Indeed you can. I use Chrome and I installed an adblock plug-in and it works perfectly. Just google "Safari adblock" and you should be able to find something suitable.
Indeed you can. I use Chrome and I installed an adblock plug-in and it works perfectly. Just google "Safari adblock" and you should be able to find something suitable.
Yeah, I just installed the Chrome one and am stunned at the lack of mid-video YouTube ads. This is awesome. I think I'm going to turn the Facebook sidebar ones back on though.
Just got back from the Doha Tribeca Film Festival in Qatar. I attended the premiere of CASINO JACK (the film called itself BAGMAN, but everyone and the tickets and programme all called it CASINO JACK) and it's based on the Jack Abramoff scandal. The film isn't very good, it's sprawling and lacking any insight. But Kevin Spacey was there and he was being translated into Arabic, so he jokingly did Clinton impressions because he knew the translator wouldn't be able to do so. It was funny. I howled in the Q&A when someone asked him, since he did Clinton and Reagan, to do Obama, and Kevin Spacey just did a thumbs up and went "Keep Hope Alive" and shrugged because he just couldn't do it.
Anyhow, on the flights, I saw BOLT (which was super fantastic awesome), THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP (which was not and wasn't special, but it was okay), and the new version of THE KARATE KID which was wonderful fun, and Jackie Chan is absolutely stunning in it. I really enjoyed the movie.
I was going to watch A WINTER'S BONE on the flight, but I decided against it as the swearing and violence would've been edited. I'm looking forward to seeing it.
At the festival, I saw a few films which if you get the chance, you should see:
JUST LIKE US is a documentary about Ahmed Ahmed (he was in IRON MAN!), an Egyptian-American stand up who takes a bunch of comedians on a stand up tour throughout the Middle East to show that Arabs can laugh at themselves. It's tender but also very funny.
WAITING FOR "SUPERMAN" is also a documentary but about the US education system and it's heart-breaking and inciting. It's terrific stuff, but totally terrifying. I couldn't believe some of the stuff in that movie, nor how the US clings to an education system that is so demonstrably poor.
Finally; THE FIRST GRADER is a UK film set in Kenya about a man who hears through his radio that the new Kenyan government is offering free education to everybody (meaning, every child), but he takes it literally and demands to go to school and learn how to read. This man is eighty-four years old. It's based on a true story, and the film is so beautiful it made me cry. It's really quite funny and heartwarming, and as it delves into the life history of the old man, it becomes a tear-jerker. I will not be surprised if the main actor gets an Oscar. He is stone cold brilliant.
Waiting for "Superman" isn't a good place to judge the US Education system, by the by... It's borderline propaganda for Charter Schools, which is the wet band-aid people keep slapping onto the public school issues in this country.
Daybreakers - Really creative, constant tension, stacked cast, damn good film. Really liked what they did with the concept. 8/10
The Wolfman - This really could've been great, but a lot of the usual things went wrong. Insane amount of CGI, jump-heavy blockbuster scares without much atmosphere or showmanship to them, bizarre pacing, etc. I love a lot of Joe Johnston's stuff but I think he's just not a horror director. M. Night Shymalan could've done a great job with this. Every actor does very well though. Hopkins saves the whole film. 5.5/10
I just read that they cut 17 minutes from the final cut of the film for theaters because the studio wanted audiences to get to the first Wolfman transformation sooner. Joe Johnston's putting these back for the DVD, which I want to see.
Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland - I think as entertainment this is pretty much critic-proof. It has a lot of the same problems with missed showmanship that Burton's Charlie And The Chocolate Factory had, but at the end of the day it's a fun tribute to Carroll's world packed with colourful, captivating visuals, a great cast, and a good old-fashioned fantasy quest element woven through which it's fun to see the well-known characters participate in. Where else are you going to be able to see
a Jokerized Johnny Depp using a garment mannequin to swordfight a one-eyed Crispin Glover?
6.5/10.
