A few days ago my brother and sister were talking about the movie Daybreakers (2009) and talking about how they had liked but as I hadn't seen it yet, I couldn't contribute to the discussion. Because my sister really likes it and I remember wanting to see it back when it came out I decided it was time to go ahead and watch it. This movie falls into the genera of scary movies that I tend to prefer, which is more of a horror thriller then a true horror movie, I am not a fan of really scary movies and the ones I do tend to watch I prefer to have been more vampire, zombie, demon, witches kind of scary.
Anyway I was pleasantly surprised with this movie and liked it pretty well. It wasn't the best of these that I had seen but I liked how it took a different spin on the standard vampire movie.
Daybreakers stars Ethan Hunt as Ed, a vampire to who is a hematologist who works for a company that is trying to find a recipe for synthetic blood because the blood supply for the world full of vampires is getting very close to being gone. In this world, the majority of everyone has been turned into a vampire and humans are almost completely extinct, although there are small groups still in hiding and on the run. There is a focus in the movie of the rationing of blood to the vampire populating and how vampires who are deprived of blood (or drink other vampire blood) turn into these rabid creatures. Ed is working for Charles Bromley, played by Sam Neil, who is just out to make money and who's company had been farming humans for blood, but is in dire need to create this blood substitute both for their own profit and to save the vampire population. Ed is conflicted about killing humans and ultimately would love a cure, and he come to the aid of a group a humans, led by Audrey played by Claudia Karvan, who believes that Ed can help them save humans. Ed befriends Audrey where he gets to meet vampire turned back human Elvis, played by William Dafoe, who was cured of his vampirism quite by accident. Together the three of them fight to get the cure to work, all the while being hunted by Bromley and Ed's military brother Frankie, played by Michael Dorman.
I liked this movie and the different spin that they had on the standard vampire movie. I how they put the pieces together, although some of them were pretty predictable. This movie kept my interest throughout, but I thought there were too many notes within the story. The sidebar about Bromley's daughter was unnecessary and I think there was too much detail of information given on the news and television that could have easily been put out there in another way. This deterred a little from the flow of the movie and at time was a bitt confusing. I don't think having the senator was necessary as well.
This movie does have the gore factor and has a lot of blood in it. Whenever anyone is bitten there is a lot of blood, there is also lot of people blowing up, vampires being burned, and people being ripped apart.
Like I said this was a nice vampire horror thriller and to anyone who tends to like these I would recommend seeing it because it has a nice spin on the story but still sticking to the basic wants in these types of movies (i.e gore, shooting guns at each other, etc). The main negative being there isn't really anyone worth ogling over.
My Rating: 3-
Movie Reviews for the Movie Lover!
Showing posts with label About Time. Show all posts
Showing posts with label About Time. Show all posts
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009): Review and Recap
After watching the previews for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013) my interest with piqued and it looks like it would be a funny movie, so I decided to go back and watch the original before hand so I didn't have another instance where I saw the second cartoon movie before the first one and was completely lost. And although it was completely stupid and the premise ridiculous (but does it really matter it is an animated movie) it was fun ride.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) is loosely based on the book of the same name by Judi Barrett. I know that I read the book as a child but don't really remember the story line but I know that there were moment of food, such as the big food and toast ships that were referenced in the movie, but it is about an island where food falls from the sky. The movie is centered around Flint, voiced by Bill Hader, who is an inventor who was never understood by the people around him and his father, but his mother always encouraged him to follow his dream. When he grows up he invents this machine that will turn water into food, but like all of the things he does, things always seem to go wrong, and the machine gets sucked up into the sky where it starts raining food. A weather girl intern Sam, voiced by Anna Farris, is there covering the story as the major of the town Major Shelbourn, voiced by Bruce Campbell, wants to turn their island into a tourist destination. It is discovered that Sam is really smart and knows about weather and warns Flint that the machine is going to destroy the world. So Flint with Sam's help fly up to try and turn off the machine and save the world before the giant food destroys everything. While this happens a "like, like" connection blossoms between Flint and Sam, as well as Flint and his dad Tim, voiced by James Cann, work to overcome the disconnect in their relationship due to their inability to understand each other.
This movie is fun but doesn't really do anything special. There isn't really anything surprising or that scary, although the giant meatball around the machine at the end of the movie has some danger to it. It is worth a watch if nothing else is going on and a fun because of all the giant food. I think the second one might be a bit more fun as I am looking forward to see more of Manny, voiced by Benjamin Bratt, who is the multitalented side kick cameraman to Sam.
