[April, 2008, Rated PG-13]
Adam's Rating:
Brandon's Rating: 7.5/10
Ashley's Rating:
Adam's Review:
Reccomendation -
Brandon's Review:
The Forbidden Kingdom is a story about a young boy who learns about discipline, respect, and standing up for yourself from his journey through a fantasy-like martial arts world. A lot of hype has built up due to the duo of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, and a lot have been disappointed, but if you take it for what it is you will find a fun movie that the family can enjoy.
First off, the movie is very Asian. So if you don't care much for spectacularly unreal martial arts or silly antics of a monkey king you might be a bit put off. However, the fighting sequences were impressive and the story was fun. It reminded me of the older martial arts movies (which it pays homage to if you don't pick that up in the beginning of the move), kind of like The Karate Kid, but without as much heart. I won't name this one as a revolutionary film, but it is one that the family can enjoy.
Reccomendation - See it if the opportunity arrives, dollar theater might be good. I would avoid paying full ticket price if I could.
Ashley's Review:
Reccomendation -
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
Iron Man
[Released 5/2/2008, Rated PG-13]
Adam's Rating: ****1/2
Brandon's Rating: 10/10
Ashley's Rating:
Adam's Review:
This movie was *fantastic*. I loved almost everything about it. The special effects were top-notch, the story line was beautiful, the acting (mostly) superb. The writing, directing, cinematography, etc., etc., etc. were all awesome. I'm not one to give out very many perfect 5 stars - to me, a movie has to be literally perfect to earn that - so this one got 4.5
So what wasn't perfect? A few of the lines in the last 15 minutes. Namely, Pepper's (roughly) "What is that? Some sort of device? Is that going to open the door?", and Obidiah's "I've made a few upgrades myself" (made me think of some awful combination of Transformers and Power Rangers).
On the other hand, there were a great many awesome lines, including Rhodes' "Next time baby", which of course hints at some things for the next film (Avengers). The final line (and attendant music) was perfect. It made me think of Alvin and the Chipmunks - the final "Aaaalvin" line which was so poorly delivered - only this iconic line worked, and worked well. Very well. I guess that's the difference a good actor can make.
The nonlinear beginning to this film was fantastic. The action sequence kicked the film off with a bang, grabbing the viewer's interest, but it also made us view the following / pre-dated sequence in a different light ... some metaphor about in the shadow of the foreshadow is trying to come in to my head but not quite working ...
Reccomendation - I've seen and loved this movie twice already. See this in theatres! And don't wait for the dollar movie! See it now!!! Then see it in the dollar movie! Then buy it!!! Many girls won't like this film, because of the heavy action and the emotionally gruesome scenes during Tony Spark's captivity. But there is an intruiging romance to keep those girls interested who can put up with the intense action scenes.
Brandon's Review:
After the successes of Spider Man and X-men it felt like all of the producers desperately grabbed every comic book story that they could get their hands on, good or bad. Although Iron Man wasn't my favorite comic book to read while growing up, I think that it is a great movie.
The movie was very well rounded, there isn't anything bad that I can really say about it. The action sequences were great, special effect superb, comedy witty, and storyline well written. I thought that they did a great job of keeping it from being too cheesy, which is quite a feat for converting a comic book and Robert Downey Jr. was definitely a good move on casting. Changing the old version of Iron Man and placing the story in todays era (War in Iraq) worked out well. Since I can't really think of anything bad to say about it and would rather everyone go see the movie, I'll end by tipping my hat to everyone who worked on creating this film.
Reccomendation -A definite must see in a good theatre, take an extra ten minutes to insure that you have a good seat too, it's worth it. Even if you aren't big into comic books or action movies, it has enough humor and story to keep most entertained. Check other sources if you are worried about content for the young teenagers, but I found it to be very light on blood and sex in comparison to most content out there.
