Thursday, January 13, 2011

The Social Network (2010)

My Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 90%

it was a very interesting movie and i really enjoyed it.

Plot: well for those of you who don't know, this is basically the story of how Facebook came to be. what is also in this movie is the lawsuits that came after the events of how Facebook became the big deal it is today. the only thing i have about them is how they differ from what really happened, but in a way, it was suppose to be that way. Because apparently, none of the things they did while they made Facebook contained greed and sex and unpredictability. According to on of the member of Facebook (this is mainly according to Wikipedia whose source to this I could not find from their link), all Zuckerberg really did was "was just sitting around with his friends in front of his computer, ordering pizza." And according to one article that i don't remember from, Zuckerbergdid break up with anybody before making Facebook. in face he is in a relationship with a girl that he's living with now. So as far as making this a good 2 hour movie they did the right thing despite the things in the film that didn't happen.

Acting: I felt that outside of Zuckerberg, all the other characters were nothing too special, they were being ordinary people...generally. I thought that Andrew Garfield did a good job playing Zuckerberg's best friend. Which is slightly comforting since he is the guy that is playing Spider-Man in the Spider-Man reboot. as a fellow Spider-Man fan and reader of the comics, i feel that i should at least hope that Garfield will at least to a decent job in acting in the role for that VERY unnecessary film. as for Jesse Eisenberg and Mark Zuckerberg, i was confused at first because it seemed like the film was supporting a belief that the real Zuckerberg could have Asberger's syndrome. but i guess that was just the way either how Zuckerberg is or how they just made the character to be. alla round, i thought the character was very interesting especially on how he was very focused on the goal he was aiming for.

Editing: well done for the most part.

and that's my review for The Social Network. it was a good movie that, which isn't 100% loyal tot he real story, it was still for the story it told.

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

My Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 90%

It was creepy, with was creative, and altogether one of the best, yet most unnecessary image filled movies i've ever seen.

Plot: very, very unique. just with who the main character is, what he does, and what happens to him all throughout the film. from the place he and his friends hung out at, to how he reacted in jail, to the formula that they put him on, it's just something completely out of the ordinary. in a way I feel that we need more unique movies like Clockwork Orange.

Editing: i enjoyed how they took things slowly making certain scenes longer to show more of the experience form the character.

Acting: yeah i thought the acting was pretty good too. Malcolm McDowell did a very good job.

Really all around the only downs i had was the sexual content and nudity. that much makes me want to wait a few years before wanting to ever see this movie again.

and that's my review of Clockwork Orange

True Grit (2010)

My Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 90%

it was a very good movie and i really enjoyed it.

Plot: It was exactly like the movie back in 1970. but i was a little more faithful to the book, which is one thing i like about most of the remakes of movies based off of books in the 21st century, good or bad. They all around seem to be more loyal to the books in some way. I mean sure, it comes natural as i understand when it comes to the work of the two directors of this movie but still.

Editing: Well done. Just well done. especially how they introduced Cogburn earlier in the film with the way we was shadowed at first.

Acting: i thought it was great. i especially thought the woman that played Mattie did an excellent job in showing Mattie as quite the strong, smart, independent woman. and Ridges i thought was very good. the only thing was that after the movie my dad thought he was playing similar Billy Bob Thornton in Sling Blade. now bear with me, i will admit that i have never seen that movie, nor am i at all familiar with that actor, but i guess that counts as a down if that is truly the case.

Comedy: it was great. particularity with the scenes between Mattie and that shop owner.

and well i hate to admit that's all i have to say about htis film so yeah.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Tron Legacy (2010)

My Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 80%

I remember the two times i saw the first Tron movie. the first time i didn't like it because as a kid, it didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. then i saw it again about a year ago which makes it about 8 years later and i thought it was a little interesting and nice to watch in terms of understanding the movie completely unlike before. Now after many years, they made a sequel out of that movie and for the general part, i enjoyed what they made out of the idea that came from the first movie.

first thing i will say is that i loved how they Tron-a-tized if you will, the production intro to disney, castle and all. it was bound to happen i'm sure but i still liked it.