The Crazies - An interesting take on the Zombiepocalypse genre and an effective, suspenseful, scary film overall. Literally every second is suspenseful, never letting up. 7.5/10
Hot Tub Time Machine - Absolutely The Hangover meets Back To The Future, this was hilarious. With a little more effort they could've approached a BTTF level of changed-the-future emotion and satisfaction at the end, but it was still a borderline great movie. 8.5/10
Kick-Ass - Apart from a few details I would've changed, and maybe a different lead actor, this was so ****ing good. 9.5/10
Clash Of The Titans - This wasn't directed very well, and is one of the poorest uses of the 3D process I've seen yet. Worthington's still good, everyone was, especially Mads Mikilsen, there were some AWESOME moments(the whole
Medusa sequence
was probably my favourite part), and it benefits from the original story still being so good. In a lot of ways it's a great old-fashioned movie, but one of the most powerful feelings it elicted in me is still "appreciation for Peter Jackson". But I still enjoyed it. 7/10
A Nightmare On Elm Street - Barely scary and cluelessly directed, for the most part. But Haley is great and this film's story, and Freddy Krueger, are excellent and way, way more interesting than in the original. Some real horror direction, subtlety and scary imagery could've made the most of that story, but as it is this was still decent overall. 6/10
Iron Man 2 - This was amazingly engaging and entertaining, filled with captivating performances and some of the best effects-fueled action sequences in the whole superhero movie genre. The story parts didn't flow quite as well as in the first film, but the story was far bigger and more ambitious too, and in my opinion, worth that price. I loved every minute of it. 9.5/10
Ridley Scott's Robin Hood - Take Gladiator, mix it with 300, Kingdom of Heaven, and Beowulf and Grendel, now strip it of all the character, the spirit, the fun and the point. Pretty much. A "gritty reboot" of a character whose legend has been kept alive for a thousand years largely because of the merry, swashbuckling, fantastical elements was simply a bad idea. Crowe was great as usual and a potential sequel could really be something. This was not. 5/10.Ebert's review is spot-on.
Edge Of Darkness - I was basically expecting your usual Taken type of thing, but this was so much more(both plot-wise and overall quality). I forgot it was a Martin Campbell film until the end credits, but it's certainly up to his standard. Mel Gibson was amazing. 8.5/10
The Imaginarium Of Dr. Parnassus - This is vintage Gilliam. The only frustrating thing is that CGI has replaced his traditional models and clay, which used to account for so much of his signature brand of surreality. Nevertheless, this is a fine film with a great story, tons of excellent performances from an eclectic, amazing cast and the fact that Burton's Alice In Wonderland made like ten times as much at the box office is pretty much a disgrace. Oh well. This will endure where it counts. 9.5/10.
Shutter Island - I swear to god, I watched the first minute of the first trailer when it appeared, decided I wanted to see it and shut my eyes for the remainder of the trailer, and hoped that.... this.... wouldn't be how it ended. When the all the hype over "the twist" started popping up, I assumed that it couldn't be what I was thinking of. At yet it was. I don't know how "the twist" got any hype or acclaim. I barely even get how they decided to put up the effort to make the whole movie and seriously do that ending, let alone also drop rock-solid hints to it throughout. However, every single other aspect of the entire film, acting, directing, editing, cinematography, and most of all characterization and development, was so good that it's still totally worth seeing. Also,
the last line in the film is kind of a mini-twist in its own right and makes it a whole point higher.
8/10
Splice - The first great creature feature I've seen in a long time. Excellent effects drive a daring story, with really dark humour, solid leads and loads of suspense. Delphine Chaneac's "Dren" is hypnotic. I also was fortunate enough to see it with a great audience who was really into it, laughing and clapping at all the right moments. Anyway, recommended. 8/10
The Book Of Eli - Fallout 3 with Christianity instead of the American Dream. The main reason I was looking forward to this was to balance out the bleakness of The Road(a great film) and explore the more fun side of the post-apoc genre, but it was quite a bit better than I expected. It has a lot of the stuff I hate about religion and faith, but also stuff I love about the idea of God, and they explore it from different sides fairly well. The action was excellently stylized, but sometimes felt kind of out of place in this film. Gary Oldman and his character were excellent, and the musical score was my favourite yet this year.
