Showing posts with label 4.5 Stars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 4.5 Stars. Show all posts
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Brave
Brave (2012)
Directed by Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, and Steve Purcell
Late reviews, part deux!
This time I'm writing almost a week in advance! So it's like I'm talking to your future self! O.o What are things like next week? I'm getting a headache now...let's not think about this ever again.
I bet y'all are taking bets on whether I can recover and write a decent review...Thanks guys.
Anyways...Hello! Happy Saturday!
Like Spider-Man, I saw Brave about two months ago but things came up and I never sat down and wrote a review.
I think that Brave is one of Pixar's best films ever, which is really saying something. Rather than obsessing with sequels and remakes like the rest of the industry, Pixar consistently tells original and heartfelt stories that resonate with audience members of all ages. Brave is no exception to the rule that Pixar rocks.
Box office wise, Brave has been a little below average for a Pixar film. It has grossed $232 million domestically and $470 million worldwide. Those numbers are nothing for Pixar to be ashamed of, especially since Brave had to follow Cars 2, which was a disappointment both critically and at the box office (the only Pixar film it outgrossed was A Bug's Life), and made some people question whether Pixar was beginning to run low on originality.
Luckily they were wrong.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Viewed July 6, 2012 at Cinema 6 in Mt. Pleasant, TX
PS - My favorite Pixar movie is Finding Nemo. What's yours?
Directed by Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, and Steve Purcell
Late reviews, part deux!
This time I'm writing almost a week in advance! So it's like I'm talking to your future self! O.o What are things like next week? I'm getting a headache now...let's not think about this ever again.
I bet y'all are taking bets on whether I can recover and write a decent review...Thanks guys.
Anyways...Hello! Happy Saturday!
I think that Brave is one of Pixar's best films ever, which is really saying something. Rather than obsessing with sequels and remakes like the rest of the industry, Pixar consistently tells original and heartfelt stories that resonate with audience members of all ages. Brave is no exception to the rule that Pixar rocks.
Box office wise, Brave has been a little below average for a Pixar film. It has grossed $232 million domestically and $470 million worldwide. Those numbers are nothing for Pixar to be ashamed of, especially since Brave had to follow Cars 2, which was a disappointment both critically and at the box office (the only Pixar film it outgrossed was A Bug's Life), and made some people question whether Pixar was beginning to run low on originality.
Luckily they were wrong.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Viewed July 6, 2012 at Cinema 6 in Mt. Pleasant, TX
PS - My favorite Pixar movie is Finding Nemo. What's yours?
Friday, May 4, 2012
The Avengers, Part 2
The Avengers (2012)
Directed by Joss Whedon
So I just got home from seeing The Avengers with the girlfriend. Don't worry, I won't be posting any spoilers in my review.
We arrived at the theater around 9 pm. We waited in line outside the theater for an hour while Lockout finished its last show of the night before being seated. The next two hours passed quickly as the theater filled to capacity. Then the commercials and trailers began, only three of which are worth mentioning. First was the final Dark Knight Rises trailer, which commanded the most silence I have ever witnessed while watching a trailer in the theater. Second was one of the original trailers for Prometheus, not quite as interesting as the most recent international trailer, but still amazing. Lastly was an Amazing Spiderman trailer which I had not seen before. And then the Avengers assembled.
To be honest, I was less than excited about this film to begin with. I was skeptical of how well Joss would meld all of the previous films, all of the characters, and all of the mythologies into one cohesive and engaging story. While the film was by no means perfect, I am definitely convinced that my doubts were unfounded.
So what did I like the most about it, you ask?
The effects were awesome, there was enough action to fill ten blog posts, and ScarJo is HOT (and luckily not Jossed, but I'm not saying who is). But my absolute favorite part of the film is something that Joss is know best for: character interactions. Not the times when everybody is together delivering exposition to the audience though. The moments that, in my opinion, make the movie more than just a summer tentpole actiony popcorn flick are the small moments, the one-liners between characters at the most random and unexpected times which truly reveal the characters' identities, even as the end of the world is potentially swirling around them. The moments are quirky, original, and last only a few seconds each, but they make the characters immensely relateable, which is quite an accomplishment when the characters are superheros battling aliens who have come to enslave the earth.
I have to be a little nitpicky though.
Ironically, since my favorite part of the film was some of its dialogue, the part that disappointed me the most was also some of the dialogue. Without going into specifics, majority of the dialogue in the beginning of the film is overly expository. Granted, there is a lot of information and backstory to be assimilated, but I feel that it could have been worked in to be less obvious. Also, a few of the actors seemed to do less-than-stellar line readings for parts of the film. Overall the dialogue was well delivered, but there were a few times where the line readings were distractingly stiff. Lastly, the 3D conversion didn't do much for me. I don't know if it was just me, the projector, or just a bad conversion, but at times the images didn't fully line up, especially on the sides of the frame. It didn't ruin the film for me, but it pulled me out of the moment. The main point of 3D is to enhance the experience, but all too often it becomes yet another distraction.
