Legion

This week’s movie is Legion. It is your basic end of the world movie with a twist. It isn’t demons and hell you have to worry about but heaven and Angels. The movie does a great job of making you want more. It is action packed and has several twists you will not see coming. It stands up to multiple viewings.

The Special effects are top notch. You can tell they really took out all the stops for this movie. The acting is good but not great. This does not detract from the movie though. The ideas behind the plot are intriguing. They are some of the same thinks I think about when I wonder about the apocalypse. It does have humor to break up the action which is welcomed.

All in all this is a really good movie. If you have seen the TV show Supernatural than you will like Legion but it has less humor. Anyway the point im trying to make is that it is a good movie and worth watching. The effects are great along with the plot but the acting is lacking. I am giving Legion a 7 out of 10 with a Watch it.

Serenity

This week’s movie is Serenity. It seems to be the final farewell from the series Firefly. The best way to describe this movie and TV series is that it is a space western. It may sound a little odd but if you watch it you will understand. It is an amazing movie. I am a huge fan of the series and was shocked to find out that it was canceled, but when I heard they were making a movie I knew that it wouldn’t disappoint.

The plot was great it stuck fairly closely to the shows. It has many twists and turns that if you have seen the series you may seen coming but if it is your first experience with the Firefly universe you maybe a little surprised. The characters are unforgettable, every last one of them you seem to make a personal connection with. This feeling is one of the driving forces behind why this movie is so great. The effects in the movie are top notch but you would expect nothing less from Firefly.

This is one of my all time favorite movies. It truly has re-watch value unlike many other movies. If it were up to me everyone would get a chance to watch this movie. Serenity easily gets a 10 out of 10 with a Must Buy along with the complete Firefly series.

Ninja Assassin

This week’s movie will be Ninja Assassin. It is a kung fu movie with ninjas added in for the modern trend. When it came out in theaters it was not well received. There was a lot of hype but no follow through. I didn’t go to see it when it came out in 2009. I waited until it came out on DVD to give it a view.  

It had a kung fu movie story the hero is wronged and is now taking vengeance or justice depending on your point of view. They could have done a better job filling out the story, it leaves you wondering in some spots and confused in others. The effects were great. A lot of slow motion and c.g. effects on the weapons. The fight scenes were really well choreographed. My biggest complaint with the effects in this movie and a lot of other modern action movies in the c.g. blood. It is way to fake and if that is what they are shooting for why not just use buckets of red paint.

All in all Ninja Assassin is an okay movie. I think most people will either love it or hate it. I personally like it but would only recommend it to people I know like this kind of movie. My rating for this movie is a 6 out of 10 with a Watch it if you enjoy kung fu action movies.

Paranormal Activity 2

This week’s film will be Paranormal Activity 2. This is the sequel to the 2007 hit super low budget movie Paranormal Activity. It picks up where the first one left off. It is your basic supernatural horror movie. The acting was well done and the special effects were good too. I was a big fan of the first movie and the sequel was almost the same exact movie.

The story was both a prequel and a sequel which I found interesting and gave more background to the story. This was the highlight of the movie. When I left the theater I felt a little disappointed. There was nothing new done. If you have seen the first you will know all the little surprise that will happen. There was little in the way of innovation but I guess when you have money to throw around you don’t have to be quite as innovative.

With all that said I still like the movie it wasn’t bad by any means and it was done well just a little repetitive. The acting and effects were good along with the story. I would rate this movie an 8 out of 10 with a Watch It.

Logan's Run

This week’s movie is the famous Logan’s Run from 1976. Many of you I’m guessing haven’t heard of it or if you have you haven’t actually seen the movie. It in a sci-fi movie set in the year 2274. It was directed by Michael Anderson and stars Michael York who you might know as Basil from the Austin Powers movies.

The special effects for the time are amazing. If you were to compare the effect to today’s standard you would laugh at them but you have to take in to consideration the time and what they had to work with. Most of the effects are just models and simple pyrotechnics. With all that said I still think that they are good. The story is great. Logan’s Run is based on a book by the same name. It is the basic futuristic plot of the time. It takes place inside a domed city where no one is allowed to live past age 30, in order to keep balance. The characters are a little underdeveloped but still entertaining to watch.

All in all it is a good movie. The effects are good for the time and the story is pretty good but maybe hard to follow for some. I would advise that you shouldn’t watch this movie with children or watch it at all if nudity bothers you. There is not a ton of it but enough for a warning. I would rate Logan’s Run 7 out of 10 with a Watch It.

A.I. Cars, the robot revolution begins

The news article I chose was Google Cars Drive Themselves in Traffic. It was an interesting article. I found it amazing that Google is so far ahead of most other companies and even universities. It did mention that Stanford did make similar steps to create cars that would drive themselves.

It is really a start to make a future where people don’t have to worry about accidents on the road. The technology could save many lives. On the other hand it would also make people less likely to pay any attention to the road and could if something happened to the car or software cause an accident.

One line in the article really stood out to me, “cars could save humans from themselves.” This sound strangely familiar to Isaac Asimov writing. In one of his short story that was changed into a move, I, Robot, an A.I. overrides the three robot laws to keep people safe by making a law zero that allows robots to hurt people if it is for the betterment of the rest.

