Movie Review: Seeking a Friend For The End of The World, Brave, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Piranha 3DD.

Movie Review: Seeking a Friend For The End of The World, Brave, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Piranha 3DD.




Seeking a Friend For The End of The World


It has been said in the past that we all must die. But how many of us can say that we have truly lived?

As I was watching this film, this idea kept coming into my mind. For those who do not know the idea behind this film, it is simple: What if a huge meteor was going to strike the Earth in 3 weeks, and kill everyone on this planet? What would you do and how would you spend those last 3 weeks?

The idea of this film is that we see a man whose wife has left him and he is now alone for these 3 weeks. He meets this younger lady, who is as lost as he is and they decide to help him find a lost love from his past. The film takes a look at the people that they interact with during this time and they try to make scenes of the world that is slowly collapsing around them.

I must admit that the idea of this film just sounded different and that it was worth a viewing at the movie and after it was over, I was glad that I went to see it.

In the film, they show you the riots, the interstructure collapsing, and the world wafting for the other shoe to drop. The films take a look at what is going around these people but doesn’t dumb it down enough to insult you as you’re watching this film.

The film ends like you think it might. If this is the way the world ended for these 2, then they did all right.

Grade: B



Brave



Now with this new Pixar film, I was curious about the idea of this film.

It shows how a daughter must grow up and become a Queen to her people. The idea of this one is that she really isn’t like her mother but more like her father, a warrior King. His is also the other idea of this film, the differences between a mom and a daughter, who both loves each other but weren’t exactly sure how to say it to each other.

This film could really be a mother/daughter film for those of all ages and they can see how the other one thinks and why they think this way.

As with all cartoon films, when the twist happens in this one it forces both the mom and daughter to work together to try and solve their problems that now face them.

The film will appeal more to the ladies then to the man but do not be afraid to take children to see this film. The kids in the audience I saw this with were smiling and laughing throughout the film.

It is a good film but not a great one and at times I really thought this film could have used a tighter edit. It is worth at least seeing it once at the movies.

Grade: B

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter



I knew that I should have not and gone to see this movie. I just had the feeling that it was going to be a bad film and sad to say, I was right.

I had heard of the book that this film was based on and it just never seemed to work for me. The 16th President of the USA was a part time vampire hunter. The idea just started off bad and the film just kept getting worse and worse as it went along.

The film does tie in Abe with actually historical people to try and give it some type of a realistic story. But to see that the Battle of Gettysburg was almost lost due to vampires joining the Confederate States of America’s Army was just too much. After the film was over, I heard an USA teenager tell her friends that this was a true historical film.

If you like killing vampire movies, then you might like this one. Foe everyone else, Please do not see this film.

Grade: D



Piranha 3DD.



I had heard that they were making a part 2 of the recent cult film Piranha and that it would be once again in 3D.

But this time it was different because it was getting a very small release in the USA and it was going straight to PPV TV here in the USA. I knew that this film wasn’t going to be great, but at least the first one was cheesy fun to watch. The 2nd one wasn’t even that fun to watch, it was just bad acting on top of more bad acting without anything making sure that we did not care about this film nor anyone associated with it.

The film just kept getting worse and worse and by the time it was over, I was cheering for the Piranha to kill everyone in this film, so it would be over.

I have no idea if this film will ever play in South Korea, but if it does, DON’T WATCH IT! It is that bad of a film.

Grade: F

Rule 1 or 2, you're still wrong...

Movie Reviews: Rock of Ages (IMAX), That’s My Boy

Movie Reviews: Rock of Ages (IMAX), That’s My Boy




Rock of Ages (IMAX)

Now one of the things that I have liked about writing the movie reviews for the past 5+ years is that I get to show others why I either like or hate films. For these 2 films, I took one of my nephews along with me so he could see his first film in the IMAX format. After the film, he now loves this format.

I knew that the film was based off of a very successful Broadway play. I also knew that the star of this film was Tom Cruise. The last thing that I knew about this film was that the music of this film was from my high school and college days from the 1980’s. This is what I was unsure about the most of this film. I had memories of all of these songs and I knew all of the words to these songs and I was wondering would my knowledge of the music really make me want to hate this film more because of their misuse in this film.

So I really went into this film with not knowing anything about how the musical story or any of the characters and after it was over, I could not believe how much I really enjoyed this film.

The film opens up with a girl from Oklahoma getting on a bus and moving to Los Angeles. While she is on the bus ride, the bus passengers start up singing the Night Ranger song, “Sister Christian”. I was listening to their singing of this song and thinking, well this film has my attention, now what will they do with the rest of it.

