Psycho (1960)

Rating: 100%
Yeah it's Halloween and as such, it is logical to review a classic or two. And with the Hitchcock movie coming up soon, what movie from that brilliant director would do the trick more this semester then Psycho.

Plot: Marion is a secretary who is in need of money to help her boyfriend pay off his debts. When she is sent to deposit 40,000 dollars to the bank by her employer, she instead takes the money and starts to drive off to Phoenix, Arizona where her boyfriend is on a business trip. If you want to know the rest...WATCH THE MOVIE!!!!!

I meant what I said from the end of the plot paragraph. If you haven't seen this film, then it's kind of my duty if you will as a fellow movie goer to see to it that you still don't know what happens until you have. I mean what can I say about this movie that many film reviews before me haven't' already said? It's just a very well done movie. The script, the characters, the editing, the music, it's all done so brilliantly. It's filled with so much excitement, mystery and suspense in ways that really take part in this film making both horror and film history.

Actor/Character:
Anthony Perkins/Norman Bates: What can I say about this character without giving anything away. He's just a brilliant psychotic character that was well written and well acted and it's little wonder he's # 2 on AFI's list of top villains.

Editing: I'm just going to confirm that the editing in the shower scene worked very well in creating the suspense and mystery.

Music: Now everyone has heard of the track where the violins are screeching at least dozens of times in their life even if they haven't actually seen the movie. And that worked very well with the movie and it's so big and unique that it's little wonder everyone's heard it even if they haven't seen the film. The rest of the soundtrack was very well done and I guess I would roughly agree with Alfred Hitchcock when he said that 33% of the effect of Psycho was due to the music"

And that's my review for Psycho. I know I'm not giving much away for those of you who haven't seen it, but rest assured that it's for your own good and that for now you should just trust me and make sure that you don't wait much longer to see it for yourselves and know what I mean when I say that it's a total masterpiece straight off the bat.

The Lost Boys (1987)

Rating: 80%
It is Halloween again ladies and gentlemen. Specifically, the very last Halloween before the finally witness the very last Twilight film at long last. But the very sad thing about it aside from the fact that Twilight ever existed is the sheer fact that because it exists, all most of us are going to think of when we hear the word 'vampire', are going to be about Twilight vampires with the expressionless acting, super pale faces and most of all...the sparkling. So I'm going to try to rescue as many people's Halloweens as I can with this review to remind you of a time where there were movies with REAL vampires filled with actual blood-sucking, acting, action and real teenage romance that we can dig. So THIS is a vampire movie you should see this Halloween. THIS is a tale with REAL vampires. THIS is The Lost Boys!

Plot: Michael and his younger brother Sam move to Santa Carla with their recently divorced mother to live with her father. While they are hanging out at the amusement park Broadwalk, Michael becomes interested in a girl named Star who lives with a local gang leader named David who convinces him to a motorcycle race. David later invites him into the gang's lair where he makes him part of the gang by drinking an ornate bottle of wine. But afterwords, Michael and Sam notice that Micheal's reflection in a mirror is barely appearing and he starts to accidentally fly. Michael comes back to the gang to find out that they're all vampires and because he drank the wine (which was actually David's blood), he is a vampire too. So Michael, Sam, Sam's friends who are self-claimed vampire hunters, and Star who is revealed to be a half-vampire, work together to find a way to be cured from Michael and Star being vampires.  

Now to be honest, the first...28 ish minutes of this film wasn't that enjoyable for me, mostly in the sense that since this is a Joel Schumacher film, it did have crazy lights and some motorcycle race and things like that that made me think a little too much about Batman & Robin. I mean I honestly wonder if the motorcycle race in that film was there just so Schumacher could do the exact same thing he did for this film. But once Michael turn into a vampire, the rest is real teen-horror film history (or may as well be in my opinion.) It's dark, it's suspenseful, the action is awesome (for its time) some of the comedy is cute, and the story just plain works in terms of the fact that this is what vampires should be about and what kind of story it should be when it's a vampire story involving teenagers. Just horror, action, little bit of teen romance, and actual vampires that sleep during the day, fly around killing people and sucking their blood at night, no sparkling, no looking at expressionless girls weirdly, no baseball or anything else that has to do with Twilight!!!

