BigZ

I agree with Mel Gibson, this move is complete garbage. A waste of money and time. A horrible mishmash of incoherent drivel. One of the greatest opportunities in superhero cinema totally squandered away in a nonsensical plot and skewed character dynamics. I think when you have the chance to have two of the biggest and best superheroes ever in the same movie like Batman and Superman and be able to pit them against each other, I don't know why you bother to go further than that. That in itself makes for a potentially legit movie. Instead we have a half baked attempt at blockbusting. Lots of expensive flash and bang with no substance. A host of dazzling characters, but no heart or humanity to any of them. A long looping plot with bizarre and abrupt changes with no motivation or common sense behind them. That Batman warehouse fight scene was crazy cool, but that is about it. There is a reason why after this Ben demanded complete control of his own stand alone Batman reboot. This was a shameful flop, not worth money.

This film fooled quite a few people with three things: 1. political undertones 2. visual grandeur 3. explosive action. Not that there is anything particularly wrong with those things but, when they play up those attributes and abandon others, like character development, plot structure, and practicality, you get a movie like this. In simple terms, this movie is a 2 hour car chase. Without any reasonable amount of time put in to discovering the motives of the protagonist or the antagonist. What is it that makes Max the good guy? Was that really clear? Why did this chase even happen and why was it so violent and costly? Was that clear? If you show a movie where cars chase each other for the whole run time, you should at least know for sure why. I understand that the antagonist's wives were stolen, but what made them so important? Why was so much risked and lost over these women? See, this movie created a smoke screen of fast paced action, flash, and flare, without actually creating anything profound. It abandoned the older Mad Max films' gritty, thrifty, and witty ways. Some parts were cool, there's no argument there. But that wasn't good story telling.

I was surprised to see this movie come into light and to see the actors and the director who brought this all into being. The previews show promise for both religious types and epic action types and so i was intrigued. Because of this being a biblical story, you take a gamble no matter what. So many different faiths to judge one film is going to turn into a blood bath no matter how you approach. So, I went to see this because i was curious, and I was not nearly as disappointed with this as I was with another biblical movie called, Noah. Sure, since these are Hollywood productions a solid overall likable bible story is quite a bit to ask. But a lot of work and effort was put into this film. The scale and grandeur was magnificent. Each costume and each city had a different style and detail to it that characterized the story. The dialogue and acting was sharp on most areas. I thought Ramses was played flawlessly. I liked how they put Moses in a military position because upon assumption you see Moses as a hardened general who becomes a humble prophet which proves for a good story. I thought the movie went well until Moses and **** at least what was meant to represent God, meet. Things start to get weird and shaky for Christian Bale's portrayal of Moses. He seems lost and unsure of himself, as if God isn't helping him and it angers him and you lose touch with the love and care Moses and God are meant to have. Therein lies the failures of the movie. If you read the bible account of Exodus verse by verse you will find not many details and specifics of Moses' life and activities. This movie had its own vision about how to fill in the blanks. Although they did straight up abandon the bible account on several things, there is still the violent and brutal tone the Old Testament had. Each plague makes your skin crawl and makes you shiver. The delivery on the suffering of Egypt is very well done. Again, the Moses-to-God relationship is the one big pitfall. I thought the relationship portrayed in The Prince of Egypt was more appropriate than what they did here. Your faith doesn't have to suffer if you don't want it to, this movie may have been grueling and violent and strayed from convention a bit but i think the title of the movie best describes what the main idea was for them. Making a movie out of a very famous bible story and highlighting the divide between a King ( in this case Pharaoh) and a God ( in this case the God of the Hebrews). This story tells of God's wrath upon those who believed in slavery and oppression and how a belief in God can overcome an Empire and a king. (much less blasphemous than Noah) This movie could have been great but it fell short. The project in general is so large and detailed and attempting to make it happen is hard at best. The large scale and huge spectrum took away from the importance of Moses and his journey and failed to center in on him as much as it should have. There are merits though. I say its worth at least one try.

An unexpected second installment of How to Train Your Dragon came out with flying colors. I mean that both figuratively and literally. We often are caught up in epic fantasy so long as it resembles The Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones, but hope is kindle when a movie like this comes out. It is difficult to have a sequel that was an improvement in pretty much every way from the first but they figured out how to do it. Each character was given attention and care to their development and delivery to the plot and dialogue. The world of dragons and their personalities was widely expanded as well as their relationship with humans. With such powerful creatures susceptible to human rule, it was only a matter of time before a big bad guy came along to pit dragons on each other along with the rest of the known world. Hiccup and his friends have to prove themselves against impossible odds and the fury of open war. But they find help in unexpected places. This movie kept it thrilling and adventurous but it did not slack on the emotion. You laugh, gasp, and even cry when you see this while not missing out on the fun of it all. It is hard enough to make a movie this well put together. I felt like there was a pretty quick pace, not really leaving any time for collection, but given that this movie is intended for younger viewers, it was the better move to maintain constant attention throughout with big moving scenes, one after the other. Well done. Animated movies often stay on their own plain but, I think this time they broke through and gave some of the good movies this year a run for their money, period. Worth a watch.

Interstellar, taking sci-fi by the throat and giving us something we have never seen before and doubtfully ever will again. I followed this movie since I knew it was in production. I have grown to have great confidence in Christopher Nolan and his abilities as a director, and as a writer, not to mention his brother who helped him with this one. Quite ambitious to make a movie about a worm hole, even more so that the human race depends on what is on the other end for survival. My mind was blown, such a large scale with very rich and deep emotion for each character. The grandeur and the detail supersedes anything I've ever seen before. Just when you think this movie is a little too tame, it flips you over. Isn't as structurally sound as some of his others, but this is flat out incredible. Only the best of the best can take these components and make a movie out of it. And not just a movie, a great movie. Worth a watch.