I really liked the 3 sub stories of this film, The Alec Baldwin/ Russell Brand arc, and now I will never listen to a certain REO Speedwagon song the same way after their story. The young rockers story and how dark their love story goes throughout the film. The last arc was the Catherine Zeta-Jones character, (based on the 1980’s Tipper Gore anti-Rock crusade. )

But the film will either work for you or fail for you with one thing; do you believe that Tom Cruise is the 1890’s rocker, Stacee Jaxx, whos' best friend is a monkey by the name of “Hey Man”? I wasn’t sure until I heard him do a great version of Bon Jovi’s, ‘”Wanted, Dead or Alive”.

After the film was over, I asked my nephew what he thought about it and he liked it. This 1980’s child loved it. I could not believe how much I liked this film and I will add this film to my Blu-Ray collection when it comes available. Please see it in the IMAX format if you can.

Grade: A



That’s My Boy



Now I knew that this film had gotten some great publicity from when it was shown at one of Super Bowl 46’s many pre-parties. I also knew that after the failure of Adam Sandelers’s last film, “Jack and Jill” that he needed to do something very different.

The idea of this film was different, What if a 13 year old male student had had a relationship with his teacher? What if this same relationship had produced a love-child who is given the legal name of Han Solo Burger? The scene in which the lover get caught was interesting, to say the least and then the film takes a look of what happens to the child-parent and to Han.

I must admit the cameo of Rob Ryan, Coach of the American Football New York Jet’s, being a huge New England Patriots fan in this film and then calling their coach a genius just made the entire audience laugh a lot. He was playing the role of Adam’s lawyer and the whole scene just seemed to work for me.

Now the rest of the film idea is that Adam hasn’t paid taxes in a long time and he must pay 41k$ in 4 days or he will go to jail. He soon sees his son’s photo in the paper and he has become successful and he will be getting married that weekend. He want to see if his son will give him the $ so he can stay out of jail.

The rest of the film just gets wilder and crazier and this will definitely not be a film that you can take little kids to see. This one is adults only.

When the twist came that comes with this type of comedy film, it just made the audience a little squeamish. I really could not believe that the film went there and some people will this its funny but some will really turn against the film because of it.

I don’t know if this film will pay in Korea. Adam’s comedy, in the past, really hasn’t worked outside of the USA.

My nephew loved it and I liked it but I am not sure that I will see this film ever again.

Grade B

Movie Reviews: Snow White and the Huntsman, Prometheus, Madagascar 3

Movie Reviews: Snow White and the Huntsman, Prometheus, Madagascar 3

Snow White and the Huntsman

I really wasn’t sure what to think about this film when I first saw the preview. The only thing that I knew about it was that this was the one film that my daughter wanted to see this year. I was wondering, could this be the film that launches the post-Twilight career of Kristen Stewart.

After I watched the film, I still am not sure of her as an actress. The idea of this film is very simple, it a twist of the classic “Snow White” story but this time we are given a broken huntsman, who regrets that he let his wife die. The story of the evil Queen, the dwarves and Snow White are still included in this film but by the end of the film, it was as if Snow White meets The Lord of the Rings.

We are given epic film shots and we are told that this is an epic story of love and revenge but in the end it just left me flat. The film never really has an even pace and, at times, it seemed more like a greatest hits of past Snow White films and this film really offered anything new or any real reason to go see this new adaptation of this film.

Please pass on this one.

Grade: D+


Prometheus

For the early reviews of this film there seems to be 2 ideas of this film. One idea states that this is a great film that you will enjoy a lot. The 2nd idea of this film is that the background shots of this film are a perfect way to show how great 3D can be at the theaters, but the film itself is very empty. After watching this film, I found myself agreeing with the people that really didn’t like this film.

The idea of this film really sounded interesting to me. What if they did a prequel of the “Alien “series with one of the original directors, Ridley Scott to add a new twist on this 1980’s classic. The previews looked good and I really wanted to like this film. So after the film was over. It just felt like it was a great eye candy in 3D but the plot and its execution just left me flat.

For everything that new could be imagined, there really wasn’t that much new shown or any new ideas of how man maybe came to be. It just seemed like it was a bad TV movie script with 100 million $ going to the background of the film. I really wasn’t suspired by anything in this film and I knew who and how anyone could of and did die in this film.

 If I could see this coming why should anyone really want to waste their money by watching this film? I think that you should go out and see this film and see what camp you will fall into. As for this reviewer, I will pass on any future showings of this film

Grade: C-

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted

I did something for this film that I rarely do, I went and saw this kid’s film with a bunch of children and their parents in the audience. I really wanted to see this film but I also wanted to see what the target audience of this film and their families thought of this film.

  I just really wanted to see a film through another set of eyes and why they either liked it or hated it. Now the film does take a few shots at the French and the Canadians and the kids really loved Sasha Barren Cohens character King Julien, every time he was in the film.

The audience I saw the film with really liked the Seal, voiced by Martian Short. When it came time for the Zebra polka dot dance, the kids really loved it. The audience I saw it with loved the fact that the film was in 3D and that the Circus scenes were excellent for the kids in 3D.

