Missing In Action
Year: 1984
Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama
Runtime: 101mins
Rating: R
IMDB Score: 5.0/10 (6,100+ Votes)
Director(s): Joseph Zito
Writer(s): James Bruner (screenplay);Arthur Silver,Larry Levinson and Steve Bing (characters);John Crowther and Lance Hool (story)
Plot/Synopsis:
Braddock, who escaped from a P.O.W camp after 10 years, returns to Vietnam to attempt to track down the location of a P.O.W camp and rescue the prisoners to prove that several M.I.A are still alive and being held captive.
Forethought(s):
80′s action with Norris so I’m seeing a look for face kicking in the next hour and forty.
Fun Fact/Trivia:
Norris is on record as saying that he made this film in honor of his younger brother who died in Nam in 1970.
Stars of the movie: Chuck Norris,M. Emmet Walsh and David Tress
The Breakdown:
You know what’s missing from Missing In Action? Pacing,some logic and action that doesn’t involve guns or explosions and face kicking.
I was looking forward to this movie because a friend was talking it up and I also like 80′s action flicks but the movie made me sad because it wasn’t very action packed. At least not the kind I like. There were a fair amount of shoot outs and some grenade tossing but it lacked that personal one on one touch that so many of us know Chuck for. When we actually got some fist to face action it was short and uninspired. I’ve seen better hand to hand scenes in comedy shows. The pacing didn’t help at all. The first 30 or minutes felt like what I would expect a movie based off of Splinter Cell to be. You know,slow,stealthy and maybe a knife killer here or there. After the first kill which was also the only action we got since about 3 minutes in it was more talking and some naked Thai ladies with cute little asses and a very short fight. I’m sure the reason this movie didn’t have action every 15-20 minutes was because they shot their load (of money) for the final assault which had boats,helicopters,trucks,lots of gun fighting and some BOOMS going off but I feel they could have had a decent amount of hand to hand to fill in the dull parts.
I honestly think a lot of my dislike comes from the military overtones in the film and how it feels more like a war movie than an action movie. I know what you’re saying and yes war movies are action but they’re a different type of action movie and plus I’m just not a fan of war movies.
Best line/exchange in the movie:
Braddock: [To Ann as he undresses] Do you mind? I’m a bit shy.
The Verdict:
A bit to heavy on the militray side for me. Even with that said the movie lacks pacing for an action movie. The acting is what you expect from a film like this from that time frame. The flick isn’t for everyone but if you like Norris and films that aren’t war movies but feel like on then you will enjoy this one.
I give this movie 3 P.O.Ws out of 5.
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Red Tails
Year: 2012
Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama
Runtime: 125mins
Rating: PG-13
IMDB Score: 5.9/10 (12,400+ Votes)
Director(s): Anthony Hemingway
Writer(s): John Ridley & Aaron McGruder (screenplay) and John B. Holway (book)
Plot/Synopsis:
A crew of African American pilots in the Tuskegee training program, having faced segregation while kept mostly on the ground during World War II, are called into duty under the guidance of Col. A.J. Bullard.
Forethought(s):
Great, a freaking movie that Lucas has his hands in. I wonder just how much he messed with the history.
Fun Fact/Trivia:
George Lucas has stated that he doesn’t care if the film loses some movie;he will have the squeals done. He feels that this is a story that needs to be told.
Stars of the movie: Cuba Gooding Jr.,Gerald McRaney and David Oyelowo
The Breakdown:
After doing a little bit of research it seems that for the most part this movie is historically accurate. I say mostly because there are two “facts” that seem to be inflated while another one is still being looked into. If you’re interested in finding out what is accurate and what is not I recommend that you do the research although I warn you that you will most likely be doing a lot of reading.
All in all the movie is well done and pretty entertaining. It’s a drama set during WWII and as such there is some war crap going on but it’s not the majority of the movie so for those of us who do not enjoy military types of flicks,fear not,this movie is more drama than war. Now that’s not to say there’s no action in the movie because there is. I would say three or four action sequences,hell,the movie starts off on one. What I think a lot of people will dislike are the one dimensional characters,cheesy dialogue and cliches. I actually didn’t mind them for the most part. They at times do get to be a bit much,like,an over cocky fighter pilot,the religious man,the leader who drinks and there are two characters that felt like they were going to bust out with some shucking and jiving at any moment.
