Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Movie/DVD Updates

MOVIE UPDATES:

I can't even contain my excitement right now for the upcoming Hobbit movie The Desolation of Smaug. The first poster for the movie was released just a few days ago and it looks simply amazing! For the unfortunate few who have not seen it yet,
VOILA:

Ugh. Doesn't it look amazing? Bilbo staring right into the front door of the abandoned Dwarven kingdom of Erebor.
 Just when I thought my excitement for the next Hobbit film couldn't get any bigger, THE NEW TRAILER WAS RELEASED TODAY.
If you haven't seen it yet, here it is:

Doesn't it look incredible? Epic? Awesome? Breathtaking?
Needless to reiterate for the hundredth time, I'm excited!
This trailer gives a small glimpse of every major scene to come. From the spiders in Mirkwood, to the imprisonment by the Elves. From the escape in the barrels to the arrival at the lake men settlement and the eventual attack on the Lonely Mountain and Smaug himself. Peter Jackson is continuing his expansion of the series by including pieces of Tolkien's appendixes such as Gandalf's journey to the ruined fortress of Dol Goldur as well adding some of his own touches such as including Leogolas into the film plot. (Fans of the book know very well that Leogolas is not in the story but he really would be present at this point in Tolkien's timeline.) The adventure continues and will hopefully be as good as it's beginning in the first Hobbit movie. I'm already counting down the days until the film's release on December 13th. Mark the date.
(If you still haven't purchased The Hobbit you can find it HERE)

DVD UPDATES:

OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

Oz The Great and Powerful came out on DVD today! If you haven't already bought it, you can pick it up HERE
OZ no doubt evokes feelings of nostalgia in all those who grew up watching The Wizard Of Oz when they were little. This movie depicts the Wizard's journey through Oz's as he fights the evil witches in order to protect the land and the people he has come to love.

The new movie added its own new touch onto everything making it fresher and cleaner but it fell short with one character..
Sorry Mila Kunis, Margaret Hamilton does it better.



Film Rating:
89/100
B+
Great

Trailer:


IDENTITY THIEF

Identity Thief came out on DVD last week! A must own if your in love with Melissa McCarthy life I am.. If you haven't bought it yet, you can buy Identity Thief HERE
You can say what you want about this movie as far as plot or goofs, I found it hysterical.. and thats the point of a comedy right?
In this film, Sandy Bigelow Patterson's (Bateman) life is thrown upside-down when a skilled identity thief Diana (McCarthy) steals his identity over the phone. In order to restore his life and bank account to normal, Sandy must travel down to Florida to bring back Diana so that she confesses to her crimes so that Sandy could get his new job back.
A simple plot with ALOT of laughs along the way. Melissa McCarthy is a herculean force in comedy, punching all opposition out of the way.
Literally..
LOL this happens six more times throughout the film..

Going for a ride?

YES

And just so you know..

Film Rating:
91/100
A-
Hysterical

Trailer:

The Purge

Let me just make this clear that I am not a fan of scary movies. They just aren't my cup of tea. Some people love them to death (...)  and feel obligated to see them at all costs. I tend to be in the category that avoid them at all costs. Not because i'm afraid of them (well...), but I just don't like them. The Purge didn't seem like THAT scary of a movie and the concept seemed interesting so I decided to give it a chance. For those of you reading that like horror films, this may be one of the only reviews I do in this genre. 
The movie is basically about a family who is held hostage and attacked after harboring a hunted man during the annual 12 hour period known as the Purge. The Purge was created by the "New Founding Fathers of America" to allow the citizens of the United States to release their inner rage and their "inner savage beasts" in a period where all emergency services are suspended. The father in the family, James Sandin (Ethan Hawking) is a salesman/businessman in charge of selling security systems to people that make homes essentially "Purge-proof". He has recently made a lot of money for his family which has allowed them to  add a large addition onto their already lavish home. His wife Mary Sandin (Lena Headey) appears to be an average wife and mother to her two children: Zoey, a rebellious teenager with a boyfriend of whom her parents do not approve of and Max, a younger teenager who has a big heart and disapproves of the ideologies behind the Purge. 

(DING DONG)
UM? No..No..Meestaa superman noo home..