After the film was over, I listed to a lot of the kids talking to their friends and they all had smiled on their faces after the film was over, they loved it and the majority of the kids wanted to see it a few more times in 3D

For the kid in me and the adult that watched the film, it could have been a better film but it was a good film and if this is the last film of this series, then it ends on a good note. If they decide to have a part 4 and I can go see it, then I will Please go see this film with your kids or for the kid that still lives inside you.

Grade B+

Movie Review: Battleship, Chernobyl Diaries, The Dictator, What to Expect When You’re Expecting,MIB3

Battleship

Have you ever watched a film preview and thought to yourself that you should like this film but something just never seemed right about it and when you went to see the movie, you really didn’t like it but you really didn’t hate it? This gut feeling about this film is also why I gave this movie the #1 pick films not to see this summer. Then welcome to this film, “Battleship”

This film was based on a board game in which 2 players try and sink the others ships but this film sure didn’t look like that game and I had no idea why they named this movie after the game. The acting really wasn’t that great and the main star of the film, Liam Nielson, should have been in the film more than what he was.

The film should have worked and it should have been a blockbuster but it isn’t and I am never really sure why. It just didn’t click with me and left me with a mehn…

Later, near the end of the film, the reason why they named this film “Battleship” becomes clear and, I must admit, it was a nice moment for the military members in the audience. There is an extra scene at the end of the credits that can led to a possible part 2 of this film but based on the US rejection of this film at the box office, I don’t see a sequel happening for this series.

The film is worth at least one viewing but please, do not expect a lot.

Grade D+

Chernobyl Diaries

The preview of this film had me a bit confused, was it a “Lost Footage” film or a basic horror film or a modern slasher with a twist? After seeing this film it was obvious that all associated with this film had no idea what to do with this film either. I picked this film as one of the top 10 films not to see this summer and after I watched this film, I am very sure that I made the correct choice with this film.

The idea of an extreme tour to an abandoned nuclear site just never sounded like a good idea for a horror film and when the films twist appears, I was thinking like this was a really bad idea and this was a joke of a film and when it was over, I really couldn’t believe that I had wasted $$ on seeing this film.

Please pass on this film at all cost.

Grade: F

The Dictator

Now when a film begins with a notice that this film is being dedicated to Kim Jong-il, I knew that this could be a very interesting film. The previews looked funny and I put this film on the top 10 films to see this summer, I really wanted to see this film and after it was over, I really don’t want to see anymore films made by Sasha Barron Cohen.

I went into this film really wanting to like it but as the film went on, it just got worse and worse and by half way into this film, I kept looking at my watch to see when this film would be over. I thought this film was going to be a great comedy but instead of laughing at the film, I kept cringing on how bad this film actually was.

After the film was over, I overheard a few fans of Sasha from his Ali G days, really complain about this film and how they also wasted their money with this film.

The idea of an insane dictator sounded great but when it came to the execution of the films acting, it just never worked. What could have been a great idea for a great comedy, collapsed by the end of this film.

If you’re a fan of Sasha then you should see this film and see if he did a good job on this film. If you’re not, then you might want to pass on this film.

Grade: D-

What to Expect When You’re Expecting

Lately, when you made a huge cast of actor’s together to try and tell a common story either they really work or they are really bad and sad to say this film just never worked for this male viewer. The majority of the audience I went to see this film were 18-30 year old females and they seemed to really like this film while the few males in this audience really couldn’t believe that anyone would ever want to watch this film.

With an ensemble cast sometimes, there are stories that never should have been a part of the film. The Jennifer Lopez and Cameron Diaz parts in this film just never seemed to work for me because I never believed their roles in this film and it just seemed like the director wanted their stories to be the main ones when it’s clear that they should have not even been in this film.

The real stars of this film were “The Dude’s” led by Chris Rock, every time they were on this film; it seemed that the rest of the film was going to be great. Every scene that they were not in seemed to suffer for it.

If you like “Chick Flicks” then you should go and maybe you’ll like this one. If you’re not, then please pass on this film at all cost.

Grade C-

Men In Black 3

Now I have never really been a huge fan of this series and the only reason that I recommended the film this summer was because of the great audience reaction for the trailer. I wanted to see the film because, The Flight of the Conchord’s Jemaine Clement, was going to be the main villain of the film.

I really wasn’t expecting much in this film and this film doesn’t need to be seen in the 3-D Format because it really didn’t add that much to the film experience over the 2-D Format.

But saying that, I was really surprised by how much I actually liked this film. It told a great story of “K”’s background and you do discover what really made him go dark and when the twist comes it really made the audience look at “K” very different.

I must admit that I wouldn’t mind seeing a part 4 of this film to see how much of a change “K” had gone through and what other secrets of the universe this character has to share with the audience.

If you like a decent si-fi story or are a fan of this series then it will definitely not be a waste of your time or $$$.

Grade: B