My Rating: 2
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) is loosely based on the book of the same name by Judi Barrett. I know that I read the book as a child but don't really remember the story line but I know that there were moment of food, such as the big food and toast ships that were referenced in the movie, but it is about an island where food falls from the sky. The movie is centered around Flint, voiced by Bill Hader, who is an inventor who was never understood by the people around him and his father, but his mother always encouraged him to follow his dream. When he grows up he invents this machine that will turn water into food, but like all of the things he does, things always seem to go wrong, and the machine gets sucked up into the sky where it starts raining food. A weather girl intern Sam, voiced by Anna Farris, is there covering the story as the major of the town Major Shelbourn, voiced by Bruce Campbell, wants to turn their island into a tourist destination. It is discovered that Sam is really smart and knows about weather and warns Flint that the machine is going to destroy the world. So Flint with Sam's help fly up to try and turn off the machine and save the world before the giant food destroys everything. While this happens a "like, like" connection blossoms between Flint and Sam, as well as Flint and his dad Tim, voiced by James Cann, work to overcome the disconnect in their relationship due to their inability to understand each other.
This movie is fun but doesn't really do anything special. There isn't really anything surprising or that scary, although the giant meatball around the machine at the end of the movie has some danger to it. It is worth a watch if nothing else is going on and a fun because of all the giant food. I think the second one might be a bit more fun as I am looking forward to see more of Manny, voiced by Benjamin Bratt, who is the multitalented side kick cameraman to Sam.
My Rating: 2
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Pitch Black (2000): Review
After watching Riddick (2013) earlier today with my dad and brother I decided that I wanted to go back and watch the original in the series Pitch Black (2000) as I had never seen it before and I liked Riddick enough to see the original and better rated of the films. With Riddick as a baseline I was prepared for the over acting and low budget and was expecting an action movie that I would watch on cable and that is what I got. I liked the movie and it is something that I would watch again if it came out on television and is worth watching if you like your standard run of the mil low budget action movie.
Pitch Black stars Vin Disel as Richard B. Riddick who is an escaped convict who is being transported back on a spaceship that has forty passages being kept in some type of status. He is being watched by bounty hunter William J. Johns, played by Cole Hauser. This spaceship crash lands on a planet where the survivors include pilot Carolyn Fry, played by Radha Mitchell, an orphan Jack, played by Rhiana Griffith, and Abu "Iman" al-Walid, played by Keith David, and others. They discover that they are on a planet in a solar system with two suns that has a seemly deserted mining complex, but that there are also creatures who live in the dark that would love to kill them. They work to try and get a ship fly ready, while not quiet trusting each other, and trying not to die, especially when their is an eclipse coming that will put the world into darkness.
I think that this movie is pretty solid for what it is. A stranded but have to get off of a alien planet with scary creatures trying to kill you and a group of people with their own secrets. I think that for the budget that it was and being made in 2000 the graphics are fine but the coloring of the planet in the daytime is a bit weird. This may be due to watching it on a HD television when it is a 2000 movie release. The acting was a little much but Vin Disel was alright in it. I think that he was still natural enough on screen that the acting didn't seem as forced as in Riddick (2013).
Basically this is definitely worth a watch or re-watch if you have a few hours to fill.
My Rating: 2+
My Hold up Rating: Fair- the graphics are a bit poor but it was low budget and doesn't really try to do more then it was able to do.
Pitch Black stars Vin Disel as Richard B. Riddick who is an escaped convict who is being transported back on a spaceship that has forty passages being kept in some type of status. He is being watched by bounty hunter William J. Johns, played by Cole Hauser. This spaceship crash lands on a planet where the survivors include pilot Carolyn Fry, played by Radha Mitchell, an orphan Jack, played by Rhiana Griffith, and Abu "Iman" al-Walid, played by Keith David, and others. They discover that they are on a planet in a solar system with two suns that has a seemly deserted mining complex, but that there are also creatures who live in the dark that would love to kill them. They work to try and get a ship fly ready, while not quiet trusting each other, and trying not to die, especially when their is an eclipse coming that will put the world into darkness.
I think that this movie is pretty solid for what it is. A stranded but have to get off of a alien planet with scary creatures trying to kill you and a group of people with their own secrets. I think that for the budget that it was and being made in 2000 the graphics are fine but the coloring of the planet in the daytime is a bit weird. This may be due to watching it on a HD television when it is a 2000 movie release. The acting was a little much but Vin Disel was alright in it. I think that he was still natural enough on screen that the acting didn't seem as forced as in Riddick (2013).