The acting was quite good for the most part. I didn’t care much for Ne-Yos acting but I think that had more to do with the writing of his character than his ability. His character is one of the two that felt like they were going to shuck and jive. He also doesn’t have a lot of face time so it makes it more tolerable. Method Man has small part in the film and it’s just funny to see him not play the street tough type of role. Andre Royo who you may know as Bubbles from one of the best cop shows ever made, The Wire, also has a small part but he does a good job with what he’s giving. Everyone does at least a decent job but there are two stand outs:Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrence Howard. Cuba stands out because his character doesn’t seem to be consistence. One scene he will be what a C.O should be and the next he seems like someones grandpa. It was just weird. Terrence stands out because simply put the dude rocked this role like it was his job. I know it was his job but you know what I mean. A lot of it had to do with his voice. It was such a contrast with everyone including Gerald McRaneys. When Howard spoke,you listened. He made everything he said sound important and that’s because what he was fighting for was.
My biggest issue with the movie is that it feels like it should have been a few different ones. Besides the main story of fighting for the right to fight in the war it seemed like they forced themselves to not fully develop the story of the leader who drinks,the cocky fighter pilot and the young one who want’s respect. All three of those feel like they were at one time strong focal points of their own movie but for some reason were cut back and placed into this one. Then again it could have been foresight that made them do it. They told just enough to hook you and make you want to find out more about these characters.
Best line/exchange in the movie:
Neon:When you get upset, when you get mad, you turn red, right? When you get envious, or sick, you turn green. When you become cowardly, you turn yellow; and ya’ll got the nerve to call us colored?
The Verdict:
This movie is worth the watch. I know it’s not 100% accurate but it is a Hollywood MOVIE and not a documentary,so,if you going into it knowing that I think you will enjoy the flick. The fact that the characters aren’t fully developed shouldn’t deter you from watching this movie. The faults are small but the story is filled with passion and for that I can forgive some issues.
I give this movie 4 fighter plans out of 5.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RypVmBm3bCw
Sherlock Holmes:A Game of Shadows
Year: 2011
Genre: Action/Adventure/Crime
Runtime: 129mins
Rating: PG-13
IMDB Score: 7.5/10 (119,110+ Votes)
Director(s): Guy Ritchie
Writer(s): Michele Mulroney & Kieran Mulroney (script) and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes)
Plot/Synopsis:
Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson join forces to outwit and bring down their fiercest adversary, Professor Moriarty.
Forethought(s):
I’m a huge Holmes fan and while I liked the first one it didn’t quite feel right and I’m expecting I will like this one as well but again it just won’t feel right.
Fun Fact/Trivia:
It’s because of this movie that Guy Ritchie had to drop out of Lobo (a DC comics movie) while Robert Downey Jr. was forced to drop out of Cowboys & Aliens.
Stars of the movie: Robert Downey Jr.,Jude Law and Jared Harris.
The Breakdown:
I was right about it not feeling quite like a Holmes movie. I’m not saying it’s a bad movie because it’s not it’s just that this movie could have really been about any detective. They stayed inline with the first movie but it does not deserve to be called a Sherlock Holmes movie. The Holmes movie put out by mockbuster maker,The Asylum,felt more Holmes like than this one did.
So why do I feel that this series strays to far away from what Holmes is you ask? A few reasons. 1) The comedy. It’s too slapstick and obvious while Holmes is known for his dry sense of humor that borders on deadpan. 2) Way too much action. Sure,Holmes can fight but not like this and he doesn’t fight as much as the one this movie does. 3) The flamboyance. Holmes in this movie is too filled with energy, over exaggerates a lot of his movements and his personality in this flick is more of the doer as apposed to the visionary/the executive that every other take on the character is. 4) O.K, this one is me totally nit-picking. Holmes in this movie is shorter than Watson! Again, me nit-picking. I can not recall one other visual take on Holmes where he is shorter than Watson.
There has to be some good to the movie since you said it’s not bad. You are correct sir and or madam! 1) The visuals are fantastic. All the sets and all the costumes with the exception of one boat look like they belong in the time frame in which the movie takes place. And of course there’s a very lovely red head! I would play doctor with her any day of the week. 2) The action. Yeah I know I was bitching about it a bit but it was filmed so much better than a lot of action movies. You can tell what’s going on and there’s no awkward angles and that makes watching it enjoyable but it does still feel out of place since there is martial arts,gun fights and explosions going on. 3) The exchanges between Holmes and Moriarty. This was the only thing that truly felt like it belonged in a movie with the title of Holmes.
What I did enjoy most about this was that they took two well know Holmes stories (The Final Problem and The Empty House along with some threads from others) and made a movie about it. Even those those are well known stories they aren’t really popular ones.