Most surprising of all, I liked the ending way more than that of ''Shutter Island''.
An entertaining and powerful film. 8/10
If you get it on disc, make sure to check out the animated mini-comic about Billy Carnegie as a kid. More great music too.
Toy Story 3 - Aside from easily being the best film I've seen so far this year, and easily Pixar's best since The Incredibles, this can sit on the shelf next to 1 and 2 as one of the most amazing movies ever made. The twelve year wait made it even more special, and it's a good thing it requires 3D glasses at this point because I don't think there was a dry eye in the house at the end. I remember seeing 1 at age six and 2 at age nine(same ages as Andy) in the theatres as clearly as anything. Seeing 3 at age twenty was another one of a kind experience, and purely epic. 10/10
Inception - "You've heard of an idiot plot? This movie is an idiot plot fractal. No matter how far down into the details you wallow, you still find a whole new, glorious idiot plot." ~ The Agony Booth's review of A Sound Of Thunder (2005)
Replace every instance of the word "idiot" with the word "genius" and you'll get a pretty good idea. I've scarcely seen a movie that has so many, many of the things that make film as a whole great rolled into one. 10/10. Brrrrrrrm.
The Ghost Writer - An intriguingly quirky thriller that gets better and better as it goes on and features Ewan McGregor's best performance in ages. Pierce Brosnan matches him. Polanski remains a truly formidable filmmaker. Definitely recommended. 8/10
Scott Pilgrim VS The World - Too many conflicting circumstances to rate this one properly. In some situations, it might've become one of my all-time favourite movies. In others, I might've been annoyed as heck by it. I've only seen it once. It was a bizarre film to watch in August rather than February. Overall, I really liked it and will probably enjoy further viewings in many different ways.
The Night Chronicles: Devil - Another one basically unratable by me. It's ridiculous and frequently so-bad-it's-good, but it's also just unambitious given that it was working with a premise that could've gone so many places and been a classic. The "scares" are either laughable or incidental. I saw this with TwilightEL and we were like the only people in the theater and we loudly rifftraxed the bejeezus out of every moment and line and it was a riot. I'd be stunned by anyone who took it seriously being satisfied, and it's depressing when you think about how many brilliant, original films out there are going unmade because their writer is a nobody. Shyamalan could salvage his career by just funding projects like that for a while.
The Social Network - The screenplay is almost sexually satisfying in its brilliance, all the actors are dead-on(I genuinely forgot it was Justin Timberlake and not Sean Parker), this might be Fincher's best film along with Zodiac. Inception(which is still my favourite film of the year so far) and this each deserve a screenplay Oscar for original and adapted respectively. Atticus Ross, after an inspiring job on The Book Of Eli score, delivers yet again and it enriches the experience even more. A fascinating story that needed to be told and preserved. We're very lucky they took a chance and made it so well. 10/10
Get Him To The Greek - I was expecting a much more Apatow-ish wild party film that is content to be a hilarious adventure of drug-fueled disasters and thrilling excess. But it only did just enough of that to get by. It's actually a very capable exploration of the definitive Rock Star lifestyle that bothered to make Aldous Snow a really good, fully formed character. In fact, I felt like it was at its worst when it tried to be a goofy modern R-comedy. The substance was great here, and a few moments in particular are unforgettable. Worth it. 7.5/10.