Basically this is definitely worth a watch or re-watch if you have a few hours to fill.
My Rating: 2+
My Hold up Rating: Fair- the graphics are a bit poor but it was low budget and doesn't really try to do more then it was able to do.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Soul Surfer (2011): Review
Today I wanted to watch a movie that I hadn't seen before but that I wanted to see when it came out. I decided on Soul Surfer because I was in the mood for an uplifting story with some sap. Soul Surfer is based on the true story of Professional Surfer Bethany Hamilton, played by AnnaSophia Robb in the movie, who as a young teenager had her left arm bitten off by a shark. She overcome this injury and didn't let it prevent her from achieving her dream of becoming a professional surfer. This movie follows her from before the attack until her first armature national surf completion after. It follows her struggles to adapt and those of her family and fiends who supported her journey.
This is definitely a family film and is focused on overcoming your challenges even when you doubt yourself. It really focuses on the personal interactions and the struggles many of the characters go through as they support Bethany. The movie also stars Dennis Quaid as Bethany's father and Helen Hunt as her mother.
This movie is quite sappy and as it is an inspirational story it focuses on the positives of overcoming challenges and not giving up when things get hard. It shows how Bethany used her faith and missionary spirit to keep her going and that he did this to bring positivity into others lives.
It was alright of a story and I bought into the emotional journey of the characters. It spends enough time of each character and what they were going through while keeping the story going. The CGI was inexpensive and a lot of the surfing scenes where obviously green screened but it is worth watching on an afternoon on TV.
My Rating: 2
This is definitely a family film and is focused on overcoming your challenges even when you doubt yourself. It really focuses on the personal interactions and the struggles many of the characters go through as they support Bethany. The movie also stars Dennis Quaid as Bethany's father and Helen Hunt as her mother.
This movie is quite sappy and as it is an inspirational story it focuses on the positives of overcoming challenges and not giving up when things get hard. It shows how Bethany used her faith and missionary spirit to keep her going and that he did this to bring positivity into others lives.
It was alright of a story and I bought into the emotional journey of the characters. It spends enough time of each character and what they were going through while keeping the story going. The CGI was inexpensive and a lot of the surfing scenes where obviously green screened but it is worth watching on an afternoon on TV.
My Rating: 2
Monday, May 27, 2013
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946): Review
Today my mom and I watched the 1946 black and white movie The Best Years of Our Lives and it was fun to spend the afternoon with my mom. This movie stars Fredrick March as Al Stephenson, Dana Andrews as Fred Derry, and Harold Russell (a real life vet) as Homer Parish, who are three WWII veterans who have just come home from the war and have to readjust to being back home. Al has to deal with his drinking problem, coming home to a job he doesn't want, a daughter Peggy, played by Teresa Wright, who is grown up and readjusting to living wife Milly, played by Myrna Loy. Fred has come home to find that his wife Marie, played by Virginia Mayo, who he was married to for twenty days before going to war is not the women he thought she was, as she wants to be wined and dined and Fred just cant afford it. He is also dealing with his attraction to Al's daughter Peggy. Homer, who lost both of his hands in a ship fire and now has mechanical claw hands, has to deal with his disability while pushing away his fiance Wilma, played by Cathy O'Donnell. The lives of these people are intertwined as they force their lives forward after the war.
This movie seemed to be quite standard for the drama's that I have seen made of this era and it really focused on the interplay of the characters as they navigate their lives while dealing with their readjustment (now called PTSD). It was an interesting journey that moves together at a good pace, but seemed a bit long. It worked all of the details out and ended on a positive note. Which was the name of the game for movies back then.
I enjoyed this movie and think it is worth a watch for anyone who likes movies of this era.
My Rating: 2
This movie seemed to be quite standard for the drama's that I have seen made of this era and it really focused on the interplay of the characters as they navigate their lives while dealing with their readjustment (now called PTSD). It was an interesting journey that moves together at a good pace, but seemed a bit long. It worked all of the details out and ended on a positive note. Which was the name of the game for movies back then.
I enjoyed this movie and think it is worth a watch for anyone who likes movies of this era.
My Rating: 2
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Butch Cassidy and the Sundace Kid (1969): Review
Tonight, I went down to the Old Redford theatre and saw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. This was the first time I had ever seen this movie and I was interested in seeing what it was all about. I have never been much of a old western movie but was expecting it to be like the classic westerns that are spoken about. I think that this movie was worth seeing, due to the fact that I have heard about it for years but I do not think that it is anything that special.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, follows the two title characters played by Paul Newman and Robert Redford respectively. They are two robbers who used to rob banks but then switch to trains. The are driven to move to Bolivia because of being tracked by men hired by the railroad. They then go back to robbing banks.