Ashley's Review:
Reccomendation -
Adam's Rating: ****1/2
Brandon's Rating: 10/10
Ashley's Rating:
Adam's Review:
This movie was *fantastic*. I loved almost everything about it. The special effects were top-notch, the story line was beautiful, the acting (mostly) superb. The writing, directing, cinematography, etc., etc., etc. were all awesome. I'm not one to give out very many perfect 5 stars - to me, a movie has to be literally perfect to earn that - so this one got 4.5
So what wasn't perfect? A few of the lines in the last 15 minutes. Namely, Pepper's (roughly) "What is that? Some sort of device? Is that going to open the door?", and Obidiah's "I've made a few upgrades myself" (made me think of some awful combination of Transformers and Power Rangers).
On the other hand, there were a great many awesome lines, including Rhodes' "Next time baby", which of course hints at some things for the next film (Avengers). The final line (and attendant music) was perfect. It made me think of Alvin and the Chipmunks - the final "Aaaalvin" line which was so poorly delivered - only this iconic line worked, and worked well. Very well. I guess that's the difference a good actor can make.
The nonlinear beginning to this film was fantastic. The action sequence kicked the film off with a bang, grabbing the viewer's interest, but it also made us view the following / pre-dated sequence in a different light ... some metaphor about in the shadow of the foreshadow is trying to come in to my head but not quite working ...
Reccomendation - I've seen and loved this movie twice already. See this in theatres! And don't wait for the dollar movie! See it now!!! Then see it in the dollar movie! Then buy it!!! Many girls won't like this film, because of the heavy action and the emotionally gruesome scenes during Tony Spark's captivity. But there is an intruiging romance to keep those girls interested who can put up with the intense action scenes.
Brandon's Review:
After the successes of Spider Man and X-men it felt like all of the producers desperately grabbed every comic book story that they could get their hands on, good or bad. Although Iron Man wasn't my favorite comic book to read while growing up, I think that it is a great movie.
The movie was very well rounded, there isn't anything bad that I can really say about it. The action sequences were great, special effect superb, comedy witty, and storyline well written. I thought that they did a great job of keeping it from being too cheesy, which is quite a feat for converting a comic book and Robert Downey Jr. was definitely a good move on casting. Changing the old version of Iron Man and placing the story in todays era (War in Iraq) worked out well. Since I can't really think of anything bad to say about it and would rather everyone go see the movie, I'll end by tipping my hat to everyone who worked on creating this film.
Reccomendation -A definite must see in a good theatre, take an extra ten minutes to insure that you have a good seat too, it's worth it. Even if you aren't big into comic books or action movies, it has enough humor and story to keep most entertained. Check other sources if you are worried about content for the young teenagers, but I found it to be very light on blood and sex in comparison to most content out there.
Ashley's Review:
Reccomendation -
Made of Honor
[Released 5/2/2008, Rated PG-13]
Adam's Rating: ***1/2
Brandon's Rating:
Ashley's Rating:
Adam's Review:
Anyone releasing a movie on the same day - or anywhere near - the release of Iron Man, is clinically insane. Nevertheless, this film was pretty good.
Most of all, this film was funny. Dang funny. The characters were unique, and their interactions enjoyable and for the most part beleivable.
To me, the often slapstick humor got in the way of the attempted genuiness of the film. Unless a film like this is really, really well made, accomplishing both good humor and genuine, touching romance is impossible. They would have done better not to try for both. The humor succeeded wildly, but the romance wasn't very genuine. The message, the heart-warming aspect was lost in the comedy. Completely drowned.
The acting was very good, with the exception of Colin. Which is a shame, because although I can't think of his name, I like that actor (he does a great job in the TV show Journeyman, which I love). His accent wasn't even consistent. But if you ignore him, the acting was great.
I felt like the beginning of the film was unneccessary. I think the film would benefit from taking the first five minutes out, and the last line about getting in bed with the wrong/right girl. Just stick to the humor.
Overall, this was a fun, light-hearted film. An enjoyable watch but nothing to blow your socks off.
Reccomendation - See it in the dollar theater, with a date / significant other / spouse. Don't spend the money at the theater just yet, and don't rent it, other than perhaps a Redbox.