Best line/exchange in the movie:
Watson:[seeing Holmes in drag] What?
Holmes:I agree it’s not my best disguise.
The Verdict:
While this is a good movie it is not a good Holmes movie but that should not deter you from watching it. It’s enjoyable as long as you watch it like it’s not a Holmes movie. They hold your hand to much and I think a lot of you Holmes fans will dislike that. Moriarty was played wonderfully.
I give this movie 4 bindles out of 5.
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The Three Musketeers
Year: 2011
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
Runtime: 110mins
Rating: PG-13
IMDB Score: 5.8/10 (29,000+ Votes)
Director(s): Paul W.S Anderson
Writer(s): Alex Litvak (screenplay),Andrew Davies (screenplay) and Alexandre Dumas (novel Les Trois Mousquetaires)
Plot/Synopsis:
The hot-headed young D’Artagnan along with three former legendary but now down on their luck Musketeers must unite and defeat a beautiful double agent and her villainous employer from seizing the French throne and engulfing Europe in war.
Forethought(s):
Another freaking Musketeers movie just want we need. The last few weren’t a waste of time so I don’t think this one will be. Also the director knows how to film action scenes and I do like Milla Jovovich in action roles.
Fun Fact/Trivia:
To date and not counting the animated or sequels there are 23 total Three Musketeers movies.
Stars of the movie:
Logan Lerman,Matthew Macfadyen,Luke Evans,Ray Stevenson and Milla Jovovich
The Breakdown:
There are three things that were really cool about this flick: 1) Milla Jovovich’s cleavage. 2) The dialogue exchange early on in the flick with Aramis and a random chick Aramis: “I’m not really a priest” Random Girl “I’m not really a lady” Aramis: I have ten minutes. Then Aramis sits next to the chick and wraps her and himself in his cloak and leans towards her for some fun. 3) The use of tabletop miniatures and models to show an over world view. 
Now, I wasn’t thinking I was going to like this movie just because of how over been it is. I mean it seems like it’s once every 3-4 years we get a new Musketeers movie but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with this take. It was fun and enjoyable to watch. I feared the romance part of this flick would out weight the action and adventure portion but it didn’t,in fact, it didn’t really feel much like a romance movie at all. It actually felt more like a comedy with a lot of action in it with just a touch of romance.
I know I am not the only one thinking of "I would love to tea bag her right now"
The movie felt like a RPG with the way the events unfolded. We meet the young hero of the movie (yes I know there is more than one hero) who leaves on a quest of adventure and on his way he runs into and I do mean runs into his four future teammates. After he runs into the four they all want to fight and as they are about to the enemy of the four comes forth. At this point they team up. It goes on from there. It’s not bad that it happens this way, in fact, for me, I found that to be quite enjoyable as I love RPGs. Now, on the subject of video games….this movie in execution feels very much like Assassins Creed so if you know that game you get a good idea of what this movie is. Just replace the setting in the game with France and England in the movie.
The Verdict:
Fun,not heavy on the romance,more swearing than one would think for a PG-13 flick, not at all feeling like it took almost two hours to watch.
I give this movie 4 swordsmen out of 5.
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Thor
Year: 2011
Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy
Runtime: 115mins
Rating: PG-13
IMDB Score: 7.3/10 (74,000+ Votes)
Director(s):
Writer(s): Ashely Miller (screenplay),Zack Stentz (screenplay),Don Payne (screenplay),J. Michael Straczynski (story), Mark Protosevich (story), Stan Lee,Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby (comic book)
Plot/Synopsis:
The powerful but arrogant warrior is cast out of the fantastic realm of Asgard and sent to live amongst humans on Earth, where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders.
Forethought(s):
Looks good and has some writing power behind it but how well will it translate to screen?
Fun Fact/Trivia:
Thor’s armor is an amalgamation of the Thor costume in Marvel main continuity and the Ultimate comic line.
The Breakdown:
This is not like X-Men:First Class at all. In that I mean it rocked on all levels. Hell this even had a cameo from Stan The Man Lee, unlike X-Men First Class. I think it’s safe to say that if The Man isn’t going to doing a cameo for a Marvel movie then it’s most likely not going to be a good comic book flick. I will not be doing a review on X-Men:First Class.