This movie has a slow pace and doesn't really seem to have any point to the plot. The action was fine but nothing really exciting. There was a female character but I still cannot seem to figure out what the point of her was besides just having a female in the movie. Like I said there was nothing particular wrong with this movie, besides being slow, but there was nothing really spectacular about it.
My rating: 1
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, follows the two title characters played by Paul Newman and Robert Redford respectively. They are two robbers who used to rob banks but then switch to trains. The are driven to move to Bolivia because of being tracked by men hired by the railroad. They then go back to robbing banks.
This movie has a slow pace and doesn't really seem to have any point to the plot. The action was fine but nothing really exciting. There was a female character but I still cannot seem to figure out what the point of her was besides just having a female in the movie. Like I said there was nothing particular wrong with this movie, besides being slow, but there was nothing really spectacular about it.
My rating: 1
Monday, January 14, 2013
My Lord of the Rings Journey
After watching and enjoy The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, I figured it was time to finally watch the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Prior to seeing the Hobbit I had only ever seen the first Lord of the Rings Movie, the Fellowship of the Ring when it was originally released in theatres back in 2001. I went to see this movie with my family, it was before I really discovered my joy of sci-fi. I didn't know what to expect and was not really that impressed. Going in I did not know anything about the story and I definitely was not expecting it to be a three hour movie (I blame this one on my mommy) and it just didn't grab my attention. I have not seen the other two movies.
Anyway, I have decided that I need to let go of my aversion to Lord of the Rings, give the movies a chance and watch them. I am going to blame this resistance on the teenage girl who didn't want to see the movie in the first place and didn't understand the joy of sci-fi. I also didn't want to be disappointed because of all the hype surrounding it. I will see what I think after I watch them.
Going in to watching these movies, I know what I do about Lord of the Rings is based on what it out there in general society and Pinterest. I know that one does not just walk into Mordor (Pinterst) and that Frodo works to save Middle Earth by getting ride of the one true ring, by throwing it into Mordor. That the ring is intrinsically evil and that it has to be destroyed for peace. I also know that Gollum is a great character and I am looking forward to learning more about his history. At least that is what I hope. I am watching the extended edition DVDs.
Here we go....
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
I have enjoyed hearing the background of the basic story. It has helped to have things make more sense, but I struggle with understanding who everyone is. Characters seem to come in and it is like I should already know who they are.
I have found that I really like the three supporting Hobbits, Merry and Pippin are awesome, they are funny and kick some serious ass. Sam is supporting and great, but at times a tad melodramatic. It was not until this watching that I realized how often Frodo gets hurt and it seems like he doesn't really do what he can to not get hurt. I don't get why they are so focused on how important Frodo is when the other Hobbits do not seem to be effected by the ring as the others are.
I have noticed how much some of the actors have aged in the last decade, the only one who really seems to have gotten more beautiful is Cate Blanchett, she is definitely more ethereal now then she was back in 2001. Her age seem s to makes her more intrinsically wise. She seems to embody her character the best out of everyone.
I don't really get how easily Gandolf dies, he seems to just give into the fall, and how easily everyone else lets Frodo and Sam go off on their own. I get why they so quickly go after Merry and Pippin and it would make more sense if they had that as the focus as opposed to we have to let Frodo go.
I don't get why the elves are leaving middle earth.
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
I have discovered that Gollum is my favorite character. He is great to watch and the internal conflict that is played out is externally fantastic to watch. I think that they go into a bit too much depth of the supporting arcs and they could have been easily been condensed. I miss Pippin and Merry but they continue to be funny whenever they are the focus. I don't really get the point of Legolas, and I feel as if I don't know any of his back story but I like the Gimli and his persona (it might help that there was a lot of Dwarf lore in The Hobbit). I continue to think that Frodo needs to get a grip on what is going on, and I that Sam is being overly mean to Gallum because Frodo is being ridiculously short sighted. This is obviously the middle of the journey and is drawn out. For being such a brilliant Wizard Saraman is too easily defeated by water and trees.
