High School Musical (2006)

Rating: 25%
Well with Les Mes coming I decided to get a couple reviews of some musicals out of the way starting with some of the worst. So without further ado, here's my review for High School Musical.

Plot: Troy and Gabriella are two high schooler who meet in a new years eve party at a ski lodge during winter break. They sing a karaoke song which helps them start becoming interested in each other, so they exchange number before parting. But on the first day back to school, Troy finds out that Gabriella has transferred to his school. While Troy shows Gabriella around, they come across the sign-up sheet for auditions for the winter musical that the drama club is holding and eventually they both decide to try it and end up getting call backs much to the dismay of the Drama Club president, Sharpay Evens. So Sharpay devises a plan to stop Troy and Gabriella while the callbacks confuse Troy's basketball team and Gabriella's decathlon team who want both of them to focus more on the championships that both teams are trying to win.

So what's bad about this movie? Well for starters, it's cheesy as heck particularly with how most of the story is similar to the story of Grease. A couple meets and falls in love during vacation before school, there's a main guy group and a main girl group in the school, the guys at the least have a sort of rival against a gang (or school in this case), and so on and so forth. And even then the whole thing is just cheesy with its bland characters, and bland music (under a couple of exceptions), and the actors don't often do a grand job in trying to make it look like they're not lip-syncing. It is entertaining if you like musicals in general or just like this sort of childish and bland kind of movie, but otherwise it's not worth watching.

Actors/Characters:
Zac Effron/Troy Bolton: I really don't care for this character. Because like I said with Grease concerning Danny Zuko, he was being a total moron when it came to some of the choices he makes considering his love interest. But at least Danny had more believable and realistic ways of being moronic to his love interest, but Troy...wasn't. So...dislike the character plain and simple.


Music: To me, there's usually three kinds of rating that I feel are right to describe what I feel about the music for this film and probably the other two. First, there's "Start of Something New" and "Breaking Free" which I would rank along the lines of bland but guilty pleasures...cause yeah, they're dumb and all but they somehow manage to be enjoyable anyway. Second there's "All in this Together" and "Get'cha Head in the Game" that I label along the lines of annoying because they are so fricking catchy. Everything else I label as just bland an forgettable. 

And that's my review for High School Musical. You may enjoy the music or just that it's a musical in general if you REALLY like that genre, but it's filled with bland characters and a story that's very similar to Grease and is cheesy even then so it just isn't that good of a movie all around.   

Twilight (2008)

Rating: 35%
Well this movie is the only Twilight film I have yet to review. So with the last one coming, it's time that I get this little bugger out of the way. So here's my review for Twilight.

Plot: Bella is a 17 year old girl who use to live with her mother and her step-father in Phoenix, Arizona, but has just moved to Forks, Washington with her father, Charlie. On her first day of school she meets a boy named Edward who acts strangely to her and tries to stay away from her. But after he rescuers her from a van that almost hit her my stopping it with his bare hands, she researches about how he could do it even though he denies it and eventually begins to realize that he is a vampire.

Well it's a Twilight movie, so naturally it's bad, but this one...is sort of acceptable if  you've read the book. I mean the acting from the cast was generally terrible (in fact I think it was really just the supportive cast such as charlie and the kids at school that were actually acting for the most part), it was way too quite and slow which made it boring most of the way, the effects for the vampires were awful (I mean seriously, vampires are suppose to be like as fast as Neo from the Matrix from whenever he would fly, and be like really bright when sparkling or something like that) and really the color and the atmosphere of almost the entire movie was just dull through and through. But if you've read the book you can kind of appreciate most of the loyalty the movie has to it. I mean personally, I thought the first book was a little enjoyable even though it was still ridiculous as heck (being Twilight and all) and while this movie hardly brought the entire book to life even with scenes like the baseball game, it...still works in a way. But again, that's only if you've read the book and thought it was roughly enjoyable like I did.

Actors/Characters:
Kristen Stewart/Bella Swan: Okay so obviously, she was bad. I mean she did pull off something of actual emotions from time to time but other then that she was expressionless, she was roughly taking in the same old tone, and...well since it's Stewart as Bella, you know the rest.
Robert Patterson/Edward Cullen: Well he was the same as Stewart but he had a little more effort into it. I mean he did give us the times where Edward would give a small smile over something Bella said and he didn't do too bad when it came to trying to avoid attacking Bella and drinking he blood and stuff like that. So he was bad but he was better then Stewart.