Pretty standard zombie movie with an interesting plot. It's always tough to try and make a movie based on a video game, you are never quite sure which audience you are going to offend first. I think it hobbled along okay. A bit shaky here and there but it didn't try to overstep too far except with the CGI work. Waiting a few years may have helped with that. I feel like the scale was shortened a bit soon. Of course that is notorious in horror movies. Probably the coolest guy in the movie died before he could show off how BA he is. Annoying. I love Milla though. She is a cutie while still being an awesome female action hero. This is one of her first tries in that role and she handles it alright. It is your standard zombie movie. I don't why people feel like you need to make zombies more complicated, its simple they are mindless and slow they die with a head shot there is just a freakin lot of them. While being bloody and gruesome the human touch and feeling didn't get lost, they really tried to save each other and not be stupid. It became what it intended I suppose. A shooter zombie flick based on a popular video game. Not overly impressive in any way. Watch it if you want. I won't stop you.

Ridley Scott unleashing a trademark creature and series that would horrify for decades. Go back to the root and you find a solid bit of just plain good movie making. The story may move on the slow side but the build of curiosity and scares relatively well. This is just a classic, there isn't much else to say. People argue that you have to consider the time it was made and while that is important and it may have a significant effect on the graphics and production value, the time is here and now and her and now I think it holds its own. It was slow and for that it lost some points while also being on the lower scale with few actors it is harder to stay grounded. This movie had all the right components though and it was made in the 70s...pretty hard to believe because there wasn't anything too obvious to age the movie. That's tough to do. As far as sci-fi horror is concerned, this is up at the top. Worth a watch.

If you can be patient with this movie and its snail-like progress, this does turn into something quite creepy and chilling. It isn't a jumpy slasher like most of the other popular horror movies, while not outside the talents of Stephen King, this one took a much more psychological turn. I mean again if you can just be quiet and pay attention while this movie builds, it starts to get scary. Especially if you can consider the idea of this actually happening to YOU. That being said I did think the alternate ending (found on dvd) proved more appropriate for the actual state of mind Mort was in. This did fall heavily on Johnny Depp who can definitely hold his own, but he may have been a slight bit too quirky, a minor problem. Overall it is a tough thing to make a good novella into a movie while staying relatively true to one another. I feel they did that, but it does move slow and the end, while horrifying, doesn't drop the jaw and feel worth the wait. It is one of my favorites though, nonetheless. Approach it openly and it may surprise you, but be critical out the gate and i don't figure you'll be all that impressed. Worth at least one watch.

For the betterment of the individuals around me at the time, I tried to hide the trauma this one ended up causing me. I expected a brutal epic retelling of the ancient Hercules, who seemed perfectly cast by the way. And that ended up being the biggest problem. The Rock pretty much launched his Hollywood career as The Scorpion King. I liked that movie. I liked that character. He was angry, serious , and one heck of a BA. I did not get that from this portrayal of Hercules, one of the most BA ancient characters that exists. Had I known the cheesy and stylized edge this movie would have perhaps I would not be so harsh, but I know what Dwayne Johnson is capable of and how awesome he can perform as these mid evil characters. It really **** to watch him squander his potential before everyone's eyes. Let's not rag too much, the guy got yoked for the role, like inhuman. He was huge. That is impressive. The fight scenes were brutal and sometimes just out there. Why would your leaders stress the importance of a phalanx then stand right outside of it during the battle? Wth? Watching The Rock thrash people is just fun but, I couldn't help but be disappointed. The plot proved interesting but wasn't really carried by anyone and just ended up being predictable because of the lack of good dialogue. We all know the BA The Rock can be. This is far from it. For shame.

I wanted to like this. There was a considerable relief watching this over watching Maze Runner. But we won't get into that. The star studded cast still couldn't make this one shine in the way it needed to. I liked what it hinted at as far as the moral boundaries and where they are crossed and not crossed. It dips into the age old questions on what is right and what is wrong. The angle is kind of different because they try to control everyone enough so that everyone does the RIGHT thing. Which seems good in thought and theory but shows up in a society just like the one you see in the movie, void of real love, affection, and feeling. Which falls the argument, if you can't feel, it means you are free from heartache, pain, betrayal, and all the bad things, so which one is really better? All that ensues and is part of the idea this movie presents, but the way it was presented was without much of anything all the entertaining...which is kind of important because that's the point this world isn't **** why go make a movie about it? The Giver himself was pretty much the only voice of reality and reason which got annoying, I mean no one else even bothered to think of other things? How does the giver have those powers anyway? Wasn't explained very well, and if they didn't want their thoughts to be opened why did they even bother having the whole giver thing made in the first place? Notable teen performances and actually a good movie for the year, not that that says much...leave this to the paper and ink boys.

