The Ides of March (2011) Review

A lot of times, when I write a review, I attempt to not only give my opinion on a film, but also place myself in the perspective of multiple viewers. This way, I can easily make a recommendation for literally anybody reading my reviews. With this film, however, that would be pretty difficult to do. See, I feel that politics are always split in terms of perspectives. Some people believe that our U.S. government should be Democratic, letting the people have a bit more freedom, and many others are more on the Republican side, believing that our government would be more stable if it were more disciplinary. Hell, there's plenty of other sides for people to choose from beyond that! Therefore, films with political views will always receive some heat, so it's hard to say who will like this film and who won't. So, for this review of Ides of March, I'm going to attempt to  give my personal opinion.

50/50 (2011) Review

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.... I find a film much more interesting when it deals with a compelling issue and resolves it through moralistic values. This way, when a film doesn't exactly have memorable characters or settings, I can still have something to hold onto when I leave the theater. Furthermore, I like it when a film attempts to combine such compelling drama with witty humor. This essentially gives a film heart, and it also manages to keep the plot exciting. I've reviewed many films in the past that have done this, and simply cutting to the chase...... Here's another one! 50/50!

Moneyball (2011) Review

I'll start this review off by talking about how much of a sports fan I am. Ordinarily, I know the basic rules of just about any modern sport; baseball, basketball, football, you get the idea. Even if I've never heard of the sport before, I'm usually able to catch on pretty quickly. However, I never follow any teams, I wouldn't be able to tell you the stats of any players or even what team they're on, and as a result of all that, whenever I see a sports game, whether it's on TV or I go to the game with some friends, I never know who to root for, especially during the Super Bowl. With that said, my understanding of how these sports work are usually enough for me to fit into the world around me. The best example of that is that I can get into sports dramas such as Moneyball, a powerful drama that talks about how those who are unknown can be the greatest of heroes.

The Lion King (1994) Review

Let's wind the clocks back a decade and a half ago. This was the era when people actually paid to see Disney's productions. Disney films in this era, such as The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast, rank up as some of my all-time favorite films, let alone animated, because the people behind the films put just as much effort into the luscious animation and glorious musical numbers as they did in their thought-provoking and moralistic stories. Now, they're planning on re-releasing three of those films in 3D, and the first in line, as you might have guessed, is The Lion King.

Drive (2011) Review

The biggest misconception among the film going community is that critics always bash popcorn action flicks because they're simply too smug and too "elegant" (notice the quotes) to simply kick back and enjoy a movie. The truth of the matter (at least from where I stand) is that critics love the exhilaration of car chases, explosions, and gunfire as much as the next guy. What they want, however, is for all that action to have some kind of purpose, and when you get right down to it, a lot of the highest grossing action flicks out there don't add much meaning to their action. Just as an example, I wasn't too fond of The Fast and the Furious because a lot of the racing they did was utterly pointless, plotless, and therefore boring. However, once the recent Fast Five changed the formula of the franchise and made all that racing into a heist film, critics favored it more. These were the thoughts that were going through my head when I expected Drive to be a full-out action flick, but it turned out that the film focused more on the story than the action and worked even better than I had expected once I had reached that realization.

Contagion (2011) Review

The more I think about it, the more I realize that all of humanity takes the biggest risks in life by just stepping outside of their homes. Have you ever thought about how many people in one day may have touched every doorknob, counter top, hand rail, telephone, or keyboard that we utilize in daily life? Have you ever thought about what percentage of those people could possibly be carrying some kind of disease? Yet, we still carry out our daily lives like utilizing all that stuff won't do us any harm. Now, director Steven Soderbergh, best known for the Ocean's trilogy, has created a film that sets up that possibility and may just have people trapped in their homes until their next doctor's appointment. Contagion is a solid thriller that utilizes the many aspects of its intriguing premise quite well.