Lord of the Rings: The Return on the King (2003)
As I have discovered my joy of Gollum, I like that they show his background and how he got the ring. Although I had always imagined that the voice of Gollum came about after he started to physically change. Pippin actually annoys me with grabbing the orb, but Merry continues to be great. As the battle begins I like that everyone is involved and that Legolas and Gimli continue their banters and that they finally admit that they like it each other openly. I have grown to really like the interplay between these two. I continue to be frustrated with what a sap Frodo is but I like that Sam continues to support him. Gollum continues to be am enjoyable hot mess to watch. At the end of the movies I would have liked to see more then just the Hobbits continued story and I want to know what the other characters have been up to, but I understand that it is about ultimately a story about the Hobbits.
Overall, I enjoyed watching the movies, but feel that there is so much you really needed to know to follow the story without scratching your head. I would like to have been walked through some of the points better but I think that once I let go of understanding everything I was able to follow the general story.
I would not say that I am a huge Lord of the Rings Fan but I am intrigued enough to want to learn more about the surrounding lore. I guess I will have to read the books for that.
I would say that these are should watch movies, but they required your attention to follow what is going on.
Anyway, I have decided that I need to let go of my aversion to Lord of the Rings, give the movies a chance and watch them. I am going to blame this resistance on the teenage girl who didn't want to see the movie in the first place and didn't understand the joy of sci-fi. I also didn't want to be disappointed because of all the hype surrounding it. I will see what I think after I watch them.
Going in to watching these movies, I know what I do about Lord of the Rings is based on what it out there in general society and Pinterest. I know that one does not just walk into Mordor (Pinterst) and that Frodo works to save Middle Earth by getting ride of the one true ring, by throwing it into Mordor. That the ring is intrinsically evil and that it has to be destroyed for peace. I also know that Gollum is a great character and I am looking forward to learning more about his history. At least that is what I hope. I am watching the extended edition DVDs.
Here we go....
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
I have enjoyed hearing the background of the basic story. It has helped to have things make more sense, but I struggle with understanding who everyone is. Characters seem to come in and it is like I should already know who they are.
I have found that I really like the three supporting Hobbits, Merry and Pippin are awesome, they are funny and kick some serious ass. Sam is supporting and great, but at times a tad melodramatic. It was not until this watching that I realized how often Frodo gets hurt and it seems like he doesn't really do what he can to not get hurt. I don't get why they are so focused on how important Frodo is when the other Hobbits do not seem to be effected by the ring as the others are.
I have noticed how much some of the actors have aged in the last decade, the only one who really seems to have gotten more beautiful is Cate Blanchett, she is definitely more ethereal now then she was back in 2001. Her age seem s to makes her more intrinsically wise. She seems to embody her character the best out of everyone.
I don't really get how easily Gandolf dies, he seems to just give into the fall, and how easily everyone else lets Frodo and Sam go off on their own. I get why they so quickly go after Merry and Pippin and it would make more sense if they had that as the focus as opposed to we have to let Frodo go.
I don't get why the elves are leaving middle earth.
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
I have discovered that Gollum is my favorite character. He is great to watch and the internal conflict that is played out is externally fantastic to watch. I think that they go into a bit too much depth of the supporting arcs and they could have been easily been condensed. I miss Pippin and Merry but they continue to be funny whenever they are the focus. I don't really get the point of Legolas, and I feel as if I don't know any of his back story but I like the Gimli and his persona (it might help that there was a lot of Dwarf lore in The Hobbit). I continue to think that Frodo needs to get a grip on what is going on, and I that Sam is being overly mean to Gallum because Frodo is being ridiculously short sighted. This is obviously the middle of the journey and is drawn out. For being such a brilliant Wizard Saraman is too easily defeated by water and trees.
Lord of the Rings: The Return on the King (2003)
As I have discovered my joy of Gollum, I like that they show his background and how he got the ring. Although I had always imagined that the voice of Gollum came about after he started to physically change. Pippin actually annoys me with grabbing the orb, but Merry continues to be great. As the battle begins I like that everyone is involved and that Legolas and Gimli continue their banters and that they finally admit that they like it each other openly. I have grown to really like the interplay between these two. I continue to be frustrated with what a sap Frodo is but I like that Sam continues to support him. Gollum continues to be am enjoyable hot mess to watch. At the end of the movies I would have liked to see more then just the Hobbits continued story and I want to know what the other characters have been up to, but I understand that it is about ultimately a story about the Hobbits.
Overall, I enjoyed watching the movies, but feel that there is so much you really needed to know to follow the story without scratching your head. I would like to have been walked through some of the points better but I think that once I let go of understanding everything I was able to follow the general story.
I would not say that I am a huge Lord of the Rings Fan but I am intrigued enough to want to learn more about the surrounding lore. I guess I will have to read the books for that.
I would say that these are should watch movies, but they required your attention to follow what is going on.
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