Conan the Barbarian stands as a very different take on fantasy and remains to be challenged as far as musical score and majestic feel. Arnold could not have been more fit for a role in his life, makes sense that this is the one that practically launched his movie career. There are obvious things that are impressive about this movie. There is a particular attention paid to the overall spectacle of the movie that makes it hard to duplicate. The costumes, the sets, and the props. All the things about the environment make it exclusively the Conan universe. Good job. However, There is a major issue with the minimal dialogue and dominantly brutish nature of just about all the characters. The argument would be that that follows after Conan's character and he doesn't say much...okay maybe that is true, but I think James Earl Jones had a little too little to work with. I think he spoke the most out of anyone. And I was relieved to hear him, its like oh, someone who is coherent, and not just anyone, Its JAMES FREAKING EARL JONES, thank you for that. I think everyone was aware of that and given this was an origin story, it sort of gave the impression of self discovery. So the weight was purposely put more on the visuals and music. which is impeccable honestly, I listen to the soundtrack all the time. Its that good. But overall there was too much testosterone all at once to be a great movie. Blood, brutality, nudity, and primitive behavior is useful depending on what you are trying to convey. Here it was just the whole movie. i never felt like it leveled out and rose up a plain or two. The end fight scene was awesome though and fantasy classic none the less.

Okay, I don't know how, but they did it again. This was actually the first Die Hard I saw before I became familiar with the series. It goes down as my personal favorite as far as action movies are concerned. In the modern age, when everything is run on a computer, a crazy smart computer hacker maniac has no one to stop him should he ever decided to oh, I don't know, dissolve the whole system...right? Wrong. The good old hard hitting cop, John McClane is obviously aged but no less fierce and heroic. It was a bold far-fetched plot but maybe not too far fetched. McClane had to commission a nerd to help him which proved a great move considering their dialogue and character differences. Then you throw in the Taken angle where McClane is trying to repair his relationship with his daughter, and this is just an awesome movie. Sure the stakes are as high as they get and so are the stunts, but even when he went up against pretty impossible odds i didn't think anything stepped too far out of bounds considering what happens in other action movies. Bruce Willis played within himself. They brought in a few attractive women. They made sure the bad guys were plain bad guys. This got a higher score because it proved it could remain a rock solid action film even when they downplayed the blood and foul language comparative to the others. Well done. Worth a watch.

Call me crazy, but I think this movie marked a big step forward for the John McClane Die Hard series and a story that hits just as hard as the others before it. John McClane is a mess and has lost his wife and family. All he has is his job. So why would a German terrorist want him to suffer and or die, especially at the expense of others? For whatever the reason, some crazy terrorist is making John play a game while he works his own schemes on New York City. McClane must use his brain to see through the wiles and still come out as the hero. He will need help though, and he gets it. Some people like to rag on this one because it is about terrorists/thieves again. I mean yes, it is, but if it is just as clever as the prequels while bringing new dynamics in as far as scale, and characters, why mess with the formula? It works. I think the biggest gamble was Samuel L. Jackson being the partner/side-kick to Willis. Based on the ability Bruce has to be the lone wolf, adding someone next to him could ruin the vibe but it worked. Sam did it well delivering a memorable performance and making sure the human reasoning isn't lost among the explosions and shooting. They just got this down, if John McClane can stay this good and entertaining as a character and somehow keep making it through these crazy situations without getting ridiculous and unreal, why stop? Good job, worth a watch.

The second installment **** action movie series. John McClane is back to pick his wife up from the airport in New York when he runs into some trouble with terrorists who take over the flight grid and plan to execute their evil plans at will. McClane is forced into action when the lives of thousands of people including his wife are threatened. The smart-talking and gun blasting is alive and well in this picture. The character and story line retained in this sequel is blatantly repeated from the first but definitely welcome. That much is rare. John continues to be the normal everyday cop who accomplishes superhuman feats without really overreaching practicality, again, rare. I thought the fight scenes and shootouts were on the choppy side. That could be attributed to the older action style and the authentic nature that John McClane is meant to show. A bunch of clever bad guys up against a guy who just wont die, what more could you ask for? Well done. Action/Bruce Willis classic, it's worth a watch.

This movie launched a whole new perspective on the hard hitting action hero. It's not pulsing with muscle like Arnold or Stallone. It's not suave and tact like James Bond. It is sloppy, gritty, and wise-cracking. Bruce Willis opens out a stage all his own with his role as John McClane. A normal NYPD cop visiting his wife in LA runs into a problem when a some bloodthirsty thieves break into the Nakatomi building (Mrs. McClane's work building and headquarters of the entire company) Lead by German master mind Hans, they take over the building with dozens of hostages including John inside while they plan to steal the company's wealth. He's just one man. And he looks pretty ordinary, but he quickly proves to be a problem for the bad guys. Bloody shootouts, hard nosed fight scenes, and clever Willis commentary. Any person who likes action films has to respect what has been done here. Simple as that. Due to the excessive blood, gore, and swears, the score has to be a little low. I also felt some of the hand to hand and gun fights were a bit choppy and chaotic more so than they needed to be. The local chief of police also seemed pretty stupid. That was kind of the point, but I think they made him a little too stupid and ignorant. But don't get me wrong, this is one of the best action movies on record. John McClane is one of my all-time favorite action heroes. Takes the genre to new levels. Props.

I saw the movie before I learned about the video game. The Movie took a different spin that was less effective than the video game. Then again, I am not sure they've made any movies based on video games that were a real success. That being said, I still think this one falls on the higher end of those films. Although it lacked the grit and murky attitude the video game had, the story structure and dialogue could have been much worse. Lets be grateful. Marc W. was an interesting pick as Max Payne, and I think he delivered something with substance. Could a different actor do better, possibly a few, I thought he lacked that inner strife and just hollow feel that drives Max, I don't feel like Max is a mess and doesn't care and wants to die because he has nothing but revenge on his mind. I feel like that still mostly could be the director's and story's fault. Max Payne should have had a more epic intro than "leave that man alone". I also think Mila Kunis was an attention cast rather than a talent cast, not to mention Luda. Her character lacked the hate and aggression needed to believe she was a mafia **** her strength. This movie could have been great. Revenge stories always have potential, the flaws are notable but I think this one managed to crutch along and not be a failure. Just not much more than that.