So why is this movie so good? Acting, effects, sound,story,directing. You name it. Shirtless Thor? Yeap, this movie’s got it and let me tell you Thor is ripped. I found myself wanting to see Thors hammer when he got shirtless,I can only dream of what the ladies would want to do. Shame the chicks didn’t get topless. But if you really want to see Kat Dennings topless just do a Google search ( I am not kidding. She had some topless photos of her stolen from her phone earlier this year) and you will see just how fat and real those tits are…Kat if you read this,what’s up? I really don’t have anything bad to say about this movie. There are small things throughout the film that I didn’t like but it’s really just a bunch of nit picking. Some of the things are:
- The cg work in Asgrad was not all that good expect for The Rainbow Bridge. That looked like one long ass multi-flavored Jolly Rancher.
- The tilting of the camera for establishing shots. You really only want to use that to give the viewers a sense that something’s really off or that something bad is going to happen or if it’s from the first person view then it’s usually used for drunkenness or sickness/weakness.
- Odin. Don’t bitch yet. Hopkins played Odin well, it’s just how Odin looked that’s bugged me. The metal eye patch and being on par psychically with all the others.
- The lack of magic on Lokis part. I was just expecting him to use more magic than he did.
- Lack of the use of The Warriors Three and Sif.
- They didn’t use Donald Blake as Thors alternate identity.
- They wrote Jane Foster like Lois Lane of the 30s and 40s early on then BAM! She’s written like Lois Lane of the 50s when she had her own title. Did not like that at all. And I know all the none comic fans aren’t going to get that but I wanted something in here just for the comic fans.
- The movie is more of a drama than an action adventure flick like the the trailers would have you believe.
Like I said just a bunch of nit picking.
Best actor(s):As I said Hopkins played Odin very well. So much so he was one of the two best performances in the flick the other was from the dude who played Laufey (Colm Feore). Those two out shined everyone by a mile. I’m not saying the rest of the cast sucked because they didn’t,not even a little.
Best dialogue: “Is there a Renaissance Fair in town?” “Call it in.” “Yeah.” “Base,we’ve got Xena, Jackie Chan and Robin Hood.” Xena is Sif played by Jaimie Alexander(who is damn good looking),Jackie Chan is Hogun played by Tadanobu Asano (he is Ichi the Killer),Robin Hood is Fandral played by Josh Dallas (no clue who this is but when I saw the character I was thinking it was Robin Hood myself). The dialogue left out one character and that was Volstagg played by Ray Stevenson (The Punisher);he looks like a Viking so I don’t know what they didn’t just add that in.
As stated above I feel this is more of a drama than action adventure but that’s OK because they sprinkle in the action and adventure all at the right times and the movie does not drag on at all unlike another Marvel comic book movie that I mentioned already.
For everyone who said Idris Elba shouldn’t be Heimdall because he’s a black man and Heimdall is a white guy I say this to you: Get your heads out of your asses. Elba is a great actor and he gave the scenes he was in such impact. If the better actor is a black guy, a tan from a can chick or an albino baby then they should get the role.
The Verdict:
This is hands down a movie to buy. Not a comic book fan? Who cares, this movie is good. It’s got it all, action, drama, a shirtless Thor. The only people that shouldn’t buy this movie are those that don’t like good movies.
I give this flick 5 Meowmeows out of 5.
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Resident Evil:Afterlife
Year: 2010
Genre: Action/Adventure/Horror/Thriller
Runtime: 97mins
Rating: R
IMDB Score: 5.8/10 (46,700+ Votes)
Director(s): Paul W.S Anderson
Writer(s): Paul W.S Anderson
Plot/Synopsis:
While still out to destroy the evil Umbrella Corporation, Alice joins a group of survivors who want to relocate to the mysterious but supposedly unharmed safe haven known only as Arcadia.
Forethought(s):
Another R.E movie, eh, might be good.
Fun Fact/Trivia:
This is the first live-action movie based on a video game to be in 3D.
The Breakdown:
Resident Evil:Afterlife should be called Resident Evil:I Can’t Believe That’s How They Ended This Thing It Only Felt Like a Freaking 30mins T.V Show. I think the only other true joke in the movie world is the Final Destination series. Strangely enough even with that statement the movie wasn’t all bad. This review will probably confuse you and you know what I don’t care because the movie makes me all confused.