So that's my review for The Lost Boys. It acts too familiar to some of the things that make you think Batman & Robin or maybe even Batman Forever just because it's a Joel Schumacher film at first, but once the actual vampires kick into the picture, it gives you an actual teen-horror film with actual vampires that is easily an entertaining movie that you can enjoy for yourself this Halloween.   

The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

Rating: 70%
Now I've been meaning to review this movie for a while with the whole deal of going through a bunch of musicals to prepare for Les Mes. So here's basically my review for the film adaption of one of my favorite musicals during my middle/high school years: The Phantom of the Opera.

Plot: Christine is a chorus girl for an opera house in Paris where its previous manager is retiring and is being replaced by two men named Firmin and Andre. But on the night of their introduction shortly before the night of a production, the main female singer leaves after an accident that is believed to be caused by the "Opera Ghost", so she takes her place and becomes a hit that night. Afterwords she reunited with Raoul her childhood sweetheart, but when he leaves to fetch a carriage for them, the "Opera Ghost" (whom Christine thinks is an "angel of music" who was sent by her father to give her her singing voice after he died), comes into her room and bring her to his lair.

As I've said, I'm a fan of the musical itself, and I think this is an enjoyable adaption of it. It was loyal to the story most of the time, the acting was good, and the scenery really works with telling this particular story. But some of the things that happens are a little...out of place I think I should say. I mean the singing was good in a general sense, but I think the issue most people will have that are fans of the musical will be that some of the choices of singers when it comes to some of the characters of the film to not be the most ideal choice. That might be a biased thought considering most of us who feel that way probably do because we're so used to the original soundtrack to the musical that we may have issues just because the actors in this film don't sound just like the ones from it. I mean that's partly what I feel when it comes to the singing with this movie, but it's also the fact that they changes some of the music in a couple of ways that I find unnecessary. My main examples are how there are points where they might just say the lyrics rather then sing them and also that sometimes they change the lyrics. Now with changing the lyrics, it makes a little amount of sense a couple of times during the second half of the movie because one or two of the things that they sing about didn't happen in this adaption. But after that, the fact that they do that as well as sometimes saying the lyrics instead of singing them in my opinion was generally very pointless without a doubt. But all the same, I think that whatever problems it has, I still think it's good enough in the sense that it gives us a well done adaption of the musical through and through making the film a nice time at the least.

Actor/Character:
Gerard Butler/The Phantom of the Opera: Now most people nowadays particularity make fun of Gerard Butler for his singing as The Phantom of the Opera. Would I agree to what they say?...well sure. I mean in all fairness, the guy can sing, heck, he probably pulls off being The Phantom better then some of us (at least me for sure). But does that make him the perfect person for the role? No. He can sing, but not exactly well enough for the role and...personally I didn't like how he sounded. I mean that in the sense that while even when we was singing fine, he didn't sound evil or menacing or all around convincing to the The Phantom. He sounded more like a normal kind of guy who's just singing songs from The musical. But I think he did...decent for what it's worth and he did look cool at times as the phantom (mostly with his cape on)

And that's my review for The Phantom of the Opera. In terms of singing, change of lyrics or saying the lyrics instead of singing them and with the all around choice of person to play The Phantom, it's not the greatest version of The Phantom of the Opera ever made, but I think it's enjoyable enough primarily as being a film adaption of the musical in particular.   

Mean Girls (2004)

Rating: 65%
This was a film I remember seeing only once through the dish at home during... I think my sophomore year of high school. I kind of wanted to watch it again to see if it really is as nice of a film as I remember it. Now I have just done that, so here's my review for Mean Girls.


Plot: Cady is a 16 year old girl who has been home-schooled all her life due to her parents' work in Africa. But her parents have decided to get her to interact with with kids her age so they send her to a public high-school. She has trouble fitting in the first day, but she then eventually befriends a Gothic girl named Janis and a gay guy named Damien who help her understand the society of high school. They particularly warn Cady about going anywhere near the trio of popular girls called The Plastics. But when The Plastics take an interest in her and accept her into their group, Janis and Damien decide to use the oppertunity to spy on them and get revenge for the things they're done to them. Cady isn't too much into their scheme at first, but when the lead Plastic, Regina deliberately steals back her ex-boyfriend knowing that Cady has a crush on him, she decides to take part in Janis and Damien's plan.