A game changing movie. It provides a whole new look at how to present graphic novel/comic book material. I had no prior knowledge of Frank Miller or the Sin City world but this film made me an instant fan. These characters resonate with something no one of the viewers could comprehend, that is why we need their storytelling. A new universe backed by a rock solid cast. Clearly only for adult viewers. Full of tall tales of revenge, love, and survival in the twisted depths of Basin City, better known as Sin City. A new world is created with this movie, as well as a dynamic stage for actors to step in and blossom as pretty much the whole cast did. Impressive. It takes a particular audience to like these types of movies due to the dark subject matter and graphic content, for that it is not a ten, but it has plenty other qualities that should not go ignored.

Considering the unique style of this movie and how it is made very close knit with the graphic novels it comes from, initially, without any background on Frank Miller or the Sin City world, this just seems like a reckless opportunity to show sex/nudity and violence **** which it did. But, because of the style it stems from I still think it was entertaining and well done. These random strips of scenes are meant to simply plunge into the happenings of each character and to further characterize Sin City itself, not really to create a nice flowing stream of story line as was established in the first film. Although, on a scene to scene basis, the first Sin City was more disciplined and they were easier to connect to each other, which is why I don't give this one a great score. Definitely not a show for kids or even teens. And because every character is so important to the details of Sin City, to even try a movie like this you need the best actors available, with that they did well. Easily Jessica Alba's best performance and Joseph Gordon-levitt went above and beyond what I could have expected. Mickey Rourke's defining character once again, gotta love Marv. Wish there was more Bruce Willis though. Josh Brolin was solid but I really wish Clive could have come **** well. Eva Green is so lovely. I wouldn't be able to resist her, I'll be honest... The comic-to-movie attempts are often hit and miss, but Sin City claims a spot all its own far away from the good vs. evil superhero conflicts which are becoming very common these days. For that, they deserve props.

This movie was a bit slow and thriller-like considering Liam Neeson is the main character playing a retired cop now private detective. He is a skilled and occasionally dynamic actor so this did not step out of his abilities. There was less hard nosed punch and shoot action than I expected. When Liam's character is asked to track down two demented killers who make drug dealers widowers he steps into more than he bargained for. The cast was well picked and well defined. The plot was not terribly complicated and coupling that with so many different characters and moving pieces sort of mashed it up a bit. There was a lot of weight put on the horrible killers but even to the end it is not all that clear why they did what they did and where they came from in the first place and why it is so important that they be stopped as opposed to other criminals Liam could be being paid to chase. Kind of trivializes things. Overall a cruel bloody tale of bad guys and who ever is not quite bad enough to be a bad guy. Liam Neeson carried dignity and grit as he always does. But I think this movie overextended its relevance in certain scenes, and didn't glaze it with enough action and/or pretty women to make you not notice. If you're a Liam fan like me, give it a try, if not, maybe worth a watch for free at the most.

I understand that Shyamalan can have a very particular style and specific angles he wants to define. That being said, this movie, while having interesting ideas tossed around, finished with nothing but gore and jibberish for acting. I can see that the approach is that maybe plants have the capacity to effect the human brain and its processing. So due to that it makes everyone's interactions with each other just odd and confusing. In that sense, the performances were not that bad. But that doesn't make it an entertaining experience. This is disappointing because I know there was a lot of wasted talent and ability here. It is an interesting idea to think the planet could get defensive against humans in that way but in the end I think Shyamalan tried too hard. There were a lot of positive elements that were in the wrong places. The genre wasn't really all that clear either. Pretty graphic and gruesome, while being light and humorously sarcastic almost...I mean what is going on? I am confident there was a well defined point in the director's mind but how it was relayed and delivered was too cryptic. Its just like, what are you trying to say here? Because whatever it is, its not getting across. There was no emotional time to connect to any of the characters and relate to them, there was no self involvement in the struggle. Whatever the struggle was exactly... Definitely a dip in Night's consistency in movie making.

This movie was cast perfectly and could be Bruce Willis' best film and even Milla Jovovichs' and Chris Tucker's. The plot was quick working but solid. It didn't try to be something it wasn't. It's a movie about saving the world and it owned that. A sphere of pure power and evil is coming to destroy earth and only the four elements, earth, wind, fire, and water, (powers confined in sacred stones) combined with the fifth element or supreme being can stop it. The back story to the plot and the overall delivery this movie has stands as one of the most unique views on the future I've ever seen. No one will be able to do it like this one. There was a quirkiness that every single character had and it all fit into the mold perfectly. Gary Oldman sharp as always. A good balance between action and humor without losing the emotional and dramatic tone. Solid movie. It didn't get a 10 because I felt like the love interest between Korbin and Leeloo was lacking in development and since that plays such a major role, I felt that could have been focused on a little closer, maybe an extra scene or two of them bonding and what **** an all-time favorite for me and worth a watch.