The acting was actually pretty good all around with the exception of the dude who plays Wesker;he sounds like Bale playing Batman. Unless your last name is Jovovich you didn’t get much screen time in this movie and that’s a shame since they had some good talent but didn’t capitalize on them like: Kim Coates,Boris Kodjoe and to a lesser extent Ali Larter. If you’ve seen any of my reviews on movies that had Kim Coates in them then you know just how I feel about this dude as a character actor. It was a real crime not to have him in the movie more than he was. The dude was playing what he plays best AN ASSHOLE! He was in all of maybe 3mins of the movie. If you were one of the few who watched the show Undercovers (good show by the way) then you know who Boris and he pretty much plays that guy in this role as well. He’s quite good and playing the nice good guy. I actually think Larters part was cut down due to her being pregnant at the time. I honestly can’t recall 100% with that one but my gut is telling me yes and that sucks but I would have liked to seen her in an a real action driven role but it I can forgive it this one time. And really the rest of the actors were pretty much gloried extras. They had speaking roles die in a matter of minutes like they were nothing more than fodder for the fire and I understand wanting to get the kill count up it would have been nice to have gotten to know the characters before they died. Maybe just maybe I would have cared more if they died but they felt to red shirt-ish to have cared.
Can someone explain to me the deal with movies having the dialogue so soft you need a god damn hearing aid to hear it and a set of ear plugs for when the music starts? This movie will drive you nuts with the audio. I’m pretty sure they had two sound editors working on this flick,one had some weird ass condition where everything was super duper loud and he worked on the dialogue parts of the movie while the other mixer/editor worked with the music and he had piss poor hearing. It’s the only reasoning I can think of that the audio would be so fucking imbalanced. Seriously, I jumped a few times during the run of this movie and it wasn’t because it was scary it was because the fucking music was so god damn loud compared to the,well, the rest of the film. It was like standing front row of a death metal concert. 
I mentioned that this movie was not scary and that should come as no shock to anyone over the age of 16,however,I think this will……this movie had no more than ten freaking monsters in it and two were dogs. O.K ten is low balling just because there are a few overhead shots of a huge mob of monsters trying to break into a jail. And two sequences of that mod chasing down the protagonist of but at no time did you get a sense of danger for characters. But as far as one on ones with the monsters go this movie had very few and that’s really disappointing.
You should know for this part that I did not watch the movie in 3D. At this point you’re saying to yourself “well why in the hell would I want to watch this movie at all?” You know what I really don’t know but not everything was bad. The cam work and the direction was good. Since this was shot for 3D there are a lot of down the center shots and sequences that actually look good in 2D mode. In most 2D horror movies you would see the weapon coming at you from an angle and there’s nothing wrong with that but in a movie made for 3D they have to shoot it done the center line to make it look “real” for the 3D,however,if you take a way the 3D aspect you get a very imposing weapon coming at the screen (victim) which gives more of an impending doom feel than if it were come at the screen (victim) from an angle. There’s a good amount of shots like this in the movie and it does make it fun to watch. I’m not going to get into the bullet time effects (slow mo) in this movie because I just don’t want to but I will say this:they were unneeded and really drag the sequences down that they were in.
The Verdict:
The movie is flawed…a lot but it does entertain you,however,just not enough to warrant buying this movie. The flick as a whole felt like an incomplete two part TV episode. I didn’t hate the movie but I didn’t love the movie and I think that’s what most of you would be like after watching it.
I give this flick 3 brain eaters out of 5.
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Thor:Tales of Asgard
Year: 2011
Genre: Animation/Action/Adventure
Runtime: 77mins
Rating: PG
IMDB Score: 6.4/10 (700+ Votes)
Director(s): Sam Liu
Writer(s): Greg Johnson (screenplay and story),Graig Kyle (story), Jack Kirby (characters) and Stan Lee (characters)
Plot/Synopsis:
The young Norse god Thor embarks on a quest with his brother Loki to find and recover a legendary sword.
Forethought(s):
This is a Marvel animation movie and for the most part they’re hit or miss with me. It funny how Marvel makes sub par animation flicks but pretty damn good live action ones while DC makes damn good animation movies and mediocre live action movies. I wonder if this one can stop that trend.
Fun Fact/Trivia:
There is a six issue mini from 2009 by the same title but it’s about Thor and his first quests as the hero we know him as today not a young boy.
The Breakdown:
Well this one did not move Marvel a head of DC in the animated movie field but it wasn’t a bad movie. It was OK. Some good things, some bad things and a lot of Eh things about this movie. The good things were the score and the action. The bad things were the motion blur and some of the voice work. The eh things, pretty much the rest of the movie.