Music: now most of it is very dull and quite, but I will say that I do like the song that Edward was playing to Bella on his piano, it just a decent pleasant melody.

Editing: Most of it is pretty slow and when it comes to even the most exciting scenes, some of it was big suspenseful quick cuts for suspense but the rest of the time it was really just a lot of slow motion shots and that was it.

And that's my review for Twilight. It has it's points for loyalty to the book at some particular areas, and not all of the acting was terrible the way we all know it, but it's still a bad movie just the way we all know it is. 

Princess Mononoke (1997)

Rating: 85%I first saw this movie like 8 years ago when a neighbor had a sleepover at our house. I've been looking forward to see it again while doing this little Miyazaki marathon, so without much left to say, it's time to review it.

Plot: Ashitaka is a prince of an Emishi village who fights a giant-boar demon that was attacking his village but get a curse casts into his right arm in the process. The curse gives him superhuman strength but will eventually kill him, so Ashitaka leaves his village to search for a cure. He makes his way to a place called Iron town where the people destroy the forest for ironsand and advanced weapons and learns that the people in Iron Town are at war against the beast of the forest, particularly with a clan of wolves that are partly lead by a woman raised by them San, but is refereed by the townspeople as Princess Mononoke.

I can see why there was no Disney version to this movie unlike the rest of Miyazaki's films; it's a little graphic and incredibly dark at a lot of scenes. Which comparing to all the other Miyazaki films, that is REALLY saying something. I mean there was some violent death, there was destruction and a lot of the evil ish stuff where pretty creepy at some points. But that aside it was a very well done movie. The world that they created was very creative and the animation and story was very well done, and the story and the characters are very interesting and it still gives us some cute comedy that you' d normally get from a Miyazaki film. I do however think that the voice acting was just okay, didn't think they were very big on it, but I digress.

Characters:
Ashitaka: I thought Ashitaka was pretty cool. While the violent deaths are pretty big for being a Miyazaki film, it still was cool that could kill those samurai guys in that way with his super strength. Plus you have to like him anyway with how he's a hero with caring for other people and wanting to protect the forest and all of that.
San/Princess Mononoke: She was pretty cool too. She was tough, smart, and focused as heck when it came to protecting the forest. Personally I think her voice actress was one of the big reason why the voice acting all around was just okay. It's just that I remembered San having a lot of expression in her voice when I saw this movie years ago and I have to admit that It wasn't as big as I remembered it when I saw this movie a second time. But she still was cool.

Music: Like most Miyazaki films, this movie wasn't exactly exploding with music per say throughout the movie. But what they gave us was pretty enjoyable. I think my favorite piece was the song that was played when San and Ashitaka were sleeping in that cave...I guess it's just because it had a nice melody that really stood out to me.

And that's my review for Princess Mononoke. It's much darker and more graphic then a normal Miyazaki film but it still was creative, adventurous, interesting and altogether gave us a totally entertaining film from Miyazaki just the way the like it.     

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004)

Rating: 35%Alright so my looking back at Anne Hathaway's career has meant looking at some of her...less then big movies. Really I watched this after watching the first movie, I just kind of ignored it until now to review it. So here's my review for The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.

Plot: It's been five years since the events of the first movie and Mia has just recently graduated college. The then returns to Genovia where her grandmother Clarisse plans to step down and let Mia replace her a Queen of Genovia. During Mia's 21st birthday celebration, she dances with all of the bachelor's in Genovia to try to find a husband and along the way meets a charming man named Nicholas. The next day Clarisse and Mia find out while the parliament of Genovia is in session that  Viscount Mabrey reveals that his nephew Lord Devereaux is another heir tot he throne and that by law, Mia must find a husband in 30 days or give up the crown. So Mia, Clarisse and their friends try to find a husband for her while Lord Devereaux stays in the castle and turns out to be Nicholas himself.