Leaves Of Grass - This was blatantly going to be good, but it ended up being one of my favourite films of the year. The Norton-Norton duo - done to perfection - alone would have made the film worth seeing, but everything else in it is just as good. It manages to be both direct and wonderfully subtle, reflecting its own themes without being.... preachy? It's hard to describe. It's as real and absorbing as movies get, and I hope the Oscars and a wider release give Tim Blake Nelson his due, but whatever the case, I loved it and hope you see it. 10/10
Harry Brown - The concept of your standard street vigilante justice film, but starring Michael Caine, is a great one. However, it really is just that - your standard street vigilante justice film, with almost nothing new to say or add to the genre. After five Death Wish films and the excellent, subversive The Brave One, you have to get more creative than this. Caine is great though and a deleted scene about Chess was one of the best parts of this. 6/10
Predators - Pretty much what it should be, which is a true Predator film(which believes in and understands the concept of the series) and a true '80s-'90s action film with updated effects. The effects were also something to watch for, with extremely realistic CGI being used to enhance the excellent practical effects we expect from the series. The cast worked well enough in general, but Adrien Brody really stood out, playing wildly against type as a grizzled, meaty combat veteran and is totally convincing. Very impressive. The downside is the very open ending which resolves very little. It might as well have had a "To Be Continued" sign before the credits. It BETTER be continued. 7/10
Perrier's Bounty - An aptly-described "urban western" also reminiscent of Crank and Lock Stock. Cillian Murphy owes €1000 to some mobsters, lead by Darren Perrier(Brendan Gleeson), who plan on collecting the night the film starts. Jim Broadbent plays his dad who quickly gets involved in the mess and believes he met the Grim Reaper several nights previous. Instant adventure with a good comic script whose performances make it great. Lots of fun. 8.5/10
Waiting for "Superman" isn't a good place to judge the US Education system, by the by... It's borderline propaganda for Charter Schools, which is the wet band-aid people keep slapping onto the public school issues in this country.
I don't think so. It wasn't so much that Charter Schools are the only way forward, but rather, the problem is systemic in that the teacher's union creates an environment in which poor teachers cannot be fired, and that a lack of good teachers is ruining US education. It seemed to point out that what schools need are good teachers, as opposed to a specific school type. It also pointed out that schools of every type, public and private, are only as good as their teachers.
The problem with documentaries like this is that they often try to parse through the politics and try to work out what's wrong and a potential to fix them, and people want to make it a political issue when it isn't; it's an administrative one. The film is really quite clear in that what matters is getting good teachers into schools, and the successful ones have good teachers. The Charter School element, to me, seemed so insignificant that until you mentioned them, I had forgotten all about them.
People ***** about Charter schools up here, but for the wrong reason.
This is the case in Mass anyways. When a kid goes to public school, that school get's 10,000. So for every kid that goes to that school, they get 10,000 per kid. Pretty good right? When a kid goes to a charter school, the charter school only gets 6,000 for the kid. But here's the kicker, the public school that kid was suppose to go to still gets the 10,000 they were suppose to get. So public schools aren't losing money cause of charter schools, it's the taxpayers who are losing out.
Daybreakers - Really creative, constant tension, stacked cast, damn good film. Really liked what they did with the concept. 8/10
The Wolfman - This really could've been great, but a lot of the usual things went wrong. Insane amount of CGI, jump-heavy blockbuster scares without much atmosphere or showmanship to them, bizarre pacing, etc. I love a lot of Joe Johnston's stuff but I think he's just not a horror director. M. Night Shymalan could've done a great job with this. Every actor does very well though. Hopkins saves the whole film. 5.5/10
I just read that they cut 17 minutes from the final cut of the film for theaters because the studio wanted audiences to get to the first Wolfman transformation sooner. Joe Johnston's putting these back for the DVD, which I want to see.
Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland - I think as entertainment this is pretty much critic-proof. It has a lot of the same problems with missed showmanship that Burton's Charlie And The Chocolate Factory had, but at the end of the day it's a fun tribute to Carroll's world packed with colourful, captivating visuals, a great cast, and a good old-fashioned fantasy quest element woven through which it's fun to see the well-known characters participate in. Where else are you going to be able to see
a Jokerized Johnny Depp using a garment mannequin to swordfight a one-eyed Crispin Glover?
6.5/10.