So I said the score and the action were good. The reason the score is good is that it gets your blood pumping and really sets the mood, at least for the battle scenes. The action was quite good and that shocks me since this is a PG flick. They have 3 or 4 total fight scenes and not with just one or two characters going it at but small armies at times. I said that one of the bad things was the motion blur and for a cartoon to have that is just unacceptable. Fear not it doesn’t happen throughout the movie but it does happen in a weird area of the movie….the talking parts. Yeah just the talking parts and not every-time someone talks which makes all the more strange since it doesn’t happen at all during the fight scenes. The voice work in this was not the best by any means. Matthew Wolf plays Thor once again. He played Thor in Hulk Vs. from 2009. And guess what he voiced them in the same way. That wouldn’t be an issue if both Thors were the same age but they weren’t. One was a kid (this movie) and one was the full on hero. I didn’t like him then as Thor and I don’t like him now. Is voice just isn’t made for this kind of work if you ask me. The rest of the film was just eh. Meaning that it wasn’t bad and it wasn’t good. It just was.
The character designs were hit or miss for me. Thor looked more like Thunderstrike than Thor and that really bugged me. Sif,Loki and Enchantress all looked like I would imagine them to be when they were kids. Odin was the best looking character in the film. He looked powerful and with some of the cam work they did there were times when I said “damn he looks like he could whoop anyone’s ass.” The best way to describe the designs is by calling them kid friendly. If you have seen the new Iron Man cartoon/anime on G4 it’s the complete opposite looking of that.
The Verdict:
The movie has hit or miss art, the voice work isn’t great, it has a fair amount of battles and it moves long well enough that you won’t be pulling your hair out. This movie is more suited for kids than adults but if you’re a comic book fan and just enjoy all things comic related give this movie a try,however,get it on the cheap it’s not worth more than five bucks if you ask me.
I give this movie 3 Mjollnirs out of 5.
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Sucker Punch
Year: 2011
Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy
Runtime: 110mins
Rating: PG-13
IMDB Score: 6.3/10 (47,200+ Votes)
Director(s): Zack Snyder
Writer(s): Zack Snyder (story and screenplay) & Steve Shibuya (screenplay)
Plot/Synopsis:
A young girl is institutionalized by her abusive stepfather. Retreating to an alternative reality as a coping strategy, she envisions a plan which will help her escape from the mental facility.
Forethought(s):
Heard lots of bad things about this movie but I think if one knows what to expect going into it that they will enjoy it. Also the hot chicks help out, I’m not gonna lie, I am a male after all.
Fun Fact/Trivia:
This is Zack Snyder’s first live action film to not receive an R rating in the U.S.
The Breakdown:
So after watching this movie I have came to the conclusion that most people do not know what a good movie is because this is a great movie. All the bitching I hear about this movie makes no sense to me what’s so ever on a tech point of view but I can see why people would not like it. Not liking something does not always mean something is bad, it can just mean that you don’t like it. If people were to tell me they didn’t like it then that would be fine but people saying that it’s a bad movie just boggles my mind.
Let’s start with the weakest aspect of the movie and that would be the acting. The movie stars Emily Browning as Baby Doll, Abbie Cornish as Sweet Pea, Jena Malone as Rocket,Vanessa Hudgens as Blondie, Jamie Chung as Amber, Carla Gugino as Dr.Gorski and Oscar Isaac as Blue Jones. These are not names you will most likely know but they are people you have seen in some high profile stuff or just a bunch of different projects in general. All the young ladies in the film play two roles in this movie and playing one is more than enough for a lot of people and when they do more than one their performance weakens but not with this chicks, they all did a solid job on both roles they played. I was very impressed with everyone and I’m not a fan of Vanessa Hudgens, I may have liked her in this movie due to the lack of screen time she got. I actually bought that all those chicks were bad ass bicthes who would blow your balls off if you fuck with them. I also bought that they were scared little things that were unsure of themselves at times. The one thing that I found odd was Guginos accent for her character, she is Polish in the movie the accent sounds Russian to me. 
The next weakest aspect of the movie was the writing. It is this that I think most people take issue with, me, however, not at all. It could be that the story within a story that is only one story is what people didn’t like or maybe how the ending of the movie makes the story much different than what you were thinking it was going to be, it’s not a twist ending but I think people perceive it to be and for reasons unknown to me folks do not like twist endings (most of the time) or quite possibly because it’s a movie that has five bad ass chicks who aren’t going to lay down and take shit from men. The plot states the story very well. What I really like is that during these “alternative realities” the events that are happening in said realities are happening in the here and now, it’s just that we don’t see them as we should, we see them as how Baby Doll is imagining them to be.