Plot: I thought it was great, but i felt they could have been more creative. the first 40 minutes of the movie kept me on my seat very well. they made it exciting with how they, in a way, retraced the steps that were took from the first movie with the games. and then came the point were Sam finally saw his father again after many years. at that point, this father explained all that was currently happening in that world or in The Grid as they called it. and for what they come up with was predictable despite the fact that it was unavoidable in terms of what would you think of in terms of an idea for a sequel for something like Tron. BUT what i personally loved was the mentioning of these so called ISOs. i liked how they added something like that in terms of adding something more into the particular story. But i still feel like they could add even more to it. and i actually didn't care for a particular portion of the ending all that much. and what i really hated was that Tron was not that big of a deal in this movie. i mean we was in there which i really liked. because it would make sense to not have Tron be in this movie at all. But they leave you hanging a little when it came to his fate. Just one of those things were you know they're going to use that for people to want a Tron 3.

Character/Acting:

Garrett Hedlund as Sam Flynn: In a way, i liked what they made him to be in the beginning. mainly because with most movies were a guy would lose a parent, primarily his father, they kinda make him as a playboy or nuisance for causing some big trouble. i mean sure he causes a little trouble but not as big as you would think in a way. he was unique with all that. as far the character once he is on the grid i thought it was plain...but it liked it that way. i mean he really didn't over do anything that happens to him. and i knew his happiness or pain when he was crying or something like that. so i thought Hedlund did a good job.

Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn and Clu: I honestly felt that he didn't have a great start character wise. Because it was fine at first when he was so happy that he saw his son again...but then he says to wait until dinner for them to talk. you can talk to your son NOW you moron. besides, the way you show it in the movie, it not like you can to anything else important in your hideout except meditate supposedly. screw waiting until dinner. now aside from that, i liked how he was made as a very powerful mentor if you will. As for being Clu, I thought he was a very interesting character. i'd love to know how they made it so that Bidges played in when it comes to appearance. acting was fine all around.

Olivia Wilde as Quorra: to me she didn't have a good start as a very exciting character...actually she kind of stayed that way. In some ways, they made up for that with her being a decent Bad-A fighter and the fact that she is an ISO. but i feel that they could have been a little more creative than that in terms of her emotions as a different type of program and the importance and so called potential in being and ISO. i personally loved that they didn't really start some big chemistry between her and Sam. because it's too obvious, it's always used. heck, Kevin kissed a program in the first movie. now i'm sure there will be something more between them if there is ever a Tron 3. but as far as introducing both character and their relationship between each other, i think it's best that the matter is left hanging at the end of the movie.

Michael Sheen as Castor/Zuse:i did not really care much for this character. they tried to make another character like that one guy from The Rocky Horror Show (never seen it, just know it) and it didn't really work when you think of the design and such for a world like The Grid.


Design/effects: i loved it. i thought they did a nice job of taking many of the ideas from the first Tron and expanding it or other wise, modernizing them from the Light cycles, to the suits, to the Reconizers, and so on. This mainly falls in line from things like them making new versions of the games and adjusting a few new features from the reconizers. it's just great. and also put in new things like the light jets.

Editing: i thought it was good. they edited well in terms of helping the audience under stand what's happening , primarily with the games and the battles.

Music: i thought the music was pretty good.

And that is my review for Tron:Legacy. It needs improvement in terms of creativity and a few other things. but otherwise i really enjoyed this movie.

Monday, January 3, 2011

The Last Airbender (2010)

My Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 0%


there are two ways i'm going to express my thoughts about this movie. a basic version, then the actual reviewing.