The Crazies - An interesting take on the Zombiepocalypse genre and an effective, suspenseful, scary film overall. Literally every second is suspenseful, never letting up. 7.5/10
Hot Tub Time Machine - Absolutely The Hangover meets Back To The Future, this was hilarious. With a little more effort they could've approached a BTTF level of changed-the-future emotion and satisfaction at the end, but it was still a borderline great movie. 8.5/10
Kick-Ass - Apart from a few details I would've changed, and maybe a different lead actor, this was so ****ing good. 9.5/10
Clash Of The Titans - This wasn't directed very well, and is one of the poorest uses of the 3D process I've seen yet. Worthington's still good, everyone was, especially Mads Mikilsen, there were some AWESOME moments(the whole
Medusa sequence
was probably my favourite part), and it benefits from the original story still being so good. In a lot of ways it's a great old-fashioned movie, but one of the most powerful feelings it elicted in me is still "appreciation for Peter Jackson". But I still enjoyed it. 7/10
A Nightmare On Elm Street - Barely scary and cluelessly directed, for the most part. But Haley is great and this film's story, and Freddy Krueger, are excellent and way, way more interesting than in the original. Some real horror direction, subtlety and scary imagery could've made the most of that story, but as it is this was still decent overall. 6/10
Iron Man 2 - This was amazingly engaging and entertaining, filled with captivating performances and some of the best effects-fueled action sequences in the whole superhero movie genre. The story parts didn't flow quite as well as in the first film, but the story was far bigger and more ambitious too, and in my opinion, worth that price. I loved every minute of it. 9.5/10
Ridley Scott's Robin Hood - Take Gladiator, mix it with 300, Kingdom of Heaven, and Beowulf and Grendel, now strip it of all the character, the spirit, the fun and the point. Pretty much. A "gritty reboot" of a character whose legend has been kept alive for a thousand years largely because of the merry, swashbuckling, fantastical elements was simply a bad idea. Crowe was great as usual and a potential sequel could really be something. This was not. 5/10.Ebert's review is spot-on.
Edge Of Darkness - I was basically expecting your usual Taken type of thing, but this was so much more(both plot-wise and overall quality). I forgot it was a Martin Campbell film until the end credits, but it's certainly up to his standard. Mel Gibson was amazing. 8.5/10
The Imaginarium Of Dr. Parnassus - This is vintage Gilliam. The only frustrating thing is that CGI has replaced his traditional models and clay, which used to account for so much of his signature brand of surreality. Nevertheless, this is a fine film with a great story, tons of excellent performances from an eclectic, amazing cast and the fact that Burton's Alice In Wonderland made like ten times as much at the box office is pretty much a disgrace. Oh well. This will endure where it counts. 9.5/10.
Shutter Island - I swear to god, I watched the first minute of the first trailer when it appeared, decided I wanted to see it and shut my eyes for the remainder of the trailer, and hoped that.... this.... wouldn't be how it ended. When the all the hype over "the twist" started popping up, I assumed that it couldn't be what I was thinking of. At yet it was. I don't know how "the twist" got any hype or acclaim. I barely even get how they decided to put up the effort to make the whole movie and seriously do that ending, let alone also drop rock-solid hints to it throughout. However, every single other aspect of the entire film, acting, directing, editing, cinematography, and most of all characterization and development, was so good that it's still totally worth seeing. Also,
the last line in the film is kind of a mini-twist in its own right and makes it a whole point higher.
8/10
Splice - The first great creature feature I've seen in a long time. Excellent effects drive a daring story, with really dark humour, solid leads and loads of suspense. Delphine Chaneac's "Dren" is hypnotic. I also was fortunate enough to see it with a great audience who was really into it, laughing and clapping at all the right moments. Anyway, recommended. 8/10
The Book Of Eli - Fallout 3 with Christianity instead of the American Dream. The main reason I was looking forward to this was to balance out the bleakness of The Road(a great film) and explore the more fun side of the post-apoc genre, but it was quite a bit better than I expected. It has a lot of the stuff I hate about religion and faith, but also stuff I love about the idea of God, and they explore it from different sides fairly well. The action was excellently stylized, but sometimes felt kind of out of place in this film. Gary Oldman and his character were excellent, and the musical score was my favourite yet this year.
