Movie Review: Brave (PG)

Movie Review: Brave (PG)


Disney/Pixar's latest film is sure to be a hit. Any movie with the Pixar logo above it's name is sure to make millions. That being said, Brave is no exception. Pixar's twelfth movie, Cars 2, was the lowest rated Pixar movie of all time. Brave came next, and Pixar redeemed themselves. I must note that every preceding Pixar movie hit #1 at the box office. I don't doubt that Brave will do the same.

Pixar has only made one other movie that focuses solely on humans (The Incredibles). We follow the story of Merida, a Scottish princess who doesn't want to be a princess. A bit of a tomboy and rebel, Merida runs across a witch and gets the opportunity to "change her fate". When magic and destiny tear her and her mother apart, Merida must learn to be humble and selfless to change her fate. Sound cliché? It's a classic Disney plot, not quite what I expected from a Disney/Pixar movie. But nonetheless, Brave offers enough heart, humor, and action to keep this movie-goer entertained. Not the best Pixar movie, but certainly not the worst. And besides, when has Pixar ever made a "bad" movie? Pixar movies are always classified under one of two categories: Good, and Great.

Pros

Stunning (and I mean stunning) visual effects. Merida's hair looks fabulous. After about ten minutes, you forget that the film is animated

Hysterical physical comedy; the movie is funny... really funny

Two words: Kelly Macdonald. She voices Merida, and is a joy to listen to. As an American, I found the accent awesome.


Cons


Predictible plot, cliché story line (the action and humor made up for that, though)


Conclusion


Please go see Brave while it's in theaters. You'll be glad you did. It's a rare movie that's actually entertaining for adults and kids alike.

My review: ★★★★✯ (4.5/5)

IMDB: 7.5/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 6.9/10

(IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes scores as of 6/23/12)

Movie Review: Snow White and the Huntsman (PG-13)

Hollywood's done it again. Yet ANOTHER remake of a classic story, and audiences are sick of it. Let me tell you why this particular fairy tale twist is worth the trip to your local theater.

In the movie Snow White and the Huntsman, director Rupert Sanders tackles his first film, and he's off to a good start. The main thing that sets this story apart from the classic tale is all the action. LOTS of action. And of course, the seven dwarfs are present, and serve as a comic relief. The Huntsman, played by Chris Hemsworth (Thor, The Avengers), is hired by the evil queen Ravenna, played by Charlize Theron (Hancock, The Italian Job), to hunt (go figure) for Snow White, played by Kristen Stewart (The Twilight Saga). Though it's hard not to think about Thor and Bella in this movie, I still managed to see different characters altogether. Snow White and the Huntsman contains just the right amount of twists and turns to add a slice of unpredictability, without butchering the original story.

Pros

A stellar performance from Kristen Stewart. Many people think of her as the emotionless girl from Twilight, but don't worry. You'll see expression on her face in Snow White and the Huntsman

Spectacular costumes. I don't typically pay close attention to character's attire in the films I watch, but something stood out to me in this movie. The costumes were fantastic.

Plenty of action and scary moments. The sword fights were great, and the sequences of Snow White traveling through the Dark Forest are creepy enough to make this a non-kiddie flick.

A great rendition of the Mirror.

Ravenna, the Evil Queen, was indeed, evil. Full of menace, vengeance, and pure anger, she made the perfect villain. The filmmakers made sure that you loathe her with a burning passion.


Cons

Not enough character development for Snow White. It's very difficult to read her mind.

Inevitable elements of predictability.



Conclusion

Snow White and the Huntsman is an action packed, visually stimulating movie that's sure to be added to my DVD library in the future. Be sure to catch this one in theaters.


4/5 stars

Movie Review: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (PG-13)

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (PG-13)

Directed by Stephen Daldry, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is the story of a nine-year old inventor named Oskar (Thomas Horn). Oskar and his dad Thomas Schell (Tom Hanks), have a very strong relationship. Thomas sets up games for Oskar, so that Oskar has to find clues to lead to a reward. Oskar is a brilliant little kid, and uses words I don't understand throughout the film. Unexpectedly, Oskar's dad is killed in the 9/11 terrorist attack at the World Trade Center. Tragedy sets in upon Oskar and his mom, Linda (Sandra Bullock). After a year of mourning and devastation, Oskar builds up the courage to enter his dad's closet, which hasn't been touched since "The Worst Day." Oskar finds a key, and spends the rest of the film trying to find out what it belongs to. He is convinced his dad left it for him, and wants him to find it. Oskar talks to numerous people around New York City, meets new friends, and has the biggest adventure of his life.

Conclusion
9/11 was an event that brought catastrophe to America. Few films have been made about it. On September 11, 2001, I was only four years old. Far too young to remember it. My mom says she remembers it like it was yesterday. The theme of the film is close to many's hearts, and many decide not to see a film about 9/11. It's a dangerous field for filmmakers; it's such a sensitive topic. I witnessed many people crying during the film, and if I were old enough to remember 9/11, I would have caused a flood. The movie is that powerful. That being said, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close draws most of the audience's attention to the story of a fictitious character, rather than to the attack itself. It was a well made movie, with great acting, cinematography, plot line, and characters. But the fact that it's about 9/11 can make or break the movie depending on your point of view. Please note that it's not an appropriate film for education about September 11. Again, the story focuses mostly on a fictitious character, and not much on the attack.

Pros


Extremely powerful, portrays 9/11 from a child's perspective.