Now this movie isn't entirely as good as I remember it, but it's at least a nice film still. Part of the matter I think is that this film is not really for everybody due to how it's solely just showing the life of girls that think they're all so popular or otherwise just another film that really displays what life is like in high school...even if it's a bit exaggerated at points in my opinion. But that aside, while the story has a few cliches, it did have a couple of things that where creative or at least clever that helped make the movie more enjoyable. Some of the comedy was cute, the characters were alright, and...well it's definitely nice to see Tina Fey and that woman from Park & Recreation in the movie (I mean I never really bothered to see that show but I'm sure some of you who have will like seeing here there.)

Actors/Characters:
Lindsay Lohan/Cady: Entertainment Weekly stated once that there was a time where Lindsay Lohan was best known for her acting rather than her party-hopping. Sadly I have to agree. I remember a time when I though Lohan was an enjoyable young adult actress to watch with this movie and also the reboots of Freaky Friday and The Parent Trap. (both of which I might eventually review soon) All the same, she was enjoyable in this film and...for old yet mostly forgotten times sake, let's pray that maybe one day looking at gossip and news of her being arrested or on trial is somehow no longer all we hear anymore about Lindsay Lohan.
Rachael McAdams/Regina: She was good too. Thought I have a hard time she's the same woman who plays Irene Adler in the Sherlock Holmes movies. *shrugs* just comes to show that she can be totally different characters when it comes to her being a 'queen bee' in this movie and Iron Ma- I mean Sherlock Holmes' love interests in two others.

And that's my review for Mean Girls. It's not as good as I remembered, but it can still be good as far goes as some nice story telling and comedy, a fair interpretation of what life in high school can be, and a monument if you will, for what Lindsay Lohan once was. 
 

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)

Rating: 35%
I've reviewed the first movie, now it's time for the second one...nuff said really.

Plot: The zoo animals along with King Julien and Maurice repair the crashed and fly off back to New York. But then the plane starts working to they crash into Africa. There Alex finds his parents who lost him when he was kidnapped by hunters which eventually lead him to live in the Central Park Zoo, Marty meets a herd of zebras who appear and sound just like him, Melvin becomes the witch doctor for the entire reserve, and Gloria becomes attracted to a smooth-talking hippo named Moto Moto. But then Alex has to do a ritual to earn his right as the son of an alpha lion, but is lead to believe that it's a dance competition, and Melvin starts to reveal that he has feelings for Gloria.

This wasn't all that better. I mean I understand that critics at RottenTomatoes.com say it's "an improvement on the original, with more fleshed-out characters, crisper animation and more consistent humor,". And...well I do agree that the animation was better. Are the characters more fleshed-out...I guess...well I think the better thing to say is that they are more fleshed-out compared to the first one, but not by much. The humor...I honestly think is just the same it was from the first movie. Not as clever, but it did have some cute comedy still. But what really makes this movie not that grand was the story. It just was generally less as original as the first movie because it was roughly similar to films like The Lion King and Happy Feet (again, RT) and while the Melvin-Gloria romance might seem interesting, when I think off it, all I think about is the romance between Ross and Rachel from F.r.i.e.n.d.s. and how there's the fact that David Schimmer (who played Ross in the show) voices Melvin on top of the fact that the romance is pretty much the same exact thing. All in all, it's the same thing, it's just a little worse in terms of the lack of originality with the story.

So that's basically my review for Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. You might enjoy it for how things with the animation and characters are slightly better and enjoy the comedy, but it really is just the same thing only that the plot takes things from a couple of movies and kick-a tv show. (sorry I just had to put it that way. I mean...it's F.r.i.e.n.d.s. for heaven sakes.) 

Madagascar (2005)

Rating: 60%
Okay so I recently decided that I wanted to take a look at the third Madagascar movie soon since it so surprisingly well at the box office, but then there's the fact that I have yet to review the first two movies. So here's my review for Madagascar.