Most surprising of all, I liked the ending way more than that of ''Shutter Island''.
An entertaining and powerful film. 8/10
If you get it on disc, make sure to check out the animated mini-comic about Billy Carnegie as a kid. More great music too.
Toy Story 3 - Aside from easily being the best film I've seen so far this year, and easily Pixar's best since The Incredibles, this can sit on the shelf next to 1 and 2 as one of the most amazing movies ever made. The twelve year wait made it even more special, and it's a good thing it requires 3D glasses at this point because I don't think there was a dry eye in the house at the end. I remember seeing 1 at age six and 2 at age nine(same ages as Andy) in the theatres as clearly as anything. Seeing 3 at age twenty was another one of a kind experience, and purely epic. 10/10
Inception - "You've heard of an idiot plot? This movie is an idiot plot fractal. No matter how far down into the details you wallow, you still find a whole new, glorious idiot plot." ~ The Agony Booth's review of A Sound Of Thunder (2005)
Replace every instance of the word "idiot" with the word "genius" and you'll get a pretty good idea. I've scarcely seen a movie that has so many, many of the things that make film as a whole great rolled into one. 10/10. Brrrrrrrm.
The Ghost Writer - An intriguingly quirky thriller that gets better and better as it goes on and features Ewan McGregor's best performance in ages. Pierce Brosnan matches him. Polanski remains a truly formidable filmmaker. Definitely recommended. 8/10
Scott Pilgrim VS The World - Too many conflicting circumstances to rate this one properly. In some situations, it might've become one of my all-time favourite movies. In others, I might've been annoyed as heck by it. I've only seen it once. It was a bizarre film to watch in August rather than February. Overall, I really liked it and will probably enjoy further viewings in many different ways.
The Night Chronicles: Devil - Another one basically unratable by me. It's ridiculous and frequently so-bad-it's-good, but it's also just unambitious given that it was working with a premise that could've gone so many places and been a classic. The "scares" are either laughable or incidental. I saw this with TwilightEL and we were like the only people in the theater and we loudly rifftraxed the bejeezus out of every moment and line and it was a riot. I'd be stunned by anyone who took it seriously being satisfied, and it's depressing when you think about how many brilliant, original films out there are going unmade because their writer is a nobody. Shyamalan could salvage his career by just funding projects like that for a while.
The Social Network - The screenplay is almost sexually satisfying in its brilliance, all the actors are dead-on(I genuinely forgot it was Justin Timberlake and not Sean Parker), this might be Fincher's best film along with Zodiac. Inception(which is still my favourite film of the year so far) and this each deserve a screenplay Oscar for original and adapted respectively. Atticus Ross, after an inspiring job on The Book Of Eli score, delivers yet again and it enriches the experience even more. A fascinating story that needed to be told and preserved. We're very lucky they took a chance and made it so well. 10/10
Get Him To The Greek - I was expecting a much more Apatow-ish wild party film that is content to be a hilarious adventure of drug-fueled disasters and thrilling excess. But it only did just enough of that to get by. It's actually a very capable exploration of the definitive Rock Star lifestyle that bothered to make Aldous Snow a really good, fully formed character. In fact, I felt like it was at its worst when it tried to be a goofy modern R-comedy. The substance was great here, and a few moments in particular are unforgettable. Worth it. 7.5/10.