The third weakest part of the movie is the audio. The music like so many other movies goes at ya like a raid fan boy who found out that you just pissed on Action Comics #1 and normally I hate but not here. I think it’s partly due to the songs they picked and how they were sung. Three of the songs Emily Browning straight up performs are or is at least featured on. Those songs are “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”, “Where Is My Mind” and “Asleep”. Understand why they made the songs so loud in the movie;it’s to hear and make out the words. The songs and where they were placed was quite apt. Just know that if you have neighbors who bitch about noises you will want to watch this during the day and make sure you’re thumb is on the volume because the songs were to hit you like a heavy weight. Audiophiles should really like this movie for all the things they do with sounds. Every little thing can be heard, from a sword cutting through the air to footsteps on mud to the flapping of a butterflies wings (all right there is no butterfly in this movie but if there was you would be able to hear it flap its’ wings). 
And the now after all that we are brought to the visuals and let me tell you there is a ton of visual styles going on in this movie. Not only that but the over all look of the film is quite different than 97% of movies that come out. It’s sorta looks like a mo-cap movie (one that isn’t full mo-cap/cg rendered) meets ever so subtle cell shading technique during the alternative reality scenes and your normal run of the mill film during the here and now parts. Maybe a better way to decribe the look of the movie at least during the alt reality parts is anime meets video games. That fits better for the stuff that is actually happening during those scenes. Think Rival Schools (anime or the game really) with hints of Volcano High (the movie) then you should have a basic idea of the crazy shenanigans that goes on in parts of the movie. If you still don’t have an idea let me paint a slightly better pic;we get tall ass samurai demons,neo-gothic steam punk zomibes and iRobot look a likes and of course this being me I have to talk about the ladies…the tasty, hot, butt cheek hanging out ladies. A of people think this is heavy on the T&A and I have to disagree with that. Sure the chicks are in scantly clad outfits but we don’t see any tits or ass that’s not covered up (OK some ass hangs out of the outfits from time to time), you get about as much T&A in this movie as you do if you were to watch a PG-13 movie that takes place on a beach. The chicks are so damn fine in this movie. I would have not been able to work on this movie because I would be in my trailer to much, LOL. I may have to write a post about all the things I want to do and with the actresses….or not.
The Verdict:
This movie is not for everyone but everyone who enjoys action or just a really well written movie should at least give this try even if that means Red Boxing it. I liked it and I know a bunch of you will as well.
I give this flick 5 flights of fantasy out of 5.
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Antihero
Year: 2011
Genre: Adventure/Comedy/Sci-Fi
Runtime: 83mins
Rating: R
IMDB Score: Awaiting 5 votes.
Director(s): Joseph Weindl
Writer(s): Joesph Wenidl
Plot/Synopsis:
Pork Rind is a busboy with sticky fingers and a belly full of cheap beer. When he realizes a psychic power he never knew he had, he and best friend, Weezie, embark on an all-too-easy burglary spree.
Forethought(s):
Since this is an ultra low budget indie flick my hopes are not high but the plot does sound like it could be a funny movie. It’s an ambitious project from the sounds of it.
Fun Fact/Trivia:
The movie was filmed in 21 days.
The Breakdown:
An antihero for those that do not know, is a flawed hero,someone who may do bad things for heroic reasons, say like be a murder who only murders murderers or someone who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. So does the main character hold up to the definition of the title? Not so much on the whole. In the beginning he steals money from random cars to buy beer. He then buys said beer but is given too much change back. So what would you think he would do? If you said give the change back you’re right. The thing about being an antihero is that there is no true way to judge one. So if you go into this movie with any preconceived notions of what an antihero is you may not like this movie so much. If you go into this movie wanting a witty, well written, natural feeling movie then by all means watch it. Now that I got my thoughts out about the whole antihero thing lets move on to actual aspects of the movie.
This is a micro budget film and normally those are piles of wet bear droppings but this one really took be my surprise. That’s not to say there aren’t faults in the movie it’s just that there aren’t as many in this as there are in most movies with a budget like this one.
The one thing that truly stands out in this movie is the camera work. It is damn near perfect. I have seen multimillion dollar movies that have way worse cam work than this flick. Indie movie makers take note, USE TRIPODS and STEADY CAMS, those will help make your movie more enjoyable to the viewers due to the lack of movement. There are a few places that the cam work could have been better but on the budget like this it’s understandable why they weren’t as good as other places in the movie. And not there aren’t any dolly shots or birds eye view shots.
