Rating: C+
I really wonder if Hollywood is afraid of making anything provocative, shocking, and daring. The Raven had so much potential, and a wealth of back material to draw from. And while it was clever, it wasn't particularly smart. Where there were plot twists, they weren't particularly mind-bending. Yet another movie in this year's indulgence of mediocrity.
It's been said that John Cusack is probably the most natural actor of our time. And I quite agree with that. It's a shame that most of the other cast members in this film was not so natural. And while I feel that Cusack is miscast in this role, I think he did an admirable job as Edgar Allan Poe, I feel that the role would have been better served being played by someone a little darker, say perhaps, Johnny Depp.
The biggest problem of the movie was its lack of direction. There really would have been no difference if they completed this movie with 1 murder, or with a dozen. The clues of the murder led you to the next clue and not to who the killer was. So really, The mystery and chase was really rather pointless. And while ONE of the murders was decidedly graphic and macabre, none of the other ones had the same level fear, torture, nor blood.
Perhaps one would be more involved in the movie if they were more familiar with Poe's work, but I doubt very many know more than a handful of his life and work well enough to find the correlation intriguing. This movie could have had so much more depth. It could have been significantly more gripping. Or they could have opted to make it totally tragic. Instead, they opted for mediocrity.
~Cheers.
Showing posts with label Villain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Villain. Show all posts
Sunday, 29 April 2012
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Movie: I Am Number Four (2011)
Rating: C-
While this movie makes much more sense than DJ Caruso's Eagle Eye, it is simply too lightweight and fluffy to be taken seriously. Of course, this movie is also catering to the Twilight demographic, you know, the demographic that enjoys watching shirtless pretty boys. Thankfully, there were no shirtless scenes. Haha.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Why the heck does Timothy Olyphant think that grinding his teeth when he talks makes him look tough? And who is this Alex Pettyfer kid and why does he think that he can act? While the first 15 minutes of the movie were decent, and the last 20 minutes of the movie was entertaining enough, there is about an hour and a half or so of this movie that is pure and utter fluff. The entire middle section of the movie was a snoozefest, focusing on teenage puppy love and high school drama that, by the way, disappeared in the blink of an eye.
And I'd say, that without Teresa Palmer, I probably would have given this movie a D. I don't care that she was only in about 15minutes of the movie, but she was hot. Which means, I'm torn about whether or not I want to watch the sequel, which it hints at in the special edition. HAHA.
~Cheers.
While this movie makes much more sense than DJ Caruso's Eagle Eye, it is simply too lightweight and fluffy to be taken seriously. Of course, this movie is also catering to the Twilight demographic, you know, the demographic that enjoys watching shirtless pretty boys. Thankfully, there were no shirtless scenes. Haha.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Why the heck does Timothy Olyphant think that grinding his teeth when he talks makes him look tough? And who is this Alex Pettyfer kid and why does he think that he can act? While the first 15 minutes of the movie were decent, and the last 20 minutes of the movie was entertaining enough, there is about an hour and a half or so of this movie that is pure and utter fluff. The entire middle section of the movie was a snoozefest, focusing on teenage puppy love and high school drama that, by the way, disappeared in the blink of an eye.
And I'd say, that without Teresa Palmer, I probably would have given this movie a D. I don't care that she was only in about 15minutes of the movie, but she was hot. Which means, I'm torn about whether or not I want to watch the sequel, which it hints at in the special edition. HAHA.
~Cheers.
Friday, 17 June 2011
Movie: Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
Rating: A-
Too many sequels are money mongering excuses to build a franchise, that just regurgitate the same story in a different setting (ie, The Hangover Part 2). Kung Fu Panda 2 is among the select few sequels that might actually be better than its first installment.
The story, while nothing new, is compelling enough to be retold. The jokes actually have some thought put in to them and fitting for all ages. The star studded voice cast did an admirable job.While I would have liked to have seen the supporting cast be more involved, the story would have been far too complex to properly use ALL of them.