To me that seem like a recipe for disaster but if there are no homicidal robots that its not a bad idea and I say go for it. Who does want cars that can drive themselves?

Batman Under the Red Hood

This week’s movie is Batman: Under the Red Hood. This is an animated film from Dc and WB. It is based on an arc from The Batman comic obviously. I am slightly biased when it comes to any Batman movie; I am a huge Batman fan, so take this review with a good pinch of salt.

The animation was standard for any superhero movie. It was dark and gloomy but it Batman what do you expect. There is not a lack of color by any means it is just subdued in most of the scenes. The action is good and the voice acting is awesome. I do have a gripe that they didn’t use Kevin Conroy as the voice of Batman. He was the voice of Batman in Batman the animated series.

The story was great. It has great twists and turns. You think you have it figured out but it throws you a curveball. I think it would stand up to multiple views. They even give you a little bit of history in the Batman comics in the beginning which not too many people know about.

All in all this is a good movie for both younger and older viewers. It has some violence but hell it’s a cartoon. I would give Batman: Under the Red Hood a 8 out of 10 with a Watch It.

Shin Chan (Complete First Season)

This week we will be taking a small deviation from movies to review a series. The series in question is Shin Chan the complete first season. It is an outstanding show. The humor is what makes it worth watching. The animation in low qualities but adds to the overall experiences. It makes it feel more like a little kids show than an adult show, but don’t be mistaken it is for adults.

The humor is very low brow a lot of fart jokes. Some of the humor comes from the miscommunication between the kids who are in kindergarten and the adults. The kids are putting themselves into adult situation and it is really funny the way it plays out. The jokes are not what you would find in most little kids shows but still would appeal to the kid in us all.

The most amazing thing is that the songs from the show have a way of burrowing into your head and popping up days later. It is fun to find yourself singing a random song from a cartoon; it puts you in a good mood. For the rating of this series I am going to give it a 8 out of 10 with a Watch It.

Where the Wild Things Are?

I recently had the unfortunate luck of having to watch Where the Wild Things Are? This is a movie based off of a book for children by the same name. I vaguely remember reading this book when I was little but it does not stick out in any way shape or form. From the start to the finish I kept wishing I could destroy every copy of this movie, for the sake of everyone’s well being.

The graphics are the only thing that I can say is positive. The monsters look exactly like they do in the book besides made to look real. I wonder if it was a combination of computer graphics and costumes, it seems like it was a combination.

The worst thing about this movie is the plot and characters. I found myself walking to slap the little boy and everyone else. The story just dragged on it is only the length of a standard movie, an hour and thirty-four minutes. It seems like it is three hours and makes you want to throw something at the television. When it finally finished I vowed never to watch it again.

If you want to watch Where the Wild Things Are? than you are a masochist. There is no other way to describe it. I didn’t want to watch but I was wrangled into it and I regret it. It stole an hour and thirty minutes of my life I will never get back. I give it 1 out of 10 and a LEAVE IT.

300

This week I will be reviewing 300. This is a movie based off a graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. When you sit down to watch 300 you have to mentally prepare yourself for stunning battle sequences and hauntingly beautiful scenery. The director Zack Snyder did a great job bringing this comic to the big screen.

The battle scenes keep you captivated as you watch in slow motion as a person id decapitated or has a limb severed. It is all so brutal but also done in an artistic way. The blood that sprays out of every last wound is the only color to be found in almost the entire film.

As you watch you become hypnotized by the landscapes that are before you. They are not bright and colorful but quite the opposite. The scenery is cold and dark almost cruel in many of the scenes. That doesn’t mean that all of the backdrops are like this but most are. The use of color, or I should say lack of the use, really makes the movie. If it were colorful or just had more, it would feel fake. The way it sits the movie seems real and gritty.

300 was a movie that really opens one’s eyes to different styles of film. It is very beautiful in its own way and can stand up to multiple viewings. Every time I watch it I am taken in by the imagery. I give 300 a 9 out of 10 with a strong watch it if not buy it.

Lord of the Rings Trilogy (My first post)

I am a huge fan of J.R.R. Tolkien. I have read close to everything he has written. When I saw the Lord of the Rings trilogy I was in awe. Peter Jackson had done it. He had taken a timeless book and successfully turned it into a great and hugely successful movie.

The Trilogy was well written. The costume and scenery was marvelous. The crew on the movies really put there all in to making the best movie they could, and it really shows. There is so much detail to every scene you cant take your eyes off the scene. The scenery was perfect I can think of no better place than New Zealand.

The actors and actress were outstanding. As you watch the emotion they display draws you in. it is no longer just a group of people going on a quest but now it seams to be friends people you want to succeed. You find yourself hoping the Nazgul wont find them. When the movie is all done you feel a sense of loss that it had to end.

I find myself going back to Lord of the Rings. It has become a benchmark in the fantasy film industry. How many films can you think of that top Lord of the Rings? Not many and I bet most are not fantasy films. Yes there maybe a movie that blows you away with its special effects but does it have the whole package like Lord of the Rings trilogy? I think not.

Since this is my first post I guess I should let you know about my rating scale. The scale goes from 1 up to 10 but also comes with a leave it, watch it or buy it label. For the Lord of the Rings trilogy I give it a 10 out of 10 with a Buy It.