Conan the Barbarian (2011) Review

When I started this blog, I told myself that I would not simply limit myself to the films that I think I would enjoy. Obviously, I don't get paid to write these reviews, and in that regard, I had attempted to only see the films that I thought I would like. It worked for a while, but then I ignored the reviews for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and to this day, it still ranks up as the worst film I've seen this year. So, what I figured I would do when I started this blog is attempt to see and review films that I would have a lot to say about. Hell, I was never even interested in seeing the first theatrical release I reviewed here. So, with that in mind, you could probably guess why I went to see the new reboot of Conan the Barbarian. The most advertising I had seen for this film was a trailer that showed fading glimpses of the film, one clip of a scene where the leader of a village was training young warriors, and the poster you see above. All of that looked horrendous, and the fact that it was released in the dead of summer didn't help at all. Also, the most I've seen of the classic Schwarzenegger films can be seen in the Nostalgia Critic's reviews. So, as you can imagine, I had no hype for this film, but since the only new release coming out in my local theater tomorrow is Zoe Saldana's generic revenge thriller, Columbiana, I figured now would be the time to act. So, I hope you appreciate what I've done to get this review out, because this film is horrendous beyond belief.

Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension review

I'm just going to come out and say it.... I love Phineas and Ferb. No, I do not babysit for anyone. No, I do not have any younger cousins or siblings that I watch it with. I was bored one Thursday night in April of this year, I was looking for something to watch on Netflix that I had never watched before, and I remembered that someone told me all about this show. I was startled when I saw the 8.2 rating on IMDB, so after much consideration, I decided to check it out, and saying that it blew me away would be an understatement.

Fright Night (2011) review

If I didn't have enough to say about this film to write a review, I would've had to see Conan just to get something to review.


Every once in a while, filmmakers take a look at a box office hit and begin to wonder how it became such a hit to begin with. What they don’t realize right away is that most films that succeed financially do so because they’re based off of well-known franchises, because, let’s be honest, people relate to films better when they know about the franchise it’s based on. But since said filmmakers don’t realize that right away, they end up experimenting with the genre of which that film came from by creating their own series of films. In fact, something tells me that someone's going to make a fantasy epic about gods at war to cash in on the success of Clash of the Titans and Thor. In this review, however, the prime example is the Twilight franchise. Now, I’ve personally always hated the Twilight movies, and no, I’m not one of those guys that judges a film before they see it. I actually had the courage to rent the first film, and it was an all-around disaster. While some filmmakers have attempted to stay true to the style that Twilight gave to the vampire genre, others have attempted to bring back what truly made a vampire movie stellar to begin with. The trouble is that those attempts (namely, Daybreakers and Let Me In) have flunked at the box office, and judging by how empty the theater was, I doubt Fright Night will do any better, despite it being among those films.

The Help (2011) review

As an all-time film fanatic, I never rule out any genre of films. See, I'm a man who likes to experience just about everything there is instead of sticking to one specific genre. This way, I can view more films and have a broader view on the world of cinema. However, one genre that I have been avoiding these past couple of years is the chick flicks. It's not that I'm sexist, but rather that filmmakers tend to portray women in the wrong image. They portray them as kinky flirts who like to go to the mall, laugh at the sight of a bird, and chat it up about how their men never want to do what they (the women) want to do. I don't care if Easy A got an easy 85% on Rotten Tomatoes; it's not my kind of film! What I do like, however, are films that portray women as strong, independent, and thought-provoking. Case in point: The Help. Let's take a look!

No joke here....

The Smurfs is getting a sequel.


My initial reaction:

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) Review

Prequels are the prime example of how the re-telling of a story can be intriguing if told with the right tone and the right material. You know what's going to happen because you had already seen the films that the prequel is supposed to be the predecessor of, but how exactly it happens is what makes it intriguing. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is the kind of prequel where even the people who haven't seen the original films know what's going to happen. I should know, as I have yet to see any of the previous Planet of the Apes films. The apes grow smarter because of some scientific bullcrap, and they go on a rampage and overpower the humans. Regardless of how predictable it is, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is not only intriguing, but also dramatic and inspiring.