I was fairly young when this came out and since I was a very huge fan of The Rock I thought this movie was the greatest thing ever. Getting older I still consider this a favorite, it is a great action flick for the ancient sword swinging era. The big burly muscular presence I think was greatly revitalized by Dwayne Johnson. That being said, I don't think there is a character that had fit him so well as being the scorpion king ever since. Packs the punch you'd expect. well choreographed fight scenes that stay consistent, nothing too impractical, the plot is relatively sound. Only issue being his correlation with a scorpion and why that is significant enough to be his title, and his perceived "destiny" by the sorceress seemed to not be all that dramatic when he was confronted by it could have been more in depth a suspenseful, not too annoying though. They did good with his support, his enemy isn't so much a match of strength but skill, his side-kicks are a funny pansy type guy, an inventor, and a beautiful woman, no one to upstage him...Considering the WWE had a lot to do with this film, they did it well, played to the strengths of a charismatic actor. Worth a watch.

Having seen the Stallone Judge Dredd, I was curious to see what Karl Urban could do with it. And, well THANK YOU, KARL URBAN. Dredd has been resurrected and is far better than before. Everything about his character that is important and relevant to the task at hand is addressed, no need to dig too deep, just watch him tear it up. It's a action dream for sure. However, I think it did overstep some boundaries at least with the gore and graphic scenes what seemed just overboard and plain unnecessary for a movie meant simply to entertain, what didn't tank this movie is that it didn't revel in that. Hard-nosed and brutal justice against criminals is the name of the game. Of which it delivers. With this portrayal, I think Judge Dredd has become a new favorite comic hero of mine. The rating is low due to the bloodiness that steps too far out and the feel of a sequel setup due to a very simple plot and small scale. But hey, i like it. Definitely not without its charm. Adult? Strong stomach? Action addict? Worth a watch.

Dang it **** call. This movie was set to be awesome and BA as far as action movies are concerned. I expected it to be just that. I was disappointed and even disgusted at what I saw in this film. A lot of blood, violence, bickering, and swearing. Which you can get away with in an action movie as long as there is a net to fall on like a character that is actually very smart coherent and reasonable or sexy women or clever **** which there was none. It was all very vulgar, lowbrow, and just rude. There is only so much of that that can be taken without blemishing the movie. There was a definite guessing game that was kept alive as to who is behind what exactly, with a few holes but nothing too serious. But the end result was just disheartening and bleak. Nothing to hope for or look forward to. It is cool to see the governor getting swole and becoming the action hero we all love once again but its Just a dark movie that isn't really Arnold's type. Van-Damme or Segal maybe. But, come on.

I don't understand what got this movie so hyped and successful...I haven't read the books and yet I can't help but think this has totally been done before. Maybe you remember the 1980s film The Running Man? Arnold...anyone? When you make a movie with a plot that has already been done, you better have some extra fire power to back it up. Of which this movie had little to none. The characters had very little and/or significant development. I didn't feel bad when they died, enough said. Wasn't that the girl from the movie Orphan? That movie was sick! (the good kind of sick) You monsters diminished her talent! And Jennifer Lawrence, just didn't have the edge I feel like a girl in her situation would need, sure she can shoot, but what good is that when there's no fire? Where's the animal kill or be killed instinct? No believable feeling. And there's no one else better than her to eventually be the one who takes down the bad guys? Her performance makes that tough to believe. Terrible. And there's more of the series to come. Wow. I don't think they can salvage this. But how cute, they're going to try.

Ugh, here we go again. Needless to say, I didn't watch this willingly and I am not wrong to have opposed watching it having now seen it. I have no experience with The Hunger Games books and perhaps that is what makes me so uninspired while watching the movies. Or maybe its the whiny teens with no acting skills or screen presence. Could possibly be the approach the director has on the whole absolute power over the people idea that through this movie makes it seem...fruity somehow. In any case, I find few things to like about this. It is better than Maze Runner, but that doesn't say much. Jennifer Lawrence just does not do it for me. The random mood swings and screams and freak outs from no where. Is she even mentally sound anymore? And this girl is the MOCKING JAY? The savior and leader of the rebellion? She just is not cast right as far as the female leader hardened warrior type she needs to be in a movie setting. You know, you are allowed to make movies based on popular books that still can help the non-reader keep up and understand what's going on and why certain characters do things. It isn't all that difficult. Up against its teen movie competitors, this isn't the worst. Not that that says much, I'm just bothered by movies so hyped up that are worth very little. Phillip Hoffman, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, all acting below their talents and **** wasted. It was cool to see Lenny Kravitz and Stanley Tucci though.

Nicolas Cage on point once again. I found this movie particularly for the reason that he was the main character. I had no idea what to expect, but the trailers showed promise. I was not disappointed. The angle was more on the drama side than action. I was especially impressed with the portrayal of the young teen Gary. There was a razor sharp emotional grip this film had. Seeing Gary's father and family situation seems disturbingly real as though it was live footage of real people as opposed to dramatic actors. Cage helps us step into Joe's life and the conflict within him to lash out at the world and lose control of his anger. Of course it did get pretty extreme and violent. Kind of leaves you thinking, why are so many of these people in this town so messed up? Also begs the question of just how many teens suffer from the same type of thing...probably a lot more than people bother to admit. Low scale and on the slower side. Definitely strong acting though. You get to play around with the thought of whether Joe is really more of a criminal than a good man. I think the end is a sour way to wrap up that enigma but understandable. Worth a watch.

