Movie: What To Expect When You're Expecting (2012)

Rating: F

I suppose I know what the director Kirk Jones was trying to do. But What to Expect when You're Expecting is the perfect example of what happens when you try too hard to do too much. And in this case, trying to cover every single possible outcome of how a pregnancy might turn out into a single movie.



This movie fails at every turn. The characters are weak, the script is forced, the jokes seem canned, and the interplay between the characters isn't believable at all. Babies take 9 months to be born. It seriously felt like this movie took 9 months to watch.

Despite the fact that Elizabeth Banks seems to be in every other movie and in every single genre this year, this particular performance was just empty. Her's should have been the most compelling story in this whole movie, and yet I wanted to gouge my eyes out every time she was on the screen.

Quite honestly, the only saving grace to this movie was Anna Kendrick for no reason other than the fact that I thought she looked entirely too cute. haha.

~Cheers.

Blogger's Note: 10,000 Page Views!

Wait...What...? Wow! We got to 10,000 page views! 10K! Thanks everyone for the support! Quite honestly, I never thought I'd reach this little milestone, and during my little hiatus, I really wasn't sure if I was going to continue. But here we are, at TEN FREAKING THOUSAND! WOOT WOOT! From here on in, the milestones are going to be a little more spread out.

And a bit of ADDED pride? My little post about IMAX vs. UltraAVX is a top 10 item on google's search engine! Woot Woot!

The next token of appreciation will be at 15,000. Same rules apply. First person to send a comment that they are the first comment on or after 15,000 page views will get a little gift as token of my gratitude.

Wow. 15,000. I can hardly imagine. I wonder if I'll reach it before G.I. Joe: Retaliation comes out. HAHA. While a few of you are following this little blog of mine, I really wish I knew who the rest of you were so I could thank you all personally. So please, feel free to comment lots and often! Thanks again!

~Cheers.

Movie: Men in Black III (2012)

Rating: B


Most sequels come out a couple of years after the previous on. But the first sequel to Men in Black (MIIB) was so bad that even after watching the preview again, I can't remember what it was about. It was so bad, that I almost didn't watch this rendition. It was so bad, that I think majority (myself included) of people who have critiqued this movie have pretty much given it a free pass. Men in Black III was finally produced and released 12 years after MIIB.



Thankfully, Men in Black III delivers as a serviceable follow up. Will Smith reprises his role as J, the smart alec MIB agent. And Tommy Lee Jo--- well... Josh Brolin playing the role of (young) Agent K. And I have to say, Brolin was amazing. At no point did I think that Brolin was Brolin. Totally believable as the younger version of Agent K.

The humour's a little different, and perhaps that was in part because the bulk of the movie was placed in 1969. The movie's a bit more mature, seemingly catering to an older audience, which makes sense, since younger audiences probably wouldn't connect with the 60s anyway.
It's not QUITE as silly as its predecessor, but still funny nevertheless. The interplay between Brolin and Smith is really, almost as good as it was between Smith and Jones in the original.

~Cheers.

Movie: Prometheus (2012)

Rating: B-

The prequel that isn't a prequel that really is a prequel to Alien. If you're watching this movie as a fan of the 1979 movie with Sigourney Weaver and looking for answers, I'm afraid you're going to be sorely disappointed. The movie's screenplay is co-written by Damon Lindelof, one of the writers/creators of the hit TV series, Lost. So before you even step in to the cinema, you should be prepared to come out with more questions than answers.



There are certainly many Easter Eggs that pay homage to the 1979 film, but to call this an official prequel is a little bit of a misnomer. What it is, is the introduction for a new series based upon the Alien creature. The curious thing is, the way that this story is written, the Alien creature doesn't even have to be involved as this particular story moves forward, which makes it pretty interesting.

The cinematography and set design in Prometheus was astounding; as was the performance of Michael Fassbender. The story moves along with thrills and scares and all the things you find in a Sci-Fi Thriller/Horror film. But Prometheus tries too hard to do too much which just simply leaves too many holes for me to give it a better grade. Without including spoilers to this movie, the trials and tribulations of Noomi Rapace's character is so far fetched that it was no longer believable.

While I could point out all the plot holes and things that really don't make a lot of sense, I would be giving too much away. But given all the issues with this movie, why is it still a B-? There's enough there to give you a thrill ride. There are enough questions left unanswered for there to be a viable sequel. And there is certainly enough there to make you squirm in your seats and make you wonder if space exploration might not be such a great idea.

Casual fans of the movie might not want to stay until the end of the credits, but for y'all die hard fans, there is something there that you might want to stick around for. But don't blame me if you do. haha.

Here's an interesting TED talk video related to the movie that's rather interesting:



~Cheers.

Movie: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)

Rating: A-

What happens when you put a star studded veteran cast together with a touching story and a semi-decent witty script? You get The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.



Even with just a few too many cliches and too many storylines for a 2 hour movie, the movie is held together brilliantly by the performances of the likes of Judy Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, and company.

The movie is thoughtful and funny, with a lot of heart and humanity. And while you'll likely connect better if you've had a few years under your belt, it's entertainment for all ages. I really can't say enough about the cast and their performances as they really had you connect with them. Each character with stories that are entirely believable and touching in their own way. You end up sharing in their joys and heartbreaks. Easily one of the better movies of 2012.

~Cheers.

Movie: Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

Rating: B-

Visually scintillating, Rupert Sanders directorial debut wasn't bad as far as fairy tales go. With the exception of some pretty odd pacing, and a couple of absolute brain farts, it was actually quite watchable if you're a teenager.



Before I write anything else, I have to mention a couple these brain farts because they were some really obvious and serious gaffes in my book. These two were particularly obvious. Some of the others might simply be me being picky.

- Once upon a time, in a kingdom far far away is no place for the 'Our Father'.
- Just because it's a fairy tale, doesn't mean you can just magically make a horse appear ever so conveniently

While Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth played their roles brilliantly, majority of the rest of the roles I felt were entirely miscast. You had wonderfully talented actors playing bit parts as dwarves and bit actors playing significantly larger roles. They could have easily given the opportunity to any number of pretty talented little people for the 7 dwarfs.

I do however, have to give HUGE ups for the movie visually. Absolutely stunning.





~Cheers.