Cowboys and Aliens (2011) Review

When Cowboys and Aliens was first being advertised, many of my friends were planning on passing up on it because of its obviously ridiculous premise, though not quite as ridiculous as putting the Smurfs into New York. However, when you look back at Hollywood's history, you would find that a lot of the greatest cinematic breakthroughs were ultimately silly concepts. Think about it; a giant gorilla falling in love with a blonde human, a little girl prancing through Candy Land with a scarecrow, a human soup can, and a lion who could walk on two feet, and just about every comic book movie ever made. It's not about whether or not the concept itself is plausible to begin with, but rather how well that concept is handled. With 2008's Iron Man, Jon Favreau had already proven himself to be a skilled director who also liked to have fun with his work. Bring in more big names like producer Steven Spielberg and stars Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, and you would think that this fantastically ridiculous concept would be handled well. Sadly, that is not the case.

Captain America: First Avenger (2011) Review

I went to a midnight showing of this film last night (or rather, this morning), and I thought it was pretty good, but I nearly dozed off during the last 20 minutes or so. Because of that, I went to see it again this afternoon, and I ended up loving it. It's astonishing how drowsiness can affect one's opinion.


For many years, the Hollywood system has been bound to creating sci-fi blockbusters with nifty technology and flashy special effects. Marvel seemed to have been the one to set this up ever since the first X-Men in 2000. Once that became a hit, Hollywood had been under the impression that the reason people liked that film so much was because of its advanced sci-fi style. Since then, the only superhero films to come out of Marvel were films under such scientific establishments, such as Spider-Man or Iron Man, especially after how films like Hulk and Daredevil were not doing nearly as well. But through their creation of Iron Man, they took a gigantic risk by creating a continuity series building up to an adaptation of The Avengers. From what I can recall, The Avengers is the first attempt to tie together all sorts of superheroes into one big-budget blockbuster. But in order for The Avengers to work, all four films tied in with it have to be successful. This is a big risk, as some of the Avengers superheroes don't involve the scientific establishments of those other superheroes. So far, both Iron Man movies, The Incredible Hulk, and Thor have made big bucks and are even getting sequels in the near future, and I've personally given them all huge thumbs up ratings. Now, we've come down to the last of Marvel's Avengers movies.

Winnie the Pooh (2011) Review

The reason behind this film's creation got me pondering. What made Disney think that re-creating a classic in virtually the same shape and form as the original without any modernization or "slick" style done to it would bring in big bucks? Granted, I wish more reboots of classics were like that, but I always thought money was the only thing on Hollywood's mind. Before this film began, they showed a trailer for the Muppets movie set to be released Thanksgiving. Kermit pointed out that you don't have to be loved by everyone, and that perhaps being loved by one person is enough. It was then that I realized that perhaps Disney was not trying to bring in big bucks with this film (or The Muppets, for that matter). Maybe they realized that they already had big international hits like Tangled, Prince of Persia, and Pirates of the Caribbean, and with all of their leftover money, they could do something for the audience that doesn't populate the majority of the world. They could bring back some nostalgia for much older fans who love classics like Winnie the Pooh so much, while those older fans bring their kids along to introduce them to the same thing they grew up with. If you happen to be one of those older fans, let me assure you that this new Winnie the Pooh delivers the nostalgic goods in ways that you never thought would be done by today's standards.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows trailer

Apart from seeing RDJ in a dress and make-up, which could either be hilarious or relatively creepy, I do not see anything necessarily bad about this trailer, except maybe that it's almost equally as overblown as the trailers for the first film. The difference, however, is that they're actually showing a good example of Holmes' expertise when he reveals the fortune teller's attacker, so it comes off as more than just a typical action flick. One thing I'm REALLY hoping for is that they don't overuse slow motion like many blockbusters tend to do. The first one made great use of slow-motion by allowing Holmes to explain what he was doing to make the action seem just as intelligent as he was. My point: What the heck could he explain running through a forest and being shot at? Still, the first Sherlock Holmes was a great film in my eyes, and it left a lot of questions that they'll hopefully answer in this sequel, so I'll have to see it either way. Solid trailer, looking forward to the movie.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011) review

I heard applause about three times throughout this movie. Congratulations, film goers; I'm finally convinced that you all have brains.


