Category Archives: All

Toy Story 3 Review

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I’ve said it before and I feel as though I must say it again: Pixar has never let me down and it this point, I feel as though it’s impossible that they ever will. Toy Story 3 was amazing and I’d like to say early on that is unquestionably the best of the three. I’m not ashamed to say it, but Toy Story 3 is one of the very few films I’ve seen that was actually able to bring me to tears by the end.

Like every single Pixar movie, Toy Story 3 was colorful and fun for the kids, but also rich in story, characters and morals for all other ages. Unless you don’t have a soul, it’s seriously impossible not to be touched by this film. Toy Story 3 is a film that has so much going for it, adventure, friendship, love, characters to care for, a compelling villain, relatable themes, even an escape scene for god’s sake.

Toy Story 3 is heart-warming cinema at its finest. I loved every moment of it. I can’t see how you couldn’t. These are characters we’ve all come to know and love with all our hearts and this is the last story we’ll ever get to see with them. And what a way to go out on. To put it simply, Toy Story 3 was a film to be remembered. It’s spectacular.

Grade: A

The A-Team Review

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The A-Team is a movie filled with great one liners, a team of memorable characters and big dumb action. It was an absolute blast. I wasn’t expecting some mind boggling masterpiece of a film going into The A-Team. I was expecting non-stop action with great actors like Liam Neeson and Sharlto Copley acting well their parts. Do I consider The A-Team a great movie? No. Did I have a great time watching? Hell yes.

The main reason I went to see The A-Team was because it had Liam Neeson as the leading man. He’s one of my favorite actors and he’s playing an awesome character who leads a specially trained group of misfits and never stops smoking a cigar. It was the type of character you could tell he had fun playing and as a result, I had fun watching him play it.

What made the movie even more entertaining than I originally thought it would be was a fantastic performance by Sharlto Copley. Murdock was such a fun character, my eyes were always on him wondering what he’d do next. Other than that, The A-Team did have a story, but I didn’t really care about that, I was just more excited for the next action scene.

The A-Team was a hell of a time. All the actors were right where they belonged and no part of the movie could be considered slow. I went in expecting a good Liam Neeson performance and got more out of the movie than I could’ve hoped. The A-Team is in no way even close to cinema at its finest or anything, it was just fun.

Grade: B-

A Nightmare on Elm Street Review

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With A Nightmare on Elm Street, I got exactly what I expected, Nothing more and nothing less. I expected a classic slasher movie with the terrible acting (other than Haley as Krueger) and terrible writing. It’s just the kind of movie that doesn’t matter, you just go out and have fun with some friends. Play the “whose gonna die next” game.

The story of A Nightmare on Elm Street has its perks in by far the coolest slasher movie character. No killer beats Freddy Krueger and I actually preferred Jackie Earle Haley’s rendition more so than Robert Englund’s. He was darker, more disturbing even, while still having those still adding little sinister jokes here and there. That’s what’s fun about Freddy is that he actually talks unlike Leatherface, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers or Ghostface, to name a few.

So, A Nightmare on Elm Street is just your same old slasher film, filled with all the stuff that makes movies dumb, so I will grade accordingly, but you really have to take these films for what they are and this has got to be my favorite of the recent installations to horror. Its much better than the porno that was Friday the 13th and ten times better than Rob Zombie’s awful Halloween. I’d also like to say that I actually prefer this one to its original.

They’re a lot a like, but I had more fun with this one. So sue me. My complaint though would be that it was too much like the original at times. I’ll explain what I mean. When the trailer came out, it seemed that Freddy was actually innocent of his crimes against the children and was taking revenge against these people who killed him for no reason. That would’ve been more interesting, but we find out near the climax that he actually was guilty of his crimes and rightfully killed. That was a bit disappointing, but you can never expect much from a slasher.