I loved the artwork when they were talking about the past, in particular, Po's little stuffed toy. Very adorable. It's great to see them use a different art style to differentiate what is now and what was THEN.
Is it twice the awesomeness as advertised? Yes it is!
Too many sequels are money mongering excuses to build a franchise, that just regurgitate the same story in a different setting (ie, The Hangover Part 2). Kung Fu Panda 2 is among the select few sequels that might actually be better than its first installment.
The story, while nothing new, is compelling enough to be retold. The jokes actually have some thought put in to them and fitting for all ages. The star studded voice cast did an admirable job.While I would have liked to have seen the supporting cast be more involved, the story would have been far too complex to properly use ALL of them.
I loved the artwork when they were talking about the past, in particular, Po's little stuffed toy. Very adorable. It's great to see them use a different art style to differentiate what is now and what was THEN.
Is it twice the awesomeness as advertised? Yes it is!
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Movie: Predators (2010)
Rating: C
After the past few attempts of futility at trying to keep the Predator franchise alive, I didn't think that I'd have anything good to say about this rendition. Let's not kid ourselves, it's still a Predator movie and you're only watching it for one reason. And for that, Nimrod Antal does an admirable job.
Sometimes I wonder if Danny Trejo would find work without Robert Rodriguez. Sorry... A little non sequitur perhaps, but a random thought from this movie. Haha. Anyway, it's a little hard to get over some of the choice of actors; in particular, Adrien Brody as a Merc, but if you get over that, get over the gutteral cliche one liners and stop trying to make sense of the whole thing, Predators does have its moments.
For one, I never figured Alice Braga to be a military woman, but she's actually a pleasant surprise in this role. For another, the story does attempt to throw you a few surprises. And for a few fleeting moments, you get Lawrence Fishburne. Why? I have no idea. But there he is. Haha. It has its share of gun fights and fight scenes, trying not to be too repetitive, but let's face it. It's got nothing on the original.
~Cheers.
After the past few attempts of futility at trying to keep the Predator franchise alive, I didn't think that I'd have anything good to say about this rendition. Let's not kid ourselves, it's still a Predator movie and you're only watching it for one reason. And for that, Nimrod Antal does an admirable job.
Sometimes I wonder if Danny Trejo would find work without Robert Rodriguez. Sorry... A little non sequitur perhaps, but a random thought from this movie. Haha. Anyway, it's a little hard to get over some of the choice of actors; in particular, Adrien Brody as a Merc, but if you get over that, get over the gutteral cliche one liners and stop trying to make sense of the whole thing, Predators does have its moments.
For one, I never figured Alice Braga to be a military woman, but she's actually a pleasant surprise in this role. For another, the story does attempt to throw you a few surprises. And for a few fleeting moments, you get Lawrence Fishburne. Why? I have no idea. But there he is. Haha. It has its share of gun fights and fight scenes, trying not to be too repetitive, but let's face it. It's got nothing on the original.
~Cheers.
Monday, 23 May 2011
Movie: Pirates Of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides (2011)
Rating: C
Let's face it. Johnny Depp's portrayal of Jack Sparrow is the ONLY reason why this franchise is still breathing. If you've followed the franchise, you'll have come to not expect a whole lot. Without expecting a whole lot, On Stranger Tides, is surprisingly not bad.
While Jack Sparrow is the only reason why this franchise still breathes life, we've seen too much of the character for him to be the primary and only focus of this movie. And while Keira Knightley and that elf from that other film (no, his name does not escape me) don't reprise their roles in this chapter, there are enough characters to keep Jack Sparrow interesting.
The movie is a little long, and some of the scenes seem like they were half-arsed together. But if you just sit back and enjoy the alcohol induced slurred verbage (verbal garblety goop) that finds its way out of Jack Sparrow's mouth and the off balanced fight scenes, you don't really notice that this movie was made to pad certain wallets.
And yes, fans of the franchise, stick around for after the credits.
~Cheers.
Let's face it. Johnny Depp's portrayal of Jack Sparrow is the ONLY reason why this franchise is still breathing. If you've followed the franchise, you'll have come to not expect a whole lot. Without expecting a whole lot, On Stranger Tides, is surprisingly not bad.
