisis, but pretty much “sucks” at using it, meets Cassie(Dakota Fanning), who is a watcher(someone who sees the future), and tells Nick that he has to help her get Six Million dollars. Then the action begins.

Bedtime Stories(2008)

Bedtime Stories had me at ‘raining gumballs’. That’s all they had to show on the commercial to get me interested in seeing it.

Sure, it could’ve easily turned out to be a cheesy film, but in this reviwer’s mind, if the raining gumball scene was done right it would be at least worth seeing. So, the first chance I had to go to the theater during the Holidays I saw it. And I absolutely loved it.

I walked into the theater wondering whether it was going to be a embarassingly, cheesy film that could only be loved by little kids, or a cute movie that would entertain the whole audience. And to my pleasure it was the latter, and more! Bedtime Stories was definitely one of my favorite movies of the season; if not my favorite of the season.

In my oppinion, you can’t go wrong with seeing this film. It’s a fun, and enjoyable watch. It has a good cast, a good plot, and it’s a breath of fresh air from the slasher and conspiracy films this upcoming season.

It’s a sweet film, that’s funny, and that captures the magic of the bedtime stories you used to hear when you were a kid. The humor in the film is light(as it should be), but funny enough for children, as well as adults.

Bedtime Stories centers around the selfish, kid-at-heart Skeeter(Adam Sandler), who agrees to watch his niece and nephew while his sister(Courtney Cox) goes to Arizona to look for a job. The story then begins to unfold the day after Skeeter tells the kids a story that begins to happen in real life.

I highly recommend this movie. It’s a good film you can take the whole family to see, and enjoy yourself, as well. If you are not a complete stick in the mud, who flinches at the thought of something fun; you will like(if not love) Bedtime Stories.

Happy Christmas/Holidays!

Hi, there. I want to take a moment to say Happy Christmas, or if you don’t celebrate Christmas; Happy Holidays to you all! I hope you take time out of this hectic season just to enjoy time with your loved ones. Thanks for reading, and also Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Cheers!

Testing….

I am testing…. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Twilight (2008)

So after a 3 hour wait in line I got to see the midnight showing of Twilight.  I’ve been anticipating this movie ever since I met Stephanie Meyer at her book signing tour for “The Host.”  There are several gratifying elements to this movie.  There are plenty of winks to the major fans of the series.  You get a lot of depth that anyone who hasn’t read the books just won’t see.  They really made the movie for those who have the background depth of the series.

The acting really made the script come alive.  Each of the actors portrayed their characters very truthfully to Stephanie Meyer’s depictions of them.  In my opinion the stand out performances were given by Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen), Jackson Rathbone (Jasper Cullen), Kellan Lutz (Emmet Cullen), and Gil Birmingham (Billy Black).  There were really too many great performances to name but I felt that the background characters were really what gave this film the richness that it had to the storyline.  Jacob, Carlisle, Esmee, Rosalie, Charlie, Angela, Mike Newton, and Jessica all really seemed to come alive before your eyes.  It was amazing to see these characters that you read about appear before your eyes.

I applaud all of the actors for their performances.  I have to say my favorite scene would probably be when Bella came to meet the Cullens.  It was the shining moment in the film.  It was comedic, light, interesting, and offered a lot of good character development.

All of that being said, I do hope they get a new director and editor for the next film.  A large portion of the film felt amateur because of too many cuts.  It felt like the actors were being stimied by the post-production, like Catherine Hardwicke wanted Edward and Bella to seem like talking heads.  To make matters worse, once the cuts occurred there was too much time between lines.  It was like they were confessing their love for each other in slow motion.

Unfortunately, do to sloppy post-production, a lot of the scenes that were intended to be romantic or dramatic ended up get uproarious laughter.

Though it had some pitfalls, for the most part I would have to say that I enjoyed this film.  I enjoyed the Twilight trilogy (because you know Breaking Dawn was rushed and not up to par with the rest of the series I’ll call it a trilogy).  The director and editor definitely need to replaced for the next film but the actors were stupendous.  I applaud them for their performances.  Twilight is a must-see for anyone who has any familiarity with the series.