Had doubts considering this was a Swedish film. I started off by watching it dubbed over in english...I made a huge mistake. I saw about 15 minutes in that these characters were actually very well versed and perfectly cast and not listening to their real voices only made the full experience suffer. It's a rare occasion when you are so intrigued by a movie that you don't even mind reading subtitles the whole time. It was beautiful. I was so relived to watch this movie utterly dispel the Twilight perimeters of a vampire romance movie. Feels good. It creates a feeling of something dark and mysterious and brooding taking slow step after step into the shadows. The scary aspect was more in the disturbing reality of being a vampire than anything else. The development of the love between Eli and Oskar is bloody and odd but convincing. I really like how Oskar is not exactly a geek or nerd in appearance, just on the weird side, who when pushed in the right direction, becomes strong and assertive. I like how Eli is not particularly a give away as a vampire. She appears initially to be a normal innocent girl with a few weird tendencies, but even in her real element as a vampire, who needs to drink blood to live, doesn't carry the demeanor of a killer or maniac. She just does what she has to, while not really enjoying it. And linking them together with genuine love for each other, without conditions or anterior motives is just...awesome. These characters are just so well defined and seeing their love unfold was definitely a treat. Instant favorite.

Tough to like. Seems more intended for children than well...anyone else. It's cool to watch super huge massive monsters fight super huge massive robots, because that's original. That pretty much is the extent of the plot. How innovative. We should all like this movie...because it is entirely practical when being attacked by huge monsters, to throw all our efforts into making robots to fight them, because apparently as the human race, we decided that is the best thing to do. And we won't use our really effective weapons unless we are on the verge of death. None of our guys are even really all that good at fighting these things either. Oh look, the guy who played Hell-boy. Come on! Seriously? How just plain dumb does this have to get? The CGI was well done, but that is all...they tried with a lesser known cast that wasn't a total failure as far as acting and delivery but doesn't help the lack of structure. Fight scenes were still better than Godzilla's. But still, Never Again.

Oh goodness. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Hollywood for not being completely worthless. It's movies like this these days that really help you still believe in things. I for one have grown weary of movies about aliens just way overdone in my opinion, unless you can show me something different. Original is a bad word to use because few things are but this movie got close. It had a very generic oh no aliens are going to take over the world, what do we do approach. When you do that you better have a dang good alien plot and a dang good alien to fight against. Edge of Tomorrow had both. I really liked these aliens and that their biology was different from anything from Earth. And how they moved is freaky and would scare anyone up against them. And best of all, they are not impossible to kill! Tom Cruise nailed **** sure how, he's been such a consistent action-hero in recent years it's hard to see him at first as a weakling or pansy, but he actually is convincing. And then his gradual step into the hero spotlight doesn't seem at all cliche' its just a matter of how do you beat someone who knows everything you are about to do? I thought the replay of the same day would start getting annoying but they were careful about that too. It was just well done. Blunt and Cruise complimented each other perfectly and it gets to a point where you're like FALL IN LOVE ALREADY. So a good watch for sure. Action fix, sprinkled of humor here and there and a well structured plot...ahhh (relieved sigh) thank you.

I loved what was hinted at in this movie, not particularly what was done though. The visual splendor was riveting for sure. I knew that if any actress could pull off the Disney villain Maleficent, it was none other than Angelina Jolie, an all-time favorite of mine. But I cannot deny the fact that the things that made this a Disney movie is pretty much what ended up strangling it. I liked the angle of her being a fairy who isn't sure about humans but tries to connect and even love them and is betrayed in a gruesome fashion. The film seemed solid until she started to seem quite a bit softer than would be consistent for a dark fairy/witch who threatens an entire kingdom of people. It's not that she could have been more sadistic but more like all the other characters could have been smarter, like all of them. Everyone who wasn't Maleficent was either crazy or pin headed. Except maybe her helper crow. But that sort of made it an environment where she had to do everything for everyone like the nanny, kind of a weak approach for a character with such a strong presence. Meaning she needed a stronger antagonist, Sharlto Copley didn't deliver for me. Just came off a little too insane. The story just got too predictable and cliche' to stay intriguing. The visuals did not disappoint though and who can't help but love Angelina's portrayal of a famous villain. A different story all together may have proven better for her character. I mean, if everyone tells the story claiming that's how IT REALLY HAPPENED, i mean who actually knows how it really happened then? How many stories do you need to bleed dry Disney?

Never read the book and thanks to the movie, I'm not going to. The pacing made me wonder if Michael Bay had anything to do with this film. It just so recklessly quick and it keeps going and going without explaining anything. There is hardly any meaningful development in any of the characters, anything we see in any of them within the first 5 minutes of the movie is how they behave for the rest of the their screen time. No progression. It also really bothered me how the many questions were raised in dialogue were never addressed...ever. It was just hole after hole in the story that just could not be saved by the complication of the maze or the crazy monster/alien things that were graphed on to robotic technology...just how far in the future are they if they can do that? And if they can do that then it kind of trivializes the whole idea of using the maze for child experimentation anyway doesn't it? I'm sorry, I wanted to like this, the previews made me curious, but I've been had. Most of the time in the theater was spent wondering what in the world is going on, and not the good kind of wondering. All in all i was waiting for the movie to finish long before it did and the ending didn't seem to clarify much of anything, just raise more questions...I mean...what is the point of the female in this? She does nothing. Not even touching the fact that they threw her in a forest with of bunch of teenage guys who haven't seen a girl in years and there's not even so much as a catcall at her...really? You think they'd be so proper? And how do they stay so well shaven and got such nice fade haircuts when they live how they do? not even stubble? Minor problem I'll admit but it didn't help the world they were trying to create the feeling ya know and the tone was all wrong the casting was weak in some spots, there was emotion just in all the wrong places, I just get upset thinking about how awful this movie is, when it had high potential...this is long..last thing, you launch a franchise because your first film was solid, you don't launch a film because you think your franchise is solid. There are so many problems in the first one that I don't even care what happens next. Terrible waste.