While Jack Sparrow is the only reason why this franchise still breathes life, we've seen too much of the character for him to be the primary and only focus of this movie. And while Keira Knightley and that elf from that other film (no, his name does not escape me) don't reprise their roles in this chapter, there are enough characters to keep Jack Sparrow interesting.
The movie is a little long, and some of the scenes seem like they were half-arsed together. But if you just sit back and enjoy the alcohol induced slurred verbage (verbal garblety goop) that finds its way out of Jack Sparrow's mouth and the off balanced fight scenes, you don't really notice that this movie was made to pad certain wallets.
And yes, fans of the franchise, stick around for after the credits.
~Cheers.
Thursday, 19 May 2011
TV Series: Smallville - Series Finale (Season 10)
Rating: B+
Let's not kid ourselves. CW's Smallville was never really meant to be taken seriously. It started off as a tween show to talk about the youth of Clark Kent; his life before he became Superman. Over the years, it became almost too lovey dovey to watch, his relationship first with Lana Lang, and then with Lois Lane. It was a directionless show gasping for life. At some point in time, the series shifted and started moving towards "The Justice League" and in my opinion, totally saved the series from gasping from its last dying breath. But the series is called Smallville; so how the heck do you migrate from one to the other?
OK, so the clip above isn't the actual promo, but quite honestly, I felt it was better than what the CW had put together. Haha. The writers told us years ago that Clark Kent would not fly, that the day he did, the show would be over. They stayed true to their word.
The series finale was perfect. So why did I only give it a B+? Because after 10 years, these guys still can't act. Because after 10 years, the script is still saccharine filled. Because defeating Darkseid... was totally anti-climactic.
But there were throwback scenes to the original Christopher Reeve 1978 Superman, if they were to remaster that movie, this 10 year series would have been an excellent introduction. Towards the end of the series, they started showing why and how "Clark Kent" from Smallville, became the four-eyed "Clark Kent" from the movies. They miraculously brought back Lex Luthor. They found a way to let Clark become Superman.
It's not the comics. And they change much of what DC Universe has taught us about Superman and his friends. But between the Golden Age, and the Bronze Age, and Earth 2 and Earth blah blah blah, does it really matter any more? But if you were a fan of Christopher Reeve's Superman from 1978, this series finale merges almost seamlessly into the movie. Almost.
~Cheers.
Let's not kid ourselves. CW's Smallville was never really meant to be taken seriously. It started off as a tween show to talk about the youth of Clark Kent; his life before he became Superman. Over the years, it became almost too lovey dovey to watch, his relationship first with Lana Lang, and then with Lois Lane. It was a directionless show gasping for life. At some point in time, the series shifted and started moving towards "The Justice League" and in my opinion, totally saved the series from gasping from its last dying breath. But the series is called Smallville; so how the heck do you migrate from one to the other?
OK, so the clip above isn't the actual promo, but quite honestly, I felt it was better than what the CW had put together. Haha. The writers told us years ago that Clark Kent would not fly, that the day he did, the show would be over. They stayed true to their word.
The series finale was perfect. So why did I only give it a B+? Because after 10 years, these guys still can't act. Because after 10 years, the script is still saccharine filled. Because defeating Darkseid... was totally anti-climactic.
But there were throwback scenes to the original Christopher Reeve 1978 Superman, if they were to remaster that movie, this 10 year series would have been an excellent introduction. Towards the end of the series, they started showing why and how "Clark Kent" from Smallville, became the four-eyed "Clark Kent" from the movies. They miraculously brought back Lex Luthor. They found a way to let Clark become Superman.
It's not the comics. And they change much of what DC Universe has taught us about Superman and his friends. But between the Golden Age, and the Bronze Age, and Earth 2 and Earth blah blah blah, does it really matter any more? But if you were a fan of Christopher Reeve's Superman from 1978, this series finale merges almost seamlessly into the movie. Almost.
~Cheers.
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