This was hardly as good as the first one. I mean it had its nice and cute moments with Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews just like the first and some of the cast is more interesting with Chris Pine and John Rhys-Davis, but otherwise the plot is made and structured to be more cheesy then it was doing the first film. Part of that is that it has a lot of scenes where it acts more like it's made from Disney Channel instead of Walt Disney studios. I mean that because while the first movie is known as a chick flick, it still had some cute moments and nice charm that can make it a nice movie for guys to watch too. The second movie on the other hand mostly just makes it perfectly clear that it's a chick flick and especially for little girls with scenes like the sleepover, the parade (though I admit that putting the kids in the parade and the whole shelter thing afterwords was pretty cool on Mia's part), and putting Raven-Symoné in the film (I mean no judgement on her as an actress since I've only seen her in this film and stuff like that, but having her in the movie, however brief she was in it, just made it feel more like this was a Disney Channel movie which I consider it something of a downplay compared to the first film). So at the end of the day, you can still enjoy some of the charm the movie will have with Hathaway, Andrews and maybe even Pine and Rhys-Davis at some point- and heck, you even get a Stan Lee cameo out of watching this movie (I know right!?! I was freaking surprised at that too!!!), but it still is made more to its primary audience then the first one was including a story and also characters that are not as uncheesy as you would probably like.

Actor/Character:
John Rhys-Davis and Chris Pine/Viscount Mabrey and Lord Nicholas: Well both of them had characters that were mostly bland. I mean you know Nicholas is being the charmer and you know what happens in the end with him and Mabrey...was not exactly what you call a subtle villain, you know he's evil you know he really wants his family to have the crown (which is what makes this character so particularly blunt) and really seems dumb at some points that Nicholas sides with him at some points. Although you HAVE to love Mabrey at the end because of how he gets all pissed of Gimbli style the moment he shouts "LOVELY ON A POSTAGE STAMP!?!?!"

Music: While the score wasn't much I did think it was nice that this movie did have "Breakaway" from Kelly Clarkson, and at least a brief mandarin version of "Miracles Happen"

And that's my review for The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. It had some of the charm that made the first movie a nice one, but after that, it's more of a cheesy film with some bland characters and was just made more for its original audience then I for one would've liked after the first one.  

Slumdog Milionaire (2008)

Rating: 90%
We all remembered disliking how The Dark Knight wasn't even nominated for Best Picture when it rightfully should have and maybe even won. Which is the reason why we are not able to nominate more then five movies for Best Picture. So let's take a look at the movie that did get nominated and won Best Picture along with a couple of other Oscars: Slumdog Millionaire.

Plot: Eighteen-year-old Jamal Malik is an assistant at a call center who is currently playing an Indian version of Who Want to Be a Millionaire. He is currently a question away from winning the game but before he does, he is currently being interrogated by the police because they suspect him of cheating. But throughout most of the film, Jamal explains to the police that he has conveniently learned the answers from through out his life as he tells his story about him and his brother and a girl he has fallen in love ever since he was a street child.

This was a clever movie. The story is very interesting and well thought of, the characters are nicely developed and the setting seems to be very accurate when it comes to the life that some people in India live(d). Though during the middle of the film I felt+ like not every single answer was explained in terms of how he got them right. I mean most of them are because he actually knows them thanks to his past, but I don't know how he got some of them right. Maybe he was guessing or maybe they did explain it and I just missed it. I don't know which one is the case so I digress over the matter. Slumdog Millionaire was still a very interesting and sometimes suspenseful film for people to enjoy.


Music: I enjoyed the music a lot. I mean the score was very well done and the songs by A. R. Rahman are very well done. I especially enjoy "Jai Ho" because it's just a very light-heated and altogether fun song to sing or just listen to. "Jai Ho" definitely deserved best original score if it couldn't be "Down to Earth" from WALL-E.
 

Editing: The editing was very well done. I did like how it was done when it came to explaining how he knows the answers and all that. And personally, I thought adding some shots of the little kid versions of Jamal and Latika during the end credits when they were playing "Jai Ho" was an adorable touch during that part of the movie.

And that's my review for Slumdog Millionaire. It was a clever movie with an interesting story and some nice characters and while it may not have explained everything, it's still a very fun movie to enjoy.

David Copperfield (1999)

Rating: 90%
Well I've been curious about what's the story of David Copperfield for a while ever since I heard of the title. I was a little more interested when I heard that there was a film version of the book where Daniel Radcliffe first appeared in film just a couple of years before Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. So eventually I decided it was time to settle the matter once and for all and get this movie from the library and watch it. So here's what I thought about it.