Basic Version
PPFFF HA!!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!! OH MY GOSH!!!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! WHAT THE FRICK IS THIS!?!?!?! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!! THERE MUST HAVE BEEN SOME WARNING FOR THEM THAT IT WAS GOING TO TURN OUT LIKE THIS!!!!HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ha ha ha ha ha ha *sniff* ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha *stops to take a few deep breaths* ha ha ha ha ha...ha...ha...ha.............ha.......*sigh*

Actual Reviewing

it was perfectly terrible. i've never seen just a horrible movie in my life. it was as i expressed in the basic version, it's so bad that it's really funny.

Screenplay: okay. for some of you who don't know, this movie is based on a lovable Nickelodeon TV series called Avatar: The Last Airbender. It's a story about a world where people are separated by four nations based on which of the four elements that can be controlled or 'bended'; water, earth, fire and air. and the only person who could posses the ability to control all of them is called the Avatar. at this time, the world is in chaos as the fire nation tries to control the whole world. the only one who can stop them is the current Avatar, Aang who is a bald 12 year old. throughout the series, Aang and his friends travel the world finding ways to teach Aang the elements and to master them while also fighting the fire nation.
now with what they had planned with his movie was to have it pretty much cover the entire story of the first season of the show basically. which in a way makes sense because not all of the things from the whole series is 100% needed. cause in way, at least with most of the first season generally, the show is kind of like the pokemon series. most shows are just brief adventures with the main characters while learning small amounts of things about the pokemon world along the way. mostly they would learn about just one particular pokemon, and it's only on rare occasions were an episode would have something a little more important for the main characters like Ash or either or his friends catching a pokemon or one of their pokemon evolving or Ash facing a gym leader or something higher than that. it's the same thing with the tv show of Last Airbender, it's only in some of the episodes were Aang and his friends either meet a particular character of the series or learn a particular thing about mastering the elements and what not. but in short explanation after laying all that out, how they did it in this movie was just terrible and poorly done. most of the things that happen throughout the movie hardly really made sense even to those who've seen the series. it was more disorganized in terms of giving information about the story and so on than the Twilight films and the latest Harry Potter movies.
what really gets you is how horrible the lines are.
1)(Aang is meditating and Katara is just standing there.)"Aang? Can you hear me? I knew you were real. I always knew you'd return."

2)(Aang and his friends arrived at a village of Earth benders who are letting the fire nation hang around in their village. he doesn't know anything about them as he says this line.)"Earthbenders! Why are you acting this way? You are powerful and amazing people! You don't need to live like this! There is earth right beneath your feet! The ground is an extension of who you are!"

3)(Aang is about to leave to fight the Fire Nation Fleet after trapping the banished fire prince Zuko. He turns to the prince before leaving) "We could be friends, you know."

and the all time point-and-laugh-at favorite.
4)(Princess Yuto is about to sacrifice herself)"We have to show them that we believe in our beliefs as much as they believe in theirs."

so...yeah i'll leave you guys to stare at all these lines before you read the rest of my review.

Acting: it is so freaking bad. no one is like how it is in the series. here are a few examples:

Noah Ringer as Aang: Aang in the series just acts his age. he's kind, he likes to have fun, yet can be plenty serious when there's serious matters like fighting the fire nation or eventually, think about the little spark between him and Katara. in this movie, Noah Ringer really just stands there. and speaks quietly with no big emotion in his face even on the most simple things.

Nicola Peltz as Katara: in the series, she is the den mother of the group that follows Aang. she's smart, capable, brave and extremely passionate in learning to become a great water bender and even bossy sometimes. in this film, she's just standing there, saying her lines and trying to act like she believes so much in Aang saving the world with no facing expressions except a few shots were it look like she's crying.

Jackson Rathbone as Sokka: Sokka is the comic relief of the series. everybody loves how despite being pretty good at coming of with ideas and being serious when it comes to protection someone in particular, he can be totally funny throughout the series. With Rathbone, he's just too serious to be a shred like Sokka. Which sucks on a personal note cause I kinda like him. or at least I like how for the fair part he does his part well as Jasper in the Twilight series.