Plot: Marty is a Zebra who lives in the Central Park Zoo with his best friend Alex the lion, Gloria the hippo and Melvin the giraffe. During his tenth birthday, Marty begins to dream that he goes to the wild. His friends think he's crazy and love their lives in the zoo. But then Marty escapes and his friends go after them but are captured and are sent off to be transferred. But while they're being shipped, a group of penguins from the zoo who are also being transferred take over the shop which results in the other animals falling off the ship and being washed ashore to Madagascar.

This was just an okay movie. The story is not all that original, but it manages to be entertaining to have some really cute (and sometimes clever) jokes, and characters that are a fair/okay amount of fun. The animation is okay, but I think they give... I don't want to say too much movement but with cases like Marty and Alex especially I feel like they're giving the characters too much energy and speed...i don't know if that makes sense to you guys but that how I feel.

Music: I enjoyed the soundtrack to this movie. I mean it has a fair lot of songs that everyone knows like "Chariots of Fire", "Stayin' Alive" and "What A Wonderful World". But what makes the soundtrack, and probably the whole film in general memorable in anyway is the films version of "I Like to Move It". I mean I've heard of a couple of other versions and they're...okay I guess, but it's this version  that really makes the song big, fun and very catchy. This version is just very enjoyable and...admittingly, Sacha Baron Cohen did a good job in really making this song more known.

And that's my review for Madagascar. It's not the most original animated film you'll ever see, but it at least gives us some nice characters, enjoyable comedy, and a soundtrack that has a version of the song that might be more memorable then the movie itself, that makes it an okay animated movie to watch. 

Forrest Gump (1994)

Rating: 95%
You know, there are a lot of movies that you never want to forget seeing for the first time. Most of them in our modern time would be big movies that we go to the midnight showings of like The Dark Knight Rises and the last Harry Potter film. But some of the ones we don't want to forget seeing for the first time aren't as big as that. Some can be cases like for me with this movie where I roughly had just gone home from school back in the 5th grade and my mom was soon to play this movie. So without much left to say about that for right now, here's my review for Forrest Gump.

Plot: Forrest is a man with a sort of learning disability who is waiting for the bus at the bus stop and is telling some other people who are waiting for the bus the whole story about his life with how had had to wear leg braces as a kid, became a college football star, was in the Vietnam war, and all sorts of things while thinking about his childhood friend that he immediately fell in love with named Jenny.

What can I say? I really like this movie. The story is well written, the characters are lovable and well acted and it's a very innocent and adorable movie that has a few cute comedy moments, the soundtrack gives us some pretty memorable songs from all those eras like "Fortunate Son" and "Hound Dog" may seem a little too innocent for some people, but a very well done film. Now there's a fair amount of people who believe that Shawshank Redemption should've won best picture instead of this film. I've only seen that film once a couple of years ago, but based on what I remembered about it, sure, I can understand their opinion. Shawshank Redemption was a very well made dramatic film with very well done acting (I mean one of those actors was Morgan Freeman for...well...Morgan Freeman's sake). But personally I like this one better because it's much more touching and moving and it's a movie that possibly is one that more people can enjoy a little more then Shawshank Redemption. And even if it isn't, at least Shawshank Redemption - much like The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring when it came to A Beautiful Mind - lost to a respectable movie... unlike some OTHER movies *glares at Out of Africa and Shakespeare in Love*


Actor/Character:
Tom Hanks: Now I know some people are probably over this character because in a way it's like Titanic, you've heard/seen it a million times and whole the whole basis of the story/character. BUt that doesn't excuse that Hanks still did a brilliant job. His performance was well made, original, innocent and was just so believable and his emotional moments were so well done. I don't know about his performance in Philadelphia, but I know deep down that he deserved his memorable performance as Forrest, Forrest Gump.

And that's my review for Forrest Gump. It's a cute innocent, happy yet very sad movie was well written, beautifully acted, and while Shawshank Redemption possibly should've won instead that year, it's still a wonderful movie and a respectful one for Shawshank Redemption to lose to.