Plot: David Copperfield was born shortly after his father passed away and was raised the first eight years of his life by his mother and their maid Peggotty. Then one day his mother marries a man named Edward Murdstone, whom David becomes afraid of and takes a disliking to David. Murdstone whips David for falling behind on his studies one day which leads David to bit his finger, and as punishment, he sends David to a boarding school owned by an abusive friend of Murdstone's who is cruel to David at his request. Eventually, David finds out that his mother died at home where shortly afterwords, Peggotty is fired as his maid and he is sent to a black ink factory where a series of adventures and tragedies follow afterwords.

This was an entertaining movie. The characters were enjoyable and the cast was more interesting then I thought. Because all I knew about it before watching it was that it contained Daniel Radcliffe and Maggie Smith. But it turns out that there are many other familiar faces in this film, some are also from the Harry Potter movies. For example we have Ian McKellen (Gandalf from Lord of the Rings) and Magneto in the X-men movies), Tom Wilkinson (Carmine Falcone from Batman Begins), Bob Hoskins (Edward Valiant form Who Framed Roget Rabbit and Smee from Hook), Zoe Wanamaker (Madame Hootch in the Harry Potter films) and even surprisingly Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter films). As for the story...it was enjoyable and I liked it a lot, but I had one main issue with it. Primarily that it seemed to be a lot like Oliver Twist when it comes to the main character meeting all kind of people good and bad and things like that. In a way I thought the first half to be Oliver Twist and the second half to be something of a Oliver Twist the sequel. But I still like the story because it had more stuff then Oliver Twist did, especially with the second half of it. So it may not be totally different from Oliver Twist but it is a little bigger then it with giving us more characters, and therefore more interesting sub plots.

Actors/Characters:
Daniel Radcliffe and Ciaran McMenamin/David Copperfield: Now the guy at the end of the film did talk about how this book was more about the supporting characters then the main one because he was a little bland which was why Charles Dickens improved when he wrote a similar book years later. And as much as I hate to admit it with this character being half played by Daniel Radcliffe, I will admit that I can see where David can be viewed as a bland character. I mean like I said, he wasn't too far apart from Oliver Twist in the sense that he is something of an innocent, friendly boy who meets a lot of people both good and bad or somewhere in between. But I think he was a little more developed as the story went on and either way, I thought both Radcliffe and McMenamin gave good performances and that it makes it little wonder that through this film, Chis Columbus watched Radcliffe in it going "This is what I want. This is Harry Potter".

And that's my review for David Copperfield. The story may not be too different from Oliver Twist in a generalized sense, but it still gives us an enjoyable story with very good acting and amusing characters.

The Hurt Locker (2009)

Rating: 95%
Okay so here's the second movie that I was borrowing from my youngest brother along with Gladiator. So without further intro, let's get into The Hurt Locker.

Plot: Sergeant First Class William James becomes the leader of a  Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit during post-invasion Iraq after the units former leader was killed by a bomb. Throughout the film, the other members of the unit, Sanborn and Eldridge become concerned about James because his methods in how he does his job as they try to find and disable or destroy bombs, and encounter other missions and danger in Iraq.

This was a very well done war movie. And I actually have a friend who was in the military who has told that this movie really hits it pretty accurately with the war in Iraq. It really displays the suspenseful things that soldiers out there face out there with the hard relationships between the troops and the Iraqis, how hard some of the choices they make can haunt them, and altogether trying to survive long enough to go home. The actors really do an extremely good job at giving us these characters and what each one of them goes through throughout the movie.

Actors/Characters
Jeremy Renner/Sergent James: James was a very interesting character. He did have an interesting sort of 'I prefer my own way' kind of methods with disabling or destroying bombs, and I especially liked his line "If I'm gonna die, I want to die comfortable." But he did have his more serious side where he was determined to get the job done and he did really care for his unit and some times was dramatized about some pretty harsh stuff that was happening and Renner displayed all of that really well which makes it little surprise that he was nominated for Best Actor at the oscars and has make a breakthrough in his career since this movie.

Editing: I particularly liked the editing from the first scene of this film. Mostly because during one editing class I took at film school a couple of years ago, the teacher showed that particular scene and roughly took it apart and showing how every since choice of shot and time of cutting from one shot to another worked really well and I liked how much sense that makes even watching it not sometimes.

And that's my review for The Hurt Locker. It's an excellent Iraq war film that displayed a lot of things that happened around that time with very well made and acted characters that makes it probably the best Iarq war movie ever made.