The entire idea of the "Purge" itself is so beyond ignorant that I don't even want to address it. Yeah, because creating an annual holiday where all crime is legal is the best thing for the economy and the well-being of the nation. I can go on and on about why the mere notion of such an event would be foolish and idiotic but that would detract from the review. 
While I found the idea of the annual Purge to be stupid (I'm trying so hard not to get into it..), the plot for the film was sturdy but I found the 'scares' to be somewhat predictable and various actions performed by the characters to be predictable. For example: (A FEW SPOILERS)
One is expecting the blond-haired neighbor to be jealous and partake in the purge against the family in someway. (She totally gets what she deserves though...omg)
One is expecting the daughter's boyfriend to try and kill the father. (Which is totally stupid because why would the daughter EVER stay with him after he killed her father? Logic? Reason? No? Alright..)
One is expecting the family not to give up the man that hid in their home after they finally catch him. (Which is good because I honestly wouldn't have given him up either because he would never be in my house. I would have moved to another country the minute the purge began.. what a stupid concept.. ughh)
I feel like scenes such as this happen a little too frequently in movies.. It's always underneath the bed too.. Didn't she watch Taken?

I found some of the scares to be genuinely good but there was WAY too much of an emphasize on the masks being worn by the assailants. It was good when they broke into the house but when the assailants were outside swinging on the swings and jumping around together.. it was just weak. 

The film definitely wasn't perfect, but it did deliver as a decent film considering its surprisingly small $3 million budget. The concept behind the film, although immensely impossible, was interesting to see and provided the basis for an interesting thriller film. I enjoyed Ethan Hawking's performance for the most part throughout the movie. I would definitely have reacted differently if my child disarmed my security system during a national 12 hour crime spree than he did, but to each their own. While the film falls short as a horror flick, it rises as a thriller where the notion of protecting your family comes first despite whatever (or whomever) comes knocking on your front door. 

Film Rating:
75/100
C
Average/Decent

Trailer:


Wednesday, June 5, 2013

After Earth


Based off an original story idea by Will Smith, After Earth is not the greatest movie (by far..) nor is it the worst movie in the world. Where certain aspects of this film lack, the sturdy plot and adventure-style make the film relatively enjoyable to watch. 

After Earth takes place around 1000 years into the future in a time where humans have since abandoned earth to live on more stable and suitable planets. Global warming, cataclysmic events and evolution of various animal species has forced humans off Earth making the planet dangerous and inhabitable. As a result of severe damage being inflicted upon their ship, father and son Cypher (Will Smith) and Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) find themselves the sole survivors of a crash landing on Earth. With Cypher being left injured in the main portion of their ship, Kitai must venture out in the dangerous environment to recover the rescue beacon located in the tail end of their ship which broke off as their ship was entering Earth's atmosphere. 
(Looks kinda epic doesn't it? I would have tripped and fell right off that..just saying)

This movie had a good plot idea and presented a rather interesting concept of an adventure on an inhabitable Earth. 
While the idea for After Earth's plot was good, the actual plot itself had many problems: (SPOILERS)
How did EVERY other member of the ship's crew die in the crash except father and son?
Why exactly were they transporting that monster?
Where did the monster come from? (I have may have just missed this but let me know in the comments.) It's impossible to make a fire on Earth if their is insufficient oxygen for breathing. I also found it interesting that the beacon for communication would be in the tail of the ship, not the cockpit or main area of the ship BUT it made for a good story. (I don't want to be that person..)
And these are only a few of the problems...

Unfortunately I found the worst aspect of this movie to be the acting. Jaden Smith is not exactly the best person for this lead role. His facial expressions were comical when he intended to be serious and too serious when he intended to be comical.
(-_- One of those faces..)
 There was obviously good chemistry between Will Smith and his son, but Will's Smith's performance was average at best overall.
(SO much love...)
This film was blown up and attempted to be placed on a grand and epic level. While the film succeeded in some respects, it fell short on others rendering this film like a small foot trying to fill a big shoe. Most of these short-fallings reside on the shoulders of Director M. Night Shyamalan. Just his name alone is enough to make some people cringe in disgust. His last last four movies (The Last Airbender, The Happening, Lady in the Water, and The Village) were all flops and considered immensely unsuccessful. I have not seen ANY of these movies but they all received horrible reviews revolving around Shyamalan's directing style. To each his own, but while promoting After Earth, Shyamalan's name was strategically removed from all marketing material. That's a clear sign. 

Despite the film's failures and shortcomings, After Earth was entertaining until the end. The idea for the plot is good and an interesting concept like I said. You may find yourself not fully loving this movie, but you will not leave the theatre feeling an overwhelming sense of disappointment (like you may feel with Now You See Me...)

Film Rating:
68/100
D
Below Average

Trailer:

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