Brandon's Review:
Reccomendation -
Ashley's Review:
Reccomendation -
Adam's Rating: ***1/2
Brandon's Rating:
Ashley's Rating:
Adam's Review:
Anyone releasing a movie on the same day - or anywhere near - the release of Iron Man, is clinically insane. Nevertheless, this film was pretty good.
Most of all, this film was funny. Dang funny. The characters were unique, and their interactions enjoyable and for the most part beleivable.
To me, the often slapstick humor got in the way of the attempted genuiness of the film. Unless a film like this is really, really well made, accomplishing both good humor and genuine, touching romance is impossible. They would have done better not to try for both. The humor succeeded wildly, but the romance wasn't very genuine. The message, the heart-warming aspect was lost in the comedy. Completely drowned.
The acting was very good, with the exception of Colin. Which is a shame, because although I can't think of his name, I like that actor (he does a great job in the TV show Journeyman, which I love). His accent wasn't even consistent. But if you ignore him, the acting was great.
I felt like the beginning of the film was unneccessary. I think the film would benefit from taking the first five minutes out, and the last line about getting in bed with the wrong/right girl. Just stick to the humor.
Overall, this was a fun, light-hearted film. An enjoyable watch but nothing to blow your socks off.
Reccomendation - See it in the dollar theater, with a date / significant other / spouse. Don't spend the money at the theater just yet, and don't rent it, other than perhaps a Redbox.
Brandon's Review:
Reccomendation -
Ashley's Review:
Reccomendation -
Friday, May 2, 2008
Baby Mama
[Released 4/25/2008, Rated PG-13]
Adam's Rating: ****
Brandon's Rating:
Ashley's Rating:
Adam's Review:
I was pleasantly surprised by this film. The stories and characters were both quite unique. The plot even took some unexpected turn (or at least didn't give the turns away too far in advance) - most films of this genre completely fail to surprise me.
The only real problem with this film was that the editing was sub-par. There were no special effects to mess up, and no problem with transitions or anything like that. It's just that the editing could have been done better to help the story flow. It was very obvious that some story points were left out - little bits were still there, but most was left to the imagination. It wasn't confusing per se, it just felt a little odd.
There is a bit of crude humor in the film, but it's mostly heart-warming drama - sometimes happy, some times sad, sometimes odd, and definitely with a healthy mix of comedic relief.
Reccomendation - See this one in theatres. It's worth an $8 ticket, but I suppose there's nothing really neccessitating that, so nothing wrong with seeing it at the dollar theatre. Despite there being no special effects, it's definitely a big screen movie, so don't bother renting it. Also, as fun as it is, it's probably not a great second watch, so I highly doubt I'll be buying it.
Brandon's Review:
Reccomendation -
Ashley's Review:
Reccomendation -
Adam's Rating: ****
Brandon's Rating:
Ashley's Rating:
Adam's Review:
I was pleasantly surprised by this film. The stories and characters were both quite unique. The plot even took some unexpected turn (or at least didn't give the turns away too far in advance) - most films of this genre completely fail to surprise me.
The only real problem with this film was that the editing was sub-par. There were no special effects to mess up, and no problem with transitions or anything like that. It's just that the editing could have been done better to help the story flow. It was very obvious that some story points were left out - little bits were still there, but most was left to the imagination. It wasn't confusing per se, it just felt a little odd.
There is a bit of crude humor in the film, but it's mostly heart-warming drama - sometimes happy, some times sad, sometimes odd, and definitely with a healthy mix of comedic relief.
Reccomendation - See this one in theatres. It's worth an $8 ticket, but I suppose there's nothing really neccessitating that, so nothing wrong with seeing it at the dollar theatre. Despite there being no special effects, it's definitely a big screen movie, so don't bother renting it. Also, as fun as it is, it's probably not a great second watch, so I highly doubt I'll be buying it.
Brandon's Review:
Reccomendation -
Ashley's Review:
Reccomendation -
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