Leaves Of Grass - This was blatantly going to be good, but it ended up being one of my favourite films of the year. The Norton-Norton duo - done to perfection - alone would have made the film worth seeing, but everything else in it is just as good. It manages to be both direct and wonderfully subtle, reflecting its own themes without being.... preachy? It's hard to describe. It's as real and absorbing as movies get, and I hope the Oscars and a wider release give Tim Blake Nelson his due, but whatever the case, I loved it and hope you see it. 10/10
Harry Brown - The concept of your standard street vigilante justice film, but starring Michael Caine, is a great one. However, it really is just that - your standard street vigilante justice film, with almost nothing new to say or add to the genre. After five Death Wish films and the excellent, subversive The Brave One, you have to get more creative than this. Caine is great though and a deleted scene about Chess was one of the best parts of this. 6/10
Predators - Pretty much what it should be, which is a true Predator film(which believes in and understands the concept of the series) and a true '80s-'90s action film with updated effects. The effects were also something to watch for, with extremely realistic CGI being used to enhance the excellent practical effects we expect from the series. The cast worked well enough in general, but Adrien Brody really stood out, playing wildly against type as a grizzled, meaty combat veteran and is totally convincing. Very impressive. The downside is the very open ending which resolves very little. It might as well have had a "To Be Continued" sign before the credits. It BETTER be continued. 7/10
Perrier's Bounty - An aptly-described "urban western" also reminiscent of Crank and Lock Stock. Cillian Murphy owes €1000 to some mobsters, lead by Darren Perrier(Brendan Gleeson), who plan on collecting the night the film starts. Jim Broadbent plays his dad who quickly gets involved in the mess and believes he met the Grim Reaper several nights previous. Instant adventure with a good comic script whose performances make it great. Lots of fun. 8.5/10
How To Train Your Dragon - Fantastic. It defied a lot of my expectations, especially in that it was - at most - 50% a comedy. Everything was well-executed, but the flying sequences and dragon effects in particular really stood out. They also really put some effort into the music, which these films always should. Very impressive and will hopefully quell all the Dreamworks bashing once and for all. 9/10
Unstoppable - This looked really good, but it just.... meh. Maybe the concept was doomed from the start, because the only thing the train can really do is hit things, and after the first time that happens they take everything off the track. They never really treat the train as an antagonist or give it any sort of menacing air, which I think also took it down a peg. Anyway, nothing much happens, the few action sequences are by-the-numbers, and it's completely forgettable. 6/10.
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part I - Perhaps as expected, this had an inescapable LOTR feel, which was mostly a good thing, but it also makes me want them to have gotten Peter Jackson to direct it. It's beautifully shot, but honestly, I think Yates is the worst of the series' four directors. He has so little sense of timing and showmanship. Things just kind of....happen, and in a story that's already so full of really crazy stuff coming out of nowhere, it really brings it down. There's also been increasingly less focus on music throughout his films, whereas it was one of the best and most cohesive things about the first four. None of the Williams music was used in HBP, and only a few bars of it here. HAVING SAID THAT, there are loads of great moments throughout the film, and frankly.... its still a Potter film, and I'll take any of them any day of the week. 8/10
Faster: 8.5/10 It was everything i was expecting it to be. there were no major surprises and there weren't meant to be any and that's what made it so great. it wasn't about a man out for revenge, but retribution that is owned to him. revenge is to kill any and all that get in your way no matter what. for Retribution, only those that need it.
Legend of the Guardians The Owls of Ga'Hoole: 7.7/10 This wasn't what i was expecting. the movie was alot darker than i thought it would be. by the time i got to the end, it all made alot more sense. when i rewatch it again in a couple of months it will probably be a lot more enjoyable. still a great movie to watch.
Tangled 8.7/10 I really enjoyed it, and you will enjoy it as well, that is my decree!!!!! you laugh, you cry, you cheer, you boo, and you want to reach for your own fry pan :lol:
Lottery Ticket 6.1/10 great cast, but it just didn't catch me. if ya know what im saying.
Harry Potter 7 pt 1 7.3/10 for a Harry Potter film it wasn't bad, they better not mess up the bank stuff coming in the next movie.
MegaMind 8.7/10 another really great film. another one where you will Laugh, Cry, Cheer, Boo, and go for the Black Mamba.
Red 7.5/10 it was a solid movie, but the old people got to me after a while.
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps 8.6/10 Really great movie. Enjoyed every moment of it. most people never understand the difference between the hustle and THE Hustle. this movie does a very good job dealing with both types. if you don't get it, one day you will or maybe never. Money. Power. Respect.
The Town: 7.9/10 crisp, clean and to the point. The Boston accents got to me after a little while. but other than that a well thought out movie.