Grade: D+

Iron Man 2 Review

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I’m just going to start this review out bluntly. Iron Man 2 was the biggest disappointment in a long time. I loved the first Iron Man and couldn’t wait for a sequel, but it was a huge let down. It was a bit saddening to be frank. This movie had everything going for it. It had Robert Downey Jr. playing the same character we know and love from the first, with the always fantastic Gwyneth Paltrow and best of all the great Mickey Rourke as a villain. Unfortunately the movie fell apart to the point of just being up setting.

The movie opens on a very cool note with Mickey Rourke designing his own mechanical suit that he plans to wreak havoc with to avenge his father. Its a well shot scene and it makes you excited for the rest of the movie. Next scene opens open with a few jokes, then later on, the movie ends with a joke and in between are a few decent action scenes and a lot of jokes (none of which are that funny). The movie seemed a lot more concerned with their next punch line than actually telling a good story. That might work for a comedy, but it doesn’t work here.

Iron Man 2, just tried so hard to make everything bigger and better and really just forgot what they were doing a long the way. They have this fantastic villain, played amazingly by Mickey Rourke and the character isn’t even close to being used to his full potential. Then you’ve got Robert Downey Jr. acting the same way he did in the first one, but when a sequel’s not written well, your performance is just overshadowed by your original one.

Iron Man 2 was a travesty in every sense of the world. I truly went in there wanting and expecting to enjoy myself. As hard as I tried though, I wasn’t able to. For this movie, I went to the midnight premiere, but when Iron Man 3 is released I’m going to have to wait for some reviews first.

Grade: D+

Alice in Wonderland Review

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Alice in Wonderland seemed like a movie that couldn’t go wrong. It’s a classic tale we all know filled with a handful of memorable characters and an insane world that could only be called Wonderland. Tim Burton seemed like the absolute perfect director for a reboot of this fantastic story. I’m a huge fan of Burton’s and I was excited for Alice in Wonderland, but I was a bit disappointed.

Don’t get me wrong I had a lot of fun with this film. It’s practically hard not to, but I just expected more from Burton. With films like Corpse Bride, Edward Scissorhands and Nightmare Before Christmas, he was able to find away to appeal to children and adults, but at times Alice and Wonderland felt almost too childish.

Two particular parts I could think of right now would be the unnecessary dancing The Mad Hatter does after victory. It was just kind of awkward. Another complaint was the incredibly corny line when Alice cuts off the head of the jabawaki. There were a number of other parts that seemed a little immature and just unlike Tim Burton.

Other than that, Alice in Wonderland was a good time at the movies. It was visually stunning. Depp and Carter were fantastic as always and the absolute saving grace of this film was the Cheshire Cat. I knew going in that Cheshire Cat would be my favorite character, but my expectations were exceeded with this aspect of the film. There were many parts of this film I can admit I actually loved, but especially the parts with the Cheshire Cat.

Overall, Alice in Wonderland was pretty good. I enjoyed myself a lot. Alice in Wonderland is actually a good example of a movie being visually amazing while still caring about other aspects of the movie. Some movies aren’t able to do that, such as the Transformers movies and most of all, Avatar.

Grade: B

A Prophet Review

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A Prophet is a movie I just got to see recently. I got it on netflix the day it came out on DVD and I’ve been wanting to see it for a very long. I wasn’t able to see it in theaters because it wasn’t playing anywhere near me. The anticipation grew and my expectations were high. I’m happy to report that they were met.

A Prophet was spectacular. Every single moment of the film felt necessary and real. It was a stunning look into the life of an inmate of a prison run by crime. We get the full story of his rise through the ranks of the prison and it is realistic, tense, thrilling and some what epic.

A Prophet is a gritty crime film like no other I’ve ever seen, but I am so pleased I did. The acting is top-notch, the music is fantastic, the editing works so well and the direction is relentlessly awesome.  It’s hard to say much else. I just loved this film.

It’s a foreign film and among some of the greatest I’ve seen. It’s right there with Pan’s Labyrinth, City of God and Oldboy. I’ve already purchased my own copy and can’t wait for my next view. It’s seriously that good. There’s nothing more I can say. Just watch the movie.

Grade: A