IIISPQRIII

Expecting a movie with a run time of less than 10% of the source material while still expecting 100% of the story is not only asinine, but inequitable (note this is the issue with most reviews under 5). The team led by Adam Wingard showed a considerate and attentive effort on reducing a complex story reliant on long term character development down to a short 1.5 hours. The real tragedy here is not that the story failed to be a copy and paste effort from its Japanese material, but instead that this adaptation was not expanded into an episodic series. I would have loved to see more of Willem Dafoe as Ryuk and to see a more subtle progression of Light turning towards Kira, but cuts and alterations to the story needed to be made in order to create a coherent and enjoyable movie. Hardcore fans will only enjoy scoffing at the inconsistencies from the anime or manga, but if you enjoyed Death Note casually years ago or are unfamiliar with the source material, then I would suggest giving this film a shot. Don't let the fanatics sway you away because this American version of a Japanese manga doesn't unrealistically follow the source material religiously. Not the greatest film, but it is certainly nowhere near the Dragonball Evolution levels the current rating suggests.

One of the most surprisingly good films I've seen in a few years. The trailers really don't dive into the story, which better serves the execution of the plot (how most movies should treat their advertisements). The CG and cinematography is great and the acting is on par with most Cruise movies. The plot was what shocked me the most, or more specifically, the efficient use of time. There is no real filler and each scene is important in it's own way. The humor is also executed and timed extremely well and helps balance the tone and keeps the plot from taking itself too seriously. TL;DR: Awesome sci-fi film with great CG, acting, and plot execution. Go see this in theaters; it deserves every penny it grosses and then some.

Definitely a case of quality over quantity. The director was smart about limiting the amount of actual Godzilla screen time because every scene the King of Monsters does show up in is made much more powerful than following him around every single second. There are also plenty of scenes that focus on the main characters while the rampage is occurring and that let's you appreciate the scope of the action. The only person who needed more screen time in this film was Brian Cranston.

One of the only movies I'm able to watch multiple times and still laugh at the ridiculousness of everything. Of course, the humor is low brow and sometimes disgusting, but the movie does follow an adolescent writer after all. It's hard to recommend this film to many people, but if you used to make movies using your parent's camcorder, then I would suggest you watch this.

Bigger, Stronger, Faster has been one of the most interesting documentaries I have seen recently. Not interesting in the sense that the film maker presented a valid look into the hypocrisy of criticizing steroid use, but because he unknowingly created a film about his family's struggle with steroid use. This film is definitely one sided in favor of steroids and the way it's presented leaves you feeling like the primary goal for the film maker was to justify his brothers' use of steroids. I even suspected near the end that the film maker was still on the needle. Interviews are typically in favor of steroid use and even a majority of the people being interviewed are on steroids. The logic defending steroids in this film really holds no weight since it could be easily used to defend everything from crack to the behavior of financial institutions that caused the recession. So is it still cheating if everyone is doing it? Would you jump off a bridge if everyone was doing it?

Easily one of my favorite movies from a cinematographic point of view. There are at least two scenes in "Children of Men" that make the film as great as it is. Without trying to give away too much, there is an action scene near the end that is shot in one take, lasting about 10 minutes, and is just an amazing feat of accomplishment. The story is also very well played out, but don't expect to understand every aspect and angle as they are not all fully developed (an aspect I actually liked considering most stories spoon feed you explanations that sometimes should not be included in the natural flow of events).

Honestly, if you go into this movie expecting an insightful and well directed movie you are either a fool or have not seen any of the previous Resident Evil films. It really doesn't matter if you're a fan of the video games at this point since the story broke away from the originals in the first five minutes of the first movie; the names are there, but that's it. Don't get you're expectations high, wait to rent the DVD on a rainy day, and you will enjoy this mindless action flick.

Maybe it's just because I've been dying to see a new and decent World War II movie, but I really enjoyed My Way and it is easily one of the best war movies I've seen in the past two years. If you can handle reading subtitles and the occasional melodrama present in East Asian films, you'll be in for a great experience. The battle scenes and CGI were amazing and even the story held together well for being as seemingly far-fetched as it was. The only reason I didn't give My Way a 10 is because the story was too rushed. The producers should really have made this into a trilogy or at least a mini-series. Other than that, if you liked Tai Guk Gi and are sick of the crap Hollywood has been unloading on us for the past four years then pick this one up; you won't regret it.