Portrays the tragedy that occurred in our country in a powerful way

Isn't explicitly descriptive on the attack itself; there's no need to be, and the filmmakers knew that

Had the right dose of humor, and didn't stay super serious throughout the whole movie (That being said, none of the humor was related to 9/11 in any way)


Cons


Oskar has a foul mouth in the film. We hear a couple of obscenities roll off his tongue, one of which is in direct anger to his mother.

My review: ★★★★☆
IMDB: 6.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 5.7/10


Reviews from imdb.com and rottentomatoes.com as of 2/5/12

Movie Review: The Muppets (PG)

The Muppets are back! In the same style of the old Muppet shows, Disney brings us an all new movie in theaters just in time for Thanksgiving. Lovers Mary and Gary venture off to Los Angeles for their 10th anniversary. Gary brings along his brother, Walter (who happens to be a puppet), so he can visit the original Muppet Studio. But here's the catch: The Muppets haven't been together for years, and the studio is abandoned. Walter is determined to get the gang back together and restore the studio. They must raise $10M or else an evil oil driller will tear down the studio and get oil. Can the Muppets raise enough money? Or will the studio be torn down for good?

Filled with plenty of Muppet style jokes, songs, and action, Disney puts together a film that many will enjoy. As for me however, the cons well outweighed the good parts. I love Amy Adams, and have fallen in love with her through movies like "Enchanted" and "Leap Year." In "The Muppets," however, I don't think she got enough screen time. She has such great charisma and charm about her, and Disney didn't give her enough time to show it off. She does get a solo song, though, which was very enjoyable. Jason Segel gives a very lacking performance. His character (Gary) had zero chemistry with Mary. As I watched the dialogue roll off their tongues, I cringed as it seemed like they were reading a script. For something as professional as Disney, I was very disappointed with Jason Segel's performance.

As a Muppet fan, I had high expectations for this movie. I went to go see a matinee showing on Thanksgiving Day, 2011.


Pros


Fun songs to get your feet tapping
Great puns and jokes for the adults in the audience


Cons


Poor plot
No chemistry between main characters (except Miss Piggy and Kermit of course)
Very poor performance from Jason Segel
Got boring at points
One of those movies you keep expecting to get better, then never does


Conclusion


It's worth a $1 rental from Redbox, but not a $9 purchase from your Box Office. If you're a diehard Muppet fan then you'll probably like it. As for the rest of us, it was okay.


★★✯☆☆

Movie Review: Puss in Boots (PG)

Dreamworks presents "Puss in Boots" and it's NOT Shrek 5. Some may say the company is milking the Shrek phenomenon for all it's worth, "Puss" however is a whole new movie. No references to our favorite green ogre are made. Antonio Banderas pulls off the perfect voice for our feline friend known as Puss... IN BOOTS! As he and his friends Humpty Dumpty and Kitty Soft Paws embark on a magical journey to steal the magic beans from outlaws Jack and Jill, they find that humor, love, and forgiveness goes a long way. Dreamworks did a fantastic job with the humor, timing, and characters. 

PROS

No Shrek references

Charming and funny

CONS

Little over the top with bathroom humor, but not too bad. It made the smaller kids in the theater laugh, but that's all. 

★★★★☆

Movie Review: Winnie the Pooh (G)

Yup. Winnie the Pooh. It didn't last in theaters long. Probably because Harry Potter 7 came out on the same. Sad day, cause Pooh was great. I saw it at the dollar theater, and I must say I enjoyed it. No, I'm not 7 years old. I'm a teenage boy, and I'm proud to say that Pooh is on my list of favorites. I actually laughed out loud a couple of times. The music was fabulous. And yes, I began humming along in the theater. The voices were almost spot on to what I remember them sounding like when I was just a little kid. Disney decided to make a Pooh film that followed the original style of the old cartoons. The animation was just the same, the characters just as rememberable, and it even included the theme song at the beginning. Winnie the Pooh hits stores on DVD and Blu-ray Tuesday, October 25. Netflix will release it on the same day.

Winnie the Pooh teaser poster

Pros

Great for kids and adults alike
G-rated. Clean, nothing offensive.
Feel good cartoon
Includes a 5 minute short

Cons

It was only a little over an hour long, left me wanting more
No references to Heffulumps :)

★★★★★ (out of 5)

Product Review: My New iPad

Hello everyone, this is my first blogging experience, so please pardon the mess. I am technologically savvy but close to clueless about blogging. Well, the title of this post is "My New iPad". I figured I'd share my thoughts on Apple's newest tablet.

I got myself the iPad 2, 64gb wifi, black. I've had it almost a week now. The display is no different from the first iPad, but that's okay because the screen looks gorgeous. The new iPad is super fast, has a great battery life (10 hours) and fits perfectly in my bag. So far I've managed to get along fine without Adobe Flash. I don't miss it too much. Many websites that use flash (such as YouTube.com) have an app on the App Store, and they fit the screen perfectly. I'm also not missing s USB port or SD card reader because I can transfer files through iTunes or email stuff to myself (you can purchase the iPad Camera Connection Kit for $29, it lets you import photos directly from your digital camera). The keyboard is a little difficult to type on, but I'm sure that I'll get used to it (I'm typing on my iPad right now). You can hook up a Bluetooth keyboard, and the Apple Wireless Keyboard is a perfect fit.

Some of the only cons of the iPad is the pricing. It costs $500-$800 depending on the model. If you take a look at other tablets like the Motorola Xoom, the Galaxy Tab, and others, (more and more are coming each month) the iPad is actually competitivilly priced. I think you can manage to get a tablet for around $100 bucks, but they work like garbage.