As I mentioned before, the majority of Hollywood producers are usually only interested in creating big blockbusters based off of big name franchises because those are names that people recognize, and therefore would be willing to see. What I usually like to see is a film that inserts inspiration and dignity into a franchise that typically comes off as dumb, but sadly, when a franchise is that dumb, film producers will only attempt to rush out something equally as dumb, and the result ends up being even dumber. In the mean time, however, we also have the franchises that aren't dumb to begin with; franchises that inspire filmmakers to create something heartfelt, dramatic, and epic in order to intrigue audiences. Harry Potter is one of those franchises. The books have intrigued even the readers who don't typically read through their lovable and compelling characters and imaginative uses of mythology. They intrigued many people, and therefore, filmmakers would've found it an insult to create half-a**ed film adaptations of them. As a result, the films were just as heartfelt, imaginative, and dramatic as the books. Every single Harry Potter film has brought in big bucks and gotten thumbs up from several critics, and after filling up all the bases with the first seven films, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 hits the ball right out of the f**king park! It couldn't get any better! Astonishing! Brilliant! Fantastic! What am I waiting for? Let's get to the review already!

Sequel to Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs in the works

Two writers have recently been hired to write a sequel to Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. Though the book the film was based on had a sequel, the film will supposedly be based on an original idea, which kind of makes sense, considering that the film itself was closer to an original idea than it was to the book. Although I didn't think the film needed a sequel when I first saw it, I would be willing to see the outcome of this, as the first film still stands as one of my all-time favorite animated films. (Better than Up in my eyes.) However, I'm keeping my standards low, as this almost seems like a cash-in, as it's pretty standard for studios to cash in on animated franchises. They are, after all, one of the most successful of film genres. Plus, keeping my standards low is how I fell in love with the first film.

Horrible Bosses (2011) review

During my years in high school, I found that being the biggest cinema fan around made myself feel relatively lonely. Usually, the only films that those kids admitted they loved were the comedies; The Hangover, Airplane, Blazing Saddles, you name it. While I do love those films, I would never consider a comedy a masterpiece. As I see cinema more as an art than just a fun time at the theater, I tend to get more into the dramatic material than the comedic material. Comedies usually feel too cheap, silly, and farfetched for me to consider them anything more than just flat-out fun. Not a bad thing, but films like that never inspire me enough to rank up with some of the films that I do consider masterpieces. I like being moved by what's on screen. I just wanted to throw that out there before I talk about the most fun film I've seen in a long time, Horrible Bosses.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) review

At the end of this movie, I heard what I should never hear at the end of a movie like this..... Applause.


Much like anything else in the world, sequels can work out when they're done right. What I like to see from a sequel is an expansion of the storyline that the first film in the series set up, like how Spider-Man established the responsibility that Peter Parker had to take up, and Spider-Man 2 established how that responsibility is getting in the way of his day-to-day life. It continues the story and makes the sequel seem necessary in the series. If writers could set up more story arcs like that, possibly pre-planning sequels, then Hollywood would still be able to use the franchise as a cash cow while still making plausible films. What I DON'T like to see, however, are sequels that, in one way or another, use the exact same story as the first film. Not only does this make the sequel seem predictable, but also unnecessary. It makes the very thought that the people who put the sequel together have no other interest other than making more money seem irritating. I honestly could have seen a good story arc given to the story that the first Transformers set up. There was a lot of mystery left with the All-Spark that could have been answered in sequels. Where did it come from? What was its purpose? Are there more of them out there? It would've told us many things about the Transformers that we never knew before. But instead, the sequels had to use the same story again and again, telling us things we already know, and by this point, I just don't care anymore.