The Final Word:
Go see it. It is a fun, action packed film, perfect for viewing in a crowded theater, although if you didn't see it tonight you definitely missed out on a good experience.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Viewed 12:01 am, May 4, 2012
Directed by Joss Whedon
So I just got home from seeing The Avengers with the girlfriend. Don't worry, I won't be posting any spoilers in my review.
To be honest, I was less than excited about this film to begin with. I was skeptical of how well Joss would meld all of the previous films, all of the characters, and all of the mythologies into one cohesive and engaging story. While the film was by no means perfect, I am definitely convinced that my doubts were unfounded.
So what did I like the most about it, you ask?
The effects were awesome, there was enough action to fill ten blog posts, and ScarJo is HOT (and luckily not Jossed, but I'm not saying who is). But my absolute favorite part of the film is something that Joss is know best for: character interactions. Not the times when everybody is together delivering exposition to the audience though. The moments that, in my opinion, make the movie more than just a summer tentpole actiony popcorn flick are the small moments, the one-liners between characters at the most random and unexpected times which truly reveal the characters' identities, even as the end of the world is potentially swirling around them. The moments are quirky, original, and last only a few seconds each, but they make the characters immensely relateable, which is quite an accomplishment when the characters are superheros battling aliens who have come to enslave the earth.
I have to be a little nitpicky though.
Ironically, since my favorite part of the film was some of its dialogue, the part that disappointed me the most was also some of the dialogue. Without going into specifics, majority of the dialogue in the beginning of the film is overly expository. Granted, there is a lot of information and backstory to be assimilated, but I feel that it could have been worked in to be less obvious. Also, a few of the actors seemed to do less-than-stellar line readings for parts of the film. Overall the dialogue was well delivered, but there were a few times where the line readings were distractingly stiff. Lastly, the 3D conversion didn't do much for me. I don't know if it was just me, the projector, or just a bad conversion, but at times the images didn't fully line up, especially on the sides of the frame. It didn't ruin the film for me, but it pulled me out of the moment. The main point of 3D is to enhance the experience, but all too often it becomes yet another distraction.
The Final Word:
Go see it. It is a fun, action packed film, perfect for viewing in a crowded theater, although if you didn't see it tonight you definitely missed out on a good experience.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Viewed 12:01 am, May 4, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games (2012)
Directed by: Gary Ross
I must admit that when I first heard that this film was going into production, I was less than excited about it. Having not read the book, the thought of children being forced to fight to the death brought back too many memories of Battle Royale. My opinion at the time was that an Americanized, PG-13 version of Battle Royale was most definitely in poor taste. Fortunately, a good friend of mine convinced me to read the book. I was still worried that the film might have trouble communicating the book's theme of the struggle against political and socio-economic oppression to a teenaged audience, but I knew it was present and expressed clearly in the book.
My biggest critique of the film is a stylistic one. Especially at the beginning, I felt that the film couldn't decide if it wanted to be an indie art film or a major studio blockbuster. The cinematography in the opening scenes invoked a feeling of chaos and distress, which was appropriate for District 12, yet didn't match at all with the rest of the film. It almost felt to me like the film had two DPs, one for the first half our and another for the rest. The film did have a cyclical progression from chaos to order, which occurs twice, but the cinematography of the return to chaos during the Games was too different from the beginning to maintain continuity.
Obviously the non film school brats of the world weren't bothered by this, which is evidenced by its current worldwide gross of over $600 million. Did I mention that the production budget was a mere $78 million?
You probably think the above critique was me just picking nits. Its true. That's what I do, especially to the films I enjoy watching. If I hadn't liked the film then I would have just said so and saved myself the trouble of typing out this review.
Lionsgate took a deep and complicated novel and created a deep and complicated film, with brilliant acting (Katpee anyone?), better special effects than John Carter, and even some social commentary. Oh and then there are the other two books.
The odds are definitely in Lionsgate's favor.
Who's ready for Catching Fire?
4.5 out of 5 stars
Viewed March 23, 2012
Directed by: Gary Ross
My biggest critique of the film is a stylistic one. Especially at the beginning, I felt that the film couldn't decide if it wanted to be an indie art film or a major studio blockbuster. The cinematography in the opening scenes invoked a feeling of chaos and distress, which was appropriate for District 12, yet didn't match at all with the rest of the film. It almost felt to me like the film had two DPs, one for the first half our and another for the rest. The film did have a cyclical progression from chaos to order, which occurs twice, but the cinematography of the return to chaos during the Games was too different from the beginning to maintain continuity.
Obviously the non film school brats of the world weren't bothered by this, which is evidenced by its current worldwide gross of over $600 million. Did I mention that the production budget was a mere $78 million?
You probably think the above critique was me just picking nits. Its true. That's what I do, especially to the films I enjoy watching. If I hadn't liked the film then I would have just said so and saved myself the trouble of typing out this review.
Lionsgate took a deep and complicated novel and created a deep and complicated film, with brilliant acting (Katpee anyone?), better special effects than John Carter, and even some social commentary. Oh and then there are the other two books.
The odds are definitely in Lionsgate's favor.
Who's ready for Catching Fire?
4.5 out of 5 stars
Viewed March 23, 2012
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