There are few movies that can tug at me emotionally. But This one put me on the verge of tears. You fall in love with Swank and her character. The way she compliments the performances of Morgan Freeman and Clint Eastwood just creates a powerhouse of a movie. Well done. Boxing is a sport that tends to show up in movies a lot but that is only because it has so many metaphorical connotations and digs at our own willpower to be fighters in our own lives, which is personified in this film. It's a different angle considering the fighter is a female. It gives more room to broaden the audience and be a significant and entertaining stand point for both guys and girls. It confronts the conflict of families, what makes them and what breaks them. It brings reality to the cost of chasing a dream. Watch it. The end will make you want to strangle someone, or just cry, one of the two.

You tend to know what you are getting when you watch a Vin Diesel movie. With XXX I feel like it was a bit far fetched. The plot and the dialogue was a little out there, even for Vin. I mean, okay, this guy is a stunt man who can do pretty crazy things and not die. How does that qualify him to potentially be an undercover operative for the government? This movie seemed like someone trying to bench too much, slinking one side back and forth, not ever really reaching a full rep. There were a few stunts, pretty women, music, and humor to kind of smooth things over some but ultimately, Its on the lower end of Vin's talent. If you are a action junky, watch it and decide. I have a soft spot for the Des, so I gave it a try, but there's not much I can defend for this one.

Okay, fail. Just fail. I heard they were gonna do another Indiana Jones and I was really excited. It's hard to argue with the consistency of the other three films and their delivery. But what happened? Why??? There had to be hundreds of ideas they could have considered for the plot, but they had to pick one about aliens. And personally I am incredibly tired of alien movies. Of course they try to make it not seem like its about aliens by trying to twist the plot into seeming like it's about "alternate-dimensional beings" and not aliens. Even though they look just like aliens and travel in flying saucers. George Lucas...stop guy, just stop. You've already proven all you can do is make movies about space and milk it for all it's worth. Steven shouldn't have listened to you. I loved seeing Harrison Ford back in action but they threw him in an environment that made his character seem off-step and on the cheesier side. They had good elements and solid plot points to work with like Indy having a long lost son, but Shia was not a good cast for it, watering down any good momentum they had. The CGI seemed out of place and labored as well. I wanted to like this. But I just can't. Crystal Skull mortally wounded the Indiana Jones series.

This one got a bad wrap from critics. I thought it addressed very interesting points on developing society and its reliance on technology. That being said the ideas and plot were also backed by some solid acting. I wasn't sure what to expect out of Johnny Depp but at the least he is capable of providing solid movies without them needing to be in an alternate dimension or just a very twisted and wacky world. Bit odd how I'm saying that about this movie but I think in this day and age the sky is the limit. Who knows what we will be able to do 10 years down the line with a computer. Sure, its a tired story line in most cases. But I think this is one of the best if not the best in the technology threatening humans type movies. Better than Eagle Eye for sure. Definitely worth a watch.

This wasn't what I expected. Much more romantic drama than action and suspense. It's an odd combination that I felt squeaked like bad breaks at some points but the story is not without its charm. You can't help but feel concern for the little boy and the predicament of this Amish family. Harrison Ford brought his A game though. There was a good gradual feel that he delivered that created the tension between him and Rachel. You actually wanted them to get together because they actually had a genuine connection that grew and developed. But it was a Tarzan type romance. They were from two worlds and it really showed. Maybe if what I was expecting to happen wasn't squashed so bad I'd rate this better but still overall it didn't mesh so great with me. Solid for its time and worth a try though.

This movie was a total train wreck. I don't understand. The other four movies had the recipe down for what works in a Bruce Willis action adventure, they showed that they could hold their own...I mean...what...what in the world happened? I watched this and I couldn't believe my eyes. The Die Hard series, one of my most loved series's, has been butchered. Everything that made the other films good had been left behind for no reason at all. In the other Die Hards, Bruce led the charge and was the primary driving force of the action and the plot. He had help yes but there was no mistake that he was the big daddy. Without that you get a movie like this. There is no complex network of evil to figure out and break down, there is no playful, humorous, bantering, no well defined plot, there is just Bruce Willis with a gun yelling things every now and again. No lead acting at all! They give his whiny brat of a son too much screen time as well. Its like Batman and Robin just bickering at each other but you're not even really sure which ones which at times. This was a shot to the face as a fan. Seriously, how could you? This doesn't belong in the Die Hard legacy. Fail.

Better than the first one for sure. I think Captain America rose up to his stage and became who the comics intended him to be for the most part in this one. It was a well structured plot that kept you awake and guessing. If not the plot, there were a few females with decent screen time to drool over so that works too. It delivered simply a solid movie about a super hero that isn't all flash (no pun intended) and gloss. Hard to do these days. A usable plot coupled with moral dilemma was a good angle. I'm not majorly impressed with the acting or the scale of the movie though. Wouldn't a problem this big like probably get some of the other Avengers involved? The more important ones? Just sayin. Marvel's taking over and there's not much we can do except hope they can stay consistent. Not all of them are great but this one is worth a watch.