The audio, once again, for a movie with a budget like this one is damn good,however,you can tell that there is only one boom mic and it’s not really all that great. When there are more than two people talking it gets a bit dull sounding and the director didn’t seem to know the range of the mic since at times it sounds like people are standing far away from it. The music was really good. All original tunes made for the movie or local bands just donating a song here and there.
I had one issue with the acting, just one and that is the actors seem to over project what they are saying. This is understandable due to the fact that a lot of the actors are stage performers.
As I said in the first paragraph the writing is witty and natural feeling. What I didn’t mention was that the characters are well developed and their flaws are real flaws unlike a lot of crap that is out there. This is a movie that I think a lot of people can connect with on some level but understand this, the movie is a semi raunchy comedy where a lot of the jokes revolve around weed,dick and fart jokes.
The Verdict:
If you happen in to find this movie on Netflix or other services like that do the makers of the film a favor and watch it. Almost everyone involved has talent to make it on some level in Hollywood and the more people that see this the better their chances are.
I give this movie 4 mythical three wipers out 5
Read the interview with the writer of this movie at http://buckonstuff.com/?p=2134
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Green Lantern:Emerald Knights
Year: 2011
Genre: Action/Adventure/Animation/Sci-Fi
Runtime: 84mins
Rating: PG-13
IMDB Score: 7.2/10 (40 Votes)
Director(s): Chris Berkeley,Lauren Montgomery & Jay Oliva
Writer(s): Eddie Berganza,Alan Burnett,Todd Casey,Dave Gibbons,Michael Green,Marc Guggenheim,Geoff Johns & Peter Tomasi
Plot/Synopsis:
As the home planet of the Green Lantern Corps faces a battle with an ancient enemy, Hal Jordan prepares new recruit Arisia for the coming conflict by relating stories of the first Green Lantern and several of Hal’s comrades.
Forethought(s):
A Green Lantern take on Batman:Gotham Knight ? Yes please.
Fun Fact/Trivia:
Green Lantern the comics are based off of E.E Smiths book series Lensman.
The Breakdown:
Well, the only things this had in common with Batman:Gotham Knight was the fact that it told different stories (hell all the stories were being told via flashbacks by Jordan. Gotham Knight was a bunch of stories being told by mostly street level folk in the here and now) plus all the different writers telling different stories.
The animation was very smooth and all the same through out the movie so I do not know if they picked different artist,like Gotham Knight did, to do the animation or just one. I would have to guess just one. And you know what? It really worked unlike Gotham Knight where every story had a different artist.This way you felt like you were watching one movie as opposed to six different shorts.
I’ve said it with the last few animation flicks I’ve watched and I will continue to say it, I hate talking about the acting in the movie. Acting is more than just voices;it’s about body language and how you say things. In an animated movie you don’t get the body language and it does take a bit away from the experience. There is none thing worse than watching any type of media that has bad voice work in it and I’m glad to say there was none in this movie at all. There were some characters that you’d like to sound different but for the most part they all work. Now I’m sure bunch of you Brown Coats will bitch at me but over all I did not like Fillion as Hal. He was able to pull off the smug and dryness that Hal is known for but a lot of time I was asking myself if Caleb from BtVS was Hal. Yes people I know he played Caleb but the way he talked from time to time reminded me to much of Caleb. Then you have Elisabeth Moss who most of you may know from Mad Men (I don’t since I’ve never seen the show) and she is spot on for the character she plays. I mean it’s creepy how much I can see her character Arisia sounding like that. Good on the casting director. Finally we have veteran voice actor Steve Blum who has over 400 credits to his name. If you’ve watch any cartoons or played the more popular video games from the last 20+ years then I’m sure you know who this man is. Just look at his imdb page http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0089710/ Isn’t that crazy? I have seen/heard a lot of his stuff and I still have a hard time picking him out. He does a lot of different types of voices. A real talent.
The stories are engaging to the point that even non-comic book fans would like this movie. Fear my fellow comic dork/geeks/nerds there is plenty in there for those that know more about GLs than the normal person. In fact they even put in some red rage for us. The one is question was not yet raging but it was fun to see that character interact with others while without the red ring. On the other hand they were missing some key and cult GLs like: all the humans (my fav Gardner) other than Hal and G’nort. We did get a story about Mogo and lets be honest no GL history telling would be complete without Mogo. So they made it watchable for non GL fan and more watchable for the GL fans.
The Verdict:
Over all a good movie that is worth your time. It’s not worth a buy so just rent it or wait for it to hit Netflix.
I give this movie 3 power batteries out of 5.
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