Dev Patel as Prince Zuko: Zuko is this stubborn young man driven to catch the Avatar to regain his honor and dignity, and yet has a soft spot in his heart. It's just sad that Patel is in this movie to begin with. especially after Slumdog Millionaire. His acting is just as wooden as everyone else except sometimes he'll yell as if he's in 300. When I was watching this movie, one of my friends compared him to Nicolas Cage. (eek) so that boy has a long way to go from here to up his game.

Shaun Toub as Uncle Iroh: Zuko's Uncle Iroh is the secondary comic relief of the series. he's kind and wise and loves drinking tea or playing Lotus Pai Shō. but he is also a strong mentor with a very good heart despite being in league with the fire nation. For Toub in this movie, he had the least the mentor and wisdom side down and a little bit of the comedy...in lines. He pretty much had a non stone face for a couple of breif, few-seconds-long scenes...and those were him acting angry while igniting fire from his hands in the air making all the other Fire Nation guys run away from the scene, or blocking a fire attack from the secondary main antagonist of the movie. And again he actually did have some of the comedy lines that represent this normally lovable character, but they were hardly used to show it. The way they organized his place in this film is that he's mostly just standing there, usually next to Zuko either giving a piece of wise advice to Zuko or nothing at all, and his comedic lines are usually put randomly in the dialogue. and there are only about 3-4 comedic lines tops used for Iroh for this movie. so basically for someone who would see the this movie knowing nothing about the show would get that he gives wisdom to Zuko and stuff but be clueless as to the point to the comedic lines when it comes to what he/she is lead to believe what kind of character Iroh is.

there is a whole but of other examples but you get the general idea from the examples on the main cast. the only one who actually had some kind of decent acting was the woman who played Kitara and Sokka's grandmother. she didn't do much but with her brief part in the film she actually showed at least some facial expressions and had most of the right tone for her voice for whatever she is talking about. she's still didn't a bad job but if there was a award for best performance even for a terrible movie, i'd cast my vote on her.

effects: Pathetic. the effects of people controlling either of the elements were poorly and hardly used. the thing about controlling or 'bending' the elements is that it does come with people making some big body movement, usually spinning and jumping and moving your arms crazy. and they have that in the movie which is fine. but they use that more often than actually bending the elements. where there's the tv sere, you are just going a jump, spin and kick at the same time to bend fire or air or whatever in just a split second, you have Aang and other bender jumping and dancing around or otherwise making circles with their arms just to do one brief bit of bending. and sometimes, they just dance or move around or whatever without any bending. like there is seriously a part in the movie that lasts a minute or so were Aang and Katara are moving their arms around but they're not bending. that leaves people who know the series get disappointed and people who don't get very confused. And the effects to the two creatures Appa and Momo were not that impressive.

make-up: to put it briefly, Zuko has a big scar in his face in the series, it's not really there at all in the movie, and that's another down.

Casting: I have no idea what they were thinking about this movie. and here i'm not talking about the casting of the particular characters so much as the casting in terms of race. the tv series it an asian story with asain characters. in this movie, the Earth Benders were asian but not everyone else. Aang and the Air benders were Tibetan, Sokka and Katara and the rest fo the water nation were American, there was a whole village and a dead monk that was good friends with Aang from his past that were African, and then the fire nation especially had middle eastern people. I would love to know why they had indian people as the fire nation.


so that's my review for The Last Airbender. It's poorly written, horribly acted, and had terrible effects. I seriously make my deceleration right here that this is the worst movie i have ever seen to date and that while Shyamalan gets to keep my respect for making movies like sixth sense, signs and the village, he has lost all of my respect for him as a director to the point where I declare Michael Bay a genius compared to him. So there you have it.

Henry V (1989)

My Rotten Tomatoes rating: 80%

Well to be honest. most of what mainly makes this movie good to me is the acting, the battle during the end, and how the story is told all around. acting was fine. battle was pretty good. story was good...though messed up when you think about how you would sum it up. Henry wants to attack France & marry Catherine to that the kingdoms combine, and he gets both goals after a big battle. not the best way but still. good movie all around.