Props to Nolan for being probably the only person able to make a movie based on a guy with short term memory loss that is...well...good. I was only five minutes into this one, not knowing what to expect at first, then it just hit me, uh oh, this is a good movie and I need to focus so I don't miss something. You are just whipped all around with this film and left with a rarity in movies, you might actually feel stupid when its finished. Not because the movie was unstructured but quite the opposite. Its like slipping off a boat and watching it slowly float away and you're drowning and screaming for it to come back. You want to survive, you want to understand, you want to keep up. Never seen a movie like that before. A lot of times if I'm left guessing at the end of a movie I just say that was stupid and move on without thinking much on it. But with Memento, it ended and i was like NO! what just happened?! what did I miss?! Plagued me for sure like none other. Brilliant plot, rock solid acting. Its a mine field for your brain. Watch it. and then watch it again.

I was so hopeful of this one being **** just wasn't. Not even adding the fact I saw this and Noah in the same week...that was rough. I bring that up because they both had the same problem. They had very key components that make great movies that they just fumbled with and squandered away. The only characters that seemed to drive the plot anywhere ended up dying or just timidly disappearing from the moment. And Godzilla is this like god of earth who balances all nature who saves man from catastrophe, and he just wants to help us. I mean because that was clear right? He just pretty much destroys any city he walks into and doesn't seem to be all that great of a fighter either. I wanted fight scenes of Pacific Rim proportions, couldn't even give that to us. Godzilla is a Japanese baby, and they tried to make it American, if you follow me, and they failed. It was hard to sit through this one without laughing at what they managed to get away with in this movies. They possessed good footholds in the beginning of the movie and created a unique way to look at the Godzilla creatures and their mythology. But certain scenes and certain plot points nosedived everything. Too many holes. This makes he 1990s one look golden. For shame.

I watch horror movies when there's nothing better to watch. So I guess you could say its relatively consistent. But more often than any other genre, I'm disappointed by horror films. 1408 provides something different. it has a very solid lead actor, John Cusack, at the helm, and Stephen King's overall vision. Its a remarkably simple story but with the right tweaks it became its own monster. Like if you had your own personal horrors locked away in your head, room 1408 would slowly and sadistically put you to death with them. Its heavily weighted on one character's personal struggles. Which is gutsy in a lot of ways but it was well done. This wasn't a jittery, jumpy, bloody, or even crazy type of scary, this was a sad hollow and empty type of scary that we hope we will never have to experience. Though a few of those scenes get pretty trippy. You don't make a movie this well delivered too often. It stands as one of my all-time favorites in the horror category.

I wasn't as impressed as I was looking to be. It's only getting harder and harder to make good superhero films these days and I just couldn't find a good hook in this one. There's a particular feel that the Spider-man has and I felt like he was delivered as well as he could have been but the other acting performances and weak plot and subplots just watered down that feel. Problems started popping up that beg the question why they bothered to reboot this superhero. What's the point of Rhino? How come Jamie Foxx's character has a way weird and awkward personality then just magically becomes BA after he gets superpowers. (Okay common issue in many superhero films but that doesn't change the lack of development in the villains.) The boyfriend, girlfriend, just friends, fluctuations were just too labored and plain wasted time. I mean estrogen much? That being said, I liked Emma Stone. I felt like she stepped into her character nicely but they totally had to ruin that didn't they. This movie isn't a total loss, its worth a watch or two at best.

I am a **** for a good action flick and that's what originally caught my eye with 47 Ronin. It had sword fighting, evil monsters, Keanu Reeves, and attractive women, what else do I need to know to at least give it a try? I think in a few ways it falls short of a big epic mainstream movie as far as graphics and overall grandeur but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Its often difficult to assimilate Japanese cinema into American cinema. The general ideals and cultures tend to clash a bit and that will effect what is shown on film and how its presented but they found a comfy medium. There was enough conflict and flash to entertain a diverse audience. Its no Last Samurai but it has its strengths and it makes you want to root for the underdog. But the ending is just beyond me, I mean that's where Japanese culture takes over. I just don't understand why that was necessary. But, overall it was a good movie with noble morals.

I love movies very much and I respect the imagination and time and effort afforded to them. The story of Noah and the ark is a very old, well respected, and loved story, many people believe those events really occurred. When you get the chance to make a movie that stems directly from The Holy Bible, you would think it would stay knit at the waist with it as far as accuracy and tone. Aronofsky is obviously not a religious man, otherwise he would have had much more respect for the story of Noah and the nature of the characters involved. Portraying Noah, who has been said to have been directly guided by God to save the human race and its righteous moral ideals, as a crazed lunatic who spends most of the movie dazed and confused about his purpose who needs help from giant rock people and who eventually is convinced he needs to kill his family, is quite a slippery direction to take. it doesn't seem to paint a pretty picture of God or his followers. Though I will note that that the title "God" was not even used once in the entire film. From the artsy perspective, this was a well done unique piece of movie making. That explains why a simple bible story made it to such a large scale movie in this day and age. It was warped. Severely. The graphics were impressive and dazzling, the acting performances were polished and sharp, it was coordinated well. But the point of telling the story of Noah and his trials with the flood and the rest of a wicked world and a wicked people, and his dealings with God, got completely lost. Way to go. I cannot support this movie.

The Rocky franchise has carried itself in a particular fashion that has made it popular and profitable. I feel like Rocky V strayed from that fashion. It claims to be an even further reach back into Rocky's roots as a street fighter and that that was a prominent part of his character all along when it really was never established in any of the other films except vaguely in the first Rocky. There is merit in the story, and a lot of heart involved in the struggle Rocky has in salvaging what's left of his life and providing for his family. It was a new direction that was just too far for me. Were it standing on its own I may think better of it but considering its prequels and sequel, this is the runt.